“Tell me why you think this girl is the Alice of legend,” the Queen demanded.
“Because she has the same mind as her. Just look at her eyes. She has that curiosity that always got the old Alice in trouble,” the little boy answered as he stepped up to me, his face covered in a shadow now. Why he didn’t have one before, I wasn’t sure. Must have been because he was on Earth. “Yup, just like the old Alice.”
The Queen’s lips perked as she stared at me. “I suppose you would know since you brought the first Alice here.” She clapped her hands together. “Then it is settled, you are the Alice we are looking for.”
“I still don’t think I’m...” I began.
“Shush, you are only to speak when spoken to!”
I shut my mouth quickly. I didn’t see how this Queen was any different in temperament than the Queen of Hearts as Malcolm and Howard had said. Maybe the shadow was causing her to act like this, to act like all the queens before her.
“Now, what are we to do with our dear Alice.” She started circling me, which made me very conscious of my body. What exactly was she looking for. “You seem so ordinary looking. Although, so was the other Alice, but the other Alice took down the Heart Kingdom and tried to stop the Red and White Kingdom.”
“Your majesty,” Bill said. “We did find the Cheshire Cat with her. He seems to be helping Malcolm and the others.”
“Well, well, isn’t that strange? That little kitty never takes orders from anyone.” She tapped her chin. “You must be one special girl to have that nuisance wrapped around your finger.”
“He was with the others before I came along, it had nothing to do with me,” I explained.
The Queen laughed. “But everything has to do with Alice, it always does.” She spun around on her heel. “Take her to the dungeon. The boys will come for her and we will be ready to capture them as well.”
Bill bowed. “Yes, your majesty.”
He grabbed my arm and led me out of the throne room.
And that was my first encounter with the Queen of Dreams.
CHAPTER 20
Bill led me down through the palace. I couldn’t believe how many different floors there were. Although it had looked large on the outside, it must have gone deeper into the ground because there was no way it could go on for this long down into the ground. We seemed to walk on forever. There were no elevators, which surprised me and made me realize that a lot of people here were pretty fit. It must have been due to running around all over the palace.
Once we got to the last floor, I noticed the smell of salty water beginning to sting my nostrils. It was so strong I could taste it. It reminded me of summers at my parent’s beach house, if you can call the Oregon coast a beach. The water was always cold and you always seemed to need a jacket, even in the midst of summer. And don’t touch the water unless you are trying to play freeze-out.
We came to an area that appeared like a prison. I gulped as I smelled the stench of uncleanliness as many people down here probably hadn’t left their cell for a long while. I wondered how long I would be down here until I could escape or was taken somewhere else.
So I was right about this being the lowest level, as one would keep prisoners in the deepest part of a palace, I would figure. That way it would be harder for them to escape because they would need to go up a few levels to the exit. There was no way that was possible without being seen.
Which meant escape was going to be very difficult in this place. Great.
Opening one of the doors, Bill shoved me inside. “Don’t worry, Alice, soon your rescuers will come, and we will be waiting.”
He laughed as he shut the door behind him. To say he was cocky was an understatement. Gathering myself, I peered around at my new surroundings. This room wasn’t as brilliant as the others were, which made sense. This was the prison. The light was dim, all the walls were beige, and there were not any beautiful lanterns to guide my way through the room.
There was a barred window on one of the walls, letting in a little light from the starry sky. I went over to it and peered out. Waves thrashed about just below it, letting in a mist of salt water. That was where the smell was coming from. There wasn’t anything else under the palace except water, which also meant escaping that way would be near impossible. These people knew what they were doing.
“Wish they put in an actual window, eh? Keep that cold water out,” a voice said behind me.
I jumped, startled, and spun around to find a tall man standing behind me. He had a long trench coat on and his fists jammed into his pockets. He peered out the window next to me.
“Glad they didn’t take my coat away or I would be freezing down here in this cell.” Turning back to me, he held out a hand. “Name’s Kenny.”
I slowly shook his hand, surprised I didn’t notice another person in here with me earlier. Maybe I just assumed I was alone. Some of the areas were pretty shadowed, he must have been hiding. “Alice.”
He opened his mouth widely.
