The Alice Games

The Pawn

Delia hesitantly pulled open the heavy door and stepped into the room beyond. It was a long, corridor-like room furnished simply with many beds and rugs and occasional openings to another room (a washroom, Delia hoped). Bustling about the long stone room were other girls, from ages ten to twenty. Some were sitting on thier beds or reading books or cleaning, but most were gathered around something interesting in the middle room. Drawing closer, Delia stood on her tiptoes, her tall height allowing her to easily see over the heads of the others.

The other girls were not gathered around something, but someone. It was a beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a splendid red dress. Delia found the color choice rather odd; this girl looked far to girly to wear red, ever.

"....and then, her Former Majesty pointed straight at me- me, in my ugly gray gown, and said, 'I choose this girl to represent me in the Games. For she is beautiful and clever and strong.' And I said, 'Your Majesty is truly amazing..."

Delia stopped listening. Who would ever listen to such a silly creature prattle on like that? But evidently the other young girls found her story fascinating. They leaned in closer as the girl in red continued her narrative. Turning away, Delia walked past the group to go explore the rest of the room.

"And WHO is that?!" The Red Girl exclaimed, pointing to Delia. All of the girls gathered around her turned, almost in unison, to stare at the new arrival.

"New arrival," one of them answered. "Too ugly to be anyone's rep, she must be one of the Fallen," she added nastily. "Don't pay attention to her, Teodora."

"Now, now," Teodora admonished her follower, "know thy enemy." She beckoned Delia forward. "Who and what," she added, looking at Delia's clothes, "are you?"

Delia smiled wolfishly. "Where I come from," she replied snarkily, "I am known as Satan." She bowed to the other girls, who stared and gasped. A girl perched on a bed nearby, without taking her nose out of the book she was reading, muttered "That's my sister."

Delia swung to face the other girl. She looked to be a little younger than Delia. Long, mouse-brown hair swung from her head an fell, curtainlike, over the book. Coming closer, Delia could see a hint of glasses.

Sensing Delia's gaze, the girl looked up, tucking her hair behind her ear. "May I help you?" She inquired. She pushed her precariously perched glasses up her small nose and smiled. "Satan?"

Delia collapsed onto the bed and said, "Just Delia." She sat up. "What's your name?"

"Jorge." Jorge pushed her glasses up yet again. "Short for Jorge."

"Hi, Jorge."

"Hi, Deli-meat."

"Don't call me that."

"I call everyone a food name," Jorge replied. "We're all lunch meat except for one anyways, so why pretend that some are more important than others?"

"What do you mean?" Delia queried. "What are we competing in?"

"The Alice Games," Jorge said, sighing. "The most dangerous games in Underland, where only one person survives- even if the competition is just a chess match."

"Only one survives." The words echoed around Delia's head as she drank it all in. She fell back into the bed, where Jorge had moved a pillow into position for her head.

"Take your time, Deli-meat." Jorge said gently, returning to her book.