‘You’re too late,’ Chess said.
‘Why do you always sneak up on people?’ Alice scolded. ‘What happened, Chess?’
‘Croon’s alive, the rebels saved him from the house, along with Stilt. They’re fighting now at Willow Woods. Both queens are there with their armies. You’re too late to help them. The queen of hearts has an army twice the size.’
Robin’s eyes sparkled. ‘Perhaps we should join the fight. I have a plan.’
Alice ran into the woods alone while Robin went to the castle to retrieve his bow and arrows and the chest.
She and Chess reached the clearing and gulped.
Two armies—one dressed in red and adorned with hearts, and the other dressed in white, emblazoned with beautiful white roses—faced one another across the clearing in the middle of Willow Woods. Not a sound could be heard as they sized each other up across the plain.
A trumpet sounded, and cries from both sides could be heard, jeering and heckling.
‘SILENCE!’ cried the queen of hearts, and both sides fell deadly quiet again, waiting for the order.
‘CHARGE!’
Both sides advanced towards the centre of the field, weapons drawn until they reached their opponents.
‘ATTACK!’
The clash of steel on steel along with the screams and cries of battle were deafening. Alice looked around, and all she could see was violence, anger, and bloodshed. The red queen sat atop a magnificent steed, yelling orders to her army, though most were too engrossed in fighting for their lives to hear her.
‘GET ALICE!’ the red queen screamed, pointing at where Alice had run farther into the forest to escape the onslaught. Realizing that none of her men had heard her, she sighed. ‘Do I have to do everything myself?’ she muttered under her breath while dismounting from her horse and pulling out the Sword of Souls.
Alice was out of sight and hidden behind a tree, watching the battle unfold, when a hand covered her mouth, stifling her scream, and a strong pair of arms held her tightly.
‘Guess who,’ said a rugged, manly voice, one which she recognized instantly.
‘Robin, you scared me half to death,’ Alice turned and slapped him playfully.
‘I've been waiting for a chance to show off,’ Robin said with a grin then pulled the bow off his back and loaded an arrow from his quiver. ‘Watch this.’
With that, he fired, not taking his eyes off Alice, and took one of the queen’s guards off his horse.
‘That’s all well and good,’ said Alice, ‘but please, keep an eye on where you're pointing that thing.’
Robin smirked and quickly reloaded then fired again and again, every shot a direct hit for its intended target.
‘Ah-ha, I've got you now, you sniveling little nitwit.’ The queen’s shrill voice rang through Alice’s ears. ‘And what's this? You have an accomplice?’ She gasped as Robin turned to show his face. ‘Treacherous scallywag, I trusted you, allowed you into my castle, and you're working with her? Prepare to die, both of you.’
She raised her sword and swung it at Alice's head, but Robin deflected the strike with his trusty dagger. Alice watched in horror and awe as they danced a deadly dance of swords, both Robin and the Queen attacking and defending with graceful finesse.
‘It seems the stories of your swordsmanship are greatly exaggerated, milady,’ said Robin, easily parrying her every attack.
Enraged, the queen lunged at him, and Robin quickly sidestepped so the queen tripped and fell to the ground, dropping her sword. Robin tossed Alice his dagger, and she held it to the queen’s neck while Robin picked up the mysterious glowing sword from the forest floor.
‘So this is it? The fabled Sword of Souls? Legend says that this sword has the power to kill immortals. I wonder if that’s true.’ Robin cast a watchful eye over Snow and pointed the sword at her, signalling for Alice to step back.
‘NO!’ screamed Alice, stepping between Robin and the Queen. ‘I won’t let you kill her. She killed my sister; I want her to suffer.’
‘As you wish, love. What should I do with her instead?’ asked Robin.
Alice ripped a strip from her dress and handed it to Robin, “Tie her up with this and march her onto the battlefield.”
♥♥♥
All fighting ground to a halt as Robin and Alice dragged the defeated queen onto the field.
Cries of cheers went up from the white side while the red army kept quiet. ‘You are all to surrender,’ Galissa said, who rode up on the back of a white stallion. She jumped off her horse and looked into the Queen of Heart’s green eyes. ‘Sister.’
‘I am not your sister,’ she spat.
‘I have something for you.’ Galissa pulled out a chest with a beating heart in it. ‘Robin gave this to me. It contains your heart. If you open it and take back your heart, you will not lose your head.’
The queen looked down at the familiar chest. She cursed Gerard for making both of her important chests look exactly alike.
Robin grinned and held Alice’s arm. ‘This should be fun.’
Alice lifted an eyebrow. ‘What did you do?’
‘I placed the queen’s heart back in her chest last week. Spiked her with a sleeping draught. She must have her heart to die.’
‘What’s in the chest … oh!’ Alice grinned. ‘The souls.’
‘Indeed.’
The queen, formerly known as Snow, pulled the lid off the chest and was thrown backward. Lori was the first to appear, followed by a very angry looking witch, Jackie, who disappeared from sight. Lori laughed evilly. ‘I’ll be back,’ she promised and disappeared.
Edward appeared, looking more handsome than ever, and narrowed his eyes at Snow. Edward looked around, tears pricking at his eyes, and ground his teeth. ‘I too, will be back!’
Peter fell to the floor, wrapping his arms around his legs. On realizing he was free, he looked at Snow with nothing but malice then ran off leaving a broken-hearted Snow looking at James.
‘Snow,’ James whispered. He seemed surprised to see her standing there as if the hope of ever seeing her again had faded so much that she could have been a figment of a dream all that time. Seeing James twisted her stomach in a way she had never felt and seeing him brought something she hadn’t expected; comfort.
Everyone fell silent, waiting to see the queen’s reaction.
She flung herself in to his arms, much to his surprise, and tears swept down her cheeks and onto his jumper. He stroked her hair as she nuzzled into his neck, sobbing. She’d expected him to thrown her off him; after all that she had done to him, any other reaction would be ridiculous, yet he continued to surprise her. He kissed her forehead. ‘I’m here now. It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.’
‘I love you so much!’ she cried.
‘And I you.’
‘I remember everything. I almost lost my mind going through this plan.’
He pressed his lips together. ‘You can’t be serious? This was all a part of your plan?’
She nodded but didn’t elaborate.
Alice laughed. ‘So wait, there is a happy ending, after all?’
Snow looked at Alice. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said softly. ‘I had no heart, and when I did, it was broken into a thousand pieces.’ She looked at James. ‘Now, it’s fixed.’
Alice shook her head. ‘Wendy is dead.’
Snow bit her lip. ‘I don’t know what to say— no words can express how sorry I am.’
‘Forget it!’ Alice said angrily. ‘Help Robin rid himself of Clarissa, who has taken over his forest. It’s something.’ Alice frowned. It was not enough, but it was true; the woman standing in front of her was not the same one who killed her sister, she could see that. Surprisingly, that made her angrier.
Snow smiled. ‘I will do anything.’
Robin nodded stiffly. ‘We leave tonight.’
Galissa hugged Snow, tears gliding down her porcelain cheeks, and Red joined them. ‘We missed you.’
Snow teared up. ‘Can yo
u forgive me?’
Galissa nodded. ‘Can you forgive me? I should have been there for you more.’
Alice interjected. ‘One other thing you can do for us.’
‘What is it?’
‘Kill Gerard. He has raped many women and tried to assault me many times, too.’
Snow looked down at her Sword of Souls. ‘The sword wants his soul anyway. I knew it all along. Let’s go back to the castle.’
Peter looked down at the ground, bitterness rolling through him as he looked at Snow hugging James through the castle window. Pablo rounded the corner and shock coursed him still. ‘Brother?’
Peter turned, tears brimming in his eyes. Shock, embarrassment, and anger bubbled in him as he poised to defend himself against whatever attack Pablo threw his way. Pablo walked over, holding out his arm. Peter summoned his powers, waiting …
‘Brother,’ Pablo said, his lips twisting in a smile. ‘It’s okay, brother. I’m not going to hurt you. I never would, and I won’t let them hurt you again. I’m with you.’ He placed his hands on Peter’s shoulders.
Peter smirked. ‘I don’t need you, brother. I’m going to Oz. Eva wants to unite us.’
‘Who?’
‘The wicked witch,’ he said with a grin. ‘She wants to unite the seven evils, and I guess I fit the bill.’ He winked at his brother and disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.
♥♥♥
Gerard was brought down from the tower as the white queen took her throne. He was brought into the palace's main room and made to kneel in the centre. ‘Your crimes are punishable by death,’ Galissa announced.
The audience jeered, and Alice watched with cold eyes. Robin took her hand and ground his teeth.
‘You have been found guilty of sexual assault and rape to almost thirty women in Wonderland, and God knows how many before,’ Snow said, stepping forward. She held her sword high. ‘Your lust will be the death of you, Gerard.’ She brought her sword down; he screamed, and the room fell silent as his head flew off and rolled along the marble floor. His soul swarmed into the prison in a ruby mist and entered its eternal prison. Snow took in a deep breath. ‘One down, six to go.’
‘Six?’ James asked as he approached her.
She nodded. ‘There are six others who are as evil as he who I must entrap. I was told by a witch, and I must carry it out. The sword no longer wants me, thanks to you.’ She smiled. ‘You seemed to take any evil right out of me.’
He squeezed her hand. ‘You never were evil, Snow. After this, we will go back to Northmanni. They need their queen.’
‘I must find the others, including the witch, Jackie, Clarissa, Lori, and Peter.’
He leaned in and whispered, ‘I will follow you to the end of the world, my queen.’
She turned and brushed her lips against his. ‘And you will always be my one true love.’
Everyone left the hall, and Wonderland was at peace again. Robin turned to Alice with doe eyes. ‘And everyone lived happily ever after,’ he said.
‘Ergh,’ she groaned. ‘You soppy idiot.’ She poked him playfully. ‘What about my happily ever after?’
‘Snow will come with me to Sherwood Forest to kill Clarissa. Then I will start again there. You can always come with me.’
Alice nodded. ‘I’ll go with you. I have nowhere else to go.’
He held her hands. ‘You can go with me. You want to travel, Alice? We can go together. We can see the world and then settle in Sherwood but only if you want?’
‘Settle?’ She lifted an eyebrow.
He shrugged. ‘I thought it’d be all right.’
‘You want to settle with me?’
He smirked. ‘What a boring pair we make, eh?’
She giggled. ‘So incredibly boring.’
‘I’ll pack my stuff, and then we will go and find Snow.’
Alice smiled and ran her finger down the front of his shirt. ‘You can always help me pack if you want.’ She bit her lip and glanced toward the stairs.
‘You got it, love,’ he said and winked.
♥♥♥
‘Where did Peter go? Tell me!’ Snow demanded.
The piper looked at the ground. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Stop protecting him. He will hurt more people. Is that what you want?’
He pressed his lips together. ‘Sorry, but he’s my brother.’
‘He’s gone to Oz!’ Red shouted, running over to them.
‘Where?’
Red panted. ‘Another land. The wicked witch is here. She’s come to protect those who have escaped. She wants to unite the evils of the world.’
Snow turned, and her heart skipped a beat. A woman dressed in a torn black dress and pointed hat stood by the palace.
Croon was standing in front of her with wide eyes.
Croon’s eyes widened. ‘Eva?’
She took off her pointed hat and looked him up and down. ‘I go by the wicked witch now. Haven’t you heard?’
‘You’re alive.’
‘Surprised? Considering you’re the reason I almost died.’
He kneeled to the floor. ‘I didn’t mean to, I—’
‘Yeah,’ she said and waved her hand dismissively. ‘And now you will feel my wrath. Everyone will feel my wrath.’
Snow walked over, sword in hand, and pursed her lips. ‘Your wrath will be the death of you.’
Eva cackled and summoned a green smoke. ‘Or the death of all you.’
She disappeared in the cloud of smoke. Snow looked down at Croon, who was sobbing into his purple waistcoat. ‘You know her?’
He didn’t respond.
‘Hatter?’
‘I don’t go by that anymore,’ he replied solemnly. ‘It’s all my fault. I need to find her. I have to help her.’
Snow gulped. ‘I know where she’s gone. I heard the stories, and I’d rather not go, but …’
Croon stood up. ‘Please, tell me.’
‘She’s gone back to the land of Oz.’
‘How do we get there?’
James smirked. ‘We take the yellow brick road, of course.’
‘First,’ Snow said, ‘we must go to Sherwood Forest.’
♥♥♥
Snow and James jumped through the mirror, which now allowed anyone to leave, and were followed by Robin and Alice. Croon waited in Wonderland and planned to leave for Oz as soon as Snow had gone. He didn’t want to go to Oz with them. They wanted to kill Eva, and he wanted to save her, which meant that there could be no friendship between them.
Croon walked into the palace hall. ‘My Queen,’ he said and bowed to Galissa. ‘I have come to say goodbye.’
‘Where are you going?’ she asked sadly.
‘Oz,’ he admitted, realising there was no point in hiding it.
She nodded. ‘You must go down a yellow brick road.’
‘How do I get there?’
She smiled. ‘You travel by tornado, of course.’
♥♥♥
The four sailed to Sherwood Forest.
They walked through the dark trees, hiding from the skinners who hunted there. Robin kept his hand around Alice’s waist as they approached the house of the monster of Vanity, Clarissa.
Through the window, they saw four people, including a monster, and Clarissa, sitting around a fire playing cards.
Clarissa wore the face of a woman a skinner had killed in the forest. Clarissa and the handsome monster sat together, holding hands.
Clarissa, her stepmother, Milly, Father, Frank, and the monster all danced around the table gleefully to the most beautiful melody any of them had ever heard. Clarissa froze and looked over at the door. ‘They’re here.’
Milly gulped, and Frank grabbed his axe.
They had come. The ones who promised to free the forest’s souls. To kill Clarissa, who had become the embodiment of Vanity. They could hear their whispers.
Robin, Alice, Snow, and James stormed through the door. Snow plunged her sword into Clarissa, and all the souls trap
ped in the forest flew into the sky.
Clarissa’s dad and step mom felt the release of the insanity that bound them; they had not realised that they were imprisoned until now.
‘What have we done?’ Milly asked, gasping for air as all the murder she had committed washed over her. ‘What have you done?’ She looked over at Snow.
Snow smiled. ‘We freed you.’
Clarissa’s parents left the forest, hoping to start a life where they would try to forget the evil that had befallen them.
Robin grinned as his merry men were broken from their curse and once again joined him. ‘We can just stay here,’ Alice said, feeling a sense of home in the depths of the beautiful forest. ‘It’s no Wonderland, but it’s home.’
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. ‘Anywhere is home if I’m with you.’
‘With the white queen in charge, I bet Wonderland is beautiful now.’
‘Do you think we could ever return?’ Robin asked.
Alice looked down sadly. ‘I doubt it. I was told that when we said goodbye for good, we would not be able to find a way back to the mirror.’
Robin squeezed her shoulder. ‘At least, Wonderland is at peace now. We did our job.’
‘We did.’
He moved a piece of hair away from her eyes and took a deep breath. ‘I love you.’
She rose to her tiptoes and kissed him softly then grinned. ‘I love you, also.’
I have loved Alice in Wonderland, like so many since I was a small child. The idea of a world where anything is possible, full or magic and weirdness always called to me.
I started writing the Haunting Fairytales Series at the beginning of 2015. The first book tells the stories of The Frog Prince, Beauty and The Beast, Rumplestiltskin, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid. Intertwining all the stories together, I had my main character’s feature in each book. The main character featured in all three books is Snow White, or as you may know her as the queen of hearts. I decided to write a novella about Snow’s childhood and adventures before what we see of her in The Enchanted Kingdoms, called The Forgotten Princess. It’s available now on Kindle for only 99c.
Into Wonderland (Haunting Fairytales Series Book 3) Page 10
