Page 34 of Off with Her Head

"Good," I say, addressing the entire court. "Return to your posts. Strengthen defenses, prepare your respective domains for attack. We will join you shortly to coordinate the final preparations."

They bow and withdraw without another word, leaving Ravenna and me alone in the throne room. The moment the doors close, I let out a sigh, allowing myself to breathe deeply for the first time since we arrived at the castle.

"Your court accepts my presence remarkably well," Ravenna observes.

"They sense the changes," I reply, moving to the window that overlooks the gardens. "Even if they don't fully understand them."

"Your command style is different," Ravenna notes, coming to stand beside me. "Less theatrical, more direct. You're not ruling through fear today."

I hadn't noticed the change, but she's right. I've issued no threats, ordered no executions, displayed none of the calculated cruelty that once defined my rule. Yet my court obeyed without hesitation, possibly with even greater efficiency.

"Perhaps I no longer need fear as a tool," I muse, watching a flamingo fly past, its crystalline feathers now veined with deep red that matches the roses. "Not when authority flows naturally with you at my side."

Ravenna's hand brushes mine, the brief contact sending a spark between us. "Balance," she says softly. "Your power tempered by mine, my restraint loosened by yours."

I turn to face her fully, struck once again by how different she appears in Underland's bright light. Her pale skin has taken on a subtle glow. The blue of her eyes contains flecks of green that match my own. She is still unmistakably the Queen of Darkmore, yet somehow more vibrant, morepresent. Like she’s been brought back to life.

"So what's our next move?" I ask, forcing my thoughts back to the immediate threat. "Mara's forces gather at our border, but they haven't attacked yet. Why wait?"

"She's gauging the changes," Ravenna suggests, her strategic mind working alongside mine. "Testing how our unified magic responds, how it affects our kingdoms. Perhaps even hoping to determine which of us is the dominant force."

"As if either of us could dominate the other," I reply with a small smile, the words carrying more meaning than I initially intended.

A flash of amusement crosses her face, along with something darker that makes my heart beat faster. "Indeed. We seem destined for partnership rather than dominance."

The wordpartnershiphangs between us, its implications extending beyond military alliance or magical connection. But before I can respond, a familiar voice interrupts.

"Partners, allies,lovers, queens." The Cheshire Cat materializes in segments near my throne, his grin appearing first, followed by his striped body, and finally his swishing tail. "So many labels, so little understanding of what truly binds you."

"Cat," I acknowledge, unsurprised by his appearance. He has a habit of arriving precisely when matters reach critical junctures. "I assume you bring more than riddles today?"

His grin widens impossibly. "Riddles contain truths for those clever enough to unravel them, Queen of Hearts. But yes, I bring history as well as mystery." He floats lazily toward us, his body undulating in impossible ways. "Tell me, what do you know of the founding queens?"

Ravenna answers before I can. "Sisters who once ruled a unified kingdom before discord divided them. Their separation created the three kingdoms and split magic into distinct forms—heart, blood, and iron."

"Sisters, yes," the Cat agrees, his tail flicking thoughtfully. "But not merely siblings of circumstance. They were triplets, born of a single womb, sharing a single magical essence before they drew their first breath."

I exchange a startled glance with Ravenna. "Triplets?" I repeat. "This wasn't recorded in any historical text I've encountered."

"History is written by those who wish to forget as much as by those who wish to remember," the Cat replies enigmatically. "The triplets—Cordelia, Morgana, and Elara—were initially a single consciousness expressed through three bodies. Theirmagic flowed between them freely, strengthening rather than dividing. They were, in essence, a perfect magical circuit."

"What changed?" Ravenna asks, moving closer to me as if instinctively seeking connection.

The Cat's form becomes more substantial, a sign he considers this information vital. "Betrayal," he says simply. "Elara believed she could—should—control the entirety of their shared magic. She discovered an ancient pool deep beneath what would become her kingdom, a source of transformation that predated even the triplets' birth. She drank from it in secret, hoping to amplify her third of their shared power."

"The same pool Mara has found," I realize, the pieces falling into place.

"The very same," the Cat confirms. "But the pool was never meant to augment individual power. It was created to facilitate balance, transformation, unity. Used by one triplet alone, it became corrupted, mutating Elara's magic."

"So Cordelia and Morgana had to sever the connection," Ravenna concludes, understanding dawning in her expression. "They sundered the bond between the three of them to prevent complete corruption of all magic."

"Precisely!" The Cat spins in midair, pleased by our comprehension. "The sundering wasn't merely division—it wasprotection. By separating their once-unified magic into distinct forms—heart, blood, and iron—they contained Elara's corruption within Ironwood, preventing it from consuming all three kingdoms."

"That's why iron suppresses magic," I say as understanding continues to unfold. "It's not suppression at all—it's containment. Ironwood's power turned inward, focused on preventing corruption from spreading rather than expressing itself outwardly."

"Clever queens," the Cat purrs approvingly. "Yes, Ironwood's 'suppression' of magic is actually the oldest protective spell in existence, maintained across generations by Elara's descendants. A painful but necessary sacrifice."

"Until Edmund," Ravenna says quietly. "Until Mara found the pool and corrupted him, breaking the containment that had held for centuries."

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