Hooked

Chapter Fifteen

She flicked her wrist, and I felt myself lift above the ground, and become upright. When my feet touched the ground, she flicked her wrist again, and I was free of her spell.

She gave a small hint of a wicked smile, "I am," she held out her hand for me to take, "Queen White."

"The White Queen?" I asked slowly.

Her brown eyes turned cold, and I heard the movement of the tall grass as she moved closer to me. I didn't have time to react as she wrapped a hand around my neck.

"The White Queen is my... sister. I am called the Queen of Hearts. You are going to call me the Red Queen," she unclenched her red manicured fingers from my throat and swiftly turned, wrapping her wolf-furred coat around her shoulders.

I noticed the bow and sheaf of arrows on her back.

"I didn't know that there are wolves in Neverland."

She seemed amused by my comment. She turned back around, all of her movements sharp. She was very aware of her surroundings at all times. I suppose you have to be if you're a Queen. "It wasn't a wolf."

I followed her as she started to walk away. "Well? What was it then?"

"It was an old friend's. I kept it."

I was confused by her statement. "So he was a werewolf, then?"

She stopped in her tracks. "Accusing someone of being a werewolf is a dangerous thing. But if you must know... he was not... But he did kill one just once..."

"So then why do you have the coat of the werewolf he killed?"

She turned around to face me, "Enough questions." She was silent for a bit. "Come along."

She snapped her fingers, and I saw a carriage with two black horses in the front appear out of thin air.

"May I ask you one more question?"

"... Only one."

"Why are you called the Red Queen if your last name is White?"

She gave a shaky sigh, "Because... My past stained my name a blood red."

That was all I needed to hear. For now. I don't know why, but I felt like we both needed each other. I needed her for directions home and information about Neverland, and she needed me to...

To what?

I honestly had no idea, but she surely needs me. Otherwise I would probably be executed by now.

I lifted my sundress as I got into the carriage. Everything was black, with the exception of the red lining and buttons on the seats.

"Where do you live?" She asked suddenly, sending me to my senses. Maybe she just wanted to execute me in her palace... Publicly. The new girl sent to death in the Red Queen's kingdom. Sounds like a good show, I'm sure, to anyone who might live there.

"Umm..."

"Well?"

"I'm not from around here."

She gave a flash of a smile, but then it went away very quickly. "Neither was I. You... You don't have to be afraid."

She reached out her left hand to touch my face, but snatched it away from my cheek before she could comfort me.

It was awkward, to say the least. I wasn't sure if I should have thought of her as a guardian of sorts, a hunter, a friend, or an enemy. All I knew was that she had the power to do anything she wanted to with me, and I would have to sweetly surrender and bow down to her without a protest.

I tried to hide my curiosity as much as I could, for fear of angering her. I looked out the window of the stagecoach and saw the trees slowly fade away. Must've been magic. The woods were surely bigger than that of which a ten minute walk would be able to cover. I bounced on my seat as we hit a large bump.

"What's your name?"

My head hit the ceiling as we hit yet another bump in the ground. I rubbed the sore spot, and groaned.

She seemed annoyed by my minor injury. She pushed impatiently, "What is your name?"

"M-Madeline."

She smiled bitterly, "Madeline. How... uh... sweet."

I looked at the front of the stagecoach to see no one driving it. No one at all. "Shouldn't someone be driving the horses?"

"You should probably learn a few things about magic while you're here."

"What makes you so sure that I would ever have a chance to leave?"

"That's the exact fun of it, isn't it?" She smiled.

"Fun? No. Not fun at all. It's like being a fish in a bowl and someone is pointing a spear at you and the only way to get out is by jumping."

"Killing yourself? Well that's not fun at all. You know, I used to be able to sing to all the animals in the woods. None of the fish ever sang of such a thing."

"I'm not totally surprised."

Her voice became low and frightening, "We are here."

I looked outside to see a large castle with red flags hanging on each tower, and a drawbridge right ahead of us. I tried not to become scared. But she had an ominous, almost cursed air about her that reminded me of Hook. I shouldn't stay longer than a few nights.

...

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