"You've finally got close enough."
I do know her. She's the one that brought me back to Underland. But by Mirana's reaction, I'm not sure if it was for the right reason.
She steps closer and with that Mirana moves in front of me. "You are not allowed here Emiliza."
She laughs at her. She laughs a crazy, cackling laugh like someone just told the most funniest joke in all of Underland. "Oh, Mirana. Even with that crown on your head, I still see through that head of yours." She opens her arms and walks closer to her, crossing her ancles with each step. "Dear, old, friend. Have you not missed me?" Mirana wrinkles her nose and looks angry, but what I see from behind her is different.
Mirana has her one arm behind her back and it's shaking. Is Mirana... scared? "How did you get out Emiliza? Your mother told-"
"MY MOTHER is a stupid, unintelligent dumb ass!" Everyone around the room gasped at her curses. Not many people curse in Underland. They don't in Overland either, since it would be viewed as improper. And if they did, in either world, it would only be in private with close friends maybe too. "My mother does not control me. In case you forgot Mirana, I know what everyone is thinking. All the time, every time, and definitely Time himself... thanks to you." Emiliza smirked when she accused the Queen of something. It seemed like nobody, but the two of them knew the accusation.
What was she talking about?
"Emili, we were just children-"
"YOU DO NOT GET TO CALL ME THAT!" The Queen shock with fear. She grabbed onto my hand from behind and fumbled a little by doing so. She squeezed my hand so tightly. I was scared she might break it in the process. Emiliza clears her throat then smiles a uncomfortable, and improper timing smile. "Now that, THAT is out of the way."
With one wave of Emiliza's hand, everyone was pushed away to different places in the room. Whoever flied was stuck to the ceiling, and the rest of them were glued to the walls. Everyone except me.
But I could not move. I really couldn't! I was trapped in this spot. Emiliza looked around at all the creatures of Underland being stuck to the walls and ceilings of the castle. And she smiled. After looking at every single one of them at least once, she turned to me.
She slowly walked up to me. Click, click, click the heels of her shoes sounded on the marble, white floors. She stopped when we were nearly nose-to-nose. I thought she might strike me or worse, kill me. But she did neither. She laughed and started jumping up and down with great delight. She was clapping her hands and cheering, "Finally, I have her! Finally, I have her! Finally, finally, FINALLY!"
I'm shaking in my spot. I keep asking myself finally have what, finally have what, FINALLY have what? But she soon, kinda, answers my questions. She comes back to being extremely close to my face. It's then I see her under eyes have black veins squirming up down her face. Like with each beat of a heart, they move. She makes grabby hands in my face and says, "Give me permission."
"NO!" Mirana yells from her spot on the wall. I look over to her and see she is staring desperately at Emiliza. "Please, Emiliza! Don't take her thoughts!"
My thoughts? What does she mean?
"Why not dear, old friend? You let me have yours. And you know what happens when a Queen gives her thoughts to one like me." Emiliza is moving around like a mad women. I thought Tarrant or the March Hare was at the top of the list of most mad, but I think she just took that spot.
Mirana gasps and looks ashamed. She must of just came to a realization. Mirana looks back up at Emiliza and stares deep into her, incredibly deep red, eyes with total determination. Emiliza's smile goes away, but now she looks angry.
The veins get darker and her eyes get brighter red, "I don't care if it was for the greater good! I don't care what I did that day. This day, I'm telling you I want him back!" She swiftly turns to me. She brings her hand up and then slams in down in the air. With her hand, my knees buckle painful to the floor. I scream out because of the pain and I hear both Mirana and Terrant gasp. Emiliza levels with me and goes back to breaking my personal space. "Now, my beautiful Alice, you. I need you. To give. Me. Permission~"
I can't help but look around. Hoping someone would tell me what this mad lady means. "W-what do you want permission for?"
Emiliza rolls her shoulders and answers me with squinted eyes, "Well, your mind of course." My mind? "Yes, your mind." Did she just? "Yes, I did. But I'm only able to read your outer thoughts, it's the inner thoughts I very much want." She must of realized I'm still not getting it because she started to get more annoyed in her tone "When I'm able to get into your inner thoughts, I'm able to show you things. Show you others thoughts, feeling, and WOULD YOU ALL SHUT UP!" But no one was talking. Does she hear everyone's thoughts?
"I don't care how scared you all are! We get it, big bad villain in the room, but can you all do yourself a favor and CAN IT!" That probably just made everyone even more scared. She didn't really plan that well, did she?
I look over at my friends, they are frightened and helpless. My friends didn't deserve to be tortured like this. I, most definitely, made my decision. I speak plainly and determined, "No."
Emiliza stops her pacing and turns her head, uncomfortably, slow to me. "No?"
"No, I won't give you my thoughts. You've done nothing but torture my friends since you arrived here. Why would I do anything for you?"
"Torture, huh? Oh pretty, beautiful, yellow haired Alice. You have not even begun to see what I can do to these Unerlanders. No, sweet girl. You want to see torture? I'll give you torture." She brings up her hand and slowly starts to close her hand into a fist. With each movement her fingers make the people around me start to choke on their own blood.
I look around frantically at everyone. People are spitting blood. The White Queen even spits out a good blob of blood and stained her dress red. Painting the roses red. This is not the time Alice! But that only reminds me of the Hatter. I look over to him and he's doubled over in great pain. The whole time he's looking right into my eyes. Begging me to stop his pain. "Stop it," I whisper. But Emiliza does not hear me. I shout this time, "STOP IT! Stop this, please!" I feel tears run down my face. I'm to desperate for her to stop that I don't even care.
"Give me permission and I'll stoP." She made sure to pop the 'p' at the end. I look over at Mirana and see she's shaking her head no, but how can I just let her kill them?
"I give you permission!" And it all stops. No more spitting blood. No more dying. Even Emiliza stops moving. Everyone is silent.
Emiliza slowly turns, so slow I hear the squeaking of her shoes on the once cleaned, white slick floor. I thought she would say something, but instead she starts jumping. Running all over the room and howling like a wolf. She's in such delight she even kisses Chessur on the side of his face. He, of course, is appalled at the action, and shakes her away. She finally arrives back to me and says breathlessly, "At lastttt! Oh Alice we're going to have so much fun. Just wait till I show you my world. Just wait till I show you all the thoughts of everyone. Oh, Alice. Yellow haired, beautiful Alice. So much fun! So much fun!"
What is wrong with this lady?
Mirana is now on her hands and knees still coughing a dry cough. She tried crawling towards me, but Emiliza sees what she's trying to do. She pumps her fist into the air and a dark purple force field surrounds her and me. Emiliza snaps her tongue while wiggling her finger back and forth. "Not so fast, your majesty."
Mirana looks up towards Emiliza. She whispers a weakened, "Please. Don't make me do this. We can't let him out."
Emiliza bends down to get on Miranas level. She speaks to her like she's sorry, but everyone knows she is not, "That's no way to negotiate to someone, who has the best leverage of all to make you say otherwise." Emiliza rises back to full height, and begins walking around the outter edge of the force field. "People of Underland! Thanks to your dear Queen, Mirana, I have access to all of your thoughts. Everything you've ever thought, thinked, or even thanked I know about." She stops when she is front of the Hatter and looks right at him when she says, "Even the bad ones." I watch his eyes go wide and his face become flushed. Why did he react that way? What could be so bad that he becomes scared at her threats?
"And thanks to our beautiful and most loved Alice here, I have access to her thoughts as well. The Queen and her sister know what I want. Knows what I want back in my possession. Unless you want Alice here to know those deep and character changing thoughts... I would get what I want if I were you."
Everyone is speechless. They all looked scared and beyond terrified by her threats. But what could be so bad? Emiliza bends down behind me and I feel her breath on my ear. I shudder in a distasteful way. She whispers to me, "See Alice. We're going to have so much fun. Just wait and see what the people, you most care about, think of you."
This makes me straighten my back. Is she saying they all think badly about me? I never thought badly about them. Or is she suggesting... that someone... thinks of me dirty. I blush at the thought that just went through my mind. "Don't worry, Alice. It will be fun."
She stands back up and speaks to everyone in the room one last time, "Three days everyone. If you've never thought about Alice ever in your life, then don't worry about it. If you have, well, I would get what I want then... Three days." She holds out three fingers to emphasize her words. Then kneels back in front of me and takes my hands. I have no choice but to look at her. And when I do, everything goes black.