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 Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:34 am
"From Darkness comes Daylight, From Hate comes Love, From Divinity Comes Totalitarianism...." » » » Q ueen || O f || H earts « « « -------------------------------------------------------E K A T E R I N AThe Blood Red Vixen╔══════════════════════╗
Guilded Tombs Do Worms Infold...
Had You Been as Wise as bold...
Young In Limbs In Judgement Old...
Your Answer Hath Not Been Inscrolled...
Far You Well Your Suit is Cold...
╚══════════════════════╝ ▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ "Do you know why I have brought you?" The little creature standing before the throne shivered in his discomfort. Their was not a chilling breeze to be felt for miles, but their was a bitterness that seemed to choke all warmth out of the room; making it near impossible to breath. It was hard to tell just what was sitting atop the gilded chair, the creature's head was bent too low to fathom even a single look, besides that and fear eating away its soul one small crumb at a time. But it knew the voice well. With a false sweetness, the woman who was known all over the land as the most gruesome creature to walk the roads of Wonderland, had an eerily delicate tone, a most hypocritical facade, if one could recall the devastation she had wrought over the once proud lands of not here and not there.
"I shouldn't have to ask such a question. Do you know why I have brought you here." Her cherry red lips brought a crystal, heart shaped wine glass to them, parting to accept the crimson liquid therein. Most assumed with the evil that seemed to emanate from her every pore, she was engulfing blood to sustain her never ending thirst for it. Hardly. Ekaterina, as was her true name, desired wine, the most richest and tart in flavor, the best that Wonderland could offer, and nothing more. She was use to getting her way, at all costs.
"N...no. Your Highness." The little man in a red suit humbled himself to speak clearly, but felt the fear sticking to the back of his throat, as if it too was too frightened to reveal itself. Ekaterina could drive fear onto its knees begging for mercy, it was almost pathetic. There was a strange noise bouncing off the stone walls, the sound of annoyance making its presence known, Ekaterina's tongue clicking against the roof of her mouth. Their was a cold inward breath before words ever reached the little creature's ears.
"Because I believe a little certain someone, was suppose to do a little something that was most important to my cause. Who do ever suppose that could have been?" Ekaterina crossed her legs, one over the other, the many ruffles of her velvet rouge dress feathering further out. Satin gloved hands unfolded the creases, and returned to resting atop her throne's great arm, padded with only the finest of venetian threads.
"But your majesty, there have been resistances. There are too many, and I am but one..." Before he could finish, a crashing was made apparent, and the tiny man opened his eyes to watch the crimson liquid slide, almost snake-like down the slate gray stones, the once beautifully handcrafted wine glass, now tiny fragments, cascading tiny prisms in the burning fire's light. He knew that her fury would be upon him in minutes, and perhaps he would meet his fate on this day. Ekaterina stormed in his direction, the sound of her shoes pounding heavily on the stone floor was the worst accoutrement that the Queen could have collaborated for herself. In fact, to not hear the threat of her high heels against stone was possibly unbearable.
The Red Queen gathered the creature's shirts into her hand and gave him a small shove so that his back met in an intimate relationship with the floor, the being releasing a small sigh of pain as she did. Ekaterina drove her high heel deep into his hand, the sounds of blood curdling screams could be heard from the farthest reaches of her castle. Tears welled up in the creatures eyes, reflecting the image of the Queen and her deadly stare.
"Let me tell you something, you vile, disgusting, pathetic excuse for an existence. There is NOTHING in this shattered world of yours that you can use as an excuse for not completing that which I have asked of you! Do you hear me? Nothing!" Ekaterina drove her foot in deeper, the sound of bone cracking with every pound of pressure added. The creature still crying louder than ever, begging for the pain to stop, and just as he desired his freedom, Ekaterina gave it to him, taking her foot away and returning to her throne.
The little creature scurried to its hand, now bleeding and bruised beyond recognition. "Go! And do not fail me again." Ekaterina waved him good bye and watched as her personal guard removed him from her sight. The Queen sighed, staring at her now shattered glass, and wished she had not done that.... A headache erupted through the troubled mind of the greatest genocidal man ever conceived. There was much to do and so little time to do it, or vice-verse, and so on so it goes. A world weary hand massaged both of her temples, finding it a complete waste of time, for nothing was going to break this spell. Instantly, as if summoned telepathically, a servant lowered down a silver tray, the exact same glass she had been holding only moments ago stood unequivocally in its center. Without so much as looking at her subservient acolyte, her hands grasped the glasses' intricate and delicate handle, dark and cold eyes surveying the liquid as if it had been poisoned. Ekaterina knew all of the poisons in Wonderland and could defer one from the other, and if any had been secretly set inside her choice of luxury; she was the one who created the poisons, what kind of master can not defer their own creation?
"Do you know why it is that I prefer this manner of drink over all others?" Ekaterina's voice rose up from the silence, and though it was a question directed towards her servant, he knew well than to open his mouth an answer, it was a moment to listen, or at least pretend to be. "Not because of its color, though being my favorite, however, color is such a simple matter. Besides the manner of how it is made and because of how long it takes to become such a dark shade of crimson. So perfect, yet it is considered the worst color to have for wine." The servant holding the tray at his side understood the metaphor, but remained silent. Ekaterina was not an idiot, and anyone who thought her remotely close would pay dearly for those thoughts, but she was quizzically strange, in true Wonderland fashion. What had become of her mortal shell? Her undying soul, of which used to have a desire for a perfect world? Was it this?
Ekaterina could see the very peak of the thorny wasteland that surrounded her keep, just outside her only window to the outside world, in this vacant room. The Queen of Hearts had once loved something, and possibly lost that something, had she really known what happened to him, rather just assumed the worst. Her King of Hearts was gone. So were those that, though evil, loved her. Maybe it was the abandonment and the involvement of humanity that drug her to act to malicious towards those of whom she was suppose to protect. Everything had a purpose. Everything fit with in rhyme and reason. Everything's eventual. One way or the other, purpose fades away and becomes, eventual. It was time for Ekaterina to find her eventual. That started with a little white lie, and the reason for his apparent absence. ▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱ ▲▱▲▱▲▱ "If you like me, than I have done my job right, if you love me than I have done my job perfect. If you hate me... well, you can go off yourself..."
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 9:51 am
 I'm late,
I'm late,
For a very important date. The White Rabbit "What happens, when one dreams a dream, that looks like a dream, and wakes up to find that the real world has turned into a dream? One giggles, of course," White murmured, takings his blade gently from Cheshire's mouth. "Woe is I, that my blade has kissed where even my lips have not yet managed to gain entrance, Miss Cheshire," he smiled slightly, glancing at his watch. Sighing sadly, he began to leave, taking one last glance at the human girl. "I suppose the Queen will punish me for not killing her when I get back," he mused aloud, "And once again my blade shall seek her blood. I hope you find all the answers to your questions for her before then, Miss Cheshire. Good night, ladies," he nodded to each one of them in turn politely, before stepping back into the undergrowth, soon vanishing.
Speeding through the thorny wasteland, many beautiful red roses glanced his way, before losing their interest. They knew they couldn't take him, the silent figure dashing through their midst, leaving nary a trace of disturbance behind. Although bloody red roses now, they weren't always. In fact, sometime in the dusty tomes of history, this was called the Field of White Roses, White thought grimly. So much has changed, eh?
Before entering the enormous twisted palace before him, White took a glance at his watch, and meticulously arranged his robe. "This Rabbit is right on time," he muttered with a small smirk on his face. As the soldiers saw who was returning, a cry rose to open the gates, two enormous, ornately wrought sheets of some strange, dark metal on which patterns seemed to shift across in the pale moonlight. As the ponderous things swung open, White quickly entered, sweeping across the courtyard as soldiers and palace officials murmured their greetings with eyes downcast. The Queen seems to be in a foul mood tonight, White sighed. Handing his sword to a waiting guard, he picked up his hem and passed an unfortunate denizen clutching a ruined hand as White walked carefully up the stairs leading to the throne room. Yup, and an especially foul one at that... Making sure that not a hair was out of place, he stood to attention and gently knocked on the blood red doors.
No time to say "Hello".
Goodbye.
I'm late, I'm late, I'm late.
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:48 pm
'Twas brilig, and the slithy toves,
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the mome raths outgrabe  Cheshire furrowed her brow in confusion as she watched White dart away through the forest."Dont let the Queen punish you! Tell her that the Mysterious Cheshire Cat was making mischief once again!...." She called after him, for she didn't want him to get in trouble on her account. Then again, the Queen might not like Cheshire all that much, for all the mischief she made all those years ago. She wasn't worried about the Queen though, Cheshire was worried about White, for the queen could be cruel and she didn't want him hurt. Cheshire turned to face Ali...well, the girl, seeing as she didn't know her full name. "Silly, you don't want to stay down there, the plant's aren't very friendly to strangers..."She said as she offered the girl a hand to pull herself up .. "It looks like they have already shown their dislike, for one popped its root out for you to land on..or was it trying to cushion the blow..hmm, I don't know, but it's best not to tempt them..." Cheshire stated, waiting for the girl to determine whether or not she wanted to stand up.. `Well, then,' the Cat went on,
`you see, a dog growls when it's angry,
and wags its tail when it's pleased.
Now I growl when I'm pleased,
and wag my tail when I'm angry.
Therefore I'm mad.'"
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 2:40 pm
 A still fuzzy Allison accepted the hand up and gingerly returned to her feet. Most of what this girl was saying didn't make sense... And since when had there been a girl around, anyway? A girl who talked like the cat... Trying to blink her eyes back into focus, Allison touched the back of her head experimentally. "Thank you very much," she said slowly, "I believe I owe you my life."
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 3:08 pm
'Twas brilig, and the slithy toves,
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the mome raths outgrabe Cheshire shrugged, not really interested in the fact that she possibly saved the girl's life."I merely wanted my questions answered, but I suppose you are safe for now, or not, I don't really know...." She stated, for she didn't know if anyone else meant the girl harm. Cheshire herself could mean the girl harm, but not at the current moment at least.. "I know your name begins with Ali, but I can't help but wonder what the rest is, being as curious as I usually am, for that's what really saved you, my curiosity. Although I've heard it said before that curiosity killed the cat, so it must be a good thing that I have nine lives, or is it eight now, either way, I still live..." Cheshire gave a small laugh. She walked around the girl, examining the back of her head.. "No blood I see, so no trail will be left for them to follow you by, a good thing for you indeed..." She commented, finishing her circle around Ali...and returning to face her. "But, if your head still hurts, you might want to find the March Hare, I hear he has taken to creating herbal remedies for fatigue and pain.." ((anyone who wants to see the trailer for the new Alice movie from Tim Burton, here is the link, you should see where it says 'trailer' its pretty neat..)) `Well, then,' the Cat went on,
`you see, a dog growls when it's angry,
and wags its tail when it's pleased.
Now I growl when I'm pleased,
and wag my tail when I'm angry.
Therefore I'm mad.'"
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:33 pm
Alice was still having a bit of trouble following the girl's rather convoluted train of thought, but this time she thought she'd gotten most of it. "My name is Allison Elise Hammond," she said politely, folding her her hands together in front of her, "And I am very grateful to you for saving me, even if it was motivated purely by curiosity. And you have forgotten the rest of the saying," she added earnestly, "'Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought her back.' As such, even if you had no more lives to spare, you would probably be alright." She paused, biting her lower lip. "Could you tell me where I might find the March Hare?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:37 pm
Lilliana drank the restorative brews, but fought off it's sleepy effect. "I can't...leave them out there like me...I must go..", Lily said slowly.She kissed Mouse gently on the top of the hear and pulled herself into an upright position. The brew helped her enough to give her some physical strength, but for the moment any use of magic would put her in an even worse place than she had been moments previously. Lily took a deep breath and smiled reassuringly at Hare. "Its what I came here to do..I can't expect someone else to do my work", Lily said. She was hoping to avoid a fight, especially in front of Mouse, but he might just excuse the small girl and harangue Lily in private. Hare cared so deeply, and she was touched, but it had been her personal mission to save Wonderland. Her reasons for caring so much about the strange world were her own. She wondered, however, if Hare ever thought to ponder why the White Lady really gave such a damn about Wonderland.
Lily squeezed her eyes as she battled a pounding headache. "They're in trouble, somehow, or something has happened all ready..we must go now..no time for arguing now..you can lecture me later..", Lily huffed. Putting on another burst of strength Lily grabbed a leather bag from the wall and hurried out the door. she was sure Mouse and Hare would follow, definitely Hare. He never let her out of his sight these days, but she couldn't blame him. In fact, it was one of the things she loved about her friend. Mouse's sweet innocence made her sad days less depressing, and for that Mouse too was also invaluable to Lily. Lily grabbed some runes and tossed them both behind her as she walked. "Keep those with you, a bit of protection", she said, hoping she hadn't bonked Mouse. Lilliana began to half run across the castle ground, and then through the gates into the short stretch of uninfected forest.
The necklace she was wearing glowed and pulsated gently, calling out to the magic that was Lily's and had brought the human there. In this way she could track the humans when they weren't in her sight. The closer she was, the faster the light blue glow flashed. Finally the glow turned to a bright fiery blue, the human was right in front of her. "Hello...and hello Cheshire", Lily said warmly.
((Just for the consideration of others, when you notice a couple of people haven't posted in awhile please slow down your posting.))
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:39 pm
((Sorry, dear! I figured it wouldn't be a problem, since they were in different locations. Won't happen again.))
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:51 pm
'Twas brilig, and the slithy toves,
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the mome raths outgrabe Cheshire nodded and gave her grin ."I shall have to remember the rest of that phrase, for it might be useful indeed." She said, jumping up to sit on a nearby tree branch, directing her thoughts to what must be said next.. "THe March Hare is usually with our unexpected guest, The Lady In White..."Cheshire explained, giving a nod to Lilliana .. "Hello Lady Lily..." Cheshire greeted her and directed her thoughts elsewhere, for she had gotten some of her answers, and had figured the others out. Cheshire concluded that Lady Lilliana had summoned Allison to Wonderland, she neither cared or worried why, she just let it be. "The dear girl, Allison, has already met the White Rabbit...." She added, wondering what the reaction to her statement would be, quite frankly it meant that the Queen of Hearts would soon know about the girl. That might cause trouble for the Lady in White, and that's all Cheshire was about. ((same here...sorry!..)) `Well, then,' the Cat went on,
`you see, a dog growls when it's angry,
and wags its tail when it's pleased.
Now I growl when I'm pleased,
and wag my tail when I'm angry.
Therefore I'm mad.'"
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 7:20 pm
[[my apologies, hope no harm was done ^^ ]]
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 9:27 pm
Surprised by the sudden appearance of another person, Allison took a small step back. "Hello," she replied politely, despite her surprise. Then she glanced at Cheshire to check her reaction to this newcomer. Although she knew it probably wasn't the smartest idea, she couldn't help but trust the strange girl; it probably came from gratitude more than anything else. Lady in White? Was that the White Queen from Through the Looking Glass? The one who lived her life backward? Allison had never been near nobility before; she wasn't sure that she liked it. She carefully attempted a curtsy that only wobbled a little bit. "I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance," she added hastily. Then she straightened and looked quizzically at Cheshire. "The White Rabbit? Was that the man from before?" If so, I wouldn't say that 'met' is the right word. It wasn't as though he introduced himself before attempting to take off my head, she thought with a little shiver. And wasn't the white rabbit supposed to be... Well... a rabbit?
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 9:41 pm
'Twas brilig, and the slithy toves,
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the mome raths outgrabe Cheshire smiled at Allison. "Why, yes, he was that rather charming man from earlier, always like a rabbit to jump into action..." She said with a laugh. Bored with the tree at the moment, she jumped from the limb where she was perched. "Well, if my assistance is no longer needed, I will be making my escape. For it is not in my nature to help either court, so I will leave, maybe I will visit the Queen of Hearts..."Cheshire mused, darting off into the forest without hearing a single word, oh the mischief she would cause.. " 'Twas brilig, and the slithy toves, Did gyre and gimble in the wabe..." Cheshire began to sing, it was the song of the Jabberwocky, a dreadful beast indeed.. "Good thing it is gone...or is it like the Queen of Hearts, biding its time, waiting to come back...hmm..one might never know...." She thought, and continued to sing her song, running through the forest in human form for a change. `Well, then,' the Cat went on,
`you see, a dog growls when it's angry,
and wags its tail when it's pleased.
Now I growl when I'm pleased,
and wag my tail when I'm angry.
Therefore I'm mad.'"
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:04 am
Lily called a farewell to the Cheshire Cat, trying to sound less worried than she was. The Red Queen would find out, if she didn't all ready know, that Lilliana was transporting humans into their world. Part of her reasoning for this had been simple, if Alice as a human defeated the Red Queen once, then now that the Red Queen was ten times more powerful than ever, a couple humans might still be able to topple her. Lily was trying to be reassuring without belying her the chaos that was sure to ensue. "You needn't bow to me..I am not a queen like the Red Queen. I am just Lady Lilliana," she explained kindly. Her head was starting to swim again, she was still feeling so off. Hare and Mouse had to be close behind! "I am, if you haven't guessed, the reason you are here. But we have to get moving back to where my protection spells are in place", She said urging Allison into the direction Lily had come from.
It was then that she noticed how the young girl was dressed. "Oh my...oh..when we're back at the Pale Court you must tell me about your ah..choice of...clothing", Lily said. An odd smile made Lily look very young for a moment until necessity snapped her out of it. "There is so much to explain and very little time", She sighed.
((It's okay everybody, I just get very busy and I know how it feels for other people to be gone for a little and come back and feel totally lost. It's all good ^-^))
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 6:28 am
Allison moved automatically in the direction that Lady Lilliana was indicating, but her eyes remained trained on the lady herself. She didn't look very well, now that Allison was actually thinking about it; she was a little too pale, and something about her movements seemed... off. Slow. Like someone who hadn't gotten enough sleep for a few nights in a row. Was it proper or not to bring up that sort of thing minutes after meeting someone? And what was wrong with her cl... Allison suddenly stopped and went very pale. Oh. She looked like Alice. In Wonderland. While in Wonderland. That probably explained a few things, like why the White Rabbit had tried to kill her right off the bat.
That decided her; she was done with this whole thing. If this Wonderland had been like the one in the book, she probably could have actually enjoyed herself... at least for a while. But this? Strange men who arbitrarily decided to remove people's heads? Allison thought she could live without that, thank you very much. Hurrying to match her steps to the lady's again, Allison began to say something along the lines of 'Excuse me, Ma'am, but could you please send me back home?' However, she only managed the first bit. "Excuse m-" 
"That," Hare said in a deceptively reasonable voice as he stepped out of the brush, "Was absolutely mad. Even for here, that was mad. Do you think I say things because I like the sound of my own voice? If you were going to send someone, you should have sent me; that way, when you collapsed, you would have been in your own house! I understand that this is important; I get it. But-" He stopped as his eyes fell on Allison, and then blinked. A second or two later he opened his mouth to say something else, but nothing came out, so he just shut it again.
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 2:20 pm
Lily began to laughed at Hare when she stopped speaking. The look on his face was priceless as he stared at the girl dressed as the Alice of legend. "Hare, meet Allison", She said, emphasizing her name. "Allison this is the March Hare, but we just call him Hare for short. He is my closest friend", Lilliana introduced them. She looked around for Mouse for a moment and couldn't find her, she'd ask Hare in a moment. It was highly amusing to see the blond girl in the frilly blue dress who so reminded her of that child from so long ago."He is also my Warden", Lily said with a twinkle in her eyes. "But like you said, let's get home before I pass out on the forest floor", Lily said as another wave of dizziness rocked her body. Lily took Hare's arm to steady herself as they began traveling again.
"Hare, it seems as thought the White Rabbit has all ready met our new friend. I do not believe proper names were used", Lily spoke very gently as they walked, the trees might talk. If they spoke too loudly the flowers might here, and they were terrible gossips and soon everything she'd said would be all over in the ears of the most dangerous types. "He will report back to the Queen of Hearts with this information, misinformation..", Lily was worried, and nervous. If it came down to it Lily would have to use her ace in the hole to save the human from death, for if the Queen believed Alice was back she might use everything at her disposal to get rid of her. It was a last resort, mainly because the end effect would be the same, just focused on someone else.
"Miss Allison is there anything else you might want to tell us about since your arrival here..you didn't eat or drink anything did you?", She asked. It was partially a joke, but since she hadn't arrived within the protected zone it would be all too easy for one fo the twisted beings out there to trick the human or even kill her for pure amusement. Things had changed so much, it made Lilliana very sad.
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