For the second time, I stared up at the towering walls of the castle. It seemed more intimidating this time, knowing what I was faced, what I had to do inside the massive structure. Instinctively, I clenched my fists, wishing I could disappear.

"Don't worry," a voice said gently. Cheshire put a hand on my shoulder and smiled. "I'll be with you the whole time."

Though I took a deep breath and nodded, trying to return his smile, I didn't feel as confident as he probably hoped I would be. I felt nervous and itchy, like bugs were crawling all over me, spreading doubt in their wake. I shook the imaginary creeps away and made the decision to sit at the base of a nearby tree.

I was watching Cheshire and Rab speak about plans to infiltrate the castle when Dee and Dum suddenly popped up on either side of me. "So, are you scared?" one asked. I was still trying to learn to tell them apart.

"Do you think any of us are gonna die?" the other questioned.

My stomach turned at the very thought. "Of course not. We'll be fine. As long as we follow Rab's plan, we shouldn't have any problems."

The twins looked at each other. "Don't you think Rab's been kinda weird lately? He's been watching Cheshire closer than usual," the left one said.

I glanced at the two men standing a few yards away, still speaking in concerned conversation. "What do you mean?" I asked.

The twins both shrugged. With a frown, I excused myself. I was already paranoid; I didn't need any more worrisome thoughts. However, as I walked away, I watched Chesh and Rab out of the corner of my eye. They seemed to be arguing again about something. Rab's eyebrows were drawn together and Cheshire looked miffed; his ears were pinned back unhappily.

Watching them closely, I leaned on a tree. Weird, the twins had said. Now that I thought about it, what was weird in Wonderland? Was weird normal and normal weird? Was weird still weird and normal still normal? Were their set rules for "weird" or did it just depend on the instance. I frowned deeply as the matter occupied my thoughts. What a weird word the word weird.

Suddenly, something leathery wrapped around my ankle. The next thing I knew I was being dragged through the branches of the tree above me, leaves slapping my face and scratching my cheeks. I tried to grab onto something, but before I could get a chance, a hand was over my mouth and I was pulled backward, into someone's chest. "Shh... Don't make a sound," the kidnapper murmured. I recognized the voice at once and my fight or flight veered dangerously on flight. The person reached up and covered my eyes. "If you can guess who I am, I'll let you see," he purred.

I hesitated. "You're the one from before... The watcher from the forest," I said.

He made a small hm and pulled his hands away. "Interesting way to put it, but I suppose it works," he said.

As my sight cleared, I glanced towards the ground several tens of feet below me. My vison wobbled from the sudden height and I quickly stabled myself on the branch. The ground was not a friendly distance away; I did not want to fall.

There were hands on my waist to hold me steady. "Don't worry, I wouldn't let you fall," the stranger said.

Nervously, I glanced back and came face to face with a pair of golden eyes, black slits running through their centers like spears. My nails bit into the branch under me. "Who are you?" I asked.

He sat back against the stump of the tree and smiled slyly. "I am the Jabberwocky," he said. He thought for a moment. "Well, the Jabberwocky is over doing it a little. That is my name, but-... Oh, never mind. It's too hard to explain. I would no doubt confuse you more than you already are." He chuckled as he dismissed his own introduction.

"What do you want?" I asked. I glanced down at the group, wondering how much time I had before they realized I was missing.

"You and my brother, Cheshire, are very close, are you not?" he asked.

I blinked in surprised. "You're Cheshire's brother?" I asked.

As if sensing my next question, Jabberwocky smiled. "I am, but only by half-blood. My mother was of a nobler breed," he said. Just then, his eyes turned a red hot as he lifted his tail to show above his shoulder. His tail was covered in scales, some shiny red, others golden like riches. The tip was sharp like a spear, but in actuality and in shape. "Impressive?" he asked.

It was more scary than impressive, but I wasn't dumb enough to be rude to the dangerous dragon man who had wisked me away without so much as a warning. "A little," I lied.

Jabberwocky seemed to be able to read this thought too, but he chose not to comment on it. "Let's get back to our conversation," he said. "Do you love my brother?"

I flushed at the invasive question. "Well... yes. I love him very much," I said.

The stranger lifted my chin and gazed into my eyes earnestly. "Then I have a request for you. You're the only one who can do it," he said.

*******

We hid around a wall as about ten solders marched past, their armor clanking as they took each step in time with each other. "Keep quiet," Rab directed. We watched them go around a corner and disappear before we continued making our way to the center of the castle. According to Rab, there was a courtyard where the queen was gathering her solders before sending them out to raid the forest. Our plan was to get to all the exits and block her before she went to give her speech. Then, when we had her cornered, we'd take her out. Really, the expectation was that I would take her out, but I was relying on the hope that I wouldn't have to do that.

We were finally to the point in the plan where we would split up. I couldn't keep my hands from shaking as Rab started picking teams and telling them where to go. "The Twins, Mouse with March, Alice with Chesh, and I'll go by myself," he said.

I glanced at Cheshire who was nodding to himself as Rab gave orders. He looked troubled about something. I wondered what was on his mind that was causing him so much upset. It had to be important. Why wasn't he telling me?

"Alice, are you paying attention?"

Rab's voice drifted into my ears and I looked up. "Yeah, sorry. I was thinking," I said. "What is it?"

"We'll wait twenty minutes. Then we will close in on the queen's courtyard entrance. That's where we'll take her down," he said. I nodded and he gave me a serious look. "That's yours and Cheshire's job. Don't let her leave until we get there," he said.

"I understand," I said.

He handed a map to Chesh. "Don't get lost," he warned.

"I'm a cat. We don't get lost," Cheshire said coolly.

With that, we dispersed our different ways, all going in opposing directions. I followed Cheshire closely as we hurried through the halls. He was moving pretty fast and I had to practically run to keep up. "Chesh, slow down," I said.

He must not have heard me because then went around a corner and I stopped in my tracks as I was faced with an empty hallway. I suddenly felt nervous and hurried to see if he'd gone around the next corner. When I didn't see him there either, I started to panic. Cheshire had the map; I had no idea where I was supposed to go.

"Chesh...!" I hissed urgently as I ran down the halls, going left and right. I felt like I was going in circles; everything looked the same. Suddenly, I rounded a corner and my steps came to a stop for a second time. My shoulders slumped. "Damn..."

*******

Subscribe to my YouTube at: Melanie Eberheart

Donate to my Patreon at: patreon.com/MelanieEberheart

Or follow me on Tumblr at: nekosaysmeow333

-Nekoco