Warnings: Currently rated T for language, though liable to change in future chapters for dark imagery and mature content.
Disclaimer: I claim no copyright ownership to Rise of the Guardians or any recognizable characters depicted by DreamWorks, William Joyce, or other miscellaneous fairy tale creatures. However, the plot and original characters are my own.
Chapter Seventeen
It wasn't often that Nicholas St. North felt uncomfortable.
Very few things actually made him feel true discomfort. He'd been around long enough, experienced enough things and weathered enough battles, to render the emotion quite useless. But in his centuries of existing as an immortal Guardian, he could finally say with absolutely certainty that he utterly disliked being in the Unseelie Court's presence.
Granted, this was the first time he'd ever seen them up close and made somewhat of a civilized conversation with them so it was bound to stir some unwanted tension. But the second he and Bunnymund crossed through the portal into the Unseelie's underground cavern, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end like there was an electric charge on the air. It reminded him of the feeling of being watched even though he couldn't find any eyes on him. It was disconcerting. But it was so dark down there that he wouldn't be surprised if he just couldn't see all the beady eyes staring back at him.
The darkness had been very disorienting at first. It took a good minute for his and Bunny's eyes to adjust and when they finally did he wished they hadn't. The Unseelie Court's dwelling seemed to consist mostly of an array of underground tunnels carved out of black rock. The walls of the tunnels were jagged and sharp with yellow-orange lights embedded into them. When North looked closer, it was like there was liquid flowing within them like slowly flowing lava. He made a 'hmph' sound in the back of his throat but didn't linger in fear of standing in one place for too long. But it was curious. He figured that maybe one day he'd want to learn more about their magic.
The ground was glimmering with moisture and North almost found himself slipping a few times as he walked, cautiously watching his boots to make sure he didn't step on any uneven ground. He couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed at the layout of the place. It didn't seem efficient at all. And what angered him more was the fact that the Unseelie Guards didn't seem to have any trouble at all walking along the sharp ground.
Infuriatingly graceful faeries.
Despite the thickness of the air that could be sliced with North's swords, the Unseelie Guards were willing to cooperate more than he and Bunny expected. That wasn't to say their eyes didn't leer with distaste in the Guardians' general direction as they were led through the Unseelie's sanctuary with smoldering red torches that did very little to light their path, but still. At least they didn't try to kill them.
He often found the Unseelie and Seelie Guards exchanging heated glares above his and Bunny's heads. He wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth so he let them glare daggers at one another as much as they liked without comment. He had no intentions of voluntarily getting between two split races that had been at each other's throats for a few millennia and he'd rather them duke it out than get him involved anyway.
Another thing that truly surprised him was the fact that the Unseelie Court had a King and Queen and their King did most of the talking. He was an intimidating Fae, tall and broad-shouldered with dark armor and a billowing black cloak. Its edges were burnt and torn leaving the cloak raggedly uneven and battered. North had a feeling it was that way by design. The armor was jagged and sharp like it'd been carved out of the molten rock the Court was surrounded with and North avoided coming any closer than a few feet of it lest it take his entire eyeball out.
The Unseelie's skin was a startlingly deep grey with glowing yellow eyes. Despite their sinister appearance, their faces were still very majestic and royal with thin, high cheekbones and defined jawlines. North figured the Unseelie King would get along quite nicely with his estranged brother Pitch considering they shared such a likeness for appearance. Though, North couldn't say that Pitch sent an uneasy quiver through his gut like the Unseelie King did.
The Queen they only met fleetingly. It was clear her affairs weren't with outsiders and she left about as quickly as she arrived. She was quite dainty and small but just as much a warrior as her counterpart with strong muscles and piercing eyes to match that Bunny noticeably avoided.
Once North formally explained why they were there, the King squinted in suspicion at the Seelie Guards standing close behind the Guardians as if the blame placed on one of his faeries was their fault. North and Bunny exchanged wary glances and of course were asked to explain in great detail why they suspected an Unseelie Fae committed treachery.
"You do realize that disobedience and going against the pact is punishable even by death," the King said, his voice the living embodiment of thunder and commandment. He spoke accusingly, as if he was taxed by the thought that North would knowingly put him through such a trial. As if the act of disciplining his faeries was exhausting and unworthy of his time. North had to cut his eyes at Bunny before the Pooka made a snippy comment that'd probably be something along the lines of, 'You're savages, isn't punishing the disloyal a weekend hobby of yours?'
"I understand this may be… inconvenient for you," North said cautiously when Bunny simply pursed his furry lips. "But there is a little boy whose life is at stake. If you could just take minute of your time to search for any signs of a rogue faerie…"
North could have mentioned that it was a requirement of him to do so if a human's life was in any sort of suspected danger but he figured those wouldn't have been a wise choice of words. Any words that sounded like a direct order were ones North adamantly avoided.
The King seemed annoyed but allowed them to follow him through another dark passageway that led into a separate room guarded by Unseelie Faes. He seemed more bothered by the fact that he actually had to put forth effort into looking rather than bothered with the Guardians themselves. Another small victory North wouldn't be taking for granted.
The Unseelie King performed some sort of wordless incantation above a seemingly faceless stone that was chiseled flat and smooth in the form of a table. Once the incantation was complete, hundreds of glittering red lights twinkled on the stone amidst glowing white borders. North squinted down at it, realizing with surprise that it was a map. Each light must've belonged to an Unseelie faerie. It was extraordinary. He could only presume that the Seelie Court had a similar map of their own.
"Any Fae that has performed disobedience will emit a certain glow different than that of the others," said the King, the reflection of the map casting an eerie luminescence amongst his shadowed face.
His eyes held a light of disinterest as if the events currently taking place were boring him. When North realized he wasn't even attempting to look, the jolly man leaned in further with Bunny at his side to examine the map. There were so many sparkling dots (all of which were moving in unison with the faerie they belonged to) that it was almost impossible to follow them all.
"How often is this map checked?" North asked without thinking. There was silence that seemed to echo hauntingly in the room. With a heavy swallow he glimpsed nervously up at the King who had his yellow eyes narrowed and trained on North. North's trademark rosy cheeks paled. "I—I mean…"
"We are quite persuasive, Mr. North, I assure you," the Unseelie King gave a cold, ruthless smirk that North was nodding along to with a lump in his throat. "Our Faes have great incentive to keep themselves in line."
"Yes, yes of course, how silly of me to imply—"
"North," Bunny interrupted.
"Yes?" North squeaked, white beard flailing as he quickly turned to face his furry companion.
"Look at this," said Bunny, motioning his paw towards the top of the map.
North adjusted his rounded glasses and peered down at it whilst subtly wiping his sweaty palms on his wool coat. It didn't seem uncommon to have a few Faes out and about outside the Unseelie Court since there were a few scattered around but there was one in particular that stood out. Rather than glowing a deep ruby, its light was emitting a pale orange. There was a smaller, misshapen dot next to it that was also orange but slightly pink in hue that was fading in and out of sight. North's eyebrows rose. Jackpot.
North nodded towards the map as he gazed steadily at the King. "If you would take a look."
North couldn't deny the satisfaction he felt as he watched the dawning comprehension harden the King's face once he spotted the orange dot. That satisfaction wasn't long-lived though for it was quickly replaced with anxiety at the murderous look that soon marred the powerful faerie's face.
"Fool," the King hissed, his voice wispy and hollow, almost ghostly. North took a subtle step to the left, his side pressing against Bunny to give the enraged Fae room to breathe. The King's beady yellow eyes glowed brighter as if his body couldn't contain the fury within it.
North leaned back towards one of the Seelie Guards.
"Tell the others," he ordered quietly out of the corner of his mouth.
He didn't really expect the Seelie faerie to obey but it quickly bowed and left the way they came, leaving the other two Seelie Guards with the Guardians.
The Unseelie King glowered at the map with his long arms pressed on each either side of the stone table to hold himself up. His wide shoulders were hunched, the sharp blades of his shoulder braces pointing dangerously in North's direction. His breath ran ragged and North exchanged another look with Bunny, only to hear the King's breath stutter in his throat.
"What's this?" the King asked, stunned.
"Er…" North fumbled.
"That's a human," the King uttered, voice dripping with disgust. "That's… a human."
"Where?" Bunny demanded impatiently.
The King pointed a bony grey finger at the orange-pink dot that rested next to the faerie's. Every few seconds its light would dim like it was trying to not be there.
"There."
"You can see humans?" Bunny exclaimed, anger noticeable in his words.
"No," the King was outraged.
"Then what do you mean? Why can you see one?" Bunny was on the verge of yelling and North raised a hand to calm the warrior bunny.
"I don't know, it…" the King paused, breathing heavily again. North could see the conflicting emotions flashing across his face as he tried to come up with some sort of explanation. When the dot's light dimmed again, the King's eyebrows rose and his face was stony. "Magic… the traitor used its magic on the human. That's why we can see it."
"How?" Bunny asked again. "How does that make you see it?"
"Think of our magic as a fingerprint," the King explained irritably like they should have already known this. "It always leaves traces of itself behind. And this faerie's fingerprints are all over that human."
"What kind of magic is it? Do you know?" asked Bunny. "Is he hurt?"
The King squinted, obviously seeing something they couldn't. "It's a cloaking device."
It made sense, North realized, as he watched the little light attempt to flicker in and out of focus. As if it was trying to disappear but the magic itself was what was keeping it visible on their map. Bunny cast a significant look at North. That's why Max wasn't showing up on the Globe. It was a cloaking spell, just like they guessed days ago. But why would the Fae cast it?
"Why would Rumpelstiltskin need Unseelie faerie to cast cloaking spell? He would have been able to do it himself," North stated skeptically, directing his question at Bunny as the King didn't seem to be listening.
"Idiot," Bunny laughed, uncaring that he was essentially dirty-talking the very species they were holed up miles underground with. "He's led us right to him."
"That's what worries me," said North ominously. "This has been too easy."
"Easy?" Bunny coughed out a humorless laugh. "You're barkin'."
"Easy enough," North amended, staring off past Bunny's tall ears as he went over the incident from square one in his head. First the book, scaring Max, then taking Max, Jack coming to the Pole with Alice, Max ending up hidden from the Globe, Jack learning about Tom through Pitch, Alice finding Rumpelstiltskin's story, joining forces with the Seelie Court, Unseelie King finding Max on his map even though he shouldn't have… North's eyes brightened. "Everything has been so much easier than it should have been," he sounded alarmed. "He knew… from book to my Globe, my sack, to Fae… he knew."
"Knew what?" Bunny asked, exasperated.
"Everything," North waved his arms about in a flailing of limbs. "He knew every step we were going to take. It was like game of chess to him. He predicted every move," he exclaimed. "Smart thing would be to not follow through with finding Unseelie and Max while we are ahead. He is expecting us to play into palm of his hands!"
"Not bloody likely," Bunny scoffed. "We're seein' this through to the end! Max is an innocent. Who cares if it's a trap?"
North deflated. "I expect he knows that too. That we will not care what happens because we want boy back."
"Right," Bunny nodded slowly. "So let's get this show on the road."
"Something still does not add up though," North vehemently shook his head. "Why trap us in first place? Who is trap for? If we bring Alice she could be in even more danger. Remember what Jack said?" Bunny's lips thinned. "All this could be for her."
"She can't stay at the Seelie Court," Bunny denied immediately. "You trust them if Sandy, Tooth and Jack are there with her but we need them. She can't stay there alone. You got any other ideas? Maybe Pitch can babysit her," Bunny suggested sarcastically before tilting his head. "Besides, what would he want with her anyway? What makes her so special? She's just a girl."
"I don't know," North was uncomfortable with all the unknown variables. He didn't like not knowing things. He was afraid of running into a situation blindly with no preparation or any idea of what they were up against. Who knew how any of them would end up? But it seemed like they weren't given much of a choice. Rumpelstiltskin played them well. North meekly added as a last resort: "He has hidden motives."
Bunny rolled his eyes. "They almost always do. It's always going to be that way. That's why we're here – to kick their ass until they tell us what those motives are," he smirked encouragingly.
North opened his mouth to say something else but the Unseelie King interrupted him by commanding a few Unseelie Guards forward once he finished brooding at the map.
"Do you know where they are?" Bunny asked after the King spoke quietly with his Guards. "He's close enough to be on your map so that's a good thing, right?"
"He's in the Northern Woods," the King told them, voice wavering from residual anger. "Fairly close to here. There's a mountain due west," he pointed towards the upper left side of the glowing map in the same area the orange and pink dots continued to shine and flicker. "My guess is he is somewhere inside or possibly underneath it. I wasn't aware of any passageways into the mountain. Last I heard they had been closed from cave-ins long ago. He must have found a way in."
Bunny chanced a glance at North and shrugged. "Good enough for me."
"But at what cost?" North murmured cynically to himself.
The Unseelie King glared at his Fae Guard.
"Find him," he hissed, referring to the traitor. "And bring him to me."
The Unseelie Guard bowed and began to glide out of the room. North and Bunny seized the opportunity as their dismissal and quickly jogged after them. The Unseelie Guards didn't seem surprised to hear them following, though they did narrow their eyes at the Seelie Guard that kept up the rear of the group.
Turning down a particularly uneven passageway that North had a hard time keeping his balance on, he watched as the Unseelie Guards began to turn the opposite way they had come. He knew where the portal was that would transport them back to the Seelie Court and it was certainly not that way.
"Wait!" North called. The Unseelie Guards paused and four pairs of unblinking yellow glowing eyes were about all he could see of them at the end of the passage. He swallowed down his uneasiness. "We have friends to pick up first. We must return to Seelie Court to fetch them."
Alice's heart was pounding in her throat.
"They found him?" she asked, eyes wide.
She was elated, weightless, like she could just float up into the clouds. They found Max. She wanted to cry or maybe laugh, she couldn't tell which. There was a tickling in her chest and she realized it was happiness but also a little anxiety too at the thought of seeing him again. She didn't let the relief take over just yet though. She knew better than to get her hopes up in case this was some sort of trap set by Rumpelstiltskin.
"They know where he is," the Queen Regent corrected. "He is here, in the Northern Woods. They wouldn't have been able to track him if he weren't."
Alice lifted her hands to her mouth to hide her smile. This was the first lead they had in regards to Max's location since he was taken. It was a good start. A really good start. She felt a cold hand grip her shoulder tightly and she quickly spun to face Jack who was giving her a large smile. He gave her shoulder a squeeze in reassurance and she lowered her hands a bit, shakily returning the smile. She then turned back to the Queen Regent as Tooth and Jack exchanged promising looks.
"How were they able to track him?" Alice asked.
Something odd flashed across the Queen Regent's face. It appeared and disappeared too quickly for Alice to interpret the emotion but nevertheless she knew it'd been there and it immediately set her on edge again.
"Your son is in close proximity to the rogue Unseelie faerie. That's why he appeared on their map," said the Queen Regent and Alice was unsettled to realize that the Fae was hiding something from her. Alice narrowed her eyes but no one else seemed to share her concern for Tooth quickly stepped forward.
"So North was right," she said. "An Unseelie did disobey to help Rumpelstiltskin."
"So it would seem."
Tooth's tiny eyebrows furrowed at this but she didn't say anything. Alice tried to shake off her suspicions of the Queen Regent in favor of psyching herself up for Max's rescue. He was the most important thing right now. Everything else could wait.
"I'm sure your Guardians will be returning shortly," the Queen Regent spoke up. All heads turned to her. "If you'll follow me, we can meet them at the portal."
The four of them were quick to trail the powerful Fae and her Guards out the door and back through the winding corridors to the portal's entrance. Jack walked quickly beside Alice and gave her another silent grin, this one smaller but encompassing much more meaning. He slipped his pale hand into hers, entwining their fingers. Ivory skin laced with tan and Alice's gaze lingered on their interlocked grip before she returned his stare. His blue eyes sparkled and that said it all. I'm here. Her lips twitched. She walked a bit closer to where their shoulders were touching and she felt empowered but also vulnerable at the same time. It was a strange feeling but not an unwelcome one.
They reached the portal's passageway in due time, unsurprised but also a bit deflated to only see the Fae Guards standing watch as commanded. The Queen Regent settled back with the Guards who accompanied her and exchanged harsh small talk, speaking too quietly for any of the Guardians or Alice to hear. Alice didn't bother trying to listen in and instead bounced on her heels as she glanced nervously at the dark end of the hallway. She knew this was the reason they came there. To seek out the Seelie Court's aid and ask the Unseelie Court to locate the faerie who helped Tom. And they'd done all that and more but something still felt off. Alice couldn't shake the dread coiling in her stomach like a tight spring. She tried pushing it down by thinking of Max and the idea that she may see him again soon. The restlessness in her legs returned again and she shuffled next to Jack, their fingers still linked.
The Guardians stood in close formation a few feet away from the faeries and Jack used that to his advantage and leaned his head in close.
"Not that I don't appreciate the help but I really don't like being in debt to people," he whispered bitterly. "Because you know the second they need something they're going to use this against us and we'll have to come running."
"That only seems fair don't you think?" Tooth countered wisely, voice equally soft.
"Fair wouldn't be the word I'd use," Jack murmured. Tooth rolled her eyes so hard her head rolled with them.
"You know, I really don't get why you and Bunny butt heads so much. The two of you are the exact same person," she said. Jack made a sour face at this.
"I resent that. He's annoying."
"That's exactly what Bunny would say."
Jack fumed silently and Alice hardly paid attention to the rest of the conversation, instead focusing intently on the end of the hallway.
"Come on, come on," she muttered, staring at the portal expectantly. She felt eyes on her and she didn't have to look to recognize the blue eyes gazing amusedly at her.
"You're excited," Jack noted, barely containing the mirth in his tone.
"I am," Alice agreed. She then spared him a fleeting glance. "Why, should I not be?"
"I think you have every reason to be," Jack smirked. "It's just been a while since I've seen you so…" his eyes trailed her fidgeting form. "Bouncy."
Alice bit the inside of her cheek.
"Jack," she said carefully. "Do you feel… weird about all of this? Like—like maybe it could just be another trick?" Jack's eyes met hers and she had to look away. "I want to feel so happy and trust me, I do. I really do. But with the way things have been going…" her voice faded and she shook her head before gazing at the portal again. The past few days had really awakened the pessimist in her.
"I mean, it'd be stupid not to have doubts at this point," said Jack, sounding slightly exasperated at how the past few days had turned out for them. "It hasn't exactly been a walk in the park for us," he gave her a knowing look. "I think we have to be ready for anything, good or bad."
"They don't even know if he's hurt or not," Alice stared absently. "They wouldn't know. What if he's in pain or scared or—" she stopped herself short. It felt like her tongue had lodged itself to the roof of her mouth.
The winter spirit gave her a tender look and squeezed her hand again. "Didn't you say before that you'd know if something happened to him?" he reminded her. He stepped closer and she felt his breath on her temple. "Do you feel like it did?"
Alice's eyes flickered to his again and searched his face. There was something resolute in her gut that told her no, Max was fine. He was going to be alright. She clinged to that feeling and it helped her break their gaze.
"No," she said, voice firm. "No, he's alive," she tilted her head back and closed her eyes. "He's alive."
She repeated the words like a mantra, watching them dart across the back of her eyelids and listening to them echo in her brain. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a familiar red coat manifesting at the end of the corridor and her heart lurched.
The relief was obvious as her shoulders sagged at the sight of North and Bunny emerging from the darkness. The shadows of the portal licked at their sides as they stepped through and Alice's smile was brief before it slowly dropped. Following behind the Seelie Guards that escorted them were dark figures, tall and threatening with glimmering yellow eyes. She tensed, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. They must have been the Unseelie faeries.
'Alice.'
She jolted at the sound of her name and quickly tore her gaze away from the frightening Faes. She heard North greeting Tooth and Sandy but their voices sounded far away. She turned her head from left to right trying to find who called her. Jack's hand was no longer in hers and her fingers gripped the open air at the emptiness.
'Alice,' she heard again and she looked up.
She was met with a plain white ceiling and her brows furrowed. She didn't really know what she was expecting. She tilted her head back down to face forward and she gasped, eyes wide. She was staring at a white curtain. It was pulled aside to reveal a small room littered with trays and a grey counter. On the far side of the room a door stood ajar leading out into a bustling hallway. Harsh chemicals were on the air, like rubbing alcohol had been spilled over every surface, and the scent burned her nose.
Where am I? she panicked.
Something soft tickled her fingertips and she whipped her head down, gasping at the sight of a hospital gown with blankets pooling at her waist. There was a white band tied to her wrist with her name labeled across the front and an IV drip taped into her skin.
CHAPLIN, ALICE J.
Her eyes widened further. With a strangled breath she swatted at the IV, ready to rip it out, only to feel nothing there. She patted roughly at her hand trying to find the needle when the air around her shifted.
Suddenly she was back in the Seelie Court standing in a long corridor as the Guardians spoke quickly around her. It's like the world zeroed back into focus and the ambient noise multiplied. Alice's arms were hovering in midair, a slightly deranged look on her face as she tried to regain her composure. What the hell just happened?
"Alice?" someone asked and she inhaled sharply, worried that she was going to lose it again, only to meet the wise face of North as he approached her. "I think we found Max," he told her and Alice tried to steady her racing pulse, blinking away the spots in her vision. Her blood was pumping furiously in her ears threatening to drown out the Guardian's voice. "He's here in Northern Woods."
"Um," Alice wet her lips and quickly shook her head. "Y—yeah the Queen told us," she tried to ignore how woozy she felt. She cleared her throat. Now was not the time to lose focus. "So what's the plan?"
"The plan's to blow him outta there and stop anyone who gets in our way," Bunny declared from behind the jolly man.
North rolled his eyes. "But more eloquently than that."
"S'bout as eloquent as it's gonna get, mate. I prefer easy and to the point. Shoot first and ask questions later if you get my drift."
"Well it's good thing you are not in charge!"
Bunny looked properly offended.
Alice tuned out their bickering to rest a hand on her temple. There was a dull ache in her skull that was distracting her from paying any real attention to the people around her. She worried her bottom lip and thought back to the… what was it? A hallucination? A vision? Whatever it was, it was hitting too close to home. It couldn't have been a coincidence that Rumpelstiltskin came to her in a dream trying to convince her that she was unconscious in a hospital somewhere and then she actually saw herself lying in a hospital bed. It wouldn't have been the first time it happened. She remembered the vivid dream she had not too long ago where she was strapped to a cot in a white room.
Then there was the voice that whispered her name. Twice. Clearly no one else heard it. She was too confused to tell if she recognized the voice but she'd be willing to bet that it sounded an awful lot like Tom.
"I'd have to agree with the kangaroo on this one," Jack piped up with a meek hand raise.
North scowled. "Oh you would choose now to side with him."
"Do you really think we have time to come up with a strategy?" Jack countered. "Like two of us scout the entrance while everyone else sneaks around back? We don't even know what we're up against! I say we stick together and go in guns blazing. Figuratively speaking."
"Is not that simple," North argued.
"Oh but it is," Bunny interjected with an animated paw. He gestured wildly to the handful of other beings in the room. "We got… what? Five, six, seven… eight faeries with us! Nine if you count Tooth."
"I am a fairy," Tooth deadpanned. Bunny waved her comment aside.
Alice was beginning to feel lightheaded again. Her hand clutched her head tighter and she squeezed her eyes shut, breathing deeply. She opened her mouth to say something—anything—because something was obviously wrong but she couldn't connect her brain to her mouth. Then she heard it again.
'Alice…'
Her eyes snapped open. She did recognize the voice. A shiver raced up her spine and her jaw trembled.
'I see you didn't listen to me,' he taunted, voice wispy and faint like a cloud of smoke seeping into the air. 'Still running around with all your make believe friends chasing after a ghost that doesn't even exist,' he cackled, tone manic and cold, and she stared ahead in horror. 'Honestly, if your life was a movie I'd pay big bucks to see it. Can you imagine what kind of money that'd make at the box office?'
"You're not real," she whispered, shaking her head to reassure herself. "This isn't real. It's all in my head."
'Are we playing two truths and a lie now? With those three options I bet I'll win easy,' she heard the grin in his voice. ''Schizophrenic girl plays hide and seek with childhood fairy tales.' Come on, tell me you wouldn't watch that,' Alice panted as her fingers tangled in her hair. She backed up several feet into a wall and leaned against it before she lost her balance. 'Let's see, which fairy tale would you be? Hmm,' he hummed mockingly. She gritted her teeth. 'Well the obvious one is Alice from Wonderland. Youareastoundingly curious after all. How funny would that be? It's like your parents knew you were destined to be crazy when they gave you the name.'
"Stop," Alice hissed through her teeth. Her voice wavered and she didn't sound at all intimidating.
He ignored her as if she hadn't spoken.
'Did you know there's actually a thing called the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome? Yeah. It's when someone's perception gets warped and distorted so things look bigger or smaller or closer or farther away than they really are,' Alice squeaked as she watched the floor shrink as if she'd grown fifty feet and shot through the roof. Her legs looked miles long and it made her feel like she was balancing on the edge of a cliff as she squinted down at her tiny feet through a fish-eye lens. 'Now it'd be arealkicker if you had that problem, too.'
Her stomach lodged itself in her throat and she felt her knees slam into the ground, feeling too heavy to hold herself up. Suddenly there were a pair of steady hands gripping her shoulders and Alice yelped, startled by the contact. The voices around her were muffled like cotton balls had been stuffed in her ears. She gazed wide-eyed at the person in front of her without really seeing them as her eyesight attempted to return to normal.
'Let's talk about Max for a second,' he continued as if he were casually discussing the weather.
Alice leaned forward, feeling her forehead meet the fabric of someone's clothes. She gripped her hair tighter, moaning at the pain that was intensifying behind her eyes. It's like the more he talked, the more pain she felt. There was a faint beep, beep, beep in the back of her mind like the droning of a heart monitor. Something sharp poked the back of her hand like a needle taped into her skin again. Her nose burned at the waft of alcohol.
'See, Maxy here wants you to wake up. If you don't, the big bad adults are going to take him away. You don't want that, do you?'
"Liar," Alice spat through another wave of dizziness. The voices around her were still muffled and frantic but it wasn't hard to ignore them. "You have him. You took him."
'Nope, sorry. Try again.'
The world flashed and blurred and she was sitting in a hospital bed again, scratchy sheets itching at her bare legs with an IV drip stationed at her right. The walls were bare and white, the only color in the room belonging to a decorative plant sitting at the far window. When the light hit it just right, it shimmered glossy and stiff. It was fake.
The dull ache was still present behind her eyes and she squinted, reaching her free hand up to press her palm against the skin. Instead her fingers touched gauze. She patted along the crown of her head tracing the gauze that was wrapped around it. There was a tender spot at her hairline and she distinctly remembered cracking her head on the pavement when she was pushed out of the way of an oncoming truck. It felt bruised and fresh like it happened yesterday.
"Oh," she winced at the tenderness. She pulled her hand away and gazed around the room with half-lidded eyes. Her mind felt hazy like she'd just woken up from a deep sleep. There was a chair pulled up to the left of her bed, a small jacket hanging off its arm. Her brows pulled taut at this, wondering who'd been sitting there and why they left. She didn't have enough time to linger on it before the world warped again and suddenly she got a face full of frosted blue hoodie.
"Alice?!" a boy's voice shouted hysterically. The air around him felt distinctly cold. "What's wrong? Alice, can you hear me?"
"Jack?" Alice asked, feeling disoriented. The pain was slowly subsiding and she felt sluggish and tired.
"Hey! Yeah, it's me," his cold hands gripped her face, hoisting her up to look at him. His blue eyes were wide with concern.
"What happened?" North's booming voice startled her and her gut trembled at the multiple eyes that were glaring down at her.
"Jack… I—"
"Is she alright?" she heard Tooth ask. Alice shrunk back a bit, pulling out of Jack's grip and his jaws clenched at the onslaught of questions.
"Would you give us a minute?" he snapped over his shoulder.
"I heard him," Alice whispered and Jack gave her an unreadable look. "He was inside my head…"
"What's she talkin' about?" Bunny demanded, having been the only Guardian besides Jack who heard her.
Jack's expression hardened and his lips formed a thin line. With a careful grip he stood and pulled her up with him. Her equilibrium was off and she held onto him tightly. She shied away from all the prying eyes and Jack shielded her as he circled an arm around her shoulders.
"Give us a second," he bit, leaving no room for protests as he led her down the hall out of hearing range. The Queen Regent was scrutinizing them closely as they passed her and Alice immediately avoided eye contact, her curly red hair falling down into her face as she bowed her head. The second they were out of earshot of the others Jack tugged her back in front of him and dug his fingers into her shoulders as he watched her in tense silence. His blue eyes skimmed her face as if the answers to all his questions were there. Alice squirmed under the force of his stare and Jack's eyes softened a bit but his stony expression didn't waver. "You heard him?" he repeated. "Rumpelstiltskin?"
Alice nodded slowly.
"What did he say?" Jack asked calmly though the underlying anger was apparent.
"He's…" Alice paused. The hollowness in her stomach felt like a weight pressing on her gut. She swallowed and gazed at Jack, unblinking. "Ever since the dream he's been trying to tell me that you guys aren't real," she admitted quietly.
Jack was taken aback. He literally jerked his head back as if her words physically smacked him in the face.
"What? That's stupid, we're obviously right here."
"He told me that I'm lying in a hospital," she said, the words just spilling out now that they started. "He said that I'm unconscious in a coma in a hospital somewhere and that everything that's happened so far has just been my imagination. And usually I wouldn't believe that but I mean, none of this makes any sense you know? I've told you that over and over again and sometimes I see myself sitting in a bed inside a hospital and it feels so real—"
"When?" Jack demanded. "When did you see yourself in a hospital?"
"Right now," she whispered. Jack blinked, unable to hide his surprise. "Behind you I see a door that leads out into a busy hallway. Probably the inside of a trauma center. I can feel the sheets under my legs and they're itchy. I'm in a room alone and I don't know why," her eyes watered.
"No," Jack shook his head. "No, you're not in a hospital, Alice. You're right here. I'm right here. See," he reached down and clasped her hands in his, twining their fingers and squeezing. "I'm touching you. You're touching me. You feel that?" he squeezed again, running his thumbs over the delicate skin between her thumbs and pointer fingers. She did feel it. His skin was chilly but surprisingly soft. "He's just messing with your head. We're all here with you. You've never been alone. I promise," she shivered and Jack cracked a weak smile. "You wouldn't be cold if I wasn't here. See? That's proof."
Alice bit her lip and sniffed. "This isn't the first time this has happened," she confessed a hair above a whisper. Jack's forehead wrinkled. "I've dreamt before that I was lying in a bed inside a bright white room. The only difference is I couldn't move then. It was like I was strapped down or my limbs were too heavy to move them. And then I could hear this beeping…" Alice trailed off, eyes glazed over. "And when I'd wake up I'd still hear it. Sometimes when I stop thinking and just listen—" her eyes met his again, "—I can hear it. It sounds like a heart monitor. And when I hear it I'm awake. At least, I'm pretty sure I am. It's like I can always hear it. Like it's just beeping on and on in the background and I never notice it until I focus on it."
Jack's lips were curled like he tasted something bitter. His hands tightened around hers until his knuckles turned impossibly whiter.
"Why haven't you said anything?" he hissed. "Why didn't you tell us when he first got inside your head?"
"I didn't know if it was real or not," she admitted timidly. "I didn't know if it was really just a dream. I didn't want to sound crazy. Even now I think I sound crazy."
"Our lives are full of crazy, Alice," Jack told her. "When you think you're dead and then wake up to find that you're actually an immortal spirt of winter then come talk to me about crazy."
"I'm sorry," she whispered. She felt guilty at the act of withholding the information but even still she wasn't completely convinced he and the Guardians needed to know. But since she already started… "That's not all, Jack," she continued carefully. "He knows about how I'm scared that Max will be taken away from me. That child services will take him away the second they decide I'm unfit to care for him," Alice shook her head. "And if all of this is true then you know they won't hesitate. You're the only person I've told about those things. I've not told anyone else. Hell, I don't even think my own aunt knows the full truth. So how could he have known?"
"He's inside your head, Alice," Jack stated firmly. "I don't know how he got there but he found a way in and he's using that to his advantage to toy with you. Things like him know how to bring out the worst in people. And if Pitch is involved in all this, fear's kind of the guy's specialty," Jack scowled. "If he's been watching you from the get-go he knows what your biggest fear is and he knows how to use it against you."
Alice looked like she tasted something sour but she didn't say anything.
"Does anybody want to share with the class about what's going on here?" Bunny's impatient voice tore through her thoughts.
Alice's head snapped in their direction and Jack glanced over his shoulder. The Guardians stood still, leaning forward as if they'd been trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. Bunny looked irritable but North and the others appeared concerned. Alice's eyes avoided the Fae Guards whose intense stares were boring holes into the side of her head. Their faces were blank as if the conversation held no real value to them aside from the Queen Regent. She was gazing at Alice with intense scrutiny as if she heard every word and found that Alice was now untrustworthy. Alice swallowed thickly and gazed back at Jack suddenly feeling very small. He turned back to her and the questioning look in his eyes said it all.
Alice bit the inside of her cheek.
"I didn't even want to tell you, Jack," she confessed quietly. Jack looked torn. "If he really is inside my head then there's nothing we can do about it anyway. The important thing is that we find Max. That's always been our mission, right?"
"Not at the cost of you," Jack denied immediately. "If getting Max is going to hurt you then we have to find another way."
She shook her head. "No, Jack. That's not how this works. I'll do whatever it takes to get my son back. Whatever it takes," she repeated slowly. "You can't stop me. Please don't try to stop me."
"Like hell," Jack scoffed like she just challenged him. "I will tie you to a goddamn chair if I have to."
"Max is my responsibility—"
"—And you're mine!"
Alice paused. Jack was glaring down at her, giving her some sort of look like he was trying to convey something through it that he couldn't say out loud. Alice didn't let herself read too far into it.
"I'm not a kid anymore, Jack," she said gently. She slipped her hands out of his and his brows pinched as his hands fell limply to his sides. "I know my limitations. I get that I'm not immortal like you with powers but I'm not weak either so stop acting like I am. I'm not fragile and it's not your job to look after me," she gave him an intense look. "Max is your responsibility. Only Max. You know this. It's only supposed to be about him. Isn't that what you've been told?"
Jack stared silently down at her until Bunny whistled.
"Hello?" the Pooka waved his arms around, fur bristled. "Are we suddenly invisible? Do we speak a different language? Do I need to ask again through interpretive dance? What the hell is going on?"
Alice opened her mouth to respond but it was Jack's voice everyone heard.
"Nothing," he said, not taking his eyes off hers. "Alice is just worried about Max. She thinks something might be wrong," the lie slipped smoothly off his tongue like he'd done it a million times. Alice slowly closed her mouth. "We better hurry," he tilted his head at her. "After all, he needs us."
He backed away slowly and finally tore his gaze away from Alice to march over to where the other Guardians were standing. North was still watching Alice in concern but Bunny had followed Jack's movements with his eyes that were narrowed in suspicion. Jack met Bunny's gaze evenly and gestured pointedly down the hallway.
"Well? Let's go," he said expectantly. Bunny's eyes narrowed further, seemingly forgetting about Alice in favor of sneering at the winter spirit's sudden attitude.
Alice felt the weight in her stomach all over again but this time it was guilt that made her nauseous. She didn't want to hurt Jack's feelings. She knew he cared about her and she appreciated that more than words could describe but this wasn't about her. It had never been about her. Rumpelstiltskin obviously wanted Max for a reason. Maybe he wanted her too, she didn't know. Maybe she really was crazy after all and didn't know what her reality was anymore. There were hundreds of possibilities that none of them had time to think about. But it wasn't about her. Any leftover baggage, emotional or otherwise, could be dealt with after Max was home safe.
Bunny led the way down the hall after a quick shove to Jack's shoulder. The muscles in Jack's jaw clenched but he followed the warrior bunny nonetheless. North's bushy eyebrows were furrowed in Alice's direction and she attempted to give him a reassuring smile that probably ended up looking more like a grimace. The two walked side by side down the hall with the faeries trailing stoutly behind them.
"Are you sure you are alright? That was mighty big fall," he said, eyes glistening with worry. Alice heaved a sigh that wasn't entirely forced.
"I'm fine. It's just the situation," she said tiredly. "It's got me really stressed out. I'll feel better when we find Max," it was mostly the truth.
North seemed awkward asking his next question. "And, ah… and Jack?"
Alice didn't really know what to say to that. She pursed her lips as they weaved through the hallways until she recognized where they were. They were leaving through the main entrance of the Seelie Court.
She finally settled with, "Jack's worried about me."
"Ah," North nodded as if everything suddenly made sense.
"Sometimes it's hard," Alice started, watching their feet as they glided through the Seelie Court's grand entry room. Her eyes followed the colored tiles beneath her dirty shoes as they walked, feeling slightly chagrined that she was leaving smudges behind. She felt eyes on her once again from the faerie population around them but she ignored their stares. "You care too much and it starts to get in the way. Sometimes I feel like life would be so much easier if we just didn't care at all."
North hummed. "Maybe so. But if you care then that usually means you have something worth keeping."
"But if we didn't care at all then we'd have nothing to lose," she countered. North cracked a smile.
"I think that comes with being human," he said, lifting his chin. "Caring and becoming attached to things. It is what keeps your humanity intact."
"Is that something you have to do?" she asked, glancing up at him with carefully gentle eyes. "Try to keep your humanity?"
There was a pause.
"Yes."
And they didn't say anything else.
When the group finally reached the dirt tunnels they entered from, the Queen Regent stopped and faced the rest of the company.
"This is where I leave you," she said, voice velvety smooth and airy. Her teal-colored eyes flitted over everyone in the tunnel though it was hard to tell who she was directly looking at. Alice had a feeling she was on the receiving end of her stares a few times. "I suppose the proper thing would be for me to wish you luck. I'm not sure how you lot always manage to find yourselves in trouble," there was a slight hint of amusement in the Fae's tone which surprised Alice. "But if this boy is as important to you as you say he is then I hope you find him. Though you've already assumed they would, I will allow some of my Guards to accompany you," Bunny looked a little sheepish at this because he'd been the one to assume. "They will be of some help to you. As you said before, we do have a pact. It's our job to help one another after all."
Alice detected a hint of sarcasm in the Queen Regent's voice as if she were only saying this to appease her audience. They wouldn't have had to go through nearly as much trouble if the faerie really thought that way. But no one commented on it and North nodded gratefully.
"We appreciate your help. If you ever need anything from us…"
"I'll be sure to come running," the Queen Regent finished with a smirk and Jack rolled his eyes on North's other side.
"Right. Great," North nodded, clearing his throat uncomfortably. He glanced at his counterparts. "Well, let's be off then."
Leaving the Seelie Court was just as disorienting as entering it had been. They passed through a wall of vines that dangled from a dirt wall. It went against Alice's instincts to walk forward because there was just a wall there so how could walking into it get her anywhere but with a nudge from Tooth she stepped through it and suddenly everything cooled and she was met with fresh nighttime air.
The grass was soft underneath her shoes like she was walking on a sponge and she blinked, jerking forward a bit before turning to face behind her. The wall of branches from the willow tree shifted in the breeze and she watched Tooth emerge from them completely unfazed. Alice shook herself out of her stupor, wondering when she'd finally get used to the laws of physics in these magical worlds. You'd think all the weird stuff would've just become the norm by now but nope, she still had to work on pulling her jaw off the ground.
"Everyone here?" North scanned their group. A few Seelie and Unseelie Guards materialized from behind the branches and though their appearances stiffened his shoulders, North nodded in their direction. "Right. Good. Well," he cleared his throat. "Let me explain. While Bunny and I were in Unseelie Court, we saw Unseelie faerie and human on their map. There is mountain east—"
"—west—"
"—er, thank you, Bunnymund… west of here. That is where they are. Unseelie King said it was his belief that mountain was unoccupied. Rumpelstiltskin must have dug his way in which means hard part will be finding that one spot in if there are not others."
"Now when you say 'dug his way in', did you mean with a shovel or are we going to have to go find some spoons?"
"I'm gonna hit him, North."
"Quiet, Jack. And no you're not, Bunny. We do not have time for this nonsense."
"I'll have you know it was a legitimate question."
North sighed tiredly like reigning in his temper was beyond his level of skill before running a large hand down the length of his snowy white beard.
"Once we find way in," he continued, wisely choosing to ignore Jack's remark, "then we can go from there."
"Do we really know for sure that Max is the human in there?" Tooth asked timidly. She was fluttering anxiously next to Alice wringing her tiny luminescent fingers together. "I mean, I know we've said this a handful of times already and I'm probably preaching to the choir, but what if this is a trap?"
"I'd say the possibility of that is pretty high," Bunny answered her, adjusting the boomerangs on his back. "But it doesn't matter. There's a human in there with an Unseelie faerie whose sanity is extremely questionable. We need to help 'em no matter who they are."
"It could be someone on his side," Tooth countered.
Bunny shrugged. "Could be. But I don't think we can really afford to take that chance," his dark eyes bounced around to everyone in their group. "Any questions? Concerns? Speak now or forever hold your peace," he waited with mirth, tall ears perked.
Alice wetted her lips and eyed the faeries behind them who stood tall and silent like statues. Their regal faces were emotionless masks and Alice looked away quickly before accidentally making eye contact. When no one in their company said anything, Bunny nodded with a satisfied look and gestured towards North.
"Lead the way then."
A silence fell over everyone after that and Alice couldn't tell if it made her uncomfortable or not. She couldn't figure out how North knew which direction was west because she had no survival skills but there was only a moment's hesitation before he began marching down one end of the forest. She didn't presume to know if he was right or wrong and she followed slowly behind Tooth.
Sandy floated alongside her and from time to time she would watch him out of the corner of her eye. He was such a quiet being. Most of the time she forgot he was even there. There was something so subtly radiant about him though. Maybe it was the way he glistened and twinkled beneath the lit canopies of the trees. The glow from the mysterious fruits that dangled in their branches cast a soft reflection over him that was almost tranquil. She wondered if that was why he was the Sandman. His presence alone could probably relax her into a peaceful sleep with ease. Walking next to him was probably what was keeping her nerves from running haywire.
She was scared. She wasn't so proud that she couldn't admit that. Like everyone else, she had her doubts about what they were walking into; her probably more so than anyone else because she'd never done this before. But she wanted to believe that maybe some higher power was giving them a get-out-of-jail-free card. Things usually weren't that easy but if she thought about it, when was this situation ever easy? This was the first real lead they had in days. She was ready to go in headfirst if it meant she was one step closer to Max.
They walked for a while. Time seemed to have no meaning in the Northern Woods. The atmosphere was quiet save for the rustling of the leaves in the wind. The sky was a deep purple rather than a dark blue, the pearlescent glow of this world's moon casting an ethereal glow amongst the plants and grass.
Alice's eyes caught the head of silvery white hair that walked a few paces in front of her. Part of her felt weird not having Jack by her side. Over the course of the week he'd always been there, shoulder brushing against hers. She figured she'd somehow gotten used to it and now that he wasn't there, it was like part of her was missing. The open space next to her felt empty and wrong like a phantom limb. Her brain acknowledged that something used to be there and it no longer was. She wanted to apologize to him for the way she acted because it wasn't his fault but instead she looked the other way and tightened her lips.
The heavy silence continued until Alice saw North's coat lift as he pointed up ahead.
"That must be it," he said.
She followed the line of his finger and noticed the point of a mountain peeking over the treetops. In person it looked more like an elevated rocky hill rather than the giant mountain she pictured it to be in her head. It didn't take away from its sheer mass and the closer they got, the sharper and more dangerous the rocks on its surface looked. The tip of the mountain which jutted up from the rocks far off in the distance was eroded into the shape of a jagged hook and Alice found that looking at it made her uneasy.
The base of the mountain billowed up from the ground not far from where they all eventually stopped to take in the sight. The mountain was nestled snuggly in the center of a line of trees taller than any Alice had ever seen. They rose high, dark and ominous above their heads, and the hook tip of the mountain peeked above their leaves in the starry sky. Up close she realized that the mountain was decorated with a mix of red rocks and black bedrock. She'd never seen colors like that on anything that formed naturally before in her life. Then again, nothing about this world was really natural.
"Looks promising," Bunny quipped distastefully. "Real homey."
"Where do you suppose we start?" Alice asked faintly. Looking up at the mountain made her feel dizzy.
"Pick a side and start circling around I guess," said Jack. Wary looks passed through the group. "Unless you guys have a better idea?" he asked, glancing somewhere over Alice's head.
She turned around, nearly jumping out of her skin at the sight of a Seelie Guard hovering a few inches behind her. She'd completely forgotten they were there. Their footsteps didn't make a sound on the grass and dead leaves. She took a subtle step back out of the faerie's space; though she had a feeling she was more uncomfortable with the close proximity than they were. The Fae's lavender eyes glowed.
"St. North was right," the faerie behind her eventually spoke up, his deep voice resonating in her stomach. "Chances are there is only one way in. It would make sense to draw you in from a certain direction. My suggestion would be to split up, as the blonde one said, to cover more ground quickly. We don't want to waste time."
North didn't look pleased with the idea but he didn't seem to have any other alternatives. He pinched the bridge of his nose before gesturing wildly with his hand.
"Fine. We part ways here. If you find anything, anything at all, call for us," he glanced at the Unseelie Guards standing tall next to him and tilted his head.
He and Bunny began heading left with the Unseelie Guards whose dark armor blended in with their surroundings to the point of rendering them nearly invisible save for their unblinking yellow eyes.
Tooth took that as her cue to begin heading right with Sandy. Alice couldn't hold back the breath of relief at the fact that the Seelie Guards were coming with them. She felt nervous in either race's presence but at least the Seelie Guards didn't make her skin crawl. She fell into step beside Jack without meaning to who was walking behind Tooth. He shifted the staff in his hand absently as his eyes skimmed the outside of the mountain's base.
"'The blonde one'," he mimicked the Seelie Guard's voice from earlier in a sardonic mutter. "My hair's white. If you don't know my name, at least get that part right."
"Would you rather I call you the irritating one instead?" the Fae asked, startling everyone with his monotonous response. Jack turned his head comically slow to peek at the faerie over his shoulder, not having expected the Seelie to actually hear him. He then rolled the shoulder he looked over like he was trying to shake off a tremor.
"Well at least that would be a bit more accurate," he murmured reluctantly, tone slightly sheepish. Alice couldn't help but crack a tiny grin.
They walked along the base of the mountain. She could feel the Seelie Guards behind her on high alert. She didn't know what kind of power they had but the air hummed around them. She wasn't sure if it made her feel safe or not but as she glanced out at the deep black abyss of the woods to her right, she realized that having them there was better than having no one at all.
She swallowed as she tried to ignore the eerie darkness around them. She missed the glowing fruits that grew from the treetops. They stopped showing up after they first spotted the mountain's hook, like they crossed a line that divided them from the land of the fair folk. She didn't know what kind of land this was. It felt dangerous and she didn't like that this was where Max was being kept.
"I'm going to fly up to get a better vantage point," said Tooth, her arms already outstretched as her wings began to flutter on her back. She braced herself to push upward off the forest floor when Jack quickly stopped her.
"Do you think that's such a good idea?" he asked, arm held out to her. "I mean, what if something sees you?"
Tooth gave them all knowing looks. "I think whatever's here already knows where we are," she told him quietly. "But I'll stay below the trees. I just don't want us to walk around aimlessly down here if there's a way in somewhere else."
Jack seemed reluctant to let her go but he dropped his arm and she gave him a brief smile before darting up into the air. Alice watched the fairy swoop and flutter along the base of the trees as she scanned the mountain. The faint beams of moonlight that peaked through the canopy of the trees projected a shadow of Tooth's shape in the grass as she occasionally blocked the beams' path. Sandy seemed to be keeping a watchful eye on her which appeased Jack for the time being who was going between watching ahead and glancing fretfully over his shoulder. Alice could only hope he was nervous of being watched rather than already knowing someone was out there watching them. She shivered in the breeze and crossed her arms tightly over her chest.
"You holding up alright?" came Jack's voice. His tone was casual and light, something Alice wasn't entirely used to coming from him, but she nodded anyway.
"Yeah, I suppose," she answered. Jack's lips thinned but he didn't say anything because a voice was heard a bit of a distance ahead of them.
"Up here!" they called. It sounded like North. Jack and Alice exchanged looks before they ran towards it, the Seelie Guards easily matching their strides from behind. It took long enough to reach them that Alice was out of breath by the time five other figures came into view. They almost had to circle around the mountain to get to them and when they did they spotted North, Bunny and the Unseelie Guards standing a few feet up the mountain. "Entrance is here!" North announced when he saw them.
Tooth flew with ease up to where they were standing precariously on the edge of large, pointed boulders, with Sandy at her side. Jack took Alice's hand and helped her climb the few feet they needed to get to the others. There seemed to be a gully in the mountain in front of where North stood and when they stepped up onto the ledge the rest of them were sharing, North motioned to one of the Unseelie Guards.
"It's a hidden passage," said the Unseelie as if he'd been waiting for the right moment to explain, pressing his palm into a yellow-stained rock that jutted out from the wall. "We use these in our tunnels. The key to unlocking them is to find the rock holding their latch in place," he twisted the stained rock, his thin hand curving around the stone as it grated against the rock around it. It was turned at a ninety-degree angle and then he pushed it in. There was a deep groan in the gully that made everyone jump before dust sprang out of the crevices in the rocks and a door was opened that Alice would have never thought was there had she not seen it open herself.
"Ah-ha!" North chuckled, rubbing his hands together gleefully before coughing as he inhaled a bit of dirt. He waved his hands in front of his face, squinting through the cloud of dust particles.
They peered in through the opening. Alice saw nothing but darkness within and her instincts told her to run as far away from it as possible which must have meant they were in the right place.
"You first," Bunny droned, glancing over at North. North huffed, still hacking a bit from the dust that was now lodged in his trachea.
"Always me first," he wheezed, giving Bunny the stink eye before cautiously stepping through the rocky doorway.
The Unseelie Guards followed him in along with Bunny and one of the Unseelie's lifted their palm. An orange glow emitted from it and Alice stared open-mouthed only for a second before it disappeared out of her sight as the Guards entered the mountain. Tooth and Sandy flew inside after them and Jack gave Alice another one of his looks before they took up the rear of the group with the Seelie Guards at their sides.
The light from the Unseelie's palm ignited the area more than Alice had expected and the orange hue cast a warmth upon the area that made Alice a little more comfortable. She was only mildly relaxed for a second though before the door resealed itself behind them and she jumped. That was never a good sign.
Their group exchanged precarious looks before venturing further into the mountain which seemed to be a maze of tunnels, a theme that was apparently not uncommon as of late.
To Alice's surprise, it looked like the interior of the mountain had once been a small fortress. Tunnels were carved out of the rock that held the structure up like old abandoned mines, but instead of mine carts and tracks there was ripped carpet and black tile underneath the litter of fallen rocks. Alice carefully kicked away the dirt by her shoes and a velvet brown material peeked through the debris. Her brows furrowed and she looked around, rubbing her nose at the stale scent on the air. It was clear this place had been sealed off from the world for a long time.
The tunnel was dark and narrow branching off in three different directions: one on each side of them and one straight ahead. On either side of them seemed to lay tunnels that extended further outward and were even narrower than the one they came through while the one ahead was a bit wider with a few open rooms framed by wooden beams.
"What is this place?" Alice asked silently. And even as she whispered her voice seemed to carry farther into the mountain than she would have liked.
"I don't know," Jack replied, gazing around slowly.
"This might have once been a place of refuge," one of the Seelie Guards suggested. He seemed to have the same idea as Alice and scuffed his thick boot on the dirty ground to reveal the worn carpet. "This rug is made of high class material. It's not cheap but it doesn't have any of the royal colors either."
"Are you saying this place might have been buried under the rocks?" Alice asked carefully. She'd never directly spoken to one of the Seelie Guards before and she wasn't very happy that she suddenly decided now was a good time to do so.
The Seelie Guard only spared her a cursory glance.
"No," he stepped forward carefully. "It's probably always been this way. Hence the reason it was a place of refuge. No one would assume to look for anyone here."
"Makes sense," said Tooth, shoulders squared as she eyed their surroundings.
"We will move forward," said an Unseelie Guard. His voice was gravely and low and gave Alice goosebumps. She glanced back at the faerie who motioned towards the wide hallway ahead.
"Right, we'll come with," Bunny cautiously agreed, nose twitching and ears bowed. He inched behind the Unseelie Guards with his boomerangs at the ready and Sandy floated alongside him, apparently having decided to tag along.
Bunny nodded to North and then to Jack and Alice before he crept through the tunnel, passing the open rooms in favor of following the tunnel with the dark faeries whose orange lights followed them. Sandy saluted Alice and she gave the Sandman a brief nod much like Bunny had, watching as his golden dream sand glided through the air and around the corner leaving a trail of glowing dust in its wake.
As if it'd been choreographed, Tooth and North began to slink down the dark tunnel on their right at the same time Jack and Alice moved towards one of the open rooms in the direction Bunny and Sandy had disappeared. No one said anything to one another which in retrospect should have been odd because North was always averse to splitting up.
Later on, Alice would maybe realize that they'd been separated on purpose but for the time being she felt compelled to investigate those rooms.
The remaining Seelie Guards hunched defensively and slid down the tunnel on the left in the opposite direction of North and Tooth, leaving Jack and Alice alone in the darkness of the fortress.
Jack entered one of the rooms first, tapping his staff on the ground to ignite a soft beam of light from the tip. Alice was standing close to his back as he paused in the threshold, eyes dancing around the room with open curiosity. Alice peeked over his shoulder, blinking at the glittering items resting on old rickety tables. Dusty trinkets that Alice had only seen in black and white movies of mad scientists were scattered about the room covering every available surface in disarray.
When Jack carefully stepped into the room, Alice was able to get a closer look. There were rolled up scrolls in cupboards beneath the tables, stained and dusted with dirt and stray rocks. Cracked beakers rested on the tables next to open booklets of writing Alice couldn't read. Most of the pages had faded with time, only leaving behind a few wayward markings that didn't seem to mean anything. Alice bent forward, peering into one of the beakers at the sparkling grey dust inside them. It looked soft and fragile to the touch and upon closer inspection Alice recognized it to be ash. When she leaned back, she realized it was all over the tables.
"I wonder if there was a fire here," she thought aloud before looking up at Jack.
Jack glanced back at her over his shoulder. "Experiments maybe? If this doesn't look like an evil scientist's lab then I don't know what does."
They moved ahead and Jack was being extra careful where he walked because of his bare feet.
"Watch your step," he advised quietly.
They stepped over a fallen stool that was missing one of its legs and were met with the entrance of another much darker room. Jack held his staff into the room first to light it up. It was much barer than the room they were currently standing in. He waved his staff from one side of the room to the other before silently walking through the door, holding an arm out in front of Alice as if to keep her from wandering ahead of him.
"Stay behind me," he told her and Alice was not going to argue with him on that, though she did glance warily over her shoulder once. There were pinpricks on the back of her neck she couldn't shake off like someone was watching them from afar. She rolled her shoulders to try and ward the feeling away before turning back around. Alice could hear her heart hammering in her eardrums and she swallowed, wincing at the dryness of her throat. She then paused and looked behind her again, brows furrowing.
"Jack, do you know where the others are?" she asked. It just now struck her that only her and Jack were in the room.
The sound of padding feet stopped and Jack seemingly turned to look in the direction she was facing.
"Um," there was a moment of hesitation. "Weren't they right behind us?" he asked, sounding slightly confused as if he weren't sure himself.
"I…" Alice opened and closed her mouth. Her brain felt foggy. She tried to remember what happened after they entered the fortress but it was hard, like an old film had been placed over her memories from the last ten minutes. Nothing was very clear. "I think Bunny went with the Unseelies… didn't he?"
"I… think?" Jack seemed skeptical and he didn't say anything for a moment. And then: "Hey, look at this."
It took an extra second or two for Alice to turn around, still concerned that she didn't know where the other Guardians had run off to. Then her eyes fell on an object Jack was shining his staff's light on. It was sitting on the top of a tin can that was molded into the shape of an old singular fire pit. It seemed odd to have it sitting in the middle of the room but what was odder was what was on top of it. An hourglass was resting there, a steady stream of sparkling gold sand trickling from the top onto a large pile at the bottom. It looked like the hourglass had been going for a while as there wasn't much gold sand left in the top sphere.
"Huh," Alice frowned at it. "Wonder who put that there?"
Jack dipped his head a bit to look closer at the hourglass. His eyes squinted at it, following the stream of gold as it continued to flow mutely into the bottom.
"Does that… does that look like flecks of gold to you? Like, real gold?" he asked her worriedly.
Alice went to lean forward as well but she stumbled a bit and Jack jerked back to quickly help her right herself.
"Whoa, you okay?" he asked, giving her a once over.
Alice opened her mouth to say that yes, of course she was fine, but then her vision doubled. She fell forward once more and Jack had to catch her in his arms, his staff falling out of his grip and smacking onto the dirt floor with a loud clang.
"Alice?" he asked, voice panicked. He gritted his teeth and used all his strength to hold her up, arms circling around her waist. He felt her hold his shoulders in a light grip. "Alice, what's happening? Did you hurt yourself?" he kept one arm held firmly around her waist in order to brush the curly hair out of her face. Her eyes looked clouded and far away like they were seeing something entirely different than what was there. "Alice?"
"Jack," she finally said, voice a light whisper. There was an edge of hysteria to it that made Jack's stomach clench. "Jack, I can't—Jack, it's happening again. I can't see you… where did you go? Please…"
"I'm right here, Alice," he said forcefully, shaking her a bit. "Do you feel me? I'm right here."
"I see a white room… I'm in the room again, Jack," tears were beginning to form in her eyes and Jack's face twisted with worry. "Make it stop," she whimpered, skin pinching between her eyebrows. Her once pink cheeks had paled, the only color standing out on her face being the light brown freckles on the bridge of her nose. Jack's eyes were wide as he stared down at her, mouth hanging open. He didn't know what to do. What was he supposed to do? "Please, Jack," she begged quietly. "I'm scared, please… I don't know what's real. I don't know how to tell. Please make it go away…"
"Okay just—just relax, okay? I'm here. I'm holding you, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere," his head whipped from left to right to try and find something that could help him. He cursed. There was nothing there. They were in some random room underneath a ton of bedrock and the others were nowhere to be seen. They had nothing. "Shit. Shit, how did this happen?" he asked himself.
He licked his lips and hoisted her up when she began to slip. Her body was trembling against his torso and he felt himself beginning to panic. What the hell was he going to do? If Rumpelstiltskin was inside her head then maybe he was trying to distract them. Maybe he wanted all their focus on her so he could take care of the other Guardians. Or maybe this was some sort of warning that he was coming after them and Jack needed to think of something quick before they were both screwed.
"Jack, are you still there?" Alice asked quietly. He felt her warm breath fanning against his neck and he shivered, feeling his own arms begin to shake in alarm. The light from his staff was starting to dim as he got more and more unfocused. "Please don't leave me, Jack," he had a feeling she didn't know what she was saying. She was talking just for the sake of talking.
"I'm here, Alice," he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, hoping some sort of plan would just magically spring to life inside his brain.
"Jack? Jack?" Alice's voice rose shrilly. Jack jerked his head down to look at her and her eyes were wide but still unseeing. "Jack, I need to find Max! He was right here! He was in this chair… that had to have been him! He was here and now he's not anymore! Jack!" she started wrestling against his hold and he grunted as she squirmed, trying to keep a hold of her without hurting her.
"It's okay Alice, we'll find him. We'll find Max, just calm down! You have to calm down!"
"No, no! I need to find Max! I need to find him!"
Her arms flailed and he grabbed a hold of her wrist. She swatted at his chest with her other hand and Jack quickly grabbed it too, wincing a bit because the girl could really pack a punch.
"Hold still, Alice!"
"NO! You're not real, you're not real. Let go of me, I need to find Max! This isn't real!"
She pulled back, waving her arms around while Jack still held onto her wrists and he huffed. He didn't want to leave any bruises but she was leaving him with no other choice. Like hell he was going to actually let her go so she could run off without seeing straight and hurt herself even worse. Jack pulled her into him and as a last resort she began kicking her legs. He avoided them the first few times but when she kneed him in the thigh he grunted and almost lost his grip.
"You're not real! This isn't real!"
"Damnit, Alice!"
He yanked her forward without poise and planted his lips on hers. She froze immediately, her lips soft and warm and unmoving against his. He released her wrists and moved his hands up to cup her jaw, holding her steady against him. He felt her arms rest limply against his chest, her breathing still uneven and he tilted his head. He pressed his lips more firmly against hers until they fell into place like a missing puzzle piece. There was a lightness in his chest he'd never felt before and his eyes fluttered shut only for a moment before he pulled away and their lips disconnected with a smack.
"Was that real?" he asked loudly, thumb pressing against the slight dimple in her cheek. Her eyes were wide and hazy as they stared up at him, lips still puckered. "Huh? Did that feel real to you, Alice?"
Her breath stuttered and then she opened her mouth, pupils still clouded as she whispered ominously: "I can't tell."
Jack clenched his jaw and he wanted to hit something. Pull his hair out, throw something, freeze the entire fortress, he didn't know. He felt something bubbling dangerously in his stomach and he was just a few seconds away from losing it when he heard clapping.
His head snapped up, eyes zeroing in on the far side of the room where a dark figure stood, slowly clapping its hands together as it watched him. There was a pair of small, round eyes that glinted white off the beam of light from his staff and for once he felt his blood run cold.
The figure chuckled darkly and the sound resonated in Jack's gut. He felt Alice slump against him and he didn't realize it but her eyes were no longer clouded. She panted against him and he held her close, tensing when the figure took another step inside the room.
"Bravo. I must say that was a valiant effort," the creature praised, chilling voice sounding vaguely amused. "Very heroic, honoring the old legend of true love's kiss saving the damsel in distress. You're old school. I like it," he nodded, pointing at Jack with a long bony finger. He grinned, his mouth stretching up the side of his leathery face and his razor sharp teeth glinted silver in the blackness of the room.
Jack slowly lowered his hands from Alice's face down to her arms, gripping them tightly before he pulled her to his side.
"You're not getting her," he stated lowly. He tried to steady his trembling hands as he moved her to where she was standing behind him. She gripped his shoulder as she came to, glancing around his arm at the creature blocking their only exit. "You'll have to go through me first."
Rumpelstiltskin laughed, the loud maniacal sound bouncing off the walls as if threatening to make them crumble down.
"Oh you don't have to worry about that," he announced jovially. "She's not what I'm here for. This has never been about her or the boy."
Jack squinted in suspicion at the creature as he grinned widely. He felt something coil painfully in his stomach as he began to stitch the pieces together. Rumpelstiltskin gave him another appraising nod, mouth growing impossibly wider as he smiled.
"I must say, I have been very, very eager to meet you, Jack Frost."
A/N: So the explanation of the super long wait for this chapter is on my profile. Yes, I know I'm an idiot. But at least it's finally out. I'm so amazed that this story now has over 100 favorites and follows. You guys are the best and reading your reviews still makes my day :)
So the next chapter is going to be mostly action-packed and then the story's going to focus a lot on Alice and Jack which I'm so excited for. Thank you for all the feedback! Let me know what you think of this chapter and what you think is going to happen. I love hearing all your theories. Hopefully it won't take as long for me to get the next chapter out! Until next time xoxo
~blair
(also wow we reached the one year anniversary of this story, I can't believe it's been that long! when I posted this I was almost 22 and now I'm getting ready to turn 23. crazy how time flies, huh?)
