Just Always be Waiting for Me; Book 5 In The "Love is Weakness" Series

You Surely are Mad

Raven had been transported from Looking Glass Land to the rose gardens surrounding the Queen of Hearts' Castle.

The grass was lush and green, and the cut of each blade... immaculate. Hundreds of heart-shaped rose bushes were intricately planted, every blossom beamed-- alternating petals of ruby, sangria, and scarlet red. Not one was wilted in the slightest. The garden was obscenely perfect, and it filled Raven's nose with sweet and overwhelming perfume. Such perfection could not exist in nature. The courtyard gardens were surrounded by hedge rows of bushes planted and cut into a labyrinth, along fifty foot stone walls.

Raven took in the inflorescences. The word, flawless, was an understatement. On the surface the garden was breathtaking, however the garden lost its beauty in its uniformness. It made Raven uncomfortable. She always felt that true beauty lies in a things imperfections. The vision for this garden must have come from a truly demented and obsessive individual.

Raven heard a man grumbling behind a group of bushes, and she quickly hid within the labyrinth. She watched on through the leaves, and witnessed a middle aged gardener attending to the lawn in a peculiar manner. He was cutting the blades of grass with a pair of sharp shears and holding a magnifying glass. A measuring stick was hung like a fish hook from a bowler hat on his head, presumably to measure each grass blade exactly. The man wore coveralls of white material, with various card suits embroidered into the fabric. Raven considered many variables in her mind as to the best way to enter the castle. She would need an audience with the Queen of Hearts to carry out the request under threat of being locked away, by the White Queen.

Raven began to have second thoughts. After all, as powerful as she was, she wouldn't let some old hag threaten her. She was out of the mirrored castle and could now use her powers freely. A smirk formed on her lips and a mischievous look appeared in her eyes, as she contemplated her betrayal of the White Queen.

Raven gave herself a moment to process her thoughts, and she was too distracted to see a shimmering outline appear above her head. It floated atop a smaller row of hedges that made up the garden labyrinth. An absurd sort of chuckle sounded from the spectrum.

Raven blinked to be sure of what she was seeing, and then shut her eyes and released an exasperated sigh.

"I mean, I guess I should be surprised and respond with "what the hell?", but at this rate, it's sort of redundant." Raven began, in an unamused tone. "I'm not scared of you, show yourself."

"My! You certainly are a mad one, aren't you?" Said the creature.

The floating, grinning, animal, appeared to be feline. Although, the soft fur that coated his body was unusual to say the least. Raven had seen many different cats in her life, but never had she seen one with a coat of bright pink and stripes of brilliant purple.

"Yeah." Raven huffed, pointedly, "You would be too if you were me. And, why am I talking to some freaky, purple cat?" She added, scolding herself.