Tobias led the way across the hilly plains of the Queen of Hearts’ lands, Flynn trotting along beside him. They were far from any roads, sticking to countryside where they were less likely to be spotted. Red roses bloomed wild out here, climbing trees and rocks, congregating with each other, ever a social flower. Alice walked easily through the grass, her trunk’s wheels handling the countryside like a tiled floor, not showing any resistance or difficulty whatsoever.
For quite some time, they’d been walking in silence. Tobias, Flynn, and Alice took the lead, with Sheena not too far behind them, and then Guinevere and Ava taking up the rear. Akko was here and there, happily scampering to and fro through the grass. Grass length was carefully regulated and manicured all across Saoirse’s lands, but while the grass here wasn’t tall for the people and dogs, Akko was small enough that he could disappear in the grass, only visible by a rippling through the green, until he stopped and stood tall, poking his head out to look around. Occasionally he clambered up and down a tree, but he clearly preferred romping through the grass.
“He’s enjoying himself,” Alice said, smiling.
“He’s the only one,” Guinevere muttered, trudging along in the rear, Ava padding steadily beside her.
“It takes a great deal to dampen Akko’s cheer,” Sheena said.
Alice, striding right beside Tobias, looked up at him. “Don’t you think you should do something to raise everyone’s spirits?” Alice she asked softly. “It was your decision that got us here, after all.”
“That’s not part of my skillset,” Tobias said.
“Well, then!” Alice said, turning on her heel so she could walk backwards, dragging her trunk with both hands held out in front of her. “Shall we discuss the future? Our merry band will escape the Queen of Hearts’ lands soon enough, and once we’ve crossed the border, where then shall our paths take us?”
“Apart,” Guinevere said tersely. “This was an accidental alliance, and I have no desire to see it continue longer than necessary. I have my own purpose for being in Wonderia.”
“As do I,” Sheena said. “Thank you for aiding Akko in rescuing me. I will be forever grateful. But I must continue on my own quest once we are safely out of the Queen of Hearts’ reach.”
“Saoirse,” Guinevere said firmly.
“Oh?” Alice asked, smirking. “When did you and her get on a first-name basis?”
“She is not a queen, and I will not stand for her being called such by people who know better,” Guinevere said. “She has a name. Let us stick to that, if we must talk about her at all.”
“Fair enough,” Alice said, giggling softly in a way that immediately got a rise out of Guinevere. But before Guinevere could start another fight with a small child, Alice continued on a different track. “But this is curious, isn’t it? All of us are here in Wonderia, all of us have mysterious ‘quests’ we are on. Why don’t we share with each other? I know I’d like to know what brought the Promised Queen and a Sword Dancer to Wonderia.”
“My business is my own,” Guinevere said haughtily.
“I prefer to not share too freely, either,” Sheena said.
“Well, Tobias and I don’t care about letting people know what our business is,” Alice said, looking up at Tobias. “Do we?”
“That’s up to you,” Tobias said. “If you’re willing to share, then go ahead.”
“Wonderful!” Alice said, beaming. She came to a stop, and everyone else stopped with her. Pausing in thought for a moment, she then pushed in her trunk’s handle, tilted the trunk on its side, and then hopped up on top of it, so she was taller than anyone else. “Listen, everyone! Tobias, my gallant Knight-protector, is serving as both guardian and guide on my ultimate quest of highest importance. I am traveling to that fabled land, the wish-granting realm: Elysia!”
She paused a moment, presumably for dramatic effect, surveying the “crowd,” such as it was. Then she hopped down and smiled sweetly at Guinevere. “Was I arrogant enough?” she asked. “I was trying to live up to the example you’ve set on multiple occasions, but I think I was a tad too cheerful. What do you think?”
“Now, listen —” Guinevere started, glaring.
“Elysia?” Sheena asked. She asked it in a soft voice, but the surprise was evident enough that all eyes turned to her. Akko, hidden in the grass in the center of their group, suddenly popped up, ears tall and alert with interest. “That is your aim?”
“Indeed,” Alice said, propping her trunk back up on its wheels and pulling out the handle.
“Hold on,” Guinevere said, eyeing Tobias now with suspicion. “Guardian and guide? You know the way to Elysia?”
“I have leads,” Tobias said. “If anyone guarantees they know the path to Elysia, they’re either trying to impress you with lies, or trying to swindle you out of your money. But I’ve spent many years seeking it out, gathering clues, and piecing together the puzzle.”
“But… you’re truly seeking Elysia?” Guinevere asked, looking from Tobias to Alice, and then, clearly displeased at just the mere sight of the smiling child, looked back to Tobias. “That’s… why you’re in Wonderia, as well?”
“Ooh, ‘as well’?” Alice asked. “You also quest for Elysia?”
“As do I,” Sheena said, still seeming rather stunned. “This is… unexpected.”
“To say the least,” Tobias said. He watched Guinevere, who wouldn’t look at either Alice or him, now, instead looking at Sheena.
“We’re all trying to go to Elysia!” Alice said, beaming. “Oh, but this is wonderful! Look at us. We can all travel together!”
“Absolutely not,” Guinevere snapped. But there was less fire in it than her usual Alice-aimed retorts.
“If you do truly have some leads,” Sheena said, “then perhaps I could continue to travel with you. I must confess, Elysia is… a gambit for me. Of paramount importance, but I came to seek it out without a single clue of where to start.”
“What does a child want from Elysia?” Guinevere asked, glaring at Alice. “This isn’t a game, though you seem to think everything is. Elysia isn’t some playground for you to wish a house full of toys into existence. Why would you enlist a Knight Jouerve for such a selfish task?”
Alice tilted her head to the side and, amusingly, Flynn mimicked the movement beside her. “I already have a house full of toys,” she said. “And actually, I have everything I could ever want from a material sense, already. What makes you assume my quest for Elysia is a selfish one?” Her eyes widened slightly, in a pleading, heartfelt manner, and her lips turned in a pout. “Why must you assume the worst about me at every turn? I’m really quite hurt.”
“And I’m really quite sick of your play-acting,” Guinevere said, glaring at her.
“We mustn’t assume anything about each other’s intentions,” Sheena said. “But though we are off the roads, we should get somewhere safer before continuing this conversation, don’t you think?”
“Where is a safe place in Saoirse’s lands?” Alice asked, looking to Tobias.
“Nowhere’s entirely safe,” Tobias said, scanning the horizon. “But we’ve been angling towards relative safety. Flynn?” He looked down, and Flynn perked up, tail wagging, ears alert. Flynn looked left, then right, then started trotting on ahead.
“We follow Flynn!” Alice proclaimed, starting off after him, rolling her trunk along behind her.
“This is absurd,” Guinevere said with a sigh. But Ava was wagging her tail, watching Flynn and Alice eagerly. Guinevere looked at her, then looked up, and her eyes met Tobias’. For a moment, they were caught, just staring at each other. There was something in her eyes, something Tobias couldn’t place. Was she…
And then she looked away. “What?” she asked.
“I… just wanted to suggest we all stick together,” Tobias said, finding his voice. “Until we escape these lands. It’ll be safer that way.”
“I suppose we shall, for now,” Guinevere said. Ava’s tail wagged faster, and the pair of them started off.
“Flynn seems to know these lands better than you,” Sheena said, she and Tobias taking up the rear.
“When it comes to spatial memory, he’s the best there is,” Tobias said. “I’m all visual. He combines scents and sounds, the feel of the air and the land, to have a stronger sense of place and direction. I have an idea of where to go — he definitely knows.” He scanned the thin woodlands, trees and crowded rose bushes spaced widely, offering long sightlines — for them, and for any who might pursue them. “I think I know where Flynn’s taking us. We’ll want somewhere more secluded to spend the night.”
“Agreed,” Sheena said.
Flynn took them far across the wooded plains, until the trees finally started to grow closer together, and they eventually found a more dense copse of trees with a nice clearing within, invisible from without. And it was far from civilization, as even climbing a high tree, Akko couldn’t see the nearest town.
“Now, then!” Alice said, setting her trunk in the center of the clearing. She knelt down and began undoing its locks. “Not to worry one bit, everyone. We can all camp in comfort.”
“What are you talking about?” Guinevere asked.
Alice giggled. “Just watch this!” She punctuated that proclamation by dramatically flinging open her trunk. She reached inside, pulling from its numerous contents — even though the trunk was bigger than Alice, Tobias was stunned by just how much stuff he saw packed in there — what appeared to be just a large canvas sheet. But then she twirled, flung the canvas sheet overhead, and started singing a cheerful, wordless tune in a bright soprano.
And the canvas transformed.
What was once perhaps the size of a blanket expanded in midair, growing to the width of a cozy cottage in the woods. And then, what had been just a sheet expanded vertically, gaining volume and shape, turning into a huge cubed tent with a gently slanting roof. The tent fell on top of Alice, and she vanished within it, and the tent continued to transform as Alice’s singing continued. A canvas door appeared, buttoned closed, and canvas windows, too, buttoned as well. Color accompanied the change, adding decorative swirls of red and blue to the simple beige canvas.
The song ended, and occupying the center of the clearing was now a tent as large as a cottage, with ample space for the entire traveling party. The door unbuttoned from the inside, and Alice strode out, beaming. “Come on in, everyone!” she said, gesturing to the entrance. “There’s room for all.” Her gaze rested on Tobias, and he saw the way her eyebrows lifted. He kept his reaction muted, but his amazement must show in his eyes.
She’s just a child, but she can read people so well.
“I suppose I can see why you insisted on holding onto your trunk, now,” Guinevere said as she entered with Ava. Sheena followed, with Akko on her shoulder. Tobias and Flynn entered last, Alice smiling after them.
“Hold on — there’s a floor?” Guinevere asked, gaping at the hardwood floor beneath her feet. “But this fell on top of you!”
“Looks can be deceiving,” Alice said, giggling.
“It’s Wonderian, isn’t it?” Tobias asked. Alice nodded.
“That alone explains nothing,” Guinevere said. Even so, she sounded distracted, and couldn’t help wandering around the tent, which really didn’t feel like a tent at all on the inside, with its hardwood floors and partitioned rooms. “There’s a kitchen?”
“Wonderian magics tug at the fabric of reality in ways that Albian and even Elysian can’t,” Tobias said. “Don’t trust your senses when it comes to Wonderia. Nothing works the same here.” Despite saying things so matter-of-factly — and having extensive experience with Wonderian magics — he still found his eyes drawn to the lights. Real, electrical lighting inside a tent! A central lamp hung from the canvas ceiling, the fabric not stretching at all from holding up its weight. His lips quirked up in a small smile as Flynn trotted to and fro, tail wagging, eagerly sniffing the corners of the tent, where hardwood floor met surprisingly solid canvas wall. Akko leapt down from Sheena’s shoulder and investigated with him, darting here and there with energetic curiosity.
“There are only two bedrooms, though,” Sheena said, emerging from one of the rooms in question.
“They’re spacious, though,” Alice said, “don’t you think? Us ladies can take the master bedroom, while Tobias and Flynn can sleep in the servant bedroom.”
“You mean guest bedroom?” Sheena asked.
“It doesn’t make much sense to call them ‘master’ and ‘guest,’ now does it?” Alice asked. “The theming remains intact if it’s a servant bedroom, though.”
“So it’s really just your own arrogance talking,” Guinevere said, returning from the kitchen, hands on her hips. “Regardless, I have no interest in sharing a bedroom with you.”
“You’d reject my generosity?” Alice asked, pouting.
“I came prepared to camp outdoors,” Guinevere said, shrugging her shoulders in a way that noticeably jostled her rucksack. “Seeing as we can’t be certain how long we’ll travel together, I don’t want to get used to such cozy confines.” She looked around, and Tobias thought he saw something different in her eyes. Something pained. “No, Ava and I shall sleep out of doors. The better to adjust to this new realm, as well.”
“Well, I suppose your logic is sound,” Alice said, still pouting.
“I, too, prefer to sleep outside when I can,” Sheena said. “My apologies, Alice. Even at home, I was not one to spend much time indoors. And sleeping outside will allow Akko and I to keep a more guarded watch, in case the Q— I mean Saoirse’s soldiers locate us.”
Alice let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders sagging. “Must there be a logical excuse for all of you to leave me?” she asked. She turned on Tobias, eyes pleading.
“I…” Tobias started, not sure what to say. He was in the same boat as Sheena — he preferred being outdoors, and he’d spent so much time sleeping outdoors, on the road, that he wasn’t entirely comfortable in four walls, beneath a ceiling, in a proper bed. But he didn’t want to further dash the little girl’s hopes and dreams.
It was Flynn who responded instead, trotting up to Alice and licking her hand once. She giggled. “What’s this?” she asked.
“He says we’re supposed to keep you safe, so we should sleep outside,” Tobias said. “But he wants to spend time in here when we’re not sleeping. He likes it.”
“Well,” Alice said, and there was something in her eyes — something new. Something that wasn’t play-acting, and it was… but it was gone, before Tobias could make something of it. “Thank you kindly, Flynn.” She patted him on the head, and then, seeing how happy he was with that, she stroked his ears and then the rest of his face and neck. “Oh, you are a very lovely soul, aren’t you? Yes. A very good boy, indeed.”
“And a boy who needs a return to routine,” Tobias said. Flynn wheeled on Tobias with puppy-like enthusiasm, tail going crazy. “Once the rest of the campsite’s set up, we’ll go do our evening exercises. Okay?”
“Exercises?” Alice asked.
“Part of our usual training regimen,” Tobias said. “It helps keep us both sharp.”
“You could go on ahead if you like,” Sheena said. “With this tent, and a full-functioning kitchen, there isn’t as much to set up as a normal campsite. I’m sure the rest of us can handle things.”
“No, we couldn’t just —” Tobias started.
“You can and you shall,” Alice said, beaming. “This is perfect! Us ladies can spend some quality time getting to know each other. And my faithful knight-protector — and his lovable, faithful dog — can go do what they must. Now go on, then! Shoo!”
“If you insist,” Tobias said, suppressing a smile. Propriety urged him to protest, but Flynn’s excitement wasn’t something he could overrule, not now. And, as Alice would put it, her logic was sound.
If we’re all going to continue traveling together, Flynn and I will have a lot to get used to. Better to stick to our usual routine every chance we get.
——
“Are you certain we should be doing this?” Guinevere asked. She was hunkered down in the thick bushes beside Alice, with Ava sitting between them.
“Aren’t you curious?” Alice asked. “Besides, we’ve already missed so much, because you took too long. Not that I’m going to fault you. Feeding Ava was a very important task. We don’t want our sweet doggies to go hungry. But come on. It’s a chance to really see those two as they are!”
“I suppose I am curious,” Guinevere reluctantly admitted. “But I don’t want to intrude. What if he notices us?”
“He won’t,” Alice said, with that annoyingly self-assured air she carried far too readily. “And if he does, I’m sure he won’t mind. Now, come on!”
“Why just us?” Guinevere asked in the smallest voice she could muster, while she and Ava followed Alice staying low and moving very slow, very quietly. “If I’d known you were lying to Sheena about where we were going, I would have —”
“Ruined everything, naturally,” Alice said. “Which is why I didn’t let you know I was lying. Anyway, hush! They’re just up ahead.”
So they were. Guinevere and Ava halted with Alice just a few trees back from a clearing, different from where they had set up camp. More spacious than where they’d set up camp, too, although with a bit less of a natural barrier. The trees out here were more widely spaced, the gaps between them not so thick with shrubs and bushes.
In the center of this clearing stood Tobias. His jacket was off, folded up on the ground by his feet, and his sword rested on top of it. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, revealing tautly-muscled forearms. In one hand, Tobias held a soft red ball, and as Guinevere watched, he stepped back and cocked his arm to throw. Ava tensed, ready to chase, and Guinevere took a light hold of her collar, a reminder to Ava that now was not the time.
Where’s Flynn?
“Clockwise crescent!” Tobias called out. There was something in his voice that nearly made Guinevere gasp. He didn’t have the stoic attitude he held when around the rest of them, making the boyish warmth of his voice more apparent. “Keep it tight. And… go!”
Tobias threw the ball, and then Guinevere saw Flynn. The reddish-brown dog came bounding out from the trees, a blue ball already clutched in his jaws. He tossed his head, releasing the ball in a high arc towards Tobias, and then leapt, catching the red ball before it hit the ground. Landing neatly, Flynn ran fast in an arc, and as Guinevere watched, she realized what Tobias’ commands meant.
Flynn was running in an arc the shape of a crescent moon, in a clockwise direction relative to Tobias, if Tobias was the number six on the clock face. And he was keeping it tight, racing with impressive speed but not wild abandon, straight back to his friend.
When he reached him, Guinevere was even more astonished. Because in Tobias’ hand was the blue ball — and it had never touched the ground.
Did he throw it just right to Tobias, so he could catch it in midair? And then he caught the red ball, and ran it back…
“Good boy!” Tobias said with a broad smile, kneeling down to pet Flynn all over. Flynn’s tail wagged, and wagged, his whole body wagged, really, happily wiggling under Tobias’ affection. “Now, hand over your prize.” Flynn promptly dropped the red ball and sat, gazing expectantly, ever-hopefully, up at Tobias.
Tobias stood, red ball in one hand, blue in the other, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “All right, Flynn,” he said. “Let’s make things complicated. A nice, strong finish.” He tossed the red ball lightly in his hand, and Flynn tensed to pounce, but then relaxed. Tobias chuckled. “This one’s going in an iridescent switchback, if I can get the toss right for once. And this one,” he tossed the blue ball once, “is taking the slow train. Roll to a stop against sunrise — unless you get it first.” He nodded slightly towards the far edge of the clearing. “Are you ready?” Flynn crouched down, ears perked, tail wagging, eager and waiting.
Tobias grinned. Grinned, a real boyish smile showing his teeth, playful exuberance glittering in those blue eyes, blue like a cloudless summer afternoon, blue like —
Stop it. Stop seeing what isn’t there.
Tobias stepped back, readied a throw… and threw the red ball first. Flynn took off after it, and then Tobias tossed the blue ball, a light underhand towards a different part of the clearing. The red ball had a spin to it, and as Guinevere watched, when it reached the apex of its arc, it suddenly sliced to the left, a shocking trajectory change.
Flynn was on it, though. He cut his turn with astonishing agility, not stumbling in the slightest, not even losing speed as he dashed after the ball. It was going to be close, as it came darting towards the ground, but…
Flynn jumped. A dramatic, powerful leap, snatching the ball in midair with his jaws. He landed lightly, paused for a moment, and then whipped around, tossing the red ball towards Tobias and taking off towards the blue ball, which was rolling across the grass towards a tree. There was a sense of urgency in Flynn’s playfulness, and Guinevere understood.
He’s trying to grab the ball before it rolls to a stop against the tree.
It was going to be close, intensely close. Guinevere had a hand on Ava’s collar, and she could feel the tension, the excitement, the hope in her dog’s posture and bearing. Ava was a rapt audience, silently cheering Flynn on.
And Flynn leapt at the last second, a low leap that turned into a tuck-and-roll when he hit the grass, tumbling end-over-end several times.
When he came up, lying on his tummy, curly tail upright, the blue ball was safe in his jaws.
Tobias cheered and pumped his fist. “That was amazing! All right, come on back!” He knelt down, and Flynn took off straight towards him, dropping the ball just a foot away from Tobias before he barreled into him, and Knight and dog both went sprawling, Tobias on his back, Flynn on top of him, front paws planted on his chest. Tail wagging, tongue out, panting and tired but oh so happy.
“We finally got that one right,” Tobias said, rubbing Flynn’s face. “I got the switchback spin right, but you were the real star. You were so fast!” Flynn licked Tobias’ face all over, and then pulled back, ducked his head, and nuzzled his forehead against Tobias’.
“Good boy,” Tobias murmured, looking up to plant a gentle kiss on Flynn’s forehead. “You worked so hard, rescuing us all. I’m proud of you.” Flynn kissed his nose, just one little lick, and then pulled back, tail wagging, eyes bright. Tobias laughed, and then fished in his pocket, pulling out a crunchy round dog treat. “You want this?” Flynn’s tail wagged faster, and he started towards the treat, just a little, before pulling himself back, watching Tobias instead. “Don’t eat it over me, okay? I don’t need crumbs on my face again. Here you go.” He tossed it a few inches away, and Flynn happily removed himself from Tobias’ chest, snatched up the treat, and lay in the grass crunching away. Tobias rolled over onto his stomach, propped up on his elbows, watching Flynn with the most adoring smile Guinevere had ever seen.
Slowly, Guinevere took one step back, then another, quietly retreating from the scene.
“Where are you going?” Alice asked, in a whisper that Guinevere thought far too loud, but she had to stop herself from shushing her because that would definitely be too loud.
“We should leave them be,” Guinevere said. Watching the two of them play, watching them do some ball-based training, had been one thing. But now this was a heartfelt, intimate moment, one where Tobias and Flynn didn’t know they were being watched. It would be tremendously rude to continue observing them.
“But we’re just getting to the best part!” Alice said, turning back towards them. Guinevere looked at Ava, and Ava gave her a little ear-flick, the one sign Guinevere had learned of her dog that always meant she was calm and able to freely follow Guinevere without physical handling. Guinevere nodded once, then, with an exasperated sigh, let go of Ava and grabbed hold of Alice’s collar. Alice nearly yelped, but clearly thought better of being too loud, though she did struggle mightily as Guinevere dragged her away.
——
Tobias rubbed Flynn’s tummy, smiling down at him. Flynn happily accepted the affection, but even in the midst of joy and comfort, he did a little turn of his head, nose pointed towards one side of the clearing.
“Yeah, I know,” Tobias said. He glanced over where Flynn indicated, where Alice, Guinevere, and Ava had been watching them. “But they’re gone, now. Besides, we’re traveling together. They would have seen us training —” he paused as Flynn nosed towards him, and rolled his eyes, “playing, eventually. Might as well get it out of the way early.” He started to play with Flynn’s front paws, just rubbing their pads gently, waving them about a little. Flynn’s tongue lolled out and he stretched.
“It looks like we might be with them all for the long haul, Flynn,” Tobias said with a sigh. “Not at all what we’d planned on. But Alice… there’s something about her, isn’t there? Her quest for Elysia isn’t like so many others we’ve seen. She’s not telling her true purpose, but I think it’s a good one. A real one. She still believes that Elysia is out there, sealed away, waiting for us to find it. And she truly believes we’ll be the ones to do it.” Flynn rolled to the side and gazed up at Tobias, and Tobias nodded. “Yeah. I like her, too. We finally lucked out.”
Flynn pawed at Tobias’ chest, and he chuckled, then rolled over onto his back. Flynn hopped up, put one paw on Tobias’ chest, and then nosed down at him, sniffing at his hair. Tobias sighed. “This again?” he asked. “You know how things have to be.” Flynn nosed down to his face, and then they shared a little forehead-touch. Tobias closed his eyes, gently stroking Flynn’s face. “We’ve come so far. And there’s still so far to go. So many answers to find, so many mysteries to unravel. But Elysia… it might finally be in reach.”
Flynn made a soft noise, the tiniest little whine, and then licked Tobias’ chin once, twice. Memories flashed through Tobias’ mind, taking him back to a distant past…
Fire, all around him, a blazing inferno. Death all around, too. Men in armor lying in a circle around Tobias, in pools of their own blood. All dead, all gone.
Through the fire, across the bodies, a man and a boy. Like a father and son, though they aren’t that, they stride towards Tobias, swords in hand. Swords dripping with blood, swords that cry out for more.
For Tobias.
Tobias shook his head, returning to the present. “We’ll find them,” he said softly. “We came so close once already. If our travels take us by the Library, we’ll ask about that last clue. I’m sure we’ll find answers.” He looked at Flynn, saw his tail drooping, and hugged him, pulling him close. “Come on. We’re okay for now. We’ve got to get out of Saoirse’s lands, first. Far from her grasp. We’ll get a message to Elliot —” he saw Flynn perk up at the name, and laughed. “We probably won’t get to see him. Not yet. But we’ll let him know what’s going on, and he’ll deal with Saoirse. And if that brings him to Wonderia, then there’s a chance we’ll run into each other again soon. But that’s the point. For now, let’s worry about the present. As nice as tonight is, we’re still in enemy territory.” He sat up, and Flynn sprawled across his lap. Tobias smirked. “Not ready to go back to camp yet, huh?” Flynn’s tail wagged, and Tobias sighed. But he went back to petting Flynn, and Flynn leaned into the affection with tail-wagging joy.