Chapter 1
"Again!" I screamed as my metal foe crumbled at my feet. I swung my sword and turned as I heard the clang of metallic feet hitting the stone floor behind me. My recent modifications to the TOP HATS made them stronger and faster than the original basic models. I rushed him, or her, slashing with all my might. This TOP HAT was fast, but I was faster. I faked left, and as he swung his mace in that direction, I summersaulted to the right, got behind him, and plunged my sword into his clockwork heart. I pulled up and sliced him in two. He fell to the ground just as the other thirty had before him. "Again!" I screamed once more.
"No. Enough!" My brother walked into the room and shut down the training system. He always thinks he can do whatever he wishes just because he is the general. He is nothing but a pompous, self-absorbed, coward. Instead of facing our enemies head-on, he runs and hides and has others fight for him. That's Christopher for you, although most know him as the Mad Hatter.
Speaking of which, I suppose I should introduce myself. Amelia Heart Hatter at your service. Welcome to Wonderland. Now, this is not the Wonderland you have read so much about. We are at war and have been so for four years since my father was killed by the Red Queen, or the Queen of Hearts. I was thirteen when my father died. Since then, my brother and I have been building up a resistance against the Red Queen. We have many oppressed Wonderlanders on our side, such as the Cheshire Cat, the Blue Caterpillar, the March Hare, the White Rabbit, and many others.
Now, before you ask, the TOP HATS are a special invention I came up with on my fifteenth birthday. I realized that we needed a stronger army to take down the Queen, and let's face facts, a couple of fluffy bunnies, a purple disappearing cat, and a large blue bug do not give me the confidence to start our revolution. The TOP HATS are made completely out of metal and are controlled by clockwork mechanisms. Each is infused with a different fighting style and given different weapons. Some of the more advanced creations are locked in storage, so they may be used in our attack. The training room allows me to fight more basic copies of the stored HATS and expand my skills.
One last thing you must know. Everyone in Wonderland has secrets. Some have secrets they are not proud of. Others believe they may use their secrets to their advantage later in life. All will be revealed in the end, I suppose. For now, however, let us focus on what we truly know and where these secrets may take us.
"What do you think you are doing? I was supposed to continue my training, brother, without stopping for at least three hours. You knew that."
"Yes, sister, I did know that."
"And yet, you proceed to stop me? This is war, Christopher."
"You looked like you could use a break."
"Break?! There are no breaks in war. Only retreat. And for father's sake, I pray that you are no such coward as to retreat when it seems all is lost. Do not forget, we are not only doing this for him but for oppressed Wonderlanders who live in fear of the Red Queen and her tyranny."
"Don't you think I know that? It's like you don't know me at all," he said as he paced to the far end of the room.
"No, brother. I do know you. That is the problem." I walked toward him, placing my sword in its sheath.
"Whatever could you possibly mean by that?"
"I mean that you are a coward. You live in fear of every passing day. Never prepared. Never aware. You hide in your chambers waiting your next command from a true general. Me. You are no more a general than I am a dormouse." I paced to the control center for the training system.
My brother has a gift for speed. It's almost a certain power he possesses. He beat me to the controls and blocked my path. "Amelia, where is all this coming from? Are you just saying this because I stopped you from training? I had to. You were destroying our soldiers."
"We have a warehouse full of soldiers and producing more soldiers every day. I am sure we can spare a few."
"A few? You have been tearing apart about thirty HATS a day for the past month. We do not have to resources to keep producing these machines."
"So we will recycle the remains. We have the necessary artillery locked away. A few rusty TOP HATS in the front lines will only give us the greater advantage. They will weaken her numbers in time for us the send in the TOPPED HATS to destroy her cages of Jabberwocks. Then, we rush her and her precious card soldiers and tear them to pieces."
"Will you listen to yourself? You are acting out of rage, and it is destroying you. You can't avenge our father if you fight based on your emotions." He tried to pry the sword from my hands.
"My emotions have done more for my skills than training ever has. My hatred fuels the fire I need to behead the Queen as she beheaded my father! Our father! Our father, Christopher! And you are just going to sit by and allow her armies to overpower us."
"I would never-"
"Yes you would, and you know it." I wrestled the sword from his iron grip and kicked him against the training controls. "I will not allow you to jeopardize our plans any longer. You have done nothing but hold us back. I will avenge my father."
"He was my father, too!"
"No! Because if he was, you would have led our armies against him already. You are nothing but a disappointment and a waste of my time." I pulled a throwing from my pocket and whipped it at him. It pinned the right shoulder of his tailcoat to the control system. It started sparking. I threw three more to pin his left shoulder and wrists to the controls. I turned from him and left the room.
"Amelia! Amelia, don't you leave me here! Amelia, remove these knifes at once! Amelia! AMELIA!!" The door slammed before he could cry my name. I was on a mission, and it didn't include my brother. I refused to let him destroy everything dear to me. I have worked too hard and for too long to avenge my father. I wanted my revenge, and I was going to get it. I will get it, no matter the cost.
I dismissed the soldiers guarding my chambers. "Go release my brother from the training room."
"Allowing our emotions to get the best of us, aren't we?" I jumped and drew my sword. I swung as I turned, only to be stopped by long, sharp claws. The Cheshire Cat stood in front of me, eyes gleaming. "Relax, my dear. I am no Queen prepared to behead you. For if I was, I highly doubt I would make myself known before I killed you."
"Ches, you frightened me. You know better than to sneak up on me. I am very jumpy, you know, "I said as I returned my sword to its sheath.
"I apologize. However, you still have yet to answer my question." He looked at me knowingly, as if he could see through my skull and know the thoughts flashing across my brain. I stared at him for what seemed like an eternity, unsure of what to say.
"'Emotions are the core of our being. If we do not let them guide us, we are lower than the lowest gwormmy.'"
"A famous quote I suppose. Lewis Carroll?"
"Lewis Carroll. Please. Don't present me so bold as to use a quote from the man who lied about Wonderland. However, the quote is famous. At least, it is to me." I lowered my head, trying to hide the tears forming in my eyes.
"Ah, I see. Your father. He always knew best when it came to the condition of the human soul."
"He knew best when it came to many things." I could not hide the impending tears from tracking down my cheeks. They splashed on the floor with a sound like falling bombs that only I could hear. Ches retracted his claws and put his arms around me. Ches was more a brother to me than Christopher was. He allowed me to express my emotions, whether prudent or not. "Thank you."
"Amelia, I will always be here. No need to thank me. I owed your father my life, and I extend that honor to you." He smiled at me with that smile that glowed like the moon. "I will leave you to rest. Goodnight, my dear." He disappeared before my eyes. The only thing remaining of my friend was his beautiful smile.
"Goodnight, Ches." I walked into my room, ready to continue with my mission. It was time to take the next step. His was time to get my revenge.