Finally: An update!
Enjoy chapter seven! (please)
ALICE II
the untold sequel
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Chapter Seven
S.C.P and the Curious Map
The problem of 'That Darn Cat,' as Alice had so eloquently referred to it, was a predicament not easily sorted. The main concern of all involved was very simple, yet as immovable as a brick wall. The concern was this: How does one turn a stone-like cat into it's original form, without causing harm?
How, indeed.
Many tactics were considered, and barely any actually put to trial. Of course there were the standard explanations given, such as finding a potion to reverse the affects, researching magic and finding the answer in some book or ancient proverb, making dull conversation with the said cat, and even possibly using a hammer to force the darn cat out, even if the results should be disastrous. It did not take long for Alice to discover that the Cheshire Cat had few friends, and even fewer allies. On the other hand, a large ensemble seemed overjoyed at the prospect of their favorite cat finding himself in the middle of a trial-and-error process. Alice treaded lightly around the eager crowd, unwilling to simply apply whatever explanation seemed valid.
Long days were spent in the palace's expansive library, both by Alice and her companions, chewing through history, science, The Cat Lover's Guide To All Things Fishy, legends and, finally, magic. The library itself would have been enough to shatter poor Cheshire's immobile body; with shelves and shelves of thick, musty books in languages Alice had never heard of, seen or spoken, chairs so deep many men were lost in their cushioned depths, and an archaic ceiling so high a thin veil of fog gathered around it, shrouding the place in mystery, along with it's contents. Alice could only suppose they had been the first visitors in many, many years.
It was here, in the massive library, that Alice found herself alone, hidden behind a thick volume after almost two weeks of finding absolutely nothing. Time was running short, and she now took to reading her way through the night, only stopping for a break now and again, while the others searched high and low elsewhere. Dusk had descended upon the land, and she lit a small, yellow oil lamp to give her specific corner a warm glow.
She scanned her way through the moth-eaten pages, sometimes flipping chapters at a time, and sometimes reading a volume from start to finish. Prior to this, Alice had always believed herself to be an avid reader, but now even the sight of the books surrounding her made her head ache. Not even her curiosity made the task of sorting through the entire library an enjoyable one, instead, she fancied herself willing to give up the cat and go destroy something. The first thing on her list was the enormous library, and she would withhold no mercy. For a few moments, she let her mind wander, entertaining herself with particularly nasty thoughts centered around the innocent book that lay idly in her lap.
Sighing, and coming to the conclusion that all her fantasies were virtually impossible, a thin, loose sheet of brown, faded paper caught her eye, wedged in between page 764 and 765 of The History of Dirt: An Unauthorized Biography. Curious, she caught the weak paper between her thumb and forefinger, determined to bring no harm to the already near-crumbling sheet. Tentatively, it slid out and settled itself in front of her eyes.Eager, Alice read the paper:
Shopping List
(the grocers have the best prices, I think)
Lemons
Sugar
Bread
Coffee
Milk
Socks (three?)
S.C.P
Pancake mixture
More Lemons
Alice frowned then grumbled, unimpressed by the had-been promising note. It was nothing more than a Grandmother's petty shopping list, complete with the queer floral scent that all Grandmother's seemed capable of writing with. Grumbling under her breath yet again, Alice prepared to scrunch the list up when she suddenly caught sight of the back. Flipping it over gently, she was face-to-face with something she had not quite expected to be on the back of an elderly woman's listed groceries:
A map.
A big map.
A big, detailed map.
Alice stared at her unexpected discovery for a few seconds, as if unsure of what to do with it. Finally, she managed to send her head forward, bending over to inspect the map closely.
Studying the strange image hard, Alice concluded that she had no idea of what location the map was meant to represent. The image drew a large square, with what seemed like hundreds of horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines crossing inside of it. Every now and again it would form an oddly shaped rectangle, square or triangle, complete with tiny, flowing hand writing depicting what it was next to it. Though the writing was much too small to make out by naked eye, it was no doubt acting as a label. Frowning at the picture, she could not make out what bothered her by it's innocent presence. Was it it's obvious antiquity that worried her? Was she frightened of accidentally destroying perhaps a priceless artifact, which the map may very well be? Was it the size, or even the implication? No explanation seemed reasonable. Carefully pocketing it away in the protective folds of her dress, Alice decided it should be spared for later examination. Perhaps when her mind cleared later, she would be able to find her answers.
Alice excited the library, no longer interested in reading her way through the remaining books. The map feeling heavy and dangerous in her pocket, she crossed the grand halls at alarming speed, either out of excitement or fear. Which one, even she was not sure.
She came to a halt outside a sturdy, iron door, where an odd conversation was being held between the exact people she was looking for. Feeling uncharacteristically reckless after her discovery, she pressed her ear to the door.
"I'll wager you," came the confident voice of the Hare, whom Alice still had no idea as to how he managed to slip into the castle, "in three months all your tea will run out."
"Nonsense," countered the Hatter stubbornly, "my tea has no taste for exercise. Besides, tea must be present in three moths time; for it will be your unbirthday."
"Indeed!" Gibson's voice was thick and low, rumbling joyously through the small room, "I'll have you know it is my unbirthday today."
There came through the door an assortment of various gasps and congratulations to Alice's ear, making her smile.
"And what sign were you born under, Gibson?" The Hatter inquired civilly.
"Slippery When Wet, and you?"
"No Entry," the Hatter told him, slightly embarrassed.
"Don't worry, chap," was Kip's jovial reply, "I believe the former Queen of Heart's sign was Danger. Can't do much worse now, can you?"
This was greeted by an assortment of chuckles, and strangely enough a longing sigh.
"Wish I was born under a sign."
"Oh, stop fussing Hare. If you like, we'll assign you a sign," Hatter seemed only too pleased to play diplomat, Alice judged by his tone of voice.
"Really?"
"Of course, excellent notion, Hatter! Now, what shall we give him?" Alice could only imaging Gibson rubbing his hands together in glee.
"Exit?"
"Stop?"
"Enter At Own Risk?"
"70k p/h?"
"Mens room."
" Ladies room."
"Ridiculous! I say Beware."
"Ducks Crossing," Alice suggested, finally stepping into the room.
"I love it!" Cried the Hare with a certain girlish delight, tossing his paws up into the air.
"Excellent," Alice joined them at the table, ignoring the seat at the head to which she was usually appointed.
"Tell me, please," Alice began as she reached for the map in her concealed pocket. "If any of you are able to tell me anything about this map."
Letting the paper lie in the center of the old oak table, she watched as four curious faces peered at it, some leaning forward in their comfortable chairs to get a closer look. A silence stretched, though none were bothered by it, instead, all four's attention was settled on the map in front of them, inspecting it and silently questioning it, while Alice silently watched them and their diverse reactions.
Kip's reaction had been fairly standard. Only leaning in to glance at it, he inspected out of curiosity, though nothing more. With a detached, nonchalant look on his pale, extremely thin face, he merely followed the map's lines with his eyes, glancing up and around every now and again, as if bored.
The Hare reacted similarly, though without Kip's hinted superiority. His fur twitched only slightly as he inspected the paper, though that could have easily been Alice's imagining. Perhaps sensing her gaze, he looked up and grinned a goofy grin at her, before softly remarking:
"You smell like lemons, dear."
Gibson, on the other hand, snorted at seeing the paper. Crossing his thick, red arms he huffed and rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair, only watching the paper from under his lashes, his curiosity getting the better of him. He mumbled to himself about 'thousands floating around,' and 'silly girls who think.'
Hatter, who Alice could not help but watch intently, seemed to physically jerk away from the paper, his face paling. Without so much as a prolonged glance at the curious map, he stared straight up at Alice, as if trying to determine what she already knew about the affair. She could feel his eyes burning holes into her, and quickly averted her gaze, feeling unnerved.
After a few more silent minutes, Hatter spoke up quietly, his voice barely heard.
"Where did you find this?"
Alice raised her chin, though for some strange reason, she had a strange impulse to lie. Unable to shake it off, she succumbed to the strange, new feeling. "It was given to me," she replied confidently.
"By whom?" His voice was a little too sharp.
After a moments hesitation, she answered him with the same perfect confidence. "The Caterpillar."
"When?"
"Just now."
"You left the castle, unsupervised, in this time of danger?" His voice was turning more and more into a raging growl.
"Yes, I did," Alice replied with not so much as a blink. "And I don't see how that concerns you. Last time I checked, I was Queen."
"A Queen without any notion of self-preservation."
"I'm alive," Alice replied, tiring of the argument. Why hadn't she just told the truth?
"Next time, you may not be so lucky," he bit, a storm brewing in his eyes.
Alice made no reply, only snatched the map off the table, and headed directly for the door.
"Wait!" The Hare called. Something in his voice made Alice do just that, though she turned around wearily.
"What's that on the back of it?" He asked, tilting his head, trying to see the strange list.
"What? This?" Alice handed it to him, only too glad to be rid of it. "It's just an old shopping list. Nothing special."
But his eyes were sparkling as he read through the list aloud, and for a wild moment Alice wondered if he had written the list all those years ago.
"...coffee...milk...socks...S.C.P," Hare's eyed grew very large at this, almost popping out of his head, he stopped and double-checked himself. "S.C.P?"
"Es see pea?" Kip repeated, thoroughly confused. "Who is Es?"
"No. S.C.P," Hare corrected hastily.
"Oh," Kip nodded knowingly, his voice reverences the letters as if they were an ancient king. "S.C.P."
"What? What does S.C.P stand for?" Alice asked, her brows furrowed.
"Solitary Conversion Particles," the Hare explained. "No wonder I was thrown off by the silly old map, we needed The Shopping List." Something about the way he said it made it seem as if it belonged in capitals.
"The Shopping List? We don't need the mysterious map, but the shopping list?" Alice cried incredulously.
"Not 'the shopping list,'" Hare corrected her gently, "The Shopping List."
Alice could only shake her head in bewilderment. If the map meant nothing, why had the Hatter reacted so? It didn't seem to add up. Alice tried to persist the point again with the Hare.
"But surely the map may be of some use. Please, consider it again!"
The Hare flipped the paper over irritably, two shiny front teeth poking out as he examined the map once again. He clicked his tongue and shook his head slowly, though his words came out in a jumbled rush.
"No use! No use! Look at it; this place isn't even in Wonderland, I bet," he snapped, and Alice paled upon hearing the words. "Look, look how straight and boring! Not in Wonderland, I tell you! Pointless scrap of rubbish it is. I'd throw it out right now if it hadn't been for the back!"
And that was it; that was what had troubled Alice when she first saw the map. Ir was no wonder she did not recognize it then; her mind was only thing of Wonderland, only considering Wonderland. She couldn't understand how she wasn't able to see it earlier. It was London. A strange map of London in the Wonderland library. Alice couldn't bring herself to believe it.
She took it straight from the Hare's loose grasp, and bolted out the door, not caring for the first time since her coronation whether she looked graceless or a fool for doing so; all she needed was a quiet, secluded spot where she could ponder this over. Somewhere away from the hustle and bustle of her usual companions, somewhere where a former Londoner could contemplate London.
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Sitting outside the castle walls, in a rare patch of shade, leaning against an old, accommodating tree who had kindly ceased his conversation with the birds to give her some peace and quiet, Alice stared down intently at the map in her hands, and what she saw made her stomach turn unpleasantly.
London. The straight, narrow streets. The commonplace. London. The gray. The old. The map. She turned the paper, this way and that, upside down and sideways, wondering if this could be it. Frowning, she inspecting the article closely, but nothing out of the ordinary jumped out at her. It looked just the same as the many other London maps she had studied in her time. Sighing, she reluctantly settled it down on the grass beside her. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, after all. It now seemed it had nothing to do with the answer she was looking for, or even gave a shred of information about the Cheshire Cat. Her brow furrowed deeply as she felt her heart sag. She was so sure – so sure that she had been close to an answer, she had almost felt it. And now she was back to square one, with nothing at all for Wonderland, nothing to save it.
At that moment, the blistering sun chose to sting Wonderland with her rays, and Alice jumped as she tried to shade her face with her hand. Eyes squinting, something flashed beside her, just seen through the corner of her eye. Turning her head sharply, she watched the map, mouth agape, as a new image seemed to overlap the old in the direct sunlight.
Cautiously picking it up, holding it out more into the light, the overlaying image became clearer.
A map of Wonderland now appeared fully under the map of London.
It looked almost three dimensional, and Alice could do nothing but stare, her mind already reeling with possibilities as to what this new revelation could mean.
Perhaps there was hope after all.
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I liked writing this chapter. Hoped you liked reading it, too!
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Have an awesome week :D
