The Alice Games

The King

The dormitory felt quite empty with only five girls left in it. They all mostly kept their distance from one another. Even Teodora (who, of course, had survived- the cheater) was withdrawn, spending most of her time clinging to Emile, who looked as though he'd much rather be elsewhere.

Delia spent more time reading than she ever had in her life- this she was sure of. Certainly, she would occasionally get out the chess board and play, or doodle something on a spare bit of paper, but mostly, she read about Wonderland. It must have been quite gorgeous, once. The books told of giant chessboards and glorious battles and Jaberwocks slain. All of them seemed to stop telling the truth sometime after Alice began her reign. Only one book so far had told the truth the whole way- and there were suspicious looking stains on the cover and the first page. On the reign of Alice, it read, truthfully and plainly,

Alice's rule began after she beat the Red Queen in a game of chess. She immediately began her own sort of rule- a rule of totalitarian dictatorship. Even though the Red Queen was fickle and ill-tempered, she kept the Wonderland spirit alive. She allowed the various Wonders to go about as they pleased, confusing or helping- or even killing- children as they liked, so long as they did as she said and kept out of her way. When Alice took over, there was to be no more confusing of children, or talking to them at all. Each Wonder was locked up in a part of Wonderland that they could not escape, akin to their own personal Hell.

The Cheshire Cat was imprisoned between evaporating, so that he would be air particles for ever; the Mad Hatter was sent to be a slave to Time, which he had murdered so long ago; the March Hare was shaved and dipped in cement as a statue, still alive to this day; very few escaped punishment. The Dormouse managed to get away. As did I, the King of Hearts. I had managed to write this history down, knowing that as it is bound, Alice sharpens her blade. Thankfully, someone- I cannot say who- shall secret it away. If you are reading this, know what I have to say- Alice cannot be trusted- if you come across her, and she offers you something of hers, do not take it! She will kill you and continue on, laughing, even if it means her death...

Delia snapped the book shut, looking thoughtful, and tucked it under her bed. if you come across her, and she offers something of hers, do not take it! She will kill on and continue on.... Did that mean something was up with the whole offer to rule Wonderland, then? Most of the other books said that Alice was generous and loving, but then again, the other books were probably lying. There was something about this book that rang true.

"Hi," a voice interrupted. Delia looked up- it was Emile. He'd managed to get away from Teodora. He smiled and sat down on the edge of her bed. "What's up?"

"Not much," Delia replied. "Managed to get away from Dear Teo?" Emile grinned in appreciation of her sarcasm.

"Barely."

"I feel you. Why don't you let me just beat her up?" Delia replied.

Emile shrugged his shoulders. "Duty first. The Red Queen's nice to me. We, ah," he dropped his tone to almost a whisper. "We both hate Alice."

"Lots of people hate her," Delia replied, not bothering to lower her voice. Emile looked at her sharply.

"Do you have a death wish or something?"

"Are you afraid of dying, cheater?" Delia returned, her eyes narrowed.

"And you aren't?"

"You're avoiding the question," Delia said, sidestepping his own question.

Emile wasn't fooled. "You're avoiding mine." We sat, glaring at each other, for what seemed like the longest time. Someone coughed, and Emile gave in.

"Yes, I'm marginally afraid of dying. I understand that we all die, though I'm hoping for me that day won't come anytime soon." He grinned. "And, I'd rather have Teo on the throne, if you're asking why I helped her."

"You'd rather have a puppet queen?"

"Yes. I'd rather have the Red Queen than anyone on the throne. Like... well, nevermind."

"The King of Hearts wanted that, too." Delia observed.

Emile sat bolt upright. "That book still exists?"

Delia looked at him. "What book? I just stated the obvious."

"Right. Sorry," Emile replied. "It's just that the King wrote a history of Wonderland. It's really the only history book that tells the truth about everything. The Red Queen was notoriously near-sighted, you know- she thought Alice was a servant at first and ordered her to paint the roses red-"

"Yeah, I remember that part," Delia recalled. "They were white before. But what about the White Queen?"

"Hmm?" Emile seemed lost in his other thoughts. "She was never of any importance. The true badasses in those days always resided with the Red Queen. Or the Queen of Hearts if you prefer."

"What happened to her?"

"Oh. She wasn't even punished. She'd disappeared years before Alice returned, saying something about impending doom. She hid from it. People laughed and said that it would probably be after their time. She always was a bit more mirrored than anybody else."

"Do you think she'll come back?"

"Maybe a year after the danger has passed, maybe tomorrow. Who can tell?? She's not any use anyways- Alice has a tight grip on ever Wonder and never relaxes it. When the White Queen reappears, she'll be ensnared, too."

"I suppose next you'll be saying the glass is half empty," Delia replied.

"I'm serious," Emile said turning towards her. "The glass isn't half empty- there isn't anything in it! The only hope for all of Wonderland is for Alice to be deposed."

Delia nodded. "Good point. But why does it have to be Teo?"

"She loves the Red Queen."

"Oh. So this is all just for the Red Queen."

"Look," Emile said. "I hate Teo. Okay? I get that you hate her too. So can't we just hate her together, even though I have to work for her?"

"Eh. Why not?" Delia replied, watching a pompous-looking servant come in. She knew that look. "Looks like our next challenge is here."