13. Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
Cheshire (Chi)
I watched Alice retreat toward the house, her movements slightly unsteady from exhaustion but still carrying a stubborn dignity that I found increasingly fascinating. The silver traces of magic lingered in her wake, like footprints in wet sand.
"You pushed her too hard," Varik said once she was out of earshot, his voice sharp with disapproval.
I stretched languidly, my form rippling at the edges as I released some of the tension I'd been holding. "I pushed her exactly as hard as she needed."
"The sexual undertones were unnecessary," Varik insisted, removing his hat to run a hand through his disheveled hair. "She's not ready for that level of manipulation."
"And yet she resisted," I pointed out, unable to keep the admiration from my voice. "Beautifully, I might add. Most Omegas would have been on their knees, baring their throat to me.”
Varik glared at me, those wild green eyes flashing with an old fire I hadn't seen in decades. "That's not the point. We're trying to help her, not break her."
I materialized fully beside him, my tail flicking with irritation. "Breaking isn't the concern, Varik. Time is. The Queens' scouts have already been seen at the forest's edge. The White Rabbit was spotted yesterday, sniffing around the old well path."
"All the more reason to be methodical," Varik countered, replacing his hat with precise movements. "If we rush her training, she could snap under the pressure."
I circled him slowly, studying the tight lines of worry etched around his eyes. "You've grown fond of her already, haven't you? Beyond mere protection."
Varik's mouth tightened. "She was a precocious child and I want to protect her now she is stuck here forever."
I shook my head, my tail swishing more aggressively. "She's not a child anymore, Varik. She's a fully-presented Omega with power that makes even me take notice." I leaned closer, my voice dropping to a purr. "And you know what that means for Wonderland."
"I'm well aware," Varik snapped, turning away to face the garden. The plants seemed to shrink back slightly from his agitation. "Which is precisely why we must be careful. If the prophecy is true—"
"If?" I interrupted with a laugh that scattered nearby butterflies. "You've seen how Wonderland responds to her. The way the magic practically throws itself at her feet. There hasn't been a connection that strong since—"
"Since the first Queen," Varik finished quietly. "I know."
"Protective, yes," I murmured, circling him once more. "But there's something else. You see yourself in her, don't you? Another lost soul who fell into Wonderland and was forever changed by it."
Varik turned away, his shoulders rigid beneath his coat. "We're wasting time with this conversation."
"On the contrary," I countered, materializing directly in his path. "Understanding your motivations matters. You want to shelter her. I want to prepare her. Both have merit, but only one will keep her alive when the Monarchy finds her."
"When, not if?" Varik's eyes narrowed.
I laughed softly. "You know as well as I do that they will come. The only question is whether she'll be ready." I leaned closer, my voice dropping. "And she won't be if we coddle her. Wonderland doesn't respect gentleness, Varik. It respects power."
Varik sighed, the sound heavy with centuries of weariness. "You're right. Of course you're right. But I don't have to like your methods."
"You never have," I replied with a sharp grin. "Yet here we still are, after all these years."
I moved to the edge of the power nexus, feeling the currents swirl around my feet like eager pets. "She's different, isn't she? Not just powerful, but... adaptable. Most Dreamers who return struggle against Wonderland's nature. They try to impose their world's logic on ours."
"Alice always understood Wonderland better than most," Varik admitted, joining me at the circle's edge. "Even as a child, she accepted its contradictions without trying to resolve them….but that doesn’t mean anything with how wonderland can be."
Varik sighed, the sound carrying a weariness older than his appearance suggested. "I've seen too many broken by Wonderland's games, Chi. I don't want her to be another casualty."
"She won't be," I said with a certainty that surprised even me. "There's something different about this one. A spine of steel beneath that soft Omega exterior."
The garden shifted around us, flowers turning their faces toward the house as if drawn by Alice's retreating presence. Even the plants could sense her significance. I watched them with amusement, noting how they strained toward her like supplicants before royalty.
"She'll need more than steel to survive what's coming," Varik muttered, following my gaze to the bending flowers.
"She'll have us," I reminded him, materializing a few feet away where a particularly stubborn rose was twisting itself into an impossible spiral. "And the bracelet you made her. An impressive piece of work, by the way. I didn't think you still had that level of craftsmanship in those old hands."
Varik flexed his fingers, the silver scars catching the light. "Some skills never truly fade."
"Like the ability to recognize potential?" I suggested, plucking the spiral rose and watching it straighten in my grasp before wilting slightly. "You saw something in her as a child. Something worth protecting."
"I saw a curious mind unburdened by the limitations adults place on themselves," Varik admitted. "She asked 'why not' instead of 'why' when faced with impossibility."
I twirled the rose between my fingers, watching its color shift from crimson to midnight blue. "And now?"
"Now I see someone who could be great and change things in wonderland.” He muttered, but I could tell he didn’t know if those changes could be good or bad.
I tilted my head, studying him. "You're afraid she might become what you once were—a revolutionary. Someone who challenges the Queens."
"The last revolution nearly destroyed Wonderland," Varik said quietly. "The fabric of reality tore in places that have never fully healed. Some territories were lost entirely."
"And yet here you stand," I pointed out, "still planning, still scheming. Still hoping for change."
Varik turned to me, his eyes reflecting centuries of patience. "Careful change. Measured change. Not the chaos of open war."
I laughed, the sound scattering into echoes that made the garden shiver. "As if Wonderland has ever allowed anything to proceed according to plan."
"Which is precisely why we need allies," Varik insisted. "The Caterpillar first. Then the Tweedles. Perhaps even the King of Spades…”
"The King of Spades?" I raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. "He hasn't involved himself in politics for decades. Not since the Red Queen banished his favorite."
"Precisely why he might be receptive," Varik countered. "He harbors no love for either Queen, and his territory borders the Tulgey Wood. If we secured safe passage through his lands..."
"He has reason to distrust both Queens and the other King," Varik pointed out. "And his network of spies is unmatched, even by yours."
I conceded this with a nod. The King of Spades operated from shadows within shadows, his influence spreading like ink through water—unseen until it had already stained everything. "He won't be easily convinced. His neutrality has kept him alive this long."
"But Alice represents something he's sought for centuries," Varik countered, his voice dropping lower. "A legitimate challenge to the Queens' authority."
I studied him carefully, noting the calculated gleam in his eyes. "You're not just protecting her. You're positioning her."
"I'm giving her options.” He countered, jaw tense.
"Options that conveniently align with your own agenda," I noted, materializing directly in front of him. "Don't pretend this is purely altruistic, old friend."
Varik's jaw tightened. "My agenda is to keep her alive and Wonderland intact. If those goals happen to intersect with challenging the Queens' stranglehold on power, so be it."
I circled him slowly, my form flickering between solid and translucent. "You still dream of reform after all these centuries. It's almost... endearing."
"And you still pretend to care about nothing while orchestrating elaborate schemes from the shadows," Varik countered, his voice tinged with old affection beneath the irritation. "We each have our masks."
I grinned, showing my fangs. "Mine is simply more honest about being a mask."
Varik glanced at me, “And you seem to be taking a liking more to Alice more than normal.”
I paused mid-step, my tail freezing in its usual rhythmic sway. "What an interesting observation."
"Not a denial," Varik noted, his eyes sharp despite his casual tone.
"Would you believe me if I offered one?" I countered, allowing my form to shimmer slightly—a tell he knew well when I was avoiding directness.
"No," Varik said flatly. "I've known you too long, Chi."
I materialized on a nearby bench, stretching my legs out before me. "She's... intriguing. Different from other Dreamers. Different from other Omegas." I examined my nails with feigned disinterest. "Her scent alone is unlike anything I've encountered in centuries."
"That's not all, though, is it?" Varik pressed, moving to stand before me. "I saw how you watched her when she redirected your command. There was more than clinical interest there, Chi."
I laughed, the sound scattering into multiple echoes across the garden. "Are you concerned I might try to claim her myself, Varik? How deliciously paternal of you."
"I'm concerned you might complicate matters with your usual brand of chaos," he replied, not rising to my bait. "She has enough to navigate without adding your particular... attention to the mix."