Chapter 10
Like a Knight Errant
-~:{+}:~-
The ground's only response was a loud thump. Elise fell flat on her face, but it did not stop the encroaching feeling of drowsiness. The knight draped in red was still trailing behind her.
{Damnit… Was that medicine drugged..? This can't be good…}
Turning around, the red knight seemed poised to strike her down, but before losing consciousness, a flash of white and the sound of metal striking was before her.
-~:{+}:~-
"My former thoughts returned: the fear that kills;
And hope that is unwilling to be fed;
Cold, pain, and labour, and all fleshy ills;
And mighty Poets in their misery dead.
-Perplexed, and longing to be comforted,
My question eagerly did I renew,
'How is it that you live, and what is it that you do?'"
Opening her eyes, Elise awoke to the sound of a poem. Her limbs felt heavy and her head hurt. Sprawled out on a few blankets, the sky was that of early evening, and nearby there was a man with dark-blonde hair and predominantly white clothing. He was flipping through a small leather book and an arming sword rested beside him. The two were resting upstream from the cottage.
{Was I… saved?}
She looked down at the vial, which was somehow still in her hand. Elise was suspicious of the potion, for good reason too, seeing as she was nearly killed. The man in white interjected the girl's trance.
"So, you're finally awake, young lady." The man was smiling a big, sincere looking smile. "You know, that was a close call back there, the Red Queen's Knight is not one to be trifled with."
"You're the one who saved me?"
Nodding his head, his long blonde hair rustled a bit in a low-ponytail. "Well, I suppose since I saved you, you'll have to pay me back a little."
"Pay?"
"Yes, pay. That sounds fair, doesn't it?" Sitting beside her, he looked up at the sky, as if wondering what would be a good payment. "A name would be simple, right?"
"Oh… I'm Elise Tenniel."
"Well, I'm Alair. Alair Haddocks. Nice to meet you." Taking her hand, he shook it in a very friendly manner.
{He has such a happy disposition. Much better company than Edwin-}
"Shit! Where's Edwin!" She bolted forward, remembering her original traveling companion.
"Edwin..? Do you mean that depressing rook?"
"Mmhmm!" Nodding her head, Elise became a bit worried. She hated leaving people behind, and she certainly couldn't go back to see Aria without him.
"Oh, well, I'm sure he's fine if you're worried about him."
"But I was supposed to follow him. This wasn't exactly according to plan." Elise argued.
"Well, I could help you look for him, but you seem really tired and should rest. You nearly died out there…" trailing off, Alair pointed at the glass container in her hands "Hey, what's that vial?"
"This… I was told it was medicine, but it made me really sleepy instead. I probably shouldn't have taken it."
"Wait, you're a foreigner, aren't you? I though it seemed a bit strange, as I never remembered any new role-holders… Did you really drink that potion?" He seemed a bit concerned, worrying Elise a bit.
"Well, I am from the outside, and I did drink the entire thing… Is there something wrong with it?"
{Shit. It must have been drugged! I'll be sure to get back at that Red Queen.}
Sighing a bit, he ran his hand through his hair. "That is what's called the Potion of Hearts. If a foreigner drinks it, they are stuck in this world until the vial refills."
"What! You've gotta be kiddin' me!" She jumped up at the realization that going home may not have been so difficult this entire time. Too bad she drank that potion. "Really! I'm going to give Valse a piece of my mind if I ever see her again!"
A look of suspicious surprise came over the knight's face. "You say the Red Queen gave you the potion?" He seemed to be lost in thought, for good reason, and begun to mumble under his breath. "Why would she want to keep you here..?"
"I don't know, but I am pissed! Tell me, is there any way to fix this?"
"Well, stories have it that you have to meet with all the role-holders in the land you arrived in… But not just simple introductions, you need to form opinions of them too. Actually interact with them..."
"And when the vial's full, I'll get to go home, right?"
"Yes… But it might not be so easy. I've noticed you have Lily's stake with you. Considering Read's attempts to kill you, I'll assume that you will act in Lily's place, making people under the Red Kingdom's jurisdiction your enemies."
"Read?"
"Faris Read is the Red Knight that you encountered earlier." Alair's voice became spiteful at the name, hinting his disdain for the man.
"Oh, okay. Well, things sound simple, but I suppose this will be difficult after a while, won't it…" She looked down at the vial, to see that there were a few drops of liquid pooled at the bottom. "Ah! I guess my meeting with you has already started to fill the vial."
"Ah, that is a good thing then. But now we should look for Edwin after you rest a bit, then."
-~:{+}:~-
After a short break, the two started on their way, concluding that waiting at the cottage for a while might be a good starting point. Once again approaching the structure, there was a figure with wavy hair and brown longcoat. It was Edwin.
"There you are! I've been looking for you. Are you alright?" He seemed worried, but it was dangerous territory, so his response was expected.
"Don't worry Edwin, Elise here is alright. I've been taking care of her. She has Lily's stake too. Perhaps we should move it to another square now. I suppose the one near Charity City would be safe."
"I suppose you're right." Edwin sighed again, but it was hard to tell if it was one of relief or just more depressing thoughts. The three headed back towards the direction of the White Queen's castle. The walk was relatively silent, Elise just gazing up at the red sky. It was sunset red for an extended period of time, as if it was frozen. The phenomenon confused her, but it was beautiful nonetheless, being like the ones she saw back in the country, out in the cornfields. She wasn't a country girl, but her grandmother ran a large estate a bit out of the way, plus her school was on the edge of town. The sunsets there were always the reddest she had ever seen. The skies here were the same shade of blood-red. She mumbled under her breath, and nobody really heard her.
"It's like time is standing still." Elise suddenly felt an eerie feeling about the whole thing, but she couldn't put her finger on why. Was it the blood colours above, or the her loss towards feeling time move forward like it always had. She tried to shake it off, when she noticed she begun to fall behind a bit, and she didn't want to get lost again. Thing is she caught wind of a conversation her two companions were having under their breaths.
"Alair, were you going against the rules again? Don't you know how dangerous that is? You lucked out because she choose to be on our side and not Valse's."
"Well, I couldn't just let her be attacked like that, even if it is against the rules, I think I should help people..." Alair's expression was that of a smile, but his violet eyes seemed saddening. "Ah, there's the brook we have to cross."
Jumping between the two ahead of her, Elise seemed to run up to it excitedly, then just gave a sigh of relief. "So, can I place this stake anywhere, as long as it's in this plot?"
The two men just nodded in confirmation, though Alair added, "Still, you might want to hide it somewhere though, as long as it's embedded in the soil you should be fine."
Digging the stake into the dirt behind shrubbery and trees, the three headed towards the White Queen's city.
{Well, this day has been eventful, to say the least.}
Notes: Something similar with the White Knight saving Alice happened in Through the Looking-Glass, just add the life-or-death situation.
The poem is an excerpt from William Wordsworth's poem, Resolution and Independence (published 1807), which was an inspiration for a little song sung in Through the Looking-Glass, so yeah…
And yes, they can move backwards on the board. It's more like a game of fairy chess instead of you're standard rules.