𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕎𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕃𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣. ⏱

4. The King

   That night Alice couldn't sleep. She was thinking about what Time told her. Again. Literally, every word he said. He was driving her through so many emotions in such a small amount of himself, she wasn't able to keep track of it.
At one minute she was feeling angry, then surprised, intricked...anxious, ecstatic...
These feelings were also evolving from one to another, although it was impossible to name them all right now.
She got up out of bed and lit a candle, sat at a desk to write down some things. Alice took a piece of paper and a quilling pen and let the flow of her thoughts fill the blank page.

***

In the morning The Queens White and Red were arguing in the kitchen. Alice was starving and had no choice but enter the room, regardless if they were going to like it or not.

-You want to kill him again?! How dare you! - The Red Queen yelled terribly.
-It's them or us, Iracebeth. They would kill you too eventually - Mirana remained calm.
-My Jabberwocky would never kill me! We are friends!
-But he killed hundreds of innocents...

The Red Queen of Crims fell silent.

-...Oh! Good morning, my Dear! - Mirana said, when she finally noticed Alice standing near the kitchen doors.
-Good morning your Majesty. Sorry to interrupt your conversation...
-That's fine. We are done - Iracebeth sighed. She was upset no one understood her. She left the two women alone in the kitchen.

***

   The atmosphere in the Marmoreal Castle was rather tense. It hasn't changed since Alice arrived here.
She and her friends felt restless, waiting for the danger to come.
Alice kept the Vorpal Sword near her all the time. Just In case. The armor was standing, complete, in Mirana's throne room, ready to wear.

Alice wasn't sure where exactly Time was going to arrive and as the White Queen's grandfather clock was bound by chains and locked, she assumed that Time would show up the same way as he vanished the last time.
She was right and when 9:46 PM striked, the black vortex opened up on the balcony of her room.

-Evening' - Time said when Alice opened the balcony door to let him in.
-I like this thing! - She admitted, pointing at his teleportation device.
-Oh, yeah. I thought I would need something better for transportation, in case I would have to chase someone again. - He looked around. The room was small, but beautifully arranged. It wasn't as white as everything around and Alice was feeling very comfy in there. The light of candles brightened the room.
-The Red Queen said you insisted on having it back. - Alice passed him a book she kept on her bed.
-Yes, finally! - Time said, happy to have his property back. -Thank you. This may help. - He added and then opened the book. The title was 'The Order of the Universe'.
-This is how the Red Queen learned about how to mess up with the past, isn't she?
-Maybe. - Time looked away, he could feel Alice's eyes on him. But he was not willing to explain and humble himself even more. -Ekhem... You said that the pages of Oraculum aren't filled. It looks like there is something bigger involved. - He began to flip through the pages.
-Something greater than Mirana's magic?
-Yes, but I don't know how far it goes.
The one who is responsible for those burglars is someone who is above average magic. Someone like me. You see, I'm not present in Oraculum, because It's me who IS the past, the present and the future. The 'abstract' beings aren't noticed the same way as everyone else. It means they may strike anytime.
-Do you have any idea who it could be? Who made this all up?
-Actually, a few guesses...I have plenty of 'brothers' and 'sisters'.

When he was turning the pages, she was able to see some of the other creatures of Underland. The many 'beings' as physical representations of the fleeting and immeasurable things in life. It was impossible for her to read it, because the descriptions were written in Outlandish.
-Sometimes It's so hard to imagine there is so many differences between us. Tell me, Time... - Alice looked up at his face -...Where are you coming from? You had a family?
-Hmm. - He murmured. The story wasn't the shortest. -Well...The great and silent Darkness gave birth to me. The Darkness that started all of the life in the universe. - He showed her a page with a drawing of some sort of Dark Matter. It was undefined, like a careless scribble.
-Is the Darkness a person?
-I may be wrong, but I think It's just emptiness. I've never been a child. I've never had real parents. I was brought here to do my job and I knew what I am and what to do. That's all.