Author's Note
Awe, I have a review, favorites and follows – thank you! You are all amazing. I hope everyone will enjoy this chapter. Poll:
Charles/Mirana = 5
Charles/Helen = 1
Charles dead = 1
Chapter 2
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Helen looked a little faint. "Oh, is that all?" "Pretty much," Alice answered half-heartedly. Helen stared blankly at Alice's reflection for a moment, silently telling her that she isn't amused. Alice just smiled. "So . . . should I see if it works?"
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Alice didn't know what was more surprising. The fact that her hand went through the glass with ease, the fact that both she had Helen were able to pass through the Looking Glass, or the fact that this time the journey was much smoother and they quickly arrived at their planned destination . . . Marmoreal.
They hadn't fallen from the sky or tumbled down a rabbit hole; they just stepped through the glass and came out the other side within one of the many rooms of Marmoreal Castle. Maybe it is the fact that she was not summoned to Underland, or that her home-away-from-home wasn't in danger, but she wasn't about to complain.
It took a while for them to find their bearings – there are many twists and turns within the castle – and they did end up outside more than once. Alice wondered if they had done a bit of reconstruction or if she had just missed many of the corridors during her previous visits, because she was completely lost within moments.
Although Helen was a stranger to this world, she hardly seemed bothered by it – Charles' stories had prepared her for most of it, after all, though even she found the castle to be a labyrinth - a beautiful, fairytale-book worthy labyrinth, but still a labyrinth.
But the older Kingsleigh's thirst for adventure was strong enough to suppress any comment about the maze they found themselves in. Instead, she found herself transfixed by the beauty of it all. Finally, Alice spotted the side-entrance to the grand courtyard – one she herself had taken during one of her visits.
They had just made it out of the passage when they were greeted by the White Rabbit himself. "Oh Alice, you're back!" He cheered, running up to the girl in question and jumping up to give her one of the largest hugs she has received in a long time. He silently hoped that the queen's entourage wasn't watching.
He'd never hear the end of it. Alice laughed, "Hello McTwisp." The rabbit let go and suddenly noticed the other woman accompanying the White Queen's Champion. Immediately, he began nervously twiddling with his paws. "Oh, McTwisp, this is my mother, Helen Kingsleigh."
Until she discovers the full truth, Helen will remain the woman she's always been to her, Alice decided as the elder Kingsleigh woman shook the White Rabbit's paw in greeting and he seemed to calm down a bit after she complimented him on his choice of attire. In fact, he seemed to have puffed up a bit with pride.
"You don't happen to know where the White Queen is, do you?" Alice interjected, determined not to become side-tracked. He looked confused, but answered nonetheless, wanting to be as helpful as possible. "I believe she would be in the garden at the moment, why?"
"We need to talk to her, it's rather important." Alice said gently, but even so, McTwisp immediately looked worried. "Well then we mustn't terry, her majesty might be leaving already!" He swiftly started hopping ahead of them, glancing nervously at his pocket watch every few seconds.
Helen and Alice followed behind him calmly from a close distance, keeping him in their sights. It certainly wouldn't do to get lost again. "Why are we going to see the queen?" Helen whispered curiously to her stepdaughter, keeping her voice low enough so that McTwisp will not overhear.
"She's the only one – that, I am aware of – with the same initials as those on the blanket and though I don't know for sure, I have a feeling that she might be able to give us a few answers, if not all of them." Alice whispered back, making sure not to lose sight of the White Rabbit.
Helen only looked mildly surprised. "He did seem rather enamored with such a person when he spoke of Underland. Though, I suppose that it would make sense. He often muttered something about queens in his sleep."
It didn't take long for them to reach the gardens – which is still as beautiful as Alice remembers, if not more so. They found the White Queen roaming about the paths, seemingly unaware of everything around her but the roses she was inspecting. She did so carefully, whispering under her breath and caressing their leaves with a gentle touch of her fingers.
To some it might be an eerie sight, but Alice found it almost entrancing, as though it were something sacred that few were granted the chance to witness. She wasn't certain whether it was fortunate or not, when she was snapped out of her trance, "Majesty, Alice is back!"
Nivens shouted with excitement, causing the White Queen to cut her hand on the thorns of a rose, startled. She either didn't notice or didn't overly care, as all she did was glance around, looking for the source of her start. When her eyes found McTwisp a warm smile slowly spread across her lips.
She looked up to see Alice and seemed to smile even brighter before seeing Helen and the expressions on the faces of the two Kingsleigh women. Momentarily, her smile faltered, as though a heavy weight had just been pushed down upon her shoulders and she tried to remain positive, but it was painful to do so.
Many emotions played over in her eyes that Alice couldn't see long enough to name, but eventually she smiled brightly again, standing from her crouched position, her injured hand held lightly in front of her. "Thank you for bringing them to me, Nivens. Please, prepare my private table, it seems that Mrs. Kingsleigh, Alice and I have a few things to discuss."
The Rabbit nodded, hurrying off to do as instructed, but paused before he had gotten far and glanced back tentatively. "Shall I get a bandage for that?" He asked, pointing to her hand. She seemed confused and glanced down at her hand, her eyes widening in realization, "Oh . . . yes, if you please."
He nodded and hurriedly hopped off. Before either woman could inquire to the queen's seemingly absentmindedness, Mirana glided over to them with a bright smile. "I will escort you. Marmoreal has been a bit of a maze lately with the repairs still going on.
Though personally, I think our Building Master was just looking for an excuse to make additional improvements to the castle. I have found myself completely lost, at least twice this month." She spoke with fond exasperation, motioning absently up at the castle.
Alice and Helen followed, easily keeping pace with her. Alice felt a slight twinge of hurt at how freely Mirana spoke to them – as though they've been friends for a life time. She might even have forgotten why she had taken the journey here to begin with had it not been for her request to Nivens.
"How did you know that we came to talk to you?" Helen asked, walking close to Alice while silently making an examination of the woman, realizing that she seems beautiful – and powerful – enough to make near any man warm her bed, if she so pleased. The observation left an unpleasant taste in her mouth.
"I was forewarned that something of the sort might soon occur." She said simply, momentarily pausing in her walking to gaze at her injured hand with a furrowed brow. "Then I presume that you know what we have come to talk about?" Alice asked slowly, studying the woman that might or might not be her mother.
Mirana did not answer, merely flexed the fingers of her injured hand, glancing at it with a pondering gaze before seeming to register that she had been spoken to and mulled over the words for a bit before motioning to the castle again. "Let us speak inside."
The White Queen led them to her private parlor – the table of which has been prepared for a long discussion. She paused in the centre of the room, explaining that it too had been renovated, as she looked around for something, and seemed a bit frustrated at not being able to find it.
Alice only realized that she'd been searching for her medical supplies when McTwisp entered the room with bandages, telling her to look in the first drawer of the cabinet by the window. As the queen attended to her hand Alice and Helen took the opportunity to look around.
The window that the queen had been pointed to, takes up half of the wall, overlooking most of the exterior of the castle. The room itself, also seems to be divided in three open parts – the parlor, a miniature library with an alchemy table and finally a study with a table that was pilled to the brim with parchment.
A round table rested in the centre of the parlor. Beautifully decorated, and peppered with all sorts of treats and food assortments. Alice absentmindedly noticed the tea sat and thought of her dear friend, the Mad Hatter. What would he make of the predicament that she now finds herself in?
At last, when they were all done with their individual self-appointed tasks, they gathered at the table in the parlor side of the room that was bigger than the lounge in the Kingsleigh Family House. Alice and Helen sat across from Mirana . . . at least as much "across" as they could get at a round table.
"Where would you like to begin?" Mirana asked looking at the two Kingsleigh women. Helen opened her mouth to reply, but Alice was faster, and feeling particularly bold and a little angered in that moment; "What about the part where you tell us whether or not it was you that had an affair with my father."
Helen gave Alice a shocked look. Even Alice was surprised by her own nerve, but she didn't back down, she wanted answers. The White Queen flinched – and noticeably at that – when the affair was mentioned. For a moment, Alice froze, not believing what she was seeing. Mirana took a deep breath.
"Yes, I am the one who had an affair with Charles. He was the Champion before you, I invited him to a dinner party with Iracebeth and I to celebrate the defeat of a sorcerer that had been terrorizing Witzend, Ilosovic slipped something into the wine and I woke up the next morning to find myself dreadfully underdressed with Charles' clothing upon my floor.
I doubt that you require a detailed description of the affair itself. Next question," She had spoken quickly, near absentmindedly and when she was finished used a dismissing tone while sitting stiff and preoccupied with making herself a cup of tea – all signs that she was uncomfortable with the chosen subject.
It took the two woman of London a moment to gather their wits again. The queen had surrendered to the answering far quicker than they had thought. She'd also been – and there is no better description – brutally honest. It took them by surprise. Helen recovered faster than Alice. "How did you realize what happened?"
At this question, Mirana stopped as though her body had frozen, her head rising to meet the gaze of Charles' wife. "Underland's magic revealed it to us when I went to speak to Charles to see if he had any memory of the previous night." She said after a while, speaking slowly as though half afraid to utter the words.
"And what did you do when you realized you had an affair with a married man from the above world?" Alice asked, her tone slightly accusing as the truth hit her with the power of the Jabberwocky's tail. The spoon that the Queen had picked up fell to the floor with a loud clatter and Mirana's mouth was open in shock, "I . . ."
That's that for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.
Until next time –
Lyrical-Light
