Alice Games

by Michelle R. Reid

  She shook her head, biting her lips. Her face wrinkled in pain, and her hands fisted in her dress.

  Lional stood up, his demeanor suddenly threatening.

  I ignored him. It wasn’t hard to understand that that type of behavior might be why Red Queen’s never had someone to help her heal. “Why?” I asked the tiny woman.

  “It was because of me,” she cried, tears spilling over. Her fists jumped up and pressed against her wet cheeks. “It was all for me. To protect me.” She sobbed.

  “He was White Wizard’s slave to protect you. When Ace first witnessed White Wizard turn evil, White Wizard used your safety to force Ace’s obedience. But you kind of already knew that, didn’t you? And when Ace became the Knight of Oz, White Wizard became more obsessed with Ace.”

  She nodded. Lional slowly sank back into his chair, looking stricken. Apparently he never knew.

  “You said Ace was in charge of the Alices’ safety. Weren’t you the one who asked him to do that?” As much as I found talking about him with other women distasteful, it was a subject we needed to discuss.

  “I was always with the Alices. I just wanted him to be near me. I didn’t ask him to play with them so much. I didn’t ask him to make them love him.” Her voice hardened.

  “You know him well,” I said softly. “Why do you think he did it?”

  “For me.” She moaned, emotions calming down. “It was so he had sway over what they decided. It started when White Wizard first tried to charm them. Ace wooed them instead so they would choose me. Then it became habit for Ace to treat them like that.” She shook her head and brushed daintily at the tears on her cheeks. “But I never asked him to do that. I didn’t need him to.” Her brow pulled together. “I wanted him to love me. Just me.” Her voice broke again, but she didn’t sob.

  Lional’s hands clenched on the table, and he glared at them.

  I looked at the floor. “He always has.” I lifted my eyes, a bitter smile on my face. “Couldn’t you tell? Just because it wasn’t the love you wanted, doesn’t mean he didn’t. Do you think he would have done all that for you if he didn’t love you?”

  She took a sharp breath. “Then why did he betray me? Why did he kill that Alice and lock me up? Why did he become the Cheshire Cat?”

  “Because she was going to make herself Queen.” I let that sink in as they all stared at me in surprise. “What would have happened to you, to Oz, if that happened? He didn’t mean to kill her, just stop her. You would have known that if you actually asked him. At the same time, he’d do—and has done—anything for his country. In my world, we would call him a hero.”

  She looked away.

  Lional scowled. “What does it matter? This is the past. He still abandoned us.”

  “We’ll see.” I looked at him, finally understanding Lional’s jealousy of Ace. Ace had gotten everything that Lional ever wanted without even trying. And Ace didn’t even want it.

  Red Queen was quiet, standing still with her hands folded together in front. There was a slight frown on her red lips as she stared at the decorative rug on the floor, thinking and wrestling with the emotions I just forced her to face. Slowly, the lines on her brows smoothed out. I don’t know what conclusions she came to, but the tranquility that set in was a good sign in my book.

  Finally, she took a deep breath and turned to me. “You said yesterday that you didn’t believe falling in love could happen so quickly. You feel differently now. But you’re just like me now. Neither of us can have him.” There was no venom in her words, just sorrow.

  I smiled at her through the sting in my heart. “I guess the difference is, I’ve always known I couldn’t keep him.” My eyes dropped to the ground. It hurt, it really did. But it didn’t change the fact that I might have already seen Ace for the last time.

  Still, there was something else I wanted to say. Someone else needed credit, too. I looked up at Red Queen. “You said you felt love for everyone by nature. But it seems like you are blind to the love other people give. There are other good men here in Oz. One has been professing love to you over and over again his whole life. Maybe you’d be surprised at how happy you could be with him.”

  Lional glanced at me in shock.

  Red Queen’s eyes widened in confusion.

  I sighed. Enough mushy stuff. It was time to end this. One more test and I could graduate this place. As much as I was looking forward to going home, the sad sting I felt at the thought of never seeing these three people or Oz again was unexpected. I’d been hunted, soaked, and forced into princess dresses. I’d been turned into a cat, kidnapped by a baboon, and had my murder planned in detail by a mad hyena.

  And yet, when I thought of Oz, I thought of a magical place. Where glistening mist hangs in the air and watery rainbows leapt from the center of white flowers. And a handsome man smiles down at me, so relaxed and full of laughter.

  I’d go through all this again just to relive that one minute.

  But time only stands still in Oz, it doesn’t go backwards. I blinked out of my thoughts and smiled at them. “Well, I’ll see you when I come out of the Emerald Castle.” I walked to the door and opened it. “Let’s see if I can be the last Alice.” I waved at their shocked faces and walked out.

  The mist wasn’t white anymore, but a golden pinkish color, like the clouds during the sunset, even though it was just before noon. False Dawn. I’d better hurry. Like a trusty bloodhound, the Yellow Path was bright against the dull ground, pointing right through the mist.

  People of the army stopped what they were doing to watch me leave the encampment. I didn’t know what they were thinking, but I had their full attention. Within seconds, the entire camp was swallowed by mist and disappeared.

  Chapter Twenty

  The Emerald Castle loomed overhead, peaking through the mist and casting a faint green color that tainted the rosy pink mist, even from a distance. It was so beautiful with its slender spires and whimsically arched windows, yet striking and almost puzzling because of the overpowering variations of green.

  The sky behind it was a rainbow of warm colors that complimented the hue of the castle all the more, as they slowly faded into night with each step I took in the direction of the castle. With my objective so obviously ahead, there was little reason for me to use Yellow Path, even if the stale mist that surrounded me was so thick it rippled when I waved my hands.

  The trees had long since thinned out until they were gone, leaving a ground that was hard and flat, with bushes that were few and far between. Then all at once, the Yellow Path ended.

  I glanced down and paused. The ground had changed. It wasn’t just brown dirt anymore. It looked like someone had painted a giant checker board on it. I crouched down and scratched at it. It wasn’t painted or imprinted onto the surface; the dirt was naturally white or black, depending on the spot. I dropped black dirt on a white square, and the dirt immediately turned white. Shaking my head, I looked around and jolted when I saw a plant sitting on a white square.

  Brows knitted, I walked over to it. I touched the green, spidery leaves. This was a silver brake fern, a very common plant in America, both in pots and in the wild.

  Glancing around, I spotted other plants that belonged on Earth. Not Oz. There weren’t many, but history has proved it didn’t take long for a foreign species to snuff out a native one. To a closed ecosystem like Oz, it could destroy everything. How did it get here? Ace said that the blood of Alices was ripping holes in Oz. Was this what Ace meant when he said Oz was on the verge of collapsing? Was being connected with my world for so long contaminating Oz?

  I stood up and brushed my hands clean. I had to get into the castle before time was up. If the deep orange bleeding in to the sky was any indication, I needed to hurry.

  The pink haze thinned above me, revealing stars that twinkled in the noonday sky. All at once, the mist flooded across the ground like water and rushed over the side of a cliff, finally exposing a giant void between the castle and Oz, gapped by a hanging w
ooden bridge.

  It wasn’t that far, I realized with relief. Just a simple walk across this stretch of checkered ground, and I was safe. I took a couple hurried steps, then stopped.

  All the hairs on my body stood up as goosebumps prickled my arms. Frowning, I looked around. Someone was out there, watching me. “Who’s there?”

  It wasn’t Ace. He liked to announce his presence immediately by making me jump. Besides, I’d never experienced this tense feeling in my gut with him. I was about to call out his name as a scare tactic to whoever it was, when someone walked out of the mist.

  It was the only person in Oz who wouldn’t be scared of Ace. He was dressed in a white tunic, off-white pants, white boots, and short white cape over his right shoulder. His chin was high, and pale blond hair swept back from his face. Every step he took left an ice print in his wake. He stopped in front of me and stared down with pale gray eyes.

  I froze. My gut screamed to run as fast as I could, but I couldn’t go back. There wasn’t enough time. I couldn’t reach the Emerald Castle with him in the way, either. Was this where he would try to kill me? Red Queen said this was a neutral zone, but would that include White Wizard dragging me off the Game Board to kill me?

  My chin tipped back and I met his gaze levelly. “I assume you’re the White Wizard? I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  A cold smile cracked his lips. “My, an Alice who’s actually charming. Quite different from the earlier versions. Yes, I am Queen Candidate White. The rightful Queen of Oz.”

  I leaned on a hip, trying to act like I wasn’t as scared as I was. “I’ve heard a couple of people claiming that title. How are you any different?”

  His hands thrust out wide. Suddenly, the ground around us was frozen and under six inches of snow. “As you can see, I don’t need people to tell me I am the right Queen. Oz itself submits to me.”

  My arms clamped around my body to fend off the sudden freezing air, but there was nothing to do about my feet. “Some people would call that oppression.” Sarcasm laced my voice.

  His hands fisted and fell to his side. “Charming and cheeky. Very different indeed. I might have use for you, after all.” His hand came up and rubbed his smooth jaw in thought.

  “Why would I help you? You want me dead.”

  A cruel smile touched his lips. “It’s because I want you dead. You see, I don’t need you to pick me as Queen. I could have killed you a number of times since you got here and achieved that.”

  I gasped when ice wrapped around my legs, effectively locking me into place.

  “However,” he went on, “there is something I want out of the Emerald Castle that only an Alice can get.”

  My brows drew together, and another foot of ice rose over my legs. Shivering in earnest, I glared at him. “And what is that?”

  “The Vorpal Blade.”

  My eyes widened. Ignorantly, I thought he wanted the wand. Then he’d possess all of Oz’s magic. But why would he? It contains magic that he’s already rejected. But Vorpal Blade can do something that he can’t.

  White Wizard smiled wide. “If there is only one Queen Candidate, there won’t be a need for another Alice Games. After that little red girl is dead, Oz will be mine.”

  So that’s what his play was. No wonder I hadn’t seen him yet. He was after a bigger target than me. He must not know that Ace had my necklace still. I hid my fear with disdain. “Maybe. Now tell me why I should help you when you’re freezing my butt off?” I motioned to the ice.

  “That?” He smiled. “It’s a promise. If you don’t agree to help me ...” He left the sentence hanging. The ice grew another foot up to my waist.

  “What do I get out of the deal?”

  “To live. Simple, isn’t it? Once the Queen has been selected, the Alice is sent home. You won’t even have to die.” His logic was chilling, even to me.

  “Ever thought I’d say ‘yes’ to get out of here, then betray you?” I stammered through chattering teeth.

  He laughed. “That would be foolish. After all, I will be waiting for you right here. That Red child doesn’t have the persistence to come here and help you. Depending on what you carry out of the Emerald Castle, you’ll either live or die. Understand?” He turned and walked back into the mist.

  When he completely disappeared, the ice around me vanished. My freezing legs collapsed onto the frozen ground. Muttering curses at him, I clawed my way off the snow patch and flopped onto the warm white and black dirt. I lay there for a while until my feet stopped tingling, think about what he had just said.

  So he’d come to the same conclusion I had. The only way to stop the Alice Games was to make sure there was only one Queen. And it sounded like he knew how to do it.

  Of course he wanted Red Queen dead. I’d witnessed him yelling it at the top of his lungs to her face. I frowned, thinking of that scene. He’d threatened to kill her if she ever became a real Queen Candidate. It was the combined effort of Ace’s obedience during Jewel Queen’s rule and Oz postponing Red Queen’s election until the moment the last Queen was murdered that kept Red Queen alive until the Alice Games began. Then the two Queen Candidates were physically separated.

  Ace was given Blood at the start of the Alice Games, and he lived in peace with Red Queen—until he broke the rules and became the Cheshire Cat. Then Blood was taken away, and he was forced to live with White Wizard.

  That couldn’t be a coincidence, could it? The Vorpal Blade was the only thing that could permanently kill someone. But why couldn’t people die, anyway? I’d thought it was because the land was sick. Maybe that explained the lack of births, but not the deaths. After all, Bauer and Jewel Queen died, and that was when Red Queen, the last born child, was about sixteen. Again White Wizard’s face came to mind as he furiously screamed, The day she becomes a Queen Candidate, nothing will stop me from killing her!”

  Was that it?

  In order to protect Red Queen, Oz stopped the death cycle for all of Oz. Then to get around the problem that no one could die, not even the Queen Candidate it wanted to replace, Oz created the Vorpal Blade and gave it to the Knight of Oz.

  I paused, remembering the scene I saw with Ace and Red Queen sitting happily together. That event happened before the Games started, but it was still an example of how things were supposed to be. While Ace was with the correct Queen, he could keep the sword while Oz waited for him to understand and do his job. But as soon as he was banished to chaos, Oz took away the sword so it wouldn’t fall into White Wizard’s hands.

  I bit my lips, staring at the stars that were getting brighter in the dark red sky. Why am I here? What was I supposed to do? But even as I thought that, I already knew. Oz couldn’t talk to anyone here in Oz, so it looked for outside help, someone it could talk to. To help those figure out what they should do.

  “It makes sense now,” I said out loud. “I’m just the delivery girl. And here everyone thought I was so important.” I laughed, realizing the joke was on me. It was a relief, yet at the same time, it didn’t make things easier. I looked over at the large green castle, frowning.

  “Well, it sounds like I’ll have to make sure both packages get to their rightful owners.”

  ***

  The faintly glowing Emerald Castle was pretty no matter how I looked at it, but it didn’t change the fact that only pale clouds supported it. Not very comforting. And the only way into said floating castle was on a wooden drawbridge with no railings, also dangling in the almost black air. At least the door was open, even if it looked dark inside.

  Scowling, I shoved a hand through my hair and pulled tight, trying to make the pain distract me from the nausea churning in my stomach. This sucked. A lot. Well, standing here wasn’t going to get it over with and I was almost out of time. “Here goes,” I whispered, and took a big breath. Man, I really didn’t want to do this.

  I ran for the door as fast as I could. The first step onto the bridge, where I could see the beams of blue sky between the cracks of the planks almost t
urned me back. But the wood stayed steady, and my momentum carried me to the next step. The updraft coming from the cliff blew my hair in my face. I flinched but kept running. It took me a couple steps to realize that with each time my foot hit the wood, the green castle in front of me glowed brighter and brighter as if taking place of the sun.

  I squinted and lifted a hand to block out the light as I tried to keep my eyes focused on the open door, but my gaze slipped to the side. Below, there was nothing but clouds highlighted in green, floating in the black pitch. It really did look like the end of the world. I tripped on a plank and staggered, arms flailing wildly, before gaining my balance. My stomach twisted, and it took everything I had not to hurl.

  I would have given anything to have Ace’s hand to steady me now, but that wasn’t an option. It was my turn to help him. I clench my teeth together so tight they hurt and ran faster than ever to the door. When I passed through the threshold of Emerald Castle, I bent over, sucking in air and trying not to melt into jelly. I did not want to do that again. Unfortunately, I still had to give Red Queen her wand and that drawbridge was the only way out.

  I looked up, and my mouth dropped open. “Oh, wow.”

  I didn’t see any furniture, but the castle didn’t need it to be amazing. The glowing, green walls were covered in moving pictures. To my right was the Shibuya Crossing in Japan. I watched as the cars stopped moving and people swarmed the intersection, walking whatever direction they wanted to go. To my left was Times Square, with all the people bustling around the taxis. The ceiling resembled a green sky, complete with clouds and birds flying in the direction opposite of the entrance. On the green marble floor was a mural of a rain forest somewhere. Insects and small animals scurried around in the same direction as the birds.

  I took my cue and started walking.

  The pictures around me changed with every wall I passed. A car raced by a sign that said Highway 66, horses ran across a meadow, airplanes passed over head, and whales breached the water’s surface before diving again. No matter what the moving picture was, it always had the same theme. Everything moved in the same direction, telling me which way to turn. Each picture was a transition or migration, getting from one place to another. Just like the Emerald Castle was the transition from Earth to Oz.