At the grand chess kingdom which was sometimes shaped like a square and sometimes not shaped like a square, the two big sides were preparing for a best 2 out of 3 match. A match, for the powerful Jabberwock staff, which was placed on a high tree just outside of the giant chess board area, and on each side, both sides were preparing for what would probably be the most important and most insane game in the history of the chess kingdom. On one side, the white side, the white king and queen were preparing their pieces and telling Reggie the general things that happen during one of their games. Reggie told them he already knew the rules of chess but he listened to what usually happened in between games or what happened behind the lines of games, which was where he would be. He tried to keep up with their insane ramblings as much as he could. Alice was close to him preparing herself and about to go to the other side of the chess board to act as a pawn for the red side.
"So Mr Hargreaves, now that you're a prince and are helping on the strategy of our games, like good princes and princesses do since they aren't monarchs yet, you'll be kept in contact with us. Just tell our messengers here and they'll deliver it to us." "You mean, they're allowed to just walk across the chessboard in the middle of a game?" Reggie asked. "Well how else are we supposed to communicate?" Retorted the white queen. As they walked off somewhere Alice came up to him.
"Well i have to head over to the red side now. I was a pawn before so hopefully it'll just be the same as last time, for the first game anyway. The second and third game might be quite difficult."
"Well we will just have to keep our wits about us Alice. I know it doesn't matter who wins the first game, but remember, you'll have to become a queen for that side, at least for the final game anyway" Reggie reminded.
"I know, i still don't know how to do that however, it's going to be hard. But, if it's something i have to do so be it. I just not might be very good at the queen part is all" she admitted.
"Don't worry Alice" he put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll help you with that part. Let's just focus on winning the first game for now shall we?" Reggie turned back to the white royals and Alice could tell he was nervous himself. He had to command a whole side of a chess board, on his own.
"You'll be fine Reggie. You always beat me at chess anyway" she smiled and he faced her.
"I know, it's just time i'm commanding a group of people with no logic whatsoever. But on the bright side, i suppose i'll be just like my father right commanding a group right?" He smiled nervously and so did Alice.
"Of course you will Reggie." She looked back and then said "I'd better head to my side now."
"Yeah, well good luck to you Alice" he smiled.
"Good luck to you too Reggie, i know you'll do well." She kissed his cheek before heading off to her side of the board.
After a while the timer announced that the game was about to start and Reggie was readying himself, when he heard a voice beside him. "Excuse me sir, but i think you'll need this" Reggie turned to see a rather tall man in a hood next to him. The man put a hand on Reggie's brown scruffy jacket, and amazingly, his jacket started to less scruffy, the lining started to change, and so did the colour. It changed from brown to a dark shade of white. "It'll make you look more like you belong on this side." Reggie realised. Only one person could do this. "Jabberwock?" He looked up in amazement, and through the hood he saw that familiar face. "How did you get here?" Reggie asked in a whisper so no one else could suspect anything, and the two walked over to an area where they wouldn't be seen. Jabberwock removed his hood.
"This, wasn't easy for me Reggie. Heck it was a 102% non easy for me to come here" Jabberwock flashbacked to him just outside of his castle:
He was standing there just outside of his door looking into the ever changing trees of the forest. He was shaking slightly with a million thoughts in his head. The mistress, she was sure to find out. And the chess kingdom, they would kill him for all he knew, if they found out who he was. He took deep breaths, and turned around several times, so tempted to go back inside of his castle. The only thing stopping him from going back in, was the thought of Alice and Reggie. Despite the revelation that she was Alice, everything he had been told about her did not match up to how she acted. Even if this was some sort of ruse by the two children, the place where he would be in the most danger would be in his own castle, although a ruse would seem very uncharacteristic of the two children. He wouldn't have to get involved in anything, like he decided earlier, he would watch and wait, see how this plays out. But he wanted to see what was happening, first hand.
This meant he would have to face his greatest fear. He would have to go into the chess kingdom on his own, and somehow find those two without going noticed. Luckily for him, not being able to go out in his Jabberwock form and having to stay in his human form was working as a blessing in disguise right now. Hopefully, nobody there would talk to him or question him. He knelt down and put his hand on the grass which a small patch of it slowly started to turn into a white hood. It was best to keep it the colour of one of the sides of the chess pieces. Maybe they'd think he was just a servant of some sort. Whatever sorts were like in Wonderland. He followed the tracks Alice and Reggie made on their way back to the chess kingdom, and they lead to the white side of the board. The land shaped like a board anyway.
He approached the border, what he assumed was the border anyway. It was just some zig zaggy lines with the occasional triangle or square shape. Here he was. He was inside the kingdom. He breathed slowly. From what he knew, they would kill him if they found out he was a Jabberwock. The thought of freedom kept him going. He saw a castle, not too far from where he was, and he deduced that's where the white royals had their main residence. From what he could tell, the chess kingdom was mainly open fields and forest, far from the war torn land that the queen of hearts had described to him. "Hey you!" Jabberwock turned to see a white rook staring at him, and Jabberwock tried to keep the fear inside of him contained. "The game is about to start a quarter to or past the hour, all servants must be present at the castle" the rook ordered. To scared to speak, but relieved that they thought he was a servant, he obeyed and headed towards the castle.
He joined a line of servants hesitantly that were entering the castle window, since servants weren't allowed through the door. Jabberwock glanced around, and occasionally looked up nervously, at the people he'd been afraid of all his life. The thing that made him confused however, which was amazing for Wonderland, was that these chess people acted and talked in very goofy and weird ways, not at all the evil extreme ways he thought they acted in. But they could still be very strict with each other, so he kept his distance. He managed to make his way up to the top of the castle, where he saw the two children, which Alice had just left to go to the red side to act out her part of their plan to free him. He sighed. From what he was seeing right now, what both Alice and Reggie had said they chess people were actually, possibly accurate, but he would wait and see. He approached Reggie.
"Even now, i'm, i'm still frightened. Please, Reggie, try not to draw any attention to me by the chess pieces" Jabberwock asked.
"Don't worry Jabberwock, and trust me, they're not as evil as you think they are. Wait, now that you're here, you can see them for yourself can't you" Reggie realised.
"Yes but, i'd rather keep my distance for now" Jabberwock admitted.
Reggie decided to compromise as he remembered this was the first time he was in the chess kingdom, let alone coming here on his own, to a land that would attack him if they found out who he was. Now that was real courage, on a same level as Reggie's father, which Reggie secretly wished he could show one day. "Well, in that case, as the 'prince' of this side of the chess board, i'll make you my right hand man. That way you can stay out of trouble and anyone who gives you any has to answer to me." He smiled and said that with such authority in his voice that he might as well have been a general in the redcoat army.
Jabberwock smiled back. "I'll try to do the best i can, without drawing attention to myself. I'm still not very sure of these people. You'd better help them with the game now, it's starting."
"What? Already?"
"Time doesn't just move forward in this land Reggie."
Reggie moved to the front of the roof of the castle and looked out. He heard the timer's voice call out to the land. "Now everyone, the best 3 out of 2 game for the Jabberwock staff will now begin its first game. Whoever puts the other king in checkmate wins and may the cleverer side win!" The game began. Alice was on some sort of square piece of grass in the middle of the forest, and she heard the announcement too. "I do hope this goes better than the last time, but who am i to fool myself?"
The white side moved first, and one pawn moved on it's own free accord, two spaces, like pawns could on their first move. A red pawn did the same. "I wonder when i should move next? Well as long as get to the other side without being taken, hopefully we should do well" Alice said to herself. Reggie who was overlooking the whole thing turned to one of the servants and said "I think the pawns in front of the king and queen should move next, it'll let the bishops be able to move out, and create space for the queen if we need her." "But sir prince, can't we just move the pawns in front of the knights?" "No, the knights can jump over pieces, it'll be fine for them." "Oh yes there's that too" the servants went off to give the order.
Jabberwock noticed how the servants or people of the chess kingdom in general would fumble over sentences and their structures, and were sometimes, rather goofy. They weren't these brutalised warriors that he imagined.
Alice was standing around waiting for some sort of sign that she could move. "Oh perhaps i should just move now, hopefully it won't be a problem- oh," she was interrupted mid sentence as she saw a red knight jump over her on his horse and running ahead. "Goodness, that must be the knight moving forward. Maybe i should've waited a while first. But wait, i can move next to him to give him some support. That's what Reggie always did when playing chess against me anyway." She moved forward on her next move.
On the white side, Jabberwock alerted Reggie to some of the servants, who seemed to be worried about something. "Reggie over there" Jabberwock said quietly. Reggie turned to see the servants yelling something like 'their priest man has moved! their priest man has moved!"
"Priest man, they mean the red bishops. Move the pawns forward in the position where their bishops can't take any vital pieces" ordered Reggie. Although he was a prince now, he was acting more like a general. The servants followed this. "Yes sir, we'll sacrifice one of the pawns."
"No wait, i never said sacrifice a pawn" Reggie called out.
"Although i don't know the rules of this game Reggie, i think a pawn being sacrificed is going to happen anyway" informed Jabberwock.
Reggie just sighed. He knew no harm would come to the pawn but it still didn't seem right to send one of his own out there to be captured to further their battle plans. This brought Reggie back to a memory of getting a letter home from his father away in the British army overseas. It was a while ago so he couldn't remember exactly what it said, but he did remember something along the lines of sending out a group of soldiers to investigate an area and were apparently attacked by the enemy. Whether this was intended or not, he never realised this before but isn't that what the army did, sending out their men to be killed. Well, it must all be part of being a hero right? That's what Reggie thought for now, and carried on with the game.
So this is long overdue i know, over a month. I did have some writer's block with this chapter and felt like Alice didn't get much in this one. I definitely think Reggie's and Jabberwock's characters are developing nicely. For those who are confused to what's happening in the plot right now, they have to get a stalemate on the last of the three chess games, in order for the staff to go back to them. Reggie is acting as a prince/commander for the white side and for the moment Alice is acting as a pawn for the red side, but she needs to become a queen in order to do the same as Reggie and they can command both sides and put the last game into a stalemate. I hope you're all enjoying this story so far. Alice in Wonderland belongs to Lewis Carroll and this version disney.