The Enchanting: Wonderland, #3

By Rebekah Lewis

A Clash of Queens

Once upon a time, three sisters were destined to rule Wonderland. Separated from each other to oversee their chosen kingdoms, madness began to seep into their hearts. One by one, the sisters fell—one by death, one by banishment, and one to suffer from despair. Only two sisters, new to the realm, can help the White Queen survive…

Or can they?

Harold March has one simple rule: never get caught in a dalliance with a lady despite the fact he adores the company of women—behind closed doors. When a new findling appears, Marchy's attraction makes him feel as though every aspect of his life is being rewritten, and he's not so sure it's for the better. Is romance in the cards for him, or does he only want a findling of his own because he's jealous of his friends' happiness?

April's boss is obsessed with the concept of Wonderland. It's all fun and games until April ends up being sent through a magic mirror and into the arms of the most gorgeous man she's ever seen. What begins as a whimsical adventure quickly turns into the stuff of nightmares, as the very foundation of Wonderland is shook to its core, and her appearance there may have been the cause. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rebekah Lewis
• Release date: Mar 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393558644

Rebekah Lewis

Rebekah Lewis has always been captivated by fictional worlds. An avid reader and lover of cinema, it was only a matter of time before she started writing her own stories and immersing herself in her imagination. Rebekah’s most popular series, The Cursed Satyroi, is paranormal romance based on Greek mythology. She also writes Fantasy and Time Travel. When satyrs, white rabbits, and stubborn heroes aren’t keeping her busy, she may be found putting her creativity to use as an award-winning cover artist. Rebekah holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and lives in Savannah, GA with her cat, Bagheera.

Book preview

Part I

Wonderment

Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be, Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me!

-Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

Prologue

Red.

Everything was red, as though awash with blood. Like someone had left violent strokes of it with a brush across her vision. Adelaide, the White Queen of Wonderland, cried out and pressed the base of her palms against her eyes as she fell to her knees. The scurry of those around her rushing to her aid blended with the concerns expressed in voices she couldn't pinpoint as her vision was taken over by crimson.

The fragrant scent of roses filled her senses and pain pounded against her skull, between her eyes. Dread, frozen like ice, sat heavily in her gut, spreading outward to consume her. People were touching her now, but she couldn't open her eyes. Laughter broke through the voices, and oh it sounded so much like her sisters…

But her sisters were gone.

Wilhemina, the Queen of Hearts, had been executed for her crimes against the realm. Her head cleaved off like she had ordered done to innocents for no reason other than sick amusement. Matilda, fierce and quick-witted, the most beautiful of the three of them. Before her banishment, she had plotted and schemed to take over Wonderland and perhaps even do harm to her own flesh in blood to do it. She had been the Red Queen.

Red.

Matilda couldn't return to Wonderland, and without the realm, her madness would ease and leave her to live out her life without such burdens. The new Red Queen hadn't been in Wonderland long enough to suffer from any such madness.

But Adelaide herself…

The premonitions used to be quick images showing her things that were to come, but lately… they attacked her with flashes of color and gripped her within intense feelings of rage, of sorrow, of dread.

Whatever loomed in the near future, it had chosen Matilda's favored color as the means to torment her. Perhaps, it was grief at losing her sisters forever. Perhaps it was guilt to have sent her away and stayed here instead of leaving with her. She had always feared losing herself like her sisters and becoming cruel. The fear increased each time the red visions came. The surge of conflicting emotions. Were they at war? What if the wrong one took over by the end and she was lost?

Whatever it was, the episodes were becoming more frequent. Red. So much Red.

The Red Kingdom was soon to throw a grand masquerade ball, and even without suffering from visions and dreams for most of her life it didn't take much thought to assume whatever happened may well occur during that event. The question was…could she be brave enough to face it, or would she hide away in her castle?

She didn't know, and that frightened her worst of all. She'd never seen herself as one who hid away, but much more of this and she would be forced to take to her bed until whatever happened came and went. How did one fight an attack to their mind they could not control?

Your Majesty? Words began to make sense to her ears as the red faded from her vision and the pressure in her head started to dim. Adelaide lowered her hands and looked up at her husband, Nathanial, and into his kind, dark eyes.

My love, he said bringing her into his arms. They're getting worse. Are you sure there's nothing I can do?

Be here for me, she whispered and clung to his shoulders as though she'd sink away without him there. I don't know what I would do without you by my side. Don't let me become lost. With her sisters gone, she had no one else. The madness was getting worse. The grief, the guilt, the sorrow, or whatever it was. It was getting worse. Without him, nothing in the entire realm of Wonderland mattered to her anymore.

Chapter 1

The silver, ornate frame around the full-sized mirror belonged in a horror film. Gothic, ancient and twisted, the knotted scrollwork never revealed a discernable design. Most likely the original glass attached to it, age had left brown and purple splotches behind, marring an already a gaudy antique with even uglier colors. A lot of restoration would be required to sell the mirror unless a buyer specifically sought the object, which still wouldn't explain its sudden appearance in the most prominent spot of the showroom if one had. Hopefully the item wouldn't remain in the shop long.

You're letting in flies. Close the door!

April Evans snapped her gaping mouth shut and stepped fully inside the antique shop, the little bell on the door jingling with the movements. She worked there on weekends when she didn't have classes at the small community college in the next town over. Since she didn't want to be burdened with student loans forever, and she was doing the best she could.

The shop owner, one Ms. Matilda Scarlet, gestured her closer. Her long, black hair was pulled back in a slick, high ponytail, and dust had left a streak of gray across her delicate cheekbone. She smiled at the mirror—a full, toothy, maniacal grin—and then turned to face her. I've been hunting for this mirror ever since I arrived in this damned place, she said when April moved beside her. Isn't it wonderful?

Er... More like hideous. April nodded. Sure. No reason to argue with her boss. Ms. Scarlet didn't appreciate disagreements of any kind, a lesson quickly learned and understood in the past. So now, April picked her battles. If it wasn't worth arguing, she didn't bother. Made life easier. The woman paid her a great deal more than minimum wage for only two days a week, and bluffing about whether or not she liked an antique here or there was worth it.

Ms. Scarlet strolled behind the cash wrap, leaned down and then pulled out a leather-bound sketchbook she often doodled in when customer flow was sluggish, which happened often in a small town. Weekends were busiest with tourists passing through and stopping to shop after seeing the signs near the highway.

April ran her finger over the frame's elaborate scrollwork. Have you been searching for this mirror for a client? Her curiosity got the better of her, and something about it seemed…foreboding. Maybe it had fallen and crushed a person, who now haunted it. The mirror certainly looked haunted.

Ms. Scarlet shook her head and flipped through the pages as April moved next to her. No. This is a personal piece. Interesting choice, since Ms. Scarlet tended to go for simple and elegant. With a lot of deep reds. This seemed more horror show extravagant than posh.

Then why did you bring it here? Won't people be interested in buying it? Please, let someone buy it. How long would she have to look at such an eyesore?

At this, her boss snorted. If anyone knew what this is, they'd sell their firstborn for a chance to own such a unique device.

Device? April glanced at the mirror and back to Ms. Scarlet. What was she missing? A really old mirror would be that big of a deal? Who owned it, the Pope?

"It's not just a mirror, her tone was sharper now. The questioning must've irritated her, so April would have to tread lightly to keep her in a pleasant mood. Ms. Scarlet held up the sketchbook and pointed at a drawing of a mirror with a similar frame surrounded by briars and budding roses against a stone wall. If antiques didn't bring in enough cash for the woman, her art skills might pay bills on the side. It's the mirror, well…one of them. This is the one used by that blasted, insufferable little twit, Alice."

Alice? Her confusion grew exponentially since the only Alice known for a connection to a mirror was a fictional character. Surely, she didn't mean it was the mirror from Through the Looking Glass. Ms. Scarlet didn't seem the type to believe in flights of fancy. Okay, but did it belong to someone important?

Ms. Scarlet slapped the book closed and slammed it on a table in a huff. Trinkets on the shelf behind her trembled from the vibration. This mirror belonged to the Liddell family, who acquired it shortly before they moved to Oxford in 1856.

April blinked.

Ms. Scarlet seemed to expect a different reaction, and when none came, she huffed out a breath and rolled her eyes and began explaining, with no attempt to disguise her impatience, Charles Dodgsen, whom you may know as Lewis Carroll, wanted to buy it from Alice Liddell's parents, but they refused, intending to keep it a family secret. None of the other siblings had been able to use it, you see.

April didn't, but she nodded.

Later, when Alice and her sisters, Edith and Lorna, took a tour of Europe together, Prince Leopold became quite taken with Edith. She'd tried to impress him by telling him the family secret. This made Alice very interesting to him, and he'd wanted to impress her as well, but she saw through his machinations. Shortly thereafter, the mirror disappeared from the Liddell home, without a trace.

Well, that was interesting for sure. April always did enjoy learning the history behind antiques, even if this one had a bit of fiction entwined with fact. Did Leopold steal it?

Of course he did, keeping it in a private collection—the location of which has never been revealed.

So how did you happen upon it?

Ms. Scarlet stood straight, an arrogant tilt to her chin made her seem taller than usual. I owned its twin once. It used to hang in a chamber in my castle, locked away so nobody entered through it without my knowledge. A glossy, far-away look appeared in her eyes. The vines from my red roses climbed the tower walls, into the room with the looking glass. They intertwined with the frame, holding it firmly to the wall. Standing guard.

Ah, the castle. April could never tell if Ms. Scarlet was telling the truth that she'd lived in a castle earlier in her life, or if maybe she had just come from a well-off family and they referred to their mansion as such. She was from another country, or her parents were. Probably England judging by her accent, but April had never pried because Ms. Scarlet's past seemed to make her irrationally cranky