Alice Au - Tumblr Posts

White Knights, Red Hearts

Melanie gazed out from the low plains, eyes darting from hill top to hill top, only stopping when she saw her Mother's castle. The Heart dotted flags waving in the air and red tipped roofs made her feel sick. How many years had she spent there? How many of them did her own Mother pray for her demise?

The campsite of sorts was in between the two ruling lands. The "wastelands" they called it. Looking over it, it was nothing but a barren plain in place of what was a great forest. Melanie figured this would be a good distance. Her mother would never venture this far and the Jabberwockys reign was leeks still behind them.

Watching her friends begin setting tents and fires, Melanie wondered if her father thought her dead. If her mother was skipping with joy with her absence. What would happen now? She mused over spending her last days in the woods with her brother. She glanced over at Minhyuk, who in turn offered a smile. Setting down his tools, he strolled over to his sister.

"So what do you propose we do this night?"

"Why do you ask me?"

"Well, we are commonfolk now. Commonfolk need a Queen."Melanie snorted.

"Me? Queen? Mother would never allow that to happen. That's why we are in this mess."

"Mother isn't here. You could make your own rules and govern how you see fit. I know you always hated how mother ran things." Melanie shared a look with her bother as she contemplated.

With a bemused smile, she waved Minhyuk off. "To work with you, I'd rather not sleep to the wolves tonight"

He chuckled and bowed quickly. "As you wish, my queen"

The Queen sat on her knees, her heart-dotted dress sprawled around her on the throneroom floor. She stared at her hands in her lap, tears dripping from her cheeks. Glistening streaks painted Her face; she gave up wiping the sadness away. Her throat hoarse and exhausted from calling their names for hours on end.

How could they leave her like this? Abandoned by the two she loved. Wait. Was it love? Or just a fleeting moment of obsession? A time of lust clouded by admiration? She had no real idea anymore what she felt. Emotions felt muddled to her nowadays. She never knew if it was happiness or depression that flashed over her body. All she knew was that when she was near her Bug and Hatter, warmth sparked in her chest.

But that didn't matter now. They were gone.

As she closed her eyes, a familiar voice came to her ear.

"I bet your sister coaxed them into returning," the dark voice wrapped around her head. "They never loved you, my Queen. You have to know that."

She shook her head, trying to get the voice to leave. "They told me they did..."

"Men lie. They all lie. You should get your revenge."

"Revenge? I don't want to hurt them... Especially not Hatter.." She felt more tears flood to her eyes at the thought of hurting Hoseok. Her shaking hand reached up to the choker around her neck, her fingers clutching at the red gem that hung from it. A gift from him that she has never taken off once. She couldn't tell if she was actually angry. She didn't feel anything but what she assumed was loneliness. As she squeezed at the handmade jewelry, the voice came back louder than before.

"Rise, Queen. You must have your revenge for them betraying you. Make them pay with their blood"

"But I-"

"Rise!"

She winced at him yelling before hesitantly getting to her feet. With her legs shaking, she wiped at her face, drying her tears. Her eyes bloodshot and face comforting from hopeless to resentment. She once again reached for the handmade necklace. Gripping the gem, she ripped it off her neck and tossed it across the room. She took a calming breath before storming out of the castle, grabbing her red encrusted sword and heading outside the castle walls for the first time in years.

The New Alice

Lilith tilted her head as she neared the rabbit hole at the bottom of the tree. She hadn't remembered seeing one in her backyard before, let alone one this big. She knelt down and placed a hand on either side, leaning forward to look in. The hole seemed to go on forever. It was also unnaturally dark, like it was trying to hide something from her. What she swore was a glint of light caused her to lean too far forward to see. Her hands slipped and she fell into the bottomless whole.

After what felt like an eternity of falling, she found herself landing on a large flower. Shaking her head, she quickly scrambled off it and looked around. The world was like out of a dream; Twisting tall trees lined a path, colorful flowers dotted the ground along with mushrooms and toadstools. Brushing off her blue dress, she decided to follow the path. Seeing as she fell from the sky, there was no way back up. Perhaps she hit her head and was dreaming?

With a few steps, she found an out of place looking tea table. Approaching it, she scanned the various cakes and treats scattered about the tablecloth. A clearing of the throat behind her stopped her hand from grabbing a delicious looking cupcake. She whipped around and was faced with a tall, blue haired man with white rabbit ears. He offered a smile to her before taking a pocket watch out of his waistcoat. He examined it before putting it back.

"My, my. Late as ever, Alice." He said with a tsk.

"Alice? My name isn't Alice-"

"Well you certainly look like one." He spun on his heels and started down the path again. She blinked at him before quickly following. She looked around as she attempted to keep up.

"What is this place? Am I having a fever dream?"

"I would hope not. I enjoy being a living thing. We call this place Underland, but Alice's prefer to call it 'Wonderland' for some odd reason."

"I'm going to suppose it's because this place is a wonder?"

"On the nose."

"So why am I here? How did I get here?"

He shrugged as he stopped at a diverging path. Two arrows pointed in either direction in a language Lilith couldn't read. She looked down both paths, one looking slightly rougher than that other. The rabbit heaved a sigh as he leaned against the sign. "My better judgement tells me to allow you to follow me to my side of Underland. But the one that Alices’ seek has moved sides. I cannot advise you on your decision of which way to walk. But, I will say one is much better than the other."

Her face contorted in confusion. "'The one Alice's seek'? But I'm not an Alice. My name is Lilith."

He offered her a shrug. "You sure look like Alice. Only they fall from the sky."

"This is crazy-"

"Perhaps. But make your choice quickly. Night comes and I would not take bets on the Jabberwocky being kind." He smiled at her before going down the right side path. She watched him for a few moments until he disappeared from sight. She looked at the sign again and sighed.

what is even happening?

She grabbed a rock with moss on one side. "Okay. Clean, left. Moss, right." She closed her eyes before tossing the rock in the air. She didn't open them until she heard it hit the ground. Peaking with one eye, she saw the clean side of the rock. With slump shoulders, she kicked the rock aside and ventured down the left.

It had been a few months since Red renounced her crown and took room in her sister's kingdom. The change was incredibly strange to her, feeling like she should not be able to roam about or make conversations. As if she felt herself more a being of prisoner than guest. Red eventually gave up attemps of talking to her previous lovers, selecting silence and small gestures when she saw them. In her head she could not find a reasonable excuse or explanation of her actions in the past. While she elected to sit in her quarters and keep to herself most days, her eldest daughter would attempt to force words out of her.

Melanie always demanded an explanation, not even an apology, of what her mother did and attempted to do. Yet, Red could not muster one up nor did she feel like lying to give her daughter closure. Of course, the silence from her mother only made her angry. Melanie began visiting her Aunt's castle more often to find more opportunities to catch her mother. This day was no different.

Melanie made her way down the corridor to her mother's room, determined to get her answer this time. Once she reached the red painted door, she didn't hesitate to knock. There was no answer. But, there was shuffling inside. Taking a calming breath, Melanie opened the door and saw her mother sitting at a desk writing in a journal. Her elegant red gown was gone and now she wore something akin to commoner dress. Her hair wasn't done, nor her makeup. Red didn't look like the woman that held herself above everyone around her anymore.

Shaking her head at her mother's state, Melanie shut the door behind her and leaned her back against it. Red paused for a second but kept writing, electing more silence. Melanie chewed her lip before speaking.

"Mother, you must talk to me eventually," Silence. "Mother. I'm not leaving until I get an answer."

"I do not have the answer you seek, Child." Red glanced over her shoulder, pen hovering above the paper.

"Lies. You must have one. One does not attempt murder without cause."

"Even if I did have what you ask of me, would that make you happy? Would any answer make you happy?"

"Any answer would be better than constant silence!"

Red slammed her pen on the desk and stood, facing her daughter with a stern look only a mother would have. "Do not raise your voice at me, child."

"I shall raise my voice if I so please. You never gave me anything yet you somehow took it all away! Look what you did to Father, to my siblings... To Hatter." She closed her eyes and hung her head down. "I've never liked that man, but even I can see the way to danced atop his heart and left him with bruises."

Red blinked, unknowing what to say. The familiar silence filled the space again. Quiet sniffs echoed around them. Melanie kept her head down and her voice quiet to keep the tears from breaking it. "I just want to know why you don't love me... What did I ever do to you to deserve your hatred.. I just wanted a mother that would love me.."

With her hand outstretched, Red took a small step towards her daughter. "Melanie.. I... I do not hate you. I've never hated you... I was terrified of you."

Melanie's head snapped up with a look of confusion across her face. "You were scared of me-?"

"Look at you father, Love. You are so special and strong. I was scared you were to overthrow me. To become a threat over a daughter. In my fear, that is all I knew to do. Unfortunately your mother can only deal with threats by eliminating them. I should have known better than to act on my fear but..." She dropped her hand and turned her head to the side. "I am not fit to mother you or any of your siblings. I...I apologize. Even if it means nothing now."

The silence returned as the two stared at one another. Melanie took in her mother's words for a few moments before pushing herself off the door and tightly hugging her Mother. Red staggered back, surprised at the affection, but slowly returned the embrace. Feeling her mother finally hug her after all this years brought tears to her eyes. Melanie couldn't help but quietly sob into her mother's dress. Red ran her fingers through Melanie's hair, enjoying the warmth of her daughter. The two stayed that way for a few whiles. Melanie pulled back enough for Red to wipe her face dry of tears. The two smiled at one other before Melanie spoke.

"Thank you mother. That is all I ever wanted. Now you just have to apologize to everyone else."

Antisocial Princess

Red awkwardly stood in the far corner of the ballroom away from the attendees as possible. Their parents had insisted on having a Ball to commemorate her younger sister becoming of age. Red was adamant that she was not a social person in protest to her parents but her voice mattered not. So here she stood, clad in her favorite color and done up to the nines, avoiding everyone that attempted conversation. Red was sure that everyone attending had forgotten that she was alive in the room. She paid no mind to the person walking to her as she watched her sister dance with the Cat.

@missstar-gazer

Red looked around to ensure no one saw her as she climbed into the wardrobe. She did her best to keep from giggling to herself. She hated her lessons and decided hiding from him would be better than sitting bored in the room. She held her breath as she heard his footsteps approach.

@missstar-gazer