Chavalier De l'Etoile-
"You have failed to stop them! They are already in England and are nearing the rabbit hole, and you are dead! You were killed by a policeman as you were running away from them to catch up with the ones I have marked!" I was in ragged.
Ilosovic Stayne had failed to finish them off and now they were nearing the rabbit hole and I was running out of time.
"Master, I beg you, give me one more chance and I will deliver them to you." I glared at him but considered this.
"Can you guarantee to deliver tem directly to me?"
"Free delivery and gift wrapped if you prefer."
I growled and threw my black crystal goblet at the wall; it smashed to thousands of pieces, the dark red blood in it splashing every where.
"You had your chance Ilosovic Stayne! But I will still need you for my new plan."
"Anything Master, anything," He knelt and bowed to the ground.
"I need you to ensure that they make it to the rabbit hole. I have a trap waiting for them and I need you to force them into it. You are to take poisoned arrows and your sword with you and use them to force them in. You are to take Matilda as well. You two are to ambush them and give them no alternative but to go down the rabbit hole and into the trap. Go ahead and kill the Hatter and White Knight, I'll have them either way, but I need the Blue Queen and the Composer alive!"
"My Lord, I thought you wanted her dead, not alive." Matilda said from next to me, "What is the point in keeping her and the Blue Queen alive?"
"The blood of the seal must be fresh, in case you forgot I did not originally intend her as my seal. I also need the bodies of the sacrifices perfectly preserved that I may spill their blood while it is still warm."
"But isn't the Hightopp woman's blood tainted with that of her brother?" I waved a hand at her in dismissal.
"That is of no consequence, his blood is her blood as well you fool!"
She stared at me, of course she would think of another question for me.
"Then why must the sacrifices be women? Surely now that the Mad Hatter is bound to the Queen that makes him a royal as well, surely we could use him?"
"No," she jumped, "The Hatter is not born of royal blood, and I refuse to use him as either of the sacrifices or the seal!" Matilda bowed to me.
"Yes my Master."
"Just bring me the women alive if you can manage to, do what you like with the men, and Stayne," he looked up at me, eager to make amends for his earlier mistakes, "Do not touch either of the women, Alice especially, go ahead and kill the Knight and Hatter."
"Yes my Lord, I will!"
So speaks the pathetic excuse for a soldier.
"My Lord, what of their guide if she is still with them and has not left to rejoin her family in the North?"
"Kill her; she is of no use to me."
"But she is a royal as well! She is a descendent of Henry Kingsleigh, the son of the White prince!" She objected.
I stood and slapped her across her cheek, "Do not question my ruling! Once I have Alice and her naïve friend I will have no need for a future generation, they have been marked!"
"My Master, forgive me! But what of your uncle, Lord Ashair is sure to notice that his chosen clan is in danger! Do you not think he will do something to protect them? Don't you think that Lord Abdulkareem will notice that two of his last three are in danger as well? And Alice is a royal that means that Lady Ersilia is bound to attempt to save her!"
"Forget the other guardians! They have no power to protect them until they reach the end of the rabbit hole! I will have them, one way or another, Matilda. Believe me I will have them to create my own world to rule!"