17. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
Alice
" W ell," I exhaled, watching the spot where the King had vanished, "that was intense."
Chi's form shimmered with barely contained agitation, his tail lashing behind him. "The King of Spades doesn't make social calls, Alice. His appearance here is... concerning."
I turned to face Chi fully, noting how solid he appeared—more present than I'd seen him before. "He seemed genuinely interested in an alliance."
"The King of Spades is genuinely interested in power," Chi corrected, his teal eyes scanning the perimeter where other presences still tested my ward. "And you, my dear, are currently the most interesting source of power in Wonderland."
I shivered, not entirely from the night's chill. "He knew about my connection to Wonderland. He compared me to the First Queen."
Chi stilled completely, his perpetual motion ceasing so abruptly it was as if time itself had frozen around him. Even his tail hung suspended in mid-twitch.
"Did he now?" Chi's voice had lost its usual playful lilt, replaced by something older and more dangerous. "Those are not comparisons made lightly, even by monarchs."
I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly aware of the silver light pulsing beneath my skin in agitated patterns. "Is it true? Am I somehow connected to her?"
Chi's form flickered, transparency spreading from his edges inward as if parts of him were retreating from the conversation.
"The First Queen is more legend than history now.
Even those of us who remember her disagree on what she truly was.
" His eyes gleamed in the darkness. "But the King of Spades wouldn't invoke her memory without purpose. "
"Which is?" I pressed.
Chi circled me slowly, his form solidifying again as he collected his thoughts.
"To plant seeds of destiny in your mind.
To make you question your role here." His tail flicked pensively.
"The King of Spades deals in shadows and suggestions—letting others draw conclusions that serve his purposes while never quite stating his intentions outright. "
I glanced toward the boundaries where the pressure against my ward continued, faint but persistent. "And what about these other intrusions? The Queens' scouts?"
"Testing your defenses, measuring your strength," Chi confirmed, following my gaze. "Your ward creation has not gone unnoticed. Magic of that magnitude sends ripples throughout Wonderland."
"I didn't think about that," I admitted, feeling a flash of guilt. "I've made things worse, haven't I?"
Chi's expression softened unexpectedly. "You've made things clearer, perhaps.”
His hand reached out, surprisingly solid as it brushed a strand of hair from my face. "Clarity can be valuable, even when uncomfortable. The monarchs would have found you eventually—at least now they know you're not defenseless."
I leaned into his touch without meaning to, drawn by the warmth that seemed to radiate from him despite his semi-solid nature. "What would you have done? If you were me?"
Chi's smile turned enigmatic. "I am perhaps the worst person to ask about making sensible choices, sweet Alice.
" His fingers lingered near my cheek, not quite touching but close enough that I could feel the strange energy that comprised his being.
"I've spent centuries doing precisely what I shouldn't. "
"That's not an answer," I pointed out, trying to ignore how my pulse quickened at his proximity.
"Isn't it?" Chi countered, his tail curling in thought.
His eyes darkened to a deeper teal as they studied me.
"I would choose freedom above all else—even safety.
The Kings offer protection at the price of your presence in their courts.
The Queens demand submission in exchange for power.
But there are other paths in Wonderland, paths that don't lead to thrones or crowns. "
The ward pulsed above us, responding to the intensity of our conversation. I was acutely aware of how close Chi stood, how the silver light beneath my skin brightened wherever he was nearest.
"What other paths?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Chi's smile softened into something almost vulnerable.
"The path of the wild magic. The ancient ways that existed before courts and kingdoms." His form shimmered slightly, like heat rising from summer pavement.
"There are places in Wonderland that remember when all magic was free, not parceled out by monarchs.
Where the boundaries between dreamer and dream dissolve entirely. "
"Is that even possible for me?" I asked, the idea both terrifying and exhilarating. "To exist outside their power structures?"
Chi's eyes gleamed in the darkness. "You're already doing what they thought impossible. Creating wards that think. Bonding with Wonderland in days rather than decades." His tail swished thoughtfully. "The real question is whether you want to."
I considered his words, feeling the distant pressure of foreign magic against my ward. The monarchs wouldn't stop seeking me—that much was clear. But aligning with any of them meant becoming part of their endless power struggles.
"What would it mean? Following this 'wild magic' path?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.
"Uncertainty," Chi replied honestly. "Risk. Freedom." He circled me slowly, his form shifting between solid and translucent as he moved.
Before I could ask what he meant, a distant pulse against my ward drew my attention. Unlike the previous probing touches, this one felt familiar—Varik's magical signature requesting entry.
"The Hatter returns," Chi murmured, his playful demeanor shifting to something more guarded. "And not alone, it seems."
I extended my awareness through the ward, sensing three figures approaching the western boundary.
“Who is with him?” I asked, titling my head to the side as I tried to see the figures coming closer to us.
“You met them when you were younger, though they were in different forms to appease your childlike self.” Chi told me as he gave me a grin.
"The Tweedles. Vee and Dee. They guard the Tulgey Woods and collect information like magpies collect shiny things," Chi explained, his form growing slightly more translucent as if preparing to retreat. "Valuable allies, if somewhat... exhausting in conversation."
I reached out through my connection to the ward, gently creating an opening at the western boundary where Varik and his companions approached. The silver-gold barrier parted like a curtain, allowing their entrance while maintaining its integrity elsewhere.
"Impressive control," Chi murmured, watching as I manipulated the ward without apparent effort. "Most need physical contact or verbal commands to shape magic so precisely."
I shrugged, trying not to show how pleased his praise made me feel. "It's like moving a limb—I just think about what I want it to do."
Chi gave a hum in thought at my answer.
"Should we go meet them?" I asked, glancing at Chi.
His tail flicked with evident reluctance. "I suppose we must. Though I warn you—the Tweedles speak in riddles and contradictions that make even me dizzy." He offered his arm with unexpected formality. "Shall we?"
I hesitated only briefly before placing my hand on his offered arm, feeling his form solidify beneath my touch.
Together we made our way through the moonlit garden toward the western boundary where Varik and the Tweedles would enter.
As we walked, I became increasingly aware of how Chi's form seemed to stabilize wherever I touched him, as if my connection to Wonderland somehow anchored his shifting nature.
"They're arguing already," Chi murmured, his ears twitching forward. "The Tweedles never agree on approach, strategy, or even which direction is forward."
I strained my ears but could hear nothing yet. "You can hear them from here?"
"One of the benefits of my condition," Chi replied with a wink. "I exist partially in several places at once. Very useful for eavesdropping."
As we neared the boundary, voices finally drifted toward us—not two as I expected, but three distinct tones engaged in what sounded like a heated debate.
"...completely unnecessary risk," came Varik's voice, tight with controlled frustration. "Traveling openly when the Queens' scouts are everywhere—"
"Necessary if information is to flow," interrupted a crisp, precise voice.
"Flow like water, not like blood," added a second voice, similar to the first but with a dreamier quality.
"The distinction matters little if we're captured," Varik countered as the three figures came into view.
I recognized Varik immediately, his tall form silhouetted against the night sky, hat slightly askew as if he'd been running his hands through his hair in exasperation.
Beside him walked two nearly identical figures—tall, slender individuals with silver-white hair that seemed to float around their heads like halos.
As they drew closer, I could see the differences between the twins.
One wore clothing of midnight blue with silver embroidery, their movements precise and angular.
The other dressed in pale blue that shifted colors like opals, their gestures fluid and dreamlike.
Both had eyes that seemed to reflect starlight, but where one's gaze was sharp and assessing, the other's was distant and contemplative.
"Alice," Varik called, spotting us in the moonlight. "I didn't expect you to be awake—" He stopped abruptly, his wild green eyes widening as he took in the shimmering dome of my ward. "What is this?"
Before I could answer, the Tweedles pushed forward, moving in perfect synchronicity despite their apparent disagreements.
"The dreamer has created a consciousness ward," said the one in midnight blue, voice clipped and efficient.
"A ward with thoughts and feelings and dreams of its own," added the one in shifting opal, their words flowing like music. They circled me with identical expressions of wonder on their ethereal faces.