Since the Queen of Hearts always dominated the adaptations, it surprised her to learn she wasn't the eldest. "What is your name, if you don’t mind me asking?"
"Adelaide. Though nobody uses it anymore. Names fall into disuse. Trades and titles are how you are remembered. Not who you are, but what you have done."
Melody stared out at the trees of varied colors. If she stayed, how long would she be referred to as a findling before she gained a new title, and what would it be? "Hatter says he doesn't remember his name."
"I do."
She whipped around to face Adelaide. "You do?"
"His name is Byron, and he washed upon our shores from a shipwreck as a child. My mother took him in, and he remained with us for some time after her passing. He decided to live on his own not long before the Alice of your world visited. He was but a boy still. If you wish to know more, you must ask him, for it is his tale to tell, not mine." Suddenly she straightened and grinned. "We're here."
Craning her neck to see behind her, Melody gasped at the massive flowers, some as tall as city buildings, on the large chunk of land where the water forked ahead. The blooms were all turned in their direction, awaiting their arrival. "Dear God."
"Welcome to the Isle of the Flowers."
***
"Checkmate." Hatter leaned back in his chair, smug. Gareth frowned at the board, trying to devise a way out of the cold hard truth that he'd been bested by a common hatter.
Devrel arrived mid-game and had dutifully fallen asleep on his back in a sunny patch of grass nearby. His back foot twitched every so often, and he grinned even in slumber. Marchy had wandered off, probably after someone in a dress. Melody would return soon, and all would be well until the moment of truth that night.
But what if she stayed? Dare he hope, though he struggled not to? Would she want to be with him if she did, or did she long to go off to explore her options?
Without warning, the White Rabbit leaped onto the table, scattering the chess pieces to the grass and breaking him out of his whirlwind of thoughts. The rabbit stood on his hind legs, straightening his spectacles across his pink rabbit nose, and glanced at Hatter and then Gareth.
"What is the meaning of this, Rabbit?" Gareth stood. When the ruckus began, Devrel woke and stuck his head up to watch. The rabbit's appearance could only mean he'd come to collect payment for bringing Melody through the rabbit hole. Yet Hatter glanced around nervously, almost frantic. Something charged the air around them, some sense of bad news. The rabbit had come in a hurry, and his heavy breathing registered as confirmation.
"Devrel, fetch some water," Hatter directed.
The cat scoffed. "I'm not a servant. Besides, I want to know what has him worked up too."
Gareth ignored Devrel's indignation and retrieved a goblet of water from the refreshment table in the shade. He handed it to the rabbit when he returned. The White Rabbit used both paws to hold the glass as he drank his fill, before offering it to Gareth to take away again and set down.
"Thank you. No time to spare. Hours fading. Wonderland. Findling. No time. No time to lose!"
Hatter's heart pounded harder. Had something happened to Melody and the queen?
"Well, at least he wasn't late as usual," Devrel murmured and earned a glare from the rabbit.
"What happened?" Hatter attempted to urge the rabbit back on the right track. Anything could have occurred. The boat could have capsized. The flowers could have been threatened by her—they weren't exactly the friendliest creatures, hence the annual festival to appease their delicate sensibilities.
"The queen. She put the findling in a cage. I followed. Waited for the guards to change shifts. I found... It's terrible. So many cages. So many creatures!"
Confusion clouded his mind. None of it made any sense. The queen was courteous and kind, and she didn't even have a dungeon. When someone was on trial, they were placed in a very nice room in the castle, more like a guest under guard than a prisoner given the state of comfort they were provided. And if she'd perceived Melody as a threat, wouldn't she have called the guards rather than taking her on a leisurely stroll down the river?
He stared at the rabbit for several moments before meeting Gareth's gaze. He seemed as perplexed as Hatter felt. Devrel's grin faltered.
"The White Queen put Melody in a cage?" Hatter asked slowly.
At this, the rabbit pushed out a paw and wiggled it at him. "I came for my requested payment."
Blasted fool thought to dangle them by a thread until he collected. "What do you want?"
"The sword."
"I don't have a sword," Hatter started, and then it dawned on him. Devrel said something very vulgar and disappeared. Typical.
Gareth rested his hand on the hilt of the Vorpal Sword. "I'm not giving you my sword. You didn't make any sort of deal with me, and you brought the wrong findling into Wonderland." He gave Hatter an apologetic shrug. "He did mean to bring Cadence." Then he turned back to the rabbit. "And failed."
The White Rabbit had pulled himself together after making his request, and he hopped off the table toward Gareth. "You will make the payment as requested, sir. I did precisely as I was directed. The White Queen did no such deed as I described, for she is honest and true." His voice grew hushed. "'Twas the Red Queen I witnessed, as I was at court today trying to decide what I wanted in return for my service. Imagine my shock when I witnessed a findling, and not the one I left with Hatter, escorted past me. Small that I am, I followed, keeping myself hidden. That is when I saw her deceive the findling into partaking of a cake containing a shrinking potion and calling for a cage. The rest you know."
Gareth nearly toppled to the ground, using the table to catch his balance. "Cadence is here? But h—since when?"
Shaking his head sadly, the rabbit said, "Holes only stay open for so long. Chances are she came through not long after everyone departed, and she made her way to the Red Kingdom on her own."
"But..."
Hatter had never seen Gareth so overcome with emotion. His eyes glittered, and he couldn't seem to find words to string together. Mayhap he wasn't so terrible, and in that moment Hatter recalled his reaction to Alice leaving him, knowing if Melody didn't stay, there would be no recovering this time. The madness would fully take him, and he wouldn't even fight it.
"You said Melody came through at Shipwreck Cove. That would mean Cadence ventured into the Tulgey Wood alone. That's a day's walk, and there's a bandersnatch pack on that side of the forest." Gareth glanced around, eyes wild. "Where did that blasted Boojum go? I'll skin him and have him for supper."
"She made it through the woods and to the Red Kingdom unharmed." Hatter placed a hand on Gareth's shoulder, attempting to calm him, but the man jerked away.
"Don’t you see? She was all alone. She needed me, and I was here, pining. The Red Queen wants me to marry into her court so bad she'd hide Cadence instead of sending for me immediately." He growled. "That treacherous bitch." Passersby gave him startled looks and moved along quicker than before.
"All valid points," the rabbit said. "I will still be needing the sword, if you please."
Gareth glowered, and Hatter didn't think he would submit, but then he unclasped his belt, slid the scabbard containing the shining silver sword—his legacy—from it, and tossed it to the rabbit. With a nod of gratitude the rabbit waddled away on his back legs, clasping the heavy sword to his chest. If the situation wasn't so dire, it would have been an amusing sight.
Tugging on the long strands of his blond hair, Gareth nearly collapsed, but Hatter held him up. "How could he ask that of me knowing Cadence was in danger? How!"
He considered the same thing. "Mayhap he doesn't want you to threaten the queen with a weapon and have yourself executed in the process. Would defeat the purpose of bringing Cadence. Removing your sword means you'll have to be rational." What would Melody say when he told her? How could she possibly enjoy her final hours in Wonderland knowing her sister was in danger?
"Rational!"
Wind blew his mussed hair around his shoulders. He looked stark raving mad. "Cadence could be rejected a second time, and I would have never even known she was here. Do you think the queen would have told me when I marry in a matter of days? No. She wouldn't."
"Why are you here yelling at me and not on your way to rescue her?" Hatter shouted back, stepping away from him.
"I don't know! Devrel!" Gareth spun on his heel, searching for the cat.
He appeared several feet away, wary. "You summoned?"
"Take me to the Red Kingdom, right now, or you will never grin again."
He cringed. "Must say, I'm not loving this side of you."
Gareth leaned down to whisper something to Devrel before they disappeared, leaving Hatter alone just as the White Queen and Melody entered the courtyard together.
Both women were smiling—until they saw his expression.
"What happened?" Melody asked.
"You may want to take a seat before I tell you." Hatter gestured at his abandoned chair. "You as well, Your Majesty. It concerns both your sisters."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Tapping woke Cadence from her accidental nap. She groaned and opened her eyes. The blurred bars of her cage came into focus and the tapping grew more incessant.
"What is that?" Her voice was gravely. How did she even fall asleep? One moment she was talking to Mortimer, and the next...
"I do believe dinner has arrived." Mortimer sounded bemused.
Standing, she stretched and glanced toward his cage. He, in turn, peered up in the direction the stained glass roof above them. Squirrelpoleon stabbed at the corner of a piece of pale yellow glass with his rapier.
He'd come to rescue her! He hadn't abandoned her at all. Does he know what the Red Queen is up to? She'd seen a cage with a couple of animals that looked like him on the far side of the room. Had he witnessed them being captured? "You're not going to eat him. He's my friend."
The gryphon laughed. "Prey tends to flock together. Oh, don't give me that look. You're prey-sized. I can't help it."
"What kind of animal is he?" She'd confirmed the identity of the bandersnatches earlier by asking Mortimer if the crimson-furred animal in a cage nearby was one. It didn't seem to talk, but growled and spat at them occasionally.
"Common borogove. Not a lot of meat, but they suffice. The feathers from their tails are used for medicinal teas, I'm told."
"That's what a borogove is? I thought it was a bird." Even the texts that dissected the poem "Jabberwocky" considered it a bird.
Mortimer nodded. "Expectation often begets disappointment."
She snorted. "Remember that at dinner time, buddy."
A pane of glass crashed to the floor with a resounding shatter. Cadence jumped away from the bars even though she was out of the trajectory. Being small made everything bigger, including sound. Above, Squirrelpoleon climbed down the stone wall, eerily like the gray squirrels would back home in order to reach bird feeders. When he neared her cage, he leaped from the wall to the top of it, and the cage swung violently from side to side. Water sloshed over the edge of the dish, soaking her, the cloth, and the bread. Her skin instantly chilled at the wetness. Cadence slipped, and careened into the water dish.
Squirrelpoleon chittered at her; hopefully he was apologizing and not laughing. The rascal! Nevertheless, he held on to the top bars with his back feet and stuck the end of his rapier into the lock. Twisting it around there was a click and the padlock clacked apart. The door was opened in no time at all.
Mortimer gaped as he realized the impossible feat of her escaping had become possible. No breakfast for the gryphon. Shame, for him.
"Still planning to eat us?"
"Not if you release me too."
At that moment, Squirrelpoleon hopped into the cage with her and bowed low. Cadence, taken aback, curtseyed. "Thank you for the heroic rescue. Do you think you can break into that cabinet over there and collect the blue bottle?"
He looked at where she pointed and nodded once. He leaned over on all fours and chittered at her.
Mortimer made a huffing noise. "I can't believe what I'm witnessing. That borogove wants you to climb onto his back. No wonder the Red Queen wanted you locked away. You're altering the natural order."
The menagerie became eerily quiet, and Cadence studied the animals surrounding them. All watched with rapt attention, some clinging to bars, holding a hand or paw toward them in a plea for freedom. Even the mermaid pressed herself against the glass of her tank. A small Jubjub bird cocked its head, the colorful topknot on its head swaying from the movement.
She'd see they were all free soon enough. Opening cages now would only lead to chaos, and possible maulings if any of the others were predatory like the bandersnatch. "You said it yourself, Mortimer. Expectation begets disappointment. I'm going to the White Queen and Gareth for help if it is the last thing I do before Wonderland kicks me out a second time."
"You'll never make it," he said as Cadence climbed onto Squirrelpoleon's aquamarine back. "It's too far."
"Thank you for your vote of confidence, but I will go as far as I—"
"Release me, and I'll fly you there."
"What?" She stared at him in surprise. Squirrelpoleon angled himself at the end of the cage, ready to pounce to the floor.
"I can get you to the White Kingdom before night falls." Mortimer said. "On foot, you'd mayhap make it to the border between the kingdoms, but nowhere near the castle or the queen. If the Red Queen discovered you missing, she'd send guards that are much faster than you. And if you stay small and travel by way of your friend, you'd not make it much farther; although, it would be easier to evade the guards by staying in the trees."
The creature made a valid argument.
"You'd let me onto your back?" At his nod, she said, "All right. First, I'm going to become normal-sized again, that way I can better defend myself if you betray me. I rather lose a hand than my head."
Mortimer snorted. "I would never. Hands are all bones and not enough meat."
***
Devrel took Gareth to the throne room. The Red King wasn't present, but the queen rose to her feet, a panicked expression crossing her features before she hid it. Quickly, Devrel vanished once more to run the errand he had asked of him before they'd left the White Kingdom.
"Gareth!" The queen lowered her voice and clasped her hands. "I did not expect you today. What a surprise."
He'd known for some time she only wanted him married to someone in her court so his sword would be close. After he wed, he would belong to the Red Kingdom indefinitely, but he'd been accepting of that, mostly, until Cadence. He was so angry that he had no intention of honoring his agreement, whether Wonderland chose to take his love away from him a second time or not. It very well could result in some sort of fight between the kingdoms, but he'd accept any punishment for it when the time came.
"I know she's here, Matilda. Take me to her, or there will be consequences."
She clutched a hand to her chest and gasped. "You dare to speak to me so informally. Do you forget your place? Who I am?"
He wouldn't cower at her tone. "Queens of Wonderland have one duty above all others: protect the realm and all who live there. By hiding Cadence, you're doing me harm. Betraying my trust. Consider the wedding arrangements off the table. I'll remain with Queen Adelaide until the day I die." Using her given name would only irritate her the more.
The Red Queen sputtered for a moment and then collected her wits. "You can't do that. There was a formal agre—" Her face paled and she dropped all pretenses, immediately straightening to her full height. "Where is your sword?"
Gareth groped the air where it usually hung from his belt out of habit. He'd forgotten about it already in his need to protect Cadence and ensure she was okay. The weight of the sword had been replaced by the heaviness in his heart and the fear he could be too late to rescue her. "Surprise, Your Majesty. I traded it in return for the whereabouts of the woman I love." And he did love her. He
always would.
"Love?" Her laughter echoed in the throne room as she stalked closer. "You merely want what's unattainable. The sooner night comes and rejects that meddlesome twit from your life the better. I only hid her because she's not good for you." She reached out her hands. "Your own people need you. I need you." She gripped his face, pulling him closer.
Is she trying to kiss me? He shoved her away as the tall doors opened wide and Devrel trotted in with the Red King behind him. Had they seen what transpired?
"What is the meaning of this, Matilda?" the king asked. He was in his nightdress and his russet hair was wild. Devrel must have woken him despite the fact it wasn't even dark outside yet.
In their world, kings did little more than serve as proxy for the queen when she was unavailable. They had a pretty title and some authority, but were never required to be present otherwise. The Red King was often bored out of his mind and usually absent when Gareth visited court. The king's attitude was one of the reasons he dreaded marriage in the first place.
"He tried to seduce me!" the Red Queen shouted. The king merely blinked at her.
"Guards!" Gareth cried out. Within moments several armored men entered the throne room past a baffled king. "Under the authority of the White Queen, I hereby decree the Red Queen is to be taken prisoner until trial for plotting to intentionally cause discourse between kingdoms. If she should be proven innocent of a false statement, I fully take responsibility for my crime and accept the appropriate punishment." Until a verdict was found, the king would hold the throne by Wonderland law.
The statement was met with utter silence, even from Devrel. Guards stared around them, unsure of whether they should obey his order or not. The king nodded, and they approached. The queen shrieked, "You can't do that!"
"I just did." Gareth grabbed her by the arm. "Where is Cadence? You might as well show me, and mayhap I will have the flowers be lenient on you at the actual trial."
The Unraveling (Wonderland Book 2) Page 11