They had started towards Blackbeard's home. The sun had almost set and the wind rose, making the atmosphere chilly. The Tweedle brothers hummed instead of shivering which Alice found to be rather queer. Chess floated effortlessly with the Dorm Mouse in the lead. The Hatter just walked quietly besides Alice.

Besides the sing song hum of the two brothers, they walked in silence. Alice hugged herself, the temperature only kept dropping.

"Are you alright, Alice?" asked the Hatter in his new deep voice. Alice nodded and turned crimson. The absence of mercury had done him good, she thought. Not just his voice and other physical features had changed but also his mannerisms.

The Hatter had turned from a self-indulgent, loony clown to a highly respectable gentleman. He had stopped wailing and there were no signs of tears. He had curtly opened the door to Alice when they had left his shack.

In spite of Alice's reply, the Hatter removed his gray coat and placed it on her shoulders. She smiled gratefully before blushing again. He, however, took no notice of it.

Alice spoke up, "So Blackbeard is a sailor who got married too many times?"

The Dorm Mouse nodded, "Too many times."

"Is that why you are frightened of him?" she countered.

"Oh, no. What sort of an assumption is that?" replied the Dorm Mouse.

"I really would like an explanation. It's too chilly for me to get your gist, Dorm Mouse."

The Hatter, in his soothing deep voice replied, "Alice, Blackbeard got married two hundred and twenty seven times. And almost thirty days and half later his wife disappears. Nobody in Underland know where they go."

"Cannot somebody just ask?" Alice asked.

The Dorm Mouse shook his head, "Blackbeard is a phenomenon that can be seen but not felt. Many have tried to confront him but it's only impossible."

"Not a jolly good sailor," Alice concluded dismally.

"Oh, he is a sailor, Alice," Hatter said.

Alice shrugged from beneath the coat. She said, "So where are we going now?"

The Dorm Mouse explained that they were going to the mansion of Blackbeard. It was thirty days since he had last married and they had only half a day from saving the woman named Maurice Flycatcher. He believed that only this woman can know the answer to their questions and direct them to the mercury.

The street they were treading on kept twisting at every turn and turning at every twist. They lost track of time and direction. The path was lined with long tress with crooked boughs that cast eerie shadows on them.

A shiver ran down Alice's spine. She had bumped into the Tweedle brothers who had stopped dead on their tracks.

Before them stood a magnificent purple manor covered with white polka dots. The manor was surrounded with neat trimmed grass and there stood life-like hedge animals placed randomly around the location. The fence was high with broken glass shards sprinkled like sugar over the top.

The Mad Hatter wistfully looked at the place. He would give away his entire wardrobe to stay in a place this extravagant. He however expressed no feeling about this; he was too matured now.

"Well," slithered the cat, "Here we are."

"This is Blackbeard's manor?" said Alice aloud.

"How can a man with such a dwelling be so evil?" said Tweedledee.

Tweedledum added, "Maybe he sells teddy bears for a living." Everybody stopped staring at the manor and turned their gaze to Tweedledum. "Why it would be very queer for a man to sell Teddy Bear!" exclaimed Dorm Mouse.

"We should go inside, right?" Alice said.

They nodded. The Hatter whispered, "Yes, we should."

They slowly made their way inside pushing the creaking gate open slightly. The racket created was loud enough to scare at least four scores of crows away to safety. The grass crinkled under their feet. The cat now floated behind them as they clibmed the threshold.

They pulled the doorbell besides the life-sized mahogany door which also was purple with white polka dots. The bell rang aloud and they could hear quick footsteps heading towards the other side of the door.

There was a pause. Alice could feel that she was being watched.

Slowly, the heavy door swung open. Inside, stood a petite lady wearing a brown tattered gown. There were dark shadows under her eyes with confused expressions.

"I do not want whatever a queer group such as you might want to sell. Just go away." Her hair was tied in a tight bun above her fair which made her face look like a pale tea-cup.

"We are not here to sell anything, Ma'am," whispered the Hatter.

"Look, Mister Weird Hat," continued the lady hurriedly, "I love your politeness but there is something that needs my attention urgently. So please… go away!"

Chess floated inside and twirled around the lady's head and said, "Madam…all we need are some answers! I have heard that you know it all and that's why Blackbeard accepted your petite hand in marriage." By the time Chess finished saying this he had went thrice around her head.

Blackbeard's wife finally took a breath. "Alright. But you have to explain your case while we walk. I have some answers to find myself!"

They entered a long dimly lit corridor.

The lady turned around and walked, "My name is Maurice Flywalker. I know everything."

She suddenly stopped and looked around, "Wait, What are your names?"

They introduced themselves before resuming their walk on the long corridor. Alice, a little out of breath from all the physical exertion, asked, "Maurice, what are you on the hunt for?"

A flight of stairs stood at the end of the hall which spiraled off into two directions. By the time they had started to climb the stairs they heard loud knocking behind them. The group stopped suddenly.

"Oh no!" yelped Maurice. "It's Blackbeard! He's back early!" she looked around confused again. The group looked at her, intimidated. The Dorm Mouse started to say something before Maurice cut him off and pointed to the Tweedle Brothers, "Quick! You two, go receive Blackbeard and keep him engaged!"

"What?" said both brothers, "Why us?"

The woman bent down, narrowed her eye brows and said, "Because I said so, boys!"

The Tweedle brothers jumped and started hurried towards the door. "Now," said Maurice, satisfyingly, "To look what's in that room."

"What room?" asked the Mouse.

"Well, the room my husband has forbidden me to enter in."

"Why has he forbidden you from entering that room?" he asked again.

"I have wondered the same. And now it's time to find out."

Alice piped in, "Oh, Good Lord! It could be that the secret of Blackbeard's other wives whereabouts could be in that room!"

Maurice smiled, "You're a smart little girl. But Blackbeard mustn't find out. It is imperative that we are out before it's too late."

They nodded. Alice and her friends had excitedly come on to the brink yet another adventure and this one looked more dangerous than ever.


What do you think could be inside? What course could this adventure take and will Alice and her gang come back alive?

Please review. Thanks:)