Chapter Nine –
Someday, Our Princess Will Come…
Allyson
Luna had never really struck me as the "angry" type; Stayne's girlfriend had always seemed cool as a cucumber when I was around her…but there's a first for everything I suppose.
The first time I'd ever seen her lose her cool was about ten Underlandian years (somewhere around seven Overlandian months, if I'm not mistaken) after Amalie and Jackson came along.
Time was such a strange thing between that world and ours, but the degree of the strangeness wasn't made as apparent to me or the others until we made subsequent visits to see the twins. Mayo's weren't quite as dramatic in terms of the children's growth as the rest of ours; she saw them on a more regular basis than we did, in her dreams. She was able to witness them taking their first steps and, on more than one occasion, feel their baby teeth coming in, while the remainder of the band was just in time to hear them start speaking full sentences and learning how to write their names. They quite literally grew up overnight, or at least that's how it looked to us.
The other kids did too. I didn't even recognize Ezzie the second or third time I saw her! Remy and Elias were almost as tall as me by the fifth visit, which isn't saying a whole lot, but that's beside the point… Mady was practically unchanged, only she'd gotten a little bigger. Same went for the Kittens and Aurora too. However, there eventually came a major difference in that particular group of our Underlander friends in the addition of Jennra and Ebony in June, and then Charlie and Adrian in late August. They were Alice and Tarrant's second and third sets of twins respectively. Romy and Mally eventually added Elise to their tiny family as well.
Poor little Jackson was outnumbered for a while, even with Remy and Eli's presences… so he was thankful when the odds evened out somewhat in his favor in the Dog Days of summer, "It's not that I don't like having sisters and girl cousins…" he told me as he held Charlie, who had been named for Alice's late father Charles, "It's just that there're so many more of them than there are of us, and one does get tired of playing with girls after a while!"
Both his mother and his twin sister scolded him for saying such a thing, but I was laughing so hard that I don't think he took their words to heart. I attributed his earnestness to the madness that seemed to run in the whole Hightopp clan; they were all honest to a fault, even and especially when they were a tad off-kilter at the time, but there was the one instance that Luna's opinion on the matter at hand wasn't something that should have been broadcast in the present company of Marmoreal…given who the present company was.
Being born into celebrity status, every time any of the Hightopp twins had a birthday or any other momentous occasion roll around, every soul in Underland dropped what they were doing and beat a path to Marmoreal as fast as their horses or whatever other creatures they rode could run, especially if it was the first-borns. Amalie and Jackson's big destinies equaled a big "fan base", as we dubbed the flock of strangers that would travel for days just to send their best wishes, and neither of them seemed to mind the attention, but they didn't brag about it either. They were more concerned about the fate that had earned them that following, and when their training was set to begin, they readily donned their suits of armor (a gift from Mirana that was blessed by the Outlanders for extra protection) and took up the swords she had given them as infants.
Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself…Luna's temper reared its ugly head the night before they started training. She had managed to calm down by the time they began their lessons.
We were all lounging around on one of the balconies off the ballroom, the same one a few of us had sat on the night after the Frabjous Day, when it happened. The younger kids were goofing around, weaving in and out of the doors and hiding in the curtains while we watched them, and the courtiers and royals were waltzing and chitchatting to their hearts' content.
Everything seemed normal; nothing alarming or of any particular exigency was going on, not until McTwisp came skittering through the crowd and nearly plowed into a pillar. Initially, we thought nothing of it, because he was always kinda jumpy, if you know what I mean…he was a rabbit after all, but he clearly thought it was important enough to abandon his post by the front door to tell us.
"What's it 'Twisp?" Ebony halted her playing to investigate the flustered bunny, "What're you so hoppy about?"
He did answer her question, but he wasn't looking at her when he replied. Instead, he frantically bounded up to Ilosovic, wringing his paws nervously and his ears were twitching, "S-Stayne…you need to come with m-me…i-it is most urgent." The White Rabbit began hopping away, turning to see if he was following.
Stayne's eyebrows knit together in confusion, but he began following after the White Rabbit nonetheless, and so did everyone else, "Is something wrong?"
"That's just it…I-I don't know. I mean s-something isn't right, but what, I-I don't know." McTwisp replied, "Allura and Danzia are waiting, come quickly!"
Our hearts all lurched in that instant. The Witch Queen and Shaman King being involved meant only one thing to our minds; demons. Dread fell over us like a suffocating blanket as we trudged through the ballroom and out to the front hall. I think I held my breath for too long, because when I finally remembered to breathe it was a gasping sort of inhale.
Standing just inside the doorway were the two Outland rulers and Mirana, along with two much smaller people none of us recognized; a boy and a girl.
Confused stares were exchanged among our group, each one as dumbfounded as the one it was met with. Whose kids were those? What did they have to do with us, and more importantly, Stayne? He didn't have any kids…did he? He didn't seem to think so, judging by the bewilderment in his eyes.
"Y-you called, Mirana?" his eyes darted from her to the children and back again, and then to Allura and Danzia.
"Yes." Her tone was unusually dark and serious, her face drawn into tight lines, "These two just appeared at the gates a few moments ago, claiming you to be their father, saying that their mother sent them to live with you. Considering the fact that they were able to pass through the shields around the castle, and Allura and Danzia have checked them for any sort of magick and have found none, they cannot be demons in disguise. Care to explain how they got here?" she asked coolly.
I could feel his heart stop from across the room.
The two children turned to face us, and the resemblance was undeniable. Their hair was black as night, their arms and legs were long and lean, and the little girl's eyes were the same blue as Jasmin's down to the last pigment. The boy's eyes were a shade of blue mixed with hazel only possible in Underland, for they were unnaturally bright, and he had the same birthmark as Ilosovic in the crease of his left eye. It was barely visible, but it was there.
"H-how…how is this p-possible?! I've never-! I haven't-!" he was unable to form his thoughts into coherent words, "Did t-they say wh-who their mother i-is?" the Knight of Hearts looked like he could swoon at any second, though no one was prepared to catch him. We all needed someone to catch us!
"No," Allura replied, placing her hand on the boy's shoulder, "dey do naht know 'er name. And 'im said her kept her face hid, so dey don' know what she look like." He looked frightened by the sight of all of us, like he'd never seen this many people before, and he clutched his sister tightly to protect her. Because of his abnormal height, it was difficult to determine his age, but he was younger than us Overlanders at least. The little girl was hardly old enough to not be considered a baby; she was perhaps two or three years old.
Luna's eyes were darkening from silver to a deep maroon as the seconds ticked by, her features sharpened and her hair became frayed. She was trying to rein herself in, but the next question and its answer sent her off the deep end.
Jasmin stared in awe at her two mysterious "grandchildren", and they watched her shyly back, "Well…I…where did you come from?" she addressed them rather than the Witch Queen, "Where is your mother?"
Softly, the boy replied with the one place that I hadn't even thought about, and the last place I wanted it to be, "The Outlands…" he nearly whispered, "In a cave."
My blood turned to ice water and my jaw fell to the floor.
The Outlands only meant one thing; Iracebeth.
"It can't be…there's no way…Ilosovic wouldn't…he would never…" I stammered in his defense without having to explain what I was referring to. They all knew just like I did that the desert region of Underland was inhabited by only one person who had it out for him, who was utterly obsessed with him, and would do anything to avenge her broken heart, and it was the former Red Queen. How she did this, I don't know, but she was clearly the one behind it. I mean, who else wanted to have kids with him that badly?
Okay, that came out wrong…moving on…
If Luna had been any taller, she would have reached over and slapped Stayne dead in the mouth, but being hardly tall enough to reach some of the shelves in her dress shop without a ladder (or Ilosovic's assistance) she settled for a glower that, if looks could kill, would've annihilated the entire occupancy of the foyer and a vicious Outlandish rant, "Oh indeed 'e bloody well wouldn'! Looks like 'e pulled tha wool o'er yer eyes, lassie! Cen yeh not see 'em?! 'im an' Iracebeth, that slurking guddler's kyre jibblery-" she whirled around to direct her fury at the unsuspecting father, backing him almost into the wall.
"Luna! Luna, please!" he begged, just short of getting down on his knees before her, "I swear to you, I knew nothing of them until today! I had no clue-!"
He didn't get the rest of it out. Unable to control her rage any further, she turned on her heel and stormed down the hall to the room she and the girls were staying in for the night and slammed the door with a resounding BANG. Her muffled curses were still to be heard, even through the thick walls.
I'd never seen Stayne as miserable as that in all the time I'd known him. Never. Not even when we were in Salazen Grum. Alice gave chase to spare him from getting an earful of what would undoubtedly be another string of profanity, and promised to talk her down. Tarrant watched, conflicted on whose side to take in the matter.
"Regardless of how they came to be, they will need somewhere to stay while we sort this out…" Mirana said, "Rooms will be prepared for them near yours and your parents', Ilosovic. I assume that won't be a problem?" she added sharply. Her tone was even more startling than Luna's; to my knowledge, the White Queen had never said a cross word to anyone, not even her sister, and yet here she was copping an attitude with someone a full head and shoulders taller than her.
Ilosovic shook his head as if he'd zoned out and then looked down at her incredulously, "O-of course it's not. If they are my children- what sort of question is that exactly?" he shot back.
"Just wondering." She retorted.
Now I had seen him get angry a few times before –he snapped at me in Crims when I was trying to get him out, if you'll remember – but his expression and voice was closer to indignation than it was to rage, "If you were thinking I would leave these two out in the cold because of their mother, then you are sadly mistaken, your highness, and so is your sister if she thought so. I don't rightly care who their mother is, if I am in fact their father, and I will accept full responsibility for them, even under these…unusual circumstances." Stayne's gaze softened when it fell on the two newest members of his family, but sharpened once more when it met Mirana's again. However, before either one of them could start after the other, another voice interjected.
"This is not your cross to bear alone." Absolem fluttered down from a chandelier overhead. Sneaky little bugger had been eavesdropping apparently, "Mirana also has her share to do…being that Raven is now the heir to the throne." Smoke was hanging around the Butterfly like a cloud when he landed on my shoulder, and it made me cough.
"Raven?"
"Your daughter, of course…She has royal blood, and so does your son. Since this realm is traditionally led by a woman and Mirana has no daughters, Raven is now its princess…and Victor will be her knight…unless something happens to either of them."
Ohhhhh…so that's why the White Queen is so upset! Looks like Iracebeth is getting her crown back…sort of…in a way…I think.
There was some small comfort in knowing that the little girl was too young to have learned much from her mother, and that her brother didn't appear to be terribly aggressive either, but the current monarch didn't seem to pick up on that. She seemed even less thrilled than the new father.
The White Queen folded her hands in front of her and nodded solemnly, "Yes, while this does simplify some matters, I would have liked more time to prepare-"
"Join the club."
Alexander "gently" nudged his son with his elbow and told him to zip it. Jasmin gave both of them a dirty look, and she and Rosalynn made an exit to check on Alice's progress with Luna, who could still be heard cussing up a storm.
Many of the others slowly began drifting out as well, fearing another shouting match was about to begin; the only ones still rooted in place were me, the less than proud papa and Auntie Mirana, the children themselves, and Absolem. The other Warriors hung around the main entrance to the ballroom, occasionally casting wary glances back at us. Allura and Danzia bid us all goodnight and disappeared into the dark.
Mirana went on as if he hadn't said a word, "That being said, we will discuss the situation further in the morning when we've all had time to simmer down a tad. Nothing can be accomplished when one is in a temper. I would suggest you all either return to the party or get some sleep." Upon noticing that I was the only other person besides her niece and nephew in the room who was under 21, Mirana beckoned for me and requested that I take them to their rooms down the hall to get them settled in.
At first, I was going to ask if I could take Victor and Raven to the party for a few minutes, if only to introduce them to the other kids, but then I realized the time and figured that the Hightopp brood and friends were all probably in bed themselves. Looks like making friends would have to wait until tomorrow too. The pair of them looked traumatized enough as it was anyhow; they needed rest more than the adults did.
Offering my hand to the older child, and an apologetic gaze to their father, I lead them past the festivities to their room.
Allyson
After we were well on down the hallway, Victor spoke up, though his voice was still hardly audible, "Father doesn't really want us here, does he?" his grip on my hand was limp, despondent, "We rode all this way for nothing…"
The look on his face broke my heart, "Oh honey no, it's not like that. He…he just wasn't expecting you. None of us were. And he didn't really get along with your mama that well, so…"
"She didn't tell me that before we left. She only told me who he was and where he might be." Raven's little arms were draped around her brother's neck, her head resting on his shoulder, "So…he isn't angry with us for coming? He's mad at her?"
I nodded, "Yeah, something like that. I think."
"What about that lady that ran out?"
Luna surely wouldn't be angry at the children; they hadn't done anything to her, she was most likely she was mad at their parents, especially good ol' Pops back there, "Luna's not mad with you either. Your daddy's gonna have to figure out how to handle that one for himself though, and I wish him good luck with that."
The very thought of getting on her bad side scared the daylights outta me after that little episode. Even after the other womenfolk had gotten her calmed down, I wouldn't want to be in the same room if Stayne decided to waltz in and try to talk to her. I'd take on a Jabberwocky single-handedly first! Yikes!
"And our aunt? The White Queen…?"
"Now that, I don't know. If I were her, I'd be angry with your mother and not you, but…" I shrugged, stopping at the door that had appeared between Ilosovic's room and what had been a corner that leads into another corridor, "I dunno. I can't even tell if she's mad or not…"
"Oh, she's mad alright."
"We're all mad here, don't you know?"
The Cheshire Kittens appeared briefly above our heads, giving both the Stayne children and me a start. That was a nasty habit of theirs; popping up out of nowhere. Family trait.
"Not what I meant guys, but yes, I've figured that much out." It was a fact that was kinda hard to miss, no matter how much or little time you'd spent down here. If you didn't notice that, then you clearly weren't paying attention to anything.
Reshy and Felicity circled us a few times before making themselves mostly visible, their vapory tails mixing together as they passed one another, "So who's this? And that one too?" Felicity purred.
"They must be from somewhere else. We've seen everyone from Marmoreal." Reshy flipped himself upside down and hung in front of them.
Victor cleared his throat nervously and introduced himself and his sister, who was struggling to keep her eyes open and her head upright. The Kittens grinned and did so as well, and we all assured the jittery boy that the other children were just as friendly. Felicity even managed to lure a smile out of him when she wondered aloud which of the girls would take a fancy to him first.
My mind immediately went to the only girl that would give his daddy fits; Arya Thorne. Knowing Ilosovic's luck, that'd be the only girl that takes an interest in his son. Not that there's anything wrong with her…she was a sweet girl, kinda spacey sometimes, but she was a little darling. We'd gotten lucky.
"If he's anything like his dad, we're gonna have to beat 'em off with a stick. Every time you turn around he's got another one coming after him…first Luna, then Alice, now their mom…" sarcasm was practically dripping out of my mouth.
Victor's eyes widened, "Alice?! The Alice?"
That particular scene from my last visit to Crims flashed across my vision before I could stop it, and I reflexively rolled my eyes in response, "I'll tell you when you're older." I chuckled to myself, "You need sleep right now. Off you go…" Upon opening the door to their room, the sensation one gets when they realize they're being watched crept over me, and I ushered the two inside quicker so that I could investigate. The feeling was made worse by the hasty farewell the Kittens bid me before I even got turned around all the way, and by the silence that filled the empty hallway.
Well, I say it was empty…I wish that it had been.
Out of my peripheral vision, I saw a shadow creep along the floor towards me, a shadow that wouldn't have been noticeable if I hadn't suddenly become irrationally paranoid. After considering my past experience with creepy, black, shapeless masses, taking a step backward was the most logical thing that I could think to do, but that time my logic failed me.
"Allyson, what in Underland are you-?"
A shrill squeak escaped my lips as my back met something that was cold and felt considerably sturdier than me. Expecting to be met with the sight of a hideous monster closing in – my mind didn't register that my name had been said at the time – it was a happy occasion to discover Thorne standing behind me instead. However strange it was, it wasn't a long-lived feeling.
Angry that he had startled me, or that I had startled myself in his presence rather, I crossed my arms and glowered at him impatiently, "I'm glad I wasn't armed, or I'd have some explaining to do to Queen Rubi right about now. You can't just come up behind me like that y'know."
"My apologies, dear girl." he grinned amusedly, "I'll be sure not to make that mistake again. Didn't think I would frighten you so badly…"
"Yeah, yeah, sure." When I looked again, the shadow was gone, so I couldn't blame it for giving me a heart attack and wipe that smug look off his face. Figures. When you want the demons to show up at a bad time, they're nowhere to be seen, but the minute you don't want them, they're beating the door down…
Rather than going on his way and leaving me alone, he crossed his arms behind him and leaned forward expectantly, like he was waiting on me to keep talking, "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you heard the Royal Rumble earlier and you want the juicy details?"
Thorne put on his best "I haven't the slightest idea what you mean" face; tilting his head to the side and putting his hands on his hips, "There was fight?" he asked.
"Don't play dumb; you heard Luna go bananas just like I did. I'm pretty sure the entire dimension heard her."
"Oh that…yes, I caught the very end of that actually. Odd that Iracebeth is choosing to strike out at him all this time later, isn't it?" There was something in his tone that I was none too fond of, aside from the usual; it was like he was subtly trying to tell me that he knew something that I didn't. And that ain't gonna fly, "And what an odd way to avenge oneself…not the way I would go about it, but to each his own I suppose." He shrugged dismissively, nodded a goodnight to me, and finally started back on his way down the corridor with an arrogant grin over his shoulder.
"How would you go about it then?" It's times like this that I wish I had a brain-to-mouth filter that was functional. That wasn't supposed to come out in the first place, and it came off with way too much "come at me bro" in it.
Thorne's sneer faded into something harsher, something that actually incited a little fear in the recesses of my mind, something intensely cold and callous, "We're fairly even, I would dare say, but should he or anyone else cross me any certain way, I prefer the more…traditional… forms of vengeance."
His scarred gaze said, "An eye for an eye."
And he needn't repeat himself.
Allyson
"What took you so long?" Ilosovic looked like he was about three laps away from pacing a hole in the floor of the balcony by the time I found him, Absolem and Maccay. The Butterfly was perched on her shoulder, and both looked very concerned and deep in thought. Stayne looked like he could keel over at any second.
"I was putting your kids to bed and then Thorne decided to scare fifteen years off my life in the hall on the way back. It amazes me endlessly that my hair isn't the same color as Mirana's by now from dealing with certain people…including but not limited to him, Absolem, and your crazy baby mama."
He was not amused, and Absolem didn't seem to hear my insult. He was too busy grilling my other friend for information she didn't have, from what I could gather, "Like I said, if I had known about this before tonight, I would've told somebody." Maccay leaned against the railing, shaking her head, "I haven't been able to come down here for a while now, so what was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to know that the Red Queen was up to something?"
"Why didn't you tell anyone you couldn't get through?"
"I didn't think anything of it. It's happened before, before the Frabjous Day. And I wasn't about to complain about getting a vacation from her."
Stayne ran his hand through his hair shakily, "You don't think…this has anything to do with…with demons, do you Absolem?"
The Butterfly paused for a moment, as if he were reluctant to give him more bad news, so I took it upon myself because I knew my delivery would be a little gentler than his, "Not demons alone. They are not intelligent enough to do this without guidance, and Iracebeth doesn't have the means or know-how to control them herself. She has to have help-"
"The rogue Outlander sorceress Drina is behind this, and that being said, this is only the beginning of whatever plan she has." Absolem lifted off from her shoulder and hovered a few inches from Ilosovic's face, speaking in a grave tone "You may not be fond of the situation, but regardless of that, you must protect your son and daughter from that witch at all costs. Drina has done things to people that the Red Queen wouldn't have given a passing thought. Iracebeth was mistreated and wronged; Drina is a madwoman…and not in the usual way."
Stayne furrowed his brow and huffed. I couldn't tell if he was angry or scared or both…he just looked lost and defeated. And what could I say to help? Nothing. All I could do was stand there with an expression that mirrored his.
Maccay shuffled back inside as Absolem dismissed her from questioning. Luke and the Long twins huddled around her and though I could not hear them, I knew they were discussing the evening's events in hushed voices just like all the other stragglers in the ballroom.
The Butterfly alighted once more, this time heading for the castle's topiary garden, "I will do all in my power to keep Drina at bay, but everyone in the castle needs to prepare for what may come if I fail. I fear this is the war that Allura prophesied Amalie and Jackson would lead…and now your children are to join the battle."
In that prediction was a glimmer of hope, "Didn't she say that they would defeat a great evil? I mean…if that's the case, should we really be that worried?"
The last thing he said before he flew into the night left me with a hollow sensation in my gut, "Victory has its costs, just like failure."
"They were both delivered safely?"
The man on the other end of the Portal sneered, "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, 'Racie. Your little brats got here in one piece, and now they're sleeping right next door to Daddy if-"
"Enough." Drina interrupted, leaving her cohorts to a glaring match, "Dere is not time fah backbiting."
He scoffed, "I don't see why not. All we've left to do is wait 'til everyone gets really attached to Jr. and the Princess, and then snatch them right back."
The Witch's eyes narrowed to slits, "I would ha'dly say dat. You still 'ave much to do fah me."
His haughty grin faded, replaced by a worried frown, "What's that supposed to mean? I thought you said that I had to get those two and that was the end of it?"
She shook her head while Iracebeth looked on, equally as confused, "I nevah said dat…I said until I had all de children I need…dose two ahre not all dat I need." She seemed to contemplate something for a moment before she spoke to him again, "Ahf caurse, if you don' want to travel to Ovaland and eenstead wish to volanteer yowah daughta…"
The man suddenly became furious, slamming his fist against the edge of the Portal. The closer he leaned to the surface, the less the shadow of night obscured his face, "You leave Arya out of this! Don't you even think about touching her, or I'll slice you to ribbons!" Thorne drew his dagger from his belt and flashed it in the moonlight. Drina was unfazed.
"I brought you dat chil', Thorne. I cean tek ha' bahck jus' as easily."
There was a deadly silence between the three, until a tiny, sleepy voice was heard calling for Arondight. He turned, and in a much gentler tone told his little girl that he was coming, "Fine." He snarled at the women staring back at him, and then his Mirror went dark.