by A. G. Stone
"Human girl! Not be allowed! Not be allowed, say the Queen of Spades!" the rabbit shrieked, and I clapped my hands over my ears to avoid having to listen to its wailing. "Try not to stop the Queen of Spades, or off your head will be! Stay away or stop you I shall! Be warned; stop the ambitions of the Court of Spades you try and kill you I will!"
The Cockney accented voice inside my head groaned. "What did I tell you about avoiding the White Rabbit?" it asked, and I bit the inside of my cheek harder.
"Well, it doesn't do me very much good if you wouldn't tell me why," I muttered. "I didn't know that I was here to stop the 'Queen of Spades'. You told me nothing about this. Some guide you are, leading me straight, headfirst into danger. Now I'm going to be gutted by the rabbit and poisoned to death then eaten by the flowers. What a way to die!"
Seth chuckled. "Ah, I'd forgotten how sarcastic you can be. Quite a spitfire you are. I almost forgot how hostile you can be if you aren't warned in advances. But Wonderland is full of surprises, luv; you'd best get used to it."
"Seth," I groaned under my breath.
"She's talking to the Prince!" one of the flowers shouted, and Rabid Knight turned to face me, its mouth frothing even more.
"Great," I muttered under my breath, observing the scene warily.
"Conspiring with the enemy you be! End you I will!" it screeched.
My eyes widened as I backed away, my back soon pressing against the door. I tried the knob but it wouldn't budge.
"There isn't a way out, dear!" the cabbage rose shouted to me. "There is only one way back to your realm, and that's through the mirror portals in the Courts of the Suits. You can try to climb back up, but you won't get very far before the rabbit hole closes; believe us, we know what we're talking about."
I gasped as I realized what all of those things attached to the walls of the rabbit hole were; they were the way for the inhabitants of Wonderland to enter the human realm. But it wouldn't work, because the rabbit hole was only a way into Wonderland, not back out. You can't outsmart magic; magic always finds a way to get back at you.
"The cake, luv!" Seth shouted. "Eat the cake! You'll grow too large for Rabid Knight or the Flowers to get you. Hurry, luv!"
I did as he said, grabbing the cake from the bag and taking a bite of it quickly. Almost immediately, I began to grow, the same feeling running through my veins as before. I gagged, and Rabid Knight backed away in case I threw up. I picked Rabid Knight up by the scruff of his neck, smirking as instinct kicked in and he went limp.
"Tell your Queen this: I will put an end to whatever it is that she has done, I will save Seth, and I will put the rightful Queen into place," I said in Rabid Knight's face, giving him a serious look, and he paled, his eyes flashing pink instead of red. "Her reign of evil tyranny will end, and Wonderland will be put into peace once again. Tell your Queen this and more; tell her that the one coming to stop her is called Bryony Hollander, and she will stop at nothing to save Wonderland, tell her Wonderland is not hers and will belong to the rightful rulers. Wonderland is not meant to be ruled by one Queen but many. Tell her this, and tell her to be afraid, to be very afraid, because what she has nightmares about is going to come true."
With that said, I set Rabid Knight down and stepped over the forest of flowers.
Chapter 10:
The Ocean of Tears and the Sponge
When I found myself on the other side of the forest, after my one large step, I spotted a boat and a large ocean. I was too large for the boat, so I bent down and swiped my finger across the surface of the ocean, bringing my finger to my lips. I licked my finger and found that the ocean was salty - far too salty to be an ocean in my world, and I highly doubted that they had the same kind of oceans in Wonderland. So I concluded that this was the ocean of tears that Alice created in the story.
I took a quick sip of the bitter liquid from the silver bottle and coughed as it went down. I did rather hate the feeling of shrinking and growing, as if my bones were snapping out of place and then back into place once I was at the new height, but I had no choice. If I wanted to move forward, if I wanted to get away from Rabid Knight and the Flowers, then I would have to travel by boat across the Ocean of Tears.
I clambered into the boat and grabbed the oars, rowing out into the deep water. When I was far enough out, I stopped rowing, somehow knowing that the current in this "ocean" would bring me to where I needed to be to find the next character in the story, the Caterpillar.
"He isn't a caterpillar anymore. Now he's a butterfly, but if you call him by that name, he'll throw a massive fit. Call him the Faerie of Spades. That's the name he calls himself. Alice called him the Caterpillar, but in the hope that she would save Wonderland from the war that the Queen of Spades plunged it into, he ignored the name. But Alice was not the one; we have waited for ages, but now you are here. You are the one to save us all, I know it," Seth explained. "But be careful, luv; we need you to save us. We won't be able to survive without you."
"Of course, Seth," I mumbled, yawning; after the day's adventures, I was exhausted.
"Check beneath the seats, luv. There should be something there that will help you fix Alice's first mistake there," Seth instructed me, and I did as he said, ignoring the exhaustion pulsing through my veins.
At last I found a sponge after searching underneath the seats for a while. It was dark green with tiny holes poked into what felt like a cloth surface. I arched an eyebrow at the sponge. "Is this what you meant, Seth?" I asked quietly.
But there was no reply, and I scowled at the sponge. Feeling frustrated at my guide's cryptic messages, I lobbed the sponge out into the sea. It landed in the ocean of tears with a small splash, and I relaxed in the boat.
"Clever girl," Seth said, and I scowled at the sound of his voice, though I was ecstatic to hear his praise; there was a part of me that knew Seth and loved him, and there was nothing I could do to change that fact.
"How am I clever?" I asked harshly, frustrated with him for making these feelings rise into my chest.
"Ah-ah-ah," Seth said tauntingly, and my expression darkened. "Just watch, luv. You'll see why in a minute."
I bit my lip to keep from shouting curses at him, though I sincerely wish I hadn't, and I did as he said instead. The water began to fly up in droplets of saltwater that completely doused me and soaked me to my very bones. As I continued to watch the ocean carefully, I noticed a disruption a bit away from the boat, a sort of swirling in the water. My eyes widened and I watched the disruption in the water cautiously.
Bigger and bigger it became, swirling around itself. Once it was at a decent size, I realized what it was; it was a whirlpool. I yelped and dove out of the boat, trying to swim away. But the whirlpool had caught me in its grip and yanked me backwards. I struggled in the water, trying to stay above the surface so that I could continue to breathe, but I went under several times. Each time I did, I would fight my way back up to the surface and cough the water from my lungs, taking a few breaths of the sweet air that only Wonderland had. Then I would go under again and repeat the process.
At last, I arrived at the whirlpool, and down I went, swirling down into the depths of the ocean. After a bit, my lungs began to shriek, demanding air, but I couldn't fight the grip of the whirlpool; it was just too strong.
"Or you're just too weak," Seth taunted, and I scowled, fighting against the current of the water. "Fight it, luv. You'll see that you're stronger than you think you are. I promise you are; I know you, and you know you. Now, fight!"
So I fought even harder. But my effort was for naught, and as my head began to swim, I went limp. My dress began to rip as the water pulled on it every which way. As I struggled to continue to hold my breath, good sized pieces of the dress tore away and disappeared into the dark water of the ocean. At last I couldn't hold my breath and longer and it exited my lungs in a burst of bubbles.
I gasped for breath, breathing in and out. After a couple minutes of panicking, I realized that I was breathing n
ormally; I was breathing sweet air. I dragged in a deep breath of the sweet air and looked around, observing my surroundings. The ocean had dried up, leaving the stink of seaweed and the pebbles and such that had fallen to the bottom of the ocean in the time that it had been there. The sponge was a ways away from me, and it was now the size of the basketball. I walked over to the sponge and picked it up, turning it over in my hands.
"The whole ocean is in this thing?" I mumbled, and Seth chuckled in my ear.
“Yes, luv. Now do you see why I called you smart? The sponge that you found in the boat drained the entire ocean, therefore fixing Alice's first mistake," he explained kindly, his voice fond. "Now climb the hills of silver sand and find the Faerie of Spades on his mushroom, smoking his hookah pipe. He will help you through the next leg of your journey. You must free the Tea Party Guests from where there are held in the Dark Mountains. Understand?"
I nodded. "Got it," I said, raising my head confidently. Then I looked down at my tattered clothing that stank of seaweed and salt. "Can I get some new clothes?" I asked hopefully, and Seth laughed.
"Yes, the Faerie of Spades will provide you with new clothing. If he doesn't, tell him that Seth ordered he give you new clothing. Oh, and tell him scarlet. He'll know what you're talking about," he instructed, and I nodded.
"Before you leave," Seth added, "dig in the sand right where you're standing and grab the necklace there. Take it to the Faerie of Spades. He'll know what to do then."
I did as he said, digging through the sand. I ignored the sting of the salty sand rubbing into the cuts on my hands from scrabbling to catch a rock or something on the bottom of the ocean. After I had dug deeply for a while, I found a necklace.
It was a pendant with a dark purple amethyst embedded into the center. The amethyst was encircled by gold, carvings in the gold of forests and leaves. The chain that would go around my neck was also made of gold. I tucked the necklace into the secret pocket that was now revealed and began the long trek to the Faerie of Spades, living on the tallest hill of silver sand in a mansion of white marble.
Chapter 11:
The Faerie of Spades
I looked back as I ran. Close behind, slobbering even more than usual, was Rabid Knight. His fangs were dripping with poison, and it dribbled down on to his dark blue waistcoat. Somehow, the poison didn't eat through the waistcoat, which was probably for the best, since the waistcoat was already tattered and stained red with Rabid Knight's victims' blood. He was alone, having left the bloodthirsty flowers in the mutilated garden to themselves in case they decided to eat him to help me escape.
Seth had told me that the only reason the flowers betrayed me was to keep from either being poisoned by Rabid Knight or cut down by the Queen of Spades' card soldiers. They were all in support of what I was here to do, of the Rebels against the Queen of Spades for whom I appeared to be the leader - other than Seth of course. That was why they didn't eat me; they saw my gloves and thought that I might be the descendant of Alice Liddell, the one who scarred Wonderland and allowed the Queen of Spades to win the war and assassinate the rulers of the Kingdom of Diamonds and the Kingdom of Clubs.
Up ahead was the Faerie of Spades' lair, and I only needed to keep outrunning Rabid Knight for a bit longer - about 3 minutes longer. I took in a deep breath and pushed my aching muscles to go faster. I zoomed ahead and left Rabid Knight in my dust as I continued to run. It was as if magic had given me the strength to go faster, even going so far as to diminish the ache in my muscles to next to nothing.
A rather large butterfly somehow opened the door to the large mansion up ahead, and I crashed into it. Before the butterfly could recover, I scrambled to my feet and shut the door. "Is there any way to barricade it shut, or to lock it?" I asked, twisting my hands nervously as I basically fluttered around the door.
"There's no need," a familiar voice said, and I whirled around, gasping at who stood there. "Those doors are enchanted; they keep out any unwanted visitors, and since they were chasing you, they're unwanted."
“B-Blayke?" I stammered, and the blonde boy from the coffee shop bowed, tipping his top-hat to me.
"Hello, Bryony," he said, rising from his bow. "It's nice to see you made it."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Taking a sip of the coffee that Blayke had made me, I looked up at the dark-eyed boy with shaggy blonde hair. "How are you here?" I asked, and he smiled at me.
"This is my home," Blayke said, gesturing to the glistening marble house around us. "This is my native land. I am from Wonderland and am one of its native species. I, my dear Bryony, am the Faerie of Spades."
"Does that mean you're going to try to attack me?" I asked cautiously, looking down at the cup of coffee that tasted of honey and thick, sweet cream. "Or poison me?"
"Why would I do that?" Blayke asked, and I looked up to see him scowling furiously.
"Because Spades is in your name, and the Kingdom of Spades is trying to kill me," I explained, and Blayke grabbed my hand.
"I would never harm you, dear Bryony," he sincerely promised, his eyes enchanting me once more. "You are the sole bearer of the hopes and dreams of Wonderland, and the only one who has interested me. I could never harm you.
"Spades is in my title because I was originally from the Kingdom of Spades, but once M- er, the Queen of Spades decided to wage war against the rest of Wonderland, I left. I have no loyalty to the Kingdom of Spades, and, in fact, I am one of their most despised enemies for the things I have done against them. The Queen of Spades hates me, and she wishes me dead. That's why I almost never leave this house. I only leave this house for very important things." At that, he sent a wink my way, and I blushed.
"You remind me of someone I know," I said, and Blayke gave me a knowing look.
"Does this someone have a Cockney accent and calls you 'luv' and is named Seth?" he asked, smirking at me.
I didn't reply, but I was sure my expression gave it away.
"Oh, darling Bryony, if Seth has already begun to talk to you, the plans have been accelerated," Blayke said, sighing sadly, melodramatically. "I suppose that you need to go to where those who were at the tea party are being held. Your key -" he pointed at the key around my neck "- will open the lock, but beware. There are many traps that could take your life or cause serious delusions. Be cautious when you're there."
I nodded, and he smiled at me.
"However, if you wouldn't mind, I would like you to stay here just a bit longer, if nothing more than to assuage my worries by proving yourself able to take care of yourself," he said. "You could stay in my bedroom and I'll stay in the guest bedroom."
I nodded again. "All right; I wouldn't mind at all. I am rather wary of going to the Dark Mountains," I said, biting my cheek and chewing on it.
"Don't be," Blayke said, shaking his head. "There's nothing to be frightened of. I'm sure you're going to do great things, and draining the ocean was just one of those things." He stood, offering me his hand. "Now, do you want to get dressed in a clean, not soaked dress?"
I nodded. "I'd appreciate it. I am rather tired of being wet. Oh, and Seth told me to tell you 'scarlet'. I have no clue what that means, but that's what he said."
"Come, my Faerie apprentices will help you get dressed," Blayke said as he nodded, gesturing to the shy, little faeries that were poking their heads around the corner leading into the next room.
I nodded and stuffed my hands into my pockets. When I chanced upon a smooth surface with carvings written into it, I realized what it was and drew it from the pocket. I offered it to Blayke.
He accepted it gratefully. "Why, thank you, darling Bryony," he said, bowing to me. "I did rather need this. You see, the house is not well protected without my lead Faerie wearing this. It's enchanted to protect the house when the right one is wearing it. The Court of Spades somehow managed to find their way into the mansion and stole it, burying it in the sand underneath the ocean. I couldn't go to retrieve it, because I have to protect the mansio
n."
I sighed. "Oh, well. I rather took a liking to it," I said, giving him a reluctant smile.
"I do have another piece of jewelry that looks nothing like it but suits you much better," Blayke offered, and I smiled at him. "I'll have the faeries add it to your outfit eventually if I don't decide to give it to you myself. Now, go, Bryony."
I nodded and let the Faeries now tugging at the scraps of the ruined dress lead me down the hallway and into another bedroom. This bedroom had a bed sitting in the middle of a mock ocean, dark and beautiful. The bed was on an island with real sand, and it was a canopy bed with a tree-design kind of frame. The canopy curtains were a bright red with golden tassels and trimming. The mattress was covered with a gold comforter that pulled back to reveal cream colored sheets. The pillows were all bright red with golden trimming to match the curtains. There was a black trunk with a gold lock and gold lettering all over it at the foot of the bed. Gold seemed to be the theme in this room.
"This is Master's bedroom," one of the Faeries fluttering by my head, dressed all in silver and gold, said. "He is gracious in letting you stay here. He never lets guests stay in his bedroom. You must be something special."
"She's the descendant of Alice here to set Wonderland right, North-Star!" another Faerie, this one dressed all in rose petals, exclaimed in a soft, soothing voice. "Or did you forget that Master told us that she was coming to set things right?"
North-Star turned to face the Faerie that had basically summed me up and scowled at her. "Hush up, Meadow!" she said harshly, and I scowled at her myself. "She doesn't look like anything special, all dressed in rags and reeking of tears. I don't see how she'll be the one to save all of Wonderland. She doesn't look like anything special."
"Shut up!" I snapped, surprising myself as much as I surprised the other Faeries. "Dressed all in silver and gold, you have no room to talk. Didn't you know? Silver and gold are colors only for royalty, and from what I can gather, you're the Head Faerie, correct?"
