Cath hated walking more than she hated her husband, and she hated her husband with a passion.
She remembered the days when she and Jest had traveled this maze with the hope of a new life in their hearts. They had been traveling for a few hours and her back was beyond sore and her mouth ached for water. How long had it taken them to reach the Looking Glass when she traveled to it some years ago? Jest's presence must have made it seem so much shorter than it actually was.
Penelope Peter kept her face completely neutral as they walked, even when Hatta would break out into random fits of mad laughter.
Cath sensed some hostility coming from Penelope causing her to wonder why. The Alice girl seemed to get lost in her own thoughts throughout the entire time they walked. By the time they had actually found the entrance to the holding room of the Looking Glass, Alice had an entire bouquet of Weeping Weeds in her hand. The water from the plant dripped onto her dress at a steady rhythm, and you could hear the occasional sniff from the weeds among their many footsteps.
The sight of the Looking Glass stole the air from Cath's lungs. She will never forget how distraught she was over Mary Ann and how saving her was the biggest mistake of her life. Or maybe that was a cruel thought. It wasn't Mary Ann's fault that Cath chose to save her. It also wasn't Mary Ann's fault that she got captured in the first place.
The doors around her echoed the sounds from every corner of Hearts, included the abandoned pumpkin patch where she thought she had lost everything.
Cath held her breath as they approached the Glass. The handheld mirror laid on a glass table with a tiny vial next to it that read 'Drink Me'. Peeking Inside she could see the black and white patterns of Chess and the gleaming white palace in the distance.
She could see the knights prancing around the border of the kingdom and the civilians hurrying from wherever they came from to seek shelter. It was then Cath realized the reason they were running was that a siren was going off.
A bomb siren.
Her eyes widened as the ships flew overhead. She had to squint to see them and wondered why they flew so high, but with a surprising realization, she saw they weren't extremely high, they were extremely small.
The ships were no larger than Raven in his bird form. Cath's brow furrowed as she began to think about how a ship so small could possibly do any damage whatsoever. It wasn't until the first bomb struck that she found out why.
The bombs were no bigger than a blueberry, and it didn't blow up any of the buildings or items around it. It landed right next to the guards who looked as if they would soil themselves. Cath didn't understand what the problem was until the guard's changed from white to black and began jumping on each other viciously. They ripped at each other's throats for a while before they began targeting citizens. One of them jumped on an old woman who wasn't fast enough and smashed her head into the ground and taking her brain for whatever purpose and evil mutant guard needed a brain for. She couldn't watch as they began devouring the organs inside the woman and ran off.
They were using biological warfare.
Cath turned and saw the horrified faces of her comrades.
Lady Peter looked positively green.
It was Hatta who cleared his throat after what seemed like hours of silence, "If we want to enter undetected for the time being, now is the chance."
Alice nodded and set her plants down before unloading a potion, "Ready when you are Hatta."
Lady Peter swallowed her fears before nodding hastily.
Cath was more scared then she had been in a long time.
She recalled the memory of her slaying the Jabberwocky - Lady Peter - and how she was able to defeat that - her - and gave a brisk nod. Hatta took a deep breath before sipping the vial next to the Glass. Alice was beyond surprised when he began to shrink to no more then the size of a pea! Penelope went next with a deep breath, then Alice, who looked almost giddy for adventure, all until it was Cath's turn.
This was the moment she had been waiting for, so naturally, it baffled her that she was eager to run through one of those doors and back to her home to hide under her bed.
With not another second to lose, she opened the vial and began to drink.
First, it was her body that began to shrink. Her head became almost unbearable for her neck to hold until it finally shrank as well. Her limbs tingled with magic as she began climbing up the leg of the table with the others. It was a quick climb and a small run until all 4 of them jumped into the Looking Glass, and into a whole other world.
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The light side of Chess would've been beautiful if it weren't for the savage civilians. The Looking Glass had dropped them right in the middle of town square and into the decorative water fountain that was empty except for a few coins. No one spared them a glance due to the fact that everyone was engaged in hand-in-hand combat.
All around them, battle raged on. White Piece civilians fought the Black Pieces as more bombs dropped. It wasn't long before the White Piece army began launching a counter attack. They released their own bombs and Cath watched as the new Black Pieces within proximity began shifting into White pieces. It was too much for Cath to handle with her scrambled thoughts and plans, so she grabbed Hatta's hand and began sprinting down an alley.
The dodged bombs as they ran and made sure they stayed under the overlays of the buildings. It was a beautiful kingdom, but nobody dared to stop and look.
The running was becoming unbearable for Cath as she realized she hadn't run in years. She was glad to see everyone was out of breath as well, If she was having trouble, then they deserved to have trouble as well. Hatta finally stopped them once they reached an empty street full of boarded up houses. It was clear the people living inside were trying to hide from the battle.
Hatta panted as he spoke, "Okay, I know of somewhere we can stay, but I'm warning you, She doesn't take to guests kindly." Everyone was too tired to speak, so they all nodded. Hatta sighed before continuing to run in another direction. They all followed with their defenses up as they dodged people and bombs.
They didn't stop running until they reached a place that looked exactly like an old church, complete with stained glass windows.
Hatta knocked and shifted anxiously on his feet until the door opened.
A woman stood there with her head cocked to the side. Cath noticed the woman in from of her had no pupils. "Can I help you?" She asked looking directly at Cath.
Hatta sucked in a deep breath, "We need somewhere to stay for a night, will you help us?" The woman shifted her gaze to Hatta in a weird, creepy motion that sent a shiver down Cath's spine. A smile broke out across her face, "Hello Hatta, so wonderful to see you."
Hatta clenched his jaw.
"You too mother."
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I KNOW I'M A TERRIBLE PERSON AND I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FOREVER I'M SORRY MEH