❤❤❤
THE moment they circled around the hill, they were greeted by a grass field so beautiful and serene, it almost made them forget they were a stone’s throw away from the Demon Lord’s castle.
“She’s there in the middle. Look!”
“Maybe you’re not so useless after all, Hatta.”
They approached the sheep.
“Hey there! So,” Hatta addressed it, “we need you for something.”
The sheep ignored him completely.
“Is that any way to address a queen, Hatta?” scoffed Alice.
“Yeah, Hatta, show a little respect,” chimed in Haigha.
“Alright, alright, jeez.” Hatta cleared his throat. “My queen, all I ask is but a moment of your time. The situation is dire.”
The sheep kept on ignoring him.
“Close but no cigar,” snorted Alice.
“C’mon, I totally nailed it.”
“You better get your head in the game before I nail it to a wall!”
“Why can’t things just go my way for once?” Hatta got down on his hands and knees. “I beg you, Your Highness. Help us…please!”
It turned out this was just a sheep, not the sheep.
“Well, isn’t that just great? Yippee!”
“You’re jumping to conclusions, Hatta. Did you hear it go ‘maa?’ Because I certainly didn’t.”
“Goats go ‘maa,’ not sheep. Sheep go ‘baa.’”
“Thank you for clearing that up, Haigha. Let’s head back.”
“Excuse me?”
Just as the conversation was getting weird, a gigantic flock of sheep appeared.
“Quick, Hatta, get down on your hands and knees!”
“Ha, you wish!”
They bickered as the flock of sheep took the opportunity to completely surround them.
“Long time no see, Alice,” said one of the sheep, which turned into a breathtakingly beautiful young lady before their eyes. “What brings you here?”
“I was just about to ask you that myself, actually.”
“The Red Queen can manage by herself, so I’m enjoying the quiet life for now. Want to try being a sheep? I promise you won’t regret it.”
Her carefree attitude sharply contrasted the Red Queen’s resentfulness.
“Uh…maybe next time. We need your help getting to the Demon Lord’s castle.”
“The Demon Lord’s castle? Oh, I see. You wish to pass through the Nameless Forest. Sure, go ahead; I don’t mind.”
“How are you going to get us through, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Ta-da!” The White Queen busted out two separate Poems of Jabberwocky.
“Awesome!” Haigha rushed over to the White Queen, a glimmer in her eye. “May I look at them, please?”
“Of course, feel free.”
“Thank you so much, Your Majesty!”
One of the books contained spells involving shapeshifting into various animals, while the other contained a spell that could dispel anything.
“This book could very well make magic obsolete, Alice,” Haigha said, slightly awed.
“So, I’m guessing we can just borrow it and cut out the middleman?” Alice asked.
“I don’t have enough energy to cast the spell, let alone maintain it for prolonged periods of time. I don’t mean to come off as rude, but can you use it, White Queen?” Haigha asked.
“Naturally,” replied the Queen, “although I can only maintain it for upwards of thirty minutes before going limp. I’ll cast it at the entrance and the rest is up to you.”
“Your help is greatly appreciated, White Queen,” Alice said.
And so, with the White Queen now on their side, the four headed back.
✦ ✦ ✦
❤❤❤
THEIR nostrils were greeted by a delicious smell the moment they stepped inside the hut.
“Chow time!”
“You said it!”
The mouthwatering selection of foods on display caught Hatta and Haigha’s attention almost instantly.
“Well, fancy meeting you here, Seb.”
“Long time no see, White Queen. Come, join us.”
They dug in, the atmosphere made extra-cozy due to the White Queen’s relaxing presence.
“Why are you traveling to the Demon Lord’s castle again?” asked the White Queen.
“Jean got kidnapped,” Alice said brusquely.
“Oh, I see! So you seek to rescue him from the Demon Lord’s clutches?”
“Alice doing something out of the kindness of her heart?” White interjected. “Pfft, apparently she just wants to ‘knock some sense’ into the Demon Lord who ‘egregiously’ mistook Jean for the princess, despite her ‘unrivaled’ cuteness,” he said sarcastically.
“Never change, do you?” sniffed the Queen.
The two knew Alice so well, they were entirely unfazed, even after hearing her rather questionable motives.
“Never have, never will. But, now that I think about it, just smacking some sense into him won’t cut it. I’ll have him beg and grovel at my feet, kinda like Hatta.”
“Don’t drag me into this!”
“Hatta groveled at your feet?” Seb asked incredulously.
“Well, not mine and not really feet, but rather, a sheep’s hooves.”
“What did I just say?!”
I knew I should’ve come with. What a shame, Seb thought.
“I believe a short break is in order before we go,” Alice declared. “Oh, and I assume you’ll be tagging along for the ride, too?” she asked White.
“Naturally! It’s my duty to protect the White Queen.”
“Do you wish to discuss ancient magic with me, Haigha?” asked the Queen.
“Do I ever!”
Haigha and the White Queen had a friendly chat, while Seb and Hatta tended to their weapons.
“Come on; I’m bored,” Alice said to White.
“All right. Why not?”
Alice took White back to the grass field.
“Bring me a sheep.”
“…Okay?”
He did just that, slightly confused.
“Huh, didn’t even react,” Alice said as she hopped on its back.
“That’s because you weigh almost nothing.”
“It’s so soft and fluffy and nice.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Can I cuddle it?”
“Go ahead.”
Alice buried her face into the sheep’s shaggy fleece, rubbing against it with the most precious smile imaginable.
A smile like that could’ve prevented any of this from happening, White thought as he took it all in.