The Knave and the Champion : Alice and Stayne

Chapter Six - Stayne's Discovery

 It felt as though Stayne’s heart thudded to the floor. Being the Queen’s right-hand-man, he had to go and order the arrest of the prisoners. He sadly marched down the corridor until he reached the Hatter’s room. The two Red Knights following him stood in front and kicked the doors opened.

 ‘Arrest that girl for unlawful seduction!’ He exclaimed, but before the knights could get any closer to Um, the Hatter had thrown two rolls of material at them, hitting them in the head and knocking them to the floor. He did not want to have his beautiful Um decapitated, but he had to go along with this in order to hide his affection for her. Stayne drew his sword and swung it at the Hatter. In his defence, the lunatic grabbed a metal mannequin and held it up as a shield.

 The sound of metal colliding with metal exploded into the room. A screech, like fingernails against a blackboard was made when he dragged his sword down the metal build of the mannequin. Um flinched at the sound.

 Stayne was angered. How dare he, the Knave thought, how dare he take away what is rightfully mine. I first laid eyes on Um. She is mine! Mine! Stayne had power over the Hatter, and caused him to fall against the dressing table, almost cracking the mirror when the Hatter’s head came into contact with it.

 The Hatter had seized a power puff, and pushed it into Stayne’s face, impairing his vision for a second or two. Now, even more furious than ever, Stayne took the mannequin from the Hatter and tossed it aside. Before the Knave could make his next move, the mad man had grabbed hold of a perfume bottle and aimed it at his eye.

 At that moment, just before the Hatter sprayed the liquid that would cause Stayne a burning sensation in his eye, the foolish dormouse exclaimed ‘RUN, ALICE!’ and then clasped it’s paws over its mouth.

 Ilosovic Stayne’s heart had never felt heavier. To discover that the beautiful golden-haired girl he had adapted affectionate feelings for, was the very girl he had been ordered to arrest on sight. Of all the women Stayne could’ve fallen for, he had fallen for Alice. Alice. The girl that had returned to Underland to slay the Jabberwocky, and end the Red Queen’s reign.

 His heart pierced by this fact, Stayne did not want to turn around, but he knew he had to. Though it was his duty to arrest her, he did not want to face the truth that the woman he had dreamed to claim his own, to caress, to love, was his Queen’s sworn enemy.

 He placed a grin on his face, and turned his head. ‘Alice…’

‘Run!’ The Hatter cried out to her. He saw fear in her eyes. She was terrified. But before Stayne could chase after her, the Hatter sprayed the perfume in his eye. The young girl, clutching the Vorpal sword tightly, fled from the room.

 ‘SEIZE HER!’ Stayne exclaimed to the Red Knights, as many of them poured into the courtyard. ‘Arrest these two!’ He said to the Knights that had regained their balanced in the Hatter’s room. Meanwhile, Stayne followed the other crowd of Knights, who had now surrounded Alice.

 He was panicking, silently. He didn’t want to harm her, or lose her trust. If they ever had any. Maybe there was a chance that Stayne could’ve changed the Queen’s mind, to not behead Um, but now that he had discovered that this beauty was Alice, there was no way the Queen would not have her lose her head.

 Stayne couldn’t afford to let his predicament slip, so he kept up his act of turning her in. Though, he was more gentle towards her than he usually was with prisoners. As he entered the courtyard, he found her surrounded by Red Knights. ‘Alice.’ He grinned. ‘Of course, why didn’t I see it? Well, it has been a long time, and you were such a little tyke then.’

 He saw her pupils were wide, scared, panicking. He didn’t want to scare her, or have her beheaded, but he had to do this. ‘Give me the sword, dear.’

‘No, stay back!’ Alice refused to give up the sword, just as Stayne had refused to let her go. But two Red Knights came up behind her and seize her arms. She struggled to break from their grasps but it was no use. ‘Be gentle with her!’ Stayne cried, accidently.

 The Knights, and Alice, gave him questioning looks, and he needed to come up with a reason why they should not harm her, and fast. ‘The Queen would most like to harm Alice herself. I don’t think she would appreciate damaged property.’

 He chuckled and turned to go inside. When neither the Knights, nor Alice, could see him, his face fell. How am I to rescue Um – Alice – from this? He thought. He began to proceed into the castle, over-hearing Alice’s struggles and moans of ‘Let me go!’

 All of a sudden, they stopped, the Knights, Alice, and Stayne. A rumbling growl, followed by a menacing roar emanated from the shed in when two things were held; the case for the Vorpal sword, and-

 The doors burst open to reveal the hideous Bandersnatch. Growling and displaying its horrid fangs. It knocked almost all of the Red Knights to the ground, tumbling one after the other like dominos. The beastly creature purged itself beside Alice, kneeling lower for her to mount it. The girl hopped on the Bandersnatch and rode upon it all the way to Marmoreal.

 Stayne could do nothing but watch the creature ride off into the distance, with the woman he loved aboard it. He remembered the first time they’d met. She was only a child of six years. He hated children, but when Alice had first been to Underland, he had softened a little. He was at least able to stand her presence.

 He remembered her constant asking of ‘What happened to your eye?’ and he would ignore her. So much had changed. She had matured. Alice was no longer an irritating little brat, always asking stupid, pointless questions. This girl was now a grown woman with curves and a different personality. And Stayne loved her.