Alice's Mourning Tea
Alice sipped her tea daintily as she had been taught. It seemed that that was the only thing she did daintily.
She was clumsy, she didn't mind.
Her dress was that of a midnight blue today, and a pretty one at that. Her hair was a tangled mess now; she had no care for such things as hair. The March Hare had complimented when he could, loving the brown mass as the back.
Her blonde had died. Not dyed. Just died.
She rather liked brunettes, she didn't mind.
It was silent at the table today and only three chairs were occupied, leaving the table so spacious it was almost annoying. She pushed the annoyance away.
The table was quiet, she didn't mind.
She took another sip of cold tea. The cold had followed her it seemed, and even the orange table cloth was looking particularly damp today.
She liked the rain, she didn't mind.
Small dark pink hearts circled the brim of tea cup and she wondered why they were there. She ignored her curiosity. The hearts were there and there were the hearts, nothing more, nothing less.
The cups were just a bit bonkers, she didn't mind.
She glanced across the table at Cheshire who was lazily licking his paws. Butter was sticking to his fur and it gave him a rather ragged look.
But that was okay, she didn't mind.
She looked at The March Hare, his hands shaking as he spread jam on his plate then strategically placed a scone on top. He was all backwards, all upside down, all topsy-turvy in his head.
But that's the way she liked it, she didn't mind.
Cheshire softly banged his paws on the table, jolting the delicate china, and Alice jumped with them. It was a moment of loudness at the table.
Everyone was jumping out of their heads today though, she didn't mind.
The Hare dropped his upside down scone and it fell on his lap. He squealed in surprise, and attempted to lean down and eat it from his lap.
There was jam everywhere, but she didn't mind.
And then she glanced at the empty chair at the head of the table. The Hatter's Hat was sitting alone on his plate, probably expecting tea.
And he wasn't there, and she did mind.
She glared, sweat dripping from her forehead into her tea and she slammed down her cup and it smashed. Cheshire and The Hare looked up slightly, then continued their previous actions as if it had only been a slight change of the wind.
A slight change of the wind indeed, her mind was already dangling by a thread. Now it had dropped from the thread into nothingness and then hit the ground rather hard.
"MUCHNESS? I'VE LOST MY MUCHNESS?" she shouted at The Hatter's Hat.
"I DON'T THINK I HAD MUCH MUCHNESS TO BEGIN WITH."
And a hysterical laugher filled Wonderland, turning everything black and grey.
But her muchness was gone, her Hatter had left Wonderland, leaving the tea party as cold as the Red Queen.
But she didn't have the mind to mind.