by R. L. Weeks
‘We have a message from Kumar,’ they said, panting. ‘The prophesised one has come to Wonderland, and we are planning to fight. You must gather the other rebels you know to fight.’
‘You must also send word to the white queen about the impending fight,’ the other man interjected.
‘I will,’ Wendy said with a grin. ‘That’s great news. Leave it to us.’
Wendy scurried back into the house and into the garden where the hatter was sat at the table. She jumped up onto a napkin and raised her tiny sword. ‘Hatter, now is the time. Gather the other rebels, for we now have a chance to take down the red queen once and for all. Message came from Kumar. We are to fight, and we need to tell the white queen.’
The hatter laughed maddeningly. ‘Yes, yes.’ He turned to Stilt. ‘You know how to pass messages, and I hear you’re good at espionage, yes?’
Stilt sighed. ‘Yes, I suppose I am. I will send a message to the palace of the white queen.’
‘Brilliant,’ Wendy squeaked. ‘I will gather rebels from the town; those who I know want the white queen on the throne.’
‘Only those who we know for certain are not loyal to the queen,’ the hatter warned.
Stilt coughed on smoke. ‘That won’t be hard. Everyone hates her, and the only ones she has are her playing card army. Even most of her own court hate her.’
Wendy turned to Stilt. ‘Can you find a way to sneak messages to Alice? We must know of their progress. There was talk of the Sword of Souls—I mean I have heard of it, of course, but I didn’t know it was still here. It can kill immortals, which means we can use it on the queen herself.’
Stilt shook his head. ‘It is the queen’s sword and answers only to her; the only way we could use it is to open the chest of souls that she has collected with it.’
Croon gulped. ‘She put Peter in there,’ he said, happy that he could once again say the name. The queen had banned it after he had accidentally let the name slip. She had put the hatter into a time loop, and the only way to break it was to say Peter’s name. However, she had spelled the whole of Wonderland so no one would say the name, except for newcomers, like Alice. ‘She also put the others from Neverland in there; would they not wreak havoc once released?’
Wendy shrugged. ‘Who cares? They were put into the chest once, so they can be put in again.’ Her expression darkened. ‘I will not have Peter freed. We must open it and use the sword on the queen and then Peter. I do not care for the others going free.’
‘Her true love is in that chest,’ Stilt said. ‘James, he would avenge her.’
‘Then,’ Wendy said, ‘we must make sure he is put back in there with them. Now, send word to the white queen.’
Stilt nodded and crawled off back to his little home in the forest.
♥♥♥
A dove flew down to the ice palace, stopping on a glistening silver balcony by the queen’s window. It tapped on the glass with its beak three times, and Gallisa opened the door. ‘Sweet bird, what is it?’ She looked down at its leg and saw a little scroll attached to it. She took the note, gave the dove some seeds, and swept down the stairs to her court while reading it.
Dearest Gallisa,
I write to you with the utmost of importance. New happenings are happening in Wonderland. A woman named Alice came through the looking glass with a man called Robin. They broke the time loop for the hatter, and I believe them to be the prophesised ones. They have gone to the castle to befriend the queen under the disguise of poor subjects to trick her and steal the Sword of Souls.
As you were the one who gifted the sword originally to Snow, I must ask you directly if opening the chest would allow someone else to use the sword, perhaps on the red queen herself. She grows eviler with each day, madder than the hatter, and shows no mercy, not even to children. Wonderland is trapped in a nightmare, and I believe that with you on the throne, peace could be restored to this land.
Wonderland was once Santeria, as you well know, and with the queen dead, it would, I believe, return to its original state.
I urge you to gather your army; we may need you to move in soon.
Your humble servant,
Stilt.
Gallisa tucked the letter away and looked out over the glistening court. Everyone was happy—drinking champagne, laughing—and the children ran freely in the gardens. This was the place where people ran to when the red queen reigned terror; as it was a place where the red queen’s terror could not reach. However, as Gallisa looked over their smiling faces, she couldn’t help but feel guilty for those who could not make it to the palace on time and were stuck in Wonderland.
‘Gallisa,’ Red breathed. She wore a long red cloak covering a white silk gown that reached down to her feet. Her long dark waves tumbled down her back, and her violet eyes looked at Gallisa quizzically. ‘Is something wrong?’
Gallisa gulped and handed Red the letter.
Red read over it twice and then a smile spread across her face. ‘This is great! They’re finally ready to fight. Shall I assemble the forces?’
Gallisa had made Red the chief officer in charge of her soldiers, but the exercise had simply been to defend, never to attack. ‘It doesn’t feel right,’ Gallisa said; her voice, as always, was light and filled with grace. ‘She was our friend.’
‘She has turned into a monster! Friend or foe, we must fight for the innocent,’ Red persisted. ‘It’s the right thing to do.’
The music began, and everyone formed a line in the ballroom to start the dance. Galissa took the letter and placed it back in her pocket. ‘We must forget this now. The ball is tonight.’
Red begrudgingly agreed but wouldn’t give up. Gallisa was kind, but perhaps too kind, and as much as it hurt Red, she knew the red queen had to die.
For now, Red would get ready for the party.
♥♥♥
Subjects from the island poured in. It was the night of the royal ball, the anniversary of Wonderland’s beginning.
Large windows marched alongside the ballroom with tiny cuts of diamonds embedded in the glass. The entire room looked like it had been cut out of white gold. The chandelier was the most beautiful thing in the room; in fact, it was the grandest thing in the entire palace .. Thousands of diamonds dropped from the arms, and it looked like an ice cave, a most glorious one. Tables lined the sides of the room covered with the most delectable treats, baked by the queen’s cooks, who stood at the back of the room with their hands behind their backs, looking proud as everyone commented on the delicious tarts, cakes, and canapes.
Red clapped eyes onto Rapunzel, who was standing next to the queen, introducing various men and women to her.
Gallisa wore a bright blue dress. The bottom of the dress was patterned with black velvet black clubs from a pack of cards. Her skirt swirled around her as she walked. Gallisa’s eyes were a pale blue—so pale that most mistook them to be grey. Flecks of white danced in her eyes like snow drops. Her ears were pointed at the top, and her lips were thinner than she had ever seen on a woman, yet she had a most elegant and wide smile. On top of her long white hair was a delicate tiara and ten tiny silver roses.
‘Rapunzel,’ Red said, beaming. They kissed each other softly then turned to Gallisa. ‘It is a lovely ball,’ Red said. ‘Do you mind if we take a stroll in the garden. I’d like to show you the white roses that the gardener has planted; they are beautiful.’
Gallisa looked at the back door cautiously but reluctantly agreed. She knew that Red was trying to get her alone so they could talk about war again. Red took her arm and walked out the door. ‘You’re such a lovely person,’ Red said. ‘You have such a pure aura. How can you let the red queen reign such terror?’
Gallisa smiled graciously. ‘You know I wish I had some control in Wonderland, but Snow killed Peter, leaving Wonderland to her mercy. I’m afraid that here, I’m quite powerless.’
‘But you now have a chance to take that power, to save Wonderland.’
Gallisa looked down sadly. ‘
The queen was our friend. We cannot kill her. I remember back when I first met her. She was a beautiful, feisty, kind princess with such promise. However, Neverland changed her … It changed all of us really…’ Gallisa’s expression hardened as the memories that haunted her played in her mind, and she, as she always did, wondered what she could have done differently perhaps to save them. Snow had needed her, even if she didn’t know it, and she should have helped her more. In a lot of respects, she felt guilty at the pain Peter had caused everyone in Neverland. She could have done more to stop it, but was taken away by the spell of him, clouding her judgement. ‘Snow will always be like a sister to me.’
‘She is evil now,’ Red pointed out. They turned right down the path and sat on the steps by a large fountain. ‘She hurts for fun, and now, she seems devoid of emotion! She’s more dangerous than ever. You, however, are beautiful, gracious, kind, and intelligent.’
Gallisa’s cheeks reddened. ‘That’s very kind of you, but I cannot change anything here.’
Red breathed in a breath of patience. ‘Then perhaps I was wrong about you,’ Red said, feeling angry. ‘Every house needs a strong foundation, and royalty is the strong foundation of each land; that is why it must be strong and defiant, why we must put ourselves last and our lands first.’
Gallisa offered a kind smile, yet she let out a pitiful sigh. ‘Perhaps you’re right,’ Gallisa said, ‘but I am putting the land first and myself. I do not want to lose my life knowing that my people are back in Northmanni without their queen, and I am simply too young to give my life up for that; I want to love and live a long life and to help with small acts of kindness for as long as I can. If I try to take Wonderland, it will result in my death along with everyone else’s.’
Red nodded but held onto hope that she’d get through to her at some point. ‘We must return to the party,’ Red said with a hard smile.
Gerard accompanied the queen on her evening walk. He wore a purple waistcoat and had a cute face; many said he looked just like a rabbit due to his deformity, as he called it anyway. He had rabbit ears and a squashed nose. He glanced down at his pocket watch and remained a half step behind her as the queen looked around with pinched lips.
‘Why are all the roses white?’ she screamed. The guards gulped, hoping they wouldn’t be held responsible for the act of nature. ‘I want red roses!’
‘W-we tried,’ one guard said, stepping forward.
Gerard held his tongue like he always did and looked pitifully at the guards who would get the blame if the roses weren’t done right.
The queen looked at the guards, and green flames danced in her eyes. ‘Paint them.’
The guard jumped back into ranks. ‘Paint them red?’ he asked, thinking that he must have heard her wrong.
‘Yes!’ she snapped. ‘I expect all of the roses to be painted red by the end of the week!’
‘Yes, Majesty,’ her guards said in unison and all exchanged looks.
She turned on her heel and strutted back into the castle. Gerard rolled his eyes as he followed her inside. The weather, as always, was glum, and everyone’s faces, as he walked into the banqueting room, were miserable.
Gerard walked over to the stained glass window and ran his hand through his hair. He squinted and swore he saw something or someone move by the iron gates. It was a woman. She wore a dark blue dress and had pretty ash blond hair.
The woman looked up at the wrought-iron gates and gulped. He noticed that she was accompanied by a rather roguish looking man in a white suit.
Alice and Robin looked up at the gate. It twisted into the cloudy sky, its sharp ends curled down as a warning to all those who entered through the mirror, that Wonderland was not the place of dreams, as many would say, but rather a place of nightmares and secrets.
Alice wrapped her manicured hand around the cold handle and pushed the gate open, which screeched loudly.
A well-trodden path wound its way through the skeletal trees and wilting toadstools. Her footsteps echoed through the vast forest around her. Aged trees creaked as they stepped quickly past them, crackling bracken and crunching twigs sounded beneath her purple shoes, and the sounds of some wild animals slinking back into their holes and scurrying up trees broke the deafening silence as she huffed up the seemingly never-ending path.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she continued to walk and wished that her shoes were not heeled. She stopped halfway up and stared into the sky. The grey had faded, leaving the luminous snowflake stars freckling the navy blue canvas unfettered by clouds. The high moon gave off the only light, silvering the trees and rain dropped nettles. Fog crept down the path, edging over to the sombre brown trees and glazing them in a veil of grey. Nothing stirred, and nothing shone, leaving Alice and Robin feeling alone in a kind of purgatory.
Reminding herself of the importance of why she was there and what relied on this trip, Alice pressed forward until the trees fell apart, revealing a haunting castle; its spikes towered into the night, and its stone walls matched the fog surrounding it. Breaking through the weeds that tangled the end of the path, she cautiously climbed the stone steps toward the looming drawbridge and heavy doors. What lived behind them was sure to be echoes of evil, so her heart leaped as she lifted the heavy knocker and the door creaked open, revealing a crimson stained court. Amber light shone inside like a warning, pooling onto the blood red tapestries and matte chandeliers. What could be a beautiful castle was a place of terror that could shake the hardest man to his core.
They crept into the cold room and spotted two guards in black breeches and red waistcoats, which sparkled with gold badges. ‘Halt,’ one of the guards said. ‘What is your business with the queen?’ he asked rapidly.
‘I am Alice, and this is a man I met on the road, Robin. We are both poor subjects who fell into Wonderland,’ she replied coolly, trying to keep the fear from her voice. ‘We have come to see the queen.’
The guard—whose beard was trimmed to perfection and reached around his chin to his receding hairline, which was mostly covered by a gold helmet coated with jewels—stepped forward, brandishing his sword. ‘All appointments with the queen must be made in advance. You must see Lord Dain, Keeper of the Ruby.’
Alice gulped and straightened her back. ‘We must see the queen urgently.’
The guard shook his head. ‘This is your final warning. All appointments must be made through the Lo—’ He broke off as trumpets sounded. Both guards jumped back and straightened as the doors opened. Eight guards marched out. Behind them, a woman with black hair walked with grace. On her head sat a glistening crown of metal roses.
‘The queen of hearts,’ a guard announced, and everyone kneeled on the hard floor. The queen stopped and looked at Alice and Robin, who were blocking their exit.
‘Who are these?’ the queen screeched, making everyone jolt.
The guard from the door stood up but kept his head bowed. ‘Lost souls who fell into Wonderland, or so they say. They met on the road and have come here—’
‘We were told that you are a merciful, beautiful queen who may help us,’ Robin interrupted and kneeled on one knee. ‘Sorry for the intrusion. I have heard great stories of Your Majesty and her kingdom.’ Robin knew that flattery was probably his best bet to get his way here, on hearing the stories about the queen.
The queen clenched her teeth and locked her gaze onto Alice’s blue eyes. ‘You have shown great disrespect to your queen. Both of you.’
Alice almost scoffed but stopped herself in time. ‘Majesty, I promise that no disrespect was intended. I simply am here to serve, as is this gentleman.’
‘You can consult with me after I attend to one of my prisoners.’ She looked at the pair then at the two guards at the door. ‘Take them to the banqueting hall to await my return.’
The queen walked out the doors and into the frosted night while Alice was escorted into the banqueting hall and Robin was shown to another room.
‘Why are we separating?’ Alice asked a g
uard.
‘To make sure that you can both not confer. What does it matter if you only just met?’
Alice pressed her lips together. ‘It does not.’
Long tables squared the large room. There was no music, no laughing, and everyone looked miserable. They all sat in their small groups—ladies, dukes, and earls—and whispered to each other, looking around with bold paranoia. Each of them took in the beautifully dressed woman but didn’t say a word. Alice was escorted to the top table, which sat on a stone platform, overlooking the rest of the room. A red throne sat in the centre and twisted with the same metal roses that made up the queen’s crown. On one of the chairs to the side of the throne, Gerard sat. A playful smile danced on his lips as he watched the mysterious woman he had seen at the gate approach him. She, however, didn’t say anything. She just looked at him. He was around twenty-five with pale skin and wide brown eyes. White hair surrounded the bottom of his rabbit ears. Gerard adjusted his waistcoat and kept his feet propped up on the table. He ran his hand through his hair and arched his eyebrow at Alice. ‘Well, well,’ he said, taking his feet off the table and sitting up straighter, ‘who are you?’
‘Uhh’— she quickly forced a smile—‘Alice. Just Alice.’
He smirked. ‘Just Alice, eh?’
‘Yes …’ She paused, her fake smile stretched into a genuine one. ‘What’s your name?’
He bowed his head. ‘Gerard, milady.’
‘Nice to meet you.’
‘Why are you here?’
Alice frowned. ‘I fell through a mirror and ended up here.’
He leaned in, looking Alice up and down. ‘Was that your husband who came with you?’
She bit her lip. When did he see him? ‘No.’ She laughed a little too loud. ‘I met him on the road. He’s no one.’
Gerard perked up and leaned in. ‘So you are single, then?’
Alice ground her teeth. ‘I guess I am.’ She looked at the rabbit-looking man and pursed her lips. She did not want to be courted by him or anyone, at that.
‘Great.’
