The Sum of All Things
Title: The Sum of All Things : summa omnia : initium
Length: about 2900 words
Rating: M for sexual situations.
Summary: And so it begins...the epic tale of a Champion and her White Queen, love, marriage, birth of their child, and some twists and turns.
Warnings: Not a warning, but "malice" abounds.
Alice sat back on her heels and stared down at her Queen, shocked by such a revelation. “What did you say?”
Mirana sat up. “Alice, I said I was pregnant.” She attempted to touch the young woman, but was stopped by the look in her Champion’s eyes. “Alice?”
The young Champion continued to stare, forlorn. “How?”
“Alice, I just told you.”
“Mirana, have you been… with a man?”
The White Queen gasped slightly. “What?”
The young woman got up from the bed, searching for her robe. “I know I left it here somewhere.”
Mirana sat, stunned into silence.
Alice found her dressing gown, then turned to Mirana. “I’ll be back later.” She paused at the door, then turned to face her Queen, her expression sad. “I promise.” Alice grabbed the door handle then stopped, fighting with her inner insecurities, attempting to settle her uncertainty. After a few moments she realized her fear was irrational, Mirana would never betray her. Never. Their bond was too great and deep for one to do such an unspeakable act against the other.
She released the handle and let out a deep breath, then shook off her robe. “Oh, Mirana, I’m so sorry for doubting you.” She looked to her White Queen, but Mirana’s head was down. She strode to the bed and then sat beside her Queen, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
The White Queen continued to look at her hands. “Alice, what is it going to take for you to never to doubt me?”
“I don’t mean to. I know you love me just as much as I love you. I’m such a fool at times.”
The monarch turned to her Champion. “I’m sorry, too. I sometimes forget how young you are.”
“I don’t want to feel so anxious, but I don’t know how to stop.”
Mirana took hold of her lover’s hand. “I don’t think you’re so terribly insecure, Alice. I just think maybe I’m expecting too much from you.
Alice frowned. “How?”
“I didn’t plan on getting pregnant, Alice. I did not know that my magic could do that. I only wanted to fulfill your fantasy, I wasn’t thinking.”
“Oh, Mirana, please don’t fret yourself so.” The Champion wound an arm around her Queen’s shoulders.
Mirana sighed and rested her head on Alice’s shoulder. “But look what I’ve done. I told Chessur a few days ago that I would never fetter you to my world, but I have done exactly that.”
Her Champion gently wiped a tear off her Queen’s cheek. “Please, don’t do this. I want to be here with you in Underland. You knew from the moment we met that my path would always come back to you. I can’t help but love you, my Queen.”
“But, Alice, you’re only 22 years old, I don’t want to force responsibilities on you that you’re not ready for.”
Underland’s Champion pulled her lover closer. “You are not forcing anything on me, my Queen. Don’t be silly.”
Mirana sighed and snuggled closer, enjoying the feel of Alice’s nakedness. “Oh, what did I ever do to deserve someone like you-no, to deserve you.”
“I could say the same thing,” Alice sighed, as she pulled Mirana closer. She brought her hand up to caress the older woman’s belly, feeling for any sign of Mirana’s revelation.
Alice turned her body so that she was facing her Queen. She looked down at Mirana’s belly, continuing to run her hand over it. “There is a baby in here… my baby?”
Mirana smiled and touched her Champion’s cheek. “Yes, my love, we are going to have a baby.”
“How do you know?”
“Alice, a woman knows her own body.”
Alice continued to run her hand, slowly, over her Queen’s belly. Before long her curiosity turned into an all too familiar hunger, and she tackled her lover and rolled on top of her. She nuzzled at Mirana’s neck. “I want you.”
The White Queen sighed and spread her legs again. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She pulled the young woman into a slow and deep kiss, using her tongue to part her lover’s lips. “Take me, my sweet Alice.”
Alice lifted so she could spread her lover’s legs again with her knees. “Will it be okay? We won’t hurt…”
Mirana let out a long moan. “It’ll be all right. Come with me…”
The White Queen awoke just in time to catch the last rays of the sun sink below the horizon. She turned over on her side to find Alice watching her from across the bed, where she was curled up, with quite a silly grin on her face.
Mirana smiled, as well. “Are you happy, my love?”
Alice grinned. “Exceedingly so.”
The monarch crawled to her Champion. “There is something I want to do for you.”
Alice’s eyes widened. “Oh?”
The Queen took hold of her lover and gently guided her back down on the bed, and then she knelt between her legs. “Spread them.”
“Anything for you, your Majesty.”
Mirana ran her hands down her Alice’s thighs. “So, we are back to being formal, again, my sweet?”
Alice lifted her head, and grinned again. “Yes, my Queen.”
The Queen scooted down further on the bed, and lowered her head, resting it on her Champion’s inner thigh. “I’ll wager you taste so good.”
Alice’s smile vanished and her breathing quickened. “What… what are you doing?”
“Trust me.”
And, just as many times in the past, the White Queen of Marmoreal fell further into love with her beloved Champion, her sweet Alice Kingsleigh.
Alice awoke to the sound of birds chirping in the trees outside. A soft breeze fell into the room from the parted curtains, bringing with it the aroma of a warm spring afternoon. Alice yawned and ran a hand over her face. “Mirana?”
The White Queen rolled onto her back. “Yes, my sweet?” Her voice bore all the signs of contentment.
“Do you think we ought to get out of bed?”
Mirana yawned. “Why?”
“Well, we’ve been in bed about a day. Don’t you think people will start to wonder where we’re at-and what we’re doing?”
The White Queen chuckled. “Let them wonder.”
“Secondly, I am a little hungry. I spend quite a lot of energy making love to you, my Queen, and I feel I’m owed a little compensation.” Alice could not keep the mirth out of her voice.
Mirana sat up and laughed. “Oh? So, are you going to start charging your Queen for services rendered?”
“Absolutely, I’ve got to get something out of this.”
“A fee, then?”
Alice sat up, and then swallowed hard. “Ah, yes… you are the Queen who put your Champion out to stud.”
Mirana scooted closer, her breath mingling with Alice’s. “Am I?”
Alice pulled Mirana into a kiss that was part demanding, and part relinquishing. She pushed her Queen back down on the bed. “Food can wait.”
Mirana sat up quickly, scanning the room to get her bearings. “Alice?”
Alice turned her head, her voice clouded with the remnants of sleep. “We’ve got to get up, Mirana, I’m very hungry, now.”
The White Queen sniffed at the air. “I think we ought to bathe before eating. We both smell a lot like…” Her voice trailed off at the look in her lover’s eyes.
Alice pulled her Queen onto her. “Like what?”
The monarch freed herself from her Champion’s arms before the young woman could draw her in. “Oh, no. We really do need to get up, Alice, and have the maids… clean up at bit.”
Alice smiled as Mirana rolled off the bed and grabbed her dressing gown. “Oh, what a scandal it will be, don’t you think?”
Mirana tied the ribbon of the robe around her. “What will be a scandal?”
“The Queen’s chamber-smelling like a brothel. Everyone will know then what goes on behind these closed doors.”
The Queen threw Alice’s robe onto the bed. “Get up, my love, or I’ll make you stand guard duty-at the stables.”
Alice grabbed the dressing gown. “You wouldn’t.”
Mirana opened the door to the bathing chamber. “Oh, yes I would.” She easily ducked away from the pillow Alice threw.
Alice settled into the hot water and groaned as her body tingled from the warmth. “This feels so good.”
The White Queen sat on the edge of the pool, splashing her feet. “I knew it would. Alice, have you thought about what kind of wedding you would like?”
The Queens bathing chamber was a huge ornate room that was almost two stories high, made of the finest marble in all of Underland. The room was oval shaped, as the pool in its center, flanked on either side by two large sinks and shelving for towels and other necessities. The hot pool, which ran deep, was filled with the purest water from subterranean springs deep below the foundations of Marmoreal. The water was so pure, and some would say magical, that one did not require the use of soap in order to be clean.
The young woman floated over to her Queen. “I haven’t really thought of it. I was thinking that you, perhaps, could tell me what you want.” Alice chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
Alice parted her Queen’s legs and moved between them. She wrapped an arm around the older woman and reached up to remove her crown, placing it delicately on the marbled tiled floor. “Must you wear that thing in the bath, Mirana?”
Mirana pulled Alice closer. “So my crown is only a thing to you? Why don’t you wear it, then.”
Alice stopped smiling and regarded Mirana for a moment. “I can’t.” She let go of the monarch and then backed away slowly. “I’m sorry.”
The White Queen lowered herself into the water and swam to her Champion. “I’m sorry for joking about it.”
Alice looked up to her Queen. “I’m not ready to do that-wear a crown. I’m sorry, Mirana.”
The monarch wrapped her arms around the smaller woman. “No, no. Please don’t be sad. I should have thought before I spoke.” She touched her Champion’s cheek. “It’s all right, I promise. You know I would never force you to do that.”
The young Champion sighed deeply. “I know you wouldn’t.” She looked up and smiled. “I love you, Mirana.”
The White Queen lowered her head and brushed her lips over the younger woman’s. “Me, too.”
Alice deepened the kiss and groaned into it. “There is something I want to do.”
Mirana moaned. “What?”
Before she knew what was happening, the White Queen found herself being dunked into the hot water, and when she surfaced, Alice splashed her with more water.
The Champion laughed. “I can’t believe you fell for that!”
Mirana looked like a soaked puppy. “My hair is wet!”
“Yes, it is.” Alice started to back away from her monarch, snickering as she did so.
“You will pay dearly for that, my sweet Alice.”
Alice grinned, and then began to swim away from Mirana. “I don’t think so.”
Much to her chagrin, Alice discovered that her Queen was, indeed, a much faster swimmer than she was. Before long, Mirana caught up to her Champion and wrapped her arms around her. She picked up the young woman and tossed her into the water.
Alice surfaced and choked out some water. “Is that the best you can do, my Queen?”
The White Queen took hold of Alice again and pushed her up against the side of the pool. “Open your legs, Alice.”
The younger woman did as she was told. “What…”
Mirana pressed herself against the younger woman, spreading her legs even further. She lowered her hand between he Champion’s legs and ran her fingers through her silken folds. “Turn about is fair play, I think.”
Alice threw her head back and wrapped her legs around Mirana’s waist. “Oh, yes… it is.” She gasped as her Queen plunged her fingers deep inside her.
The White Queen was spread out on her stomach on a large pile of pillows, by the side of the pool, Alice wrapped around her from behind, grinding against her furiously. “Oh… Mirana…I’m, I’m…” She cried out and collapsed on her Queen, panting heavily.
Mirana turned her head and groaned. “You are so lovely, my Alice.”
The Champion pushed against her Queen one more time then whimpered. “You inspire me, my Queen-my love.” She rested her head on Mirana’s back.
And Alice Kingsleigh, formerly an awkward girl from London, found herself completely in love with a woman from another world; a world that was full of promise and fulfillment-Mirana of Marmoreal, her White Queen, the one that she would love forever, and beyond.
The afternoon was a pure delight. The warm spring afternoon was filled with the fragrance of Eucalyptus trees and thyme, filling the air with a wonderful essence. A swarm of Rocking Horse flies flew past the tree Mirana and Alice were sitting under and dropped by the side of the creek, taking a small drink.
The White Queen lifted her arm and pointed her finger. A single Rocking Horse fly flitted around her then landed on her finger. It whinnied when the Queen ran a finger over it.
Alice watched, fascinated. “How do you do that, my Queen?”
“Because it knows I have butter, its favorite.” Mirana reached into the picnic basket and offered the beast a small portion of butter. The animal neighed out of excitement then devoured the butter in only a few seconds. It flew away, happy.
Alice finished her glass of wine. “Have you thought about what kind of wedding you would like?”
“One that both you and I are in?”
The Champion frowned slightly. “Mirana…”
The Queen brought the cup of tea to her lips. “Well, I’m torn about it. On the one hand, my subjects would be extremely put off if we decide to have a small affair, yet on the other I know that you don’t like really big crowds and all that pomp and circumstance.”
Alice poured herself another glass of wine. “I just want you to be happy, Mirana. If you feel we must have a celebration for everyone, then I am content with that.”
Mirana reached over and caressed Alice’s cheek. “Thank you, my Champion. Then we will invite all of Underland. Of course, if we do that then we will have to do all the traditional things.”
“What things?”
“There are three days of pre-wedding celebrations. It’s just an extremely long party, nothing more. Then the actual wedding day-which lasts about a whole day. Then…”
Alice lifted a brow. “And then?”
Mirana blushed. “The wedding night.”
The Champion smirked. “That ought to be no problem. We are more than familiar with each other.”
“That’s not exactly what I’m referring to.”
“Oh?”
“It’s just that, well, there must be observers, to make sure that the marriage is truly consummated.”
Alice choked on her wine. “What?”
“Its just a small inconvience.”
Alice didn’t know if she should laugh or be angry. “Mirana, I’m not having sexual relations with you in front of other people. Besides, we consummated already!”
The White Queen looked dejected. “It is the law, I don’t know any way around it.”
Underland’s Champion did not look pleased. “But, Mirana, I won’t do it! We have to find a way around that law.”
The Queen reached over to soothe her Champion. “We will, I promise. I think it’s a fairly outdated and unreasonable Law. One that Iracebeth insisted on.”
Alice calmed down. “Thank you, your Majesty.” She leaned back against the trunk of the eucalyptus tree and pulled Mirana’s head down to rest on her lap. “I feel invincible when you are with me, my Queen.”
Mirana smiled and look to her Champion. “I love you, too. The future is ours to decide and make. We’ll rescind all the laws, if it means we will be together always.”
Length: about 2900 words
Rating: M for sexual situations.
Summary: And so it begins...the epic tale of a Champion and her White Queen, love, marriage, birth of their child, and some twists and turns.
Warnings: Not a warning, but "malice" abounds.
Alice sat back on her heels and stared down at her Queen, shocked by such a revelation. “What did you say?”
Mirana sat up. “Alice, I said I was pregnant.” She attempted to touch the young woman, but was stopped by the look in her Champion’s eyes. “Alice?”
The young Champion continued to stare, forlorn. “How?”
“Alice, I just told you.”
“Mirana, have you been… with a man?”
The White Queen gasped slightly. “What?”
The young woman got up from the bed, searching for her robe. “I know I left it here somewhere.”
Mirana sat, stunned into silence.
Alice found her dressing gown, then turned to Mirana. “I’ll be back later.” She paused at the door, then turned to face her Queen, her expression sad. “I promise.” Alice grabbed the door handle then stopped, fighting with her inner insecurities, attempting to settle her uncertainty. After a few moments she realized her fear was irrational, Mirana would never betray her. Never. Their bond was too great and deep for one to do such an unspeakable act against the other.
She released the handle and let out a deep breath, then shook off her robe. “Oh, Mirana, I’m so sorry for doubting you.” She looked to her White Queen, but Mirana’s head was down. She strode to the bed and then sat beside her Queen, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
The White Queen continued to look at her hands. “Alice, what is it going to take for you to never to doubt me?”
“I don’t mean to. I know you love me just as much as I love you. I’m such a fool at times.”
The monarch turned to her Champion. “I’m sorry, too. I sometimes forget how young you are.”
“I don’t want to feel so anxious, but I don’t know how to stop.”
Mirana took hold of her lover’s hand. “I don’t think you’re so terribly insecure, Alice. I just think maybe I’m expecting too much from you.
Alice frowned. “How?”
“I didn’t plan on getting pregnant, Alice. I did not know that my magic could do that. I only wanted to fulfill your fantasy, I wasn’t thinking.”
“Oh, Mirana, please don’t fret yourself so.” The Champion wound an arm around her Queen’s shoulders.
Mirana sighed and rested her head on Alice’s shoulder. “But look what I’ve done. I told Chessur a few days ago that I would never fetter you to my world, but I have done exactly that.”
Her Champion gently wiped a tear off her Queen’s cheek. “Please, don’t do this. I want to be here with you in Underland. You knew from the moment we met that my path would always come back to you. I can’t help but love you, my Queen.”
“But, Alice, you’re only 22 years old, I don’t want to force responsibilities on you that you’re not ready for.”
Underland’s Champion pulled her lover closer. “You are not forcing anything on me, my Queen. Don’t be silly.”
Mirana sighed and snuggled closer, enjoying the feel of Alice’s nakedness. “Oh, what did I ever do to deserve someone like you-no, to deserve you.”
“I could say the same thing,” Alice sighed, as she pulled Mirana closer. She brought her hand up to caress the older woman’s belly, feeling for any sign of Mirana’s revelation.
Alice turned her body so that she was facing her Queen. She looked down at Mirana’s belly, continuing to run her hand over it. “There is a baby in here… my baby?”
Mirana smiled and touched her Champion’s cheek. “Yes, my love, we are going to have a baby.”
“How do you know?”
“Alice, a woman knows her own body.”
Alice continued to run her hand, slowly, over her Queen’s belly. Before long her curiosity turned into an all too familiar hunger, and she tackled her lover and rolled on top of her. She nuzzled at Mirana’s neck. “I want you.”
The White Queen sighed and spread her legs again. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She pulled the young woman into a slow and deep kiss, using her tongue to part her lover’s lips. “Take me, my sweet Alice.”
Alice lifted so she could spread her lover’s legs again with her knees. “Will it be okay? We won’t hurt…”
Mirana let out a long moan. “It’ll be all right. Come with me…”
The White Queen awoke just in time to catch the last rays of the sun sink below the horizon. She turned over on her side to find Alice watching her from across the bed, where she was curled up, with quite a silly grin on her face.
Mirana smiled, as well. “Are you happy, my love?”
Alice grinned. “Exceedingly so.”
The monarch crawled to her Champion. “There is something I want to do for you.”
Alice’s eyes widened. “Oh?”
The Queen took hold of her lover and gently guided her back down on the bed, and then she knelt between her legs. “Spread them.”
“Anything for you, your Majesty.”
Mirana ran her hands down her Alice’s thighs. “So, we are back to being formal, again, my sweet?”
Alice lifted her head, and grinned again. “Yes, my Queen.”
The Queen scooted down further on the bed, and lowered her head, resting it on her Champion’s inner thigh. “I’ll wager you taste so good.”
Alice’s smile vanished and her breathing quickened. “What… what are you doing?”
“Trust me.”
And, just as many times in the past, the White Queen of Marmoreal fell further into love with her beloved Champion, her sweet Alice Kingsleigh.
Alice awoke to the sound of birds chirping in the trees outside. A soft breeze fell into the room from the parted curtains, bringing with it the aroma of a warm spring afternoon. Alice yawned and ran a hand over her face. “Mirana?”
The White Queen rolled onto her back. “Yes, my sweet?” Her voice bore all the signs of contentment.
“Do you think we ought to get out of bed?”
Mirana yawned. “Why?”
“Well, we’ve been in bed about a day. Don’t you think people will start to wonder where we’re at-and what we’re doing?”
The White Queen chuckled. “Let them wonder.”
“Secondly, I am a little hungry. I spend quite a lot of energy making love to you, my Queen, and I feel I’m owed a little compensation.” Alice could not keep the mirth out of her voice.
Mirana sat up and laughed. “Oh? So, are you going to start charging your Queen for services rendered?”
“Absolutely, I’ve got to get something out of this.”
“A fee, then?”
Alice sat up, and then swallowed hard. “Ah, yes… you are the Queen who put your Champion out to stud.”
Mirana scooted closer, her breath mingling with Alice’s. “Am I?”
Alice pulled Mirana into a kiss that was part demanding, and part relinquishing. She pushed her Queen back down on the bed. “Food can wait.”
Mirana sat up quickly, scanning the room to get her bearings. “Alice?”
Alice turned her head, her voice clouded with the remnants of sleep. “We’ve got to get up, Mirana, I’m very hungry, now.”
The White Queen sniffed at the air. “I think we ought to bathe before eating. We both smell a lot like…” Her voice trailed off at the look in her lover’s eyes.
Alice pulled her Queen onto her. “Like what?”
The monarch freed herself from her Champion’s arms before the young woman could draw her in. “Oh, no. We really do need to get up, Alice, and have the maids… clean up at bit.”
Alice smiled as Mirana rolled off the bed and grabbed her dressing gown. “Oh, what a scandal it will be, don’t you think?”
Mirana tied the ribbon of the robe around her. “What will be a scandal?”
“The Queen’s chamber-smelling like a brothel. Everyone will know then what goes on behind these closed doors.”
The Queen threw Alice’s robe onto the bed. “Get up, my love, or I’ll make you stand guard duty-at the stables.”
Alice grabbed the dressing gown. “You wouldn’t.”
Mirana opened the door to the bathing chamber. “Oh, yes I would.” She easily ducked away from the pillow Alice threw.
Alice settled into the hot water and groaned as her body tingled from the warmth. “This feels so good.”
The White Queen sat on the edge of the pool, splashing her feet. “I knew it would. Alice, have you thought about what kind of wedding you would like?”
The Queens bathing chamber was a huge ornate room that was almost two stories high, made of the finest marble in all of Underland. The room was oval shaped, as the pool in its center, flanked on either side by two large sinks and shelving for towels and other necessities. The hot pool, which ran deep, was filled with the purest water from subterranean springs deep below the foundations of Marmoreal. The water was so pure, and some would say magical, that one did not require the use of soap in order to be clean.
The young woman floated over to her Queen. “I haven’t really thought of it. I was thinking that you, perhaps, could tell me what you want.” Alice chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
Alice parted her Queen’s legs and moved between them. She wrapped an arm around the older woman and reached up to remove her crown, placing it delicately on the marbled tiled floor. “Must you wear that thing in the bath, Mirana?”
Mirana pulled Alice closer. “So my crown is only a thing to you? Why don’t you wear it, then.”
Alice stopped smiling and regarded Mirana for a moment. “I can’t.” She let go of the monarch and then backed away slowly. “I’m sorry.”
The White Queen lowered herself into the water and swam to her Champion. “I’m sorry for joking about it.”
Alice looked up to her Queen. “I’m not ready to do that-wear a crown. I’m sorry, Mirana.”
The monarch wrapped her arms around the smaller woman. “No, no. Please don’t be sad. I should have thought before I spoke.” She touched her Champion’s cheek. “It’s all right, I promise. You know I would never force you to do that.”
The young Champion sighed deeply. “I know you wouldn’t.” She looked up and smiled. “I love you, Mirana.”
The White Queen lowered her head and brushed her lips over the younger woman’s. “Me, too.”
Alice deepened the kiss and groaned into it. “There is something I want to do.”
Mirana moaned. “What?”
Before she knew what was happening, the White Queen found herself being dunked into the hot water, and when she surfaced, Alice splashed her with more water.
The Champion laughed. “I can’t believe you fell for that!”
Mirana looked like a soaked puppy. “My hair is wet!”
“Yes, it is.” Alice started to back away from her monarch, snickering as she did so.
“You will pay dearly for that, my sweet Alice.”
Alice grinned, and then began to swim away from Mirana. “I don’t think so.”
Much to her chagrin, Alice discovered that her Queen was, indeed, a much faster swimmer than she was. Before long, Mirana caught up to her Champion and wrapped her arms around her. She picked up the young woman and tossed her into the water.
Alice surfaced and choked out some water. “Is that the best you can do, my Queen?”
The White Queen took hold of Alice again and pushed her up against the side of the pool. “Open your legs, Alice.”
The younger woman did as she was told. “What…”
Mirana pressed herself against the younger woman, spreading her legs even further. She lowered her hand between he Champion’s legs and ran her fingers through her silken folds. “Turn about is fair play, I think.”
Alice threw her head back and wrapped her legs around Mirana’s waist. “Oh, yes… it is.” She gasped as her Queen plunged her fingers deep inside her.
The White Queen was spread out on her stomach on a large pile of pillows, by the side of the pool, Alice wrapped around her from behind, grinding against her furiously. “Oh… Mirana…I’m, I’m…” She cried out and collapsed on her Queen, panting heavily.
Mirana turned her head and groaned. “You are so lovely, my Alice.”
The Champion pushed against her Queen one more time then whimpered. “You inspire me, my Queen-my love.” She rested her head on Mirana’s back.
And Alice Kingsleigh, formerly an awkward girl from London, found herself completely in love with a woman from another world; a world that was full of promise and fulfillment-Mirana of Marmoreal, her White Queen, the one that she would love forever, and beyond.
The afternoon was a pure delight. The warm spring afternoon was filled with the fragrance of Eucalyptus trees and thyme, filling the air with a wonderful essence. A swarm of Rocking Horse flies flew past the tree Mirana and Alice were sitting under and dropped by the side of the creek, taking a small drink.
The White Queen lifted her arm and pointed her finger. A single Rocking Horse fly flitted around her then landed on her finger. It whinnied when the Queen ran a finger over it.
Alice watched, fascinated. “How do you do that, my Queen?”
“Because it knows I have butter, its favorite.” Mirana reached into the picnic basket and offered the beast a small portion of butter. The animal neighed out of excitement then devoured the butter in only a few seconds. It flew away, happy.
Alice finished her glass of wine. “Have you thought about what kind of wedding you would like?”
“One that both you and I are in?”
The Champion frowned slightly. “Mirana…”
The Queen brought the cup of tea to her lips. “Well, I’m torn about it. On the one hand, my subjects would be extremely put off if we decide to have a small affair, yet on the other I know that you don’t like really big crowds and all that pomp and circumstance.”
Alice poured herself another glass of wine. “I just want you to be happy, Mirana. If you feel we must have a celebration for everyone, then I am content with that.”
Mirana reached over and caressed Alice’s cheek. “Thank you, my Champion. Then we will invite all of Underland. Of course, if we do that then we will have to do all the traditional things.”
“What things?”
“There are three days of pre-wedding celebrations. It’s just an extremely long party, nothing more. Then the actual wedding day-which lasts about a whole day. Then…”
Alice lifted a brow. “And then?”
Mirana blushed. “The wedding night.”
The Champion smirked. “That ought to be no problem. We are more than familiar with each other.”
“That’s not exactly what I’m referring to.”
“Oh?”
“It’s just that, well, there must be observers, to make sure that the marriage is truly consummated.”
Alice choked on her wine. “What?”
“Its just a small inconvience.”
Alice didn’t know if she should laugh or be angry. “Mirana, I’m not having sexual relations with you in front of other people. Besides, we consummated already!”
The White Queen looked dejected. “It is the law, I don’t know any way around it.”
Underland’s Champion did not look pleased. “But, Mirana, I won’t do it! We have to find a way around that law.”
The Queen reached over to soothe her Champion. “We will, I promise. I think it’s a fairly outdated and unreasonable Law. One that Iracebeth insisted on.”
Alice calmed down. “Thank you, your Majesty.” She leaned back against the trunk of the eucalyptus tree and pulled Mirana’s head down to rest on her lap. “I feel invincible when you are with me, my Queen.”
Mirana smiled and look to her Champion. “I love you, too. The future is ours to decide and make. We’ll rescind all the laws, if it means we will be together always.”