Chapter 2
"Where have you taken me? What are we doing here? And who...who are you?" Hiccup questioned the strange man.
"Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Uhm. No.. no. Who are you?" Hiccup asked again gesturing with his body towards the strange man.
"A friend, I hope.." He put emphasis on 'hope' and seemed to turn the statement into a question. The man poured himself a cup of tea and sat down in a spinning chair. Hiccup was intrigued by this, but decided it better to look at it's construction later. "As to where you are, you're in Wonderland."
"Wonderland. That..that sounds like a children's book." Hiccup looked at him skeptically.
"Does this look like a children's book to you?" He said with a very serious face.
"Judging by all the bright colors..yes. I say it looks very much like a children's book."
"Oh." The man closed his mouth in surprise. "Well I suppose you are looking at the nice side of Wonderland. But trust me. Out there, you wouldn't last a day.
"People call me Hatter. You would do well to do the same. Now as to reasons why you are here..well we have a few more guests who have yet to arrive. And I don't know about you, but I would rather tell a story once... to the lot of you." He gestured around the room as if expecting his guests to pop out of the ground. Maybe they would do that too..who knows what would happen in this world.
"I can't just sit around here and wait! And I can't believe you made me leave my best friend alone!" Hiccup exclaimed in exasperation.
Just then a girl came out of the other room rubbing her eyes. "What's going on out here? I was trying to sleep because this world is so strange it must be a dream. But I just woke up and everything is still here, though I do dream a lot in the day time, so maybe we are still all in my head. I don't know who any of you are, so how can you be in my head? Or maybe am I in yours?"
"My name is Hiccup. I'm a Dragon Trainer from Berk. The man in the jacket over there is named..Hatter. And who are you?"
"My name is Luna Lovegood. It's very nice to meet you," Luna spoke in an airy tone with a smile upon her face. "So you train dragons..do you train Norwegian Ridgebacks I hear they are the ha.."
Just then a girl fell through the chimney and into the room. She was covered in soot which seemed fitting for her fiery hair and she looked very irritable.
"Well then that was the most least pleasant trip down into an hearth-pit" By her accent Hiccup could tell that whatever world she came from they would have been close neighbors. "Now will someone tell me where I am? I've got half a mind to drag myself back home after that stumble."
"And look at that! Our final guest. Now we can finally get down to business! Would anyone like some tea?"
"Ooh! I would love some!" Luna piped up.
"There we go, you must be from my kind of world." Hatter said as he poured Luna some tea. "By the way Miss Merida, the boy over there is Hiccup, this lovely lady is Luna and you can call me Hatter. And of course, you are in Wonderland."
"Eep! I knew the white rabbit would lead me here. This was always one of my favorite children's books!" Luna spun around without spilling a drop of her tea.
Hiccup gestured exasperated in her direction in regards to the 'children's book' remark.
"This is not a children's story! We keep telling the other folk that it is to keep well enough alone. And it makes it easier to bring people here when we need heros. The people of Wonderland are rather spineless at the best of times. Except for those of us who have already fought wars for our freedom."
"Well some of us are still fighting here! My home will be burnt to a crisp if we don't get a move on. And that lad is supposed to help with our dragon problems." Merida pointed her bow over to where Hiccup stood near the window. Merida made a mental note that this house seemed rather mushroom shaped. Round with rock walls and kind of homey. After all, she tripped through the chimney since most of the house seemed built underground. If only I had taken the time to walk around I wouldn't have fallen in.
"Right. Alright. Well I think that our problems here in Wonderland will help you solve your problems as well. Here why don't you all sit down and I'll explain why you have been called here." The four of them gathered around the square stone table. Luna relit the fireplace and Merida placed her bow on the table. The sun glinted off of the polished wood as it set casting an orange glow around the room. It could be seen through the windows and past the odd landscape.
"Months ago I was summoned by the Librarian of this world. He is a wise scholar and keeps track of all the portals to all worlds. This is one of the reasons Wonderland can be so confusing. In a way we are one of the sources of magic. All that lives and breathes in Wonderland outputs its magic to all other worlds. The Librarian lives in his library a huge building built into the side of a cave. Books climb high into the ceiling and sliding ladders help to reach some of them. There are even bridges, it's as if the library is a world all it's own. Anyways, in the back somewhere there is a secret passage the Librarian has access to that leads far into the mountain itself. I have been there once, and I know if I ever went there alone I would be lost forever. The place is a maze of tunnels that lead all through the mountain. At one point, the Librarian lead me to a large cavern with a glowing pool in the middle. He showed me images about all of you, telling me that you were to become the new heros of Wonderland.
"That is when he told me an ancient evil was coming to Wonderland and intended to take over this world and all other worlds through his very home. There was little he would be able to do at all. At first I didn't believe him. But it has all happened just as he said it would. A darkness has fallen over the lands, this is one of the last places of light. Everything else has changed and all the life here has become hostile. Some of it hasn't changed, there has always been a dark side to Wonderland. But now even the flowers have teeth and are eating meat! Trust me, this is a new thing for Wonderland. It's actually quite terrifying. They have these little eyes, and at first they were kind of cute, but you get to close then WHAM! Out pop their teeth and suddenly you're surrounded by tiny flowers chopping away at you."
"Well. That sounds like a lot of trouble you've got. But what does that have to do with us and what do we have to do about it?" Merida impatiently asked.
"Before I left the Librarian he told me there was a magical power that could stop this evil once it had settled in our land. But that it wouldn't work until it had all three keys to release it. He said there would be three tasks and three heros. Bravery, Magic and Cunning. The last thing he gave me was this ring." Hatter held up a simple silver ring with a blue round stone and two
engraved simple flowers on either side of the gem. He passed it over to Luna and she put it on staring at the shining blue gem. The gem seems to glow like water shinning in the moonlight.
"Listen. You all should get to bed. It will be a wild quest tomorrow I'm sure. There are plenty of couches and beds to sleep on."
Hatter was right, Luna could feel her eyes drooping and decided to head off for the bed she had already slept in for the night. She flopped down like a toy bunny and looked to the star filled ceiling. As she drifted off to sleep Luna wondered if the Hatter lived here and if he made the ceiling magically show stars.
Merida and Hiccup found comfortable places around the cozy house to lay on. Merida discovered a loft, Hiccup a bright purple couch. Hatter went into the other room of the house.
Luna dreamt she was racing through the forest. It was bright and colorful, trees were purple and blue and the grass was all shades of green. Mushrooms sprouted randomly, some were very tiny and others were bigger than she was. She was running on..all fours?
Swiftly Luna jumped over a left over puddle and glimpsed herself in the reflection. She was a fox! A mostly white and somewhat orange fox! Why was she running? Luna stopped and sniffed the air. Something was chasing her, she could feel it. And she knew she could not let it catch her.
Howls echoed around her, the howls sounded like dying beasts. Their last breaths of pain as and horror, but these came from the things chasing her. What creatures could make this sound? Suddenly something jumped out from behind and pinned Luna to the ground! It was hideous! A ravenous beast, a hungry wolf, it's fur pealed back and red muscles showing. Bones melded with muscle, it's entire face was just bone! And the eyes, the eyes glowed red in horror and hate, of fire burning souls in the pit of evil.
Just then, another shadow towered over Luna. But this, this creature was something she could not understand. Was it a man? He seemed to be wearing a very nice suit. And upon his head, a grotesque shape of a giant brown rabbit. It's eyes hollow holes pulling her soul in sucking her life...dragging her in...into the pits of a hellish world...
Luna sat up with a bolt. Had that dream been real? It felt so real..or was this a warning? Something was coming, she could feel it in her soul. Luna raced out into the living room.
"Guys! Wake up! Wake up!" Luna ran around shaking the others awake.
"What..whats going on?" Hiccup asked groggily rubbing his eyes. It was still dark outside with barely the hints of grey upon the horizon.
"I don't know. I think there is something after us?" Luna said as she ran around closing the blinds.
"You think? You don't know? And you woke us up for just that?" Merida's hair poofed out mocking her annoyance of being awoken so early.
"I just. I had this feeling. Something is out there watching us." Merida gave an exasperated sigh and flopped back down on the bed. Luna ignored it and continued to look outside warily.
"Maybe it was just a bad.." Hiccup didn't get a chance to finish because just then, the most terrifying horrible howl came from beyond the forest.
Merida shot up like a bolt, grabbed her bow and swung down from the loft. Hatter creeped out behind her and stuck his head in the doorway.
"Everyone stay very quiet. The Hellhounds have found us."