gripped her upper arm tight enough to bruise.
A loud buzz sounded and the clear plastic door slid up into the ceiling. Alice pushed back away from the door, but the guard was ready for that. He’d obviously done this task countless times before. Her panic level rose along with her pulse. Her vision started to go dark at the edges and her knees grew weak. Without missing a beat, the guard dropped his club to hang from a strap around his wrist and propped her up with his other arm.
“In you go,” he said, almost sounding like a father putting an unwilling child to bed.
“Stop!” called a cool, crisp woman’s voice from the end of the hall.
The guard released his grip on Alice’s arms immediately and snapped to attention. Alice stumbled a few steps into the cell before she caught her balance and turned around. The door was still open. The jail had gone eerily quiet except for the click of heels on the marble floor. The guards that had escorted her stared down the hallway, sweat pouring down their faces that wasn’t there just a moment before.
Alice tried to look down the hall through the clear cell walls, but all she could see was a blurry red shape through the thick plastic. After what felt like an eternity of clicking a woman appeared in front of her cell. She was tall, even without the heels, much taller than Alice’s mother, and possibly taller than her father. And she was strikingly beautiful, with skin as perfect as a porcelain doll and full red lips that pouted into a heart shape. Her eyes were a deep emerald green that practically sparkled. Her hair was pulled up into a neat bun and topped with a crown of diamonds and rubies.
There was no one feature that made her particularly intimidating, other than her height. If you focused on her eyes, or mouth alone, she might even appear pleasant. Taken as a whole, from head to toe, she exuded fierceness like a lioness. It wasn’t a facade that was put on and could be discarded any easier than a lioness could discard her large teeth and jaws. It was her nature.
“What have we here?” asked the queen, her identity obvious without any need for introduction.
“A trespasser in the royal docks, my queen,” said the five of hearts.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with, my queen,” said the four of hearts. He immediately gasped and covered his mouth. He was the guard who’d hit her with his club.
“I’ll be the one to decide what concerns me,” said the queen, in a conversational tone. She stepped into the cell and smiled down at Alice. “Off with his head!”
Outside the cell there was the distinct sound of a sword being drawn and then a scream was cut short. Thick red liquid splashed across the clear plastic of the cell, followed by a smaller thud and then a larger one. Alice was thankful that her view was blocked by the queen. Even so, she imagined the guard’s head tumbling to the floor, his mouth still open. The queen didn’t seem to give it a second thought. She looked Alice over from head to toe and then back to her hair. She took a lock of it between her fingers and smiled. “Such beautiful hair. So rare to find a blonde in Wonderland.”
“Th-thank you,” stammered Alice. It seemed strange to be exchanging pleasantries while a corpse was cooling just out of view, but some part of her knew it would be a mistake not to answer. Another part, something deep down inside where she hoped nobody would ever see, was a bit glad he was dead. The memory of the pain that club caused would haunt her nightmares.
Behind the queen was a lot of metal clanking and grunting. Another couple of soldiers had arrived and were bent over the corpse visible just behind the queen’s feet. Alice noticed the queen’s feet were rather small for a person her height. Like the rest of her clothing, her shoes were a deep red that Alice now recognized as the color of dried blood.
“So, what were you doing at the royal docks, my little beauty?” asked the queen,
A loud buzz sounded and the clear plastic door slid up into the ceiling. Alice pushed back away from the door, but the guard was ready for that. He’d obviously done this task countless times before. Her panic level rose along with her pulse. Her vision started to go dark at the edges and her knees grew weak. Without missing a beat, the guard dropped his club to hang from a strap around his wrist and propped her up with his other arm.
“In you go,” he said, almost sounding like a father putting an unwilling child to bed.
“Stop!” called a cool, crisp woman’s voice from the end of the hall.
The guard released his grip on Alice’s arms immediately and snapped to attention. Alice stumbled a few steps into the cell before she caught her balance and turned around. The door was still open. The jail had gone eerily quiet except for the click of heels on the marble floor. The guards that had escorted her stared down the hallway, sweat pouring down their faces that wasn’t there just a moment before.
Alice tried to look down the hall through the clear cell walls, but all she could see was a blurry red shape through the thick plastic. After what felt like an eternity of clicking a woman appeared in front of her cell. She was tall, even without the heels, much taller than Alice’s mother, and possibly taller than her father. And she was strikingly beautiful, with skin as perfect as a porcelain doll and full red lips that pouted into a heart shape. Her eyes were a deep emerald green that practically sparkled. Her hair was pulled up into a neat bun and topped with a crown of diamonds and rubies.
There was no one feature that made her particularly intimidating, other than her height. If you focused on her eyes, or mouth alone, she might even appear pleasant. Taken as a whole, from head to toe, she exuded fierceness like a lioness. It wasn’t a facade that was put on and could be discarded any easier than a lioness could discard her large teeth and jaws. It was her nature.
“What have we here?” asked the queen, her identity obvious without any need for introduction.
“A trespasser in the royal docks, my queen,” said the five of hearts.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with, my queen,” said the four of hearts. He immediately gasped and covered his mouth. He was the guard who’d hit her with his club.
“I’ll be the one to decide what concerns me,” said the queen, in a conversational tone. She stepped into the cell and smiled down at Alice. “Off with his head!”
Outside the cell there was the distinct sound of a sword being drawn and then a scream was cut short. Thick red liquid splashed across the clear plastic of the cell, followed by a smaller thud and then a larger one. Alice was thankful that her view was blocked by the queen. Even so, she imagined the guard’s head tumbling to the floor, his mouth still open. The queen didn’t seem to give it a second thought. She looked Alice over from head to toe and then back to her hair. She took a lock of it between her fingers and smiled. “Such beautiful hair. So rare to find a blonde in Wonderland.”
“Th-thank you,” stammered Alice. It seemed strange to be exchanging pleasantries while a corpse was cooling just out of view, but some part of her knew it would be a mistake not to answer. Another part, something deep down inside where she hoped nobody would ever see, was a bit glad he was dead. The memory of the pain that club caused would haunt her nightmares.
Behind the queen was a lot of metal clanking and grunting. Another couple of soldiers had arrived and were bent over the corpse visible just behind the queen’s feet. Alice noticed the queen’s feet were rather small for a person her height. Like the rest of her clothing, her shoes were a deep red that Alice now recognized as the color of dried blood.
“So, what were you doing at the royal docks, my little beauty?” asked the queen,
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