Alice In Wonderland

35 Years Ago - 27 Years Before Damnation

"Mom! Can I go outside today? Ophelia is playing with her friends!"

A young, adorable, and energetic girl had burst into the throne room. She ran right past the armored cards and the white rabbit minstrel. Whatever business was currently underway had been forcefully halted.

The King and Queen of Hearts could only smile as their beautiful daughter arrived in front of them. The girl plopped her head directly on the queen's lap. Her big purple eyes looked up at her mother.

"Alice, you already know why I don't want you outside." The queen responded.

"I know, it's because my features bring too much attention, right? Please, mom? Just this once? I wanna play with Lizzie!" Alice begged. Seeing such pure eyes, the queen booped her nose.

"My sweet sugar. Fine. You may go find your sister."

"Yaay! Fufu! Did you see my painting, Dad? I made it for you." Alice had already run over to the king.

Before she knew it, her father had raised her into the air. There was a loving smile on the King's face. His lovely daughter. How he loved her so.

"Of course I did, my sweet thing. I'm already waiting for the next one. Go play with your sister, okay? Your mother and I are busy."

"Mnnn!" She hummed.

Without so much as another word, she ran out of the throne room. The royal attendants and the white rabbit watched as the princess left. All of them had their eyes on Alice. Her presence unconsciously demanded the attention of others. Nobody noticed the horrid look of disgust on the queen's face. If one looked closely, they would immediately see that they shared no similar features.

"Hahaha. That's my baby girl." The king exclaimed in happiness. The queen glared at him.

"Winston, you unfaithful manwhore." She muttered quietly. Nobody else heard her comment. King Winston sweatdropped while giving a wry chuckle.

This has always been a touchy subject. King Winston was a good looking man who passively attracted the opposite gender. With his gallant and playboy personality, he would always end up in the bedchambers of several maids and noblewomen.

It was a sore spot for the queen, who had a humongous head in the shape of a heart. Even Lizzie, her trueborn daughter, had a heart-shaped head. Alice was different. Whenever she entered a room with the Queen of Hearts, all eyes would gravitate toward the purple eyed girl.

One could tell that people were comparing their beauty. The mother was like an ugly duckling compared to the fairy-like daughter. This filled the queen with resentment.

"Genevieve. How many times must we do this? You know I love both of our daughters equally." Winston finally stated.

"Hmph…She has no decorum. How dare she burst into the throne room!"

"Forgive her, my dear. I will teach her the correct etiquette."

The two went back and forth for a while. Their voices had gotten loud enough for the attendants to hear by this point. This was a private conversation, so everyone except the white rabbit made a quiet exit.

"And to make matters worse, you VETO my orders! Am I or am I NOT the queen, Winston?!" Genevieve roared angrily. Winston grew serious.

"I only veto the orders that are inhumane. Some of your demands are unethical. This would put our country in a bad light when compared to the other nations."

"Hmph. What a coward. You would stress over how other nations view us? Ridiculous!"

"A single viewpoint could turn a war into a holy crusade. Do you want our nation to fall, my wife?"

".........Tch."

The conversation wasn't going anywhere. If left unattended, these two would argue until nightfall. They were lucky that the white rabbit was tired of waiting.

"Eh-erm!" He voiced with a slight cough.

Both of them turned to the rabbit minstrel. It was as if they hadn't been arguing at all. How peculiar.

"Your grace and majesty, the blue oracle has arrived!" He announced.

The throne doors opened after the rabbit's proclamation. A large blue caterpillar slid into the room without a sense of urgency. He held a smoke pipe in his hand, constantly taking puffs from it. It didn't take long for the room to fill up with smoke.

"Your majesties." He finally bowed.

"Oracle. I see you've grown complacent." Genevieve commented.

"I am indeed happy with my state of being, yes. I trust you both have been well."

"We take it day by day." Winston answered.

"But of course. You may think that life is stressful, but don't forget to appreciate what you have. It's a blessing that you both can even argue as much as you do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The queen huffed.

Oracle ignored her question and took another drag from his pipe. After a while, he dumped a few ashes onto the red carpet. Only then did he speak.

"I come bearing a new prophecy." The caterpillar revealed.

Both Winston and Genevieve sat up in their thrones. It was rare to be given a prophecy. Most of the time they were never a good thing.

"Do tell." The king said. Oracle took another drag from his pipe.

"Damnation approaches Wonderland. Spurred by an envious heart and the most beautiful child of woe, a plague will wash over the realm. Royalty is key." He said mysteriously.

Winston leaned back in his seat. Waving his hand to the oracle, the caterpillar left without a goodbye. The Oracle was used to these responses. It was rare for people to act polite after hearing bad prophecies. Genevieve stood up as soon as the doors closed.

"How many beautiful children are there in Wonderland?" She asked.

"There should be plenty. We must first decipher this prophecy-"

"That damn oracle said royalty is key. He's talking about Alice! She's going to bring our nation to its knees. I knew it. I always knew." She interrupted. Winston stood up from his throne.

"We don't know if it's Alice. Being hasty will not help us with this."

"You love blind idiot. We must lock her up immediately b-"

"YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HER!" Winston roared. His face grew twisted with anger.

The queen shuddered. It was rare for the king to get mad. When he did, people made sure to stay out of his way. King Winston was a king due to his merits as a warrior. His rage was different from the average man.

".........................."

Genevieve shut her mouth in frustration. This was her chance to tip the scales! She wouldn't leave it at this. The queen left the throne room with hurried steps. Winston could only sit down and rub his temples.