Positioned furthest from the Queen's castle, was a small work camp stretching around the borders of Wonderland. Built upon a barren land, it was a place where only the ill and soon to be dead where sent to labor. Dried riverbeds raked through the rocky soil, flooded with decaying bodies and wastes. The pungent odor was the only thing that seemed to penetrate though the heavy atmosphere, as groaning gnomes and dwarves continued with their monotonous work.
"What pitiful creatures," Alice sniffed as another angry gnome directed a rude gesture at her. "Hmpf, save these people indeed. As if they're worth it."
"I wouldn't speak like that if I were you." Appearing behind a herd of dwarves was a familiar blonde; Damian. A satisfied smile was smeared on his face as he approached Alice. "You were supposed to have been here ages ago. Snapped their already broken spirits you know."
"Well its not as though I have to be here," Alice replied, crinkling her nose as a wagon of lifeless carcasses clanked by. "If they're not careful, I'll leave."
"And if your not careful, both that doctor and that son of his are killed," the 18 year old reminded, wearing a smug look. "Turns out that cat really is clever; many find him to be quite the hero."
"Say that again and I'll slit your throat," Alice replied savagely. "When I find that cat--"
"/He/ was supposed to be your guide. But once he realized just how pissed you'd be, he thought it'd be better if I took on the job," the elder teen informed slyly.
"Well, we'll have to meet up with him sooner or later, and when we do, I'll be sure to take care of him," Alice responded indifferently. Damian opened his mouth to reply, but the femora cut him off. "Now, I want to get through with this as soon as possible. So where do I go first?"
"Right down to business, eh? Well first off, you'll need your butcher's knife," Damian explained, drawing the blade from a leather sack that was slung around his shoulder.
Alice took the knife, the slick metal winking in the weak morning light. "And this is all I have to fight with?" she questioned, sliding her finger across her throat as another scruffy gnome gestured at her.
"At the moment, yes," the blonde replied, rolling his eyes. "Our weapon supply is stretched thin; we can't afford to give more then that. If you believe that won't do however, feel free to steal any of the queen weapons that her lackey's may leave behind."
"Fine, where to?" the 15 year old asked as she pocketed the knife.
"Well, honestly, I'm note sure," the Lost keeper admitted, shaking his head.
Alice gave a snort of laughter. "And you're my guide you say?"
Damian shot her an annoyed look. "I know how to get around this place, and being your guide, all I am required to do is lead you to where you need to go."
"Then take me to the Queen," Alice said impatiently, folding her arms across her chest.
"You nit, you can't just barge in her castle," Damian replied exasperatedly. "Tch. We're doomed if we've got a pea-for-brain /savior/."
"Oh, shut up," the girl snapped. "If not there, then where do you expect me to go?"
"To Caterpillar. He knows all there is to know about Wonderland, he'll point you in the right direction," the blonde explained, motioning at an insect infected gnome to abandon his wagon.
"You vant poor Ickus to get in trouble, do you?" it asked shrewdly, standing – or rather slouching, protectively in front of the weather beaten wagon. "Ickus good gnome, always good gnome. He von't let ze heartless boy take vagon," he croaked.
"You're relieved of all duties, thanks to the graciousness of our fair Alice," Damian proclaimed loudly, quickly bringing the attention of the other workers.
The gnome merely blinked, stupefied. "You vant Ickus to get in trouble," he accused.
"No. You've been a good gnome. You deserve a just reward. You're free to do as you like." The puzzled expression did not fade from Ickus's face. "No more work," Damian added.
It took a moment, but Damian's words seemed to finally dawn on him. "No vork? Free?" He seemed to be doubtful, but he fancied the idea of being allowed to laze about, and wanted to believe it was true.
"Yes. Thanks to your Highness," Damian explained, jabbing a finger at Alice's direction.
"Highness?" Alice blinked. "Are you mad?" she hissed.
"Once you kill the Queen, we'll need a new ruler. And who better than the Queen's murder?" Damian replied with a grin.
"What rubbi-"
"Majesty is most vonderful!" the diseased creature quickly cut off. "Most indeed!" It exclaimed excitedly, giving a deep bow.
The other workers seemed to have forgotten their tasks at hand, remaining dumbstruck in their tracks. In a matter of moments however, a roar of protests broke out.
"What about all these work I did!"
"Turmy better gnome then Ickus!"
"Evil highness – no justice!"
"Esther won't work no more!"
Alice glared furiously at Damian. All she needed was a mob of angry old gnomes and dwarves after her.
"Silence!" Damian's commanding voice sliced through the uproar of complaints. "Alice can't free all of you at once. If she does so, the Queen will surely find out, and it'll be off with all of your heads!"
"But she free Ickus-"
"You'll all be granted your freedom in due time. Once Alice, our true savior, destroys the Queen, we'll all be liberated!"
A tense silences rushed by, all the workers anxiously waiting for Damian to continue.
"The Queen is not a one-woman army however," the blonde went on. "She has plenty of corrupted fools working for her; too much for one person to handle alone. It may have been prophesized that Alice will be the one to save and rule Wonderland – but she cannot do it alone. When the time comes, you must all be ready to fight – fight until death if necessary."
A slow murmur rippled through the crowd; the thought of sacrificing more sweat and blood to meet an agonizing death was a repulsive one. But with not many other options available, they had no choice but to comply.
"We fight," Esther, a withered dwarf, spoke as several other laborers nodded their heads in assent. "But better be worth it," she threatened, shooting Alice a dubious look.
"It will. You wait and see," Damian assured, grasping Alice's hand. "We'll be on our way now. I want you to keep a sharp eye out for word of our attack, and hopefully the Queen's tyranny will end sometime soon."
Rolling her eyes, Alice allowed the blonde to help her into the rickety wagon. It was quite an uncomfortable sensation in the cart; rough, sun-dried wood scratching every inch of exposed skin and it reeked strongly of stale urine. "Hurry it up," Alice muttered, as Damian climbed in beside her.
"Don't tell /me/ to hurry it up," Damian snapped, jerking a thumb behind him. Several dwarves were struggling to attach a stubborn horse to the cart. It was quite the show; the horse would every so often land a smarting kick at a distracted gnome, and as the injured creature crumbled to the floor, several hoots of laughter would break from the crowd.
"Hrm, this is ridiculous…"
It wasn't until a full 15 minutes later that they were able to depart, resentful horse clattering through the clusters of workers.
"Are they /really/ going to fight?" Alice questioned, raising a dark eyebrow. "Or all they just a lot of bloody cowards?"
"Cowards most certainly. They won't do a whole lot, I'll tell you that," Damian replied boredly, watching as they passed a gang of bickering gnomes.
"Then what was all that – fight till death nonsense?" Alice asked, shaking her head as she smoothed the creases in her dress.
"They could come in handy sometime, never know. Best have them on our side either way though," the 18 year old answered, frowning at her smirk. "You want this to be as quick and easy as possible, don't you? And in order to do that, you'll need all the help you can get. Fewer foes, the easier."
"Well everyone here would be an enemy," Alice said slowly, tilting her head as a thought came to her. "The Cheshire cat told me-"
"I don't know about that. It doesn't make sense if you ask me…" Damian replied, forehead furrowed in thought. "There's more to it, has to be. But he won't let on…in fact, I doubt he knows it himself. Just likes to put on a show – act as if he's all knowing. Which is a load of bull, he only knows as much as he does because he wastes hour after hour spying on Caterpillar."
"And Caterpillar has the answers to everything?" Alice inquired, ignoring Ickus's cheer as the wagon passed by.
"Everything about Wonderland, yes."
"And the Queen would allow him life, even when he is providing information on how to destroy her? Sounds quite suspicious if you ask me." Ickus continued making noise; following after the wagon as he shouted out the most flattering compliments he could think of. "You pest," she hissed. "Shut your mouth, will you? I'm trying to figure things out you know."
"Of course, pardon Ickus," the gnome apologized, giving a gracious bow. "But he only vant to tell Queen, vhat a vonderful, most kind, most-"
"You suck up, you're already freed, what else do you want?" Alice snapped, watching rather irritably as Ickus wheezed after the distancing cart.
Ickus suddenly stopped short, stumped by the question. Apparently he didn't know why either. "All hail Queen Alice!" he screeched, giving another low bow. He didn't seem to care to follow anymore, remaining rooted to his spot as the wagon stretched farther and farther away.
"All hail Queen Alice!" Several other voices began to echo. "All hail Queen Alice - savior of Wonderland!" Ickus's words had sparked a wildfire of cheers. "All hail Queen Alice – defender of all good! Banisher of evil! Liberator of Wonderland!"
The thunderous roar could be heard for miles, and despite the sour face she put on, or the fact that Damian was boiling with furry, the dark haired femme could not help but feel pleased.