Sorry for the late update, I said I'd have the next chapter by what, last Monday? D: Well I hope you enjoy this rather long chapter (Or at least it is in my eyes) and hope you'll be able to forgive me.

Yours Truly,

*Elyon*

Chapter Three: The Shrew and the Shoemaker

The Radenclaw was a horrible clash of a lion, fish, and a rat, it's fur being a swampy forest green. It was coming straight towards the little group. After the Radenclaw, a few of what appeared to be dice that had legs, were wearing navy blue chain mail, and were holding spears with diamonds on their ends. A normal size human was at the back, but took, his place behind a bloodhound who'd been at the front. He had almost-shoulder-length brown hair, in navy blue apparel as well, and a blue eye-patch, that was in the shape of a diamond, was covering his right eye. Without further hesitation Malice, Labhaoise, the Sweedles, the cat, and finally the passenger pigeon bolted in the opposite direction of the Radenclaw as fast as their feet could carry them. After what seemed like an hour, Malice was tired and had a stitch in her side.

"It's…all…just…a dream," Malice reminded herself through her exhaustion.

'If it is a dream than nothing will be able to harm you Malice,' her conscience told her.

Malice spun around.

"Wait…" she breathed.

The beast stopped a foot away from Malice and roared its ear-piercing roar, showering her in saliva. Though Malice found this rather gross, she stood unfazed. Labhaoise was slightly confused at the fact Malice had stopped running from the beast. So just as she was about to hide in a rotting log, she skimpered across it, jumped onto the Radenclaw's head, and removed his eye with her sword. Labhaoise then scurried in a different direction prior to the scene entirely, the Radenclaw's eye now perched on the tip of her sword. The Radenclaw raised a paw in agony, swiping Malice in the process, creating a large gnash in her leg. She cried out in pain. She turned and began to run again after the Sweedles and the others.

'Ugh, that's what I get for listening to you,' Malice told her conscience.

'If it's a dream,' her conscience noted.

Moments after, the passenger pigeon was caught in a net and the cat was chained at its hands and feet. Malice heard silence after this. When she turned around she saw that she'd lost the pursuers. The Sweedles and Malice stood at the fork they'd come to in the road, panting for breath. The twins then took her by the hands.

"Ok, now West to Walup," said the Sweedles at Malice's left hand.

"No," retorted the one at Malice's right. "North to Forth."

They let go of Malice and started arguing, but it soon ceased when an enormous bat swooped down and picked up the Sweedles by their ankles. Malice had missed the bat's aim by ducking.

'Now what?' she asked herself in thought.

'Just keep going I guess.'

Malice sighed, and started in the direction of a woodsy path.

The path seemed to go on forever, never having a destination. All the more she could barely see anything with all the dying trees in the way of the already overcast sky. Malice stopped to think once more, but suddenly a cat materialized out of thin air and landed on a branch in one of the trees. The cat was rather plump, gray, and it's fur was highlighted with glowing maroon streaks. At first it just studied the split in her leg. Malice just stood, slightly confused.

"What a nasty scratch you got there," It said finally. "Very bad indeed."

"How bad?" Malice asked.

"If you don't allow me (or something with great power) to purify it, it shall fester and putrefy," the cat explained, the slits he had for pupils widening.

"No thank you," Malice said.

"Well, at least let me bind it for you," the cat insisted, as a piece of cloth appeared with the wave of his hand.

Chesmu then dressed Malice's wound.

"What do you call yourself?" the cat inquired.

"Malice," Malice replied.

"The Malice?"

Malice sighed. "No I'm not the "Right-Malice", there's been some debate about that. What's your name?"

"It would be Chesmu."

"You seem familiar."

"Well the Right-Malice has in fact encountered me before, but since you're not her, I guess you mistake me for my brother, Niko, I believe he escorted you here?"

'The black and white tabby cat!' Malice thought. 'That's his name! Chesmu does look like him, but their fur is very different.'

"Yes, and if I may ask, which direction I should go in now?"

Chesmu sighed. "Well, I guess I could take you to the Shrew in the Shoemaker, but that's the end of it."

Chesmu's figure faded again. Malice glanced around, trying to figure out where the cat had gone, until she heard Chesmu's voice straight ahead.

"Coming?"

Malice nodded and hurried after him.

Malice and Chesmu emerged from the woods, and now in front of them was table that was large in both width and length. It was quite cluttered with teacups, teapots, pastries, and such. To a seat on the left side was an orange snake, missing one fang, to a seat at the right was Labhaoise, and at the head was a man with a pom-pom of unruly, curly hair, it being an eye-popping blue. He had mysterious yellow cat eyes. He wore a beige vest with a black long sleeve-shirt under, a yellow and red polka-dotted tie, gray slacks, and on his feet were two dull-purple shoes, polished so much they shined in the overcast. His expression seemed to lighten at the sight of Malice. He grinned a mad grin, skipped across the table, and greeted Chesmu and Malice at the other end of the table.

"I knew it was you!" he exclaimed. "I'd know you anywhere!"

Without a moments hesitation he picked up the still-a-foot-tall-Malice by the hand, and walked back across the table to the place where he'd been sitting, placing Malice on a stack of books that were on a seat beside him.

"Ridiculous timing you know," the shoemaker remarked, wagging a finger. "Though just in time to slay the Slytherin."

That was the sentence that sparked the subject of the Blue Queen, how she currently ruled everything and over everyone except those who happened to be protected by the Pink Queen, and how Malice was destined to slay the dastardly monster that was under her rule with the powerful sword known as The Opal Blade.

"All this talk of blood and slaying has put me off my tea," Chesmu said suddenly.

He stirred his tea sadly.

The Shoemaker's eyes narrowed, and oddly enough, his eyelashes turned blood red. "You know the day it happened you disappeared to save your own skin! You didn't even come back for your own brother!"

After this the shoemaker continued screaming at Chesmu in some language Malice couldn't understand.

"Taryn!" Labhaoise shouted. "Must I remind you we are in the presence of a child?"

Malice raised an eyebrow at the comment, but brushed it off swiftly.

"I'm fine," Taryn squeaked, eyelashes and tone returning to normal.

As if on que, there was a howl. Taryn's eyes widened and stuffed a piece of cake into Malice's mouth.

"Eat this quickly," he commanded.

When Malice was no more than five inches tall, Taryn stuffed her into a teapot and hid it under the table, out of sight. Then the bloodhound, knave, and dice soldiers emerged from the dead forest, a beastly hunger in their eyes.

"Good-bye," Chesmu said simply, and he faded out of the scene.

The bloodhound continued to sniff, while the knave began to stalk around the table.

"Well well well, if it isn't my favorite trio of lunatics!" the knave exclaimed sarcastically.

"Thanks very much," the snake said. "Nah!"

The snake and Labaoise began to giggle like maniacs.

"The Queen wishes to know where the one called 'Malice' is," the knave said as he was approaching Taryn.

The Shoemaker shrugged. "We've never seen him."

The bloodhound went under the table, sensing Malice in the teapot. Taryn whispered something to the hound in Inlandish, and the hound backed away. The knave stalked around the table and Taryn looked nervous.

"If you're hiding her," the knave threatened, wrapping an arm around the shoemaker's neck. "You'll get you're hearts carved out!"

The knave released Taryn when the bloodhound pretended to pick up another scent in the opposite direction, and the villains scrambled after the dog. At this the shoemaker brought the teapot back out and removed the lid, revealing a rather annoyed Malice with her arms crossed. Her slip was now two sizes too large and Taryn offered to resize it into a new dress. Malice nodded and Taryn took a piece of fabric off the slip and snipped it with his sewing scissors which were conveniently taped to his fingers. Once done he threw in the dress. When she was done changing, Malice knocked on the lid of the teapot. Taryn observed the dress.

"I like it," he said, pleased with his creation. "And now the next thing is to take you to the Pink Queen, by shoulder of course."

Malice, just going with the flow, nodded and Taryn perched her on his shoulder.

"Good Luck!" Labhaoise and the snake shouted as Taryn walked off.

Taryn had been walking for awhile and began mumbling a sing-song in that strange language again.

"It's all about you ya know," Taryn told Malice.

Malice scowled. "I'm not slaying anything."

Taryn's eyelashes flashed orange then he took Malice from his shoulder and practically tossed her onto the ground. Taryn began to walk away.

"Wait!" Malice cried. "Don't just leave me here,"

Taryn spun around again. "Lemme ask you somehing, do you have any idea what happened that day?"

Malice grew quiet. "No...what did?"

Taryn's lashes blinked navy blue. "It's not a pretty story."

"Tell me anyway."

Taryn sighed, then his eyes widened at his surroundings. "It was here."

Malice then noticed the charred wooden outlines of houses and piles of still remaining soot.

Taryn then told Malice that he'd fitted and designed shoes for the Pink Queen then as all his family did. There'd been a festival, and while everyone was being merry the sky darkened, and a spiky black dragon with glowing red eyes began breathing electricity over anything that got in his way. He even killed Taryn's little sister, Elsie, along with the rest of the Boots'. Dice guards and the Knave of Diamonds then started swarming the place. This was how the Pink Queen lost her crown and the Opal Blade. Then the Blue Queen came into power. And that was how the Shoemaker had lost everything.

Malice frowned, trying to hold back her coming tears. "I'm so sorry Taryn."

Then Taryn heard a sound that of a dog. It was the hound, dice-guards, and the Knave. Taryn hid Malice in his coat. He ran until he came to a wide stream. He took off his shoe as the villains were gaining.

"Use this as a boat," he said.

Malice plugged her nose. "Doesn't it smell?"

"Of course not."

He placed it in the water with Malice in it, and much to her relief, it had a rather refreshing aroma, oddly enough. Once across, she looked back and saw the shoemaker, his feet and hands being bound by chains. Two dice-soliders took him roughly by the shoulders and led him away.

"Taryn!" she cried.

When she knew he wasn't going to spring into action, free himself, and hurry back, she realized just how tired she was. I mean all in one day she'd been to her own mother's funeral, fell down a grave into a strange world, and hurled into the weave of destiny. She flipped the shoe over, crawled under it, began to weep silently in the darkness...

Reveiws are greatly appreciated! :)