A Tale That Could Not Be

Alice blinked. “And how do you expect us to do that? I want to fight as much as you do, Selvina, if not more, but we can’t do it on our own.”

“We won’t be,” Selvina replied confidently, striking a proud pose.

Alice raised an eyebrow in confusion. Selvina grinned back knowingly as a pair of blue, vertically-slit eyes appeared over Alice’s head, soon followed by a toothy smile and then a striped cat’s body.

“Welcome back, dear Alice,” Cheshire cat said in his wispy voice. “The short hair suits you well.”

Alice looked up and lit up with joy. She quickly grabbed the large cat and hugged him tightly. “Chesh! You clever feline, you have a plan don’t you? I know you do. I missed you so much!”

Chesh disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared floating in the air. “As did I, my dear, but there will be a time for pleasantries later. I am here to tell you of a plan that I most certainly do have. It is a wild plan and it may fail but it is a wonderful plan all the same.”

“Well, what is it?”

Chesh grinned from ear to ear and glanced around the kitchen before gesturing for Alice, Selvina, Wendy, and Dodgson, who had stood off to the side, to come closer. He then whispered to them of the impossible plan.

Morning came and with it there was a great cacophony of trumpets, drums, and various other instruments as the queen walked out from the castle to the inner courtyard. She took delight in seeing all her loyal subjects gathered in the semi-circular array of benches that had been erected for the event. There must have been hundreds, if not thousands of them, she thought. All of them were hers, from the oldest hag to the youngest babe. She ruled over them all and nothing in the world was greater than to have power over others. Power was everything and without it one was nothing. Her stupid sister had tried to tell her otherwise but she wasn’t the one without a head. She had it all while her sister had nothing. She was now nothing more than a rotting corpse, headless, lifeless, and forgotten.

The Queen of Hearts hugged herself pleasantly, enjoying the warmth provided by the golden coat she wore. It resembled a fur coat but instead it was made of the blonde hair of all the women she had captured and been offered by Peter Pan. It was warm and beautiful and though this morning was crisp she’d have worn it regardless. Special occasions such as beheadings demanded she wore her very best outfit and there was nothing she valued more than her great coat of golden hair.

The queen climbed up on her richly adorned throne and sat on its plush velvet cushions. Such were the luxuries of royalty. She clapped her hands and a footstool was brought to her where she then rested her feet and relaxed in complete comfort. She glanced to her left, where her loyal knave stood, silent and watchful. The queen then looked to her right, where Peter Pan floated in the air cross-legged. He met her gaze and gave her a wink.

“It is good that you stayed to see this,” she said to him. “I always love a good beheading in the morning. The rest of the day just feels so much better.”

“I agree,” Pan said with a nod. “A healthy dose of violence for breakfast keeps me well-energized. I hope that this splendid morning leads to an even greater day once I find those fairies.”

The Queen of Hearts waved at Pan dismissively. “You will find them, Pan. You always do. Once you do, I will receive more golden-haired traitors, won’t I?”

Pan nodded. “Of course, you will. You have my word.”

The queen practically danced in her seat. More blondes meant more hair and that meant more golden clothes. She already had a wardrobe with a few vests, pants, gloves, and scarfs but she could use another coat. It was always wise to have a spare.

Dodgson the dodo bird caught her attention as he walked up and stopped about a dozen feet from where the queen sat. He gazed at the assembly all around him, appearing slightly nervous. In his feathered hand was a paper and, with a nod from the knave, he read it aloud.

“Welcome, Great Queen of Queens and all people of Wonderland to this joyous occasion. Today, we rid the kingdom of a traitorous villain by the name of Selvina who lied to the queen and threatened her very life. She came here asking for help, but our great queen saw through her lies and knew that she had come here to kill her instead. She had the golden hair of The Great Traitor that had brought us war and rebellion and it is a known fact that those with the hair of gold cannot be trusted. This event only further proves that.

“Know that had our great queen not seen through her lies that we may not all be here today. Selvina, curse her name, may have killed you all in your sleep or turned some of you against each other. She is as wicked as they come and you will all rest well tonight with the knowledge that very soon she would be gone from this world forever. You have your great queen to thank for that. All praise The Red Queen!”

A cheer rose from the crowd followed by fervent clapping and the queen soaked it all in. These fools had no idea how lucky they were to have her as their ruler. She was far better than her sister ever could have been. Her sister had been weak and naïve and hardly fit to rule her own life let alone an entire kingdom.

She didn’t have the strength to be a good ruler, the queen thought to herself. That is why she lost. Only the strong can survive. Only I can rule Wonderland, and in due time, the surface world as well. All of Faeryum will feel my greatness. All traitors and enemies will be brought to justice. I am the rightful ruler and these brainless twits better remember that.

“We will soon commence with the beheading,” the dodo continued, “and I bid you all to remain silent so that our great queen can hear Cutter sing and then listen to the sound of the traitor’s head bounce on the floor. I will remind you all of the Truth Within a Bounce. Three or more bounces means the traitor would have succeeded with her plan had she not been caught beforehand. Two bounces means the traitor would have injured our great queen, perhaps severely, but ultimately failed. If the head bounces only once then the traitor had no chance at all. Regardless, however, every man, woman, or child that betrays the great queen of queens must be brought to justice.” Dodgson folded the paper neatly and tucked it under a wing before gazing up at the queen and giving her a sweeping bow. “And now, without further wait, I bring to you…Selvina the Wicked!”

Out from a darkened alcove along the castle’s wall came Selvina, guided by two armoured guards, their faces hidden behind their helms. A loud thunder of boo’s pummeled her as she appeared and the queen couldn’t help but smile. Selvina had chains on her ankles and bound wrists sat behind her back. Her eyes were downcast and her hair was shaved, revealing a bald, shining head. She didn’t say a word as the queen spat at her and then giggled with glee.

“You can never trick me!” the queen shouted victoriously. “I can always see through your lies! Now you will know the punishment for betraying me! You will never bring danger to me or my people ever again! Bring her to Cutter!”

Selvina was shoved ahead toward the guillotine and then roughly brought to her knees before it. She looked up at the people gathered all around, tears streaming down her face, and simply shook her head. The booing never stopped and the queen outstretched her hand, where a tomato was then placed on her palm. She tossed it with all her might and watched in delight as it exploded on the bald girl’s head, squirting juice in every direction.

“Traitor!” she called out. “Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!” It wasn’t long before the crowd joined in and the ground began to shake from the deafening roar. The queen placed her hands on the throne’s armrests and felt the pleasant vibrations from the crowd’s chant. She grinned wickedly, utterly enveloped in euphoria. Such was the power she beheld. With a simple word she commanded thousands. With a simple action she brought traitors to their knees.

It was good to be queen.

One of the guards lowered Selvina’s head toward the groove her neck would sit upon while the other guard grabbed the rope that would release the blade. Selvina shut her eyes and sniffed back more tears, despite the two rivers already flowing down her cheeks.

“Any last words?” one of the guards asked gruffly.

Selvina wordlessly eyed the queen with a deep frown for long minutes. The queen stared back triumphantly, grinning pleasantly before taking a sip from a wine chalice she was presented. It was all over now. Selvina’s attempt at her life was foiled and now she would pay the ultimate price. She could frown at her all she wanted but it meant nothing.

The queen tossed her empty chalice away and stood up, spreading her arms wide. “Are you certain, traitor, that you have nothing to say to me? Nothing at all?”

The bald girl only stared back, tears streaming and lips pursed tightly.

Slightly disappointed, the queen shrugged and sat down again. “If that is how you’ll have it…”

“I must say,” Pan said curiously, as he tapped his chin with one finger, “I was expecting a little more out of her. She was normally so…talkative.”

“She is about to die, Pan,” the queen said with another shrug. “She has nothing left to say that holds any meaning to anyone. It is the one smart thing she has done in her life. At least she will die with a sliver of dignity.”

Pan nodded. “You are right, as always, good queen.”

The queen smiled and then raised her hand for everyone to acknowledge it. When she had everyone’s attention she then slammed her fist on the throne’s armrest and shouted, “Off with her head!”

And Cutter sang.

The blade slid down between twin grooved beams, whistling loudly as it did so, and stopped with a sudden thud at the bottom. Selvina’s bald head was cut cleanly off and then hit the ground with a soft bump.

The Red Queen watched intently as the head bounced once, and then a second time, and then, to her terrible displeasure and mild panic, bounced a third time. The head then spun about slowly and settled on the severed neck, propping the bald girl’s head upright.

“She would have succeeded, my queen,” the knave said quietly. “You have done well in killing her.”

She indeed would have, thought the queen as she struggled to calm her racing heart. The traitor was dead. There was no reason to worry. And yet, what if there were other traitors in her midst? What if more of her own subjects wished her dead? Had Selvina poisoned the minds of others? No, she couldn’t have. She was in her cell the whole time. It was impossible.

A collective gasp suddenly arose from the crowd and fingers began pointing down at the head. The queen, alarmed and confused, gazed down at it and then gasped loudly as well. Panic soon overwhelmed her when she witnessed the lips on the severed head form a smile. The eyes lost their deathly blur and gained focus, staring at her directly. The queen noticed something else.

The eyes had vertical slits.

A moment later the girl’s head transformed into that of a large cat’s and the disembodied cat head then spoke in a hissing voice. The words it spoke froze the Red Queen on the spot and made her experience fear as she had never felt before.

“Long live the White Queen.”