Page 83 of Knot My Wonderland

“I know you two talk in riddles, but could you talk plainly with me so I can understand better.” I didn’t know if they talked like that to confuse others or it was simply the only way they spoke.

Vee and Dee looked to one another before Vee spoke up, “There are many things being hidden from you, but you need to trust your instincts, for they will help you weed out those who want to use you, and who wants just you.”

I sighed, rubbing my temples where pressure had been building since Chi's departure. The silver patterns beneath my skin pulsed with a steady rhythm, maintaining our connection across the distance. "That's not exactly plain speaking either."

"What my brother means," Dee said, his dreamy voice taking on an unusual directness, "is that not everyone helping you has the same goals in mind."

I considered the Tweedles' warning, unsettled by the implication. "Are you talking about the King of Spades?"

"Among others," Vee replied, his monocle catching the light as he tilted his head.

"The pattern attracts power like moths to flame," Dee added, gesturing toward the Observatory where tiny figures continued their desperate flight from the Blood Mages.

"Some seek to protect the light," Vee continued, his silver monocle reflecting the Observatory's glow.

"Others wish to capture it for themselves," Dee finished, his opalescent robes rippling with unease.

I moved closer to the Observatory, watching as Chi's presence manifested briefly at the first anchor point. Through our bond, I felt his focused concentration as he placed Varik's device with precision. The Heart Stone pulsed against my chest, warm with Heart's distant determination as his fighters engaged the Blood Mages' attention.

"You speak of the monarchs," I said, not looking away from the miniature landscape. "The Red Queen wants to control me, the King of Diamonds calculates the advantages of an alliance, the Queen of Clubs watches and waits." I turned to face the Tweedles. "And the King of Spades?"

"The King of Spades plays the longest game of all," came a voice from the shadows. The King himself emerged from a corridor, moving with that liquid grace that made it impossible to tell exactly when he had arrived. "Though perhaps not the one you imagine."

I tensed as the King approached, his shadows flowing around him like living things. The silver patterns beneath my skin flared in response to his presence—not with alarm, but with that same strange recognition I'd felt before.

"Eavesdropping, Your Majesty?" I asked, keeping my voice steady despite the way his dark eyes seemed to pierce straight through me.

"Observing," he corrected, shadows coiling around the Observatory's edge as he studied the miniature battlefield. "The Tweedles speak truth, though, they wrap it in their usual cryptic delivery."

Vee adjusted his monocle with obvious discomfort. "Some truths require careful handling."

"Like fragile melodies," Dee added, his robes flickering with nervous energy. "Too much force and they shatter." The King's lips curved into something that might have been a smile.

"Perhaps," the King conceded, his gaze returning to me. "But Alice deserves more than half-truths and riddles. Especially now."

I studied him, taking in the way his shadows seemed to breathe with him, extending and retracting like curious tendrils. Through the Heart Stone, I felt a distant pulse of alarm from Heart—he sensed the King's proximity to me even across the distance.

"Then give me truth," I challenged, stepping closer to him. "No games, no manipulations. Why are you really helping us?"

The King's dark eyes held mine, and for a moment, I glimpsed something ancient and weary behind his calculating exterior.

"Because Wonderland is dying," he said simply. "The monarchs' endless power struggles have fractured the realm beyond what it can sustain. The Red Queen's blood magic drains life force that cannot be replaced and the borders between territories weaken daily. Magic pools stagnate without the free flow that once sustained them." His shadows shifted, forming brief images of withered landscapes and crumbling cities. "Within a generation, perhaps two, there will be nothing left but wasteland and the memories of what we once were."

I felt the truth of his words resonate through the silver patterns beneath my skin. The ward consciousness stirred, showing me glimpses of what he described—territories slowly bleeding energy into the void, like wounds that refused to heal.

"And you think I can fix this?" I asked, though even as I spoke, I could feel the pattern within me responding to the idea with eager recognition.

"I think you're the only one who can," he replied, moving closer until the shadows around him nearly touched the silverlight emanating from my skin. "The First Queen's pattern wasn't just a magical construct—it was Wonderland's blueprint, the original template that bound all territories together in harmony." His shadows shifted, forming intricate designs that mirrored the silver patterns beneath my skin. "You carry the only complete version of that template that has existed since she ascended."

I watched as his shadows danced around the silver light emanating from my skin, never quite touching but moving in perfect counterpoint. Through Chi's bond, I felt a distant surge of alarm as he sensed the King's proximity to me, but the mission kept him anchored to his task.

"If that's true," I said carefully, "then why didn't the First Queen use the pattern to prevent the fracturing in the first place? Why leave it behind instead of using it herself?"

The King's expression shifted, something like old grief flickering across his features before disappearing behind his usual mask of control. "Because using the pattern to its full potential requires more than just carrying it. It requires sacrifice. The First Queen became one with Wonderland itself—her consciousness merged with the realm's magical foundation. She couldn't maintain her individual existence and preserve the pattern simultaneously."

The weight of his words settled over me like a shroud. "You're saying that to fix Wonderland, I would have to..." I couldn't finish the sentence, the implications too vast to fully comprehend.

"Not necessarily," the King said quickly, shadows shifting with what might have been urgency. "The First Queen made her choice during a time of crisis, with incomplete knowledge. The pattern has evolved since then, grown more sophisticated through centuries of dormancy."

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