Chapter 10
1x10 7:15 A.M.
"Henry who were you talking to this morning?" I asked right before I leaned forward on the counter eating another bite of ice cream. Moose Tracks, my favorite.
Henry shrugged, "I don't know yet?" before he dug his spoon in. We were eating it straight out of the carton on the counter. We were waiting for the storm to hit.
"Well is he in your book?" I asked.
"People don't come here, and they don't leave here. He has to be from the enchanted forest but he couldn't have come over with the curse. Or else he wouldn't remember."
"But he doesn't remember…right?" I ask confused.
"I think he knows something, he's hiding something from us I can tell." Henry answered.
Just then a huge ripple of thunder went off knocking out the power. And we were submerged in darkness.
"Well Henry? Anything you want to do tonight beside stand in the kitchen eating ice cream in the dark?" I asked sarcastically.
"Well…. How far have you gotten in my book?" I could practically hear the devilish grin I'm sure was spreading across his face as I sighed.
After Henry had gotten the book from under my mattress upstairs and brought it down Henry and I were cuddled up on the couch under a blanket getting ready to finish Alice's story by flashlight.
Alice had, had a long night of walking by the time she had approached the queen of hearts maze. She gulped taking in the miles and miles of green 15-foot tall hedgery. But the blue trail was still illuminated so she hoped it would lead her straight to the palace. Just as she was about to enter she heard a voice. "WAIT! Wait! ALICE!" She turned to see the white rabbit running towards her still in his waistcoat. "Alice you cannot by any means go in there." "Well why not?" "The queen of hearts she was the one who illuminated the trail that pulled you here! You are her ticket out of here. She wants to use your spot to leave Wonderland with the Queen." Alice furrowed her brow "But the Queen of Hearts is my only chance of getting home." Alice stated. The white rabbit shook his head, "No Alice, you are her only chance of getting home. There is prophecy that says that a young girl will break the barrier so that people can come in go between wonderland and the enchanted forest as they please so that the Queen of Hearts and all her knights and staff can return home." "But how will I get home?" Alice asked. "Here." The white rabbit pulled out a golden pocket watch dangling from a chain and handed it to Alice. "This is your ticket home, it's a time turner." "A time what?" Alice asked. "A time turner, but it doesn't change time to go backwards or forwards, it bends time and space to open portals to wherever you need to go." Alice's face lit up, "This is my ticket home! Mine and the queen's. But how do I use it?" Alice looked more closely at the pocket watch. "Put it away!" The white rabbit hissed as Alice hastily pocketed the watch. "Nobody knows that, this exists. To use it you must turn the hour hand 3 times clockwise and the minute hand backwards once, in that order or else it won't work, and the portal should appear in front of you. It's enchanted only you can use it Alice, if anyone else tries it won't work." Alice sensed something was off and pulled back, "Why are you giving it to me?" "Because I need you to do something for me. After you make it out of wonderland with the queen…." Alice nodded, "I need you to kill her." Alice's jaw dropped, "What! Why would I kill the queen? She is helping me get home!" The white rabbit shook his head vehemently, "Alice you don't understand. She's not who she says she is. Back in the enchanted forest she is the ev-"
Bang. Just then an arrow was shot through the white rabbits back and came protruding out of the front. Alice muffled her own screams with her hand, just then she could see the queen of hearts knights coming into view. "So this is her?" They laughed. "The girl who will bring us home. We'll see about that." Before Alice knew what was happening the knights had surrounded her, bound her arms and legs, and shoved her head into a sack.
As Regina approached the entrance of the Queen of Heart's maze she could see the white rabbit with an arrow sticking out of him laying in front and a blue lace ribbon lying at the entrance. That was Alice's ribbon that she'd had in her hair. 'I'm too late. Cora already has her.' Regina thought. 'No I have to go save her!' Regina was now furious. She wouldn't let Cora take away another person that she cared about
When the sack was ripped off of Alice's head she was standing in front of a woman sitting upon a throne, The queen of hearts. In a huge ballroom with red walls and mirrors and hearts. "So Alice" The queen twisted around the name. "You are the one who is going to bring all of us back to the enchanted forest." Alice stayed silent. The queen rose and boomed, "You will answer me when I speak to you, Alice!" Alice looked up making direct eye contact with the queen. "I don't have a way home ma'm." The queen bent down to Alice's level "You're lying." The Queen's hand plunged into Alice and grabbed a hold of her heart and lifted Alice up into the air so that she couldn't stand. Alice started choking and gasping for air, flailing. "Tell me where it is!" Cora boomed.
"No!" Yelled Regina who right then had burst in and used magic to send the queen flying backwards knocking into the wall. Alice slumped to the floor struggling to catch her breath. Regina ran forward, "Alice? Alice, are you okay?" "Yes I'm fine." Alice struggled to stand up. "Not for long." Regina turned around to see Cora standing behind her. She protectively stood in front of Alice. "Please you really think your magic is any kind of match for mine? Your own mother." Cora mused. "The queen of hearts is your mother?!" Alice exclaimed. "Unfortunately" Regina replied. "We are going to leave your mother down here?" Alice asked very confused. "The only person who's getting left down here is you Alice." Cora replied. Cora then pulled her arm back and cast a spell to subdue Alice. But Regina was faster she cast a rebound spell that rebounded Cora's spell upon herself. Regina spun around. "Alice we have to find a way out of here, now!" "I have one!" Alice pulled out the time turner. "This is our ticket home!" Alice exclaimed. "Well how does it work, because we need to go now." The subduing spell used on Cora was wearing off. Alice took a deep breath in and turned the hour hand 3 times clockwise, and the minute hand counter clockwise once. Alice thought that the spell hadn't worked until she started to feel the ground rumbling. Then a portal opened in the ground. "Alice this is important! Whatever you do don't let go of my hand!" Regina yelled. "Okay!" Regina jumped with Alice through the portal, which promptly closed. "NOO!" Cora screamed as her subduing spell wore off, she had just lost her last chance to return home.
Alice and Regina landed on their backs with a hard thud right at the same Riverbank where they had fallen through the portal to wonderland 3 days ago although seemingly no time had passed. Regina crawled to Alice who was still flat on her back. "Alice? Alice." Regina shook her arm. Alice's eyes fluttered open. "You came for me." Alice said softly. "Did you ever doubt that I would?" Regina laughed. "You're a hero." Alice said sitting up. Regina grimaced, maybe in wonderland she was a hero to Alice but here, here she was still the evil queen. "Alice I want you to come stay with me. You told me your father died and I want you to come stay at the palace with me." "Really?" Alice asked disbelievingly. "Yes." Regina almost whispered. "Of course! I would love to!" Alice threw her arms around Regina who laughed. "Well good, it's been decided, we'll leave immediately." Regina pulled away and stood up with Alice. Just then the guards came running towards Alice unaware of the 3 day time gap and still believing the queen was after Alice. They all aimed their bows and were about to take fire. "STOP!" Regina yelled. The guards all put down their bows in confusion. "Nobody will harm her. She is coming with us. We are going back to the palace now." "But your highness", one of the guards started, "The hunt for snow white…" "Temporarily ceased." Regina cut him off before turning to Alice. "Alice at the palace, you'll absolutely love it" "Wait, but." Alice interrupted and Regina stopped talking. "The hunt for Snow White?" Alice continued. Suddenly it all made sense. Alice looked over at Regina horrified, "Oh my god. You're her. That's why you're looking for Snow White. You're the Evil Queen; Regina." "But Alice I can explain-" Regina tried to plead. "No you were the one who killed them!" "Killed who?" Regina asked. "My parents, and then you tried to have me killed but my adopted father, my papa he stole me. His name was-" "Atticus. My head knight" Regina interrupted. The sudden realization dawned on Regina. "Alice please. I am not the same person that I was. You have to believe me." Alice felt tears streaming down her face, she felt horribly betrayed, "My papa told me about you he said never to trust you, that you would rip my heart out." Regina bent down and placed on hand on Alice's face. "Alice please just come with me, I can fix this-" Alice slapped away Regina's hand. "How can you fix this? They're dead. And I never want to see you again, for the rest of my life." Alice turned and started running back to her house, while Regina stayed there stunned. A guard stepped forward, "Your highness? Do you want us to follow her?" Regina wiped away one lone tear that had fallen down her face before turning around. "No. She made her decision. The quest for snow white will continue!"
I stared at the book disbelievingly. Then turned towards Henry, "Wait what?" I flipped to the next page but Alice's story had ended. "So in the end when they should've been happy Alice finds out that it was the evil queen who was accompanying her this whole time, who killed her parents and tried to kill her?"
Henry nodded.
"And it didn't tell us who Alice's parents were."
"Only the evil queen knows." Henry answered.
"What a stupid book" I said as I slammed the book closed thoroughly annoyed.