ALiCE in WoNDeRLaND
-21-
"I haven't ever been to the Queen's castle, have I?" I realized.
The guys haven't even tried to start walking again. I think they were tired, both physically as well as mentally or emotionally. I didn't think they were capable of being tired, for some reason.
Nam looked defeated, even though he had just told me that we weren't going to talk about this. "No."
"Why now? Why are we so far away from it? Why were we in the glass house and not someplace else, closer, nearby?" I demanded.
"We're not exactly in WoNDeRLaND right now," Zione said forcefully, as if it pained him to talk about it. "We're... somewhere else, and there's a reason for that."
Zale nodded in agreement. "We had to leave WoNDeRLaND."
"Why?" I asked, even though I was pretty sure they were about to tell me.
All five of them sat down on the ground at once, practically falling, actually. I stared, and carefully lowered myself to the concrete.
"It's not safe there anymore," Zione explained. "It's like AMA, but worse. It's... dead. Deader than this, even, if you can imagine. The sun is gone, it's this eternal fog, this cloud that's just stuck on the ground, and... her people are everywhere. Magic people, ALiCE, like you, who were torn from their homes and brainwashed into doing her bidding. We had to get away from there."
"One of the associates told us about this place," Miyka'el continued. "'Go through the looking glass,' they said. And we'd be safe, because... there aren't any looking glasses left in WoNDeRLaND, except for the one that leads to this house."
"In the bushes!" I remembered. "That's how I got here, in my dream... thing. The Rabbit and I, we jumped into the brush and then we..."
"The Rabbit is dead," Miyka'el interrupted me. I was shocked, obviously. "And if not then he's very well close to it."
"How can you tell?" I asked in disbelief.
Zale pulled at a chain that had hung almost hidden under his collar and shirt. It was the pocket watch. The Rabbit's pocket watch.
I gasped, a small squeakish sound, and covered my face with my hands. As I watched, all the guys pulled at various parts of their clothing to reveal pieces of the creatures they had left behind.
Zione, with his Caterpillar boots, stored the insect's hookah in his left shoe, probably for good luck as well as for occasional recreational activities. Aurick had the smallest teapot I had ever seen tucked away into one of his many pockets, while Nam stood with his hands in his pockets, deciding for the moment, it seemed, not to reveal his treasure. And Miyka'el...
I gasped once more as he pulled out a small, tarnished crown. That he had it and Zale didn't seemed very strange to me, but I could only think of the fact that I now had undeniable proof that the King of Hearts was indeed gone, or missing, or whatever had happened to him.
I leaned back on almost fell onto the pavement. "Why do you have all these things?"
"We had to leave them behind, ALiCE," Nam told me, as if he was trying to convince himself more than me. "We just had to go, and there wasn't any time, and... when we came back, they were gone. The King's castle is in ruins, the surrounding towns destroyed, and all that remains is the Queen's monstrosity."
I paused for a moment. "Why are we walking out here if the way to WoNDeRLaND is through a piece of glass? We were just in the Glass House."
"The Looking Glass to WoNDeRLaND is gone," Zione announced, pulling his pants back over his boots and getting back up to his feet. The others did the same, as did I. "It was stolen, right before your amnesia returned. We're looking for it; that's what Fiore is tracing. We believe it's in the Queen's castle."
"But that's in WoNDeRLaND. If it was taken from here to WoNDeRLaND, then there's no way to get back there, right?" I asked frantically.
Nam shook his head. "We think, according to Fiore and the rest, that if we can get to the place where the mirrors exist in WoNDeRLaND, then..."
"Wait a minute." I stopped him. "Both of the mirrors are in the Queen's castle?" I thought back to the sound of footsteps that the Rabbit and I had heard. "She took the other one as well?"
***
-21-
"I haven't ever been to the Queen's castle, have I?" I realized.
The guys haven't even tried to start walking again. I think they were tired, both physically as well as mentally or emotionally. I didn't think they were capable of being tired, for some reason.
Nam looked defeated, even though he had just told me that we weren't going to talk about this. "No."
"Why now? Why are we so far away from it? Why were we in the glass house and not someplace else, closer, nearby?" I demanded.
"We're not exactly in WoNDeRLaND right now," Zione said forcefully, as if it pained him to talk about it. "We're... somewhere else, and there's a reason for that."
Zale nodded in agreement. "We had to leave WoNDeRLaND."
"Why?" I asked, even though I was pretty sure they were about to tell me.
All five of them sat down on the ground at once, practically falling, actually. I stared, and carefully lowered myself to the concrete.
"It's not safe there anymore," Zione explained. "It's like AMA, but worse. It's... dead. Deader than this, even, if you can imagine. The sun is gone, it's this eternal fog, this cloud that's just stuck on the ground, and... her people are everywhere. Magic people, ALiCE, like you, who were torn from their homes and brainwashed into doing her bidding. We had to get away from there."
"One of the associates told us about this place," Miyka'el continued. "'Go through the looking glass,' they said. And we'd be safe, because... there aren't any looking glasses left in WoNDeRLaND, except for the one that leads to this house."
"In the bushes!" I remembered. "That's how I got here, in my dream... thing. The Rabbit and I, we jumped into the brush and then we..."
"The Rabbit is dead," Miyka'el interrupted me. I was shocked, obviously. "And if not then he's very well close to it."
"How can you tell?" I asked in disbelief.
Zale pulled at a chain that had hung almost hidden under his collar and shirt. It was the pocket watch. The Rabbit's pocket watch.
I gasped, a small squeakish sound, and covered my face with my hands. As I watched, all the guys pulled at various parts of their clothing to reveal pieces of the creatures they had left behind.
Zione, with his Caterpillar boots, stored the insect's hookah in his left shoe, probably for good luck as well as for occasional recreational activities. Aurick had the smallest teapot I had ever seen tucked away into one of his many pockets, while Nam stood with his hands in his pockets, deciding for the moment, it seemed, not to reveal his treasure. And Miyka'el...
I gasped once more as he pulled out a small, tarnished crown. That he had it and Zale didn't seemed very strange to me, but I could only think of the fact that I now had undeniable proof that the King of Hearts was indeed gone, or missing, or whatever had happened to him.
I leaned back on almost fell onto the pavement. "Why do you have all these things?"
"We had to leave them behind, ALiCE," Nam told me, as if he was trying to convince himself more than me. "We just had to go, and there wasn't any time, and... when we came back, they were gone. The King's castle is in ruins, the surrounding towns destroyed, and all that remains is the Queen's monstrosity."
I paused for a moment. "Why are we walking out here if the way to WoNDeRLaND is through a piece of glass? We were just in the Glass House."
"The Looking Glass to WoNDeRLaND is gone," Zione announced, pulling his pants back over his boots and getting back up to his feet. The others did the same, as did I. "It was stolen, right before your amnesia returned. We're looking for it; that's what Fiore is tracing. We believe it's in the Queen's castle."
"But that's in WoNDeRLaND. If it was taken from here to WoNDeRLaND, then there's no way to get back there, right?" I asked frantically.
Nam shook his head. "We think, according to Fiore and the rest, that if we can get to the place where the mirrors exist in WoNDeRLaND, then..."
"Wait a minute." I stopped him. "Both of the mirrors are in the Queen's castle?" I thought back to the sound of footsteps that the Rabbit and I had heard. "She took the other one as well?"
***