Ace woke with a start to find himself alone by the dying campfire. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he reached for his sword and slowly rose to his feet. Tart peeked out of his coat pocket, yawning as he glanced up at Ace questioningly.

Something had woken Ace up. Had it been Alice's sudden absence? A snapping twig in the woods? Or something more menacing?

Tightening his grip on the sword's hilt, Ace slowly circled the campsite. With soundless steps, he maneuvered around the embers that had been reduced to ash, searching for a clue as to where Alice may have disappeared. It was not entirely unusual for her to run off in the middle of the night. However, being in the woods, he had to wonder where she would go. Worried she may have been taken by force, he looked for any sign of a struggle. But there was nothing. Not a broken tree branch, not a stray piece of fabric, not even a footprint.

Allowing himself to relax, Ace glanced down at Tart and gave a smile. "Not that I think anyone could actually take her without making a scene. Alice is not the type to go down without a fight."

Before the hedgehog could respond, there was a rustling from the brush behind Ace. He turned on his heel, weapon raised and ready to strike. Alice stepped into view, her hands raised as if in surrender. Releasing a breath, Ace returned his sword to its sheath.

"You know, you're really good at slipping away unnoticed," he said as Alice approached him.

"But very bad at returning," Alice said as she smiled up at him.

There was something wrong with her smile. Her eyes didn't crinkle, and the muscles in her jaw were strained. It was as though she were forcing it. Faking it.

"So why did you take off?" Ace asked, hoping his suspicions were unfounded.

"Oh, you know, exciting card game with the owl family three trees down."

Alice seated herself before the fire, poking at the embers with a branch and sparking bits of life into the blackened wood. Ace sat beside her, hoping she would tell him what had really lured her away. But she was fixated on the embers.

"Alice—"

"We should go to Hickory Dickory."

Ace furrowed his brow. "Why do you want to go there?"

"Because we're on an adventure. And doesn't a town completely run by clocks sound exciting?"

"I don't think it's completely run by clocks."

"And I've heard there are some very good card players there."

"What sources are you getting this information from?"

"And I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a fancy watch."

"You're going to pay for the watch, right?"

Alice gazed up at him, her bright blue eyes pleading with him. "Please, Ace? I'd really like to go."

There was still something off about her expression. Her eyes wandered back and forth, and her lips twitched as she tried to hold that fake smile in place.

"This is your adventure, Alice," Ace said, forcing a smile of his own. "I'm following your lead here."

Alice's features relaxed, and her smile grew slightly more genuine. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she took his hand and traced the curves of his knuckles. "Well, you are rubbish at leading. My sore toes are proof of that."

Ace chuckled softly and planted a kiss atop her head. She glanced up at him and pinched his cheek.

"Good thing you're so irresistible."

~

They started off for Hickory Dickory as soon as the sun began to rise. Alice had been eager to begin their journey, and while Ace always enjoyed her enthusiasm for life, there was still a niggling doubt in the back of his mind. She had never expressed any interest in clockwork before, but now she kept babbling on and on about the gears and cogs and pulleys that the town was famous for.

"I hear there's a giant clock tower right in the center," Alice said as she skipped along the road.

"So I've heard," Ace said.

"And everything is run by gears."

"Interesting."

"People even say Time himself resides somewhere amidst the clockwork."

Was that why she was so eager to visit the town? Did she hope to find Time and beg him to allow her friend and the former Queen to return to Hearts? Alice had barely spoken about Jest since that day he and the Queen had disappeared, but Ace knew he was often on her mind. Sometimes when she was alone, Ace would catch her gazing at the red scarf the jester had given her when he had been posing as Pierrot. The sadness in her eyes spoke of the grief she hid from the rest of the world.

The that grief she hid from him.

Ace cleared his throat, trying to ignore the ache in his chest. "I'm not certain Time is a fellow I'd be keen on meeting. Something tells me he could be a bit of trouble."

"Well, so am I, but you still like me. Right?"

Her teasing smile chased away the ache, and Ace grinned as he quickened his pace to keep up with her skipping. "So tell me more about Hickory Dickory. Are there mice in the clock tower?"

"The mice run the clock tower."

"I was always confused about why mice were running through clocks anyhow."

"Lard."

"Lard?"

"To keep the twine inside from rotting."

"How do you even know that?"

"Everyone knows about lard and clocks. Really, Captain, have you been living under a rock all this time?"

"I think you're making it up."

"I'm not, I swear. Just ask the residents of Hickory Dickory. They'll tell you all about it."

With a smile tugging at his lips, Ace was about to respond when out of the corner of his eye he saw someone following them. Before he could turn to confront them, though, Alice grabbed hold of him.

"Did I tell you, the residents there need to be wound every day or else they'll stop moving?"

Ace tried to pull away. "Alice there's—"

Taking his face in her hands, Alice prevented him from glancing over his shoulder. "They wind the residents, Ace. Wind them."

"Alice—"

Her hold on him tightened. "Can you imagine such a thing? Does the Mayor do it himself? Or are there people assigned to do it? And if so, who winds them?"

Gritting his teeth, Ace pried her hands off of his cheeks. In one fluid motion, he turned and positioned himself to attack, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

But the road was empty. His eyes scanned the surrounding area. The woods were far off to his left. It was unlikely that someone would have been able to take cover in the trees in only a few seconds. To his right was an open field, exposed for miles and miles. There was no way anyone could be hiding there.

Had it been his imagination? Was he being overly cautious? Perhaps Alice's odd behavior was making him paranoid.

Turning back to her, Ace found her watching him with a curious gaze, her hands clasped behind her back. Had she purposely prevented him from turning around? Or was he being completely ridiculous? After all, Alice was impetuous and unpredictable. There was often no rhyme or reason to the things she did.

Ace removed his hand from his sword and forced a smile. "Windup residents, you say?"