Author's Note: Just a little drabble, playing with the idea of Helen matching her daughter in strength of will. I hope you have as much fun in the reading as I did in the writing!
Heroes are Still their Mothers' Children
Helen Kingsley set her teacup down and clapped her hands together. "Well then, it's settled. We shall plan on going tomorrow."
"We what?" Alice said dumbly. "You can't mean…"
"Darling, you are twenty two years old and unmarried. If there is a man anywhere who strikes your fancy, I must meet him post haste."
"Mother!" Alice exclaimed, cheeks tomato red. "I hardly fancy him! I've known him since childhood! And even if I did, he certainly doesn't fancy me! And…."
"Yes, I'm sure you have great experience in determining mens' desires or lack thereof," Helen interrupted dryly. Alice's face turned from tomato to strawberry, and she did a splendid imitation of a freshly landed fish.
"Close your mouth, Alice, and pack your things. I am quite determined to visit this Underland of yours before tomorrow's tea."
"We shall have to jump down the rabbit hole and fall for miles, consume strange substances that make us shrink and grow and travel quite a long way on foot. And there may be strange beasts who wish to do us harm."
"Child, if there were a man on the moon who might be able to make you happy and put up with your eccentricities, I would personally find a way to retrieve him myself. Underland seems much more accessible than the moon."
"I don't need a husband," Alice said. "I am quite capable of living a whole and fulfilled life as a single woman, thank you. I am a Champion of the White Queen and last bearer of the Vorpal Sword. There is nothing..."
"My darling, the best marriages are between two people who are well-established in their own individual rights. I have no doubt that you are capable of managing your own affairs and succeeding highly in this life. However, you can't deny your mother the hope that one day you might have the joy of a husband and children-even as she once did."
"Everyone in Underland is mad," Alice blurted out in a last, hopeful attempt at deterring her mother. "Hopelessly, ragingly mad."
"So I've gathered from your tale," Helen said. "All of the best ones are, you know. Your father was quite out of his mind, and he made me happier than any other woman I have ever known." Her eyes went distant with memory, and a slight smile appeared on her lips. "Now," she said, bringing herself out of the moment, "you can either come along with me tomorrow, or you can wait here until I bring someone back. It is entirely your choice."
"And if we can't find a way back here?"
"You came and went three times already, haven't you? I'm certain it is possible to do so a fourth time. No more arguments, daughter. Run along and pack."
Alice turned and fled, ears burning with embarrassment. She had been gone nearly three years, had traveled the world and assisted Lord Ascot in expanding his business—previously her father's—to a far greater extent than even she had dreamed. She had learned to converse quite passably in several languages. She had boarded with peasants, studied with great wise men and dined with royalty. She was stronger, wiser and more educated than she had ever been in her life. When she returned home, the thought that she might still be treated as an incapable child had never once crossed her mind.
This was not how she was supposed to return to her friends!
She had planned for her journey back down the rabbit hole—dreamed of it every night she had been away. She had intended to go—quite alone, thank you-as soon as she'd had the chance to reconnect with her family. She would return to the world of her dreams much more deserving of her title as Champion of the White Queen. Perhaps she would not seem as foolish to everyone now, as she had in her youth!
When she informed her mother that she would be travelling again so soon after her return to London, Helen Kingsley had hit the proverbial roof. She had spent hours chipping away at Alice's patience, until the younger woman gave in to impulse and told her the entire story.
To her credit, Helen did not simply assume her daughter had completely lost her mind. She did not even dismiss the tale as a childish attempt to distract her from her line of questioning.
She did decide that her child had spoken overlong and with exaggerated adoration about a particular man called Hatter. Her immediate assumption was that Alice's feelings for the man ran a bit deeper than the girl had vocalized. Her immediate decision was to personally chaperone the young woman on her trip. Further, she seemed positively determined to arrange a match for Alice with an Underlandian man. With the Hatter, if possible—but she was certainly not limiting the potential to him alone. As she told Alice, "No man in our world seems quite capable of matching your level of insanity. Perhaps it's time to search in a different world entirely."