Fall of Wonderland!

Six

DISRESPECT AT IT'S FINEST

If wandering around the woods for weeks had been awful, three days spent in the cramped back of a wagon were worse.

Far worse.

When Alice was finally allowed out of the four's small, box-like "cell," she was almost too distracted by scenery to truly feel the awful pain in her legs. Almost.

All around her was white. She had expected some, of course, judging by the name of the Ivory Palace. It was a castle that stood by itself, one that was nearly the size of a mountain. It looked as though it would have been made of ice, if not for the fact that the entire thing was a pale white that almost disappeared, without depth and merely a shape. It made Alice's knees buckle. Not only that, but its surroundings had been snowed upon so eternally, and everything felt as if it hadn't been colored in.

Mali, upon finally getting out of the wagon, nearly fell to the ground. Alice caught her, and the two friends smiled. Maybe they weren't getting along, but they weren't enemies.

"Hurry up and get inside!" The guard that had stood out commanded. Not wanting trouble as well as achieving their goal, the group obediently obeyed.

The huge, extravagant castle doors opened into the Throne Room, an odd and unique choice that was only likely to occur this deep inside Wonderland's wilderness.

"General Wysteria." The White Queen's voice was like the wind, quiet yet carrying, with a wistful quality. She herself was a sight to behold. She was incredibly tall, like many Wild Wonders were. Huge antlers like a deer's poked from her head, and her hair was barely a shade blonder than Alice's. Her whole outfit had the same winters quality to it as the rest of the palace. Her skin was dark brown, though slightly paler than Alice's. "What have you brought me?" She questioned.

General Wisteria shifted. "I'm sure you can tell upon seeing them, these are the Knaves from Dinah City everybody has been talking about. They are those who fled Dinah City to get away from the Red Queen."

The White Queen laid her whimsical gaze on the group. "What do you plead?" She demanded.

They all stared at her with confusion. "We haven't done anything wrong. I mean—," Mali had started.

The White Queen held up a hand. "In the mad land we do not tolerate this behavior. Guards, throw them in a cell." She waved them away with a flick of her wrist.

"Wait!" Alice shouted.

"You can't do this! What the hell?!" Valentina demanded. Alice knew that this was only the surface of her dirty mouth. "Even the tyrannical Red Queen would not do something so despicable!" Ever the sass-master. Yet, the White Queen ignored them perfectly.

Alice grunted in pain as she was thrown against the side of a cell. The others followed suit. They would sit in that cell for weeks, likely a few months. But that night, Alice had a strange dream. She was thinking of her sister, Mira.

Mira, who she and Lori had sworn to forget. Mira, who now lived with the man the Liddell's despised. His name had been William Liddell, but now it was William Hoshiko. He was Mira's father.

But was Mira his daughter? Alice had pushed so many of her memories away, that now she could barely recall what Mira looked like.

Slowly, the years came back to her. Somehow, her memories of Mira had been replaced with Mali. Mali pushing her on the swing, Mali hugging her tightly as their parents fought, Mali waving goodbye. But that didn't make sense. Somewhere along Alice's life, Mali's presence had replaced Mira's.

Mira, Mira. She repeated the name to herself softly, as if she might forget again. Alice was just glad not to be having nightmares of the ocean, or drowning, or William. Her nights was far from sweet, but at least there was no screaming.