Alice Games

by Michelle R. Reid

  He made a dismissive sound. “Well, I’m the only one it allows to touch it. Although, maybe Red could, but I’ll never test that idea. It’s also the only thing that can permanently kill someone. They don’t come back in the morning.”

  “Oz gave Red Queen a wand that channels her power,” I thought out loud. “Why would it give you a sword?”

  He shook his head again. “I don’t know.”

  I sobered. “Did you really kill the Alices?” Slowly I pulled the length of his hair through my fingers, completely comfortable despite laying on the ground with Ace’s head on my stomach.

  He sighed. “Just the first one that died in Oz,” he said. “It was an accident, but that doesn’t matter, I guess. It had never been done before. I broke the rules and marked Oz with the blood of an outside world. So I became a contradiction.”

  “How did it happen?” I asked softly.

  A bitter smile touched his face. He opened his eyes and stared off to the side. His hands tightened around my waist. “Alice number eleven. She was the most beautiful Alice I’d ever seen, had this long blond hair and perfect smile. But she was crazy. She treated Red like a brainless child and acted like I was some show pet. Had this delusion that she should be Queen, and I should be something else. She said it was a male Queen. It had a weird name.”

  “King.” My mind whirled as something he said clicked. A beautiful, blonde Alice? My eyes widened with shock. I’d seen the beginning of this scene in the Jewel Castle ruins. I’d been too disturbed to stay and watch what happened, though.

  He nodded. “That’s right. Weird, huh? Why have two names for the same thing?”

  I smiled. “I guess in my world, we have lots of words for the same thing.”

  “What an odd world.”

  Like he was one to talk.

  “Anyway, we were in front of the Emerald Castle, and White Wizard was almost locked up when it happened. She was holding Red Queen’s wand and making this long speech about being Queen. That’s when I realized she was going to make her joke real. I couldn’t let it happen. I would make a horrible Queen, and she would be even worse. And since there was already an Alice here, we’d never have another Alice Games to replace her.” His lips twisted. “I tried to make her stop talking by covering her mouth. I must have been too intense—she’d never seen me upset before—and it startled her. She started to struggle. I don’t even know how it happened, honestly. One second she was pulling at my clothes and the next, the Vorpal Blade was sticking out of her stomach.”

  He took a shaky breath and swallowed before going on. “There was so much screaming. I can still hear it when I close my eyes. When Alice’s blood touched the Vorpal Blade, it reacted. The blade turned from polished steel to blood red, screaming the whole time. The taint of another world’s blood on it was horrible. It hated it,” he whispered.

  He talked about the sword like it had a consciousness. Was that because Oz made it? Did that mean Red Queen’s wand had a consciousness too?

  “Red Queen was yelling. It was the most horrible ‘no’ I’d ever heard. Her wand was pulled out of the dead Alice’s hands by an invisible force and sucked into the Emerald Castle. Red Queen couldn’t resist as she was forced into a glowing red ball. Then the ball whisked away and locked her in the Ruby Castle. The people turned into animals as snow fell from the sky.”

  Ace licked his lips and his hands tightened on my waist like I was a life line that he desperately needed. “The worst was Oz’s screaming. I haven’t heard it scream like that since Jewel Queen died, the last time I’d heard Oz’s voice. It was in pain as it was forced to adjust the rules of the game to accommodate the death of Alices. They weren’t supposed to die. Their blood is like poison to Oz. It rips it apart and makes holes to the other world.”

  My heart ached just hearing him talk about it.

  “I was punished with equal severity.” His eyes narrowed. “I was ripped from Oz to In-Between. It’s the place between our worlds, remember? When you came to Oz, you passed through the Emerald Castle, which is a portal between our worlds. It protects you from the darkness between the places. When I go to the In-Between, there is no comfortable Castle. There is nothing. No light, no sound. Just me and my guilty thoughts in an endless void.”

  The In-Between. Ace mentioned that the first time we met, in that Munchkin shack. It sounded like a horrible place then, but to think that he was stranded in there for years. I shook my head. “That sounds awful,” I whispered.

  “It was. Is. I’ve gotten used to it. I spend a lot of time in In-Between between Alice Games. It’s better than being in the Diamond Castle with that bastard and his opinionated lashings.” He was quiet for a minute.

  When he spoke again, his voice was less haunted. “I digress. Eventually I learned how to use In-Between. There wasn’t a whole lot else I could do. I couldn’t die. I figured out how to use it as a portal to wherever I wanted in Oz. By the time I got out, several Alice Games had passed and I was marked as White Wizard’s slave. Not like it was a new title.” He snorted. “They called me the Cheshire Cat. They knew I was still alive since my Domain, the Cheshire Forest, was still alive. But they also knew it was warped. My poor forest. It used to be the most beautiful land in Oz.”

  So that’s how he was able to disappear and reappear wherever he wanted. He was using In-Between to teleport. Because he could go anywhere he wanted in Oz during the Alice Games, the Domain boundary rule must not apply to him. He could simply appear on the other side of it, instead of being stopped by it. I paused, thinking. “Red Queen said you used to be Ace of Hearts?”

  He laughed, this time with fondness. “I haven’t heard that name in long time. She gave me that title when she first became Queen, since she couldn’t make me a Queen’s Knight.”

  I looked down at him, still sifting my hands through his hair. “There’s another title you preferred,” I whispered, wondering if it was too mean to bring it up.

  He glanced up into my face. His hand reached up and brushed my hair. “Oz talked about me a lot. But I’m not that surprised—it likes you. I’m sure it’s just grateful to finally have someone to communicate with again. You’re right. There was another title. The Knight of Oz,” he mocked then sobered. “It was a childhood fantasy, thinking that I could actually help people.” Ace’s hand dropped and he frowned to the side. “It doesn’t matter anymore. When I became a contradiction to the rules, I lost that title.” He smiled painfully. “Contradictions can’t coexist with peace.”

  Yet, he still loved Oz so much. And it seemed that Oz couldn’t cancel a position once given. White Wizard was an example of that. I decided to drop the idea for now. “What happened to all the other Alices that died? The people have credited you with their deaths.”

  He shook his head. “White Wizard ordered me to kill them, but I couldn’t. He’d punish me over and over again. I can’t even count all the times he’s almost frozen me to death, only to keep me just enough alive to know what was going on. So I simply stopped saving them. It doesn’t take me to kill an Alice, as you know. Even hiding in In-Between didn’t always work, he just punished me all the more when I came out. Eventually Red’s face started to fade away. Her sweet smile and gentle words became as cold as that prison castle.”

  He swallowed hard. “I just wanted out. There was nothing left for me to hold onto, just White’s twisted words filling my mind until I couldn’t think. Couldn’t feel. I was so desperate to get away, I was willing to do anything. Even if it hurt Red. Even kill an Alice. You.” His voice cracked and he closed his eyes. He covered his face with his hands, hiding the grief that plagued him. “I’m so sorry, Ali.”

  His emotions, broken and raw, seeped from his quivering body into mine. This was the man they said had a tin heart? Why couldn’t they see what he was hiding behind that teasing smile? Tears pooled in my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. I needed to be strong for him, since he couldn’t be right now. Instead, I hugged him tight to me and waited for his tremblin
g to stop. “I don’t blame you, Ace. No matter what happens, I won’t blame you.”

  His hand slid from his face and snaked around my waist. He hid his red eyes in my stomach. “You should,” he whispered but held onto me like I was a lifeline.

  “How can I save you?” I asked. “How can I help you get away from White Wizard?”

  He took a sharp hiss of breath. Then he gave a small laugh and shook his head, his usual shield of a smile back. “You can’t. I made my bed—and I’ll lie in it until the end.”

  I grabbed his face and made him look at me. “I can’t accept that.”

  When did I get this forward? This strong? I was the girl who didn’t want to get involved with anything or anyone. But I couldn’t leave him like this. It was different than my drive to help Red Queen, which originally stemmed from pity. With Ace, it was a gut wrenching need to help him. There had to be something, somehow.

  My mind raced and I grabbed at the straws, thinking about the information I’d learned so far. “I heard that you wanted to get the Vorpal Blade out of the Emerald Castle. Will that help you?”

  “No!” Horror and shock cracked his mask away.

  I jumped and blinked in surprise.

  Ace clenched his jaw and looked away until he could control his face again. “No. I did—do—want it out. It’s a part of Oz, but it’s almost a part of me, too. But it’s too dangerous. Ali, you must never try and touch it. The Vorpal Blade is nothing but danger. For you and Red. It,” he swallowed hard, “needs to stay in the Emerald Castle. Where White can’t get it.”

  “Hatter wants it, too,” I remembered. But how could I help Ace now?

  Ace’s lips pursed as the new thought preoccupied him, brows pulling low over his eyes. “I knew he was interested in becoming Queen. I just didn’t know he’d figured out the way into the Emerald Castle. That information is usually kept secret. That’s why I took your necklace, to make sure White didn’t get it. It stays in In-Between when I’m around him. I’m sure Red Queen doesn’t know about Hatter yet, either. She’s usually pretty lenient on Role Players and how they rule their Domains as long as there’s peace.” He paused, thinking. “It’s a problem now that Hatter’s decided to act this way. Red Queen and White Wizard share all the power given to the Queen right now. Granted, White Wizard has most of it since he was the original Queen Candidate. If it came down to a fight with the Hatter, Hatter would lose, hands down. White Wizard wouldn’t hesitate to act. Red Queen would never use her power like that. This is going to bring more chaos to Oz. It’s ready to collapse as it is.”

  My mouth pulled to the side, trying to understand him. “Listening to you talk, it sounds like you’re still on Red Queen’s side.”

  He frowned and laughed bitterly. “They’ve already rejected me. I’m no longer welcome on their side. I stopped trying to fight against it long ago.” One ear twitched away from my fingers. “I never wanted to tell you any of this. I wanted you to go back to your world, still thinking I was one of the good guys. But it seems I never had a chance.”

  I let my head fall back against the ground. “Why is everything so complicated here? People keep telling me I should fear you. You included. But you don’t feel like a bad person. You were trying to protect your world and your Queen. It wasn’t for self-gain. Just like any soldier in a war. And how many decades—centuries—have you been paying for it?”

  H peeked at me again but didn’t say anything.

  I stared at the blue sky above us, wondering how much longer we had before someone came. Ace’s hearing was probably ten times better than mine and he hadn’t moved, so we had a little longer. “I wish …” I cut myself off.

  He waited. When I didn’t say anything, he pressed, “Wish what?”

  “It’s stupid, really,” I muttered. “I wish we had met in my world. We’d run into each other at Cornell and exchange a couple of words. Then you’d ask me to dinner. I’d hesitate because I’m shy but can’t say no. There’s this botanical garden that I’ve been dying to see and they have this amazing library. We’d walk and hold hands, talking about whatever came to our minds. There would be no queens or wizards or Oz. Just you and me.”

  He smiled. “That sounds wonderful.”

  I was quiet for a minute, lost in my thoughts. Then something Red Queen said crashed through. “You’ve played with a lot of girls, haven’t you?”

  He shrugged. “I’m a cat by nature. I’m prone to pick things up and play with them.”

  Then dump them. Was I any different to him? Or was I a plaything too? It was so easy to fall back into the trap the more time I spent with him. My hand stilled in his hair as that thought sank in.

  He looked up at me. “You are an Ali, not an Alice. The only Ali. There’s a difference.”

  The sincerity in his deep eyes made it hard not to smile. His comment touched my heart. My hand started to move again.

  “You know,” he said slowly. “Cats like to take pleasure. We also like giving it back.” He looked at me through heavily lidded eyes. He planted his hands on either side of me and rose up, slowly and deliberately. His lips brushed mine softly.

  My lashes fluttered closed as I leaned into the kiss. I’d been waiting for this. It was, after all, something I’d thought about since I’d met him. His lips were tender and sweet. My pulse went wild, and I wanted more. His hand cradled my cheek as the kiss deepened, and he tangled his tongue with mine. Under my hand, his heart hammered.

  “Ali! Where are you?” a familiar male voice called.

  Ace pulled back, the same regret I felt was mirrored on his face.

  “Ali!” This time it was Red Queen. She was closer than Hareson.

  Ace leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine, soft as a butterfly. Like sand in a storm, he faded away until his kiss was all that was left. Then it, too, was gone.

  Groaning, I flopped back onto the ground and buried my face in my hands, trying to get a handle on my breath and wild emotions. Some denizen of chaos he was. He kept sending me back to Red Queen. If he really was bad, he’d keep me for himself. Heaven knew, I would readily follow.

  Then again, his habit of doing good despite his reputation was throwing me off balance. I didn’t know whether he did it intentionally or if that was simply his true nature.

  What I did know was that after only twenty-four hours, I was falling in love with Ace.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Footprints crunched on the ground nearby, prompting me to move my hands from my face.

  “Ali!” Red Queen walked around a tree and almost stepped on me. Tears of joy brimmed in her eyes. “Ali! Oh, I’m so glad you’re okay!” She covered her heart with her hands. “I was so worried when they said Hatter kidnapped you!” She dabbed at the tears with a finger. “Ali, why are you lying on the ground like that?”

  I smiled. “I’m sleep deprived and going crazy.” Although I was oddly okay with this kind of crazy. Even if it was over a man who I would never see again after six hours.

  Red Queen was immediately alarmed. “Hareson! Lional!” she called out.

  I laughed. “No, I can stand.” To prove my point, I did so.

  The men came running through the trees. Both had hands on their swords.

  Lional skidded to stop at the sight of me. “You look awful.”

  For once, his comment made me snort a laugh. “Do you honestly expect me to look like a bunch of roses after spending the night in a mad person’s Domain?”

  “What happened?” Hareson asked, walking up to me. He started to brush leaves and pine needles off my shoulders and out of my hair. “Why did Hatter kidnap you?”

  I brushed at the dirt on my pants. “Hatter was going to try and use my blood to get into the Emerald Castle.” I looked at Red Queen and paused, holding in the breath I took to tell her about Ace having my necklace.

  If he was hiding it in In-Between, it seemed unlikely that White Wizard was going to find it. I didn’t doubt that if Red Queen asked for it, Ace would give it to
her. At the same time, I kind of didn’t want her to have it. I wanted it to stay with Ace. Let him have something to hang onto when I was gone.

  Hareson’s eyes widened in alarm.

  Lional hissed something vulgar. “I told you we should have done something about that flea house long ago.”

  Red Queen frowned. Her arms crossed in front of her. “I worried he was going to try something drastic the moment they told me you were gone.” She met all of our gazes. “We need to go, regardless. False Dawn in is three hours. We don’t have time to stand here and babble. Hatter will have to be dealt with at a later time.”

  We took her cue and started to walk.

  Hareson glanced at me. “How did you get out of there?”

  I waved a hand, coming up with a quick lie. “When they heard about your army, they panicked. While they were running around, I snuck out the back.” Or I was marched out the front door on the shoulder of the Cheshire Cat. But I wasn’t about to tell them that. I wasn’t in the mood and didn’t have the energy to fight with Lional’s opinion. It was clear he wasn’t a fan of Ace on any level. It was best not to mention him at all.

  Red Queen glanced at me, clearly reading between the lines. Her red, heart-shaped lips thinned and she looked away, her beautiful face strained. Hareson looked between us, and his brows shot up. Lional was oblivious.

  I broke the silence. “So, you have an army now?”

  Hareson nodded. “Yes, the first army ever assembled in Oz. We have Knights that settle small disputes, but there’s never been a need for an army before.”

  I nodded. Maybe that was what happened when the whole world was one country and people loved the Queen. Maybe it was smart of Oz to lay out the ruling like this.

  Red Queen clenched her hands at her sides. “This time, we’re going to try and defeat White Wizard ourselves. Win or lose, we’re going to try.”

  Three riders pulling four extra horses trotted up to us.