Thus Beaten Out of Season - Part 3
The next morning, Hatter awoke to a strange sensation…that of not being woken up. It felt like ages since he enjoyed a restful sleep – void of monsters, torture, death…Duchess. Yet here he was, in the midst of chaos – quite possibly of epic proportions – and he slept like a baby. Slept like a baby…he never understood that expression. Didn't babies wake up every 5 minutes…?
He rubbed his eyes as he tried to concentrate. His mind had suddenly begun wandering off on a fairly regular basis, dwelling on inconsequential claptrap…it was like his brain had a mind of its own. Hmmmm….where had that idea come from? Who cared? This was neither the time nor the place for matters of philosophy…or was it? Since when was he prone to idle thoughts? And the attention span of a young child suffering from ADD? Oh look – a squirrel…
"Stop," he ordered himself through clenched teeth. "Focus."
By sheer force of will, he quieted his own mind and returned to his original question. When had this proclivity for drifting off into his own little world started? It must have been… "When I entered Wonderland," he said quietly. Aside from his relatively short "what's up with the Looking Glass?" meditation right before he left the Oyster's world, he had no recollection of having routinely experienced such…disorganized thoughts. Could he be a victim of the same unnamed force that had caused ash from a huge elusive fire to flurry the whole of his world? Had he too fallen under the influence of the same spell that distorted both Alice and Charlie's personalities? Was this some kind of cruel joke…turning him into his own version of the illustrious 'Mad Hatter'? Wonderland was a fickle mistress…and whoever was currently at her helm had a sick sense of humor. As soon as he…
Wait.
Hatter sat up in the makeshift bed he had used once before. He glanced at the real bed, and then the hammock, just to make sure Alice and Charlie were still there, before following his most recent revelation down the rabbit hole.
The ash was not piling up…not on the ground, not on his person…aside from a light dusting of chalky residue on the forest floor, there was no physical evidence that anything had been falling from the sky for the last day or so. It was as if each ghostly speck disappeared as soon as it came into contact with solid objects….
He had never seen snow before. Not really. Not in person. He had heard about it, read about it, but never actually witnessed fluffy clouds sprinkling delicate ice crystals onto the ground below. When the weathermen on the radio called for a snowstorm, he asked Alice about it.
"What is this…snow?"
"Are you serious?" she asked, venturing a glimpse at his expression before returning her attention to the road.
"I…never mind."
"I wasn't making fun," she claimed, reaching over to touch his leg. "It just…never occurred to me…"
Slightly embarrassed by his ignorance, especially since it sounded like this was a relatively common type of precipitation, he felt he had to defend himself. "If there are things that exist in Wonderland and not over here, I don't see why it's such a stretch for…"
"It's not. You're right." Alice returned her hand to the steering wheel. "It's easy to forget, though…for all the differences between our worlds, the simple, everyday things were mostly the same."
Hatter wasn't sure he agreed with that, but he couldn't argue with the point she was trying to make. "I suppose."
"Can I…would you mind if I…" she stopped and collected her thoughts. "I'm going to teach you all about snow."
"That's really not necessary…"
"I insist," she replied, ending the conversation with an overused cliché and a twinkle in her eye.
That night, she made a large bowl of popcorn, turned the lights down low, and popped a movie in his Blu-ray player. Transfixed from the opening titles, he was completely drawn into the story that unfolded before his eyes…the rest of the humanity melted away as he entered a world not unlike his own. It was only when the closing credits rolled that he returned to reality. Alice had eaten the entire bowl of popcorn – much to his surprise – and was curled up under a blanket on the far end of the couch.
"Well…?"
"That was…just what I needed. I get it."
"I thought it might help."
The TV screen cast a glow that was both hard and soft all at once, illuminating the half of her face closest to it. The other half remained in the shadows, its features barely perceptible in the mysterious darkness. She was as captivating as her chosen method of explanation. Exquisite. "You're magnificent."
"I have my moments."
"You're perfect."
Even in the dimness he could see her blush. "You're mad."
"And oh so clever," he grinned, despite the gratuitous reference to the one 'of legend.'
"Afraid I might outsmart you?" she inquired playfully.
"Oh no…I like my girls clever," he replied, slowly standing. "It makes things all the more interesting."
Alice giggled and leapt off the couch. "Let's see if you can keep up." And off she ran down the hall, headed for the bedroom…
"Hatter!"
Alice's face was inches from his own. "Can I help you?"
"What are you doing?"
"Thinking." He stood, forcing her to give him some room. "Where's Charlie?"
"He wandered off," she said, gesturing carelessly in a general direction. "He mumbled something about having to feed…Ambrose? God knows what kind of pets he has out here…"
"We should be ready to leave as soon as he gets back."
"Ready? What kind of preparations do you think I need to make? All I have are the clothes on my back…"
Good old Alice. Not Alice. He let her whining fade into the background while he waited for Not Charlie to return from his…culinary errand. He made a mental note to be more attentive to his surroundings, and to the condition of cindery debris in particular. It had taken him far too long to detect this odd faux pas in logic…he wondered how many other discrepancies he'd missed along the way. He needed to make more of an effort to keep his wits about him.
You know…it was kinda funny…that snowstorm ended up missing them completely. He still hadn't seen snow up close…
"Have you heard a single thing I said?"
"We'll discuss it when Charlie's here," he sighed.
"But…"
"I'm not going to have this discussion twice, especially when there's no reason for it."
She crossed her arms and stormed away, a little girl stomping off to have a private temper tantrum. Hatter let her go. Truth be told, he had chosen his words carefully, aiming to elicit such a response. He wasn't in the mood for her yammering…even with an uninterrupted night of sleep, he was starting to develop a pounding headache.
With Not Alice at a safe distance, he could sift through the details of last night's performance once again. (Charlie found it necessary to act out recent events for them, a presentation which included several sock puppets, a rock with plastic eyes glued to it, and a musical number.) Unfortunately, he didn't discover anything helpful. Though he had no doubt that Charlie's narrative was relatively accurate, it was mostly an overly exaggerated play-by-play of his solitary existence in the forest. From what he could ascertain, there hadn't been any cause for alarm...even the ashfall had apparently just begun, the first flakes spotted around the same time as he arrived.
"I have returned," the White Knight announced, breaking Hatter's train of thought as he approached him with Alice in tow. "Shall we…?"
"You don't even know where we're going."
"Ah, but I do…I conferred with Ambrose as he enjoyed his meal, and he told me all."
"Who, or what, is Ambrose?" Hatter asked.
"He is my friend." Both he and Alice waited expectantly, but Charlie was oblivious to their anticipation of further explanation. He looked at the sky, gray and sunless. "Now, which direction is it…?"
"What kind of friend?"
Charlie was insulted by the hint of skepticism in the other man's voice. "That is not of any consequence…I trust him, and that's all you need know."
But Hatter wasn't taking anything for granted…not with the state of things the way they were. For all he knew, Ambrose was some kind of spy that duped the ancient knight. "Please. Tell us."
"Very well…if you insist…"
"I do."
"Ambrose is a six foot tall invisible rabbit."
He said it so matter-of-factly that even Alice temporarily lost her snark. "Come again?"
"I met him not long after you both left…you see…"
"If he's invisible, how do you know he's a rabbit?" Alice wondered.
"Ok," Hatter interrupted. "That's all I needed to hear. Thank you, Charlie."
"But I thought…"
"Yes, well…you've told me more than enough."
"What are you insinuating?" Charlie asked suspiciously.
"Nothing…I simply wanted to ascertain whether or not your friend might pose a threat to us…but in my experience, invisible bunnies tend to be a good sort."
The old man's face lit up. "Would you like me to introduce you?"
Hatter paused. Outward appearances notwithstanding, he knew that the White Knight wasn't crazy. Delightfully eccentric? Yes. Out of his mind? No. He had to remind himself that, like Alice, this was Not Charlie. "Nope…I'm good."
Disappointment crossed his face, but it dissipated quickly. "Very well. I suppose you're right…this is no time for social gatherings…"
"Where did Ambrose say we were going?" Alice inquired.
"The Great Library, of course. What else could bury Wonderland in a blanket of fiery dust?"
Hatter fought to hold his tongue. Even though these words should have sparked some kind of comment about the lack of accumulation, he remained the only one to make such an observation...at the very least, Alice should have noticed. But she said nothing. At least, she said nothing about the mystery of the missing ash. "That's exactly what I said!" she exclaimed.
"Then let us away to…"
"No."
They both turned to look at Hatter. "No?" Charlie asked incredulously. "What do you mean, 'no'?"
"We're not going to the Great Library."
"But if that's where the action is…"
"Was," Hatter corrected him. "Like I said to Alice before – if it's so far gone that dying embers can permeate all of Wonderland, then it's beyond saving."
"I assume you have some sort of alternate course of action in mind," Charlie said with a bit of a sneer.
"Jack. We need to talk to Jack."
Alice's anger was unmistakable. "You're not serious…after all he did…"
Nothing about her reactions shocked Hatter anymore. His Alice might have felt a little uncomfortable with the idea of seeing her ex, but he knew she held no animosity towards him. "He's the King of Wonderland…if anyone can shed some light on this…unusual weather, it's him."
"But the library…" she protested.
"If you and Charlie want to chase your tails, go right ahead…but I'm the only one of us who knows the Great Library's location…and I'm going to find Jack."
"Fine," she grumbled.
"But…the casino…that's certain death…" Charlie mumbled.
Hatter froze. "What did you say?"
"The casino, it's…"
The former Tea Shop proprietor felt a stab of fear. "The casino is gone. We destroyed it…"
"And the King built a new one, of course…where else was he to hold court?"
He glanced at Alice. His or not, he wouldn't allow her emotions to be drained against her will. "But I thought they didn't harvest Oysters anymore."
"They don't…but a King needs his castle. Doesn't he?"
There was no use in continuing the discussion…what was a man of sense to do in a world overcome by nonsense? Things falling from the sky that vanish on impact, invisible rabbits, casinos that shouldn't exist…there was nothing he could do but go with the flow…pretend that everything was all well and good, and see this to the end. "Where is it?"
"Built upon the very spot where the previous structure stood."
Of course it was. "Do you still have the horses?"
"Naturally," he replied, turning around and walking away from him. "This way."
He looked at Alice, who seemingly accepted recent events – including his suggestion to call on the King – and addressed her. "Ready to visit a blast from the past?"
Though she tried to hide it, he could hear the smile that crept into her voice as she moved past him to follow Charlie. "You're such a dork."
That small glimmer of Alice was enough to rekindle his hope…