“I’m an Inklings’ member?” The March giggles. “So frabjous.”
“You know what would be frabjous?” I tell him. “If you remembered any useful details about the plague. Maybe there is a cure, after all.”
“I’m trying my best.” His ears dangle a bit. “Believe me, I do. I’ve even looked through all my pockets for a clue, but...”
Suddenly his ears stand erect again. His eyes bulge out like usual.
“What is it?” Fabiola says.
“I found something in my jacket’s pocket. It’s a hidden pocket I totally forgot about.”
“And what did you find in there?” I say.
The March says nothing. He elevates his hands, showing four thin tubes, like the ones you use in a chemistry lab.
“What are those?” I inquire.
“I still need to remember that, but...” His eyes dart between me and Fabiola. “I think this could be the cure.”
Chapter 94
Geneva, Switzerland
“Where is Alice?” Carolus’ face twitched.
“Calm down,” the Queen told him, not facing him but the presidents of the world from behind the curtain overlooking the huge meeting room. “She is on her way. Besides, didn’t I give you a Lullaby pill?”
“It was just one pill. Not enough.”
“Well, then save your anger for Alice when she arrives. I have no idea why everyone is so interested in this girl.”
“Because she is the Real Alice.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Who else would walk around trying to save the world?” Carolus said. “It must be her.”
“That’s the Pillar’s doing. He wants something from her, probably the whereabouts of the keys. That’s all. She isn’t Alice.”
“She must be.” Carolus’ head ached. His jaw looked tense.
“I think you should wait in the other room for her to arrive,” the Queen said. “You can’t show up in the meeting anyway. Everyone knows you’re the madman with the hookahs.”
“Not even when Alice arrives?”
“You can do whatever you want to her when she comes, but not in the meeting room. I need the press to document and videotape the presidents swearing and humiliating each other when the tea’s effect begins. Wait for her when she leaves the room. I’ll get my guards to help you catch her.”
“I don’t need your guards. You don’t know what my plan is.”
“I surely don’t.” The Queen rolled her eyes. Lewis’s split persona had always been cuckoo in the head. “And I don’t want to. All I care about is seeing the presidents clash against one another.”
“Good luck with that.” Carolus turned around.
“Wait,” the Queen said. “I just need to make sure we understand each other, that what you told me about the plague is true, or my plan will be useless.”
“I told you the truth.”
“’The ‘truth’ is not the best word to use on this occasion.”
“Rest assured. What I told you about the plague is a fact. You go rule the world while I get Alice.”
“Agreed.” The Queen rubbed her hands and entered the meeting.
Once she got inside, a butler offered her tea.
“I don’t need tea,” she mumbled, sitting down. “Do I look like I need to tell the truth?”
The butler, who was Indian, walked away confused, cursing those arrogant English people who’d wrongfully occupied his land for years. He suddenly realized how much he despised them.
The Queen of Hearts smiled, listening to his mumbling. Good. The Tea of Truth was working.
Chapter 95
Geneva, Switzerland
“You need to remember,” I tell the March while inside the special limousine the Pillar rented for us. “Are those tubes the cure?”
“First of all, they aren’t just tubes. They are syringes inside.” He examines them in his hands. “But I think they are.”
“Think isn’t good enough,” Fabiola says.
The limousine crosses the gate and we’re parking next to the most important presidents in the world. I watch each one of them get out of his car, surrounded by the bulkiest guards. It’s ironic to see this kind of luxury and protection while the world is withering away everywhere else.
“If everyone is a president around here, who are we?” Fabiola asks the chauffeur.
“You’re Queen and Princess of Bonkerstan,” he announces, handing over our fake passports.
“That’s not a country.” I comment.
“That’s not even a real word” The March chuckles. “Oh, I’m the Minister of Cuckoology. Love that.”
“You know how many countries exist with such weird names?” the chauffeur says. “The world is too big, and the weirder the country’s name, the more no one cares. Just flash your passport on the way in. Act like a queen and princess. If asked, tell them you have a cure for the plague and show them the syringes. You need to get inside and stop the presidents from drinking the Queen’s tea.”
“So I didn’t need to dress like a business woman,” Fabiola says. “I’m a queen, after all.”