Page 30 of Knot My Wonderland: Part Two
"The sanctuary first," I decided, "then we'll need to discuss next steps with the others. The Queen won't stay contained for long."
Dee activated the temporal resonance device on his wrist, calibrating it to the sanctuary's specific coordinates. "The temporal wake is settling. We should have a clean transit window in approximately three minutes."
I gazed down at Alice's sleeping face, struck by how peaceful she looked despite everything she'd endured. The pattern beneath her skin pulsed in harmony with our new connection, silver and gold light intertwined with opalescent threads that existed partially outside linear time.
"She's dreaming," I observed, feeling ripples of consciousness through our bond. Not nightmares of captivity as I'd feared, but fragments of possibility—futures and pasts flowing together like tributaries of the same river.
"Good dreams?" Dee asked, his silver eyes softening as he glanced at her.
I nodded, a rare smile touching my lips. "Possibilities. Hope."
Through our connection, I could sense Alice's subconscious mind exploring the vast network of potential futures that our bond had opened to her—scenes of laughter and healing, of power used to protect rather than control.
"The transit window is opening," Dee announced, his devices harmonizing with a crystalline chime that seemed to echo across multiple dimensions simultaneously.
I tightened my hold on Alice as reality shimmered around us, the familiar sensation of temporal displacement making the air thick as honey. Through our new bond, I felt her consciousness stir briefly at the transition, a flutter of awareness before settling back into restorative sleep.
The sanctuary materialized around us with jarring suddenness—solid stone walls replacing the shifting cave system, the scent of healing herbs replacing the metallic taste of temporal energy. I could hear voices ahead, tense with worry and relief in equal measure.
"Alice!" Heart's voice carried across the main chamber, his golden patterns blazing with protective fury as he caught sight of her unconscious form in my arms. "What happened? Is she?—"
"She's fine," I assured him quickly, feeling his panic through the distant echo of Alice's bonds with him and Chi. "Exhausted from the temporal bonding process, but the Queen's corruption has been completely purged."
Chi materialized beside Heart, his teal eyes blazing with concern as he assessed Alice's condition. "Bonding process?" His gaze flicked between Dee and I, understanding dawning in his expression. "You formed the earth and water bonds."
"At her request," Dee clarified, his temporal devices powering down as he secured our arrival point. "The Queen's influence was deeper than we initially calculated. Natural purging would have taken months and left her vulnerable to reactivation."
Seth emerged from the shadows, his dark eyes immediately finding Alice's peaceful face. "The Tweedles' temporal bonding worked then. I can sense the change in her magical signature—cleaner, stronger."
I nodded, carefully settling Alice on the cushioned alcove that Varik had hastily arranged with pillows and blankets. Her breathing remained deep and even, the pattern beneath her skin pulsing with steady rhythm as the temporal bond continued to integrate.
"How long will she sleep?" Heart asked, his ruby eyes fixed on her face with an intensity that made his protective instincts palpable through their shared connection.
"Several hours at minimum," Dee replied, consulting the temporal readouts on his wrist device. "Her consciousness is processing an enormous amount of new information—past, present, and potential futures are all flowing through her awareness as the true-time perception establishes itself."
Chi's form flickered with agitation, his tail lashing as he studied Alice's peaceful expression. "And the Queen's corruption? You're certain it's gone?"
"Completely," I confirmed, settling beside Alice to monitor her condition through our new bond. "The temporal rewriting reached back to the moment the first tonic entered her system. As far as the pattern is concerned, the corruption never existed."
Heart's tension eased slightly, though his ruby eyes remained fixed on Alice's sleeping form. "And the side effects of temporal bonding?"
"She'll experience true-time visions for several days as her consciousness adjusts," Dee explained, his silver eyes tracking something invisible to the others. "Glimpses of potential futures, echoes of significant pasts. Most find it overwhelming."
"But Alice isn't most people," Seth observed quietly, his shadows coiling with what might have been approval. "The pattern's integration with her consciousness is far deeper than normal. She may adapt faster than expected."
I felt Alice's awareness flutter through our bond—not waking, but processing our conversation on some subconscious level. Her mind was already beginning to sort through the temporal information flooding her awareness, categorizing and filtering in ways that surprised even me.
Most beings took weeks to develop the mental architecture necessary to process temporal perception. Alice was doing it in hours.
"She's already sorting the visions," I murmured, feeling her consciousness organize itself through our connection. "Creating mental pathways to filter probability cascaded from fixed events."
Heart moved closer, his hand hovering over hers before gently taking it. The golden bond between them pulsed visibly, strengthening our temporal work rather than competing with it. "What does that mean for her when she wakes?"
"It means," Dee answered, his silver eyes reflecting something ancient and knowing, "that she'll likely have morecontrol over the true-time perception than we anticipated. Less disorientation, more focused awareness."
Chi settled on Alice's other side, his form solidifying as he watched the steady rise and fall of her chest. His tail wrapped protectively around her wrist, monitoring her pulse through the silver connection they shared. "The Queen won't stop. Not after this failure."
"No," Seth agreed, his shadows coiling tighter around his feet. "This defeat will only fuel her obsession. She's lost her best chance to claim the pattern, but that won't stop her from trying again."
