Chapter Text
**Prologue: Alice**
I stare at the boy in front of me.
He stares back with those glassy eyes.
This isn't the boy I grew to love. There's something missing there. No light in his eyes, no mischievous grin that leaves my heart fluttering. There's just a vacancy where a soul must have been at one point. I hope it's still there somewhere.
Lace smirks at me as she approaches from the shadows. “Kneel, or let him face the consequences.”
I have to make a decision. I know she can make him do anything she commands. She could send him to Registration. She could have him chop off his own head - or mine. But I can't bring myself to kneel. I need to take back my throne.
I need to take back Wonderland.
And I need to bring back my husband.
**Chapter 1: Alice**
I fluff out my dress a bit, fully aware that I'm drowning in tulle. This doesn't feel like me, not really. Sure, I'm the Queen of Wonderland now, but that doesn't mean I need to be all decked out.
Rabekah White tightens my corset, and I'm instantly sent back into a memory. She did the same thing before the Heart Ball. Oh, how long ago that was.
Now, three years later, I'm getting ready to walk down the aisle. I can hardly believe it. Six years ago, I met the most annoying young man I had ever known, Wonderland's poster boy and my top rival at Clash of the Cards events. And yet, somehow, Chess Shire pestered his way into my heart.
Today, I'm his bride. By this time tomorrow, I'll officially be his wife.
Tears prick at my eyes, and I blink to force them back. Charlotte would scold me horribly if she was here. I wish she was. She would be so thrilled by the wedding.
I would've had her walk me down the aisle. She was the only family I had for ten years of my life.
The creak of the door and clatter of heels against the floor pulls me from my thoughts. “How are you feeling, Ace?”
I chuckle as I turn to face my maid of honor. “Madi Hatter. Is that any way to talk to your queen?”
She shakes her head, lavender curls whipping in her face for a moment before settling against her shoulders again as she dips into a curtsy. “Oh, of course not, your Majesty? How can I make it up to you?” She winks.
“You can start by loosening my corset a bit. You know where I like it.” I turn my back to her and brush my long blonde locks over one shoulder. I've opted to keep my hair down for my wedding, no fancy updo required.
Madi sets to work loosening the ribbon, cutting off the ends when she's done. Then she pulls a couple sections of my hair towards the middle, ties them together, and braids them. “Always use the extra lengths of ribbon, Alice. They could come in handy.”
I nod my head, not really paying much attention to her words. I push my glasses back up and study my reflection. Maybe a little hairstyling was necessary. It looks better half up, half down.
A knock at my door once again shifts my focus. I grin at Madi. “At least someone had the decency to knock,” I tease.
She giggles and trounces over to the door, throwing it open. I know who's waiting on the other end right away by how her posture loosens.
“Hey. Is A ready yet? Shire's getting antsy.”
I wave Knave into the room, twirling slightly to show him how ready I am. “Now the question is, is Aunt Celia ready to walk me down the aisle?”
My cousin shoots me a quick glare at my nickname for his mother, still not used to it. “Yeah, she's ready. Want me to send her in?”
I nod and smooth out my dress, then fluff it again. Ugh. I was never meant to get these sorts of butterflies over anyone, but here I am.
My hand instinctively reaches for the locket watch around my neck, seeking the familiarity and comfort it provides. Weddings are unfamiliar territory for me, especially royal Wonderland weddings. I sigh as I start the music, a tune I still haven't learned the words to but feel I know all the same.
Cordelia Regina, the former Queen of England and my last remaining aunt, steps into the dressing room just as the nerves start to dissipate. I glance up at her, trying to avoid panicking again. “Is it time?”
She takes my hand in hers in response, leading me to the door of Buckingham Palace. I would've preferred hosting it in the Heart Palace back home, but hosting it here gives Normals a chance to see that a Wonder wedding, and Wonders in general, aren't so different from them. Plus, that gives Aunt Celia a guaranteed chance of seeing it.
Madi takes her place in front of me once we get to the door, letting the best man, Kit Shire, take her arm. Ahead, Willow Reed walks with Stark Hatter, and Sophia Marigold stands with Knave, who I realize hadn't returned to the room with Aunt Celia.
At the front of the pack, Erin rides her horse down the garden path, tossing flower petals this way and that way. She refused to be my flower girl unless I let her ride, so I let her. Watching her, I realize how good of a choice it was. She rides tall, head held high.
Madi glances back at me. “Knightley's doing a good job, isn't she?”
I cover my mouth with my hand, trying - and failing - to mask my chuckle. “You know you're not supposed to call her that anymore.”
“Oh, I know. But it still fits.”
The procession continues, everybody making their way along the chosen path. I take a deep breath as I follow them out of the palace and into the garden. Music plays, signaling my grand entrance as both queen and bride. Aunt Celia gently squeezes my arm, grounding me in the current moment. My eyes dart around the crowd for a moment before locking eyes on him.
Copper curls still hang messily over his eyes. The pink streaks I came to know have faded completely, but the personality I fell in love with hasn’t faded at all. His smile, bright and charming as always, sends my heart aflutter.
Why did I ever act like I didn’t love him?
Aunt Celia lets go of me as I reach the altar, and I turn to face Chess at long last. I can only imagine the look in his eyes at the sight of me.
The ceremony drags on, the usual formalities of any average wedding. My heart aches for the end of it, where we get to kiss and it’s finally over.
The priest clears his throat, and I blink. “Oh! I do.”
He nods and turns to Chess, and I barely manage to focus on the “lawfully wedded wife” part.
“I do.” The warmth of Chess’s hand on mine makes my heart skip a beat.
“Then please bring forth the rings.”
Jack B. Nimble rolls down the path in his wheelchair, the rings resting on a cushion on his lap. He bows playfully as he presents us with the rings.
The metal is cold on my finger as Chess slips my ring on. I put his on his finger in return, trying to be as gentle as I can be.
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife! You may kiss the bride.”
He doesn’t waste a second, wrapping an arm around my waist, dipping me towards the floor, and kissing me deeper than he ever has before. At long last, we’ve become one.
The reception is already crowded when we get there. I’m in a smaller dress, better for dancing and mingling with my friends. Jack has taken his position as the DJ for the night, assisted by Madi. She wanted to be the DJ for the whole night, but as my maid of honor, I needed her at my side instead. She gets to be a part-time DJ, though.
Chess guides me over to the table so we can enjoy dinner before the first dance, but I’ve lost my appetite. There are so many butterflies in my stomach that they’ve started feeling like rocks. He must notice, because before I can sit down, he changes directions and pulls me out onto the floor.
“Remember when you said you wouldn’t dance with me, even when you owed me one? And I swore you’d dance with me before midnight some night?”
I chuckle at the memory. “How could I forget? I told you it didn’t work like that. There were supposed to be rules, and you weren’t following them.”
“And what’s the rule now?” He smirks at me.
“You’ve won the bet. Twice now, really.”
His smile falters, and I realize I’ve struck a nerve on accident. Our first dance was back during the Wonderland Trials. It was only my first, but he’d been in those Trials for years, long before we even met. Bad things happened to him in those Trials.
He nearly died at the end of ours.
I quickly reach up to swipe his hair from his eyes, taking in the dark spot where he holds his hatred for his father. It’s grown a bit over time, now housing a hatred for his grandmother too. “It’s okay,” I whisper in his ear. “She won’t come back for us.”
“You can’t promise that, Ace.”
I sigh. “She can’t find the real Wonderland. We’re safe from her.”
“Not as long as we’re here. She knows the Normal Reality better than her own. What danger are we putting ourselves in being here?” He pulls away, signaling that the dance is over. He clearly isn’t in the mood now.
I sigh and return to the table, sitting there for a few songs while people dance and have a good time. At one point, I glance over at the DJ booth, hoping to call Madi over for some support.
To my horror, she isn’t there.