Chapter 7
A round woman clad in white hurried into the room as an infant wailed and sneezed continuously, with increasing pitch and loudness. The pepper appeared to be getting to every single party in the room - or house for that matter, but somehow, she had to stop herself from sneezing in the presence of the woman. It seemed as though she had not been noticed yet as of the moment, seeing how the woman in white continued to hush the child and baby it as it tried to stop sneezing.
"Oh my oh my," she sighed, then proceeded to sneeze thrice in a row as she inhale a pinch of pepper. "COOK? COOK!"
The woman turned about with the monstrosity in her hands as she looked for the Cook, who appeared to be the culprit behind the mess, and jumped nearly twice her height, almost dropping her child while she was at it, as she noticed her.
"OH MY OH MY!" The woman gasped, staring at the intruder in her home as she sat down heavily on the gray carpeted floor, clutching the baby tightly, almost possessively. Both females proceeded to sneeze a couple of times as the overflowing pepper attacked their noses again. "Oh my oh my -sneeze- that good-for-nothing Cook has -sneeze- done it again! How many times have I -sneeze- warned her about this?"
The woman groaned as the child in her arms started flailing about and crying once again. She seemed to have forgotten about the girl who had trespassed on her home. Her shoulders slumped, and she took a deep breath in. "COOOOOOOOK?"
A door slammed open, and a thin, unpleasant looking woman looked out. That was presumably the Cook that the female had been calling for. Not a very nice person to have in your house, from looks all the way down to attitude. Now if it were up to Mother, she would have severely disciplined till she would not dare to even think of showing such attitude.
The Cook shot a look at the plump woman collapsed on the floor, small beady eyes roaming the room and resting uncomfortably on the brunette near the door, giving her a quick once-over before snarling at her, then scowled at the both of them as she returned to the room that was presumed to be the kitchen.
The only good thing that arose from the appearance of the Cook was the temporary relief from the pepper. The plump female sighed, and looked at the other, as though she were just another friendly acquaintance who came over to visit.
"I don't suppose you would mind helping me take care of my child for a little while, would you? Oh my, that grouchy Cook of mine! I would have fired her long ago if it weren't the Queen who assigned her to me!"
"The Queen?"
"Oh yes, the Queen. The Queen of Hearts. A ruthless woman I must say. The most ruthless one I have ever met, for that matter! Oh my, oh my!"
The Queen of Hearts. That was a name that seemed far too familiar for comfort. A name that had appeared in Alice's little tale...
"What happens if you decide to fire the Cook?"
"Oh my, I will get beheaded, of course! The Queen's orders are absolute! Disobedience means death! Those who cannot even follow simple instructions are unneeded in this place! That is the sole law of this particular Wonderland. All citizens should have been aware of this fact."
Realisation dawned on her face as she spoke the last few words, and the plump female gasped.
"You must be! That must be it! Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! Just like the Cheshire Cat said! You are the one! You must be! Oh my oh my!"
"What-"
"Oh my! How rude of me to not introduce myself! I am known as the Duchess, here in Wonderland, and it's very very nice to meet you, Lady Elizabeth."
Within all the confusion, the only thing the brunette was able to do was to sit and stare at the cherubic smile that had erupted on the plump Duchess' face, wondering what exactly was this lady talking about. As she was about to open her mouth to ask about this, the Duchess had placed her child in her hands, told her to take good care of her young child, and hurried off into the next room to reprimand the Cook.
Bits and Pieces :
ø Still anti-climax. Still short :I
ø Feels like there is something out of place in this chapter. Not sure if I'm just paranoid or something...
ø James Birdsong: Thank you :) It really means a lot!
ø AkatsukieraPhoenix: I might edit it a bit if I have time :D But unfortunately the chapters will still stay short :D
