General Samien walked up to his room, searching for someplace quiet to think. "You must be thinking," a voice behind him said. A well-dressed young man stood there, leaning against the wall, playing with the folds of his cape. He smirked when Samien glanced up. "After all, little else could cause you to look as though you are in such pain."
"Spare me the witticisms," Samien ground out.
"Oh, but my good Samien. You're usually so full of them. Why should mine bother you?"
"...Because yours are terrible."
"That hurt."
"Away, snake."
"Oh. That stung too," the young man said dryly. "You could certainly say that, couldn't you?"
"Stop poisoning my ears," Samien snapped. "I came here to get peace, not a pathetic ingrate with a forked tongue chattering around."
"I understand that you had a little run-in with Faith," the young man said in a pseudo-innocent voice, studying his slender, gloved hands. Samien knew what was coming, and turned away. "I also understand that it didn't go too well." Here the young man peered up at Samien from the corner of his eye.
"You hear much, yet I notice that it is always you who hides behind the Queen's power, while I am the one that enforces it. I am the one who gets onto the battlefield."
"You spoke to her," he said ominously. "Do I detect a tryst?"
"You see too much and comprehend too little," Samien said.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" the younger man demanded.
"What I mean is that only you can observe two people exchanging death threats and believe it to be vows of love. And a snake is too good for you. You are nothing more than a maggot - a cowardly maggot that I could squash with my boot at any given moment."
"And only you could assume that I meant it was a lover's meeting." He seemed to recover quickly enough.
"You, yourself said it," Samien replied mildly. The younger man gnashed his teeth in frustration. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Maggot, I wish for some rest. Some advice. Brush up on your wit. If wits were a battle, you would be thoroughly unarmed. Good day."
The young man lingered long after Samien had gone into his room. "You will pay for all of these insults, for all of the torment you put me through. I don't know how, but I WILL make you pay." He turned quickly and stalked off, his cape billowing behind him. "You will pay."
Samien leaned his head against the doorjamb. He was out of patience for the cocky young man who had swept into court one day, announcing that he had found a rebel hideaway. It was empty when the soldiers reached there, but there was a map with a few other hideouts marked on it.
His forces had been deployed, but most ventures were unsuccessful. It turned out that the map was very old; a historical relic from the days of Alice. His troops were not blamed, but neither was the bold, arrogant young man who had wasted his time on a wild goose chase. The Queen seemed to like him.
Then he had uncovered another hideaway, a recent one this time. They had captured a few rebels that had lingered and subsequently executed them for treason. None of them had been important. However, he had discovered something that he could later use to his advantage. Something that could turn the tables on his dear old... friend.
Now the Queen led Faith. Through the streets and into the palace through the Queen's way, coming straight into the courtyard. "My husband!" she called.
"My Queen!" the King took off, hopping one square at a time as she dashed to him, and she covered much more distance at her smooth, fast glide. They met and embraced with relief. Many of the chess pieces averted their eyes, and decided that Faith was a good enough distraction.
She merely stood against the wall, playing with her knife and waiting for the King to get around to answering her questions.
"Come, my Queen, we must talk strategy now," the King said. Faith heard and jumped forward.
"Wait a minute!" she yelled. "What about the answers you promised me?" The King turned.
"Oh. I had quite forgotten about you. Forgive me."
"Wait. You think that you can just blow me off and then expect me to pretend it never happened?" she glared at him. "I don't know if any answers that you can give me can compensate."
The King drew forwards angrily, but the Queen laid a light hand on his arm. She spoke to him for a moment, and he finally nodded. "Come with us," he said finally.
Faith nodded mutely and followed. Suddenly she felt very guilty. And beyond that, it was in front of his men. By the time they reached the council room, Faith was feeling positively afraid. She tried to speak an apology several times on the way there, but the words would stick in her throat and refuse to come out, despite her desperate attempts to the contrary.
"In here," the King said brusquely. Faith nodded and slunk into the room.
The first thing that she noticed was the huge desk that stood in the centre. On it were various maps, diagrams and charts that gave the approximate position of the enemy, both in Looking-Glass Land and others, from the Fortress of Doors to Dementia to some place that she had never heard of before. Land of Fire and Brimstone. Sounded pleasant. Queen of Hearts Land. Even better.
She studied the maps on the table for a little while. "Are these maps current?" she found herself asking.
The King started. "Yes. The three on top were delivered yesterday by runner."
Faith studied them. "These are the rebels?" she asked, pointing to a small hollow beyond Dementia. The King nodded. "How many are there?" she asked.
"Rebels? Hmm... I would guess about sixty." Faith stared hard.
"How many card guards?"
"About three hundred. There's an outpost there," and he pointed. Faith nodded.
"I know. I've been there." The King was visibly surprised. "Its weakness is the tunnel," she said, pointing, and drawing a small correction with a quill she had found. "If that tunnel is blocked or collapsed, they won't be able to get through. It's quite narrow in parts, even for a card guard."
The King checked the map, and sighed dubiously. "No rebel has gone that far and lived," he said simply. "The mapping is very uncertain."
"If there's another way; another opening, I didn't explore it. But the tunnel I went through led to their mess hall."
"What happened there?"
"I met a spider... and walked through peanut butter. I forgot what happened; the spider poked me and I went all woozy."
"Then how do you know what it was like?"
"Well... I went there. It's a short tunnel, and it leads underground. If something big and heavy enough stopped up the entrance, you would have at least eighty trapped diamond guards."
The White King looked hard at it. "I will alert the resident rebels," he said simply. "They can decide for themselves if it will work."
"Oh!" she muttered, remembering, and withdrew the maps that she had taken from the dead card guards. "These may help, too. It's the layout of the Fortress of Doors, and it has the card guards' positions on it," she handed it to him, and he smiled now.
"This will be of great service. Thank you, Faith." He placed them with a small pile of papers on his desk.
"You're welcome... by the way," she said quietly. He turned. "I'm sorry. I don't really know why I said all of that back there."
He nodded. "I do. Take some time, and the answer will come. That is one answer that I will not give you. Try it honestly; don't try rationalization or justification. Just think about it.
"Now, what do you wish me to answer?" He sat down on a small, practical throne that looked great for thinking.
"The Cheshire Cat told me that I would get instructions when I met the Pale Royals. But can I hold onto that for a moment?"
"Of course. Is something else on your mind?"
Faith hesitated. "What do you know of General Samien?"
The Pale King spat. "Only that his forces have been a thorn in the sides of the rebels; with their raids, spies..."
"Spies?"
"Yes," the White Queen answered. "It was because of an unknown spy that I was captured. But there has been word that there is a young man in the ranks; he is almost set to top even the General."
"He discovers much vital information somehow. He must have ties to our inner circle." The King sighed, exasperated even thinking of the young man.
"But... let me try to understand. General Samien is much more hated than this young man, but the young man is becoming a great favourite of the Queen?"
"General Samien is much more well known, though his ascent to the top was just as fast. Most of the rebels around Dementia and the woods have never seen him. But those of us here in the Pale Realm loathe him, or at least his forces," the Queen frowned.
"The general is also much more recognisable. He frequently gets into the middle of battles, whereas I do not believe that anyone alive has seen this young man's face," the King agreed.
"Then how do we know that he's young?" Faith asked, perplexed. The King and Queen shared a pointed look.
"Faith," the Queen said quietly, "she never chooses old men. Only young ones."
"And, from what I understand, handsome ones," the King shrugged.
"Probably compensating for the King," the Queen grumbled.
"I can certainly understand your point of view there, Dear," the King grimaced. "The King is not the most attractive of individuals."
Faith paused. Samien was handsome, doubtless. However, he was also evil, and undoubtedly heartless. She didn't need to remind herself of that part at all. "Does he completely control all of the troops?"
"Mostly, though they do go out on random, unsupervised raids. The attack on the women and children, for example. Even Samien wouldn't stoop so low as to attack them."
"But he would stoop as low as to play Cat-and-Mouse with his army and me," Faith muttered disgustedly.
"You are different. He seems to have a rather accurate idea as to what you are capable of," the Queen pointed out.
"I suppose," Faith admitted. "But he as good as told me that it would be against his army, not him."
The King and Queen looked at each other again, though this was a much more satisfied exchange. The King spoke. "If I was informed correctly, you essentially replied that you would kill any pieces he sent after you... Faith, you have the ace in your hand now! You have them afraid."
She nodded. "I know. But I'm just one person. How can one person make the best play against thousands?"
"Through effort, courage, persistence, and all three pieces of this," the King replied, handing her a long, polished black staff. It stood about five and a half feet tall, which meant that Faith couldn't measure up even when she stood on her toes. "That is not the whole thing, mind you. Alice's original was totally destroyed in her battle against the Queen. A new one formed. Will it be more potent? Less? Equal? I cannot say."
"What exactly is it?" she asked, already wondering how they expected her to tote it (and everything else) around with her all of the time.
"This is part of the Jabberwock Eye Scythe... progeny of the Jabberwock Eye Staff," Cat's silky voice sounded just behind her. She turned slowly, not wanting to hit him with the stick. "The same rules apply as with the original staff, though. Combined, they are one of the most potent toys you will find here. Unfortunately, without all of the pieces, each is worth less than a gambler's trust fund."
Faith stared down at it. "Oh," she said. "Great."
They all stared at her. "So excited," the Queen said doubtfully.
"Well, it's great, it really is. But am I going to have to carry this with me while I'm running around fighting? When it's totally useless?" Reluctantly, they nodded.
"What was the Jabberwock doing here earlier?" she asked suddenly. They both faded somewhat in colour.
"Jabberwock... here?" Faith nodded. Cat thought.
"Looking for you, I'd imagine."
"And why did Rabbit get so nervous about the clouds in the fort?"
The King answered, his voice slightly higher in pitch than normal. "That is... its way of letting the Queen know he's found you. The red shows her exactly where you are." Faith stared.
"Faith, I cannot give you any more advice until you-"
"Do you another favour," she sighed. They nodded again. "Why? I rescued the Queen, you promised -"
"Faith, this really would be more of a favour to all of the chess pieces, as opposed to just us. Please. Only you can do it," the Queen said.
Faith wasn't sure she liked where this was headed. "What must I do?"
"You must kill the Red King. He is the supreme force in Looking-Glass land, but he himself is weak." The King got up and paced for a few minutes. "Doubtless many pieces have tried; indeed, many of our best and bravest have challenged him, but he is too strong for them. But you... you can do this."
"Well," Faith said, trying to force her vocal chords to work properly again. "Why is he too strong?"
"He bears a few weapons unnatural to a chess piece," Cat purred. "But you seem of the opinion that Card Guards are weak enough."
"But I've only faced diamonds and clubs so far!" Faith exclaimed.
"True," Cat conceded. "But he does not have the heart cards' weapons, and you will doubtless meet a spade or two once in his domain."
Faith felt a heavy sense of dread growing in the pit of her stomach. "What are the hearts?"
"If he is as he was the last time someone got it into their head to challenge him, then he won't need the weapons of his heart guards," the King shrugged. The Queen scowled, but not at him.
"The other card guards are annoying enough, but hearts are just plain mean."
Faith paused. "How about we stop focusing on the hearts and start focusing on how to get me into his Keep without... erm, getting wet?"
"You've spent entirely too much time with the Cheshire Cat," the King smiled. Cat raised an eyebrow.
"She spends more time with the White Rabbit than she does with me."
Faith gaped at him in disbelief. "Are you leaving me, Cat?" she chided, though she felt a little confused as to what he meant.
"Of course not, pet. I merely thought that I would clarify who you've spent entirely too much time with." His tail flicked back and forth languidly, but he kept his eyes on her.
"Well then," she said, finding her 'confident' voice. "Care to join me? Have a little bonding-over-killing-something session?"
"Unfortunately, I find that it is in my nature to bond more over riddles than blood. But I can assure you that once you can solve one of them on your own, in under ten minutes, then we'll have sufficiently bonded."
Faith groaned and turned to the royals. The Queen smiled and wished her luck. The King was a little more solemn. "Though it is likely that you go to your doom, good luck, Faith." She could only stare in slack-jawed disbelief. Even now, he was still expecting her to die! But then, she had never seen the Red King, so she knew that he could very well be right.
It was a surprisingly boring voyage back to the Scarlet Dominion. The white pieces cheered and waved her off, though the ones that seemed to know where she was going waved black handkerchiefs and shed a tear or two. Faith could really only roll her eyes at this.
It was in short order that she reached the boundary between the whites and the reds, and when she saw it again she realised just how little she felt like going back in there. The colour combination of black and red generally speeds up one's heart rate and adrenaline, and it worked fantastically on her already frayed nerves.
"Can things get any worse?" she muttered, stepping into a rather peculiarly shaped lift. It carried her up to a narrow red pathway, and the doors slowly creaked open at the raised bridge. Things only got worse after that. A group of three diamonds, one club and two spades came running out of the tower on the other side, stopping in the middle and preparing to charge. The diamonds and the spades started firing, and the spades' missiles had a rather nasty tendency to explode on impacting whatever they hit. She dodged them at first until she felt she had been singed enough, and took out the ice wand and charged.
The ones that she hit (all but one spade) were all blown back several feet, allowing her and the spade ample room for combat. "Why don't ye put oway yer pretty wee staff and fight me 'onestly, eh? Yer 'ave a ravver unfair advantage; in fact, right, it's only cowardice."
Faith shrugged. "I just thought it was an easier way to kill your kind." Her eyes sparkled, rather wickedly. "Gosh, what will the survivors think when I get my next weapon?"
She slid the wand away and took out her knife. Its newly cleaned blade shone red, reflecting the light of the stars. The spade looked like he seriously wanted to back away from her and run, but his darting gaze travelled behind her and he stiffened abruptly. Then he charged with a loud yell. She was startled but raised the knife, entirely ready for him.
He brought his spear down hard but she knocked it out of the way and attacked, aiming for his upper-centre region. He twisted away just in time and brought his spear down again, trying to lunge for her. She stepped out of the way quickly, and shoved her knife into his lowered head as he came at her.
It jammed through his skull, and she heard the familiar cracking again and inwardly winced as a fine mist of blood sprayed out, which she hurriedly backed away from.
Straight into someone's arms.
"Spare me the witticisms," Samien ground out.
"Oh, but my good Samien. You're usually so full of them. Why should mine bother you?"
"...Because yours are terrible."
"That hurt."
"Away, snake."
"Oh. That stung too," the young man said dryly. "You could certainly say that, couldn't you?"
"Stop poisoning my ears," Samien snapped. "I came here to get peace, not a pathetic ingrate with a forked tongue chattering around."
"I understand that you had a little run-in with Faith," the young man said in a pseudo-innocent voice, studying his slender, gloved hands. Samien knew what was coming, and turned away. "I also understand that it didn't go too well." Here the young man peered up at Samien from the corner of his eye.
"You hear much, yet I notice that it is always you who hides behind the Queen's power, while I am the one that enforces it. I am the one who gets onto the battlefield."
"You spoke to her," he said ominously. "Do I detect a tryst?"
"You see too much and comprehend too little," Samien said.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" the younger man demanded.
"What I mean is that only you can observe two people exchanging death threats and believe it to be vows of love. And a snake is too good for you. You are nothing more than a maggot - a cowardly maggot that I could squash with my boot at any given moment."
"And only you could assume that I meant it was a lover's meeting." He seemed to recover quickly enough.
"You, yourself said it," Samien replied mildly. The younger man gnashed his teeth in frustration. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Maggot, I wish for some rest. Some advice. Brush up on your wit. If wits were a battle, you would be thoroughly unarmed. Good day."
The young man lingered long after Samien had gone into his room. "You will pay for all of these insults, for all of the torment you put me through. I don't know how, but I WILL make you pay." He turned quickly and stalked off, his cape billowing behind him. "You will pay."
Samien leaned his head against the doorjamb. He was out of patience for the cocky young man who had swept into court one day, announcing that he had found a rebel hideaway. It was empty when the soldiers reached there, but there was a map with a few other hideouts marked on it.
His forces had been deployed, but most ventures were unsuccessful. It turned out that the map was very old; a historical relic from the days of Alice. His troops were not blamed, but neither was the bold, arrogant young man who had wasted his time on a wild goose chase. The Queen seemed to like him.
Then he had uncovered another hideaway, a recent one this time. They had captured a few rebels that had lingered and subsequently executed them for treason. None of them had been important. However, he had discovered something that he could later use to his advantage. Something that could turn the tables on his dear old... friend.
Now the Queen led Faith. Through the streets and into the palace through the Queen's way, coming straight into the courtyard. "My husband!" she called.
"My Queen!" the King took off, hopping one square at a time as she dashed to him, and she covered much more distance at her smooth, fast glide. They met and embraced with relief. Many of the chess pieces averted their eyes, and decided that Faith was a good enough distraction.
She merely stood against the wall, playing with her knife and waiting for the King to get around to answering her questions.
"Come, my Queen, we must talk strategy now," the King said. Faith heard and jumped forward.
"Wait a minute!" she yelled. "What about the answers you promised me?" The King turned.
"Oh. I had quite forgotten about you. Forgive me."
"Wait. You think that you can just blow me off and then expect me to pretend it never happened?" she glared at him. "I don't know if any answers that you can give me can compensate."
The King drew forwards angrily, but the Queen laid a light hand on his arm. She spoke to him for a moment, and he finally nodded. "Come with us," he said finally.
Faith nodded mutely and followed. Suddenly she felt very guilty. And beyond that, it was in front of his men. By the time they reached the council room, Faith was feeling positively afraid. She tried to speak an apology several times on the way there, but the words would stick in her throat and refuse to come out, despite her desperate attempts to the contrary.
"In here," the King said brusquely. Faith nodded and slunk into the room.
The first thing that she noticed was the huge desk that stood in the centre. On it were various maps, diagrams and charts that gave the approximate position of the enemy, both in Looking-Glass Land and others, from the Fortress of Doors to Dementia to some place that she had never heard of before. Land of Fire and Brimstone. Sounded pleasant. Queen of Hearts Land. Even better.
She studied the maps on the table for a little while. "Are these maps current?" she found herself asking.
The King started. "Yes. The three on top were delivered yesterday by runner."
Faith studied them. "These are the rebels?" she asked, pointing to a small hollow beyond Dementia. The King nodded. "How many are there?" she asked.
"Rebels? Hmm... I would guess about sixty." Faith stared hard.
"How many card guards?"
"About three hundred. There's an outpost there," and he pointed. Faith nodded.
"I know. I've been there." The King was visibly surprised. "Its weakness is the tunnel," she said, pointing, and drawing a small correction with a quill she had found. "If that tunnel is blocked or collapsed, they won't be able to get through. It's quite narrow in parts, even for a card guard."
The King checked the map, and sighed dubiously. "No rebel has gone that far and lived," he said simply. "The mapping is very uncertain."
"If there's another way; another opening, I didn't explore it. But the tunnel I went through led to their mess hall."
"What happened there?"
"I met a spider... and walked through peanut butter. I forgot what happened; the spider poked me and I went all woozy."
"Then how do you know what it was like?"
"Well... I went there. It's a short tunnel, and it leads underground. If something big and heavy enough stopped up the entrance, you would have at least eighty trapped diamond guards."
The White King looked hard at it. "I will alert the resident rebels," he said simply. "They can decide for themselves if it will work."
"Oh!" she muttered, remembering, and withdrew the maps that she had taken from the dead card guards. "These may help, too. It's the layout of the Fortress of Doors, and it has the card guards' positions on it," she handed it to him, and he smiled now.
"This will be of great service. Thank you, Faith." He placed them with a small pile of papers on his desk.
"You're welcome... by the way," she said quietly. He turned. "I'm sorry. I don't really know why I said all of that back there."
He nodded. "I do. Take some time, and the answer will come. That is one answer that I will not give you. Try it honestly; don't try rationalization or justification. Just think about it.
"Now, what do you wish me to answer?" He sat down on a small, practical throne that looked great for thinking.
"The Cheshire Cat told me that I would get instructions when I met the Pale Royals. But can I hold onto that for a moment?"
"Of course. Is something else on your mind?"
Faith hesitated. "What do you know of General Samien?"
The Pale King spat. "Only that his forces have been a thorn in the sides of the rebels; with their raids, spies..."
"Spies?"
"Yes," the White Queen answered. "It was because of an unknown spy that I was captured. But there has been word that there is a young man in the ranks; he is almost set to top even the General."
"He discovers much vital information somehow. He must have ties to our inner circle." The King sighed, exasperated even thinking of the young man.
"But... let me try to understand. General Samien is much more hated than this young man, but the young man is becoming a great favourite of the Queen?"
"General Samien is much more well known, though his ascent to the top was just as fast. Most of the rebels around Dementia and the woods have never seen him. But those of us here in the Pale Realm loathe him, or at least his forces," the Queen frowned.
"The general is also much more recognisable. He frequently gets into the middle of battles, whereas I do not believe that anyone alive has seen this young man's face," the King agreed.
"Then how do we know that he's young?" Faith asked, perplexed. The King and Queen shared a pointed look.
"Faith," the Queen said quietly, "she never chooses old men. Only young ones."
"And, from what I understand, handsome ones," the King shrugged.
"Probably compensating for the King," the Queen grumbled.
"I can certainly understand your point of view there, Dear," the King grimaced. "The King is not the most attractive of individuals."
Faith paused. Samien was handsome, doubtless. However, he was also evil, and undoubtedly heartless. She didn't need to remind herself of that part at all. "Does he completely control all of the troops?"
"Mostly, though they do go out on random, unsupervised raids. The attack on the women and children, for example. Even Samien wouldn't stoop so low as to attack them."
"But he would stoop as low as to play Cat-and-Mouse with his army and me," Faith muttered disgustedly.
"You are different. He seems to have a rather accurate idea as to what you are capable of," the Queen pointed out.
"I suppose," Faith admitted. "But he as good as told me that it would be against his army, not him."
The King and Queen looked at each other again, though this was a much more satisfied exchange. The King spoke. "If I was informed correctly, you essentially replied that you would kill any pieces he sent after you... Faith, you have the ace in your hand now! You have them afraid."
She nodded. "I know. But I'm just one person. How can one person make the best play against thousands?"
"Through effort, courage, persistence, and all three pieces of this," the King replied, handing her a long, polished black staff. It stood about five and a half feet tall, which meant that Faith couldn't measure up even when she stood on her toes. "That is not the whole thing, mind you. Alice's original was totally destroyed in her battle against the Queen. A new one formed. Will it be more potent? Less? Equal? I cannot say."
"What exactly is it?" she asked, already wondering how they expected her to tote it (and everything else) around with her all of the time.
"This is part of the Jabberwock Eye Scythe... progeny of the Jabberwock Eye Staff," Cat's silky voice sounded just behind her. She turned slowly, not wanting to hit him with the stick. "The same rules apply as with the original staff, though. Combined, they are one of the most potent toys you will find here. Unfortunately, without all of the pieces, each is worth less than a gambler's trust fund."
Faith stared down at it. "Oh," she said. "Great."
They all stared at her. "So excited," the Queen said doubtfully.
"Well, it's great, it really is. But am I going to have to carry this with me while I'm running around fighting? When it's totally useless?" Reluctantly, they nodded.
"What was the Jabberwock doing here earlier?" she asked suddenly. They both faded somewhat in colour.
"Jabberwock... here?" Faith nodded. Cat thought.
"Looking for you, I'd imagine."
"And why did Rabbit get so nervous about the clouds in the fort?"
The King answered, his voice slightly higher in pitch than normal. "That is... its way of letting the Queen know he's found you. The red shows her exactly where you are." Faith stared.
"Faith, I cannot give you any more advice until you-"
"Do you another favour," she sighed. They nodded again. "Why? I rescued the Queen, you promised -"
"Faith, this really would be more of a favour to all of the chess pieces, as opposed to just us. Please. Only you can do it," the Queen said.
Faith wasn't sure she liked where this was headed. "What must I do?"
"You must kill the Red King. He is the supreme force in Looking-Glass land, but he himself is weak." The King got up and paced for a few minutes. "Doubtless many pieces have tried; indeed, many of our best and bravest have challenged him, but he is too strong for them. But you... you can do this."
"Well," Faith said, trying to force her vocal chords to work properly again. "Why is he too strong?"
"He bears a few weapons unnatural to a chess piece," Cat purred. "But you seem of the opinion that Card Guards are weak enough."
"But I've only faced diamonds and clubs so far!" Faith exclaimed.
"True," Cat conceded. "But he does not have the heart cards' weapons, and you will doubtless meet a spade or two once in his domain."
Faith felt a heavy sense of dread growing in the pit of her stomach. "What are the hearts?"
"If he is as he was the last time someone got it into their head to challenge him, then he won't need the weapons of his heart guards," the King shrugged. The Queen scowled, but not at him.
"The other card guards are annoying enough, but hearts are just plain mean."
Faith paused. "How about we stop focusing on the hearts and start focusing on how to get me into his Keep without... erm, getting wet?"
"You've spent entirely too much time with the Cheshire Cat," the King smiled. Cat raised an eyebrow.
"She spends more time with the White Rabbit than she does with me."
Faith gaped at him in disbelief. "Are you leaving me, Cat?" she chided, though she felt a little confused as to what he meant.
"Of course not, pet. I merely thought that I would clarify who you've spent entirely too much time with." His tail flicked back and forth languidly, but he kept his eyes on her.
"Well then," she said, finding her 'confident' voice. "Care to join me? Have a little bonding-over-killing-something session?"
"Unfortunately, I find that it is in my nature to bond more over riddles than blood. But I can assure you that once you can solve one of them on your own, in under ten minutes, then we'll have sufficiently bonded."
Faith groaned and turned to the royals. The Queen smiled and wished her luck. The King was a little more solemn. "Though it is likely that you go to your doom, good luck, Faith." She could only stare in slack-jawed disbelief. Even now, he was still expecting her to die! But then, she had never seen the Red King, so she knew that he could very well be right.
It was a surprisingly boring voyage back to the Scarlet Dominion. The white pieces cheered and waved her off, though the ones that seemed to know where she was going waved black handkerchiefs and shed a tear or two. Faith could really only roll her eyes at this.
It was in short order that she reached the boundary between the whites and the reds, and when she saw it again she realised just how little she felt like going back in there. The colour combination of black and red generally speeds up one's heart rate and adrenaline, and it worked fantastically on her already frayed nerves.
"Can things get any worse?" she muttered, stepping into a rather peculiarly shaped lift. It carried her up to a narrow red pathway, and the doors slowly creaked open at the raised bridge. Things only got worse after that. A group of three diamonds, one club and two spades came running out of the tower on the other side, stopping in the middle and preparing to charge. The diamonds and the spades started firing, and the spades' missiles had a rather nasty tendency to explode on impacting whatever they hit. She dodged them at first until she felt she had been singed enough, and took out the ice wand and charged.
The ones that she hit (all but one spade) were all blown back several feet, allowing her and the spade ample room for combat. "Why don't ye put oway yer pretty wee staff and fight me 'onestly, eh? Yer 'ave a ravver unfair advantage; in fact, right, it's only cowardice."
Faith shrugged. "I just thought it was an easier way to kill your kind." Her eyes sparkled, rather wickedly. "Gosh, what will the survivors think when I get my next weapon?"
She slid the wand away and took out her knife. Its newly cleaned blade shone red, reflecting the light of the stars. The spade looked like he seriously wanted to back away from her and run, but his darting gaze travelled behind her and he stiffened abruptly. Then he charged with a loud yell. She was startled but raised the knife, entirely ready for him.
He brought his spear down hard but she knocked it out of the way and attacked, aiming for his upper-centre region. He twisted away just in time and brought his spear down again, trying to lunge for her. She stepped out of the way quickly, and shoved her knife into his lowered head as he came at her.
It jammed through his skull, and she heard the familiar cracking again and inwardly winced as a fine mist of blood sprayed out, which she hurriedly backed away from.
Straight into someone's arms.