Wonderland? Wonderland!

17.

I don't know how long it's been going on now. Some can probably tell you how many days, hours and minutes have passed, but not me, I don't want to know. There are probably those who blame me for my choice, heck, I do it sometimes, but I honestly don't think it would have made any difference. Sooner or later he would have attacked anyway.

I have started working out again, it hurts my body, but in some crazy way dwt feels good. I never want to be defenseless again. Louis, however, has not been allowed to leave the infirmary yet. I visit him every day, between training and my visits to my mother. Even so, I think he's more prepared than I am, because a small part of me has seen how well everyone within the castle walls has adjusted, everyone but me. Although, I don't even react anymore when the ground occasionally shakes or when you hear the occasional bang from something I haven't yet identified.

"They say I can get out soon."
"Hmm? Ohh yes, good."
"Then I can start training, maybe you can show me some moves."
The joke hung in the air, a smile tuging on my mouth, but we both knew it wasn't genuine.
"You know no one would have blamed you if you wanted to go home right?"
"Home."
Such a strange concept. I probably didn't have a home anymore, my father had betrayed me, Wonderland was, well Wonderland was in full warmode. It felt like the accident was following me, maybe I was the problem.
But I was pulled out of my thoughts by someone pressing my hand. I looked up and was greeted by Louis' reassuring smile and now, now he was greeted by an, if small, genuine smile.

I had established that I liked him, not just as a friend but as something more. But I didn't know how to tell it, our relationship had been different ever since, ever since that night. The 'meds' made it so I didn't remember much, but I must have done or said something that hurt him because we weren't the same after that night.

I was fully dressed and in the middle of a sparring match when the queen calmly and calmly approached me.
"If you have time I would need to talk to you Y/n."
"Yes of course your majesty, what is it?"
"In private."
A little shocked but mostly curious, I followed her into a room with a large table.

Around the table sat mother, the hatter, Louis and some whos names I still did not know. Slowly, with the queen's consent, I took a seat next to my mother.
"You are all probably curious as to why I have gathered you here."
Some murmured agreement while others nodded, but I remained silent. "My nephew wants to tear up a deal. The people are getting tired of this pointless waiting. Both he and I want to see that we avoid a fight."
I sat quietly and just waited, this was too good to be true, something had to be wrong, there had to be a catch.
"To show his goodwill, he has offered that we may choose the place and that I and a select few should be allowed to participate, of course without weapons."
Could that be the catch?
"So I have handpicked those of you who are sitting in here to come along, if you want of course."
Total silence. No one made a sound.

The first to speak vat the hatter.
"I follow you my queen!"
He was met with a grateful smile and more people started signing up. So it was just me, Louis and mother left.
"If my dad's in, so am I!"
So everyone's eyes were on me, no one expected Alice to come along.
"Y/n?"
The queen's questioning voice and the others' looks felt like the pricks of small needles.
"Well, I guess if everyone else is in, so am I."
Smiles and small cheers erupted, but the only one I cared about was Louis, his smile made everything worth it.

But with a single wave of her hand, the queen silenced everyone.
"And Alice?"
"You don't think I'd leave my daughter alone with all of you, do you?! I'm coming!"
More smiles and louder cheers, the gods knew what was going to happen to us now, but maybe, just maybe, we would make it.

The queen's laughter eased out of themselves this time before she continued.
"Now that we've got it over with, we need a place and a time."
Many suggestions were thrown around, most serious, but some in fun.

Only after maybe two hours, you can never really tell time in wonderland, or yes I can't, they seemed to have decided. I wasn't too involved because I didn't know any places, but I expected Louis to happily explain later. Or well, at least explain, he didn't have to be happy.
Now only a formal letter would be written to be sent to Henry, not the prince not the king Henry, with a carrier pigeon. For despite all his promises about a truce blah blah blah, I could see one the queen that she didn't really want to risk even more residents in this conflict.

So for the first night in a long time I had sworn to sleep. That day at dawn we were supposed to meet. But despite all the promises and agreements, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. It felt like we were being played, but maybe it was just because I was tired, maybe I was just overthinking it, or maybe, just maybe I was right and we were heading straight into a trap.