A/N: Okay, things are going to start picking up, from here on out it will be pretty fast paced, there are only a few chapters left before the end? Hard to believe isn't it? Anyway here is the next chapter enjoy.

Chapter 9

Return of the champion

Iracebeth paced around the large fire pit, which was in the center of the big group of caves, which rose up and around in a large enclosed space. Long and immense tree branches hung over the top of the enclosed space and unless you were trying to find this place it would go unnoticed by the wary traveler.

"What did your Knave say?" the alpha wolf asked standing on his hind legs and glaring at the large headed woman.

"He is being led astray by Alice. His mind is being twisted to be loyal to my sister. She always gets what she wants, one way or another. The spoiled little brat."

"Perhaps we could remind him of the old ways." The wolf's deep voice said.

The ex-queen looked over at him out of the corner of her eye, "Possibly, he was loyal to me for over ten years, three years apart shouldn't cause to much disloyalty. He has been with out blood and any true form of power for to long, his mind is going soft. His madness is controlling him less and less. Something must be done."

"Allow me to fetch him my queen, we shall bring him here and bring madness back to his sane mind."

"He won't go down easy, you will need many to take him down."

"Our pack is strong, we've hunted and brought down far larger pray."

"Very well Bain. Bring me the Knave, alive, and in good condition and I shall reward you with more then just Marmoreal once I have control again."

The wolf bowed and then turned, he lifted his head and howled and suddenly hundreds of wolves appeared in the cave entrances that surrounded the clearing.

"My warriors, come, we hunt!" he said raising his sword in his paw.

The wolves that looked at him with their shinning eyes joined in the howl and about a dozen came forward with armor in their paws.

"What of the girl?" the wolf asked after a small group of wolves, which had slid into their armor, joined Bain in the center of the space.

The old monarch thought a moment and then smiled, "She is lame… she can barely walk. I don't care what the cause was, but I want her to know my pain. Take her out into the Outerlands, far away from anyone… leave her there… to die."

The wolf bowed for the last time and turned, "To the Knave!" he roared as he took off into the woods, and the others followed barking and howling and grinning their big toothy grins.

Iracebeth smiled and started to imagine life back in the castle with her Knave at her right hand side.

OOOOOOO

Alice was awakened by Ilosovic jumping from the bed, "Get up!" he ordered grabbing her and pulling her from the bed.

"What is it?" Alice asked shivering in the cool air. Ilosovic had managed to throw on some trousers just as Alice heard a wolf howl.

"You must hide. NOW!" Ilosovic said rummaging through a large box near the fireplace.

"What is happening?"

"Iracebeth has sent her new army out to get me, they will kill you if they find you! HIDE!" He yelled, Alice stumbled for the stairs, "No! If they burn this place down you will be trapped. Outside! Into the box!" he said opening the front door. He pulled her to the side of the house and she stumbled after her, her legs dragged behind her as he pulled her to the wooden box and lifted the lid open.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I will try to fend them off, no matter what happens do NOT come out of this box."

"Hide with me!"

"They want me, not you, once they leave make haste for Marmoreal, you shall be safe there."

Alice reached for him and he leaned down and kissed her on the lips, "If they find you Alice… run." He slammed the lid shut and locked it for good measure.

Ilosovic heard her pounding but ignored it, he entered the house and started to dig through his boxes, he knew he had a sword here somewhere. He had stolen it from a few travelers that had been foolish enough to come out this way.

He finally found it buried under his yet to be finished tools and extra daggers and pulled it out, the weight was foreign in his hands, but he never felt more powerful. He walked to the front door and kicked it open, there only a few feet from his door were a small pack of armor clad wolves.

"Ilosovic Stayne!" The lead wolf called, "We have been ordered by the Red Queen to bring you to her. We do not wish to harm you but will not hesitate to do what is necessary to bring you down."

"Well Bain, I haven't seen you since the raids back when I was a child. You've grown quite a bit. Nice to know I grew more."

The wolf growled at him and bared his teeth, "I won't hesitate to hurt you Vic. I am the leader of my pack now and I don't plan to lose my station."

"Does Iracebeth know of our old friendship? Is she aware that your mother took me in when my parents died? Surely she doesn't know that we shared a table… our history could cause some problems."

"Our friendship died when you betrayed me Vic. Come with me or I will be forced to take desperate measures." Bain said raising his sword.

"Silly puppy, I taught you how to use that weapon."

"I've learned a few new tricks."

"Show me." Ilosovic lunged from the door and swung his large sword out, Bain deflected it and growled as they clashed.

Alice heard the conversation but couldn't believe it, how much more did she not know about him? Raised by wolves? That would explain a lot.

Alice thrashed in the box trying to get her legs to work, to do what she wanted, she wanted them to kick at the lid so she could escape. Suddenly her leg graced something and she looked down. A bag?

She pulled it to her and opened it, the smell was horrid but she dug through it anyway.

The bag was filled with hooves, claws, teeth, and sharp bones, one of these had to be able to help her escape. She had to help the Knave.

She grabbed the sharpest bone and started cutting at the wooden boards, which trapped her in her small hiding place. To her surprise the wood started to carve away and she kept digging in an aggressive and quick pace.

She heard the swords clanging and heard the wolves growling and barking and howling as they all attacked him. Ilosovic sounded like he was holding his own very well until he let out a yell.

"No!" Alice said in fear.

"I've learned much since last we were together, now you shall learn from me. Take him to the queen! I will deal with the girl."

Alice heard the wolf walk into the house but soon returned and called to his pack, "Wait!"

She heard him walking and then his low voice came out as a growl, "Where. Is. The girl?"

"You won't find her. She is long gone; your howling tipped me off to your approach. She is on her way to Marmoreal and will return with in the hour with forces."

"You lie! The queen said she was lame! She can't have gone far, we will find her and she will die."

"You won't reach her Bain. I have helped her legs to remember, she has been getting stronger and stronger. She slayed the Jabberwocky… she won't ever fall to you or your pack."

There was silence a long moment and then Bain spoke, "Take him then to the queen, I will find Alice and take care of her myself."

"BAIN! IF YOU LAY A HAND ON HER I WILL KILL YOU!"

The alpha said nothing and Alice lay there silent as she heard him start to explore the grounds around the house. She could hear Ilosovic struggling and fighting but eventually his sounds died out and Alice was left in the silence and darkness of the morning. Occasionally the wolf would pass by the box, he sniffed it once or twice before he passed on.

He then seemed to enter the house and all was quiet for a long time. She very quietly started to work on the box. Any time she heard movement she stopped and waited. It was horrid work, she was sweating like a sinner in church and she couldn't seemed to work fast enough.

Finally Alice froze when she heard a noise right outside the box. She froze and waited, the seconds passed into minutes and the minutes grew longer and longer until she was sure her muscles would seize. She strained her ears but heard nothing else, she started to slowly carve at the wood again and that is when she heard the light chuckle.

Alice gasped and grabbed another sharp bone in her other hand as the lock was sliced into pieces by the wolf's sword, he threw the lid open and reached in for Alice. She shoved the bone into his large paw and he howled pulling back and falling down.

It was torture how slow she moved, she managed to raise herself out of the box and then fell over the edge. She looked to see the wolf still holding it's paw.

"You little whelp!" The wolf screamed, Alice pushed herself up and felt her knees buckle. She was down again but didn't give up, she pushed herself up and once her legs seemed to wake up she started to move. She hobbled like an old lady but she was on her legs and she was moving. She couldn't help but smile, this was the quickest she had moved in years.

Her excitement was destroyed when a sharp-clawed paw wrapped around her ankle, "Hello Alice." He said, the blood dripped from his paw and Alice swung one of the bones in her hand. The wolf released her and stepped back, but only smiled, "What big teeth you have." Alice said between large gasps for air.

"All the better to lacerate your skin with my dear." He advanced on her and Alice forced herself up once again. She started to hobble away and heard the wolf laughing, "I have to give you credit, you've got the warrior spirit, no wonder you slayed the Jabberwocky. Ilosovic was wise to try and nurse you back to health, you would be a strong ally." He said.

"Ilosovic is a good man. You were friends once… how dare you betray him to the bloody big head." Alice said keeping her distance. She looked before her and knew it was well over three miles to the pond, even further to Trotters Bottom. Passed that was Marmoreal, in her condition she wouldn't be able to out run the wolf. Her only option was to stand and face him.

Six impossible things. She thought to herself, something gleamed out of the corner of her eyes, less then ten feet away lay Ilosovic's sword. She changed her course and turned to face the wolf, she backed up feeling like her legs would give out any moment.

"What goes around comes around. When he took sides with the red queen himself he left our village to be attacked."

"But the Red Queen was the one who attacked your village."

"Wrong… it was the White Queen who sent the raids. She is the one who forced us out here, Iracebeth made it quite clear. Mirana was afraid of our power, we were growing as a pack, our numbers were devastating. Mirana feared we would rise against her and side with her sister. We had no intention of joining any war. We fought for no one but only for our own survival. She destroyed us!"

"The White Queen would never do that, she would never kill or hurt an innocent, it is against her code." Alice felt the sword press against her bare feet but she waited, she didn't dare go for it, not with the wolf so close.

"Her code is a front for her true nature, she is a witch, a cruel woman. She killed off my brothers and sisters, she destroyed everything. The Red Queen promises us safety and she promises the land of Marmoreal if we serve her. Mirana will pay for her cruelty, for her bloody sins against my people."

"Iracebeth is using you!" Alice screamed.

"Liar!" The wolf lunged and Alice fell back, he pinned her to the ground and raised his paw high above his head, his claws were exposed and his snarl was so aggressive Alice closed her eyes.

She waited for the blow but none came, she opened an eye and looked to see the wolf frozen, his once angry expression was now one of curiosity. He leaned in and smelled her up and down, "You have mated with Ilosovic?" he asked.

Alice took a large breath of air suddenly realizing she hadn't been breathing, "Yes… yes we are mated for life. I love him." Alice said looking into the wolf's eyes.

He pulled off of her and stood looking down at her, Alice sat up but didn't dare stand, her legs were like rubber.

"I never thought he would find someone he felt worthy. All the women that ever seemed interested in him he turned down." The wolf said.

Alice breathed easy and spoke in a calm and what she hoped was a well-collected voice, "Bain is it?" The wolf nodded and Alice continued, "Bain, please, I know Mirana, I know she would never hurt any living thing. She physically and mentally could never do it. Please, come with me to Marmoreal, allow me to speak to her on your behalf. We can figure this out."

"The White Queen would never see me." He huffed.

"She would if I was with you. She always has time to speak with the champion of Underland. I beg you… before you make a huge mistake… please… at least hear me out. If what you say it true then I will make sure you can leave Marmoreal… with me… to do what the Red Queen has ordered you to do and you can return to your pack unharmed."

Bain looked at her and sighed, he then looked back over his shoulder towards what Alice assumed was the direction of his pack.

"You have nothing to lose." Alice said.

The wolf nodded slowly and then got down on all fours, "Get on champion. We have far to go and not long to get there." Alice picked up the sword and walked crookedly over to the wolf.

"You won't need the sword… If I am nothing else I am good to my word. I shall not harm you until our business is complete."

"The sword is Ilosovic's… I wish to return it to him eventually."

"We shall see what you are allowed." The wolf took off at a run with Alice holding on for dear life. What would await her at Marmoreal and would she get there in time to save Ilosovic? Only time would tell.

OOOOOOO

Ilosovic's hair was dangling in his face as his head hung, he stared at a spot on the ground. He wore nothing but his trousers and felt his muscles ach; he was strung up and hung about three feet from the ground. He waited for something to happen but hours had passed and he had been left alone in the silence. The fire crackled and he glanced at it.

A lone howl rose into the air but Ilosovic didn't move, he just waited allowing his head to dangle.

He could feel the wolves appearing in the openings of the caves, he could hear them getting ready for the appearance of Iracebeth. Ilosovic was biding his time; he would rather die then serve her. Now that he had Alice, now that she loved him he felt like anything was possible.

He would not die at the Red Queens hands, but he would leave here bloody. He would not bend.

"Ilosovic Stayne… I hear you've been causing trouble. Helping the very girl who was responsible for our banishment." Ilosovic was cut free and he fell to the ground, his hands were bound before him and he sat there looking at the ground.

"Look at me Knave." Iracebeth spat.

He slowly lifted his head and felt the dried blood from a blow he had received during his previous fight. It tightened on his skin and he knew he looked a mess.

Iracebeth sat on an ornately crafted throne made from branches, leaves, flowers and other such things. Her dress was patched up using pieces of brown cloth. Her hair was styled up into a strange weave and twigs and leaves stuck out of it like a thorny crown.

Her eyes were not only aggressive but crazed, a fire burned in them and he feared she might be lost. He could have possibly charmed her into releasing him, and then he could have left in the night. But with a gaze like that he wasn't sure he could do much, she knew his ways, she knew his tricks.

"I was merely doing what I felt would benefit me." Ilosovic said.

"And what about what benefits me?" she asked.

"I told you before Irace… I don't care what happens to you." Ilosovic felt someone smash something hard into the back of his head. He fell forward, his face only inches from the fire. He was pulled back and set back up on his knees.

He looked to see a wolf holding a rock, "A rock? Really?" he asked.

The wolf growled at him and made the motion to hit him again, "Stay yourself wolf." Iracebeth ordered.

"Stayne… are you any good with a sword?" He looked at her with wide eyes; she remembered the first time they met? She remembered, if she wanted to play this game he would.

"Yes your majesty." He said.

"Then amuse me," she said softly, he looked at her and growled, "Don't you dare make me go through this again."

"Attack!" Iracebeth cried.

A wolf charged him and he realized he didn't have a sword; he would have to take someone else's. As the wolf came at him Ilosovic lowered his upper body and at the last second shot up, the wolf flew over him and Ilosovic kicked him in the face when the wolf landed on his back.

The wolf was out cold and Ilosovic grabbed the sword and picked it up with his bound hands, he dropped it seconds later when another wolf came at him swinging his sword, Ilosovic held out his hands and the sword sliced through the ropes. Ilosovic jumped back and picked up the sword that was discarded from the first wolf.

He lunged forward disarming the second wolf and then moving on to the third wolf whom seemed to be a little more graceful with the sword. They fought for about ten minutes before Ilosovic managed to get the wolf's footing to falter.

He let out a scream and stabbed the wolf in the breast just over his heart, he then turned to Iracebeth and as if fate was making him repeat his failures he approached her, the sword dragging behind him, the look on his face was that of intent.

He intended to kill her and nothing or no one would stop him this time.

OOOOOOO

Bain slowed when the top of Marmoreal appeared, "Fear not Bain, no harm shall come to you here." The wolf picked up pace again and soon they were at the gates crossing through the flower tree orchard.

"Alice?" came a call. The girl patted the wolf in an attempt to tell him to slow and come to a stop. The wolf complied and Alice slipped from Bain who stood and to Alice's surprised helped her walk towards the small mouse who was now on a bee line towards her.

"Alice! What are you doing here? Where is the Knave? Who is this?"

"Mally where is the queen?"

"She is in the throne room with the Hatter, fowl mood he is in for sure. You may want to keep that sword close."

"I don't fear the Hatter, and he shouldn't take things so personally." Alice said allowing Bain to lead her.

"What is going on?" Mally asked again.

"I must speak with Mirana, a life depends on it."

Mally looked to the wolf that eyed her and then grunted, the dormouse sighed and then turned, "Follow me."

A/N: Okay so there is chapter nine, chapter ten is next after that one more chapter I think and then we will be done.