Alice gasped for breath as she ran through the brush, only glancing over her shoulder for a moment to see how much distance she had put between herself and the soldiers. They were becoming specks in the distance, and their shouts were lost amongst the leaves and branches. But she dared not stop.

A group of soldiers had caught them by surprise, and in an effort to escape capture, she and her friends had scattered in different directions. It was with the hopes that there wouldn't be nearly enough men to chase after them all so that at least some of them would escape. However, considering Alice was the one with the Vorpal Sword and thus the biggest threat to the Queen, most of the soldiers went after her. Thankfully, she was the fastest of them all. Except for Pierrot. Somehow he managed to almost disappear into thin air. Alice would have been more intrigued if she weren't so intent on running for her life.

Finally, she had no choice but to slow down, lest her lungs burst. Leaning against a tree, she took deep breaths and glanced around. The Queen's men were nowhere to be seen. Relieved, she closed her eyes for a moment. Her head was spinning from the adrenaline. She could feel her heart beating in her throat. The rush was exciting, but she knew it was silly to be getting a thrill from it. She was a wanted criminal, and her friends could very well have been captured. She needed to get her head on straight.

"Alice."

Her heart leapt and her eyes shot open. Ace stood before her. He was poised to approach her but seemed to be hesitating. Swallowing a knot in her throat, Alice took a step backwards.

"Alice, I—"

"I just got away from at least ten of your men, I'm not about to be caught by just one," Alice said as she continued to step away from him.

"No, I wasn't—"

He moved towards her, grabbing her wrist, but as he did, she tripped on something under the leaves. There was a hiss and a snap, and before she knew what had happened, she and Ace were caught in a net and hoisted into the air.

"What in Hearts is this?" Alice exclaimed, struggling to escape.

"I believe it is a net," Ace replied, trying to avoid being kicked and punched by her flailing limbs.

"Really, Captain, this is ridiculous. How could you possibly get caught in your own trap? I really thought you more competent than this!"

"This isn't my trap!"

"What?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say it was one of the citizens who set this."

"Why would the citizens be setting traps?"

"Because the Queen has declared to the kingdom that she wants you and your rebels caught. She has promised great rewards if you are and great threats if you are not."

"Great, so now we don't only have to worry about the Queen's soldiers but also the people of Hearts."

Alice heaved a sigh, and Tart peeked out of one of her pockets to see that she was all right. She scratched his little head to reassure him, but being trapped in a net had her quite distracted, not to mention the captain. She couldn't see him, considering her back was turned to him, but she could feel laughter rumble through his chest.

"What is so funny, Captain Ace?" she asked irritably.

"Nothing, nothing, just..." He heaved a sigh, and his breath on her ear sent a shiver down her spine. "Here I was coming to help you, and I wind up getting you caught."

Alice twisted her body so that she was able to look at Ace. Seeing his hazel eyes so close to her face sent butterflies through her stomach.

"You came to help me?" she asked.

"Yes."

There was a long pause before she asked, "Why?"

Ace hesitated for a moment.

"Is it because I have the Vorpal Sword?"

"Well—"

"You think since I must be fated to be the next queen that you might as well side with me now?"

"No, that's not it."

"Then why did you come to help me?"

"Because I care about you."

There was a sharp intake of breath from Alice. "You care about me?"

"Yes."

"Me? Alice Liddell?"

"Yes."

"Alice Liddell the fugitive who is out to overthrow your queen? That Alice Liddell? You care about her?"

Ace chuckled. "Yes, Alice, I care about you."

Heat was crawling up Alice's neck, and she hoped her face wasn't as red as it felt. "You hardly know me, Captain."

"Well, I don't see us going anywhere anytime soon. Now seems like the perfect time to get to know each other."

"All right, what do you want to know about me?"

"Let's start out with something easy. What's your favorite color?"

Alice smiled. "Blue."

Ace widened his eyes in feigned amazement. "I never would have guessed. You hardly ever wear it."

With a laugh, Alice asked, "So what's your favorite color, Captain?"

"White."

"White? Isn't that more a lack of color?"

"I'm no artist, so I wouldn't know."

"All right, so what's your favorite food?"

"Chocolate cake."

Alice gasped. "I love chocolate cake, too!"

"It's my favorite sweet, which is saying a lot because I love pastries and candy."

"Me, too!"

Ace was laughing at Alice's excitement. "See? We already have plenty in common. So let's get a little more personal. How old are you?"

"Eighteen. You?"

"Twenty."

"Hmm, an older man. How long have you been working for the Queen?"

"I've always worked for the royal family. Since I was a child."

"Do your parents work there?"

"I don't know my parents. I was brought in from an orphanage to do kitchen work. Eventually, I worked my way up the ranks and became a guard."

"And now you're the captain? That's very impressive."

"When the Queen became the sole ruler, I saw the way the kingdom changed. It was still lighthearted and whimsical, but there was darkness and fear underneath it all. I hated seeing that, so I thought that if maybe I was able to gain a position of authority, I could help to soften the Queen's harsh ways."

"How noble of you."

Ace shrugged. "I'm only doing what I can, even if it's not that much."

"I think your men would disagree with that. You do seem to command quite a bit of respect for someone so young."

"So what about you? How long have you been a thief?"

"Since Mr. Ferret took me in. He taught me the trade, and I took to it quickly."

"You're very good. There are no official records about you. One has to really scour reported incidents to even find a hint of you."

"Have you been digging up dirt on me?"

"What dirt I could find."

"Well, Mr. Ferret liked to keep me safe, so he typically took the fall where he could. As you saw."

A tear escaped and slid down Alice's cheek. Ace's arm was under her neck, but he still managed to reach around and wipe the tear away. His soft smile sent her heart into a tizzy.

"He clearly loved you very much," Ace said softly. "Some people only dream of that sort of affection."

Alice cleared her throat in an attempt to not choke up. "Next question."

There was a pause as Ace thought. Then, meeting her gaze, he asked, "Do you trust me?"

Surprisingly, Alice answered without hesitation, "Yes."

A smile tugged at his lips. "Why?"

"I don't really know. Just a feeling? You've given me no real reason not to."

"Except that I arrested you and locked you in a prison cell."

"And rescued me from a Bandersnatch and helped me get away from your men."

"I do believe you are the one that did the saving with the Bandersnatch."

"How about you? Do you trust me?"

"Well, you are a thief."

"So you don't?"

"No, I do. That's what's so strange to me. You're a criminal. I shouldn't trust you. I shouldn't want to be around you so badly. But I do. Oh, I do."

That answer pleased Alice greatly. "I completely understand. I've been feeling the same way about you."

His eyes lit up. "Have you?"

"Yes. And I've felt very ridiculous thinking about it when I have such important matters to deal with right now. But I cannot help it. You are very irresistible."

Ace gave a crooked smile. "Well, that's a relief. I was worried that a famed thief such as yourself might be out of my league."

His fingers were toying with the ends of her hair, and Alice could have sworn that his face was closer to her than it had been before. Her heart beat rapidly, and she was becoming short of breath. She was anticipating something, although she wasn't sure what.

"Well, look at the predicament you two are in."

Alice's eyes widened, and she twisted around to find Pierrot below them, a playful smile on his face.

"Pierrot!" Alice exclaimed. "You're safe!"

"Yes, the others are as well," Pierrot said. "But we've been worried about you. How did this happen?"

"We got caught in a net."

"I can see that. And who is your friend?"

"This is Captain Ace."

A knowing look dawned on Pierrot's face. "Ah, I see. Does that mean I am rescuing the both of you?"

"Yes. Ace is—" She turned to Ace once more. "You are on our side, right?"

Ace smiled and nodded. "Yes, I am."

Alice craned her neck back to Pierrot. "He's with us now."

"Very well then," Pierrot said. "Hold on tight now."

After a few seconds, the net that was holding Ace and Alice began to plummet. They crashed to the ground, tangled up in both the net and each other. Pierrot emerged from behind the tree and helped them to get loose. When at last they were free and standing, Alice released a relieved sigh.

"Thank you, Pierrot," she said, turning to her friend. "Apparently, the citizens are now setting traps to catch us."

"Makes things much more interesting," Pierrot said with a grin. He turned to Ace. "So you must be the captain I've heard so much about."

Ace raised his eyebrows at Alice. "Really?"

Alice blushed. "Not that much, really. A short conversation."

"I'm Pierrot, a fellow rebel," Pierrot introduced himself, offering Ace his hand.

"Ace, captain of the Queen's guard. Well, likely former captain at this point."

"Well, my sincere apologies."

"It's no—"

As they parted hands, Ace stopped mid-sentence when he saw that there was a chain around his wrist that connected to Pierrot.

"Pierrot!" Alice objected.

"I'm sorry, my lady, but precautions must be taken," Pierrot said. "I'm sure that Ace is a very trustworthy person, but we must consider our position and his own."

"This seems completely un—"

"No, Alice, it's all right," Ace said. "He's right. I understand."

"It's only temporary," Pierrot reassured him.

"I still think it's uncalled for," Alice mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Perhaps I can make it a bit more appealing," Pierrot offered.

He took Alice's hand, and with a sweeping movement, the fetter had been transferred from his wrist to hers. With a teasing smile, he released her.

"There. Now everyone is happy," he said. "Come along, the others will be worried if we don't return soon."

-------------
I apologize if there are some discrepancies with regards to small details. Unlike with my original works, I don't have extensive notes on this story, so I have to go back to the other chapters to check things. Please let me know if you catch something that doesn't match up.