by A. G. Stone
In all of my curiosity, I did as he said; I laid my head on his lap and he began to comb his fingers through the silvery strands.
"I'm first going to start with the Faeries, since you already know about them. As you know, Faeries often live in the forests. We're mainly forest dwellers; we prefer a small house high up in the trees of a forest over anything else. But Faeries have evolved to live underwater, to live in the clouds, to live amongst honey bees. We can live basically anywhere. But the rule is that we have to have a piece of the forest with us." Blayke showed me the carving of a tree in amber that he said he had collected from the forest. "That's the only requirement as to what we do. Faeries are very much free spirits; we do as we please, which is why the royals hate us so much. We don't bend to another's will unless we respect them. That's why the Queen of Hearts has many Faerie servants, and the Queen of Spades has none.
"Next are the demonlings. Demonlings are creatures with demonic origins. Creatures like the Cheshire Cat or Rabid Knight are good examples of demonlings. The Cheshire Cat can disappear and reappear wherever and whenever he wants, because he's related to a ghost demon. As for Rabid Knight, we, the Resistance, don't know much about him. From what we can tell, he isn't actually a demonlings except in behavior and appearance; he doesn't have the family to label him as a demonling. The Resistance's theory is that Rabid Knight was cursed by one of the royals with the appearance you saw. Somehow, he angered one of them and that was the price. So he serves the Queen of Spades to get revenge on the royal who cursed him and took away his family. Personally, I think it was the Queen of Spades, but no one seems to agree with me. There are many arguments as to which royal it was, but we haven't concluded anything. All we know is that Rabid Knight isn't an actual demonling; he just looks and acts like one.
"Next we have the Darklings. The Darklings are a mysterious species. We don't know much about them except their appearance is mostly humanoid with a twist. Some of them have tails, some have claws, others have fangs, etc. All we know is that Darklings can pose as humans without much difficulty at all. From what we know, the history of the Darklings is a long and dangerous one. They evolved from Native Americans from your world who stumbled into our world in an attempt to escape the gruesome fate that they were sure to have to suffer. The Native Americans kept to themselves, only breeding within their own kind, for, as they said, they didn't want to sully their Native American tribe, the Arapahoe, with other species in Wonderland. They wanted to remain human, but Wonderland magic has a funny way of taking species' intentions. It allowed them to remain mostly human with animal twists to identify themselves. Some of the Darklings you've heard of include the Carpenter from the story that you have in your bag. Another one is the 'Mad Hatter' as the book calls him. He prefers the title 'the Madman of Diamonds'.
"Finally, we have the Drow. I know the Drow are what you are most interested in, Bryony, so be sure to pay attention. I'm not telling you this twice, and you can't tell anyone I told you this. I'd be skinned alive if they knew."
I nodded. "I'm listening, very carefully. I don't want to miss a single word of your explanation. Meadow didn't tell me much, only that all of the royals are Drow," I explained, and Blayke smiled down at me fondly.
“So the Drow are also known as Dark Elves. They are related to Faeries loosely, so the two can interbreed and create a half-breed that can also have children. You can tell when a half-breed has occurred, because the child will have green or dark blue eyes or dark brown. Basically, if a Drow child has any color that's dark, not light, for eye-color, they're a half-breed.
"A characteristic of the Drow that's very easy to recognize is their hair; they either have very dark hair like dark purples and black, or very light hair like silver or light purple. Another characteristic of the Drow is their ears. Their ears are often pointed, either with small ears or very long ones. Faeries also have pointed ears, though, so it can be easy to mistake a Faerie for one of the Drow. An invisible characteristic of the Drow is their magical abilities. The Drow are very talented with magic; they can do just about anything.
"The Drow are all Royals, because only their DNA is able to wield the strong magic power the crowns possess. The Drow evolved until they were able to use the magic in the crowns to propel their magic to even further heights. One of the most powerful and accomplished Drow that ever lived was Valeria of the Court of Diamonds. She was crowned as Queen at a young age and was the first to discover that Drow could manipulate the magic inside of the crowns. She's incredible. I knew her once; we fell in love, but she became prideful and too ambitious and absorbed too much power from the crown. In the end, her body combusted because she wasn't able to hold that much power. No Drow has tried to absorb that much power since her. I assume it's because they all underestimated their abilities. Valeria was able to control all of her magic with ease, but she didn't have much magic storing capacities. She had very little magic on her own and relied on the crown to make her powerful. It's almost pitiful, don't you think?"
But I was too deep in my own thoughts to reply. Mostly, I had this burning sense of envy deep in my chest. Blayke had fallen in love before, and it wasn't with me. For some reason, I had very strong feelings for him. I wouldn't call them love, because I didn't know him so well as to be in love with him, but it was an intense like, bordering on love. For all I knew, Blayke was still in love with Valeria and would never look my way twice.
I opened my mouth to question him, but he leaned down and captured my lips with his. After a few moments of kissing me deeply, he pulled away, and I licked my lips just to taste him on myself.
"No, I don't have feelings for Valeria anymore. Those feelings died when I saw that she was lying about herself. I can't stand liars," Blayke explained, smiling warmly at me, so fond of me that it made my heart weep. "I much prefer a girl who's brave enough to stand up for many different species that she knew nothing about."
Then he leaned down and locked his lips with mine once more.
Chapter 21:
Vision
In my dream, I was Alice, and I wandered through the Tugley Woods, the trees ready to eat me. I was holding the trees back with a sword - the Vorpal Sword that could cut through anything; apparently, I was destined to stop the Jabberwocky and slay it with the Vorpal Sword. The trees obeyed the pull and push of the Vorpal Sword and cleared a path for me.
My feet crunched the twigs and leaves underfoot, and I looked around, examining the Tugley Wood. Some of the trees smiled at me, and others gave me a glare that could curdle milk. All of the trees were just a bit different - not only in personality but in appearance, too. Some had milky white flowers, others had no flowers at all, and some didn't even have leaves on their dark branches.
There was suddenly the sound of marching, and my eyes widened; I knew it was the card soldiers marching with Rabid Knight to come and get me. I grabbed the skirt of my dress and rushed over to a tree that I somehow knew was friendly. "Dear tree," I said, and the tree nodded slightly. "If you would, please slow those chasing me down. I must join the Faerie of Spades, the Mad Man of Diamonds, and the Dark Prince of Hearts. Only they will be able to lead me to the Jabberwocky's lair."
"I will do as you ask, Alice," the tree said, and I thanked it before running off.
My ankles were covered in gold and silver anklets that jangled with every bouncing step I took, and my lacy, blue pinafore dress with a white apron covering it swished about my legs, sometimes appearing as though it was enchanted, trying to grab my legs and trip me. But I always shook myself free and continued to run. I had no choice. If I wanted to continue living, I had to escape the Queen of Spades' grip of steel over all of Wonderland; almost all of the creatures in Wonderland had bowed to her will and had turned against me, the Rebels' champion of choice.
But something in me told me I wasn't the right champion. She was to come from blood rich in Nobility and Power. She was to be related to the Royal Court of one of the Suits. She was to be Drow nobility. I was not h
er, but I could do my best to help Wonderland while the real Chosen One grew up and became the Chosen One.
The thought of the Chosen One kept me running. I had to run, I had to escape to get the Vorpal Sword to the Rebels before the Queen of Spades' card soldiers caught up to me; if I didn't, I was sure to die.
I did not dare look back for fear I would see the fearsome Rabid Knight, in all of his mangled glory. He was awful, with a few patches of fur over red, irritated skin peeling away, and red eyes that flashed without mercy, without a soul inside the husk of a body that was Rabid Knight. It was as if he was a corpse that the Queen of Spades had animated to do her bidding; Rabid Knight could not do what the Queen of Spades said not to.
I kept running and running and running.
But it was in vain, for the card soldiers had looped around and now stood in front of me. I threw the Vorpal Sword at one of the Tugley Wood trees, and it caught it, hiding it within its heart. I memorized the tree, the grooves in the wood, the oddly shaped leaves, and bowed my head, waiting for death.
The Queen of Spades walked up and slapped me across the cheek. "Stupid girl!" she hissed in my face. "Did you really think that you could escape with my precious sword? Where is it, you stupid brat!?"
I smirked at the Queen, giving her a confident look. "Somewhere where you would never dare to look, somewhere you would never even think about looking. I can guarantee until my successor comes here, no one will retrieve the Vorpal Sword. It will stay as it is, right where it is, because you are too much of a coward to retrieve it."
The Queen of Spades slapped me across the cheek once again. "Tell me where it is!" she shouted in my face, and I spat at her.
"It's in the heart of a Tugley Wood tree!" I exclaimed triumphantly, and glared daggers at the Queen of Spades.
The Queen of Spades' face paled, and she gritted her teeth. "OFF WITH HER HEAD!!!!" she screamed, and I chuckled.
"I win," I said, and then I no longer had a head.
I woke up screaming.
Chapter 22:
Heart
Blayke basically sprinted into my room and was by my side within seconds of my awakening. He brushed my silvering hair from out of my eyes and off of my sweaty forehead and smiled gently down at me. "Nightmare?" he asked, and I nodded. "Why don't you tell me what happened in your nightmare?"
So I dragged him so that he was next to me in my bed and was lying down beside me. I laid my head on his chest and took a deep breath. And then I began to tell him the story of my dream.
"I was Alice, my ancestor, Alice Liddell. I was wandering through the Tugley Wood with the Vorpal Sword in hand, trying to find you, the Mad Man of Diamonds, and the Dark Prince of Hearts. I was going to bring the Vorpal Sword to you because I somehow knew that I wasn't the Chosen One, I wasn't the one to save Wonderland. I was going to bring the Vorpal Sword to you and the Mad Man of Diamonds and the Dark Prince of Hearts so that you could guard it until the real Chosen One came. But then the Procession of Spades came along into the Tugley Wood after me. I began to run after pleading with one of the trees to slow the Procession down, but it didn't work. The Procession of Spades caught up with me and in a last ditch effort to keep the Vorpal Sword out of the Queen of Spades' hands, I threw the Vorpal Sword at one of the friendly trees and memorized it. It grabbed the Vorpal Sword in its 'hands' and swallowed the Vorpal Sword into its heart. The Queen of Spades came up into my face, slapped me, and demanded to know where the Vorpal Sword was. I told her it was where she would never dare look because she was a coward and spat in her face, and she slapped me again. She demanded once more to know where the Vorpal Sword was, and I told her that it was in the heart of a Tugley Wood tree. She paled and decided that I would be beheaded. I was then beheaded, and I woke up as me again," I explained, and Blayke paled.
I examined his face suspiciously and bit the inside of my cheek and gnawed on it. "Is that true?" I asked, blinking innocently to dissuade him from thinking that I suspected anything. "Is that really what happened?"
"No," Blayke said, shaking his head, but his expression told me otherwise. "Alice did hide the Vorpal Sword, but she wasn't beheaded, obviously - otherwise you wouldn't be here."
But I had my suspicions. However, I really didn't want to be right; I didn't want the truth to be what I thought it was. That would terrify me. I didn't want to be right, so I believed Blayke. I swallowed down my feelings of suspicion and believed him instead.
"Then why did I have that dream?" I asked, and Blayke shrugged.
"Overstressed nerves?" he guessed, and I kissed him on the cheek.
"Stay with me so I don't have nightmares?" I asked, and Blayke nodded, smiling at me.
"Absolutely," he said, and I snuggled into his chest, falling asleep upon smelling his unique scent.
Chapter 23:
Falling AGAIN
Blayke gently brushed his lips against my cheek to wake me up, and I giggled, grabbing his shirt in my fists tightly. He sighed and disentangled himself from me. I sat up as he climbed off of the bed and pouted at him. He looked back at me.
"What?" he asked, sighing.
"What if I have nightmares while you're gone?" I asked, pouting at him, and he smirked.
"You just can't go a minute without me, can you?" Blayke asked, and I blushed furiously. He chuckled and his smirk widened. "I'll take that as a yes. Well, I guess I can't refuse my lady." And he climbed back into bed with me, and I snuggled up against him, breathing in his scent deeply.
"Ana bahbek," Blayke murmured, and I blinked.
"What does that mean?" I asked, and he chuckled.
"You'll figure it out eventually," he teased, and I scowled at him after I had raised my head up off of his chest.
"Brat," I mumbled, laying my head back on his chest.
"Demented hamster," Blayke replied, and I snorted at that one.
"Where'd you come up with that?" I asked, and he shrugged.
"I think that should be your nickname now," Blayke said, and I scowled.
"Pillow biter," I exclaimed, and Blayke chuckled.
"Kitten breath," he shot back.
"Window licker."
"Snot monkey."
"Plum."
"Does your social worker know you're out?"
"Blithering idiot."
"Argyle."
"Muppet."
"Why don't you go play in traffic?"
"You're proof that evolution can reverse."
"If you're going to be two-faced, at least make one of them pretty."
"You must have been born on the highway, because that's where most of the accidents happen."
"If laughter is the best medicine in the world, your face must be curing the world."
"The last time I saw a face like yours, I fed it a banana."
"Shut up; you'll never be the man your mother is."
"Roses are red, violets are blue. God made me pretty; what happened to you?"
"It looks like your face was on fire and someone tried to put it out with a hammer."
"What are you doing here? Did someone leave your cage open?"
"I would slap you, but I don't abuse animals!"
"You're proof that God has a sense of humor!"
"You're as useless as a knitted condom!"
"I don't exactly hate you, but if you were on fire and I had a glass of water, I'd drink it!"
"I'm jealous of all the people who haven't met you!"
"Your birth certificate is an apology from the condom factory!"
"It's better to let someone think you're an idiot than to open your mouth and prove them right!"
"If I had a face like yours, I'd sue my parents!"
"You are so ugly that when you looked in the mirror, your reflection shook its head and walked away."
"I don't think you're stupid; it's just that when you're thinking, you don't have the best luck."
"Calling you an idiot would be an insult to all stupid people."
"I'd insult you, but it'd
be so over your head you wouldn't get it - even with a step ladder!"
"You have the perfect face for radio!"
"You're so ugly, the doctor who helped give birth to you threw you out of the window and the window threw you back!"
"When you were born, the doctor said, 'What a treasure,' and your mom said, 'Yeah, let's bury it'!"
"I don't know what your problem is, but I bet it's hard to pronounce!"
"You have the right to remain silent, because whatever you say will probably be stupid anyway!"
"I wasn't born with enough middle fingers to show you how I feel about you!"
"You're as sharp as a bowling ball!"
"We all sprang from apes, but you didn't spring far enough!"
"You look like a 'Before' picture!"
"What would you call a girl who dates you? Desperate!!!"
"I'm already visualizing the duct-tape across your mouth."
"We can always tell when you're lying, because your lips will be moving!"
"You're so fake Barbie is jealous!"
"You've got two brain cells: one is in a wheelchair and the other one is pushing!!!"
Blayke snorted. "That's a pretty good one," he said, and I smirked.
"Yours were pretty good, too," I admitted, and it was his turn to smirk.
"Thanks, little Demented Hamster," he taunted, and I punched his chest before climbing out of bed.
He cried out in pain as I stalked out of the room.
"Whiner," I mumbled, and he chuckled, appearing behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.
"You know it, babe," Blayke said, and I blushed, shrinking down.
"Shut up!" I said, glaring at him as I turned in his arms to face him.
"Not a chance," he said, leaning down and pecking my nose.
Chapter 24:
The Glade of the Faeries
"Get ready to go, Strawberry," Blayke instructed me, and I blushed at his fond nickname for me that he was using again now that we were getting along again.
