AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the long delay to posting the next chapter to this story. I have had a hetic time with college, and the fact that I am moving house doesn't help the matter. I hope you enjoy this chapter, as I have been typing bits and pieces for ideas come to me. Thank you for those that have added this story on Story Alert and I'd like to thank those who have added me on Author Alert, I'm honoured :) Thank you to the kind reveiwer as well!
DISCLAIMER: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass belong to Lewis Carroll. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator belong to Roald Dahl. James Finnegan and Thomas Sands are original characters belonging to me, and the mentioned Tea Witch and The Ring Master are original characters belonging to an author and friend of mine, xILoveReadingx who is currently writing the story 'Sun Showers', a Katekyo Hitman Reborn fanfiction - go and take a look.
Chapter Ten: Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee
The two boys, James and Thomas found themselves slowly traveling around this strange place, their eyes widened in wonderment and fear. It was just so strange, all these weird woods and pathways, already they had almost found themselves shrunk down to the size of a mouse when they were trying every door. Now they were locked in a checker floored maze.
All around them, in the tree tops and the surrounding hedges they found eyes of something staring at them through the branches, having mist had blur their vision. It was bad enough that they had slight aches in their heads from the odd fall through the hole, but now every limb in their body was hurting. On occasion James would leap out of his skin if he heard a weird noise.
'Do y'think Mr. Wonka would have noticed we've disappeared?' he asked his friend frantically, whilst keeping a tight hold of Tom's coat.
'I would think so…I'm sure he'll get help' his friend responded, 'how long d'ya think we've been down here, anyway? Hours? Maybe weeks? Days?!'
'I dunno…' Finnegan murmured in slight panic.
They picked up the pace, their feet crunching on leaves every now and again as the distant sound of horses neighing caught their attention, followed by male yells and hooves thundering on the ground.
Sands' looked over his shoulder to find nothing following them, and then looked in front to find nothing coming in front of them; or on either side. He simply reasoned that the area they were in was just very…large and quiet. Sound simply traveled from a distance – it happened where they came from. However, he gulped anyway.
'Whatever happens…we're going to be fine…just…fine' he reassured James, putting an arm around the blonde's shoulder. 'We'll find help…someone can give us directions…I hope…'
MWMW
'Do I honestly have to drink this ghastly stuff, Cheshire? It's absolutely foul, I tell you!'
The Mad Hatter was giving the strange, talking feline a hard time in the multiple door room. Ginger eyebrows were furrowed in disgust and annoyance as he crossed his arms around his chest, turning himself away. Cheshire cat simply sat on the glass table, sighing heavily.
'And insult the Tea Witch?' the feline inquired. This made the Hatter hesitate and slowly turn towards the large eyed, grinning face of the one animal he detested more so than the Dormouse.
'I know you love your tea more than anything else in Wonderland, but if we are to save these boys then you have to do as I say' Cheshire told the teaoholic calmly, his thick tail twitching from side to side.
His paw delicately pushed the bottle towards the man whilst he kept the other on the golden key that opened the smallest door. He watched the Mad Hatter stand there and contemplate to himself, as his wide golden eyes looked into the cherry red liquid of the bottle.
Oh…if I must. The madman reasoned, as he slowly picked up the bottle and pulled out the cork and slowly tipped the liquid down his throat. Just the taste made him wince; he so terribly wanted to spit it all back out – he hadn't tasted the juice in such a long time.
Already he could feel the affects, in just a matter of seconds he was shrinking.
'Quick! Catch Hatter!' the feline called and pushed the key off the table.
The key was caught, and just in time, as already the Matter was a size of a beaver before he was nothing more than a speck. He landed onto the checkered floor with a soft grunt; still clinging onto the key for dear life. However, when he reopened his eyes, he found that his clothes were all in a pile.
Gold eyes widened more than their usual size, as he found himself nude; he'd completely forgot that happened, and he should have as that was what happened to Alice the two times she came. He could hear the Cheshire Cat laughing away.
'Oh, hush up! I am not going anywhere in this condition, now get me some new clothes!'
'I am not your slave, Hatter. Do as I tell you'
With a disapproving grunt, the Hatter did as he was told; slowly unlocking the door and opened it. The maze was just on the other side and he gulped heavily. The world hadn't changed a bit. The Cheshire Cat was right…he had only been gone for a matter of minutes. His heart ached terribly.
'The Queen will be pleased to see me' he murmured sarcastically, only to hear the soft sound of paws landing on the ground before he was gently nudged out into the wilderness.
He gasped and glared over his shoulder, before looking down to find new clothes. He hurriedly gathered them up into his arms and dressed as quickly as light could carry him.
'Avoid the Queen at all costs, and good luck'
The door closed behind him as he adjusted his top hat. Yellow tinted hands dug down past the tattered jacket to pull out his beloved pocket watch, checking the time.
'I must find those boys, they have no idea how much danger they are in' the madman murmured quietly to himself, glancing around with golden eyes.
MWMW
Meanwhile, the boys in question were still trapped in the dark and dingy forest; holding onto each other in sheer fright and for comfort. The same repetitive sounds of the distant hoofs thundering, the echoing yells of men with the additional voices of the forest animals. James Finnegan frowned, thinking he had heard the roar of a large cat.
This made him dig his nails into the soft material of Thomas' coat, making his friend hiss in slight agony.
'Jim! Stop doing that, it kills!' he spat quietly.
'I'm sorry, I can't help bein' scared!' Finnegan retorted, his voice being a little louder. The frown turned into a scowl within a second of speaking.
'You're not exactly helping! You're supposed to be the smart one, with a compass for a brain! We should have been out of here by now, but noooo, we're still lost and going 'round in circles! Thanks an f'ing bunch!' he resumed his little rand, ignoring the fact that Sands had stopped all together, leaving James to almost topple over.
'What—'
'Shut up, I think I heard something' Tom hissed, covering the blonde's mouth with his hand.
'He's right, know how!'
The voice startled the boys, and they spun around to find two plump men standing in the distance amoungst the darkened maze bushes. Both wore the same outfit and looked identical in everyway. James clung back onto Thomas at that point, and this time, the darkened hair boy didn't complain, he clung back just as hard.
'Who—who are you?' Sands inquired, fear blinding him of his knowledge of the men.
'Tweedle-dum' the first man said. 'And Tweedle-dee' said the other. Their tone calm and collected, not the least bit taken back by the two pre-adolescent strangers.
'Of course…' Sands murmured, blinking his bright green eyes, as the astonishment was beginning to subside.
'Are you here to help? Or are you just gonna stand there and stare? We're lost you know!' Jim snapped, his own brown eyes widened at the oddness of the plump pair.
'Of course, my lad!' Tweedle-dee stated with a faint grin on his lips. 'Follow us, someone has been expecting you' he resumed, before the two men began to waddle away from Thomas and James, almost forgetting they were there all together.
Tom narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but followed anyway, managing to get the dumbstruck friend out of his trance with a tug on the arm, dragging him along. James yelped and verbally complained, however didn't struggle.
MWMW
Dodge. Duck. Hide. That was all the eccentric was doing as he walked through the fields and lightened forests of Wonderland, avoiding the many openings of the labyrinth towards the Queen of Heart's kingdom like the plague. Avoid the Queen at all costs. So he shall, he thought. As he walked, with his know prideful stride of which he most loathed of himself; he readjusted the cuffs of his jacket and the position of his newly arrowed hat.
Hatter as he strolled along, chewing at his index finger, was considering on whom to inquire of the boys first to. The March Hare? No, too overpowering. As much as he loved his old friend, he did so get on the man's nerves; with the constant interruption of the Why is a raven like a writing desk riddle to all the new visitors. The Dormouse? He frowned to himself. No…the retched thing falls asleep all the time, it's like talking to a brick wall.
The madman stopped, eyes considering…The White Rabbit?
'Oh goodness, no! What am I thinking?' he spoke, interjecting his own thoughts. 'Too risky…he's connected to the Queen, I can't ask him' his voice only a murmur, scowling. However, he suddenly brightened. The Tea Witch! She must have heard something, or the Ringmaster? He was all up for the gossip. The frown returned. No. That means going back to the house. Come on, Hatter. Think of something else!
'Mock Turtle, and Gryphon…that means entering the maze, that's out of bounds. Oh for goodness sake! Hmm…The Caterpillar…The Duchess…No, other connection to the Queen. I've seen the Cheshire. Maybe the Flower Garden? Another for the gossip…The White Queen…?'
Hatter trailed off again, chewing the inside of his mouth. The White Queen was very risky, she was connected to the Queen, but she seemed, trustworthy. Alright, don't eliminate her from your list. What about…? He tapped his chin in thought, coming to a sudden halt. Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee?
Golden eyes widened in awareness. Oh no.
'The Tweedle twins, I can't let the boys near them! They'll cause all sorts of mischief!'
Looking around, hoping for no one familiar to spot him, he quickened his pace. I hope I reach them in time!
MWMW
'Where you taking us?' Finnegan inquired, now folding his arms against his chest, feeling a slight chill blow past him. The four had been walking for sometime now, their feet crunching against the dried leaves on the checkered floor. 'It's been over and hour and I don't think we've got very far'
'That's because we're supposed to run, know how!'
His friend's lips pursed together in suspicion, watching the small, pudgy men waddle in front of them. 'Then why aren't we running?'
'Why? Look at us, dear chap! Our legs are too short! Honestly' Tweedle-dum responded again, a look of obviousness and stubbornness all in one on his chubby features.
He waited until the twin men were in deep conversation amoungst themselves, before walking over to Jim, tapping his shoulder lightly with his fingertips to make the blonde snap out of his gaze. 'This doesn't feel right' Sands murmured softly to him.
'Shouldn't Mr. Wonka be here? Shouldn't he be following us? I thought he was a really nice guy…a little weird—'
Finnegan's rambling went on, leaving him to go unnoticed to the look of realization on Sands' face, an expression of remembrance like he had just thought about something he had forgotten about. 'I almost forgot…' he whispered to himself, chewing the inside of his mouth for a second.
'You haven't seen a man in a top hat have you?' he suddenly inquired, interrupting James, and catching the attention of the men. 'He wears a red frock coat, has a really odd hair cut, a pageboy hair cut, and really white teeth'
Neither boy expected to get a hysterical laughter in response.
'My dear boy, the only top-hat wearer in this place is the Mad Hatter!' Tweedle-dee explained, his pale complexion flushed from amusement. 'But he left this place sometime ago; no one has been able to find him. It was like he faded from existence, like a dream…now, hurry up. Her majesty is growing impatient'
