CHAPTER 3: ETERNAL ROSE

Down the rabbit hole was a hallway, and at the end of the hallway was a small, locked door. Beyond the locked door was the most beautiful garden mortal eyes had ever beheld. The roses blossoming on trees were eternally red, as dripping from their petals was the blood of various executed inhabitants. Gardeners in spades ran here and ran there for the roses, dipping their brushes into fresh buckets and painting for their lives. What a hectic day!

Look no further for the culprit for here he was, seated on his throne with a fire on his left hand and a browning marshmallow at the other. The great King of Hearts was enjoying his evening snack. He smiled in contentment, revealing sets of pearly white teeth when his thin lips parted. A bag of marshmallows was placed on his royal lap.

Suddenly, someone came running in. He was the Knave of Hearts. He leapt next to the King and whispered something to his ear. The King stood up. The flame on his left hand blazed up to the heavens. Its heat was so overwhelming that the Knave of Hearts began to bow for forgiveness. “Great King Chanyeol, please spare the humble me!”

“Who said that I won’t spare you?” The fire was extinguished from the King’s hand with the help of the Prince Regent. “Get up! Summon the Minister of Internal Affairs! Tell him that I want to meet him right now!”

“Y—y—yes, Your Highness!”

Later, the poor minister decked in diamonds was dragged with chains trailing behind him. Two card-soldiers in armour of clubs stood still with a grim expression plastered to their faces beside him. They pushed him to the ground, causing him to kneel before the King.

“What did you say?” The King of Hearts fumed. “The Resistance of Shuffling Decks is active again? Aren’t they supposed to be liquidated long ago? You careless dilettante! You call yourself a minister?”

The King’s tall physique towered over the minister. He was like a giant ready to devour a lost human child. The King’s round fireball eyes watched him—oh, too closely! The poor old minister trembled. His greying handlebar moustache bobbed up and down.

“You’re such a good-for-nothing!” The King threw his marshmallows at the minister. “Hunt them—one—until the last because—two—they’re just—three, four—a royal pain in the neck! How dare they—five—defy me? Don’t they—six, seven, eight—know who am I?” He peeped at his little empty bag. “Blast! Now I’m wasting my marshmallows on you! Off with your head! Give me more marshmallows!”

With these words, the minister was dragged out to the guillotine while the Knave of Hearts gave the King another bag of marshmallows. The Prince Regent was appalled with what he saw. “Chanyeol hyung!” He screamed at his brother. “He had been a loyal minister for decades! And you had sentenced him to death!”

“Sehunnie,” the King smirked and threw a marshmallow at the Prince Regent. “You’re just an underage kid. You’re a total innocent in politics. Shut up and let me rule, won’t you?”

“Don’t call me Sehunnie!” A storm was brewing inside the Prince Regent. “I’m not your Knave, I’m your Regent!”

“Give me your hair and I’ll stop.”

“What does that have to do with my hair?”

“Nothing. Sehun-ah, our measures had been proven ineffective. Perhaps we were too soft on the Resistance. We had mollycoddled them too much.” The King thought deeply for a moment. “Summon the Head of Secret Police. I’ll promote him as the Minister of Internal Affairs. He got some work to do.”

Eun-soo’s eyes hurt as if they were stabbed by daggers. Someone should stop playing with the torchlight. Seriously, it’s annoying. “Get off me!” she hissed.

The torchlight flickered and backed away. It floated in mid-air. She rubbed her eyes. Her vision was clearer now. It was no torchlight, silly! It was the butterfly that Baekhyun gave her, and she was still in Wonderland. Her whole ordeal wasn’t a dream, or at least a bedpost-induced hallucination.

Baekhyun had kept his promise.

She held out her hands—still, she couldn’t touch the butterfly’s delicate wings. It was nothing of this world, as it was a creature made entirely out of light. Up Above, they might call it a hologram. Its wings were beautiful and adorned with silver glitters. It was a pity that she couldn’t touch them, or feel their intricate texture.

“What are you staring at?” Lay sat on the edge of the bed and scrutinised the butterfly.

Eun-soo took a glance of her surroundings. She was on a bed, in a small room with Lay beside her. Lay? What the…? Immediately, she grabbed several pillows she could find and threw them at him. “What have you done to me, huh? You creep!”

“You hadn’t answered my question and now you’re asking me one?” Lay crawled out under the hail of pillows. “You were asleep like a log in the forest, so we had to carry you home!”

“Oh, really?” Eun-soo flushed pitchfork red. “T—thank you… and thank you for the cake, too.”

"What cake?"

“The cake Tao gave me. He told me that you made it. It was very nice! What did you put in it?”

“Cakes, of course.” Lay remarked in such an indifferent manner that it was hard for Eun-soo to stifle her laughter. Soon, she was bursting into stitches. Initially, Lay remained calm and silent, but later, he joined her in her laughter. Don’t you know that laughter is contagious?

“Lay, you don’t need to do that!” Eun-soo began to feel awkward again. “It’s okay.”

“Lunch is served!” Tao ran into the small room before braking to a halt two inches away from the bed. He flashed a grin. “Come on, aren’t you guys starving?”

The four of them sat at dining table. The white butterfly was circling her head, giving her a quirky halo. The halo was making her innocent evening tea awkward and unbearable. The three men stared at her. Three pairs of eyes stabbing through her wouldn’t help either. She staked her spoon into her blueberry pie. It stuck up straight.

“Finish your meals and let me finish mine.” Eun-soo was totally irked up. “Table manners, please?”

“What’s that on your head?” Tao pointed at the halo, his mouth rounded into an ‘O’.

“Baekhyun gave that to me last night…” Right after she had mentioned the name ‘Baekhyun’, the three of them choked on their pies simultaneously. “What’s wrong with Baekhyun?” she asked.

“I thought that he’s—” Lay was instantly nudged by Kai while Tao stuffed a slice of pie into his mouth. “Mmmph?”

Eun-soo raised an eyebrow.

“Eat.” Kai motioned with his spoon. Tao gave Lay a mischievous look and giggled.

“Mmmph! Mmmph!” Lay protested; then swallowed. “I demand an explanation for all this!”

“Our supply of blueberries is dwindling rapidly.” Kai eyed Lay coldly. “Someone should look for more.”

“I’ll find them!” Tao volunteered.

“Very good, Tao…”

In the middle of their discussions, Eun-soo’s head began to spin. Her body was weakening. She felt her forehead. It was warm. Her whole head felt warm. Something wasn’t right. She looked up, and saw the butterfly circling her head faster and faster until it flashed warning-sign red. She screamed in fright.

The three men lifted their gaze and saw what was wrong. Kai got on his feet and rushed to her side. The butterfly returned to its original white colour and flew away, past the dining room, past the living room and past the door.

“Kai, listen! We have to follow the butterfly! It’ll lead us to him!” Eun-soo fetched her handbag and ran after the butterfly.

“To who?” Kai asked.

“The Dragon Warrior!” she shouted back at him. “Believe me!”

“Is she to be believed?” Lay caught up to Kai’s side.

“No questions.” Kai hushed Lay. “Just run.”

Moments later, they found themselves running away from the safety of their home into the Wonderland forest. They ran blindly, following the light of a strange butterfly. They ran past more twisted trees, singing flowers, vengeful foxes, lamenting rabbits and various other creatures. Yet, they felt no fear. They put their faith on Baekhyun’s butterfly and went where it lead them to until finally the butterfly stopped. It hovered over a wide field that looked somewhat familiar. An extinguished bonfire in the middle of the field strengthened their conviction.

“Good gracious!” Kai grasped a handful of his hair and cackled. “This is what are we running for?”

Eun-soo couldn’t believe her eyes. Kai was right. This place was where he had brought her this morning. What’s happening here? Have you betrayed me, Baekhyun?

“What’s that?” Tao pointed at the tall, dead twisted tree. A black silhouette bounced off the tree and flew past them. “Look!”

“I saw it too!” Kai said.

Eun-soo nodded and Lay gave them no response.

Kai sighed and shook his head.

Leaves fell down.

A branch snapped.

The black silhouette crashed to the ground with a thud.

The three of them approached the silhouette. It was a man! He stood upright and brushed some dust from his clothes. The man was very tall—taller than the four of them—with unkempt blond hair. His serious expression was exaggerated by his strong, stern features. That alone made him too intimidating to begin with. Tao shielded his arms around Eun-soo and Kai bared his teeth.

“Alright, you lot!” The man brandished his sword at the four trespassers. “Is this what you’re looking for?”