HEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY

I'M BAAAAAAAAACCK~!

So. Writer's block is a bitch, but it shall never truly conquer me! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-ACK! *has coughing fit of evil*

Anywhore! Here's chapter eleven!

Disclaimer: You all know the drill.

ENJOY~!

CHAPTER ELEVEN

A QUEEN'S RAGE

Simon Stride paced nervously outside the Red Queen's throne room, knowing he would have to enter at some point and explain why he had failed in his mission to capture and bring back Henry Jekyll. Queen Lucy would not be pleased...

'She'll have my head for this...I have to find someway to please her…'

Eventually he could put it off no longer, taking a deep breath before opening the large doors and walking purposefully down the long, red carpet. The moment he reached the steps leading up to the woman's throne he dropped down to one knee, his right hand raised and placed across his chest, just over his heart.

"My Queen, I have returned..." The knight spoke slowly, trying to hide the nervousness in his tone.

Lucy Harris glared down at Stride with cold amber eyes and an irritated scowl on her blood red lips, her scarlet, curly hair that fell all around her shoulders casting shadows across her face.

"Well? Where is he? Why have you not brought him with you?" The Red Queen demanded, her tone bordering dangerously close to anger.

"I…because I failed to retrieve him, Your Majesty..."

The sudden, harsh kick to the face sent the knight flying back, landing hard on the cold ground as he bit back a groan of pain, feeling blood rushing down his face and neck from his now broken nose.

"You disobedient little wretch! How dare you disobey me?!" Lucy screamed in anger and outrage, rising to her feet as she stepped towards Stride, her short, crimson red and black dress swaying almost violently from the sudden movement, threatening to reveal the barely hidden garments underneath.

"Was that fool of a hatter really too much for you to handle?!"

"No, my Queen! It wasn't the hatter that was the problem, it was Jekyll!" Stride shouted in defense, hoping to spare his own neck.

The Red Queen did stop at that, becoming frighteningly still as her glare seemed to worsen the longer she looked at Stride.

"Jekyll…? You're telling me the stranger who knows not the ways of my land was able to outsmart you, Stride? Is that it?" Her tone was dangerously controlled, a dangerous look in her amber eyes.

It was then that Simon Stride realized.

He fucked up.

"Y-Yes, my Queen…" The knight hesitantly admitted, a tremor of fear in his voice.

Lucy stared at him for a moment longer, before a treacherous smile slowly crept across her lips. She turned, walking back up the steps leading to her throne, and carefully sat back down so as not to wrinkle her skirts.

"My Queen…?"

"Yes, Simon?" She responded, holding her black and red scepter in her right hand as the fingers of her left played with the large ruby set in the top.

There was an airy tone to her voice, bordering on barely contained crazy.

Stride paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully, knowing that he was dangerously close to losing his head.

"What do you wish of me, your Majesty...?"

"I will give you a second chance, Stride."

The knight visibly relaxed in relief, closing his eyes for a moment to gather his wits, but a sharp, familiar click made him freeze in terror. Simon hesitantly opened his eyes to find himself staring down the barrel of a gun- the one holding it being the Red Queen herself, a warning gaze in her dark eyes.

"However...if you fail me a second time, you will not get another chance. I will put a bullet in your head myself."

Stride quickly nodded, voice shaking as he spoke,

"Y-Yes, my Queen."

"Do not fail me again, Stride. Now get out of my sight." Lucy ordered, suddenly moving the gun just barely to the left and pulling the trigger.

The bullet clipped his ear, sending the knight falling back onto his rear once again, one hand quickly coming up to hold the bleeding area. Her words had not yet registered in his ringing ears.

"NOW!"

Stride scrambled to his feet, quickly fleeing the room before she lost her temper any further.

The large doors closed with a dull bang behind him, leaving the Red Queen alone with her thoughts.

She would have Henry Jekyll, no matter what it took.

"Why should I settle for being Queen of Wonderland alone…? If I can convince this man to be my King, I can have his world under my rule as well!"

Her power-crazed laughter echoed throughout the cold halls of her castle.

This was just the beginning.

Hope you all enjoyed! Let me know what you think!