[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/72bEcUi.png[/img][/center]

[color=fff200]”…”[/color]

[color=fff200]”…”[/color]

[color=fff200]”…”[/color]

[color=fff200]”...I’m home…”[/color]

In the aftermath of the meeting with the other Mahou of Penrose, and still coming to terms with Alex’ kidnapping, Lily decided she would need to prepare in every way she could think of, and that meant waking up early in the morning. As Lily headed back to her apartment after the meeting, she could feel the cold, suffocating emptiness of it within her. Each second seemed to stretch out to a minute, each minute into an hour, and each hour into time she couldn’t fathom. She knew, of course, that she wasn’t slowing down time with her own magic, or that the author of the story had taken an unfortunately long, half-year long hiatus in the guise of free time. No, the real reason was because of her guilt. Was it right to trust Justine’s word that Alex would be safe? Was it okay to not immediately pursue his kidnappers? What if the Queen of Hearts subjected him to torture or even executed him? Any rational adversary would keep their hostages unharmed, but their latest foe seemed far from rational. What could she really do? As the green-haired girl fell into uneasy rest in her bed, those thoughts plagued her mind.

Of course, Alex was not subjected to torture like Lily imagined. However, imprisoned in the Bastille of Etiquette, as he soon learned, he might have wished for such instead. For two days, Alex had to endure the bumbling teachings of a pompous bird-headed aristocrat buffoon with a rounded beak called the Dodo. Held in a majestic salon wing next to the prison cells resembling Victorian England in style and aesthetics, the insufferably stuffy bird had Alex dressed like a member of the English gentry, complete with a blue jacket, buckled shoes, frilly cravat and pantaloons, complete with a powdered wig, and then taught “good manners”, for example good posture, the proper angle of the pinky when holding a teacup, or the difference between addressing an Earl and Esquire, among other dull, seemingly endless lessons. For food, he was served normal enough fare like English muffins, crumpets and tea; however, the tea was first poured on the muffin plate and the muffins served in the tea cup before Dodo fortunately realized the correct order of serving.

The Duchess, Jam Tomorrow, made a visit each day in the afternoon. Though she claimed to the Dodo it was only as part of her duties as Minister of Internal Affairs, she slipped in useful hints to Alex in the form of letters of the Tower’s security and layout or even as thinly veiled questions and statements in her conversations with the Dodo, preparing Alex for the escape that she had promised him in exchange for him delivering her message. On the third day, as Dodo was about to retrieve Alex for yet another lesson, the Duchess interrupted him. “Sir Dodo, the Queen has decreed a summons requesting your presence at her court.” The Dodo blinked. “But Lady Duchess, the Queen had personally ordered me to-” “It is regarding the Caucus Race. I believe you were in charge of organizing it?” Jam immediately continued. “Or must I inform Her Majesty of your incompetence?” 

The Dodo cawed like a bird. “Oh, she might have my head! I must hurry now! Guards, resume your duties!” And with that, the Dodo ran away, flapping his wing-like arms like a panicked chicken. Jam giggled as the Dodo passed from view, and with a gesture from her glowing finger, the guards disappeared: to Alex’s surprise, they were illusions created by the enigmatic lady. With another flick, she opened not only Alex’ cell door, but also the door at the end of the hallway that led to a spiral staircase heading down. “Now is your chance to escape as I have promised, Alexander Shields. I expect you to keep to your end of our agreement. Do you have any questions?”

[hr]
Lily entered Penrose Park on the morrow of the third day like she had promised, having equipped the extra batteries she received as a Christmas present. Yellow lines dully glowed in the morning gloom from her thigh strap, showing that they were fully charged, and ready for use. At the time she didn’t think much of the gift, but now she was grateful she had received something that could help her overcome the adversities that she predicted would face her in Wonderland. She also wore a mundane green backpack with yellow highlights, nearly bursting at the seams with all kinds of items. As she waited for the others to arrive, she came to an ominous realization. 

[color=fff200]”Where’s Justine? She’s usually pretty punctual, especially at an important time like this. Did she go to Silverburg to visit her sister?”[/color] 

She didn’t have time to think longer on the subject, as that was when Penny had arrived. With her bigger friend having landed from the sky, she put that thought aside for now, distracted by something she noticed.
 
[color=fff200]”Hi, Penny. You seem…A bit different. Did something happen?”[/color]
[hr]

[Center]
 [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200312/bd228c426d0da7459764cb788d45b1cd.png[/img]
[Sub].:⋮Machina Ex Deus⋮:.[/Sub]
[/center]

The formerly inhuman android shrugged her shoulders, and sighed in an uncharacteristically subtle manner.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Let’s just say I finally had something fixed that I should have done a long time ago.”[/b][/u][/color]

Lily nodded, not feeling the need to inquire further: while she was curious, she could tell that whatever happened to Penny, it was a positive change based on how much more expressive and lively the Queen of Penrose seemed to be, and now wasn’t the time to go into the details.

[color=fff200]”Okay, that’s good to hear. Are you ready to go to Wonderland?”[/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“I have finished most preparations on my end. The rest I can manage on the fly.”[/b][/u][/color]

While the two were speaking, Penny was multitasking: she was sending and receiving various messages using her access to the wireless network. She had worked on trying to solve the mystery of the Grief Seeds, but despite her efforts, she was unable to make any real progress on them. So, she handed them over to Rose and Iris when they met up for a conversation and seemed curious about them. After all, she figured it didn’t hurt for them to have a look, experts as they are in areas she herself was unfamiliar with.

She also worked with Mariette, and organized various meetings with the various Vassal Princesses of Wonderland, or at the very least, those who seemed susceptible to Mariette’s offer of liberating them from the Queen’s tyranny. Penny was glad to help, as it was one way of undermining the Queen’s threat. While they started slow by speaking with each Vassal personally, word of mouth gradually started spreading among the more receptive Vassals as they started to not only agree to Mariette’s suggestions on liberty, but also see “Alice” herself as she was better known as a much better alternative monarch to the current despot. Finally, as she received the last response, she sent a message to Mariette:

[color=9e0039][i]Mariette, I received a reply from the Pea Princess. She said she would agree to our terms, but only if we hold a meeting together with all the Vassals we have contacted previously, us two included. She sounded especially adamant about holding the meeting immediately. Her approval would let us widen our net considerably over the Vassals, but this is bad timing as well. We could try to postpone the meeting, but she is pretty influential, and seems temperamental enough to destabilize the good relations we have built with the others so far if we ignore this request. I can clear out the conference room in my Bastion if you don’t have a place prepared.[/i][/color]