𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 ♤ 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 ˢ

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟑

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟑
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐍𝐀𝐕𝐄'𝐒 𝐄𝐗𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

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Despite wanting nothing more than to turn around and talk with his brother, Kaden hadn't moved from his spot since the Red Queen left. The Scarlet boy ignored the pleas from Will and kept his eyes glued to the empty cages in front of him. If it were up to him, Kaden would've unlocked the cell and helped his brother escape. Unfortunately, it wasn't up to him. Nothing had been up to him the moment his free will was taken away. And he was sick of it.

It wasn't long after Will gave up trying to get his brother back when the sound of heels clicking against metal filled the air. When Kaden turned toward the source of the sound, he found the Red Queen walking up the stairs with a determined look on her face. As soon as she got to the top landing, the blonde woman walked straight past her knight to stand in front of the Knave's cell. The two of them just stared at each other in silence for a long moment before Will finally decided to break it.

"What are you doing here?" the Scarlet man questioned without trying to hide the hatred in his voice, "I thought the whole point of becoming Queen was so that you never had to get your hands dirty again."

"Will, I still get my hands dirty," the Red Queen chuckled as she slowly approached his cage before stopping a foot away from the bars, "the only difference now is I get people to clean them off for me."

"So you've just come to gloat?" Will hissed while Anastasia continued to watch the brunette man with emotionless eyes, "remind yourself that you did the right thing all those years ago?"

"That's not why."

"Then why?"

For what felt like an eternity, all that was heard throughout the dungeon was the Red Queen's shaky breathing. Confusion flowed through Kaden's veins as he stared at the woman who he had never seen shed a tear. It took another moment for the blonde woman to gather her courage to respond to the man she once loved.

"I came to tell you that in a few minutes, the White Rabbit will be here with instructions to take you and Kaden out of Wonderland and back to where he found you," Anastasia explained, causing the blood in the younger Scarlet brother to run cold before his eyes fell to his glowing heart in the woman's hand.

"Will he now?"

"Will, I'm serious."

"Is this the part where you get to catch us escaping? Give you an excuse to kill us?" Will questioned while trying his hardest to the look of hope that began to form in Kaden's eyes.