“Absolutely not!” Doe exclaims, smoothing her feathers down on her head. “I will not have you ripping the feathers of my other form out when I hardly have any left.”

“Doe, please?” I beg. I know what she’s feeling, reliving the agony of the prior feather pulls. “Without the feather, I can’t fulfill the prophecy, White will be stuck with Alice, and she’ll continue killing Wonderland.”

Doe’s eyes glisten as I plea with her. I can tell she wants to agree, but the fear holds her back.

“It’s excruciatingly painful to pull a feather, Fire Child. I have no desire to go through that again.”

“I know,” I choke, seeing her tied down in the Red Queen’s court all over again. “I wouldn’t ask unless I had no choice. I’m so sorry, Doe. I’m sorry you’ve had to go through everything you have. But the enchantment calls for the feather of a Dodo bird, and I have no other choice. I’m trying to keep what happened to you from happening to anyone ever again.”

Hatter and Clara are sitting at the tea table watching the exchange. They know how difficult this conversation is. Hatter winces at the agony written on Doe’s face. Clara is wiping at her eyes, feeling the agony herself.

“Please, Doe?” I ask again. I don’t know what I’ll do if she says no. We’ll have to come up with a different plan. We already have the contents mixed and ready for the feather. We’re so close, but it all hinges on Doe agreeing.

Doe reaches forward and lifts her tea cup. Her hand shakes, but she nods her head.

“Can I enjoy my tea first?”

“Of course.” I wipe at my own eyes, knowing the pain Doe will have to go through for our cause. My hope is that we’re able to cripple Alice in a big way, enough that when the third joins us, we can win the final war.

One of the creatures down the table, a mixture between a horse and a man, speaks up as we settle into silence.

“Are you the second of the triad?” His eyes flick towards Clara, and he smiles before settling back on me.

I nod my head, and the guests break out into a murmur.

“Thank Wonder,” another creature exclaims. A few others repeat the sentiment, and I smile gently at them. Thanks to Clara’s brief explanation, I understand that the guests are dead, and this is their last stop before the Hereafter. It makes me sad when I think about it but not as sad as sitting with them does. I can understand why Clara took her role here to heart, becoming a sort of beacon for them. I’m going to do my best to supply them with another reason to hope.

The door to the tea party room slams open, and Hatter jumps to his feet at the intrusion, pulling a sword from who knows where. I see the menace in his eyes and realize that for all his rhymes and his love for Clara, he’s still dangerous, as all beings in Wonderland are.

Cheshire storms into the room, but Hatter doesn’t relax.

“We’re out of time,” he shouts. “The cards are outside. We have to go now.”

“They can’t come in,” Hatter replies. “We fortified the protection wards after the last time.”

“No, but they’re attempting to burn the house down.” Cheshire meets Hatter’s eyes. “Is the house warded for that?”

Hatter’s face grows pale.

“Are you certain?”

“They’re lighting fires as we speak.”

As if in answer, smoke begins pouring into the room, and the guests begin to shout.

“Take Clara and Jupiter,” Hatter shouts to be heard over the guests. “Get them as close to the castle as possible.”

Cheshire begins pushing through the panicking guests to get to us.

“Doe!” I scream. “I’m sorry, but we need that feather now!”

Her face crumbles, but she transforms into her bird form without a second’s hesitation. She’s shaking when she turns her body, so I can reach one of the few feathers left.

“Grab it firmly,” she instructs. “Pull straight out as fast as possible.”

I choose the smallest feather I can see and wrap my hand around the base of the feather. I place my other hand against Doe’s hide in comfort. I tense and yank the feather out just how Doe instructed. She screams in agony as the feather pulls free, the shriek making my ears ring.

“I’m so sorry,” I tell her, clamping my hand around the wound left behind. “I’m so sorry.” Tears leak from my eyes as she collapses to the floor, her legs too weak to hold her up until the pain passes.

“Just go,” Doe groans. “Save Wonderland, Fire Child. Save us all.”

She transforms back into her human form and curls up, her face pale and scrunched. I can’t wait any longer, even though I want to be there for her if she needs me.

Cheshire grabs my hand and Clara’s at the same time. I tuck the feather into the pocket of my coat and clench hard to him. His claws barely press into my skin, but still he doesn’t draw blood.

“Hatter!” Clara screams and reaches for him.

“Go!” He snarls, raising his sword as the smoke fills the room. “I’ll meet you there.”

He grabs Clara roughly and presses a hard kiss to her lips before he rushes from the room in search of enemies. Doe forces herself up from the floor and follows him, her face slowly morphing into fury. The last thing we see before we fade away is the flames that dance into the room and begin to lick at the Hatter’s tea table.

When we reappear in a forest far from the Hatter’s house, it’s almost pitch black except for the phosphorescent glow of some of the plant life.

“I thought it was day time?” I whisper. The forest is quiet, my voice echoing through the trees even though I whisper.

“It is,” Cheshire answers, “But it’s always dark near the castle.”

Clara is visibly shaking beside Cheshire, and she keeps her hand clenched with his. He lets her even as I release him and step away. Her shoulders are still strong and poised despite the events.

“It’s a good thing you wore the outfit I left out for you.” Clara directs her words at me. “Now you’ll look like a badass going in.”

“Are you saying I didn’t look like a badass before?” I tease. The atmosphere is stifling, but still I joke with her, playing along. I understand the need to focus away from the crushing feeling of hopelessness here.

“A shirt that says ‘You’re overreacting’ with a beaker and a flask on it doesn’t really scream badass.” She grins at me. “The red hair helps, though.”

I look down at the outfit Clara had given me. I’m wearing black leather pants, something I never imagined I could pull off. The top coat is emerald green, made of a stiff material that almost looks like armor the way it’s shaped and detailed. It stops at my shoulders, leaving my arms bare, and has a high neck where a glittering emerald sits at my throat. The black combat boots from the night before cover my feet. I feel like a badass, especially with the number of knives strapped to my thighs and hidden in the coat.

“It’s something,” I comment. “Was it intentional that it’s the same color that White wears?”

Clara winks. “Don’t you ever wonder why I always seem to be in purple?”

There’s truth in that. Clara is wearing a purple leather jacket with black pants. She sports the combat boots, too.

Cheshire rolls his eyes at our talk of fashion, but he doesn’t stop scanning the trees for any sign of danger.

“You seem awfully bored for someone who looks like it takes hours to do his hair,” I tease.

“I wake up like this,” he drawls, his eyes flicking to me. “I’m perfection.”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that, buddy.”

“I can’t wait to meet the woman that’s paired with you,” Clara grins. “She’s gonna give you a run for your money.”

Cheshire scoffs.

“Who said I want anything to do with her?” Clara and I share a knowing look with each other, and Cheshire growls in response. “Stop doing that.”

“Doing what?” I ask innocently.

“Having silent conversations with your eyes. Hatter and Clara already do it enough. Look, I can do it, too. What am I saying?” He glares at me, and I can’t help the tease that breaks free.

“I don’t know.” I shrug. “You always look like you have to take a poop to me.”

Clara bursts out laughing, and Cheshire’s claws come out. I’m certain he would have reached for me If it wasn’t for the Bandersnatch shriek that echoes through the forest, loud enough to make our ears throb.

“Oh, no!” Clara whispers. “We need to move now.”

She glances behind us one last time as we begin to make our way forward, in search of the Hatter. When he doesn’t appear, we step through the trees and onto a trail, towards the Red Queen’s Castle. I try not to look down, but I can’t help it. After all, I’m a slave to my curiosity.

The trail is paved with blood.