Chapter Twenty-Eight

TRES

As he sat in his mother's home, he could hear the howls of dogs passing by on the winds and it made him clench his teeth. The Knave was on the hunt and Tres could only pray that the prey was able to escape Stayne or stay away from his thorny grasp. His prayers and worries were suddenly broken by the shrieking of the kettle boiling and his mother hummed a happy tune as she bustled around her kitchen. His mother, much like his brother, was pleased to hear that he was coming home though she was greatly displeased to know why and how badly things ended with Poitrine.

His ever so loving mother spouted off how it was so unlike the girl, how she couldn't believe it and felt just as betrayed as he did, and though he loved her for it he wished she would just settle down for a bit. His mother wanted grandchildren more than anyone else in their little village, but more than anything else she wanted both her sons to marry happily, which was rather hard to do in Underland but it was a wish nonetheless. She had stopped all her mumbling and grumbling by setting out to make him something to eat to calm herself. He had insisted that he was fine, but she deemed him too skinny and needed his mother's good home cooking to fatten him up a bit. With her persistence and his stomach truly missing her cooking he didn't argue with her.

His brother was nowhere to be found and with a sigh and a deep wrinkle in her brow his mother told him he was probably off somewhere catching a drink or following some poor lass around hoping to get lucky. Neither were very sure as to why his younger self turned out this way, but there was little to be said so much as so much to be done in order to correct his life behavior. Tres wasn't their father, nor would he ever claim to be, but he would not put his father's name to shame by letting his brother carry on the way he had. Stealing from those that had less than they, lying to good people, and acting just as terrible and manipulative as the Queen's Knave. He would do everything to prevent his brother from turning out like Captain Stayne or he would die trying. The mere reminder of Stayne caused him to grit his teeth. With an aching heart and a mind still wringing itself dry in trying to fathom what he had done wrong. His grandmother's ring was held in between his thumb and index finger and no matter how long he stared at it he could not get a single answer from it.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he hardly heard the faint knocking on the front door until his mother called and asked him to get it. He pressed the ring back into its box and stuffed it into his pocket as he stood and went to the door. Much to his surprise it was Auris that stood before him dressed in a lovely pink floral dress and a bonnet that hid her ears away. She nervously clenched a pair of gloves in her hand and stared in the direction of the castle pensively.

"Miss Auris?" He cleared his throat and her head snapped to him immediately. He could tell that something had her rattled.

"Oh thank Underland," she breathed in relief as she saw him. "I was so worried you weren't home."

"I see that you got my letter," he opened the door more and stepped to the side and held his arm out welcoming her. "Would you like to come in?"

"I must," she sighed and ducked her head as she stepped past the threshold.

"Must?" he looked from her to outside to see if she had anything else with her before closing the door.

"After the Queen discovered the letter that you sent, she told me that I must come see you," she heaved an irritated sigh as she unknotted the ribbon of her bonnet. She turned and looked at him, "I thank you for keeping it as inconspicuous as possible, the Queen found it very believable and didn't suspect a thing."

"I'm glad," he nodded with a smile before showing her to the small table where previously sat. "I know it's not much, but please, take a seat, I'm sure you're exhausted after that walk."

"Not too much, not really," she smiled as she still took the chair at the table. "I actually enjoyed the walk very much, especially with how things are panning out in the castle."

"Something's happened?" he joined her at the table and laced his fingers together tightly.

"Of course," she hissed and set her bonnet in her lap. "With Frabjous Day so close of course things are bound to happen –"

She suddenly stopped talking as she looked to the doorway that led to the kitchen. Tres turned to see that his mother was poking her head around the corner curiously. "Tres, who's this lovely lady?"

"This is Lady Auris of the Queen's Court," he cleared his throat as he spoke, and his mother's eyes widened as she acknowledged the name. He had explained to his mother how he had managed to resign from the army with no strings attached and was not surprised by his mother's reaction.

Auris bowed her head in greeting since she could not curtsey, "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

"Bless you, ma'am," she sniffled as her mouth rolled into a smile. "You have no idea what it means to me to have me son home again."

"Mum," he chuckled as he stood up. She was already wringing her hands together and he could see that she wanted to do something for Miss Auris to repay her for her kindness. "Would you make Miss Auris some tea? She's walked all the way from the castle and I'm sure she could do with some of your iced tea."

"You walked all the way here?" She gasped as she looked at Auris. "In that pretty dress?"

"Yes ma'am," she nodded with a small hint of blush on her cheeks. "The carriages have all been stored away with Frabjous Day on the rise. I enjoyed the walk; the air did my lungs some good."

"Mercy me, I'll be right back!" She scuttled around the corner and Tres could only smile at his mother. When he turned back, he could see an amused smile on Auris's face that she tried to cover with her hand.

"That's my mum," he chuckled and clapped his hands on his thighs as he returned to his seat across from her.

"She's lovely, she's very kind." Auris reassured him. "It makes me miss my own mother."

He tilted his head at her, "Do you visit her often?"

her smile shrunk into a line, "Once a year, as well as my sister."

"Do you just not have the time to visit them more?" He studied her face and could tell that there was more to it than she was currently telling him.

"I always make the time to go and see them on the anniversary of their death," she spoke so softly and turned her gaze away from him. Guilt chilled his veins as he realized he had pushed the matter too far.

"I am terribly sorry –"

"Don't be," she shook her head and smiled again. "They've been dead for a few years now and I don't speak of them often enough. Your mother just reminded me of my own, that's all."

"Don't let her hear you say that, else she'll adopt you as her own," he smiled gently at her. "She has plenty to worry about as is with my brother. . ." He dragged his hand down the back of his neck as he looked at her. "You said things were happening?"

"Yes," she grimaced with a nod. "Stayne has returned to the castle with the Mad Hatter, but the Wild Card has still yet to return. . . I do not feel as though he will bring Alice with him if he does return."

"He wouldn't outrightly betray the Queen," Tres shook his head in disbelief. "The Wild Card is – well a wild card – but he wouldn't completely betray the Queen like that! No one is that foolish!"

"I wish I could believe that," she ran a hand through her hair. "If there was a little more time, I would believe that, but Stayne has gotten an advantage, and unless the Wild Card brings Alice to the Queen things will only become more difficult for us all."

Tres allowed her words to sink in and carefully studied her face. Her hands were clenched in her lap, thoughts were swirling in her mind and her eyes were full of worry and distress that were being pushed past a great breaking point. He could never truly understand what it was she was going through, from where Tres sat, he could see that she was in just as dangerous of a position as the Wild Card. She was trying to play matchmaker with the King and the Queen, she had some sort of friendship or partnership with the Wild Card and the Queen, and there was some sort of grudge that she held against Stayne. He prayed she was not one of his forlorn lovers that he had a one-night stand with and left once he found something new. She did not strike him as the sort of woman to do such things, but was he really one to make an assumption about anyone after his terrible breakup?

A gentle knock came from the doorway behind him and he glanced over his shoulder to see his mom with the nicest teapot she had with two cups and a small vase with a flower in it. He could see that she was hesitating by the doorway in case the timing wasn't quite right, but he gave her a nod and brought the tea tray to them.

"It's not much, but it is a wild berry tea," his mother smiled as she set the tray down. "It's a little different from a black tea, but I assure you it is quite good."

"Thank you," Auris smiled warmly to his mother.

His mother took a half step back and cast a worried look to Tres before patting his shoulder as she walked past him. He gave her a quick smile to reassure her that things were fine, but he knew that she would badger him with questions later. Not wanting too much time to pass between them Tres went on ahead and poured the tea for two. He noticed that her eyes widened when the tea he poured was a lovely red rather than a warm brown color.

"You seem to be putting a lot of trust in the Wild Card," he noted as he slid her cup over to her.

"It's ridiculous, I know," she admitted and relaxed her shoulders a little. "But I can't help but feel he is the only one that would stand a chance against Stayne."

"Well, he is the Wild Card, after all," Tres tried not to sound too bitter about it as he himself wanted to take a good crack at Stayne; if only he were taller. "He's allowed to break some of the rules, so he could get away with it far better than anyone else."

"That's one way of seeing it," she smiled warmly at him as she sipped on her tea. "This is really good!"

"Glad to hear it," he smiled in turn as he sipped his own tea. "It is my mother's special blend, homemade too."

"She doesn't sell this?" She blinked in surprise as she sipped another.

He shook his head. "It's hard to sell things without the licenses for it. She gives them away most of the time to the neighbors and passersby."

"The Queen would die to have this," Auris gushed. "She loves most berries and teas to go with her tarts. This would be perfect for her!"

"If you would like to take a few samples with you before you go," Tres was glad to see someone else admired his mother's tea, "I'm sure my mother wouldn't mind if she's got her stash full enough."

"I would love to take a sample or two with me," she nodded enthusiastically. "Though I don't know how soon I should leave, the Queen was very insistent on my visiting you today. If I return too early, she'll send me out as soon as she sees me."

"You only just got here!" Tres shook his head and set his now empty cup on its saucer. "I wouldn't let you leave without a good tour of the farm! I can even make sure that you get a carriage home so you don't spend your shoes down to the sole."

Auris's smile widened and allow Tres to see a hint of her pearly whites. It warmed Tres's heart to see her smiling and not looking as tense, and he only wished it was truly enough to fully distract him from his heartbreak. Ms. Auris was a good and honorable woman with a good heart, she even had a pretty face and had already proven to be a great ally and friend. Though she did him a great service in getting him out of the army without losing his head, he couldn't help but worry for her should things change between them one way or another in securing his safety as well as her position. Hopefully things would turn out well in the end, he only hoped that they would.

ALICE

She wasn't sure how much time had passed as she hid under the Hatter's top hat. Once it had landed and launched her pretty hard into the earth it took her a few moments to recover as well as to regain her bearings. As tiny as she was and as gigantic as everything seemed she began to fear Underland for the first time since her second arrival here. Birds made crazy noises, predators growled in the distance, and the gossiping plants around her caused her to hide herself under the hat and tuck in for the night. Her head was whirling with thoughts she could hardly recognize, her heart was still in disarray after watching Jack leave, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball, cry, and just sleep the rest of this dream away.

That was what she had tried to do anyways. She cried her eyes out, got everything out of her system until she felt numb and allowed her body to succumb to sleep. Much to her dismay when she awoke, she was still under the top hat and not in her bed in London. She would have cried again in frustration, only she had nothing left in her system to cry out and had no other choice but to eventually leave the security of the top hat and figure out what to do next.

She knew she was supposed to go to the White Palace, allegedly the Queen there would know what to do to set everything right, but her heart called her to the Red Castle and she couldn't help but clutch at her chest knowing that not only were her captured friends there, but also Jack. Going to see Jack alone was enough to make her run to the Red Castle, but she had no idea which way to actually go. She was in the middle of a giant field, she assumed since she could just barely make out a tree standing high towards the sky. If she left this area now there was no telling what sorts of this she would run into. She was hardly any bigger than a Dormouse and would get eaten by a snake or some other sort of Underland creature that was hungry.

She had to do something. Sitting around wasn't going to get her anywhere. She had her good cry, now it was time for her to rise up and do whatever she needed to do to get out of Underland now. Jack wouldn't just let her mope around and cry, he would encourage her to pick herself up and actually do what she was supposed to do; despite the fact that she was still unclear of what that meant for her. According to the poem that the Hatter recited, she was supposed to slay some sort of dragon, but she was hardly bigger than the Dormouse and she could do nothing with her current size.

"Please tell me you're under the hat and haven't been eaten by something," a deep croon of a voice she knew well drew her out of the hat. It took a little maneuvering to get out from under the hat, but when she did, she was met with the big green eyes of the Cheshire Cat. Relief flashed in his eyes as he smiled down at her, his tail sitting still and quiet as he looked at her.

She tried to smile, but her face felt stiff and heavy as she did. "Haven't been eaten yet."

"No, just weeping like a willow, it seems," he sighed as he bent down to her level. "If you're worried about the Hatter, you shouldn't. He is much more resilient than people give him credit for."

"I know," she sniffled and managed a smile this time. "That's the only thing I can reason as to why he flung me like a discus."

"He technically threw the hat like a discus, you just happened to be the passenger onboard at the time of the flinging." The Cheshire Cat chuckled as he picked up the hat and dusted the top off. "I've always loved this hat. . ."

"Did the Queen of Hearts really capture the Hatter?" She just wanted her fears confirmed.

"Of course," he blinked curiously at her. "But you knew that already."

"I just needed to be sure. . ."

"She doesn't let everyone she captures go free," his left ear flicked as he watched her. "He'll manage a way out, even if it means that Jack will break him out."

Her hands clenched as she looked up at the Cat for answers, "Is Jack really working for the Queen of Hearts?"

"It appears to be the case," he nodded his head with a knowing grin, "but not everything is as it seems."

She looked at him and felt that strange bubble hope resting in the center of her chest. The Cat was telling her something very carefully, as if he knew this grand secret and couldn't share it with her. It was truly frustrating.

"So, if I go there now, he would help me break the others out?" She stood with her shoulders straight and her hands clenched into fists to hold her resolve. If she broke right now, she would just ask the Cheshire Cat to take her to the White Palace; which she knew she needed to do more than anything. She still wanted to help the others in any way she could.

The Cheshire Cat sat completely still, his eyes wide and speculating as if he couldn't tell if she were serious. He tilted his head to the side as he looked at her. "You want to go to the Red Castle?"

"Yes." She nodded and locked her knees into place. "I want to help the Hatter."

"Not to see Jack?" He smirked and his tail flicked in amusement behind him.

"Cheshire Cat!" She almost pleaded when he suddenly placed the hat on his head and crouched down so he was as eye level with her as he could be.

"I should be taking you to the White Palace," he crooned thoughtfully as he studied her. "It is the smartest option; it would put you into safety and would help Frabjous Day come along a little faster."

"But the others –"

"Could already be dead," he said flatly. "I wouldn't put it past the Bloody Big Head to do, so that would just waste your efforts and my time to go and seek them out. Unless you want to see their bodies."

"You wouldn't be entertaining the idea if you didn't think, better yet, if you didn't already know they were alive," Alice countered and pointed an accusing finger at his nose. He grinned in response.

"I may or may not be aware of such things," he shrugged casually. "I really should be taking you to the White Palace. . ."

"But I want to go to the Red Castle." She crossed her arms and tried to stand as authoritatively as her sister used to when she was little. "If you won't take me there, I'll go there myself."

The Cat sat up with a laugh as he looked down at Alice. "You shrink to the size of a mouse and suddenly have the courage of a lion. You are quite strange, Alice, quite strange indeed." He removed the hat from his head and set it down on the ground, "Very well, it seems as though you have your sights set for the Red Castle. It would be incredibly rude of me to deny the hero what she wants to do to change the story further now."

She smiled at his words and climbed aboard the hat again. She held tightly onto the ribbon as the Cheshire Cat picked the hat back up and held it in his paws. The wind rushed around her as the Cheshire Cat flew through the air at an unnatural speed, it was a thrill to her spirit, a rush through her blood, and in the strangest way it was perhaps the most liberating feeling she had yet to experience. Though she had to rely on the Cheshire Cat to get to the Red Castle, she knew she would be able to do things her own way from here on out.

She didn't have to rely on the Hatter, or Jack, or anyone else to take care of her. She could protect herself and she would save her friends, and if she was lucky, she would maybe save Jack too. She still wasn't sure what the relation he shared with the Queen was, but she would find a way of taking him away from the Queen.

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you're enjoying the story so far!

Please remember to leave a comment or review and tell me what you think!

The journey will continue soon, stay tuned!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter