Hello again, everyone! 'Tis I, the Whaley One. Oresama. Hahaha... hehe... hoho...
Anyways, I'm super happy to be here, and I hope that you guys are just as happy (and tell us through your wonderful reviews. Hint hint. Nudge nudge.) Now, to our wonderful, amazing reviewers!
Pasty: ... PAAAAAAAASTYYYYYY! *attackleglomps* Welcome to Lorina's Wonderland! Hope you enjoy your stay!
Calypso: Why thank you! I'm happy to have you as a reader!
Heart: Heartno... what... How did you come up with that name...? That is way cool... Well, anyways, thank you! Please continue to review!
Anime: *happy* *huggles* I'm glad someone out there got it... Thank you, and please continue to review!
FantasticalFantasy's note: Yes, you reviewers are all totally awesome! Seriously, where would I get motivation without you guys? XD So anyway, your faithful reading and reviewing is going to be paid off right here in this chapter, because Lorina and Alysa meet some awesome characters. Enjoy! XD
Lorina and Alysa huffed heavily, supporting themselves on a hospitable-looking tree. The former kicked off her shoes to ward off blisters while the latter dazedly replaced her bobby pins.
"They... seemed nice enough at... ha... at first... Wh... why did they attack us?"
"Lorina... I don't think everyone is as nice as Kenelm."
"But why did... they want to attack us?"
"Because that's how Wonderland works." A young man stepped out of the shadows. His wavy mop of black hair almost concealed his shocking green eyes. He stood perhaps an inch or two over six feet and his red and black uniform only served to make him more imposing. His electric eyes narrowed at them as his hand rested on a hefty broadsword.
"You mentioned Kenelm Monrey?"
Alysa froze. How could she answer? He obviously seemed hostile, and if she answered "yes," there was no telling what he would do to them.
"I'm sorry, but-"
"We're staying with him," Lorina smiled at the same time.
The man's eyes thinned to slits with skepticism, and Alysa held the hem of her skirt, getting ready to run again.
She was stopped as the man sighed. "He would," he said in a disgusted murmur. "The idiot would do it in a heartbeat." Looking up, he gave a sneer that marred his handsome features. "And why would he keep to such unsightly wenches?"
Alysa's jaw set. "We had nowhere else to go. We're outsiders."
Surprise flashed across his face. "Outsiders?" It disappeared and he smirked again. "I imagined you would be prettier. I guess your 'assets' forsook quality for quantity. Shame." With that, he began walking away.
There was only the soft drop of footfalls while Lorina shook.
"Wait!" she finally managed.
The man stopped.
"What... is... wrong with you?" she growled, picking up one of her shoes. "Did you just appear to insult us?" she threw her high heel at him. "Three of the four people we've met have insulted us, threatened us, or physically tried to kill us! It wasn't our choice to come here! We just thought we were following a rabbit! A rabbit! But no, we had to be dragged down here so we could be called dirt by worms like you! If we weren't helping Kenelm, I would have stayed in the clocktower, so don't act so high and mighty!" she threw her other shoe at him for good measure.
He caught it without blinking. With another smirk, he mocked, "And what are you doing for the clockmaker?"
"Why should we tell scum-"
"We're collecting books for his library," Alysa quickly cut off her cousin, trying to mend the situation.
They could almost hear his condescending sneer. "You do know he's blind, correct?"
Silence.
A chuckle fell from the man's lips as he saw the girls put two and two together. "I see." He tossed Lorina's shoes back to her. "Well then, let me help you get something useless for Kenelm. Come on." He started walking again, but stopped when they didn't follow. "Oh, did you suddenly find your bearings? Do you have somewhere better to go?" he called over his shoulder, obviously smirking when small footsteps gingerly fell behind him.
"Garrick," he informed them.
"Huh?" Alysa asked.
"I'm Garrick Fielding, knight of Heart Castle," he elaborated, not bothering to face them.
"Oh," she murmured. "Well, I'm Alysa."
"My name's Lorina," the younger girl huffed.
"Whatever," Garrick shrugged.
Shooting each other a glance, a single thought crossed both their minds: He was so frustrating!
The rest of the walk was silent. The forest was dappled with evening patches of amber sunlight that shifted and shook when the trees swayed. Light that filtered through the leaves gave the path a soft tint, but broke into a clear day as they exited the forest, entering into a bustling town. Everything was paved with warm, red brick. Behind the town, serving as a majestic backdrop, was Heart Castle, a flamboyant but beautiful edifice glittering with marble and stained glass. Remembering the view from the tower, Lorina leaned over to Alysa.
"This really is a Wonderland," she breathed.
Alysa smiled in reply.
After Garrick led them through a maze and into the castle, they were greeted by maids bustling back and forth, hurrying to who-knows-where and carrying various items for who-knows-what. There were porcelain vases and silks and bird cages and crystals the size of Lorina's head, but they all had one thing in common: they must have cost a small fortune.
"Gawk while you walk," Garrick growled, ignoring the servants' greetings.
It wasn't long before they were standing in front of a pair of huge double doors. The knight turned to them with a slightly sick look on his face.
"This is the throne room," he glared menacingly at the floor.
Silence again.
"Aren't you going to come with us?" Alysa finally asked.
"No."
Lorina grinned. "He must be on bad terms with the royalty. I bet he's banned from the throne room."
"Am not!" With that surprising outburst, he pushed open the door and stormed inside.
It was extravagantly spacious, with large windows and chandeliers that probably weighed more than all the furniture in the castle. In front of them was a raised platform on which sat three chairs, in two of which sat the apparent king and queen.
The king sat back in his throne with sandy blond hair and eyes the purple of blackberry juice. He seemed unusually thin for a man-he seemed about twenty-five-but his cold, bored gaze made him seem at least an inch taller than his companion. In contrast, she had black hair and green eyes, with a face that was an odd kind of pretty.
When Lorina voiced so, however, Garrick grimaced.
"Most of it's cosmetics."
"You're so mean!"
"Garrick! You're back!" They were interrupted by the queen. She had a very low alto voice, Lorina noted, as the queen gathered her dress and ran down the stairs to throw herself into the knight's arms. "I thought that you were avoiding me!"
Garrick didn't return the hug. "I was avoiding you."
She forced a giggle and smacked his arm with her fan. "Oh, you don't mean that."
"Um, you two seem close," Alysa observed politely.
Finally noticing the foreigners, the queen squealed again and peeled herself off of Garrick. "So cute! And they have faces! Garrick, are they-"
"They're not mine," the knight growled.
"Averill," a high tenor cut in from the king's seat, "give them some air. We're short on staff, even with Garrick. We still need him, so don't scare him off."
"But Ravel..." The queen pouted, but returned to her seat. Sitting down with a regal air, she sighed. "Here. Happy? Now, little brother and his cute new friends, what can I do for you?"
"I told you not to call me that," Garrick muttered.
"Don't contradict your queen," she folded her arms. "So, what are your names?"
"I'm Alysa and this is Lorina," Alysa curtsied.
Lorina followed her lead. "We were hoping that we might be able to have your unwanted books."
The queen's eyes lit up again. "You two are so polite! Well, you've come to the right place! Ravel had some books that he wanted to get rid of, didn't you, honey?"
The king gave a nonchalant shrug.
"I'll show you where they are!" she chirped, running down the stairs again. Lorina thought briefly that she had great speed for someone in heels.
Quietly, they followed the queen down the plush-carpeted hallways. Lorina was gawking, as was Alyssa (although much less openly), but Garrick just looked rather irked at the world in general. When Averill plucked a rose out of a glass vase and put it in her hair, he finally spoke.
"Averill, you are the most disgusting king on the face of this country."
"Garrick," she whined, "You're so mean."
"King?" Lorina asked.
The knight sighed. "Averill is a-"
"Here we are!" the queen chortled, escorting them into a small office. The setup, although more expensive, was almost identical to Kenelm's room. There was a wide rectangular desk at the back near a window, a fireplace, and a wall devoted to bookshelves opposite to the hearth. It was lighter, though, because the room's window doubled as the entrance to a white balcony and let in twice as much light.
However, it wasn't until Garrick tripped over something that the cousins noticed the twelve or so books scattered in piles of three on the ground.
"Are you alright?" Averill offered her hand.
He ignored it, and Lorina scowled at his behavior.
Alysa lifted one of the books off the ground, inspecting its worn cover. "It looks like it's been well loved."
"Ravel reads books over and over until he can practically recite its contents. These are some of the books he's finished recently. It's not much, but feel free to take them."
"Thank you," Alysa smiled. "Is there anything we can do for you in return?"
"So polite!" she squealed. Giving Alysa a quick hug, Averill smiled. "Just stay as cute as you have been and we're even."
Lorina picked up some books, loading them into her arms. "Thank you!"
The queen's face lit up again. "You are so welcome! I'll give you a hug, too!"
Her plan was halted when Garrick grabbed her by the back of her dress. "Give it a rest," he growled.
"It's fine," Lorina shifted the books in her arms.
"No, it's not."
"Says who?"
"Says me."
"Why do you have to be so mean to your sister?"
"Averill's not my sister."
"Then why did she say she was?"
Garrick stared at her for a while before sighing. "You don't get it, do you?" When there was no reply, he sighed again. "Alright, I'll give introductions. Averill, these are the wenches. Wenches, this is Averill. My brother."
A butterfly beat its wings outside. No other sound was heard.
Finally, the queen gave a nervous giggle. "I'm a girl at heart."
I chose the name Ravel 'cuz he's my favorite composer at the moment. (For those who don't know, the name Vivaldi)
FantasticalFantasy's note: Oh, I get it! Everyone, if you don't know who Vivaldi is, wikipedia him. Yes, Vivaldi is a boy. Which – I don't think it was planned this way, but… - sort of fits in with the crossdressing tyrants… erm, rulers. Then, go to youtube and search "The Four Seasons Vivaldi". You may recognize "Spring"; I know it's one of my favorites. And funny thing, Space Whales forgot to include this similar message:
"I chose the name Ravel 'cuz he's my favorite composer at the moment
(especially "Tzigane," "Jeux d'Eau," and "Pavane de la Belle au Bois
Dormant"(piano arrangement)). For those who don't know, Vivaldi shares her
name with a famous composer. He wrote The Four Seasons. You're probably
familiar with "Spring," but if you're not, you should listen to it. After you
review, that is. ^_^" – Space Whales.
Again, Fantastical speaking, Garrick is soooooo mean! But he sounds hot to me. So the mean-ness can be forgiven. XD At least, in my book it can.
Fantastical still on the mic, just so you guys know, when I read this over DocX for the first time, I was purposely listening to "Dude Looks Like a Lady" by Aerosmith. XD
And one last thing from Fantastical (I talk a lot, don't I?): Before I read this chapter, I never thought about how stupid it would be for the cousins to collect books for a blind man. But at least with the maps, he can feel the pencil/pen lines. It would be a mirror version of the map, but Alice through the looking-glass, right? I guess Kenelm can just have someone read to him (maybe a foreigner? I don't know yet) or maybe he's just collecting the books to replenish the library for the next mortician or to give Lorina and Alysa something to do. But if it was that last one, he could have come up with something else that made more sense for the girls to do. Of course, which is more fun for Space Whales and me to write?