BUCKINGHAM PALACE, LONDON
T he Queen of Hearts, posing as the Queen of England, was ready to take the stage again. She was about to announce her brilliant plan after showing her guests one last video.
But she couldn’t do it before she received that call she was waiting for.
Her phone rang.
“What took you so long?”
“A few twists and turns in my plan,” a muffled voice said. “But it’ll be good in a few minutes.”
“So, the video will be ready?”
“Give it half an hour,” the voice said. “I’m on it. It will be a live feed, and you will be able to show it to your guests.”
“Is it going to be good enough?”
“Much more than you think,” the voice said. “A piece of art, like nothing you’ve ever seen.”
“Frabjous.” She grinned, feeding Brazilian nuts to one of her dogs. “Everyone in Britain is going nuts looking for the rabbit with the bomb. I can’t pretend I didn’t hear about it much longer. The public will need some statement. But I can’t wait half an hour to show the surprise to my guests.”
“You will, My Queen,” the voice said. “Long live Wonderland. Death to the real world.”
“Ah, one more thing,” the Queen said. “Next time, I’d prefer you tell me your plans in detail. When Margaret first told me about the rabbit loose in the streets, you hadn’t told me this was your plan. I stood oblivious of what was going on.”
“Apologies, My Queen,” the voice said. “The idea came out of the blue after I learned of a psychological term called the Rabbit Hole.”
“Really? Is that a real scientific term?”
“Just like the Alice Syndrome,” the voice said. “It seems those real-world doctors stole their ideas from Lewis Carroll’s genius interpretations. The Rabbit Hole means putting a patient under severe stress, metaphorically sending them into a rabbit hole, and pushing until they remember their past.”
“Well done, then,” she said. “So, I should be counting on her remembering?”
“Like I said, it’s only half an hour, and she will remember,” the voice said. “However, it will be most heart-wrenching. I am making sure she doesn’t die or something from the shock.”
“We can’t afford this girl to die, you know that.”
“Don’t worry,” the voice said. “I have it under control.”
“And her sisters?”
“They know nothing,” the voice said. “They are just pawns in the game. Doing what I have planned for them to do.”