"How shall we wake her up? Shall we jump at her?"
"No, Thackery! That's the stupidest thing to do. Besides, who says that she actually is the chosen one?"
The two quarrelling voices so close by made Selene frown annoyed and open her eyes. Whoever there was arguing, should it absolutely be so close? The March Hare and Mally were standing next to her bed. Thackery on the floor with his eyes barely visible over the edge of the bed, while the dormouse stood on the bedside table with its small paws on its tinier hips.
"If you absolutely shall have an argument…" Selene grunted, and got up onto her elbow. Some strands of her hair hanging down in front of her face. "Then couldn't you do it outside or at least more hushed?"
"Well, looks who finally have chosen to wake up. About time, I must say." said Mally with a hidden stern tone.
"What do you mean by that?" Selene asked and brushed away her hair.
"You have slept for almost 18 hours, girl. The Queen has been worried for you." Mally reached behind her, and found forth a white silk ribbon, which she threw before Selene. "The Queen awaits you. Try to get some control over that hair of yours. You look like you have been wrestling with a Bandersnatch."
Selene was way too tired and hungry to argue with a mouse, so after sitting up she collected her hair into a braid down the front of her right shoulder. Swinging her legs out of the bed, she put on her shoes and stood up, corrected her pants and dark-green t-shirt, and took on her black hoodie, whereupon following with the two animals. Mally once again standing between the March Hare's long ears.
As on the way to the entrance hall, they came through a corridor which seemed to be some sort of gallery. Large portraits of men and women hung on each wall, yet two of them were covered by large golden sheets. That sight made Selene stop by the left of them. Curiously lifting the middle of the sheet, she saw a name written on a golden plate in the bottom of the frame. A name so weird, that she not was sure how to pronounce it.
Just as she was about to lift the sheet higher, a high-pitched yelp could be heard and a fierce mouse voice began scolding her. "Hey, get away from there!"
Selene let go of the sheet, and in the next got pulled along by the March Hare. Mally gave her a warning look, but didn't say anything.
Finally making their way to the entrance hall, they saw Mirana standing by the foot of the stairs, talking to some from her court. All the men and women were very fair-skinned and with white hair like their Queen. The dressing style around her seemed to be from the Victorian era. Large white-silver corset dresses for the women, and pale-golden breeches and white waistcoats and tailcoats for the men.
Hearing the footsteps on the stairs, Mirana turned her head and smiled. "Ah, good to see you awake, Tinke. I have been worried. I thought you were under the influence of a sleeping draught, since you have slept for so long."
"I'm fine, your Majesty." Selene said, feeling a bit uncomfortable that the people from court were looking at her like she was some sort of alien creature. Which she, in the theory, also was, since she was from Aboveland.
"Sir Andrew, can you tell me the clock, please?" Mirana asked one of the men, there fumbled with finding his pocket watch in his coat.
"It's about to be noon, my queen." he replied.
Mirana smiled again. That the Queen apparently was smiling of anything without any reason was already getting onto Selene's nerves.
"Dear friend. You must be hungry from your journey." Mirana said. "What about we eat lunch, and then I can show you around the palace grounds afterwards?"
The word lunch made Selene's stomach wake up and it uttered a loud growl with hunger. "I would like that. Thank you, your Majesty."
The Queen smiled and led her inwards the left doorway nearest by, Mally and Thackery right in their footprints. They came into another section, where three other doorways met them. One to the left, one right ahead, and one to the right. Walking through last mentioned, they came into a large dining room, the single door in the back must lead to the kitchen. While Thackery went into the kitchen, Mally, Mirana and Selene went over and sat down by the end of the table closest to the kitchen door. Mirana sat by the end of the table, Selene on her left, while Mally stood on a pile of books on the Queen's right. Sitting there Selene took a look around. Something was missing, just what she didn't know. Well, besides from someone she knew, like Liz.
After about half an hour of time, Thackery returned. A tea tray with cups, a teapot and all that, balancing on his head, his ears curled around the handles of the tray, while two other trays with food balanced on each paw. It was a wonder, how he managed to get over to the table without dropping anything. After placing the food on the table first, he went for the tray on his head but his ears was not keen on letting go of the handles, almost making him drop it all into the Queen's lap. Selene had to hide the small present smirk behind her hand.
The meal was the most unusual Selene ever had attended, both when it came to food and company. There was not much of the food on the trays, she recognized. There was bread, scones, different berries, a large white tart, various sorts of fruits, and weird bluish eggs, there, when you opened them, had yellow crown-shaped yolks. The tart was made of wild Underland berries, and the bread tasted oddly of cinnamon and vanilla. A few times during the breakfast, the March Hare had either taken one of the cups, knocked the bottom out of it, and then poured the tea down through it into another cup, or had hurled sugar cubes at the others. Mally and Mirana seemed to be used to it, because they quickly avoided it, but Selene had got hit a few times, whereupon Thackery laughed insanely.
After they were done eating, Mirana did as promised and showed Selene around the palace grounds. The gardens were large and parted into different sections, there varied in sizes. As they came into a large garden with a huge white marble fountain, Mirana noticed an absent look in the eyes of the younger girl.
"Is there something on your mind?" she asked.
"There is… sort of." Selene had a bit trouble of how to say this. "Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate your kindness and that, but I was wondering… is there... a way for me to get back? Back to the Aboveland, as you call it?"
Silence loomed over them in the garden like a thick mist. The smile on the queen's face faded. Convincing Selene that her answer not would be good news.
"There… is a way to return." Mirana said very hushed.
"What way?" Selene turned around towards the Queen, there looked hesitating. Hearing that there actually was a way to get back to her own world, Selene wanted every bit of information the queen had, no matter if she would give it willingly or not.
Mirana shook her head without taking her dark eyes off her. "Selene, you do not understand. You cannot leave Underland, not now." there was almost a plea in the royal words.
"Why not?" Selene asked. Why was the Queen suddenly so secretive and keen on getting her to stay? Was she hiding something?
The White Queen looked rather uncomfortable all of a sudden. Like she didn't like the idea of taking this conversation further. Then there sounded footsteps through the garden gate, and a chubby man with a white handlebar moustache came running. He must be from the court, yet he was dressed much nicer than the others. The medals and orders on the front of the coat indicated, that he was the Lord Chamberlain within the court.
"My Queen, my Queen!" he called desperate, and stopped before them.
"Something wrong, my good man?" Mirana asked.
"Your presence... is requested by... by Absolem in the Prediction Tower. It sounded most urgent." The man explained quite breathless.
Hearing this Mirana's face turned serious. "Then I certainly must go." She turned to Selene. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave you. Shall I let sir Argus stay with you?"
Selene shook her head. "No need, your Majesty. I would like some time alone, if it's alright."
"Of course. Sir Argus," Mirana said, whereupon she and the man left the garden.
Finally having some alone time, Selene sat down onto the edge of the fountain and sighed. Reaching under her t-shirt, she took forth the golden locket and opened it. The small picture made her smile sad and yearning. An unfamiliar sound made Selene snap out of her dwelling, and her ears tensed up. Music. It sounded like someone was playing the flute. It was not close by, but it sounded like it came from beyond the tall hedge labyrinth, there began in the other end of the garden. After closing the locket shut and putting it back underneath the shirt, Selene stood up and curiously started following the sound.
The labyrinth was not very hard to solve, and a few minutes later, she stood in the entrance into the centre middle where a gazebo was built. The wood was white, and had a blue-violet roof like the ones on the palace. She saw who there was playing the music, and stepped up to hide behind a corner of the hedge. It was the Hatter, sitting on one of the two golden benches inside the gazebo. The brown top hat was resting upon the wild mess of curly orange hair, and the gloved hands worked on a black tin flute. The weak breeze seemed to carry the melody along. The melody was very beautiful, slow and kinda sad. Though she couldn't see his face, something told her that he was just as sad as the melody indicated.
The melody lasted for another minute or so, before he stopped playing. Selene took a careful step back to return to the fountain, when she heard his voice broke the silence.
"Don't think that I hadn't seen you standing there, Tinke." He said.
Selene stiffened, but slowly stepped forth from her hide. "Sorry, it was not my intention to disturb you. I heard the music…"
"Sad, wasn't it?" he simply asked and stood up, putted the flute back into his inner pocket, and proceeded to leave through the other exit of the gazebo.
"Hatter,"
He turned back around, and saw Selene standing by the opposite opening, her one hand on the door frame. "I… never got to thank you."
"For what?"
"For saving me from Stayne back there. I don't think biting you was a proper way to show my gratitude. I hope you're not mad at me."
Hatter's eyes, there before her arrival had been dark-blue of grief, slowly turned green. He glanced at his right hand, where a faint print of her teeth still was visible on his index finger. He smiled back at her. "Don't mind it, lass. I have been through worse…"
Selene smiled briefly, before turning serious again. "Hatter, Mirana said that there was a way for me to return to Aboveland, but she suddenly hesitated and refused to tell me." She saw that his own smile had vanished. "You must know, how I can get back to Aboveland."
"I do… but I must not tell you. The Queen's orders." He shook his head, while exiting the gazebo. He crossed the small area to enter the labyrinth through another entrance, but stopped just before. His head turned to look back, and saw her standing where he had been standing seconds ago, with a disappointed face.
"I'm sorry, lass." He said and sounded sincerely.
She just nodded with a slight smile. "It's okay." her voice low.
He repaid her smile, before entering the labyrinth to return to the palace. Selene sighed, and turned around, arms crossed. She saw a ladder standing next to the gazebo, leading up to the roof. For some unknown reason, she climbed up to stand on the roof, and held around the golden spear with left hand, while looking around. The rather asymmetric pattern of the white marble walls and green hedges parting the many gardens was like a huge puzzle, there just screamed for being broken up and then solved again. The clouds floated gently across the blue sky, birds were singing, and butterflies in every colour flew by. For a very brief moment, lasting lesser than a quarter of a second, she actually fell in love with the new world, but remembered that this wasn't right. The world was not as hers, and the way that people were dressed indicated that the time had turned back with at least a century, if not two, and a feather-headed Queen apparently had plans with her, and didn't seem to let her go willingly.
Using the rest of the afternoon indoors, Selene spent some hours on walking and memorizing the palace on her own. Actually a bit surprised to not see Mirana or any of the others, not even the Hatter or Mally, a single time. She had asked the Lord Chamberlain, the man Argus, about it, but the simple answer given was that the Queen was occupied with something 'important', and did not wish to be disturbed. Walking around the corridors pretty much at random, she made her way to one of the top towers, and stepped out onto the large balcony encircling the tower. Though it had to be early evening, the sun was still high on the sky. A telescope was fastened to the marble handrail, and she allowed herself to look through it. The range was really long, much longer than a normal telescope. The broken windmill jumped into her mind, and that was actually what she saw. The windows were dark, and the curtains were drawn. Then her mind flicked to the Room of Doors, and without turning the telescope, the round picture of the windmill got replaced by the tiny door leading into the larger room.
"Cool, I want one of these…" She mumbled low to herself, not noticing Argus who appeared in the doorway.
"Miss Tinke?"
Selene whirled around slightly frightened. Before having a chance to say anything, the chubby man continued with a serious face.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, but the the Queen awaits you in the Prediction Tower. Please follow me." Argus said.
Selene nodded and followed him. Misgivings started forming during the way to the tower, as they went through a few corridors, before ending by a tall spiral staircase leading up to the highest tower in Marmoreal. The staircase was so narrow, that Selene had to walk behind Argus, who barely had space to move between the walls. She kept a distance to him, like fearing his large corpus might fall backwards and land on her. The trip up the staircase seemed forever, but finally they came to the top, where there only was one door in the circle-shaped wall. It was a large silver-white door with a unique design engraved into the wood. Something which looked like rays of air swirled beautifully around to form a circle around an open scroll. Argus stepped forth and knocked on the door, whereupon slowly opening it.
"My Queen, I have brought Tinke as requested."