Follow the White Rabbit (Beautiful Madness #1)(9)

“Lately, I’ve been seeing images of Wonderland’s future,” Rose continued. “Pieces of our world are literally falling away, and what remains is barely a shell of what we had before.”

Gwen tried to wrap her mind around what she was hearing. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe the Queen— seeing the future was no more strange than hearing the voices of plants and animals. She just couldn’t quite fit all the pieces together. “And what is it you think I can do for you?”

Rose bit her lip and appeared to be bracing herself for something. “I need you to help me find Alice.”

Gwen’s mouth dropped open—not from the shock of the Queen’s request, but from the wonderful coincidence of her coming on this day. The Queen, the rabbit, Marc... it was all further evidence that she was on the right path. Perhaps the White Queen was exactly the person she needed to help her figure out what was supposed to happen next.

Alice.

But even if she was the key—and Gwen strongly suspected that was the case—the texts only covered what had happened after the original Alice’s arrival in Wonderland. No one had documented what had happened to get her there in the first place. The only clue was a small, white rabbit.

At once Gwen began to collect all of the texts she’d been studying to bring them to the dining table. Rose watched on, clearly intrigued by Gwen’s sudden enthusiasm. Even Marc looked up from his book to track her progress.

When she had everything she needed, she opened up the largest volume to a page where she had laid out the very basics of her theory.

“This might sound a bit mad and not entirely sound of mind...” She smirked at Rose. “But I hope you’ll bear with me. Please just listen, and we might be able to help each other.” Rose nodded, intrigued, and Marc pulled up another chair to the dining table. She had explained all of this to him before, but back then she had been missing the one crucial piece. Alice.

“Wonderland has existed for thousands of years. We’re tucked away from other realms, existing in our own way. Things like time and matter are fluid and unpredictable, but it works. It works because Wonderland has always followed a pattern.”

“What do you mean?” Marc asked, helping to keep her thoughts on track.

“While the people in Wonderland are born and die as individuals, our history tends to run in loops. It’s the only way that chaos can endure here. The eastern kingdom fights the western kingdom, the Jabberwocky terrorizes the north. Over hundreds of years these things happen again and again, or at least they’re supposed to.

“One hundred and fifty years ago, Alice arrived. We’re not sure how. We only know she came from somewhere else and changed everything. Since then, the patterns of our history have never quite matched up again, and we’ve suffered for it. The Red Queen rises, but the White Queen is still too young to fight her, and so on. Bit by bit, Wonderland has changed, turning into something stale and dull.”

“That’s precisely what I’ve seen in my visions!” Rose exclaimed, slapping her hand against the table. “But I also see Alice, and she’s long dead by now.”

Gwen pointed to a drawing in her book. “It’s about patterns, you see? For the first time in over a century, the right players are in place and at the right times. And once again, there’s a girl named Alice with the ability to come here and change everything.”

Marc smiled, encouraging Gwen to continue.

“Some of the players are obvious. Wonderland almost always has two Queens, red and white. And I suspect I know which role I will play...” Gwen trailed off, unwilling to admit anything until she was certain. “But there are others, and we’ll need to find them or else we risk history simply repeating itself. There won’t be a chance like this again within our lifetimes.”

“Any idea where to start?” Rose asked, resting her head against her palm. For a royal, she was turning out to be surprisingly open-minded.

Gwen worried that in being so excited to explain her ideas, to see them come to light, she’d forgotten to take the time to make sure she was being understood. Still, while the Queen looked confused, she didn’t seem to be losing interest, and so Gwen prattled on.

“I’ve actually started already,” Gwen declared. Marc and Rose blinked in unison but didn’t volunteer any insight. “How does the legend of Alice begin? Which Wonderlander meets her first?” Gwen suspected that she sounded a touch condescending, but it was better to be clear and ensure everyone was on the same page.

“The rabbit,” Marc offered.

“The white rabbit,” amended Rose, smirking.

“I’m quite certain the creature has no affiliation with the Eastern Kingdom, your highness.”

Rose shrugged. “All the same.”

Gwen rolled her eyes and continued. “Back then, animals were part of Wonderland society. They were intelligent, although usually fond of life with a sprinkle of insanity. So somehow the White Rabbit made it into Alice’s world and brought her back.”

“And now...” Rose prompted after Gwen had seemed to get lost in her own thoughts.

She braced herself to continue.

“I’ve been talking to a rabbit. He also happens to be white, though I’m not sure how important that actually is.”

“You talk to rabbits?” Rose asked.