Child of the pure unclouded brow
And dreaming eyes of wonder!
Though time be fleet, and I and thou
Are half a life asunder,
Thy loving smile will surely hail
The love-gift of a fairy-tale.
I have not seen thy sunny face,
Nor heard thy silver laughter;
No thought of me shall find a place
In thy young life's hereafter –
Enough that now thou wilt not fail
To listen to my fairy-tale.
A tale begun in other days,
When summer suns were glowing –
A simple chime, that served to time
The rhythm of our rowing –
Whose echoes live in memory yet,
Though envious years would say 'forget.'
Come, hearken them, ere voice of dread,
With bitter tidings laden,
Shall summon to unwelcome bed
A melancholy maiden!
We are but older children, dear,
Who fret to find out bedtime near.
Without, the frost, the blinding snow,
The storm-wind's moody madness –
Within, the firelight's ruddy glow,
And childhood's nest of gladness.
The magic words shall hold thee fast:
Thou shalt not heed the raving blast.
And though the shadow of a sigh
May tremble through the story,
For 'happy summer days' gone by,
And vanish'd summer glory –
It shall not touch with breath of bale
The pleasance of our fairy-tale.
~Preface to Through the Looking Glass and what Alice found there
~0o0o0o0~
The sky that day was the bluest of blues, she noted, her head pressed against the cool glass window of the carriage. Her mother was prattling, no, criticising her and her sister for not wearing their stockings. Patricia, with a playful glint in her eye commented on how if society decreed that wearing a cod-fish on one's head was deemed appropriate, would she do so? Piper laughed quietly, but covered this with a cough when she noticed the frown pulling at the corner of her mother's mouth.
"Patricia," she sighed. Her mouth pressed into a thin line as she contemplated her next words. "Once we arrive, I expect you to go upstairs and put them on. That means you as well, Piper." She looked down briefly at her dress. If no one had pointed it out, you would have hardly noticed that she had no stockings on. Any person would be more intrigued with the fact that the two were twins, with crimson red hair. The only thing setting the two apart was the colour of their dresses; Piper's was pale blue, and Patricia's was pale yellow (although on multiple occasions, Patricia had said that she'd rather wear blue).
"But Mum," Piper whined. She herself knew they were only moving into this estate for marital reasons. Patricia, although not knowing this, was to be married to Giles Choudhary, son of Vera and Adrian Choudhary. Piper had found out when she was merely thirteen. At the time, she remembered she had been playing a rather childish game of hide-and-seek with her sister and Joy Mercer, one of their neighbors who was akin to Patricia in with her unruly manner (thus making her very unlike her). Piper, giggling gleefully and stumbled into her mother's study (previously her father's) and had discovered a letter, opened. Her insatiable curiosity had bubbled up within her as she picked up the letter.
Her mother never received letters, and certainly not ones that were this official. It was ornately written in a very delicate script. A woman, she knew, had definitely written this. Scanning over the contents of the letter, she was gob smacked. Her sister was to be betrothed to some snotty rich boy when she was seventeen. The presence of her mother shocked her and she immediately started to protest. Her mother said that she had Patricia's best interests in mind.
They were rich, the Choudhary's, and their son, their only son was apparently quite fetching. Her mother had warned her not to tell her sister any of this, and Piper didn't. Even now, as she sat in the carriage, fidgeting slightly, she believed her mother. It was for the best. Sometimes though when she looked at Patricia though, she felt an overwhelming wave of sadness come over her. Her sister was her better half, and soon, she would be wed to some boy who wouldn't have half a mind how to treat her, and she would lose her. That was her thinking, at least. It was selfish thinking, and nonetheless, she would silently admonish herself for thinking these thoughts.
The bickering between Patricia and her mother continued for a while til it reached the point where they reached a silent truce for a truce. For what seemed like hours afterwards, there was continual silence. They were driving through the country which made their ride bumpy in areas. The landscape was worth it. The trees, taller than she had seen in the city, were green and bustling with the lives of miniscule creatures. She counted the trees as best as she could and reached up to nearly two hundred and twenty seven when they arrived. The manor that they were to stay at was huge, to say the least. Compromised of light orange bricks, with three floors and multiple windows, it was simply breathtaking. Their carriage came to an abrupt bumpy halt, and the three almost tumbled out of their seats. All of them composed themselves, more or less, and waited for their driver, Hamish, to come open their door. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted movement in the bushes. Probably a rabbit, she smiled to herself.
Following her sister, she stepped out into the golden afternoon sun, she felt her muscles relax, only to tense up at the sight of the Choudhary family. The father stood, a warm smile on his face, and his eyes mirthful. She deduced that he was kind, like her father had been. To the contrary, the mother looked strict and harsh. Her lips we pulled into a taut smile, obviously fake. Her eyes though, were annoyed and eerie, and altogether put her off.
The son resembled the mother. His eyes, similarly blue and empty looking, bored into hers, making her feel tiny. He was standing behind his parents, but was still much taller than them. Mr. Choudhary approached them first. "Donna! We are simply excited to have you staying with us." He lightly kissed both of her cheeks and moved on to the two of them. "Patricia and Piper! I remember only seeing you two when you were tiny little children. How lovely to see you both."
"Adrian, hurry along now, we don't want to keep our guests waiting. Come inside, don't worry, our servants will help with your bags. We'll be having tea in the parlour." Patricia and Piper shared a look before walking inside. They walked in to face two grand stair cases, winding slightly to reach the top, and multiple doorways. Piper, flabbergasted by the luxuriousness of it all, didn't hear Patricia's voice until she was pinched on the arm.
"Ow, what was that for!" She rubbed the reddening mark on her arm and shot a glare at her sister, cheekily smiling at her. Piper realized now that they were alone. She could tell her, right now, why they had come. As much as she tried though, the words did not seem to string into sentences.
"Let's go." And so they did, striding quickly to catch up to the group. When they did reach the parlour, the rest of them had already sat down. Their mother looked at them with irritation, and so did Vera. Adrian smiled at the two, and as for Giles, he looked bored.
"Ah," Vera said, her voice oozing disdain," you're here. Finally."
"It was my fault," Patricia supplied," I was too caught up with the... Stairs." How like Patricia to try and cover her sister's tracks. Piper would have loved to protest, but seeing that their mother was already frustrated, she did not dare to even try.
"How... Charming. Sit." And they did. Piper shrunk when she noticed their mother now glaring at them. Patricia seemed to not notice and smiled none the less and chattering away. After many attempts to get the conversation going, she seemed to have given up. They all sipped their tea in silence. It tasted bitter in her mouth and she longed for some sugar, though there was none at the table.
"Oh, I must apologize. Giles darling, could you show the girls to their room. I would like to talk to Donna privately." Already feeling the tension rise, the girls paid no mind to their early eviction from the room. As they walked along the hallways, she couldn't help but glance back and cringe, hoping her mother was not being chided for their idiotic actions.
To distract herself from such thoughts, she observed their surroundings. The hallways were ornate as if they were their own rooms. Dotted along different corridors were pots with thriving arrangements of flowers (all of which seemed to be pink and white) set in different assortments of crystal vases. Alternatively, there were marble statues, humanesque and life-like.
"Here we are," he stated," your room with an en suite. I hope you find your stay in this room pleasant for the mean time. Your bags have already been delivered."
"Thank you," Patricia smiled, but there was hesitation in her voice. A strained hesitation that Piper could tell was holding back her un-comfortableness.
He grabbed her hand and kissed it," Anything for you." He gingerly let go of her hand and was off, leaving Patricia confused, to say the least.
"What the hell was that? He acted like we were getting married, he did." Patricia plopped down unto her bed, her skirts flying everywhere. She blew a strand of hair that had fallen on her face and looked at Piper, as if expecting a response.
Piper put on a fake smile but groaned internely. "Yes, I have no idea what that was about."
Patricia stared at her," Are you alright?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm fine. Just overwhelmed." Which was true, The house was enormous.
"I feel like that too. Blimey, how are we supposed to remember the way here? My head hurts just thinking about it. Hey, you know what I want to do right now?" Piper groaned internely once more knowing that it would have to do with breaking the rules, or something along those lines.
"What?"
"Explore. We're in a new house, least we can do is look around. They won't even know we're gone. Come on, we'll be back in time for supper."
"Alright."
Patricia let out a laugh before pulling her up to her feet and dragging her out of the room. Piper can tell she's gung-ho set on making the most out of their new house. They traipse up a staircase up to the third level, and check each door. A particularly large room houses a grand selection of books and a warm and cozy fireplace. She yearned to linger and look at all the titles but was dragged along by Patricia, already bored. They looked through a few more rooms. Nothing stood out, until unintentionally, Piper came into a room with only a vanity in it.
The room itself was unassuming with plain white walls, chipping in places, and a light wooden floor that looked grayer than anything else. An average sized window streamed in the last remnants of the afternoon sun. The vanity itself was deteriorating. The white paint on it had long since chipped off, and the handles on the drawers were rusting. The mirror itself though was flawless. It shone crystal clear, reflecting the light. She felt a strange urge to go and touch it.
"What're you looking at? Come on Piper, it's just a vanity, it's nothing special. Now come on, move, there's more of the house to cover." Roused out of her stupor by Patricia's loud voice, she trailed behind her. After covering nearly the whole house, attic to basement, they made it to a study with a piano in it. Piper smiled manically and ran up to it.
She heard Patricia groan in the distance and mumble something along the lines of,' Damn piano.' Piper took no notice and sat down on the stool. Her fingers hovered over the ivory keys, trembling from excitement. Sucking in a deep breath, she started playing a melody. It echoed around the room, like a pulsing entity, swirling around her.
Her simple song soon spun out of control, turning into a cacophonous opera-like piece, some tunes materializing out of nowhere. She felt her heart leap in joy, only to sour at the sound of a horrible chord. The chord hung in the air like a melancholic drone until someone presumably in the doorway cleared their throat.
"Not now Patricia," she sighed, frustrated with herself. How could she have ruined something so beautiful? It was all her own fault. If she had only gotten the notes right.
"I'm sorry to disappoint, for I am not Patricia." Piper turned to identify the voice and realizing who it was, immediately straightened her dress, seeing as it was unfit for a woman, no, a lady to have untidy skirts. At least, her mother seemed to believe this.
"Oh, Lord Giles-"
"Call me Giles. Simply Giles," he interrupted. Piper bowed her head from part embarrassment and part anger. She disliked him to say the least. Of course, she would never let him see this or know this.
"You're Lady Piper, correct?"
"Yes. You can call me Piper. Simply Piper." He smiled at her.
"You and your sister look so alike but are not similar in your attitude, am I right?" Doesn't take a genius to figure that out, she thought to herself.
"Very. People often confuse me for my sister. It's... Refreshing to see someone actually know who I am."
"How could one not when you are so beautiful?"
Piper squinted her eyes in confusion, wanting very much to slap him, but went along with it. She knew, well, she knew he was attempting to woo her, and that would be very bad, seeing as he was going to marry Patricia. He was probably practicing on her like the slimy man she thought him to be. Because that's what men do, she thought, they lead you astray.
"Piper, are you alright?"
"Yes," she quipped," I'm quite fine."
"Good. So I heard you playing piano just now, you're rather good."
"My father used to teach me," she bit her lip, trying to stop the unsavoury memories that were threatening to make her cry," What about you?"
"Oh no. Mummy prohibits it. Says that the piano is not fit for a man of stature. Man of stature my arse. There have been many men high in society with the ability to play the piano."
"I could teach you if you like. It's rather simple, just put your third finger here and your thumb here, those two are E flat and G. You wait one beat then play this for three seconds. After that play E flat again for one count, than play this note with your fifth finger." He played it, fumbling on multiple occasions yet still managing to keep his eyes lit up and happy.
"I'm going to join you now and make it easier." She started playing a tune to harmonies. Quickly, she was teaching him the basics of piano playing, laughing as she went. The two were bumbling their way through a sloppy version of Claire-De-Lune when Vera walked in.
"Darling Giles, you know you're not supposed to be playing the piano. Now hurry along. You're have tennis lessons with your Uncle Jason in less than ten minutes." He hurried out of the room shooting one look at Piper. "And as for you Ms. Williamson, might I request that only your sister socialize with my son. After all, she is going to be marrying him."
"Yes, Lady Vera." With that, she left the room, set on finding Patricia and getting away from her.
~0o0o0o0~
Okay, okay, I know it's bad, but I just really want to get into the good stuff. There will be more characters in actual Wonderland but for now, it'll be real life.
Reviews are much appreciated.
Kels