FIREFALL, OR IN EXO WONDERLAND ▷ COMPLETE

Baekhyun's Grandma's House

CHAPTER 40: BAEKHYUN'S GRANDMA'S HOUSE

The Castle of Hearts is technically known as Baekhyun's grandmother's house because if you had read before, long ago, here is the place where the book-famous Queen of Hearts shouted so shrill for her stolen tarts, where the Queen played her flamingo croquet and where the Queen endured Alice.

This is also where the Lobster Quadrille was danced, where a grinning cat's head floated around not to be sentenced to death and where our feathery friend Gryphon exclaimed his "Hjckrrh!".

So, where did Baekhyun, the rightful Ace of Hearts go?

Wherever he was, he must be very, very cold.

Presently, in Wonderland, the air was heavy, saturated with strong winds and more, more snow.

Snow all the more so.

The members of the Resistance of Shuffling Decks went out of the Scientists' Domain clad in protective winter clothing. If your troops weren't well-clad, they won't survive the harshest winter Wonderland ever had. And that equals early loss. Hence, everyone was clad in great coats and funny flappy fluffy hats that were always windblown.

However, Luhan didn't want to change his hat. He continued to wear his favourite tall hat even though his ears were getting bluish. After all, the tall hat was his own handwork, and so were everyone else's.

The youngest member, Ace was wearing a pink woolly mini-coat, wrapped in a thick blue scarf and shielded by a pair of spectacles. They once belonged to his father.

As for Eun-soo, her golden hair was let loose, but held back by two fine strands of braids knotted behind her head. She was all dressed in a long, sky-blue robe with soft fur trimmings. Behind her was a silver cape that hung elegantly down her back to her ankles. Her petite silver boots were embroidered with dark blue glitters in the notable Victorian fashion. Guess who'd designed it? D.O, of course.

Then, Kris who was the one to lead the Resistance to the Castle of Hearts would steal some backward glimpses. To look for card-soldiers, he said.

"Oooh..." The others nodded. They understood him. A lot.

"Waa~" Tao whined. "Why it has to snow on a very special day? And I thought it was springtime!"

Lay still had Xiumin's map with him. But, the march to the Mourning Tree was getting wearier. The turbulent wind, the incessant falling snow—the punishing harsh climate was slowing them down. Their advance wasn't halted yet, and they won't give up.

Heavy boots stomped on the ground, sometimes sinking, sometimes stuck. The ground coalesced with mounts of snow to form an accursed muddy path.

Brown smudges of mud was the only foreign colour that was reflected back into their eyes. The rest of Wonderland was pristine white. The tall, twisted trees were smothered in snow. Black crows, frozen and dropped dead on the ground were not as black as they should be. Crystal powders held on to their talons.

"Now, a raven is unlike a writing desk. A writing desk is spilled with black, while a raven is spilled with white." Luhan sighed. He was disappointed. His favourite riddle wasn't appropriate with the scenery.

Along the path, they had seen more casualties of the harsh climate. Once, while passing a massive rock, a mother cat and her kittens were locked in a mortal embrace, immortalised in still life. Her legs were still wrapped around her kittens, providing them with heat that was no longer there. Kris used his sword to dig a hole and buried them in a place where things might be warmer.

What had caused this illogical change of weather?

"The problem lies in the castle. I can sense it. But I don't know what it is—AT-CHOO!" said Luhan, sneezing. He was the most sensitive person to any cold. "How I wished for a warm cup of tea!"

This kingdom shall be mine... And hers. Ours.

"Yah! Who's that talking?" asked Luhan after hearing a rant from somewhere. Or was it his brain with its faulty wiring?

"No one's talking. Caffeine Withdrawal Syndrome?" Kai shook his head. Snowflakes fell.

Soon, all resistance shall vanish. Resistance is—

"The voice was a tad reminiscent..." Luhan sneezed again. "AT-CHOO! AT-CHOO! AT—"

Lay clasped a hand across Luhan's nose and mouth. A lilac beam pulsed beneath his palm. Luhan stopped sneezing.

"Feeling better now, hatter?" asked Lay, pulling his hand away.

"Somewhat." replied Luhan. He wiped his reddened nose with his overcoat collar.

"You don't have to be worried, Luhan. Here we are!" Lay pointed at a tall, snow-laden tree.

The Resistance of Shuffling Decks were reunited once more with the Mourning Tree. Lay expected the door-knob to be frozen, but the door was opened in a single tug.

Just like their previous attack on the King of Hearts, they went inside.

The scenery greeting them was different from what they had remembered. The hallway was lined with doors and checquered tiles, of course, but when you looked at the doors, all the propaganda posters had been scraped off. King Chanyeol's perfect teeth were gone with the wind. Unfortunately, the hallway hadn't become shorter than before.

"I'm too tired to walk anymore." Tao collapsed to the floor.

"Let us have a rest." Lay raised up his hands.

"Lu-ge! Carry me! I can't walk... Or you shall face my..." Tao raised his mighty fists in the air—his muscles tautened—and brought them to the sides of his face. The pose of a fighter. He moved his fists slowly in a knocking motion. His eyes widened. "Bbuing bbuing~" Tao cooed with a cutesy grin.

"Tao! I won't carry you! Not with aegyo!" Luhan's eyebrows twitched. "Aigoo~ This is too much!"

"So let me go alone. I can fly my way there." Kris offered. "Furthermore, I am the only one who can enter the castle."

"How smart of you!" Luhan was relieved. His feet longed for a short rest. "Go ahead, Kris!"

Kris turned his gaze to Eun-soo. "May I have the Entrance Elixir?" he asked.

Eun-soo smiled. "Well, yes, sure!"

"Stay still," Kris brushed the soft golden hair gently from Eun-soo's neck and unfastened her necklace. The necklace held the Bandersnatch's blood. Kris wore it around his neck instead. He needed the elixir.

"Good luck on the other side." Eun-soo patted Kris on the shoulder.

"Eun-soo ah," Kris called her name.

"Yes?" she was surprised by his change of tone.

"Lest I couldn't make it, there's something you should know." Kris said, looking down to her. His voice deepened, lower than usual, laced with divided feelings.

Cries of the blizzard followed his forthcoming silence.

"Tell me, then." Eun-soo crossed her arms.

Kris pulled her closer to him—the closest she could be to his heart. Now, she was only a heartbeat away. Enclosed in an embrace, her sight was briefly taken from her. She could no longer see the millions of stars falling from above. She could only see a sudden blackness giving the snow-white landscape a rest. Her face was set against a scent of mountain herbs and sea breeze. She was adrift; she just let herself sail through the fjords.

"I love you." Kris's husky whisper joined the distant wail of the wind through the hollow trees.