Thanks for joining me for Wonderland Wednesday for another chapter of Down the Rabbit Hole: Alice in Shifterland. I decided not to shop this story with a publisher because I didn’t want anyone messing with my high camp or telling me to tone down the kink. It’s definitely for adults only, so if you’re not at least eighteen, please navigate away from this site.
If you missed any of the previous chapters, you can find them here. Please enjoy, but keep in mind, this story hasn’t been professionally edited so try to forgive any boo-boos.
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Chapter Six
Just as Alice was making her getaway, the Duchess caught up with her. “Where might you be going, dear?”
Alice sighed as she considered the question and shrugged, “Nowhere in particular, just away from here.”
The Duchess looked over her shoulder at the melee going on around the croquet grounds and chuckled. “Not much for the game?”
Alice shook her head. “It would appear I am not.”
“Me either.” The Duchess tilted her head as she made the admission, “but the Duke is fairly adequate.”
Alice craned her neck, looking around and spotting the Duke sitting on one of the courtiers and twisting his arm around his back until he gave up the ball. What a sorry spectacle. She looked off into the distance. “Is that a fact?”
“Indeed, my Dukey often wins. When he does, I reward him with a love-spanking and when he doesn’t, I punish him rather severely.” The Duchess wore such a look of ecstasy on her face Alice flinched and swallowed hard in response to the twitching between her legs.
Likely sensing Alice’s moment of weakness, the Duchess swooped in, grabbing Alice’s arm and twisting it behind her back much like the Duke had wrestled the courtier. “Owww!” Alice struggled to get free.
“Shhh.” The Duchess’ shushing wasn’t comforting in the least as she pushed forced Alice face first against a tree. “You don’t want to anyone else to see do you?”
Alice wasn’t sure what the Duchess was referring to but she couldn’t imagine any scenario where she’d want an audience for anything that woman might do to her so she shut her mouth. Alice frowned while trying to look over her shoulder. The Duchess was tugging at the hem of Alice’s dress, her hand lovingly caressing Alice’s bottom over her underwear before she hooked her fingers under the waistband and yanked them down, exposing Alice’s rear end to the cool air.
“Very nice work if I do say so myself!” The Duchess crowed with delight while eyeing Alice’s ass.
“Come again?” Alice’s words slipped out between panting breaths.
“Your stripes are so beautiful.” The Duchess’s expression and voice betrayed the noble woman’s seemingly enraptured state at the sight of Alice’s welted ass. Alice glanced back to the game, relieved to find everyone else completely otherwise engaged. Having the Duchess do this to her was demeaning enough without the whole kingdom bearing witness.
“Please…” Alice begged pitifully as the Duchess continued to tug on her panties.
Before she could decipher what the Duchess was up to, the redhead said, “These certainly are wet. The potion I gave you won’t last much longer. I do so hope to be around when it wears off.” Her tongue traced the length of one of Alice’s long angry welts and Alice quivered, widening her stance and arching her back but the Duchess didn’t take the bait.
That bitch is toying with me. Alice huffed angrily. “Might I enquire when this humiliation will cease?”
The Duchess laughed loudly as she released Alice’s arm. “I’m afraid you’ll find the royals in this realm have a real taste for it. Just ask him.” The Duchess tilted her head to the right, and for the first time, Alice noticed Wit was standing off to the side watching with a disinterested look on his face.”
“Haven’t you bruised the peaches enough today, my Lady?” He smoothed back his platinum hair with one hand. The Duchess looked down at him even taking an intimidating stance until he added, “Anymore and he won’t like it.”
The Duchess hesitated as if weighing the reward versus the consequences before giving a seemingly reluctant shrug. “I suppose I need to get back to the game.” She walked off, leaving Alice there, disheveled and embarrassed.
Alice grabbed her panties, yanking them up before turning around and smoothing out her dress. “Thanks for your help.” Her voice was breathy with arousal.
Wit stepped up into her personal space, practically backing her up against the tree again. “I didn’t do it for you.”
As she stared into his handsome face, his dazzling eyes made her breath hitch, and his soft, utterly irresistible lips compelled her to throw her arms around his neck. He grabbed her around the waist, leaning in and capturing her mouth. His muscular frame crushed her supple curves. Immediately, the subtle contact sent blissful vibrations throughout her body. Alice clung to him desperately, wanting…needing more.
She trembled, her heart rate soaring as he deepened the kiss, pairing their tongues for a twisting tango. Her hands were in his cottony hair as she breathed in his sweet scent. She moaned as he broke their oral embrace, her eyes pleading for him to push onward.
“Not yet.” He took a step back, resisting the magnetic energy between them.
Alice’s legs wobbled as if they were made of jelly. She could barely stand and without the help of the tree for balance, she would surely have fallen to her knees. For his part, Wit looked rather flustered and as Alice’s gaze swept down his body, she gaped at the enormous bulge straining against his trousers. That has to hurt!
Wit reached into his pocket and pulled out an ornate, silver pillbox engraved with a rabbit’s head on top. He popped it open and retrieved two orange pills, taking one and offering the other to Alice.
Having learned her lesson about gobbling down things without thinking in this realm, Alice asked, “What is it?”
“Take it. It helps when you’re being punished…denied.”
“Denied? I’m hardly being denied. If anything I’m being harassed.” Alice stared at the pill.
“Well, I’m being denied…for now, but you. You’re just before losing control. Unless you want to be a pathetic, drooling mess begging for the likes of the Duke or even the fucking March Hare, I suggest you take one.”
Alice’s stomach turned and she gagged. The March Hare? Oh, hell no! “Is it safe to take more than one?”
“I wouldn’t. You just need to hang on a couple more hours. The Prince will cure you.” Wit offered her a slight smile. He looked sincere and even a bit sympathetic. Alice reached out her hand and accepted the pill, popping it into her mouth and swallowing it dry.
“Do you know where I can find the Prince?”
“He has to testify in court later in the day. I’ll take you there.” He took her hand in his, entwining their fingers.
Alice’s strolled along beside Wit. Her head was a mess as if she was going mad. Parted of her hoped this was just a dream. Lots of questions were rolling around in her mind like who was this dark prince and why didn’t he just give her the cure now? Would it cost her something like the Duchess’ potion had and why the hell did Wit pull away from her when he obviously wanted her? Unfortunately, in her current state, Alice was unable to articulate any of these thoughts into an intelligible inquiry. All she could manage was tighten her grasp on Wit’s hand while he led her away from the Queen’s rose garden.
Just then the cat appeared before them, grin first. “Careful!” Alice looked around cautiously. “Don’t let them see you!”
“I’ve been pardoned.” The cat gave a smirk.
Alice sighed in relief. “Oh, thank God!”
“The King pardoned everyone at the game while the Queen was distracted. He goes along with her tirades because he loves her so but if he let her execute everyone she condemned, he’d soon have no subjects.”
“I see.” Alice nodded. “So she’s never executed anyone?”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Wit said.
“She’s been Queen for a very long time. A while back we had quite a problem with the Marquis of Diamonds. He raised an army and tried to take the land east of the mountains. As you can imagine the Queen was rather pissed off and when she found out there were several traitors in her mist, reporting back to the Marquis, heads rolled.”
“Oh, my!” Alice’s muddled brain digested the information, and after a moment, she asked, “And the Marquis?”
“There were decades of war in the West but once the Dark Prince came of age, he put together his own rangers, armed with an advanced weapon we pilfered from your world, and they beat the Diamond army back.”
That explains why the Prince is so feared and respected. Alice was impressed. The Prince was sounding more and more appealing all the while but she still wondered about the fate of the Marquis. “The Queen didn’t execute the Marquis?”
“Never could catch him. He’s a wizard, practices the darkest of arts. The land around his castle is protected by black magic as well as a high wall. We couldn’t get close.”
“So he’s still there, plotting away?” Alice leaned against Wit for support as she walked on shaky legs.
“Afraid so—we have to be very careful about spies.”
“Then how come I’ve been allowed to just breeze in here from a whole other world?” Alice squeezed his hand and smirked.
Wit threw his head back and laughed. “You have so much to learn.”
Alice pulled away from him, angrily tapping her foot as she waited for a straight answer. “Well?”
He smiled. “Your appearance here was foretold.”
“Like a prophecy?” Alice tilted her head, regarding him with disbelief.
“Exactly.” Wit reached for her hand again.
“That’s absurd. I’m no one special.” Alice folded her arms across her chest.
“You’re wrong. Your great-grandfather was the White Prince. Currently, his lands are ruled by his cousin, the Red Queen, and her husband but they are rightfully yours.”
Now Alice knew she had to be dreaming. She was no princess. Perhaps she was a bit of a socialite. Her family had always been wealthy and supposedly had some breeding but she’d never been given any kind of responsibility at all. She couldn’t imagine having to be in charge of an entire kingdom and frankly, she wasn’t at all interested. Still, the notion was amusing.
“Well just give me a moment to gather an army and take back my birthright.” She snickered, unable to keep a straight face.
“No matter how unlikely it may seem to you now, it has all been foretold. You have a destiny, Alice.”
She blinked several times but nothing changed. She closed her eyes tight and pinched her arm. Slowly, she opened one eye to see if she was awake and was met by Wit’s bewildered expression.
“What the fu…”
Alice held up her hand in front of his face. “Just…so who is the Red Queen? Is she not the same person as the Queen of Hearts?”
Wit shook his head. “The realm is divided into three parts. Right now, nearly half is the Kingdom of Hearts, including the Principality of Spades and the disputed territory controlled by the Marquis. You entered here through the sacred tower, located just over the border in Spades. No one gets through there without the Prince knowing about it. Over here in Hearts, it’s all gardens and grassland—lots of sunshine. The easiest way to reach The Red Kingdom is to sail east across the Sapphire Sea—about a three-day journey. To get to the White Kingdom, one must travel through the Red Kingdom—not an easy task. The Red Kingdom is a vast forest with many lakes and a small craggy area, closest to the mountains of the White Kingdom. Very few of our citizens have ever even seen the White Kingdom.”
“Then how do you even know it really exists?” Alice’s tone was flippant.
Wit smirked in response. “I’ve been there.” He licked his lips as he ran a hand through his whitish-blond locks. “The Prince and I have been almost everywhere together.”
His emphasis on the last word might have been an attempt to provoke jealousy but Alice didn’t even know this Dark Prince, and even if she did, she had never been the possessive sort. She was far more envious of their adventurous experiences. She’d much prefer to join a merry band of three than to be tied down in some stifling twosome. “Sounds like fun.”
He glanced to her as they continued their stroll and grinned as if he liked her response, his gorgeous eyes seducing her likely without even trying. “Sometimes it was. Other times it was perilous. There were times when we were hungry, left exposed to the elements or placed in dire circumstances, but we came out on the other side stronger for it. You will too.”
His last three words filled Alice with such a foreboding sense of dread she could barely breathe. Just what did this man and his prince have in store for her? “What…what if I just want to go home?”
He stopped short, turning and staring at her face. His expression was serious, longing even as he reached out and rubbed her cheek, cupping her face. “Alice, you finally are home.”
“But…”
He placed a single finger on her lips. “I really wanted to hate you. I tried but from the first time I saw you, my heart was filled with wonder. You were just a little baby, rosy cheeks, and blond curls. Immediately, I knew you were the one. I was still young, brash…I should have had the gumption to rescue you then so you would be raised here among your people, but I wasn’t ready to accept you yet. You scared me.”
“I scared you? You were afraid of a baby?” Alice laughed jerking her face from his hand.
“I was terrified of what you represented. You’re not the only one mentioned in those damn prophecies. I was in no damn hurry to see them to fruition, and having you around…I wasn’t ready for you to be in his life.”
“You mean the Dark Prince?” Alice examined Wit’s expression. He was truly beautiful, capable of putting any woman to shame with those gorgeous eyes.
Wit nodded with a faraway look in his eyes. Just what was on his mind? Was he in love with his prince? Perhaps he saw her as a romantic rival.
“So what changed your mind about me?” Alice stepped in closer, subtly testing Wit’s boundaries.
He smiled. “The first time I found you, I ran off, terrified. I didn’t even tell the prince for a few days. Then we came back together to confirm you were indeed the White Princess.” He paused, looking off to the side for a moment before returning his gaze to meet hers. A pained expression dominated his ruggedly handsome facial features, stiffening his square jaw.
“It was horrible! At first, I couldn’t find you until I realized you weren’t a baby anymore but a precocious youth. We could no longer just snatch you away without you remembering that squalid hellhole!”
“Squalid? What the fuck? My family came from old money—penthouses and country clubs. It was hardly a hellhole.”
“It was a world of rapid death and decay…and lots of it was filthy. It scared me to death. We only go there for cultural exploration or to bring back technology we can use—of it’s not too dangerous. The people there have a knack for destroying their whole world and having to start over with nothing again.
We never stay more than a few hours at a time. No one in their right mind would. We’d never shadowed a particular person so we didn’t understand just how quickly…Anyway, to take you then meant we would have to lure you away from your family. Initially, the Prince thought we could wait it out and you’d be grown in no time but while time passes far more quickly in your world it feels like forever. After a year, the Prince had all he could take. He went home and learned three days had passed at home. I toughed it out another six months but couldn’t handle that terrible place without my Prince. After that, I checked on you every few days from my perspective.”
With wide eyes, Alice shook her head, appalled at having been stalked her entire life. “You creepy little shit! How come I never saw you?”
“You did. You just never took much notice until the last time.” He wiggled his nose.
Alice sighed. “Wit, are you my white rabbit?”
He nodded. “So you figured it out…finally.”
“I had a pretty good idea at the tea party. My Dutch isn’t so bad.”
He moved in closer and stroked her hair, placing his lips close to her ear. “I’m glad you know.” His other hand snaked around her waist as he kissed her neck. “I want us to be friends…or more.”
Her heart fluttered. “I thought you wanted to hate me?”
“Yeah…until I saw how terribly lonely you were even when you were surrounded by friends and admirers.”
“You pitied me—the girl who had everything?” She knitted her eyebrows, considering the irony.
“I feel bad for anyone living in that world but especially you, who didn’t belong. Sometimes when I watched you, I’d see it in your eyes. You were so utterly and completely lost.”
A single tear slipped down Alice’s cheek as an aching sadness filled her chest. He was right. Back home, she had never been comfortable in her own skin. Most days she felt like screaming and no one had ever been able to help her– Not her parents and certainly not the parade of doctors and therapists who stuffed her full of an ever-changing cocktail of antidepressants and enough Xanax to choke an elephant.
Looking up at the clouds, she laughed. Since she had arrived, she had gobbled down a poison cupcake, drank a potion that shrunk her, watched a mouse-shifter orgy, gotten her ass beat by a crazy sadist and made friends with a disappearing cat, but she felt alive and more at home than she ever had before. Throwing caution to the wind, she put a hand on each side of Wit’s face and kissed him.
His hands combed through her hair and her arms slide around his neck. The kiss deepened as passion stirred between them. She shifted position, settling her palm over his beating heart. As their tongues danced, connecting them in a lively oral embrace, she unbuttoned his shirt, leaving it hanging open while she caressed his hard torso, her thumb strumming one of his nipples before her hand scooted downward to touch his tight abdominal muscles. The hardness beneath his waist pushed against her, and he moaned into her mouth.
As Alice started to unbuckle his belt, he grabbed her hands. “No, we mustn’t.”
Alice giggled coyly. “Why mustn’t we?”
“I promised to abstain until he gives permission.” Wit’s face was flushed, his eyes filled with tormented longing.
“Your Prince?”
“He’s our Prince.” He leaned over and rested his forehead on her shoulder, likely to hide his lovelorn expression.
Something about his pitiful desperation dropped an avalanche of excitement on Alice’s head, increasing her heart rate and dampening her thighs. A part of her wanted to torment him. “How so? I thought I was supposed to be some grand princess in my own right? If you’re talking out of both sides of your mouth, maybe I should drag you to the Duchess’ house so she can teach me how to give you a session with your own belt.”
He lifted his head and gave a sideways smile. “Is that supposed to be a threat? Because it sounds like heaven.”
That did it. Alice’s lust swirled in her belly, forming a carnal vortex, pulling at her cunt. She pursed her lips as her skin flushed and tingled, and she pressed her palm down against her chest while attempting to alleviate the ache between her legs using her free hand in the same manner. Her eyes rolled back as she let out the lewdest sounding moan she had ever heard. Fuck! I can’t take much more of this.
Wit reached around her waist, steadying her shaky body. His face filled with concern. “We need to get going now. The sooner I get you to the Prince, the quicker he can start healing you.”
Alice tried to walk but her entire body was as hot as a slice of bacon sizzling on a griddle, and her head was swimming as if she were drunk. She staggered, unable to manage to walk a straight a line. Wit lifted her up and carried her as if she were a bride being taken over the threshold. “Shhh, it’s okay. We’ll be there soon.”
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I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Be sure to come back Sunday for a sneak peek at Chapter Seven. Alice will be feeling a little better and a lot less complaint by then. In the meanwhile, please check out my books, and if you haven’t already, please sign-up for my newsletter.
