Dinah lost all feeling in her body. She had no mind to process her thoughts, no body to control. She was numb. Only her tongue worked. “You’re lying. You’re LYING!” Her scream echoed through the empty chamber. The figure remained silent and still.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but it is a devastating truth. It truly grieves me to tell you in such a manner. Your brother is dead, but you may live. Allow me to rephrase: Do as I say and you might live. I have brought you a bag full of everything you may need. Take it and leave the castle, leave this very minute.”
Dinah now noticed the wide burlap bag at the stranger’s feet. She could not process what was happening.
“Charles is dead? By whose hand?”
The stranger ignored her questions. “Do not tell anyone where you are going. To protect your servants, they must remain ignorant. I have rendered them both unconscious. They sleep soundly and safely in the other room.” The stranger shuffled toward Dinah. He was growing agitated. “Princess, you stand in front of me when you should be moving. You can either leave or die, those are your choices. Your father won’t wait for Execution Day to take your head.”
Dinah looked up in disbelief. “My father? My father wouldn’t hurt me or Charles.”
“Your ignorance is staggering, Princess. Your father wishes to kill you. He will not share a crown with you, with anyone.”
“Charles, my brother—”
“Is dead. By the King’s hand,” the voice replied flatly. “The Mad Hatter sings no more. You will no doubt grieve for him later, but now you must act. We are ahead of the King’s plan tonight, but not by much, perhaps an hour. My Queen, it’s time to go.”
Time seemed to stop as Dinah stood paralyzed in the darkness. The sword in her hand lowered slowly. She smelled the sweet scent of the Julla Trees blowing in through the open window and stared at Emily’s shawl draped lazily over her dresser. The Wonderland moon blazed bright through the balcony windows, outlining the stranger as if he were made of stone.
“I can’t . . . I don’t . . . I’m supposed to be Queen.”
“And yet, if you do not leave this night, you will die.”
Something in the finality of his voice ripped her violently into the present. Dinah ran to the closet, grabbing her heaviest gray wool cloak and her mother’s favorite slippers. The gray cloak buttoned easily over her long white sleeping gown. She pulled the hood over her tangled hair and grabbed the bag from the floor. Everything was fractured as she pulled herself together; she couldn’t think straight. She tied Wardley’s rusty sword so that it crossed over her shoulder. The stranger stood frozen in front of the window.
“Time is ticking, Princess. Ticktock. You must go.”
She grabbed the door frame to keep her balance, realizing that this would be the last time she would ever see this room. Her voice quivered as tears welled in her eyes. Her brother. Dead? It couldn’t be so. “How do I know that I can trust you? Why should I believe anything you say?”
The figure turned to the balcony. “If you wait much longer, you won’t need to ask. There are many people in this castle with dangerous agendas. Mine was to see you crowned. But today, it is to see you live. I pray that we will see each other again.” The figure spun around and pointed to the door. “NOW RUN. Go straight out of the palace; do not stop for anything or anyone. If someone tries to stop you, KILL THEM.”
Dinah plunged out the door, tears running freely down her face. The wide stone hallways were pitch black in the night hours, lit only by a few torches and the moonlight streaming through the stained-glass windows. Dinah sprinted through alcoves and stairways, doing her best to stifle the heavy sobs violently ripping her chest apart. She could tell almost instantly that something was amiss, for the palace was oddly still. Normally Heart Cards were stationed outside each of the castle apartments and stairwells, but now there were only open doors . . . and no Cards to be seen anywhere.
As she tore through the shadowy hallways, it occurred to Dinah that the stranger had been telling the truth about something. The walls themselves rippled with tension; there was a discomfort in the air. Wonderland Palace itself seemed to seethe with unrest. Dinah sprinted through the dark, not seeing anything, vaguely aware which direction she headed. She could only see her brother’s face, his blue and green eyes peering up at her with pure adoration. Charles. Charles.