She tried to bury her depression. “Did you ever find Dee and Dum?” she asked him.
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Yes, but I left them with Elliot. I can’t hear myself think once they start screaming at each other.”
Based on the look on Blood’s face, Alice decided to change the subject. “I would, um, really like to know more about the territories in the Country of Diamonds,” she said carefully. “Who are the other leaders?”
Blood crossed his arms. “There are four territories, including Hatter Mansion—the others are Diamond Castle, the Train Station, and the Gravekeeper’s museum and graveyard.”
“I guess Diamond Castle is run by those two I just met. Crysta and…Sidney, was it?”
“Right—the Queen of Diamonds and the Black Rabbit. The Station has the Stationmaster, the Lizard, and the Cheshire Cat. But you seem to know them already, so maybe you didn’t need the explanation, after all.”
She was pretty sure Blood hadn’t been nearby when she’d spoken to the others, so maybe he had someone following her?
He’s as sharp as ever.
“Okay. Is there anyone else at the graveyard and museum? Besides Jericho, I mean.”
“Yes—he has two other Role-Holders in his territory. One is—”
A loud voice squawked through the room, cutting Blood off.
“Julius, you’re…strangling me!” a young man cried. “I can’t breathe~!”
“I don’t like how you’re wandering around and eyeing everything. Walk in a straight line, Ace!”
Alice sucked in a breath. She whipped around to see a familiar man toss his long hair over his shoulder and drag in a young teenager.
“Wh…”
“Speak of the devil,” Blood murmured. “There they are. But it seems like you already know them?”
Alice swallowed. Julius Monrey, the Clockmaker, looked and sounded just like she remembered—but the rambunctious teenager he towered over wasn’t the Ace she knew. Was he not the Knight of Hearts anymore? And why was he younger now, like Nightmare?
Julius’s blue eyes locked on her and Blood, then slid past them to the rest of the room. The spark of suspicion in his eyes confirmed what she already guessed: he didn’t remember her, either.
The last vestiges of hope died inside her. Now she’d met them all. And not one of them knew her.
“At last,” someone called. “I’m sick of waiting. Since everyone is finally here, shall we proceed to the meeting place?”
Alice paused; the words sounded like Crysta’s, but her voice was different. She craned her neck to find out who was speaking just as the sound of a loud clap filled the room. Before the reverberations died down, the scene shifted around Alice.
At first Alice thought that the waiting room’s walls had just vanished, but then she turned around. She and the other participants stood in a wide, rounded space like a Roman Coliseum, with countless Faceless citizens looking on from the stands.
Alice had thought she was used to the casual magic that popped up in Wonderland, but her eyes still widened at the abrupt change. Blood laughed.
“Follow me—our seats are over there. Why do you look so shocked?”
“I just wasn’t…expecting to teleport or whatever. Who’s the woman who made that announcement?”
“What do you mean? I just told you. Take your seat.”
She finally followed his pointing finger; Elliot, the twins, and several other Hatter mobsters sat in a line of nearby chairs. He parted from her side and headed to a chair at the head of the section. His chair—with its fancier upholstery—sat in the front row.
A seat for the leader.
Dee squirmed in his chair. “It’s about to start, Brother! Ah, I wanna go to the Garden Party—I hope they set us free quick.”
“I’m more worried about our bets, Brother. I wanna double our money!”
Alice lowered herself into a seat next to the twins. She looked out ahead of them, to the middle of the Coliseum, where four giant, hollow, diamond-shaped glass sculptures loomed over the ground. She scanned the faces in the assembled groups.
They went from right to left: the Gravekeeper, Nightmare the Stationmaster, the Black Rabbit, and finally themselves, the Hatters. She imagined the four glass sculptures related to each territory.
No one sat in the front-row seat in front of Sidney. As the noise of the crowd began to die down, Alice’s eyes fell on the silent hostess standing near the sculptures. Her presence alone seemed to draw the attention and quiet reverence of everyone in the stadium.
She wore a black dress with gold trim, just like Crysta had worn in the waiting room, and she seemed to have Crysta’s eyes. But the child had vanished, replaced by a striking woman with haunting, ethereal beauty.
“My fellow citizens of the nation, and territory leaders, I thank you for your hard work on this, the Survey Meeting!”
Her graceful voice echoed through the stadium, commanding the entire area. Alice shivered.
So Crysta was like the twins in Clover, and jumped between the form of a child and an adult. Alice filed that information away.
“It’s been quite a while since the last meeting, and I’m sure there are many who have high expectations, hm? Those who amuse themselves with wagers are free to enjoy the Garden Party. However, keep in mind that any violence is strictly prohibited. I imagine there are many of you who are exhausted with all the fighting, so I want everyone to take advantage of this truce to refresh themselves and have a fabulous time!”
The queen ducked her head slightly, her voice turning more solemn. “And now…let the meeting begin!”
A tumult of cheers and horns exploded into the sky. As if following the noise, flights of doves flapped up into the atmosphere.
The queen smiled, clearly satisfied, and descended from the stage. She passed a Faceless announcer who climbed onto the stage and stood tall.
“Let’s get this Survey Meeting underway!” he boomed. “Do those cheers mean that you’re all ready for this?!”
As the announcer spoke, several dozen Faceless ascended the stage and began their work.
Alice squinted in confusion, not sure what was happening. Elliot seemed to notice.
“What’re you doing?” he barked. “If you wanna see, look over there! That’s where they calculate the territory size!”
“Where they… Oh!”
The diamond-shaped glass sculptures had been empty, but now they started to fill with sand in a slow trickle from overhead. Each vessel held a different color of sand: yellow, green, black, or blue. In the air in front of the sculptures, numbers ticked upward.
“What colors represent what territories?” Alice asked.
“Yellow’s Diamond Castle,” Dee answered. “Green’s the Station.”
“Then black is Gravekeeper, so blue’s us, Big Sis.”
The twins seemed on tenterhooks waiting for the results. Alice furrowed her brow.
“Really? The results of the Survey Meeting are decided in the sand?”
“Yup! Easy, right? Even the stupid rabbit can understand it with one look!
“Ha ha, the dumb rabbit won’t do anything hard. This way even he can see the results!”
“Are you little brats talking crap about me?!”
“Shut up,” Blood hissed. “If you’re going to make noise, leave. Just go to the Garden Party and be done with it.”
Dee whooped. “That’s our Boss! He always knows what we want! See ya later!”
“Party, party! Free party!”
The twins clapped their hands excitedly and scrambled to get out. Blood sighed and flicked his blue-green gaze to Alice.
“They’re surveying each territory for land mass, young lady—to use as the foundation for each team’s power. You can leave if you want. I’ll send someone for you when it’s finished.”
“Is that how it works?” Alice had assumed no one could leave until the meeting was over.
The Mad Hatter shrugged. “Sure. The other territory delegations are doing it.”
Alice suddenly noticed that the territorial leaders were sitting alone. The rest of their Role-Holders had vanished already. The only exceptions were Sidney and Elliot.
“You won’t be able to escape no matter where you go, so do as you like.”
Alice smiled sarcastically at him. Implying that the guards are tracking me, huh?
“Okay,” she said slowly. “I’ve been wondering about the Garden Party, so I think I’ll go there.”
As she rose from her seat, she wondered if this was Blood trying to push her away. In the Country of Clover, Blood had a velvet tongue when it came to guiding Alice’s actions. His words were smooth and effective.
It reminded her, once again, that the version of Blood who sat here with his legs crossed was a very different man. He kept his eyes on the sand towers and didn’t spare her a glance.
She left him for the party.