***
With a majestic flap of feathery wings a gryphon landed near the rear command as the Queen of Wonderland watched her huge red tent being setup among the flurry of other service tents around it. He quickly bowed in the presence of his queen, and slightly out of breath from his hurried and lengthy trip, broke in with urgent news.
“M' lady, we finished some preliminary scouting of the area. We’ve a problem. The area surrounding the castle is completely surrounded by bloodthorns. It covers the ground and trees and provides a huge wall around the castle.”
“The entire castle is surrounded?” asked Alice.
“Yes. In most cases it extends out about half a mile. Our siege division will be useless and an advance by ground troops will be problematic, and with a high casualty rate to be sure. Doubtful even our best trebuchets can't do much at that range.”
Alice thought for a moment, why would they completely seal off their castle?
“It's a desperate, defensive tactic to seal themselves off like that,” the gryphon offered. “And bloodthorns are notorious, though I've never seen such a tall and extensive growth like this.”
“So either their army is inside the castle, or they are hiding somewhere else, completely cut off from it?” Alice reasoned, “Hmm. it's quite curious. I don't think the Wonderland army has ever encountered something so challenging as this.”
“Their stores would run out eventually…we could wait them out?” The gryphon suggested, pawing the dirt with his talons as he did.
Alice shook her head. “Our own supplies would run out much faster here. We're an army built for quick conquest, not prolonged sieges. Can we burn the bloodthorns? Cut through them?” she asked.
“Bloodthorns are difficult to burn; they certainly don't spread fire very well. Cutting them proves difficult, timely, and dangerous. Gryphons and crows could certainly attack from the air and Jabbers, I suppose, but I will not fly with those things in the air,” the gryphon protested shaking his eagle-like head.
Alice gave a frown at the proud gryphon. There was silence for a moment as she continued to think. Looking down she noticed a small flower on the field near her foot. Then an idea came to her. “We could spray them… like watering a garden!” she said excitedly. “We’ve several casks of the drinkme liquid. Normally, I know we’d spray the opposing armies with flyovers and catapults. Since we've no army to fight on the field, why not remove their defenses? We could shrink this bloodthorn barrier down to ten inches high.”
“Ten inches is quite manageable. That's an interesting premise, Your Highness,” replied the gryphon as he considered the tactic. “We’d need to exhaust the supply completely, but it would open a significant hole in their defense. It could work.”
“Dilute it a bit with water and it will cover an even greater area. It won't take the same concentration to shrink a plant as it would an offlander. You could probably cover the whole area at that point. That would leave them quite surprised,” Alice smirked. “When we take out their mighty bloodthorn defense overnight, they would be helpless to stop us and they would be sure to surrender against such a display of power.”
***
A small hawk landed upon the rampart next to Snow White as she looked out towards Wonderland’s army. Her discussion of strategies and tactics with Dendroba was interrupted as a hawk with brown feathers and sharp yellow eyes announced its presence with a screech.
Hopping toward Snow White, it gave a small squawk as it looked at her with keen yellow eyes. Then the bird screeched loudly at her. She brushed it away, trying to shoo it off but quickly the bird fluttered back, it hopped toward her again and gave a loud screech. Snow White looked at the bird. It held out its leg and shook it, preening its wing feathers as it waited in the late afternoon sun.
It was then that Snow White noticed the note tied to the bird’s leg. She shook her head, realizing now the reason behind the bird’s insistence.
“You are one of Goldenhair’s,” she said. Then slowly she approached the hawk, and the bird let Snow White untie the note. “Amazing how she can do this with animals,” she whispered. The last time Goldenhair sent such a message was with news regarding the glass slipper shards. That had been a seagull. Snow White could not help but think this hawk was a more symbolic choice given the inevitable circumstances the kingdom faced. With the paper removed, the hawk screeched again and took flight, soaring out high and circling about the castle.
“What does the note say?” Dendroba asked.
Snow White unraveled the small rip of paper, and taking a moment to decipher the handwriting.
“When the battle begins, the forest shall strike,” she read aloud. “That’s all the note says. It’s obviously from Goldenhair. But what does it mean? How can a forest strike?”
“The battle has already begun,” Dendroba said, pointing out toward Wonderland’s towering trebuchets. “Looks like they were able to move them closer but how? They would have to be into the bloodthorns by now.”
More stones were launched into the air, this time falling much closer to the walls.
CHAPTER 42
A WHITE QUEEN IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING
Wonderland, Present Day
For a brief moment Jack’s eyes fluttered back into consciousness. Still weak with fever, he was barely aware of the unfamiliar surroundings. It was night; a small nub of a candle provided some light. He was in a small shop, bundled with knitted blankets.Walls lined with shelves holding all manner of curious things. Rain sounded like applause hitting a nearby window. A bright flash of lighnting outlined everything in a haze of green for a moment. Another flash of lightinng came in orange. A second later, thunder cracked so loud it rattled the windows with a boom.
“Feather!” he heard the voice of an old woman say, “he’s awake!”
There was some commotion that Jack could not make out as he slowly turned his head to the side. Quite unexpectedly he was face to face with a large white sheep staring closely at him. So close in fact, Jack could feel the sheep sniffing him with its warm, soft velvety nose. It looked at him unblinking with bored, heavy lids as it dully chewed back and forth. The sheep stared and chewed for a rather awkwardly long moment. Jack gave a weak but amused smile at the sight. Then turning its head, the sheep spat out a wet, warm, dark green mush on the pillow right next to Jack’s face. Jack turned his head away barely able to stifle a coughing gag that left him lightheaded.
“Quickly, Lily, put that on his wound,” Jack heard the voice of the old woman say as he faded back to unconsciousness. We should be able to save the hand if it’s not too late.”
***
With a gasp Jack was startled awake. He frantically sat up in an unfamiliar bed, his chest heaving in shallow breaths. Seconds later, he was startled again. This time, however it was because he realized that there was another in the small dark room with him. It was Lily.
“You were shouting out in your sleep. Mother wanted to make sure you were okay,” Lily said.
“Thanks, just a bad dream,” Jack said, somewhat embarrassed. “I forgot how vivid dreams are in Wonderland.”
“That is only true for offlanders,” said Lily. “Natives of Wonderland don't dream. What’s it like?”
“To dream? Well I've had a lot on my mind these days,” Jack laughed uneasily as he shifted up on the bed. The dream of a giant's boots and screams of crushed men quickly fading into a fuzzy memory. “Dreams are an offlander’s way of working things out, I guess. Sometimes it's more symbols and surreal. Sometimes it's more direct and real.”
I guess that's why Wonderlandians don't dream,” said Lily with condescending pride. “We don't have to. The surreal is real here. Because of you offlanders, we already know we live in a dream world. It isn’t called Wonderland for nothing.”
Haigha appeared in the doorway. “Everything is okay, Miss?”
“Everything is fine, Haigha. Thank you,” answered Lily.
“I shall start preparations for our departure then,” H
aigha replied dutifully and disappeared from the doorway.
“Departure?” Jack asked. “Are you leaving me here?”
Lily gave a slightly annoyed sigh and leaned against the doorway. “My mother insists that we escort you to wherever you need to be. Not my choice, mind you, but that what mother insists on so there’s no point in arguing.”
Jack nodded. “Yeah, I know about that. My mother was the same way,” he said his attention turned to inspecting his expertly bandaged hand.
“You are lucky we got you here when we did. You almost lost that hand to infection,” Lily said. “You should be grateful, offlander,” she said harshly. As far as she was concerned he should be thankful, she reasoned. There was nothing more to say on that matter, she felt. Lily quickly changed the subject before the offlander could contest. “Your dream shouts,” she said. “Who is Ella? You were calling out for her.”
“I was?” Jack said trying to recall the dream. “I suppose so. Ella was a girl I knew,” he said with sadness, he had wished he could have recalled that part of the dream.
“A girlfriend, a wife?” Lily pressed. “Sister?”
“I suppose I’ll have to show my gratitude then by answering your nosey question with something other than ‘that’s none of your business’,” Jack cocked an eyebrow at Lily, who immediately cocked a cold and defiant eyebrow back and nodded for him to continue.
Jack sighed. “Someone I made a promise to. It was many years ago. We were in love; it wasn’t going to work anyway. It’s not important.” Jack gave a nod indicating he would not talk more on the subject. “What about you?” he asked Lily. “When we first met, you didn’t want anything to do with me; you were going to leave me on the beach. Now you are almost having a conversation with me.”
Lily folded her arms, “I’m supposed to be little nicer to you, mother’s orders,” she answered with a huff as she rolled her eyes. “I still don’t trust you, offlander, or your dreams.”
“Speaking of dreams, I remember dreaming of some sort of sheep in the room with me,” said Jack.
“That was not a dream, lad,” came the voice of the old woman, but Jack saw an ordinary looking rambouillet sheep in dirty white fine wool standing in the doorway next to Lily; ordinary with the exception that the sheep spoke and wore glasses, but Jack was not surprised about anything he encountered in Wonderland. It was a survival trick he learned early on.
“I’d like for you to meet my mother, the White Queen, the real ruler of Wonderland,” said Lily.
“Feather!” the sheep blustered in protest, “Former ruler of Wonderland, Lily,” she corrected. “Now I’m just an old sheep…one that still has her wits about her, mind you,” she warned. The sheep placed a long black smoking pipe in her mouth and leveled her sheep eyes at Jack. “Lily, get me my rocker and shawl. I’d like to have a word with this offlander.”
“You should heal up pretty quick,” said the sheep as Lily darted out to get her mother’s things. “That was a close one last night; we almost had to cut off the arm” the sheep added matter-of-factly.
Lily dutifully arrived with an old worn rocker and a soft yellowed shawl, placing them near the bed.
On the table nearby Jack noticed a rusty, dull-toothed, old saw with a weathered wood handle.
“Yes, I’m feeling much better,” Jack replied. He looked about the shop, thinking that it had seen better days. Shelves were stuffed to the breaking point, with boxes and books, jars, hats. Broken pieces of tools, and dirt covered tools all in disrepair and forgotten. A once upscale wooden counter was stained and cluttered and nearly buried with stacks of books, boxes crammed the corners and everywhere were stacks of unrecognizable bits of junk piled about. “Thank you,” Jack shot a look at Lily as he spoke. “I am grateful you did not use that saw.”
Lily rolled her eyes skyward and folded her arms.
The sheep was ambivalent to the quiet exchange, so Jack continued. “So, Lily says you are the White Queen, or former White Queen of Wonderland? I thought Alice was the queen?”
“Lily is still young and hot-tempered about life,” the sheep explained. “She’s a little stubborn; still tends to carry a grudge,” the sheep said apologetically. Then she grabbed the shawl and wrapped it about her using her mouth and hooves until Lily stepped over and silently helped her. “One of the more convenient things about being a sheep,” said the former white queen as she settled into her smoothly worn rocker, “An endless supply of yarn for knitting.”
The sheep gave a toothy smile as Jack laughed. “Now, Lily says that you claim to have been here before?”
“I came through a looking glass I found in the giant realm months ago, or maybe years, I guess,” Jack answered. “I wandered around Wonderland for a bit. Alice found out about me and we sort of became good friends. I ran into some trouble and had to depart quickly but I’m not quite the naïve offlander some might take me for,” he looked squarely at Lily.
“And he’s a friend of Alice, mother. This just keeps getting better,” Lily grumbled, shaking her head in disbelief. “Why did you come back, then? What sort of trouble?” Lily returned Jack’s locking gaze.
“Believe me, I don’t want to be back, but after being beat up by the White Rabbit and left to die in a burning barn, a looking glass I had hidden there was the only escape I had. I don’t think the White Rabbit thought I’d survive the fire, much less have the time to activate the looking glass. Now that I’m back, I’m going to pick up a few things I had to leave behind and be on my way.”
“On your way to do what?” The sheep asked.
“Get as far away from all of this— Wonderland, my home, all of it, as possible,” Jack replied bluntly.
“See mother, the offlander is a coward. Running away,” said Lily, not hiding her disappointment.
But the sheep held up her hoof at Lily. “Running away can be a smart thing. There is a time and place for everything. Running may give you enough of that time to get to that place to do something better about it. I ran away, Lily, when Alice took the throne. But it seems time and a place has caught up with me to do something about it.”
“I’m not sure there is anything I can do about any of it,” Jack said, with the slightest tone of remorse.
“Do about it? You can get into Castling, you said,” Lily reminded him with a mixture of measured disbelief and reserved excitement.
“Alice and I, the offlanders, would sneak out of Castling. She always hated the pomp and circumstance of a queen; we’d do it just to get away from her entourage. I know my way around.”
Lily glanced at her mother, a flash of unspoken hope danced in her eyes for a moment.
The sheep's eyes narrowed at Jack from behind her reading glasses. “Let me give you a little history, boy. It’s a little perspective regarding Alice, from someone who has been around Wonderland much longer than she has.”
The sheep leaned back and pulled a shawl about her wooly shoulders; she puffed thoughtfully on her long black pipe and then spoke.
“Wonderland was built from chaos and there is something to be said for chaos. Chaos is every bit as important as order. In fact, chaos is really the same as order, just not so obsessively linear. That's something Alice fundamentally did not understand. She doesn't appreciate the nature of chaos. Without order to compare to, chaos would be considered a perfectly normal lifestyle. Within the context of chaos everything makes sense. Chaos is not evil. It is the very nature of everything. It's the fallacy of order that is misleading and evil. Chaos is natural. It is the act of putting things in order that is destructive to the nature of things. Alice has upset the very nature of things… of chaos.”
“But Wonderland had order, didn’t it? The Queen of Hearts was there before Alice, for example,” Jack pointed out, showing the sheep he did have some knowledge of Wonderland.
“Long before my time, however, Wonderland sought to temper its own chaotic ways. I think it’s the nature of chaos to be inherently curious of order. I suppose the same fatal
attraction a moth has with a flame. Wonderland's first attempt at organizing chaos came from the structure of playing cards. It had kings and queens and numbers and symbols. All of which you must understand, really makes no more sense than anything else. Why should a number such as a three be anything more or less than a number like eight, really? It’s all very silly. But we played the parts and it was just chaotic enough in the beginning to work. So Wonderland finally had a sense of structure – there were four kings and queens… but by the time Alice arrived, courtesy of the little white shit, the Heart clan was the ruling suit.”
“Mother, language please,” said Lily.
“I am an old sheep and I care not to worry about my manners, Lily,” said the sheep with a cantankerous reply. “Well, with Alice’s involvement and she was only here for a little while, mind you, she completely wiped out the ruling class of cards—all of them. ‘You’re all a bunch of cards’ she yelled, and destroyed the whole ruling structure. She killed the Queen of Hearts. Though I’m sure by now the official stories are different. But what you don’t hear about is what happened after Alice left that first time. From a simple government, Wonderland collapsed into something worse than chaos. Those were dark times. Eventually a new system of government was developed, this time inspired from a game of chess. And instead of four kings it was narrowed to two, Red and White. I was the White Queen, and slowly both red and white factions alike brought things back under control. It was not an easy go of it, either,” she paused briefly, recalling those troubling times quietly. “Though it was never proven, it was highly speculated and rumored that the white rabbit placed a looking glass portal so that Alice could return of her own accord. And she did, right at the time when we were about to determine the sovereign ruler of Wonderland. A game of chess to be played across Wonderland was setup to help with the determination. Well, I was removed from the game when I was turned into a sheep, right in this very shop. And Alice, as the story goes, won the game. I found out later that even though Alice took Lily’s place in the game she was not registered to the Whites or the Reds; and with that, when Alice won promotion, she was crowned Queen Alice. Thus ensuring that the even though the Reds had lost, the Whites would not win the game either. I suspect the Rabbit made sure Alice was not properly registered with the Whites. When I was returned to proper form for the coronation dinner, I was going to confront the Red Queen on this matter and that’s when Alice struck again. She killed the Red Queen. Shook her so hard, she snapped the old woman’s neck. I managed to get away through the soup, you see. I’ve been hiding as a sheep ever since.”
Shards Of The Glass Slipper: Queen Alice Page 20