Follow the White Rabbit (Beautiful Madness #1)(14)
“Your tone suggests that you do not agree,” Rose finally responded, her tone questioning. She may not have been raised in the homes of noblemen, but her parents had taught her that there were moments to speak and moments to listen.
Daliah’s eyebrows rose an inch, but Rose couldn’t tell if it was from amusement or annoyance. “Tea?” The other Queen reached across the table to fill Rose’s cup. Her black hair was piled atop her head with delicate braids in a way that made her look younger than her forty-odd years. Rose might never have guessed that there were two decades between them.
Twenty-one was not an especially young age to take up one of Wonderland’s highest positions, but it was hard not to be intimidated by her own lack of experience.
“Thank you.” Rose smiled politely, attempting to appear as though this was the most natural thing in the world to her. “I do hope we can be friends. I understand you and my predecessor got along famously.”
Rose glanced toward the corner of the room to see Henrick shift his weight uncomfortably. When Rose had returned to her own palace only to inform her staff that she would be heading out again the next day, her advisor had been quite vocal in his opposition, insisting that she was not yet prepared to tangle with the Red Queen. It was only once she actually sat down in the carriage that transported her across Wonderland that he’d begun to fill her head with etiquette and gentle suggestions. Chief among them was that Rose shouldn’t bring up the arrangement Lady Anora had had with Daliah when she was Queen. At the time, Rose had agreed, but now she felt compelled to lay all her cards out on the table.
If Rose were to have any hope of competing with this woman at the political games she had been raised to play, that hope would not be found in a power play. No, Rose had knowledge, incredible knowledge. Hinting at that knowledge was her smoothest route to truly being seen as an equal by the impressive woman across from her.
The Red Queen had knowledge of her own, and it had clearly served her and her queendom well. Rose would let the older woman do the bulk of the talking and see what could be learned from this unexpected trip. Once she had a more complete picture of the current landscape of Wonderland, then she could decide what to do with all that she had learned over the past few days.
“Anora was a clever woman. She understood my vision for Wonderland.”
“Which is what, exactly?”
“I would have thought it would be apparent on every street, in every one of my citizens. Progress! For too long our people have lived at the whims of the land...”
Rose interrupted. “We’re caretakers of the land. Or at least we should be.”
“According to whom, exactly? You’re a Queen now, Rose. Why should you answer to anyone but yourself?” Daliah looked pointedly at Henrick, whose eyes were locked intently on the duo. “Wonderland has a lot to offer, certainly, but it is not our master,” she continued. “As Queens we’re gifted with the unique ability to commune with the land, to shape it. To suppress it, if need be. If left on its own, Wonderland runs wild, creating inhospitable habitats and unimaginable beasts. Who benefits from that?”
Rose took a slow sip from the ornate teacup in her hands to give herself a moment to think before speaking. “And Queen Anora agreed with these ideas?”
For the first time since she’d entered the room, Rose had the full attention of her host. She tilted her head down, careful to keep her eyes low.
Finally, the Red Queen nodded. “Whole-heartedly.”
The two women talked long into the night while vibrant music continued to float through the air. As they spoke, Rose poked and prodded, gently dipping into Wonderland’s past to try and determine how much the Red Queen knew. The first time a girl called Alice had visited Wonderland, she’d ripped the monarchy to pieces. The system had needed to be entirely rebuilt. But if Daliah Kent had any idea of the upheaval that was coming for her, she didn’t show it in the slightest.
It was only as the sun began to rise again that Rose knew what needed to be done. She had learned a lot in only one night about what it meant to be a Queen. But the time for learning was over.
As soon as Rose returned home, she would have to act. She would begin by implementing some of the improvements Daliah had suggested, but that was only the beginning. Rose needed to ensure that when Alice arrived, events would play out just as they had before—ending with dethroning the Red Queen.
She waved a polite goodbye from the backseat of her carriage, smiling and promising to keep in touch. The Red Queen waved back from her balcony perch, exhaustion etched into her face.
Daliah Kent could pretend that she was still in the prime of her life and that she alone knew Wonderland’s secrets. But Rose was confident that she had the upper hand.
Alice was on her way, and this time the House of Red would never recover.
CHAPTER SEVEN
A LESS FORTUITOUS MEETING
“This is insane,” Lucky said for the third time. “I’m not a rabbit.”
After she had woken up, frustrated and confused, Gwen had put on a pot of tea and attempted to explain her theories—ideas that Gwen herself was only just starting to understand. She had been expecting an actual rabbit, but Wonderland had a way of morphing expectation.
Gwen balled her hands into fists as she struggled to find yet another way to explain. It hadn’t taken long to explain the patterns of Wonderland to Lucky, but once they had moved into Lucky’s role, things had ground to a halt. “I’m not saying you are a white rabbit. I’m saying you are the White Rabbit—”