Summary: She suspected it was all about the head… that perhaps everyone in Underland was painfully fearful of, not her, but her head… that perhaps it was the cause of her bitterness, her vengeance… And the offenses that ate her inside out spoiled her soul, and killed everything around her.

Chapter Two: In the Golden Afternoon

Like wildfire, the news of Alice's presence in Underland spread across the land… without a doubt, she found herself sitting amongst the whispers and murmurs of the servants, who skimmed across the cold rock floors of the castle, discussing the return of the infamous Alice. The way they spoke of how cute she was… how sweet she was. It made her sick to her stomach. How they could adore a little, untamed girl, and not love her… How they could easily accept a complete stranger, a girl from a new world entirely, yet they could not accept her… and her head.

She seethed, feeling her teeth gritting together painfully under the weight of her anger… and she could feel the veins rising up underneath the layers of skin on her skull. The servants in the room quickly silenced themselves and they slowly shrunk away from her, avoiding her steaming body. For a while, she was so wrapped up in the anger and the memories that she did not notice her servants cowering. It was when she began to feel a dull, tingling in her hands and spine, that she realized her anger was literally eating away at her… She calmed herself, glaring at all of those who dare even to gaze in her direction.

"… Iracbeth." She whispered. The name, itself sounded so ugly. "Iracbeth." It was painful to hear how sluggishly it rolled off her tongue as she whispered… The cloud of gloominess loomed over her with an extra heavy weight, filling the room and clouding the castle in a dark, mystic obscurity that flooded the land, bringing misery and death to everyone under her cloud.

It scared her even more, to know that it is prophecy that Alice is to slay the Jabberwocky… her Jabberwocky! Her warrior… the one who helped her retrieve her rightful place to the throne. No. The Jabberwocky was her beloved pet… She could not imagine the emotional suffering she would have to endure if Alice were to slay the Jabberwocky. No… Alice needed to be found, and she needed to be killed.

She opened her mouth, sucking in a big, breath of air creating a choking gasp as she found herself coming back to reality… leaving behind her memories for a short while. Her servants were now, noticeably trying to avoid her gaze… They were shaking. She licked her bottom lip and gazed at her feet as they rested atop the warm, cozy belly of a well-fed pig. She sighed, glancing out of the window and seeing the sun shining pleasantly through the windows, falling to the floor in splashes of color from those stained glass windows somehow made her body filled with a sudden longing.

She lifted her feet, hearing the pig instinctively roll onto its hooves and scamper away and she slowly pulled up her skirts to stand on her feet, tall and proper. Today was a lovely day for a nice game of cricket.

. . .

Holding the ankles of the flamingo tightly in her grip, she positioned his head at the perfect angle… being sure that he'd hit the hedgehog at the perfect angle, perfect speed… perfect, perfect game. Before taking her swing, she adjusted her sunglasses, and glanced to her friends. They smiled back at her... and she felt comfortable. The smiles of warm, caring and understanding faces cheered her greatly, and she swung with a great force, sending that little hedgehog flying across the field.

Her friends clapped, smiling and rooting for her… making her face bright up even more. As she looked at them, smiling and clapping, she realized that she felt like there needed to be more people like that in the world… more people with disproportionate bodies. What, with more people like that, there will be no reason for anyone to be made fun of.

But the longer she gazed at her friends… the longer she realized that her ball was not returning to her. Which, was odd… usually the ball always comes back. And if it doesn't… she would punish the hedgehog. For running away… why would that hedgehog run away from her? Was it her head…? She seethed.

"Where's my ball..? Paige!" She screamed. The small, white rabbit beside her trembled visibly and he nodded,

"Y-yes, Your Majesty." He spoke softly before hopping off in the direction to which the ball had been flown to. As she watched him hop away, she turned to her friends, giggling and smiling like young school children.

"Your Majesty, that was a splendid shot!" The one with the oversized cleavage said. Iracbeth felt herself blushing from the accolade.

"You certainly are one of the best players in Underland." Her long nosed friend spoke. She nodded in agreement and giggled with them as they continued to dish out compliments. A few short minutes passed, and they were still complimenting her… then, some really, painfully long minutes passed and she grew bored of what they had to say.

"What's going on?" She asked herself and she picked up her flamingo by the ankles again, dragging it across the grass as she walked over to the bush that Paige, the rabbit was standing in front of.

"… what in the world is…" But before she could finish, something shot up from the leaves of the bushes… growing larger and larger as it sprouted seemingly right from the ground. Her jaw slowly dropped… it was a girl. Obviously, this girl was much younger than her… yet she towered over Iracbeth by at least three and a half feet. She could honestly say that she was pleasantly surprised.

She approached the girl curiously, her fearful friends slowly coming up behind her. She took a mental note of the way they stared and gaped at the girl standing in her bushes. But she continued to approach her without even a tingle of terror. She adjusted her sunglasses, looked at the white rabbit, then back at the girl in the bushes…

"And what it is?" She asked bluntly.

"Oh… it's… it's a Who, Your Majesty!" The rabbit stuttered softly. "This is… uhm…" The girl's eyes widened at the opportunity to introduce herself, and she immediately spoke over the fright-stricken rabbit.

"From Umbrage." She said. The Queen paused a minute to let the words sink in, ah, so the girl's name is Uhm. Okay. That made sense… in Umbrage they give their children strange names… like hers! Iracbeth. The name Uhm and Iracbeth were unfitting. She found herself growing fond of Uhm. They were so very much alike. Then, the realization of Uhm's nudity came into play.

"…What are you doing here?" She noticed the moment of hesitation in the girl's eye, but assumed it was nothing more than a slight fear. Of course, they probably spoke ill of her in Umbrage. The "Bloody Big Headed Queen"… of course. This girl was probably expecting to see a head the size of a tree.

"…Uh, I tower over everyone in Umbrage. They laugh at me." Ohh. That was a shot that just barely missed home for her. She could understand the pain of what that must be like… "… So I came to you, hoping you'd understand what it's like." She found herself nodding slowly in understanding; sympathy for the poor girl. Those fiends… how dare they laugh at her for being so big?

"My dear girl…" She began. "Anyone with a head that large is welcome in my port." She smiled her first, honest smile of happiness in years. She was beginning to see a light at the end of her tunnel. Perhaps, this girl would be her lifelong friend..? Someone who she could share her deepest secrets with, and someone who would understand her emotions. Her hurts.

Yes. Uhm was her new favorite… a girl who she could relate to. She could put her trust in her completely, and she was the only girl in the world like her… Yes. She would make Uhm her new best friend.

Author's Notes:

It feels like a long time since I've made a story within a story.

This one is more emotions and thoughts rather than words and actions, though.

Sorry to disappoint.

R & R.

- Rawiyah