DEE

by D. A. D'Amico

My brother is lost to me in this Wonderland world, but I mirror his actions because the Red Queen has taken a fancy to him. He is her hostage, and the catalyst of my revenge.

To free him, I must slay her and wake the sleeping King. This dream will end when the sleeper wakes. The world will begin anew, and we will be free.

"Shall we play?" His voice is pleasant, his smile genuine, but I no longer hear him in my mind.

Once the echo of my hopes and reflection of my fears, he is now merely a passing stranger. His clever wit is forever submerged, hidden beneath that rotund face and small porcine features.

The crows are loyal to the Queen. Dark creatures of feather and wing, those monstrous magpies were lured by the promise of silver. The shadow of their horrific passage rattled our senses, and senseless, we were undone.

I can never retrieve what's been lost. It churns in my stomach like bitter tea, and fuels my thirst for revenge. She's split us because we know her secret. We alone see the Queen for what she truly is, the key to unlock this reality. We've told it before, and might tell it again.

The Queen is too swift to be trapped in the open. I must tempt my brother toward the hazy border of our kingdom if I'm to corner her. My plans are my own, an exotic unshared feeling, as I lace my arm in his and tug him through foliage that weeps as we pass. He resists, but I beg with a gaze. In an earlier time, I wouldn't have had to ask.

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