The Game in Wonderland

asked.
-I'll fly,- Agatha replied bravely, although she had no desire to take to the air on a broomstick.
-I have no other choice,- Caroline said, -Because you practically dragged us into this, didn't you, Sofia?
Sofia didn't consider it necessary to answer this question. Then the girls looked at Mikhail.
- Okay, I'll fly! Where am I going!? But if I fall and smash my head, you will be to blame, and you will explain yourself to Mom!
- By all means, - Sofia answered quickly, - And now, listen to the plan...
- And what are you commanding!? I don't recall that we appointed you captain!- Caroline was indignant.
-I'm the one who dragged you into this adventure,- Sofia said calmly, smiling faintly.
Caroline had no choice but to take a deep breath and shut up. Sofia continued:
-So, the witches are leaving in an hour, so we have to leave as soon as possible. It's best to go get the brooms right now without delay.
No one objected. The whole team understood that no matter how dangerous it was, it was necessary to fly. The guys came out of hiding, trying to make as little noise as possible. Sofia walked in front of everyone, stepping over the sleeping witches. Finally, they found themselves at the cherished brooms. Everyone took a broom.
- What's next?- Mikhail asked, staring at the broom.
- And then we take off, - said Sofia, straddled the broom and easily flew into the air.
Caroline, having made sure that it was safe to fly, also took off. Agatha followed her. Only Mikhail remained on earth, who could not decide on such a brave step for him. He sat on the brooms and jumped up. The broom lifted him into the air, but Mikhail, losing his balance, fell down, and the broom fell after him, hitting the boy on the head. Everything would have been fine if Mikhail hadn't fallen for one of the witches–the youngest of all. The girl screamed and looked at them with frightened eyes. None of the other witches woke up.
-I'm sorry,- Mikhail muttered, -I made a mistake.
The witch didn't say anything. Mikhail got up, picked up the broom and was about to take off, but the she spoke:
-Is that my broom? Are you stealing our brooms?- Her voice was getting angrier. The witch jumped up and tried to take the broom away from Mikhail, but he was so scared that he clung to it and did not let go.
- Run, you idiot!- Caroline shouted. Mikhail caught himself, pulled the handle of the broom, snatching the broom from the mistress's hands. The latter staggered. Mikhail saddled a broom and took off, but this time without incident. All four of them flew towards the unknown.
Chapter 4
The morning dawn lit up the sky. A slight chill ran through the four travelers. Caroline, Agatha, Mikhail and Sofia were still flying on witch brooms, but they had already begun to take a nap. It was decided to go down to the ground and take a break. And so they did. We stopped in a small grove, settled down under the trees and fell fast asleep. Sofia woke up about an hour later while the others were still asleep. The first thing the girl thought about was that it was very dangerous for everyone to go to bed at once. They could have been caught or worse. Sofia looked around: trees, bushes with some berries, birds. Everything is like in the ordinary world, but for some reason it seems brighter. Sofia took the sword and moved away to look around better. She came out of the grove and saw a meadow. A huge meadow illuminated by the bright sun. The girl was delighted, because for the first time she saw something so beautiful and amazing. She had finally escaped from the gray city, from the gray thoughts! Only recently, she had only dreamed about it, but now it was right in front of her eyes. Sofia decided to wake up her friends and continue on her way. When she returned, Agatha was already on her feet and was busily folding something.
- What are you doing? Sofia asked.
-I'm cooking breakfast,- Agatha replied with a smile.
- Why didn't you wake them up? Are they special?
- Let them rest.
- Well, no, - said Sofia and went towards the tree, where Karolina and Mikhail were peacefully snoring, - Let's get up! Good morning!
It didn't help. Then Sofia took the horn from Mikhail and blew hard. A loud sound swept over the valley. Mikhail and Karolina jumped up as if scalded.
- Get to work!- Sofia shouted cheerfully to them.
- Do you want to finish us off completely!?- Caroline asked, straightening her dress.
-Crazy,- Mikhail said, taking the horn from Sofia.
Sofia just laughed. At that moment, Agatha called them to breakfast. It was the most wonderful breakfast in Sofia's life. About an hour later, the friends were on their way again, but this time they went on foot, as the brooms refused to fly further. Sofia walked ahead of everyone, breathing in the fresh air. Agatha and Mikhail followed, looking with interest at the landscapes around them. Caroline brought up the rear, who was dissatisfied with absolutely everything: it was too cold, her feet got stuck in the snow, the sun blinded her eyes, in general, a nightmare! Caroline whined, cursed, complained, but no one paid much attention to her. Suddenly, a rumble and the sound of hooves were heard from the forest nearby.
- Finished playing!- Caroline panicked, -They're going to kill us!
Sofia didn't say anything. She realized that this was the first test. The girl quickly took out her weapon. After looking at her, Agatha took out her wand, and Mikhail tried to shoot a bow, but to no avail. He did not lose his head and decided to fight only with arrows.
- Caroline, what are you standing for!? Sofia asked, "We're not going to fight for you!"
Realizing that Sofia was not joking, Caroline took out her sword, but she clearly did not understand how to use it. At that time, horsemen in white armor appeared from the forest, on white horses, and rode straight towards the travelers. Sofia boldly rushed into battle, and the rest had no choice but to run after her. It turned out to be not so difficult to fight – Sofia easily repelled all attacks, she even managed to throw off one rider from a horse. Things were worse for her friends: Mikhail had broken all the arrows, Caroline still did not understand why she needed a sword, and Agatha had not mastered the wand well enough yet. Soon the horsemen captured all three of them, only Sofia held on. Suddenly one of the riders jumped off his horse and slowly approached Sofia with the words:
- We won't hurt you. Drop the weapon.
Sofia only raised the blade higher.
- Okay, okay, you can keep it with you. You can go by yourself. We'll just introduce you to our queen and that's it. Nothing bad.
The knight took off his helmet, walked up to Sofia and held out his hand to her.
-Edward - a knight of Her Majesty Queen Margot's white army,- he said.
Sophia sheathed her sword, but did not extend her hand.
-We'll go with you," Sofia said, after examining the squad, -I'm going on my own!
-As you wish,- Edward said politely.
The party headed back to the forest.
- I'll go myself too!- Mikhail boldly declared.
-And so am I, if I may,- Agatha said timidly.
-Of course you can,- Edward replied with a smile, giving a sign to the rider holding Agatha.
Caroline did not express a desire to go on her own. She was riding a horse with some knight, and apparently she was very pleased with it. The girl adjusted her tiara and dress, and now looked at the rider, fluttering her long eyelashes. "Shame!" thought Sophia, because she had never even thought of behaving like this, but Caroline was happy with everything in this state of affairs. The party passed through the forest quite quickly, and eventually came to a small clearing where a large camp stopped. There were bonfires and small tents everywhere, in which the knights apparently lived, and in the very center stood a huge tent where the queen lived during the campaign. The friends were led straight to that tent. Caroline's eyes lit up – she would get to know the real queen, and maybe, if she liked Caroline, she would even know all the luxury of the royal court. Sofia and Mikhail did not share her delight – they did not trust these people. Agatha was just interested in seeing everything, so she carefully looked at the tents and bonfires surrounding her. The guys were shown into the tent. It was warm and even cozy inside: a large table covered with all sorts of dishes, large upholstered chairs, and a fluffy carpet on the floor. The knights went out, leaving the four friends alone, but it didn't last long. The queen jumped out from behind the screen. Tall, slender, in a white dress with a tight corset, high hairstyle of white hair. A characteristic feature of her face was an excessively pale complexion and rouged cheeks. Sofia examined her from head to toe and did not feel much admiration for this person.
- Ah!- the queen exclaimed, - I was informed about you, but I could not imagine that you would arrive so soon! Ah! That's great! Well, I'd like to talk to you. I really need your help, the help of the players. I've been looking for you for a very long time at all the initial stations, and now I've finally found you! It's so wonderful!
-What should we do, Your Majesty?- Sofia asked seriously.
- It's a difficult case, I'll say it right away. There is a heavy war going on between our kingdom and the dark Knights. They are hunting for a very powerful artifact that I have. If they get hold of this thing, the world will fall into eternal darkness. This shouldn't happen. I want to give this thing to you for safekeeping, namely Princess Caroline,- the queen said good-naturedly.
Caroline beamed. What an honor! Her Majesty went to the table on which there was a large casket and, opening it, took out an amulet. It was a chain with a huge shiny stone hanging from it. The Queen carefully hung it around Caroline's neck. She was overjoyed. Sofia's situation was worse. She did not understand at all how Her Majesty could give this valuable thing to such a fool as Caroline. Why didn't she choose her–Sofia? She's much more reliable than her three companions. The girl did not argue, but she chuckled.
- You will go with our army to the kingdom, but after that you will have to take this amulet to the Big Mountain. A wizard will meet you there, and he knows what to do," with these words, Her Majesty turned abruptly, and rustling her fluffy skirts, sat down in an armchair, -That's it, you can go!
The friends left the tent. Caroline hummed some funny song, laughed and even tried to make a joke, but only Agatha laughed at the joke, and then out of politeness. Sofia, on the contrary, walked gloomily. The amulet hanging around Caroline's neck bothered her, but she decided that if the queen needed it, then she would protect Caroline.
- Well, have they done anything wrong to you?- A voice came from behind. Sofia turned around. Edward was walking towards them, smiling. He had already taken off his helmet and sword, and now he looked very harmless.
-I'll ask you not to mess with us with your idiotic jokes,- Sofia replied dryly to this.
Edward just smiled even wider. Sofia rolled her eyes, turned abruptly and walked to the nearest campfire, where there were few people. Just one knight who was apparently about to leave. It was even good, because she didn't want to talk to anyone at all. The camp was supposed to return to the city at dawn tomorrow. Sofia was looking forward to it, she really wanted to see the White City. It was said around that it was an amazing city. But at the same time, Sofia did not want to go with the knights. They seemed too arrogant to her, and especially Edward. He worried her. Well, for the sake of such an important mission, you can tolerate his company. The sun was slowly setting, and the camp was preparing for bedtime. A few knights remained on patrol. Sofia was in no hurry to go to bed either. She found her companions who didn't want to sleep either. Sofia sat down next to them.
- How wonderful it is! Caroline took a deep breath.
-But not so long ago, you claimed that this whole idea was a complete nightmare,- Sofia said with a grin.
- It was different, but now, I am very important!- Caroline said seriously, - I have been entrusted with an important mission, which means that I am worth something.
After listening to her words, Sofia became despondent. But she's right. Of all of them, the Queen chose Caroline, and this is the most important thing. So Caroline had attracted her in some way. But with what? Sofia couldn't understand that. The girl looked at Caroline sitting next to her: no intelligence, no intelligence, no special skills, not even a special beauty! Sofia was very stressed out by the fact that it was very scary to rely on Caroline, because such empty-headed people usually throw out all sorts of nonsense at the most crucial moment. I'll have to watch her very closely...
                                                                          …
Morning. The sun was just lighting up the horizon, but the camp was already on its way to the city. Friends were given beautiful strong horses. At first, Mikhail flatly refused to get on a horse. "Mom always said that horses are dangerous creatures, but I have poor health," Mikhail said with all seriousness. Soon, Sofia threatened her friend that if he did not get on the horse, she would tie him up and put him on horseback by force. After such a serious statement, Mikhail immediately forgot about his "poor health" and climbed into the saddle. Not without difficulty, but I got in. He was pretty confident in the saddle now. All the time they were driving, Sophia was thinking about the amulet hanging around Caroline's neck. He was bothering her. Oh, how she would like to have this thing hanging around her neck! How she would like to be the main character! But these were only dreams, fruitless dreams... Now it was necessary to distract from obsessive thoughts and focus on the upcoming hike to the Big Mountain. Namely, how to protect Caroline from stupid actions or something worse. If this amulet is so important and powerful, then the dark forces will want to take it away. You need to be always on the lookout. Sofia suddenly wondered how long it would take them to get to the White City. She asked the knight how long it would take, to which he replied, only two days. He also added that the road is quite pleasant and there should be no dangers waiting for them.
Those two days passed quickly. Nothing interesting happened. Caroline became good friends with the Queen. She liked Caroline very much. They rode side by side, chatted, and ate together. Sofia was annoyed by this, because she considered Caroline unworthy of the attention of such a high-ranking person. She didn't show it, but she often glanced sideways at Caroline. This was not the only problem. The amulet beckoned Sofia, called her to him. At night, she dreamed of him hanging around her neck. "They would be proud of me, respected..." the girl thought, sitting by the campfire. She tried hard to suppress these thoughts, but it was getting harder every day.
Chapter 5
On the afternoon of the second day of the journey, the royal party crossed a large bridge. After passing through a small grove, they came out on a hill with a magnificent view of the proud White City. The city was surrounded by a high wall of white stone, with loopholes in some places. There was a huge tower in the very center of the city. As Sofia later found out, it was the main tower of the Royal Palace where the prisoners were kept. The party trotted down the hill and drove up to a huge cast-iron gate with amazingly beautiful carvings. The gates slowly opened and the whole squad, amid the enthusiastic shouts of the residents, rode into the city. Sofia noticed that both the city and its inhabitants were surprisingly similar – all in white colors. The women's corsets were tightly tightened, their faces were pale, and their rouged cheeks were pronounced. The men were some in armor, and some in the simple clothes of workers. In the front rows, of course, were wealthy citizens in rich attire. It reminded Sofia of something... Chess! Why, it's chess! With her eyes, Sofia found all the figures in this motley crowd.  Pawns, queens, bishops, knights and of course, the queen. How did she not think of it before!? It was so obvious! The game was getting more and more interesting for her. Flowers were flying at them from all sides. How delightful it was... Sofia had never felt so satisfied as she did now. By the time they reached the palace, the knights had dispersed to their homes. At the castle, the queen was greeted by courtiers, but she only waved them off. Her Majesty has asked four friends to come to her chambers.
- You will spend the night at the castle. Of course, in the servants' quarters,- the queen said cheerfully, sitting down in an armchair, -Tomorrow you will go on the road with Edward, but today rest, only rest! Free!
Sofia bowed and quickly left. She was followed by Mikhail, Agatha and Karolina, who exchanged a few more words with Her Majesty. The guys decided to take a walk in the garden.
- It's good that we're leaving tomorrow, but it's a pity about this Edward! I don't like him,- Sofia said.
- On the contrary, it seems to me that all the knights here are very attractive young people. Especially Edward,- Caroline said dreamily, batting her eyelashes.
-I noticed that,- Sofia said with a chuckle, -but, Caroline, that's not why we're here! You have to focus on your mission, since you got it,- Sofia explained sternly.
- Don't be a bore!- Caroline drawled.
-Sofia is right,- Agatha said, -you can't be distracted by such trifles. You have the life of this kingdom hanging around your neck, and there are enemies around who want to get it by fooling you. Don't fall for their tricks.
- And you too!
- What should I do?- Mikhail suddenly asked.
"Just stay out of the way," replied Sofia, who had no hopes for Mikhail. She did not believe that he could help them in any way on this journey.
After discussing all the issues related to the upcoming test, the guys went to their rooms, allocated by the queen in the far corridor of the palace. Sofia's room was a tiny room with one window under the ceiling. The furniture was sparse – a bed and a small bedside table. Then Sofia noticed