I do not own Syfy's Alice.

I do not own Hatter. Shame.

Tales of the White Knight

Chapter 3: My Knightly Pride and Sorrow

I proudly escorted Just Alice and her Vassal past the beautiful giant white mushroom, ever deeper into the mythical forest of Wabe. I rode ahead upon my striking white steed (his paint was peeling some; I must needs reapply soon). I had graciously bestowed upon them my lovely bay, Guinevere. (Truthfully, her name was Dot. However, that moniker lacked a certain essential dignity.) Having once again donned my chain mail cowl, I traveled gloriously through the wood, my new companions following behind.

To prevent us from being tracked, I had attached another of my genius inventions to Guinevere's saddle. The netting was cast with magical elements so that as it passed over the ground, our horses' tracks were wiped clean away and beautiful young grass shoots instantly sprang up in their place. Simple, clever, eco-friendly. One of my better inventions, if I am to admit.

As we rode along at an easy clip, my elation at having discovered the Stone of Wonderland and new cohorts with which to share in my adventures soon overtook me again. I broke into rapturous song.

"Hey, nonny nonny! Hey, nonny nonny! The wind and the . . ."

'Twas not so much about the words that I sang in my rich timbre but the emotion conveyed in them.

Ah, the knights! Pride for their everlasting honor. Sorrow for their lost nobility. My yearning for the return of a more peaceful era to the realm. Ah, the knights!

Reaching the proper locale, ready at last for the momentous reveal, I pulled back a strategically grown verdant branch and, with honest pride, stated,

"Welcome . . . to the Kingdom of the Knights."

We gazed out over the beautiful forest vista onto the lost Kingdom of the Knights. The enormous, majestic chess pieces that had been carved painstakingly out of the very rock of the world stood out in clear relief. They had once been glowing white. Now, I was sad to admit, they appeared discolored and worn by the passage of time. Once impressive stone structures now slowly deteriorated into the earth. Cracked, crumbling walkways stretched out over the vast expanse of the forest.

Just Alice and her Vassal looked on with me in wonder and I felt their awe for this place radiating out along with my own. Barely a soul, save myself, had looked up this marvel in so long. I was most grateful that they were beholding it now. This past grandeur must never be forgotten.

After dismounting the horses and leaving them to graze, we walked slowly among the giant chess pieces of knight and bishop. Ancient lore had revealed that the knight represented the brave, armed cavalry. Posterity recorded the bishop sometimes as a messenger and sometimes as a fool. Oh, my deepest desire, to be a true knight. And my deepest, unspoken fear that I was indeed, a fool.

I revealed the Knights' history as I led our small company on foot along the path to our destination. I chose not employ my usual brand of dramatic flair whilst introducing Just Alice and her Vassal to this most historic and tragic of locations. I simply walked and talked quietly of it whilst allowing them to meander ahead of me and discover it for themselves as I spoke.

"Before the war with the Queen of Hearts, this was once the greatest city in the realm. The Red King and his Elected Council ruled Wonderland with the wisdom of the ages."

They seemed genuinely interested in my account, listening quietly while walking and gazing at several regal, sadly abandoned structures. Even the Vassal seemed to have discarded his roguish demeanor in favor of gentler conduct. Perhaps I had judged him too quickly, too harshly. Perhaps.

"And the Hearts destroyed everything?"

Ah, my dear Just Alice, how succinctly do you speak.

"We lived in harmony for a thousand years, but when the Queen came to power, she just wanted to feel the good, not the bad."

Even I, with my flair of the dramatic and willingness to turn a blind eye, could not deny the importance of emotional balance.

I stood quietly for a moment, allowing them to consider my revelations. 'Twas indeed a sad tale and one I was most sorrowful to relay. Just Alice's clear blue eyes shone with sorrow. Her Vassal appeared to be affected by my words as well. His usual jaunty air was replaced now by a somewhat subdued solemnity.

I turned and revealed a most sorrowful place. Ah, it had once been so majestic. Oh, the glorious days long past. Now there were but a few remnants left.

"Believe it or not, this was once the throne room."

After the original structure had crumbled, I'd been compelled to build a somewhat haphazard shelter to ward off the elements in unpleasant weather. From it hung links of chains and several lanterns in the frequent event that I became unsettled alone in the dark.

Long tools stood in an ill used bathtub off to one side along, with a broad bench, and some bits of dismantled armor strung up on a makeshift clothesline. A wooden ladder leaned against one tree for me to ascend to my lookout point when necessary. A campfire with a hanging curved metal pan stood well out of way of the trees in the middle of the small glade.

My swinging hammock hung between two stout trees near a low stone wall. The view out onto the Kingdom of the Knights was glorious to behold, but some days I could not bear to look for sadness at this abandoned glory. Miscellaneous items were strewn about the area.

Occasionally I felt a bit of guilt at my careless disarray. 'Twould have thrown my Nan into a right fit for certain. Then again, she wasn't here to throw any kind of fit, was she? No, indeed. 'Twas only me alone. . . Well, no matter.

"Sadly, all that's left now is the throne."

I directed their gazes to the majestic Red King still sitting upon his white stone throne. He was all skeleton now and had been for a good many years. His royal clothes and chain mail hung loosely from him. He still clutched his sword and his tarnished golden crown was perched even now upon his head.

I was well aware of how gruesome a spectacle he made, but I had not had the heart to move him in all these years. Alas, after all this time, his gaze still penetrated my soul, reminding me of my own worst sin, my own dreadful folly.

Ah, but that was a tale for another time.

Perhaps with the arrival of Just Alice and her Vassal, he would not stare so intently into my soul tonight when the sun hid away and the stars lay just beyond my reach in the dark, unforgiving sky. When all my singing in this world could not keep the Red King's deep, gravelly voice quiet in my head. Perhaps Just Alice and her Vassal could quiet him.

One could only hope.

We have grown a bit somber in this chapter I know, but even our man Charlie here has some quiet clarity from time to time. Don't we all?