Page 62 of Madness Becomes Her
“I’m back with Eleanor of Earth to see the queen. She’s expecting us. In fact, we’re late, so if you’ll just move out of the way…” Lewis begins impatiently.
The guard laughs, clearly amused by Lewis’s behavior, which only serves to anger the Hare more.
Lewis stamps a foot. “Now, Cirius, we’ve been over this.”
“Have we?” Cirius mocks.
Cirius and his fellow guardsmen have humanoid faces and even the bodies of humans, but they’re nearly eight feet tall, in armour that’s as white as snow. Their staffs have spikes on the end, and I wouldn’t want to find myself on the end of one of them because they look to be made of some kind of iron.
“Aw, let the little rabbit through,” the other guard jokes, and Lewis gasps.
Finlo grins, and I try not to laugh.
“I am not a rabbit! I am a hare! We’ve been through this, and I don’t like how you two behave. I am a part of this court. I’ll have you remember!” Lewis’s tone grows angrier as his paw flies through the air.
Cirius opens his mouth to mock the Hare further, but a melodic-toned voice from behind him has him snapping to attention. “Cirius, do not mock the March Hare. You know he has little to no tolerance for such a thing.”
A woman in a white gown with hair as white as her kingdom presses the gates open, and the guardsmen part, their heads bowed as they give her berth.
She’s beautiful, and my knees shake in her presence as if knowing they need to kneel.
Her gasp accompanies her hands covering her mouth. “Deary me, it is you. When Lewis brought news of your return, I thought surely the poor thing had gone madder. After all, spending time with the Hatter in the Bog will do that to a person,” she goes on, and Finlo stands taller at the implication as if quite proud of his madness. “But here you are. In the flesh. It is so awful to see you again, Eleanor.”
Awful?
My heart skips a beat as I swallow.
Finlo shakes my hand in his as if urging me to say something in reply, but what does someone say back to that?
“It’s awful to see you again, too?” I say, not meaning it to come out like a question, but I’m questioning if it was the right thing to say, so I couldn’t help it.
She claps her hands together in delight. “Oh! It’s Eleanor. Our Eleanor. Can you even believe it?”
I don’t know who she’s speaking to, so I remain silent beside Finlo.
Turning, she walks back toward the palace entrance, left standing agape with two more guards looming on either side. Her white gown flutters over the marble walkway, beckoning me forward long before Finlo moves.
Somehow, in all my travels, in all my experiences here thus far, walking into the White Queen’s palace is the moment Irealize the very insane state of my life and what it’s become, and it has me removing my hand from Finlo’s and curling it back into my pocket.
Warring emotions and thoughts continue as the queen leads a tour of the main parts of the palace, for my benefit only, ending in front of a massive blade shoved into a rock in the Great Hall.
“This is the Vorpal Blade. You’ll use this to slay her beast and take us into Frabjous Day!” the queen exclaims, clapping her hands.
The reality of my world becomes clearer, and my heart races, beating against my ribs as I feel the walls closing in around me. “I can’t… I think you have the wrong Eleanor.” Shaking my head as the light overhead glimmers off the edges of the sharpened blade, I take a step back.
Finlo’s eyes narrow in concern as he grabs my hand. “Eleanor?”
“I’m not the right one. I can’t use… that! I can’t kill a beast. What was I thinking coming here? I need to get home. I can’t… this is too much!” I squeak, tears falling down my cheeks as my chest tightens, my lungs burning for air as I struggle to breathe through the heavy feeling in my chest.
“Fin, I can’t!” I squeak as he pulls me into him.
“I’ll take her to my rooms. It’s been a long journey. That’s all,” he lies for me.
I’m thankful he realizes I need a moment, and I’m grateful that Finlo Pennington is who he is: a good man.
“Do what you must. Bring the right Eleanor to tea. Leave the wrong one in your room,” the queen says dismissively, as if finding my right state of mind is as easy as changing my clothes.
Finlo leads me through the palace, up two floors, and into a massive suite that I barely register before I turn on him and fall into hysterics.
