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Cat got your tongue

Stan Dudley (My Lady Jane) x Alice (My Lady Jane)

Word count: 4,2k

Summary: Stan finds himself an unlikely companion while he serves his time in prison.

Author note: This fic has been sitting in my notes for quite some time so I'm sure it might be a bit wonky and silly at times, but after watching akotsk I immediatelly went to watch mlj and its geniuenly so peak I love it smm. I also saw some people saying that if we ever got season 2 Stan x Alice could have been cute and yk what i agree. But nontheless I'm still working on some x reader fics

Alice sat on the stone cold floor, turning a key carefully in her hands. No light reflected upon its metal surface; there was almost no light at all. The cell smelled of stagnant air and mold, sounds of animals could be heard across the entire dungeon, but despite the noise, no one on the surface even knew they were trapped down here.

She wondered about her ecsape ever since she met Guildford Dudley, ever since he gave her the spare key. From every angle, every possibility, every outcome. The girl made numerous plans, but alas, she wouldn't dare. Her fearfullness was the only thing holding her back. She's been here for so long, she saw what happened to those who tried to run, even those who tried to slightly oppose. There was no way out. Only if Seymour wanted them to do his dirty jobs, experiments or games. So all in all, she actually did have a choice - stay here in the Zoo, hoping to never be seen or bothered by anyone, not sticking out and definitely not trying to escape or die. And one of those options seemed a tiny bit more reasonable than the other.

Her ears suddenly picked up a distant noise; being a cat ethian definitely had its positives. She froze, leaning her head against the dungeon door. Steps of multiple guards neared the corner.

In a flash of golden light, the girl turned. Almost instinctivelly, everytime she felt in danger. Short brown and white fur covered her body, long whiskers twitched at the tip of her nose, pupils dialeted in the dark. When the group of people stopped in front of her cell, she picked up the too-familiar scent, her heart pounding as she supressed a frightened hiss.

She could hear the voice of Lord Seymour more than clearly.

"...since your brother was so generous to leave you some room."

His words were followed by a thud and the sounds of door closing shut. The ruckus stopped for a good few seconds until the man spoke again, quietly.

Seymour smacked his lips with a veil of irony. "Oh, don't take this so personally, Stanley. You see, I shouldn't explain myself. As the son of a Lord, you should know the basic biology."

"...what??" the unknown person asked.

Alice could hear the dramatically drawn sigh slowly escaping the older man's lungs.

"Ethianism works through genes. If one member of the family is plagued by this curse, the entire bloodline is already rotten to the core." He came closer, watching the new prisoner's face through the metal bar window. "Your brother was a horse and a beast. If your father managed to hide it for so long, in such a plain sight too, I wouldn't be surprised if you had a few secrets of your own."

"What are you saying?! I am not a horse!" the new prisoner's desperation could be heard across the entire Zoo.

"Oh, sure you aren't." Seymour sushed him with the same indiferent arrogance as always. "But it doesn't matter." he added in whispers, "See, you've wronged the crown. You've rebelled. There is no difference between you and those... things. And because of that, you will be tested in the royal well. Until then, you have time to reaveal yourself. I've always wanted a stallion in my collection..." a cruel smile painted his lips.

"I am not a horse- I am not an Ethian! I swear!! Please, you have to believe me!" the young Lord pleaded.

But Seymour didn't listen. He turned on his heel without another word, leaving Stan to his own questions.

"Wait. Wait! Where is my father?! I wish to speak to him!! I-I demand a trial!!! I... I... " his yells quieted down as he saw there was no use.

The prison fell silent once more.

The nosy bystanders returned to mind their own bussiness when they understood there was no more drama to be observed. The only one who couldn't understand a single thing was Stan. He murmured some curses under his breath when he realize the severity of his situation. Alone, cold and hungry. The weight of his actions coming to squash him like a bug under a shoe sole.

Especially when the only crime he did was standing up for his older brother and the love of his life.

Alice felt bad. It was always heartwrenching to listen to the sounds of a new prisoner. The worst thing was, everyone knew how he felt because everyone went through the same thing.

She slowly turned back to her human form. Watching the key closely and sitting mindlessly on the floor was one of the only ways she could really entertain herself. It won't be long until nighttime. Atleast then she could escape this place by dreaming something better. Maybe a world where she and her brother would reunite after so many years...

Quiet sobs brought her attention back, snapping her out of her daydreams.

Carefully standing up, she looked through the metal grid on her door and through the corridor. Her new neighbor was nowhere in sight, but it was clear the muffled sounds where coming from his enclosure.

"Psst." she whispered, "Are you alright in there?"

"...No." a quivering voice replied. Right. That was a stupid question.

"Aright then. Just... " she tried to sound emphathetic, but the nervousness still slipped around the corners. "Just be careful. The guards tend to give a horrid beating to anyone crying."

"Really? That sounds awfull." Stan replied. The statement captured his attention well enough to at least get him to try to stop crying.

"Yes, it is. Everything here is quite awful, but I suppose that's just Lord Seymour's command." Alice whispered back.

"Right." he sniffled, wiping his nose into his sleeve. "Don't even montion that- that cretin! Oh, pardon my language. I'm not usually so... hot-headed."

Alice stayed silent, turning away from the small window to give him the space needed. But still. She wondered about what the Lord had said. Your brother was a horse and a beast. She knew only one horse ethian. It wouldn't be too far fetched to connect the dots; Guilford was freed by his family when he gave her the key. Did the guards capture them once more? But why wasn't he in the same cell as before?

"Hey," her whispers echoed again, "Don't I know you?"

Stanley didn't reply. The only thing which could be heard was the shuffling of his clothing as he slowly stood up. His face appeared behind the small bars in a few seconds.

The girl couldn't see much, but she still caught a glimpse of his golden hair, usually styled to perfection, now falling in messy waves, framing his handsome features. His eyes were the color of sky, now glossy and underlined with a shade of red as he's been crying. His nose and cheeks carrying the same shade of maroon.

"I do know you! You're Guilford's brother!" she whispered, a slight worry tugging at her thoughts. She didn't know the former prisoner that long, but she'd still consider them acquaintances, if not friends. "Is he alright?"

"Yes... I think. The last time I saw him, he was galloping away from the Tower of London." Stan spoke softly.

Alice exhaled. That was good. She was glad the man was able to escape and hopefully survive.

But another question entered her mind. One if true, it could possibly save the man's life. "Are you really not an Ethian?"

"No!" Stan almost shouted before returning back to the whispering, "I'm verity! My brother is the only one in our family. You have to believe me!"

"SHH," Alice shushed. "Okay, okay, I think I can believe you. But you know what that means?" If he wouldn't turn into an animal while being doused in the royal well, he'd be drowned. There was no way out.

"Yes... " his shoulders sulked and his head dropped lower.

"But not everything is lost yet!" she could see the light return into his eyes in real time, as he spoke, "We still have time. Maybe Guildford returns for me, or father finds some how way to... Or maybe Jane comes up with some crazy plan! You know she's awfully smart, that girl. Perhaps even Frances... " he stopped for a moment, his brows knitting together in a bitter frown. "No, she wouldn't. She'd rather request the front row seats to my execution."

"Who's Frances?" Alice asked, not understanding his sudden shift of tone.

Before Stan could reply, one of the guards stopped at the entrance of the stone halls, loudly banging his armoured hands against the metal bars. "Nighttime, beasts! Nighttime!"

The blonde man gave her one last symphatetic look before quietly saying. "No one. Good night, if that's even possible here."

"Good night, Stan. Take care." With that, she shifted back into a cat, curling up into a small ball. Hopefully, the night won't be too cold.

The next few days and nights were very monotonne. The prison slop came once a day, and even then it wasn't a thing to look forward to. The walls were still cold, the guards were still loud, the corridors were still dark. But at least one good thing began taking its roots. As if a small flower, blooming and strengthening in the harshness of its surroundings, the friendship between the unlikely pair grew. And as the nobleman and the serf spent their long days talking, they shared secrets they wouldn't normally even think of. If they weren't locked up here, they would never even met. That made them have this silent understanding. They would probably never return to they former lives, nothing would be as it once was. In the eyes of the law, they were somehow equal; they were both criminals.

Stan once talked about his father. How he knew he was never the favourite son. And despite loving his brother deeply, he even confessed of their mother. Her passing was an accident and a tragedy, but he still missed her deeply.

Ever since then he felt somehow lonely. Guildford was always away, his dad always busy. Even his fiancée got the plague and died before he could even meet really meet her.

Alice found his way of speaking fascinating. He used those fancy words only the high Lords spoke of, he held himself with such pride despite staying in prison. And of course, she sympathized with him. She had a brother as well, a twin, but they got seperated a long time ago. Before that, they lived out in the forest with the rest of the ethians in exile. She wondered about them often. Were they alive? Were they safe? Were they even still there, or moved somewhere completely elsewhere?

When she still lived with them, she took care of the young ones. There were a few of them, but they were very smart. Alice would teach them of safe berries and ferns, mushrooms and trees, which were poisonous and which weren't. She'd talk about the history, and at night she would present grand fairytales or legends. They liked her - she was kind. And much more braver than she was now.

Other days they'd just joke as to balance the gloomy ambience. It was difficult to imagine anything funny in their situations, but Stan had such an easygoing, charming personality, he made it seem effortless.

For the first time in a few years, Alice felt as if she had a friend, a real friend. And maybe her companion didn't feel as alone as well.

They both finally understood the saying 'finding the good in the bad'.

Of course, Stan's trial neared by each minute, and with it, his eminent death. But he didn't give up. Each day, he'd come up with various plans, not very good ones, but plans nontheless. Alice felt horrible. Twirling the key in her hands, now suspiciously heavy. The same weight slumped down her stomach everytime she tried to tell him she had all the neccesary items needed for the escape. Her throat was dry and, her head was ringing, she felt sick with guilt. But her fear was still stronger. At midnights she'd wake up, too restless to really sleep, thinking about what to do, that maybe something, anything would save them both. She came up with some plans herself. But maybe it was time. She had to tell him in the morning. Even if he'd get angry at her for keeping it secret so long. Didn't matter now - the only thing that did was his safety.

Alice didn't even realized how many hours have passed in this woken up state of hers. The sound of the inmates opening their eyes, yawning, shuffling to sit straight was the only giveaway.

Stan woke up as well, stretching his frame and greeting the woman with a rather cheerful tone, "Good morning, Alice, rise and shine!"

When she didn't reaply, he went for another sentence. "Oh, come on! Don't tell me you're still asleep?" She could practically hear the smile on his lips.

"Stanley, I have to tell you something." she spoke quietly, not looking through the small door window.

"I- " her throat began closing once more. Not finding the right words she let the silence settle in again. But this was important; she had to speak even if it meant the others would hear or that she'd fumble over her own words.

"I- I have a key." the girl finally splurted out, "Not just any key, I mean, I have the key to the cells. To our cells. Guildford gave it to me before he escaped."

"The key! You have it???" Stan asked loudly, pressing his face against the door's metal bars. "I wondered where it went!"

A soft smile crossed Alice's features, "Yes! I-I had it - I kept it safe, no one even suspected a thing. But, Stan, I was so scared. I still am! I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, I'm really really sorry, I just didn't know how'd things truly turn out." she finally exhaled, "I was scared they would kill us if we tried."

"Oh, Alice," Stan's features softened, "you didn't have to be. We'd figure it out somehow, I'm sure!"

"Here," she could hear his movement as he shuffled. When she stood up to look at him, his hand was outstreched across his side of the corridor as much as he could be. His face was touching the metal bars as his shoulder pressed through the holes.

The girl understood immediately. Quickly, she mirrored his movement, aiming her hand through her own enclosure, the rusted key in her fingers. She was scared to drop it, her hands were sweaty but despite it, her nails dug deep into her palm.

Almost there. Their hands could almost touch. Alice cpuld practically feel the heat coming off of the man's body, but still. The tiniest bit of space still separated them. She stretched even more, and so did he. The metal was pressing tight against their faces yet didn't budge for a milimeter.

"Oi! What's this all about?!" a warden's voice sliced through the cold air, a few more armoured men behind him. Both parties immediatelly retrieved, as if nothing at all was going on. They were panting out of exhastion, a sliver of powerlessness and deafeat visible on their faces. Bit all these emotions only multipled when the guard came closer and told the Dudley's son of his next steps.

"Get ready, it's your time to shine." his hoarse voice was painted with malice as it accompanied a crooked smile.

"What?" Stanley went pale and quiet. Anxious panic overtaking his mind.

Over the jingle of his cage opening, he couldn't even hear his own thoughts.

Could it be? All this time being locked up down here, and finally seeing hope, a clear way out, just for it to immediatelly die out, like candlelight in a strong gust of wind.

Alice couldn't believe it either. She saw it all go down with her two eyes, not being able to find Stan's. As they opened the door, as they grabbed the man harshly, as they guided him out and through the corridor. She could only hear the quickened beating of her heart, all animals getting silent at the presence of a certain death sentence.

She slid down to the floor in a frozen cramping state, her mind too scared and too clouded to act. But she had to. She had to do something.

The key in her hands was heavy, making her hands suddenly itch. She had all the answers right there, in front of her and in the crook of her fingers. And then there was this feeling. It wasn't helplessness anymore, it was will. Will to help, will she must have owed Stan something; their friendship or maybe their future.

In a bittersweet moment the woman swiftly stuck the key into the lock, turning it with an old-sounding, rustic click. Her door swung open finally letting her see more than the small opening let her.

There it was.

It was a strange feeling, she was still scared, but ready and to help nontheless. This entire time, this whole life she felt as if she couldn't do those heroic acts, not being able to fight for what's right or even stand up for herself. And she still felt like that, just her body was quicker than her doubting mind at the moment. But what was there to really do next? She had no plan, no friends, no nothing.

"Psst, hey you!" a quiet voice called out, bringing Alice back to reality. "Mind lending a hand?" a small girl with a sly look in her eyes, just a few cells down the line asked.

Without any words, the woman stepped closer and opened her encloser as well.

"Wait, me too!" a man next to her asked.

"What's going on? Are we escaping???" another voice shouted.

"No, here! Over here!!!"

The voices of all the prisoners began chiming in and putting their two cents in, asking, begging or threatening Alice to let them free. The noises became louder and louder by each second, surely already alerting the guards outside.

The woman was working quickly. Turning the key in each and every cell she came by, in an overwhelming trance. Her hands were shaking and her pupils scanning the room nervously from all the pressure. The free prisoners thanked her shortly, either scurrying away or trying to break out all the ones that were still locked. All while the shrills just got stronger. They were running out of time. The metal bars were flying, animals and people began crowding the small hallway, chaos unravelled. One after the other, the doors just kept opening, Ethians kept escaping. Some greeted eachother with tears and embraces, others locked hands as to not get separated again. Some knew eachother, some didn't, but stuck close out of gratefullnes and sense of help. Entire families found their ways to eachother In the mids of all this outrage, Alice almost smiled.

"What's this!?" the warden's voice got drowned by the cries, pleas and all the animalistic sounds. "Into your cells, immediately!!!"

The disorder of people began quieting down, confused at what to do next. The fright of there guards, and especially Lord Seymour, was something that tied them all together.

More and more guards flooded the exit door, withdrawing their swords, ready to put this anarchy back to how it was before.

Alice was at the front of the crowd, dangerously close to the knights. She was still scared, yes, but she already came so far. And how many people she had freed, there was no chance they were going back now.

She turned to the small girl still next to her, leaning closer. "Here, keep helping the prisoners. We'll figure something out in the meantime, okay?" she softly and quietly said, pushing the key into the girl's smaller hands with a nod.

The woman stood up back again, eyeing the guards. She curled her hands into fists, internally a whole lot unsure on how'd that even work, or how does one even fight. She tried to calm her frantic breathing as the growls of the Ethians behind her increased, ready to take back their long deserved freedom.

"Out of the way!" someone from the back suddenly called out. Alice's quick cat instincts threw her to the wall, her flow of thoughts interrupted completelly. Just like her, all the people made a quick corridor for what was coming. Everyone could only see a giant blur of thick greyish-brown fur, galloping down the hall, crashing into the confused guards at a rapid speed, tumbling them down like a bunch of pins in a game of bowling. Their heavy armour and equipment made it difficult to move swiftly, giving the crowd a great opportunity to escape even further. And they wasted to time.

Alice shifted into her cat form and many people followed. They overcame the stairway, birds flying out, insects hoping by, snakes slithering up. The door out was already broken by the massive boar that cleared their way so effortlessly, the girl made a mental note to personally thank him later.

The sheer mass of animals flooded the yard, attacking and scaring away all the guards that were still there. The noises grew and so did the thrill of liberty.

They turned the corner. It wasn't difficult to miss the royal well in the distance. The queen and her closest allies were seated to watch the execution closely, so were many common folk bystanders. Once they saw the horde approaching, panic grew amongst the crowd. Some froze on the spot, some watched in disgust, some began screaming. Queen Mary was the one who did all three of these. She yelled out for Seymour to do something with the filthy prisoners, to shoot them all with no mercy.

But to no avail. Some birds flew down, pecking at the Verities, other animals quickly followed with their own techniques.

Alice saw Stan, tied and held right by the well. Her long strides tried to close the distance, jumping over, squeezing by or running under the moving limbs of all the people present.

In a flash of light she turned back to human, reaching the man.

"Are you alright???" she panted, deep breaths escaping her lungs.

"I'm having a horrible déjà vu." he spoke, his eyes fixed at the crowd.

Alice let out a small breathy chuckle, untying the ropes that bound him. She dropped them to the floor, Stan's now free hands reaching for hers as she tugging at them to make their way out.

"But... But you came back?" his eyes lit up, beginning to tear up, not budging to move. "Even though you were oh so scared?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, Stan, it's all my fault." she pulled once again, her reply short and reasonable, ready to get them away from the danger of the scuffle.

"That's," he sniffled with a giant smile, whispering dramatically , "That's the most honourable thing anyone has eved done for me." he looked around at the animals. "I mean, look! If rhis isn't bravery I don't know what is."

Alice smiled a bit, his words were heartwarming, yes, but she still felt a whole lot guilty. If it wasn't for her fear, they could have escaped ages ago. "Thanks." she turned away, a bit shyly.

"Oh, Alice... " Stan's eyes closed and his lips puckered as he leaned in, expecting for the girl to do the same.

"Oh! Oh, wow um," her own eyes shot open, clearly not expecting this gesture, a deep shade of warm maroon painting her cheeks. "Stan, I'm gonna be honest, I don't think this is a good time for a fairytale-esque true love's kiss." she tugged at his hands once more.

His eyes opened, a bit embrassed, looking around again. 'Right, shucks, gotta learn how to read the room more." he chuckled as well.

"Wait, you think I am your fairytale-equse true love?"

And with that, he finally let Alice to drag him away and lead the way back to safety. Whether it would be the Ethian territory, Dudley's hideout in the forest or the neverending green pastures of the hills around them, stretching as far as their eyes could see, with no kings, no queens and no lords and ladies to rule over them. At one hand, Stan felt quite perplexed at the idea of leaving his comfortable life fully behind. But at the other, he was with Alice. And he could finally put name to the feeling he's grown into while in the prison; love. Yes, falling in love way too quickly was one of his downsides, but this time he was sure the woman felt the same! And who knew what the next months or years had in store for them both. Maybe he could become a travelling musician, with Alice playing the tambourine. Or maybe they could travel another countries, or even the whole entire world. Maybe they'd even find Jane and Guildford, if they really tried.

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