"Who is the White Queen?" I ask the Pillar, but he ignores me. I can sense he’s uncomfortable talking about her. There is an undecipherable look in his eyes. All I can interpret is that he highly respects her.
"The White Queen. The chess Queen. The one in Through the Looking Glass," the Duchess replies on his behalf. She seems angry with me.
“Why would the White Queen know about the Cheshire’s origins?” the Pillar asks.
“At some point in Wonderland, he confessed certain things to her. You know how charming she can be when you're down and out.” The Duchess definitely hates the White Queen, too.
I watch the Pillar think about the White Queen a breath too long. It's as if he is staring into a memory. A memory so relaxing, he loosens his grip on the hose. Who is the White Queen? I'm so eager to know.
The digital pad on the wall starts to buzz, and the timer counts down.
"We have no time,” the Pillar says. “The guards are on their way and I'm not into spilling sane people's blood today," he approaches the Duchess. "I'll let you go. But if I learn that you lied to me, I'm going to make you as ugly as you were in Wonderland."
"I am telling the truth. Believe me," she pleads. I can't help but wonder what the Duchess has done to become pretty if she has been ugly in Wonderland.
"One more thing before I go," the Pillar says. "I have a brother. No need for names. Just look him up. He's been to Afghanistan. He lost his arm. Came back and lost his wife, his kids, his dog, his house, and his job. Thanks to the likes of you, he is a drug addict now."
"I’m truly sorry,” the Duchess lays a hand on her heart.
“I told you not to use the word, ‘truly,’” he grabs her by her neck. “I want you to help him."
"Alright, alright. That's doable," she says. "We'll get him a job, extra money, insurance, and a big screen TV. We can get him a young Russian wife if you like. Anything.”
I wonder how many lives the Duchess has messed with. Who does she think she is?
"I'm thinking something more elegant. He’s my only brother and I love him." The Pillar rubs his chin. The word 'love' coming out of his mouth makes me cringe. "I want him to be a Tennis player. In fact, the greatest tennis player in the world. Make him win Wimbledon next year."
"I’m not God. I can't do that," she protests. "He's lost his arm for God's sake."
"It's about time a one-armed man wins something," the Pillar says. "You're the government. You promise people you can do anything."
Chapter 42
We escape the Duchess’s room through a secret emergency door that leads to underground tunnels. It seems the Parliament has prepared for an apocalypse beforehand. The Duchess let the Pillar punch her in the face so she could pretend we’d attacked her before she could even see what we looked like.
The Pillar's limousine, driven by that short dude who looks like a rat picks us up around the corner. The Pillar shoves me inside and asks me not to ask any questions until we leave London. I’m tired and lay my head to rest for a while.
About two hours later, we reach Oxford. The chauffeur informs the Pillar that we're being followed.
“Who is following us?” I turn to look behind us.
“The Reds," the chauffeur says.
"Who are the Reds?" I demand an answer.
“No time for questions,” the Pillar says. “Stop the car!” Again, he doesn’t call his chauffeur by name.
The limousine stops, and the Pillar drags me out while we’re still dressed as mad and homeless people.
“Hurry, Alice. We really have no time for the Reds right now.” The Pillar walks me to the nearest bus station, and we hop on the first public transportation we come to.
"I want to know who the Reds are,” I tell him once we’re on, squeezed between the crowd.
“Please, stop asking.” The Pillar hangs onto the pole as the bus jostles away.
"Tell me or I will tell everyone that you’re a serial killer who just escaped from an asylum,” I fire back, not giving two cents about the people around us. “This is crazy. I can't believe that I am still here with you."
"It's love, darling," a seated woman tells me as she examines her hair in a hand mirror.
"I think it's my mojo," the Pillar flirts with her.
"Shut up!" I block my ears from all this nonsense.
"Is this old creep hitting on you?" a boy missing a front tooth asks me. Of course, in my outfit of insanity, I must be his Princess Charming.
"Yes, I am bugging her," the Pillar answers him flatly. "I know teeth don’t seem to be precious to you, but if you don't want to lose another one, I'd advise you to jump out of the window and die."
The boy vanishes in the blink of an eye. I don’t think he realizes he was talking to Pillar the killer.
"Die, remember?" the Pillar reminds him, then faces me. "Now, can we be reasonable for a moment?"
"Reasonable?" I feel like pulling my hair out. "You call this reasonable? Ever since I met you, everything is insane!"