Page 9 of Knot My Wonderland, Part Two (Fairytale Omegaverse #2)

Chapter

Six

SETH

I glanced around, Alice had only been gone for a full day, and now it's been decided the time for retrieving her had been pushed back to gather more allies. I moved silently through the shadows, watching as the Tweedles prepared themselves for the mission ahead.

They were nothing like their usual playful selves—their movements precise, synchronized in a way that spoke of centuries of combat training most never witnessed.

Vee adjusted a series of crystalline devices along his forearm while Dee calibrated what appeared to be temporal anchors—technology far beyond what most of Wonderland understood.

"They're still underestimating us," Vee murmured, not looking up from his work.

"They always do," Dee replied, his fingers dancing across controls too complex for ordinary eyes to follow. "It's our greatest advantage."

I stepped from the shadows, making my presence known. "And your greatest protection. The Red Queen believes you're merely eccentric curiosities—nothing more.”

The twins looked up in unison, their eyes reflecting light in a way that marked them as something far more ancient than their youthful appearance suggested.

"The Queen underestimates many things," Vee said, his voice losing its usual playful lilt. "Including how time works around those who exist partially outside it."

"She believes her temporal distortions will disorient any rescuers," Dee added, finishing his brother's thought seamlessly. "But we've navigated worse currents."

I nodded, my shadows coiling thoughtfully as I observed their preparations.

The Tweedles had always been anomalies in Wonderland—beings who appeared frivolous and chaotic to most observers, while hiding depths that even I had only glimpsed in rare moments.

Their connection to the pattern was different from the traditional bonds, existing in multiple temporal planes simultaneously.

"Heart doesn't fully trust my involvement," I said, stating the obvious as my shadows formed intricate patterns across the floor. "His suspicion is understandable but could complicate matters if he decides to deviate from the plan."

"He won't," Vee said with quiet certainty, tightening a final crystal on his wrist guard. "His bond with Alice is stronger than his distrust of you."

"Besides," Dee added, "Chi will keep him focused. The Cheshire's pragmatism balances Heart's emotional instincts."

I circled the chamber, observing the array of equipment they'd assembled—devices that seemed to shift between solid form and ghostly possibility, existing in multiple states simultaneously. My shadows brushed against one, recoiling slightly at the temporal displacement it created.

"The Red Queen will expect a rescue attempt," I said, voicing my primary concern. "She's had time to prepare extensive defenses, and Alice's bond with Heart will serve as bait for a trap. We need to be prepared for multiple contingencies."

Vee's eyes glittered with something ancient and knowing. "Time isn't as linear as most believe, Your Majesty. We've already seen several potential outcomes."

"Some more favorable than others," Dee added, his expression darkening slightly.

I studied them closely, my shadows coiling tighter around my feet. "And which version are we currently moving toward?"

The twins exchanged a glance that contained an entire conversation.

"Uncertain," they said in perfect unison. "The Red Queen's temporal distortions create... interference."

"But Alice is strong," Vee continued, adjusting his stance as he glanced to his brother then focused back on me. "Stronger than the Queen realizes."

"The pattern chose her for a reason," Dee finished, eyes darkening for a brief second before going back to their normal emotionless look, "It doesn't surrender its bearer easily."

I moved to the window, gazing out at the crystalline formations that served as our temporary stronghold.

Through the connection I maintained with the Void Court, I could sense the Red Queen's domain like a festering wound in reality's fabric—a place where grief and power had twisted space-time into something unnatural.

"The Void Court grows restless," I admitted, my shadows deepening as I felt their ancient hunger stirring across dimensional barriers. "They sense the pattern's distress, Alice's weakening bonds. If we fail to retrieve her before the Queen completes the transfer..."

"The Void will act on its own," Vee said quietly, understanding the implications immediately.

"And their….and your methods are rarely... precise," Dee added, his temporal anchors flickering with unstable energy. He made sure I understood I should do something since it would be my kingdom’s court that would act up without me there.

I nodded grimly. The Void Court's intervention would save Alice from the Red Queen, yet it would also consume everything else in the immediate vicinity. Including Heart, Chi, and any hope of restoring Wonderland's natural balance. My personal feelings aside, that outcome served no one.

"Which is why we must succeed," I said, shadows deepening around me. "The Void Court respects only one authority—mine. And even that respect has limits when the pattern itself is threatened."

Vee and Dee exchanged another of their silent communications, a conversation conveyed through subtle shifts in posture and microscopic facial expressions. I'd known the twins for centuries, yet their true nature remained one of Wonderland's most closely guarded secrets.

"We've prepared temporal shields," Vee said, indicating the crystalline devices arranged across the chamber. "They'll create a bubble of stable reality around Alice once we locate her."

"The Queen's ritual requires three full days," Dee continued. "By our calculations, she's completed approximately twenty-seven percent of the bond severance process."

I moved closer, examining their temporal calculations displayed in shimmering light between them. "And the collar? I know she will use that disgusting thing on her.”

"The Binding Collar is the primary anchor for her ritual," Vee replied, his fingers tracing patterns across his temporal display. "It creates a feedback loop—the weaker Alice's bonds become, the stronger the collar's suppression grows."

"But collars can be broken," Dee added, his eyes gleaming with predatory satisfaction. "Especially when time itself becomes... flexible around them."

“It also prevents her from escaping…acting as a monitoring collar…basically making her only allowed to go a certain distance without her being stopped.” Vee’s, tone low with distaste.

I studied the readouts more carefully, my shadows coiling as I processed the implications.

The Red Queen's ritual was more sophisticated than I'd initially calculated—not just severing bonds, but creating a magical vacuum that would draw the pattern naturally toward the strongest nearby vessel. Herself.

"Clever," I admitted grudgingly. "She's not forcing the transfer—she's creating conditions where the pattern has nowhere else to go."

"Except the collar isn't perfect," Vee sighed, "It suppresses connections, but can't eliminate them entirely."

"And what the Queen doesn't understand," Dee added, his eyes reflecting patterns beyond normal perception, "is that the pattern itself has consciousness—primitive, perhaps, but awareness nonetheless."

I raised an eyebrow, shadows shifting with interest. "You believe the pattern is actively resisting?"

"We know it is," the twins said in unison, their temporal devices synchronizing with a harmonic chime that vibrated through multiple realities simultaneously.

"The First Queen designed it that way," Vee continued, fingers dancing across controls that seemed to phase between solid and ethereal. "The pattern cannot be stolen—only surrendered or transferred willingly."

"Which is why the Queen's ritual focuses on breaking Alice's will," I concluded, the pieces falling into place. "Not just severing bonds, but systematically destroying her capacity to choose. The pattern won't transfer unless she gives up—completely and without reservation."

"Precisely," Dee said, his temporal anchors stabilizing into steady pulses. "But Alice's will is anchored by more than just the bonds to Heart and Chi. The pattern itself has become part of her identity."

"The pattern chose her because she embodies its original purpose," Vee added, checking the final calibrations on his wrist device. "Free will, genuine connection, choice over coercion. Even weakened, those qualities remain part of who Alice is."

I moved toward the chamber's exit, my shadows flowing ahead to scout the corridors. "Then we move now, while she still has enough strength to choose freedom over surrender."

The twins fell into step behind me, their equipment humming with barely contained temporal energy.

As we navigated the crystalline passages toward the rendezvous point, I felt the Void Court's restless hunger pressing against me from across dimensional barriers.

My personal connection to Alice—that Void bond she'd unknowingly accepted—flickered like a distant star, nearly obscured by the Red Queen's corrupting influence but not yet extinguished.

"Your Majesty," Vee said quietly as we approached the chamber where Heart and Chi were finalizing their assault plans. "There's something we haven't discussed."

I paused, shadows coiling expectantly. "And that is?"

"The possibility that Alice may choose to sacrifice herself rather than surrender the pattern," Dee finished, his expression uncharacteristically grave. "Her temporal signatures show multiple branches where self-sacrifice becomes her preferred option."

The implications sent a chill through me that even my shadows couldn't conceal. "You believe she would die rather than let the Queen claim the pattern."

"We believe," Vee said carefully, "that Alice understands the pattern cannot fall into the Red Queen's hands—even if the price is her own life."