Page 28 of Knot My Wonderland: Part Two
I absorbed this information, weighing the benefits against the complications. The crimson corruption beneath my skin pulsed with each heartbeat, a constant reminder of the Queen's violation. Through our restored bonds, I could feel Heart and Chi's situation growing more desperate—whatever trap they'd walked into was tightening around them.
"How long would it take?" I asked, the decision crystallizing as another wave of the Queen's influence tried to cloud my thoughts.
"The initial bonding process? Approximately seven minutes," Vee replied, shifting to step closer to me as his eyes flickered to meet his brother's for silent confirmation. "But the full integration will unfold over several days."
"And the timing?" I pressed, feeling a strange urgency building within me. Something was happening with Heart and Chi—I could feel their determination, but also growing danger.
"Now would be optimal," Dee said, his hands already moving to adjust the temporal devices strapped to his forearms. "The Queen's influence is weakest immediately after the collar's removal."
I took a deep breath, my decision was made. "Let's do it."
“Are you sure?” Vee’s silver eyes seemed to look into me, trying to find something. He stepped forward, coming to stand right before me as he brought a hand to my cheek, his touch soft, “This bond will be forever.” He spoke softly. “Yes, you have other options besides us… and we do know we aren’t the easiestto get close to.”
"I'm sure," I said, leaning slightly into his touch. "You've both been there for me from the beginning. Different, yes,” I smiled up at him. “but no less important."
A rare, genuine smile touched Vee's lips as his silver eyes softened. "Then we begin."
The twins moved with perfect synchronization, positioning themselves on either side of me. Their temporal devices hummed to life, creating a bubble of stabilized reality around us that shimmered with opalescent light.
"Close your eyes," Dee instructed gently. "And try to relax. The pattern will recognize our intentions."
I did as he asked, feeling their hands take mine—Vee on my right, Dee on my left. The moment our skin connected, I felt something shift in the air around us, as if reality itself held its breath. The pattern beneath my skin responded immediately, silver and gold light pulsing with increasing intensity as it recognized the potential for new connection.
"Breathe with us," Vee whispered, his voice seeming to come from multiple moments at once. "In... and out... let time flow through you rather than around you."
I synchronized my breathing with theirs, feeling the temporal energy building between us like gathering stormclouds. The crimson corruption beneath my skin recoiled from their touch, the red lines flickering as if trying to escape the purifying influence of their magic.
"Now," Dee said softly, "open yourself to us. Let us see who you truly are."
The moment I lowered my mental barriers, the world exploded into fragments of possibility. I saw myself through their eyes—not just the present moment, but echoes of who I had been and glimpses of who I might become. The twins' consciousness touched mine with infinite gentleness, their combined essence felt like standing in a river of liquid starlight that flowed both forward and backward through time itself.
The bonding process began with a sensation of falling upward through crystalline water, this process much more different than the other two bonds I had formed. Their minds touched mine—Vee's quicksilver thoughts dancing through temporal calculations while Dee's deeper currents anchored us to stable reality. Together they created a harmony that made my soul resonate like a struck bell.
We see you,their voices whispered in perfect unison, not through sound but directly into my consciousness.Alice who chose courage over safety, connection over isolation, love over fear.
The pattern beneath my skin erupted in response, silver and gold light blazing as it welcomed the new connection. But instead of the gradual warmth I'd experienced with Heart and Chi, this bond formed with the intensity of lightning—sudden, complete, transformative. Time seemed to fracture around us, showing me glimpses of moments that had been, were, and might yet be.
I saw myself as a child, laughing in a garden that might have been my memories or might have been dreams. I saw myself standing in the Red Queen's throne room, but older, my eyesblazing with power I hadn't yet learned to wield. I saw the twins as they truly were—ancient beings who had watched civilizations rise and fall, their playful demeanor a carefully constructed mask over depths of wisdom and sorrow that spanned millennia.
The crimson corruption fought back viciously, sending spikes of pain through my nervous system as it tried to maintain its hold. But the twins' combined temporal magic was relentless, reaching backward through my recent history to unweave the Queen's influence thread by precious thread. Each pulse of their power rewrote the pattern's memory, replacing corruption with purity, and fear with strength.
"Almost there," Vee's voice echoed across multiple timelines, his grip tightening on my hand as reality shimmered around us. "The corruption is fighting back. Stay with us, Alice."
I gasped as the crimson traces beneath my skin flared with desperate intensity, the Queen's influence making one final attempt to maintain its hold. Pain lanced through me, sharp and burning, as if my veins were filled with liquid fire.
"I can't—" I choked out, my knees buckling beneath me.
"You can," Dee's voice resonated with absolute certainty, his hand steady against mine. "Look at what we see, Alice. Look at who you truly are."
The twins' combined consciousness enveloped me like a protective cocoon, showing me myself through their unique perception—a being of infinite potential existing across multiple timelines simultaneously. In their vision, the crimson corruption wasn't just being erased—it was being unwritten from existence itself, as if it had never touched me at all.
The Queen's influence made one final, desperate surge, crimson lines blazing beneath my skin like molten wire. But the twins' temporal magic reached deeper, touching the very foundation of my being and rewriting the pattern's core memory. Light exploded between us—not just silver and goldnow, but opalescent streams that shifted through every color imaginable as time itself bent around our forming bond.
When the light faded, I found myself on my knees between them, gasping as if I'd been underwater. The crimson traces were gone—not faded, but completely absent, as if they had never existed. The pattern beneath my skin pulsed with renewed vitality, silver and gold threads now interwoven with streams of temporal energy that made my vision flicker between present and possibility.
"Perfect," Vee breathed, his silver eyes reflecting depths I hadn't noticed before. Through the new bond, I could feel his satisfaction mixed with something deeper—relief that we'd succeeded, wonder at the strength of our connection.
"How do you feel?" Dee asked, helping me to my feet with gentle hands. The temporal energy still crackled between us, making the air shimmer with possibilities.
