Wonder

“So the Inklings fear me, too?”

“Some of them do,” he says. “Some of them foolishly think you can be converted. But I know you will never do that. You’re Black Chess’s most precious warrior.”

“Why do you doubt that?”

“Let’s face it, Alice. You’ve done things that can’t be forgiven. Remember messing with Carroll’s mind, splitting his self in two, and creating the Carolus part in him? It was genius.”

“I did that?”

“You fed him a heavy dose of Lullaby pills, mixed with the Executioner’s drugs, until the man collapsed. He collapsed so hard he made a deal with his split image to kill himself through you.”

The curtains fall. I have nothing to say. The play is over. And when the curtains are draped, there will be no audience left to applaud. Because I may have killed them all.

“Let’s not think about this now,” he says. “I’m really curious why you wanted to take the Lullaby pills after all you’ve done.”

This, I don’t remember. If I was this dark beast of Wonderland, why’d I ask to forget what I had done later? Maybe some part of me, a small one, though, realized the gruesomeness of what I had done. A part that couldn’t go on being the Real Evil Alice anymore. A part of me that longed for redemption. A part that wanted to forget through a Lullaby pill. A part of me that preferred I’d spend the rest of my life in an asylum. Better mad than being the Real Alice.

I really hope this tiny part is still inside me somewhere.

Chapter 55

THE PRESENT: MARGARET’S OFFICE, PARLIAMENT

The call came while Margaret was staring at her reflection in the mirror, wondering if she was really as beautiful as she managed to fake.

“Margaret speaking.”

“It’s done,” Carolus answered.

“Are you sure?”

“We should celebrate,” he said. “She is the Real Alice. And she knows it. She is one of us.”

Margaret’s smile almost messed with her surgical beauty. She was advised against smiling too much and stretching out her Botox festival. But she couldn’t help it. This was the moment everyone in Black Chess had waited for. This was the moment the Queen would be forced to give her back what she had taken from her.

“Of course Alice is back,” she said. “One of us. No one can stop us from wi

No one can stop me from taking what belongs to me.

Chapter 56

THE PRESENT: BUCKINGHAM PALACE, LONDON

The Queen received a similar call, from the Cheshire this time.

“Margaret doesn’t know I’ve called you,” the Cheshire said. “She will try to keep the news from you, so you’ll give her back what she wants.”

“Don’t worry about the ugly Duchess.” The Queen was Caucus-racing in her chamber. A known Wonderlastic way of celebration. You run in place, expecting to win a race, only to realize you’re stuck where you are because fate is chaining your feet. “Just tell me she is the Real Alice.”

“She is.”

“Holy Mushrooms and Wonderland Lilies!” She gasped. “It’s her. All that I’ve been waiting for. Are you sure? I mean, is she still the nasty, unforgiving, ruthless girl we’ve always known?”

“Too soon to tell. But Mrs. Tock confirmed what she saw in the past. She even saw her meeting with Mr. Jay.”

“Then it’s her. Damn you, Lewis, for erasing her image from our minds. We could have found her earlier. Tell me, Cheshire, how is she taking it?”

“Mrs. Tock says the girl is pretty shocked. There is still that small part of her that wishes she could redeem herself, but I think it’s too small to have an effect on her when she comes back to the present.”

“I wouldn’t dismiss this part.” The Queen rubbed her chin. “From what I understand now, she asked for the pill after the bus accident. She does have that goodie-goodie part in her. It must be suppressed.”

“I believe this is what she did,” the Cheshire said. “Mrs. Tock believes Alice took incredible doses of Lullaby pills so she’d forget who she is.”

“We’ll know the rest of the truth eventually,” the Queen said. “Now, you have to make sure Mrs. Tock and Mr. Tick bring her back.”

“It won’t be easy, as she still has to find her Wonder to return.”

The Queen went silent. Margaret’s plan wasn’t perfect after all. They had dug a hole for themselves by tricking Alice into needing her Wonder to survive. “I don’t care,” she said. “I want my Real Alice back. I need her so we win the war. Fix it.”

“I’ll see what we can do. How about the keys?”

“She is the Real Alice. She will find them. All that matters is bringing her back now!”

The Queen hung up and then paced left and right, her dogs following her everywhere. “Think. Think. Think,” she told herself, knowing that thinking wasn’t her best talent. “Guards!”

A few of them arrived immediately.

“I want you to chop off the heads of a thousand lions,” she ordered. “Find them. Buy them. Chop them off. This is the most festive day of my life. Understood?”

“Where do we find the lions, My Queen?” a guard asked.

“You find the lions where everyone finds the lions.”

“Which is where, exactly?” the guard asked.

“Stupid guards.” The Queen jumped atop a chair and yelled at him, “Did you ever see a lion?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“On TV.”

“That’s why you don’t know where lions are. This is what TV does to you, younger generation. Now go chop off the heads of a thousand lions.”

The guard shrugged. “I’m sorry, My Queen. But where do I find the lions, again?”

The Queen stamped her feet, risking the unbalancing of the chair. “Where lions always are. The cages of a zoo. Don’t you know that they like to live in cages and have people watching them all the time?”

“Of course, My Queen,” the puzzled guards said, and left the room.

The Queen began itching her chin. “What will I do with Alice when she comes back?” She jumped off the chair and talked to her dogs, whose ears stood erect. “I’m sure she will help us win the war. But if there is still that nagging part in her longing for redemption, what should I do with her? I need to protect myself.”

She paced more and more. Swallowed a few nuts. Choked on one. Spat it out, and a dog caught it. “Damn you, Pillar.” The Queen halted in the middle of her chamber. “That’s why you got into the asylum, you devious butterfly. You knew it was her. You wanted to convert her against us.” She walked to her balcony for a fresher breath of air. “I think I’ll have to find a way to keep the Real Alice away after I use her to win the war.”

And then the Queen had an idea. “What about a compound? The Wonderland Compound. Where all those who help me win the war will enjoy immunity against the madness in the world.” She clicked her fingers and jumped atop the balcony’s rail. “I’m a genius. Alice, like any other girl, will want to get married and have kids. I’ll get a boy to seduce her, impregnate her, and then she will be knee-deep in her personal troubles. I’ll offer her a lavish life in the compound. A life she will never refuse. What a plan!”

Chapter 57

THE PRESENT: TOM QUAD

Fabiola arrived on time, shivering underneath a black umbrella. The rain was still pouring. The Pillar stood up. He felt for her. The tension in her eyes told him she knew. There was no going back now.

“Does it make a difference if I tell you I hate you again?” she said.

“Hating someone never makes a difference,” the Pillar said. “Loving someone does.”

“Shut up, or I’ll stab you with my Vorpal sword.”

“I know you’re capable of that, and even worse,” the Pillar said. “I just don’t know why you haven’t stabbed me yet.”

“Why, Carter?” she pleaded. “Why did you wake her up? She had chosen to stay mad and save the world from her wrath.”