The clearing in the wood was still black and covered in ash from the last encounter. The White Queen’s people approached in silence, the heavy weight of their sad history hanging over them. Alice glanced at the Hatter, her heart aching for him as she thought of all the family he had lost here.
The Red Queen waited on her steed, a malevolent smile plastered across her enormous face. Her eyes glittered with hatred as her sister rode into the clearing.
“Hello, Iracebeth,” said the White Queen, pulling her white horse to a halt.
“Hello, Mirana,” said the Red Queen coldly.
The White Rabbit blew his trumpet and unrolled a scroll. “On this, the Frabjous Day,” he announced, “the queens, Red and White, shall send forth their champions to do battle on their behalf.”
The White Queen stared into her sister’s eyes, tears trembling on her beautiful long lashes. “Oh, ’Racie,” she said.
The Red Queen’s eyes softened at the sound of her childhood nickname.
“We don’t have to fight,” the White Queen went on.
The Red Queen snapped her mouth shut and glared suspiciously. “I know what you’re doing,” she snarled. “You think you can blink those pretty little eyes and I’ll melt like Mummy and Daddy did.”
The White Queen held out her smooth white arms beseechingly. “Please,” she said sweetly.
“It’s my crown!” screamed the Red Queen. “I’m the eldest! JABBERWOCKY!” Her horse pranced and spun, feeling the bolt of terror that shot through the crowd as an enormous dark form rose up behind the Red Queen.
The Jabberwocky’s vast wingspan blocked out the sun and darkened the clearing. It swung its reptilian head, studying them all with small, glistening eyes. Its long, spiked tail whipped across the grass. It extended one long, deadly claw and adjusted its red vest.
Alice could barely contain her fear. “This is impossible,” she whispered to the Hatter, standing loyally beside her foot.
“Only if you believe it is,” said the Mad Hatter. He looked up into her eyes, and his words sparked a memory of her father.
“Sometimes I believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast,” Alice said, smiling down at him.
“That is an excellent practice,” the Hatter agreed. “However, just at the moment, you really might want to focus on the Jabberwocky.”
That was the right answer. Alice slid off the Bandersnatch, tossed back her hair, and adjusted the sword at her waist. She was ready.
“Where’s your champion, sister?” the Red Queen sneered.
“Here,” said Alice, stepping boldly into the clearing.
“Hello, Um,” the Red Queen said.
The Jabberwocky hissed with pleasure. He slithered toward her, opened his slavering jaw, and roared.
“Six impossible things,” Alice whispered to herself, her voice trembling. “Count them, Alice. One! There’s a potion that can make you shrink. Two! And a cake that can make you grow.”
She drew the Vorpal Sword. The Jabberwocky lowered its huge head and loomed over her.
“Sssso, my old foe,” it hissed in a horrible voice that made Alice’s skin feel like it was crawling with insects. “We meet on the battlefield once again.”
Alice was shocked. She hadn’t known the Jabberwocky could talk . . . and she was sure she’d remember if they’d ever met in battle before. She couldn’t possibly have blocked out that part of her earlier visit, could she?
“We’ve never met,” she said, hoping he couldn’t hear the wavering in her voice.
“Not you, insignificant bearer,” said the Jabberwocky, casting her a scornful glance. “My ancient enemy, the Vorpal one.”
“That’s enough chatter!” Alice commanded.
Suddenly the Jabberwocky’s spiked tongue shot out toward the sword. Startled, Alice flung the sword up to defend herself, and it sliced right through the Jabberwocky’s tongue. The tongue flopped to the ground, wriggling in the dirt. Alice stepped back out of its way with a look of disgust. Now all the Jabberwocky could do was burble incoherently.
Alice was feeling triumphant when the Jabberwocky’s pronged tail whipped around and knocked her to the ground. Alice barely kept her grip on the Vorpal Sword, and her breath was knocked out of her. She lay still for a moment, gasping.
“Three,” she said aloud to herself. “Animals can talk.”
Some instinct made her roll out of the way just as the Jabberwocky’s tail slammed down to impale her.
“Four,” she said, faltering. “Four, Alice!” She climbed to her feet. “Cats can disappear.
“Five. There is a place called Wonderland,” she said firmly. The Jabberwocky swiped at her with long, curved claws, and she deflected them with a clang of her sword.
“Six,” Alice said, taking a deep breath. She stood still for a moment, then slowly lifted her head. All the fear was gone. There was nothing but fierce intention in her eyes. She knew the sixth impossible thing . . . and she believed it.
“I can slay the Jabberwocky!” she cried. She swung the sword in a wide arc and attacked with fury. Surprised by her fierceness, the Jabberwocky jumped back, then lashed out in defense. Now the battle had really begun.
Alice whirled, distracted, and claws scraped down the back of her armor. The Hatter winced. Alice backed up toward the Hatter, fending off the Jabberwocky.
“The Hatter’s interfering!” howled the Red Queen. “Off with his head!”
The Knave of Hearts drew his sword and ran at the Mad Hatter, who promptly drew his own sword to fight back. The well-ordered duel between champions erupted into a full-scale battle, with Alice and the Jabberwocky at the eye of the storm.
Mallymkun leaped onto Bayard’s back, Bielle growling fiercely at his side. Together, the bloodhounds and the Dormouse leaped at the JubJub Bird, wielding teeth and hatpins against its deadly talons.
The Cheshire Cat appeared in front of a Red Knight, then vanished as a sword was thrust at his middle. Confused, the Knight spun around and tried again, but the Cat could not be cornered.
With a howl, the Bandersnatch attacked four Red Knights at once, his strong jaws snapping around their armor. Meanwhile, the Tweedles fought back-to-back, with perfect precision and timing and nary a single argument. Not far away, the March Hare managed to shake off his paralyzing fear and started flinging anything he could find like a wild man, knocking out Red Knights right and left.
But the crux of the battle was still between Alice and the Jabberwocky, and she didn’t have time to watch her friends to make sure they were all right.
Alice attacked the beast with fierce thrust, swipes, and uppercuts. But the Jabberwocky was no easy opponent. It swiped back, and Alice was hit! The Vorpal Sword was knocked out of her hand, and she landed with a grunt at the bottom of a staircase. She quickly picked up the sword and ran up the stairs, where the battle continued. The Jabberwocky’s long, scaly neck snaked past her for barely a moment, and she seized the opportunity to leap onto his back, pulling herself up his sharp, bumpy scales. She could feel the edges of the scales cutting into the armored gloves on her hands. The Jabberwocky twisted and snapped, trying to shake her off.
The Vorpal Sword nearly wrenched itself out of Alice’s hand in its relentless pursuit of the creature’s head. Alice could barely keep her grip on it. She threw herself into the air.
“OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!” she yelled.
With one powerful thrust, Alice sank the Vorpal Sword into the Jabberwocky’s neck, severing its head from its vile body. The head rolled down the stairs and landed at the feet of the Red Queen.
Alice was too exhausted to speak, but the dead creature’s head seemed to say everything. The Queen pointed at Alice imperiously. “KILL HER!” she bellowed.