De'Laire Slayer's Story

Gray was never one for parts, especially ones that involved lots of people, people being well everyone. The most he ever does at parties, is just stand there bored out of his mind, hoping it will get over with. There was very little people he could ever find himself having a mild decent conversation with and that wasn't his choice to speak to them first. Yet still, he would accept those little people. This event was different though, everyone was expected to come, meaning he would have to look his very best at all times.

Parting some of his hair up with silver dragon chopsticks in his hair. He had completed it with a black and silver hanfu. This was something he always wore, but in the colors of mostly blues or blacks, sometimes red, it all depended on his mood or occasion. This was a party, the black held background as for the silver either held power or elegance, it wasn't too flashy. Of course this went along with his black and silver geta's. Sure this might seem odd to you, it may seem odd to most people, but in his land, the land of Tea in Wonderland, it was tradition to dress in old japanese styles.

It wasn't long before he was reminded that he had to attend the party. He would be arriving there by carriage, it's not like he chose this, if he could get away with it, he'd walk instead, but it was a far walk and in the process of trying to walk through wonderland, one might get lost and end up somewhere they wish not to be or wish to be, depended on which path you took. When the carriage had stopped, Gray took a look out the window of it behind the thick black curtains. Earlier that day he had told his Adviser to meet him at the party and not come with him, something inside him told him that it was probably a bad idea.

Without a word the driver helped the Prince out of the carriage and drove off once he was a good feet away. Valentine, was one person he was looking forward to meeting. He had never met the guy in person before and was told many things about him from the Cheshire Cat. What he had told him spiked his interest. Valentine was a Trader of Goods of all kinds, he was also a man who had live longer than any lives that had been given to him. The picture he had in his mind was of an older man, maybe holding a cane or have a white beard that dropped to the floor, who knows. But there was something else that spiked him even more. Valentine was special and the one who knew more about this was Diamonds himself. Supposable Valentine had been working with him for a very long time and suddenly quit?

Pulling himself away from his thoughts, he had made it custom that he'd try the tea at the part, to see if it was fit enough to satisfy the people. If it tasted bad, that looked bad on him and his land. Without a word or glace to anyone, he made his way slowly over to the table that held all the foods and drinks, he kept his attention down onto the ground, making it seem as if he was walking around with his eyes closed and his face proud. Some would say almost too proud, others might say he was like a dragon, beautiful and mighty, one would only dare to stab it. Contact with someone wasn't a bad thing, but he wasn't really in the mood for conversation with anyone.

Taking a cup of the tea, he moved his way over to a spot where less of the crowd was, this time he closed his eyes and stood there, sipping his tea in a polite manner. From the spot he stood, he could hear almost everyone speaking. A few lady spoke about clothing, some people spoke about the royals and how exciting it would be to see them. A few gawked over Prince Gray, especially once he walked into the area, all eyes was on him. As if he was some kind of fancy art piece that was about to fall down and shatter to pieces. They always stared at the Royals like that. As if they was something special to be stared at. Well ok, they are, but that isn't what the point was about.

Phaedra waved her hand through the air, wiggling her fingers to tighten the laces on her corset until it was pleasantly tight on her waist. Telekinesis was a wonderful gift, she thought. She pulled on her dress, a rather wonderful green number with enough coverage in the sleeves and the skirt to conceal a number of weapons. She knew that De'Laire was holding the party on neutral ground, but she didn't trust the rebellion not to start something at the gathering. She didn't trust any of them as far as keeping the peace went. She trusted them about as far as she could throw them.

Phaedra slid her weapons into place, making sure they were adequately concealed. In all honesty, she was not looking forward to this gathering. It was everything she despised. Gardens, flowers, people. It was a delight to behold. But De'Laire had insisted upon their attendance, so as his faithful cohort, she was required to go. Leaving her rooms, Phaedra stepped outside into the glaring sunlight. She climbed into the driverless carriage and began her journey to the neutral ground. On her arrival at the party, Phaedra was disappointed to find everything as garish as she had feared. For one, there were far too many roses. Phaedra opened out her parasol and painted a smile on her face. She was going to let no one know she was having an awful time.

Phaedra glided through the gathering, at least thankful for the wine on offer. If there had been just tea, Phaedra may have been inclined to breech the neutrality laws. She sipped the wine, De'Laire had the sense to make it a good wine, watching the crowd around her. She could see Cordelia and Lucien sat in a corner over a game of chess, Lucien cradling a dark drink, whiskey perhaps, Phaedra couldn't tell from this distance. Despite De'Laire's disregard for appearances, the other three dealers were surprisingly sharp dressers. Everyone here was remarkably well dressed. Well, there had been little to celebrate recently, so it was understandable that everyone dressed to the nines at the first available opportunity.

Figuring she had nothing better to do, Phaedra glided across the garden towards Cordelia and Lucien, watching their game with absent interest. They had clearly just started the game as few pieces had moved and neither player appeared to have the upper hand yet, "Don't mind me," She said, taking another sip of her wine, "Just watching," She smiled at her fellow Dealers, waiting for their game to continue.

"Tick.........tock. Tick........tock. It's almost time for the grand opening" The faint, muffled sounds of screaming was just barely audible. The cloth was doing it's job so well. A young girl, no more than 18 bound by her hands and legs sat gagged atop a tree branch. Try as she might nobody could hear her scream. Tears rolled down her pretty little face as she came closer to the inevitable.

De'laire slayer sat on the branch next to her, twiddling a small knife between his fingers. Unlike the rest of the people at the party going on below him De'laire was not dressed for the occasion. He simply wore leather breeches and woolen tunic with a leather jerkin on top. Simple attire for a simple occasion. Of course De'laire couldn't be seen at this party. It would ruin everything. He also trusted the other dealers not to reveal their identities either. To much planning had gone into all of this. It would be a shame to mess it all up. As the party began to fill De'laire decided it was time for the opening act.

A wicked smile cut across De'laires face as he gazed at the girl beside him. She broke down crying once more, grasping at her bonds desperately trying to get lose. She screamed as loud as she could but no body could hear her anguish. Grabbing her cheeks he pushed his lips against her ears. "It's time now for your part in todays party. Don't worry you will be the centre of the show." He laughed to himself, enjoying her screams. He pushed is tongue against her cheek and tasted the tears that rolled down.

Finally he pulled his face away from hers and stood up. Balancing himself on the thick tree branch he placed a thick rope noose around the girls neck. It was time to stir the party and shake the guests. One hundred years of waiting and he was now ready to make a move. It would take some time but ultimately his victory would be crushing and wonderland would be his to subjugate once more. The royals would be replaced by each of the dealers and wonderland would be ruled by chaos once more.

Kneeling down in front of a terror stricken girl he put the little knife in his hand. "Know I'd like to say this won't hurt a bit, but that would be a lie, it wouldn't be fun if it didn't hurt". Grinning he pushed the girl down against the tree branch and placed the knife against her forehead. Slowly he pulled the knife across her forehead and down her pale white cheeks. She groped and screamed begging for relief but it was no use. If she was lucky she would succumb to the pain and pass out. Continuing down her cheeks he turned the knife across her jaw, slowly cutting and outline across her face. Eventually it was done. "Time to start the show"

De'Laire pushed the girls body off the tree and sauntered off as the rope unravelled and suddenly became taut. Peering down he could see the girl sway in the soft breeze. She swung lifelessly above the party crowd, her white dress now stained with crimson blood and the outline of a skull carved around her face.

De'laire made his way towards the outskirts of the party, making sure not to be seen. Hopefully the others would be able to find him here. The time of the Dealers had come.

A few moments later, Thackery noticed that Hatter had arrived. He had almost missed Hatter's entry, not accustomed to seeing Hatter dress so simply. The bowtie, a garish explosion of colour, was Hatter to a T though, he thought with a small smile. He dipped his head slightly, acknowledging his friend's arrival at the party. When Hatter joined him, Thackery was greeted by a gentle nudge on the shoulder, "Not your cup of tea?" the Hatter asked, before exploding into laughter.

Thackery gave a small chuckle, "It is and it isn't," was his answer when Hatter had calmed down. Thackery stood diligently as as Hatter scoured the tea selection for a suitable choice. Thackery watched as Hatter's face lit up when he found a tea to his liking. On Hatter's return, Thackery found himself being used as a leaning post, something he was completely thrilled about. No, really, he was. He cast a harmless glare at Hatter, who was happily drinking tea, peppermint, if Thackery's nose wasn't failing him. Hatter's attention was on the crowd, so he probably didn't even notice Thackery's look of disdain at Hatter's utilisation of his shoulder.

"How's the party, Thacky?"

Thackery did a double take at the shortening of his name. 'Thacky'? The last time he had been called that was when he was leveret and his infantile tongue couldn't manage the complete syllabic make-up of 'Thackery'. But, this was Hatter he was dealing with. His closest friend who was prone to moments of infantile behaviour, such as calling him 'Thacky'. Thackery had a feeling deep his gut that the name was going to stick as well, "Amazingly polite and well behaved. Everyone appears to be enjoying doing nothing," He sighed, "Our tea parties were much more fun than this," He said mournfully, "Perhaps we should go into the business of party planning," He mused aloud, not really taking the idea seriously himself.

Once again, Hatter was not paying attention. He was now eyeing the cakes. With all the delight of a child at Christmas, Hatter disappeared again. The relief Thackery felt in his shoulder from not having Hatter's elbow digging into it was exquisite. Thackery rolled his shoulder a few times to get some feeling back into the joint before Hatter returned. Once again, Thackery was used as a prop while Hatter indulged himself on cake and more peppermint tea. Despite his dislike at being used as a lean-to, Thackery couldn't help the small laugh that escaped him as Hatter looked at the cake and tea in utter wonder, "Thacky!" Yes, the name was sticking, "It's amazing!" Hatter exclaimed, eyes wide as if he had just discovered some kind of epiphany,"You've got to try the peppermint tea and angel food cake together! It's complexly magnificent!"

Thackery nodded as Hatter continued to stare at the cake, utterly transfixed, "Soon as I've finished this," He said as his ears began to twitch inside his hat. Thackery tensed. This shouldn't be happening. This was neutral ground. There should be no danger here, "Hatter, my ears and I believe something awful is about to happen."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the body of a young girl was swinging from a tree on the other side of the garden. From this distance, he could see her face was bloodied and she was very much not alive. Thackery looked around, slack faced and at a total loss of what to do, waiting for his instruction from Hatter, as he often did in difficult circumstances. A woman dressed in black moved towards the body, simply watching the girl swing while she drank. "Oh my," Was all Thackery could say, his voice barely audible.

---

Phaedra frowned when Cordelia moved the pawn diagonally. It was almost a reflex action to protest that pawns could only move diagonally when capturing a piece, but she refrained herself. This was not her game, if Lucien had a problem with the way Cordelia was playing, Lucien could raise it himself. That, and the fact Cordelia was one of the last people Phaedra wanted to anger. Especially when she trying her very best to maintain the neutrality of the garden that she so despised. No, Phaedra was going to be on her best behavior today.

A chorus of screams rang out, causing Phaedra to jump slightly, and a nearby waiter to drop his tray, the drink being saved by Cordelia, "De'laire has struck again," She said, looking to a tree. Phaedra followed Cordelia's gaze and saw a girl swinging gently in the breeze. Her face bore the bloody outline of a skull and her pretty white dress was stained with patches of red. This secret show of terror was De'Laire's doing. There was no one else left in Wonderland who could pull off such a stunt with such chilling effect. Cordelia stood closer to the dead girl, her delight evident int he chaos. Phaedra rolled her eyes, feeling the need to distance herself from Cordelia, who was drawing attention to herself by being so thrilled. Phaedra subtly looked around the garden, her eyes searching for De'Laire. She saw a movement on the edge of the garden. A man dressed in dark leather. De'Laire.

Phaedra looked around her fellow party guests, their attention on one another or the macabre show of a dead girl. She silently slipped away from her fellow dealers, making her way to De'Laire. In the shade, Phaedra lowered her parasol, holding it like a cane. She cast another look back at the party, glad to be away from the festivities, "That was a pretty little show you put on back there," She said to De'Laire with a smirk, "Very interesting."

De'laire sat enclosed by trees. His body now exhausted from the work of magic he had just done, he sat to rest and regain some energy before the next step in the plan. Hearing now the fruits of his labour coming to life in the forms of shrieks and shattering tea cups he managed to let go of a little grin, before quickly suppressing it. Resting in his hand was the knife that had carved the young girls face, the traces of blood ran down the blade like veins in the skin. Trickling slowly until they hit the tip, then dropped down all the way to the forest floor, never to be seen again as they soaked into the moist earth.

His patience was beginning to wear thin when Phaedra finally appeared into the small opening. The youngest of the dealers she often seemed the most innocent. Not that De'laire thought it was a bad thing. A wonderful trait to have when trying to be devious. An innocent person is more likely to be accepted as trusting and used. An awful mistake for anyone to make with Phaedra. "That was a pretty little show you put on back there, Very interesting." "I am glad you liked it" he replied, "Now wes must move onto the next part of the plan."

In the distance De'Laire heard someone bemoaning his name. Already playing the blame game? he thought to himself. "Thats fine, but what until you see whats next". In the bushes nearby he heard the voice of the ever arrogant Lucien. And he was causing a commotion. "Bloody fool" he muttered, slowly pushing his body up with his hands. De'Laire did not dislike Lucien. He was a powerful dealer, but sometimes his ego got the better of him. Like now.

When he finally arrived in the clearing De'Laire was furious. He waltzed up to Lucien and pushed his face right up to him. "For fuck sakes Lucien what are you doing out there, you're going to get us all caught. Lighting things on fire and messing with a bloody Jabberwocky, using your magic publicly? You better be damn sure it didn't follow us back here and realise what the hell is going on or I swear you will regret it." Finally calming himself De'Laire stood back and took a deep breath. He was tired enough as it is, getting angry would not be helpful in the situation. Raising his arm to his forehead he wiped the sweat from his skin.

"Where the hell is Cordelia anyway?" he blathered. "Probably off wandering around as usual. Whatever, we don't have time for this, find her later". De'laire walked towards the back of the clearing and pulled away the trees revealing another young girl in a similar white dress. She stood silently, the only visible motion was the slow and steady movement of her chest as she inhaled and exhaled the oxygen in the air that sustained her. "We tried to take Wonderland by force before, it failed. It costs us dearly and here we are years later trying again. Except this time we will do things differently. We cut the head off of the snake last time. This time I want the heart. But to get the heart we have to mess with the mind. Wonderland needs a little bit of paranoia before we can introduce the madness. People already believe I .... we are back. Now we have to make them doubt. Question themselves and stutter in their stride. Make them lose whatever confidence they have. It will take time but we will break Wonderland and force them all to kneel and beg for mercy. We will torment them until they can take no more and then deliver the crushing blow. Then, then we shall take Wonderland, when all of it's leaders are destroying themselves from inside out we shall take Wonderland and rule it for ourselves!" De'laire stopped to take a breather, his enthusiasm only clashing with his fatigue. Once he regained his composure he stood up again and grabbed the young girl by the arm.

"I have wiped this girls memory clean. She doesn't know who she is, where she is or what she is doing. It cost a lot of my energy, an awful lot of energy. Phaedra." He turned to her and pushed the girl into her arms. "Use your manipulative ways and craft a new story for this girl. Give her this knife and make her believe that her goal in life is to kill the Prince of Spades and then set her free to find him. Tell her her name is T.D. I want that snooty bitch of hearts but it would be too obvious. The Prince of Spades has no connection to me. They will think that this girl is just a crazed murderer out to kill a royal. The blame will be shifted but the name De'Laire Slayer will rest in the back of minds. The seed will be planted." Wiping the girls memory had taken more effort than intended. Such magic was among the darkest of all the arts. He walked past the two dealers using their shoulders for support. "Don't mess it up, make it work, make her believable. Lucien I need you to observe everything that happens with the rest of the party. Make some friends, put your looks to work. And make sure Cordelia doesn't do anything silly. I'll be back at the lair, I need my energy back before we do anything more."

Slowly De'laire made his way out of the clearing. "Good Luck, all of this will be ours soon. Patience."

Thackery watched on as Hatter ran across to the girl, cutting her down from the tree. And this, Thackery thought, was the reason that Hatter was the leader of their ragtag group, not Thackery or any other member. Hatter was the loudest and most outspoken of them all.

"Listen! Everyone!" Hatter began, "I believe that De'Laire is behind this! I fear that he was the one that gathered all of us here today, to make some sort of statement! But De'Laire is a coward! He has refused to show his face here and has instead mutilated a poor girl!" Hatter looked toward the girl who was now leaned upon the tree. "If you think you're so high and mighty, De'Laire, why not show us your face! Come out and show your 'guests' your face, coward!"

Thackery's eyes widened. De'Laire? He was a story, wasn't he? His ears flattened against the inside of his hat. De'Laire couldn't be real. Thackery took a steadying breath, looking down at the ground. Losing it now wouldn't do, not when there was so many people around, especially De'Laire, assuming he was real. Thackery's eyes shot back up when he smelt an odd smell on the air, like a metallic burning. He saw Hatter on his knees and ran over to his friend, knocking Wendy out of the way, dropping to his knees beside Hatter, "Hatter?" He asked, his voice full of concern. Realising that his friend was just stunned, Thackery looked around for someone who might be responsible for Hatter's current state. He spotted a dark haired man dressed in black who looked very pleased with himself and was currently setting fire to the garden, much to the annoyance of the Jabberwocky present. Thackery would have loved to rip the man's head from his shoulders, but he had more pressing matters to attend to, "Wendy," He called, getting the White Rabbit's attention, "Help me get Hatter safe," He instructed her, hooking Hatter's arm over his shoulder.

As he lifted Hatter from his knees, Thackery looked down at the dead girl. The poor girl deserved better than this, a proper burial with her family in attendance. But Thackery had more pressing matters to deal with and he had no means of finding out who the girl was. Another girl, well woman really, dressed in black, was watching the girl with considerable interest. Thackery watched the woman for a moment, before silently leaving the girl to her care. He made sure Wendy had a hold of Hatter and began walking his friend away from the party.

---

Phaedra could barely suppress a smile when De'Laire gave Lucien an earful about setting fire to the garden. While she didn't care much for the garden herself, it was always nice to see Lucien being put in his place. Phaedra's attention was then caught by a girl, similarly dressed to the one De'Laire had just killed, but her face was a different kind of blank. De'Laire pushed the girl towards her, allowing Phaedra a closer look at her face. She was pretty in a very conventional way. The girl was someone you probably wouldn't spot in a crowd.

"Use your manipulative ways and craft a new story for this girl. Give her this knife and make her believe that her goal in life is to kill the Prince of Spades and then set her free to find him. Tell her her name is T.D. I want that snooty bitch of hearts but it would be too obvious. The Prince of Spades has no connection to me. They will think that this girl is just a crazed murderer out to kill a royal. The blame will be shifted but the name De'Laire Slayer will rest in the back of minds. The seed will be planted. Don't mess it up, make it work, make her believable."

Phaedra wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder, taking the knife from De'Laire, sliding it up her sleeve. Phaedra lifted the girl's chin slightly so she could see into her eyes. Phaedra smiled sweetly, "You must be tired after your long journey," the girl looked at her blankly, "There is nothing for you to fear from me, I have no intention of hurting you, T.D was it?" Again the girl looked blankly, "Yes, T.D," Phaedra confirmed for the girl, "Come my dear, you must be thirsty," She said, leading the girl, T.D, into the garden, ignoring the jaberwocky trying to douse Lucien's flames. Phaedra felt T.D resist her, digging her heels into the grass. Phaedra stopped and looked at the girl, "Something wrong my dear?"

T.D looked around the garden, lingering on the flames for a moment longer, before looking back to Phaedra, "What is your name?" T.D asked quietly.

Phaedra nodded. Her memories had been erased but she could still remember speech. Well that was good to know, "Phaedra."

"Well, Miss Phaedra," T.D said ever so politely, "I am very tired and would like to go home."

"Of course my dear, whatever you wish. If you wish to go home then we will go home."

T.D smiled at Phaedra brightly, "Thank you Miss Phaedra," She said as Phaedra escorted to her to the carriage. She looked around in amazement as the carriage began moving by itself, "How is this moving?"

Phaedra leaned forward, "Magic. All my friends can do magic. I'll explain everything to you when you've rested, alright?" T.D nodded her agreement at Phaedra's plan, "There's a good girl."

Vale, watched as the scene unfolded before him. Something about this whole thing, made his insides tickle with laughter. The panic of the people, a dead body, fire, confusion, just all of it was the cherry on top of a perfect party.

"Haha haha haha haha!!!!!" He held his stomach as he laughed so loud that most of the people quiet down to stare at him. 'Haha! Forgive me for laughing so loudly! Talk about a dead part before, it sure did light up fast! Hahaha!" He breathed in and sighed with a smile on his face.

People looked at him as if he was mad or crazy. Sure maybe he was, but he wouldn't be here if he wasn't. "Do forgive me, once again. Thy name is Vitriol, Valentine Vitriol." He bowed ever so gracefully.

You could hear already that people have heard of him as the Mysterious Shop Keeper. Many have thought him to be fake. But that was surely untrue.

Apart from that he went on with what he had to say. "Wonderland sure has gone down over the years, or so I see. It seems that the new rulers to this place, have nothing to rule over, if the madness has gotten this far out of hand. It's a shame really. I am disappointed." He placed both hands onto his fancy walking stick with his poster perfect and his head facing down as if he was ashamed. "I guarantee that alot of you will most likely die, if not tonight, along down the road. It's best to take care of the problem while it is in hand. And from the looks of it, there is more than just 'De'Laire' behind it all. But before that, maybe none of you should point fingers at who it could be, for all we know. The culprits is the Royals. Or it could just be one big show!" He threw his hand up and started to laugh. "But in all ends seriously, it seems that someone wants the Royal's attention and we all know that everyone hates every last one of you. So it could have been anyone hear." He spoke nothing but the truth, just as how he saw it. "Well, most of everyone. Haha."

Normally he was a very kept cool type of guy, but this was over the top even for him. But he couldn't help it, he was just so entertained that it broke him, turning his laughter into madness. It had made his compused side vanish and there was a slight twist about his eyes. That only those who know him, knows what it means. He was excited to the point that he wanted to be involved of whatever is going on. Even if the was the accused, he wanted to be in. This had interested him and nothing could get him out of it.

"There is but one thing that I know, if you want to know who is behind all of this. We must find the Cheshire Cat. He sees everything. He is the eyes and ears of wonderland. Find him and we get our answers."