No Longer Heartless

Chapter 5: The Land of the White Queen

"Hurry up, Cath," Raven said in a whispered tone.

"Sorry," she sighed. "My dress got caught on the gate.

The trio snuck through the land, pressing their backs firmly to the cold, stone wall and making sure to keep in the shelter of the shadows. Well, it was dark by now, so technically the entire land was in the shadows, but they tread in only the darkest places for safety.

Though they were extremely careful, they could not escape the wandering eye of one of the guards. He appeared to be the head of the group. "Intruders on the left!" He shouted as about ten guards rushed toward the trio.

"Run!" Elsie exclaimed.

Catherine turned on her heel and gathered her skirts, sprinting forward. She didn't get very far before she was caught by two guards and dragged off. "Let me go!" She yelled angrily, struggling to free herself from their grasp.

One of the guards chuckled. "Just wait until the Queen sees you."

The other guard apprehended Raven and another two took hold of Elsie.

The three were taken into the White Queen's throne room and all the guards left except for one. The head guard.

"You dare," came a threatening woman's voice from seemingly nowhere, "to enter my land without invitation?!"

"Show yourself," Raven called out, morphing into the tall hooded man.

"Well," smirked a woman clothed in all white, "if it isn't one of my Rooks. And where, pray tell, is the other who failed his mission?!"

"I don't know, your majesty," Raven sighed.

"You do know!" The woman exclaimed fiercely. "I'm sorry. I don't believe I've been introduced to your friends. Allow me. My name is Victoria and I am the White Queen. Who might the two of you be?" She gestured to Cath and Elsie.

"I am one of the Sisters who guard the treacle well," Elsie replied.

"Ah, the well," the White Queen nodded. "You have two sisters, Tillie and Lacie, do you not?"

"They have died," Elsie said gravely.

Victoria turned her head to Catherine, not bothering to acknowledge Elsie's statement. "And who are you?"

"My name is Catherine," she said cooly, "and I am the Queen of Hearts."

"Former Queen of Hearts," the White Queen corrected. "As long as you are in my land, you hold no power."

Cath grumbled something under her breath.

"However," Victoria continued, "there is one thing we could use here. That is your heart."

"No," Catherine said quickly. "Let us go. We've done nothing wrong."

"Take them to the dungeons," the Queen instructed her guard.

The trio was grabbed firmly and led off down a dark passageway.

With every step they took, Cath's heart sank a little more. It seemed as though her hope of seeing her one true love again was being slowly stripped away. Small tears formed in the corners of her eyes, though she tried her best to maintain her composure. They had come so far. Was this really it? After all they had been through?

Catherine's thoughts were abruptly interrupted when she felt herself being pushed—no, forcefully shoved—into a small dungeon room. She came crashing down onto the stone floor. Slowly, she stood up and surveyed the room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made completely of stone bricks. There was a small bed in the corner. On the wall opposite the one with the locked door, there was a tiny window. Cath would have been able to easily fit through it, if not for the iron bars in her way.

She sat down on the rather uncomfortable, sorry excuse for a bed and began to think. Her friends, she suspected, were in some other room nearby. All she needed was to get out and find them so that they could continue their mission of getting Jest back.