by R. L. Weeks
With James trapped in the chest, Snow, became crazed. Imprisoning Peter meant that she had become the land’s queen of hearts. Neverland warped into Wonderland, a place of nightmares, and reflected Snow’s madness, and everyone in it became trapped too.
Fearing Stilt’s power, she turned him into a caterpillar who could not use his powers, and then turned Wendy into a dormouse, hoping she could use her against the piper in case of attack. He’d disappeared to the only island where Snow’s power couldn’t touch along with Galissa, Red, and Rapunzel. Galissa became known as the white queen and built a palace on the island, giving shelter to those who came to the island in seek of refuge.
Lost Boy Croon descended into madness along with the queen, and because of his love of tea and fashion, he became known as the Mad Hatter.
The other inhabitants of the land became guards, subjects, or fled before Snow put a stop to people going to the island. She persuaded the merpeople to her side with a promise of magical protection, and in exchange, they were to drown and kill anyone who tried to cross the ocean.
Since then, Wonderland had remained a place of madness and nightmares to anyone who ventured through the mirror, and the queen of hearts became crueller with each passing day.
Deep in the forest, where those take their final breath,
Is one who is quite horrid, as the skinners skin the dead.
Sherwood Forest was once an enchanting place. Now, it was dark, foggy, and empty of all animals. It had been taken over by the doctor and his daughter, Clarissa.
When Clarissa was young, she was beautiful, but as she grew older, her obsession with beauty grew. Obsessed with having a better nose, she chopped at it, trying to distort it in any way she could. She saw a woman with beautiful blue eyes and tried to inject blue ink into her own brown eyes. She had been saved from blindness by her father's skills, but it made the brown look duller, and her eyes now had a glazed, distant look to them. Then she saw a woman with the most luscious lips. Clarissa then tried to stretch her own lips, but instead, they tore and went out of shape. The uglier she got, the more she tried to fix her mistakes. Continuously chopping at body parts, she ended up killing the woman she had envied who had the beautiful blue eyes and took them, placing them into a jar of special liquid.
The stress of trying to become beautiful turned her hair grey, and she barely ate, giving her a skeletal appearance.
After her mother had died, her father gave all of his attention to Clarissa, devastated at what she had become. As a wealthy doctor, men should have been lining up at their door with marriage proposals for his daughter, but no man came.
The other women in the village mocked her for her appearance and threw stones at her. They laughed and laughed, and at night, Clarissa would cry until she eventually slept.
Late one night in the depths of the forest, she came across a man named Vanity. He said he was a demon and wanted to rid himself of his suffering.
He said he would give his soul to the forest, giving Clarissa the power to get revenge on all the beautiful people who had mocked her. In exchange, she must simply make sure that any beautiful woman or man who ventured into the forest died so that he could have their souls for his own. He gave her the gift of immortality, and a potion that would give one other that gift too.
When she went home that evening, she spiked her father’s wine with the potion, and he too became immortal. For years after, she killed those who wandered in the forest but grew tired as too many went there. Her father hired men to do the job for them and bring them body parts.
He promised Clarissa that they would find a way to build someone made from parts of the most beautiful people. However, no matter how many parts he had, he could never make it come alive.
Clarissa never told her father the truth; that she wanted to take the body parts and put them on her. So he could rebuild her. She knew he would never agree, so she kept quiet, waiting for her opportunity.
Years passed, and the doctor slipped further into madness with each death, each failed body, and grew sick at the sight of Clarissa. She had turned him into a monster.
He used to look at her with love and compassion. She was his only daughter, and he saw past the ugliness. He always called her his little duckling. Sweet, innocent, and beautiful in his eyes.
Now, she was not that. Now, she was as ugly on the inside as she was on the outside.
She was nothing but his ugly duckling. She had turned into Vanity and was eviler than anyone else in Sherwood Forest.
♥♥♥
Robin Hood watched the trees narrow and darken his path. The screams of those whose skin were being peeled from their faces and hearts had just met the sharp end of a dagger grew louder. Robin covered his ears and looked up through the dark canopy of leaves. Tears trickled down his cheeks. His merry men were not very merry anymore. They had been turned into skinners by the doctor. The forest was filled with them. Men who searched for beautiful women and handsome men, killed them, and took their best body parts, delivering them to the mad doctor and his daughter.
Robin continued to run hand in hand with his wife. They climbed a tree as they heard more skinners jog through, looking for their next victim. It had happened in such a blur; one minute, he ruled the forest, hunting for food, living with his merry men and his one true love. Then, one night, the forest grew colder and darker, and he later found out that was when Clarissa had struck a deal with the demon, Vanity.
Robin had always stolen from the rich, including the doctor. Then, as if the trees themselves were enchanted, his merry men were entranced and became ruthless killers.
Robin looked around and sighed. The doctor wanted revenge on Robin, who had stolen from him many times. Robin looked at his wife, Marian, and sighed. ‘You all right, love?’
She shook her head and rubbed her swollen stomach. ‘I can’t keep running. The baby’s kicking, and my back hurts.’
He squeezed her hand. ‘We need to get out of here.’ He looked down through the branches. ‘Wait here. I’ll go down and check the path to make sure it’s clear. We can get out through the west side of the forest.’
She leaned in and brushed her lips against his. ‘Be safe, my love.’
‘Always.’ He jumped down and ran down the path, looking into the dense forest on either side of the path to see if anyone was watching him. He ran up the path further and turned off to the west. He saw the path run downhill and end by a gate. The coast was clear.
A woman’s scream protruded through the forest. ‘Marian!’ He turned and ran back. His heart raced and sweat trickled down his face. He reached the tree where he had left her but no one was there.
‘Robin!’ Marian screamed. He ran toward her screams and saw three of his merry men, who were entranced, surrounding his wife’s body. One was holding a knife, and they were all covered with blood. They turned on Robin and growled.
Robin pushed forward and hit one of them, grabbed the knife, and twisted it in his hand and pushed it into the man’s throat. Robin looked at his old friend as he fell to the ground with gurgled screams. Tears brimmed in his eyes. ‘Please,’ he spluttered. ‘I don’t want to kill any of you. You’re not yourselves!’
They didn’t care, and as if they were in a trance, they lunged at Robin. He pulled the knife out of the man’s throat and stabbed both of them, pushing them both to the ground, and then kneeled at Marian’s side. ‘Sweetheart,’ he said shakily. ‘Love? Answer me!’
Her throat was covered with blood and a large dagger stuck out from her stomach. ‘No!’ He screamed, making the crows in the distance fly off. He gagged as he checked the cut. ‘Please, don’t leave me …’
He cried into her dress before feeling rage bubble in him. ‘I swear,’ he said to her lifeless corpse, ‘I will make that ugly cow pay for what she has done!’
He looked back at the corpses of three of his men and pressed his lips together. ‘I will avenge all of you!’
He turned and ran down the winding path. He es
caped through the gate and kept going until he reached the nearest town and walked into an inn.
He had to find a way to rid the forest of Clarissa. She was immortal, which meant he needed to find a magical object. He needed a witch, and to get to the closest one, he would need coins.
He walked into an inn and leaned on the bar, his eyes still brimming with tears. ‘One ale, please,’ Robin said, deflated. He checked his pockets and frowned. He had only three bronze coins left. Begrudgingly, he handed one to the barmaid and slurped his ale.
The walls were shades of brown, which were illuminated by the golden glow from hanging oil lamps. Chattering filled the room, along with laughing, singing, and cursing from when the occasional fight would break out. Robin walked over to a table of several muscular, bald men who were playing with a pack of cards. ‘May I?’ he asked.
‘Got many coins, boy?’ one man spat.
Robin nodded. ‘Don’t need many coins; I always win.’
The men laughed heartily and moved over, making room for Robin. ‘Big headed, this one,’ one said. ‘We’ll see what you’re made of, shall we?’
Three hours later, eight ales, and forty coins richer, Robin set off for the next town. He travelled on the back of a cart and covered himself with a grey blanket, which irritated his skin. The ride was bumpy, and the early morning dew coated the rich green hills and trees.
The driver stopped, and Robin jumped off. ‘Cheers, friend.’ He tossed the man a coin for his trouble and headed straight for the witch’s house.
Robin would never have thought to visit a witch in his life, but things were different now. He knew magic was real, and he couldn’t fight it himself. Surely, the best way to fight magic was with more magic?
His heart steadied as he rapped on the witch’s door three times. The rickety door swung open, and Robin was pleasantly surprised. She had long, wavy ash blond hair that was as wild as her flaming green eyes. Her diamond-shaped face suited her petite nose and thin lips. ‘Come in,’ she said lightly and beckoned him into the living room.
The room looked the same as any other, apart from the coffee table, which was covered in crystals and cards. ‘I need your help.’
‘They always do.’ She laughed, cackled even, and sat on the floor in front of the table.
Robin sat across from her and looked down at the array of crystals, cards, pendants, and symbols. She smiled and shuffled a pack of cards, took a deep breath, and laid out three. Robin gazed into her emerald eyes and was entranced. She looked distant as if her body was here, but her soul on a whole new plane.
‘You require help to win back the Forest of Sherwood and kill the doctor’s daughter,’ she breathed.
Robin remained quiet, as it sounded more like a statement than a question, and let her continue.
‘You will need to travel far …’ She slowed her breathing and looked down at the cards. ‘The object you require to do so is a sword, the Sword of Souls.’
‘Where is it?’ he asked impatiently.
Her eyelids fluttered closed. ‘Wonderland.’
‘Where the hell is that?’
She pressed her lips together and opened her eyes. Her green orbs had turned into swirls of grey, dancing in her eyes. As if a film were reflecting into them, he saw a young woman in a blue dress, then a smiling cat, and then a queen dressed in red with a chest and a sword, and finally, a set of eyes peering out from the dark … She jolted, and her eyes turned back to normal. ‘Sirens will tell you where to go; go to them and find the young woman.’
‘What’s her name?’
She smiled as if she knew a secret that he didn’t. ‘Alice.’
Alice tucked Wendy’s letter into her pocket and looked out over the sea. The temperature dipped fiercely, and the wind stopped; nothing moved, not even the waves beneath the ship. Alice held on to the side. It was the calm before the storm. After leaving London, Alice had done enough sailing to learn about the tell-tale signs of a storm. Everyone waited with bated breath, looking out over the calm dark waters as they voyaged to America.
Then it started. A loud crack in the sky alerted them to danger, and a wave jolted the boat dangerously from side to side. Rain whipped down like nails, piercing through their jackets, hitting their faces, and throwing them to the deck with force. The rain shroud passed, replaced by a howling wind. Dancing around their ship, it waited to help its friend, the ocean, drag another victim into its murky depths.
Alice looked over the side of the boat, and her heart leapt. The waves were stronger and taller than any she had seen; everything was pitch black. Rocks grew dangerously close, glistening by the moonlight. The ship took a sharp turn, panicking Alice.
‘Captain?’ she screamed. ‘What are you doing? There are rocks; we will crash.’
None of the men listened; they seemed transfixed on the rocks and were sailing right to them. The crew were taken by a sound she couldn’t hear. A beautiful melody purred into their soul, engulfing their entire beings.
Suddenly, a plaintive scream lunged through Alice as a man jumped overboard, hitting the rocks below that ground against the side of the ship. ‘What’s happening?’ she asked the sky as if it could answer. Suddenly, the dark depths of the water were terrifying to her. She had always loved the ocean, but now, it finally hit her how dangerous and lonely the ocean was. No one would find her body, she’d never find Wendy, and she would be just another lost soul.
Three sets of eyes came into view below the ship. Beautiful woman with flowing hair and piercing eyes. Their faces were so perfect that it was as if angels had carved them. They looked up at her doe-eyed, and the word came to her with a frightening shudder.
Sirens.
Panicking, she looked at the rocks behind them. Being a woman, the song had no effect on her, and they knew it. Now snarling, they swam out into the water. Alice noticed that they had tails like fish that shimmered blue, even in the darkness. Skulls littered the rocks along with stringed remains of the last sailors killed by the sirens.
The sirens beckoned the sailors to join them in the ocean, and the more the ocean roared, the more fear it instilled into Alice.
One of the crew, Robin, a handsome man in his late twenties who would play cards with Alice and always had a witty comment for the crew, leaned over the side of the ship as one of the sirens climbed the side of the ship. Her tail disappeared into the ocean like liquid satin and turned to legs. The grey moonlight illuminated her naked body, and she entranced Robin. His jade green eyes widened as the siren looked into his soul hungrily and the spark of life that filled his eyes faded as he took her soft hands. He asked her something that Alice couldn’t make out, and she whispered something in his hear. Slowly, she pulled him over the side, and willingly, he went.
‘No!’ Alice ran and grabbed Robin just before he fell over the side. The siren reached out for her, and with mighty force, Alice kicked that pretty face back into the crashing waves. Robin cried out for the siren, and Alice screamed with frustration. All the sailors were looking over the side of the ship, and the other two sirens were readying to climb the side of the ship, and the third would surely come for Alice.
Running into the cabin, she grabbed a violin, the only thing she knew how to play well. Placing it under her chin, she strung out a beautiful melody she’d learned from home as she watched one of the sirens drag another of the crew overboard and suck out his eyeballs.
As her tune carried in the night, the sirens backed away, and the crew came around; the captain steered the ship, which somehow made it away from the rocks.
The ship damaged, Alice worried that it would take just one mountainous wave to plunge them into the deep. Thankfully, the sea calmed, and Alice continued to play, even after they were safe, just to steady her fear. ‘Thank you,’ Robin breathed, tears filling his eyes. ‘I was almost fish food. They did, however, say that I am close to my destination.’
‘Where’s that?’
He half smiled. ‘I’m sure you’ll find out soon e
nough.’
Alice smiled warmly and put down the violin. She liked Robin; he was so boyish and sweet and always made her laugh. ‘I’m just glad I read that book on mythological creatures. Well, not so mythological, it seems,’ she said.
He arched an eyebrow. ‘Indeed.’ He looked over at the captain, who was still sweating profusely. ‘Look,’ Robin said, ‘I’ll level with you. None of the men here would like to admit that a woman saved them …’ He paused. ‘Sucks, but that’s just how it is. However, the captain asked me to give you this.’ He handed her a pouch full of money. ‘I assure you that inside, they are all deeply grateful.’
Alice nodded. ‘Thank you. I know they are. I won’t make a big deal out of this. I have much bigger things to worry about.’
A spark of wonder flashed in his eyes. ‘Oh Alice, I’m sure you do. You’re certainly one of a kind. Once you have finished your … plans, you should come with me to my forest. It’s enchanting. and I have a business, of sorts, that could use someone like you to help manage.’
‘That’s very kind.’ She blushed, but thankfully, the darkness hid it well. ‘I will keep it in mind.’ She looked at her watch and smiled. ‘We should be arriving within the hour. I must get things ready.’
They disembarked at a harbour in America. After reading Wendy’s letter, Alice knew the best place to come was to America. She had looked for answers everywhere else, and every clue led her to a small shop in New Orleans where a haggard enchantress lived.
The captivating music of New Orleans welcomed them. She bid goodbye to the sailors she had travelled with and began her seemingly endless journey into the unknown.
The smell of jasmine and sweet perfume lingered in the air. The place was rich with culture, and Alice couldn’t help but smile. She let down her hair, which had dried fluffy and wavy, and felt the sun beat down on her aching back. Her trousers and jacket felt crunched as she walked into the old shop, A Never-Ending Spell, and sat down. There were no passing looks from anyone for her attire, and she felt, for once, not judged.
