Chapter 9: The Long Forgotten Grin

                                    

                                          
Rose had been pouring over history books and ancient scrolls for almost a full day, only stopping to eat and take the occasional cat nap. She didn’t know how much time would pass before Gwen’s theories would come to pass, if they did at all, but she would be ready. When the Red Queen fell, Rose would be there to take her place.
                          
She would sit on a throne of glass, surrounded by beautiful people and beautiful music, and ease Wonderland in to a new era. One that balanced the majesty of Wonderland’s legends with a promise for the future.
                          
“Your highness,” a young voice beckoned.
                          
Rose gasped and flung herself up from her chair. At first she’d been merely startled—she hadn’t heard anyone come into the library—but at seeing the child standing in front of her, anxiety turned to a sickening twist of fear, for she was seeing a ghost.
                          
Her mouth slightly agape, Rose remained silent as a memory strode towards her. She wondered if she had fallen asleep. She pinched the back of her hand, but the apparition continued its walk to her desk, giving Rose a moment to study it, to try and understand. The boy looked exactly like her childhood best friend. Exactly.
                          
She hadn’t seen Alec since they were both children of eight, saying their final goodbyes when Rose and her father moved away from the forest. He’d been a scrawny child who was usually adorned in smears of mud, and the two of them had been inseparable. At least until they’d been permanently separated by the end of Rose’s parent’s marriage.
                          
It had been nearly fifteen years since she’d last seen the strange child who had been her neighbor in Neverwood Forest, but here he was, completely unchanged, as though he’d been plucked from the corners of Rose’s mind.
                          
Even after all this time, Alec still stood at just over four feet, and his face held the round shape of a child. The overalls and grass-stained shirt could have belonged to anyone, but the face was all Alec. He was grinning at her, apparently more thrilled with this reunion than Rose. It was only when their eyes met that Rose saw any difference from the boy she had known. His silver eyes that had once held only kindness and a dash of mischief now glinted with danger and a dark kind of magic.
                          
When she was younger, Rose had thought Alec’s eyes were mysterious, even beautiful. Liquid silver pooled around coal, unlike anything she had ever seen. Now, his gaze left her uneasy.
                          
“It’s good to see you again, Rose,” Alec said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. The timbre of his voice was young, but the tone suggested that he had seen a great many things during their time apart.
                          
“Alec. Is that really you?” Rose whispered. “How is this possible?”
                          
“You’ve done well for yourself.” Alec’s small head turned to take in the luxurious surroundings of the royal library.
                          
“Thank you,” Rose said, though it sounded more like a question. “It’s been so long. I don’t understand.”
                          
The boy smiled once more, and a shiver shot up Rose’s spine. “I’ve heard whispers, Rose. You’re planning something, and I’m not sure it’s wise.”
                          
“I’m Queen,” Rose said simply, though she shouldn’t have to explain herself. Even if she had never risen to take the White Throne, her caste alone gave her the right to interfere with Wonderland. Queens were born to shape the land, as Daliah had said, and now she was in a position to do so much more. Who was he to tell her otherwise? What was he? He had yet to offer any explanation for his form or his visit.
                          
Rose’s mind pulled at various threads, desperate to uncover how this strange encounter could be related to her visions or the things she had learned in Marc’s strange little home. Was this Wonderland’s way of helping her?
                          
Growing up, Alec had always had a way of knowing more than he should. He told stories of places others swore no longer existed and knew secrets that he shouldn’t have had access to. Rose had never understood how he did it, but perhaps she’d be able to use it. They had been friends once. Maybe they could be again.
                          
“Why are you here?” Rose finally asked before mustering the courage to ask for the answer she was actually seeking. “What are you?”
                          
“I’m a Wonderlander, your majesty,” he said. His face remained neutral and patient, but his eyes held a challenge. “The question is, what are you?”
                          
“I’m Queen,” Rose said again, this time with a tone of arrogance even she could hear. She may have been momentarily awed by Alec’s presence, but they weren’t in Neverwood Forest anymore. Whether he was truly the child she remembered or simply a trick of Wonderland didn’t matter. Rose ruled here, and if it was in Alec’s power to assist her, he was duty-bound to do so. “I’m thrilled to see you, Alec, truly. Our reunion could not have been better timed. Do you remember the stories you used to tell me?”
                          
Now Alec studied Rose. “Of course.”
                          
“You knew so many magnificent things. Whenever I’d ask where you learned them, you’d say that Wonderland told you. Was that true?”
                          
Rose was surprised when the boy shook his head. “No, Rose. Only a Queen can talk directly to Wonderland. I was just sneaky. Well, sneaky and clever.”
                          
“Sneaky and clever is exactly what I need.” Fueled by excitement, Rose continued on. “You could find Alice for me and bring her here. We can ensure Wonderland’s survival all on our own. Set her on a path that could change the structure of Wonderland forever.”
                          
Rose expected her friend to at least ask about Alice or where all these ideas were coming from. Instead Alec shook his head sadly, unmoved by Rose’s speech. “You’re a Queen of Wonderland, Rose. You serve her—it doesn’t work any other way. There is nothing to be gained by trying to force her to bend to your will.”
                          
Who was he to come in to her home and tell Rose how to rule? Who was to say that what she was doing now wasn’t exactly what Wonderland had intended for her?
                          
Indignation scratched at the back of Rose’s mind, but she was far too annoyed to word a retort. It turned out she didn’t need to because Alec wasn’t quite finished.
                          
“Play at your games of power, Rose. It is Alice who decides what is to come, not us. Not yet. A time will come to take your place and you’ll find your schemes mean little.”
                          
Alec stepped back from Rose’s desk and walked to the large bay window that made up the eastern wall of the library. “When it does, you may come to regret the decisions you’re making now. I came here tonight to help you see the larger picture. You’re playing with forces you don’t understand. Wonderland has a plan, and it’s not for you to interfere.”
                          
Dumbfounded, Rose averted her eyes, briefly chastised. “You don’t understand,” she offered weakly.
                          
Alec placed a small hand on the glass as his eyes scanned the distance.
                          
Not knowing what else to do or say, Rose joined him at the window. She peered out at her Queendom and at the expanse of Wonderland that stretched before them. Villages and farms dotted the landscape for acres. She imagined the way it would look after she began to implement the ideas of the East, but for now there was nothing out of the ordinary besides the distant edge of Neverwood.
                          
Rose looked down at the boy, prepared to tell him he should leave her castle if he was unwilling to assist her, but his silver eyes were still glued to the scene before him, and her resolve softened. She knew, in that moment, that Alec was seeing so much more than she ever could. It was a trait that had drawn her to him all those years ago, back when he would have done anything to help her.
                          
“So you won’t find her then?”
                          
At last, Alec turned to face Rose. “I didn’t say that,” he stated, but Rose’s mind didn’t register the words until much later, for she was too busy trying to untangle what her eyes were seeing. A smile once again crept onto Alec’s face as his body faded away.
                          
    At first, Rose could simply see through the boy to the rows of bookshelves behind him, but as she stared on, her mouth falling slack once more, parts of his body began to disappear entirely. Rose wanted to call out, to demand that he stay, but it was only a moment before all that remained was a set of silver eyes and a bone-chilling grin.