Summary: Alice failed to defeat the jabberwocky so the white queen quickly sent her home so no more harm was done. Margaret doesn't know that her sister has returned so she goes to look for her.
She went out looking for her sister. It was dark outside and she was unable to see the ground below her, then tripped. And then all she could feel was air. The next thing she knew, she felt a hand softly cleaning her forehead? What could they possibly be cleaning? When she felt the hand retreat to the water she saw a originally white towel stained red.
She pointed a trembling finger at the rag then said, "Is…that…b-blood?"
"You hit your head pretty hard. An almost fatal mistake, my lady" said a voice, who was now applying a bandage on her forehead.
"W-Where am I, sir?" she reached up and touched the man's cheek.
"Underland" the man told her and smiled at the woman next to him. She looked up and saw she was at a campsite with card soldiers? But who was this man tending to her head injury?
"Who are you? Why are there walking and talking cards?" she asked in almost a whisper.
"My name is Ilosovic Stayne, and these are soldiers for the red queen. I am her knave and I command them. Might I be able to know your name?"
"Margaret. Margaret Manchester"
"Excuse me for a moment" he stood up then told something inaudible to a soldier.
She hadn't noticed how tall he was. A slight breeze was forming and his dark hair blew ever so slightly with it and she found that quite attractive. What am I thinking? she thought to herself. I'm married. But then again, Lowell does this to me all the time. He should have a taste of his own medicine.
Stayne looked back at her. He saw her staring at him, capturing him in a piercing gaze. He was done talking to the soldier and went back down on his knees to Margaret's level. "You need to rest" She motioned to get up but he placed a gentle hand on her abdomen stopping her from rising any further. He placed his arms behind and under her and lifted her up, carrying her over to a tent and setting her down on a cot. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you a more comfortable stay, but these campsites were made to get the job done, not for comfort"
Since Margaret had always been in a life of luxury, sleeping there would prove difficult. Stayne walked outside and sat down thinking about the woman now in his care. What happens when we go back to Salazen Grum? What am I supposed to do with her? Should I convince Iracabeth to let her into the court? They seem like they would get along nicely, maybe not with her temper, but I'm sure it'll work out. It was getting late and he needed to get to sleep so he pulled out another cot and his eyelid soon drooped closed.
Margaret opened her eyes and gave a small yawn, covering her mouth to be ladylike. When she saw Stayne she gave a small gasp because he was sleeping in the same tent as her. He was woken up by the gasp, so he sat up yawned, and stretched his long arms which Margaret couldn't take her eyes off of. "Feeling better?"
"Much better than yesterday, thank you" she said smiling at his long form.
"I think your bandage could be changed"
She placed her hand on her head and nodded at feeling it. He pulled out another strip from a kit, sat on her cot, and exchanged the bandages. She blushed at the fact that he was so close. "Thank you" she sweetly told him.
"Of course" he told her before disposing of the used bandage.
"So what is the queen like?"
He hesitated, wondering if he should tell the truth or lie "Uhh… she can be sweet at times, but has a high temper and her main form of punishment is decapitation. And her court consists of mutants. They have some body part larger than the norm, such as a large nose or large ears".
"She sounds freaky" she said with a small smile across her lips.
"She is freaky" he laughed at her comment. "And we have to go back to her castle today. Do you want to go to the above world today or stay here?"
She thought about it for a moment. If she stayed she didn't have to deal with Lowell and had the opportunity to stay with this handsome man. "I think I might want to stay"
"Alright then, I can try to convince her to have you as part of her court, but its going to be hard because you don't have an enlarged body part". She brushed off his comment wondering how the day would transpire. He offered his hand which she took without hesitation, leading her to his horse and helped her onto it. Seeing her secure, he jumped behind her, wrapping his hands across her waist to grab the reigns, which she couldnt help but smile at how close he was to her. "To Salazen Grum" he told the cards then flicked the reigns which the horse in turn took them on a steady gallop to the red queen's castle.