Malice in Wonderland Bundle 3

by Lotus Rose

  “Who’s the Wizard?” the Jabberwock says.

  “A powerful magician who can provide certain services.” She peers at the Jabberwock. “I can’t help but notice your head seems a bit separated from your body.”

  “Yes, but it’s not my body. I’m borrowing it from a human. We are on a quest to Jabberwock Valley to try to attain a new jabberwock body for me.”

  “Ah. That happens to be the kind of service the Wizard provides. He’s a doctor of sorts, who can alter the biological functioning of bodies. For example, he can perform heart and brain transplants, or give courage. And I heard a tale of how he once helped a decapitated human girl get a new body.”

  There are many gasps and exchanged glances amongst the team.

  The Jabberwock says, “How can we get in touch with this Wizard?”

  “He can be...challenging to reach. But I’m not sure I want to tell you. I don’t even know who you are, jabberwock. My intention in coming here was solely to help Alice, and she won’t need the Wizard’s aid to acquire the Tin Knight’s heart. I know that your mechanical heart has been malfunctioning...”

  “Yes,” Malice says. “Very well... Where is the Tin Knight’s heart? Would I be able to use it?” The pounding headache is getting to her, and she rubs at her temples.

  The munchkin raises her brow, but doesn’t comment upon it as she says, “Yes, because there is a woman—a witch—in possession of it. She is a stealer of hearts. She can use her magic to take hearts out or put them in.”

  Malice is feeling light-headed and woozy. “I think I should sit down for a moment.” She promptly flops onto the dirty ground, with her legs awkwardly twisted for the sake of modesty in her slim black dress.

  Hatter says, “Are you okay, my dear, I mean, My Queen?”

  “I prefer ‘my dear’,” Malice says. “I’m just a bit unsteady at the moment. I’m sure I’ll be better in the morning.”

  “Are you unwell?” the munchkin says.

  “She’s withdrawing from the black rose,” Sleepy B blurts out.

  “Yes, I’m miserable,” Malice says in a moany voice.

  “Ah yes,” the munchkin says. “The Tin Knight mentioned that. He’s looking for you, by the way, so you should be careful. I’m lucky I found you first.”

  Malice knows that the Tin Knight actually thinks Malice is Alice—who is the girl he actually seeks. But Malice feels she can gain more information by not telling the munchkin. Malice’s ticktock heart might prevent her from telling lies, but so far it’s not preventing her from letting the munchkin girl carry on with her assumptions.

  Malice says, “So you know where his original heart is...”

  “I don’t know the exact location, but I can lead you in the right direction. There is a village a day or two’s journey from here, in the desert beyond the forest.” She points and gives brief instructions to get there, after which she continues, “I learned that the woman who stole the Tin Knight’s heart lives somewhere close to that village. But she’s hidden away somewhere, her exact location kept a secret. It took me a lot of effort and luck to learn even that much. I tried to find the exact location of the witch’s home, but I was unsuccessful. I can give you some names of villagers I thought might’ve known her location, who were uncooperative with me. Of course, last I spoke to them was several years ago, so my information may be out of date.”

  “We’ll make do,” Malice says. “What are the names?”

  “I only know their first names. Herbert and Marilyn. Perhaps you can ask around about them.”

  Malice says, “Thank you. And what did you intend to do if you ever found this witch woman?”

  “I told you I despise that vile Tin Knight. I wanted to get ahold of his heart before he did, so he could never regain it. The task proved too difficult for me, but I’ve gotten satisfaction all these years from the fact that I got closer than he ever has, and he still has not regained the heart he yearns so much for.”

  Hatter sings out while gesturing dramatically. “Oh, my heart yearns for thee! I can’t stand to be apart!” After which he promptly goes silent and serene.

  At the quizzical look from the munchkin, Sleepy B explains, “That’s the Mad Hatter. He’s mental.”

  “I see.”

  “So, why help me get the heart, then?”

  “Because you are Dorothy’s enemy, and I despise her as well. There may come a day when you and Dorothy shall battle. If you win, you shall prove a better ruler, if all Dorothy says about you is true. I do hope you’ll remember how I aided you.”

  “I don’t even know who you are,” Malice says jokingly.

  The munchkin gives a little chuckle. “Also, I hope you can figure a way to give the Tin Knight his blasted ticktock heart. He was actually quite pleasant when he was using that thing, and apparently, it’s a very special, one-of-a-kind item, since the Wizard was unable to make another one.”

  “We should like to speak to this Wizard, to help my friend get a new body.”

  The munchkin shrugs. “You’re on your own on that one.”

  Hatter says, “Wouldn’t this Tin Knight chap be peeved to get such a wonky heart?”

  “Yeah, it puttered out earlier,” Sleepy B contributes.

  “Because it wasn’t designed for Alice’s body,” the munchkin replies. “It was designed specifically for the Tin Knight, so it should work fine for him.”

  Humpty says, “And then, shall he act more agreeably and quit trying to capture Queen Alice here?”

  Malice feels a sudden surge of guilt in her mind, which causes her headache to flare. She realizes her heart is reacting to her not correcting Humpty’s lie.

  The munchkin says to Humpty, “I expect the heart would make him act more morally. I can’t imagine he’d consider it moral to continue serving Dorothy, considering her actions and selfish reasons.”

  Sleepy B says, “Oh? Why is she so bad, and why does she hate Alice so much?”

  The surge of conscience and headache causes Malice to groan, drawing everyone’s eyes to her. “I must confess,” she says, “I’m not Alice.”

  “What?” the munchkin says.

  “I’m Malice, Alice’s twin of sorts. But I’m a completely different person. She has an actual living beating heart, and lives in the Outside World.”

  “Really? Because the Tin Knight thinks you’re Alice.”

  “I know, but he’s mistaken. I realize you citizens of the wastelands haven’t been keeping up with the recent developments in Wonderland, but everyone there knows I’m Malice. Queen Malice.” She looks around at her teammates and they all nod and agree.

  “It’s all a big misunderstanding, it seems,” the Cat says.

  “Mistaken identity,” Hatter says. “Just like I once fancied myself to be the earl of all strudels.”

  “So now that mean ol’ Dorothy and Tin Knight can leave Maly alone,” Sleepy B says.

  The munchkin shrugs. “I don’t know if you’re telling the truth or not. But I’m not the one you have to convince. Besides, if it’s true that you’re Alice’s twin, you may be similar enough to her so that it doesn’t matter. You may have the same potential for giving her trouble.”

  “Oh, crikey!” Malice shouts. “I could quite do without being hounded by some girl and knight I’ve never met before, when I’m trying to get to Jabberwock Valley and stop the Snark! Ow!” She rubs her temples. “I’m a mess,” she mutters to herself. Now to the munchkin, she says, “Do you happen to know where I can find some more of the black rose, or something similar, like spices and such—or even something dissimilar?...anything to alleviate my wretchedness.”

  “Well...” The munchkin girl is thinking.

  The Jabberwock says, “I don’t think it’s advisable for you to seek out other intoxicants.”

  The Cat says, “If you just suffer through the next few days, you’ll be fine.”

  “Ugh!” Malice exclaims. “But I’m wretched now!”

  The munchkin girl says, “I believe I s
aw a certain sort of flower nearby.”

  “You did?” Malice says, filled with sudden hope.

  “Yes, it has red petals that you can eat to—”

  “Oh, no!” Hatter exclaims. “Stop, right there!” he says to the munchkin. “She doesn’t need to know!”

  “As you wish,” the munchkin says.

  “What?!” Malice shouts. “He doesn’t control things around here, I do! I’m the Queen. He’s just a servant!” Now she’s sure her heart is working, because it surges her with sappy sweetness. “Sorry, love,” she says to him, and smiles sweetly.

  He doesn’t meet her eyes.

  The munchkin says to Malice, “I can’t say that I know quite who you are. Are you a queen? Are you Malice or Alice? Irregardless of your station, if you are indeed a wanton drug fiend, I shan’t contribute to your decadence.”

  “Outrageous!” Malice shouts. “The black rose is my medicine! I am no loathsome creature! I apologize if my words and tone seem harsh, but I must defend my honour!”

  “But I don’t know where any black rose is. The flower would be but a poor substitute.”

  “Please,” Malice whimpers.

  The munchkin says, “I have told you as much as I care to, so I shall be going now.” She partially turns to leave.

  “Wait!” Sleepy B shouts. “You still haven’t told us why Dorothy hates Malice so much. We don’t even know who Dorothy is!”

  The munchkin turns back around to face Sleepy B. “Dorothy is the chief of the munchkin tribes of the west, of which I am a member. And it is Alice whom she despises, not Malice. Of course, she may very well shift her prejudice.”

  The Jabberwock says, “Won’t you fill us in? If Malice is to someday fight Dorothy, we should at least know why.”

  The munchkin lets out a long sigh. “I suppose I can’t expect you to oppose her if you know nothing about her. I’ll give you the rudiments before I take my leave.”

  “Okay,” Malice says.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “DOROTHY ORIGINALLY came from the Outside World. She arrived via a tornado into the area now known as the wastelands.”

  “How did a tornado—” Humpty starts.

  The munchkin raises her hand. “If I provide every little detail, I shall be here all night, which I don’t wish to happen. Now please listen quietly. When she arrived here, she was still a little girl, but after some time, she went to see the Wizard.”

  “For a heart?” Humpty says.

  The munchkin shoots him a look like she thinks he might be stupid, causing him to cringe. She says, “Of course not. She already has a heart. She went to him, because she didn’t want to be a little girl anymore, so she had the Wizard increase her age to the age of consent.”

  “Consent?” Malice says. “Consent of what?”

  The munchkin says, “You’re not old enough to truly understand. How old are you now? 13?”

  “15,” Malice replies. “I used a magic watch to increase my age.”

  “Ah, that is similar to what the Wizard can do. He can change peoples’ ages so that they will stay at either one second below or one second above the age of consent, forever.”

  “How curious,” Malice says, “But consent of what?”

  “He can halt aging, like the Queen of Hearts,” the Cat says.

  “Yes,” the munchkin says. “We out there in the wastelands may not know all the current events of your land, but we do know that your Queen of Hearts doesn’t age. I believe her magic may be similar to the kind the Wizard uses.”

  “Yes, yes,” Malice says in an insistent-yet-sweet voice. “But age of consenting to what, pray tell? Why won’t anyone answer the question?”

  Hatter says, “Because it’s not something you should concern yourself with at your age.” He seems a bit panicked for some reason.

  “What?” Malice says. “Why not? I’m the queen, and should be informed of important matters, and it seems quite important to this Dorothy girl.”

  The Cat says, “Those above the age of consent are not allowed to inform the underage ones about all the details.”

  Malice says, “Well that’s ever-so-impeding of my understanding of the situation.”

  The Jabberwock says, “Well if you just wait long enough, you’ll come of age, though you’ll find it’s not a necessarily desirable status to hold.”

  “Dorothy seemed to feel differently,” Malice says.

  “That’s right,” the munchkin says. “Because she had to reach that age in order to unleash her powers—her powers that allowed her to conquer the inhabitants of the wastelands, and transform them to her special sort of slaves!” The munchkin raises a shaking fist of fury—Malice imagines her face must be contorted in rage under the handkerchief.

  “You mean her sex slaves,” Sleepy B blurts out, causing the Jabberwock to turn to her and give her a very loud shush.

  “I don’t understand,” Malice says, looking at her team members.

  “Nor should you!” Hatter says. “Such matters are none of your concern at your age.”

  Malice points at Sleepy B. “She seems to know more than she ought.”

  Sleepy B sniffs. “I’m precious for my age.”

  “‘Precocious’, you mean,” the Jabberwock says. “And I do wonder where you learned such things.”

  “But enough about me...” Sleepy B says.

  Malice sighs. “So you shan’t reveal all the details about these horrible acts...”

  The munchkin says, “They are not so horrible, well, not when the two or more people are all consenting. The acts can actually be quite pleasurable...if you do them differently than how Dorothy does it to others and to her servants.” She looks down with an expression that seems like shame. “It’s just that your innocence must be maintained until you reach the legal age that has been determined for humans.”

  “My,” Malice says, “what a vague and convoluted jumble of words. So who exactly determined this specific age?”

  “Err, I’m not an expert on such matters,” the munchkin says, “so I shall stick to what I know about Dorothy, from all the time I’ve been serving her, and being subjected to her depravity.”

  “Depravity?” Sleepy B says, sounding somewhat enthralled by the concept.

  “Sleepy B!” Humpty says in a chastising tone.

  “What?” she says in mock innocence.

  The munchkin says, “Yes, depravity and debauchery is why Dorothy wished to reach the age of consent in the first place. But I fear my narrative has digressed. Let me restart. Dorothy originally lived in the Outside World, in a land known as Kansas. She knew she had certain powers and abilities, but they could only fully be unleashed when she reached the age of consent. Also, she knew that if she traveled to this magical realm, her powers would be much greater, so she decided to travel here. I won’t get into all the complicated details, but she had to first travel to a land known as England in order to reach here. Once there, she used a magical tornado to transfer herself here.”

  The Cat says, “They tend to use a looking glass in Wonderland, for traveling between the realms.”

  “Yes,” the munchkin says, “there are many differences between our lands. One other major difference—do you know about the year difference?”

  “Year difference?” Malice says. She exchanges glances with her teammates, who shrug and shake their heads.

  The munchkin explains, “Dorothy arrived from England’s year of 1885.”

  “The future!” Humpty says.

  “Perhaps from your perspective. I know that in Wonderland, your time is frozen in a certain year.”

  “1865,” Sleepy B says.

  “Ah,” the munchkin says. “But the fact of the matter is that Dorothy is very special. She represents a bridge of sorts, connecting and linking the two worlds, so that when she traveled here, the year in the wastelands and surrounding areas became 1885 and the age of consent became the same as that of England.”

  “Crikey,” Humpty mutters.

&
nbsp; The Jabberwock says, “If the mere presence of this Dorothy can alter time, she seems very formidable indeed.”

  “Indeed,” the munchkin says. “Dorothy was eager to experience the special sort of depravity she could engage in once she reached the age of consent. So she visited the Wizard, who told her how he could increase her age to one second before, or after.”

  The Cat says, “So that’s when her powers came into full bloom, as it were.”

  “Dorothy had her age increased to one second above age of consent and used her powers to become a tyrannical chief. She is cruel and power hungry. You should keep all of that in mind, in case she ever becomes your enemy.”

  “But why would she make an enemy of me? I’d never even heard of her until yesterday!”

  The munchkin says, “You say you’re not Alice, but you may very well have the same potential powers as her, and so Dorothy may consider you to be just as much of a threat to her.”

  “A threat in what way?” Malice says.

  “I’ll get there... So where were we? Oh yes... So Dorothy came of age, which released all her sexual powers.”

  “What are sexual powers?” Malice says.

  “Oops. Forget I said the word ‘sexual’. She has special powers that allow her to control and manipulate others with her special kind of charisma. Once those powers were unleashed, it transformed the very nature of the wastelands, causing everyone to engage in naughty behavior. Dorothy used her powers to make herself chief, and now she is a tyrannical ruler, forcing others to um, play with her in cruel and controlling ways.”

  Hatter says, “She makes you...play...with her as well?”

  “Yes,” the munchkin says angrily. “She forces me and others to. She revels in her power over others. But Alice represents a threat to that power.”

  “But Alice is in the Outside World now,” Humpty says.

  “Well I don’t know anything about that,” the munchkin says, “but back a couple years ago, when Alice was in Wonderland, and before Dorothy raised her age, she went to see Alice, the cute little girl everybody was raving about, and Dorothy didn’t like what she saw...” She pauses and looks around dramatically.