Of Roses Red and Violet

Pretenders and Prophecies

Gilly skipped breakfast the next morning to  speak with Rose. Rose had a new idea for how they could possibly fix the prophecy. "I could cheat death." Gilly suggested and Rose gave a small laugh. "My dear Gillian, cheating death is not always as simple as it seems. There is only one possible way to come back to life. But we shouldn't consider that an option."

"What else can I do? There's so much about myself that I want to figure out but I can't know my future unless I know my past." "I understand but you must be patient. There has to be a reason that the prophecy isn't over." Gilly sat back in her seat. "What if, Alva isn't totally gone. When she was banished we had no idea to where. Maybe she's still alive causing more harm." Rose leaned in closer "What are you implying?" "Maybe she's wreaking havoc in another realm."

"Hmm." "What did you say about the Queen of Hearts again? What did she seem like?" "Well she was a bit different. So she was strict before but enslaving an entire world was out of character for her. She gave up much of her wonderland fashion taste for more modern clothes." Gilly gasped and grabbed the nearby book on Wonderland. "What did you say her eye color was?" "Oh it was very red. Why?" "Because in this portrait of her she has blue eyes." Rose's eyes widen as she realized what Gilly was implying.

"Are you saying Alva could be the Queen of Hearts?" Gilly nodded. "Or she could be pretending to be her! She once posed as Gottie to trick Kayla! I'll bet she realized she was stuck in Wonderland and decided to take over after we beat her!" Gilly's blood was boiling. Out of all the things that could've happened on this trip, Alva still being alive was the last thing she expected. Rose grabbed Gilly's hands. "If you're right about this, then we have much more to worry about than just your future."

"I'll investigate as much as I can but honestly Gilly, to stop Alva and restore your future. You're going to have to face her again." Gilly's heart started pounding the same it always had when Alva was mentioned. Her mind reverted back to a 12 year old girl, standing in front of a fairy whose powers could've killed Gilly on the spot. Why didn't she kill me? No. Gilly knew why. Alva was a monster who wanted Gilly to see her entire world get torn apart. But now it was Gilly's turn to rip hers apart.

"I'll do whatever I can to stop her." "Thank you Gillian." Rose and her spent the rest of the day researching on Alva and the Queen of Hearts. After discovering that Alva may had kidnapped the Queen and hidden her somewhere, they decided the best course of action was to face her on her territory. "Her magic is strong but it must have gotten stronger when she moved to Wonderland. It has a way of showing a person both the best and worst version of themself."

"So we fight her in Wonderland. Like. I go to wonderland and fight her again?" Rose shrugged and put her hand on Gilly's shoulder. "I wish I could say no. Truly I do. But I know that you are capable of so much and you can stop her. You've done it before and you can do it again. I believe in you more than I believe in the moon and stars." "And if I don't succeed?" "Gillian. It is your choice to decide to face her again. But if you don't succeed, I imagine you'll be back where you are now or worse."

Right. She'll be back to not knowing where her life is headed and being as clueless as ever. Why was she always so stupid? "I promise I won't fail." "What will your friends say?" Oh my Grimm. Her friends. "I'll talk to them. I'm sure they'll say yes."
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"No!"

"What?" The crew sat in Gilly's room and immediately went off as soon as Gilly told them her plan. She hadn't expected them to be so adamant about it. I mean come on, it was like any other trip they've been on. "I am not going out to Wonderland to face Alva again!" Jocelyn shouted. "Yeah and what about our plan to be back home soon! We've been here for a week already!" Maxine added. Gilly slammed her head on the table. Can't they just say yes. "I'm not risking my life again!" "Me neither!" Jack and AG agreed.