Alice

20. Success and Failure

20. Success and Failure

I was dizzy. I felt sick to my stomach. My newly repaired heart fell to the floor.

I couldn't say anything. I couldn't protest, scream, or utter any sound at all. I was frozen from disbelief.

But when the guards started to descend on Jack, I snapped. Anger welled up inside me. I sprang out of my chair like a bolt of lightning. I shot toward one of the guards and snatched his sword right out of his hands. Instinct and everything I'd learned from period movies took over. I wielded the sword elegantly in my hand, knocking aside shocked playing card men and holding off the ones who had recovered and were trying to subdue me. I shocked myself with how good I was. I guess those fencing lessons I took in the eighth grade were worth something after all.

Havoc commenced. Jury members scattered. Some ran out of the room, and some just ran in circles. The March Hare pulled out some teacups and began throwing them. People were screaming, shouting, hollering. The judge was uselessly banging his gavel and shouting "Order! Order!" He finally stopped when he had to duck to avoid one of the Hare's flying teacups. The Queen was shouting orders to her men, but they were all very confused.

"Jack!" I called over my shoulder. He was just sitting there with a stunned expression on his face. "Jack, run!" I ordered. He looked like he wanted to protect me, but he was unarmed. So, he did what I said and made for the exit.

I was doing well. The Queen looked panicked as I cut her deck of card soldiers. As I dueled one, a Four of Diamonds tried to sneak up and catch me by surprise. But he wasn't careful enough, and I knocked him out of the way with the butt of my sword.

When no more guards left standing around me, I turned to look at the Queen of Hearts. She was unguarded, as all of the soldiers around her had come to attack me.

This was it. The moment I needed to destroy the Queen. It was time to meet my destiny.

But then a voice stopped me.

"Alice!" Jack. He's calling for me. I couldn't just go charging toward the Queen. She'd be able to fight, of course. Much better than me. She could kill me. She would kill me. I couldn't make Jack watch me die. That would hurt more than anything a knife could do to him. And I wanted to go towards him, way, way more than I wanted to go towards the Queen of Hearts. Besides, I had created a distraction to allow us to escape. I had achieved success.

So, I dropped my sword, turned around, and ran as fast as I could towards Jack and the exit.

When I got to him, he grabbed my hand and we ran towards the exit.

My fingers had just touched the brass door handle when the heavy oak doors flew open.

More guards. Double the amount there was before. They advanced forward, swords drawn. Jack and I turned back around to run the other way, but there were more guards blocking us.

I raised my hand, expecting the sword to still be there. But my hand was empty, and I could see the sword on the ground where I'd dropped it several yards away.

The guards closed in around us. I gripped Jack's hand tightly. They were not going to separate us. I felt myself being grabbed by the soldiers, and I struggled. They yanked me away from Jack and my hand slipped away from his.

"Jack!" I screamed. "JACK!"

I kicked and fought. Suddenly, I felt a hard hit over my head. I became dizzy, and my vision became spotty. The last thing I saw was the Queen, a malicious smile on her face.

Only one word went through my mind as I lost consciousness: Failure.