Deep into the morning, Nell peeled herself from her bed. She was still rather tired from sleeping upon the uncomfortable dungeon floor. Her headache was gone, but her back ached now, and her eyes felt heavy. She tossed her legs over the side of the bed and looked out the doors that led to her balcony. The light red curtains were parted enough for her to look out and see a sliver of the courtyard. The sun was shining brightly upon the huge hedge head designed to resemble the queen. She guessed it to almost be time for midday meal, and she sighed.
Ilosovic Stayne was waiting to ride with her.
She chose a light fabric gown of bright red, accompanied by a black riding coat and boots. She dressed quickly, ran a brush through her wavy hair, and inspected her reflection in her mirror. She looked no different than on any other day. Same old ginger tendrils, same old pale skin, same old celadon eyes, same old Nell. She pinned her hair up in a jiffy, grabbed her small red, heart-shaped sun shades from atop her dresser, and bolted from her chamber.
She swung into the kitchen, convinced the cook to give her a red velvet muffin, which she mowed hungrily. Thanking the cook for his kindness, she moved into the great hall and approached the staircase. She placed her sun shades on the bridge of her nose as she walked.
For someone who had such a difficult time sleeping the previous night, Nell had to admit that she felt content. Whether it was because she didn't have to spend the day following the queen all day, or the fact that soon she'd be off exploring lands she didn't know of with Stayne, she did not know.
As she knew was that she happened to come across the queen.
She stood proudly in the entrance to the throne room, the other courtiers gathered behind her. Um stood at the back of the pack. The queen's eyes widened when she took notice of the maiden walking toward the front gate of the castle. She cleared her throat loudly when Nell drew closer, hoping to catch her attention.
Not expecting to see the queen at all, Nell gasped to herself and dropped into a low curtsey. She was determined to prove to the queen that she still held great respect for her, although she completely disagreed with her holding her friends captive. She would show the monarch just how strong she was internally.
"Your majesty," Nell said smoothly.
Iracebeth grunted when Nell curtsied, and motioned the other courtiers to flank her. The queen then moved, a bit of authority in her step as her boots click clacked across the tiled floor of the great hall. She purposely walked as close to Nell as she could manage without running into the girl. They were so close that all Nell need do was hold out her hand and she would have tripped the queen. She remained in her curtsy as they marched down the corridor.
"Hat man, where are my hats?" the queen barked as Nell stood. "I am not a patient monarch!"
Nell half-smiled at the sight of the queen stomping her way down the long corridor. She then pivoted on her heel and headed for the stables.
In the stables, she found Stayne lifting a saddle onto a small black mare, which had a red heart painted just below her forelock. She seemed a quiet little horse, as she didn't even flinch when Stayne set the saddle upon the crimson saddle pad and began to tighten her girth. Nell leaned against the stall door to observe as the knave continued on and slid a bridle onto the horse's face, slipping a bright red bit into her mouth. The mare accepted the bit with ease and began to chomp on it.
Stayne smiled when he took notice of her in the doorway. "Well?" he asked her, gesturing to the mare. "How do you find her?"
Nell grinned and went to the horse. "She's beautiful." She began to stroke the horse's muzzle.
"She needs to belong to someone," Stayne pointed out. "She doesn't get used much. I think you two will get along famously."
He handed her the reins, and she led the mare from the stall and out into the open. A red knight brought Stayne's warshire to him. Nell placed a boot in the stirrup and hoisted herself upward, throwing her right leg over the saddle. Stayne was much too pleased to see that the girl didn't require a hand when mounting.
Nell wriggled in the saddle until she was comfortable and she tightened her reins. The mare held her head down and relaxed her muscles beneath the light weight of the young girl.
Once Stayne mounted his warshire, pointed him east, and gently nudged him forward. Nell did the same and the two horses were walking abreast and did not miss a single step, they were in perfect rhythm. It had been a while since Nell had ridden, and she felt content to be sitting astride such a pretty little mare.
The pair rode from the stables, around the tower, through the alley, and exited out by the drawbridge.
A red guard was posted at the bridge and Stayne halted to speak with him.
"Orders, Captain?" the guard asked the Knave.
"No one enters except myself and Lady Nell," Stayne ordered.
The guard banged his spear on the cobblestone. "Understood."
Before resuming advancing, Stayne scanned the exterior of the castle. He took in every curve, every tower, every window and every balcony. Nothing appeared to be out of order, he didn't know if he could say that for what was going on inside the castle, but he wished to forget about it all for the afternoon.
Their journey took them through the dry Salazen Desert, which came to the Tugley Wood, where the path split to either Queast or Snud. If one was to turn to Snud, they'd find themselves in the deepest parts of the Tugley Wood, which led on to Marmoreal. If one were to travel east to Queast, they'd hit Trotters Bottom, where the Hatter lived, and would eventually find themselves at the castle in Witzend, where both the Red and the White queen had resided as young princesses. Stayne, knowing all too well how dangerous the thickest parts of the Tugley Wood could be, turned his warshire east toward Queast and beckoned Nell to follow him.
Nell had never once been this far from Salazen Grum. She had always stuck around the castle, and when she did get to leave, she never went very far. She could not recall ever being past the Red Desert. In truth, she had no true memory of her life before court. The farthest back she could bring herself to remember was the very night she had awaken outside of the castle, clothed in nothing but a rag of a dress, with dirt-stained cheeks and matted hair. She had been just eight years old, and utterly confused when an all-too-kind Dahlia had discovered her during a walk in the moonlit garden. Dahlia had taken pity upon the small girl, and had cleaned her up and presented her before the queen. At first the queen had shown no real interest, and contemplated shipping her off to her sister in Marmoreal. It wasn't until Dahlia had convinced her that taking the child under her wing and giving her a home at court could possibly brighten her reputation with the people of the kingdom. After all, the king had only been dead a few days and the queen had to admit that her reputation required a pick-me-up. Nell had grown up as a living doll to Dahlia, eye candy for the people of the kingdom, and a royal pain to the queen.
Riding through Trotters Bottom excited Nell beyond belief. All of the unique plants and animals they came across in the back country were rather interesting. Stayne would name them all as they passed them.
He led her onto a dirt path that wound through fields that were loaded with croaking frogs and jabbering borgrove birds.
"Stayne?" Nell asked as they plodded side-by-side.
"Yes?" he answered smoothly.
Nell sighed and glanced down past her stirrup, and looked at the moving dirt path below her mare's hooves. "Does the queen hate me?"
Stayne laughed. "Hate you?" He shook his head. "No, I don't think she hates you." He looked out across the rolling fields of long grass and thought carefully about how to voice his opinion. "I think you confuse her," he said finally.
Nell was surprised by that little comment. "I confuse her?"
"Indeed."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You are unlike any other lady in the court," Stayne explained. "You have no apparent fault in your appearance. Like I've told you before, the queen finds some exotic comfort in your….plainness."
They rounded a corner in the path and rode over a small hill. In a small valley on the other side, lay a large windmill with a long tea table set before it. Nell began to feel strange as they rode close to it.
"Where are we?" she asked the Knave.
"This is where the Hatter lives," he replied haughtily. "Although not for long."
Her stomach began to twist when he spoke. She had the sudden feeling that she had been to this place before. She had heard news of the queen considering keeping the Hatter at work full-time at the castle. It was rumored that she was to begin selling the hats he created for some extra currency for her vault.
She rode her mare right up to the tea table. She hated and allowed her eyes to pass over the menagerie of abandoned china, scones, sewing boxes and other little trinkets. She looked over to see that Stayne had stopped behind her a few feet, and he had pulled out a map of Underland and was studying it. She turned her caledon eyes to the table, and traced it to a rather immense chair that sat at the end of the table. There, beside a tea cup, sat a silver pocket watch. From the saddle, she could see the initials : .T.H. etched into the front. It could only mean Tarrant Hightopp. She inched her mare to the table, and she bent down and plucked it.
It had to belong to the Hatter, for a there was a hat design inside of it. She smiled slightly and tucked it down in her kirtle before Stayne had a chance to see her. She turned her mare to face him. He just sat idly, eye focused on the map. She rode over to him and poked his kneecap with her finger.
"What exactly are we doing out here?" she asked the Knave.
"Looking for clues of Alice," he replied. "After all, there is evidence that the Hatter had been hiding her."
Nell shook her head. The measurements the queen would have Stayne take just to catch a person who could have possibly just a rumor. After all, no one in Salazen Grum had even seen Alice since she returned, and it all very well could have been a rumor to stir the queen up. She wasn't sure who, but there were those at court who enjoyed tipping the queen off with rumors.
"Do you think we should head back?" she called to him. "The queen will be wondering where you are!"
Stayne grinned. "Why, you're absolutely right, my dear!" He tucked the map safely in his doublet and turned his warshire toward home. He laid his heels to the beast and it reared, bounding forward and breaking into a hard gallop.
"That's it, then!" Nell exclaimed happily, laying her heels to her mare.
They galloped abreast the entirety of the way back to the Red Desert. Their horses tired, they slowed back to a subtle walk and rode in silence. Soon they were encased in the sand and the desert roses. The sun began to descend the horizon and the sky was plastered with ruby and salmon streaks. They stopped to admire the view of the castle in front of such a colorful sky.
"It truly is a grand place we live, is it not?" Nell asked Stayne, taking in the gallantry of the castle.
"It is. And we owe it all to our queen," Stayne replied with pride.
Nell reached inside her kirtle and revealed a small glass potion bottle with a black cork. She pulled the cork from the glass and raised the bottle. Stayne grinned at her.
"To our most wonderful majesty, Iracebeth of Crims, Red Queen of Underland," Nell announced sarcastically. "May we never tip you off and lose our heads." And with that, she downed the contents of the bottle. When finished, she slipped the cork back into the bottle and placed it back in her kirtle. Stayne was giving her a questionable look.
"Jollyjuice potion," Nell informed him.
Stayne chuckled. "How does one come across Jollyjuice potion in Salazen Grum?"
"That," she began, picking up her reins, "my dear Stayne," she straightened in the saddle, then urged her mare forward, "is for me to know, and for you to never find out."
Stayne chuckled again. How witty Lady Nell was! She definitely was his most enjoyable progression partner. He actually felt a small ping of regret that he hadn't taken her out with him a quite some time. Together the two rode until the approached the drawbridge. The ride had taken a mere four hours, and it was almost sunset. The same guard was perched at the bridge and he greeted Stayne as they rode past, and informed him that there had been no suspicious activity since they had been gone.
The only thing suspicious was the fact that, as they crossed the front of the castle, Stayne happened to look skyward.
Why, the queen was standing on her balcony, overlooking them. He witnessed as she glanced at Nell, to him, to Nell, and back to him again. She didn't appear happy to see him at all, especially considering that he was with Nell. He made eye contact with her for a moment, and she scoffed, smacked an impatient heel to the stone balcony, then whirled and disappeared into her chamber.
