The Rainy Road and the area surrounding it were aptly named. Fat raindrops dripped down from the canopy overhead, sparse in some areas thanks to the density of the trees, and near deluges in others where the water gathered on the strangely wide leaves of some of the trees, causing them to bend down and release the water in mini torrents. Alice sighed and tugged her hood farther over her head. Two days of this and she was already over it.
Her movement attracted the princess' attention, the other woman peering at her from the depths of her own waterproof cloak. "Your clothes are well suited for this environment," Az said – and was that a touch of envy? "Are they quite common on the Other Side?"
Az and her entourage had been fascinated with Alice and Hatter's stash from their adventure store haul. Even now, Hatter and Jeb were debating the construction of the gear and clothing. Jeb's horse – Moonshadow, Alice now knew – was left to guide herself, following Az's Freeheart after a quick command from Jeb. Every now and then they would throw questions to her, but there was only so much she could really answer because she was, at the very heart of things, a New Yorker born and bred.
"Well, I guess some people wear them while they're working, if they're a park ranger or a travel blogger or something," Alice responded awkwardly. "The place we got them is a place where people who really like the outdoors. I guess you can say it's targeted towards people who use them recreationally."
Az chuckled. She'd hardly complained about the pace and travel and was definitely of more help setting up camp than Alice. Sure, Alice had tried tracking her father all over the world, but she'd never actually gone to those places in person. Wonderland had been her first taste of something beyond an urban jungle and the last time she'd been there, there wasn't any time to feel out of her depth. That certainly wasn't the case now, and it wasn't a comfortable feeling.
Then there was the magic. Az had warded the camp the past two nights, both protecting them and making them completely invisible to any passers by. Alice tested it the first night out of sheer curiosity, putting a hand against the barrier and finding it completely flat, like a piece of glass.
Magic was so unnerving.
"What a place the Other Side must be," Az mused. "That everyday tasks such as those are considered recreational."
That was the second time she'd referred to Alice's home in that way, like it was familiar and significant. Capitalized, even. "So, in the Outer Zone you guys know about my world too? Do you have a mirror to travel there, like Jack?"
"Magic users have always known about the existence of other worlds," was the steady reply. "Methods have differed on how to breach those barriers. They do exist, but they require a great deal of magic. In the O.Z., we have discovered that a strong enough travel storm can bring people to the Other Side, but it is a rare occurrence, especially now. We have nothing so elegant as Jack's mirror, which must be old magic." She then muttered something under her breath, something that sounded like 'dragon magic' but maybe Alice was hearing things. "He has not allowed me to study it yet."
She sounded so annoyed and so human that Alice couldn't help but laugh. "Maybe someday. You seem pretty strong yourself, have you ever visited my world?"
Az hesitated for so long that Alice began to wonder if she'd offended her in some way. "I have not. My sister, DG, was sent to your world as a child for safekeeping after I-"
"The witch that possessed you," Jeb interrupted from behind them.
"-after the witch killed her and my mother brought her back." She'd gone so silent, so stiff. Was it simply a reflex for her to say "I" because she'd been possessed? What was that even like, and how had she managed to escape with all parts of her personality intact? "When the witch found out she had not succeeded after all, she created another travel storm to bring her back."
"So your sister grew up in my world? Do you know where?"
"She said it was a farm in a place called Kansas."
That made Alice burst out laughing. "A farm in Kansas? A princess from here, with magic and everything, grew up in bumfuck, middle of nowhere Kansas, surrounded by miles and miles of corn?" That sounded so incredibly ridiculous it had to be true.
Az relaxed at her words, and even chuckled quietly. "You know, DG sometimes says it that way, as well. From what I've gathered, she was never quite satisfied with life there and felt like she never belonged."
"The only people who probably feel like they belong in Kansas would have actually grown up alongside all that corn," was the wry response. "Jesus, Kansas."
But something else Az said stuck with her and she worried at her bottom lip for a moment before blurting out, "You said your mother brought your sister back from the dead. You…you can do that over here?" She thought of her dad, how they'd had so little time…
"It's very rare," Az said quietly, looking over her shoulder at Alice once more. Her gaze was solemn and piercing from the depths of her cowl. "I don't know if it's something restricted to my line because of the history of magic in the O.Z. We call it Lurline's Gift." She explained the mythology, how their goddess pulled the Outer Zone from the depths of the desert. "But there's a price. You give up half of your magic, bringing someone back, tying your soul to theirs." Her lips twisted. "And while I know there are more than a few sorcerers in City in the Clouds with the amount of magic to do so, I expect not many of them would choose to make that sacrifice even if they could."
The truth of her statement rolled over Alice, and the brief hope that had sparked in her chest died swiftly and silently. So her father was truly gone, then. A hand closed over hers and she startled, look up into Hatter's knowing gaze. When had Jeb come up beside them?
"Have you lost someone, Alice?" Az's voice was infinitely gentle.
Alice blinked back tears. "Who hasn't?" At least she'd gotten him back, however brief that moment had been. She squeezed Hatter's hand and nodded slightly. She would be okay.
He lifted their hands to his lips, brushing a kiss to her knuckles. Her heart thumped almost painfully in her chest, but in the best possible way. She had Hatter, she had her mother, and she had this adventure ahead of her. That was something to be grateful for.
Their group soon paused for lunch, and Jeb's scouts reappeared. One group had been sent ahead on their path, the other west to see what activity was happening along the Rainy Road. There was nothing more than thick forest ahead of them, the first group reported, and the trees did seem to be getting bigger. The second group found no civilian or merchant traffic on the Rainy Road, and had had to avoid one Spade outpost.
"That's not all that surprising," Hatter said knowledgably after they had delivered their report to Jeb. "If the Quoxian army is making for the border, any merchants coming that way would have made themselves scarce. And since the territory down here is ostensibly Spade…" He shook his head. "A lot of the population moved to the cities anyway, after the coup."
Az frowned, stirring her bowl of soup. Alice had been tickled to see how much their field rations resembled ramen – but good ramen. "Easier access to tea?"
"Precisely." His expression darkened a little at that, and Alice pressed her shoulder to his. She knew how much he hated that part of his history, what he'd done in order to survive. The thing he never seemed to remember, and the thing she'd realized almost too late was that he'd also done his part, running information across to the rebels. Besides, their paths never would have crossed if he'd gone some other way. It was just surprising that she had to be the one to remind him of that, sometimes. Her man was one of many layers.
It was clear that Jeb wanted to ask him something of that history, but now was not the time. Alice shook her head at him, a minute gesture, but he understood immediately, nodding back. He was a good man, she decided. Worthy of trust. "We'll have to ask Glitch if he can produce something as lightweight and packable as those tents of yours. The sleeping bags as well – they would be invaluable to the Riders and many others in the O.Z."
Before Alice could ask who Glitch was, one of the female guards shrieked and stumbled back from her horse's pack. If Alice had forgotten that this group was selected to keep the future queen of the Outer Zone safe, she was forcibly reminded. Everyone reacted so swiftly, forming a defensive perimeter around them, knives and swords glinted in the misty grayness of the day. Az herself was not idle either: her hands were raised and glowing. Even Hatter had sprung to his feet, coming in front of Alice, his fists balled up and at the ready.
"Show yourself, you cowardly knave!" Charlie bellowed, jumping in circles to see if anyone was trying to sneak up on him.
It took everyone a moment to realize that there was something moving and yowling in the dropped pack. A grey blur made its way out and fell to the forest floor, deftly avoiding the horses' hooves, continuing to yowl and hiss. It streaked through the camp, and flew directly to Alice, where it curled, shivering, between her feet. "What the ever loving hell?" she began.
"Is that a cat?" Hatter asked, lowering his hands.
A very familiar cat, actually, but that couldn't be right, Alice thought, remembering the fever dream and a smiling cat before she'd gone back to Wonderland City to face down the Queen of Hearts. This cat had the same coloring, a grey tabby with sizable stripes. It was now purring like mad, apparently recovered from the harrowing experience of stowing away in one of their bags.
"That was not in your bags this morning, was it Guardswoman Hanna?" Jeb asked, sheathing his sword after a quick look at Az, who turned glowing hands in Alice's direction.
"Certainly not, sir!" was the indignant reply. "I triple checked my packs before stowing them away. I cannot think how-"
Az shrugged, the glow fading until just a hint lingered on her fingertips. "Well, it's a perfectly normal cat, no sign of magic traps or compulsions on it." The rest of the guards put away their weapons at that.
The cat butted its head against Alice's hand, begging for attention as she knelt down to inspect it. "Well, if cats over here are anything like cats in my world, they can get anywhere they want if they try hard enough." It purred harder at her words, as if it understood.
"That is true enough," another guardsman – Maja, Alice remembered, volunteered. "I grew up in a house full of them, and you would not believe the places they got into."
The cat was definitely scrawny, its fur slightly matted but not terrible, so it wasn't some person's beloved housecat lost in the wild. It was probably feral though, and Alice racked her brain trying to remember if cats could get rabies and if rabies were even a thing in Wonderland. God, what if there were mutant fleas over here? She did not want to catch the Wonderland equivalent of Lyme disease.
A paw batted at her chin and the cat made a sound that was almost scolding. She sat back down and it flowed in her lap, refusing to be moved as they finished their lunch. She half expected a protest when they finally began to pack up, but it merely twined around her legs, then went to sniff curiously at Hatter, then Charlie, then Jeb and Az, who it sneezed at. It didn't even try to get into any of their bags, and as they set off it simply trotted along, somehow keeping pace and even falling between Az's horse and Jeb's, who had taken the lead.
At one point it looked over its shoulder and made eye contact with Alice, who felt something shiver down her spine in déjà vu. "That's fucking weird," she muttered.
"What's weird, Alice?" Az asked.
Maybe a magic wielding princess who'd been possessed by a witch would understand. "Do you believe in dreams as portents?"
The question threw Az off balance. Frankly, Alice threw her slightly off balance. For some reason, she'd expected Alice to be something like DG. This, of course, was patently absurd. Everything DG had ever told her about the Other Side, everything she'd seen in Mom and Popsicle's vid files told her that it was a place as varied, perhaps even more so, than Nonestica. The people had to be just as different.
Perhaps it was just something about Alice herself rather than Az's expectations of her. She had a level of reserve that was both similar to yet entirely different from the Duchess. From that first meeting in Jack's council chambers to traveling for the last two days, it felt like Alice was weighing everyone and everything around her to some standard that was yet to be explained. Perhaps it was warranted. Giacomo had been allowed to debrief her and Jeb about the full truth (or as much of the full truth that Jack was willing to give) about Alice and the sequence of events that led to the downfall of the Queen of Hearts. It was certainly more than her father had been able to obtain from his network of spies, or even what Jeb had been able to glean ever since they landed in the city.
The parallels between Alice and DG were startling. Two women from the Other Side (semantics aside, DG had spent her formative years there), setting off a sequence of events that led to the downfall of two tyrannical rulers and freeing two countries. They had both served as linchpins. Az wondered, in a fit of grim humor, if bringing another woman from the Other Side would help the situation in Quox.
In any case. Alice was clearly an exceptional woman, one who Az wanted to know better despite her reserve. She couldn't help but feel sympathetic earlier when Alice asked about bringing someone back from the dead. Az knew that type of desperation and grief all too well – the difference was that she'd had the power to do something about it.
And now this. Az could feel the tension coiled in Alice as she sat behind her, and knew that the posed question was more than simply casual.
Oh, but why did it have to be a question of dreams and prophecies? She took a deep breath, settling herself in the only way she knew how. "Magical theorists have written many treatises on the connection between magic and dreams. All humans dream, but with those who are magically inclined, could magic play an amplifying effect? Does it enhance any sort of precognitive ability that might be dormant? These are the kinds of questions they ponder." Alice made no move to interrupt, so she continued. "I am still learning things about my own magic, so I am not quite sure where I stand. At the end of the day, however, I believe that people are more aware of themselves and their circumstances than they realize. Sometimes, that could manifest in a dream that acts like a warning. In those instances, they could seem like portents."
She truly believed that. Magic could be a crutch sometimes and even magic could not substitute for human intuition and observation. It was why she spent as much time as she could with the Riders.
"But what-" Alice cut herself off, frustrated. It was a good answer, but she was beginning to think she wouldn't get the right answer unless she told Az was was going on. Was she was really going to do this, confess the truth of her crazy dreams to a complete stranger when she hadn't been able to bring herself to tell Jack? But then, she'd trusted Hatter within moments of meeting him, and there was a similar sort of feeling with Az. Yes, the woman was intimidating as all get out, especially after that whole travel storm ordeal, but she had just explained herself plainly and truthfully. "What if you've been dreaming of something that has no basis in your everyday reality?"
That got Az's attention. "What are you dreaming of, Alice?"
Nothing to lose, Alice, she told herself, and, lowering her voice, described her dreams in vivid detail. "I can't help but feel like I'm being pushed in this direction," she confided at the end. "And I don't like it. Then there's that prophecy." She still didn't know how to make heads or tails of it. It was so damn vague yet specific at the same time. "I don't know what to think."
Az mulled over this new and startling revelation slowly. There was no use in jumping to conclusions, but the way everything was falling into place was unnerving. Maybe there was something pushing them, and like Alice she did not appreciate feeling as though she had no control over her own life. "In my experience, prophecies have only caused trouble." Tit for tat, so she explained, as briefly as possible, her own circumstances regarding the prophecy of the Double Eclipse. "In our case, it did come true. The difference was that DG fought with everything she had against it, and brought me back."
"Only after everything came to pass, though."
She nodded. "And of course it was not nearly so black and white as the words would have anyone believe. That even applies to me." It had taken her so long to realize how little of what happened was her fault and that she was not to blame, that she was not inherently evil as the prophecy implied. "Regarding these dreams of yours and Jack's prophecy…I cannot deny that we are at the center of a very important series of events. Everything that happens from here on out will have an effect on future events in some way, shape, or form, though that can be said for any number of things."
"Chaos theory," Alice mumbled. "It's this idea that a butterfly flapping its wings in one country can cause a hurricane somewhere else."
"Yes, something like that. But because of who we are, our actions will have that much greater an effect."
"And the dreams?"
They were truly something, that much was certain. "They are coincidental. Incredibly so."
"You think?" was the dry reply, and Az had to laugh. At least there was some humor to her. "Meaning no disrespect, of course."
"I cannot begrudge you your frustration, Alice. You did an incredible thing for a country you were not beholden too, and earned your reprieve. Yet here you are again, answering the call. Whatever happens, I do believe that you and your Hatter are indeed champions of Wonderland."
Jeb's advance scouts melted out of the undergrowth, making straight for him. He reacted instantly, raising his arm and making several signals with his hand.
Like at lunch, the guards reacted swiftly and decisively, forming up around Az and Alice, crossbows and shortbows at the ready. Alice couldn't help but be impressed. If the Queen of Hearts' soldiers had been half as disciplined, she would probably still be on the throne.
A shimmering golden shield rose up around them. "Subtle, Az," Jeb said wryly.
Az shrugged. "They're waiting, so that means they already know we're here. What's the point in subtlety?"
"Um, who's waiting? Someone please explain." Alice was not about to walk into this situation blind.
Az twisted around in the saddle, embarrassed. "I apologize, Alice. The scouts discovered a clearing ahead. They think there are gryphons there, waiting."
Alice's mouth went dry. "For us."
She shrugged. "Possibly." Her violet eyes were sparkling at the possibility. Alice wished she had her confidence but then, the princess was probably the best equipped for this situation.
Moonshadow dropped back beside Freeheart once more as they moved forward. "Legends," Hatter said with relish. He didn't even seemed bothered by the fact that he had no suitable long-range weapon at hand. Alice had no idea how to use a bow or crossbow, but oh boy did she want one. "What an adventure, love."
Her scathing reply died in her throat as they moved out of the protective cover of the trees and into the clearing.
Eagles' heads, cats' bodies covered in feathers, paws ending in wicked talons – yes, those had to be gryphons, and there were perhaps a dozen of them, grouped in pairs arranged all around them in the sky, unperturbed by the rain. They just hung there in the sky, wings flapping idly and showing no signs of attacking. Not yet, at least.
Jeb squinted up. "Those definitely seem like-"
"Gryphons!" Charlie's voice came out in a hoarse, reverent whisper. "Finally they show yourselves!" He paused for one long moment, and when Alice glanced back at him, his eyes had gone bright and wet. "Ah, now that I look upon you I know that I have seen you before, and yet have forgotten you."
"Oy!" Hatter called over Charlie. "We've been looking for you lot!"
"You have found usssssss, sssssstrangersssss." Alice winced – that voice was so sonorous, like the distant rolling of thunder. And the way it hissed-
That was when she noticed that each gryphon carried a human rider. "They have riders," she hissed to Az.
"I noticed." The princess wasn't even sweating, despite the size of the shield.
"Great! Then take us to your leader. Or leaders," Hatter continued, grinning maniacally. "Alice – not the Alice of Legend, but a legendary Alice nonetheless – and I, the Mad Hatter, wish to undergo your challenge!"
Alice facepalmed. Hatter could be so over the top sometimes and of course, of course he was going to be like that now, with prophecies and war on the line. "I regret showing him that," she muttered under her breath, to no one in particular.
If the gryphons were perturbed by Hatter's behavior, they certainly didn't show it. Did gryphons even have expressions? "Yourrrrr challenge isssss accepted, Mad Hatter and Alice of Legend. But what of yourrrrrr companionsssssss?" A gryphon flew slightly closer – a black one, bigger than all of the others by far. "Who usesssss magic when it hassssss been long losssssst to thissssss land?"
"I am Azkadellia Gale of the Outer Zone," Az proclaimed. Somehow she seemed so much grander, bigger than she actually was. An illusion, maybe? Or maybe just her sheer persona, fully unleashed, regal and powerful to the extreme. "We are here as companions and protectors as we search for my missing ambassador, Raw of the Viewers, who was taken into these lands by Lucan Spade."
"You have been expected, Princesssssssss," was the cryptic response. Alice heard Az's sharp intake of breath. "No harm will come to your group. Simply follow our scouts and sssssoon, the challenge will begin."
And then they just…left. No more words and not one threat: they simply flew away, leaving one pair of gryphons and their riders hanging in the sky. Az stared up at them for a moment, and then turned to Jeb. Jonah sidled closer as well, so that Charlie could listen to the proceedings.
"It doesn't seem like a trap," Jeb offered right off the bat. "Those looked pretty real."
"I was doing some probing, they're certainly real and almost amagical."
Hatter tilted his head to the side like a confused puppy. "Amagical?"
"Possessing no magic," Az explained. "Everything I did to probe at them showed that they're real and they harbored no illusions or curses or compulsions that I could see. Not even on their human companions. But my spells seemed to just roll off the gryphons. That's really what I mean. I won't take the shield down as we follow them, simply as a precaution, but I will make it invisible just to see if they will try anything if they think we put our guard down."
"This is way too easy," Alice muttered. "We go looking for them and they just appear above our heads? We've been expected? What the hell?"
"It is," Jeb agreed, looking troubled by the very idea. "Therefore we must agree on some sort of plan. We must follow them, of course, but we cannot let them start this challenge right away. You two need to know what to expect. You have to ask for some idea of what the challenge is, and if you have time to prepare. When the challenge finally happens, Az can monitor you as best she can, and if something goes wrong she can probably pull you out via travel storm and get us all away, if necessary."
"I never thought to have such an adventure again." Charlie's eyes were glassy as he dabbed at them with a handkerchief. "My friends, I am truly thankful to have this opportunity."
Alice heaved a sigh. The Gale Force didn't seem too perturbed by his strange proclamation, and Az was even smiling, just the tiniest bit. "He reminds me of my mother's dearest advisor. Besides my father, of course," she told Alice in an undertone. "No matter what happens, Sir Charles, it will most certainly be…interesting." Her expression sobered. "Are we agreed on this plan?"
Hatter rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Jeb is right, Alice and I won't walk into that challenge blind. And I appreciate a good escape plan."
"We both do," Alice said, thinking about how he'd broken into the Hearts Casino. From the look on his face, he was remembering the same thing. She blushed a little and had to turn away, before Jeb saw her turning red like some schoolgirl. "But what about your ambassador?"
Az and Jeb exchanged glances and that was another thing that made Alice marvel. The two of them seemed so incredibly in tune, and she had to wonder if that was because of what the princess had done to save him. Did they really share a soul now, or was it just some sort of semantic thing? A figure of speech? "Since the gryphons have shown themselves, your challenge is our first priority," she finally said.
"But they seem to have eyes everywhere, if they've spotted us," Jeb pointed out. "Their aerial scouts are probably able to cover a lot of area and I'll bet their eyesight is keen, like birds of prey. Maybe they've seen something that will point us to Raw's whereabouts."
A soft, pitiful meow echoed up from Freeheart's hooves. The black stallion blew out what sounded like an exasperated breath, and danced to the side to reveal the cat. "You're still here?" Alice asked with surprise. Another, equally pitiful meow was her answer. "I guess we can't just leave it, can we?"
"I shall carry you, little one," Charlie proclaimed, leaning over in the saddle. Jonah had to grab him to keep him from sliding off the horse completely. "You may ride on my shoulder, like the dignified creature you are!"
Rather than scratch at him, like Alice expected, the cat simply jumped into Charlie's arms, and Jonah heaved them both back into the saddle, grumbling a little bit while they all struggled to hide their laughter. The cat, once settled on his shoulder, looked supremely smug in the way only cats can manage.
The deeper they went into the forest, the stronger Alice's feelings of déjà vu became. Slowly but surely, the trees grew larger and larger, even bigger than the photos of redwoods that she'd seen in California. The scenery around them grew lush and even greener as well, the foliage deep and jewel-toned.
"You're tense, Alice," Az murmured. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," she managed. Her eyes couldn't stop moving, completely unnerved by how closely the surrounding area resembled her dreams. She hadn't actually considered that they might be real. The sense of being herded towards some unshakeable destiny was overpowering, and she hated it.
Her eyes caught on the cat riding Charlie's shoulder. For a moment, its green eyes almost seemed to flash yellow, and its mouth stretched wide in a grin. She blinked, but then it was only yawning.
Alice shook her head. She had to be going crazy. Maybe Wonderland really did make people mad.
But if they were mad, then she was too. Because they finally broke through the trees and the first thing she saw was the pyramid. Massive, more like the Great Pyramid of Giza in size than Temple of the Sun in Tenochtitlan. Its sides were not smooth, but rose upwards in wide steps covered in rainforest growth. Stairs climbed along one side, ending in a columned entrance that seemed to call to her.
"Hatter," she choked. She reached out the same time he did, their fingers twining and squeezing briefly before falling away.
The Gale Force fell back into a defensive position around them, allowing Az and Jeb's horses to take the lead into the lost city. Charlie was vibrating with emotion, almost on the verge of tears, and she wondered how similar this seemed to him. Did it remind him of the Diamond City back in its heyday, grand and imposing, a center of Wonderland in the way Wonderland City was not?
Movement drew her attention Charlie to the group, or was it a flock? A pride, since they looked like lions too? What did you call a gathering of gryphons? There was a whole procession of them approaching on foot. As they drew nearer, Alice could see just how large they truly were, compared to her initial impression of them in the sky. Even the smallest was the same size as Az's black stallion, their feathered – coats? Hides? – ranging from the lightest brown to deepest black.
What truly threw her though, was the sheer number of humans beside them, dressed in clothing that was fairly similar to the scouting clothes sported by Jeb, Az, and their guard. This was truly a place where humans and gryphons worked side by side.
Both parties stopped at least two horse-lengths away from one another, eyeing each other warily, or maybe that was just Alice. Two gryphons stood at the front, one black and one a bright, shimmering bronze. Were they the same ones from earlier? Alice couldn't tell. Two humans stood beside them, a man and a woman, strikingly beautiful and clearly battle-hardened. The rulers of the city, perhaps? Did gryphons and humans share power here equally?
"Welcome," the slightly smaller, bronze gryphon proclaimed. "To Amakek Elen'ssssssiorrrrrr."
Az froze, her gaze riveted on a figure before them. "Raw?!"
Please review!
Aaaaand finally, some of our parties collide! (Also, my apologies to anyone from Kansas, no offense is meant! I'm from the Midwest too!)
I'm going to respond to two reviews here because I can't contact you otherwise!
Dinosona Spaceship - I really appreciate how you've stuck with this story. I'm exactly like you when it comes to reading WIPs, so I'm glad you've given this a chance. Don't worry, Duchess and Jack will appear in the next chapter!
veritableocean - Az is going to have a lot on her hands from here on out - those are the hazards of being the only magic user in the entire country! And thank you so much, truly!