Disclaimer: I own nothing
Note: IT LIVES! I am resurrecting my much beloved and patient fic. I apologize for the wait.
" The Looking Glass so shiny and new, how quickly the glamour fades
I started spinning slipping out of time
Was that the wrong pill to take?"
"Rabbit Hearted", Florence and the Machine
"So. Where to start…" London, or whoever this was, peeked at Cody worriedly over her red teacup. The light of the mid-day sun glinted off her elaborate diamond crown, blinding him.
Calm.
He had to remain calm…this was all just a hallucination. Imaginings of his subconscious, brought on by a blow to his head. None of this was real- not that bright blue sky, or this rose garden, or…or this stranger in London's body…
London took a sip from her tea, and then placed the cup down firmly on the table. "We can begin at the end, we find that is always the most informative place …"
He glanced at her, taking in this version of his old friend with a critical eye. His subconscious must be a very strange place to imagine a world where London was royalty.
The raven-haired beauty began in speak in a soft, languid voice, "The ball is in exactly twenty- four hours from now. It is of vital importance to the entire kingdom that everyone attends. Our neighbors, the Red and White Queens, are the guests of honor. And your completely unreliable, irresponsible, infuriating brother has not yet delivered the gifts… the gifts that we required to be finished four days ago."
Her hands gripped her teacup very tightly, as if she was envisioning the cup to be his brother's neck…
Wait.
Brother.
…she said he had an "irresponsible, infuriating brother"...well, at least his subconscious had gotten that right. "Ah. That does sound like him…so I'm going to assume that you need me to talk some sense into him?"
The London-who-was-not-London nodded, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "We would like you to, if you pardon the phrase, put the fear of god into him."
"Consider it done. Now… where exactly… are we?"
London just raised an eyebrow at him. "Wonderland, of course."
Oh. Right. Where else? "And that would make you… the Queen?"
London drew herself up proudly. "Her Royal Majesty, the Queen of Hearts of the Great and Lost Land of Wonderland."
He gulped. "Long live the Queen?"
For the first time, the Queen smiled- a full, sparkling grin, her face alight with a rosy glow. "We certainly hope so, Jack."
( O.K- so out of all the places his subconscious drums up- it's Wonderland? He didn't even like the book, and the movie had given him nightmares when he was little and….wait. Did she just call him "Jack"?)
He raised his eyebrows with a questioning, "Jack?"
The Queen's smile froze, her features tightening into a carefully controlled blank face…a politian's face.
Expect for her eyes.
They were sad eyes.
"Yes. Jack. That is….that is your name." Her voice was tight. " Jack of Hearts. The Caption of the Guard."
She looked away from him, her voice barely a whisper,
"…my fiancé."
What?
He could have…he could have sworn that she had just said he was her…her…he must have misheard her or something.
No.
No, not even in a dream, not even a concussion induced dream was he going to be London's f-…
Nonono.
…and why was it so hot all of a sudden…
… and where did the sound go… they're had been birds…
And…and everythings blurry and shifting and…and
Everything….went…black.
Cody awoke to a white light.
And a voice singing softly, "Go into the light…go into the light."
He blinked.
…and the light dimmed, his eyes adjusting, shapes condensing into a very familiar figure.
He opened his mouth, whispering out, "Shut up Zack….I'm not going into any light. Not today."
His brother blinked at him, his blonde hair falling into his face as he leaned in to feel Cody's forehead. "Man, that must have been some bang to the head. You've been out for hours."
He shook away his twin's hand. "You don't know the half of it. I…I am the weirdest dream. I was in Wonderland…and …and London was the Queen of Hearts and I was…"he cut off, not wanting to think about who he had been.
Zack stared at him.
"What?" he asked, giving his older brother a hard look."What's wrong?"
And then he took in what Zack was wearing.
A hat.
An enormous hat.
A bright green hat. A bright green hat with a huge white tag on the side. " In this style 10/6," the tag proclaimed in black bold lettering.
And then Cody looked down at the rest of his twin's outfit…
…dark green pants. Green shoes. A green waistcoat. A mustard orange coat. A blue bow-tie.
Oh damn.
He spoke slowly, carefully. "You're wearing a bow-tie."
His twins straightened his bow-tie proudly. "Bow-ties are cool. Everyone know that Jack."
Cody closed his eyes again, groaning. Shit.
"Well. I don't know if the citizen's of Wonderland will take kindly to being called a "weird dream." The voice echoed from afar and Cody taking in his surroundings for the first time. He was in a bedroom straight out of an Austen novel- gilded ceiling, elegant Victorian couches and chairs…and on the far side of the room stood Bailey.
She was wearing a blue dress… a very familiar blue dress, complete with white petticoats and white apron. Her dirty-blonde hair secured with a headband, there was no mistaking who she was.
" Her Majesty called us as soon as you fainted. I've never seen her that upset…she mentioned something about amnesia. The doctor examined you- said you had a lump on the back of your head, and that it was possible that it would have effected your memory." Bailey smiled at him as she said this, striding forward towards him.
She stopped in front of him, giving him an encouraging look."Don't worry. Your memories will return soon. Everything will be normal again soon."
Somehow, he seriously doubted that.
"Alice is being kind. You are totally screwed bro. The ball is tonight- and you have to be her royal pain's escort." The Mad Hatter, formally known as Zack, smiled at him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Memories or no memories- you have a ball to go to Cinderella."
My inner fangirl is squealing over Zack as the Mad Hatter. Just sayin. Reviewers receive hugs and tea.