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"My Queen, the Princess has returned to Wonderland.''
Narcissa's sharp souless grey eyes snapped to the soldier who stood infront of her.
"I have seen her with Edgar Valenshire and the rebels.''
"The Princess has returned to wonderland....'' She repeated, slowly. "Well then, we must welcome the duchess home, shouldn't we? Take the soldiers and give her a proper homecoming, won't you, Mikelo?''
Mikelo bowed and stepped out of the dark chamber.
"Well Princess.'' Narcissa said, smiling manically as she looked into the Black Pearl at Tatiana's reflection. "Welcome home.''
Throwing back her head she laughed, her crazy laughter ringing through the castle.
Tatiana took it all in; the strange scenery, the wonderous creatures and the different types of flowers who conversed with her and some of which bow to her as she walked past. Never before had she been regarded so nicely and it made it even more dreamlike. It was all nice....save for Edgar, that is.
He was so uptight and stern. Not to mention stubborn.
Tatiana didn't like him at all and made a note that if she was the Princess her first order was to make him do something foolish to make up for his mean attitude......Like dancing half naked in the square or something.
"Would you stop lagging behind?" he snapped over his shoulder as she bent over to talk to a daisy. "We need to hurry!"
"Cool you're jets, pretty boy, I'm coming.'' she said, as she straightened and hurried to catch up with them. "And is that anyway to talk to your Princess?"
Edgar turned and smirked at her. "So you think I'm pretty, then, Princess?"
Tatiana felt her face grow warm and scoffed.
They came to a barren, dried out wasteland of red sand and Mctwisp sniffed the air uneasily.
"We're close.'' he said. "The Mordre Clock is just on the other side of the red desert.''
Tatiana tucked her hair behind her hair. She couldn't see a foot infront of her through the swirls of dusty wind. She suddenly felt uneasy; she didn't like this place at all.
They started across it and were not even halfway through when they heard a voice behind them.
"You're highness, Welcome home!"
She swung around and saw a very tall malicious man walking through the wind towards them. She stepped back beside Edgar.
"What do you want, Mikelo.'' Edgar said flatly.
"Just wanted to give the
Princess a fair warning.'' Mikelo said, smirking at Edgar. He turned his attention to Tatiana and she didn't like the look he was giving her one bit. "Narcissa knows you are hear. You won't obtain the Sword or the clock at this rate. She will stop at nothing to make sure that you are killed along with your parents.''
"You tell that crackpot old hag that we're ready for whatever she's got.'' Edgar said. Mikelo laughed.
"Silly silly Edgar. You've always been an idiot.''
Edgar started towards him but Mikelo vanished and a vortex appeared where he was standing.
Three black soldiers emerged from the vortex, armed with swords.
"Who are they?"
"Black gaurds. Narcissa's men. Hide, Princess! Hide now!"
She ran and crouched behind a fallen pillar; peeking out and watching Edgar fight two soldiers and then felt a vice grip on her shoulder, picking her up and carrying her to the vortex.
"Edgar!" She screamed, trying to free herself as she came closer to the vortex. "Please help me! Don't let them take me away!"
Edgar finished off the soldier he was fighting and sprinted to where she was. The soldier pulled her into the vortex but Tatiana grabbed hold of the edge, trying her hardest to hold on. Edgar grabbed her hand and, after a moment of struggle, pulled her out just as the vortex disapeared. They sit there for a moment, panting.
"Thank you.'' she breathed, getting up.
"Yes, well...." He said getting up and looking up her. "You're welcome. And the next time I tell you to hide you better. Or else I won't save you next time.''
"And what would the King and Queen say when you have to galumph back to the White Palace and tell them you let their daughter be captured and killed and how you let Wonderland fall to nine thousand years of darkness and decay because you were too busy trying to teach the princess a
lesson.''
Rolling his eyes, Edgar rolled his eyes. "You know what you are?"
"What?"
"A very loud mouthed Princess. If you were anything like the Queen you'd be soft spoken and gracious. You, madam, are neither. and I am now started to feel a prick of doubt that I have been correct all this time in believing that you are the right girl.''
Tatiana crossed her arms, glaring at Edgar. "And
you sir, are a stuck up, rude, arrogant prod that doesn't even know how to be kind to a lady.''
They fell into a stiff silence and continued on their journey, neither making eye contact with the other.
"There! There in that sand dune I knew it was here!"
Mctwisp hopped over to a large red sand dune where a very large clock sat half buried. Tatiana came up behind him and bent down to examine it. Reaching out she prepared to pull it out but found it rather difficult as it was fairly snug in the stiff red sand that formed like a rock around it. She then tried to scrape away the sand using her fingernails and failed yet again. Straightening, she put her hands on her hips, frowning.
"Why won't the stupid thing come out? It's only sand after all!" she exclaimed exasperatedly as she stared at the clock.
"We'll need something to dig it out.'' Malyupkin said, knocking on the clock. "Mctwisp, you don't have something? Like a shovel?"
Mctwisp shook his head sadly and the mouse's head sunk.
"We're not going to have to go and find a shovel, are we? That would take
ages! And by then Narcissa would have already found a way to get it out of here.'' Malyupkin said.
Tatiana bit her lip, brow furrowed in concentration.
"Do we have any water?"
"In the desert, Princess, sure we have lots of water here.''
She shot Edgar a dirty look and he shrugged.
"Well then we'll just have to use saliva. Anything wet enough to dampen the sand around the clock to loosen it. What say you, Mctwisp?"
"Well, I suppose it could work.''
"So what are we suppose to do, just spit onto the sand until it breaks away?"
"Do you have any ideas?"
Edgar shook his head and, after closing his mouth for a moment, spat onto the sand. It turned a deeper red and then crumbled away from the clock. Tatiana beamed at him and they all began spitting and soon the clock fell freely to Tatiana's feet. She bent down to pick it up, holding it up and admiring it.
It was a fantastic clock; five hands and weird symbols instead of numbers all around the perimeter, it's shell a lovely silver and blue. As she stared into it, it began spinning very very fast and suddenly all the hands stopped directly on the symbol that would have been a twelve. Tatiana looked to Mctwisp.
"Is it supposed to do that?"
Mctwisp nodded, wringing his hands. "Now we just need the vorpal sword and we'll be all set. It's located in...in the caves of Avengardial. On the other side of Wonderland.''
Tatiana tucked the clock under her arm and nodded firmly.
"We best be going, shouldn't we?" she said, looking at Edgar. "Which way to Avengardial?"
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