Clockwork(Julius Monrey x OC)

♣Four♣

"You know...I could compromise on you staying here if you're willing to assist in helping me. It wouldn't be hard to find another bed,"he told her. Arianell blinked at him in surprise. Julius mentally punched himself. She'll say no. Why would this outsider be any different from Alice? She would just get in my way or not want to speak with me at all. Her face brightened at his words suddenly.

"Really? That would be great!"Arianell told him. She closed her eyes with a wide grin. "I promise I wouldn't get in your way, or anything, and-and, I'll do whatever you need me to do!" His heart skipped a beat. She opened her eyes and gazed at him. "Are you sure?" He slowly nodded. She beamed at him. It was almost bright enough to make him shield his gaze.

****

Vivaldi sighed, closing her eyes. With Ace standing in front of her, she now knew of the new outsider entering their world. Part of her was excited, yet the other part feared she would disappear just like Alice did. She had to meet her though, in keeping with the game's rules. Vivaldi's eyes spotted Peter, emotionless as he had been since Alice had gone. Peter had pretty much been overcome with grief and shock when Alice had disappeared. He definitely wasn't taking it well at all. Her eyes slid back to Ace. 

"Peter, send out word that we are hosting a ball. We believe it's time that we did that, since we haven't in a while,"Vivaldi spoke. Peter bowed and turned, leaving the room to make the invitations. Vivaldi wondered what the girl would be like.

****

A few time changes passed. Arianell had been helping Julius with whatever he asked, cleaning things up on his desk or around the office, running errands to town for him, bringing him coffee when he asked for it, etc.. He made sure to get her a bed on the opposite side where the half wall covered his sleeping area, and had even gotten her a bunch of paper for her to draw on whenever she desired to do so. She now sat across from him at the table, watching him work on his clocks as she drew. She tapped her pencil to her chin. 

"Why do you work with clocks? And I never thought there would ever be so many of them,"Arianell spoke. Julius stiffened. His eyes slowly rose to meet hers and then he looked back down. She sensed it. The slight panic at the mention of the clocks when she brought it up. She frowned at him. "Maybe you could teach me how? I've always wondered how clocks even work, you know." He sighed. 

"It would take too much time to teach you,"He told her. She blinked at him. He looked up. "Besides, you're best with drawing. Stick to that." She gazed at him quietly. He looked back down and kept working. Arianell rested her chin on her hand, watching him closely. She looked back down at the drawing of him she'd sketched, and looked between them. She moved and added several more features to it, making it a point to try and capture his likeness perfectly. She sat her pencil down when she was done and stretched, her back stiff from sitting in the chair. She pulled her phone out. Despite having been used constantly, it still hadn't even lost a percentage of it's battery life. Julius noticed her looking at it in confusion. "What's the matter?" She flinched, not having known he was watching her. 

"Nothing really, it's just that the entire time I've been here, the battery power of my cell hasn't gone down at all,"She replied. He gave her a quizzical look. "Battery power is the electricity that runs this." She held her phone up, facing the screen at him. "It allows me to control this device as I will to." She turned it back towards her. 

"What do you use it for?"He asked. She shrugged. 

"It holds pictures as well as music. In my world I did more with it, but here my accessibility on it is limited,"She answered. Arianell sighed and sat the phone down. "I think right now I'll listen to music, but I haven't found my earbuds anywhere. Do you mind if I play it out loud?" He blinked at her. 

"I'm curious, so feel free,"He replied. She moved and picked it up again, scrolling through her playlist of songs. She picked one and shut the screen off. Julius' eyes widened when the sound radiated through the room. He wasn't quite sure of the mechanics behind it, but he didn't question it. He began to work on the clocks again. Arianell leaned back in her chair, resting her head against the wooden back and sinking down in the chair. She closed her eyes. Her foot tapped to the beat silently, keeping the feel of the music pulsing throughout her. Julius sat a clock aside as he completed it. 

The song changed. 

"It plays more than one?"He asked her. She opened her eyes and sat back up, looking at him. She grinned. 

"Yep,"She replied. She adjusted her position and propped her elbows up on the table, watching him with her hands on her face. "In fact, I've got about three thousand songs on here." He blinked at her. He stayed working on the clocks he had. She reached out and picked one up. He jolted and reached out, snatching it from her. She blinked in shock. 

"Don't mess with them." His voice was cold and he'd practically growled the words at her. She gave him a troubled look, surprised at him. He realized that he'd been rude and pushed his glasses up. "My apologies. However...these are not meant for a girl like you to touch." She frowned. 

"What do you mean a girl like me?"She asked. He stayed silent. She frowned. "You won't answer?" He stayed silent still. She sighed and pushed herself up. She grabbed her phone. "Fine...I'll be up on the balcony if you need something." She looked down as she left. He caught the last lyrics of the song before she closed the door. He frowned. 

"A broken heart is blind." 

He sat still and sighed, looking at the clocks in his hands. I hadn't meant for it to be cold...she just...a girl like that shouldn't mess with these. Arianell should avoid bloodshed and broken clocks. She doesn't need to taint her hands at all. He stared at the clocks in his hands. If she knew what these were, she'd probably freak out. He placed the clock back on the table. I should go explain...at least what I can. As he went to stand the door opened. He thought it might be Arianell, but was shocked as Ace walked through the door instead. He held up an invitation in his hand. 

"Hey, hey! Did ya miss me?"Ace spoke. He grinned brightly at Julius. Julius sighed and pulled his glasses off his face. Ace walked over and held out the invitation. "The queen's called a ball. Is the girl here?" Julius stiffened. 

"You've met her?"He murmured. 

"Yeah I have. She's kind of weird if ya ask me,"Ace laughed. He crossed his arms. "I don't really like her." Julius frowned. "What do you think of her?" 

"Well...she's not very bright. And she's clueless when it comes to some things,"Julius answered. He opened his mouth to praise her talent, but stopped when he heard the door squeak and saw her standing there. His eyes widened slightly. Arianell gave him a slightly hurt smile. Ace frowned. 

"Well whaddya know, she really was here! Guess what, little outsider. The queen wants to meet ya! Can you dance?"Ace asked, beaming at her. Arianell looked down. 

"Yeah...I can dance a little,"She murmured. Julius felt his heart grow heavy. He knew she'd heard him, and she could only assume everything in the wrong context. He sighed as he gazed at her. 

Shortly after, Ace left and the time changed to night. They both sat in the same room, the lights off. Each slept with their backs turned to each other in their own beds, feeling different things. Arianell could feel his guilt, but she couldn't understand why he felt like that. He'd meant his words, hadn't he? She hadn't felt any intent to lie when he'd spoken them, so it was different for her. Arianell had her music playing in her ears as she laid there. She couldn't sleep. There was no way. 

Julius felt conflicted about it. For some reason, his time spent with Arianell was somewhat precious and more desired over time. He was enjoying it. He was constantly amazed by her, when they had conversations or when she drew for him. He found something new about her every time they talked. He shifted in the bed and touched his chest, feeling his clock ticking in it the same as it always had. Why am I so bothered by this?