“Hm.” Celia shrugged. “Well, I’m having a blast. Caspian is such a gentleman. He’s perfect. And so handsome.”
“That’s great.” I couldn’t even bring up some enthusiasm.
“If you’re going to be that sour, why don’t you go to bed,” Celia suggested. “I don’t want you to ruin my good mood.”
I blinked, my ears refusing to believe what they had just heard. I glanced over Celia’s shoulder at the table where my mother was sitting. If I left now, she would be furious with me, but for once, just once, I didn’t want to consider her feelings or Celia’s, only my own.
“All right then. Have a good night, Celia,” I snapped at her, before turning on my heel and escaping from the ballroom.
Chapter 5
I was too restless to go to bed right away. My heart was still pounding at a million miles per hour, and I wanted to clear my mind.
It felt like two halves of my brain were fighting. There was the one part that wanted to do what my mother had told me to, play her twisted game and snatch Caspian away from Celia. Get him to marry me instead.
Mother had to watch how her brother, a far less adequate ruler than herself, got his hands on the throne of the Red Kingdom simply because he was the first-born. If I wed a prince, I would be a queen—albeit, be it a White Queen. We would get the power we had always deserved.
And, if the second part of Mother’s plan worked, even though I didn’t really want to think about that, then I wouldn’t just be the White Queen, but the Red Queen too. For the first time in the history of Wonderland, the entire land would be united.
If the threat Malachi had described was real, then Wonderland would need a strong ruler to survive, and Mother fancied me better suited for that role than Celia.
Or maybe she fancied herself better suited for it than any of us, and she would use me like a puppet on a string, like she was doing now.
I shook my head, trying not to think about it, while I turned to corner toward my chambers. What did I want? With Celia shouting at me from one side, and my mother scheming on the other, I barely had any chance to figure out what it was I wanted.
As I opened the double doors leading to my chambers, I almost jumped out of the skin at the sight of a small figure sitting on my bed. In the faint light of the candles, it took my eyes a minute to adjust to darkness and realize who it was.
“Cheshire Cat,” I said as I closed the door behind me. “To what do I owe this honor?” I didn’t bother to keep the sarcasm out of my voice—I had met the mysterious cat a few times before, and his advice usually bordered on completely useless and sometimes downright insane.
The feline purred and stretched its claw. “Good evening to you too, Lady Regina.” The way it said ‘Lady’, mockingly, sounding almost exactly like Caspian, made me annoyed.
“So, you were spying on us.”
The Cheshire Cat shrugged its shoulder, a strange thing to see a cat do. “Perhaps, perhaps not. Perhaps I was just hanging around.”
“Invisible.” I sat down on the bed next to the cat, feeling exhausted. All I wanted was to get some sleep.
“Just because you can’t see me, doesn’t mean I’m invisible.”
I rolled my eyes. “Two seconds, and you’re already speaking in riddles again, Cat.”
The Cheshire Cat licked its front paw. “I wanted to see those White princes, get a feel of what they’re like.”
“And what are they like?”
“The youngest prince was right. There is a threat approaching us from the east. I have heard whispers it’s coming from beyond the Tulgey Wood.”
“And what exactly is this threat then?” I asked. “I haven’t gotten a straight answer about that yet.”
“I can’t give you one. I don’t go beyond the Tulgey Wood, and I know no one that does.”
“Then how do you know something is approaching?” I raised my eyebrows, once again confused by the Cat’s antics.
“I heard whispers on the wind,” the Cat said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “Those who live beyond have fled their houses in the middle of the night. Farms, towns, all empty. People have even gone hiding in the Tulgey Wood. Now the Jabberwocky has been slain, they think the Wood is safe.”
“And is it?” Because the way the Cheshire Cat had spoken, it seems like the Wood was anything but safe, Jabberwocky or not.
“Of course not. Woods are never safe. You never know what’s hiding beneath the trees.”
“Don’t you mean behind the trees?” I was getting annoyed by the Cat’s cryptic speech. The Cheshire Cat always turned up when least expected, and rather than offering some useful advice—for example, what exactly this threat from the east entailed—it offered nothing but more riddles and uncertainties.
“I meant what I said.” The Cat stretched again and waggled its tail as it walked around on my bed. “I saw what game you’re playing. A dangerous game. Might even more dangerous than battling a Bandersnatch on your own.”
I shrugged. “What do you know about it?”
“Court intrigue is my favorite thing.” The Cat turned its head, disappearing until only its smile was left, upside-down. Then, it re-appeared, with its head back in its original position. “But these princes, we know nothing about. Remember you got your heart hurt once, and hearts are precious things.”
I licked my lips. It infuriated me how this stupid feline seemed to know everything that went on in Wonderland. “What does a Cat know about broken hearts?” I tried to sound snappy, but my comment came out sounded sadder than I had intended.
“I know a heart that is broken never quite heals,” the Cat said.
I stayed quiet, not sure what to say to that. As the Cat made no move to leave, I eventually turned to it, asking, “Do you think she would make a good queen? My cousin?”
“Hm.” The Cheshire Cat jumped down from the bed. “What does a Cat’s opinion mean on such matters? I’m just a Cat.”
“Come on, don’t be like that. You were sprouting wisdom all over the place just minutes ago.” I sighed. “And I thought you loved court intrigue?”
“That was minutes ago,” the Cat said. “Now, I love peace and quiet. Good night, Regina.”
The Cat waggled toward the door, disappearing until only its tail was still visible. “Oh, one more thing,” the disembodied voice of the Cheshire Cat echoed through the room. “I think you’re playing the wrong game. Chess, while you should be playing cards.”
Then, the tail vanished too, the door opened on its own, and the Cheshire Cat was gone—or at least, I hoped so.
Chapter 6
I tossed and turned the entire night, suffering nightmares about Derrick.
I dreamt about that time when we had chased each other through the gardens of the palace, playing hide and seek. In the nightmare-world, the dream started out much like it had in real life: I was hiding beneath one of the rose bushes in the garden, giggling as Derrick passed right by.
In real life, he had turned up again behind me, shouting ‘boo’. I had screamed, and then we had both laughed. Next, I started running away from him, and he grabbed me around the waist, tickling me and teasing to throw me in the bushes.
In the nightmare, he didn’t come back, though. “Derrick?” I asked eventually, re-appearing from behind the rose bush. “Derrick, where are you?”
Confused, I wandered through the garden, looking for him, until suddenly I heard the words that had once broken my heart.
“We shouldn’t do this,” Derrick’s voice sounded from behind one of the trees.
“But I want to,” Celia said in response.
I didn’t want to look, I didn’t want to see the image that was burned in my mind forever, but an urge stronger than myself forced me to. There, behind the tree, they stood, the man I thought I loved, and whom I thought loved me the same, and the cousin who was supposed to be my best friend. Kissing.
The worst was that he had never even kissed me. I, who had spent hours daydreaming about my first k
iss, about the touch of his lips on mine. Celia had only decided she wanted him on a whim. And now, here they were. He kissed Celia hungrily, and she kissed him back just as eagerly, wrapping her arms around his neck.
My heart seemed to break all over again. I felt it cracking in my chest, pain flaring through me.
Then suddenly, Derrick was replaced by Prince Caspian, and instead of the knave I had fallen in love with, it was now the prince I was supposed to seduce who was kissing Celia.
So, she had won again. At least, in my nightmare.
“There’s a threat approaching us,” a voice said from behind me. I turned around on my heel, facing Malachi.
“You still haven’t told me what it is.”
“You know what it is, Regina,” the prince said to me. “You know this threat, better than anyone else.”
I frowned at him, backing away until I was standing against the tree. “How? Why do you think I know more about this?”
“The answer is right there.” Malachi pointed at my chest, and I stared at him, not understanding what he meant. Did he mean I was the threat?
I woke up, bathing in sweat. The light of dawn pierced through the windows of my room, and while it was pleasantly warm with the sunlight caressing my sheets, I felt cold to the bone.
Dreams tended to have a meaning attached to them in Wonderland. But what in the world could be the meaning of this dream?
Before I could fully analyze it, one of the servants knocked on my door. “Lady Regina, Crown Princess Celia has requested you join her for breakfast in her chambers.”
I sighed. She could never leave me alone, not for one minute. Even if my dreams she haunted me, and the moment I was awake, she had to invade my life too. Every second of my life had to evolve around her.
“All right,” I said to the servant through the door. “Tell her I will join her in half an hour, and please send my chambermaid in.”
Celia wouldn’t be happy to have to wait half an hour, but I was in no mood to rush. I needed a hot bath to soak in, so I could wash the nightmare from my mind.
My chambermaid, Bella, a slightly plump young woman with curly brown hair, came in, and I asked her to draw a bath for me and pick out a beautiful gown. Bella had good taste, so I had no doubt she would choose something nice.
While I waited for the bath to fill, I contemplated the meaning of the dream. After Bella helped me in bath and washed my hair, I was still too focused on the nightmare to talk much to her. “You’re quiet today,” she remarked while she helped me put on a yellow gown she had selected for today. Since she had been my chambermaid for years, I had long since asked her to drop the formalities with me.
“I didn’t sleep well,” I confessed. “Nerves, I guess.”
“It’s the moon,” Bella replied right away. “Red moon is coming up in a few days, and the red moon always brings nightmares and prophetic dreams.”
“I guess.” I would prefer if this particular dream had zero prophetic qualities, if I was being honest.
“What are your plans today?” Bella asked, curious as always. “I mean, now the princes are here, I assume you will have to chaperone Celia while she spends time with Prince Caspian?”
“Yes, unfortunately.” I put a pair of earrings on that matched well with the yellow dress. “Celia will no doubt want to invite them for a game of flamingo croquet. It’s her favorite game in the world.”
“I heard cards is all the rage now,” Bella said casually.
I frowned, because her comment reminded me of what the Cheshire Cat had said last night about the game of cards. Did it mean something, or was I really losing my mind thinking about these things? The Cheshire Cat readily admitted it was mad, and now I was seeing significance in two random sentences said by random people, with a connection so faint it was probably non-existent.
“There, you’re all set.” Bella turned me around, inspecting me from every angle to check if I looked good.
“Thank you.” I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for having to spend another day with my self-obsessed cousin, while trying to seduce the man she was supposed to marry without making it too obvious.
Chapter 7
“What took you so long?” Celia half-shouted at me the moment I entered her chambers. Breakfast was already stalled out on the table at the end of her room, near the fireplace. An overwhelming amount of cupcakes, tarts, muffins, and several types of fruit were decorating the table, enough to feed a family of ten.
“I still had to get ready,” I told her as I sat down next to her. “So, you seem to be in a good mood?”
“Of course.” Celia clapped her hands, as exited as a little child receiving birthday presents. “Yesterday went great. I think I have Prince Caspian all wrapped around my finger by now.” She laughed before she took a bite off one of the cupcakes. “I can’t believe I was so nervous yesterday, while everything worked out fine.”
“Yes,” I said evenly, grabbing an apple from the enormous pile of fruit on the table.
“You’re not mad, are you?” my cousin asked me straight on. “I was right to tell you to go to bed. I didn’t want any grumpy faces around on my big day.”
“I’m not mad,” I lied, taking a bite from the apple. “So, will you invite them for cricket today?”
“Of course.” Celia’s entire face lit up. “We’ll have such a blast. I would prefer if it was just Caspian and I, of course, but with protocol indicating we need to be chaperoned at all times, at least until we’re married…” She leaned back in her chair, eating another cupcake. At this rate, she would put on twenty pounds by the time she married the prince.
“Be glad it’s me chaperoning you, and not a haggard, old spinster nagging the second you so much as touch hands.” It was meant to be a joke, but Celia didn’t laugh.
I had to admit, the whole chaperoning thing was pretty ridiculous. Caspian would be far from the first man Celia ever kissed or touched, but royal protocol was strict about it.
“You have to watch everything he does,” Celia ordered me. “I want to know if he really likes me, or if I need to put in more effort. So, watch his every move. You’re good in judging these things.”
Far from it, given I had thought Derrick had liked me, not her, but I wasn’t in the mood to argue.
“Did anything else happen at the ball last night, after I left?” I asked her, trying not to sound too curious. When she knew I really wanted to know something, Celia had the bad habit of not wanting to tell me, unless I practically begged her.
“It didn’t go on much longer,” Celia said. “A dance or four, maybe five. Caspian didn’t leave my side the entire time.”
I wanted to be happy for her. As we were sitting there at the breakfast table, and she, my only cousin, my only family member about my age, told me about how great her night had been, I wanted to feel nothing but happiness, but I couldn’t. Not with Mother’s voice droning in my mind telling me what was at stake.
The throne of Wonderland.
“And what about Malachi? Did you see him still?”
A frown appeared on Celia’s face. “Why do you ask?”
“Just because I’m not sure if I trust him,” I quickly answered. “You said you didn’t like him either.”
“Hm. I don’t know.” Celia popped another muffin in her mouth. “I think he had left by the time the party ended, but I’m not sure. To be honest, I only had eyes for Caspian.” She said his name dreamily, resting her chin on her hands. “He’s such a prince charming. I think I might really like him, you know.”
For all her flaws, I loved her. Even if she had hurt me, I loved her. And as I saw her sitting there, so happy, I wondered if I had the strength to go through with his, even if it was what my mother wanted. I wanted to make my mother happy, and on the one hand, I did want to make Celia feel the same pain I had felt when she took Derrick away from me. But was it worth it?
“One day we’ll rule Wonderland,” Celia mused, leaning back in her chair. “King C
aspian and Queen Celia. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”
I licked my lips. “Yes.”
My cousin put her hand on mine, squeezing it. “Don’t worry, though. Even after I’m married, we’ll always be best friends. I’ll always need you here, by my side.”
She meant to say something nice, but the thought alone of having to spend my entire life at court, by her side, adhering to her every whim, chilled me to the core.
For the first time in my life, I began to understand the desolate madness that had driven my father to drown himself in the Pool of Tears.
Chapter 8
“It’s called flamingo cricket,” Celia explained while she took the flamingo and held it upside down. “You hold the flamingo like that, to hit the ball. It’s my favorite game in the world.”
We were standing in the gardens, the four of us—Celia, Caspian, Malachi and I. Celia looked gorgeous in a mint-green dress that matched well with her hair color. Malachi and Caspian were both clad in dark blue, with the emblem of the white crown embroidered on their tunics.
“We don’t have this game in the White Kingdom,” Caspian said while he followed Celia’s lead, and hit the ball with the flamingo. “Does it not hurt them?”
“Oh, they don’t mind.” Celia waved his concerns away.
I doubted anyone had ever asked the flamingos if they minded or not that they were used for a stupid pastime activity of the royals.
“You’re a natural!” Celia gave Caspian her most charming smile. “Okay, now I’ll explain the rules. As you can see, there are four balls in four different colors. Each of us will have its own color assigned to them, and we’ll play in teams, the person playing blue partnering with the person playing black, and the person playing red partner with the person playing yellow.”
“Since the princes have never played this game before, perhaps we should both team up with one of them,” I suggested, since it was only fair.
Kingdom of Villains and Vengeance Page 59
