Spades: The True Wonderland Awaits. (Of Wonderland Chronicles Book 1) (13 page)

Chapter 28:
The Mad Tea Party

The creature that Seth had sent me was a red dragon with white horns and white whiskers. It would have looked like a Chinese dragon, if it weren't for the European dragon body; its head was easily identifiable as that of a Chinese dragon, but its body was definitely European dragon. I watched the creature in disbelief as it landed in front of me.

"I am Kyloth of the Dark Mountains,"
the mix of cultures dragon said, and I blinked at the loud, booming, and very, very large voice in my head.

"Nice to meet you, Kyloth," I said, smiling at the dragon.

"I will take you to the Mad Tea Party, where it is being held,"
Kyloth said, lowering his head gracefully in a way that only dragons can, and I climbed on to his neck.

"Thank you, Kyloth of the Dark Mountains," I murmured, stroking his smooth, cold scales of crimson red.

"You are very welcome, Milady. Now, hold on tight,"
Kyloth instructed, and I bent over him, grabbing his horns tightly with my hands.
"Are you ready?"

"I am," I said, and Kyloth crouched down before springing into the air, his large, leathery red wings catching us in midair and pushing us up higher.

We began to coast through the air, over the mountains and through the passages. The Dark Mountains were even more beautiful high up in the air, above where anything could touch me. I spread out my arms, gripping Kyloth's sides with my knees. I whooped, brushing my fingers through clouds and catching the clouds. I grabbed one with my hands and held it in my lap.

"You'd do best to let it go, Milady,"
Kyloth told me, and I did as he said, allowing the cloud to slip from my hands.

"What would have happened if I didn't?" I asked, grabbing his horns once more.

"The Nimbus Demonlings are not very friendly. They attack anyone who holds them for longer than five seconds,"
Kyloth explained, and I blinked.

"But I held it for at least a minute," I said, and Kyloth chuckled.

"Well, I was just taking precautions. Seeing as how you can enter its home and ride a dragon like the one the Prophecy foretold of, I'm guessing that it acknowledged you as the Chosen One,"
he explained, and I giggled.

"You guys all call me the Chosen One, but I'm not going to rule," I said, oblivious to Kyloth's disapproval of my words. "I'm only going to put the rightful ruler on the throne of Wonderland."

"What if you are the rightful ruler?"
Kyloth asked me, and I bit the inside of my cheek and nibbled on it.

"Then I will rule as the Queen of Wonderland, but only if I am the rightful ruler. I'm not going to follow in the Queen of Spades' footsteps," I said, and Kyloth chuckled, his laughter vibrating his entire body.

"That's good to hear,"
he said, and I smiled.

"I'm glad," I said gently, and he must have smiled also at that.

"Now," I said, changing the subject, "how close are we to the Mad Tea Party?"

"We are very close, Milady. Now grab the enchanted pocket watch from inside of the satchel to your right,"
Kyloth told me, and I dug in the satchel that was - as he had said - containing a pocket watch.

"Now what do I do with it?" I asked, examining the pocket watch that was sealed closed tightly; I couldn't open it no matter what method I tried.

"When I drop you off outside the Mad Tea Party, you must put the watch into its rightful place. Only then will the Mad Tea Party guests awaken from their slumber. You must do this right, or you will be frozen, too. Understand?"
Kyloth asked, and I nodded.

"I understand," I said, and Kyloth turned his long neck back so that I could see his toothy smile.

"I am glad. I know that you will awaken the Mad Tea Party guests and free them from where they're being held. Once they have been awoken, tell the Mad Man of Diamonds that you need a place to stay, tell him that the Faerie of Spades has been captured," he said. "He will help you for sure, then. He never could refuse a maiden in trouble. Be careful. I'm sure the Faerie of Spades warned you: there are many traps surrounding the Mad Tea Party. If you are not careful, you will be caught in one and be beheaded by the Queen of Spades' executioner. They will find you if you're not careful."

"I'll be careful; I promise," I said, and Kyloth's smile widened.

He turned his head back to the front.
"I'm very glad to hear that. It would not do if our champion was captured before she saved all of Wonderland."

I ignored the inkling of warning in my chest and watched the surroundings instead. As I watched, we descended below the cloud, landing right outside of a clearing ringed by the mountains. I couldn't see anything in the clearing; it was just plain, with blue grass and red poppies dotting the blue strands of grass covering the entire clearing's black dirt. I blinked as I examined the clearing, sliding down off of Kyloth.

"The clearing is under a spell. Anyone or anything outside of the clearing can't see what's inside. Take the watch, and step inside. The watch will protect you from the spell on the clearing, and when you put it into place, the spell will be broken. But be careful; just because you're immune to the spell doesn't mean that you're safe from the traps. The traps are designed to make you drop whatever it is that's protecting you from the spell, so put the watch around your neck,"
Kyloth told me, and I nodded, putting the pocket watch around my neck.
"Now go, Chosen One. We believe in you."

Kyloth took off and I stepped inside of the clearing.

Immediately, I was assaulted by the sight of the Mad Tea Party guests trapped in fetters and chains, frozen in place. They were bloody and had tattered clothing, as though they had been whipped before being trapped in the spell. It made me sad, but I ignored the sight for now, instead looking for the place where the pocket watch was going to go. I at last found it, in the center of the table. I took a step forward and was knocked backwards by an invisible force.

I looked around at the ground for what had knocked me back, and I, at last, found it out to be one of those red poppies; the resemblance between this and the story "The Wizard of Oz" were striking. I had stepped on it and it had knocked me backwards. I could see gas floating in the air, and I took a deep breath, holding my breath. I climbed to my feet and dodged each poppy, moving from foot to foot gracefully. At last, I reached the table and took the pocket watch off from around my neck and went to put it in the slot. But there was a forcefield around it, and more gas was released into the air.

By this point, my lungs were burning, begging for air. I kept my breath held, though, ignoring the pain that shot through my body from oxygen deprivation. I pushed my hand through the forcefield carefully and slipped the watch into the slot. Just as it fastened in place, my breath exited my lungs in whoosh of air. I sucked in several lungfuls of air greedily, inhaling the gas. I whooped at my success and turned around.

What I saw behind me had my eyes widened and my entire body shaking.

"Hades, please . . ." I begged, a tear slipping down my cheek. "Don't hurt them. I love them - even though they've done so much to me. Just let them go. You let me go; why not them, too? What difference would it make?"

In the arms of someone I considered to be a friend, someone who had let me go out of the kindness of his heart, were my parents. Hades stood there in all of his disturbing, skeleton-like glory, holding my mother and father. He had a knife to their throats as he pressed them together, and I let out a choked sob, reaching for my parents. As if they could see me through their closed eyes, both of their hands raised to reach for me. Our fingertips touched, and I was jolted backwards. Everything disappeared.