Somewhere in downtown London, Constable Horace walked his beat at a slow but steady pace. To say he was calm, however, would be a lie; truth be told, he was near the part of his patrol that he'd learned to greatly fear. Even though his demeanor was calm and controlled, his heart beat wildly as he made his way down the sidewalk in front of the Wonderland Orphanage. Someone trained to see such things would notice his pace quickening ever so slightly.
On that day, however, he felt heartened. There were no strange devices lying on the sidewalk or hanging from the wooden fence, no mysterious creatures prowling the yard, no mysterious pinpoints of light flying about like insects. Everything appeared to be completely normal for once, though he could swear he could hear the wheels of a trolley rumbling nearby.
Just as he thought the danger was passed, a loud shout made him jump. A shadow sailed over his head, letting out a loud, "Woo-hoo!" before crashing onto the ground beside him. Heart beating fast, Constable Horace stared at the figure for a moment before a stern look came over his face.
"Missus Soleil!" He snapped.
Glen slid to a halt and slammed a foot down on the back of her skateboard, sending it spinning upwards into her waiting arms. "Oh, heya Constable Horace. Havin' a good day?"
"Saints preserve us! Just what in the name of the good lord are you doin now, lass?"
"Yeah, I wasn't impressed with that either," Glenda said with a shrug. "I could clear a hundred feet back home. It's the cobblestones; I just can't get enough speed going with a road so rough."655Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1mpi7epyk
"Missus Soleil," he said, trying his best to keep his eyes averted from the woman's long, muscular legs, most of which were on full display thanks to her shorts. "Does it give you pleasure to scare years off my life?"
"What? Oh, come on," Glen said, clapping a friendly hand on his shoulder. "You weren't scared by a little thing like that, were you? I was just tryin' to show some moves off to the kids."
"Moves?" He looked at the strange wheeled board tucked nearly under her arm. Shaking his head, he said, "Look, the Captain's just looking for an excuse to throw you in the clink. You know that, right?"
"What? Don't tell me he's still goin' on about me and Ash not wearing dresses."
"Well …"
"How could I wear a dress with this?" Glen demanded, waving the skateboard in his face. "Hem would get caught, wouldn't it? Then I'd be rollin' down the street in my panties. Is that what you want? Me wearin' less in public?"
"I …" Horace's face went beet red. "Just be more careful!" With that, he marched away from the orphanage.
Glen chuckled as she climbed back over the fence to rejoin her friends. The children quickly relieved her of the makeshift skateboard, eager to try the ramp she'd set up for them (along with a pile of pillows for where she estimated the inexperienced skateboarders would land). As the first kid rolled unsteadily toward the ramp, Ashi commented, "There were similar devices in my time without the wheels."
"Hoverboards? Yeah," Glen said, "But that kind of technology would stick out in this day and age. Besides, I'd have to find a deposit of Graevnon, and Alice said no to me digging under the orphanage."
Ashu smiled at her. "Can't let you have too much fun, can she?"
"Nah, but I guess it's not like I'm here for fun." Glen's watch beeped. Glancing at its face, she said, "Speak of the Queen; time to see if the Hatter's ready for our next chat."
"Um, Glen," Ashi asked tentatively, "If it's not too much trouble, do you mind if I accompany you?"
"To Wonderland?" Glen asked, surprised. Already they'd been there two months, yet Ashi had never expressed interest in joining Alice and Glen on their little trips. "Well … I guess … I mean, we'll have to limit the trip, you not being a Dreamer. Still, I'm sure Alice wouldn't mind."
"She doesn't," Ashi said quickly. "I already asked her."
"Well then," Glen said with a grin, "By all means."
The moment they entered the house, Glen knew something was wrong. It wasn't anything she could see or hear, but a feeling … and aura. Once upon a time, she wrote such feelings off as superstition, but experience had taught her not to ignore such feelings. Once again, they proved correct; as Glen and Ashi approached Alice's study, the sounds of a heated argument could be heard. The door burst open, startling the Dreamer and her friend as a surly looking man accompanied by a short fellow wearing a bowler hat exited the room. The surly fellow was less a man and more a somewhat more advanced gorilla, the sort of fellow that Glen's automatically filed under 'henchman'.
The surly fellow's lip curled at the sight of Glen, apparently believing himself far more intimidating than any dreadnaught, dragon, or elder thing Glen had faced before. Glen, in turn, gave him the same look she gave her shoes when she stepped in something nasty. Some of this must've made its way through the surly fellow's brain, because he took a step forward, fists raised menacingly only for the short fellow in the hat to put a restraining hand on his shoulder.
"Now, now," the man coaxed, "We're leaving. Good day, ladies."
"Good day," Glen said, eyes narrowed as she watched the two men depart. They didn't try anything else, though Glen did notice Ashi giving them the same steely-eyes glare.
"Strange, isn't it?" Glen commented, "How little the formula changes over time?"
"Pardon?"
"Henchman and their superiors. Organized thugs are one of those weird constants on Earth … heck, across the universe, as far as I've seen. Little men with hulking gorillas enforcing their will."
"Yeah, I've seen it a few times too," Ashi said, a worried look on her face. "But why are they here?"
They met each other's gaze for a moment before hurrying into the study. Alice was seated in her chair, sipping a cup of tea as though everything were normal, despite the face that the bookcases had been torn apart.
"Whoa," Glen said, looking at the books covering most of the floor. "What the heck happened here?"
"It's no matter," Alice said quietly.
Glen stared at her for a moment before jerking a thumb back toward the corridor. "Those guys givin' you trouble? Cuz I can fix that real quick."
"We can fix that, you mean," Ashi said.
"I appreciate the offer," Alice said, "But I have the matter under control. Shall we begin?"
Glen was inclined to argue, but Alice had a way beyond words of making it clear a particular conversation was over. Sighing, Glen made her way through the mess of the study to her usual chair. Ashi cleared a space on the floor and sat there as though she were meditating, something she'd done with surprising regularity since first awakening.
"All right," Glen said, "just close your eyes, and clear your mind, Ash, and we'll take care of the rest."
"Actually," Alice said, "Today will be a little different. I need you both to picture a red rose bud."
Glen sighed and closed her eyes. Picturing a rose was simple, though as a Dreamer, she had to exercise a little effort not to use her innate powers to literally summon a rose, or a bunch of roses, or a bottle of rose perfume … converting dream energy was always a bit temperamental at the best of times.
The rose blossomed in her mind, each petal unfurling until a perfect rose floated within Glen's thoughts. As time passed, the red pigmentation faded and the petals fell from the rose. The stem slowly decayed until it joined the rest of a growing pile of dust. From the dust sprang a single bloom that grew and grew until there was a whole rose bush. More roses bloomed, eventually falling and forming new piles of dust, from which more rose bushes grew until a whole garden or red roses filled her mind.
Glen jumped as a hand touched her shoulder, only to turn and realize she wasn't just imagining the roses anymore; she was standing in a vast overgrown garden with roses filling her vision with red. A vast palace, partially covered with the growth of roses. A rough stone path led further into the garden, Glen presumed toward the crumbling, partially overgrown palace in the distance.
Alice was standing in front of her, her serviceable house clothes once again replaced with a blue dress. She was there as well, her own usual clothes replaced with a solid black form-fitting catsuit.
"Huh," Glen said, "Not quite the look I imagined for you."
Ashi didn't reply; she was looking at her self, her expression horrified.
"Ash," Glen asked, putting what she hoped was a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, only for Ashi to shrink away from her. "Ash, what's wrong?"
Ashi shook her head silently for a few moments before she took off running into the the maze of roses.
"Ash!" Glen moved to follow her, but Alice caught her by the shoulder.
"I'll find her," Alice promised, "You have a meeting with the Hatter, and you know how he is about being punctual. Follow the stone path, and don't listen to anything the statues tell you."
"Statues?" Glen repeated incredulously, but Alice was already gone, the blue hem of her dress quickly disappearing around a corner of a hedge. Sighing, Glen started down the path. It too had fallen into disrepair, the once smooth path now fragmented and uneven. Roots from the nearby rose bushes regularly broke through the path, dislodging stones as they passed.
The first statue was of a horse. Glen was a bit disappointed; given everything else in Wonderland, she really expected something more fantastic. It was the Dream Realm, however, and Alice had warned her, so Glen wasn't all that surprised when the horse said, "You're going the wrong way, gov."
It was much the same with the statue of a fish, the statue of a crane, and the statue of a large lizard, each delivering the same advice with different words and voices. The lizard in particular was very insistent, leaving Glen in quite a foul mood when she reached the turtle statue.
"Continue onward, and you shall lose your way!" intoned the turtle statue in an overly-dramatic baritone voice.
Glen wheeled around instantly and closed the distance between them in mere seconds.
"How would you know?" Glen demanded.
"Uh …"
"I don't know where I'm going," Glen continued, "So in truth, I have no way. How could I possibly lose my way if I don't have a way? Answer me that?"
The turtle appeared to consider this for a moment before saying in its dramatic voice, "The path you are taking will lead to certain-"
"Oh, shut up!" Glen muttered, stalking away from the statue.
Fortunately, not long after that incident, Glen rounded the corner and found herself in front of what was once undoubtedly a beautiful sweeping stairway leading up the the palace. The roses had claimed much of the palace steps, and what looked to have been heart-shaped statues lining the stairwell. Most of these were missing large chunks, or bore cracks that made it clear they weren't far from falling apart.
"Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair," Glen whispered as she stared at the decaying structure. Shaking her head, she made her way up the stairwell to the familiar figure of the Hatter.
"Heya!" Glen said, smiling and waving at him. "How's it-"
The Hatter's gloved hand quickly covered her mouth. Holding up a finger to his mouth, he whispered, "Silence, Miss Sunshine; golden in other places, but here as essential to life as water. This place wears the façade of death as you might wear a jaunty hat, but don't be fooled! It listens … it watches … and it hates."
The Hatter held Glen, both literally and with his gaze for a few more moments before releasing her from both and moving toward the entrance to the palace. A little spooked, Glen followed as quietly as she could manage.
The inside of the palace didn't look much better than the outside, though Glen could still tell the place must've been fantastic back in its heyday. Alternating ivory and ebony tiles still covered parts of the floor, faded tapestries hung from the walls, and many statues and sculptures still stood. Glen found herself comparing it to some of the museums she'd visited … or in the very least, ran through. It was certainly as cold as the museums she visited, almost unnaturally so.
There was something about it all that was reassuring, however. There were places in the mainstream overcome by industry, where plant life had been all but removed in the name of progress. Seeing places like the palace, however, gave Glen hope. If left to its own devices, nature had a way of reclaiming its own. Glen was so lost in thought that when the Hatter spoke, she nearly leapt out of her boots.
"This was never the best place in which to find oneself," The Hatter said, stepping slowly over a table literally on its last leg. "The Queen of Hearts had quite a temper. Was fond of beheading, too. Nasty combination in anyone, especially a queen."
"I hear that," Glen murmured.
"She tried to behead me once," The Hatter said, "And after I recited poetry for the entertainment of her and her guests as well. I didn't take it personally; I doubt there's a person in Wonderland who didn't get a death-sentence from her Majesty, even before the trouble."
"She changed too, huh?" Glen asked.
The Hatter shuttered as they approached a large set of red doors. "Only in that worst of ways; she gained power."
With the care of a safe-cracker, the Hatter slowly turned the handle of one of the doors and pushed it open a crack. The resulting creak echoed through the doorway, the sound indicating a vast chamber beyond.
"Um, y-your most Highness," the Hatter stuttered, his bent form bending even further in what he likely thought was a bow, "I … that is, my friend and I … my friend, mostly, she requests an audience."
Seconds ticked as silence exuded from the dark chamber like a rolling fog, engulfing both of them. Glen wasn't the sort of person prone to getting the heebie-jeebies, but as they stood and waited there, in front of a portal that led into the dark chamber beyond, she found herself fighting against the urge to summon Headache or her Defiance … or both.
"Maybe we should-" she said.
"Let her approach." The whispered words slithered through the darkness and slipped into Glen's ears, sending a fresh wave of goosebumps rising on her arms.
The Hatter hurriedly stepped aside and gestured toward the door. When Glen didn't move, his gestures became frantic. He was afraid, genuinely afraid of the Red Queen, not that Glen could blame him given what little he'd told her.
Sighing, Glen slipped through the doorway. She'd scarcely taken three steps before the door shut behind her, leaving her shrouding in darkness.
"Great," She muttered. With a snap of her finger, the rune on her right hand lit up enough to see the moth-eaten carpet for about four or five feet around where she stood.
Shaking her head, Glen slowly walked forward. No matter how high she raised her rune hand, the light wasn't strong enough to illuminate anything more than the floor. She wasn't even sure how far she was into the chamber until the same silky voice as before said, "That is far enough. Who are you, child, and why have you come into our presence?"
"Uh, I'm Glen Soleil," Glen said uncertainly, "And I'm here to learn about the darkness behind the ichor."
When no reply was forthcoming, Glen continued, "I've discovered the ichor spreading through the thread realities of a separate core multiverse, and am looking for a way to purge it … or in the very least, protect those that live there from the ichor's effects. The Hatter's taught me that the ichor exists in all realities, and that it can do little on its own, but I still don't know how to find its source. I was hoping that you might-"
"Be silent!" The voice commanded, the silkiness now iron. "We do not tolerate riff-raff such as yourself to presume our actions!"
"Of course, your Highness," Glen said, performing an awkward sort of half-bow to the darkness ahead of her.
Silence again descended upon the chamber, only to be broken by a continuous tapping sound, as though someone with long fingernails were drumming them on some surface.
"We have heard of you, Dreamer," said the voice, now back to it's original silky tone. "A champion of light, the chosen of the Solarius … a true heroine of the Dream Realm. You seek to face the darkness head on? Then allow us to impart this advice; don't."
"Hang on a-"
Lights flared to life around Glen, temporarily binding her. Something thin and covered with some kind of small spikes or thorns caught her leg and dragged her across the floor a good ten feet before she materialized Headache and dug her metal hands into the ground, halting her movement. It didn't last long, as vine wrapped around her other leg and pulled her free with a whip-cracking movement. In moments, her arms were bound by the thorny vines as well. Glen struggled, but ultimately had no choice but to wait as the vines carried her across the chamber to a ruined throne. On the throne sat something that looked like a little girl, its true nature betrayed by the large red claws it bore instead of hands. A red crown sat on her brow, making her identity perfectly clear.
Glen was in the presence of the Red Queen.
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