Ruby red pumps were tapping against the heart-shaped tiles of the palace. The tall windows that accompanied the tiles were like guards to a city. Through their openings the full moon peeked its head, his rays beaming upon a passing figure. She had long, ginger hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Her eyes look determined and full of annoyance as she continued her decent down the abandoned passageway. Slender fingers curled up in a fist in anxiety as she neared her destination.

Shaking her head in frustration as she picked up her pace, as plenty of the decorative tiles slipped under her feet. One cracked tile almost had her falling to her knees, if it weren't for her spot-on concentration she regained her balance and continued on her way. Soon her light green eyes spotted a large portrait. It was an old memory of hers that she can not bare to lose.

The painting was of her family. Her parents were by now, long gone, but they always had a place in her heart and there was no exception. As she stepped closer to it, memories hit her like a full on charge of a bull elephant. The memories of her standing there looking all pretty, while trying to smile the best as she could. Her father laughing his famous laugh and her mother smiling down at her proudly. It seemed just yesterday to her, when she was just that small. Her eyes glanced upon the painting of her father. He was tall and broad chested, slightly muscular with a whiting mustache. His hair was nicely groomed and his eyes were sparkling of happiness. To the right of her father was her mother. Her auburn hair was in the same fashion of Scarlet's, she kept it that way just because of her. Her brown eyes were looking down at the small child in between them both. There stood Scarlet, as young as she could be. Scarlet's ginger red hair was curled to the point of corkscrews and they framed her face. Her light green eyes were just as bright as her fathers. As she looked over the three figures, she bit her lip.

In a moment she placed two fingers to her lips and softly kissed them, and brought them to the lips of her fathers. "I miss you...so much,"she whispered before grasping the golden frame that surrounded the picture. Prying it away from it's holdings, it revealed a long abandoned passageway, that led to an oaken door. Looking both ways before slipping into the hall and towards the door. With it's old wooden charm, and the rustic iron door knob, she grabbed it and yanked it open.

There before her were the royalties of the other three kingdoms that inhabit the land. Around the room were the maps of the kingdoms and they corresponded with the seating arrangements. To the left of Queen Scarlet was the war hero and king of Spades; King Typhus. In front of her was a skinny blonde, the queen of Diamonds;Queen Sterling. Last but not least, was the king of Clubs; King Aidan, which was to the right of the heart queen.. As she approached the square table, King Typhus stood up and took her hand softly and led her to her seat. Queen Sterling just rolled her eyes at the action, as she came closer, King Aidan was too shaken to speak to the young ladies.

"Good Evening Scarlet, we are delighted to see you this evening." He said softly as Queen Scarlet took her place at the table. He soon resumed sitting beside her.

"Good Evening to you to Typhus, I am delighted to see that all of you could come to this meeting. Let's get it started shall we?"

King Typhus and the others nodded, but the one who stood up to acknowledge a problem first was Queen Sterling. "I think we should start with the border problems. For I have a bone to pick."she said looking straight at Typhus with a glare. "For the past few weeks,my people and I have seen acts of terror and thievery from a band of Spades. Once we had captured their leader they had pointed out that you were behind all this,"she spat.

In an instant King Typhus was on his feet and slamming his fist down onto the table. "How dare you accuse me of telling my own people to go and steal from you!Who was always there to help you in times of need! Me!"

"I didn't accuse you, I know it WAS you."

"Why would I want them to steal from a rotten kingdom like yours. So what if it has valuable jewels, all the people are stuck up snobs and rude, just like you."

"Why I never! Keep this up Typhus and you'll end up with a war on your hands!"

Before King Typhus could answer to that, Queen Scarlet stood up and amped her voice to settle the two bickering royalties to settle down. The heart queen's eyes were a flamed. "Both of you calm down this second! You're acting like a bunch of immature children. Get a hold of yourselves, and be civilized for once."

In the moments that passed, they rolled their eyes and sat back down reluctantly. Their meeting continued without any other delays, but the dagger-like glares from Sterling and Typhus did not settle down. Soon the meeting was coming to a close "Now, to close this meeting, I want to say that we should strengthen our borders between each other, so no more wars can occur..."Queen Scarlet spoke as she glared at the two of them.

Scarlet was about to continue when something had caught her attention; it was the purple haze that started to cover the floor of the room. It started to rise as two figures appeared from the floor. Both of them were around the age of sixteen or seventeen. The boy on the left stepped closer to the group with open hands. He had blue hair that spiked out a bit from under his lilac cloak. His eight feathers fluttering a bit as he advanced to them. A light pink bandanna was covering his mouth and his eyes were a gentle green. He looked at them calmly.

"Fear me not your highness. My brother and I are friends of yours. We came from the Cavern of Doom. We are the ancient oracles of your ancestors. We have an urgent message that we must tell you. For it is the fate of Wonderland!"

Scarlet had watched them with quavering eyes she slowly nodded a bit in fear. King Aidan who was now entangling his arm with Scarlet's grew even paler at the sight of the two boys. "If you must, then go ahead young men,"she said softly with a bit of a squeak of fear.

Nike, the oracle closest to Scarlet turned to his brother, Ike, who was identical to him in appearance. The only difference was in the colors of his appearance, which Ike's hair were a light pink and his bandanna was covering his eyes in blue. Soon he joined up with Nike, and their wings fluttered in unison as the mist started to swirl around them, lifting them up in the air. Pure light beamed out of the cyclone of mist as a deep and wise voice boomed.

"Down through a hole a person comes, but in their path fear does roam."

After the voice quieted down, the mist started to evaporate into nothing, and where the oracles stood, was nothing more than dust. It left the four of them in complete awe, and shaking in their shoes. Scarlet was the first to recover from the event and she turned to the rest while she bit her lower lip in thought. King Typhus seemed to have been shook up by the whole event, but he soon recovered after Scarlet. He looked down and fumbled with his large hands. On the other hand, Queen Sterling looked as white as snow and she was slowly filing her nails to stubs as she slightly glanced up at Scarlet. King Aidan was the worst of the four, he was curled up in the right hand corner shaking profusely, with rabbit's foot in his hand. Every few minutes, he would bring the foot up to his lips and whispered a small prayer of luck as if to help ease his pains.

"We are all doomed!" Aidan whispered as he rocked himself into a ball. "We won't survive from this prophecy.."he was mumbled with eyes wide.

"Don't worry Aidan, of course we will. We survived from other problems like this, we just need to be prepared. I declare that we should keep our eyes up for this 'person', until the next meeting which will be held this upcoming February. We need to start preparing ourselves for the worst."Scarlet confided softly to him as she took his hand and helped him up. King Aidan just shook his head in disagreement. "Now everyone please get packed up and leave, say nothing to no one about what happened here this evening." The others nodded and motioned for their loyal servants, who were there to witness the whole event, to follow them.

First to leave from the room was King Typhus with his most trusted servant: Tunar. Then it was Queen Sterling with Amethyst. Next was Queen Scarlet, who was about to leave with Amelia when she turned around to face King Aidan. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, I'm coming. Go on ahead Scarlet, I'll be up in a moment."he responded with a slight stutter. He turned to Arthur, his loyal servant, with a pale look. Queen Scarlet nodded to him and left without another word or glance. "Arthur, we must prepare especially more than the rest. For I have a worsening feeling about this prophecy. I believe it would be the most ruthless of all the prophecies."He muttered as he stumbled to the door and went through, not daring to look back at Arthur or that horrid room that now scarred his brain.

"Yes your highness, I will get started on that as soon as we get back," spoke Arthur as he snuffed out the last remaining candles. When the last candle was snuffed, the room plummeted into darkness.

2: Maryann

Clink, Slither, Rattle; those were the sounds that the dragged chains of hopeless souls made as they walked to their doom. No child, adult or the elderly would be spared from the anger of Queen Alice. There they walked into the darkened maze only to go free at the expense of their own lives. Mothers wept as their children were pried out of their tightly bound arms, only to sob worse as they heard their young ones say their names. By then the soldiers had shoved them into their own cells for eternity. Most of the time the children were left to die only to have their bones trampled on from the generations to come. Marriages met their untimely end as the loved ones were torn from each other and forced to watch them being tortured only inches away from their tear stricken face; for they were tied to a stoned wall. In other cells the elderly would crouch down and pray to the being they sought were higher than themselves, only to be hurt when none of their prayers came true. They either died from starvation or was dragged to the guillotine for they couldn't work the way they ought to be. Not only the peasants were captured, but royalty as well, for there was a cell not to far from the entrance that held the daughter of the queen herself; that princess was Maryann.

In the cell Maryann sat in the corner, her head was tucked in between her crossed arms. Knees were brought up to her elbows, and she was in the form of a ball. Chains embraced her wrists as they constrained her from moving away from her assigned position, for it was bolted to the stone quite deeply. Underneath her curled body was the pounded dust and stone that were crushed over years and years of usage from other inhabitants. Soon,however, she propped her head up to show the tear streaked marks on her soft, rosy cheeks. They were speckled with dried patches of mud and dust. Dim blue eyes scanned the room, as one slender finger reached up and swiped a stray tear from her eye. A long sigh of regret escaped her mouth as she recalled the night's events. Noise started to be heard from the right corner of the cell, as a small rodent scampered out of the hole; but it was no ordinary mouse. It was her friend, Rudy. They had met on the first day she was thrown into this deprived hole.

"Good morning Maryann, did you have a good night's sleep?"asked the mouse as she cleaned her ears a bit with her scrawny paws. Soon she propped a small musketeer hat out of the mouse hole and onto her head, the feather just peaking over her round ears. Her golden eyes peering at the slender girl as she did so.

Maryann groaned and turned her head as she looked at her tiny friend, under her eyes were bags from the lack of sleep. "No, I didn't. I couldn't even sleep a wink. That one nightmare keeps haunting me, making me cry all through the night. I even got scolded by some of the passing knights who slammed their fist at my door with a few snappy remarks,"she replied and rubbed her eyes, trying to make them relax. A yawn soon escaped her widened mouth as she tried to stretch but got stuck for the length of the chains had reached their limits.

."You need to relax, put all of the past events to the back of your mind. Take a breather and let your mind settle in a calm matter. Make yourself...or Try to make yourself comfortable." Her ears then perked up as she heard footsteps coming to her cell. "I must warn you, Bruce is on his way, I could hear his heavy footsteps from all the way over here. I'll hide until he leaves."she urged as she scurried back to the hole in the wall.

Rudy was right, as always. Maryann soon heard her guard's footsteps from her cell. He wasn't that of a healthy weight, far from it; for his armor seemed to be bursting at the seams. Bruce had such a pot belly, that he seemed to have struggled to put it on in the morning. Soon he was at her wooden door, and his beady brown eyes peaked from behind the bars. His nose crinkled a bit as his lips turn into a humble smirk. He breathed deeply through the bars, and Maryann could have sworn he had eaten a bowl of onions before he came to check on her. Maryann just glared at him as he scanned her face for any signs of fear.

"How is my little wench, is she faring her punishment well?"He asked as his deep voice rumbled out of the pits of his throat. "Are you ready to pledge your allegiance to your mother?"he muttered as his eyebrows wrinkled downward into an annoyed face. That made his eyes slanted and compiled with pure hatred as a smirk soon formed on his lips as he watched her.

"No. You already know the answer Bruce, for this is at least- or I think it is, my one hundredth time this week?"she asked as she bit her lip in thought, only to give out a cruel laugh. "I thought you would know my answer by now Bruce, I won't ever serve under her after what she did to Jingle..."

In response, Bruce's lips curled into a snarl as he slammed his fist against the door. "You little brat, you should be thankful for your mother! We wouldn't have survived if your mother hadn't overthrown Queen Scarlet! You and the rest of those pathetic peasants should be disgraced and ashamed of your actions! I'm glad we're getting rid of you tonight. Soon your head would be in your mothers' precious collection."

Maryann just snorted in response and smirked at his surprised expression."Yeah, but at least i'm not my mother's little pet who does everything he was told to. Only because he gets rewarded with cakes and pies. You know, if you weren't such a loyal servant to her, you'll be in the same predicament as I am. In a cage, in a dungeon; alone," Maryann snapped.

Bruce didn't handle that statement well and he snapped at her. "You are going to regret the day you were born! I hope you have a nice last breath,"he hissed as he slammed the little slot on the door open with a loud clang! He brought the food, that he was holding when he came up to her, up to the opening and shoved it through. With such force it made the slop propel in the air and splashed against, the already ruined dress that Maryann was wearing. Some of it landed in her auburn hair and speckles of it on her cheek. The coldness of the food made her shiver and a face of disgust crawled onto her facial features. That only made the guard laugh more as he slammed the slot shut again. "It's nice to see a hog like you wearing the food that we made you 'eat'. I'll see you at your death sentence,"he cackled as he walked off. Maryann continued to listen to his heavy steps until the tapping of metal faded into the distance. After he was completely gone, she finally released a sigh. Taking a hidden cloth, that Rudy had stole earlier that day, and used it to get some of the muck off her lavender dress.

Rudy scurried to her friend's side, after the last piece of prison slop was off her friend. "Are you ok? That big bully was getting me steamed!"she said as she jumped up and down with her fists shaking in the air. It was a funny sight to behold, as she was too small to realize what he would've done to her.

Maryann glanced over at her little friend and a small laugh erupted out of her mouth. "Yeah, i'm fine. Thank you for being concerned, I just know that I need to get out of this place before my execution tonight. We need to figure out a plan and put it into action before it's too late,"she said softly as her lips puckered a bit in thought.

" I know where the key is located. If I could just grab it from underneath their noses then I can give it to you. Then we can get out of here. It'll be at least an hour or so, for I have to wait till they leave their positions."

Maryann smiled and tried to pick her up and hug her, but couldn't because she was constrained against the steel on her wrist. "Yes, you have to go now though, for it will be getting to late if we wait any longer. When you're back, give me the key. There won't be anymore guards coming until my execution time."she whispered. Rudi nodded and scampered out of the cell through the mouse hole, not to be seen for awhile Maryann presumed.

As the silence surrounded her, Maryann soon found herself slipping into a soundless sleep. Her head slowly bobbed a bit before laying against her chest as her mind was being consumed by darkness. All at once the reoccurring nightmare staggered into her mind again.

Thumping of feet against the grass was evident as a blonde girl was chasing an albino rabbit through the forest. Her blue dress was swaying and some of it got snagged as she ran through the rosebushes, it only stalled her for a second. She caught a glimpse of the bunny jumping down a hole under a willow tree. Eager to find out why the rabbit had a waistcoat and a golden pocket watch, she slithered her way out of her prickly situation and jumped into the hole herself. As she fell, tables, chairs, and upside down grandfather clocks went by only to disappear into the abyss above. Soon she saw light that rippled from movement, as she started to feel some cold-liquefying substance touch her body. As if she was passing through a puddle in slow motion she rolled onto a solid checkered floor and was pressed against a wall.

The thump of her head hitting a wall got the attention of a man who turned to show that he had white rabbit ears and a small white tail. His ruby red eyes went wide as he spotted the girl before him. Backing away, he was stopped as the girl had gotten up and dusted herself off to show her light blue eyes.

"Who are you?" The man asked as he started to back up more, his movements slow and was headed towards the door.

The girl blinked as she glanced around at the various mirrors that depicted different worlds, until her eyes landed on the figure before her. Her head tilted to the side as she heard his question. "Who am I? I'm Alice, Alice Carroll,"she said softly. "Now who may I ask are you?"she asked. Her soft eyelashes kissed her rosy cheeks as she waited for a response.

"N..no...no..! This can't be happening! I must warn the Queen!"The rabbit started to squawk as he turned and dashed out of the place with astounding speed. He only gave Alice a few seconds of confusion before she darted after him.

"What do you mean you have to warn the Queen? Who are you and where am I?"she asked as she followed. Her steps bringing her closer to the door as she swung it open to reveal blackness. Her feet touching the tiled ground started to fade as they stepped into darkness with only her golden locks being the only thing that stayed until darkness consumed her completely...

3: Escapement

Klink! The sound of rusted metal hitting the ground bounced off the walls and into Maryann's ears. As soon as it did, her eyes snapped open wide and they soon found themselves looking at a panting figure below. It was Rudy, all tired out from her little expedition.

"Here...take it!"

"Does it unlock the door to my cell or is it for my shackles?"

"Shackles. The door is already unlocked, I checked it myself. Bruce didn't think that you would escape so he kept it unlocked."

"Understood," she said as her slender finger wrapped around the broad key. It fumbled at first, but she soon got a firm enough hold that she can slip it through it's designated hole. Minutes passed as she fiddled with the lock, until she heard a small click. Before she let the shackles fall, she heard footsteps and she instantly froze and stop until the knight walked past. Beads of anticipation were being formed by now and they were running down her face.

Finally, it was all quite and there were no more disturbances, she let the shackles fall and she rubbed her wrists. A smile was on her face as she looked towards Rudi. Rudi scampered over to her and went onto her hand which she to the ground, and she gave her little friend a bit of a hug.

"Now for the second part of our escapement."

"As you intend to Maryann, as you intend to."

"We start it now, I'll wait till the next guard walks by."

Rudy nodded in response and her ears perked up like radars as she searched for an oncoming sound. She looked at Maryann to signal that she heard someone coming. Maryann nodded and waited for the unsuspecting guard to pass until she wrapped her fingers around his mouth and dragged him into the cell. Maryann threw him against the wall and come up to him and knocked him out with the hanging shackles of that wall. Then she started to strip him down to his underwear and stripped herself of her dress and slunk into the knight's armor. It was slightly big but it would have to do, for no more time should be wasted.

Out she went, and into the meandering halls of torture. As she traveled, she heard the moans of starved citizens, laughing guards, and the dreaded screams of pure sorrow. The more she walked, the more her heart sank into the pits of her stomach. She put a hand on her metal chest plate as she passed, but stopped soon after so she doesn't bring attention to herself. Her eyes peered into the passing cells that lined the halls. In one cell she passed, there was a broken hearted mother who was cradling her long gone child. The child, unmoving was propped against the nook of her folded arms, his ribs showing, and his skin pale. Tears had stained the woman's cheeks as she whispered the boy's name over and over again.

Maryann picked up her pace as she felt a deep longing to try and comfort her, but she had to put that aside for now, for she has to escape. As she got closer to the exit, a few guards had stopped her in her path by calling out a name.

"Charles "

Maryann mustered up a bit of a voice she thought would be Charles and responded," Yes..?"

"Don't you know it's almost for the princess's execution? We need more guards in the guillotine plaza so that she can't escape."

"Uh..yeah I was just getting the other prisoners,"

"Well you are in the wrong wing, let us help you, right boys?" The other guards nodded as they steered her away from the exit and into a near by wing. They got out their keys and were starting to unlock the cells, only to pry people away and into a line. So they didn't think her as a fraud, she went into a cell and she peered at it's prisoner. It was just a small young boy, that was at least of the age of ten. She started to come closer but the boy started to have a tantrum where he rattled his chains as he tried to reach out and snag her.

She whispered to him so a few guards don't hear. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of here, I'll take care of you."

"As if Why would I trust a guard like you? All you want to do is to take me to the guillotine like you did with my mother "

"No, really I am not a guard, I'm the princess. I'm Maryann, I escaped to help all of the prisoners."she whispered softly.

"How would I know that you really are the 'princess'?"he asked tilting his head a bit as his voice was a bit uneasy, for he still didn't fully trust the figure.

"I'll show you,"she murmured softly as she lifted the metal plate that was hiding her face. Her soft blue eyes looked at the young boy, as he was finally convinced that she was the princess, and that she would help.

"Ok, but how are you going to help me and how are you going to escape?"he asked curiously.

"I'll tell you but..."Maryann was cut off as a guard hollered.

"You ok in there Charles? Do I need to come in for some back up?"he asked.

"No I'll be fine, it's just the lock is jammed, but I'm sure I can get it Go on ahead without me, I'll catch up "

"Fine by me " the man said as he continued down the hall with a long trail of deformed and weak citizens. As soon as he was far enough away, Maryann started to talk to the boy again.

"As I was saying, before I got interrupted, I'll tell you,"she said and started to whisper a plan into his ear, the boy, known as Luke, was nodding to her plan happily. Minutes later, he was being hauled by a rope that Maryann was holding. Beneath her mask, Maryann was desperately hoping that this plan would work, for if she did, it would meant doom for not just her, but for Luke as well. As his wrists were being chafed a bit from the tight rope, Luke put on quite a show. His eyes were red with slight tears, as he kept thinking about what those incompetent fools did to his mother. That drove the force of revenge for him, and gave motivation to continue his charades during the journey to the courtyard..

Walking out through the iron gates and into the courtyard, the blinding light went into the poor boy's eyes and he blinked to try to block it out. When he opened them, he spotted the various lines that went to the guillotine. Slowly they came to a stop in the beginning of a new line, it was the line that was intended to get killed first. The rest filed in behind him. Maryann looked at him from behind her metal mask and she gave a wink to show that it would start when he went up. As people filed in, masses of people started to swarm around the courtyard to see the show that was about to start.

As the executer was treading up to his machine, the wind seemed to silence as the tension started to rise. Beads of worry started to form on many prisoner's foreheads as the executioner started to haul up the blade to it's full height. Then Bruce came to stand next to the executioner and his voice erupted through the silent chatter of the kingdom.

"Today...is the day, that we will get rid of the foes of the queen! Their blood will mark the start of our queen's complete control of our kingdom, and the fall of the Diamond Kingdom."He blurted out and glanced around the shocked faces around him. The duchesses and ladies of the kingdom, were fanning themselves and some had fainted as their servants quickly came to their sides trying to revive them with helpless efforts. The men were astounded and scoffed as they continued to listen in and watch with frightened eyes.

Soon Bruce continued. "As this afternoon continues to bring us bright light, let it darkened with those of the blood of the Queen."He turned to look at Luke and he gave him an evil glint, and that gave Luke shivers down his spine. "First, we have Luke Smithers, he had upset the queen by not speaking up when is told. He then admitted that he killed the king! From the mouth of our queen, he shall be sentenced to death by the guillotine." He spat with great distaste as a few speckles of spit landed on a servant's cheek. The man wrinkled his nose a bit and wiped it with his sleeve. "Bring the prisoner forth!" He demanded as Maryann started to haul him up to the podium. She placed him in position and then took a few steps back.

Luke's neck was place firmly in the space and his bright blue eyes glanced up at the subjects before him and he bit his lip. His eyes trailed upon a few children about the age of six and five, who had pushed themselves through the crowd to look at him. They were his kin, and he desperately wanted them to leave to not see the blood shed that was about to happen. The anticipation seemed to have reached a few of the adults that stood close to the children. They quickly ushered them away, so that they still can have a chance to be pure, and not scanted by the violence of the kingdom.

Bruce started to walk closer to the guillotine, his grip tightening as he adjusted the height as he moved forward. "Any last words?" he spat out to the young man below him. His fingers were just twitching to release the heavy load that would make a clean quick slice through the tender skin around the boy's neck. Luke only gave a slight nod and Bruce rolled his eyes and snarled. "If you do, then make it snappy, we have hundreds of other to kill."

Luke only gave another slight nod to the captain and guard to Maryann. It only made Bruce snarl more in anger. He said something, but it was just barely a whisper.

Bruce growled,"What was that boy? Speak up! If you want anyone to hear your last words, if you don't, then we'll continue this appointment." He leaned in a bit closer to the boy to hear what he had to say.

Luke then spoke a bit louder. "I said...LONG LIVE PRINCESS MARYANN!" he growled. At the stunned reaction of Bruce, Maryann quickly came to play as she shoved Bruce off the platform and onto the cobbled stone below. Quickly as he released the blade, the crowd gasped and some tried to close their eyes to block out the sudden loss of Luke, but to their astonishment, Maryann had grabbed the blade in time. There was a slight gap so Luke could bring his head out and cut his rope that bound around his wrists. The young boy smirked, as the guards started to charge at them.

By then, the crowd around the courtyard has dispersed in fear that it would go out of hand, and the courtyard soon became a small battlefield. As the knights started to run up to them, the other prisoners were shoved aside. As they were being surrounded, Maryann and Luke stood back to back, as they scanned for an opening. Finding none, they were placed into combat. Tension started to flare between the armed knights and the two rebellious prisoners. Soon that tension was shattered as a yell erupted from one knight and they trampled forward them. Maryann looked at Luke and he gave a slight nod as they went their separate ways into combat.

Maryann decided to go after the guards on the right flank of the plat form. Her armor clanking as she charged forward onto the tidal wave of enemies. Maces were swung at her and she barely dodged them with the bulk on her figure. Blades were drawn and she managed to knock out two guards with one duck.. A mace had hit the head of one guard and he stumbled backwards onto others, and like a domino effect they fell down into a large heap. The more she tried to dodge the attacks of the enemies, she was bound to get hit and when she did it was like a boulder slammed into her stomach. She staggered back and gasped for breath, but before she did she was knocked to the ground by the rebounding Bruce.

Standing over her body, Bruce put a blade to her neck. His helmet was thrown off and he looked like a beat up bean bag. On his left eye he had a bruiser that shined bluer than the diamonds of the Diamond kingdom. His mustache was all frizzed and his lips curled into a snarl. A cold chuckle escaped his lips as he moved the blade to where the helmet could be lifted off her head. "Now let's see who this rebellious knight is, I'm sure the Queen would love to hear that this one would be in her prized collection." Slowly, the helmet was lifted off her head to show the face of his prisoner. His smirk became more smug as he saw who it was. "Well, well, who do we have here. Maryann, it's nice to see you at your own funeral," he cackled.

Maryann rolled her eyes,"I'm only here to escape from the likes of my mother,"she hissed.

"It looks like you won't ever do that in this life, it's a shame that your life ended so...early,"he smirked as he started to drag her body towards the guillotine. Maryann was still out of breath from the hit but her eyes looked over to Luke, who was trying to defend himself with a broken plank of wood from a nearby cart. He was getting hurt a bit, this renewed the spark of determination from the young girl's eyes. She was scheming up a plan and she waited until the right moment to put it into action.

As her head was about to lay in the opening, she round house kicked him and knocked Bruce over for the second time that night. She fought him with her shielded fists, crimson was starting to tint the knuckles as she seemed to have knocked him out. Placing his head in the area, the blade already lifted to it's height, she stole his blade and sliced the rope and down came the blade and...off with his head.

With Bruce out of her life, she staggered to her feet with drops of blood landing on the ground below her. She turned to the fight going on with Luke. Bruce's blade grasped in her hands, she started a slow charge that became an all out one towards another and their blades clashed in an loud clang. The battle of strength protruded as they wavered from one side to the other, until she brought her strength up and brought the blade through the slot between the helmet and the rest of the armor. Seconds passed before blood leaked out from the wound and onto his pals as he fell to his knees, and his head rolled to the side.

Luke was standing not to far, when the blood of the fallen knight had splattered against his cheek and his eyes went wide as he was struck on the side and he gave a loud cough. Falling to his knees, he looked up to the advancing body of Maryann. Soon metal hands were wrapping around his arm he was being dragged carried. Maryann had decided there were way too many knights to fight, and they would surely lose if they staid to fight. Already her breathing was starting to get heavy, for the heat was starting to make her feel heavy. The knights were on her heels but she kept on running and intentionally she barged through the oaken doors of the castle and metal was being heard throughout the passageways.

Everyone was on the uproar as maids quickly darted out of the way, as their clothes were thrown to the ground as Maryann passed. The guards, not avoiding the articles of clothing, they started to stumble as pantihose and corsets were flung into the air and the guards got tangled into a bunch. Giving Maryann enough space to slide into an abandoned room and shed the articles of the armor to reveal her torn dress and tights she made. Looking to Luke, she quickly started to tend to his wounds. "You ok Luke? Are you able to continue?"she whispered so not to get noticed.

"Yeah...I'll be fine, but what are we going to do? What are we going to do when we get out of here?"he asked.

"We'll head to Heartsville, we can find a few things there, I've also got friends there, so they might help us in our sleeping arrangements. We just have to escape this death trap."she whispered. She pricked up as she heard footsteps. Instantly, she got tense and held the sword in her hand as she stood up in a swift motion and pointed the sword towards the intruder.

"It's me Maryann!" Rudi had whispered as she scampered up. "I did as you said, I informed your friends."

Maryann smirked and nodded and she crouched down to lend Rudi a ride to her shoulder. She then turned to Luke and smiled. "Luke, this is Rudi. Rudi, this is Luke."

Rudi nodded and gave a nod. "Nice to meet you, now let's get out of here."

Maryann and Luke nodded, as she bent down and picked up Luke in her arms in a bridal style way, and started to sprint out of the room, and into another segment of hallways. Maids were now trying to collect their dropped garments, and as soon as Maryann leapt over them, the guards heard the squeaks of them. They started to dart towards them. Archers joined the crowd as they went around corners, their arrows making a trail after them as they ran.

Giving a smirk, as Maryann had just spotted the drawbridge. Quickening her pace, she started to breathe heavily, as she switched how she carried him. Her eyes narrowed as the gate was starting to close and the bridge was being drawn up. Soon the bridge was about a three quarters to the ground, she slid Luke through the gap and he rolled onto the wood of the raising bridge, and Maryann slid under just in time, as the end of the gate were barely touching the crown of her head. Rudi was holding tightly against the collar of her blouse. Standing up and going to Luke, who stood up they started to run up the bridge. The higher the bridge was brought up the steeper it was to climb. The bridge was almost up when they dove to the mote below, and arrows followed them into the water.

The archers searched to see if any bodies came up and after a while they shrugged it off, as they thought that Maryann and Luke had drowned from the impact. Then, little reeds were swimming across the mote and into a bush where they were hidden, Maryann and her comrades showed themselves to nature. Gasping for air, and clothes all wet, they started to shiver.

Sounds of a horse hoofs against dirt could be heard and she was ready to slither out of the bush. When she did she was confronted to an old friend, Jonas. He gave a quick nod for her and her friend to hop in the back and cover themselves with the tarp. It would take a few days to get to Heartsville, and they needed all the rest they could get. As they got settled in the back of the cart, Rudi curled into a ball besides Maryann. After a few more check ups with Luke's wounds, Maryann found her eyelids closing, and soon enough she was in a deep sleep.

The sounds of a rabbit's feet plundering the ground before could be heard as Hans Tyme was coming to the gates of the Heart Castle. His chest raising and falling quickly as he came to a halt at the drawbridge, his ears flattening against his head he looked up at the guards. "Open up! I have urgent news to tell the Queen!" Without hesitation, and quite a bit of patience running thin, the bridge was lowered and he sped through it and past the many passageways until he burst through the door to the throne room.

Queen Scarlet was talking to a duke, when Hans Tyme interupted by bursting through the door. She blinked and looked at Hans. "Hans, why are you here? I am in the middle of a discussion with the Earl of Grey. Why must you burst through at this time?"she asked. The Earl of Grey was about to say something but the look of Hans, told him otherwise.

"I'm sorry your majesty, but it is very urgent, I MUST talk to you alone..."he said as he was trying to regain his breath.

The queen quickly got the gist of it and gave a slight nod to the Earl, and he scurried out the door and soon only the Queen and Hans were in the room. "Now tell me, what is bothering you?"she said with her hands entwined with each other as she looked at his frazzled features.

"Your majesty, IT has started..."

"It can't be...It's been years since it was told. Everyone forgot about it. They thought it was just a prank from the Oracles..."she whispered with eyes wide.

"But it is your majesty...the prophecy...it began..."

4: Alice

As the destruction continued to reign in the courtyard, the subjects of the kingdom ran amok. Their screams filled the sky like a plume of smoke. The royal guards were scavenging the surrounding area for Maryann and her freed companion Luke. Peasants cowered in fear as the guards went from cottage to cottage asking them questions about the escapee's whereabouts. Avast no one knew of their presence, or at least, they didn't speak out about it.

Meanwhile, with in the palace's wall, the head soldiers of the royal guards were walking down the halls towards the throne room. There was a total of four soldiers, two of them dragging a body by the arms, and one carrying a decapitated head in a jar. Their faces told that of worry, for they could already feel her blood curdling scream blasting in their ears. A few bit their lower lips in thought as the others tried to hide the fear that was building up in the pits of their stomach.

As they were coming up to the doors of the room, the one who was holding the head, his fingers were rubbing against the glass in thought. A couple of sentences were bouncing off the walls of his brain as he tried to put pieces together so that he wouldn't offend the queen. The two behind him were huffing a bit as they carried the body of Bruce, he wasn't the easiest to carry for he was a bit round in the stomach. Soon they reached the destination and stopped in front of the door. They looked at each other for a moment before the one that was empty handed, he rose his knuckled and knocked on the solid door.

The knock bounced off the wall and into the ears of the queen, who had been sitting on her throne upright. Her fingers were tapping against the gold engraved wood of her throne. She gave a slight sigh and barked. "Come in!" Her staff was leaning against the back of her throne, as her feet were relaxing on a stool made of ruby red fluff. Seeing the guards bring up the body of her head guard, her eyes slitted in anger. Eyes burning like flames that burnt the soul of the guards before her as they bowed. "Speak!"she hissed.

"Your Highness, we are sad to say that Princess Maryann escaped with a young prisoner named Luke. In the beginning of our extermination, she pulled a fast one on us and fought Bruce. In the end, we have his head on this platter to give to you. Will he be welcomed into your collection? Or will he be in the mote?"

"Fools! You let her escape! Don't mind him, go and get the hounds! Track down my daughter and bring her here alive! I want to kill her myself. She would be my greatest treasure."she cackled and as she grabbed her staff, she threw it at the men. The first soldier instantly dropped the head and as he backed away from the oncoming stick, the glass broke around the head and cut the skin of Bruce. The soldiers blinked as they looked at her. "Go now! Or you'll end up like Bruce!"she hissed at them.

Instantly the soldiers dropped the body and they darted out of the room without any more delays. Their metal could have been heard down the hall way for they left the broad oak doors wide open. Queen Alice rolled her eyes in anger, as she bent down to look at Bruce's separated head. "You were going to be a great leader Bruce, too bad you disappointed me with your performance today. Look what it had gotten you. What do you have to say for yourself?"she asked knowing there was never going to be answer.

"You will never end up in my precious collection. You are too idiotic and narcistic to be in there. Only my worst enemies or my bravest soldiers go in there, and to my dismay you were neither."she smirked as she let her fingers glide over his slightly curled hairs. Slowly they tangled themselves into it and she pulled up to see him face to face. His eyes were wide and glazed over, his mouth opened in surprise. Through the mouth you could have seen the floor, for Maryann had made a clean cut through, like a knife cutting into butter. His skin was as pale as the snow on Mount Chrome in the Diamond kingdom.

When she was tired of looking at his shocked facial features, she whipped her arm around as she threw his head towards the stained glass window that was a darker tint then usual. Few seconds went by until a loud smash was heard and glass pieces went flying and near the feet of the queen herself. Out went the head, through the window and down towards the ground below. Only moments later did she heard the kerplunk of the sinking head. The decapitated limb was now sinking towards the mote bed. Hearing the sound, she started to walk towards the doorway to lead to her room. On the way she stopped to look at the limp body.

Slowly she brought up her feet and walked over it as if disgusted by it but then laughed coldly. "He was always eating too much of my cookies anyway." Clapping as she started to walk through the door way. When she passed through, a tall and lanky man came out, his body quaking and his fingers trembling as they were folded before him.

"Yes your majesty?"

"Lewis, take this body and get it burned quickly, there will be no funeral for Bruce,"

"Yes your majesty," He went over and grew pale as he saw the sight. Quickly, he plucked a handkerchief from a pocket. Pinching the bloody cloth of the man with it, he started to drag him away and down the hall. Queen Alice started to advance in the other direction, towards her room and to her collection.

The tapping of her shoes bounced off the stone walls of the castle that she took over from Queen Scarlet. Queen Scarlet was pathetic, she didn't know how to rule her kingdom. The peasants had grown to soft and they don't know their place, Alice thought as she turned a few corners. Some maids were cleaning the furniture that was lingering around in the midst of her body. Never looking up, the maids continued to clean, making sure not to offend the queen was the best way to stay alive.

Arriving at her room, she went in and looked around. Turning to look herself in the mirror. Normal like she was when she was younger, blonde hair that shined as bright as the sun, her eyes as blue as the Atlantic sea. She didn't know what the others are complaining about. She wasn't different, she was the same, this was how she always acted. While looking at herself in the mirror, something sparkled that was reflected from the mirror and it grabbed the attention of the queen.

Turning towards it, she went over to look at the knob of a detailed door that was taller than her and made of white ivory that was in contrast to the black and red color of her room. As the setting sun hit the door knob of the unique door, it glinted off and onto the mirror that was now behind her. Opening the door a small room was revealed. The walls were lined up with shelves from ceiling to floor. On each shelf were decorated jars with unknown fluids, they held a perfectly preserved head in them. This was where her worse enemies now lie, and a few of her favorite generals and Captain of her guards were also spread in here.

Walking down into the room, she turned her gaze to her collection. Her eyes settled upon one of the older ones. Her husband; or should she say Queen Scarlet's husband. I always did like his eyes, but when I took power he was always jumpy, as if I'll do something that wasn't right for the kingdom. She huffed as she gazed into the emerald green eyes of the head before her. His somewhat short orange hair floated a bit in the liquid and his mustache was turned a bit inward. Soon she turned her gaze towards the end of the room. Too bad he didn't get the memo about me being Queen and that I'll take over. She smirked and gaited down the room till she reached the end.

There, at the end of the room was the biggest altar that was built, for a room at least. It had a grand stand and identical liquid awaited for it's customer. Right below the stand was a gold label. In giant letters it said: Maryann, my daughter. Her fingers graced over the edges of the lettering as she spoke to herself.

"Maryann...you will be in my collection, I will see your head in this jar, for my enjoyment. You will never know the meaning of mercy from me. This will be your punishment if you came back to help your fellow 'friends'."she cackled as she turned to walk out of the room. Her footsteps faded as she walked out the room and started to close the door. Leaving the room in darkness.

5: Wisdom

Screech! The rusted wheels of the cart came to a sudden halt. As it did so, buckets rattled and clashed to the ground, nearly hitting the sleeping duo. From one of the fallen buckets, Rudi's tiny body rolled out and landed upside down and pressed against Maryann's forearm. Maryann blinked open an eye to look at her friend.

"You okay?" she whispered.

"Yeah," Rudi squeaked as she fell forward to stand up straight. "We stopped at Hartsville, your friend disappeared before I said thank you."

Maryann nodded, "I thought so. It was best that he did so, so he wouldn't get caught." She said in thought. Then she slowly turned to her sleeping companion and tried to nudge him awake. He didn't stir. Letting him be for few more seconds, she peaked out from underneath the cloth that hid them. The sky was a beautiful midnight blue, with streaks of pink woven into it, for it was barely even dawn. Looking around the street, they were parked at, she saw no one on the usual busy cobbled stone road.

There were no merchants, screaming at the top of their lungs to grab the passer-byes attention, nor were there any children who ran up and down the streets. Not any angry parents, who try to keep their children in order, or the begging whimpers of a hungry hound, But the best thing is: There were no sounds of any clinking metal of the guards. It was the perfect time, to escape from hiding, and search for a place to plan.

As she climbed out from the cart, she turned to see that the shutters were tightly shut, and there was not even a flicker to be seen. Smirking as she thought that this was the perfect place, to rally up some troops for her cause. Her arms snaked around Luke's body, and her shoulders tipped to the cart for Rudi to scamper on, she turned to the road beyond where they stood and started on her journey.

To her surprise, Luke wasn't that heavy, but what should she have expected from her own dungeons. They served the worse food to them, not giving a care if they die, unless they were a true enemy to the queen. I have to save my people, for they did nothing wrong, and are accused of being so. I will dethrone my mother once and for all. All I need is the troops, the base, some weapons…a. few allies… Her mind wandered off as she thought of everything she needed, not really knowing where she was going.

Turning down a corner, a few of the sun's rays started to peak out from the horizon, and one of them had gracefully shone upon an old, abandoned church. Its steeple was made of crumbling brick and rotting wood. Shutters were hanging just barely on a couple of rusted hinges. With one small gentle kiss from the breeze and one fell off and landed on the ground below it. As she got closer, she could hear the rats scratching against the floor boards as they scurried to hide from the oncoming creature.

Maryann gently put Luke's body down and told Rudi to hold on, so she wouldn't fall off. Then Maryann started to ram the door, every hit, she heard a small crack, until it burst open revealing the inside to her. Picking up Luke, once more, she ventured inside and started to cough as she closed the door. Inside the church were overturned benches, with a spider's masterpiece woven between the feet. There the spiders laid, waiting for unexpected prey to come into their web.

As she looked above, she saw that some of the boards were cracked and they started to rot. None of this mess compared to the thick layer of dust that surrounded every inch of the church. Using her foot, she wiped away a decent spot to lay Luke down. Rudi jumped from her shoulder, caught hold of Maryann's sleeve and lowered herself down to the ground. Rudi then started to cough as she took a hold of her hat that rested upon her head and started to fan it around to help clear the air.

"This place is beyond filthy!"

"I know, but it's the best we can do for now, until I find a way to put my plan into action."

"What are we going to do now? Luke is still asleep, we have no shillings, and I'm hungry," she squeaked as a small rumble was heard that was coming from her general direction.

Maryann giggled from how hungry Rudi was, but to be honest, she was also pretty hungry. The food the dungeons served them was slop, and it wasn't even edible. They needed food and water. She dreaded the thought that popped into her mind. It wasn't the right thing, but she needed to do it to survive.

"I know, I know. We are all hungry, I need to go out and get us some food."

"but as I said once before, we don't have any shillings so how are you going to get the food?"

"Steal it."

"Stealing?"

"Yes, Stealing. We have to do it so that we can keep our strength up if we ran into any problems. Even if it's against my better judgment, I have to do it for survival."

Rudi nodded and tipped her hat as she fumbled with the dangling border. "Maryann….?"she began to say.

Maryann turned to her and tilted her head. "Yes Rudi?" she asked as she began to stand up.

"Would it be any trouble…if you stole some cheese for me?" she squeaked. "I hadn't had cheese in a couple months, and I miss the delightful taste that it has. That is, if you don't mind."

She smiled a bit bigger and shook her head, "its fine Rudi, I'll try to. Just for you. Would you mind keeping an eye on Luke? If he wakes up when I'm gone, just tell him that I'm getting food.

Rudi nodded and saluted to her. "Yes Ma'am!" As she said this, Maryann was already walking up to the slightly broken door. She gave a nod to tell that she heard her and slipped out of the building and into the now busy roads of Hartsville.

The cobbled street that she was on, was now bustling with life. Sunlight was bouncing off the varied rocks, and the gentle breeze played with her ginger hair. Even if she was walking in the broad daylight, none of her subjects would recognize her now. Her dress was now torn, stained and faded; it was barely the color of lilac now. Her hair was greasy and frayed, her ends peaked upwards like a mountains. She wasn't as healthy as she was nine months ago. Now she was a bit skinnier and you could barely see the starting of a ribcage. It was only a few months ago, when it all went wrong, on her special date too; her eighteenth birthday.

Sky blue eyes scanned the coming and going streets of Hartsville, Maryann was coming close to her destination, when she stopped at a familiar building. The building was the 'Ye Old' Bakery', the very spot where her and a former friend used to meet up all the time. Maryann placed a hand on the now bordered up windows, the memory coming and going, but a tear had streaked down her cheek. Slowly her hand was pried away from the boards and she started to walk again, the thought of the Bakery was closed, and the loss of her friend was a bit difficult to handle, especially when she was on a mission.

Not too far away from the bakery, was her destination, the Market Square. There, all the merchants huddled up and made the biggest get together in the mornings, but as the day drags on they start to wander off into different sections of the village. There were blacksmiths showing off their best hand crafted weapons for the guards to see, and silver smiths with their beautifully made silverware. Farmers try to sell their hard labored food, just to keep their families fed, and to keep up with taxes. Foreign Merchants were rare, for they brought only the best for the best; they had brightly colored stands, and unique objects that they presented. Maryann was closest to a local farmer, who was selling fruits from trees, like apples and pears.

His fruits gleamed from the sunshine, and it made Maryann's stomach rumble. Looking around, she spotted a lonely basket upon the ground, its owner nowhere in sight. She bit her lip as she crept up to it, so far so good; no one was there to call her out. Now, in front of the basket, her fingers grasped the handle of it and she swiftly left the area with little to no looks. She brought herself back to the stand that she was once at, the farmer was quite busy with another customer. His curly black hair became a distraction for it went into his eyes, obscuring his sight from anything.

Maryann decided that this was the chance to do so. She made sure he was busy with the other customer, before her hand hovered over a few apples. One by one the apples went into her basket, and she did the same process to the pears. Now she was done with him, she started to jump around from one stand to the other. When she was done her 'shopping' she had a variety of food and drinks in her basket. As she started to walk away, she heard a yell from behind her.

"There guards! There is the rat who stole my basket!" A shrill from an old lady was heard. Maryann turned to look at her and bit her bottom lip. For there, beside the lady was a pair of guards. They started to advance on her. Slowly, as if she didn't know that they were there she turned around and started to walk, that is until she felt a firm grasp on her shoulder.

"Ma'am, is this basket yours?" He asked as his brunette hair swayed in the breeze. Maryann said nothing. The man started to get agitated. "I'm sorry Ma'am, but you must give back her basket back. If you don't I would have to bring you to the queen."

"Not this time," she said and in a flash, her elbow slammed into the soft part of his armor, giving her a few moments to escape his grasp. The man gasped for air and braced his abdomen in pain. Maryann then turned to look at him and smirked. "Tell my Mother that if she wants me, come and get me." She laughed and bolted down the road.

The knight then steadied himself and screamed to a knight that was nearby. "It's Maryann!" A few guards heard him as they jogged their way up until they made a dash for her. Their metal suits could be heard from across the town. As they played cat and mouse, Maryann grabbed more things like cheese and some baked bread, and a bit of ale. She put them into the basket. She kept a steady pace until she rounded a corner and straight into a dead end. In the entrance way the guards lined up, blocking her from going out. One knight stepped out of line.

"Give up Maryann! We got you cornered. There is no way to escape, now give up and come to your Queen." He grunted.

Maryann looked up to her surrounding area and shrugged, "You sure about that?" she asked as she held the basket close to her.

The guards only started to advance on her as she backed up to the wall. They came closer and closer and only when they came close enough, she through the basket into the air. It didn't come back, leading to say that it was stuck on the roof. Leaping into the air as her foot planted against one side of the building. With quick steps she bounded from one wall to the other and she started to climb higher until she reached the roof tops. When on the roof top, she grabbed the basket and looked over to the guards. The guards tried to follow her moves but due to their heavy armor they only fumbled over themselves and made a great pile.

Maryann gave a laugh and saluted them. "See you later boys, try to get out of that situation," she said and bounded off by jumping from roof to roof.

Now coming up to the broken door of the church, she opened it to a quite pleasant surprise. The church was now cleaned up, or well as best as it could be. The benches were turned over and in their normal rows, and the dust was now gone. Rudi was sitting on one of the benches next to Luke who was cleaning off a few important books of the building. Rudi turned around when she heard Maryann walked in and gave a bright smile.

"Welcome back Maryann!" Rudi squeaked and stood up to face her friend.

"Morning Maryann," Luke said with a bright smile as he put down the books. "Did your mission go well?" he asked as his stomach rumbled over the slight silence.

Maryann held up the basket full of food and placed it down upon one of the benches. She then started to take a few bottle of ale, and a wheel of cheese, and a couple slices of the baked bread. "For now, we have a feast!" she giggled and gave each of her friends a bit of each.

Rudi was smiling and her tail swayed side to side as she took a good size bite of cheese and a nibble of bread. With a mouth full of food she asked, "Did you come up with a plan?" she asked as she swallowed and took a sip.

As Maryann nodded and finished up her piece of bread, she turned to look at her and nodded. "I did, come closer you guys, and I'll explain it all to you." Luke and Rudi put down their food and shuffled closer to listen to her whispered voice.

A couple hours later, their sectioned food was devoured and they had cleaned up the area a bit more. Maryann then stood up and smirked; she wiped the bangs away from her eyes and turned to her entourage. "It's time to set our plan into action. "You guys know what to do, right?"

Rudi nodded, "Yeah, go with Luke and you'll take it from there." Luke nodded in agreement and helped her up onto his shoulder.

Nodding, Maryann was already on her way towards the door, and she looked back at them one last time. She then dashed out and towards the village. Luke and Rudi slinked out only moments later and in a different area. Into the Market Square, Maryann did run into. The guards had doubled their post and was looking everywhere for the rebellious princess. A few people were milling around, minding their own business when Maryann started to make a commotion at a nearby blacksmith shop. She was clanging equipment around and yelling to get the attention of the guards nearby.

"COME AND GET ME!" She yelled and smirked as she jumped around banging more stuff around. Finally a few guards started to jog up to them to see what the commotion was. Maryann turned to the Blacksmith and saluted. "Thanks Jordan, we'll come and get you later, you will be needed," she giggled and started to run off in a direction with the guards following her.

The clanging of metal was echoing against the homes and shouts of guards were heard. The amount of people on the streets grew more as she was being chased by them; soon there was a mass of people surrounding a statue in the very middle of the square. It would seem like she would have to stop, but to the amazement of the guards, she dove right through and out of sight. The guards cursed and started to shout at the civilians.

"Let us go through! By the order of the queen! You will all be arrested if you don't bring Maryann to us!"

One man stood up to one of the guards. "Why should we follow the Queen? She has turned for the worse?!"

The guard turned to him and he narrowed his eyes at him. Clamping up to him, he raised his hand and there was a loud SMACK. A print was left on the man's face as the guard stood back. "Never speak out of turn you rat." he hissed. "Now let us through."

The man stood still and growled at the guard who was in front of him, "Never! She shall be over thrown!"

There was about to go into an all-out right brawl, until Maryann showed up on top of the statue. She called over the mass of people. "Citizens of Hartsville! I am your loyal princess! I had escaped certain death to rally you up into helping me!" Her eyes scanned the crowd as the guards stepped back in utter hatred. Their reactions were a mixture of happiness, curiosity, and fear. "My mother has killed our loved ones, punished them for no reason. Join me and we can bring peace to our once beloved land!" She then climbed higher and shouted over the crowd. "Ask me questions! Anything!"

A young boy about the age of eleven, "How old do you have to be to join your cause?" He said with a determined glint in his eyes.

"Great question!" she smiled at him and turned to look at everyone. "There is no age difference! Anyone and anybody can help me! "She replied and looked to the boy who was grinning from ear to ear.

Out from the corner of her eye, Maryann spotted a woman stepping out from the crowd. Her hand shook as it went into the air waiting to be called out. Maryann turned to her and pointed. "You there, give me your question."

"What kind of services do you need?" she asked quite feebly, she was scared but her heart seemed to be in the right place, for she fiddled with a necklace around her neck, possibly from one of her mother's prisoners.

Maryann swiveled to be beside her and smiled. "I need nurses, cooks, blacksmiths, and anything in between!" she said. "Will you do me good by helping me?" she asked.

The lady nodded and curtsied to her, "To help my loved one, I hope we are not too late." She whispered and Maryann nodded. Some people started to call out of turn and it started to become into a chant.

"I'll help you cook!"

"And I with your medical needs!"

"Yeah!"

Maryann was very pleased when people started to call out from all around the square more people started to come, but the guards tried to keep them at bay, but by now that wasn't going to help. One guard was pushed to the ground and as he got up again he called over one of his companions. Quickly a young knight bounded over to him, asking if he was alright, he gave a curt nod and whispered into his ear.

"Warn our queen, bring us more soldiers."

The young knight nodded and slinked away without being seen, while the other guards started to surround the group just in case they tried to escape. The mass of shouting grew louder until someone finally spoke louder than the rest with a great point in mind.

"We have a cause, but what are we going to call ourselves?" he asked curiously. Maryann was awestruck at the idea and blinked, she hadn't gotten that far in her plans yet, she cursed to herself and put a hand under her chin as she thought.

"Hm…..good Idea, do any of you have an idea for our group?"

One out of the other another rally of shouting was made and the guards were trying to quiet them by slapping them and hitting them with clubs but they kept on doing so.

"Woven Hearts!"

"Bleeding Hearts!"

"Wonderland Warriors!"

They were all great names, but Maryann was thinking on a very good idea but kept asking for them to continue, the knights were getting annoyed and they awaited for the back up to come, so they can finally launch an attack. That was until Luke spoke up.

"I think I got a perfect name for our group."

Maryann turned to him and the group became silent, awaiting precious moments to hear what they were going to be called.

"How about the Red-Tides?"

Bursting through the throne room doors of the Heart Palace, a couple young men all dressed up in their gleaming armor walked up to their highness. In her presence, one by one they fell upon their knee and the one closest to the queen started to speak. His name was Lewis, and he is the new Captain of the Guard, he was a much leaner guard than most but he knew how to fight, much better than Bruce.

"Your royal highness, Maryann had escaped into Hartsville, they are planning to overthrow you with a group, yet to be named." He waited for her to slap him with her golden staff.

To his surprisement, she just stood up silently, but when he looked up to her, her face was fuming with anger. As he predicted, she slammed the staff to his cheek and it left a red mark and he had fallen over to the ground.

"Fools! Never come up to me with bad news like that! Go now and bring more guards! Cease her at once and bring her to me! I want to slice off her head myself!" she screamed, it was like bloody murder. Her eyes were raged with pure hatred and her fingernails would've sliced through flesh. She showed her slightly pointed teeth and the men backed up with a few nods.

"My Viciousness, we will get her for you, you'll have her head in no time." Lewis vowed and motioned his soldiers to come with and in a matter of seconds they were out the door and into castle's corridors. Alice was just left there, venting out her anger. Lewis and his men urged other soldiers to come with them on their journey to Hartsville.

As the crowd cheered in the middle of the square, the guards joined up and the sound of their armor became in sync with each other. Soon their cheers turned into screams as the soldiers launched an attack on the rebellious group. One by one, bodies fell into heaps and heads began to roll. Maryann and the survivors started to dash off into the streets with the guards in tow. Luke was running beside Maryann as she screamed to her new 'family'.

"Retreat! Everyone follow me!" She called to the others as she turned down a pathway that led to the entrance of the village. A few wandering citizens stop to look at the scene as it went by. When they left, there were headless corpses littering the streets. Some ladies fainted at their windows from such a sight. They were coming to the entrance of the town when Maryann spotted the blockade of soldiers waiting for them.

A few of the blacksmiths were carrying their weapons and they tried to plow through the defense system. Guards tried to knock them down and keep their stance but they became overpowered by the sheer will of the citizens. When there was a gaping hole in the blockade, the group darted through, killing a few guards in the process. They continued to run and run, until they collapsed from exhaustion. Maryann stopped and spotted a forest in the horizon; the Hallucination Forest. So many legends were made from there, and you usually don't want to enter it, but now it's an emergency.

She turned her head and she spotted Luke with Maryann in his hands, he was trying to protect her as they escaped the town. The other rebels were panting and trying to catch their breath a bit, but the guards were in sight. Now they brought the artillery with their archers. A rain of arrows were coming at them and Maryann called to the rest of her troops.

"Into the forest! It's the only way to make sure we can have a chance to fight!" she stated and dashed towards it, arrows planting the ground from where she once stood. Her loyal subjects followed her into the forest, Luke and Rudi were right behind her. Fog started to surround the forest, concealing them from the views of the guards.

Lewis switched from all out run to a slowed jog until he reached an all-out stop at the edge. He raised a hand and motioned his troops to stop, a smirk on his face. A few of his men stopped by his side. "Let them be, they'll die soon enough in there if the legends were true. They won't survive an hour in there. Head back to the town!" he said and ran up the hill to their steeds. The others followed him.

Maryann stopped to take a breather when she realized the fog had become denser, nearly blocking her vision. She couldn't see anyone, not Luke, Rudi, or even any of her newly recruited troops. She started to get worried.

"Luke! Rudi!" she shouted. But no answer. Her eyes darted from side to side to try and find any signs of them, their bodies, particle of ripped clothing or decapitated heads, but she still found nothing. "Luke? Troops?" She called out once again, but to no avail there was no answer in return. She then turned, and as she did so, her body bumped into something big and ….smooth?

Jumping a couple feet in the air in fright, she turned her head to look at what she bumped into, but as she did so, she miss-stepped and her footing lost hold and she landed on her rump. Up, her eyes looked, on the tree nearby, was a caterpillar. A part of his body was hanging off the branch and laid flat against the bark of the tree. The feet of the caterpillar then started to scurry up the bark and onto the branch where the rest of the body was laying. Maryann was silent as she narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out who he was.

The caterpillar faced her, his wrinkles were shown and his antennae were a bit crooked. He put one end of a hookah into his mouth and sucked in a mouthful of smoke. A few moments later he leaned down towards her and blew a ring of smoke at her and it encircled her until it dissipated into nothingness.

"Who are you?"

Maryann blinked when he started to speak and she then pointed to her, but then realized it must be her, for she was the only person here with him.

"I'm Maryann, Princess of the Heart Kingdom, and Leader of the Red-Tides." She said quite proudly. "I come here for protection; my mother's guards were out for me and my troops."

"Why?"

"She had turned utterly mad and punished our subjects for no reason! She has a price on ,my head for nothing! "

"Why?" he asked again as he took another mouthful of smoke.

"Just because I didn't join her when she turned mad…"she whispered.

"Then why are you here? "

"I want to overthrow her, to make Wonderland to what it used to be."

"Look into my eyes and tell me how you will do this." He said and leaned down, their faces closer than she thought it would be and his deep, stormy eyes gazed into hers, waiting for an answer.

"I will make a strong renegade group named the Red-Tides, we will pillage her events, and will take over the Heart Kingdom before it is too late." She spoke as she stared into them, the truth fully coming out when she said, "To revenge my best friend, Jingles, death."

The caterpillar then backed up and gave a puff of smoke out and nodded. "There you go, the truth is out, and for that, I will let you thrive in this forest, to help your cause. I will not interfere with any of this commotion. You have my word," he said and smoke started to swirl around them.

In a flash, Maryann found herself lying on the ground, with a couple of blue feathers beside her and a few in her hands. Blinking open her hazy eyes she looked up and saw what it looked like, a giant blue owl gliding through the branches. Her head was ringing but she could hear a few shouts and her body shook. Her foggy gaze turned towards a figure who was beside her and realized it was Luke.

"Luke….?"She whispered as she tried to regain consciousness.

"Yes it's me, it seems like you got hit with an arrow and passed out here, we are happy to find you safe and….." Luke wasn't able to finish his sentence when Maryann passed out, the wound on her side was getting infected, and she needed medical attention. The nurses walked over and kneeled down as they started to work on her.

As they worked on her wounded body, her mind traveled through the moments that went by. She realized that she was talking to the guardian of the forest. Winston, the guardian of tales. As her mind wandered from the shock, she started to drift off into a dream-like nightmare.

Shouts of angry villagers were spoken at the courtyard, right below the queen's balcony. Scarlet was inside pacing around, as her mind tried to figure out a way to settle her subjects down. She could hear them screaming, chanting, the sounds of metal pitchforks hitting each other in pure rage.

"Let Alice go!" They chanted, as she peered out the window and out of view, but even from just the glance, she saw how vast the mob was. It was going out the drawbridge gate and into the dirt path beyond that. Their ends of their pitchforks and canes were echoing against the wrapped corridor and blasting into her ears. She frowned in sadness. She saw it transforming into chaos as her subjects held up a doll of her and tied it to a stick. A few seconds later, the doll was consumed in flames and burnt to a crisp, leaving only ashes on the ground.

Queen Scarlet, finally fed up with this entire ruckus, went out onto her balcony and slammed her fist down on the railing to get their attention. "Can't you see? She is the one from the prophecy that the oracles have spoken about! She'll destroy us all! She followed Hans, and now she is creating chaos!" Her eyes watched as the crowd below her became more reckless and it hurt her to see that amongst the mass were the other royal members of the council.

Queen Sterling was the closest to the balcony then the other royals, and she was chanting with the group. As always, her dress surprises most by shining so bright, like the sun, always getting people's attention, but now it was for the wrong reason. King Typhus was standing beside her, with his massive build; Queen Sterling looked like a twig. His arms were crossed and his face placid amongst the angered subjects. Though it may seem emotionless, his muscles were tense and that was a sure signal of him clenching his teeth. Sadly, poor King Aidan was behind him, shrunken down to be only seen through the small crevice between the other royal's arms. He was quaking like never before, and his hair was disheveled and he had bags under his eyes from restless sleep. His eyes were wide but faded, to barely a light green, a sign of sickness amongst his people. His fingers were fiddling with his rabbit foot that hung from his neck as the whole scene roared in fury.

Suddenly, out of the blue, King Typhus spoke. He was louder than the chants and it seemed to quiet them down, so Scarlet could hear. "Scarlet! You're fighting a lost cause. Alice is not the enemy here. She is innocent, but…" he said and his whole face contorted into anger, and he belched out as loud as he could, just like the times in the days of war. "The only one who is the enemy to our country is YOU!" Scarlet was stricken back, and tears threatened to come out, but Scarlet snapped it out of her and she just looked sadly amongst the crowd.

"If you don't let her go, we'll come up there and get her ourselves," Sneered Queen Sterling as she turned to hear the few shouts and hollers from the crowd behind her.

Queen Scarlet just shook her head; she couldn't believe what was happening. Her own subjects were turning on her, just because of how nice and sweet Alice was. They are wrong; she's the one who is destined to destroy her country. They have no clue what will happen if Alice becomes queen. "Fine, if you insist, come on up…I give up…"she gave a sigh and looked to the ground as she heard shouts of victory. Their voices dwindled as they poured into the palace and towards her room.

There Queen Scarlet sat on her the chair in front of her bed and waited, with her chin high and back straight. Even though she was giving up, she was going to do so in an esteemed way. Soon they burst through the door with their pitchforks waving in the air. Grabbing her they tied her wrists up with strong rope and escorted her way down towards the dungeon and to the smallest cell that they had. Before the door closed on her, she stood up (slightly strained) and started to speak. "You are making a big mistake, she will destroy us all!"

King Typhus then strode up close to her, but not in her face. "Yeah, we made a mistake. That mistake was letting you become the queen in the first place," he snarled with his eyes ablaze. "Shut the door and lock it up for the remainder of her days!" he said. Now the door was closed, and everything faded into nothingness.

6: Scarlet

The door of the courtroom swung open to reveal a slender body clothed in red. People in the room, turned their heads and excited whispers soon followed. There in the door frame, was no other than the famous prosecutor: Scarlet Rosetta. Her expression solemn, and full of determination as she gazed upon the judge. Though they began to daze, as she thought back to her coronation day.

    As if it was yesterday, there in front of her was King Nolan. The new king was adorned in purple robes and a golden crown sat upon his head. Even though he looked the part of royalty, his face was child-like; With round, rosy cheeks, and a bright smile on his lips. HIs eyes sparkled as he looked upon the walking figure before him. Robes also adorned Scarlet, though they were a bit longer in the train, but it was all within tradition. In her hand was the crown jewels of the Heart Kingdom, and upon her head was a beautiful tiara. The crowds around her was like that of her subjects, they expressed their happiness in cheers as she went and sat down beside King Nolan.

    All of that crumbled to the floor when she was drawled out of her memory when the bailiff stood up and spoke. By then, she was seated beside her client.

    “All rise,” everyone in the court stands up except the judge who humbly sat up on his podium. “Court is now in session. Judge Luthor presiding. Please be seated.” The stocky man then stepped back, letting the judge speak.

    

    “Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Calling the case of the commonwealth of New York vs. Jordan Majoritz. Do you understand you have a right to an attorney?” His last sentence was directed to the straggly looking fellow on the other side of Scarlet. The man had dirt-like smudges on his face and hair that was unkept. Dressed in baggy clothes, he looked like a person you would see on the streets.

 

    “I do,” he said confidently and gave a somewhat humble smirk towards Scarlet who just happened to roll her eyes in his direction.

 

    “With this in mind, do you wish to speak?”

 

    “Yes I do, your honor.”

 

    “Jordan Majoritz, you are charged with first degree murder, one count of kidnapping, two counts of carrying a firearm without a license, and two counts of Voluntary Manslaughter. How do you plead?” Asked the judge as he looked at the man with beady eyes. He unintentionally put a hand in one of the many flaps of his oversized chin. His hair a bit frizzed from the various temperatures in the room.

 

    “Not guilty, your honor.”

    

    “Due to the severity of the charges against you, you will be held without bail at the New York, New York, Jail House of Correction Facility. Your trial will be scheduled for the friday of next week. Court dismissed.” Soon after the words were spoken he brought down his mallet and that gave the signal to leave. People were now pushing their way to get out of the warm building, and into the cold. As for Scarlet, she was walking out of the door to meet her co-worker, and best friend, Cynthia Santos. Stepping out into the crisp coldness of the world, she pulled her jacket a bit closer to her face. Taking a few steps down the steps, she spotted Cynthia and went up to her.

 

    Cynthia smiled and gave her friend a warm hug and Scarlet responded with one of her own. “To Java’s?” she asked with a raised brow as they started to walk down the street.

 

    Scarlet nodded and smiled though the tips of her lips were the only thing you could’ve seen from above her thick scarf. “Of course, like always. So how was the case of Montague?” she asked as they turned a corner.

 

    “It was exhausting, he kept giving excuses that he wasn’t the murderer because he was in the shower. I heard that story way too many times, and it really gets me boiling. How about Majoritz? When is the case for that?”she asked as they were coming up to Java’s. Java’s was on the corner of Main St. and Luther Dr. It was quite a popular spot for the attorneys of New York, to relax after a hard day of work.

 

    Opening up the door for her friend she answered with a sigh. “It’s going to be next friday. I could already tell that friday is going to be a long day.” She chuckled and went towards the counter and ordered two cups of mocha latte’s with extra cream and sugar. As she did that, Cynthia went and got them seats by the window. Cynthia nodded to her friend from where she sat.

    “Though it could be worse…” Scarlet was cut off as she spotted a peculiar sight from outside. There on the sidewalk was a petite albino rabbit. It’s eyes were upon her. Thoughts raced through her mind, though one word escaped her lips. “....No..”

    

    Cynthia raised a brow as she came up to where Scarlet was standing and she waved a hand in front of her face. Showing concern, she asked Scarlet. “No what?” Following where her eyes was looking and spotted the small creature. “Are you talking about that rabbit?” she asked curiously.

 

    Scarlet bit her lip and handed her the coffee and started to walk towards the door to the building. “I’m sorry Cynthia, but something urgent came up and I got to go, take my coffee, I don’t need it.” Before Cynthia could speak another word, the cups were in her hand and Scarlet was out the door and towards the rabbit. Though the rabbit started to hop out of sight and so did Scarlet.

    

    Now following the rabbit as it went farther away from Java’s and towards an alleyway close by, she got a bad feeling from the pits of her stomach. As they went farther into the alleyway, she saw the rabbit transforming into a man. Though he wasn’t like any other man, he had long white bunny ears and clothing that suited the style of the colonials. His face now turned to Scarlet, his bright red eyes now looked upon her from behind spectacles. A frantic look was on the man’s face.

 

    He fumbled with the cuffs of his jacket as he began to speak, though it was soft as a whisper. “Queen Scarlet?” He asked. She responded with a quaint nod. “I have urgent news to tell you, I’ve been searching everywhere for you.”

 

    Coming a bit closer, scarlet held up her hands and they took hold of his arms a bit. “Hans, what is it that you must tell me? Tell me that everything is back to normal? That I may have my throne back.” It was small, but it was hope none-the-less.

    

    Sadly, Hans shook his head and sighed. “I’m sorry your highness, but Alice has gone completely insane and that you were right after all those years. Alice is a ruthless ruler. She murders her subjects for idiotic reasons, and she wants more power.” He frowned.

 

    Scarlet blinked and bit her lip in thought. “I knew it and yet no one else believed me, though, you were the only one who did. I’m thankful for your loyalty. Please tell me the damage she created to my kingdom.” She begged though she didn’t really wanna hear it as she looked to the ground in thought.

 

    “Heartsville is now completely bare, except for broken shops and homeless subjects. Family members were torn each other and love had ended at the entryway of the dungeon. No one was spared, not even her daughter, who was put into jail. Though she is quite rebellious, she escaped her mother’s clutches and formed a troop to overthrow her. I give her all my prayers, for she would need anyone she can get.” He recalled as he went over and placed his hands on her shoulder. “Don’t worry Scarlet, your throne would soon be yours again, if the prophecy soon comes to a close.”

 

    With a small beam of hope in her eyes. Giving a nod, she looked to Hans and shrugged herself away a bit. “Is that all?”she asked.

    â€‹ Hans shook his head. “No, one last thing. Right before I left to find you, she was on her way to capture the Diamond Kingdom. I hope their defenses is strong enough to overcome the savage beast.” He said with a bit of distaste in his mouth.  Scarlet sighed and shook her head.

    â€‹ “Sterling was never really the one to make armies for battling, only for show. She cares more about her diamond minds than her own people, though I do wish them luck. You must go now, be the eyes and ears for me. I will be awaiting your next arrival.” She then took out a small piece of paper and a pen and started to write her address on it. “This is where I live, come in person or by animal which ever you prefer. Though I must warn you, the journey is quite treacherous for a small creature like a bunny.” She responded with a very light chuckle of humor.

    Hans nodded and gave a small smile and he bowed as he started to go out of the alleyway and turned to her one last time. “I’ll keep that in mind,”he said and morphed back into a rabbit and hopped out of sight leaving Scarlet in the dark. Hans was now hoping he would get back to Wonderland in time to see that the Diamond army has taken siege of the Card soldiers of Alice. Though he didn’t know it yet, the Diamond kingdom fell within the first onslaughts from the card’s catapults.

7: An Old Friend

“Duck!” Maryann said to Luke as a javelin was hurled his way. He barely had time to duck as the Javelin whizzed by the tip of his nose. A bead of sweat traveled down his brow to his cheek as he straightened himself up. As he got up, he grabbed his sword and swung at an oncoming suit. The sword hit the man’s armor and it made luke shake. Luke frowned seeing it had no damage so he swung again and again, but it ended with the same ending. Luke getting shook. As Luke hurled another blow at the armor, the man counterattacked by defending himself by his own sword.

For a couple minutes Luke and the suit were in a tango of their own. Their swords clashing against each other like thunder in the sky. Luke was panting and his sweat had drenched his bangs, while the man he fought stood perfectly fine with breaths to spare. The suit knew that Luke was going to break down soon so he pushed him down to the ground. He raised his sword and was about to make the final blow. Luke closed his eyes, accepting his fate, when a couple minutes later there wasn’t blackness. Confused, Luke opened up an eye to see silver slice through the air and into the neck of the man.

Before the suit could scream, the tip of a sword slashed through his neck in a clean swift motion. Down dropped the man’s head, his pain stricken face frozen in time. His eyes were wide and glazed over, while his mouth stayed agape. The body fell on top of Luke, who squirmed underneath, due to the blood now drenching his shirt. He pushed it to his side and got up. He grinned as to who had saved him. Behind the corpse was Maryann. She was speckled from head to toe in blood. hers and the enemies.

Sheathing her sword, Maryann swiped a few strands of her red hair out of her face. “You might want to go for the easier ones Luke,” she chuckled lightly before a suit bunted her in the back with the butt of his sword. She fell face first, though she sweep kicked him to bring him down with her. There they wrestled on the ground, before Maryann pinned him with her boot to his neck. Though a comrade of the fallen suit came to help him by unsheathing his sword and drawled it to begin a fight with her. Maryann took out her sword and moved to lunge at the suit. Though when she did, her foot slipped from it’s hold on the man’s neck.

Seeing his opportunity, the suit on the ground grabbed Maryann’s leg and swung her to the ground. She flew a good couple feet before scraping against the ground, dirt now smeared with blood were on her face to her neck. She staggered as she got up and turned to see the two suits coming after her. Narrowing her eyes, she reached for her sword, only to find it laying where she was previously. Silently cursing to herself, she started to look around for a weapon to use.

Lena, another Red-Tide, was fighting a suit nearby when she spotted Maryann in the tight situation. Her mind kicked in gear when she spun her blade into the man’s side and up into his left lung. The man gasped for air before falling to his knees and doubling over as his breath escaped him. Sheathing her sword, she pulled out a slingshot that she had strapped to her waist and picked up a couple of pebbles. Under her breath she whispered, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” and with that she loaded a pebble into the band and pulled back, her aim was spot on as it hit the suit to the left.

 

Maryann was a great fighter, but she could only battle one man at a time, she is human afterall. The two men were advancing on her with weapons drawn and ready to wreak havoc. That was before the suit on the left coughed up blood, which unpleasantly landed on Maryann’s cheek. She blinked before the man fell onto his partner like a domino. There in the back of his head was a pebble that made a crater upon his head.

She turned to look where it came from and spotted Lena putting away her slingshot and gave a quirky smile. Luke had came up and kicked Maryann’s sword back to her. In which she punctured the neck of the fallen suit. Blood bubbled up from the wound and it dripped down his neck like rain droplets. Maryann was going to celebrate her little victory with a grin, but that was until she heard a scream coming from behind her. It was that of Charles. A loyal farmer, who gave up everything to help Maryann defeat her mother. She turned but the sight was sickening.

There he was, pinned to a tree through the chest by a javelin. He laid limp and his forehead touching the javelin. It nearly choked Maryann into tears, but she had to move on for his sake. She needed this battle to be her victory. That one thought alone was her driving force. Though what really brought tears to her face was that of her most loyal servant Joan. Her head laid among a pile of others that fought for her that the guards were collecting. As if they were,like a prize. It made Maryann shiver in disgust. Snapping herself out of her little day dream, she flung back into battle, her blade like a hurricane.

Maryann was now fighting with another young suit near the tree where poor Charles was pinned. Not too far away from her, were Luke and Lena, who decided to fight a pair of suits from the club kingdom. The two suits were burly, but Lena who was quick on her feet plunged the sword into one of the suit’s leg. He yowled and tried to get the sword. While the suit was down, Luke swiped his sword through the man’s leg, now leaving him with one leg to stand. As the suit fell to the ground, his shrieks of pain filled the sky.

Seeing his comrade dying before his eyes, the other suit took revenge by slashing at Luke’s leg. He screamed in pain and backed up as he coughed. Lena heard him scream and went over and sliced the suit’s head clean off. She then looked at Luke and bit her lip. “It’s pretty bad Luke, let’s bring you to where Maryann is,” she said and looped his arm around her shoulder and started to go in her direction.

Maryann just slain her last man when a trumpet was heard from across the battlefield. She looked around and saw that the suits were making a hasty escape. She grinned slightly, thought that all went away when she spotted how many men she had lost during the battle. They were small to begin with, but now it seemed like they were never going to win. As soon as that thought had came into her mind, she pushed it out for she had a country to save. Turning around, she spotted Lena holding Luke and her face went pale. She quickly ran to their side.

“How bad is it Luke?”she asked as she looked over the wound. It was long and it went down from his hip towards the front of his knee. It was red and if they didn’t get it treated soon it was going to fester.

“It hurts...what else would it do?”he asked a bit sarcastically but sighed. “It’s pretty bad, it hurts to walk,” He said.

Maryann nodded,”We are going to head back soon, I just need to gather the rest of the troops. You two go ahead, we’ll catch up with you.” Lena and Luke nodded as they headed towards the Hallucination forest. Maryann then turned to look at the wandering soldiers. Picking up her own horn that she had around her belt she blew into it and called for a meeting.

Men and women from all around the battlefield started to flock to Maryann. As they did so, Maryann started to count how many injured troops she had. She had about twenty that were pretty bad. She winced at a few that had lost their eyesight and held their hand to their eye. Others had cuts and missing limbs.

“Troops, we have won our battle, but we lost many good soldiers. Please as we go back that we walk in silent to remember the lost. Please help your injured comrades as we head into camp, bring them to the medic tents,” she said before heading towards camp herself. The troops behind her.

As Maryann walked to camp, she let her troop go before her until she was at the back of the group. She started to whisper to herself through silent sobs. “Rest in peace my subjects, friends and soldiers,” was heard through the silence. She knew her troops were all counting on her, not just them but the country itself. There were people in the dungeon that needs to escape from that hell. Finally she clenched her fist and raised her head high. Her thoughts now straight She won’t try to win. She WILL win. After a few moments of thought she jogged to catch up to her army.

Upon their return to camp, Rudi was waiting for them by the entrance. She made sure to get out of the many feet of the troops so she wouldn’t get squashed. Though as they passed a cloud of sadness was upon her. Rudi brought her hat to her chest for respect of the dead. Seeing Maryann, who was trailing behind the rest, she scampered up to her and tugged on her leggings. Maryann stopped and let her friend up onto her shoulder.

She tilted her head, “Did we win?”’She asked. Her lilac eyes now upon the medics who rushed frantically to help all the injured soldiers that they had. It wasn’t an easy task as far as Rudi can see. Though her attention was brought back to Maryann as she spoke.

 

“Yes and No,” she said simply.

 

Rudi blinked in bewilderment. She started to scratch behind her ear a bit as she pondered on the question. She finally gave up and asked, “What do you mean?”

 

Maryann chuckled lightly, “ I mean, yes we won the battle, but no because we lost many brave men and women in doing so.”

 

“At least they are now in a better place and not in the hands of your mother,” she replied.

 

Maryann nodded,”yeah.” She then looked at herself. Dried blood were like patches on her clothes and skin. “I’m going to get cleaned up and get a check up to see if I have any major injuries. After that I want to have a meeting, can you please tell Lena to gather the rest of the troops after I’m done?” She asked as she headed to her tent that laid a bit away from the fire pit.

Rudi nodded and saluted to her as she went. “Yes ma’am!” After that she climbed down and scampered off to Lena. Maryann stopped by her tent to pick up some fresh clothes to wear.

After she washed herself up, and was wearing a new set of clothes, she headed to the medics. When she walked through the opening, she bit her lip at the sight of her injured men. It wasn’t a normal bad, it was bad. Heading over to the medic at the back of the tent, she strolled by Maria. A merchant who came with them when they first found shelter at the forest. Back then, she was a merchant. Now here she was an injured soldier, with a hand to her left eye. Even though it was covered, she could see the redness of the blood that bled through the cracks of her fingers, a medic was beside her, getting all the equipment she needed to perform surgery. Tears now emerged in Maryann’s eyes.

Continuing down the tent, Luther was struggling to stay still. A couple medics were starting to operate on his lower leg. His screams pierced the air as a medic started to sew the ends of the frayed skin together right below the knee. They had taken off his lower leg for it was only being held on by a small piece of flesh. It was for the best, it was that or he would gotten sick from an infection.

Maryann diverted her gaze to look at Elizabeth, one of her medics. “Can you do me a favor and check me for any injuries that I might not have noticed?”

 

“My fingers might be cold, but it will all be over in a few minutes,” Elizabeth said softly as her slender fingers started to inspect Maryann. Maryann nodded in reply. In a couple minutes the inspection was over and she looked at Maryann. “You’re fine, only minor bruises and cuts. It should heal within days. You are lucky though, not like some of them that are here,” she said softly.

 

Maryann nodded,”Yeah, I know. I am only trying my best.” Elizabeth nodded and then headed over to a soldier that needed her attention more than the leader. Maryann took this as the time to leave them to their work and she left the tent and headed to the fire pit.  She had overheard one of the medics say that they were running out of supplies and it was making her worry. They were also running out of food. As she went to the pit, there was a mass of people, the rest of the camp to be exact.

It wasn’t many, though Maryann was happy that they stood by her to help her in any way they can. There they were, all waiting patiently waiting for her to speak. Lena and Luke were among them, they were sitting on one of the logs and were facing her. Rudi was on Lena’s head. Small smiles were on their lips as she started to walk through to the center where the fire was. Standing before the fire, a good distance away so she wouldn’t get burned, she turned to her troops. It was silence except for the few crackles from the fire.

 

“Fellow Red-Tides! We are here to talk about the battle. I am happy to say that even though we were outnumbered we came out with a victory,” she said a bit excited and the crowd around her acted the same way with hoots and hollers. She waited for the chatter to quiet down before continuing. “Though...we did not win without a price. Many lives were taken as they fought their hardest,” as she ended that sentence she could hear the sobs of many, but mostly from Charles’s sister Catherine who sat not too far from where she stood. It broke her heart to listen to her, she knows how she feels.

 

“We lost great men and women. Like the innocent lives of Joan and Charles and many are injured. The medics are up to their necks with injured soldiers. Let us have a moment of silence for those who died in battle,” she whispered as she went quiet, so did the crowd. Those few moments seemed like minutes to her. Though when it was finished Maryann clenched her fist and brought it to the sky and shouted, “For those who had fallen, I made a vow. A vow to do the best I can to defeat my mother. Let’s all do our best to help win this war!”

 

The crowd burst into a loud cheer as they stood up and unsheathed their swords, raising them above their heads. That didn’t exclude Rudi who unsheathed her own version of a sword, a needle, into the air as well. Luke rose his from where he sat and Lena stood among the others. They all agreed to do with that action, though they sat back down when Maryann spoke once more. “Now go and rest up,” she ordered before motioning for Rudi and Lena to follow her.

As the crowd dispersed, Lena with Rudi on her head went over to where Maryann now stood. Luke stayed at the log, his leg now wrapped up and his eyes on the crackling fire before him. Lena had turned to Luke to see what he was doing and then brought her attention to Maryann once more. Maryann smiled at them both but she spoke to Lena first. “Thank you for saving me back there, I taught you well.” she chuckled as she folded her arms. “I also have a duty that I need you to do for me.”

 

“No need to thank me, we need you alive so you can take your mother’s throne,” she chuckled with a broad smile, her green eyes sparkling. She gave another warm chuckle when she said she trained her well. “I was already good with a slingshot but I am grateful for you traning me,” she said gently with a small blush of embarrassment. “I would be happy to be at your service,” she exclaimed.

 

8: Rudi

Rudi was in her tent, gathering supplies for her journey. She placed food into a sack and she put it on her belt with her sword (a needle). Her tiny paws quickly snatched up a few more things before scampering out of her tent and towards the entrance, the map tied to her back. Though she stopped halfway there when she noticed she forgotten something.

    “My hat!” She exclaimed as she turned around and headed back. She entered her tent once more and snatched the hat that laid on the floor. She plopped the accessory onto her head and grinned. “Much better,” she said before returning toward her path to the entrance.

    Now at the entrance of the camp. she turned to look at it. No one was out, for it was still dark, the sun hadn’t risen yet. Earlier Lena and two others went out for the night watch, they wouldn’t be back until a bit later. A small smile crept onto her face as she whispered, “I’ll be back, just wait and see.” With that she started on her long journey towards the Heart palace.

    The forest was dark and fog lingered around like it always had. Rudi who was as big as a mouse could get, couldn’t see anything in front of her. She barely dodged uprooted roots that happened to be in her way. When she looked up to see where she was every once in a while, she usually didn’t see the sky for the trees towered above her and their trunks seemed neverending. Every once in awhile she would trip over a twig or on a slippery leaf. She would curse to herself quietly, though it usually was jibber jabber.

    When she started to feel overwhelmed she stopped in her tracks to spot a small sphere of light. It went around her and Rudi thought it was a firefly. She got an idea, maybe she could use this as a way to get out of the Hallucination forest. The light swirled around Rudi before heading through the trees to the right of her. Rudi followed the light until it brought her into a small clearing. There the light rose into the air and dispersed into a much bigger and brighter light. The light was so blinding that Rudi had to close her eyes and turned her back towards it. Her attention was brought back though, when a voice was heard.

   

    “Rudi,” a creature said as he sat upon a rather broad mushroom that as at least ten times her height. He was pretty big as well, bigger than most things a mouse would know. He heaved in a bunch of smoke before releasing out in a different direction. The smoke formed little rings.

 

    “Yes, that’s me, and might I ask, who are you?” she asked with a raised brow. This creature was much taller than she once saw. A caterpillar wasn’t as big, but then again, in this forest you don’t know what’s what anymore.

 

    “I am Winston, guardian of the Hallucination Forest, I am here to tell you urgent news,” he said before breathing a small strand of smoke into her face.

   

    She went into a coughing fit as she accidently inhaled the smoke. Winston just looked at her a bit sympathetically. “What urgent news? Is the camp going to be attacked, is Maryann going to die!?” She asked a bit frightened. Rudi grabbed her tail and started to stroke it as she feared for the worst, but all she got was a hearty laugh. That angered her a bit and she snapped, “What are you laughing at?!”

 

    Winston chuckled, “I’m not laughing at the camp, my dear sweet creature. I am laughing at what you already assumed would be trouble for your camp. I was talking about you. You will not come back here the same way and/or alone.”

 

    Rudi calmed down a bit though she took his words to heart. She was confused and was trying to think of what he meant. “What do you mean by that?” she asked a bit helplessly.

 

    “That, I can not say, in time you will understand. All I can do is warn you and show you the way out of here,” he said and started to morph. He wasn’t a caterpillar at all, but a giant hazy blue great horned owl. A much feared creature of her species, and that didn’t exclude her.  Rudi screamed and darted towards the path out of the clearing. Winston started to take flight and landed before her once more, blocking the way. “My dear, sweet creature. I’m not going to eat you, I’m going to show you the way,”he said softly and when Rudi looked into his bright wide eyes, she knew he was telling the truth. she relaxed her steady breath and nodded.

 

    With that, Winston turned and flew into the air. Where he once stood was a trail of floating lights, enough to show through the fog. Rudi smiled and said a soft thank you before bounding off once more into the fog filled forest. The lights were like small beacons that made her journey a lot easier, though she came to a stop when it came to a small stream. Well to humans, they could’ve easily crossed over, but for a creature as small as she, it tended to become a bit difficult. She bit her lip and thought about a solution.

    The stream was moving pretty fast, for she spotted leaves that went down the stream pretty fast. Then the idea hit her. She would use a leaf to get across. She went out of the path to search for a leaf. The first few leafs she picked up had holes in them, which weren’t good. Then she found one that she thought would do the trick, nice and big. Big enough or her to sit on with the map on her back, yet had no holes at all. She then started to drag it towards the water.

    When she got there, Rudi slipped into the leaf abit up more so that she could be brought down to the other side. At first this idea was working, that was until she got halfway there. What she used to paddle was a twig, but it broke against a sunken rock. Now without any steering she was veering off course, and to make it any worse, the water was getting bumpy. The structure of the leaf wasn’t going to last long, and it wasn’t long before it started to tear and sink, Rudi along with it.

    She was flailing around as she tried to get ahold of something. Though the rocks she grabbed on were slippery and she easily lost her grip. Rudi didn’t really know how to swim and fear was starting to take over. It didn’t help when the stream was taking her farther and farther into the forest, away from the lights of guidance. Rudi was then dragged into a small whirlpool and it sucked her in. She was trying to go against the current but it was no use. Slowly her vision started to blur and in a matter of minutes her vision had faded into black.

    Sunlight beamed down on the soaked body of Rudi. The light tickling her eyelids, making her blink and wince a bit.  Somehow she had miraculously survived the terrifying event that had occurred maybe an hour or so ago. She wasn’t sure how she got there, but she was now on land. Somewhere way off then where the camp was. Slowly she closed her eyes again to regain her breath before she got up.

    How am I going to get to the palace now? I have no guidance out anymore. She thought to herself as she scratched behind her ear. Then she remembered about the map that Maryann drew for her. Quickly she untied the rope that held it to her, though when she placed it on the ground, there was only a small soaked piece. It had fallen apart when it went into the water. Rudi frowned and bit her lip more. Now she was truly lost.

    She looked up into the sky once more, the sun was now a bit over the horizon. It wasn’t noon yet, but it was getting there. Seeing she didn’t have the map, she checked her food. Quickly she unlooped the drenched pouch on her side, she looked in to see that all the food she had were soaked and soggy. Rudi wrinkled her nose and threw the food into the water. She would now have to scavenge for her own food.

    Away from the bank, she ventured off for some food. Anything would do, mushrooms, berries, wild herbs. Anything. Berry bushes were scattered throughout the forest and she knew which was poisonous and which was not. All due to the help of Maryann. She taught her scavenger skills, like that to survive. All that training is paying off now as she spotted a berry bush in the distance.

    Rudi licked her lips as she started to walk towards it, her stomach now growling like a hungry lion. Going up to the now juicy round berry. Her reflection shining off it’s skin. Her white fur was tinted pink and the blue accents were a hue of purple. Grabbing it by the stem, she started to pull, it was a bit harder than it looked. Soon it popped off, making her stumble back, but she grinned anyway She finally got her food. Taking a bite, she let the nice tart and juicy flavor take over her tastebuds as she started to devour it bite by bite.

    Everything seemed safe, she was there eating a berry in the shade. She didn’t realize that she was being stalked. It was a quite creature and rather cunning. It moved with ease against the forest ground. As she opened her eyes, she noticed that where she stood was shaded by a rather long and skinny silhouette. Realizing what it was she jumped, just barely dodging the nasty fangs of a snake. The reptile’s tongue kept flickering as the slit of it’s eyes watched her body as it prepared to launch another attack. Rudi glared and put her hand upon her sword.

In a flicker of movement the snake lunged for it’s second attack. Rudi barely dodged and she barrel rolled to a root of the tree. There she was, trapped between the tree and the reptile. The snake rose it’s head and let its forked tongue flicker. It’s slitted eyes watched Rudis’ every move. As Rudi looked into the wide eyes, she started to become transfixed upon them. She started to relax and didn’t move when the garter started to wrap it’s tail around her body. Slowly it brought Rudi out and up a bit off the ground as it started to constrict the air from her lungs.

The air was taken out of her lungs, though she didn’t move to attack or even escape. She was still amazed at the luring beauty of the reptilians eyes. Not too far away though, a small creature had slipped into the waters of the stream. The small sound of it slipping into the water traveled all the way into Rudi’s ear. It snapped her out of the trance and she gasped for air. The snake’s grip tightened around her small frame in response.

Rudi just happened to have her arms pinned to her sides, but she could still move her wrists. This came in handy when she realized that her sword was still in her paw. She waited for the perfect time to attack.Soon enough the snake rose it’s head and got ready to attack. It hissed before lunging towards her. It was only when he was a few inches from biting her head that Rudi flicked her sword up into the snake’s tail. It spat in pain, but it wasn’t long for her sword went through his tail and up into it’s ‘neck’. There the snake dropped dead, releasing Rudi from it’s grasp.  She leaned over, trying to regain her breath that she had lost only moments before.

After regaining her oxygen income, she took a glimpse at the corpse. She felt bad for it, but she needed to stay alive to finish her mission. She needed to stay alive for Maryann  and the troops. She must. Rudi then scurried back over to the berry bush and collected a few and placed them in her makeshift pouch that was made from a leaf. A familiar sense of emptiness overwhelmed her and she realized that she was missing her hat. It must’ve fallen off in the river. She thought. At least if I die, Maryann will know what I died and not just left her. Rudi didn’t know she was being watched.

As they day grew older Rudi found herself nowhere near the exit of the forest. Exhaustion swept over her. Bruises were on Rudi’s sides and shoulders from the constriction of the Garter snake. Rudi settled down under a tree and started to make camp. She gathered a few large twigs, she broke them  up to a proper size and created a fire. She used the flint stones that she found. Though she chipped them so she can make a pair for herself. She then placed them into her makeshift sack with the berries.  With that she fell to sleep by the warmth of the hearth, and by the soft crackles of the fire. When the flames died and only the embers glowed, Rudi awoke with a startle. Sitting up, she looked around and spotted someone, but before she could scream her vision went black, and her body was put into a sack and hauled into the darkness of the forest.

9: Alice

“My dear, sweet Nolan. You could’ve changed your fate,” Alice said in a mock upsetting tone. Her finger trailing up his glass dome. Nolan’s head was floating ceaselessly in his murky water, his face forever frozen in fear. She got up and started to walk around, admiring her collection. Her finger gliding over the glass of the other domes. She started to move a few of the them  around, making space for her newest head. She then turned towards Nolan once more.

 

“You could’ve ruled with me. You could’ve had thousands at your command, but did you go with it? Obviously not!” She hissed as she started to walk up to him once more. Her blonde hair swaying as she walked. “You’re pathetic, just like your measly daughter,”  she spat but yawned a bit boredly. Her fingers wrapping around the dome and picking him up as she did so.

    

    Alice started to travel with him until she got to the end of the room. Quickly she turned on the ball of her foot and whispered to his deaf ears, “You were brave, but that was your…” She then snarled as she spoke the last part, “WEAKNESS.” With that being said, she hurled Nolan’s glass dome and it shattered into pieces on the ground. Leaving Nolan in bits and water everywhere. Alice then started to head out, her steps graceful and small. Stepping over the mess she made with ease and didn’t look back.

    Her room used to be so bright, with white walls and beautiful paintings that glinted in the light of the sun. Though, that was all before she had turned for the better. Now her room was the color of dried blood, and it darkened her room considerably. Alice started to walk by her bed, trailing her fingers against the silk curtains that draped down from the posts. She always did like the feeling it brought her. She started to make her way across the room to the huge, marble fireplace in the corner. It was a bit dusty, for she hadn’t used it in awhile.

    She remembered the past winter nights, when the fire was blazing and she was next to her loved one. Though, that was all but a memory now, a simple spec in her past, and the past was the past and nothing more. Alice then picked up the poker that was laying nearby, the tip intriguing her. Gently she pricked her finger on the tip to test how sharp it was. Seeing blood, Alice grinned. She then started to head to her balcony that looked over her kingdom. It was dark and gloomy, just how Alice liked it. The clouds above were dark and the wind was starting to howl, a storm was brewing, it wouldn’t be long now. The chills gave Alice goosebumps and it made her grin.

    Alice was happy, a once in awhile thing, for she was out in her element. Though her happy time was cut short due to an interruption at her quarters door. The first time it knocked, Alice just ignored it and looked over to the fields below. Though, when the knocking continued, she started to get agitated and her fingers curled tighter around the poker. Soon the knocking ceased but that didn’t mean the person was gone. He slipped inside, only taking a few steps, before the poker was hurled at his face. It landed in the door behind him, pieces of his hair drifted to the floor.

    The poor servant was as pale as a ghost, his eyes wide in fear, and the covered platter in his hands began to shake. He swallowed his pride and tried to speak, though it only became stutters, “Y...your majesty?”

 

    “What?!”

    “Y..your newest head came in. From the battles of DiamondHead mountain,” He replied weakly as his legs became the constancy of jelly.

 

    Alice stopped at what she was doing and turned to look at him. “Is she truly here?”she asked a grin now on her lips as she came down to the poor fellow. Which in truth made him sweat bullets. She came up to him and looked at him waiting for him to show her. After a few minutes she started to get annoyed, “Are you going to show me or were you lying?”

    

    “N..no your highness, I wasn’t lying,” he stuttered once more before revealing her newest head in her collection. There the head’s long, blonde hair pooled over the edge of the platter. Her mouth agape from a hallow scream. A crown sat upon her dainty head, made of diamonds and crystals, a jewel to be praised. There, now in Alice’s grasp, is the one and only; Queen Sterling.

 

    Alice played with the dead queen’s hair, putting it behind her ear to make it look presentable. The smile never leaving her face. She then picked the head up with delicacy and started to transport her towards her last resting place. In her collection where the others will soon be. The little servant started to follow, quite curious though in his gut he knew it would be a bad idea. He almost lost his lunch when he spotted the old king, now laying upon the floor in a heaping pile of mush.

    Alice placed Queen Sterling into a glass dome and puts her in the spot that was just made for her.  Sterling was on her side from the very beginning. That was until she started to hide in that mountain of hers. How dare she thought that a mere pile of rocks can hold back my might army, she thought to herself how idiotic Sterling was. “Beauty doesn’t mean brains,” she said aloud before turning her attention to the still trembling servant.

    He stood erect, or as tall as possible with jelly legs, at her gaze. He awaited her orders with beads of sweat running down his brow. Alice just rolled her eyes at the pathetic excuse of a man before her. “Get your wits together and go and send for my advisors and tell them to meet me in my war room,” she ordered.

 

He gulped and nodded, “Yes your highness.” He then dashed out of the room that held those beastly things and out into the hallway. Alice just rolled her eyes once more before she slipped out of her room also. She thought it was time to discuss affairs with her daughter. One who was more respectable than that moron of a daughter. You took this poor soul from the streets when her mother went missing. She made sure to teach her everything she needed to know. That didn’t exclude combat.

Alice was walking through a different corridor of the palace. This is the wing where Maryann’s room was, Celia’s as well, and a newer boy named Linus. It was a bit older than the rest, for it was here since their ancestors. It was beautiful with it’s old fashioned charm, but it was starting to crumble. Though that didn’t stop Alice from keeping her children there. She then came upon an Ivory door, twice as big as her and almost just as thick. She then knocked on the door and asked with a pleasant tone, “ Celia...are you in there?”

 

“Come in,”

Alice then opened the door to reveal a scene of grace before her. There, near the patio,was her daughter Celia. She was practicing her sword fighting with a young man from the clubs kingdom. He was known for his techniques. Her movements were graceful, but her attacks would’ve stung. The sword was like an extension of her arm, she was a natural. The knight was defending himself before going for an attack, that was until Celia tripped him up and held him at sword point. It was then, that they heard clapping from the entrance.

 

Celia got off of the man and curtsied at her mother, the man bowed to her as well. “Good morning mother,” she said softly with a small grin as she sheathed her sword. The man sheathed his sword as well and nodded his good mornings.

 

“Good Morning Celia, Claude,” she replied but her attention was on Claude at the moment. “You may leave Claude, I need to speak with Celia alone.”

 

Claude nodded and bowed once more, “As you wish your majesty.” With that he went and headed to where Alice was and turned to Celia again. “We will continue this session tomorrow princess,” he said before leaving.

 

Alice then turned her attention back to her beloved daughter. “My dear child, you make me so proud,” she said and pulled Celia into a hug. Celia took in her mother’s words like a sponge. It made her feel special, not like when her sister Maryann was the apple in her mother’s eye. Now that Maryann has gone against her mother , she was going to be her mother’s favorite and the rightful heir to the throne.

 

“Thank you mother, I try so hard,” she replied with a grin and had her head held high.

 

“You will be my secret weapon. I bet Maryann could never defeat you my dear. You are going to be a worthy general,”she said with a grin. “Speaking of wars, I need you to join our meeting. It’s going to start soon, so get dressed and come down to the war room,”she ordered.

 

“Yes mother,” Celia said and curtsied once more as her mother left her quarters. Celia went to go get changed into something more appropriate. Alice was going down a rather familiar hall. Scarlet never got the time to re tile this hall. The torches that speckled the wall were nearly stubs now, for it was used often. She soon got to the entrance of the passageway that lead to the war room. It was once hidden by the precious portrait of Scarlets’ family, but that was long after you burnt it in the courtyard.

The passageway was dark and a bit damp, since it was raining outside the water seemed to soak into the dirt therefore into the hall. Alice wasn’t really that bothered by the cold, she rather enjoyed it really. Her eyes were locked onto the door that was a bit down the way. It’s old wooden door was barely hanging on by it’s old hinges. The hinges were rusted and a few of them were broken. The wood was rotting away, creating holes that one can peek through to see the room behind it.

Alice slipped into the room to see a few servants and a couple of her advisors. Everyone wasn’t there yet.  She walked to her seat and sat down as she admired the maps around the room. There was a map on every wall, each depicting a kingdom. The one closest to Alice was of course the heart kingdom. Then to the left of her was the diamond kingdom, then the spade kingdom and last but not least the club kingdom. The maps were old, the paper started to brown and crack from being shown to the elements a bit. Though in Alice’s opinion, it brought a bit of charm in the small room. Servants were near the entrance, they dared not to speak as they awaited orders.

Johnston, one of Alice’s advisors, was silent and waited till everyone was in the room. Soon the others arrived, Marburg and Charleston, few of her advisors came even later. The only one who was particularly on time was Celia. Her precious daughter was in a beautiful crimson like gown that glowed in the damp light of the room. Alice soon turned her attention to her now full room.

“First I would like to say, congratulations on winning the war with Sterling. Though you should hold it lightly, for she was too easy. I want my men even stronger than before. Charleston, you better make your men hustle,”she said with a glaring eye and then her eyes landed on her daughters’ face. “As you all know, Celia has climbed up the ranks considerably, she is now one of my generals, my top general to be exact. If you have any questions go up to her,”she exclaimed.

Celia nodded and stood up a bit as to put something straight, “I don’t like to be disturbed, so if any of you guys have a question, keep it to yourself, but if you really can’t hold it in I might as well chop your tongue off to make sure you do.” The men in the room gulped and quickly nodded to her. Alice was intrigued by her daughters’ outburst and nodded. With that she sat back down and Alice rose once more.

Alice got away from her seat as she traveled to look at the map closely. “Since we defeated the diamond kingdom, I think it is needless to say that we shouldn’t keep the map of it up any longer,” she said and grabbed the old parchment and ripped it off and tore it, sprinkling it onto the ground like confetti. “Now, which kingdom should we attack next?” she asked with a raised brow. It was a mere question, though her men tried not to answer.

One brave man gulped and rose to speak. “Your highness, I believe we should attack the club kingdom next, for he never really was on your side,” he said and waited anxiously for her reply.

“You mean for me to march all my soldiers through the mountainous range of the diamond kingdom to try and take over the clubs?”she asked as she thought about it.

 

Though, Celia stood up and cleared her throat to get attention from her mother and the rest of the audience. “Please mother, don’t take this absurd Idea from Marburg. He doesn’t know anything about devising a battle strategy,” she said as she looked at her mother.

 

Alice looked at her with a raised brow and a small smirk.“If he doesn’t have much to say about battle strategies, I’m open to yours, lay it on me my dear child,” She said it a bit mockingly. Testing Celia to see if she really has potential of becoming her best general.

 

Celia gulped but kept her posture and stood up to head to the large map of their continent. She then spoke, “Mother, I think it would be the wisest choice to invade the spade kingdom to the right of us. I say that because if we win the battle, then we can corner the kingdom, making it an easy picking for our army. He would have no protection. He already lost the protection of the diamond kingdom, so why not destroy the last of it by invading the spade kingdom?”she asked with a tilt of her head.

 

Alice was about to speak, but that was before Charleston stood up to object to her plan. “Excuse me princess, but it seems like you have a flaw in your plan.”

 

Celia blinked and started to get angry, “What flaw Charleston?”she asked with a hiss.

 

“My princess, your flaw is in who to attack next. If we try to conquer the spade kingdom first, then the club kingdom will have time to prepare an attack,” he said before looking at Queen Alice once more, “Therefore we must attack the club kingdom first, so we can lay an attack on the spade kingdom quickly.”

 

Celia rolled her eyes and snarled, “ You fool! Don’t you realize that we should take out the most difficult kingdoms so that we can easily trample the weak? The club kingdom is the weakest kingdom out there. So by far, I think it is more important to attack the spade kingdom while their guard is down.” She then poked Charleston in the chest and poked him so hard that had to sit and rub his chest.

 

Alice once again applauded Celia for her actions. She would grow up to be a wonderful queen, she thought to herself. “My dear Celia, you have won the argument with great success,”she said with a grin. Though she turned towards Charleston who started to sulk in his chair, which made Alice roll her eyes in disgust. “Charleston, I want you to gather up your troops to get ready for the onslaught. I want you gone by tomorrow morning, no ifs, ands. or buts.”

 

 Charleston quickly got up and bowed to Alice, “Yes your majesty, on your command.” He then darted out of the room to gather the troops. Alice looked at the others with a glance that told them that they were excused to leave. Her eyes still on Celia as she stood up. Motioning for Celia to follow her, Alice crept out from the room and headed back into the hallway.

The others already dispersed as they come into the gloomy halls once more, Celia by her side. Alice didn’t look at Celia as she thought about what to say. “Celia, you know my birthday is tomorrow. I want you to take care of the decorations and preparations. Make sure that it will be the best there is yet,”

Celia nodded,”yes mother.” With that Celia made her way down another corridor to talk with the other maids who were in charge of cleaning the ball room. Not too much longer did you hear shouts of the young feisty one. Alice just let a grin as she headed back to her quarters. She walked right up to the balcony once more to look upon the forest that her rebellious daughter was now hiding.

“Maryann, heed my warning, I will have you in my collection and it wouldn’t be too long now. Time is winding down for you, and soon you would have to leave that dirty place. When you do, I’ll be ready.” With that, her eyes looked upon the mass grey clouds that were starting to swirl around Heartsville. Needless to say, something was brewing and it’s going to add more trouble for both sides.

10: An Unexpected encounter

The sun was high in the sky, midday, when Rudi woke up with pain traveling down her spine. She was sitting on the ground with her paws tied behind a pole.The rope that held her paws together was starting to dig into her flesh. She winced in pain as she looked around.

Where am I? She asked herself. She was in the middle of a camp of some sort, in a middle of clearing, as if she was in a spotlight. There were teepees all around her, and smoke billowed out of them in a hypnotic like way. Side to side, the silver steam swayed, and then it dispersed into the air. Rudi’s eyes then focused on the intriguing language on the fabric of the teepees. It was made of moving images and words that faintly glowed. Nothing that Rudi had ever seen before. An ancient dialect that she couldn’t decipher.

With that in mind, the sun peeked out from behind a passing cloud, into Rudi’s eyes. It made her look to the ground as the sun spots evaded her vision. Though as the spots started to clear, she found herself looking at a sack on the ground by her feet. It then hit her, she remembered how she had got there. She heard a noise the night prior and she woke up to go investigate, only to be knocked out in a matter of minutes. What a journey this turned out to be. She thought.

As she looked up from the sack, she was greeted by a huge grin. It was only inches away from her face and she squinted her face from the smell it emitted. Her eyes went wide and she let out a loud scream as she ran around the pole. She couldn’t go too far due to her hands being tied. To her surprisement, as she slowed down, that the grin didn’t even bother to follow her around. It just stayed there, but soon the grin morphed into a figure. The toothy grin belonged to a long-coated brown tabby, that had feathers dangling from one ear. His bright green eyes watched Rudi’s every move. Though his coat shined from the sunlight, you could still see that he was a bit chubby, not the average weight for a creature like him. The grin faded from the creature’s lips as he saw Rudi faint at the base of the pole.

As she came to, her eyes opened to see the tabby standing over her. What truly baffled the small creature was why he didn’t sink his fangs into her neck already, but he didn’t even make an effort to try. In fact he was just looking at her with his head tilted to the side, feathers slightly obscuring his vision, his eyes shining with curiosity.

 

Rudi soon got the courage to speak up, “Aren’t you going to eat me?”

 

The cat blinked as he heard her small, frightened voice and gave a hearty chuckle before answering her. “Me? No, I can’t. I’m not allowed to. You’re for the chiefs’ banquet.  You’re the main dish,”

 

“oh,” she replied then thought to herself. At least if I die here, than Maryann can find my hat and know that I died bravely. She must’ve said it out loud by accident for the feline replied.

 

“Do you mean this hat?”he asked as he showed a black cavalier hat with a golden feather on it. He soon plopped it on her little head and the feather draped down and into her face.

 

She started to blow the feather so it would get out of her face, and she looked happy yet confused. “How do you know this was mine and where did you find it?” she asked.

 

“I saw you wearing it, and I found it down by the stream where you laid,” he chuckled.

 

“Wait...were you following me?”

 

“Technically yes, but I was only doing my duty. I was supposed to grab a mouse for the most appealing dish for my chief.”he explained, “Though I did save you from drowning in the creek. “

 

Rudi raised a brow,” So what you’re telling me is that you would rather see me get eaten by your leader then drown in a creek?”

 

“No! That’s not what I meant!”he said quickly, “As I said before I was collecting food for the banquet. My name is Sharpened Fangs of the Wind,”he said with a toothy grin, “But you may call me Fang if you like.”

 

Rudi smiled softly, “Nice to meet you Fang, I’m Rudi.”

 

Fang rolled onto his back as Rudi spoke and he grinned at her name, “Nice to meet you as well….”his smile faded as he heard whispers that Rudi could not hear. Sadly he looked over to her and said, “I’m sorry but I have to do this,” he said quickly before sacking her again. Rudi was completely baffled for she didn’t see anyone. Speaking of which, she didn’t see anyone from the time she woke up. All she saw was the smoke coming out from the teepees and the woven baskets that scattered around the area. The only person she saw, was fang.

 

Soon after he did so, she heard unusual dialect. She knew someone was talking to Fang, but she couldn’t pinpoint the language to the type of creature. It was exotic but she heard a few english flung into the conversation as well. Words like: prey, talking, and again. Rudi was truly baffled at the dialect. The conversation only lasted a few minutes before she heard the guy leaving in a huff. Soon rays of light came through the darkness from within the sack. It was being opened, but it wasn’t going to be open all the way when Fang poked his head in.

 

“I’m sorry about that Rudi, but I must leave you. It was nice meeting you,”he said before Rudi was completely engulfed by darkness once more.

 

Rudi awoke to her being rolled up in some leafy greens. Someone then tied it up with string. Rudi sighed and looked up to see two women. They were from the tribe due to the markings on their bodies. the one who tied her was...unusual. She had long blonde hair that was studded with feathers. Poking through her luscious locks, were a pair of orange cat ears. They twitched as she watched her every move. Her friend, to the right of her, looked normal. That was except for her slitted cat eyes.

Soon her attention was diverted to the blonde who picked her up. She gently placed her on top of a pile of various fruits. She was laying on top of an apple as she watched the two. The spot where she was placed had a great view of the sky. It was dark and the stars twinkled against the blackness of the night. It had been hours since she talked with fang. Where is he now? She asked to herself.

Though that thought left her mind as she heard hissing and spitting. When she turned her head, she spotted the two girls fighting. They were yelling at each other in their strange dialect. She didn’t know what they were fighting about, but there was a lot of finger pointing, poking and growling. Rudi rose a brow in interest but that was until she was picked up by the brunette. She was then placed on a different dish.

    This one seemed to be made up of cut up fish and vegetables. The fish were in chip like shapes and scattered about on top of the veggies. Rudi was placed near one of the fish chunks. She scrunched up her face in disgust at the stench that emitted from it. That made the blonde furious, her tail was flicking in annoyance. She snatched Rudi once more and placed her back on top of the fruit. The brunette growled and picked her up once more and placed it back on the fish dish. Though when the blonde went to grab rudi again, so did the brunette. They grabbed her at the same time. For minutes on end, they pulled her to one side or the other, angering Rudi.

    

    “Would you both quit it!”she spat at them,” I’m not a doll!”

 

    When Rudi spoke, the two women stopped and just looked at her shocked. The the brunette whispered into the blonde’s ear. After a few minutes, she gave a nod. The brunette released her grip on Rudi, and let her be placed on the fruit once more. Then she ran off to let the blonde ponder on what to do with the dish. She soon came back with some leaves and a few flowers. Together they started to place the decor on the pile. With giant prong leaves, they made a brilliant fan behind Rudi. Flowers were placed randomly around the pile.

    They just finished putting on the last details when they stopped to hear the beating of distant drums. Quickly they picked the plate up and headed towards the sound. Since Rudi was on top, she was able to see what was coming. In the distance she spotted a small flame. The closer she got, the more she saw. Before the main fire pit, there were two smaller ones. Each had a man who was chanting to the rising smoke. The smoke was purple and formed into many shapes and sizes. It varied from the shape of a mouse to a small dragon and beyond.

    One by one, girls went in front of the main fire pit and began to dance. Their movements were graceful and hypnotic. Smiles were on their faces as their hair swayed from their fast movements. The beatings of the drums grew louder and the tempo sped up to meet the movements of the dancers. Out from a tent beyond the fire pit, came the chief. He was maybe around the late teens to early twenties in age. His brunette hair was wild, and the markings on his skin glowed. A huge grin was on his face and he started to dance with the girls. As he did so, the feathers in his headdress on his head swayed to his movements. The rest of the tribe gathered behind Rudi as the tension rose. Then the two dancing men at the entrance walked up and blew fire in front of the dancers. Like a curtain, it signaled the end of the performance, the drums stopped their music.

    From behind the now smoky entrance, the man with the headdress stepped out. The tribe cheered and clapped for their leader. He rose a hand to signal for silence. Soon the whispering and cheering turned into quietness. A grin on his face, he began to speak in his native language. Though Rudi couldn’t understand, she could tell that his words were meaningful. By the end of his speech, he had whiled up his whole entire tribe. Since the smoke had lifted he made signals for the feast to start. He went behind the crackling fire pit and sat down crosslegged. He clapped and Rudi was brought to him. Up close, he looked rather handsome. Except for his fuzzy black ears and piercing green cat eyes. Rudi was then set in front of him, making the chief lick his lips as he eyeballed her. Though before he dug into her, the blonde came up and whispered in his ear.

    The more she whispered, the bigger his eyes got. When she walked away, he looked at Rudi with interest. He tilted his head in curiousity, his green eyes watching her. She watched him as he picked her up by her tail. A sparkle of deviousness glinted in his eyes. Out of nowhere he started to poke her gently, which resulted in one or two giggles out of Rudi. The poking was gentle and didn’t make her bleed. Soon he started to sway her from side to side like a pendulum. The motion made her quite sick. Though she forgot about it when she surprised him.

 

    “”Tell me child, do you talk?” He asked with a wide grin and a tip of his head.

 

    Rudi blinked in astonishment. After all the strange dialect, he knew english? She looked up at him, though it was in a daze.

    

    “Do you?” He asked once more.

 

    Rudi quickly snapped out of her trance and nodded. “Yes, I do.”

 

    His grin grew and he stood up and clapped his hands together. “Just splendid! We have a guest. Since you are, I can not eat you,” he said.

 

    Rudi was quite intrigued. “Really? Why not?” She asked as she watched him. Her eyebrows raised.

 

    As he towered above her, he gave a chuckle. “Do you know how it feels to have your prey screaming for mercy as you crush its bones? He asked. “It’s horrifying and quite nasty.” With that, he shivered and made a face of disgust.

    

    Rudi giggled at his face but nodded in agreement.,“I would feel the same way.” She then looked around at the faces of the tribe. They were mostly talking with each other, some were dancing to the drums. As her eyes scanned the crowd, she spotted Fang. A smile crept on her face, and he returned it before disappearing into thin air. Rudi then returned her attention back onto the chief. “So where exactly am I?” she asked.

 

    He looked surprised and placed a hand on his chest. “Where are you?” he asked as he snapped for a few girls to come fan him. He raised a brow and asked again. “Where are you?” He waited a few moments before answering her question. “My child, you are in no other than the Chessite Camp!” After he said that the drums rolled, and smoke billowed out once more from the two minor fire pits from the entrance.

 

    Rudi rolled her eyes at the scene and gave a chuckle. “Ok, how come I never heard of you guys?” she asked.

 

    That seemed to hurt the chief’s feelings and he sighed. “I’m not sure why you haven’t either. We have been here for centuries, and we are quite rich.”

 

    “Rich? Where are your gold? Jewels? Silk?”

 

    He frowned before bending down to her level and let her scamper into his hand and onto his shoulder. “We don’t have gold or jewels, nor silk. We are rich in nature,” he replied.

    

    Rudi blinked and raised a brow in confusion. “What do you mean?”she asked as she looked at him.

 

    “We are rich in resources,” he chuckled, “We have food, water and most important: Love.”

 

    Rudi was still confused as he tried to explain it to her. She tried to understand. As he spoke, she looked around the camp once more. The trees that surround the clearing were fruit bearing trees. She also heard the sound of dripping water from the stream near by.  She finally started to understand what he meant about them being rich. She spotted a family within the crowd. It was made up of a father, a mother and a small child. The look the mother gave to the baby, was that of pure love. The father shone with pride at his newborn son.

 

    The chief had been watching her and asked, “Do you understand?”

    

    Rudi hesitantly nodded and looked up at him once more, “I think so.”

 

    The chief grinned widely. “That’s great to hear,” he said then stopped as he thought about something. He then cocked his head to the left a bit and asked, “I don’t believe I got your name, my dear child.” He finally said after minutes of thought.

 

    Rudi smiled and opened her mouth to answer, but a different voice answered him instead.

    “Her name is Rudi, sir.”

 

    Rudi blinked and turned to the voice. She smiled brightly when Fang floated up to them. He bowed to his leader. A grin on his face when he glanced at Rudi before returning to look at the chief himself.

 

    The chief smiled at the member of his tribe. “Were you talking to the prey again Sharpen Fangs of the Wind?” he asked as a laugh bellowed out of him.

 

    Fang sheepishly looked to the ground and nodded. That made the chief laugh once more, then he turned his head to Rudi. He grinned and tried to say her name, though he ended saying it wrong. “Ruudi,” as he said her name, he puckered his lips as he tried to pronounce it,” What an interesting name.”

 

    Rudi smiled, “Thank you, but what is your name?”she asked with a tilted head.

 

    The chief chuckled and snapped as the fire eaters blew fire into air. “I am Swift Paws of Bravery.”

 

    She blinked, “Can I just call you Swift?”

 

The chief blinked and furrowed his brow in thought. He brought a hand under his chin and stroked it. After a few minutes he snapped and nodded. “I like it!” He beamed.

 

    Rudi nodded, “Well it was nice to meet you both, but I must be on my way. I have a mission to complete.”

 

    “Mission?” They both asked.

 

    Rudi nodded, “Yes. It is very important and I’m already a day or two behind.” She then scratched her head and realized that she was missing something important. It seemed that Fang knew exactly what she was missing and he scampered off to get it. He came back minutes later and plucked her hat onto her head. Rudi smiled. “Thank you,” she said and turned to Swift as he spoke up.

    

    “What kind of mission?”

 

    Rudi shuffled her foot in thought, she didn’t know if she should tell them. She didn’t know if they were allies of Queen Alice or not. Though she took a gulp and took a risk and told them her mission. “I have to go spy on Evil Queen Alice. Maryann is counting on me,” she said softly.

 

    He nodded, “That is a very dangerous mission for someone of your size. You are also a lady, not some rufian of a man.”

 

    Rudi pouted and crossed her arms. “I’m not small, just different.” She then tried to stretch to seem taller, though she gave up after a few moments. “I like fighting, it’s better than being dainty and learning how to sew,” she replied a bit flatly. Fang and Swift just chuckled at the sight.

 

    “maybe you would like someone to accompany you? Swift asked with a raised brow and a hint of worry.

    She shook her head as she started to climb down from Swift’s shoulder. “No, I’ll be fine, but thank you for the offer,” she said before heading off to the entrance. Fang frowned as he watched her walk past him. She turned to him and whisper a silent thanks before continuing on her way.

 

    “As you wish. I bid you farewell and luck on your journey,” Swift said and cued for the drums to play as she passed the entrance and into the forest once more. Swift then turned to Fang who floated beside him. He started to whisper into his ear. Fang’s tail curled and uncurled until he finished speaking. He nodded eagerly and disappeared from sight.

 

    When Rudi was about five meters away, she heard someone calling her name. Though they couldn’t say it right, it was a bit off. The only person who does that was Swift. Rudi turned around to look at him and question what he wanted from her. Though she stopped dead in her tracks and laughed to herself.

 

    Swift was in the middle of the two fire pits, smoke now billowing out of them once more. He was with the dancing girls, dancing away to the beating of the drums. A huge grin was on his face as he looked at her for the last time. He cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted to her.

    

“Rudi! Whenever you want to party all night, just come to the stream! We will then have a feast in your honor.”

    

    Rudi rolled her eyes at his flamboyance, but she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. She laughed once more before turning to the path before her. Pushing her way through the ferns, she slipped into the darkened world. Soon the embers of the party dimmed to a low glow. Leaving the tribe to sleep in peace, though Swift was worried for his new found friend.