I know exactly what you're thinking.
"Ooooh! Finally! Each recent breath I've taken has been a mere moment of waiting for ChillyRilly to at last update her story with the newest chapter of Alice's adventures! And here it is!"
Yes, here we are, so read on!
Disclaimer: I sadly own nothing of Alice in Wonderland.
Inspirational Song: "Can't Take It" – All American Rejects
. . . . .
There hadn't been such a battle since a day long forgotten in the Outlands.
That day, too, it had been storming with bitter winds and raindrops constant enough to cloud one's vision. Lightning had struck the scarce trees nearby, making the warriors dart away in fear of being crushed just as they did now. Thunder continued to shake the land every which way.
Not many had survived that fight.
Not many could, or would even want, to recall that fight.
But now, the White soldiers and all those loyal to their ever elegant Queen wore masks of confidence as they roared in the faces of monsters, trolls, and fiends. The battle stretched all along the path from the distant Checkerboard Field to Marmoreal. This was why so many of Her Majesty's soldiers felt dismal and undertrained. (Of course, they were completely trained to every extent. Sir Lawrence saw to that.) They felt this way because nearly every soldier had a single foe to battle with. One on one. The war zone was simply too large for a massacre to break out. Therefore, strategy was required. And with that, hesitation. And with that, fear.
One without fear was the Cheshire Cat. He had taken up the job of disorienting the shukm. Shortly after Chessur confused his opponents (which was not a difficult thing to accomplish), another White would step in and finish off the demonic thing. Cheshire almost seemed to be enjoying himself. He'd disappear and rematerialize on the other side of a monster, making them turn their back on a soldier. Not a good idea. Chessur slid in between one beast's legs, making it jump and look down for a moment too long. One poor man was nearly scared to death as the lightning flashed white against the cat's sharp teeth and claws. He practically ran into the next soldier's waiting arms.
Tweedledee and Tweedledum's maneuvers consisted of pummeling each and every foul creature that came into view with their bludgeons. Once they found a target, they never quit on them. They would chase the same beast around and around until finally there was no more reason to doing so. They'd then high-five each other before moving on to find another victim that had wronged their gentle, loving Queen.
So far, things weren't doing so badly on the battlefield for the Whites.
The same couldn't be said for those fighting at Marmoreal.
The two farthest towers had been set afire. That was the first signal to the children and the guardians inside the castle's walls. The marble was so thick that they had not even heard the thumping approach of either Stayne's army or their pursuers. The children began to scream and cry. The guardians attempted to soothe them as they met each other's shocked expressions. They'd assumed they were safe. They'd assume their hardest job would be to keep the children calm, not to keep them breathing.
After a hasty decision, a white-haired, retired general named Alexander had taken control. He turned to the young nurse beside him, Marthie, and told her to run to the storage room on the first floor and grab the key to what was formally known as the dungeon, but was never called that for the fact that dungeons were meant to hold prisoners. Mirana held no prisoners.
Marthie nodded without hesitation and took off. Alexander began to yell, his voice hoarse from lack of use. "Everyone, we will be heading downstairs for further safety!" A low rumble could be felt coming from above. He continued. "Boys and girls, form a line! Quickly, now! Follow your leaders!"
Alexander was easily the oldest of the guardians and therefore respected. In due time, all the boys and girls were huddling together in the dusty dungeons, encircled by their trusting leaders. They'd locked the door behind them right before another rumble trembled through the walls.
Seconds after the door slammed shut, the red-faced Champion sprinted around the corner with her sword out in front of her. Her eyes scanned the wide hall before shouting, "All clear!"
Mirana stepped into the room and softly closed the door behind her. "Thank you, Alice."
Suddenly, a deafening roar came from the other end of the castle. Alice winced at Mirana. "Don't tell me."
Mirana swallowed. "That'll be the doors."
Alice groaned. "We don't have much time, Your Majesty. Where are-" Alice was cut off as her focus dwindled. Besides Mirana, a pillar of powder-blue smoke was spiraling upwards. Alice anxiously pulled Mirana away from the smoke to behind her. Alice gripped her sword just before she recognized the familiar sight.
A shape of a man appeared before the smoke faded away to nothing. Sir Lawrence stood there looking confused as trails of smoke came traveling from out his sleeves. He looked up and met her gaze with an awkward one of his own.
Alice raised a brow. "Absolem?"
He nodded. "It was strange, really. He came out of nowhere, said I had to be with the Queen. That, I understood, but the way the butterfly said it was. . . off. That I would be needed." He shook his head for the sake of clarity. "Status?"
"Queen safe. Castle, not so much. They've just broken down the doors."
"And we are standing here."
"You were just in the middle of an enthralling tale."
"May I suggest we move on?" Mirana put in delicately.
Sir Lawrence nodded. "Yes." He unsheathed his sword before turning back to Alice. "Make sure to keep an eye behind us."
"Will do. And Sir Lawrence?"
He began to run, Mirana gliding along behind him at a fast rate. Alice vaguely wondered how that was possible. Then she remembered: Wonderland. "Yes, Miss Alice?"
"How's my Knave?"
He turned back to look at her mid-run with a grin stretched along his face. "Still has a pulse, but a few scratches here and there. Sorry about that."
Alice grinned back. "It'll have to do."
"Duck!" Oddly enough, it was Mirana who screamed. They'd been running through a hall connecting two towers with walls made of nearly all glass. Something, a JubJub Bird presumably, had shattered all the glass on the left side. They hit the floor simultaneously with a clunk, Alice's shield over Mirana's curled form. Alice admired Sir Lawrence's quick reflexes, but questioned why he had chosen to cover her and not the Queen.
Still, it was the Queen he helped up as Alice shook the fragments of glass from her long hair. Then, they were running again. Perhaps even faster than before.
They sprinted into the Throne Room. A loud clamor came from somewhere near. Whoever had invaded the castle had loomed closer.
As they crossed the threshold into the wide room, Sir Lawrence said, "Miss Alice, there is private sector of the east side of the castle. If we can-"
An explosion erupted from above Alice's head. She was flung backwards and away from the Queen and her Knight as debris tumbled from the floor above. It quickly accumulated in the entry from between the hallway, where Alice lay coughing in the cloud of dust, and the Throne Room, where Mirana stood gaping at the large boulders in front of her that had created an immense wall in the matter of five seconds. Alice thought she heard a shrill voice scream her name, but she couldn't be sure. A dull ringing had taken over her sense of hearing.
Sir Lawrence was already pulling at the boulders from the other side to free Alice. "Miss Alice! Can you hear me?" he yelled. Alice tried to speak, but only a groan escaped her lips. She held a trembling hand to her throbbing head and pulled away to see a blotch of red on the tip of her finger. Alice's heavy head thunked back to the ground.
"We shan't be going anywhere, Alice, do not worry!" Alice nodded slowly, getting onto her knees and using the many rocks to pull herself up. She merely fell onto them, succeeding in only banging her head against a boulder. Really, now, she thought faintly, what is the use of all this armor if the only body part feeling the damage is the only body part exposed?
She thought she heard a thud from the other side of the newly-created wall. Alice opened her eyes and peeked through a crevice between two large stones. If she'd had the energy, she would have gasped.
Ilosovic Stayne had jumped out of the opening from the story above that was created when all the debris fell. Alice was not surprised to see him alone. When it came down to it, Stayne would always be a lone wolf. He didn't feel he needed anyone to back him up, no matter his task. Say, the task of destroying a whole portion of wall to get to what he wanted.
He'd landed behind Sir Lawrence, who had still been removing the wreckage for Alice's release. Alice recalled Sir Lawrence's speed, hoping that'd be enough, but even though the Knight had whirled around the moment Stayne's feet had hit the ground, Stayne's thick arm still threw him aside. Stayne took advantage of all the surrounding destruction and heaved a large pillar onto Sir Lawrence's legs before he could regain his bearings.
It was then Alice realized she had never before heard Sir Lawrence scream in pain.
Alice winced and began to pull at the debris with more strength. Her breathing was becoming heavier and faster as she was forced to watch Stayne calmly saunter over to Mirana while Sir Lawrence bellowed obscenities from across the room, trying to roll the pillar off his legs. This seemed to only cause more pain. Alice pulled harder on the boulders; she'd never felt so useless, so hopeless, ever in her life. She strained her muscles, grunting low at each futile heave.
Mirana stood at the bottom of the steps that led to her sparkling throne, appearance utterly calm, as if Stayne were her visitor and that was the expected entrance. She looked strong and stood unwavering. Alice was proud of her.
Stayne reached her, stopping at a good distance of five feet. He was covered in filth, standing confidently in torn clothing with his greasy hair all knotted. His sword was sheathed at his side. He tilted his head at her, gauging her reaction. Slowly, he smiled widely. "Well, Your Majesty. . ." His words were laced with sarcasm as he took an extremely exaggerated bow. "May I just compliment this magnificent home of yours? It has been a long time since I've walked through those doors, hasn't it?" He paused, perhaps waiting for Mirana's response. There wasn't one.
He smoothed back his oily hair and ran his tongue in between his teeth, wetting his lips. Mirana did not flinch. Seeing this, Stayne gave an irritated grunt and began to pace.
"Do you know why I detest you, Mirana of Marmoreal?" he asked suddenly, still pacing.
Here, Mirana graced him with a small smile. "Why?" she asked sweetly.
"Because," he said loudly, "you had potential. You had influence. You had immediate power." He stopped pacing. "You had, and still have, a certain darkness to you that you choose to ignore."
Mirana refused to be the first to look away. She met his eyes full-on.
Finally, Stayne looked away and chuckled. "But the thing is, Your Highness, no matter how much you avoid it, how hard you've trained your thoughts to turn the opposite direction, no matter how many potions you gulp down-" Mirana felt her blood run cold. "-you cannot escape who you are."
Like a viper, Stayne was suddenly too close to Mirana, his hot breath suffocating her. He slowly raised his gloved hand and held it very close to her cheek, not close enough to touch, but close enough to send shivers all throughout Mirana's body. He raised that hand higher, and Mirana lifted her chin away from it.
Stayne's eyes glanced up at her crown. "Oh, you think I want that, do you?" He smiled mischievously."I don't want that. I, actually, don't need to wear some profound accessory on my head at all times to remind myself that I have power. That is something I have never forgotten."
He stepped away, and Mirana took a great, quick breath of fresh air while his back was turned. Her eyes briefly glanced over to where Sir Lawrence still lay trapped, grunting as he tried to push the pillar off of himself. Alice was still completely out of sight. How was Mirana to know if the Champion was even still there? Or breathing?
Right away, the former Knave was speaking again.
"Do you want to know- I bet you do- when I felt most powerful?" He sighed deeply, eyes closed as if he were watching the moment play out before him. "It was when your sister was murdered."
Mirana stared at him, nostrils flaring. She felt her heartbeat quicken, but attempted to calm herself. He went on.
"Odd, isn't it? For I had the capability to do it myself at the time, yet I did not. I let that Hamish fellow do it. Heard you forgave him for that and sent him on his merry way home, bloody hands and all." He raised both brows at her, but she said nothing. He sighed deeply. "If only you had seen it from my point of view, Your Majesty. The way the sword sailed straight into her chest and lodged itself there."
Mirana could not help flinching. It was a mistake to do so. Stayne smiled. "The way her blood, so much like yours, poured out like her own, personal, sick waterfall of red." Mirana swallowed thickly and quickly walked away so he couldn't see her face.
He was there in a moment, whirling her around, both hands on her shoulders. Yet the pressure came from the guilt she felt, not his hands. "Stop," she growled.
He grinned, an evil glint in his single eye. "At least she got to see her sister one, final time before her heart was split into two."
Mirana began to shake her head forcibly. "No," she murmured.
"And after all," he whispered to her, "I was so glad to finally be free from that burden. Aren't you?"
It was then that Mirana looked up into his eyes. It was then that her heart skipped a beat.
It was then that it all became clear.
"You," she whispered back to him.
His brow furrowed at her sudden change in tone.
"It wasn't me," she went on. "It was you." She seemed truly astonished.
Stayne released her shoulders and backed up to the steps leading to the glistening throne, hands up in mock surrender. "Alas, she has cracked for the final time, it seems. . ."
"It was not my job to save Iracebeth!" she yelled at him, stepping forward. Stayne blinked. "It was not I who she held so dear near the end of her life. It was you!" Mirana shoved him hard, two hands to his chest. Caught off guard, Stayne stumbled and fell into Mirana's throne after tripping up the steps.
"She needed you!" Mirana yelled. "You chose not to save her! You fueled her cruelty, monster!" Her heart was hammering. She could not recall the last time she had yelled so, but she found it incredibly enjoyable. Frighteningly so. "I will feel no more guilt for what YOU have done, Ilosovic Stayne!"
Suddenly, Mirana found herself swept aside and onto the ground, sliding over to the wall. She looked up curiously, for Stayne still sat in her throne in baffled confusion.
Sir Lawrence had finally heaved the pillar off of himself and practically leapt the whole length of the room in an unobtainable fury. He'd thrown Mirana aside immediately to get to Stayne, whose eye was widening in fear.
Yet, Sir Lawrence didn't claw his hands into Stayne's throat as expected, but slid past him on his side after jumping up the stairs and collapsing to the ground. As he slid on the tiles, Alice thought she saw him press a specific section of the floor down behind the throne with his hand. He continued to slide until he was curled up in fetal position in the closest corner.
There was a short moment's pause before-
The throne erupted from the floor, sending Stayne flying off and into the air. Alice thought she heard a loud thud as his face connected with the marble wall. Sir Lawrence had taken a good amount of the hit, not being able to get far enough from the throne. Bits and pieces of the floor tiles had gone spiraling into the air, sending clouds of smoke spiraling upwards. The throne itself, now a mottled and black, sat a ways down the room.
Alice remembered now. It was right after she'd woken up in the infirmary after Stayne had nearly made sure of her death. There had been trauma to the head (like now) and severe blood loss. She'd been wandering the halls in her thin gown.
She opened the door to the Throne Room and entered. The bright room at first seemed bare, but as Alice searched further, she spotted Sir Lawrence fiddling with something near the base of the White Queen's throne. He hadn't heard her come in, for Alice could see his back arched in concentration.
She began to walk down the aisle towards him. The crystalline tiles were cold on her feet. "What, exactly, are you doing?" she asked, voice confident. She was glad to hear the strength back in it.
Sir Lawrence stopped in his work. "Back on your feet so soon, Champion?" he asked without turning around.
He'd planted a bomb beneath Her Majesty's throne.
She could hear Sir Lawrence coughing. Mirana wasn't moving. Alice hated that she was trapped behind all the debris! She was beginning to make true progress, though. Her head was beginning to clear. Her injuries weren't as bad as they had originally seemed; it had just been the dizziness.
Alice looked up in her work and gasped. Stayne had somehow risen from the smoke. He was striding to where Sir Lawrence now stooped at the top of the steps. Stayne's nose trickled blood and his shoulder seemed to be off-set.
"Sir Lawrence! Look up! Stayne!" she yelled.
Sir Lawrence did look up; it just didn't do him any good. Stayne grabbed him by the collar with both hands and glared menacingly into his eyes. Alice could see from where she was, pulling furiously at marble boulders that weighed tons, that Stayne's fists were trembling in anger. Yes, Sir Lawrence's glare was full of rage and heat, but it lacked all the unrestrained madness that Stayne's one eye held.
Alice's jaw nearly dropped at how weakened Sir Lawrence seemed. His legs- They were completely dismantled. It must have been only pure adrenaline that helped him across the room. Blood was smeared across his chest. Yet Alice found courage in his appearance. If anyone could feel all that pain and still have the strength to give a death stare of that extent, it would be Sir Lawrence.
"How odd," Stayne hissed with a sneer, inches from Sir Lawrence's jaw. "I see myself in you, White Knight."
Sir Lawrence spat on Stayne's chest before grinning at him, bloodied teeth and all.
Stayne slowly looked down at the pink drool on his chest before meeting Sir Lawrence's eyes again. He exhaled shakily. "Even funnier than that," Stayne continued in the same voice, "I believe what I see is the older version of me. The Knave. Pity that I find the new one better."
With that, Stayne unsheathed his sword in a single motion and sent his blade through Sir Lawrence's left side, twisting it upwards in a fatal blow.
. . . . .
Insanity: May I just say-
Rachel: No. Moment of silence here.
~ Quick thank you to all those who Review! It lets me know that you really are enjoying the story and that you wish for me to continue! We'll see you next chapter! ~