Malice in Wonderland Prequel by Lotus Rose Read Free Book Online Page B

black. And now I regret it.”
    Alice’s mouth was twerking as she thought. “Well if you did all that, then I don’t know how you could possibly let your heart grow black. You must have done something wrong. Did you try turning your frown upside down?”
    “Yes, but after so many years of people being mean to me, the dark side took me by surprise. That’s why I came here. I want to tell you, that over time, all the ways you keep the dark thoughts away might not be enough. Don’t always assume you can keep away the darkness on your own.”
    Alice frowned, but then smiled. “Aww, don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”
    “No! Listen to me! Things might not all be okay! They could turn out very very bad! I was once like you! I didn’t take the darkness seriously, and now…” She pointed at the splotches of reddish-brown on her dress. “This is the blood of boys whose hearts I ripped out after causing them to love me.”
    Alice frowned, but this time her smile did not reappear. “That sounds mean.”
    “It was mean! Because I let my heart grow black! Listen, you must promise me, to do whatever you can. You must fight it, don’t you understand? You must fight the darkness! Never let your guard down!”
    Alice nodded and her lower lip began to tremble. She felt like she was going to cry, because this lady was scaring her.
    The girl said, “Good. I’ve got your attention. I know the citizens of Wonderland can be cruel, but never let their cruelty wear off on you. Never give in to hatred, never let them get you down.”
    In a whisper, Alice said, “I won’t. They just don’t know any better. I will teach them to be kind.”
    The girl laughed sadly. “Just promise me you’ll never let your heart grow black. You gotta do whatever it takes.”
    Alice’s eyes went wide. “I promise. And those guys don’t get to me. The meaner they get, the nicer I get! I’ll kill them with kindness!”
    Again the girl laughed sadly. “That’s the spirit. I wish I could do more than just warn you, like provide you magic protection or something, but all I can do is use my own words and experience.”
    “Aw, don’t feel bad,” said Alice.
    The girl softly shook her head. Meanwhile the guard card was regaining consciousness and slowly figuring out his condition.
    The girl said, “Now I know it’s your birthday, because I had to wait till today to speak to you, because of how the timelines interact, so I brought you this.” She reached into her iron box and pulled out a chocolate cupcake with a candle stuck in the top.
    “Ooh, is that for me?” said Alice. “I thought everyone had forgotten my birthday.”
    “I could never forget,” said the girl just before she struck a match and lit the candle.
    The guard card struggled and shouted, “Who are you? Let me out!”
    Alice watched as the girl set the birthday cupcake upon her desk, and then Alice lost control and burst into tears. “Thank you so much!”
    “You’re welcome sweetie.” She set two keys next to the cupcake.
    “Halt! Surrender yourself!” called the guard card.
    “Blow out your candle,” said the girl gently.
    Alice closed her eyes, made her wish, then blew out the candle. She expected it to go out, but then relight, just like the candles the citizens of Wonderland tormented her with during her unhappy unbirthday parties.
    But when she opened her eyes again, the candle was extinguished and unleashing gray smoke.
    The girl was walking away.
    “It’s your birthday?” said the guard card. He sounded remorseful.
    “Where are you going?” said Alice.
    The girl’s voice sounded choked up. “I’m sorry. I can’t stay.” She picked up her things, put the gauntlet back on. “Happy birthday.” She began walking toward the door.
    “Lady?” Alice said.
    She turned her head to look backward. “Yes?”
    “I’m real sorry your heart turned black.”
    “Thank you,” and as she turned away, Alice thought she could see tears brimming in her