Adventures in Wonderland

Chapter 5

The Red Queen's Castle

~~3rd Person POV~~

A large hand with a red birthmark reaches down and picks up the abandoned Oraculum. The grim Knave of Hearts, Ilosovic Stayne, has a flaming red birthmark which covers half his face and hands. He looks through the scroll and sees something that alarms him. He jogs over to his horse and puts the Oraculum in his saddle bag, but before he can get on his horse someone taps him on the shoulder. "What?! I have n..." He is now turned around to see a girl with curly blonde hair. "Where am I?" She asks with fear in her voice and eyes.

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Lily runs down the path with the Tweedles, but it diverges into two directions. One road sign points south the "Snud" and the other east to "Queast".

"This way! East to Queast!" Dum starts pulling Lily in that direction. "No, south to Snud!" Dee then starts pulling her in the other direction. Suddenly there's an ear-splitting screech as an enormous JubJub Bird, which is part monkey-eating eagle and part ostrich, swoops down and snatches the Tweedles in its class.

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The JubJub flies over the barren red earth of Crims with the Tweedles in its claws towards Salazen Grum and the castle of the Red Queen on the shore of the Crimson Sea. Her flag, with the Heart in Flames flies atop the spires.

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A long hall is lined with frog footmen with a fish butler. An angry scream is heard from behind closed doors. The doors bang open to reveal Iracebeth, the Red Queen. She has a huge, oversized head, extremely large feature (and that includes her makeup) and bright blood red hair. "Someone stole three of my tarts!" She screams with a red face. She leans into the face of the first frog and surprisingly calm asks: "Did you steal them?"

"No, your majesty." He says with a straight face and no emotion in his voice. Then she moves to the second and third frogs and they say the exact same thing, but when she asks the fourth: "Did you steal my tarts?" He seems nervous and gulps before answering, "No, your majesty." There's a squeak in his voice. The Red Queen then wipes a purple substance off the corner of his mouth and licks the substance off her finger. "Squimberry juice..." She whispers.

"I was so hungry!" He tries to defend himself but it doesn't matter to the Red Queen. "OFF WITH HIS HEAD!" She screams. Red Knights converge on the guilty frog. "No! Please! I have little ones to look after!" He begs for mercy but the Queen only walks to her throne. The Knights drag him out, and she turns to the fish butler. "Go to his house and collect the little ones. I love tadpoles on toast almost as much as I love caviar." The fish butler suppresses his anger and revulsion for fear of sharing the fate of the frog. "Yes, your majesty."

"Majesty?" The Queens face lights up to see The Knave and she turns flirty. "Ilosovic Stayne... You Knave, where have you been lurking?" She holds out her hand, and he kisses it, but only barely. She sighs. "Your majesty, I found the Oraculum." He lays it on a table and rolls it out. "And something else." Stayne points behind him to the girl with the curly blonde hair. "Who is she?!"

"Your majesty, she's going to help us."

"How?!"

"She know Lily personally, so she can help us figure out what she'll do next and tell us all her weaknesses." Stayne smiles a sinister smile. "How do you know she won't turn on us and tell Lily our plans."

"Because I don't like Lily and I'd do anything to make her miserable." The girl speaks up for herself. The Queen sighs not being ok with tho but knowing she need the advantage. "Ok. But I don't trust you yet. So what's your name?"

"Alice." The girl - Alice - tells the Queen. After the introductions they turn their attention back to the Oraculum. "Thus thing looks so ordinary for an Oracle." The Queen says unimpressed. "Look here. On the Frabjous Day." Stayne points to the illustration of Lily in the scroll. "I'd know that long, dark hair anywhere. Is it Lily?"

"I believe it is." Stayne confirms and Alice nods. "What is she doing with my darling Jabberwocky?" The Queen asks as if she can't figure it out herself. "She appears to be slaying it." He answers calmly. The Queens face turns red and she screams. "She killed my Jabberbabywocky!"

"Not yet. But it will happen if we don't stop her." Stayne tries to calm her down. "Find Lily, Stayne. Find her!"

"I will bring her head and lay it at your feet." He reassures her. "No. Bring the while girl. I want to do it myself. And you..." She points at Alice. "If you know anything useful and are able to stop Lily you better do everything you can because I will not hesitate to chop off your head!" Alice only smirks and nods. "Yes, your majesty."

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Stayne sits on his horse with Alice behind him as the Knights hold a growling bloodhound named Bayard who's bound by a spiked collar and heavy ropes. "Find the scent of the human girl and earn your freedom." Stayne tells Bayard. "For my wife and pups as well?" Bayard asks. "Everyone goes home." Stayne promises. Bayard puts his nose to the ground sniffing for the human girl. Suddenly he gets something and takes off running, leading the Knights off. Stayne strokes his horse's neck. "Dogs will believe anything." Stayne's horse says. Alice and Stayne laugh in agreement and take off after the others.