Page 7 of Knot My Wonderland, Part Two (Fairytale Omegaverse #2)
Chapter
Five
ALICE
I was led back to my chambers in a fog of disorientation, the attendants' synchronized movements creating a strange rhythm that seemed to echo in my bones.
The silk dress felt heavier now, as if the fabric itself had absorbed some of the Red Queen's corrupting magic.
Each step sent ripples of weakness through my legs, making me grateful for the silent support of the mirror-eyed women flanking me.
The collar at my throat pulsed with each heartbeat, a constant reminder of my captivity.
Through the crimson haze clouding my thoughts, I tried to focus on the bonds—the golden thread connecting me to Heart felt stretched to its breaking point, while the silver connection to Chi flickered like a dying flame.
The Queen's tea concoction was working exactly as intended it seems.
The chamber door sealed behind me with a soft click that somehow sounded final, like the closing of a tomb.
I stumbled toward the bed, my legs giving out just as I reached the crimson silk sheets.
The attendants arranged pillows around me with mechanical precision, their mirror-eyes reflecting my pale face without warmth or recognition.
"Rest now," one of them murmured, her voice carrying an odd harmonic quality that made my eyelids heavy. "The Queen requires you to be strong for tonight's treatment."
Treatment. The word sent a chill through me despite the unnatural warmth still flowing through my veins. I watched through increasingly blurred vision as they set out fresh clothes—another white dress, this one with silver embroidery that seemed to move when I wasn't looking directly at it.
The attendants departed as silently as they'd arrived, leaving me alone.
I lay there staring at the crystalline ceiling, watching the refractions of light dance across the surface like trapped stars.
The crimson liquid's effects pulsed through my system in waves—moments of clarity followed by deep fog, each cycle leaving me more disconnected from myself.
I pressed my palm against my chest, searching for the familiar warmth of the bonds that had anchored me since arriving in Wonderland.
The golden thread to Heart was still there, but it felt thin as spider silk, trembling with each beat of my heart.
The silver connection to Chi flickered in and out of existence, sometimes solid enough to carry echoes of his frantic searching, other times so faint I wondered if I'd imagined it entirely.
The worst part was the growing sense of hollowness inside me.
As the room spun lazily around me, the crystalline formations in the walls refracted light into dancing patterns that made my eyes water. I pressed my hands against my temples, trying to push through the fog that seemed to be thickening with each passing minute.
Through the weakening golden bond, I felt Heart's consciousness surge—stronger than before, as if something that had been dampening our connection had been removed.
The sudden clarity was like a lifeline thrown to a drowning person.
I clung to that sensation, drawing strength from his distant presence even as the Red Queen's poison worked to sever our connection.
Heart…Chi… I thought desperately, pouring every ounce of my remaining will into the golden thread. I'm still here. Still fighting.
The response came back faint but unmistakable—a pulse of determination and protective fury that made the collar at my throat flare with warning heat.
He was alive, wounded but alive, and searching for me.
The knowledge gave me something to anchor myself to as the crimson fog tried to pull me deeper into its embrace.
I forced myself to sit up, ignoring the way the movement made the room tilt alarmingly. The silver dress they'd laid out for me seemed to shimmer with its own light, the embroidery moving like living things across the fabric. Something about it made my skin crawl.
I pushed myself off the bed, determined to find any means of resistance while my mind still retained some clarity.
The collar pulsed against my throat, sensing my defiance, but I ignored its warning heat.
My legs trembled beneath me as I crossed to the window, pressing my palms against the cool crystal surface.
The view outside had changed. Where before I'd seen the bone gardens and twisted trees, now I faced an endless expanse of crimson sky, no horizon line to be found.
Reality itself seemed fluid here, shifting according to the Queen's whims. Or perhaps it was the drug in my system, altering my perception of what was real.
I turned away, scanning the chamber for anything I might use—a weapon, a tool, even just a signal to send to Heart and Chi.
But the room contained nothing sharp, nothing solid enough to break the collar.
The Queen had prepared the gilded cage with a meticulous attention to detail.
Even the furniture seemed to meld with the walls, as if grown from the same crystalline structure rather than placed there.
A wave of dizziness swept over me, forcing me to grip the window ledge for support.
The crimson liquid's effects were intensifying, spreading through my system in pulsing waves that made it increasingly difficult to form coherent thoughts.
Through our weakened bond, I felt Heart's concern spike as he sensed my growing disorientation.
I slid down to the floor, pressing my forehead against the cool crystal of the window.
The collar hummed against my throat, its carved patterns warming as if responding to my distress.
I traced my fingers over its surface, feeling the intricate enchantments embedded in the bone-like material.
There had to be a way to remove it, to restore my connection to the pattern and strengthen the bonds being systematically destroyed by the Queen's ritual.
"I won't let her take you," I whispered to the pattern, to myself. "I won't let her break us."
A soft chime echoed through the chamber, making me flinch at the unexpected noise. The door slid open, revealing Captain Aldric. His frozen-blood eyes surveyed me with clinical detachment as he entered, carrying another silver tray with a steaming cup.
"You shouldn't be on the floor," he said, setting the tray on a small table that seemed to materialize from the wall itself. "The Queen would be displeased to find her daughter in such an undignified position."
"I'm not her daughter," I managed, though the words slurred at the edges. "And I don't care what pleases her."
A flicker of something—perhaps amusement—crossed his aristocratic features before disappearing behind the mask of professional detachment. "Nevertheless, you should return to bed. I brought you food."
I pressed my back against the wall, using it to support myself as I glared up at him. "I’m not hungry.”
"The Queen anticipated your reluctance," Aldric replied, his voice carrying neither sympathy nor malice. "She instructed me to inform you that refusal isn't an option. The cleansing process requires you to stay strong…which means eating to keep your energy up."
I studied his perfect, emotionless face, searching for any crack in his facade, any hint of the person beneath the servitude. "Do you ever question her? Or are you just another puppet dancing on her strings?"
Something flickered in those frozen-blood eyes—brief but unmistakable. Pain, perhaps. Or memory.
"I serve the Crown of Hearts," he said carefully. "As I have for centuries."
"That's not an answer." I bit out, eyes narrowed at the man.
"It's the only answer that matters in the Red Court." He approached slowly, extending a hand to help me up. When I didn't take it, he sighed—a surprisingly human gesture from someone who seemed more statuesque.
"The Queen was once different," he said quietly, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper. "Before the plague. Before she lost her daughter. Before grief twisted her into something that could justify any cruelty in the name of love."
I stared at him, surprised by the admission. The collar at my throat pulsed with warning heat, as if sensing the dangerous direction of our conversation.
"You knew her daughter," I said, not quite a question.
Aldric's perfect features tightened almost imperceptibly.
"I was assigned to protect her. The princess was.
.. remarkable. Brilliant, compassionate, everything a future queen should be.
" His frozen-blood eyes grew distant. "When the plague took her, it didn't just kill the princess.
It killed the last of the Queen's humanity. "
The crimson fog in my mind seemed to clear slightly, perhaps responding to the genuine emotion beneath Aldric's words.
I studied him more carefully now, noticing the subtle signs of weariness beneath his perfect facade.
The slight tightness around his eyes, the almost imperceptible tension in his shoulders.
He wasn't just a servant—he was a survivor who had witnessed the Queen's transformation firsthand.
"You couldn't save her," I said softly. "The princess."
Pain flashed across his features before he mastered it.
"No one could. The plague consumed her from the inside out, magic turning against its wielder.
Her mother tried everything—blood rituals, reality manipulation, soul transfers.
Nothing worked." He extended his hand again, more insistent this time.
"Come. You need to eat before the second treatment. "
I allowed him to help me to my feet, my legs still trembling from the first dose of the Queen's concoction. As he guided me to the small table where the tray waited, I caught a glimpse of something else in his expression—guilt so profound it had carved itself into the very lines of his face.
"She blames you," I realized, settling into the chair with movements that felt disconnected from my own will. "For not saving her daughter."