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“She’s not here,” Callister drawled, blowing smoke-rings absent-mindedly. “She’s restocking her apothecary.” He stopped watching his friends long enough to look up at Winston. “Do you want to place a wager on these two buffoons? They’re just getting started.”
Winston’s face grew even more worried as his shoulders fell.
“I have no time for such games!” he said, wringing his hands together. “We have far greater problems than whatever they’re fighting over. Amari...” he glanced around the Great Hall, twitching nervously. “I must find Amari.”
“Easy there, Winston,” Ransom cut in, his incubus charm doing little to calm the frantic White Rabbit. “What’s got your whiskers in a twist?”
Winston’s eyes darted around before he leaned down, his voice barely more than a whisper, as if sharing a dark secret. “The Red Queen has invaded a large village on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Hearts and Roses.”
The nonchalant expression in Ransom’s face disappeared, and he smacked Chess in the arm, prompting him to stop fighting with Hatter.
“Which village?”
“Echo’s End.” Winston took a deep breath before continuing. “We must inform Queen Amari immediately and plan a course of action.”
I could feel the air in the Great Hall grow thick with tension. Most of the tables were empty, and most of the courtiers and servants were well out of earshot. But my friends exchanged wary glances, their previous lighthearted antics replaced by an all-consuming unease.
“Is there something particularly significant about Echo’s End?” I asked quietly.
“It’s very close to the border of the Kingdom of Diamonds and Ice,” Ransom told me. His voice was calm, but I could hear notes of trepidation lingering beneath it. “With the sacking of this village, it means that the Red Queen is heading into Queen Amari’s territory.”
“War is coming,” Winston whispered, his voice barely audible. “Whether Queen Amari is ready or not.”
I felt a shiver of foreboding crawl down my spine as I took in the expressions on the faces of my wicked boys. Ransom’s eyes were dark, his usual charm replaced by a grim determination. Hatter clutched the edge of the table, knuckles turning white, while Callister seemed to retreat into himself, his tattoos lifeless and colorless. Even Chess, who usually wore a smirk, had a grave look etched onto his face.
They all understood the gravity of the situation. Our laughter and mimosas seemed like distant memories, replaced by an all-consuming dread.
“Are you prepared, Alice?” Winston asked, his voice laced with a nervous hope. “Have the ’White Knight’s teachings been enough to prepare you for the Red Queen and her Jabberwocky?”
The weight of his words hung heavy in the air, suffocating any remaining hope we might have clung to. My heart plummeted into my stomach, and I couldn’t help but feel the crushing pressure of everyone’s expectations bearing down on me.
As his expectant gaze met mine, my self-doubt reared its ugly head. Sure, I’d trained with Jack.
But was it enough?
The thought of facing the Red Queen and her terrifying pet filled me with a sense of dread and uselessness that clawed at my insides and made me want to throw up.
“Honestly, Winston,” I admitted, swallowing back the anxiety that threatened to choke me, “I don’t think I’m ready.”
The silence that followed was deafening. I could see the disappointment and fear flicker across my friends’ faces, and the ache of letting them down pierced my chest like a dagger.
The air around me seemed to grow colder, charged with a mix of fear and frustration and disbelief.
“Then we’ll just have to make do with what we have,” Ransom said, his voice a steely resolve that cut through the tension. “We’ve faced worse odds before, haven’t we, Winston?”
“I don’t think so,” he replied, which only scared me more.
* * *
As we entered Amari’s apothecary, the air was thick with the scent of herbs and magic. The White Queen stood amongst her apprentices, instructing them on which healing supplies to gather. She looked up as we entered the space, her eyes wide with concern. “Winston! You’ve finally returned! What news do you bring?”
“Your Majesty,” he said with a polite bow. “We should speak in private.”
Amari nodded, and her lips pressed into a thin line. She dismissed her apprentices with a wave of her hand, leaving us alone in the dimly lit room.
“Speak, Winston,” she commanded, her voice steady despite the fear that flickered in her eyes. We arranged ourselves around a long table filled with bowls of different powders and strange looking plants. “Tell me everything.”
“The Red Queen has invaded Echo’s End,” he began, his voice heavy with dread. “War is coming, and we’re running out of time.”
