{A Fantasy Romance retelling of Alice in Wonderland}
In order to survive, a pirate and a thief must clear their names by traveling into a magical dream world together.
Adah Prideaux, seamstress by day, petty thief by night, finds herself in a world...
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Adah
When she awoke, Adah could hear the ocean roaring against the rocky shore; the sound muffled by the thick cloth of the tent. Adah stretched and looked around to find Reynald was gone. Ezra wasn't there either.
She frowned, resting back on her pillows and listening to the ocean.
After some time, the tent flaps opened, and two ladies in waiting trudged inside carrying a giant basin of steaming hot water. They greeted her with pleasantries and kind smiles as they prepared a bath with scented oils and orange flower petals.
After she was scrubbed clean and toweled off, more scented oils were applied to her skin, and her hair was combed and braided. It was the first time anyone had brushed her hair since she was small, and she relished the feel of being clean.
They'd tried to dress her in a fancy gown, but Adah refused, putting on her magical dress once more—which was still in the shape of a corset and pants. Then Adah fitted the long woolen cloak over her shoulders.
"What would you like to do, m'lady?" asked one of the girls.
Adah insisted that she be taken out to see her army.
Reynald met her and her two ladies—Bari and Sopra, she'd come to find out—outside his tent, wearing a baby blue cloak that matched the color of his eyes. He offered her a vibrant orange flower with a bow before tucking it in her braid.
"What is this?" Adah asked with a small smile.
"A Gyspy rose. They grow wild around this beach."
Adah cast her attention toward the men and women already training in the yard. The sights and smells and sheer magnitude of people were overwhelming.
"Your Gilded Army," Reynald said. "They are preparing for the march on Gaston Glen to handle the beast. We anticipate meeting Price Bastian's army before reaching the stronghold. We've had word from our scouts that he and his witch bride are on the move."
Her thoughts settled on the dungeon conversation with Lord Delvesque, who'd claimed the dragon never bothered their kingdom until Bastian killed his father to make the Fortuna Major come true.
As honorable as he was trying to be by locking them up, Delvesque still stole her purse, which had been carrying the Elixir of Broken Dreams and her father's pocket watch. She tried not to think of all she'd lost, but it was impossible.
And still, Bastian wanted Bale's heart.
War was coming. If she was going to slay a dragon, surely she should practice. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Adah's magical dress materialized a leather scabbard at her thigh equipped with a dagger.
She pulled it from the sheath and couldn't believe her eyes. It was Ezra's dagger. The very same one she'd stolen.
Cheers and jeers went up to the sound of steel on steel. Adah scanned the crowd, wondering who and where she could practice, when she spotted a hulking figure with moonlight hair locked in combat.
