When the Clock's Hands strike ( Pandora Hearts Fanfiction ) > MAJOR EDIT <

Retrace

" Lacie. " 

" Y ... Yuon ... " I whispered weakly as a broken doll stared at me through it's one eerie glass eye and I sat up with a start. 

" You're up, nya ! Cheshire found you in my house, nya ! Won't you play with Cheshire, nya ? " a man with shaggy black hair sweeping over his left eye beamed widely as he leapt over from where he had been across the room with great ease and elegance, a white-tipped tail swishing eagerly as he rubbed his head against my arm fondly.  

" Y-You are ... " 

" I'm Cheshire, nya ! Have you forgotten about me, nya ? You used to come here so much in the past to play with me too, nya ! I'm so glad that you're back to play, nya ! " his ears perked when I stroked the spot between his ears and purred comfortably and I continued despite all the questions which were running wild in my head. Where was I ? Where was Yuon ? Was everyone else alright, Oz, Raven, that B-Rabbit ? Why was I here ? Who was this man ? 

Would I ... ever return ? 

" Lacie, nya ! I'll show you something nice, nya ! Hold on tight, nya ! " Cheshire squealed excitedly as he pulled me close and with one arm ( could I call that an arm ? ) wrapped around my waist and the other over my head, he plunged headfirst into the ground and as we started falling for what felt like eternity, we finally stopped as Cheshire put me down before a heavy oak door or a low-grade quality, it wasn't as fancy as the doors at the Rainsworth manor and seemed like something only a poor man was able to barely afford. 

"  These doors, they lead to the memories Alice tore up and scattered  on that day, nya ! " Cheshire continued animatedly as I looked upwards at the many other doors and also ... other things, things such as a three-legged stool, a cracked tea cup, a pot with legs scurrying about in circles, a rabbit's foot ... the list could go on forever. 

" I see ... " as I slowly reached out my hand, a voice was calling for me, pleading from the other side for me to let it out but Cheshire pulled back my hand just as it was going to close upon the knob, his face grim as I felt my hand fall slack to my side immediately upon meeting his cold gaze. 

" The white Alice said that I'm not supposed to let you see these memories either, nya. Because these are the memories of the day when the two Alices lost everything, nya, " Cheshire explained as he untied the red ribbon around his neck and knotted it firmly around my right wrist as the golden bell tinkled emptily. 

" The white Alice also said to give this to you, nya. She said you'll know what to do with it when the time comes but until then, she told you to keep it safe nya ! " 

" It doesn't look like it's anything special, though, " I answered as I examined the gold bell closely, the sides of the red ribbon were worn out with age and loose threads were already coming out of place, the bell seemed relatively normal as well and no matter how much I pondered over these two items, I couldn't see how any of them were of any relative importance. 

" This is ... " 

" Nevermind it, nya ! Alright, I found the intruder, nya ! Stay here for a little bit and don't move, alright nya ? " Cheshire sank into a mirror as mysteriously as he had appeared and I found myself alone once more, sitting on the edge of a broken Wonderland ... just like the Abyss, the feelings of being alone, when was it that these feelings became so unbearable ? 

I slammed my fists against the mirror Cheshire had disappeared into as though what he had met wasn't glass but the calm surface of a river, although no matter how hard I scratched at this thing, it didn't even seem to give way or turn into that pitch black matter which had sucked that damned cat-cosplay guy in. Yet, I didn't dare move.