Page 34 of Cheshire's Smile
“Well...” I swept my hands down my dress and sighed, sending a wave of magic through it. This dress had seen methrough many a trial, and it still saddened me that I had to repair it with magic. Once I was back to proper form, I slid my leg back into a deep curtsey. “I am Alice.”
Morgana sniffed, her nose pointed in the air. “I figured.”
Okay, then. It looked like politeness was not going to get me anywhere with this one.
“Look, I don’t want to waste your time.” I cleared my throat and glanced around. Not that it looked like she was busy with anything other than being a bitch. “I just need directions to the palace.”
Morgana snorted. “Of course, you want to go there. No one want to spend time with the washed-up royalty anyway.” She muttered the last part to herself.
I had a feeling there was more to this female than she led others to believe. She put on a hard exterior which I could understand. Mostly likely, she had become victim to the masses as I had, with nothing left to do but push everyone away.
Parts of me struggled with indecision. I was in a hurry. I needed to find the others before the sickness took them. I didn’t have time to hand hold some ex-fae royalty. And yet...
“I could...” I began, wondering why I cared so much. “Use a guide? Perhaps, you could help me find my way?”
Morgana lifted a perfectly crafted brow.
For a moment, I thought she was going to tell me to leave. Not that I could. With the mist surrounding the small clearing her house sat in, I was a sitting duck.
With a long, drawn-out sigh, she uncurled herself from her seat and stood. “I suppose I could spare some time for the one fae who is almost as hated as myself.”
My mouth fell open. I clipped it shut before I said something rude and made her refuse to help.
Each step she took was smooth and sultry, her leg peeking out of the slit in her dress as she sauntered over to me. “Well, then. Let’s get this over with.”
She stopped by my side and, before I could ask her how we were going to get through the mist, she lifted her hand. A dark red flame burst into life in her palm, and the stinging mist closest to us began to dissipate.
Well, that solved things.
We walked through the mist in an uncomfortable silence. Besides Kat, I’d never gotten along well with other females. Even when I was human, they tended to avoid me. It wasn’t as if I didn’t try to make friends. My sisters and I got along well enough.
However, none of the proper ladies wanted anything to do with the mad Liddell. I could hardly say my reputation has improved since I had become fae.
“So, how was it?”
My eyes darted away from the mist to Morgana. “How was what?”
“Being imprisoned. No. What do you think I mean?” She scoffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I mean, giving up everything to be one of us. Was it worth it?”
I mused over her question for a moment. It was hardly a difficult question. I had given up my human life, a life of being married to a man who only wanted me for my crazy stories of Wonderland. A life that mocked and belittled me at every turn.
If I had the chance to do it all again, would I choose to become fae?
My mind drifted to the fae males in my life. Hatter with his never-failing love and loyalty. Cheshire’s overwhelming faith in me. Carban and Coby... well, I didn’t quite remember everything about them yet, but I knew they had to be wonderful if I had thought they were worth breaking the fae world.
“My, my, I did not think that would be such a head scratcher,” Morgana mused, waving her hand before us to clear more of the mist.
“Yes,” I said at last. “It was worth it.”
Morgana sniffed. “Probably would have been more worth it if you hadn’t spent the last hundred years locked up.”
I huffed a laugh. “Yes, that would have been preferable.” I scuffed my foot on the ground. “You know, I thought I would do this one simple thing. Make the royals admit their feelings to one another, become fae, and then ride off into the sunset for my happily ever after. But as you can see...”
“Didn’t go quite as planned, did it?” Morgana smiled. It wasn’t a malicious or taunting one. If I wasn’t mistaken, I think it was supposed to be a comforting smile.
“You sound like you have experience in bad decisions.”
Her smile flattened into a scowl. “Yes. I do.”
