《爱丽丝梦游仙境-1》第19章

The clearing in the wood was still black and covered in ash from the last encounter. The White Queen's people approached in silence, the heavy weight of their sad history hanging over them. Alice glanced at the Hatter, her heart aching for him as she thought of all the family he had lost here.

The Red Queen waited on her steed, a malevolent¹ smile plastered across her enormous face. Her eyes glittered with hatred² as her sister rode into the clearing.

"Hello, Iracebeth," said the White Queen, pulling her white horse to a halt.

"Hello, Mirana," said the Red Queen coldly.

The White Rabbit blew his trumpet³ and unrolled a scroll⁴. "On this, the Frabjous Day," he announced, "the queens, Red and White, shall send forth⁵ their champions to do battle on their behalf."

The White Queen stared into her sister's eyes, tears trembling on her beautiful long lashes⁶. "Oh, 'Racie," she said.

The Red Queen's eyes softened⁷ at the sound of her childhood nickname.

"We don't have to fight," the White Queen went on.

The Red Queen snapped her mouth shut and glared suspiciously. "I know what you're doing," she snarled⁸. "You think you can blink those pretty little eyes and I'll melt like Mummy and Daddy did."

The White Queen held out her smooth white arms beseechingly⁹. "Please," she said sweetly.

"It's my crown!" screamed the Red Queen. "I'm the eldest¹⁰! JABBERWOCKY!" Her horse pranced¹¹ and spun¹², feeling the bolt of terror that shot through the crowd as an enormous dark form rose up behind the Red Queen.

The Jabberwocky's vast wingspan blocked out the sun and darkened the clearing. It swung its reptilian¹³ head, studying them all with small, glistening¹⁴ eyes. Its long, spiked¹⁵ tail whipped across the grass. It extended one long, deadly claw and adjusted its red vest.

Alice could barely contain her fear. "This is impossible," she whispered to the Hatter, standing¹⁶ loyally beside her foot.

"Only if you believe it is," said the Mad Hatter. He looked up into her eyes, and his words sparked a memory of her father.

"Sometimes I believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast," Alice said, smiling down at him.

"That is an excellent practice," the Hatter agreed. "However, just at the moment, you really might want to focus on the Jabberwocky."

That was the right answer. Alice slid off the Bandersnatch, tossed back her hair, and adjusted the sword at her waist. She was ready.

"Where's your champion, sister?" the Red Queen sneered¹⁷.

"Here," said Alice, stepping boldly into the clearing.

"Hello, Um," the Red Queen said.

The Jabberwocky hissed¹⁸ with pleasure. He slithered toward her, opened his slavering jaw¹⁹, and roared.

"Six impossible things," Alice whispered to herself, her voice trembling. "Count them, Alice. One! There's a potion that can make you shrink. Two! And a cake that can make you grow."

She drew the Vorpal Sword. The Jabberwocky lowered its huge head and loomed²⁰ over her.

"Sssso, my old foe," it hissed in a horrible voice that made Alice's skin feel like it was crawling with insects. "We meet on the battlefield once again."

Alice was shocked. She hadn't known the Jabberwocky could talk … and she was sure she'd remember if they'd ever met in battle before. She couldn't possibly have blocked out that part of her earlier visit, could she?

"We've never met," she said, hoping he couldn't hear the wavering in her voice.

"Not you, insignificant²¹ bearer," said the Jabberwocky, casting her a scornful glance. "My ancient enemy, the Vorpal one."

"That's enough chatter²²!" Alice commanded.

Suddenly the Jabberwocky's spiked tongue shot out toward the sword. Startled, Alice flung the sword up to defend herself, and it sliced right through the Jabberwocky's tongue. The tongue flopped²³ to the ground, wriggling²⁴ in the dirt. Alice stepped back out of its way with a look of disgust. Now all the Jabberwocky could do was burble incoherently.

Alice was feeling triumphant²⁵ when the Jabberwocky's pronged tail whipped around and knocked her to the ground. Alice barely kept her grip on the Vorpal Sword, and her breath was knocked out of her. She lay still for a moment, gasping²⁶.

"Three," she said aloud to herself. "Animals can talk."

Some instinct made her roll out of the way just as the Jabberwocky's tail slammed down to impale²⁷ her.

"Four," she said, faltering²⁸. "Four, Alice!" She climbed to her feet. "Cats can disappear."

"Five. There is a place called Wonderland," she said firmly. The Jabberwocky swiped at her with long, curved claws, and she deflected²⁹ them with a clang of her sword.

"Six," Alice said, taking a deep breath. She stood still for a moment, then slowly lifted her head. All the fear was gone. There was nothing but fierce intention in her eyes. She knew the sixth impossible thing … and she believed it.

"I can slay³⁰ the Jabberwocky!" she cried. She swung the sword in a wide arc and attacked with fury. Surprised by her fierceness, the Jabberwocky jumped back, then lashed³¹ out in defense³². Now the battle had really begun.

Alice whirled, distracted, and claws scraped down the back of her armor. The Hatter winced³³. Alice backed up toward the Hatter, fending³⁴ off the Jabberwocky.

"The Hatter's interfering³⁵!" howled the Red Queen. "Off with his head!"

The Knave³⁶ of Hearts drew his sword and ran at the Mad Hatter, who promptly³⁷ drew his own sword to fight back. The well-ordered duel³⁸ between champions erupted into a full-scale battle, with Alice and the Jabberwocky at the eye of the storm.

Mallymkun leaped onto Bayard's back, Bielle growling³⁹ fiercely at his side. Together, the bloodhounds and the Dormouse leaped at the JubJub Bird, wielding⁴⁰ teeth and hatpins against its deadly talons⁴¹.

The Cheshire Cat appeared in front of a Red Knight⁴², then vanished as a sword was thrust at his middle. Confused, the Knight spun around and tried again, but the Cat could not be cornered.

With a howl, the Bandersnatch attacked four Red Knights⁴³ at once, his strong jaws⁴⁴ snapping around their armor. Meanwhile, the Tweedles fought back to back, with perfect precision and timing⁴⁵ and nary a single argument. Not far away, the March Hare managed to shake off his paralyzing fear and started flinging anything he could find like a wild man, knocking out Red Knights right and left.

But the crux⁴⁶ of the battle was still between Alice and the Jabberwocky, and she didn't have time to watch her friends to make sure they were all right.

Alice attacked the beast with fierce thrust, swipes, and uppercuts. But the Jabberwocky was no easy opponent. It swiped back, and Alice was hit! The Vorpal Sword was knocked out of her hand, and she landed with a grunt⁴⁷ at the bottom of a staircase. She quickly picked up the sword and ran up the stairs, where the battle continued. The Jabberwocky's long, scaly⁴⁸ neck snaked past her for barely a moment, and she seized the opportunity to leap onto his back, pulling herself up his sharp, bumpy⁴⁹ scales. She could feel the edges of the scales cutting into the armored gloves on her hands. The Jabberwocky twisted and snapped, trying to shake her off.

The Vorpal Sword nearly wrenched⁵⁰ itself out of Alice's hand in its relentless⁵¹ pursuit of the creature's head. Alice could barely keep her grip on it. She threw herself into the air.

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!" she yelled.

With one powerful thrust, Alice sank the Vorpal Sword into the Jabberwocky's neck, severing⁵² its head from its vile⁵³ body. The head rolled down the stairs and landed at the feet of the Red Queen.

Alice was too exhausted⁵⁴ to speak, but the dead creature's head seemed to say everything. The Queen pointed⁵⁵ at Alice imperiously.

"KILL HER!" she bellowed⁵⁶.

 

经历上次的遭遇后，森林里被火烧过的空地依然是焦黑一片，地面覆盖着一层灰烬。白皇后的军队沉默地前进着，悲伤的过去笼罩在他们心头。爱丽丝瞥了一眼疯帽子，一想到他曾在这里遭受灭门之灾，顿时心生怜悯。

红皇后骑在她的战马上等待着，那张穷凶极恶的大脸庞上挂着恶毒的笑容。看着妹妹骑马走到空地，她的眼里闪烁着仇恨的目光。

“你好，伊拉贝斯！”白皇后边说边勒住缰绳让白马停下来。

“你好，莫安娜。”红皇后冷漠地答道。

白兔子吹响了喇叭，然后展开神谕卷轴向大家宣布：“今天是辉煌之日，红皇后和白皇后将各自派出勇士代表她们进行决斗。”

白皇后凝望着姐姐的眼睛，晶莹的泪珠在她美丽的长睫毛上颤动。“哦，瑞丝，”她说。

听到有人唤自己的小名，红皇后的眼神顿时变得温和起来。

“我们没必要开战的。”白皇后继续说。

红皇后立马双唇紧闭，狐疑地盯着妹妹，咆哮道：“我知道你想干什么。你以为眨巴一下那双漂亮的小眼睛我就会像爸妈一样妥协吗？”

白皇后伸出光洁的胳膊恳求着。“交出王冠吧。”她温柔地说。

“王冠是我的！”红皇后尖叫着说。“我才是长女！炸脖龙！”随着一个巨大的黑影从红皇后身后升起，她受惊的战马弹起马蹄，惊恐地打着转，它也感受到了弥漫在人群里的阵阵恐惧。

炸脖龙宽阔的双翼遮住了阳光，空地瞬间变得阴暗起来。它晃着奸诈的脑袋，用亮晶晶的小眼睛打量着所有人，又长又尖的尾巴在草地上扫来扫去。它伸出一只夺命长爪，整了整自己的红色马甲。

此时爱丽丝也难以掩饰自己的恐惧。“这是不可能的。”她小声对忠诚地站在她身旁的疯帽子说。

“只要相信自己就能成功!”疯帽子说完，抬头看着爱丽丝的双眼。他的这番话让爱丽丝想起了父亲。

“有时在早餐前我会相信六件不可能的事情。”骑在大毛兽背上的爱丽丝笑着对疯帽子说。

“这是个不错的实践，”疯帽子赞许道，“但是，眼下你真应该全力对付炸脖龙。”

他说得对。爱丽丝纵身从大毛兽背上滑下来，把头发往身后一甩，又整了整跨在腰部的屠龙剑。她准备好了。

“你的勇士呢，妹妹？”红皇后嘲笑道。

“在这儿！”爱丽丝说着，大胆地踏进了空地。

“你好，嗯。”红皇后冷漠地打着招呼。

炸脖龙高兴地嘶叫着。它一面朝爱丽丝委蛇滑行，一面张开淌着涎水的下颌咆哮。

“六件不可能的事，”爱丽丝喃喃自语道，她的声音有些颤抖。“数数看，爱丽丝。第一，有种药水能让你变小。第二，有种蛋糕能让你变大。”

她边说边拔出屠龙剑。炸脖龙垂下它巨大的脑袋向爱丽丝逼近。

“那么，我的宿敌，”炸脖龙恐怖的嘶嘶声让爱丽丝感觉自己皮肤上好像爬满了虫子，“我们又在战场上见面了。”

爱丽丝惊呆了，她从不知道炸脖龙会说话……而且她确信如果以前在战场上见过它，那自己一定会记得。她不可能忘掉曾到访地下世界的那部分记忆，可能吗？

“我们从没见过。”爱丽丝说着，希望炸脖龙没有听出她话声中的颤抖。

“不是你，无足轻重的小丫头片子，”炸脖龙轻蔑地扫了一眼爱丽丝说道，“我的宿敌，是屠龙剑！”

“废话真多！”爱丽斯高声喝道。

突然，炸脖龙向屠龙剑吐出它的尖舌头。大吃一惊的爱丽丝连忙挥起剑来保护自己，这一挥正好斩断了炸脖龙的舌头，舌头啪的一声掉在地上，在尘土里挣扎。爱丽丝厌恶地看了一眼，连忙退后躲开它。炸脖龙现在只能语无伦次地咕哝着。

爱丽斯正觉得很得意，这时炸脖龙狂乱地甩着末端分叉的尾巴把爱丽丝击倒在地。爱丽丝险些丢掉手中的屠龙剑，她几乎给打懵了。她在地上趴了好一会儿，大口大口地喘着粗气。

“第三，”她大声对自己说，“动物会说话。”

就在炸脖龙的尾巴向爱丽丝猛刺过来时，某种直觉让她迅速滚到一边躲开了。

“第四，”她结结巴巴地说，“第四，爱丽丝！”她爬起来继续说道：“猫会凭空消失。”

“第五，有个叫仙境的地方。”她坚定地说。炸脖龙用弯曲的长爪朝爱丽丝猛挥过来，哐当一声，她用剑挡开了炸脖龙的爪子。

“第六，”爱丽丝深吸一口气继续数。她在原地站了一会儿，然后慢慢地抬起头，所有的恐惧都消失得无影无踪，眼神中只剩下强烈的意念。她知道第六件不可能的事……并深信不疑。

“我能斩杀炸脖龙！”她大叫，举起剑在空中画了一个大大的圆弧，愤怒地发起攻击。凶猛的爱丽丝让炸脖龙大吃一惊，它跳着倒退了几步，然后猛冲过去进行反击。真正的战斗才刚刚开始。

心烦意乱的爱丽丝急得直打转，炸脖龙乘机用爪子拔掉她后背上的盔甲。疯帽子吓得畏缩起来。爱丽丝赶忙上前替他击退炸脖龙。

“疯帽子插手了！”红皇后怒吼着，“砍掉他的脑袋！”

黑骑士立即拔剑冲向疯帽子，疯帽子迅速拔出自己的剑进行反击。两个勇士之间秩序井然的决斗爆发成了一场大规模的战斗，爱丽丝和炸脖龙则是这场战斗的中心人物。

睡鼠跳到贝亚德背上，比耶勒则在一旁凶猛地狂吠。他们一起扑向炸脖鸟，猎犬龇着利齿对付它致命的爪子，睡鼠则挥着帽针战斗。

柴郡猫出现在红骑士面前，红骑士一剑刺向他的腰部，他却消失不见了。迷惑的红骑士转过身又胡乱地刺了几刀，但柴郡猫总能逃脱。

大毛兽嗥叫一声,立马朝四个红骑士发动了进攻，它那强有力的下颌敏捷地周旋于他们的盔甲之间。与此同时，双胞胎兄弟正背靠背联合作战，步调一致，精准无误，两人竟没斗过一句嘴。不远处，三月兔正努力克服把他吓得不能动弹的恐惧感，开始像疯了一样击打着任何他找到的东西，把红骑士打得晕头转向。

但爱丽丝和炸脖龙之间的决斗才是这场战斗的关键，她没有时间去关注自己的朋友，确保他们都安然无恙。

爱丽丝对这头野兽发起了猛烈的攻击，她举起剑又是刺又是挥，再来一记上勾拳。但炸脖龙可不是一般的对手，它立马反击，爱丽丝被打了个正着！屠龙剑掉到了地上，爱丽丝咕哝一声跌落到楼梯底部，她连忙捡起屠龙剑跑上楼梯，决斗还在继续。炸脖龙长满鳞片的长脖子从爱丽丝身边掠过，爱丽丝抓住时机跳到它背上，骑在它锋利的凹凸不平的鳞片上。她都能感受到鳞片锋利的边缘刺穿了手上的盔甲手套。炸脖龙甩动身体，用力挣扎，试图摆脱爱丽丝。

坚持不懈要砍掉炸脖龙脑袋的屠龙剑差点从爱丽丝手中挣脱掉，爱丽丝几乎都握不住了，最后顺势把自己抛到空中。

“砍掉你的脑袋！”她大喊着。

爱丽丝猛地一刺，将屠龙剑插进了炸脖龙的脖子里，把它的脑袋从邪恶的身体上砍了下来。被砍掉的脑袋滚下楼梯，落在了红皇后脚边。

精疲力竭的爱丽丝累得都说不出话来，但炸脖龙被砍掉的脑袋似乎还在喋喋不休。红皇后蛮横地指向爱丽丝。

“杀了她！”她咆哮道。

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