Page 104 of Knot My Wonderland: Part Two
Iwatched the others file out of the main hall, their footsteps echoing through the stone corridors until only Alice and I remained. The magical dress Seth had crafted for her shimmered in the lamplight, its silver-blue fabric rippling with contained power that made my mechanical eye whir as it adjusted to track the energy patterns.
"What kind of precautions?" Alice asked, moving closer to my work table where several devices hummed with barely contained magical energy.
I reached into one of the deeper compartments built into my coat, withdrawing a small crystalline pendant that pulsed with soft amber light. "Emergency beacon," I explained, holding it up so she could see the intricate runic work carved into its surface. "If things go catastrophically wrong—and I mean world-ending wrong—this will transport you directly to a dimensional pocket I've prepared. Not the Tweedles' training space, but something smaller. But close to the same thing.”
Alice took the pendant, turning it over in her palm as it responded to her touch with brighter pulses of light. "You think it might come to that?"
I made final adjustments to a bracer-like device on my workbench, its metal surface etched with protective runes. "The probability matrices show a ninety-seven percent chance of success, but that remaining three percent..." I paused, before I focused on her face. "That three percent represents scenarios where the Queen's madness has progressed beyond anything we've calculated. Where she'd rather destroy Wonderland entirely than lose you again."
"Scorched earth," Alice murmured, understanding immediately. Through the bond network, I could sense her fear rippling outward to her bonded ones, though they were too distant now to offer immediate comfort.
"Exactly." I lifted the bracer, "This will help protect you from blood magic corruption if she tries to forcibly convert you," I explained, holding up the intricate bracer. "The runes are specifically designed to repel the kind of invasive magic she used when she first captured you."
Alice extended her arm, allowing me to secure the bracer around her wrist. The moment it clicked into place, the protective enchantments activated, creating a faint shimmer across her skin that complemented Seth's dress perfectly.
"There's something else," I said quietly, reaching for my most carefully guarded creation—a small vial filled with liquid that seemed to contain trapped starlight. "This is... insurance of a different kind."
Alice's eyes widened as she recognized the magical signature emanating from the vial. “What is that?”
I gave a laugh that was more mad then amused as a gave her a sharp grin, “This is from the Caterpillar. He gave us this incase things go very bad and you need a magical boost in the middleof battle. He usually doesn’t interfere…but you my Alice…are something special."
"The Caterpillar?" Alice whispered, her eyes wide with surprise. "I didn't realize he would be involved in any of this."
I tucked the vial into a concealed pocket in her dress that I'd specifically designed for this purpose. "He watches. Always has. Rarely interferes, but..." I adjusted my hat as I tried to make myself stand still. "He said you reminded him of someone he once held dear."
"The First Queen," I whispered, watching Alice's expression shift with understanding.
She touched the hidden pocket where I'd secured the vial. "What will this do exactly?"
"Think of it as pure, distilled pattern magic—untainted by corruption. One drop will temporarily amplify your natural abilities tenfold. The entire vial..." I paused, considering how to explain something even I didn't fully comprehend. "The Caterpillar said it contains 'memories of what Wonderland once was.' Whatever that means."
Alice nodded slowly, her silver-gold patterns pulsing beneath her skin as she absorbed this information. "Use only in the direst circumstances?"
"Precisely." I fastened a final enchanted clasp at her wrist, watching the protective runes activate with a soft blue glow. "The Queen won't expect these precautions. She believes you're still the same untrained girl she captured before." I adjusted my spectacles again, a nervous habit from my human days. "But you're not that girl anymore, are you?"
Alice straightened, her silver-blue dress rippling with contained power. "No, I'm not."
"Good." I placed a small crystal communication device in her hand. "This will allow you to contact any of us instantly if we'reseparated during the confrontation. Just think of who you want to reach and squeeze it."
Alice tucked the crystal into another hidden pocket in her dress. "You've thought of everything, haven't you?"
"It's what I do." I offered a crooked smile, my eyes softening as I looked at her. "When you can't fight with raw power, you fight with preparation and ingenuity."
"Thank you, Varik." Alice's voice was soft with genuine gratitude. "You have always looked after me…even when I arrived her when I was a young girl….and when it was never your job to do so.”
I laughed, “I knew you were special the moment I saw you. Wide eyed, filled with wonder and always asking questions.” A deep pang of longing went through me as I thought of the one person I had loved, a bright smile flashing and a whisper of my name flickered through me at the memory.
“You are family. You may not be my blood and I may not be apart of your newly developed bonds,but I'll stand by you just the same." I smoothed a wrinkle from her sleeve. "The others can protect you with magic and bonds, but sometimes what you need is a good old-fashioned invention with a touch of madness behind it."
Alice smiled, the expression transforming her face in a way that made my heart ache with memories of another woman who had once looked at me with similar affection. "I wouldn't have survived this long without you, Varik."
"Nonsense," I waved away her sentiment, though I couldn't quite hide my pleased expression. "You're stronger than you know. Always have been." I checked the time on one of my many devices. "We should join the others.”
Alice nodded, the weight of all my precautions settling over her like additional armor. "Are you sure you're well enoughfor this? You and Martha pushed yourselves maintaining that dimensional anchor."
I adjusted my hat one final time, checking that all my devices were secure and functioning. "Alice, my dear girl, I've been preparing for this confrontation longer than you realize. A little magical exhaustion won't keep me from seeing it through to the end."
I offered Alice my arm with exaggerated courtly manners. "Shall we go change the fate of Wonderland, my dear?"
