Chapter Eleven
As they huddled near the train, Hatter went over in his head different ways to slip away from the guards after they boarded. He wanted to make certain they believed he'd gotten on the train with the others, but there was no way in hell he'd leave without Alice. Hatter swallowed hard trying not to think about what the Red Knight could be doing to her right this minute.
Jack saw the look on Hatter's face and immediately understood, "You're going to escape aren't you?" he whispered, even though most of the guards had already boarded the train except for the few talking to one of the engine operators. Apparently they'd have company this time on the way back. Hatter hoped these bozos didn't know how to count.
"Yes, I am," he replied.
"Hell, I'd come with you, but Duchess and I have some reinforcements to get in order. After what we've seen…we need to be ready."
"Right you are, my fine king!" Charlie said standing a bit taller. "And I will gather my reinforcements as well!"
Hatter had grown rather fond of Charlie ever since the last time Alice had been in trouble, but he didn't think an army of skeletons would work this time. "What reinforcements are you talking about? The white knights are gone."
"Ah ha, good sir I have been rather busy since your last visit to Wonderland. Don't you worry; we'll rescue your fair maiden in no time with my help."
Jack and Hatter glanced at one another then back at Charlie. They didn't argue with the man, because as helpless and honorable as he seemed, Charlie always had a few surprises up his armor that always paid out in the end. Hatter nodded his head and shook Charlie's hand. "Good luck, noble knight."
"And you," Charlie bowed just as the guards started back for them. It was time to load up apparently and Hatter still didn't know how he planned to do this. He could hurry to the last car and jump from the back, but there were just too many guards around. The metal steps leading up into their car were a nightmare for Hatter; his feet felt like heavy bags of sand as he moved up each one. It took everything he had and knowing that soon he'd be off this contraption and on his way to finding Alice was the only thing making it possible for him to board.
It was the same car they'd ridden in before, or they just all looked exactly alike. The four of them sat down on the cushioned seats once more, but it felt wrong without her there. Hatter furtively searched the car for the Red Knight's men. They'd been scattered throughout the train and thankfully only one stood in his way to the door leading outside to the next car.
Jack cleared his throat. Hatter swung back around glancing at the strong blonde man; his eyes looking a little exhausted from his experience. Hatter had almost forgotten Jack had been the knight's prisoner for a while. It must have been awful. That got him thinking of Alice again with a new surge of anxiety to get her out. "You need a distraction," Jack whispered.
Hatter thought a moment, "I could knock him out?"
Jack shook his head, "When he comes to, he'd just raise the alarm to the others. No good. We need something to keep him busy."
"And what would that be?" Suddenly, it clicked. Both Hatter and Jack turned their heads towards Duchess. The ferocious feline who could distract any man in his right mind, Hatter thought. She narrowed her eyes at the men and sighed. "I've got this, but you owe me," she snapped at both of them. She was not happy about this, but Hatter knew it should be cake for her.
As she stood up and sauntered towards the guard, Hatter was glad she'd worn her tight fitting red dress for this little distraction. It was bound to help. Hatter wasn't her biggest fan, but since she and Jack got married, a noticeable change in her personality was evident. Or it might have just been hidden behind the Queens evil activities for her when she reigned, but none the less Duchess has proven herself and made any Wonderland inhabitant proud to call their Queen.
The three men watched as Duchess tested out the guard's weaknesses, first playing the shy, a bit hesitant female and then quickly moving into the purring seductress. Damn, she was good. The guard was practically drooling. Hatter slowly got to his feet and tip toed past them, as Duchess led the guard into the seats behind theirs for a more private chat. The walls around them were glass from the top of the seats up to the ceilings, but the guy was no more paying attention to his surroundings than a fox chasing a rabbit. Only this fox was about to get his head stuck in the rabbit hole if he wasn't careful.
Hatter heard some of their conversation as he passed to the door, "Oh don't worry about my husband," Duchess purred. "Jack is just a means to power and money. I have other interests as well." Duchess made an obvious glance up and down the man's armor. Hatter wondered if there was a bit of truth to what she said, but doubted it. As soon as Hatter had slipped outside, he saw Jack stand up and wink towards him as he busted through to the other seating where Duchess and the guard were, "I can see everything you're doing, if you would please unhand my wife before things get ugly…" The guard looked pissed and Hatter knew their distraction had worked. He hoped Jack wouldn't raise too much trouble and broadcast their argument to other guards, but there was no stopping now and Hatter didn't plan on it either.
The train began to vibrate as the engine started up; Hatter had to hurry if he wanted to get out of there unseen. He had to duck his head down as two guards at the door of the next car stood their talking somewhat heatedly. They were loud enough Hatter could make out every word. "I think its bullshit he gets all the good ones."
"It's his kingdom and he doesn't have to keep us around, remember that."
The first guard with a scruffy beard grumbled, "Yea, but it's been so long and I haven't had any fresh ones in months." Fresh ones? Hatter didn't know what they were talking about, but he could guess it wasn't anything good.
"There are plenty of women down in the cells, what's wrong with them?"
"I hate repeating myself."
The second guard that had his helmet tucked under his arm laughed uncontrollably, "You will just have to wait until we get a new batch of women then." Hatter gritted his teeth. Jesus, how many women did the Red Knight have?
The bearded guard looked red-faced angry now, "That won't be for a long time, the stone of wonderland is still missing and the knight can't sneak any of us through the looking glass until they bring it back. And they won't bring the stone back until their king and queen have returned safely."
"Or we find it first," the second guard included.
"What if we go have a look see at Red's newest prisoner, eh?" the guard laughed, changing his mood instantly to a mischievousness that bothered Hatter. The guy scratched the hairs on his chin.
"The Red Knight will kill you if you touch Alice of Legend. She's off limits to all, even his heirs."
"Hogwash! She's in the prison cells outside the kingdom; Red won't know if we give her a little test run. Always wanted to know what the most powerful woman in all of Wonderland tasted like. I imagine sweet as honey," he whooped and nudged the other guard, who did not look thrilled.
Hatter did his best not to bust through the door and kill both those men for even thinking of his Alice like that. His blood was boiling, with sweat on his brow. If they had any sense they'd leave her be. Because any man that touched Alice, Red Knight included, wouldn't live to see another day. And despite how much he wanted to kill these two, he resisted. It'd only blow his escape, which he should have already gotten off the train by now, but had been distracted. Now he wished he had of left before listening to the guards, because he was madder than hell. On the other hand, he now knew where they were keeping Alice. He only had to get to her.
The train jerked as it started a slow roll towards the edge of the island. It was now or never, Hatter mused. He held his breath and jumped down to the quickly moving ground, rolled a few times with sharp jabs from the small rocks underneath him and then leapt up running towards the nearest bolder just in case some guards had stayed behind. Plus, he didn't want any from the train seeing him and halting its departure.
The sound of water crashed against the cliffs and seagulls squawked down below catching their meal for the day. The drop off behind him was high enough if he fell, he probably wouldn't make it, but it was a decent enough hiding place between rocks close to its edge for now. The train was showing no signs of slowing. Hatter's pulse was, however, as it got further and further away from the island.
He looked back at the small boarding station and didn't see anyone around. It was probably safe to make a run for the trees that he realized surrounded the kingdom. And thanks to the vile guards, he knew exactly where Alice was being held. And with that thought, Hatter took off from his hiding place behind the rocks, without a backwards glance at the train off in the distance, disappearing.
oo
Alice woke up in the exact same spot on the floor as before, in a darkness that was becoming familiar to her. There was no light, ever. No light coming through the door, no sunlight, hell, she didn't even know if it was day or night outside. The only light they had at all was the candle Carol lit to examine her with, but it was out now. Alice didn't know if there was any wax left, but she hoped the woman had saved some.
Her back was aching from the hard floor, her wrists were still sore and a headache was pounding, as if her skull would crack open any second. She wished she could find a Tylenol somewhere and laughed at that. In this place, she didn't think even the high and mighty knight had anything coming close to a painkiller. They didn't even have electricity, much less modern day medicines.
A metal scratching, squeak sounded from across the room as Carol sat up on the cot. Alice had assured her the floor was fine, making sure the pregnant woman got what little comfort she could on the cot. It wasn't ideal for someone in her situation, but it was the best they had. "Are you okay?" Alice heard her whisper.
"Fine. You okay?"
"Alright. I'd be a lot better if I had my own bed right about now." The sigh that left Carol's lips said it all. They were both from an entirely different world, trapped.
"How long have you been here?"
"I lost count after the first two months," she replied easily.
Alice didn't know what to say to that. The woman was at least six months pregnant. She didn't want to think about how long she, herself, would be stuck here and decided to change the subject to something less upsetting. "God, I'd kill for a cheeseburger," Alice said licking her lips. They hadn't had anything to eat since she'd been thrown in here. Neither had Carol and Lord knows when the last time she had eaten. Poor thing, Alice thought.
Carol laughed a soft, delicate laugh and agreed. "Home does have its benefits."
After the women had let the tiny buzz of humor die out quickly from the depressing atmosphere, Alice chewed her tongue, wanting to ask Carol something that had been bugging her since she'd last talked with her. "Did the Red Knight rape you?"
Alice couldn't see the woman, but the silence was enough to make the room awkward and even more depressing. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," Alice began.
"No, it's alright. It's just with me it's…complicated."
"Complicated?"
Carol took a deep raspy breath. Being trapped in this dungeon and pregnant could not be healthy for her or the baby. "Yes, technically I wouldn't have called it rape."
"The Red Knight didn't rape you? So, you consented to be with him?"
Carol was getting frustrated and Alice couldn't tell in the dark if it was with her or herself. "No, no. You misunderstand me. The Red Knight didn't do anything to me. It was his…son."
"His son," Alice repeated. This was getting crazier by the minute. "So the knight succeeded in having an heir?"
"He did…" Before Carol could finish what she had started to say, heavy footsteps drummed on the stone floor. At first they sounded distant, but grew closer with an orange light flickering, outlining the door. Carol whimpered a little and Alice felt like doing the same thing, because the footsteps stopped in front of their door. Alice crawled over to where Carol sat on the bed and grabbed her icy small hands hoping to comfort her. If someone was here, it would be for Alice most likely and not her. "It's okay," Alice whispered as the chains clanked and clattered from being removed.
The orange light grew as the door swung open and a man stepped inside. Carol gasped and the man averted his gaze from Alice to the other shaking woman curled on the cot and was clearly shocked. "What the hell are you doing in here?" he yelled.
Carol opened her mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. Alice was missing something. They obviously knew each other. Was this the Red Knight's son? It had to be.
"Never mind," he said. "I know exactly why you're here. Don't worry Carol. I'll talk to him about this."
The woman was so out of sorts, all she could do was nod. Her face was much paler than when they had the candle lit, but then again it hadn't put off very much light to begin with. Carol might have been this sickly looking before, and Alice just never was able to see it. God, she felt bad for her. Whatever happened, Alice had to get her out of here too; where Carol could get to a real doctor. And the other women had to be rescued as well. She could only imagine what state they were in, if Carol was this bad.
The man glanced back towards Alice and motioned with his torch, "He wants to see you."
Alice didn't move. She tried, but knowing he meant the Red Knight, Alice did not want another encounter with that bastard. "Can you stand?" the man asked with what looked like pity, but she couldn't be sure.
"I haven't tried, but…" Alice began, but couldn't say more as the man whipped his hand out and took hold of her arm, helping her up to a stance. She was on her feet in a flash, but a little woozy. A wave of nausea hit her stomach hard as she swayed, but it went away fairly quickly, thank goodness. He looked back at Carol. "How bad is she?"
Carol had found her voice now, "A nasty knock on the head, but she should be fine. If only we were back in the real world I could give her…"
"You're not! Okay?" he snapped, obvious anger rising. Immediately Carol was quiet again; her eyes as big as flapjacks and her fingers trembling. Alice heard the man mutter a curse and leaned down in front of the woman. "I'm sorry. I'll get you out of this. I promise."
He took hold of Alice and led her out into a dark, damp hallway. Other cell doors with massive chains hung from the handles lined down on each side. The man loosely wrapped the chain back around Carol's handle before taking hold of Alice's arm once more and marched back down the hall the way he'd came. A small set of stone steps were at the end of the hall to the right. Up them was another door, but this one had white light surrounding it as if heaven awaited her through it. Heck, maybe she had died and this guy was just a transporter of souls. That would have been a much better outcome than being taken to see him.
As soon as he opened the door for her, Alice had to cover her eyes. The sting from the sun was horrible. She'd been in the dark too long and it hurt as her eyes slowly adjusted. It took a moment, but after a few minutes of walking blindly with the man leading her by the arm she risked a glance at him. His hair was a light brown with streaks of blond high lights. He was surprisingly young; no more than twenty Alice figured. The sharp angles already visible upon his face told her he had grown up much faster than a normal boy his age. But this was not a boy, but a man. Alice could even see it in his hard green eyes. There was pain there, and Alice had a feeling she had no reason to fear him. "What's your name?" she asked.
He didn't say anything at first. His cheek clenched like he was debating and after a minute he answered her. "According to my father, I don't have one. But…my mother called me Drew."
"Drew," Alice whispered as if testing it out. "Is your father the Red…"
"Knight?" he finished. "Yes, biologically anyways. But I don't consider him my father taking into account the son of a bitch raped my mother."
Alice couldn't think of anything to say, but she was sorry for what happened.
"It's okay. I have to play his little game for now, but soon…very soon I hope, he will fall and I can get Carol out of this place. He forced me to do it you know," Drew said stopping a moment to look down at her with regret written all over his face.
"Do what?" she asked.
"He said if I didn't learn to take women to my bed for the purpose of gaining an heir, our line would die and Wonderland would remain out of our rightful hands."
Alice gulped down the bile that was rising in her throat. The knight was a monster.
"I didn't force Carol," he continued. "I couldn't. I broke down right in front of her and confessed everything that man was doing and she gave me permission to violate her. Can you believe that? I almost didn't go through with it, but something happened…" his eyes were gazing off into some distant memory that was obviously private and pleasant. Alice waited for him to come back. "I didn't know he had her locked in the damn dungeon. She was supposed to be in a servant's quarters with running water and everything. He will pay for this…"
Drew caught her arm up again and continued down the path towards the main red building she'd found Jack in before. Alice wanted to run and sprint away, anywhere except near the Red Knight, but Drew's grip was tight and forceful. His anger evidently almost out of control. "I'm sorry I must take you to him. Another 'task' he had saved just for me. Come to think of it, he did it on purpose just so I would find Carol there. Dammit! He has to be stopped."
"Well, help me stop him," Alice hadn't known where the words came from, but she didn't stop confessing things to him as he had done to her. "I have friends here that will help me escape and we can go get help. Jack has tons of suits to fight the knight's army."
"Jack's gone and so are your other friends. They were sent back to the mainland this afternoon."
The color drained from Alice's face. No! She refused to believe she was alone on this island with nothing, but him here. They had passed a few rose bushes, but not even a lovely scent as flowers penetrated her senses. She was doomed as if walking the plank and the Red Knight was the ocean inevitably going to swallow her whole. There was no hope left. She just wasn't strong enough to fight all of the Red Knight's men alone.
"I'm sorry to break it to you so harshly, but know I'm not going to rest until my father," he said through clenched teeth, "Is brought down. He is evil and must be stopped."
She understood, but Alice couldn't keep the feeling of defeat out of her head as they climbed the stairs and walked through the entrance hallway. Two large gold doors to the right were shut with a guard on either side. Drew paused and held both her arms, "I need to speak with him first, if he'll let me that is. But afterwards, don't let him scare you Alice of Legend. You are stronger than he is and whatever happens do not allow him to crush you, resist."
He opened one door and slipped through the crack. Drew wasn't in there long, but Alice could hear some yelling even through the thick gold metal that made up the door. She heard the Red Knight order Drew from his presence and then felt the swift rush of air hit her face as he came out of the room. The man was even angrier than before and maybe even a little inconsolable. He glanced down once at Alice and winced, "I'm sorry," he whispered and then rushed off down another hallway as fast as he could. She couldn't blame him for running away. It was exactly what she wanted to do, but knew that wasn't possible.
One of the guards held a door open for her and the Red Knight, in his deep spine tingling voice said, "Come in Alice, I know you're out there. We have matters to attend."
Alice swallowed and with shaky legs, walked proudly into the room; the guard closing the door firmly behind her.
AN/ Thanks to my reviewers for the support. It really means a lot to me. I hope you like this chapter, things are starting to come together slowly in my head. And when I started this chapter I didn't know I'd be adding a son of the Red Knight's, but Drew seemed to fit in quite nicely with my plans...or the red knight's plans to take over Wonderland. Wuahahaha! Just kiddin. Thanks for reading! ~Eisac
