Of Roses and Kings
By Melissa Marr, first published in Tor.com
In a Wonderland where Alice is now the Red Queen, her maid walks a dangerous line between absolute loyalty and treason to the crown.
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Plot Summary
Alice has become a monarch in Wonderland. Since she defeated the previous Red Queen and took the crown for herself, madness has transformed Alice into a violent, unpredictable ruler.
Alice condemns her maid and lover, Beatrice, to the dungeons for treason. As Tom, a figure similar to the Cheshire Cat, escorts her to prison, Beatrice reflects on her relationship with the queen. It began one day—only a few months after Beatrice fell into Wonderland—when the queen summoned her to a meeting and was so taken with her beauty that she turned and walked out of the room. That was the first time Beatrice was thrown into the dungeons. It was also the beginning of her position as the queen’s head maid and the first time they slept together.
Alice visits Beatrice in the dungeons. Alice reveals that Beatrice murdered the king, and asks why she did it. She replies that she loves Alice—who hated the king—and would do anything for her.
Alice and Beatrice play a difficult game with each other: the queen accuses Beatrice of treason and Beatrice reaffirms her absolute loyalty.
Beatrice reflects on a time when Alice declared her hatred for the Red King, specifically because his sole duty was to produce an heir with the queen, and he did little else. One day, Beatrice noticed that the king seemed interested in sex with Alice, so she drugged him with sleeping pills to prevent their copulation. Later on, she and Alice secured a weapon for Beatrice to kill the Red King once and for all.
In the dungeons, Alice asks Beatrice if she remembers her life before she fell into Wonderland. It takes her a moment, but she recalls her father who taught her to be a serial killer. She murdered men who avoided the law, calling their deaths deserving. Both agree that the Red King deserved his fate.
The next morning, two Wonderlanders give Beatrice the key to her cell and she walks free. Tom is waiting outside. He tells her that another maid will die in her place. He offers her the position of the Red King in order to keep Alice’s madness in check. Beatrice realizes that Tom is the true ruler of Wonderland. Beatrice accepts Tom's offer because of her devotion to Alice. At the coronation, Beatrice and Alice dance. Beatrice promises to be the king that finally adores Alice in their mad world.
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