Alice heaved a sigh and set her teacup down on the table. "But that would end with me having to kill him as well."

Wincing slightly, Ace raised a finger to his lips and glanced about the busy tavern. "All right, so let's think of another plan," he whispered.

"Every plan ends with me killing Dodgson," Alice said, lowering her voice to appease him.

"If we just—"

"I think it's a sign. I have to kill him."

Their table went quiet, and Alice felt a pit sink in her stomach. She was going to have to kill someone. Not just someone—her stepfather. She remembered having felt a similar dread when thinking about overthrowing the Queen of Hearts. While she was a criminal and a liar, Alice was not a murderer. And she didn't want to be. But it seemed Fate had different plans.

"There has to be another way," Ace said.

"I don't see one," Alice mumbled.

"Let's get another pot of tea and think it all through again. I'm sure—"

"I'll do it."

They looked across the table at Ina as she sipped her tea. She raised her eyebrows at their incredulous expressions and placed her cup and saucer onto the table with a clink.

"You'll what?" Ace asked after a moment.

"I'll kill him," Ina said.

Alice's chest tightened. "No, Ina. You don't need to do that."

"He's my father. It should be my responsibility."

Slamming her hands on the table, Alice shouted, "That's exactly why you shouldn't have to kill him."

Again, Ace tried to shush her, but everyone in the tavern was too drunk and too loud to hear them—and it was only a few hours after noon.

Alice clenched her hands into fists. "Ina, no daughter should have to kill her father."

"No daughter should have a father who needs killing." Ina sighed and folded her hands. "Alice, I appreciate your concern, and to be honest, I don't want to kill him. But he's given us no choice. He's a monstrous tyrant who needs to be stopped. If we don't do something, he'll gain more power than a man like him should ever have. And I shudder to think of what he would do with such power. So if I must kill him, I will."

Eyes watering, Alice shook her head. "You shouldn't have to do it just because I'm a coward."

"It's not cowardly to not want to take another person's life," Ace said softly.

"Alice, I am volunteering my services," Ina said. "This is a way for me to prove to everyone that I am not on his side. Perhaps then the stigma I carry can finally be removed."

"It doesn't matter what the Swans think," Alice said. "They're a ridiculous bunch who are too drunk on their own egos."

Ace made a face. "That might be a little harsh."

"I don't care. I'm not doing this for them. I'm doing this for all the other tribes out there. I don't want them to have to experience any more pain than they already have." Alice swallowed hard. "And I suppose a small part of me is doing it for my mother. To avenge her death."

There was a long silence between them, filled by the boisterous laughter of the tavern's patrons.

Ina sighed. "All right, rebellion aside, what is the plan for afterward?"

"Afterward?" Alice repeated.

"When my father is no longer King. Will you take over as the ruler?"

Alice frowned. "I hadn't thought about that."

"You're already the Queen of Hearts. How will you balance two titles and the responsibilities that come with them?"

Chewing on her lip, Alice sipped at her now cold tea. "Let's not put the horse before the cart. There's no use worrying about titles when we haven't even decided on how to overthrow the current King."

Ace groaned and ran his hand down his face. "I'm getting us more tea. I can tell this is going to take all night."

And indeed it did. The hours ticked by, and a new crowd of drunks made their way inside, adding to the noise and the stench. It was nearly midnight, and they still hadn't settled on a plan.

"Maybe we should just charge in there and take them by surprise," Alice mumbled, her head resting on Ace's shoulder as she tried to keep her eyes open.

Ina sighed and spun her empty teacup on her finger. "We're only three people. We'd be killed."

"We could always ask the Swans for help," Ace said.

Though she grimaced at the suggestion, Alice couldn't help but think he might be right. This wasn't like it had been in Hearts. She had more people helping her then, and they had only been up against one enemy—two if she counted Raven. But with this rebellion, they had an entire tribe of seasoned thieves to deal with, all led by a cold-blooded murderer.

Shifting in her chair, Alice felt the watch move in her pocket. She still hadn't told Ace or Ina about her secret weapon. She had been hoping to keep it out of their plans, not wanting to lie to them anymore. But with the way the night had been going, it seemed this was their only option.

"If we can just get close enough to Dodgson, I can take him down," she said.

Ace glanced down at her. "How?"

She hesitated. She didn't want to lie to him. But she couldn't tell him the truth. If she told him that she intended on killing a man while he was frozen in time, what would he think of her? He already knew she was a thief and a liar. A dirty fighter was not something she wanted to add to her repertoire.

"Just trust me. I can do it," she said.

"Perhaps if we caused a distraction," Ina said.

"All I need is a minute. Maybe even less. And then this will all be over."

They exchanged looks, and let out a collective breath.

"Very well," Ina said. "We'll ambush them. Ace and I are both decent fighters. I'm sure we can fend them off for a while."

"I still think we should at least let the Swans know," Ace said. "We could use the backup."

Alice shook her head. "Bill will only want to take over and tell me I'm too young to understand. Trust me, we can do this on our own."

Putting his arm around her, Ace squeezed her shoulder. "I trust you, Alice. I just don't want you to get hurt."

The pocket watch bumped against her hip as she leaned in closer to him. "I won't get hurt, Ace."

After another cup of tea, they decided to call it a night. They would implement their plan the following evening after they had rested up. Alice rubbed her eyes as Ace returned their empty cups to the bar and Ina paid for the rest of their stay so that they could make a quick departure the following day. Just thinking about the hours that lay ahead made Alice sick to her stomach. She was going to have to kill someone. There was no way she was going to let Ina kill her own father, no matter how awful he was. But that wasn't even what scared her the most. What scared her the most was the very high possibility that Ace or Ina could be hurt. Or even killed.

She couldn't let that happen.

"How am I going to do this?" she mumbled to herself.

Something landed on the table. She looked down and found a crumpled piece of paper sitting in front of her. Glancing about the room, she tried to see who might have tossed it her way. Everyone was rather inebriated and rowdy. Perhaps it had been thrown at someone else and had missed. Or it could just be trash.

Or maybe...

Turning back to the paper, she opened it up and smoothed it out. There was a simple message written in big, messy letters:

WE CAN END THIS WITHOUT GETTING THEM INVOLVED. COME TO US TONIGHT TO DISCUSS NEGOTIATIONS.

B.S.

She inhaled sharply, rereading the words and letting them sink in. It was as if they had read her thoughts. People couldn't actually do that, could they? She certainly hoped they couldn't, because if they could, the plan that was quickly taking shape in her head would be completely ruined.

Yes. Yes, this could be the solution she had been looking for. This could save Ace and Ina from any potential harm. And with her watch, she may be able to save herself as well. It seemed too easy, but there wasn't enough time to worry about that now.

Crumpling the paper up once more, she tossed it into her smol just as Ina and Ace returned. She smiled up at them and motioned towards the stairs. "Come along now, we have a big day tomorrow. We'd best get some shut eye before those oysters take over any more of our room."