After a long and restless journey, we've finally arrived back to Mirana's castle. We return with Ericiza inside the box, and ready to commence our plan. We just need to hope Emiliza won't recognize the box.
As we all step in the middle of the throne room, we look around to see no one is around. Where is everyone? Then we hear little shoes running against the white, marble flooring. We look to the doorway, in the direction of the sound, and see Queen Mirana and the Tweedle brothers appear.
"My champions have returned!" Mirana shouts. The three of them run to us with bright smiles on their faces. Each of us get kisses on the head from Mirana and bone crushing hugs from the Tweedles. Remember there is two of them so I'll probably be in pain for awhile.
Once when we were younger, I let Tweedle Dee sit on my lap. Never again. I couldn't walk for weeks!
Mirana greets me last, "Oh, Hatter." She kisses me on the forehead and rubs her dark lipstick off after with her thumb. I grow a slight smile and she graciously returns one of her own. White teeth and all. It's feels so good to be back.
She then looks down into my hands and her smile disappears then she backs up frightened by what I have in my hands. In my hands is the box holding Ericiza. The box he to easily agreed to be put in. "Is that," She points at the box and stops her question short.
I nod my head and Mallymkun decides to vocally answer, "Yup. He's in there alright."
It's at this moment I realize I can finally ask my question. The question Mirana maybe the only one able to answer. "Mirana, your majesty, why does Ericiza hate Emiliza?"
Mirana's eyes go wide and she looks flushed. She may have very pale skin, but some how she became paler with my question. She clears her throat then decides to answer in her own way, "It was a long time ago, Hatter. You must understand I don't like to relive the past, when I decide to live for the future."
I nod my head and leave it at that.
Chessur wisps his way into our space and looks around the castle. "When do you think-" But he was never able to finish his question.
A familiar bright light appears in the middle of the room. We all back up because we know what's about to arrive. We all know who's about to arrive. After a few seconds, the light disappears and there they are.
Emiliza and Alice.
I look right to Alice out of the pair. Maybe it was an unconscious reaction because the first person I always look for in a room is Alice, or maybe it's because I rather never see Emiliza for the rest of my life. When I look at Alice, she's on her knees facing the ground. Exactly how I saw her three days ago when Emiliza forced her to not more. It's almost like she never left but was just invisible.
Theres something wrong though. I don't feel the familiar, familiarness of Alice. I don't see the muchness and determination always set in her eyes. She looks... broken. Broken like a glass doll. A doll thats done trying to be more then a little girls toy.
What's happened to my Alice?
The first thing Emiliza does is start to laugh. She laughs that retched laugh she used so much when we first met. I grit my teeth and wish so hard that she would just disappear. I wish she would just go back to where she came from and give me my Alice.
When she finally stops laughing, she looks straight to Mirana. Mirana is standing to my left with her chin held high. "Oh, Mirana. Finally decided to listen to me for once, I see." She steps forward and looks at all of us slowly. "Where's my brother? Where's Ericiza?"
I look to Mirana and she stares back at me. She nods once and that's all the confirmation I need from her. I step forward and raise the box. Emiliza look at it curiously. She steps forward again and just before I think she's close enough for me to open it. Just before I'm able to trap her inside with her brother, she stops. She stops just a foot away from her being in the perfect spot.
Emiliza snaps her tongue and shakes her head. "Mirana, Mirana. Beautiful, Mirana." I hear Mirana gasp from behind me. "Did you really think I would fall for that? Trap me in a box then send me to the prison world I built? Not smart, not smart indeed."
Emiliza backs up until she's right next to Alice again. She picks Alice up by her arm and requests, "Alice. My pretty, pretty Alice. Do you mind going to fetch that wee box for me?" Alice doesn't say anything. She just continues to stare at the floor like it's the most interesting thing she's ever seen. Alice eventually slightly nods and begins to walk towards me.
She never rises her head, just slowly walks step by step. Walking straight to me. I want to grab her in my arms and wake her from whatever curse the bloody black witch was casted.
Even if she is cursed or beyond mad, I can't help myself but admire her. Even if she lost her muchness, she's beautiful in every which way. I admire the girl I've admitted my feeling for to all, but her. I admire her perfect face. Her round eyes, bold nose, plump lips, and... and her everything else. She finally gets to me then puts her hands on the side of the box. I muster up my muchness and put one of my hands on top of hers. Oh, how I missed the feel of her soft skin. I whisper low enough for only her to hear, "Alice?"
But she doesn't move. She just continues to look down and doesn't blink an eye. It's Emiliza that ruined the moment I was having by saying, "We get it Hatter. She's perfect in all ways under the sky, blah, blah, blah. Now come back Alice."
I stare at Emiliza hoping I could have some type of power to make her explode. I finally let go of Alice's hand and she slowly turns around to walk away. Walk away from me like it's okay. Like it's okay that's she's like this. Walking back to Emiliza completely willing. Willing leaving me.
My perfect Alice, is broken.
I reach to grab her back, but Mirana stops me by lowering my hand. I look to her and she's shaking her head. Suggesting it's not a good idea.
As Alice walks back to Emiliza, she's jumping up and down with pure joy. Clapping her hands like she just won the best Underlandian award. I guess this is her version of a reward. Alice is broke, and she's getting her brother back. All of this just to destroy Underland and all of the people living in it.
Evil bloody black witch.
"I am evil Hatter, but a witch I am not." She grabs the box from Alice forcefully and examines every part of it. Then she shakes it a little and puts her ear to it. She must of heard something because her curious frown turned into a smile rather quickly.
Emiliza swiftly turns around and we all hold our breath. We all knows she wanted him back for so long. We figured out the what, but we still never figured out the why. Emiliza whispers to the box a spell of some kind, and opens the box. Black smoke then starts pouring out of it like a water fall.
The smoke moves from the box to the floor and snakes it's way to a few feet in front of her. Then it begins to rise up and take shape of a man. Just when it completely shapes itself, the smoke disappears and what appears is the man we were all expecting. Ericiza.
Ericiza shacks his head and looks around at his surroundings. When he finishes looking at every point of the room, his eyes land on Emiliza. She's currently bouncing on her toes and bubbling with excitement. He looks at her from head to toe. Then he does what you would expect, he smiles at her. He smiles at her and says, "Hello sister."He speaks very deep like he did when he was in the prison world.
"Hello brother," Emiliza reply's, but with much more enthusiasm. Emiliza must of decided then that this was the time to run up to him. She ran up to him and brought him in for a hug. I excepted them to start hugging and cheering about his final escape, but he didn't hug her back.
Emiliza slowly removes herself from her brother and looks confused. "Aren't you happy to be out brother?"
"Oh, I am little sister. What I don't understand is why your the one that sent those Underlandian's to retrieve me."
Emiliza understands now and begins to get excited again. She begins to pace across the floor as she explains, "Well, brother. After I gave you my light-" Her what? "-I realized how much better it was to just be dark. Not have any love or cares in the world. It's so much more fun then what my life was like before! As I was locked away in my own world, I realized something. I realized that you were right." She stops pacing and faces him again. "Since Mirana gave me her permission, I can drive everyone in Underland to beyond madness. WE can drive them beyond madness... together."
Emiliza look genuinely happy with herself. Like driving all the people of Underland to beyond madness is the best goal she's ever had. Like it's the only goals she's ever had. Her brother thinks for a moment, then smiles at her. He steps forward and embraces his sister. She happily embraces back.
I look to Chessur and Mmallymkun for someone to tell me what's going on, but they just shrug their shoulders. I guess there as confused as me.
Ericiza pulls himself away from his sister and stares at her. "Well, sister. It seems you had it all planned out." Emiliza rapidly nods her head like a bobble head. "You just forgot one thing."
Emiliza turns her head to the side and asks, "What's that brother?"
He leans into her ear and whispers, "I don't need you."
He pushes his hand into her chest and she screams. Screams and screams at the pain or the light, I'm not terribly sure. As his hand enters her chest an unbearable light shines from the connection. I put my hand in front of my eyes, but I am still able to see what's happening. Emiliza's eyes go from there pure red to green. Ericiza's eyes go from the green to the same pure red Emiliza just had. Ericiza's hair turns the same color as Emiliza's now, dark gray.
After a few more seconds of unbearable light, he releases his hand from inside her chest. She falls to the ground and coughs rapidly. Emiliza looks up to her brother and her black, veined under eyes are squirming so fast. She breaths out, "Ericiza... What... have you... done?"
Ericiza has this new aura to him. An aura that only reads pure evil. He looks to his sister and kicks her in the face. Mirana screams, but quickly covers her mouth with her hands. Ericiza whips his head straight to her and smiles a cruel smile. "Mirana, Mirana. Little, Princess Mirana. You're all grown up now it seems. Lucky for you, I haven't forgotten where we left off."
He lifts up his hand and slowly closes his fist. Mirana begins to choke and bring her hands to her throat to try and stop it. "You denied me permission once. Never again. Never again will I let people like you choose what I can and cannot do."
Everyone starts to run at him. Each time we got to close he would fling us away. When I tried running to him, he flung me right into a white, marble column with magic. My back cracks, and I feel immense pain from where I hit it. I look up to see Mirana turning blue from lack of air. I turn to my right and see Alice just standing there. She's just standing there ignoring everything around her.
Alice, please. Alice, Help.
But it wasn't Alice who stopped this. It wasn't any of us. Mirana stopped choking and fell to the ground for lack of air. I look to Ericiza and see he was flung to the front of the room.
I start looking around the room for the source, but then... I see her. Emiliza is standing up with her hands facing her brother. He's pressed against the wall not able to move. "You. Will. Not. Harm her!" Emiliza shouts. A bright light then comes from her, but her eyes are still pure red and the veins on her face are going crazy.
Ericiza tries to move but fails. He then starts to laugh a cruel laugh. "Oh, sister. Little goody two shoes, sister. Welcome back to Underland!" Emiliza just squints her eyes and has nothing but determination written all over ever face. "Still protecting what you cannot have." What? "Still protecting your little Princess Mirana, or I guess QUEEN now!"
Emiliza ignores his words and continues to hold him up the wall. "You can't take whats not yours Ericiza. I'm way more powerful then you. In case you forgot, I have all the minds of Underland and you have nothing." That shut Ericiza right up. "As you well know the darkness does not just go away, but I've had it for years while you been stuck in that prison with nothing. You will not harm a single hair on any of these Underlandians heads while I'm still standing."
Ericiza nods his head and looks at the ground. After a few seconds he looks back up to his sister then over to Mirana. He looks mad, and I don't mean bonkers mad I mean angry mad. He stares at Mirana with total determination. "I'll be back for you Mirana. My sister won't be able to protect you forever. One day that darkness will fade and my darkness will be strong again. On that day, I will come for you. One that day, you will give me permission. One that day... I will destroy you all."
With that, Ericiza disappears.