Queen of Spades (House of Car...

A/N: I'm probably going to get some hate mail for how I end this chapter. :D I fully deserve it too. Because after 2:30 tonight, I have no more internet until Monday rolls around. I cannot WAIT until I get my home internet back. Soon.....soon.....

OKAY BIG IMPORTANT MESSAGE!

I can't post my playlist because work computer has a firewall that makes the fires of hell look tame. SO, I will list the songs, artists etc.... and the scene it should be listened to so you get the scope. It's up to you, my lovely, freaky darlings, to go youtube the songs and listen. If you so choose. It's a lot of fun and adds to the 온라인카지노게임. So when I have a song for a scene, I will post it [looking something like this] so you can pick it out easier. Though as you guys have noticed, my grasp on spelling is sometimes rather weak so feel free to point out errors there so it's easier to find hte right song :D

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Alice started to focus on the task at hand. Pushing aside all other concerns, she focused on the play. As Shakespeare via Hamlet so famously quoted, 'the play is the thing'. Lexi had just stormed off the stage, her solo as Titania over with. Alice allowed the smile to curl her lips as Lexi's song ended. She hadn't been able to resist the temptation, since she designed the choreography, to suggest the song [ I Love Myself by Bif Naked] for that particular solo. Of course, no one but Alice had known that 90% of Lexi's choreography was based off of pole dancing. Alice had simply modified it to not include a pole or the act of disrobing.

She should have paid attention while Lexi was strutting and parading around, because she was just enough of a perfectionist that she wanted to see how the blonde held up under the demands of the sensuous but still tasteful solo. Ah well, Alice sighed internally, stepping out into the spotlight as Oberon called her forward. From here on out, she was gonig to be too busy to slack off like that again. Because coming up very shortly was the epic fight scene, then her own solo.

West's rich and accented voice cooed at her, using charm and her character's supposed lust towards the King Faerie, to convince her to find the love-in-idleness flower and paint some on Titania's eyelids. This is where all the casual touching West normally did paid off, the two of them flirted and played realistically with no hint of awkwardness. As Oberon led Puck around the stage, the background Faeries quickly adjusted the props on stage, all carefully timed so that it looked like Oberon was leading Puck a goodly ways away. And then he pointed to the carefully illuminated love-in-idleness flower. And the four guards she was supposed to get through. The strains of the song started and Oberon disappeared, West ahving to run pell mell around to throw on his second costume, so he could come out for the end sequence of the fight.

[hadoken's mecha love] started mechanical but soft and slow, the choreography Alice had developed started with her trying to sneak passed the guards. As the music picked up, they literally grabbed Alice by the arms and lifted her up, carrying her back to the edge of the stage, dropping her off and mocking the 'little girl', telling her that she'd have to get passed all of them before she could get that flower. So Alice's Puck 'shoved her sleeves up' and prepared to do some hard work to earn that plant. She tried to make a run for it and the guys started to fight her for real. She mostly dodged the attacks at this stage, dropping to the floor and doing one acrobatic backflip to gain some safe distance but as the song did it's first slowdown, she was carried back to the edge of the stage. One gurad had her upper body, one had her legs. As the music picked up again, she kicked out with her feet, sending the one guard sprawling away and launching the one holding her upperbody flying backwards. The guys let go and rolled carefully, making it look violent and painful but this was a well practice maneuver by now. Alice's Puck dropped to the floor and rolled, dodging a stomping kick from guard number three and she swept a leg out, sending the fourth guard toppling. She sprang up and made a mad dash towards the flower, having to dodge passed the fallen guards, but as she approached a more intricate looking guard stepped out and just a short or throw push, sending her rolling and toppling, almost falling right off the stage. The music slowed agiant, and Alice climbed back up, carefully undoing and stripping hte dress her character had worn thus far and revealing her body suit. All the other Faeries wore the colours of their element, all the females were in various shades of purple, blue and green for Air and Water, all the males in brown, orange and crimson for fire and earth. But as Puck, Alice's costume was more unique. She'd been wearing a white button up dress with what looked like white leggings underneath. As she stripped the dress off, not sexily, but violent and angry, her costume was revealed to be a white body suit. With a copy of her own tattoos painted on it in all the shades the other faries wore. Her own tattoos were accented with strokes of colourful paint, and a fake tattoo added down her right arm to balance hers out.

Here came the most dangerous part. As the music built to a creshendo, Alice launched herself towards West dressed as a guard. He was the only one strong enough for this. She used the carefully placed props to run up as steps and landed with one leg hooked over West's shoulder, one straight down his chest. As she hooked onto him, he spun and she felt him grip her so she could lean back. Her leg and his strong hands were all that kept her from crashing to the ground as he spun and she swung herslef to point her head to the floor and then straighten up again. They paused for a second and the lights went out, the blacklights revealing all the bright neon colours and white of her costume and the guards. It looked amazing as h***. West felt her unhook her leg and he threw her, the audience only seeing her fly back into a wall, the cushion hidden from view. Puck rolled back to her feet and ran back towards the wall as the guard came chasing after her. She did that action movie run up the wall to flip over the guard's shoulder, but he spun and 'backhanded her away'. Alice jumped back up, grinning madly though no one could see it. She loved this s***. The guys had been working with her nonstop to make sure she could do this scene safety, and it payed off now. West reached out to her and grabbed her hand and litterally spun her around as she hung off of him. He picked her up bridal style as the lgihts slowly came back on and it looked like she snapped his neck. He dropped to his knees, letting Alice step out of his grip and walk to the flower as he slumped to the floor. Then she calmly skipped off stage as the curtains closed. Intermission.

Alice stumbled back stage and sat down heavily, gulping the water that Ms. Avery handed her. Everyone was softly congratulating her on the awesome fight scene, and West came running over to pick her up in a massive bear hug to spin her around. They had to keep the noise down though, because even though it was intermission, the band and choir were showcasing their own talents right now. She almost dropped the water and ran back out on stage when she heard Malcolm's voice though. He had quietly arranged to help the Gala and was now stunning everyone who was there by singing [Josh Groban's When You Say You Love Me], so that the very tired Sammy could have a break. She had the strongest singing voice, but that also meant she had the most to sing. Alice stood at the side curtain, away from view of the audience and shamelessly swooned as her fiancee sang probably the most romantic song on the planet. And she knew he chose it for her. West had to pull her away so she could make it to her next spot for her own solo.

Alice's Puck sauntered back onto stage as the curtains rose, and she heard the opening of the song she stole from Sucker Punch [Go Ask Alice]. The irony was lost on the audience because they had no clue that Puck was played by Alice. She spun around the stage, not as physically intense as the fight scene, but looking more frantic. The props were already set up so that she 'turned the flower into paint', the audience watching in anticipation as Oberon strode on scene to dance with Puck and lead her over towards the slumbering Titania. Puck painted the neon marker onto Lexi's face, enjoying the childish act of scribbling little hearts on Lexi's face. Then Oberon pointed out the human lovers, wanting to teach the cruel Demetrius a lesson so he directed her to mark him too. But she tagged the wrong human, making Lysander leave his lover Hermia to chase after Helena. Oberon commands that she get the right male so shortly after Demetrius starts chasing poor Helena too, who thinks this is all a mocking prank. Every one of them ends up fighting, and the males agree to duel. Now Puck has to scurry after, keeping the men from killing each other, and trying to wipe the hearts off of Lysander's face so he goes back to loving Hermia. Puck chases the males off screen and the Faeries move the props once more, opening on the sleeping Titania and the mechanicals practicing their play. Puck scurries across part of the stage and runs flat into 'Bottom', whose name makes Puck shove a hat on him that was a donkey's head. Then Alice runs off stage as she is supposed to still be trying to stop the lovers from killing each other.

This was Alice's second break of the play and she collapsed off stage, panting heavily and fighting off the urge to go stick her head under a tap to cool off. Her temperature felt feverish and she figured that was entirely the fault of the hot stage lights. Ms. Avery swung by and forced her to suck on an orange peel while onstage 'Bottom' scared off the mechanicals and then woke Titania by accident. Alice snerked softly to herself as Lexi had to swoon after and seduce the literal a**head. Oberon sneaks on stage and carefully guides the 'child' he wanted as his courier away from Titania, claiming the boy as his own instead of Titania's paige.

That feat finally accomplished and Oberon summons Puck back onstage, releasing Titania and Lysander from the flower's spell and ordering Puck to restore Bottom's humanity, while leaving Demetrius in love with Helena. Finally Puck 'cast a spell' that would convince the lovers it was just a dream, all the stage lights turning softly blue. All the Faeries fade to the backround, freezing into a tableau as the human King and Queen come by, waking the human lovers and mechanicals, all believing it was jsut a dream. Alice stood at the front, right corner of the stage, always in view but holding perfectly still. As the human court watched the terrible play put on by the mechanicals, laughed, loved and slept, Puck held still. When the Faerie court burst into furious activity and blessed the house hold, Puck held still. Finally Puck was the only one left on stage, and Alice got her one speaking part of the play.

"If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends."

The humour of her statement wasn't lost, as every single member of the audience had had a heart painted onto their cheeks when they first arrived. Alice bowed and the audience erupted into ecstatic applause. The rest of the cast came out while the Narrator gave the bow off introductions, the band playing a frivolous tune. The applause for Titania and Oberon was deafening, Alice had to admit that Lexi had done superbly, a good match for West's usual show stealing. And then she was given the chance to take her own bow, and the noise was just as loud. Her nerves of earlier were banished as people rose to their feet and gave the entire cast a standing ovation, this had been even better than they'd hoped.

That happy elated feeling floated Alice offstage, where everyone was exhuberant with how amazing the Gala had been. People who normally avoided her like the plague were hugging her and congratulating her, and even Lexi gave her a reluctant 'good job'. Ace couldn't be more proud of herself, or happier with how she'd done. For once the night had gone exactly as it was supposed to.

"We have to go out and celebrate." West laughed, hugging her again.

"Agreed. You go grab the respective significant others, I'm going to take a sander to my face to try and get this s*** off my skin." Alice instructed, knowing that her makeup would take forever to remove. West laughed at her and walked off, waving as people called out to him. Alice laughed softly and shook her head, grabbing some industrial strength makeup remover and wandering away from the super busy backstage mirrors to try and find a less hectic place to de-gunk.

It never occured to her that since the school was open to the public today, no one had thought to secure the hallways properly. She walked towards the girls bathroom until someone stepped up close behind her and pressed a very convincing hunting knife to her neck. "Move." Stuart growled at her and she felt a flood of fear race through her. "Make a sound and I'll slit your throat like a sacrifical lamb." he warned softly, pushing her into the girls bathroom, out of sight.

The knife moved from her throat to rest against the side of her face, edge pressed just against the skin from her temple down to her jaw. That was a big knife. "Stuart, you don't need to do this." Alice breathed, feeling the begging of stinging where he pressed the knife in jsut a little harder. She gasped, a tear sliding down her cheek as he drew the knife slowly downwards, cutting her face.

"Make one sound..." he warned. "You of all people should know Alice. I really do need to do this. See, you ruined my life. So I'm going to make you pay. Don't worry, you won't live to regret this. I'm going to cut you until you beg me to use you. After you beg me, I'll put you out of your misery...." he whispered, kissing hte side of her neck while she shuddered.

"Either way I'm dead." Alice made it a statement, not a question.

"Eventually." He whispered, other hand coming up to grab her breast. Alice felt her body still.

"Then I know what I have to do." she was amazed at how calm her voice was. He was nuzzling her neck, biting at it painfully and gripping her chest hard enough to leave bruises. Like she had so long ago, she screamed, "MALCOLM!" before feeling the burn of the knife cutting her.

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A/N: Hate me yet? Because you know you have 2 whole, long days to find out what happens next.

MUAHAHAHAHA! I'm really not all that good at evil laughs..... maybe if I use the hand rub it'll make it seem eviller......

Oh, did the Gala make sense to you guys? I wish you could see it in my head, I actually came up with choreography for the whole damn thing.... If anyone is good at making those animation things, let me know, I would love to try and get at least the fight scene done up.