Alice

28. Three Lies and a Truth

28. Three Lies and a Truth

"Well, wasn't that adorable?" I heard the Queen of Hearts say. I jumped to my feet and whirled around to see the Queen standing no more than a few yards away. Her knife was clutched in her fist and ready to strike.

I grabbed Jack's hand and yanked him out of the way. I pulled a little too hard, and we both fell to the ground, ending up on top of each other. Close to the ground, I could feel it vibrate with each step the Queen took as she sauntered towards us.

I reached out for Jack's hand. He found mine, and we interlaced our fingers.

"Stay with me," I whispered.

"Always," Jack promised me.

Even though I was once again staring Death in the face, I wasn't upset. Sure, I had my regrets. I regretted that my life had been so short, and that there were so many things I would never get to accomplish. I regretted letting my parents down by making them think I ran away. I regretted that I was disappointing the people of Wonderland by not being able to fulfill the prophecy. Most of all, I regretted dying for no reason. My death wasn't going to help anyone, or save a life. The only thing my death was going to mean was that the Queen had won.

Despite all of this, I didn't feel sad or angry. In fact, the only word that could describe what I was feeling is..... happy. After all, there are worse ways to die than in the arms of your true love. So, I closed my eyes and lay there. I wasn't scared. Seeing as I'd almost died a lot today, I was pretty prepared for death. I felt Jack stroke my hair. This is perfect. I couldn't ask for a better way to go, I thought.

The Queen was looming over us, her knife raised high in the air. Well, this is it, I thought. Suddenly, I heard a clamor. I looked in the direction of the noise to see Brokk, the Mad Hatter, and the Cheshire Cat standing by the staircase. Or at least, the first two were standing. The Cheshire Cat was floating in the air.

Okay, this whole swooping-in-at-the-last-minute-to-save-the-person/people-who-are-about-to-die thing was great the first two times, but now it's just plain weird! I thought.

Unfortunately, Brokk and company weren't there to save Jack and me. I realized this when I saw the guards behind them prodding them forward with swords.

"Brokk, were you listening when we went over the 'don't get captured' portion of the plan?" I asked him.

"Sorry," Brokk whimpered.

"Your Majesty, the rebellion has been crushed," announced the Ten of Diamonds guard proudly. "We identified these three as the leaders."

"Wonderful!" exclaimed the Queen delightedly. "I'll get to killing them later. Right now, I have two teenagers to finish off." With that, she began to bring her knife down on Jack and me.

"Oh, but you don't want to do that!" the Mad Hatter told the Queen.

She froze. "And why not?" she questioned.

"Because..... Because...."

"Because it wouldn't be any fun," finished the Cheshire Cat in a matter-of-fact tone.

"What could be more fun than stabbing defenseless children to death?" asked the Queen.

"But wouldn't you rather play a game with them first?" Brokk piped up. "We all know how much you love playing games, Your Majesty. Like croquet!"

"What kind of game?" she inquired, a curious note in her voice.

"A duel!" suggested the Mad Hatter.

The Queen considered this. "A duel? Hm..... " The Queen tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. She smiled. "I do love a good duel. All right, I'll do it. But I set the stakes, and I choose one of them to fight. And no interference from any onlooker."