Behind Sanity

Chapter Thirty-One

                                                                       Behind Sanity

                                                                  Chapter Thirty-One

                                                                                 1

               Alice made her way carefully and quietly.  The land of Red was exactly the same as White, only tiled with color of the blood that dripped from her blade – and backward from the pale realm.  The drab grey tiles were replaced with blotchy red ones while the white remained.  The sky was dark above, but there was light enough for her to see all around her, and if it had not been for the fact that the red tiles looked suspiciously as if they were painted with blood, she would have preferred the look of this place to its opposing kingdom. 

               She had amused herself a bit for a while, stepping only on the white blocks, but then she had gotten bored with that.  The White Rooks that led her here had stopped at the gate as she proceeded.  They would help her in any way possible, whether it was to fight or to serve as a distraction in the event of an attack, but they would not advance from their border unless she needed them.  She was grateful for the aid, but still, she had a strange feeling about safety in this place.  It was too quiet, as if the kingdom was deserted.  She felt as though everyone knew where she was, yet she could see none of them as they blended in with their crimson environment.  It was a terrible feeling, and for a few moments she tried to think of what she would do if several Reds were to ambush her.  She could think of nothing.

                As she passed over the red river, all she could hear were the sounds of her own boots clicking against the marble-smooth floor. She clenched the cards in one hand, spread and ready, while the other hand held the croquet mallet.

                 After a moment, she stopped.  What was her objective again?  Ah yes, to save the White Queen.  Why?  To get White on her side.  It seemed like a good enough reason, but she wasn’t sure if it was the right one.  Perhaps she should want to help them just to do a good deed and without expecting anything in return.  She didn’t know what she truly felt about that, but all she could think about as of late was Morgan.  Where was the girl?  Was she alright?  The others had assured her that she was, but how did they know that if they didn’t know where she was?

                Who were ‘they’?

                Wherever Morgan was, Alice simply hoped she would be safe long enough for her to find her.  She hoped greatly that she was not in the clutches of some fiend.  Wendy had had so much faith in Alice, the least she could do was restore her sister’s happiness – whether she made it out of this place herself or not.

                Walking slowly up the steps of a tower nearby, Alice made sure she went one step at a time with pauses between each step.  After every step, she stopped to listen, just in case something might be following or there was something ahead.  By the time she reached the top, she was satisfied that there had been no one in the tower, and that there had been no one following her.

                Passing by a window on the walkway to the adjoining tower, something below caught her eye.  She stepped back to the window to peer out, and realized she could see down into the town square.  There, several Red Pawns were standing about at attention, and a couple of Knights patrolled the perimeter of the area.  A Bishop stood beside what was, as far as Alice could tell, a guillotine.