The red-hot confines of his body no longer existed.
One moment he wanted the pain to stop, the next moment he could feel nothing at all. There was no chair underneath him, no cool air making his sweat covered body shiver, no smell of the meal he had not even been able to touch. There was no sensation at all. There was only darkness.
He tried to gather his thoughts, thoughts that were suddenly hard to form, thoughts that seem to come from no where and every where, thoughts he could not remember having. They kept slipping away from him before he had any time to register their passage let alone what they meant.
One thought finally stuck in what he supposed must be his new consciousness. He was dead. Murdered. Murdered by someone he had loathed in life. The same person he had served for years even though he had done so only because she had held something over his head, something he could not remember. This was no longer important though, it wasn't worth the effort of remembering.
He had wanted power, power she was willing to give to anyone who sucked up to her, for her it wasn't the power, it was the people doing anything in order to be in her good graces.
She had killed him. It was most likely not her idea but that did not matter to him. Nothing much mattered anymore. All that mattered was the fact that she was responsible for his current condition and he was going to do all in his limited power he could to get even with her.
His anger and hatred, his need for vengeance, gave him shape and purpose. He would do anything he could to get his hands on her, hands that he slowly remembered he no longer had. As he remembered it, he could feel something, a current going through what he guessed was him. The realization came that all around him was not pure black anymore, it was lightening into gray. He could see hands, his hands, hands that he could move when he thought about moving them. He saw through them, through to the floor that was far below him.
He was still in the dining hall, the place where she had killed him. He looked, he saw her standing there, near his still cooling body talking to Diprosopus. He realized he could not hear what they were saying, that sense was not yet his to wield again. She had reduced him to nothing. No more then a corpse in a chair and now a specter. His anger gave back his ability to hear, he could hear what they were discussing now, clear as he could see them.
•••
Diprosopus snapped his fingers causing a servant to rush forward to obey the summons. She tried to keep her eyes off the form that only moments ago had been a living, breathing man. Now he was no more then food for the insects and scavengers of Underland.
"My lord…" her voice cracked showing her fear.
Diprosopus smiled down at her. He loved the power he received by the mere fact that everyone was afraid of him. He saw her wince at his smile and he chuckled.
"I need you to dispose of that," he gestured in the general direction of Stayne's corpse, "You know where. And do it quietly or you will pay in the same way he did."
Her eyes bulged in fear, she bowed to him as he swept past her, Iracebeth close in his stead.
"Now that that is taken care of…what plans do you have for taking the White Queen's stronghold?"
Iracebeth looked up at him in confusion.
"I don't know much about tactical military…tactics. I only know I want to get in to her castle at Mamorial, do as much damage to it as possible, take what I need and then return here and get to the real work."
Diprosopus put up a quizzical eyebrow.
"That is your master plan?"
"Merely what needs to be accomplished."
He gave her an incredulous look, quickly wiping it away, "Very well. I will talk to my commanders and see what can be done."
She nodded her head to him and took her leave.
Diprosopus looked after her, wondering once again how she had been able to control anything. Then again it had not been her who had the power, it was everyone else around her though they did not seem to realize it until this Alice had come to Underland.
All Iracebeth seemed worried about was revenge, revenge was good but there was more to be gained then that simple little satisfaction. He would rule from both Mamorial and Salazem Grum and he had a plan as to how to accomplish it.
•••
General Onca walked among the soldiers, he was not pleased at the position he found himself in but he would do as his King commanded or he would suffer the consequences. The men were all getting ready for the impending attack against the White Queen, he knew her armies inside and out, who they were led by, what their mentality was. He knew they were made up of chess soldiers as well as human soldiers and now she had the added army of the card soldiers at her disposal.
His spies had told him that she split her time between Mamorial and Salazem Grum, that she was currently stationed at Salazem Grum while they were reconstructing it to her specifications. From what he had heard the outside fortifications had been made stronger, most likely since the Queen was not going to take any chances of having a weak defense for any attack that might happen.
She was no fool whatever Diprosopus said to him, he knew how her mind worked. Yes she had her vows to uphold that she would not kill or harm another living being but that did not mean others lived as she did, or that others were bound as she was. He knew that if she were pushed to it she would order her armies out to defend the country. It was what made the people of Underland love her.
General Onca was torn, on the one hand he was know an Outlander, coerced into helping King Diprosopus or risk his families safety. They were and had been prisoners of the King since they had all come here. It was his fault that they were here. He had once been a general under the Red Queen and she had found out that he had been a traitor, that he was actually a spy for the White Queen. The White Queen had been able to smuggle him out of Salazem Grum as well as his family but she could not risk housing him at Mamorial since she did not want her sister becoming any more angry at her.
He had understood and his family had followed him into the Outland where Diprosopus's men had found them wandering. They had been brought before this King of the Outlands, he knew who Onca had been, knew he would be a great asset since he knew both the White Queen's army and that of the Red Queen's. With Onca on his side he could attack both of the Queens and take Underland for himself.
But then Alice had come a second time and rather then use the plan he had been working on for years with General Onca, he had waited to see if the two Queens would destroy each other so he only had to walk in and say he was the new King.
Now he had a new plan, yes he had to put up with Iracebeth but she had knowledge of Salazem Grum that no one else had, knowledge that she had not yet given up. Diprosopus begrudgingly realized she was not as stupid as he had once thought. She had learned something from her ordeal but she would soon relinquish what she knew.
General Onca continued walking among his men, these men would gladly go into battle for Onca if he asked them to, when Diprosopus wanted the men to do something they did so out of fear and nothing else. Onca saw the men readying themselves for the march that was fast approaching them, they were sharpening whatever they had that would pass for weapons. He knew they would be far out numbered but the King was going to use the aspects of stealth and surprise to try and accomplish his plan.
Even though they had few men there would be even fewer since Diprosopus wanted to attack both Mamorial and Salazem Grum. Mamorial would be taken over, they knew that there were few soldiers left there and it was ripe for the picking. Salazem Grum presented another challenge all together, since the Queen was there, so too were most of her armies in order to make sure she was as safe as possible. They would have to breach the walls at night, silently entering and getting what Iracebeth said would bring Alice back to Underland so she could destroy her once and for all.
Diprosopus was not interested in keeping Salazem Grum since he knew he could not take it yet with so many men protecting it and his army comprising of only a fourth of the White Queen's armies. He would be content with taking Mamorial for now, which would be reinforced after they were done with Salazem Grum. Iracebeth did not know about his plans for Mamorial. It had been mentioned to her in passing that her sister was at Salazem Grum and much had changed but that was all she knew and all she would know until later.
General Onca did not like the idea of helping Iracebeth in any matter, especially this one. She had been very quiet about what it was she was actually trying to take from the White Queen but he had his suspicions and each one he disliked more and more. There was no way for him to say no, he could not face Diprosopus killing his family, he would do anything to keep them alive even if he did not like what it was he had to do.
•••
Stayne had heard everything that passed between Iracebeth and Diprosopus inside the dining hall. Now all he had to do was warn the White Queen, something he was not looking forward to since she had helped him on the path to his current predicament. The thought of revenge against Iracebeth was enough to erase any other feelings, it was his driving force.
He hated the thought of having to go to the White Queen but she would have to be his body, act when he could not. She would act when he told her of her sister's plans. All he had to do was figure out a way to get to her before it was too late.
He willed his new form to move beyond the dining hall. He had no idea how long it would take for Diprosopus's army to reach the White Queen, he would most likely push the troops to exhaustion to accomplish the deed faster.
He was able to exit the dining hall, entering the main foyer and going towards the door. He flew through it, an odd sensation but one that did not fully register in this being that was made of pure anger.
He focused on who it was that he needed to see, saw her before him, her white hair flowing down her back, her body clothed in the finest white silk that Underland was able to produce. This was the White Queen. She looked somehow older then he remembered, lines of worry marred her face, ruling the whole of Underland was taking its toll.
He had arrived where he needed to be, where she was, but it was not where he had expected her to be. She was at Salazem Grum but it did not look as it had under Iracebeth. There was no longer any traces of the red battlements, the hearts that had been abundant in the castle and the ones that had abounded in the design of the castle were all gone. They had been replaced and the castle looked very similar to Mamorial.
The White Queen had planted trees all around Salazem Grum, something that made it look less threatening. The trees were blowing in the wind, releasing their scent and petals into the air. He thought it had been fall when he had died, there was a nagging feeling telling him that it had been late fall, that now it appeared to be near the end of spring. He hoped he was not too late.
The chess soldiers stood guard to the castle, replacing the former card soldiers. They were lining either side of the path that was once again busy now that people could freely travel where they would.
He realized that he was not imagining it, he had actually made it. He passed by the chess soldiers, they did not react in any way to his presence. He was able to traverse the inner courtyard full of people without anyone seeing him, some could have sworn that an unearthly breeze had touched their skin but they could not be sure. He passed through the castle walls, met by even more people bustling about, none of which paid any heed to the shimmer in the air that marked his passing.
He felt himself being drawn to the White Queen, he did not fight the force pulling him along as if on a string. He was soon face to face with the White Queen, unlike the rest of the castle she did not look beyond him or through him, she saw him. She looked on him with both sadness and anger, even though it was the first of the two that was winning.
"To what do I owe this visit?"
He did not know if he could speak, having not spoken since the day of his murder. He opened his mouth and the words were able to come out as he wanted them to.
"I come with news of your sister."
"Ah yes my dear old sister. How is she?"
"She plans to attack you. I know not when or with how many. Only that she has made some sort of bargain with Diprosopus. That he and the outcasts of Underland will attack you and try to take something that is dear to you."
"This is the truth?"
"In this I would not lie. I come before you in this manner due to her actions against me. I want revenge for what she has done. I want to see her fall as I have fallen. I want her to feel pain, more then I felt as she watched me die. What I tell you is the truth."
She looked at the specter that had at one point been the man Stayne, a man she had condemned to this fate due to her own anger. Yes he was telling the truth, anger and the drive for vengeance would do that to a person, a person she would not other wise have believed.
"Very well. We shall be ready. Thank you Stayne."
She turned on her heel, leaving the specter to do what it would, calling on her advisors in order to prepare a defensive against the imminent attack.
Stayne remained where he was, looking after the White Queen who he hoped would bring down her sister once and for all. He felt his anger burn through his form, felt the anticipation rising as he began the wait for the battle that was approaching.
•••
Tarrant stared out the window of Salazem Grum, trying not to think about the last time he was here as a prisoner or how the bloody big head was on the move with a force against her sister again, a fact he had just been informed about. He did not want to think about such things, he did not want to think about anything, he wished his mind would just go blank and leave him be.
He tried not to think how Alice had come here all that time ago to save him and for a while he seemed to be more of his old self. He shook his head trying to focus on the sun setting beyond the horizon, it was every color he could imagine; red, orange, pink, purple all working together to bathe the land in its light.
Was Alice experiencing the same thing he was? Did the above world she came from have sunsets such as this one? He shook his head again, trying to toss her out of his head but she held on. She wouldn't seem to leave him alone.
He started wondering if she had married, if she had children, if she was happy. If she was happy with all the choices she had made, if she regretted any of those choices. Most likely she regretted nothing, she had chosen and she had chosen the correct path. He knew he was a broken man, a man that no woman wanted, no one wanted a man who was broken and that came with a past. A past that kept him up at night staring into the nothing while at other times he could not think straight and wanted nothing more then to loose himself completely in his memories since it was getting harder to suppress them.
She was better off being in her own world. There was nothing she could do for him now. He was falling into the nothing, further and further every time, soon he would not come back from it.
In his reverie he heard a ruckus in the hallway and wondered what could be so important that it warranted such noise.
He began to walk to the door to tell whoever it was that was making the noise to cease when his door violently swung open and banged up against the wall, making a sound like thunder which stopped him dead in his tracks.
He did not recognize the man who was holding a bow with a knocked arrow in the doorway. Before he could do anything there was a sharp pain, he did not understand why there was pain when all that had happened was the door opening and this man standing there.
He looked down at where the pain seemed to emanate from, he saw something protruding from his abdomen, something that looked curiously like the arrow that had a moment ago been in the bow the man was holding. How had it come to be there? He looked up at the man in confusion, barely registering that the man was knocking another arrow, getting ready to let it go.
"NO!" A female voice shrieked, a tantalizingly familiar voice. His mind was fogged with pain, he was trying to stay on his feet although the thought of collapse was one that was welcome.
"No!" The voice said again as it stepped from beyond the hallway, taking on the form of what looked to be the bloody big head.
"This one is not to be killed. You've damaged him enough already. This one comes with us. Take care of that wound. I can't have him dying on the journey back."
Nothing was making sense to Tarrant. Why was there pain? Why had the floor rushed up to meet him? Why was the man standing over him touching his painful abdomen, causing only more pain? Why was there a snap of wood accompanied only by more pain from a pressure that hadn't been there before? Why was the world going black?
•••
Iracebeth watched as the bowman followed her orders. Tarrant had collapsed, something that she didn't care about. What concerned her was if he had fallen on the arrow in such a way that would cause it to penetrate further and hit something that would make the wound fatal.
She watched as the arrow was broken in half, leaving the metal tip in Tarrant's body, she hoped it had not been poisoned, a practice that Diprosopus seemed very fond of. She watched as the man applied pressure around the wound, saw Tarrant finally lose consciousness. She looked on with a smile the whole time. Alice would certainly come back to Underland now, she had what the girl wanted. Alice would come and she, Iracebeth, would have her revenge.
•••
Alice sat up in bed, breathing heavily, sweat dripping down her back. She tried to control her breathing as her abdomen was rocked with a sharp pain. She doubled over with the pain, trying to remember what had happened in her dream, all she could gleam from it was the feeling of loss and helplessness. She could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the heel of her hand as she began to feel a pull on her being. She was needed somewhere but she could not remember where.
She got up from the bed, walking over to the bureau where there was a basin of water. She splashed her face with some, coming into the waking world further, washing away all the terrible feelings, but the pull was still there, constant but not over powering. She needed to go home.