ALICE’S CELL, RADCLIFFE LUNATIC ASYLUM
S ometime around midnight, I hear a knock on my door. I stand up and stare at whoever it is behind the bars. I am sure I won’t panic if it turns out to be the Cheshire disguised as Ogier again. I have seen my share of spooks lately.
But it’s not the Cheshire. It’s Margaret Kent.
“I am not dreaming, am I?” I say to her.
“Nor are you hallucinating,” she says, wearing her expensive jewelry and dress.
“That’s hard to swallow,” I reply. “Because why in the world would you visit me, Duchess?”
“It’s an unofficial visit, Alice—or whoever you really are.” She chews on the words. It’s apparent that she is disgusted by the asylum. “I have a message for you.”
“From whom?”
“From the Queen of England.”
“Her Majesty?” I say it in an ironic way, still wondering if this is really happening.
“We have the key, Alice,” Margaret says in a sharp businesswoman tone. “The Hatter works for us. We planned it all. The rabbit. The bomb. Everything. We had to push you to the edge of your mind so you would remember where you hid the key—one of the six, to be precise.”
I’m not that surprised. In fact, the more pieces of the puzzle that come together, the better I feel. “When you say ‘we,’ you mean who exactly?”
“Black Chess,” she says. “The Wonderlanders who were tortured by humans in the circus. No one can stop us.”
“But not all Wonderlanders are on Black Chess’s side.”
“I know what the March Hare told you,” she says. “You know how we know? Because the light bulb in his head is real. We can see through his thoughts. He tried to protect you by not telling you everything because he knew we’d know. The light bulb is a Lewis Carroll invention.”
“I don’t care how powerful you are,” I say. “Fabiola showed you which side I’m on.”
“So, we’re playing with open cards right now?” She laughs. “Funny you mention cards.” She smirks. “Now that you don’t even have Jack in your life.”
This gets on my nerves. It hurts so much I want to puke my guts out. Damn the Duchess.
“Look, I don’t have much time, and like I said, I have a message for you,” she says. “I know you still have so many questions—hell, I have so many questions. But the bottom line is this. The Wonderland Wars are partially about the Six Impossible Keys Lewis gave you in the past. Don’t ask me why they are important. You will know in time.”
“I figured out that much about the keys, and I figured out I don’t remember where I hid them, and that you’ll do your best to make me remember how to get to them,” I say. “So, tell me what you’re really here for.”
“Let me put it this way,” she says. “Although you found the key, you didn’t really remember where you hid it. Hell, you didn’t even remember the circus in Wonderland happened. From what the Hatter told me, you only remembered what your sisters did to you in real life.”
“So?”
“So, as much as you seem to know about Alice, we’re not sure you’re her yet, but...” She jabs a finger in the air. “The Queen wants you on our side.”
“Are you offering me a position in Black Chess, really?” I snort.
“Think about it. You’ll be a free girl. We’ll get you out of the asylum. You won’t have to struggle with Wonderland Monsters each week. What else can you ask for?”
“And you expect me to lead you to the keys, of course.”
“There is a price for everything, and sanity is almost priceless.”
“You’re dreaming, Duchess,” I say. “Whether I am Alice or not, the fact that deep in my memory, I know where the keys are, obliges me to hold on to them.” I can’t forget how concerned Lewis was about the key he gave me in the Tom Tower. “Besides, give me one logical reason why I would want to be on the Queen’s side in this war.”
“You want a reason?” Margaret smirks again. She nears the bars and stares into my eyes. “I have one good reason for you, especially if you turn out to be the Real Alice.”
“And what could that be?” I challenge her.
Her answer comes like a heavy tide threatening to swallow me into a sea of sharks. “Because you may not remember it yet, but you were one of us inside the cage in the circus. What humans have done to us was done to you, just the same.” Even though I don’t remember that, it bothers me dearly. “Haven’t you noticed how most people in this world are never on your side? Haven’t you noticed how they were happy thinking you died with the rabbit today? You’re one of us, Alice. You just don’t know it yet.”