Soon enough, all the roses from white to blood-red.
Alison sat on the ground, wiping her brow of sweat. She was no longer wearing her sweatshirt since the sun was beating down on her. It felt like Summer time.
"Hey, Alison, come join us for lighting the heart!" called Number 4. Alison stood and walked over to them.
All three of the men stood in front of a pillar, and at the top was a heart made of stone. Number 5 was holding a torch in his hand.
"What do you mean, light it?" she asked. "It's made of stone."
"Anything is possible in Wonderland." said Number 5. Number 5 raised the torch to the heart and set it aflame. Alison didn't exactly know how this was possible, but anything can happen in Wonderland.
Alison heard the sound of running horses and male voices. She turned and saw a group approaching them from the end of the path. There were about eight men, all blonde and wearing the white robes, and one black horse with a woman riding it. One of the men held a flag with a big red heart wearing a gold crown printed on it.
"Have the roses been planted?" asked the Queen. She dismounted her horse and walked to the front of the group.
The Queen wore a long red gown with a sweetheart neckline. She carried a gold staff with a heart on the end. Her golden crown shined in the sun. She wore red heels with hearts on the top of the shoe. The Queen was a beautiful woman with long black hair and deep red eyes. Her lips spread into a crimson smile that looked almost cruel. She also wore a red cape with a design similar to the flag on the back.
"Yes, your highness." said Number 4. Number 3 and Number 5 nodded and bowed to her.
The Queen narrowed her eyes at the men, seeming not to believe them. She approached one of the rose bushes and eyed the crimson roses. Alison's chest clenched, knowing that the bush she approached was one of the newly painted ones.
The Queen took a petal between her slender fingers and rubbed them together, dying her fingers crimson. She let out a scream and pulled her hand away.
"A handkerchief! Now!" she yelled. The white rabbit Alison saw ran up to the Queen on its hind legs and handed her a heart printed handkerchief. The Queen wiped her fingers clean, then handed it back to the rabbit. She approached Number 3 and hit him with her staff, then she did the same to Number 4 and 5.
"How dare you deceive me!" she yelled. "All of you, off with your heads!"
"Oh, shut up!" Alison snapped, approaching the Queen. Alison's hands were firmly planted on her hips, she glared at the Queen. "The only reason they took so much time to paint these roses is because they wanted you to be happy. So stop being a bitch and live with it!"
Numbers 3, 4, and 5 all gaped at Alison's rudeness to the Queen. No one had ever spoken to the Queen like that and lived to tell the tale.
"You wench!" The Queen hissed. She turned toward the guards. "Seize her! I want her head!"
The men grabbed Alison's arms and made her kneel on the ground.
"Hands off!" Alison said through gritted teeth. The men only tightened their grip on her. Another man, dressed all in black, approached her with a red axe in his hands.
"Hold on one minute, your highness." came a familiar voice. A young man, wearing a purple and grey striped shirt with dark grey jeans, appeared out of no where. He wore a wide grin on his face. The young man had shaggy black hair and violet eyes. On top of his head were dark purple ears and and a matching tail flicked behind him.
"What is it, Cheshire?" asked the Queen. The cat man, Cheshire, leaned against the pillar with the flaming heart, his legs crossed at the ankles.
"Maybe she can help us with something." said Cheshire, his grin widening. He folded his arms across his chest and raised a brow at the Queen.
"Like what?" asked the Queen, losing her patience.
"Like, the curse?" he suggested. The Queens eyes widened a fraction.
"You think she can do it, Cheshire?" The Queen wondered. He nodded and looked at Alison, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"She's Alice's grand-daughter, of course she can." His tail flicked. "It's her fate."