Impossible (A HEARTLESS Fanfic)

Chapter Fifteen

When Alice finally awoke, the sun was peeking through the leaves of the bushes in which she was dozing, casting mottled shadows on her face. Lifting herself into a sitting position, she yawned and stretched, not even batting an eye at her strange bed.

"Oh thank goodness. I was worried you were never going to wake up."

Alice turned to find Mary Ann sitting nearby. "How long have I been asleep?" Alice asked.

"Nearly a day and a half," Mary Ann said.

A day and a half! She had never liked sleeping all that much, as it took her away from the exciting world around her. Sleeping for so long made her heart ache, imagining all of the wonderful things she must have missed.

"Hatta had us set up camp here," Mary Ann explained. "We just hoped that you would wake up before it became necessary for us to run. I don't think any of us can navigate the Forest the way you can."

"Where is Hatta?"

"He and Haigha are keeping guard up in a nearby tree. I was on watch with him at first until Haigha finally regained consciousness. That sprint of ours really took a lot out of him."

Alice stretched again and laid down on the hard yet familiar Forest floor. The patches of moss along a large tree root felt soft against her cheek, and she almost wished she could stay there in that little hiding spot forever. But then she remembered the situation she was in. There was no time for lying about.

"Mary Ann," Alice began, sitting back up, "does Hatta actually have a plan?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, does he have any idea how we're going to overthrow the Queen? So far the end result is all he's talked about. But how is he going to actually arrive at that desired outcome?"

"I believe he's hoping it will come to him as he goes."

"That's ridiculous. We need an actual plan. We can't expect to waltz into Hearts Castle and demand that the Queen yield to us. Just getting past the gates is going to require great stealth and forethought."

"He seems to be putting a lot of faith in you."

"I don't know what he's expecting from me. I'm a thief, not a warrior and most certainly not a queen."

Mary Ann's eyes became very sad and distant. "You are not the first to believe you are not monarch material, Miss Alice. Some of the most feared and powerful rulers once doubted their own abilities."

The maid's sorrow and cryptic words fueled Alice's curiosity, and she could not help herself. "How are you all connected to the Queen of Hearts?" she asked

Mary Ann began fiddling with a fallen leaf, shredding it into pieces. "What makes you think we're connected?"

"All of you have made a number of comments suggesting that you know her as more than a ruler."

Mary Ann shook her head. "I really don't think that's relevant to the task at hand."

"Well, I'm the one who is expected to defeat the Queen, and I think it is relevant." Alice leaned forward, causing Mary Ann to tilt back uncertainly. "Please, Mary Ann. I'm desperate to know. I'm very clever. Perhaps a piece of information you believe is unimportant could in fact be something I could use to further our cause. Please."

Mary Ann's eyes darted about frantically before she finally tossed the leaf aside and heaved a sigh. "Very well. I can't tell you much with regards to her relationship with Hatta and Haigha, but I can tell you what I know.