Follow the White Rabbit (Beautiful Madness #1)(3)

As the vision of Wonderland continued to distort itself in her mind, a new figure gradually came into focus, replacing the iron cities. A girl. It was difficult to make out exactly what she looked like, but something told Rose it wasn’t anyone she knew. The girl didn’t dress like anyone from the Western Queendom of Wonderland, where the House of White ruled. She wore slacks and a loose buttoned shirt. She was speaking to a crowd whose faces showed a mix of fear and determination. None of the girl’s impassioned words made it to Rose’s ears, but she took notice all the same.

As quickly as she appeared the girl began to fade back into memory. Rose struggled to hold on and probe for more information, but the image quickly slipped away, leaving her feeling as though she were floating through her own mind.

All at once the vision receded, leaving Rose sweating and disoriented.

All that was left was the whisper of a name.

Alice.

It was enough to knock Rose entirely out of her trance and back to reality.

She allowed herself a moment to regain her already limited composure. Rumors spreading about a manic Queen ranting about the return of Alice wouldn’t help anything. It was not a name to be used lightly.

Except it couldn’t be Alice. It had been well over a century. The girl who had changed the tide of history all those years ago had to be long dead. She had to be misinterpreting something.

Rose was unwilling to take the chance, for she couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t a vision she could just choose to ignore.

Two sentries guarded the chamber, but neither so much as looked at Rose when she flung the large wooden door open. They were there to protect, not to participate.

“Henrick?” Rose called out into the hallway. No one answered. “Hello?”

A serving girl shuffled toward the throne room, her head bowed. “My Queen.” The girl dipped into a low curtsy, refusing to lift her head and meet Rose’s gaze. The girl’s sub-servant posture was disconcerting. Was there some sort of protocol she was supposed to be observing simply to find her own adviser? Probably, but it would only slow her down. Better to simply come out with it.

“I’m looking for Henrick McDown. Do you know who he is?”

“Yes, my lady. Of course.”

Rose blushed, suddenly grateful that no one would look at her. She was still figuring out the whos and the whats, but that didn’t change the fact that everyone else in the palace had already been doing this for years. Even Henrick.

“Umm, well... do you think you could find him for me?” Mistake number two. Queens aren’t supposed to ask. They demand, instruct, or ordain, but never ask.

“Yes, m’lady. I will bring him at once.” As the girl turned away, so did Rose. Returning to her throne without speaking was the only way to ensure that she wouldn’t bring further attention to her glaring ineptitudes.

There is a reason mousy girls with no standing rarely find themselves in positions of power, Rose thought as she waited for her chief adviser.

When the old man finally hobbled in, Rose smoothed out her skirt and straightened her neck. You’re the Queen of House White. Behave like it.

“My lady?” Henrick bowed his head slightly, revealing a crown of silver-white hair.

“Henrick, we’ve talked about this.”

The man nodded his acknowledgment but didn’t concede. Rose was sure he never would. She couldn’t go back to being his Little Rosie again.

Rose stood up and took a few quick steps towards her mentor. “I’ve had another vision.” Henrick nodded, urging her to continue. “Well, sort of. It was the same as before. But there’s something new.” Rose paused for a heartbeat. Inexplicably, she felt as though she should keep what she had seen to herself. But that had to be a result of frayed nerves. She had trusted Henrick with the very knowledge that had lead to unseating the last Queen, and this was nothing by comparison. “I think, well... I think Alice might be returning.”

The old man remained silent as a look of concern came over his face. It was only when he put a gentle, reassuring hand on Rose’s shoulder that she realized the concern was for her own sanity and not for the prophecy she’d just spoken.

“Alice is long dead, my Queen. She returned to her own realm after The Great Upheaval and neither she nor her people have been heard from since.” He didn’t go quite so far as to suggest that she was getting herself worked up over nothing, but the tone in his voice was more than enough to suggest it.

“No. This is important. I can feel it. I need to act quickly. I’m just unsure of how to proceed.” Rose’s voice rose slightly as she proceeded to go over every detail of what she had seen, but her adviser’s expression remained unchanged.

“Perhaps she was meant to be a metaphor for something else. Maybe for the role you yourself will play in shaping Wonderland in the coming years.”

“Yes, because Alice had such a nurturing effect on our lands and our culture.” Rose was sure her voice was loud enough now to be heard from out in the hall, but she needed him to listen to her. What was the point in being Queen if people could still shrug off her concerns as though she were a child?

“Hush, child.” Henrick’s voice was suddenly sharp and cold, finally losing the air of formality he’d been maintaining since Rose had ascended to the throne. “We cannot afford to have people—your subjects—hear you speaking like this.”