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One of Callister's eyebrows quirked up and he tilted his head to one side.
"The Red Queen could cut off our heads. She could send her Jabberwocky to eat whoever was left. She could turn Wonderland into an even more putrid wasteland than it already is. She has the power to turn the lakes into acid and the rivers into blood. It's only a matter of time before she makes the mountains erupt with warm green glops of gangrenous pus."
The moment I heard those words, I swallowed back the urge to throw up. It felt like something was crawling around in my stomach and needed to get out. But I couldn’t puke now. Not in front of these hotties.
“Could someone please explain exactly what you want me to help with?” I finally asked.
"Allow me to enlighten you on the current state of Wonderland," Chess began as he gracefully settled himself on a moss-covered tree stump.
"Once upon a time, Wonderland was a realm of balance and harmony, held together by the Red Queen and the White Queen–two sisters who each rule their own kingdoms. The Red Queen rules the Kingdom of Hearts and Roses, while the White Queen rules the Kingdom of Diamonds and Ice. They and their kingdoms are opposites in every way. The Red Queen is vicious, cruel, and feared by all, while the White Queen is beloved and kind, although her generosity is often taken advantage of by others."
"Kindness is just another word for weakness," Callister added while sending a plume of grape-scented smoke into the air. The sweet smell was a sharp contrast against the decay all around us.
I was torn between agreeing with Callister and wanting to prove him wrong. Every time I tried trusting someone, I always ended up getting fucked over. Remy was a perfect example. People only seemed to let me down, and yet...I still kept hoping that someday my luck would change.
“It depends on the context of the kindness,” conceded Chess before turning his gorgeous face back to me. “Unfortunately, Alice, you’ve been gone for so long that the balance of power between our two queens has shifted too far in the Red Queen’s favor. The White Queen has been forced into hiding to save her life.”
“We’ve always had an Alice to act as the fulcrum that keeps their power in balance,” Winston explained. “But because it’s taken me so many years to track you down, the Red Queen has manipulated things to her advantage. As you can see, her twisted darkness now dominates all of Wonderland. It might even be past the point of no return. That’s why your arrival is of the utmost importance."
“I’m still not understanding exactly how I’m supposed to help you fix this place,” I said, motioning at the gnarled trees that clawed at the sky around us.
Callister let out such a wicked laugh that it made my skin buzz with electricity. I wanted to make him laugh like that.
“All you have to do is find the missing Vorpal Sword and use it to kill the Jabberwocky, which is the embodiment of all the Red Queen’s power.”
I kept waiting for Winston to laugh, but he was serious.
“No one else can slay the Jabberwocky,” Chess explained. “It has to be you.”
“If you were still a child, your vivid imagination would’ve allowed you to believe that you actually had a fucking chance,” Callister said with a scowl. “But you’re so old now that you’ll shit yourself the second you lay eyes on the damned thing.”
I tossed my tangled mess of slimy hair behind my shoulder and jutted out my chin in defiance.
“You don’t know that,” I said, putting one hand on my hip. “How scary is this Jabberwocky thing, anyway?”
“Terrifying,” said Callister.
“Horrific,” said Winston.
“The stuff of nightmares,” said Chess, although he still didn’t seem that scared. I assumed it was because he was a demon. Maybe the Jabberwocky was a cousin. “That’s why we’ll have to see how imaginative you are, and help you hone your skills.”
“Hold on a fucking minute,” I said, swallowing back another wave of nausea. "I’ve never slayed anything except my wardrobe, and now you want me to save an entire realm?"
“To put it simply...yes,” Chess replied with an innocent shrug. “You are the key to restoring balance in our realm."
"Or destroying it,” Caterpillar added darkly.
“Couldn’t you find another chick named Alice?” I suggested. “A little kid with a better imagination?”
Winston shook his head.
“You were chosen to be our champion, our Ace of Spades from the moment you were born. It has to be you.”
“Why do you keep calling me the Ace of Spades?”
“Simple,” Chess murmured. “You are the luckiest and most powerful card in the deck. You’ve been missing for a very long time.”
It almost broke my heart to tell them the truth, but I felt like I had to do it.
