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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟔
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐋𝐄
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Kaden stood near the door of the Red Queen's throne room as he watched her take in the smell of her bright red roses. Moments ago, the Red Knight told his ruler everything he learned from following the trio of heroes. He was also able to confirm the White Rabbit's information about where the genie's bottle was located. No matter how much the Scarlet boy wanted to withhold the information, he couldn't fight against the woman's hold on him. Kaden just hoped that someday he could make it up to Will and Indigo.
The boy's grip around the hilt of his sword tightened when a shadow flew across the balcony. It wasn't long after that when Jafar appeared. Kaden's eyes never left the sorcerer as he made his way toward the blonde woman, who didn't seem a bit interested in her guest.
"The genie's bottle. You have knowledge of its whereabouts," the raven-haired man said when he reached the Red Queen's side.
"Dispensing of pleasantries so early on in our relationship? How tragic," Anastasia responded without even looking at the powerful being standing next to her.
"This is not a relationship, and I'm a very busy man."
"So you keep saying. Yet it appears to me that I am the one doing all the work. I brought Alice back to Wonderland, I brought the Spade out of hiding, and I found out where the bottle is hidden."
Despite the straight face he was forced to keep on his face, Kaden couldn't fight the wave of curiosity that washed over him at the mention of the Ace of Spades. As far as he knew, Indigo was an orphan who was practically raised by the Mad Hatter and now was a runaway. So why was she so important for their plans to succeed?
"Where?"
"I am happy to share that information with you, Jafar," the blonde woman said as she finally turned to meet the sorcerer's gaze, "but first, I feel like we need a little chat. I have needs. Before I am happy to play another hand in the game, I need proof that you can satisfy them."
Kaden remained in his place while watching the two have a staredown then the Red Queen turned her back to the sorcerer. Just as she was about to exit her throne room, the woman's entire body glowed bright red before she became as still as a statue. The Red Knight took a step forward to protect his queen, only for him to meet the same fate as her courtesy of the raven-haired man. His eyes followed Jafar as he slowly approached Anastasia before he stopped next to her with an angry look on his face.
"What you need, my girl...is to be quiet. What you need...is to be still. Silent. Follow orders. Most of all, be grateful for the air I'm allowing you and your knight to breathe," the nefarious vizier told the Red Queen, whose terrified eyes locked with the brunette boy's while Jafar continued to speak, "we're not partners. I don't owe you anything. I have given you my word, and that is more than most ever receive. Is that clear?"
When he didn't get a response from the blonde woman, the sorcerer let out a small chuckle before waving his hand through the air and freeing the two from his magical grasp. The Red Queen continued to stare at her knight with a hint of panic in her eyes. It wasn't long after that when Jafar repeated his question with a hint of anger in his voice.
"Tell me where the bottle is," the nefarious vizier demanded while a few almost unnoticeable tears began to form in Anastasia's eyes.
The Red Queen remained silent for a moment before she slowly nodded toward Kaden. The Scarlet boy pushed down his fear as he walked over to the pair and stopped directly in front of them. Kaden just stood there for what felt like an eternity while adjusting the grip on his sword. It wasn't long before his mouth opened to speak without him telling it to. "It's in the Mimsy Meadows, beneath the towering Tum Tum Tree."
Jafar just stared at the young boy for a moment as his eyes studied him before he looked back at the blonde woman at his side. "And the girl? The one with the power to ruin everything?"
"She's with them," Anastasia answered before her attention landed on the Scarlet boy, "but my knight will take care of Indigo when the time comes. Isn't that right, Kaden?"
As it had been for what felt like an eternity to the boy, the Red Knight kept a straight face as he sent his queen a small nod. Internally, he was screaming at the idea of hurting the Ace of Spades in any way.
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The battle between Indigo and Kaden lasted for what felt like an eternity to the young girl. She did everything she could to not attack the boy who didn't have control of his actions while keeping his sword from touching her body. But as their fight continued, the Ace of Spades felt her muscles growing tired and her energy beginning to fade away while the Scarlet boy seemed like he could continue for hours. Just as the curly-haired girl was about to give in to her weariness and turn herself over to the Red Queen, Indigo felt a tingling sensation fill her head. It wasn't long before she heard the voice of the man who took her under his wing.
"You're gonna give up? That isn't the Iggie I remember," Jefferson mocked the girl who barely managed to block Kaden's next strike without stumbling over her feet.
"I'm not exactly on an even playing field, Jay," Indigo muttered under her breath while silently praying no one heard their conversation.
"Where exactly is your glorious battle taking place?"
"Mimsy Meadows, beneath the towering Tum Tum Tree."
"Perfect! Can you get to the tree?"
Indigo held back a scoff as she glanced back at the giant plant to find that it was completely unguarded. Before she responded to Jefferson, the Ace of Spades used all her strength to push Kaden back a few feet to give her a moment to catch her breath.
"Yeah, I can make it," she responded to the Mad Hatter while adjusting her grip on her sword once again as her eyes stayed glued to the boy in front of her, "but what do you expect me to do? Climb it and hope for the best?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I just want you to walk toward it."
The curly-haired girl was about to reply to Jefferson with a snarky remark when she stopped herself and decided to just go with it. She didn't have anything else to lose at that point. Indigo waited for Kaden to charge at her again and used that as an opportunity to back up toward the Tum Tum Tree. She repeated her actions and blocked all his attacks while the Red Queen continued to watch with a sinister smirk on her face. The Ace of Spades never stopped until her back met the large.
"I'm at the tree, Jay. Now what?"
"Just say 'Merry Unbirthday' and the Tum Tum Tree will do the rest."
As soon as the Mad Hatter finished speaking, the curly-haired girl looked directly into her best friend's emotionless eyes. She wanted to stay and fight for him. She wanted to save him. But something within her was telling her that escaping was her best chance at doing just that. After taking in Kaden's face one last time, Indigo let out a long sigh and leaned as far back against the tree trunk as she could.
"I'm sorry, Kay. I promise I'll come back for you," the Ace of Spades whispered just loud enough for the boy to hear before saying, "Merry Unbirthday."
Once those two words left her mouth, the Tum Tum Tree seemed to disappear and she free-fell until she was greeted by the dirt floor of a large tunnel. Her eyes stayed glued to the roots of the thee for a long moment as she listened to the guard's shouting. It wasn't long after that when she got to her feet and sprinted through the tunnel away from the Red Queen.
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On the other side of Wonderland, Indigo still sat on the small island in the middle of the large lake with Will and Alice. Her brown eyes scanned over the blue water as she tried to think of a way to get them out of their current situation. While her brain struggled to come up with an idea, her thumb continued to run over the red chess piece she kept concealed in her pocket.
The thoughts in her head suddenly changed to the times she spent with Kaden and Will before her life took a turn. She would give anything to go back to those moments but it was also going to take a lot for her to fully trust the eldest Scarlet again. Especially after everything he did to her and Kaden. The Lark girl's thoughts were soon cut short when Alice began to speak to them, breaking the uncomfortable silence that they had been sitting in for the last few hours.
"We're never gonna make it there. It's miles and miles away."
"True. This is a bit of a setback, I'll give you that," the Knave of Hearts responded while he continued lounging against one of the small bumps on the island with his arms crossed over his chest, "but I'm sure we'll find another way. Just give me a minute."
The two girls waited the length of his requested time before they both looked back at the man. When he realized he was being watched, Will's eyes glanced back and forth between them then requested for two more minutes.
"We don't have two minutes, Will! We need to get there today!" the blonde woman exclaimed as she jumped to her feet and slammed her foot down on the island under her.
Not even a second after her boot came in contact with the island did it begin to shake uncontrollably. Indigo did her best to keep her grip on the island, only for her efforts to fail before she slipped into the water with Will and Alice. As soon as they broke through the surface, the Ace of Spades grabbed the Knave of Hearts' arm then the two of them swam back toward the small landmass.
"What the bloody h*ll was that then?" the Scarlet man questioned once he and Indigo made it back to the island, "what kind of an island is this?"
Neither of the women responded as the three of them struggled to climb up the side of the island. When they finally made it to the top, Will and Alice settled back down on the hard ground beneath them. While they did that, Indigo carefully made her way toward another one of the edges and peered down into the water. What she saw beneath the water would've made the girl panic in any other situation but it sparked an idea instead.
"This isn't an island," the Ace of Spades told the two sitting on the island as she looked back at their confused faces as she unsheathed her sword, "hold on tight."
Before either Will or Alice could respond, Indigo dove into the water while the Knave of Hearts called out her name in a panicked frenzy. The curly-haired girl swam toward her destination as fast as she could and used her sword to poke the side of the beast. As its head began to rise to the surface, Indigo held on to its scales as tight as she could before she was greeted by fresh air once again.
"Did that tickle?!" she asked the giant turtle, only to receive a loud grunt in response from the animal, "unless you wanna feel that again, I suggest you take us where we wanna go!"
The Ace of Spades was greeted by another roar in response from the giant reptile before it started swimming through the large lake. A giant grin formed on the girl's face as she looked back to find Will lounging once again with a small smirk on his face while Alice stared at her with wide eyes. After letting out a laugh, Indigo turned her attention back to the water in front of her while the wind ran through her curly hair.
"Now that's the Iggie I remember," Jefferson's voice rang through her ears, causing her smile to grow larger than humanly possible while another laugh escaped her.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, Jay," she hesitated for a moment as her eyes scanned the horizon until they landed on the other side of the lake in the distance, "but it's good to be back."
About an hour passed before the trio made it to solid land, which Will was the most grateful for. As he and Alice made their way toward the forest, Indigo stayed behind to thank the turtle before watching it dive back down into the water. Her eyes stayed glued to where the giant animal once was for a short moment then she turned around to join her traveling companions. The Knave of Hearts had his hands on his knees and took in a couple of deep breaths. While he was keeping up the dramatics, Alice was watching him with an irritated look on her face before letting out a very loud and long sigh.
"What are you waiting for?" the blonde woman questioned, drawing the Scarlet man's attention to her while he continued to act as if he just ran from the Jabberwocky.
"I nearly drowned and was eaten by a mock turtle," Will told her as he stood up before he and Indigo started to walk further up the beach to stand in front of Alice, "can I have a moment, please?"
The two began to have a staredown while the Ace of Spades watched with a hint of irritation in her eyes. That continued for another moment until their attention was drawn to a flash of light that appeared a few feet away from them. When they all looked in its direction, they found Silvermist standing in front of them before Will let out an irritated sigh.
"You again?" the curly-haired girl scoffed while her hand wrapped around the hilt of the sword.
"I'm actually glad to see you alive, Knave," the fairy said to the man in front of her as a small smirk began to form on her face.
"That's strange, since you're the one that tried to kill me," the brunette man retaliated while Alice watched them from a few feet away with a confused look on her face.
"That was before I heard about the bounty on your head," Silvermist stated before the sinister smile on her face grew larger than humanly possible, "turns out you're in pretty deep to the Caterpillar."
Alice and Indigo's necks snapped toward Will so fast that they should have broken while the Knave continued to stare at the fairy in front of him. Silence surrounded the four of them as the curly-haired girl tried to piece together why the Scarlet man would associate himself with the Caterpillar. It wasn't long after that when she heard Jefferson's voice go through her head. "At least you now know why he had to leave Wonderland in a hurry."
"Okay, look. I made a horrible mistake," Will said, drawing Indigo's attention away from the Mad Hatter and back to the situation at hand, "the thing is, you were right about everything. I felt bloody awful about what happened between us."
"If you ever had a heart, I don't know what happened to it," Silvermist spat at the man, causing a wave of irritation to wash over the curly-haired girl as the grip around her sword tightened, "but then again, maybe your precious Anastasia used it all up."
Indigo's blood ran cold and her heart dropped to her stomach after she watched all emotion fade from the Knave of Hearts' face. His eyes met hers for a quick moment before he turned his full attention back toward the fairy. The Ace of Spades' eyes never left the Scarlet man as he stared at the raven-haired woman while the confusion on Alice's face grew.
"You're right. I don't feel terrible. Not even a little bit. But that's because I don't feel much of anything anymore," Will hissed at the woman in front of him while his hands that were hidden behind his back clenched into fists, "so why don't we both agree that I'm a terrible person and go our separate ways? We don't need to bring the Caterpillar into this."
"Why should I care about your fate?"
"You shouldn't. But care about theirs," the Knave said as he gestured over to Alice and Indigo while keeping his eyes glued to Silvermist, "they're decent people, and so is the man that Alice loves, whose life is literally hanging in the balance as we speak. And if you tell the Caterpillar about me, the word could get out that Indigo came out of hiding and you and I both know what that'll lead to. Don't make the good guys pay for the bad guy's mistakes. I am sorry, Silvermist. For everything."
When the man finished speaking, the raven-haired woman continued to stare at him with a blank expression on her face. What felt like an eternity passed when she cleared her throat and looked down at her feet. "Be on with you, then. Get out of here. Go."
As soon as the last word passed over her lips, Silvermist transformed back into her fairy form and flew away. Will didn't hesitate to turn his back to the fleeing magical creatures before walking past the two women and toward the forest. A small smile appeared on Indigo's face as she rushed to catch up to the Knave then matched his steps when she reached his side.
"Was that you apologizing?" the curly-haired girl teased the brunette man right as Alice made it to his other side.
"It happens. Don't dwell on it, Indie," Will scoffed while keeping his eyes glued to the trees in front of him so he didn't have to meet either of their gazes.
"So who's Anastasia?" Alice asked, causing Indigo to tense up a bit while the Knave continued walking as if the blonde never said a word before she continued speaking, "well, in any case, thank you."
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