Chapter 94: The Queen’s Secrets

Gene stared at Lilith.

Lilith stared back.

The resistance meeting had finally ended after several interruptions, three arguments, one discussion about snacks, and an unexpected debate over whether giant spiders counted as cavalry.

Now everyone was preparing for the next phase of their plan.

A dangerous phase.

A very dangerous plan.

Which was exactly why Gene was worried.

“Lilith.”

“Yes, papa?”

Gene crouched until they were eye level.

“If things go wrong…”

Lilith already knew where this was going.

She puffed out her cheeks.

“Papa. I know-”

“If things go wrong—”

“Daddy I know already!!!.”

“Promise me then.”

Lilith groaned dramatically.

Gene crossed his arms.

“Promise.”

Selene hid a smile behind her hand.

Lilith looked between them.

Neither looked willing to budge.

Finally she sighed.

“If things get too dangerous…”

She pointed at herself.

“I will run away.”

Gene nodded.

“And?”

“I don’t try to be a hero.”

“And?”

Lilith groaned.

“And I won’t fight any impossible enemies like that  crazy queen lady.”

Gene smiled.

“There we go.”

Lilith folded her arms.

“I still think I could beat her.”

Selene laughed.

Gene simply patted her head.

“We’ll save that discussion for later.”

Lilith accepted this.

Mostly because she had spotted the incoming food.

A resistance volunteer carrying sandwiches was walking by.

She floated toward the food like a guided missile.

Gene watched her go.

Then sighed.

Selene squeezed his hand.

“She’ll be okay.”

“I know.”

“You worry too much.”

Selene smiled and playfully nudged his shoulder.

A messenger approached.

“The scouts are ready.”

Gene nodded.

“Perfect.”

⸻

The scout headquarters occupied one of the deeper sections of the underground resistance bunker.

Unlike the military areas, this section was quiet.

Maps covered the walls.

Pins marked locations throughout the kingdom.

Several tables held reports on where weak points were on certain types of monsters.

A giant chalkboard listed monster sightings.

The room smelled faintly of parchment and coffee.

Four individuals waited inside.

Gene immediately recognized one.

Wilbur.

The pig warrior looked up and waved.

“Oh! Hi Gene.”

Gene waved back.

Wilbur stood.

The large pig-man looked exhausted.

Dark circles sat beneath his eyes.

He looked like someone who hadn’t slept in several days.

Probably because he hadn’t.

Scouting near the Queen’s territory was dangerous work.

Wilbur pointed toward a giant spider resting in the corner.

The creature was nearly the size of a horse.

Several of her red eyes blinked.

“Charlotte.”

The spider inclined her head politely.

“Pleasure to meet you.”

Gene blinked.

The voice was surprisingly refined.

Like an elderly librarian.

Not a giant spider.

Charlotte seemed amused.

“People usually react that way.”

Gene rubbed the back of his neck.

“Sorry for staring.”

“No offense taken.”

Wilbur pointed toward a young woman nearby.

At least…

She appeared to be a young woman.

Something about her face kept subtly changing.

Hair color shifted.

Eye color altered.

Height fluctuated by tiny amounts.

The changes were almost impossible to notice unless you looked directly at her.

“This is Métis Aralez but everyone just calls her Aralez.”

The woman smiled.

Then her face briefly became something else’s.

Then changed back.

“Hello.”

Gene immediately understood.

“Ooo Shape shifter?”

She nodded.

“One of the last.”

Wilbur pointed upward.

Gene looked toward the ceiling.

Two massive golden eyes stared down at him.

A giant owl occupied a beam overhead.

The bird was enormous.

Its wingspan nearly stretched across the room.

The owl blinked once.

“Greetings.”

The gravely voice sounded deep and calm.

Gene immediately liked him.

“You’re an Owl?”

Lilith gasped from beside him.

The giant owl turned.

“Indeed… small one.”

She had appeared from nowhere.

As she usual tends to do.

“You’re huge.”

Owl nodded.

“That is generally how people describe me.”

Lilith looked impressed.

Fluffy barked.

The owl regarded the giant Cerberus.

The Cerberus regarded the owl.

Neither seemed bothered.

Gene stepped forward.

“Everyone.”

The room quieted.

“We have a mission.”

The scouts immediately became serious.

Gene moved toward the map.

He pointed at the Queen’s castle.

The center of enemy territory.

The largest fortress in the region.

The place everyone wished to avoid.

“We’re going inside.”

Nobody looked surprised.

Gene wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

“We’ve been asking ourselves a question.”

He tapped the castle.

“Why is the Queen still here?”

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed.

Gene continued.

“From everyones accounts, the cultists seemed to have abandoned most of this world.”

“They conquered it.”

“They corrupted it.”

“Then they left.”

Aralez crossed her arms.

“…But they left her behind.”

“Exactly.”

Selene nodded.

“The Queen is powerful.”

“But was she Too powerful for the cult.”

“If the cult wanted full control…”

“They could have simply killed her.”

Owl tilted his head.

“Yet they did not.”

Gene nodded.

“Which means she’s useful.”

“Or important.”

“Or both.”

The room fell silent.

Wilbur finally spoke.

“So we sneaking in the castle.”

Gene smiled.

“Yes.”

Charlotte laughed softly.

“Wonderful.”

Aralez looked excited.

Lilith looked even more excited.

Gene pointed at her.

“Remember our deal you.”

Lilith immediately smiled innocently at him.

No one was buying it.

⸻

The team spent several hours preparing.

Equipment was checked.

Escape routes were planned.

Maps were studied.

Backup plans received backup plans.

Eventually even Gene admitted there wasn’t much more they could do.

So everyone went to eat.

Lunch occupied one of the safer underground halls.

Resistance members gathered around long tables.

The food wasn’t luxurious.

But it was warm.

Lilith considered that to be enough.

The moment she sat down she began eating.

Then kept eating…

Then continued eating…

Baby Bear watched in amazement.

“Where does it all go?”

Lilith shrugged.

“I have always had a big appetite!”

No one knew how she managed to consume so much, yet stayed so tiny.

Not even Athena.

The AI had tried calculating it once.

The results made no sense.

She could eat more than double her actual weight.

Gene enjoyed the brief moment of peace.

For a little while they laughed.

Talked.

Shared stories.

Pretended they weren’t about to sneak into one of the most dangerous places in the kingdom.

After lunch ended …

…the grimness of reality returned.

⸻

Night had nearly fallen.

Gray clouds covered the sky.

A ruined landscape stretched endlessly around them.

The scout team moved silently through the dark woods. 

Quickly.

Careful.

The Queen’s castle loomed ahead.

Massive black towers rose toward the clouds.

The fortress looked less like a castle and more like a stabbed wound in reality.

Something felt completely wrong about it.

The stones on the tower seemed alive.

Windows resembled eyes.

The towers leaned at impossible angles.

Lilith pouted.

“That  place looks creepy.”

Charlotte nodded and dropped down from above.

She was in her shrunken form hanging down from a tree branch.

“It’s also pretty much a maze.”

Aralez shifted from the form of a crow back into a human.

“Charlie I have seen several patrols.”

She pointed.

“North wall. The South entrance. And the Main courtyard.”

Gene nodded.

“Any hidden paths?”

Charlotte smiled.

“Several of them actually.”

The giant spider fired a new silk line.

“Follow me.”

She hopped and vanished into darkness.

The infiltration began.

⸻

The team slipped through the castle walls like ghosts.

Charlotte guided them through maintenance tunnels.

Aralez distracted guards.

Owl silently flew around and eliminated any exposed lookouts.

Wilbur had carried in enough equipment to supply an army.

More than once Gene expected disaster.

More than once something nearly spotted them.

Yet somehow they continued moving.

Deeper.

Further.

Closer to the heart of the castle.

Eventually Charlotte stopped.

The giant spider pointed forward.

“Look there...”

Gene looked.

A massive steel door.

Chains covered its surface.

Runes glowed faintly.

Something powerful was definitely hidden beyond it.

“This feels familiar.”

Selene frowned.

“Gene, this reminds me of a spell of imprisonment”

As they snuck cautiously forward, she saw that it was as she said. 

“This is not the kind used to keep people out.”

Gene smiled and nodded.

“So it’s more of the kind designed to keep something in.”

Wilbur quietly approached.

The pig-man examined the locks.

“Interesting.”

“What?”

“Most of them are broken.”

Everyone looked at him.

Wilbur pointed.

“See?”

The runes had been damaged.

Not recently.

Years ago.

The realization made Gene uncomfortable.

Someone had been deliberately weakening the prison.

Charlotte quietly cut through the remaining chains.

The massive door creaked open.

An oddly bright light greeted them.

Before they could take another step, a voice cheerful echoed through the chamber.

“Ah finally!!”

Everyone froze.

A second voice followed.

“We were beginning to think nobody was coming.”

“Come in! Come in! We have been expecting you all for some time!”

Gene slowly stepped forward to look into the room.

The room resembled a workshop.

Broken clocks covered almost every surface.

Nightmare creature parts lined the walls.

Strange devices sat half-finished on tables.

And at the center sat two prisoners.

Hatta or more famously known to Gene, The Mad Hatter.

On the other side of the table. Sat Haigha the March Hare.

Heavy chains bound them both.

Magical collars glowed around their necks.

Yet both smiled as though greeting old friends.

Hatta stood.

His colorful coat looked worn.

His famous hat sat crookedly on his head.

“Welcome to our temporary home.”

Haigha nodded politely.

“Hello! Nice to see a new face!”

Gene blinked.

Hatta seemed amused.

“You all look surprised.”

“We are.”

“Understandable.”

Hatta gestured toward several chairs.

“Please.”

“Sit.”

Lilith had already sat down in a small throne chair.

Gene gave up trying to stop her.

Hatta smiled.

“Wonderful little lady you have there.”

March Hare looked toward the ceiling.

“The Queen will awaken soon.”

The room grew silent.

Gene leaned forward.

“What do you mean?”

Hatta’s smile faded slightly.

“She is asleep now.”

“But not for much longer.”

Haigha nodded.

“And when she wakes…”

Neither wanted to finish the sentence.

They didn’t need to.

Everyone understood.

Something bad was coming after she wakes up.

Something very bad…

Hatta folded his hands.

“If you’re planning to save this world…”

He leaned over a cupped his hand onto Gene’s ear, “We should probably start by escaping.”

The room became silent.

Outside.

Far above them.

Somewhere deep within the castle.

Something shifted in its sleep.

And for the briefest of moments…

Every clock in the room stopped ticking.