“Even after all that rewinding, you failed to pinpoint the perpetrator. Why? Because it’s you.”
“You have no proof!”
The absurd debate raged on.
Not only is what she’s saying completely absurd, but she also doesn’t have any proof, as the White Rabbit correctly pointed out. But if so, then who is the tart thief? Hatta thought.
“Haigha, do you see what I see?”
“Yeah, I think I do.”
Hatta and Haigha appeared to have noticed something. Their gazes were fixed on a guard munching on a tart right behind the Red Queen.
“Fess up!” cried the Red Queen.
“Call Princess Alice first!”
“Do you think you can pull the wool over my eyes? I know a tart thief when I smell one; I eat at least one every day.”
“I’m not pulling anything!”
How has nobody noticed? Do they want to make him out to be a criminal?
“Lift the veil,” commanded Alice.
“As you wish,” purred Cheshire.
They appeared before the Red Queen.
“Alice? How did you—”
“Alice?! Have you come to rescue me?” The White Rabbit skipped around with joy.
“I came to see the trial firsthand. Quick question: what if the tart thief was actually one of your guards?”
“I’d lock them up in the dungeon for the rest of their natural life.”
She really hasn’t noticed.
“Well, you’re in luck. I know who did it.”
“You do?!”
“Yes! You really did come to rescue me!” The White Rabbit got so excited, he dove face-first into Alice’s chest. “Thank you, thank you, thank—” Alice grabbed him by the ears, a black aura enveloping her. “Y-Your chest is a little bigger than Hai—” She smashed him into the ground, instantly rendering him unconscious.
“Go die in a ditch,” Alice snarled, trampling all over the White Rabbit with her high heels. “He did it.” She handed him over to the Red Queen, holding him by the neck.
“Throw him in the dungeon!”
“You reap what you sow,” Hatta and Haigha whispered to each other as the guards dragged the White Rabbit away.
“Can we just leave him like this?”
“He’s got his pocket watch. I’m sure he’ll escape in no time.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“You’ve been a great help, Alice! If there’s anything I can do to return the favor, feel free to ask away.”
“Mind if I borrow the Poem of Jabberwocky?”
“The Poem of Jabberwocky? Oh…that. It should be in the storage room. Jack, escort our guests.”
“Understood.”
They followed Jack—the guard that ate the tart.
“You’re the real tart thief, aren’t you?’
“I’ve been caught red-handed. Just kidding! Truth is, there never was a tart thief. The Red Queen just generously shared one of her tarts with me.”
“Elaborate.”
“No one ever stole any tarts; that’s just something the Red Queen made up to teach the White Rabbit a lesson for all his chicanery.”
“I thought it was a little silly to have a trial over some stolen tarts, even if they were one of a kind. Now it all adds up.”
Cheshire’s presence had suddenly faded. He likely turned around and left due to the case officially being closed, Alice thought.
“And here we are.” Jack led them inside a room full of books. “Let me just find it real quick, and…there it is: the Poem of Jabberwocky. There are plenty of fakes circulating, but this one’s undoubtedly the real thing. You can just feel the magical energy.”
The magical energy was so powerful they could indeed feel it bleed through the box. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that it was, in fact, the real thing.
Alice opened up the spellbook.
“Gibberish, as expected. It’s your time to shine, Haigha.”
“It sure is.”
Please don’t be egg-distinguishing magic, please don’t be egg-distinguishing magic, prayed Haigha as she opened the spellbook.
“It dispels illusions, just like Cheshy said. There’s also magic that protects from illusions.”
“Jackpot. Ridge of Illusions, consider yourself crossed,” Hatta said.
“You’re going to be crossing the Ridge of Illusions?” Jack asked. “Well, in that case, I’ve got some pretty exciting news for you. Somewhere along the ridge, there’s this item shop called Deedledumdee. There you’ll find rare items not sold anywhere else, or so the rumor goes.”
“You had me at ‘item shop!’” Hatta exclaimed. “Alice, we have to stop by there.”
“If, and only if, we happen to find it,” replied Alice. “Thank you, Jack. We’ll be on our way now.”
Parting with the Land of Cards, Alice and the gang set off for the Ridge of Illusions, where a mysterious item shop awaited.
✦ ✦ ✦
❤❤❤
MEANWHILE…
“Wow! Just think of all the historically significant books hidden inside these shelves.” Jean marveled at the library, whose shelves were simply bursting and stretched all around the room.
“All the knowledge you’ll ever need is within these four walls. Not me, though; I’ve already read through most of them,” the Demon Lord said a little smugly.
“You’re surprisingly well-rea—” A speck of dust flew into Jean’s eye. “Ouch!”
“What happened?”
“I got something in my eye.”
“Show me.” He lifted Jean’s chin, their eyes meeting. The Demon Lord felt like his heart was about to explode.
Do I go in for the kiss? No, that’d come off too strong. Maybe I should hand her a handkerchief like a proper gentleman would? On the one hand, he wanted nothing more than to cherish and treasure Jean. On the other hand, his carnal urges were screaming at him to go all the way.
“Here, use this,” he said, handing over a handkerchief.
“Thanks.”
In the end, the Demon Lord pushed his carnal urges down and was rewarded with Jean’s beautiful smile as a result. He promised himself to always treat Jean with the utmost respect going forward.
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing. Now, what say we treat ourselves to some tea?”
The Demon Lord had one of his minions make tea as they moved into a different room.
“It’s nice.”
“Made with only the finest tea leaves. Cookie?”
“Why are you so nice to me, Demon Lord?”
“For you, I’d take on God Himself.”
Jean clutched his chest, desperately trying to stop himself from diving into the Demon Lord’s arms.
You’re a guy, remember? What’s with you? Jean felt so embarrassed, he kept his face down, sneaking glances at the Demon Lord.
“Something wrong?” The Demon Lord’s precious smile pierced through Jean’s heart, knocking him out instantly. “Jean? Jean?!”