The Missing Princess Of Hearts

Chapter 16

The queen was about to snap back at Rowena, but was quickly stopped when she got a good look at the young woman standing in front of her. The queen walked over, fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Oh my goodness. It's you! Everyone kept telling me that you had died at birth. But I knew better than to let go and believe that you had died at birth. I knew you were alive. Oh my precious beautiful Ruby," the queen said.

Rowena gave the queen a confused look. "Who the hell is Ruby? My name is Rowena, not Ruby," Rowena said.

Mad March let out a sad sigh, knowing that he could no longer keep the secret from Rowena. He knew deep down; Rowena was going to hate him for keeping such a big secret from her. Hopefully Rowena will find it in her heart to forgive me, once I reveal the big secret to her, Mad March thought to himself.

"Ro, there is something that I need to tell you, which will make you hate me after I tell you this, but I did what I did to keep you safe, because no matter what, you will always be family to me. No matter what happens or how you feel about me afterwards."

Rowena turned to look at Mad March with confusion written on her face. "What the hell are you going on about?"

"I have been keeping a secret from you for a long time now. The queen of hearts...she's your birth mother. The night you were born, my mother took you from your birth parents, because she wanted a daughter so badly. But she couldn't have any more children without it killing her. It made her sad but she lived with that decision, until word traveled around Wonderland about you. My mother made a plan to become a nurse to get close to the queen long enough, until the night you were born. That was when my mother took you, and ran away with you, raising you as her own daughter. My mother even went as far as to changing your name from Ruby to Rowena," Mad March explained.

"It's because of your pathetic mother that I was forced to have to miss out on all of my daughter's firsts. Because of your mother, my daughter doesn't know what it's like to be a proper princess," the queen of hearts snapped at Mad March.

Rowena glared at Mad March. "You mean to tell me that my entire life with you was a lie? All those times that I wanted to go and play outside and be a normal kid, and I couldn't because I was told it was dangerous; that was all a lie to keep me hidden from my birth mother? All the missions that you would let me tag along with you on, and you always made me hide my face, it was so you could keep this lie going?"

"I'm sorry Ro-" Mad March was cut off.

"Don't you dare call me Rowena, seeing as that isn't even my real name. From now on, you will refer to me as Ruby. Ruby Heart," Ruby said with anger in her tone.

"You can say all the hurtful things you want to me Ruby Heart, but that doesn't change the fact that my parents cared for you as though you were their biological daughter. That doesn't change the fact that I took over in keeping you safe, when our parents died and I was forced to grow up and provide for the both of us. No matter how much hatred you feel towards me now, it will all melt away, and you will forgive me. You never could remain angry with me for very long," Mad March said.

"That was before I found out the truth that you had been lying to me all this time. Things have changed now. You have been lying to me all this time. Now that the truth is out, my feelings have changed. And if I were you Mad March, I would watch my back, because you have just painted a target on it for me," Ruby said.

"Now Ruby dear, you can't kill Mad March," The queen began causing Mad March to let out a little sigh before the queen spoke up again. "Yet. We still need him around to bring the troublesome oyster that is still running around Wonderland back to us."

"Why would you need a washed-up assassin to help you catch an oyster, who clearly knows how to outsmart him? You can always send me out to retrieve the oyster and bring her back to you. I won't fail you," Ruby said.

Mad March felt the rage rise in his chest. He couldn't believe that his little sister was acting like that towards him. Mad March turned away from Ruby, turning his attention back to the queen of hearts. "Are you seriously going to trust the very girl, who was most likely helping the oyster escape from your spades every time they had come close to catching the oyster? Be truthful your highness, do you honestly trust your daughter to return back to you after you just found her, after spending so many years looking for her? Are you ready to lose your daughter again?"

"I am more than capable of finding the oyster and bringing her back to you. It would be wise to send me to go and grab the oyster for you. She wouldn't run away from me, since she was traveling with me for a bit. She doesn't have any reason to run away from me. I can easily lead her back here," Ruby said.

"Do you really believe that your darling daughter would go ahead and lead the oyster back? Fir all we know, your darling daughter would go running to the oyster and do her best to help the oyster get away from you and away from Wonderland," Mad march tried to reason with the queen of hearts.

"Enough! I will do you both one better. I will send the both of you out together. That way I know my daughter is safe. Should anything happen to her, I will have your head removed again," The queen of hearts said. "Now go and retrieve the oyster. Bring her back to me."

Alice couldn't help but feel bad that Rowena sacrificed herself, so that she and Hatter could get away to continue the search and rescue mission to save Jack.

"Do you think Rowena is alright," Alice asked, gaining Hatter's attention.

"What," Hatter asked kind of shocked that Alice had asked about Rowena.

"I asked if you believe if Rowena is alright. I mean we did just leave her there to keep that man and woman busy. We should have stayed behind and done something to help her. We could have done something to save her. Then we would have her help in finding and aving my boyfriend from this place," Alice said.

"Again, with you wanting to save your boyfriend. Look, we're trying to find more allies to help us," Hatter said while rolling his eyes. "Besides you obsessing over your boyfriend, your concern for Rowena is wasted. Rowena is a smart and tough woman. She will find a way out of her sticky little situation that she is in right now."

"But because of you and I, Rowena is stuck with those people who work for this psycho queen, who kidnaps people who does God knows what with them," Alice ranted before she and Hatter fell down in a huge hole.

Both Alice and Hatter got up dusting themselves off, while looking around for any way out of the hole.

"This is great. How on earth are we supposed to get out of this hole? There is no way out. We're going to die down here and my mother won't know what happened to me," Alice said.

"Remain calm, will you? I'm trying to think here,' Hatter said before hearing the crunching of leaves approaching the hole. Both Alice and Hatter looked up at the top of the ditch and spotted an elderly looking gentleman wearing a white knight suit standing there looking down at them in confusion.

"You both are weird looking Jabberwocky," the man said.

"We're not Jabberwocky. I promise you that much. I'm Hatter and this woman next to me is Alice. We're looking for our other friend, Rowena," Hatter said.

"No woman here by that name," The man in the white knight suit said.

"Who are you," Hatter asked.