I'm dragging my feet now. The sun is rising. The trees here are huge and beautifully shaped into giant peacocks with pavonine leaves. The slim branches hanging down to the ground look like super boney arms with thin hands and fingers at the ends. All n' all I think this is all pretty peaceful, so I settle down on a fluffy, thick patch of moss. I've been walking all night long. I think I've only managed to keep going because of how terrified I was. But this place seems quiet and safe, and the moss patch is like a bed.
It's so soft...
Someone brushes a rough, scratchy hand gently across my face.
"Huh?" I blink my eyes open and look around. I must have drifted off.
Now I gasp and quickly stand, struggling to keep my scream to myself.
The peacock trees. They are alive! I mean, really alive. The birds even blink at me. Their long, thin branches grab at me again but I anxiously brush them off. At least, I try to. I am in the middle of a grove completely surrounded by trees and they all grab strands of my hair, grab the ends of my skirt, and tug on my apron. "Hey, stop," I insist and pry one set of fingers off but more quickly latch on. "Let me go, guys."
They don't say anything but look fascinated by me. This is new. I grin a little bit but shake my head. "I have to go," I try to back up. Suddenly I hear a low growl just behind me. I go ridged as I slowly turn around just as a huge creature steps from between the trees. I gasp in horror and frantically adjust my glasses, thinking that I need a second look at this thing to convince myself that I am merely imagining this monster.
But oh no, it's very real.
This frighteningly horrible creature looks like a three-hundred-pound shrew monster from hell! The creature is mostly hairless and is covered in blue-gray skin and has tiny little paws that look out of place under the huge beast. Its huge arched back is covered in purple quills, they are starting to rise off its spine. Its long whip-like rat tail flicks the air as it snarls again. It licks its muzzle as it steps closer.
All the trees wave their arms at it in alarm, but the devil-shrew pays them no mind, its golden eyes trained on me. This thing looks like it really wants to eat me alive, and I feel like I'm yet again staring the death of me in the face. I'm starting to panic, and when I panic, I do only one thing:
I run.
I'm not sure that this is the best or greatest idea but hey, it's the only one I got so now I'm running head-long through the peacock tree grove, my hair is tugged free from their grasp but my dress gets torn as I wrench myself away. But I don't care, I gotta keep running, I hear that thing chase after me!
It suddenly jumps over my head with hoarse snarl and lands to the ground in front of me, whirling around with its mouth is open, long fangs gleaming.
I stop so suddenly; I nearly pitch forward right into its waiting jaws. My head briefly bobs into the waiting mouth before I teeter backwards right as it snaps its jaw shut, I rapidly backpedal but don't even have time to turn around before it lunges!
I scream but can't even bring my hands up to protect my face before something huge tackles the monster and pins it to the ground.
It's a... bloodhound.
The jet-black bloodhound is like, almost as big as Vyndren's wolf. Its long ears and loose flesh ripples as the dog tugs the shrew-devil's head off. Blood sprays over the ground and I leap back just in time to miss the shower and now its head whips around and I am staring into the bloodhound's flaming eyeballs of fire...
I tilt my head in surprise. It's like Vyndren and his animal soul spirit.
The bloodhound snarls, saliva drips from its jowls, and it takes a step closer towards me. I whimper and back up, fear gripping me as it steadily moves closer.
A monstrous howl suddenly erupts through the still air just behind me and, on instinct it seems, I duck down in a crouch just a heartbeat before an impossibly huge black wolf sails over my head and slams into the bloodhound. The impact makes the ground and trees shake.
I look up in disbelief. I know this big bad wolf. It's Vyndren's.
His wolf picks the huge bloodhound off the ground by the throat and slams it back into the soil, another ground quake vibrates everything, but the other canine manages to land a clobbering blow to the wolf's temple, the wolf snarls as it staggers back.
Laughter interrupts the sounds of the vicious dog fight; I whirl around to see a Dark Rider. But it's not Vyndren. He is wearing the same black leather Rider uniform that Vyndren wears, except his is complete with the cloak, neck-wrap, and the black stone facemask, he even has the woven-in whips and throwing stars lining the sides of his boots. He isn't wearing the huge gauntlets though and doesn't have the extra two swords strapped to his back. Those must just be a Vyndren thing.
"This is fun," the Rider says gruffly and crosses his arms, watching the huge dogs throw each other around. "Battle of willpower," his flickering, flaming eyes land on me. "Now who are you?" It sounds like he already knows but when he moves closer I quickly back up.
"Stay away from me," I look around for the best escape route.
"You're the Alice, aren't you, my dear?" He holds out his hand. "How...perfect." Now his hand curls into a fist. "Now come with me, dearie, we have places we need to be," he gestures at the woods around us.
I shake my head, I don't care if Dark Riders are supposed to protect the Alice, I don't trust this guy! Every word he speaks is laced with venom and promises a threat. My instincts are just urging me to get away from him. "No, leave me alone!" I keep backing up. "I'm not going anywhere but back home," I announce.
"Of course, of course." He purrs and darkness begins to surround me, blocking everything from view. My heels bumps into a root and I nearly trip. "And that's where I'm taking you, my Alice, to your home at the Royal Palace." He holds out his gloved hands to me. "Now I am a bit surprised that I'm the first Dark Rider to find you," I look around frantically for an escape but it's like the dead of night all around me. "But of course," he nods at the monster canines fighting as he keeps coming closer. I back into a tree and stand frozen in place with fear. "It looks like another Dark Rider almost made it," he chuckles darkly, his hands are just about to grab my arms.
"Don't touch her," Vyndren's deep voice cuts through the darkness. "She's with me."
The other Dark Rider looks around. "Is that who I think it is?" He gives a coarse laugh. "Son of a scruv, I haven't seen His Highness since forever. How is the mighty Blood Prince?"
The darkness is dragged away from me and I see Vyndren standing beside me, all the darkness of night that had been trapping me flies into his palms, whisking the blinding night away. I feel relieved to see him again. I think. I look over at the dogs who still fight violently, maybe even more so now than before.
"Hey," the Dark Rider sounds about as surprised as they get when he sees Vyndren for the first time. "You are not wearing your mask..." He shakes his head and tsk, tsk's at Vyndren. "However do you control the Thirst, my lord?" He says 'the thirst' as if it burns his throat and he dramatically holds his gloved hands against his neck wrap.
Vyndren scoffs, undaunted, but suddenly he sharply inhales and takes a shaky step back as if he had been hit in the gut as he looks at me. But actually, I realize he's looking at my skin.
I self-consciously look over my arms, there are cuts and bleeding scrapes all over my bare skin from where the trees scratched me in my desperate attempts to run away from the shrew-devil. I don't understand yet I feel the urge to panic staring at Vyndren staring at me. He makes a soft sound, it nearly sounds in pain, yet beckoning at the same time. I stagger back in alarm, heart pounding wildly in my chest.
"Oh," the other Dark Rider chuckles again. "Your willpower is quite impressive, master. But it seems like you might be slipping now..." Vyndren shakes his head, as if in disbelief, and swiftly covers his nose and mouth with his hands. He is struggling to breathe smoothly, his whole body shaking. The other Dark Rider slinks in circles between the two of us and now rests a hand on Vyndren's shoulder. "Ahh, what a curse we have, my Prince. Just me reminding you of the Thirst is enough to send you into deep water. Clearly," he slowly draws his sword. It looks just like Vyndren's with a curved wicked arch. It shines in the golden light as the Dark Rider bows to me and then to Vyndren, mockingly. "But I can't let you selfishly harm our Alice, Your Highness."
He suddenly spins towards the canines and raises his palm. The bloodhound explodes in red glittering light then morphs into a round orb and now it sails back into his palm which shakes on impact. "Nothing personal against you, of course, master," he says haughtily to Vyndren.
My Dark Rider lifts his head with a furious snarl of rage. "Klup you," he retorts, now quickly summons his wolf spirit back but it takes just a split second too long. The other Rider lunges forward and Vyndren just brings up his sword but the impact drops him to one knee. He quickly spins beneath their crossed blades, sweeping his leg through the other Rider's, sending him staggering backwards before him leaps up again. Their swords clank together thunderously, light bounces off the black weapons as they spin around each other.
I rapidly stumble back, anxiously looking around for an escape route but the only thing my eyes will focus on is the clashing Dark Riders. The four swords crash together like a cross before Vyndren wrenches the swords apart and rapidly stomp-kicks the other Rider forcefully enough to send him careening back into a tree as Vyndren swiftly kneels, two throwing stars speeding from his fingers still around his swords' grips.
The other Dark Rider springs off the ground from his shoulders and spins with such alarming speed, he is briefly a black blur as he whirls around, deflecting the stars with his two swords.
Both Riders lunge again, their swords make sweeping slashes at each other's throats in the blink of an eye. Incredibly -at the exact same time- they both duck, bending dramatically far back, and their black blades slash harmlessly over their throats.
"Stop!" I shout as they snap up right like elastic bands and clash swords again, hard enough to sound like drums. "Stop!" I shout again. God, I don't want anyone to get hurt! But they either can't hear me or they don't care. Oh really, huh? Don't care? A few days ago I would've never believed in a million years that two guys would be fighting over me but now that they? I'm terrified! I mean this looks like an old-world death match! I can't imagine what the aftermath will be! And I don't want to. I mean, hell with this!
So I run.
The breeze blows my hair back as I move, if there is only one thing that I'm good at, it's running. And I don't think I'll ever stop running now that I'm going. No, running is my outlet and since I've been here it seems like I haven't stopped.
And with good reason.
As I run, I can't help but think of Mom. I mean she is still my mom even if I'm some sort of long-lost daughter of some magical heiress of this wild Wonderland. Tears start to sting my eyes, what am I? Why didn't Mom ever tell me about this! Is she even alive out there anymore? That's all I care about, really, I just want her to be safe.
Suddenly everything around me is washed white and the light makes me stumble in shock and I fall.
But I don't hit anything. What? I look around, it's like I'm suddenly somewhere else and everything is bright white and blurry...I am definitely not in the woods anymore, in fact, I think I'm in some sort of medieval dungeon. It's huge, I think, I mean, everything is so blurry and glow-y, I'm not really getting dimensions or stuff like that.
I slowly move and suddenly my surroundings righten themselves, as if I were lying down a moment ago. This is...the weirdest thing that has happened to – Well, recently. But I mean, where am I? I do see things now, not very clearly but I can sorta distinguish things like chains hanging from the vaulted ceiling. Creepy... I see more things, like pillars lining walls and I can just make out a glowing silhouette of a woman seemingly standing against a pillar, but in reality, I realize she is levitating peacefully off the ground, her curly hair floats around her as if she's underwater.
I inch closer through this blindingly bright haze, struggling to see through the shining glare of searing light. "Mom?" I hoarsely whisper, my voice echoes. I can just start to make out her features but the glow of everything is so bright, too bright, my eyes are watering wildly. I must blink.
As soon as I do, I realize am laying on the ground of a forest, everything is blurry. Still. Wait, I'm back in the peacock tree woods, right? I feel a little woozy. I slowly pick myself off the ground and sit back on my ankles, looking around but everything is so...blurry. My glasses! Oh god, no! I reach out with a shaky hand and lightly run my hand over the golden dirt ground. Where are they? I must have tripped when whatever the hell that blinding vision thing overtook me.
I frantically crawl around, desperately feeling about.
I feel something, it feels like thin medal. I grab it and hold it up to my face hopefully. Yes! It is my glasses!
But they're broken. Not the frames, just the lens. The important stuff. Oh great, I like, literally can't see anything less than two inches away from my face! Holy crap. I slowly stand and take an unsure step forward. Now what can I do? I heave a sigh, trying to ward off panicking. But heck, I'm alone, lost and really freaked out because now I can't see one blessed -or damned- thing around me. Son of -
"Adara?" It's Vyndren, I'd recognize his deep voice anywhere.
I hesitate, but he sounds so close it's impossible to imagine that he doesn't see me just because I can't see him. "Err...I-I'm um, over here," I fiddle with my glasses, feeling a little self-conscious. Only Mom has seen me without glasses before.
"At last," Vyndren doesn't sound totally annoyed like he usually does. He just sounds...I'm not going to say "happy to see me" but he sounds pleased at least. "Why'd you...?" He trails off.
"Um, I uh...hi." I blush. "I kinda broke my glasses," I feel like a loser as I wave the broken glasses at him as if for proof.
Silence.
"Yeah, I know." I force a smile. "What a dork..." I wince.
A moment later, he replies, "I wouldn't worry about it...so how much can you see?" He asks carefully, he sounds closer.
I shrug, so embarrassed. "Umm...Nothing? I mean, nothing that isn't right in front of my face," I heave another sigh, my breath ruffles my side-sweeping bangs.
Vyndren slowly moves closer, he just looks like a fuzzy shadow to me, but I can make out the brightness of his fiery eyes.
"So...um," I shrug. "What happened to the other Dark Rider?"
"Short answer? He took the hint."
I gulp. "What does that mean?"
"It means with any luck; he'll tell the other Dark Riders that the Alice is already being escorted and they'll leave us alone."
So he's still alive? Whew. "And he...took that?"
"Oh yeah, he knows who the Alpha is."
I swallow hard. "So um, what are we...going to do now?" I timidly fidget with my curls.
"Can you travel?"
I heave another sigh. "Nope. Sorry." I lean against the tree behind me. "I have got to be the worst Alice ever." I rub my eyes wearily. "Um, I have a couple of questions..."
"No kidding," he snorts.
I smile faintly. "Yeah so um, what was that deal about?" Silence. "What's the Thirst?"
"The Thirst?" I think his voice trembles a bit. He coughs gruffly then clears his throat. "Nothing." He says simply.
"Nothing? You kinda got a little weird when dude mentioned it."
"It's um, a plague or something we Dark Riders have. A side effect, you might call it, of our dark powers."
"A plague?" I widen my eyes. "Is it catchy?"
He chuckles darkly. "When it bites you, you'll really feel it."
I frown and say nothing for a minute, hating not being able to see things, like his face. And no, not for eye-candy reasons, but for his expressions. I'll bet he's smirking. "Why'd he keep calling you the Blood Prince?"
"Blood Prince." He says it like it's an insult. "It means nothing."
"Huh. Again, you kinda got all weird when dude mentioned it."
He growls. "It's just a stupid name that other Dark Riders call me. It means nothing. So... don't say it again."
"But..." I trail off and shrug before I ask another question. "So, what's the deal with you guys' animal soul spirits? They were like, having an epic death-match but kept swinging even after suffering from like, fatal blows, are they invincible?"
"They're a part of our spirit so...basically, yeah. My Wolf will never get tired, or weak or get distracted from his soul purpose, which is whatever my last command is. If I am alive and my soul is still willing to fight, the Wolf will also fight."
I nod, fascinated. "So, like, not trying to hit a nerve or anything but, when you were attacked by the Phantoms, your body was like, injured, of course, but your wolf seemed stronger than ever. Is that because you were like, still super furious on the inside?"
He chuckles. "Yeah, sure. Just because I'm unable to fight any more physically my soul's still on fire with battle-lust. I have to keep fighting, no matter what. And that's why the Wolf is so strong, he is me, my fighting spirit. My primal, animal spirit. Even if physically I'm on my last breath choking for life, my soul spirit will still be as powerful as if I'm in my prime. As long I'm still alive, even if just hanging on by a thread, my soul could fight forever."
"Wow, if you do say so yourself," I smile, but yes, I'm impressed. "Confidence much?"
"I just know what's in the arsenal," I imagine him smirking again.
I roll my eyes and shove his shoulder, at least I try to, I'm pretty sure I just end up pushing off his rock-hard chest. Another thought dons on me. "Your wolf spirit didn't go back into an orb or whatever, after the Phantom battle. It just kinda...blew away." I gesture vaguely.
"I didn't summon it back to me, I was...err, a little too under the weather -we'll say- and since my last command was obeyed, its sole purpose was gone so it just...evaporated."
"Your soul?"
"No, just the animal form. I can preserve power by summoning my soul's animal spirit back to me once I have no need for its skillset, and by not...well, I suppose you could boil it down to me depleting my power reserves."
"So you lost power by not being able to summon it back?" I'm surprised. "I thought you magic people have like, unlimited supplies."
"What have I told you about the persons and the other living things of Raetri depending on the Power for strength?"
I pale. "Are you dying?"
He gives a gruff laugh. "Too late for that." Now he clears his throat, "Of course not," he snaps. "I just mean, only an Alice has unlimited power, every other magic-user must rely on nature and other sources of power to maintain and accumulate strength. I may have lost a little bit of strength by not summoning my Wolf spirit back but I'm perfectly fine now," he insists emphatically. "I gain strength from...other venues."
I don't question this, I mean, I may not know how, but I do know he does something to get stronger. It's whenever he goes off on these supposed "hunting trips" that never take very long. He always returns with an extra pep to his normal slinking, sulky step. "Oh hey, another question just came to me. Don't get mad," I wait for a protest, but he doesn't say anything. "So if...if you sold your soul...how do you still have an animal soul spirit?"
"That is a good question," he admits. Was that praise?
"Thanks, but do I get a good answer?"
"Yeah, sure."
Whoa, cooperation, that's a new one. I wonder what put him in such a good mood? Kicking someone's ass, I guess. "Please proceed."
"Well," he slowly exhales. "I uh, I guess you could say that when I sold my soul, I was selling off all the human aspects to it. The only thing left of my soul -and the only thing I can feel anymore- is my anger, my hatred, my...hunger." His voice is soft.
"Why?" I whisper. "Why'd you do it?"
"The cause was and still is, to save Raetri from a wicked rule that will corrupt our world and ravage it with warfare...of course," he purrs faintly.
I frown, not even slightly believing his reasons. He told me before that he answers to no one, and I can't make myself believe that he sold his humanity because he was honor bound by some Alice creed. He is not the type that listens and obeys. He said it best himself, he's the Alpha wolf. "This world isn't your burden, Vyndren."
"I live in it, don't I?" He asks coldly. I am detecting some hostility, as if I'm dancing dangerously close to a nerve. "Besides," he carries on just as darkly. "I took an oath when I joined the Royal Riders that no matter the cost I am to protect the Alice and her work. This world is your work. The Alice's work," he sounds like he's rehearsed this a hundred times, I wonder if he's trying to convince me or himself that that is the truth. "I had to become a Dark Rider," he snarls softly, when he says this though, I believe him.
"Or else...you'd have been executed," I whisper.
"Decapitated...just like my sister," he hisses under his breath.
"Whoa, wait! What?" I step closer, wishing I could see his face. "You had a sister? I mean, was she a Dark – um, a Royal Rider?"
He gives a short, bitter laugh. "Yeah, Kalaclispsa was a Royal Rider." He is silent for a moment and now goes softly. "She was a very noble, compassionate woman, she never complained about how unfair life was to us...she just always tried everything to make it better." He is quiet for a second, and now whispers viciously, his voice faintly wobbles with pain. "She deserved far, far more than what she got. She was murdered," he growls venomously. Tears well up in my eyes as I hear the aching, raw emotion in his words. I've never heard Vyndren so upset before. It makes him sound human. "She was a Captain which is why she was the first to die, her and two others. It was the Queen of Hearts that convinced the Court that us Riders were responsible for the assassination of the Alice. We were captured and chained like animals before the sun rose the next morning. The Captains were executed at dawn, heads rolled before they even had a trial," his deep voice quivers with vehement fury.
I feel as if someone just dumped cold water over my head, I shudder. I feel cold to the core with remorse. "I'm...so sorry, Vyndren. Truly...I am," I hold my hands to my heart as I feel it ache for him. "I-I had no idea you had a family before."
"I didn't have a family. I only had her and now I have nothing. I...I don't even have a soul..." He trails off painfully.
I bit my quivering lip and shake my head. "I-I can't imagine..."
Silence stretches between us for a while. I'm fighting the urge to cry.
"We should go..." Vyndren softly says a moment later.
I shakily nod, fighting off the urge to like, hug him or something, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't comfort him. "Okay," I rapidly blink, wiping my tears away and take a step forward, I suddenly remember I can't see and trip. Vyndren catches me before I even have the chance to fall. "Sorry! I mean, my glasses. I can't see without them," I flush as I step away.
"Let me see them."
I sheepishly hand them over. "Do you think you can fix them? Or my eyes?" I laugh and mean it as a joke but now I really wonder if he could fix my eyes. He brought himself back from the brink of death, is anything impossible for Vyndren? So, I mean, what's fixing some eyes?
"Whichever."
I smile with wonder. "So like, if you're being serious, you mean you could fix my eyes and make me see like, twenty-twenty?"
"There's a lot I can do but your glasses are perfectly fine."
"You like them?" I'm surprised. I don't even like them.
"I mean, they're fixed."
"Oh," I blush. To my surprise, a heartbeat later he puts my glasses on for me. I smile as everything comes into focus. Vyndren is so close, I can like, feel the warmth of his fiery eyes from here. It's funny to think that those eyes used to scare me. It's even more funny to think that after just two days, I'm used to his scary eyes. "Th-thank you," I flush again and turn away, breaking our stare. Unbelievable. No, it's believable, I am so awkward.
Vyndren steps away from me. "Let's go." He starts walking away and I hesitate for a few seconds...but now follow.
"Where are we going?" I catch up. "I mean I think we're still going to the Court but -"
"No," he stops. "You didn't ask for any of this, Adara. Raetri is pretty much damned to hell anyway and in my opinion, it should klupping burn. So now," he carries on smoothly. "If you wanna go back home to...Viewtown? I'll get you there, no trouble."
"Go back home?" I'm so shocked. "You mean..." I feel a smile spread over my face. "I can go home?"
He gives a curt nod. "Why not? I could track down the portal you crossed over from and then..." He shrugs and runs a hand through his wild hair. "You'll be back in your old world, get your old life back."
Whoa, I get to go home! I can't believe it! But wait, go home...? Mom isn't waiting for me back at our house, I just know it, I feel as though I have seen it. She is somewhere waiting for me to find her, but it's not back where it all began. That's the scary part. Because to find her I gotta keep charting new land. But maybe that's for the best...I mean, I already know who I am back in Viewtown -which is to say no one- but here? The impossible has already been proven possible. And the more I think about it, the more I don't want my old life back. So, I think it's time to find out who I really can be in this Wonderland.
"I'm not going back." It's decided. "I mean, I can't. I have to go to Court, I have to find my mom, and...I am the rightful Alice." It feels wild to declare, but in a good way. "I can...I can do this, right?" I nod to myself, feeling a little breathless with excitement. "Yeah, I can do this. I mean, it's crazy, this is all crazy, but who could turn down a change? Especially one when it comes wrapped in these ribbons," I gesture around at the wonderland around us. "So now," I'm blushing but I try to hold myself up high. "May we commence with the quest, Dark Rider?" Alices should be formal, I guess.
I think there's a shadow of a grin on his face. As if he's pleased with me. Which is a first. A fantastic first. "Fine." He still manages to snap. "But let's try to move with some celerity, no more of this pissing around bullshick."
I smile, "I'm waiting on you."