Page 13 of Knot My Wonderland: Part Two
"The Red Queen will expect a rescue attempt," I said, voicing my primary concern. "She's had time to prepare extensivedefenses, and Alice's bond with Heart will serve as bait for a trap. We need to be prepared for multiple contingencies."
Vee's eyes glittered with something ancient and knowing. "Time isn't as linear as most believe, Your Majesty. We've already seen several potential outcomes."
"Some more favorable than others," Dee added, his expression darkening slightly.
I studied them closely, my shadows coiling tighter around my feet. "And which version are we currently moving toward?"
The twins exchanged a glance that contained an entire conversation.
"Uncertain," they said in perfect unison. "The Red Queen's temporal distortions create... interference."
"But Alice is strong," Vee continued, adjusting his stance as he glanced to his brother then focused back on me. "Stronger than the Queen realizes."
"The pattern chose her for a reason," Dee finished, eyes darkening for a brief second before going back to their normal emotionless look, "It doesn't surrender its bearer easily."
I moved to the window, gazing out at the crystalline formations that served as our temporary stronghold. Through the connection I maintained with the Void Court, I could sense the Red Queen's domain like a festering wound in reality's fabric—a place where grief and power had twisted space-time into something unnatural.
"The Void Court grows restless," I admitted, my shadows deepening as I felt their ancient hunger stirring across dimensional barriers. "They sense the pattern's distress, Alice's weakening bonds. If we fail to retrieve her before the Queen completes the transfer..."
"The Void will act on its own," Vee said quietly, understanding the implications immediately.
"And their….and your methods are rarely... precise," Dee added, his temporal anchors flickering with unstable energy. He made sure I understood I should do something since it would be my kingdom’s court that would act up without me there.
I nodded grimly. The Void Court's intervention would save Alice from the Red Queen, yet it would also consume everything else in the immediate vicinity. Including Heart, Chi, and any hope of restoring Wonderland's natural balance. My personal feelings aside, that outcome served no one.
"Which is why we must succeed," I said, shadows deepening around me. "The Void Court respects only one authority—mine. And even that respect has limits when the pattern itself is threatened."
Vee and Dee exchanged another of their silent communications, a conversation conveyed through subtle shifts in posture and microscopic facial expressions. I'd known the twins for centuries, yet their true nature remained one of Wonderland's most closely guarded secrets.
"We've prepared temporal shields," Vee said, indicating the crystalline devices arranged across the chamber. "They'll create a bubble of stable reality around Alice once we locate her."
"The Queen's ritual requires three full days," Dee continued. "By our calculations, she's completed approximately twenty-seven percent of the bond severance process."
I moved closer, examining their temporal calculations displayed in shimmering light between them. "And the collar? I know she will use thatdisgustingthing on her.”
"The Binding Collar is the primary anchor for her ritual," Vee replied, his fingers tracing patterns across his temporal display. "It creates a feedback loop—the weaker Alice's bonds become, the stronger the collar's suppression grows."
"But collars can be broken," Dee added, his eyes gleaming with predatory satisfaction. "Especially when time itself becomes... flexible around them."
“It also prevents her from escaping…acting as a monitoring collar…basically making her only allowed to go a certain distance without her being stopped.” Vee’s, tone low with distaste.
I studied the readouts more carefully, my shadows coiling as I processed the implications. The Red Queen's ritual was more sophisticated than I'd initially calculated—not just severing bonds, but creating a magical vacuum that would draw the pattern naturally toward the strongest nearby vessel. Herself.
"Clever," I admitted grudgingly. "She's not forcing the transfer—she's creating conditions where the pattern has nowhere else to go."
"Except the collar isn't perfect," Vee sighed, "It suppresses connections, but can't eliminate them entirely."
"And what the Queen doesn't understand," Dee added, his eyes reflecting patterns beyond normal perception, "is that the pattern itself has consciousness—primitive, perhaps, but awareness nonetheless."
I raised an eyebrow, shadows shifting with interest. "You believe the pattern is actively resisting?"
"We know it is," the twins said in unison, their temporal devices synchronizing with a harmonic chime that vibrated through multiple realities simultaneously.
"The First Queen designed it that way," Vee continued, fingers dancing across controls that seemed to phase between solid and ethereal. "The pattern cannot be stolen—only surrendered or transferred willingly."
"Which is why the Queen's ritual focuses on breaking Alice's will," I concluded, the pieces falling into place. "Not just severing bonds, but systematically destroying her capacity to choose.The pattern won't transfer unless she gives up—completely and without reservation."
"Precisely," Dee said, his temporal anchors stabilizing into steady pulses. "But Alice's will is anchored by more than just the bonds to Heart and Chi. The pattern itself has become part of her identity."
