Chapter 7: The Forest of Wonderland
"I did not think I would happen to cross paths with you again. At the very least, not as immediate as this has been." Yukita helped herself to a cup of tea. The snow witch had made herself a little seat of ice, perched delicately on it as she watched the Bandersnatch storm about.
"This isn't going to protect her, you know," he said. "How long do you really think you can keep me locked up here?" She smiled, and did not respond. "Damned snow demon," he muttered. "You always were a real pain in the ass, Biela."
"I would not be surprised to think that one so uncouth as yourself would believe that to be the case," she commented calmly, closing her eyes as she sipped at the tea. "Those without manners often utter such things in order to cover up their own shortcomings."
"I don't need a lecture in proper court decorum," he growled, "we're not in the King's court, are we?"
"Manners should be practiced continually, not just when one is being watched. And at any rate, you are in a court, if not the one you desire to be in," she pointed out, watching him with cool blue eyes. "At the very least, you could have held off in your assault until after breakfast. Now the food is going to waste. You are a proper beast, Bandersnatch."
"Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment," he snorted. "Why are you of all people helping her, Biela? I thought you preferred to hide in the farthest corners of Wonderland you could find, after you betrayed the King."
"Even I require some small excitement on occasion. If you would answer," she said with a casual air, "why not tell me why you are so eager to take White? Is it his orders?"
"He knows it's in Neverland's best interest to eradicate White," the Bandersnatch said, finally helping himself to a chair Yukita had brought from the kitchen. "Or keep them down, at the very least. They very nearly had something going for them, before I destroyed the last White Court."
"And yet somehow your success was not to be. Was it that a small child of five or so was merely beneath your interests, or did she actually give you a struggle after you had killed her parents?"
"I didn't know about her," he said with a shrug, "she was never advertised as the Queen's blood daughter. We all heard the stories that the Queen couldn't bear children. She was never pregnant."
"She never appeared pregnant to you," Yukita said with a shake of her head. "They have ways around that. "
"You haven't answered my question," he said after a moment. "What's in this for you? You've never been the type to stick your neck out for anyone."
"I would not really consider this to be 'sticking my neck out'," she said with a wave of her hand. "You are hardly a threat to me."
"If you think the King of Neverland won't notice you butting into his war, you have another thing coming to you," the Bandersnatch said in a low tone."
She shrugged. "I have little fear of the King of Neverland. All he can do to me is torture and kill me. If I was so afraid of him, I would have never left him in the first place. It is not like he has not been searching for me. You recall those days."
The Bandersnatch let out a dry chuckle. "So what is this, reminiscing on the old days? We're not that far away from them."
"In terms of the humans, we are a long ways away. I find them to be a decent marker of time."
The Bandersnatch shook his head, testing the wall with one hand. "So how long are you going to keep me in here?"
"Until she returns to kill you."
He laughed. "Until she comes back to be killed, you mean. I will not be defeated by the likes of an insiginficant human."
"That is no ordinary human, Bandersnatch. The bloodline of White flows in her blood and calls to her. That woman is...." She paused, taking another sip of her tea. "A catalyst, I suppose one could say. Time is approaching its desired day. That is what I have come to think, when I see her power."
"It's a shame," the Bandersnatch said with a shrug. "If she was working for us, she wouldn't have to die. I'm sure the King could use a new general, one powerful and beautiful enough to seduce even him."
She let out a little snort of amusement. "She will never do such a thing. She has no love of Neverland in her soul."
"That can always be changed." The Bandersnatch ran his tongue across his teeth. "Perhaps I should bring her back to him after all."
"You are welcome to try, but I do not think you will be successful." Yukita sipped at her tea again. "Would you care for some tea?"
Ameko focused on the back of Nikado's head and his ever-moving ears as he led the way through the forest, tail swishing slowly as he turned his head this way and that, sensing the streams of magic through the forest and potential threats. They had taken two streams so far, but after the second he had seemed dissatisfied, and led her on foot.
Meals were scavenged out of the forest, mostly fruit and other plants that could be found in the forest. Meat was also available, and Nikado had certainly offered, but had warned her against making a fire, and she decided that she could go vegetarian for a little while. She wasn't sure exactly how something that looked as human as he did could stomach eating raw meat, but he did, and then meticulously cleaned the blood off his face and hands.
"Where do you think we are now?" she asked after a while.
He gave her an odd look in response before turning back to the front. "We're in the forest. Where else would we be?"
"Very funny, smart guy. I meant where."
"Does it matter?" he replied. "It's not like there's any permanent landmarks in the forest. Stuff shifts around all the time. I've had to move homes twice because they kept ending up in other cats' territories." He paused in a clearing, gesturing for her to take a rest.
"I didn't know it shifted around that much," Ameko said. "I knew the streams did, but not everything else. It must be inconvenient."
"At times, I suppose," he said, shrugging. "But it keeps things active and moving. If they didn't, it'd become stagnant. Some say that Neverland was a part of Wonderland that refused to move. Others say that it's Wonderland that's a part of Neverland that decided to start moving."
"And then the kingdoms came out from the forest. But they don't move around," she observed.
"The physical parts don't, but the magic does. The residents help it along when they use magic. And the castles do sometimes move around. The Blue Rook was designed specifically for that purpose. Moving around, that is."
"To move around? Why? So it could shape the magic streams across the Blue Kingdom?" Ameko hazarded a guess.
"Who knows? You would have had to ask the original royal line, and they're all dead now. I suppose if a new line is found in time, you could try asking them. Some knowledge comes inherent with the power."
"That it does," she agreed, "but I wish it was more. Where does the new line come from?"
"The Mirror World, or so I've heard," he replied. "That's where all the original lines came from."
Ameko stood up, stretching a bit. "Let's keep moving, unless you're tired. I don't want to sit down too long."
He yawned and stretched, rubbing at one ear absently. "All right, but when I take a nap, we're stopping. Why can't humans sleep in bits like sensible creatures," he grumbled.
She smiled at that, following him again as he led the way. After a while, she began taking her eyes off him, observing the forest at large. Huge trees whose canopies were almost too high to see towered above them, leaving large patches of grass and moss underneath their shadow, and surrounding them were clusters of smaller trees, packing in where they could and creating occasional patches of thick, unpassable sets of trunks. She saw another creature in the forest every now and then, mostly animals, but there was also the occasional cat, or a human, or a few other creatures she couldn't identify: large, round things with many legs, helping themselves to smoke from a pot. "Caterpillars," Nikado told her after he caught her looking. "Leave them to their smoking. Half the time they don't make sense to themselves, let alone anyone else."
She nodded, then turned as a little hut caught her attention, a modest little thing rising out of the forest. "Look, there's someone's home."
Nikado turned in the direction she was pointing, and frowned. "I didn't see that there before," he noted slowly. "Hey! Ameko!"
"I'll just go over and say hi," she said, moving toward the house. "Maybe they'll know how close we are."
"Hey! That could be an illusion, you know! Or something dangerous!"
"It isn't," she replied with certainty.
"And how can you tell?"
"I don't know, but I can." She reached up, knocking on the door. As her knuckles touched the ancient wood, it moved back, opening into a relatively dim interior lit only by a lamp on the table. An old woman, covered almost completely in a cloak, was sitting at a chair by the table. At least, Ameko thought she was old; she couldn't really see enough of the woman to be sure. Even her hands seemed indistinct, Ameko unable to focus on them for a long period of time.
"Ah," the woman observed, and the tone did seem to be that of at least a middle-aged woman, if not elderly, and full of warmth. "I've been expecting you."
"Who are you?" Nikado asked with a frown.
"Straightforward as ever," the woman said with a dry chuckle. "I see you haven't changed at all, Nikado."
He frowned at the use of his name. "Now I really want to know who you are."
"Someone you need to meet," the woman said, rising from her chair and moving with slow, careful steps to a chest by the table. With a start, Ameko realized those were the only things in the room: lamp, table, chair, chest and woman. So she didn't live here, but she had been waiting for them.
"When you say someone we need to meet," Ameko asked as the woman pulled something out from the trunk, "did you know we'd be coming here?"
"I did. You'll understand why eventually. Oh, cut that out," she scolded Nikado, whose tail was lashing about in agitation. "You're always so high-strung. Learn to relax a little." She pulled the item out of the chest, holding it out. "Here you are. I've been holding on to this for you."
He took a step back at the item in her hands. It was a sword, carefully sheathed away, and with a start Ameko realized she had seen it somewhere before. "This is the Sword of the Lion and the Unicorn," the woman explained. "It was a gift from the forest to the White Kingdom. It's been wielded by countless numbers in defense of the kingdom. Now it is yours."
His ears flattened back against his head. "Thanks, but I'm not going to accept any sword, no matter what kind it is."
"I knew you'd say that," she said with a sigh. "You need to take the sword. It's your destiny."
"You can't decide my destiny for me," he snapped, tail lashing about and ears flat against his skull. "I'm not some slash and hack barbarian tromping around cutting down everyone I see. I won't take a sword."
"Of course you're not. That's why you need to take it," the woman replied, continuing to hold it out to him. "It's for you. It's been waiting many years for you to come claim it."
"It can continue to wait. I'm not taking it. Let's go, Ameko," the cat instructed. "It was a waste of time to come here."
Ameko frowned at him. "Will you sit down and listen, at least? There has to be a reason we came here."
"Come on," he said, scowling at her. "Otherwise I'm leaving you here."
"She'll leave when you take the sword," the woman said.
Nikado let out a hiss before storming out the door, slamming it behind him. "Good grief," the cloaked woman said with a shake of her head. "What an immature cat."
"If he's so immature, why did you try to give him that sword? What is that sword, anyway? Why him?"
"Because it's his time. He doesn't want it because he's afraid," the older woman replied with a little sigh. "Not that you'll ever get him to realize that, let alone admit it. He'll have to figure it out on his own." She set the sword down on the table, returning to her chair.
"Why is he afraid?" Ameko asked. "And what is that sword?"
"It's one of the treasures of the White Kingdom," the woman said, "a sword of memory that can pass through time. As for Nikado, he knows why."
Ameko let out a sigh of her own. "How long have you been waiting here?"
"Ah, such an inquisitive young mind. Time doesn't matter to one such as I. You'll figure it out eventually."
"I'm tired of having to figure everything out," she grumbled. "Can't someone give me answers?"
"BUt that would take all the fun out of it." The woman looked out the window. "All right, I'll answer you one question. Ask me what's going to happen next."
"What's going to happen next?"
"That cat is going to get himself into trouble," the woman said. "He's good at that, by the way. Take the sword and go to him. I believe you'll find him...." She looked around to orient herself before pointing straight to the door. "That way. Then you'll see whether he can accept it or not."
Ameko looked down at the sword, then picked it up by the sheath. A swordbelt was attached to the sheath, and she slung it around her shoulder, turning to the door and exiting, the woman following her outside. "You're looking for the thing that can defeat the Bandersnatch, aren't you?" the old woman called after her.
Ameko turned, and her eyes widened as the woman began to fade in front of her eyes. "By the way, it's already with you. You just have to realize what it is." The younger woman thought she could see a smile before the woman faded into motes of light, drifting away on the wind.
"I see," she said after a moment, looking back to the hut which now stood silent and dark. "She was...."
The motes of light drifted upwards through the trees, briefly illuminating the leaves as they passed before being lost in the sun's light.
"A memory."
Nikado barely paid attention to the trees and streams that he passed as he strode through the forest, almost feeling a sense of desperation at the need to get away from the hut, the woman, and the damnable sword. It was stupid, expecting him to do something of the sort, he thought sourly to himself as he walked. I'm not some sort of monster.
A sound broke through his irritation, a sound that was familiar: that of a cat, crying out in pain. His ears shot up as he turned, moving toward the source of the sound, then faster as he realized he recognized the voice, although he wasn't sure from where.
He entered the clearing under the large tree, and saw his father beating his mother.
He stopped cold, staring for a moment before rubbing at his eyes, trying to assure himself that he was seeing things, that it was a trick of the forest. Even as he did it, he could hear the swish of the club coming down through the air, the crack of bones breaking under its force and the inhuman cry of the female cat. It's a trick, an illusion. It has to be.
"Does it matter if it is?"
Nikado turned, wondering if he had spoken aloud, and took a step back in surprise as he saw the cat looking up at him. Barely more than a kitten, it was the white ears and tail and midnight blue eyes that made him start. "Who are you?" he asked, feeling shaken at the kitten's cool gaze upon him.
"Who do you think?" the kitten said derisively. "Although I certainly wish I wasn't. You make me sick."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Nikado snapped, ears shooting up. "Who the hell are you?"
The kitten didn't answer, turning away derisively with a flick of his tail, watching the scene in front of them. "It'll take her a while to die, I imagine. Won't it? You remember, don't you?"
"This is just an illusion. It's already happened." Nikado shook his head. "There's nothing more to dwell on."
"Those are the words of a coward," the kitten stated flatly. "Then again, you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"
"What is this? Why did you bring me here?" the older cat demanded.
The kitten didn't answer, watching the human bring his club down again. "Where is she," the man growled in a low tone, pushing the cat's chin up with his club. "Just tell me, Jessica. Tell me and you'll live. The children will live."
Her eyes flickered to the side, and Nikado looked up, past her. There he was, the himself that had been years before, arms around his younger twin as he watched in terror. He knew that look, that sick feeling, could recall it clearly as if it was happening to him all over again. Right now, he guessed that was exactly the case. "What do you want me to do? I can't change the past."
"Of course you can't," the kitten replied, "since you're a coward. You can't change anything because you can't do anything. It's easier to not do anything and justify it with cute little reasons, isn't it?"
"If all you're going to do is try and irritate me, enough. "
"Of course you would find it irritating, since you know it's true. Cats don't lie, after all." The kitten smirked slightly. "You wanted to save her, didn't you. But you didn't try."
"I would have been killed."
"What's stopping you now?"
"It's in the past. I can't change the past, damn it!"
"You're tied to the Queen of Time, you fool," the kitten stated, tail swishing slowly as he watched Nikado under half-lidded eyes. "Do you really think that's still a valid excuse? You're a coward, Nikado, and you're afraid. Tell me the truth, Nikado, the Cheshire, son of Jessica. Are you afraid of him?"
"Yes. I'm terrified. Who wouldn't be? He killed my mother and I couldn't do anything."
"Are you afraid of not being able to do anything? Or are you afraid of failing?"
"I'm not...." Nikado closed his mouth, trying to figure out how to honestly answer the question.
"Forget it," the kitten said with a wave of his hand, "I'll ask a new one. Are you afraid of yourself, Nikado, the Cheshire, son of Jessica?"
"I...." He tried to get out the words, but they wouldn't come. And with a sickening feeling, he realized that must be because they weren't the truth. "All right. Tell me why."
"Isn't it obvious? You're afraid of him. His blood is in you. You're afraid of yourself. That's why you won't fight," the kitten said, sitting down and grooming his tail, attention on the task. "You're so afraid of becoming him that you'd rather lose everything than destroy it yourself. But what you don't realize, Nikado, the Cheshire, is that failing to protect something and destroying something are the same thing. It's the same act caused by the same person. You can't dance your way around that with words, cat."
"You want me to take the sword," he realized. "You want it. Why does everyone keep pushing me into all this violence?"
"Do you really think Neverland will just lay down and give up if you ask? Someone has to fight. It's a shame," the kitten said, looking out across the clearing. "I would have liked to fight. There are things I value in this world that I don't want to be destroyed by my lack of action."
Nikado looked down at his hands, and noticed they were trembling. "I...I can't. I can't take that sword. I don't want...I don't want to become like him."
"Of course you can't," the kitten sighed, curling up. "Because you have no courage and no trust. You have someone you can rely on, but you won't let yourself. Because it's safer if you don't open up to anyone, right? If you started to fall...she would catch you. That's what I think. In the same way you've caught her. You chose to appear before her, Nikado the Cheshire, and now you're tied to her. That sort of fate can't be undone."
"She won't," he said with a shake of his head. "She's human."
"Go on believing that," the kitten stated. "Go on telling yourself that the human who trusted you with her name, that you trusted with yours in return, isn't trustworthy. Keep being a hypocrite. Things will continue on as they are. You'll live without the chance to ever let your mother rest in peace, and this sort of scene will continue happening, because Neverland will not rest."
Nikado looked up, and the man that had sired him stood over the crushed body of his mother, shoulders heaving with exertion as he turned toward the two kittens. "No!" he shouted as the man moved toward them. "Run! Run away!"
"No," the shadow of his younger self said, and it was in the kitten's voice. "I'm tired of running away."
"Damn it all!" Nikado shouted, clenching his fists, and then he moved, but instead of running away, he was running forward, after the man that had killed his mother and was trying to kill him. Placing himself inbetween the kittens and the human, he stood, waiting, planting his feet firmly in the moss and earth. The human smirked at him, then swung the club, and Nikado reached for his hands, grappling for the weapon. "I...will not allow this!"
The human kicked at his stomach, knocking him back, and he winced, but got back to his feet, tail lashing about. Glancing back behind him at the terrified kittens, he offered a slight smile. "Go. I will fight him."
The words gave him power, and he knew, whether he was in an illusion or a dream or something else altogether, that he was telling the truth. The man lunged again, and Nikado held out his hands, his fingers and palms tingling, and as the club descended, a bright light burst out, covering the clearing with its blinding power, and the man stepped away in surprise.
In Nikado's hands, as naturally as if had always been there, was the Sword of the Lion and the Unicorn.
Ameko ran through the forest in the direction the woman had indicated, the sword bouncing against her back as she ran. "Cat!" she called out, but there was no answer. Looking around, she paused as she felt a sense of magic in front of her, and she moved forward again, approaching more cautiously.
In the clearing ahead, she could see writhing vines and massive leaves, almost as big as her body. A mind flaytrap! she realized with a jerk, squinting into the clearing. Her father had warned her about them once, when telling her tales of the forest. Created when the negative forces of Neverland brushed up against the borders of the forest itself, the monsterous, mobile plants were creatures that would trap travelers in illusions and suck off their very life. One of the most dangerous things in the forest, she recalled with a sinking feeling, standing up fully and looking ahead.
In the center of the mass of greenery, suspended over a gaping mouth by vines tying his limbs, Nikado hung limp, the cat's expression uneasy, his ears back and his tail poofed out, but gone completely still. "Cat!" she cried out in horror, taking a step forward without thinking.
A snapping vine by her feet made her jump back in alarm, and she bit her lip as she looked into the center of the clearing. She had to do something, and fast, or the cat would die, and she knew that she couldn't allow that to happen. "Cat!" she called out again, hoping for some sort of response, but he did not stir, lost too far in the illusion.
Setting her jaw, she withdrew the sword from its sheath, looking at it. It tingled against her hand, and she could feel its power resisting her, trying to jerk away. "I know, I know," she murmured. "I'm not your proper owner. I'm trying to get you there, all right?" Taking a breath, she jumped in to the mass of vines, sword swinging.
She barely got a few paces before vines had snapped around her ankles, trying to arrest her movement. She cut them away, stumbling backwards toward Nikado when more snaked out, grabbing onto her arms. Letting out a yell of rage and frustration, she swung again, severing them as she moved closer to Nikado. "Nikado, damn it! Wake up! Wake up or you'll die!"
Some corner of her mind wondered if this was an illusion created by the monster, a trap to ensnare her instead. No...she probably wouldn't be able to tell if it was truly an illusion. Hoping that it was real and the creature only had the power to cast illusions over one person at a time, she strained against the increasing number of vines, trying to get the sword close to him. "Nikado! Nikado!!"
It was no use, the vines had her firmly, just out of reach as the creature lowered Nikado toward its maw, ready to devour his flesh as well. "Nikado!" she cried out, feeling the edges of despair. "Please, open your eyes, Nikado! I compel you!"
He stirred, opening one eye as he turned his head, straining against the vines. "Ameko!" he gasped out, reaching his hand toward her. "The sword...Give me the sword!"
She extended her own arm as far as she could reach, pushing the blade between her fingers and edging the hilt toward him. Feeling herself losing her grip, she jerked her wrist, tossing it the rest of the way toward him. If he missed....
She didn't have time to wonder if he did. As his fingers touched the hilt, a white light burst forth, blanketing the entire clearing with a burst of power. Ameko put her hand in front of her eyes, but even that didn't muffle out the strong light, feeling the raw power flooding against her very bones. She tried to call his name, but sound was impossible to create in the power, the light rolling from the clearing like a tidal wave, washing through the forest.
When it faded, Ameko pulled her hand from her eyes, looking up from her position on the ground. Nikado was standing in the center of the clearing, the sword in hand, and every trace of the monster was gone, completely eradicated in the wash of power. The cat panted for breath, finally dropping to his knees, leaning against the sword. "Nikado?" she asked quietly, getting to her feet.
"I remembered something," he murmured. "From the time when my mother died. My father went to try and kill me and my sister, but another cat stopped them, a cat holding a beautiful sword. Was that really just an illusion? Or did I step into the past? I couldn't save my mother, but did I save myself?"
"I don't know," she replied quietly. "But this is the forest of Wonderland. Anything's possible." She handed him the sheath and swordbelt, then offered him a hand up. "Come on. Let's go."
He got up, fastening the belt around himself and sliding the sword into its sheath, taking a moment to run his fingers over the smooth, soft leather. He had never worn a sword before, but somehow it felt as if it belonged there. "Let's go," he agreed. "We'll go back to my home and plan from there."
As he had mentioned, Nikado's home in the forest was a house built into one of the large trees, the planks of wood covered in bark, as if they had sprang from the branches fully formed. And it was a possibility they had; cats were the masters of the forest's magic, after all. "Oh!" greeted a voice as he entered, gesturing for Ameko to follow. "You're finally back home, Master Nikado! I was so worried you'd gone and left me and I'd never see you again or that you'd been eaten by a grue or found a boojum or--"
"Enough, Chouko. Can it," the cat said aloud, flopping into a pillow easily large enough to lay on. "Not much in the way of chairs, but have a seat."
"Canning it, Master. Oh, you've brought a visitor! I wish you'd warned me, I'm not polished and my face must look terrible from all the dust--"
"Nikado," Ameko asked, looking around. "What else is in the room?"
"The magic mirror," he said, gesturing to the far wall. "Don't ask. She sort of ended up here and she is useful sometimes."
"Why, thank you, Master Nikado! You're too kind," the mirror's voice continued, sounding happy. "It's a pleasure to meet you, White Queen. I do hope I'm not intruding on your conversation."
"How do you know I'm the White Queen?" she asked with a tilt of her head. "I didn't give you my name."
If it was possible, the mirror seemed to puff up with pride. "Why, White Queen, I am a magic mirror of knowledge, specially crafted in order to see the unseeable and know the unknowable. For example, I--"
"You're chattering again, Chouko," Nikado stated, a tone of amusement in her voice.
"Oh...I'm sorry, Master Nikado. If I'm in the way, I could just shut myself off--"
"If you would, please."
"Very well, Master Nikado." The mirror sounded hurt as its surface became milky white.
"I've never met a magic mirror before," Ameko said, looking over at it. "Are they all that way?"
"Hell if I know. I've only met that one, myself. But she is useful. Helps me keep tabs on anything in my territory. She was the one that told me you were coming."
"Oh? Then I guess it would make sense she recognized me when I entered," Ameko said, taking a seat at last on one of the pillows. "So. We have the sword, one of the treasures of the White Kingdom."
"I wonder if Yukita knew it was there," Nikado wondered, pulling it out of the sheath and admiring it. Despite the age it must have been, the blade had not dulled from age, still being as shined and sharp as it must have been when it was forged. Upon closer inspection, Nikado could make out little carvings in the blade itself of animals and creatures of the forest that seemed to dance and move about under his gaze. The hilt itself was shaped like the lion and unicorn it was named after, the two beasts carved into the handle, but making the grip no less smooth and uncomfortable. Running a finger over the pure white pommel stone, he tucked it back away.
"I don't think she did," Ameko stated. "It was someone else's memory in that hut."
"A memory?"
Ameko shook her head. "Never mind. What do you think we need to do from here?"
He crossed his arms as he considered. "Well, you have the sword now. Are you going to take it back?"
"It's not mine," she pointed out in confusion. "It's yours. I don't know why, but it's made for you. I could barely hold onto it when I was trying to get you out of that nasty flaytrap. It was more like it was letting me hold it as a courtesy than anything, really."
He made a face at that, looking down at it again. "I guess that means I get to go up against a Bandersnatch."
"Absolutely not," she said firmly. "I'm not letting anyone else fight my own battles. I'll take him on. So there must be something else we need in this forest. Nothing's changed for me."
He watched her for a long moment, letting her stand and pace around the small house for a moment, then spoke again. "Can I ask you something, Ameko Satoka?"
"What is it?"
"What do you really think of me?"
"What do I really think...?" She looked at him for a moment, and belatedly realized there was a compulsion in the question. The urge to speak was overwhelming, and so she said what was on her mind. "I'm in love with you."
His ears shot up at that, tail fluffing out in shock. She put a hand to her mouth, surprised. "Um...." she said slowly. She hadn't been aware that had been exactly how she felt, but if she'd said it under compulsion it must be true. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
"That can't be," Nikado said slowly, eyes wide as he looked at her.
"Well, why not? Trust me, it doesn't make any sense to me, either," she began, "but if I said it then it must be true, right? I mean, I'm a human and you're a cat and you hate humans. It's not like it could ever really work out, right? But you're a good person, and kind, and you've been watching out for me this entire time. I feel like I've known you my entire life, even though we met such a short time ago. I like the way you look, and the way you smell, and the way you curl up on my throne and purr like it's the most wonderful thing in the world. Is that fate, too?"
He shook his head. "It can't really be true. Humans lie. You can't really mean it."
She scowled, and then picked up a pillow, smacking him neatly in the head. "Oh, stuff it. Why did you compel me if you didn't like the truth? What were you expecting me to say? That I hate you because you're a cat, that I want to kill you like your mother was killed? I'm not like that, Nikado. Humans aren't all alike."
He curled up on himself, putting his face under his arms. She sighed, walking over to him and sitting down next to him, rubbing one of his ears. "You're such a child in some ways, Nikado. And yet I can't help but feel something for you. Maybe it's just a crush and maybe it'll go away. But right now, I want you to stay with me. I don't want you to leave me. I don't want to think about the White Rook without you being there, lounging on a shelf or a table, catnapping in a window, climbing the curtains even though your weight's dragged down a few of them. Is that so hard to understand?"
Nikado shook his head underneath his arms, and his voice came out quietly. "I don't want to be loved by a human."
"Why is that? Answer me, Nikado."
She had the satisfaction of watching his tail puff out again, and this time his voice sounded a little surly as he responded. "Because I'm scared. Was that necessary?"
"Yes. Why are you scared of me, Nikado? Is it just because I'm a human? Or because I'm the White Queen?"
"Because you're a human. I trust the White Queen. The queens are the enemy of Neverland. That's good enough for me."
"And why are you scared of humans, Nikado?"
"Stop compelling me. I'm talking, okay?" He sighed. "Because I'm half-human, Ameko. I don't want to do something like what my father did. That's his blood in me. Whenever I get angry, or scared, I can feel it inside me, and I'm scared I might do something terrible."
She stroked his ear with a firm, gentle pressure, and he began to purr in spite of himself. "You're you, Nikado. You're not that man. You're your own being and only you control your actions. You don't have to be scared of humans, Nikado. Most of us aren't like that. The same way that not every creature in this world is working for Neverland. Trust me," she told him, giving his head a little pat. "I wouldn't let you hurt yourself like that. You can trust humans, Nikado. You weren't scared of any other creature we've met, even Yukita who's a former general of Neverland. Even the Bandersnatch who's a current general of Neverland. If you can face them, you can face anything."
He stayed where he was for a long moment, finally bringing his head out to rest on top of his arms. "That's what a part of me thinks, too. A part of me I almost let die a long time ago." He laid across her lap, pushing up against her hand until she began to stroke his ear again. "Ameko, let's go back to the White Rook. I think we can take on the Bandersnatch, together. You're right, I'm not afraid of him. I guess it's because he's a general of Neverland. I already expect him to do terrible things and try and kill me horribly. What's he going to do, be nice to me?"
She laughed at that, rubbing at his ear until he started to purr. "You're right. I'm not afraid of him anymore, either. You have the sword, I have my magic and I have you. I guess there's nothing else we need except to give it a try."
He curled against her, purring. "But first, I need a nap. Make sure I turn the mirror back on before I leave."
When the pot of tea had run out, Yukita had made another, and seemed unfazed by anything otherwise, thoroughly unimpressed with the Bandersnatch's increasing temper tantrum. "Drop this barrier, Biela. I'm tired of this nonsense. I have a job to do."
"Learn some patience, old friend, " she told him as she sipped at her tea. "It is quite the virtue. She will have to return here eventually."
"And then what in the meantime? I get to be stuck in here like the Jabberwocky? No thanks. Let me out, or I'll defile you, so help me."
"I would think you would have a most difficult time of that," she replied coolly, and then she gave him a smile that was icy, a predator's smile. "You are just another one of his modern, cheap toys, Bandersnatch. You do not threaten me. There is a reason I was always ranked higher than you."
He scowled at her. "You're all talk and no bite. You've gotten soft living among the humans."
"Would you care to test that bravery of yours, then?"
He didn't respond, going back to tear at the tapestries on the walls. "At any rate," she added calmly, "it seems your patience, or rather lack thereof, will be rewarded."
"Bandersnatch!" came a call from the doors of the great hall.
He turned, smiling as he saw the woman and cat at the entrance to the castle. "This barrier had better be down when I'm done here, Biela, or I will kill you. Don't interfere."
"I have no intention of doing so. I wish you luck," she said, cool eyes watching him over the top of her cup. "But I do not believe that luck will be sufficient for you."
"I don't rely on luck." He strode toward the pair, mouth splitting into a grin. "Well, well, White Queen. I'm so pleased you did me the favor of returning so that I can defile you. It would have been aggravating to go searching you down. I've been waiting so patiently for your return."
"That you have not," Yukita called to him.
"Shut up," he snapped at her. "I don't need comments from the gallery. If you must comment, give me some dramatic music or something. That's right up your alley." Cracking his knuckles, he let his tongue loll out, running it over his teeth.
Nikado took a step forward, holding the sword waveringly. The Bandersnatch chuckled. "You're a thousand years too early to challenge me, boy." His head snaked out, headbutting against the sword with enough force to throw the cat back, Nikado letting out a cry as the edge of his own sword bit into his shoulder and skidding backwards across the ground. "Cat!" Ameko shouted in alarm.
"Worry about yourself, White Queen!" His head moved around for her, but she vanished in midair, reappearing within a moment by his neck and bringing both hands down, fists clenched together on his neck with surprising speed. He let out a howl of pain, head slamming into the floor, and he jumped back, head snapping into place.
"Cat, are you okay?" Ameko asked, watching the Bandersnatch warily.
He lay on the ground for a long moment, eyes wide in shock. Then abruptly, he shook his head, ears flicking as he picked up the sword again. With a new light in his eyes, he held it one-handed with more confidence than before, holding it firmly. The Bandersnatch jumped for him with claws extended, and Nikado jumped back, catching the claws in his sword before whirling the blade around, bringing it down on top of the creature's hand. This time it really did scream as the blade bit through his hand easily, claws dropping to the ground with a splash of black blood and a clacking sound against the stone floor. "You," the Bandersnatch hissed, "I'll kill you for that."
He held the sword one-handed again, and smirked slightly. The Bandersnatch leapt forward again, this time aiming with both claws and head. Catching the claws on his own forearm, heedless of the gashes it was creating, he blocked the mouth with his sword, the Bandersnatch barely pulling back in time to avoid having his head chopped off. "You--you bastard," he gurgled out around the blood spilling into his mouth. "I will kill--"
"I've heard enough of that," Ameko announced calmly as she stood behind him, touching a hand to his back. The Bandersnatch froze in place, unable to move out of the stasis spell she had placed on him. "All right, Nikado."
He hefted the sword in one hand. "It's not vorpal, but I suppose it will do." And then he brought the sword around in a fast swing, the Bandersnatch's head dropping to the ground in a fountain of black blood.
"Be careful of his blood," Yukita warned, "it may not defile you as his bite would, but you would certainly not feel pleasant. Would you like me to dispose of that?"
Ameko let out a sigh, turning to Yukita. "Is he really dead? He can't regrow another head or anything like that?"
"You are perhaps thinking that it was too easy to accomplish? He was overconfident," Yukita said with a slight shrug. "It only takes one mistake in battle. He was used to having the psychological advantage over his opponents. Perhaps you were the first that did not fear him or his power."
Ameko let out a sigh, turning to Nikado. "Are you all right? I didn't know you knew how to use a sword."
"I didn't. Something happened to me when the blade cut into me," he said, looking down at the sword. It gleamed in the light, without a bit of his own blood or the Bandersnatch's stuck to it.
"I have heard the Sword of the Lion and the Unicorn is a sword of memories," Yukita stated, looking at the weapon in his hands. "Such exchanges often occur with the transfer of a blood sacrifice. You are hardly alone in this venture. You have the experience of all the swordsmen who came before you. That is now in your blood."
He shook his head. "That's a little creepy."
"At any rate, I congratulate you, White Queen, White King," Yukita said with a bow. "It was an impressive victory. The White Kingdom has overcome a great hurdle."
Ameko and Nikado blinked, looked at each other, and then the cat pointed to himself. "What king? You mean me?"
"Who else would be able to use the sword but the Queen's betrothed?" Yukita said with a smile. "It is fate, after all. Now, shall we see about some tea and a meal?"
"Hold on! I'm not--we're not--"
Yukita merely smiled, going back into the kitchen. Ameko and Nikado looked at each other again, and then both looked away, each feeling a bit of heat touch their cheeks. "Well?" Yukita called. "You must be hungry. You may contemplate how to best consummate your union later."
"Damn it, Yukita! We didn't agree on that!" Nikado shouted at her.
She only smiled cheerily at him, and he slumped. "I feel sorry for the Bandersnatch now, being stuck with her." He looked over at the body, which had dissolved into a puddle of black sludge, now surrounded by a little chunk of ice lifting it off the floor.
"Let's go eat," Ameko stated. "I am hungry, after all."
