*** Alice ***
My mother looked at me and scoffed.
"Alice! You look truly horrid in that dress! Is that a top hat? How unladylike and vulgar! And what are you holding? Is that a giant rat?"
"As a matter of fact, it's a rabbit mother. I purchased her from a man in china who was selling them for food. I saved her life and her name is Clementine! Isn't she adorable?" I asked, snuggling close to the little brown and white rabbit. It looked like a mixture of Nevins and the march hare, with Nevins's body, and part of his color, while the rest of the fur was colored like hare's. I had the little thing dressed in dolls clothes so it was dressed like an Underlandian rabbit would be, it was also tucked inside my jacket to keep it from catching cold in the fall weather.
"Well, if you're going to keep it, it stays in your room. Hurry inside that dress shows your ankles Alice! Take it off at once! To your room and we shall celebrate your return when your properly dressed." What a welcome after being gone two years trading on a ship. I knew that as soon as I arrived home I would be pestered by my mother about her not being like my older sister, but I didn't think it would begin as soon as I left the carriage. I scurried up the stairs to my old room, closing the doors behind me she took in the wonderful sight of my room that I hadn't seen in what seemed like forever. Everything had been left exactly the way I had left it, although there was now a thin layer of dust. I dropped Clementine gently to the floor so that she could grow accustomed to her new home.
"This is where I live Clem. This is my room. It's your room now too so go ahead and explore." I changed into a different dress that was comfortable, but elegant. Light blue of course, and then dusted off the things that needed dusting. I then pranced back to the door and called to my friend, who came scurrying out from under the dresser and to my side.
The little creature had taken a strong liking to me, and would follow me around like a faithful dog who was smitten to her owner. I walked calmly down the hall and into the parlor, where my mother was waiting, the little rabbit bounding along next to me. As I entered, my mother turned along with my sister, Lowell, and a third character, whom I had never met.
"Alice! I thought I told you that was to stay in your room!" Mother scolded as Clementine snuck past me and off to the corner of the room to inspect a tall bookshelf. I just laughed.
"Don't worry Mother, she won't do any harm." The stranger stood and Mother put on her kind face again.
"Alice, this is Lord David Patterson, he's a very kind man." The man made me think of a proud peacock, He had a short, innocent, snobby build. His skin was light-colored. He had delicate ears and long-fingered hands. His boring, straight, brown hair was medium-length and was worn in a utilitarian style. He had a short mustache. His wardrobe was completely unconventional, with a lot of gray. My mother really expected me to act friendly toward this man?
"Hello sir." I moaned, why was mother always trying to get me together with men that had so little muchness?
"Hello Miss Kingsley, so delightful to finally meet you. You're mother has told me all about you, and your success at becoming a quite wealthy young woman. You've made quite a name for yourself have you not?"
"I suppose." I groaned. Looking back to my rabbit who was eagerly sniffing a copy of 'Mother Goose's nursery rhymes', which was pulled out slightly from the others. I walked over to the shelf and pulled it out, it looked different from when I last saw it.
"Alice?" Mother was asking, but I ignored her.
"Curiouser and curiouser." I whispered
"ALICE!" Mother yelled.
"Yes?
" I asked, startled out of my wonderings.
" David asked you a question." I started to ignore her again and I called Clementine softly.
"If you don't mind mother, I'm tired, and I wish to go to bed." Without waiting for a response, I turned and walked out of the room.
*** Tarrant ***
Playing that silly little waiting game again are we Alice? Of corse, you just love to keep me guessing and waiting don't you? Always showing up late, if at all. Yes it was a waste of Time, I killed him often and he in return, kept me alive and unchanging.
I was waiting like always on a mild afternoon just like it always was. I sat by myself. I wasn't going to move today. It hurt too much. I was alone too, and that made it even worse.
I knew that I wouldn't be able to get her out of my head, so I would try putting her in my head. Alice. alice. ALICE. AlIcE. aLiCe. aLICE. AlICE. ALiCE. ALIcE. ALICe. ecila. Alice. ALice. AlIce. AliCe. AlicE. OH THIS WASN'T WORKING! I screamed in frustration and tossed a scone into the bushes. I stood angrily and trudged away. I was going to consult Mirana about what I was going to do with myself. As I broke out of the clearing, I became cold. Something didn't feel right. To my left, the bushes rustled. I spun around narrowed my eyes.
"Very funny Chesh." I said loudly.
" It's not meant to be funny." A voice said from behind me. I turned quickly, that was defiantly not Chesh!
"St-St-STANE?" I whimpered, we were in an abandoned part of the forest, and I was unarmed, unlike him who had a sword with a saw-edged blade of a bronze color, with bones and hearts engraved on it. Its grip was also formed like a bone. Its pommel, shaped like a skull with rubies for eyes and an emerald in its mouth. Where did Stayne ever get ahold of such a high-class sword? He probibly had it hidden somewhere in the Red castle. I couldn't help but notice the sword was pointed strait at me.
" No. It's the Easter Bunny. Of corse it's Stayne!" I backed away. "Ah! Don't even try to run. I have a horse and you don't. I'll catch you in no time." It was worth a try, besides I didn't see any horse. I burst out into the bushes and ran at full speed, trying to escape. How had he escaped from the outlands? Where was the Bluddy Big Hid? What did he want with me?
"Run Run as fast as you can, you still can't escape the blood thirsty man!" I heard his voice laugh he was close. Too close. Soon, the shrubbery in front of me broke and a man on a black horse jumped out. I screamed as I tried to stop, but I fell onto my back instead.
"What did I tell you?" he laughed, standing above me. I tried to crawl away, but before I could even move, he had the blade of his sword pressed to my throat. "Wanna' try that again? Or are you going to listen to me this time?" I glared.
"I'm never gonna' listen to you. You aint' the king!"
"Not yet at least." He pulled a piece of rope out of his pocket and bound my wrists behind my back. I was then forced up onto the horse, and he swung up and seated himself behind me It was a very awkward situation, especially sense he kept my neck in a tight headlock from behind. I struggled and fought, but I was immobilized, then I saw where we were going and it worried me further. Salas and grum! An abandoned castle sat there, but I got the feeling it wasn't abandoned any longer.
"Behold Hatter," Stayne spat into my ear. "My castle. You get to have the honor of being the first prisoner into the dungeon. Don't worry though, there'll be many more. I'll have lots of castles once my plan is fulfilled. Until then though, this will do quite nicely."
I tried again to squirm out of his grasp, but he held tight, and I couldn't escape him. We quickly got closer and closer until we crossed the drawbridge. As we entered the court yard, He tossed me to the grown and I hit the stone floor hard. I let out a whimper of pain as he jumped down and grabbed the back of my neck with one hand, and my wrists, that were still tied behind me, with the other.
"Move along." He told me as we passed the execution block, a few rotted bodies littered the ground, had they even cleaned up after I left?
"You couldn't have come all the way to Witzend just for me could you?" I asked curiously.
"But of corse. You see, I have made a to-do list:
1: Capture you
2: lure Underland's champion here with you as bait.
3: Capture Alice
4: Take control of the Mirana and become sovereign of Underland.
5: Build a massive army
6: Take over all the worlds
7: Marry either Alice or Mirana, although now that I think about it, Why not Both!
8: Keep you as my own personal toy until I get bored of you. I'll just kill you then.
9: Have many children with Alice
10: Kill anyone who gets in my way.
There, thats it." By the time he finished telling me his plan, we were in the tower dungeon and he tossed me the same cell I had been in last time.
"Capture Hatter...Check." He laughed as he turned and strolled away laughing. I pounded my fists on the bars until they throbbed. That was the most sick and twisted list of goals I'd ever heard. He was even gonna force my Alice into Having children with him! That was illegal wasn't it? It should be at least. I turned and sat on the ground and hid my face in my hands.
"Poor me. Alice, I shure wish you are having a better time than I am." I was Alice bait I realized. I had to find a way to warn her not to come after me. "You could have stayed." I whispered into the darkness that surrounded me.
2: Lure Underland's champion here with me as bait. Of course he had to use me, the one thing she's proven to come after. Alice is a little fly, Stayne a hairy spider.
'Will you walk into my parlor?' said the spider to the fly,
' 'Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy,
The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
And I've got many curious things to show when you are there.'
'Oh, no, no,' said the little fly, 'to ask me is in vain,
For whoever goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again.'