"I'll admit that you've surprised me," the Red Queen –wherever she was in the red mass of roses– said. "Though I was expecting you."
"Lady Jacqueline, get away from those flowers!" Tweedledum wailed. "You could be poked!"
Jacqueline stumbled back, then yelped. The rose petals that had settled in a circle around her had been replaced with twisting briars. She tried stepping to avoid the thorns, but the vines were winding too quickly around her, and she was soon pinned standing in place. Fresh tears sprung in her eyes. Jest's heart lurched, but Lily's grip on his sleeve kept him from taking any steps forward.
Though her fuschia skirts gave her some cushion, the lasso of thorny vines that held her were undoubtedly poking through her dress. The roses on the vines, whose colors clashed terribly with the color of Jacqueline's gown, shushed her as they squeezed her tighter.
"She is not a soldier!" Jest shouted, his throat turning raw and scorched, as his eyes swept through the wave of roses. "Let her go! You cannot capture her– she isn't a pawn!"
Vines of red roses curled up the trees around them, and the wave dissolved so that the party was instead enclosed by a fence of red roses on all sides of them. Where the looming wave once stood was the notorious monarch.
The Red Queen.
Unlike the White Queen, the Red Queen was tall and with sharp features. On her already flush-colored skin she had red circles painted on her cheeks. They lifted as she gave a chuckle.
"You may call this capturing –if you'd like– but I've seen capturing, and in comparison, this is liberty," she said. She stepped up to Jacqueline, who held still in the roses' tight coils. "But now that I have you, I must make you my slave. Sadly, that is the duty a queen like myself must take on. It's for the good of the country, I assure you."
"A s-slave?" Jacqueline whimpered, the queen leaning uncomfortably close to her face. The queen frowned.
"Don't stutter when speaking, and form an O with your mouth when surprised," the queen chided. She patted Jacqueline's head, the only part of her which wasn't wrapped in the prickly vines. The Red Queen now examined the rest of the party.
Her eyes sharpened.
"Who do you have hiding behind you?" the Red Queen asked, striding towards Jest. She stopped a distance away from him. "I remember seeing four of you. It's pointless hiding anyone now; I've found you all."
Jest gritted his teeth. Knowing that it would be difficult to save Jacquie, he had yanked Lily, who had been standing next to him, behind himself. If any more vines shot out at them, he was determined that he would be the one they captured, not her. As if knowing this, the Red Queen smiled with amusement. She shook her head.
"Fine, fine– I'll also admit to knowing who you have behind you. You can step out now, princess," the Red Queen said.
Jest felt a hand grip his shoulder. He tensed as Lily shifted behind him.
"But do so with your back straight and your feet stepping from heel to toe– none of that toe to heel nonsense. I would hope the White Queen taught you that much," the Red Queen added.
Lily paused, still exactly where she was. Jest heard her mutter something. She then emerged from behind him, but with an awkward regality, as instructed.
The Red Queen now examined her. Lily clenched her shaking hands, lifting her chin and digging her feet firmly in the ground. The queen lifted a hand to her own cheek in an almost bashful gesture.
"The White Queen's daughter! My, it's been ages since I've last seen you. You were hardly eleven then…" Her smile became saddened. "And then you disappeared. But didn't your hair used to be blonde? It's turned so rosy!"
Lily shifted uncomfortably. "I remember you too. I remember you tried to kill me, but my mother stopped you. And then I was sent away–" Lily's face hardened. Jest watched her as she spoke. She appeared intimidated, but also intimidating. Her face was smooth and young, her charm was wavering and prickly, and yet, somehow, impossibly, she gave the impression that she had been in the hands of Time for many years, even if Time had left no trace of himself upon her. And despite his prolonged doubt and uncertainty, Jest now, at last, could accept that what he felt was impossible –unnatural, even– was true.
Lily and the Red Queen were older than him. Much older. What might have been mere reminiscing to them was textbook history to him.
Lily's eyes turned saddened too, and her tone rippled like melted snow. "My hair turned red as the war went on. I might not have seen the battles, but I could at least measure the losses."
The Red Queen nodded. "It's a beautiful color. It suits you." She tucked her hands behind her back. "And now that you are out and about again… I must have you killed."
Lily flinched. "What?"
"Darling, surely you saw this coming?" the queen said, the motherly wrinkles of her face forming. "My son is in love with you. You know that I can't have him pining like that."
The world was still as a soft breeze brushed by, lifting the curls of Lily's hair and dragging its red color so that ruby streaks swirled in the air like watercolors. As the red became watered down, it settled as pink on Princess Lily of the White Queendom's cheeks.
"He told you?" she stammered. Lily's crystal eyes widened, her voice becoming raw. "And you refused his offer?"
"It was the offer of a man blinded by love and a dark crow," the Red Queen said. She stepped closer. Lily stumbled back, and Jest was quickly beside her. "Don't be so childish, princess. A war between your mother and I cannot simply end with the marriage of our children. There are too many debts to be paid! Too many terms to be decided! You know we've tried ending the war before, but things simply cannot be helped!"
"Where are you going with this, queen?" Jest demanded, snatching off his hat. He pulled a sword from it. "If you try anything, it will be you that is dead, not her highness."
The Red Queen lifted a brow. "You are the rook, Sir Jest, are you not? Wait your turn; it's not your play."
"I thought you didn't play games," Jest growled.
"You may call this a game –if you'd like," the Red Queen said, stepping closer with no hesitation at Jest's sword. "But I've seen games, and in comparison, this–" she lifted an arm in the air "– is war." She snapped her fingers, frowning at Lily all the while.
The rose wall around them shifted, and then vines shot outward at them. A wailing Tweedledum, like Jacqueline, was snatched up, but Jest sliced at the vines that came towards him and Lily before they could tackle them. The Red Queen clucked her tongue.
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this," she said, sighing. She snapped again, nodding towards the roses. "Bring me the sword."
The roses, like a snake, slithered up to the Red Queen. She reached into the mass, pulling out a sword, just as she requested.
Jest blinked.
It was the Vorpal Sword, covered in scales, diamonds, and Jabberwock teeth.
The Vorpal Sword.
"You want to fight? Let's fight," the queen said, taking on an offensive stance. Jest stuffed his hat in Lily's arms, matching the queen's pose. The Red Queen shook her head. "I already told you, Sir Jest, it isn't your turn yet. This battle is between the princess and I."
Lily tossed the hat back to him, barely allowing him to catch it. She wrenched the sword from his grasp, facing the queen. "I won't let you kill me."
"Your highness!" Jest protested. "Let me fight in your place."
She shook her head firmly. "This isn't your battle, Jest."
"Your highness, with all due respect, can you even fight?"
Lily spoke loudly so that the Red Queen could hear. "I can fight very well. Also! I've held swords, and in comparison, what the Red Queen holds is hardly a stick!" Her arms shook in front of her, but her gaze remained fierce.
"This is the Vorpal Sword, princess... You do know that this is a sword of extreme significance, don't you?" the Red Queen asked, a concern in her voice.
The princess bit her lip. "That… is unimportant information."
"Lily, you're being irrational," Jest scolded. "Even if you fight her, and even if she doesn't kill you–"
"Oh, Sir Jest– you misunderstand! I cannot kill the princess myself; that's bad etiquette in a queendom!" the Red Queen said. "Lily should not kill me either, if she knows any better. Her mother would be dreadfully disappointed in her. Not to mention Carmine wouldn't like it."
"As if you care what they think," Lily scoffed. Her eyes were a blue fire, and against Jest's will she stomped forward. "They would gladly see you gone!"
The Red Queen was cold. "I've known your mother and my son much longer than you have, princess."
Lily bared her teeth. "Time does not guarantee intimacy."
"Jest," a voice called. The sound of it stabbed him in the gut. He glanced towards Jacqueline, whom the roses had turned around to face him. Her face was red and wet with tears. "This is uncalled for… please, help me! You know I never asked for much!"
Tuck your heart away, tuck your heart away…
"Yes, go help her," Lily said to him. "Jacquie and Tweedledum need you!"
Jest gritted his teeth. "My duty is by your side, your highness. Things… can't be helped."
Lily whipped her head around. "Don't be an idiot! My father might have tied you to my side, but that is not where you belong! I am not so important to you!" Lily huffed, straightening her back. "And it's up to me to settle my own importance. Not you, not him."
"That is very inspiring, highness," the Red Queen said. "I'd listen to her, if I were you."
Jest groaned, his head pulsing with a headache. He couldn't leave. He couldn't. He– "I'll be right back!" he said.
He dashed towards Jacquie, leaving Lily to the Red Queen. Jacqueline sobbed at the sight of him.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you do that… she's a princess, after all!" Jacqueline said, sniffling. "It just hurts…"
"I just need to untangle you–"
From the corner of his eye, something launched towards him. Then, his chest felt constricted and he was being held above the ground, eye-level to Jacquie. He gasped.
Briars poked through Jest's uniform. Jacquie's honey eyes filled with horror.
A scream sounded as Tweedledum was pulled into the surrounding wall of roses, whisked away.
Jest and Jacquie were both silent, the air around them both static and with an electric shock.
"Don't leave me," Jacqueline whispered. Pleaded.
The rose vines curled around Jest's body and neck. Like with a pen, a rose carved a dripping heart into Jest's naked cheek with its thorn, so that once again, he was matching his sister.
Tuck your heart away, tuck your heart away…
Perhaps internally, Jacquie's heart was –had always been– bleeding that way too.
The roses pierced his throat. "I never wanted to."
Jacqueline was tugged backward, swallowed by the rose wall around them. The roses quickly moved to seal the hole where she entered, completely removing her from view.
Taking her away to turn her into a slave…
Bile burned in Jest's throat.
"Jest?" Lily called, her voice breathy and tired, as if suspended in battle. "What's going on?"
Jest blinked, the edges of his vision turning blurry. His ears couldn't hear over the screams of his swollen, pulsing heart, and the incessant rattling bars of his rib cage. The coils of roses tightened around his body, constricting his heart, piecing his lungs, and with barely the time or space to breathe, he too was yanked into the red walls.
He squeezed his eyes shut. The roses pricked him as they tried to pry his fingers open and take his hat, and his body rocked like a boat while inside the ocean of roses. The red burned through his closed eyelids.
"You poor soldier," the roses chattered. "No one will find you, where we're going."
He felt his body be shuffled as if being traded between two hands, or as if being shifted from one porcupine to the next.
He felt it in his heart– the pain.
He felt nauseous. He felt caged.
Every nerve of his twitched, and he writhed like a frantic bird.
"Jacquie!" He yelled, "Where are you?"
Silence echoed back to him. He couldn't see, couldn't move, and at most he could sniffle for air. As prickly as the vines were, the roses were soft as velvet, and tickled his skin. But they were suffocating. He felt suffocated, and, despite knowing the consequences, he thrashed in his hold.
"Where are you!"
His throat felt tight. He could hardly swallow. He didn't even know where he was.
You can't have gone that far, he told himself. You are not captured. The Red Queen has not captured you.
He was lying to himself.
You are free as a bird.
"She might make a slave of your sister, but I don't think she'll do the same for you," a rose said. "I think she'll kill you."
"I agree."
"So do I."
"Where am I?" Jest panted, squirming in their grip.
A rose answered him. "I don't know. We'd have to ask one of the roses that are guiding us."
"We can't see outside either, you know."
"The Queen didn't tell everyone."
Jest gulped in a breath. He'd get out of there. He knew he would. The Red Queen has not captured you. You are free as a bird.
The roses had given up trying to loosen his grip on his hat. He tried reaching within it with the same hand that held it. It was a fiddly process. But nothing his expert hands couldn't manage.
His hand began to wrap around a handle. It jangled and he pulled it further out.
Oh. That was right. Tweedledum had put his rattles in Jest's hat when they had packed up the camp. He didn't want to annoy Jacquie, who had already seemed to be in a bad mood…
But what was Jest to do with a rattle? Would anyone be able to hear him?
Combined with his voice, Jest shook the rattle with as much might as he could, and he shouted for anyone to hear.
"Is anyone there? Please! Answer me!"
The roses mewled their complaints, poking him fiercely. "Stop yelling." One stuck its petalled head in his open mouth. He spit it out.
"Jacquie! Tweedle–"
"Jest?"
Jest froze. His eyes squeezed tighter. "Tweedledum?" He gasped, and shook the rattle harder. "I'm over here! Over here!"
The roses cried and nuzzled in closer to Jest even as a crack formed in their wall, and light shone through Jest's eyelids. He blinked them open.
"Jest? Is that you?" The view was still hazy, but a recognizable round man stood at the entrance. Jest beamed.
"Yes! Help me unstick myself," he exclaimed. "Be careful!"
A stubby arm wrapped in blankets and towels reached into the hole and grabbed, with a thickly gloved hand, the vines that entangled Jest. With a heave, the Tweedle lurched backward, snapping the vine free. The roses shouted curses at him, and tried to wrap back around Jest, but the little man had already reached in to tear more vines away. It was not a particularly fast process, but as Jest was able to move a little more, he helped to wiggle and kicked the vines away from him. At last, the arm reached in and helped pull Jest from the violent red cage.
They both stumbled to the ground, then skittered further back until they were a safe distance away from the roses. The roses screeched with annoyance, then became disinterested, and slurking like a snake through the trees away from them. Jest heaved, collapsing to the ground.
"Thank you, Tweedledum" he said, once he caught his breath. He pushed himself up to a seat. "But how did you escape from the roses yourself? And where'd you get that armor?"
"Contrariwise! I'm not Tweedledum," the man said, also having flopped on the ground. "I'm Tweedledee."
Jest nodded. "Oh. Pardon me, then."
He slapped his own face.
Tweedledee flinched. "Why did you do that!"
Jest gaped. "You really exist! Or– do you really exist? Are you really Tweedledee?"
Tweedledee opened his mouth, then let it sag. "Well, now I'm not so sure… I think I am."
Jest was on his feet in an instant, then was pulling Tweedledee up too. "How did you get here! Where did you come from! Are you– are you alone?"
Tweedledee shook his head. "Sir Raven came with me. We weren't actually trying to find you, but it looks like you needed to be found. Yikes. Where's my brother?"
Jest froze. With that question, all relief vanished from him, and Jest was brought back to horrid reality. He gripped Tweedledee by the shoulders. "He was also caught by the roses. You must find him– and my sister! Please, save Jacquie, she's been taken for a slave!"
"My brother is captured? Your sister too? Oh my!" The man shivered, wringing his hands and dancing nervously from foot to foot. "I-I will find them. If I can. I hope I can…"
"You do that." Jest put his hat on his head. "And I will take my leave. I have a princess to protect."