The atmosphere inside Juniper's suite was peaceful now, with nothing but the sound of soft breathing and occasional sigh echoing through the room.

  Chie sat in a plush armchair, sipping herbal tea from a delicate china cup quietly. She'd just finished changing into something more comfortable and was now deep in thought, going over recent events that felt more like a blur than memory now.

  Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Chie looked up just in time to see Juniper step in. Like Chie herself, she was now dressed in more comfortable clothes, a fluffy pink sweater paired with leggings, and a cup of tea in her hands too.

  She gave Chie a tired smile as she closed the door behind her: "Hey..."

  "Hey," Chie replied softly, returning the smile. "How're ya feelin’?"

  "Better," Juniper replied honestly, moving to lower herself onto the edge of the bed. "The...painkillers finally kicked in. What about you?”

  "I'm... managing," Chie answered slowly, swirling the tea around in her cup before taking another sip. "I don't think any of this feels real yet."

  "Yeah, tell me about it," Juniper replied, stretching out her legs. "Feels more like a twisted dream than reality...I still can't believe that just happened to be honest."

  They fell into companionable silence for a moment then, neither quite sure what to say next after all that had transpired…

  Chie broke it eventually with a soft sigh: "I just keep thinking... what would've happened if Ronzonius hadn't intervened..."

  "But he did," Juniper pointed out gently, giving Chie a meaningful look. "Thanks to his quick thinking and bravery, we're all still alive right now. We should be thanking him, not dwelling on hypotheticals."

  Chie nodded silently, looking back down at her tea. She knew Juniper was right, she was being uncharacteristically negative and she hated it.

  She glanced back up at Juniper then, expression softer as she said: "You're right, you're right. I know..."

  Her gaze turned toward the window, watching snowflakes falling outside now. "...I just... keep thinking about Noel. What she must've gone through…”

  "...Yeah…"

  Silence filled the room again, the snowfall outside making the room even more tranquil. It was the perfect ambiance to relax...but neither girl could fully let go right now; thoughts of their ordeal continuing to plague them both.

  A few more moments passed before Juniper spoke again, her voice quieter this time: "Where do you think he is?"

  Chie didn't need to ask who she was referring to: "Ronzonius?"

  "Yeah..." Juniper looked away then, sipping her tea quietly while avoiding Chie's gaze.

  Chie took a deep breath, setting down her empty cup before answering: "Probably off somewhere by himself."

  "Like always." Juniper muttered, although Chie could barely hear it.

  "He...doesn't really seem like the type to talk about feelings much." Chie replied, watching as Juniper finally met her gaze, eyes holding a mixture of understanding and annoyance.

  "No, he doesn't." Juniper agreed with a sigh, shaking her head slowly. "He's always so...reserved. Never saying much, keeping to himself most of the time. I don't think I've ever seen him actually smile yet…it's like he has this wall up all the time, you know?".

  Chie hummed thoughtfully, twirling her empty cup in her hand.

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  "Maybe he just has a lot of things weighing on him," she theorized. "Or...he could just be a naturally stoic person."

  Alice began to stir in her sleep, stretching as her eyes slowly blinked open.

  "I guess that's a possibility too." Juniper agreed as the two girls turned their attention toward Alice, who was starting to wake up now.

  Chie stood up quickly, setting her teacup aside before hurrying over to Alice's side. "Hey, you're finally awake!"

  "Hmm? What time is it…?" Alice groaned, pushing herself up into a sitting position while rubbing her eyes groggily.

  "It's pretty late," Chie answered, pulling the nearby curtains open so natural light could stream into the room instead of the dim bedside lamps. "You've been out for several hours."

  Alice blinked a few times as her vision adjusted to the light, then noticed Chie and Juniper both standing by her bed. She ran a hand through her messy hair, trying to wake up fully.

  "Ugh...how long exactly?" She asked after a long yawn. "I feel like I was hit with a truck."

  Chie winced sympathetically, sitting beside her on the bed. "Well, let's see...it's around 10 PM now. So...you were unconscious...for about six hours."

  Alice's eyes widened at that, her mouth opening in surprise.

  "Six hours?" She repeated incredulously. "I was really out for that long?"

  Chie nodded, her expression grim. "Yes, you were pretty drained when Ronzonius freed you. You could barely stand, much less walk... Juniper carried you all the way back here, despite how much pain she was in too.”

  Alice's eyes softened as she looked over at Juniper, who was still sitting on the bed, nursing her own tea with a tired but affectionate smile.

  "Juniper...?" Alice murmured, voice thick with emotion now too. "You carried me? Even after everything you went through yourself?"

  Juniper shrugged casually, as if it were nothing, but Chie could see the faintest hint of pink dusting her cheeks beneath bruises and fatigue.

  "Eh…you’re light," she joked weakly before wincing slightly from pain when trying to move too quickly though…proving that maybe carrying someone while injured wasn't exactly easy.

  Chie chuckled softly at Juniper's attempt at a joke. She knew Juniper was downplaying how much effort it must've taken her to carry another person halfway across a huge castle complex while dealing with her own injuries, but she also knew how stubborn Juniper could be, so she didn't push the issue either.

  Instead, she turned toward Alice again, who now had tears welling up at the corners of her eyes.

  "You guys...I can't even begin to thank you both enough." She said thickly, looking back and forth between Chie and Juniper gratefully.

  "Pfft, don't mention it," Juniper brushed aside Alice's words with a wave of her hand. "You'd have done the same for us."

  Chie nodded in agreement, placing a hand on Alice's shoulder reassuringly.

  "Besides, you were practically dead weight," Juniper added jokingly, although the light tone in her voice didn't quite mask the underlying concern for Alice's wellbeing.

  "Shut up," Alice chuckled weakly, swatting Juniper with a half-hearted glare. "I was not."

  "You 100% were," Juniper retorted, sticking out her tongue playfully.

  Chie snickered at their banter, watching the two girls go back and forth now, even with everything that's happened, their dynamic hadn't changed one bit.

  "I was not!" Alice protested again, rolling her eyes in amusement. "I could totally have walked myself."

  "Uh-huh, right." Juniper teased back. "Which is why you tripped over your own feet half a dozen times on the way back."

  This time, Alice had no smartass response ready, probably because she knew it was completely true.

  "Shut uppp...I was tired, okay? Anyone would've slipped up in that state…" She grumbled, crossing her arms defensively.

  Chie couldn't help but laugh again, it was nice to see Alice acting like herself again, even if it did involve getting teased relentlessly by Juniper.

  "Sureeee," Juniper drawled, clearly enjoying the opportunity to mess with Alice. "Keep telling yourself that, princess."

  Chie just shook her head, watching as Juniper continued to playfully rib Alice, knowing full well that neither of them actually meant any of it.

  "Awww, is wittle Alice getting mad?" Juniper cooed in a mock baby voice, making exaggerated pouty faces at Alice. "Is someone getting defensive about getting carried like a sack of pota-"

  But before she could finish that sentence, a pillow suddenly smacked her square in the face.

  "Shut up and quit being a troll." Alice grumbled, crossing her arms again. "I hate you."

  "You love me and you know it." Juniper retorted with a smirk.

  "Ughhh, you two are insufferable," Chie muttered with a fond eye roll, watching them bicker like an old married couple.

  Juniper stuck her tongue out at Alice one last time before finally settling down beside her on the bed, exhaustion starting to catch up now too.

  “You remind me of a friend of mine,” Alice said.

  “Which is…?”

  Alice huffed but didn’t respond, she just leaned against Juniper slightly as if seeking comfort unconsciously.

  A comfortable silence settled over the room then...only broken by occasional rustling or a sigh from someone shifting position...

  And outside? The snow kept falling steadily, painting everything in soft whites and quiet blues while moonlight glinted off fresh powder below the windowsill here within the suite's walls…

  ...Safe.

  For now.