Disclaimer: All characters belong to Lewis Carroll, Tim Burton and the Disney Corporation.
The crocodile incidence changed Mirana's behaviour a lot. She could tell even Stayne was surprised. She now didn't complain at all (well almost), she walked with more purpose concentrating on her surroundings and she even managed to keep up to Stayne more during the day. She wouldn't exactly merit herself as 'set to survive here' but it was certainly an improvement on before. She also wouldn't say Stayne was being nice or even particularly civil towards her but his exasperation and disgust at her has definitely lessened. The only thing holding her back was her arm which felt worse each day. Now she couldn't move it at all, she suspected grimly that it was too late and on her return the first thing she'd have to do would be get it amputated. Still, the new her didn't feel like whining to Stayne about it, I mean what could he do?
Things were definitely going better until she discovered a very unwelcome truth about Stayne. She supposed looking back it was her fault, she prompted the argument if unintentionally and her attempt to resolve it was really only gasoline on the fire.
They were walking, it was early so she was closer to Stayne, at least enough to talk. Usually they trudged forward in silence but today she found she wanted an explanation to one of Stayne's previous outbursts.
"Stayne," she said.
He didn't turn or respond so she ran ahead a few paces so she was by his side.
"Stayne, you know the other day you said my father wasn't wonderful, well, what did you mean by that?"
She wouldn't have bothered asking but her recent dream was getting to her. She couldn't think of an explanation for why her father was with those women other than he'd been cheating on her mother with a group of whores which was really not something she wanted to believe. She wasn't sure if Stayne could settle any of her feelings but she had to ask.
"I thought the meaning was pretty clear," he said in a completely emotionless voice.
"Yeah, well you didn't exactly know him so I don't see how you can pass judgement."
"Are you sure you knew him?" he asked.
She wanted to say yes but then her father had acted like a total stranger in her dream. Maybe that was all it was, a dream. Maybe it had no basis on reality at all. Still, if the dream was a real memory then he certainly wasn't who she thought he was.
"I'm his daughter," she said reflectively struggling to keep up at his pace.
"All the more reason you wouldn't know him well," Stayne nodded. "Parents always put on an act for their kids."
"Did yours?" she asked and saw Stayne tense slightly.
She really should have taken that as a hint to drop the conversation but curious and ignorant she carried on. "Did your parents put on an act?"
"My family isn't your concern," he said so coldly it sent chills up her spine.
"I'm sorry, I'm just curious, I find it hard to think of my parents as anything but, well, the great people they seemed in front of me and the common people."
He frowned. "You didn't spend much time with 'the common people' did you?"
"Yes," she argued. "I mean I spent most of the time in the palace but when I got older I visited cities and towns."
"And I suppose you paraded with your soldiers and were addressed to the lords and ladies of the land. I'm guessing the closest you came to the really low born folk was the beggars you spotted in the streets before the guards told them to shove off."
"Rich people are people too," she pointed out.
"Yeah, pity not everyone thinks that way about peasants."
"Well I have no trouble at all with peasants," she said as he picked up the pace so she fell behind again. "I'm friends with peasants." Not a complete lie, she was sort of friends with The Mad Hatter and he was hardly high class.
"I haven't seen how things are with you on the throne since your previous rule lasted all of, what four months before Iracebeth pushed you out of the picture? And as you know I've been stuck out here during your current rule. However, I do know that your father was certainly not a good ruler, why do you think he was overthrown?"
She didn't much like the way this conversation was going. "Because Iracebeth hired some traitorous scoundrels to siege the palace," she shrugged. That had always been her assumption anyway. Her father had been killed during the overthrow of their palace. After that Mirana had taken the throne, Iracebeth had not taken this well seen as technically it was her birthright. It had been rather a mystery as to how the despicable men had got into the castle in the first place until Iracebeth showed her true colours, then it became pretty obvious she had provided passage for them.
"Well it may surprise you to hear that a lot of people were glad to see him go."
"That is not true."
Stayne stopped and turned back to her a snarl plastered across his face. "How could you know you know? You were just a spoilt palace brat. You'll find in life some of the best malicious dictators are the ones who do not make it obvious they are malicious dictators." There was real ice in his tone.
She glared back at him though truly he made her feel very small. Still she wasn't backing down, perhaps she didn't know her father as well as she had previously thought but she was sure she knew him better than Stayne. "My father was not malicious. He was a good ruler, for almost three decades. I know for a fact that he was a kind and just king-"
"You're father was a cruel, sadistic, oppressive tyrant from the day he was crowned until the day I sliced his head off," Stayne spat.
Everything in Mirana seemed to shut down for a moment as she struggled to comprehend Stayne's words. Then everything sort of came together in a flaming rush to her brain and she didn't think, instead just literally threw herself at Stayne flooded with a sudden overwhelming hatred she'd never felt for anyone. She clearly took him by surprise because she actually pushed him to the ground though he managed to swing his body round with surprising agility to avoid a bad landing.
"You murder! How could you? You killed my father, my sister, you destroyed my whole family! You're a monster. You're a monster. I'll kill you," she screamed madly trying to punch every piece of flesh she could reach with her working arm. "I will KILL YOU!"
He grabbed her wrist stopping her from hitting him. With the ease of a natural fighter he twisted her over so the places were reverse and he had her pinned to the ground.
"Calm down princess. The truth hurts, it always does. You just gotta deal with it like the rest of the world."
"GET OFF ME!" she yelled.
"Are you going to attack me again?"
"Yes! My family is gone because of you! They're all gone because of you!" trying unsuccessfully to wrench her hands out of his iron grip.
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? I think we both know you were the one who killed your sister when you sent her out here; she would have died whether I was here or not and as for your father, well, he got everything he deserved."
She decided to ignore this and do the unexpected. She pulled her head up and spat in his seeing eye. For a fraction of a second he loosened his grip on her wrists and pulled back slightly, enough time for her to yank herself out of his grasp and pull herself backwards. She leapt to her feet as fast as she could backing away from him.
He sighed and slowly stood up wiping his eye. They looked at each other for a moment and then she stalk past him holding her head high. She headed forwards but went slightly diagonally in a different direction to Stayne's.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"Away from you," she said without looking back. "I can find my own way back."
"You're going to get yourself killed," he called after her.
"You just leave me alone! Don't follow me." She probably had more chance of getting killed by him than going on her own, he clearly had a taste for killing royalty.
She marched off winding through some large rocks. She was heading in the right direction, she'd reach the edge of the Outlands eventually and, having royal blood, she'd be able to cross the border. She didn't need Stayne, he'd got her through the hard bit, now she could get back herself.
She picked up a long straight stick on the ground. This could be her spear. It was a bit heavy and it wasn't sharpened like Stayne's was but it would do. If she could down a gigantic mutated crocodile she could surely walk to the edge of the Outlands. It couldn't take more than a week anyway.
She kept looking back but it didn't look like Stayne was going to pursue her. Good, he could rot for all she cared. He deserved nothing less. And if he did follow her she could spear him, after all she wasn't bound by any vows now.
After almost an hour of winding through large rocks she had her first encounter. She turned a corner and almost jumped out of her skin. Sitting upon boulder against a wall of rock sat a familiar face.
"Chess!" she exclaimed.
The Cheshire cat turned large luminous green eyes upon her and smiled that familiar grin.
"Ah, your majesty."
She blinked; it felt like an eternity since she'd been addressed by her proper title. "I...I can't believe you found me."
"I have a knack for finding lost people."
"You will not believe what happened to me, this creature which I thought was a unicorn but turned out to be some kind of demon brought me here and then I met up with Ilosovic Stayne of all people and...and you already know all this don't you?" she said analysing his expression.
"Ah, I also have a knack for knowledge."
"Do you know why it brought me here? I didn't do anything, I-" she broke off and gripped her arm as pain rocketed through it.
"May I have a look?" he asked mildly indicating her arm.
She leant her spear against a stone and walked to his rock then slowly began undoing the strips of material. Horror flooded her when she saw the true state of it. Infection had flooded fast, the skin hadn't re-healed, it had gotten much worse, swollen horribly in places with thin red lines leeching higher up her arm. It would definitely need amputating and fast.
Chess swished his tail forward. It elongated and wrapped around her arm like a coiling snake. It didn't hurt, not really, it felt like a feather duster was wrapping round her. A tingling sensation ran through her arm and then the pain ebbed away in just a few seconds. He then unwound his tail to reveal completely undamaged skin. Her mouth fell open and she raised her arm up to her face amazed, it was utterly undamaged. It looked better, in fact, than her other arm which was covered in cuts and bruises from recent adventures.
"How..." she stared at him.
"I have many talents my queen."
"Thank you."
"Do you still want me to answer your earlier questions?" he asked.
"What?" she said stupidly. She'd completely forgotten her earlier queries. "Oh, yes. I don't understand how that...that creature could have reached my palace. I mean I know my home isn't too from the Outlands but the enchantment that separates Underland from the Outlands is powerful and ancient. I mean no creature is able to pass in or out without the consent of a regent...speaking of which how did you get here?"
He smiled. "I'm very old despite my good looks. I'm strong and powerful and-"
"A demon?" Mirana finished for him. "That's right isn't it?"
He just tilted his head.
"That's why you never stay in Underland very long. That's why you always vanish rather than remain there. It's not that you won't stay, it's that you can't stay. The enchantment keeps dragging you back here. That's it isn't it?"
Chess stretched the way cats do. "You realise this is between you and me. I have a reputation as a mysterious unexplainable creature to uphold."
All this time and she'd never guessed.
"It's true, the Outlands are my true home and I am tied here by magic. But I was here before the enchantment sealed us off. I was here when these lands were beautiful."
"Beautiful?"
Suddenly the area around her changed, twisting ivy covered the surrounding rocks, luscious grass sprouted under her feet and large trees burst from the ground. She looked around in wonder whilst Chess smiled sadly. She knelt down looking at a spectacular flower with twelve petals each a different colour, brimming with life. "It's amazing," she whispered reaching towards it. Before her fingers could make contact though it faded away and the dry dirty ground returned.
"It is just a memory," the Cheshire cat said. "Now our forests are gone and our land is dead."
"I...I'm sorry."
Chess just looked at her with those amazing green-blue eyes of his. "I can pass through the enchantment for brief periods of time because I am powerful and because I was born before enchantment took place, before the long war and the beauty of the Outlands fell to ruin."
Mirana had no idea the Outlands had once been like this or any knowledge of an old war. It was hard to believe the Outlands had once been beautiful and it actually made her painfully sad. Still, the enchantment was so old no-one was even sure exactly how many thousands of years it had been in place. How old did that make Chess?
"So, enough about me," he said. "Would you like to explain to me why you have left your guide?"
"Oh, him," she said distastefully. "I just found out that was the one who killed my father."
Chess didn't seemed at all surprised by this news.
She folded her arms indignantly. "You knew that as well didn't you? You knew all along and you didn't tell me."
"You never asked."
"I just couldn't believe he would do that. I mean recently I'd actually been starting to..." she trailed off.
"Yes," the Cheshire cat said raising an eyebrow.
"To trust him. I mean, he saved my life when that demon kidnapped me and he got me this far, I mean...I guess I just thought he was better than that. But I was wrong and now I'm not travelling with him anymore."
"And who exactly is going to hunt your food, find your water, protect you from wild beasts that will come a prowling?" he queried.
"I will."
He gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry but as much as I respect your new adventurous attitude those aren't skills you just learn overnight."
"I'm adaptable. I killed a really big crocodile the other day, did you know that?"
"Impressive," he nodded. "But do you really think you can get all the way back by yourself?"
"I have you. You know the way don't you? We can get there together. And then I can grant you freedom to Underland." It had worked on Stayne she saw no reason why it wouldn't work on Chess too. Who would want to live in this dump now? And it would be nice to have Chess stay in Underland for longer.
The Cheshire cat smiled at her. "A nice proposition but I fear one I must decline."
"Why? First you say I'll die if I try and get there on my own and then you say you won't help me."
"You already have a guide, remember."
"No," she said stubbornly. "I am not travelling with him. It's his fault I have no family."
"Really? Do you think it's really his fault?"
She paused fighting reason. Reason won. "Well...perhaps not entirely his fault but he was the one who did it. I cannot travel with a murderer. I will not."
"But you already knew he was murderer when you met him here. You knew he killed your sister, he said so as soon as you met him, it was one of the first things he told you. You knew who he was but you travelled with him anyway."
"Yes but he was just a bad person then, he didn't mean anything then..."
"But he means something now," the Cheshire cat nodded.
She scowled. "Stop twisting my words. This is different, I loved my father and Stayne took him away from me."
"So you stormed off on a suicidal quest. That's quite mad, so I rather approve but in this case I'm afraid you're going to have to go back. You need to get out of the Outlands fast."
She frowned at him. "Why? My arms better now and providing I don't catch cholera in the next week or so I should be fine."
"There are people looking for you," he said bluntly. There were no riddles or underlying questions in this sentence. "The demons lost you and they want you back."
"But why? Why me, what did I do?"
"Did you know that demons can briefly inhabit bodies?" he asked.
She frowned. "Chess, you can safely assume that I don't know anything about demons. Until last week I didn't even know they existed."
"Well we can. The powerful ones like me anyway. I once possessed the hatter – with good intentions I assure you – all I needed was something he treasured – in his case his hat – and I could create a perfect duplicate body to do with as I pleased."
"Why would they want to do that to me?"
"Think about it. You're the queen. Only royal blood can end the enchantment once and for all, well technically an ancient druid could too but they're all dead now. They'd need the real you to break the enchantment but once you did the demons would possess your body. Using a duplicate of you they could lower all Underland defences and then effectively take over Underland." He said it with astonishing calm as if he was simply reciting a list.
She was silent for a moment absorbing all of this.
"You-you know this?" she said dumfounded.
"I am a demon."
"So they think you're on their side?"
"Keep your friends close and your enemies' closer, that's my motto."
She shook her head. "I can't believe this. They want to use me to take over Underland?"
The Cheshire cat just scratched his ear with his back paw absentmindedly.
"It wouldn't work. I'd never break the enchantment for them," she said firmly.
The Cheshire cat smiled. "They have ways of making people talk. Honour and humanity aren't really considered out here."
He sounded like Stayne. "You're a lot more talkative out here, you know that?"
His smile widened. "I need not be so mysterious out here. This is my home. You're in my house now."
She gave it a brief scan. It wasn't exactly something he could brag about.
"Alright, fine I'll go back to Stayne but only because there are demons after me and only because you refuse to help me. Frankly, I think if you show me the way I could get there much faster. Can't you teleport other people?"
The Cheshire cat raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were becoming more independent now. Anyway, I've told you what I need to tell you, now go back to your guide. A lot of people will be very disappointed if you don't, believe me."
"You really think he can save me?"
"He did so before did he not?"
She sighed nodding "Alright when I came to the Outlands he did."
The Cheshire cat smiled widely. "I wasn't talking about in the Outlands."
"What?"
With that he left. Instead of vanishing into thin air as he always did in Underland he simply did a cat jump onto a very high rock which she had no hope of climbing and ran off.
"Chess!" she called. "Chess, what do you mean?"
Even as she called after him she knew it was pointless. The Cheshire cat had a reputation of leaving with a thousand questions trailing after him. She was still having trouble absorbing the news. The very idea of Underland falling because of her was like a punch in the gut. She stood up straight. No. Underland might fall but not under her rein. No demon was going to find her or possess her. She was getting of here, alive.
I realise this may seem a step backwards in Mirana and Stayne's relationship, I'm sorry but it was necessary to the story.