Part One: Into the Rabbit Hole
'I am safe, though I am alone, lost, and scared. I know that I am safe here.'
Alice Eimin was your typical sixteen year old girl. She has her close group of friends, likes dark colours, and loves to read and listen to music whenever she can get a hold of it.
But then something wired happened.
It was a cool day, with a nice breeze in the air; just enough to make your hair stand up. The sky was blanketed with grayish-sliver clouds. But there was only one problem with this: Alice was bored. She decided that she was gonna leave her carbon copy house and go hang in the tree, literally. There was an old oak tree about two blocks away from her house on the edge of the park. The tree had a branch that curved and made a perfect seat that Alice just loved. She ran into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water, a small bag of carrots and her cd player; she put her stuff in an old book bag and walked off.
When she reached the branch, an eerie shadow seemed to loom over the area. Something in the back of Alice's mind told her to go home, and if not just get away from here, something not right with this place today. Alice shrugged it off, thinking nothing of it but nerves because she left without her sister's permission. She threw her stuff onto the branch, climbed up, and settled in for hours of 'Alone'. She closed her eyes and turned her mix on almost full blast.
While she slept in the tree, Alice didn't notice that the cloud that had once softened the sun's light had now turned a dark grayish black. Filled with rain, the clouds flooded, followed by claps of thunder and streaks lightning. But Alice didn't notice. That was until there was a violent shaking from the tree, which woke her up, nearly throwing her from her tree. She threw her head back knocking her headphones around her neck and started grabbing for her bag. Once it was in hand there was a crack from about three feet behind her, where the branch connected to the tree. Well, where it used to.
The loud crunch was only the beginning of things to come. Alice was twelve feet in the air when she started falling. She curled up trying her best to protect her self for when the tree branch hit the floor below, but the odd thing was that it hadn't. She, and it, just kept falling, and falling, and falling downwards, until she started to feel sunlight and a warm breeze on her skin. Alice opened her eyes to a completely new surrounding, to a place she had never seen, to a place that looked far too happy. She hit the ground with a thud, and a crunch. Luckily, the thud had been her as she landed and rolled away, and the crunch the branch hitting the bank of a river and a large group of rocks. And they weren't the nice round ones, either. They were more of the sharp, pointy ones that make you say "Umm…I think I'm bleeding internally' and that's usually because you are.
Alice stayed on the ground for a few minutes doing a mental check to make sure that everything was okay, that nothing was broken or hurt too badly, that the worst that she would have to deal with is a few scrapes and bruises. She really lucked out. All she had was a small cut on her upper right arm, and a few bruises mainly on her legs, and a few on her arms.
Alice got up and looked around. There was defiantly something horribly wrong with this place. It was truly the spawn of her worst nightmares. The sky was a cheery pink with light blue clouds that floated in the sky like deformed marshmallows. Alice grabbed her bag and climbed up the small overhang of the bank, where she was greeted face to face with a small squirrel. Alice raised her eyebrow at it and watched it scamper up a tree that resembled the one from the park. "This is really creepy." Alice walked over to the tree and leaned against it.
"This is just weird. I mean, what the Furies?" Alice slid down and leaned her head against the hard bark of the tree. "Where am I?"
"Stupid little girl. You think after the first one fell down here they would stop sitting in that tree, especially on this of all days." A voice came from near the tree.
"Who's there?" Alice called out. She stood and walked around the tree looking for the source of the voice. Alice looked up into the branched of the tree. "Squirrel, is that you?"
"You really are stupid. Down here girl!" The tree shook, a few leaves floated to the ground. Alice walked back to where she originally was sitting, next to her bag was a small door, probably a foot or so tall, with a tarnished gold door knob. She crouched down and reached for the doorknob. She roughly grabbed the knob and turned it.
"LET GO!" Alice quickly withdrew her hand as if she's been bitten. "How'd you like it if someone did that to you?" The doorknob glared at her.
"Unholy crap! What the hell are you!" Alice yelled backing up she walked backwards into a large stump that hadn't been there before. "Where did that come from?"
"I think the old willow that was there, but what do I know, I'm just DoorKnob." It said with a snicker in his voice.
"What?" Alice legs gave out from under her, making her land butt first on the willow stump. "Please tell me I'm hallucinating or something. I mean you can't be real, you can't even be talking, you're a doorknob for Furies sake."
"Ah, but you aren't and I am, dear. You are in Wonderland, well a newer version of it. We've done a lot of renovations in the last 60 years. I'm not too fond of the sky, but that was the Mad Hatter's choice, not mine." DoorKnob smiled at the dumbstruck Alice. "Your great, great, grandmother was Alice, am I correct?"
"Yes, why?" Alice snapped out of it and walked over to sit down in front of DoorKnob. "Do you know of Grandma Alice? Wow, she always talked of this place, but Alex, my sister, and I always just thought it was one of her stories."
"No, its all true, some of it at least. Like I said a lot has changed. You know, I think that the Queen of Hearts will be pleased to hear that you are here!"
"Please tell me that she has changed as w--hey?" Alice yelled as she was pushed aside onto her bag.
"Move aside, move aside! Stupid girls. I am late and you, you're in my way." A Grayish black Rabbit said, it turned on her glaring emerald green eyes. He was wearing black chained jeans, a tight black shirt, with a black light weight coat over it. He turned back around and waved his hand at DoorKnob, who expanded and opened his mouth which the Rabbit through, continuing to grouse about being late for appointments and stupid people delaying him.
Alice, who righted her self sat there with her mouth agape, watching as DoorKnob shrank back down to his previous size. "Odd question, but considering where I am, what could a Rabbit possibly be late for?" Alice asked.
"Oh, you would be surprised; Trevor is the great grandson of the White Rabbit, and adviser to the Queen. It's a family business, you know?" DoorKnob informed her.
DoorKnob sighed deeply and closed his eyes. "Are you ready to go, Alice?"
"What do you mean? Go where? Home?" Alice asked, looking confused.
"No, Alice, to see the Queen of Hearts." DoorKnob opened his eyes and looked up at her with a sad expression.
"But I don't want to. I remembered what happened to Grandma Alice. I just want to go home." Alice said standing up.
"Unfortunately, you really don't have much of a choice in the matter. You see, The Deck is coming."
"The Deck?" Alice looked at him with a look of pure childish curiosity, that's when it clicked. "Oh, you mean The Guards for The Queen?"
"Yes. They've gotten a lot meaner unfortunately since the Queen found out that all the roses were actually white. It rained one day and the gardens were soaked in diluted red paint. The queen wasn't happy and she took it out on the guards, they became quite vicious and malevolent since hand."
"Well then how do I get out of here?" Alice turned around looking for somewhere to hide but there were scarce trees and it was mostly open purple and yellow fields around her.
"On the stump, the one you sat on earlier, there is a box of cookies that will shrink you down to a inch and ones that will make you grow back to your original height, that is if you eat the whole thing." Doorknob gestured with a flick of his nose.
The stump was now decorated with a black lace table cloth and two metal flip-top boxes, and a cup of milk sat atop it. Alice picked up both boxes and the milk and walked back over to the tree. "Which is which?"
"Open them up and look inside. If you eat the ones with the star you'll shrink. And if you eat the circle marked ones you will grow. Now all you really need is a nibble of each, they are very potent." DoorKnob instructed her.
"Okay, then what?" Alice took out a pink sprinkled star cookie and placed both of the boxes in her bag.
"Nibble and walk threw. You go in the same way as Mr. Trevor. You need to hurry though; I can hear The Deck coming." DoorKnob opened his mouth wide as Alice nibbled on the corner of the cookie, shrinking to about a foot tall.
Alice grabbed her bag, which somehow had shrink with her and ran into Doorknob's open mouth. "Thank you and good bye!"
DoorKnob closed his mouth after she was through, and whispered to himself. "Good Luck Miss Alice, you'll need it."
Part Two: Round and Round We Go…
Alice who was still getting over the fact she was now stuck in Wonderland and was being chased by a malevolent Deck of cards, found herself screaming as she landed in a what looked like a giant pond. She swam to the edge and crawled out.
"This just isn't going to be my day is it. Ow!" Alice was pushed aside again, as a Penguin in a three piece carpet suit waddled past her. "What is this 'Let's see how many times we can push aside Alice before she goes psycho' day?" She stood up and looked at the retreating Penguin.
The Penguin turned around and waddled back up to Alice. He grabbed her hand and started pulling her along with him. "Silly Duckling, you'll never get dry that way. You must run with us."
Alice looked at him like he was crazy. "What are you talking about? I won't get drying running either." The Penguin continued to pull her along in a giant circle around the pond. "Stop! I need to check my bag. Give me back my arm. Let go!" Alice pulled her arm away, trying to shake him off. She stopped suddenly, while the Penguin ran in place. "Did you just call me a Duckling?"
"Yes! And no, you have to run, run, run!" He grabbed onto her arm more firmly and started pulling her harder.
"Penguin, let go." She tired pulling her arm free again, but he just latched on to her elbow.
The Penguin looked up at her with large shining black eyes. "Frank, not Penguin. Please run, you must run with us!"
Alice tried to ignore how adorable the Penguin, Frank, looked and tried to free her arm from him as he pulled her into the center of formally dressed Penguins and stoned bumblebees. She finally gave up on shaking him off, knowing it was pointless. She lifted him up and tried flinging him off. Frank looked at her and glared. "Sorry, I had to try. Would you let go already?"
The Penguin dropped from her elbow, landing on the ground with a thud.
"Misses, you must run with us!" Frank begged her
Another Penguin walked up, "Yes, Run!"
Then another, "Yes…"
And another, "Run…"
And another, "With…"
And another, "Us!"
The entire group was gathered around her, chanting for her to run with them.
Alice clutched her bag to her and tried to walk out of the circle but was stopped when she let out a sneeze as a pudgy bumblebees landed on her nose. It was what could only be described as a bug on helium's voice that begged her to come with them. "Please Frank's Duckling, run with it. It would be ever so nice."
All the other Bees joined in, buzzing around her, pleading and begging for her to run. Alice sneezed again and carefully picked up the Bee and set him on Frank's shoulder and whistled to get their attention. "Listen! I can't run with you. I'm very busy, I'm trying to find my way home, and I'm being chased by The Deck." She started picking out the Bees that had landed in her hair and placing them on the Penguin's shoulders.
The Penguins and Bees all turned towards her and quietly sat down, only Frank remained standing. "We don't like The Deck. They've always been so mean to us! They swat the Bees with their sticks and throw us Penguins into the Puddle Pond." Frank straightened out his suit as he had been very animated when he was talking. "We shall help you Duckling! We will take you to the Sign." A few Penguins and Bees 'Ooo'd', 'Awed' and gasped when they heard this. "I, Frankie, and Stone will escort you to the Sign.
The Bee that had been placed on Frank's shoulder earlier flew back to Alice's nose and looked at her. "I'm honored." He flew off and went to sit on Alice's shoulder.
Frank took a hold of her hand and started dragging her off towards the forest that surrounded the pond and its inhabitants. "This," Frank began pointing towards the forest, "Is the Forest of Haiga. If you follow The Path it shall lead us to the Sign. I warn you though, you must watch out of the Cheshire Cat. He is the toy of The Queen; he is simply twisted evil. He plucks Bees from the air and nips their wings off and tosses the bodies randomly in the forest, and he used the Penguins for pillows for his home, but stopped because he had difficulty catching us after awhile so he let us be." Frank held onto Alice tighter and pulled her more rapidly towards the Sign, which was now visible. "Duckling, ahead is the Sign, Stone and I leave you here. Wishes of good luck, Duckling, Good luck!" She let go of her hand and quickly ran off back to the safety of the pond.
Stone buzzed from her shoulder back to her nose and kissed it. "Good Luck, Frankie's Duckling." Stone followed quickly after Frank leaving Alice by herself.
Part Three: It all depends on where you want to go…
'What are you gonna do now, Alice?' she thought to herself, Alice was sitting in front of one of the most confusing signs she'd ever seen. It was as tall as most trees back home but had driftwood and arrows pointing in different directions.
One said 'To the Hatters,' while another in the opposite directions read 'To the Hares.' 'This Way' one pointed, 'No, This Way,' another contradicted, while a third one boldly read, 'No, You're Both Wrong, It's This Way!' A pink flyer hung to the end of one of the signs that read 'Free Candy for Whatchadoodles This Way.' Another sign, near the middle of the tree pointed at Alice reading 'Back the Way You Came.' And finally near the very bottom of the Sign nailed eye level was a sign that read 'Don't Touch; I'm Vicious' with had a bite-sized chuck taken out of it.
Alice sat there glaring at the Sign. "Which one to choose?" She said to no one in particular.
"Choose the one fourth from the middle." A voice whispered from what seemed the shadows.
"There isn't a fourth one from the middle. That's just a knot." She sighed in defeat.
"Did you read it?" The voice continued.
"No." Alice rested her forehead against her raised knees.
A dark figure walked over to the knot and with a sharpie wrote, 'Press For Help.' He moved behind the Sign, wrapping his arms around it and leaned his head to the side. "Check it now, Alice.'
"Why? It shouldn't have changed any in the last ten seconds." Alice kept her head down and lowered her voice. You could hear the tears building up as she held them back.
"Stop being hardheaded and just look, Alice." He purred her name, catching her attention.
She stood up, whipping her eyes, and looked at the knot. "Do I really have to push it?"
"Of course." He purred again. "That's what it says doesn't it, darling?"
Alice cautiously reached out and pushed the knot with her index finger. The mysterious character stepped out from behind the Sign, now in full view and light, and bowed to her. "How may I be of service to you Alice?" he was dressed in a three piece black suit with a purple rose in his lapel with a matching shirt. He was marked on the face, ears and hands, for what she could see, with purple stripes that matched the purple flower. When he straightened from his formal bow his striking emerald green eyes caught her pale blue ones.
"What are you?" She took a step back, his stare catching her off guard.
"Not what, as much as Who. I'm the Cheshire Cat." He bowed again. "And you, my dear, have to be the one and only Alice of Wonderland. Time had been good to you, love." He grin showing off his sparkling white teeth.
"No. That was my grandmother. How did you know I was here? I've only been here for," Alice looked down at her watch, "two hours, mostly in front of this horrid Sign." She glared at the Sign and looked up at Ches who towered over her.
"I am the Cheshire Cat, give me some credit. I know all that happens in Wonderland." He looked up at the immense canvas of braches and leaves thoughtfully tapping his lips. "I know, for instance, that your friend, Frankie, is running around in circles with Stoner sitting on his beak."
"You can't prove it." Alice crossed her arms in front of her defiantly.
"And you can't prove he's wrong." A new voice commented. She turned around coming face to chest with Trevor. "He's not, if you're wondering, I've just come from there. Hello Ches." Trevor walked over and put his arm around Ches' waist.
"You!" Alice shouted after she regained her senses. "You're the ass who pushed me aside earlier. Who the hell do you think you are?" She stormed up to him and glared. "Furies, What is you're problem?"
Trevor looked down at her and in a calm control voice replied, "I was late to see The Queen." Ches involuntary twitched at hearing her name, but it was barely noticeable. Alice raised her eyebrow at both of them.
"That is no excuse! For all you know I could have been seriously hurt. You could have caused further harm to my already injured self!" She raised her voice to almost a shout.
Trevor continued in the calm voice. "Unlikely, Duckling, if I had I would have heard you bitching more." He casually took hold of one on his ears with his free hand. "These aren't merely for decoration." Ches turned his head to the side and coughed trying to cover his laugh. "Shut up, Cheshire." Trevor whispered under his breath at the now choking Cat.
"Fine, it doesn't matter now. Cheshire," she stopped as Ches raised his hand to pause her.
"Ches. It's Ches, unless you're The Queen or someone who has a stick permanently stuck up their butt." He smiled at her again showing off all his teeth.
"Okay, Ches, you said if I pushed the knot in the tree I would get help. So…you know, help would be nice about now." She stepped back several steps and leaned again the Sign.
"I can't help you right now." He looked over at Trevor. "I have other plans right now."
"Then why did you tell me to push the knot for help if I'm now screwed?" she glared icily at him. She could feel her body tensing in anger as she forced to remain calm.
"But you may join Trevor and Myself. We are on our way to the Tea Party at the Hatters and Hares. If you do, I warn you, they are a bit…"
"Freakish." Trevor supplied.
He looked over at Trevor, raising both eyebrows, trying to stifle a forming grin. "No, eccentric, would be better fitting. Though one can not deny they are an odd pair."
Trevor leaned forward slightly to stage whisper to Alice, "Don't listen to him." He shook his head, "Totally freaks, trust me. I had to sit though a round of Un-Happy Birthday, I thought I'd have to kill my self with the damned tea pot." He chuckled at the memory and disturbed look on the brunette girl's face.
Ches playfully smacked Trev in the shoulder, "Be good, they're not that bad. Will you join us?"
Alice took a deep breath, "Okay. But, BUT, afterwards you will help me get out of here. Deal?"
"Agreed." He shook hands with Alice to seal the deal, so to speak.
Part Four: Two Sugars, No Charleston, Please.
"There is nothing but trees up ahead. How could a house possibly be in a forest this dense?" Alice followed behind Ches and Trevor who remained in contact the entire time.
"Alice, dear, must you question everything?" Trevor turned his head to the side, continuing to walk. "You were doing so well before, accepting."
"Before I was in shock, now I just want to get home." Alice stated. She quickened her pace so she was now in front of the couple.
"Duck." Ches say in a monotone.
"What?" She said, flipping back to look at him.
Ches put his clawed hand into the air, snatching a navy blue hat flying through the sky. "Duck, but it doesn't matter much now, does it?" He took the hat and placed it lopsided on the left side of his head.
"The Tea Party must be close; this is the Hatter's Hat. Paige really should pin this thing down." Trevor said picking up the card that had fallen out of the trimming of the hat. He smiled as a bewildered expression fixed it's self on the girls face. "You do that a lot. Yell, not listen, and then look confused. If you were to just shut up and obey your life would be so much easier."
"Bastard. It's not my fault I'm here, it's not like I want to be. And ever head of the Women's Movement? We, I, don't have to sit down and shut up like good little dogs." She stood there glaring at Trevor as he pushed past her. "Hey! Get back here, I wasn't done."
"Aw, my dear, but I am. Besides, Duckling, we're here." Trevor opened the ten foot Iron Gate with a teapot wearing a top hat that was welded onto it.
"CHES!" Paige yelled as she glomped Ches. "Come on, you must dance with me! You promised last time, and besides Dormouse fell back to sleep on M's books." She grabbed his claws and dragged him up onto the long table where Happy Hardcore was playing.
Alice looked up at Trevor. "You have Happy Hardcore." She mock swooned. "I'm in love!" The voice sounded like it was a chipmunk who was high and on helium, kinda like the bee. Alice started to laugh, it was one of her favorite songs, and not only because it had her name in it. 'I don't know why she's leaving Or where's she's gonna go I guess she got her reasons I just don't want to know For thirty four years I've been living next door to Alice. Who the fuck is Alice? Who the fuck is Alice? Who the fuck is Alice? Alice, its Alice!'
Trevor shook his head and led her into the garden where the Tea Party guests were assembled. On top of the table Ches was dancing the waltz with Paige, who was wearing her top hat, again, with a long sleeved formal button up Navy blue jacket with a purple ruffled shirt underneath and matching blue pants. Black boots with silver spades, clubs, hearts and diamond shapes along the bottom of them peaked out from the wide legged pants. She kick a leg into the air, falling back, as Ches caught her spinning her around in the air, both laughing madly.
On the other side of the table from Alice was a girl with red glass, feet propped up on the table reading. Short red hair wildly stuck up from under a black top hat. She was wearing a black lab coat with buckles down the left side in front that ended upper thigh. Under that were blue jeans with sticky notes attached all over. Her outfit finished with one pink and one blue shoe and white and black wrist warmers that went up to mid upper arm, leaving an inch of bare flesh between that and the short black sleeves of the shirt.
The girl in black closed her book and picked up another, which coincidently was where Dormouse was softly snoring from. The little mouse fell, lading on the book underneath, his slumber undisturbed. She looked up at Alice and Trevor and nodded. "M." Was all she supplied as she went back to reading, occasionally jaunting some fact or idea down in a purple notebook. Trevor leaned over to Alice, whispering "She works in the Midnight Insane Asylum, generally with medication and advances in new drugs." Alice nodded. Trevor walked forward to the table, pulling out a seat for Alice and himself. "Sit."
"Yes, my Master!" She mock saluted and took the offered seat. She leaned over to him, their shoulders almost touching. "Who is the girl at the end of the table?" Alice flicked her eyes to a girl with a huge smile on her face, who was clapping and yelling enthusiastically to Ches and Hatter Paige who were now doing the Tango up and down the table, barely missing tea cups and pots. The girl had incredibly short green hair and amber eyes. She was dressed in a blue baggy short sleeved shirt on top of a white long sleeved shirt and large brown baggy pants that had two chains hanging loosely from the side; Alice could only assume that they crossed over in back. She had on black skater shoes and white tube socks that were seen when she moved to sit on the edge of the table for a better view since she seemed to be slightly short, maybe 5'4 or 5'5.
"That's Michael Stephens. She goes by Toby. It's surprising to see her here, I really didn't think she would make it." Trevor put his elbow on the table and rested his chin on the heel of his palm.
"Why?" Alice shifted her gaze from Toby to Trevor, who was watching her.
"She wasn't able to make it to March Hare's Un-Birthday party. There were 'issues' and she was unable to make it to Wonderland." He sighed deeply.
"So what, there is a way to just walk in and out of here?" She looked at him with a renewed curiosity.
"She has special permission from The Queen to come and go as she please as long as on the twenty-seventh of each month she comes to the places to play croquet."
Ches' ears perked up at this and he and Paige tangoed over to Trevor and Alice and at the same time yelled, "With her BALLS!" the both fell down laughing, Paige rolling off the table, landing on Trevor's lap. Trevor tapped her on the forehead with two fingers. "Behave, darling, or I won't let you have anymore tango lessons with Ches."
"But I love dancing with Ches! He's so fun to throw off the table at your house!" She pouted at him with giant teary eyes.
He pushed her off his lap onto the plush grass carpet. "That may be so my insane Hatter, but in Wonderland you must still have manners." He smiled evilly and grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet and onto the table where they began swing dancing. Paige let out a delighted scream as he tossed her into the air and caught her.
Ches now occupying the chair next top her dropped his head to the table and smiled. "I swear if I ever find out who gave her that candy, the will die a most horrible death. Enjoyed Trevor's company?" He closed his eyes and smiled.
"I think I saw the March Hare slip something into her hand earlier while you were tangoing, but I'm not for sure. And he was okay, not acting like a total dick, you know." She smiled weakly. "Sorry, but his first impression are on the feeble side."
"And yours are much better, Duckling? It's not very nice to talk about someone behind their back, especially when they are rolling a Mad Hatter over it." He smiled and stretched out his hand to Alice. "Dance with me?"
Alice looked at his hand as if it might bite. She nodded and took his hand; he pulled her up onto the table in one fluid movement. "Waltz?"
Alice quirked her eyebrow at him, "I don't know how. I can't dance to save my life unless it's in the kitchen while I'm putting away dishes." She titled her head back, smiling at him.
"I'll teach you. It's easy, just keep the pattern of one-two-three, one-two-three in your head and your do okay." Trevor moved Alice back a step and lightly placed his right hand on her hip, his finger extending to rest on her back. He extended his left hand and took hers in it, their elbows bent. "See you doing good already, just relax, I won't bite, that's Ches' thing.' He smiled wickedly.
"Say it with me and follow: 'one.'" He stepped forward with his left foot, "Step back with your right. Mirror me."
"One, right foot back." She said softly under her breath as she watched both her feet and his.
"Two." He stepped forward and to the right with his right foot. Alice let out a giggle, "It looks like a 'L.'"
Trevor shifted all his weight to his right foot, his left unmoving as he nodded to Alice, "Good, you're seeing patterns that will help you remember later on. Now, step three." He slid his left foot over to his right, so he was standing with his feet together. "Doing okay?" He asked as he tapped her foot with his to get it into the right position.
"Yeah, I think I'm getting it. Does it repeat now?" She looked up at him with a sly smile on her face.
"Actually no, there are three more steps. The one-two-three is just to give you a rhythm to follow. Now step four, watch." He took a step back with his right foot. "Now you step back with your right." He stepped with his left foot and then to the left making a backwards 'L.' "That was step five. There is one more and then we just repeat while going around in circles. Ready?" Alice nodded her head. He slid his right foot towards his left, so he was standing with his feet together again.
"It's really simple." She was slowly waltzing with Trevor when dormouse and Paige quickly went by, dormouse flying around through the air. Next to Alice Ches waltz slowly with Toby while Emily and the March Hare passed them by following shortly after Paige.
They continued to dance like that until the stars started to come out and dot the inky black sky. That is when everyone said their 'good nights' and 'good byes' and went their ways, Alice going with Ches and Trevor.
Part Five: Paint The Roses Black, Croquet Is Dead!
Ches leaned over to Trevor, who was now comfortably seated in his favorite plush burgundy chair watching Alice sleep, and whispered in his ear, "We need to talk, porch." Ches walked soundlessly to the other side of the house and waited for Trev to join him.
"What?" Trevor went and leaned on the railing of the porch.
"It's Alice. You're getting too close. You warned me that I couldn't develop an attachment to her, but look at you. You danced with her." Ches leaned against the side of the house by the glass door, his arms crossed over his black t-shirt clad chest. "You know that we have to take her to The Queen. It's part of the deal."
Trevor turned around to look at him, "It's not right. It's not even her. It's a totally different girl, but The Queen is too blind to see it."
Ches walked over to Trevor merely an inch from his face. "You're willing to give it all up over a stupid girl. There are thousands of them; millions even, why give a flying rat about this one?"
Trevor glared at him, growling, "Get out of my face now. Are you that self-absorbed that all you care about is getting out of The Queen's debt that you will sacrifice a girl that has done nothing but be born into this world with the blood line of Alice?"
"Don't you dare call me self-absorbed!" Ches snarled at Trevor, "I'm doing this for you, too, so we can be free of the psycho and free of her rules. Its simple, Rabbytt, get the girl, bring her to The Queen and we are free from her."
"Just because you fucked up one hundred and thirty-nine years ago doesn't mean that you should ruin this girl's life. Are you that fucked up?" Trevor pushed past him and went back in to the house.
Ches grabbed his arm and turned him back around, "Your falling for her aren't you. I can't believe this." Trevor ripped his arm free of Ches' grasp, "This is hilarious. I should have seen it before. I mean you don't open up to anyone, and the only person you dance with besides me is Paige. This is fucking hilarious." The words followed Trevor back inside the house. He returned to where he was previously seated.
'Alice,' he thought to him self, 'I'm sorry for what I'm about to do.' With that he closed his eyes and drifted off into a troubled sleep.
Alice awoke with a groan as she landed on the floor, "Get up, come on you're going to be late!" Alice opened her eyes to a very annoyed looking Ches. He was buttoning up his jacket and tightening his tie, while trying to get Alice to wake up. "You're to go see The Queen today, so hurry up."
Alice pushed her self up from the ground and looked around. Her bag was next to couch, along with her shoes and the jacket Ches had borrowed her last night. She slipped on her shoes, grabbed her bag, and set the discarded coat on the couch. "Okay, I'm ready."
"No, your not, you can't wear that to see The Queen. Follow me and we'll get you something else to wear." Ches grabbed her hand and dragged her to the back of the house and into a red satin coloured room. "Sit down, take off your shoes, and let's see what we can do."
Alice went and sat on a chair in one of the corners of the room by the queen-sized bed, while Ches was engulfed by the immense closet. He walked out carrying a bundle of clothes and a pair of chunky black boots with buckles on the sides. "Here, try this." He put the pile behind a black curtain that hung in the opposite-diagonal corner of the room, and motion for Alice to go change there.
He had given her a short sleeve black shirt that button in front, and had a small collar that had to be held down with silver skull pins, it ended just below her butt. A black skirt that came to the floor and was slit three inches above Alice's knee. Black fishnets that came to mid-thigh were barely with the effort to put on because the boots, that fit perfectly, came to the upper part of her calf. She walked out from behind the curtain and was greeted with a smiling Ches. He pulled her over to the bed and handed her black fingerless gloved that ended at the wrist, an assortment of rose earrings for Alice's ears, a silver chain with a small black rose hanging from it, and two rings, one with a sun and moon and the other with flower petals and a small diamond in the middle. Alice took out her earrings and put the new ones in and put on the jewelry and gloves while Ches stood behind her brushing her mid-shoulder blade length hair, separating it into five sections and twisting them up and clipping them separately. He turned her so she was sitting on the bed and did her make-up, white eyeliner on the lids with three different skin tones of shadow, black eyeliner on her bottom lids. She did her own mascara while he painted her lips a soft rose pink colour.
"Okay, now you're ready to see The Queen." He smiled evilly as he took her hand and led her outside to where a carriage was waiting. "Bill," he said to the lizard in a suit that was at the reigns to four grey horses, "To the queens palace, and do hurry, we're late."
Alice sat in the carriage across from Ches and stared out the window, her chin resting on the palm of her hand. "Where is Trevor?" she asked quietly.
"He's with The Queen. She really can't wait to meet you, dear." Ches slouched down on the bench and turned his head to the side to watch Alice with mild interest. "You're all she can talk about, so says Trevor. She is mildly upset that you ran away from the guards, though."
"Why are you doing this?" she turned her attention to Ches. "What is it that you're trying to atone for? And I know that you're giving me to The Queen, so I can be her new plaything while you and Trevor run off to where ever. I heard you last night, you really shouldn't have kids, you're not really all that discrete about it." She crossed her left leg over her knee and leaned forward on it, waiting for a response to her question.
"It's really none of your business." He closed his eyes, resting his hands in his lap.
"You're wrong, this have everything to do with me, my line at least. What happened? If I'm willing going along with this I think I should know."
"Fine, but will not repeat this. Do you understand?" Ches pushed himself up and looked her directly in the eyes. She nodded in agreement.
"It all started one hundred and thirty-nine years ago…"
Part Six: The Past Is A Thing Best Kept Buried
"It all started one hundred and thirty-nine years ago, that was when I first met Alice, the original one. She was fifteen at the time, and not the brightest one out that I have to say. But she was very curious, and that was both her downfall and mine.
I hated, and still do, The Queen with a passion. That Over Dominating Control Freak had taken over Wonderland after marrying The King and ruined it." Ches sighed deeply and shook his head. "The King and I were close friends, that was until The Queen came along, that was when the rose coloured glasses suddenly appeared on His Majesty's nose, so to speak.
"Now what you must realize and understand is that the queen was once a beautiful young woman. She had very long silken blond hair that came to her waist, she was very skinny, but curved. She had the most beautiful black-blue eyes, they would change colours depending on her mood, which was usually very happy. She always was smiling and laughing when she came to the palace. But that slowly changed over time.
"The King was always showering her with gifts and what ever she could ever want. Everyone was at her beck and call, but at the time it was because we wanted to be, she was so pleasant to be around. But The Queen soon became too accustomed to people waiting on her hand and foot, she became evil, sadistic, and greedy. It was so sad and hard to watch that beautiful young woman turn into what we have today."
Ches stopped talking and hung his head, shaking it slightly. Alice moved to sit next to him, she lightly rested on of her hands on his arm, "I'm sorry. I know how hard it is to watch people change like that. That was how my mother was."
"The Queen did a total over haul of the palace. It was once full of fresh flowers and bright colours, it was such a happy place to visit. The Queen had it repainted in blacks, reds, and purples. All the flowers were replaced with dark red or black roses and ivy growing up the walls inside the all the major room and halls."
Alice removed her hand from his arm and moved back so she was leaning against the interior of the carriage. "It sounds a lot like my room, but I guess such a dramatic change would through Wonderland off, huh?
"Yes, since it wasn't only the interior of the palace. That woman changed the grounds, too. She had all the flowers removed expect for the roses, and had more of those brought in. she also had ten foot hedges transplanted so she wouldn't have to wait fro her maze to grow. When she gets mad at someone, but not enough to have them thrown in the lake or beheaded or hung, she puts them in to the maze. The sadistic thing is that there is no actual entrance or exit. The hedges are double sided and in between are steel plates so 'prisoner,'" Ches made the quotation marks in the air with a look of disgust on his face, "wouldn't be able to just run though the middle of the maze and out the other side. They would be flown in and placed in the middle of it with a basket of bread, crackers, and one twenty ounce bottle of water, and be left there for a week."
Alice gasped, "That's horrible. Did…did she let them die in there?" Alice wrapped her arms around her chest, feeling slightly sick after hear about The Queen.
"No, actually. She always had someone monitoring them just to make sure that they didn't escape or die. She, for all the people she had killed, couldn't stand the sight of a dead body unless it was fresh, like the second after it died. But after that, she would freak out.
"I suppose The Queen still retains some of the sweet, kind, caring, beauty that once radiated from her, but it's buried deep inside her now. To where even the love of the blind king can't reach. It's really a tragedy." Ches stopped talking as the carriage came to a smooth halt. A thump followed by a clip was all that was heard before the door opened and a green hand was held out for Alice. "We have arrived."