Kihyun straightened his shoulders when one of the red pawns shifted forward, confusing him a bit as he wasn’t able to see his opponent. Hadn’t the Cheshire told him he had to touch the pieces to make them move? His gaze was scanning over the other side of the board for some kind of glimmer of movement, the sing-song tone behind him making him tense.

 

“It’s not wise to keep the Red Queen waiting~” The brunet shot a dirty look back at the taller male, then looked ahead once more, letting out a small huff before reaching to touch the smooth, cold surface of one of his own pawns, stepping forward two squares.

 

The black pawn started moving as soon as he stopped, and he stepped out of the way as instructed, gaze locked on it until he heard a dragging sound approaching. His eyes widened at the sight of a red bishop slipping behind the opening the red’s pawn had made, and he had to jump out of the way to avoid being knocked into, his black pawn taking the hit in his place. As if the crack sound wasn’t enough he found himself only able to stare as the red bishop then formed arms out of shiny red material, grabbing the thin collar of the black pawn. The bishop proceeded to throw its captive piece off the board in the direction Kihyun and the Cheshire had come from, Kihyun’s eyes shifting to the other male’s face, met with a simple smile. He slowly let his paled face turn back to the red bishop just in time to see its arms receding back into its body, and he couldn’t help but feel a slight shiver. 

 

It took what felt like five minutes to be able to get his legs to move again, stepping back and instinctively grabbing onto the pawn he started tripping over, holding on as he scanned over the colored tiles beneath his feet. He let go, stepping forward two squares, his pawn moving to the black square right beside the bishop, safe for the time being. A red knight moved forward, and Kihyun’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion at how quick the other side was to expose two sides of its king. With his eyes constantly flickering back to the red bishop, Kihyun made his way to the far side of the board, moving the left most pawn forward one spot, red sliding a pawn two squares forward halfway down the uniform red front line.

 

He looked over his pieces, deciding it was probably time to start moving something other than pawns, reaching for the nearest knight piece, jumping back a moment later when it hardly hesitated to jump over the pawn in front of it to get into the position that he signaled it to take. The red knight on the far side of the board copied the action, Kihyun glancing at the squares before reaching for the knight he had just moved, guiding it to take the red pawn two rows ahead. He was more collected this time when his knight opened its jaws comically wide in order to grab onto the collar of the red pawn, tossing it just as the bishop had done- the feeling disappeared when his knight was taken by a red one, and in a blink he had lost another piece, and he could hear the Cheshire let out a whistle as it flew over their heads.

 

“I thought you said you knew how to play, Alice~”

 

“You’re welcome to take over at any time,” he called back, one hand coming up to run through his hair, letting out a sigh before reaching for his next piece. Black rook taken by the same bishop he lost his first piece to, and he was able to capture it with one of his pawns, starting to find them a lot more useful than people gave them credit for. The feeling didn’t last long as one of his other pawns was taken by the red queen, stabbed through with a staff that faded in and out of the figure’s body just like previous pieces’ arms. He took the opening to take out the other red bishop, giving him a sense of control over the board.

 

His next turn he captured one of the red knights, turning around when he heard a piece approaching, expecting it to zoom past him on its travel. It was the red queen piece after all, meaning it could take the piece behind him. However, it stopped with him in the only red tile between it and his own king piece, baffling him. Was the other toying with him? It was checkmate, why wasn’t it just grabbing ahold of his king and throwing it from the board? He was about to turn to ask the Cheshire what was going on when the red queen piece’s sides morphed into arms this time and started to move forward again, causing him to bristle and stagger back. The red queen’s staff formed in one of its hands, arm pulling back and ready to strike, causing Kihyun to realize that it wasn’t aimed for his king piece.

 

His arms came up to brace for impact, holding his breath as the board became still and silent. When he wasn’t impaled or thrown from the board he started to open his eyes from being scrunched shut, finding the Cheshire standing in front of him, both of his hands on some part of the spear, quivering from the strain of keeping it from getting closer to them.

 

“Hoseok?”

 

The high-toned voice encouraged Kihyun to move his gaze past the taller male, finding a maroon haired male sitting on the crown of the red queen piece. He wasn’t sure at this point what confused him more: where the other had suddenly appeared from, or which of them he was talking to.

 

“Why did you interrupt? We were just getting to the fun part~”

 

“As much fun as it’s been to watch you dominate yet another thrilling game, I feel perhaps your skills were unfairly matched, Your Majesty,” the blond, Hoseok, stated, his tone slightly strained still. As the maroon haired slipped off his perch the red queen figure straightened posture, arms and weapon disappearing into its sides, allowing both him and Kihyun to relax. With the Cheshire’s arms free from being on defense, they were open to being held captive by the maroon haired male’s, both arms looping around one of Hoseok’s, hugging it to his chest.

 

“I thought I told you to only bring Wonnie’s suits if they were special and knew how to play. His moves were so poor and predictable I decided not to and simply put him out of his misery.” Kihyun wasn’t even going to bother with the suit argument, focusing more on calming down from being seconds away from getting impaled, trying to take in the sudden arrival’s appearance now that Hoseok wasn’t in between them. Similar to Hyungwon, the figure had markings on his cheek bones, though his were red and in the shape of a heart and diamond. From his neck hung a heart shaped pendant as well, instead of a chess piece, which Kihyun almost found odd. Another difference was the crown he wore, which to him looked like it was meant to mimic the top of a king chess piece, though with a heart rather than cross extending from the center.

 

“Actually, Your Majesty, this strange creature is someone special. Not suit, nor hatter, but an ‘Alice’.”

 

“An ‘Alice’? What in the world is an ‘Alice’?” The maroon haired male asked, leaning as close to Kihyun as he could with only removing one of his arms from Hoseok’s. “What’s it good for? What’s it do? Aside from practically beg to be thrown from my board?” The male asked, lips quickly pulling into a smile, and he could hear the laughter in the other’s voice as he reached out towards Kihyun’s face, causing the brunet to step back.

 

“I’m not an ‘it’, thank you very much,” he argued, gaining a sinking sense of Deja vu as the comment seemed to be ignored, as who he could only assume was the Red Queen looked up at the Cheshire with a curious expression as the blond continued to speak.

 

“Apparently the White Queen willingly allowed this fascinating creature to tend to his garden.”

 

“And then decided to throw me in prison,” Kihyun grumbled, the Red Queen looking to him for a long moment before he burst out laughing.

 

“That sounds like Wonnie alright~ most of my suits never come back from trips to his kingdom, it’s really quite a bother. I think he misses me and just doesn’t want to admit it, so he just tosses them into his dungeon when he gets embarrassed about me knowing his little secret,” the other chimed, waving one hand as if to dismiss how strange the concept of the White Queen showing some kind of affection in the way of kidnapping may have seemed.

 

“Look, as fascinating as this weird soap opera of a world is, I really need to be getting home.”

 

“Ah, yes! Even though you failed miserably, I’ll allow you into my kingdom. After all, friends of Hoseokkie should get special treatment. I’m sure you and I will end up being the greatest of friends~” The maroon haired male chimed, reaching out and taking one of Kihyun’s arms captive just as he had with Hoseok’s.

 

“Last time I made a ‘friend’ here, or thought I had, I was sentenced to death. I’m not really in the market for repeating that,” Kihyun argued, though he found himself unable to get himself free from the Red Queen’s grip, being lead along with the Cheshire to the red side of the board and off it, the male in the middle shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

 

“Wonnie really does have the poorest of manners. He needs to slow down how much of that tea he drinks, I think it makes him fussy and irritable. Mad as a Hatter, truly,” the Queen mused, leading the way through a passage fenced by dark trees that thinned out the further they got, going completely barren on both sides of the gated perimeter just before a black and red colored gate. It was opened by a pair that were dressed in a way that reminded Kihyun of the suits in Hyungwon’s kingdom, though instead of grey button ups and black slacks they were dressed in lavender button ups.

 

“You may call me Minhyuk,” the Red Queen stated, pulling Kihyun’s gaze to him, arching an eyebrow.

 

“Not going to make me call you ‘your majesty’ until I’ve ‘earned the right’ to know your name?” he countered, Minhyuk letting out a laugh that had him partially doubling over as they passed through the gate.

 

“Oh my dear, of course not. Is that Wonnie’s new thing? He’s too funny, I should really pay him a visit one of these moons,” Minhyuk mused, Kihyun glancing to Hoseok as if expecting some kind of answer to be on the taller male’s face. 

 

“Well, Hoseok called you it, and Hyunwoo always would call Hyungwon ‘my queen’ when I was around, so I assumed-”

 

“Are you afraid of birds, Alice?” Minhyuk cut in, forcing the brunet silent for a moment as he processed the question.

 

“Birds?”

 

“Yes. Flamingos, to be specific. They roam around freely in the kingdom grounds, I thought it would be a point in the favor of our friendship if I were to warn you, just in case they gave you some kind of a fright.”

 

“As I said before, I don’t know about the whole ‘being friends’,” Kihyun tried to remind, but both his and Hoseok’s arms had been abandoned as the Red Queen hurried forward several yards, spinning around to face them.

 

“Let us consummate our friendship with a nice game. Are you any better at croque than I Win, dear Alice?” He questioned, stepping back towards the pair.

 

“My name isn’t Alice, it’s Kihyun.” He was growing exhausted from making that statement over and over in this world, and honestly didn’t expect the Red Queen to listen. He heard Minhyuk hum before he was wrapping one arm around his own stomach, using it to prop up his other elbow, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as he smiled at the brunet.

 

“I’d much rather call you something pretty, but I guess ‘Kihyun’ will have to do for now, my new pet.” Kihyun shuddered, Hoseok speaking up before he could argue against, or even fully process anything Minhyuk had just said.

 

“How about we move on to something all of us could participate in and enjoy, your majesty?” The blond suggested, and Minhyuk’s pout vanished as quickly as it had formed, an idea seeming to pop into his head without much fuss.

 

“Let’s enjoy a play! Oh, it’s been many moons since the suits put one on, and I can’t think of a better occasion for them to! My clever Cheshire~” the maroon haired male cooed, reaching a hand out to pat Hoseok’s cheek, turning away from the two, leading the way onto and over a low arched bridge that crossed a lavender colored stream. Kihyun did his best not to wonder why the water wasn’t clear, making note not to drink anything offered to him, sure that it would come from the same water source they were crossing over… not to mention what had happened with the tea Hyungwon had wanted him to drink. At least the White Queen seemed to be less explicitly out of his mind.

 

It was a short walk up to the red and black colored castle, the walls tiled as if they were made from slabs of a chess board, the garden grounds around it containing shirt trees and bushes rather than flowers like he had seen in the White Kingdom. Another slight difference he noticed was the way the branches were covered in various shades of purple, budding flowers bright with life, reminding Kihyun of spring compared to Hyungwon’s fall or even winter like garden-scape. There also wasn’t a giant hedge maze for him to get lost in, which was another point in favor for the courtyard they were walking through.

 

“You mentioned before something about Wonnie and you being friends?” Minhyuk mused in a questioning tone, pulling Kihyun from getting lost in comparing the two Kingdoms, gaze turning to meet the Red Queen’s as he was finally able to reclaim his own arm.

 

“I’m not sure if I would exactly call us ‘friends’,” he replied, Minhyuk’s lips forming a pout again and he looked up at Hoseok, who didn’t seem to pay the expression any mind as the three of them stepped inside a large set of double doors, entering the castle. “He and I just… made a deal? I guess. Hyunwoo was sure that I would be able to fix his garden, since the suits there were doing an awful job at it. And since Hyungwon supposedly only goes between his room and the garden, seeing his plants dying seemed to be stressing him out or something, because he actually started… acting like a person as the garden started recovering,” he explained further, hoping it would satisfy the maroon-haired male.

 

“Sounds like Woo’s gonna get jealous soon with how much special attention Wonnie’s giving you~” The Red Queen chimed with a giggle, waving over one of his suits to them, lips remaining in a playful smile. “Gather everyone, ensure that they know how special of an event we will be holding in the Great Hall. I want everyone dressed in their best, and those lucky enough for me to pick will be putting on a very special performance across the stage!” the maroon-haired male practically squealed, the suit nodding once before bowing and turning to make her way swiftly down the hallway. With her gone, Minhyuk turned to face Kihyun again, finally releasing Hoseok’s arm from captivity in order to take both of Kihyun’s hands.

 

“Now, time to get you out of those dreary clothes. Only Wonnie’s suits should have to wear such a dreary color like that,” he stated, gesturing to the grey shirt Hyunwoo had given him to change into after he had been tending to Hyungwon’s garden. It honestly seemed like days ago since he had been in his own clothing, a stray thought circling around, wondering if he would ever get his original clothing back. He didn’t have the chance to wonder for long, a male and female suit each taking one of his arms and leading him from Minhyuk, Hoseok trailing behind them, and he craned his neck to look at the Red Queen. The maroon-haired male was just standing there, smiling as he waved the small group off, disappearing from view as he was gently dragged around a corner and down another hallway.

 

He didn’t bother struggling at this point, though that changed once he was tugged into a room, doors shutting behind himself and the pair of suits, separating him from the Cheshire. He bristled as one of the suits began ing the dress shirt he was in, pulling out of her grasp, met with a confused expression, head tilting slightly.

 

“Is something the matter? We need to hurry and get you changed, as me mustn’t keep his Majesty waiting.”

 

“I can dress myself, thank you,” Kihyun stated, hoping his tone was firm enough, though he didn’t relax even as it seemed to be accepted, and the suit held her hands out to take the folded stack of clothing that the male suit had gathered, passing it to the brunet after. When he came to the understanding that even with the clothing in his own hands, the pair weren’t going to leave he sighed, making his way over to one of the corners, swapping only his shirt with his back to them.

 

Ruby red shirt buttoned and tucked neatly into his pants, he draped the grey button up over one of his arms, stepping back over to the suits, handing it and the pants to the male suit, ignoring the way he tried to protest, pushing his way through the door to exit the room. He didn’t have to wait long for Hoseok to join him, announcing his presence directly behind the shorter male and causing Kihyun to jolt slightly, half a glare in his expression as he turned to the blond.

 

“Wearing red in front of the Queen himself? How bold of you, Kihyun,” the other teased, and he rolled his eyes in response.

 

“It’s what the suits gave me.” His reply had the Cheshire’s golden eyes light up. Something about it tickled at the back of Kihyun’s mind, despite the way he attempted to ignore it.

 

“That means you were given something out of his Majesty’s personal wardrobe. He must already find you just as special as the White Rabbit did~” Kihyun let out a huff, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

“I would really rather the people here stop deciding something like that, especially considering just where ‘being special’ got me last time.” As soon as the words left his lips, the tall blond vanished into thin air, and Kihyun felt his stomach drop, body jolting once again as there was a voice in his ear this time, hot breath against his ear.

 

“If you were not so special, we wouldn’t have met. Is that something you wish for? I’m wounded, little Alice.” The brunet took as even of a breath as he could, turning his head just enough to see the other’s face hovering over his shoulder, eyes flickering to teal for the moment it took to call him by the different name. 

 

“How did you just..”

 

“Just, what, Kihyun?”

 

“Move… Without having to walk.”

 

“You mean…” he trailed off, disappearing once again, leaning back against the door Kihyun had come out of. “Like this?” Kihyun gave a single nod, the other chuckling, reaching down to adjust the sleeve of his black shirt.

 

“You did it back in the cell, where we met. Teleporting from one side of the bars and back, but I… couldn’t see it before,” he said carefully, not a fan of the smirk Hoseok gave him after.

 

“Hello again, Your Majesty.” Rather than answering him, the blond simply greeted the Red Queen as he joined them, dressed in an identical outfit to Kihyun, quick to loop one arm around one of the brunet’s.

 

“Don’t we look wonderful together? Red absolutely suits you, just as it does me,” Minhyuk stated, looking to Hoseok as he held his free hand out towards him. The Cheshire hardly hesitated to push himself off the door he had been leaning against, joining Minhyuk’s free side and offering his arm along with a bow of his head that seemed to double as a nod in agreement. “And now that we’re all dressed for a fantastical evening, let us join the rest. I’ll even let you help me choose the cast for tonight’s play, Kihyun!” The Red Queen chimed, leading the way through the hall, making a few turns here and there, soon arriving at a set of double doors that were opened by a pair of suits, revealing a gathering of about fifty suits all dressed in black like Hoseok.

 

As Minhyuk’s presence was noticed, they all turned to the three of them, bowing and curtsying to their Queen, and he simply smiled in response, guiding Kihyun and Hoseok to the stage on the left side of the room, scanning over the crowd for a few silent moments.

 

“This evening we have a guest joining us. Kihyun darling, say hello to my sweet suits,” the Red Queen instructed, glancing to him, and he opted for a small wave with his free arm. It seemed to satisfy Minhyuk enough, as the marron-haired male looked back over the crowd. “Kihyun is very special, and has come a long way to spend time with us. He’s miserable at games, but since we all want him to enjoy himself, some of you are going to put on a play. But not just any play, that would be silly. You are going to be putting on The Carpenter and the Walrus,” he stated, a soft murmur breaking out across the crowd, Minhyuk looking to Kihyun with a bright grin tugging at his lips.

 

“I’m sure you’ll absolutely love it, it’s about- well, perhaps it would be best as a surprise,” he decided, releasing Kihyun’s arm, gesturing towards the crowd. “We’ll take turns choosing roles. As my darling guest I’ll give you the honor of picking the walrus.” Kihyun arched an eyebrow at the statement, letting his gaze wander over to the crowd, then back to Minhyuk.

 

“Don’t people usually… practice plays after their roles have been selected? What if I pick someone that doesn’t know the lines?” he asked, Minhyuk letting out a full-bodied laugh that had him holding onto Hoseok’s arm to keep himself standing.

 

“Oh silly Kihyun, of course they’ll know the lines. I wouldn’t allow one of my suits to be so clueless as to muck up such an important evening, they know better.” As cheery of a tone as the last part was spoken in, it sent a shiver through the brunet, who turned back to the crown, hopping down from the stage. He wandered around the spaced-out group, not finding any of them particularly walrus-like, pointing to a random suit when he got tired of feeling Minhyuk staring holes into the back of his head. The suit made his way up to the front of the stage, as the Red Queen looked out over the crowd for a brief moment.

 

“Ace of club shall play the Carpenter.” A female suit, that Kihyun assumed was the one with the called-out title moved to stand beside the suit he had picked out. They kept going back and forth until eighteen of the suits were in a line in front of the stage: The Carpenter, Walrus, seven with the title of maids, and nine oysters though one was given a special additional title as the eldest oyster. Once the roles had been fully decided on the a few of the suits moved up onto the stage to help gather and set up the backdrop and a few props, while three gathered a set of chairs, centering them before the stage.

 

Hoseok offered a hand for balance as Minhyuk descended from the stage to take place in the middle chair, patting the one on his right as he smiled at Kihyun, who watched most of the suits not currently on a task settle on the floor. He admittedly felt a tinge of guilt as he sat where instructed, noticing the casted suits had disappeared, wondering if it was to change or rehearse lines, which was followed by the mental question of how long they would be seated before the play started. He was honestly surprised when less than five minutes passed and the lights of the room they were in dimmed to half-light, Minhyuk wiggling in his seat and releasing Hoseok’s arm to use both of his to tug on Kihyun’s. 

 

“I’m so excited for you to see! This is my favorite play!” If that statement was anything to go on, he now understood why it was such a ‘silly’ idea that the suits would need time to prepare. His arm was slowly released, and he settled back in his seat, gaze shifting to Hoseok just in time to watch him turn his attention from watching the brunet. The Cheshire was now taking some kind of vial offered to him, Minhyuk doing the same before one was offered to Kihyun and he shook his head, giving an apologetic smile.

 

“No thank you, I’m not thirsty,” he stated, the suit smiling before placing a corked vial in his lap anyway, continuing down the line until everyone that was part of the audience had one. “What even is this?” He asked Minhyuk, who had already uncorked his vial, tilting his head back and pouring the entirety of the lavender colored liquid, mind wandering to the river they had crossed on the way into the castle… Which meant at best it was colored river water, and at worst some kind of poison. He wasn’t entirely sure which was worse, all things that had happened that day considered.

 

“Mood juice! It makes the play ten times more amusing than it already is,” the Red Queen replied, passing off his empty vial to Hoseok, who set it in the basket beside his chair, along with his own unopened one, causing Kihyun to narrow his eyes a little at him. “Oh don’t go and break my heart, Kihyun darling. It’s harmless,” the maroon-haired male assured him, and he sighed, shoulders sinking.

 

He guessed he had no choice. He uncorked the vial, tilted his head back and downed the sickly sweet liquid.

 

He never thought he would be consciously aware of the way something didn’t make his throat burn or his head spin, relaxing a bit when the liquid seemed to just be some kind of sugar shot, opening his mouth to ask what it was that he had taken without much opposition. Minhyuk silenced however he was going to ask by grabbing onto his arm to give it a vigorous shake, letting out an excited hiss about how the play was starting, lighting in the room dimming further, making the pair of spotlights almost blinding when they flicked on.

 

In the center of the stage there were the first two casted suits, The Carpenter sporting a pair of tan colored overalls and a worn baseball cap, the only thing that matched them being the color scheme. The other suit, taking the role of The Walrus was just as strangely dressed, top hat settled on her head, black and white checkered shirt that stood out almost as much as the bright red suspenders keeping up the oversized khaki dress pants she wore. She kept true to her role, waddling across the stage when needing to move as if she had a single flipper rather than legs, The Carpenter not offering any sort of aid as he took long strides, leaving her wheezing on the cigar she lit up a few lines into the play.

 

The play wasn’t hard to follow story wise, but Kihyun couldn’t help but wonder… why? What was the point behind it? And furthermore, why was it the Red Queen’s favorite play? The Carpenter and Walrus spent the first act discussing wanting to find something to eat while working on clearing sand from a beach, though they didn’t seem to be doing any of the word as the seven ‘maids’ spun through, leaving the Carpenter and Walrus patting themselves on the back for a job well done. The pair ended up settling on oysters seemingly out of nowhere, talking of herding them away from their home as if they were sheep… or children, Kihyun thought with an unpleasant shiver.

 

Their first attempt to call the oysters to follow them was put to a quick end by the oldest oyster, and Kihyun felt his face begin to pulse in time with his heartbeat, spacing out long enough to lose track of where the oldest oyster went off to. With him out of the way, the first set of four oysters were easily lured… wait, why was the stage dark? It took more effort than he thought it should have, but he was able to open his eyes realizing that was what had caused the darkness, instead finding the stage- empty? His eyes grew heavy, only vaguely aware of the way they closed this time, and when he was able to open them he couldn’t lift his head from the uncomfortable way it was hanging backwards, sand-colored walls passing by.

 

When he opened his eyes after the next long blink he looked around his peripheral as much as possible, seeing Hoseok’s face when he looked down… or was it up? He was pretty sure he could see the ceiling past the Cheshire’s head. Was he being carried? What happened to the play? The questions he had only multiplied as they came to a brief stop, and he was pretty sure he made out a doorway being passed through when Hoseok started moving again, back soon met with something plush. A bed.. but not his bed. He needed to get...

 

“Home…” His voice hardly sounded like his own, and Hoseok’s face came back into view.

 

“Only a few find the way, some don’t recognize it when they do… Some don’t ever want to.” The statement was the last thing Kihyun could process before everything went black again.