“Don’t be silly.” She laughed my comment aside, then reached out and tugged my wrist as if to assist me.
I stood up without her help. Instantly I felt oversized. She was about four and a half feet tall. I was average height, but next to her I was a giant.
Keeping her hold on my wrist, Red Queen walked me to the door. “It’s too dangerous for you to keep any articles from your world.”
Dangerous? They were just clothes. Nothing flashy, just comfortable. I debated arguing with her, but decided to see how this played out first.
On the other side of the door was a rectangular room full of dresses hanging on poles. Each dress was as puffy and colorful as the one Red Queen wore. I eyed her warily as she let go of me in the middle of the room and wandered off, humming. If she thought I was going to pretend to be an overdressed prom queen, she was crazy.
In all the stories I’d heard, the Red Queen was evil, with the whole “off with their head” thing. This tiny woman didn’t look malicious—she seemed like a rather likable and gentle person. Then again, I wasn’t exactly here by choice. Had she brought me here? Was she really the good guy? She obviously seemed to think so, but hers was the only opinion I had.
“What’s so bad about the White Wizard?” I crossed my arms, careful not to touch the brightly colored materials around me.
She poked her head out of a pile of dresses. “He is a denizen of chaos. When he has the rule, Oz is in an endless winter.” She shivered. Her hand lingered on a dress as her gaze dropped to the floor. “And the Cheshire Cat is loose.” Her voice was so quiet, I barely heard it.
“The Cheshire Cat?” I frowned, envisioning a roly-poly striped feline with a wide smile. “What’s so bad about him?”
She shook her head, an unreadable expression on her face. “I promise I’ll try to keep you away from him as much as I can.” She looked to the side and brightened. “Oh, that’s it.” She pulled out a dress taller than she was.
I jumped when the door on the other side of the room flew open. Maids—lots of maids—bustled through. They all wore pale-blue dresses with puffy skirts and white ruffled aprons. Each woman had platinum-blonde, curly hair, trimmed like a cotton candy ball and topped with white, frilly caps. Like Red Queen, their blue eyes had no irises. Every single one of the fifteen maids looked exactly the same. As if that wasn’t odd enough, two off-white leather pieces were attached to the underside of their hats and hung down like a pair of, I don’t know … ears?
Two maids carried a linen sheet over to Red Queen and held it up like a shield. The rest of the maids attacked me, ripping my clothes off so fast I couldn’t prevent it. I yelled and tried to defend myself, but some of their determined hands held me still while they rest made quick work. They even went so far as to strip my bra, underwear and necklace.
As fast as my clothes came off, they put more clothes on. First, lacey red undergarments. Next a black slip, then a corset that they tightened brutally. They settled a hoop slip around my waist then pulled the actual dress over my head. Two maids buttoned me up while another held my hips steady as three more shoved heels on my feet. Two others applied blush to my cheeks and a pink cream to my lips.
As suddenly as they had appeared, they all hurried out, closing the door behind them. It was like they had never been there at all.
I was left in a purple dress, its full skirt almost as wide as Red Queen’s. The tight, long-sleeved bodice ended in a square neck. Matching gems lined the wrists, neckline, and waist.
My mouth hung open, and I breathed hard. “What just happened?” I looked around, the cool silky material brushing against my hot skin. “Where are my clothes?”
Red Queen smiled with gentle amusement, as if this wasn’t the first time she’d seen this happen. “As I said, it’s time to go to the party. A lady must always look her best, especially when being viewed by the world.” She walked toward the door on the far side of the wall.
The world? My stomach twisted with anxiety. How many people did she expect me to meet? She hadn’t even told me what was going on. What did she expect me to do?
Something glittered out of the corner of my eye. I turned toward it. My necklace lay on the floor just at the edge of my skirt, the white gold barely visible. One of the maids must have dropped it. Quickly I scooped it up and stuffed it in my lacy bra, where it would be safe. I didn’t care about how Red Queen said my stuff was dangerous. This was my necklace. The only thing I had left of sanity.
“Ali,” Red Queen chimed from the far door, making me jump. She must not have seen me pick up the chain, because all she did was smile. “Come along.”
I stared at her, arms crossed in front of me.
Her smile stayed in place but her brow wrinkled in worry. “I understand that you’re confused. But you will never go home if you stay in this room. I will help as much as I can. Bunny took such a long time to find you, and now there isn’t much time left.”
I frowned at her. “No, you don’t understand. I can’t be in another world. Earth doesn’t have the advanced technology to send someone to another world. Or dimension or whatever.” I glanced at the chandelier and the candelabras on the walls with the dripping wax candles. Then I plucked at my skirt. “And it looks like you don’t have the technology, either.”
She gave a tiny giggle. “Oz doesn’t need science to bring an Alice here.”
“What, you mean magic?” I shifted my weight to the right, annoyed. She was barking up the wrong tree if she thought she’d make me believe in something I couldn’t touch or see.
By you are here, seeing her. And you can feel the fabric on your skin and ground under your feet, a very unhelpful voice whispered in the back of my head.
She nodded. Her fingers twisted together in front of her. She tried to keep a smile on her face, but the anxious lines returned to her brow. “There have been several Alices who refused to acknowledge the evidence in front of their eyes and continued to insist this is a dream. You would be wise not to fall into that category.”
I shook my head but went with her.
We entered a circular room lined with numbered red doors, twelve of them in total. Our shoes clicked on the white-and-black tile as Red Queen led me through a door on the far side labeled twelve. On the other side was a small room with a huge, red, velvet curtain on the right side. Many muffled sounds and voices came from beyond the thick material.
I reached up to touch my necklace on my collarbone for reassurance. When my fingers found only bare skin, they tugged on my hair instead. “What is this party about?”
“This is the Last Night of Peace Ball. And as the Alice, you are our honored guest,” Red Queen said pleasantly. She stood right in front of the curtain. “It’s called ‘Night’ but there’s only an hour left.”
A jolt went down my spine. “The Last Night of Peace?” That didn’t sound very good. “What does that mean?”
She stared at me, face calm and collected. “At midnight, White Wizard will be released from the Diamond Castle, and everything begins again.”
Chapter Three
The curtain whooshed open, and the sounds it had been blocking assaulted my ears in full force. I flinched. The smell of warm bodies wafted over with an odd afternote—it reminded me of a zoo.
We were at the top of a huge staircase. Below were hundreds of people, all dressed in gowns and suits right out of the Renaissance era.
Red Queen delicately held out her right hand. A bright red wand appeared in her delicate fingers.
I rolled my eyes. Of course she had a wand. She was a regular little Glinda, wasn’t she? It was an impressive sleight of hand, but I hoped she wouldn’t start singing.
The crowd went silent.
Red Queen smiled, her pretty face full of love. She looked like a jewel shining in the spotlight. “People of Oz, I present to you,” she motioned to me with her free hand, “Ali of Alice!”
What was that about? I shook my head. The crowd erupted in applause, and I raised a hand in an
awkward wave, wishing I was anywhere else. Like back at Cornell. They cheered, but most of them wore worried expressions.
A man in the front of the crowd scratched the brown dog ears poking out of his head and leaned over to whisper to a woman with peacock feathers pluming out behind her. The woman’s feathers flare out in response to what he said.
My hand slowly lowered. What the …?
She reached behind and smoothed them back into place.
The man with dog ears smiled, a tail attached to his trousers wagging.
Next to him, a short, fat man with a pig snout for a nose snorted in admonishment. The couple glared at him, and he wiggled his nose and glared right back.
Shock settled over me, like a cold egg being cracked on my head and dripping down to my toes. Their animal parts, they were just too real. Way too real. Make up and mechanical costumes weren’t that sophisticated. I searched the crowd. Those three had to be a fluke.
But no—every single person had animal traits. Literally. There were people with elephant ears flapping and taking up space, cow horns poking out of hats, and horse tails flicking around. They weren’t costumes; they were real and mobile. The maids that dressed me—the leather beneath their hats must have been actual ears. Sheep ears, based on their curly white hair. So the ears on the Playboy bunny had been real?
But humans don’t have animal parts. Red Queen doesn’t. I don’t. So how did these people get them?
Red Queen spoke, drawing my attention back from the animal people below. “Let the Last Night of Peace commence!” Her voice rang out like a bell. “For the Alice Games begins anew!”
This game, whatever that meant, was called the Alice Games? If it was anything physical, they were in for a surprise. I sucked at sports.
The people cheered again.
My hands clenched at my sides. This was getting out of hand. “Red Queen, what is going on? I really don’t have the time for any of this. Games? Are you kidding me? I was on my way to plan out the next three years of my life. If I don’t get to that meeting, it’ll be a waste of the last eight years of hard work.” I crossed my arms.
She took a deep breath and clasped her hands together in front of her, then spoke in a low voice. “I know you don’t understand, and honestly you don’t really have to. All you have to know is that you are special. And you, the Alice of Alice, have come to Oz to choose the next ruler—me or White Wizard.”
She was nuts. Beyond crazy. I snorted and waved my hands in the air. “What? Me? What do I know about this place and these people? Can’t I just pick you and go home right now?”
Bothered more than I should be, I looked out over the people milling about below us. As much as I was in a hurry, Red Queen had said this ‘game’ was going to impact the life of every single one of them and more people who I couldn’t see. A decision like that shouldn’t be taken lightly. But I didn’t know them, and I didn’t completely believe they were real. How could I know who I should pick? I’d barely met Red Queen, and I didn’t know anything about White Wizard at all, other than Red Queen’s opinion. And I still didn’t know if she really was as kind as she seemed or if it was a farce. This was too huge a decision for a complete stranger to make.
Red Queen’s smile was small and sweet, her brown eyes warm with amusement. “If only it were that simple. But the decision can’t be made until you are at the Emerald Castle at False Dawn on noon the second day. If you make it there, then you can choose and go home.”
She said “if you make it there” heavily, like I might not.
Quickly, I added up the numbers in my head. “Wait, that’s in thirty-six hours. I can’t be here that long! I have things to do in my world!” I’ll miss the councilor’s appointment, my flight home, and maybe even my English final. Forget not getting classes at Cornell, I won’t even graduate High School at that point.
She waved a hand, brushing off my problems. “Your world and Oz move at different times. I’m sure it won’t be an issue. As long as you get to the Emerald Castle by False Dawn. I can’t promise anything after that.”
I frowned at her. She was sure, but she didn’t know for sure. “So I was teleported or whatever to the Ruby Castle? Why wasn’t I just simply taken to the Emerald City—ah, Castle?”
She blinked in surprise, like she’d never been asked that question before. Every other question I’d asked, she always had a quick answer—like she was expecting the question and already had a speech ready for it. But this one stalled her. “Because I’m the current Queen—until midnight. So Oz brought you to me.”
“And if White Wizard was the ruler, I’d be taken to him?” I finished.
She nodded slowly. “Yes.”
I sighed, wondering if his place was close to the Emerald Castle. “And I have to do this? It’s really the only way?” At this point, I was willing to do almost anything to get out of this crazy place and get back to Cornell as fast as possible.
“Yes.” Red Queen nodded and motioned to the room with her wand. “Now, there are people I really must introduce you to. Shall we?” She floated down the stairs as if gliding down a cloud.
Trying not to clop like a horse, I followed her. The temperature rose with every step.
People turned and greeted the tiny queen as we got to the bottom. Despite ‘not having much time left,’ she paused and exchanged words with everyone who greeted her. I would have preferred to skirt around the sides of the crowd next to the star-filled windows that framed the entire right wall from floor to ceiling, but she plowed right through the middle.
She knew the name of every person and greeted each as if they were the most important person in the world. At her side, I watched in amazement and confusion, trying to comprehend caring about this many people. She couldn’t be more opposite of me. I’d hate to stand there and talk to so many people. I wouldn’t know what to say or how to relate to them. But she glowed under their devotion. I would have given anything to be a wallflower on the side of the room. It was hard enough to breathe with the corset, and the hot, sticky, animal-scented air didn’t help.
I didn’t pay much attention to what they were saying. Instead, I studied their faces and actions as I tried to get used to being surrounded by so many people.
It was easy to see that everyone here loved Red Queen. Animal ears perked up, dog tails wagged, and bird feathers ruffled and fluffed with pleasure when she spoke. They were vocal about their support, clasping her hands and gushing about how wonderful she was and how they wished she would always be queen.
Those particular words were aimed at me, as were their anxious looks. It seemed that as much as they adored their current queen, they feared me. Hardly anyone tried to exchange words with me, instead they just talked in my general direction. Red Queen didn’t try to force me into any conversations. In fact, she acted like their behavior was completely normal.
“Why are they so afraid of me?” I finally asked. I had expected them to be overly courteous and overwhelming, since I was supposed to pick their next ruler.
Red Queen opened her mouth, then she looked over my shoulder. Her face lit up with pleasure.
A man’s tenor voice answered from right behind me. “Well, you are from another world.”
I jumped and whirled around.
“And you can ruin our lives until the next Alice comes,” a second man said in a deep voice, right beside the first.
They were like a comedic pair right out of a Renaissance fair. The man on the right was long and skinny. He wore a sand-colored shirt over black pants and soft leather boots. Dull brown hair parted perfectly to the side and smoothed around a pair of foot-long, brown rabbit ears. His pupil-less eyes were solid gray.
The huge, handsome man next to him had big muscles that rippled under his off-white, long-sleeved shirt, tucked into a pair of, well, golden pants. His golden hair stuck out in all directions, leaving the round ears on top of his head barely visible. A thin, golden, lion tail swished lazily behind him. In the room full of hot bodi
es, he still smelled like a pleasant, musky cologne.
Red Queen stepped beside me, her brows dropping in a frown. “Gentlemen, that wasn’t very kind.” She cleared her throat. “Some introductions are in order. Ali, meet Lional and Hareson. They will assist you when I’m not available. Gentlemen, this is Ali.”
“Ah, hi.” I forced a smile and nodded. If this was anything like the stories, I was meeting the Cowardly Lion and the March Hare. Not very encouraging. Lional was rather impressive looking. Hareson just gave off the impression of a straight-laced butler. Oh, boy.
The men exchanged looks.
“Ali, huh?” Lional rumbled. Like the other people, he wasn’t talking to me. His eyes were fixed on Red Queen like she was the only person in the world. “That’s different. I thought my ears were failing me when I heard you say ‘Ali of Alice.’” The fluffy tip of his tail twitched.
The rest of his words faded out as I began to ignore him as much as he was me. Immediately, I became interested in the tail bouncing behind him. I knew enough about animal anatomy to guess how his skeletal structure accommodated the appendage. A person with a real tail was way more interesting than CGI, and most everyone in the room had one. So why didn’t Red Queen and I have animal parts? Was it because she was a queen and I was from another world?
A bit of bright color caught my attention, and I glanced down. I was standing in the middle of a yellow circle about four feet in diameter. Directly in front of my toes, a foot-wide yellow line led out five feet in the shape of an arrow before fading into nothing.
I nearly jumped out of my skin. I took a big step to the side, wobbling in my high heels, but the circle moved with me. No matter how I moved, the circle stayed centered on me, and the arrow continued to point in the same direction—out the huge windows on the south side of the room.
The three people around me exchanged glances again.
“My, my, an Alice has found the Yellow Path by herself,” Hareson muttered. His nose twitched. “How odd.”
Alice Games Page 2
