THE WARMTH OF THE MORNING sun beat down upon Alice and Lory as they clung to the backs of their Jabberwockies. They flew over the fire stained battlefield and toward the Red Court. When the brothers landed, all was still around the palace gates giving them an eerie feeling that something dreadful was about to pounce on them.

Alice had brought her sword and Lory her bow and arrow. The Jabberwockies stayed in their monster forms and the four of them approached the gates. Once there they noticed that the guard securing the gate was missing.

No one moved as they assessed the situation. A flick of a tail caught Alice’s attention and she turned to see Cedric, the Cheshire cat smiling down at them from a tree.

“What now?” Alice demanded of him.

Cedric smiled his crescent moon grin and replied, “Every adventure requires a first step.”

Lory eyed him with trepidation, “Are you saying we should go in there? Are you insane?”

Cedric laughed, “I am not crazy, my reality is just a little bit different than yours.”

“You can’t trust anything that the cat says,” Mouse replied in disgust.

“It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not. But common sense doesn’t really work here. You’re mad, I’m mad, we are all mad here.”

Alice rolled her eyes at the cat, “You are of no help. And if you only going to give us riddles then I must bid you good day.”

The cat laughed lazily and stretched his back carving his nails into the base of the tree trunk.

“Alice, are you looking for advice? Because if that is the case you, my dear, have come to the right place. Seek and you will find, they say, but they do not say what you will find, now do they?”

With a pop, the cat was gone, and Alice turned to Jay, “Did you understand any of that?”

He shook his head, “No, but then the cat usually is confusing.”

Lory tipped her head considering, “If common sense doesn’t work here and our adventure starts with the first step what is the most illogical thing to do?”

“Not to move,” Mouse promptly responded.

Lory grinned, “That is what I was thinking too. Cedric was warning us not to walk into a trap.”

“How could you possibly get all of that from what the cat said?” Jay asked in confusion.

“I think they are right,” Alice said slowly, as she tried to process what Cedric had said. “But I don’t think we should stay here, I think we need to approach in a different direction.”

“Fly?” Mouse asked hopefully.

Alice shook her head, “No, I need you both in your human forms, we are going through the tunnels.”

**

THE BONES OF RODENTS and other animals snapped and crunched under their feet as they entered the tunnels on the north side of the palace. The brothers had to bend the steel bars, so they could climb through.

“What were these tunnels used for?” Lory asked. Her voice sounded muffled behind the cloth she was holding up to her face to ward off the smell.

“Garbage,” Alice answered, “They haven’t used them for years now, but originally it was sewage, garbage, anything they didn’t want.”

“And where do they lead to?” Mouse inquired.

“I think somewhere in the Woods with No Name if I am not mistaken,” Alice pursed her lips. “It shouldn’t be long now.”

The four of them continued onward into the dank tunnel until I led to a set of stairs. Alice didn’t hesitate before taking the first one and climbing up. There were precisely forty-eight stairs before they came to a door with a large circular panel that one could gaze into. On the other side, they saw the palace kitchens which appeared to be busy with the mid-day meal preparation.

“What now?” Lory mouthed to her sister Alice.

To be truthful, Alice wasn’t sure what their next step should be. But it didn’t matter because in the next instant alarms were sounding all around the palace, and the workers in the kitchen had scattered like mice.

They tried the door and found that after a fair bit of pushing they were able to get it open.

Lory gulped in the fresh air, thankful to be out of that grave for the misfortunate creatures. There was still chaos going on inside the royal palace. A man stepped into the kitchen and surveyed the four of them with ill-disguised irritation.

“Do you not hear the alarms?” he demanded.

Mouse smirked, “Hard to miss.”

The man ground his teeth together. He was of a middling age with a paunch belly and a self-important attitude that wafted about him.

“This is not a drill, people. We are under attack! The Queen’s enemies have taken the bait and are even now being hauled to the dungeon. You are to report to the courtyard immediately.

“Who are the queen's enemies?” Jay asked, hoping to find out which of their friends had been captured.

The pompous man flushed, “That is not for you to know! Your instructions were clear!”

He stormed off in a huff.

“He doesn’t know,” Alice said in wonder.

“What doesn’t he know?” Lory asked.

“Who the queen wishes to capture,” Jay answered. “This is a boon for us, if the people don’t know what they are looking for we can infiltrate their ranks. Look over here in the pantry there are servant’s aprons and hats.”

He handed them out and they all put something on.

Mouse in a baker’s cap looked up and winked at Lory, she burst into laughter.

“I can’t think of a worse disguise for you. They just barely finished remodeling the café after your last attempt at cooking.”

He grabbed her around the waist and brought his lips down to press firmly against Lory’s.

Jay and Alice ignored the two as they shared a quick kiss of their own. They snuck out of the kitchen and followed the noise into the courtyard. There were hundreds of servants, soldiers, and members of Wonderland in what looked to be a staged court of law.

The evil Red Queen sat upon a massive throne on one end with rows of benches to her left with the jury. It was obviously stacked in her favor and the Knave of Hearts stood to guard the jury with a drawstring poised and ready to go.

Jay motioned for Alice, Mouse, and Lory to follow him as they weaved in and out of the crowd trying to see who was on trial. They caught a glimpse of the Hatter pleading his case.

“I haven’t seen them, your majesty!” he cried out. “I haven’t seen Alice since that game of chess of yours.”

Her mouth turned into an ugly sneer, “Off with his head!”

Her husband, the Red King was a right idiot of a man, twittering he tugged on her sleeve, “You are supposed to have someone represent the defendant.”

Her cheeks reddened, “Kindly remove your fingers from my person or you will be next.”

Alice turned to Jay in alarm when the Knave of Hearts handed his crossbow to another guard and picked up a massive ax. It would appear that judgment, trial, and punishment were to be executed right there in the street.

Hatter struggled in his bonds as he was yanked from the dais.

“Any last words?” the Queen’s voice was almost sickeningly coy.

“Indeed,” the Hatter spat, “Awendan!”

There was a scream followed by a great blast. People flew back as one the of prisoners seemed to be coming out of his skin. Bones fractured as layer after layer of skin molted off the body of a man. Another flash of light and he was wrapped in a molten cocoon. Alice was grateful that they couldn’t see the bones stretching and elongating any further.

Many were screaming, but one was louder than the rest—it was Mary Ann.

A horrible feeling gathered in the pit of Alice’s stomach as she heard her friend cry out.

“Carlos! No! What are you doing to him?”