Alice and What Came After
Disclaimer: Nothing except my shiny new copy of Alice on DVD! Yay!
Chapter Thirty-five: Mirror Images
"She's not answering," Sarah protested, dialing her mom's cell phone over and over again. It kept going to voicemail after about five rings.
"Dad's not answering either. His phone's off."
"Switch!"
Connor dialed Alice's number while Sarah called the tea shop. It wasn't unusual for Hatter to have his phone off. He wasn't quite sure how to work his cell phone. Using regular telephones was sometimes disconcerting to the Wonderlander.
"A Taste of Wonderland Tea Shoppe, this is Clarissa speaking, how may I help you?" a female voice said on the other end of Sarah's phone.
"Clarissa, it's Sarah… Sarah Hatter…"
"Oh, Sarah! Hey, what's up?"
"Have you seen my dad?"
"No, honey, he was supposed to be here an hour ago."
"What about my mum?"
"She was here, but she left about half-an-hour ago in a real rush. Why?"
"Nothing. Just if you see them, can you have them give me or Connor a call?"
"Sure, sweetie. See you around."
Sarah hung up. "Any luck?" she asked Connor.
He shook his head. "No answer on the cell. She didn't go to the studio."
"Daddy never showed at work. Something's wrong. I thought the mirror was the only way to our world."
Charlie cleared his throat. "I once brought your grandparents back to this world through another way. I thought it had caved in by now since the portal was never repaired."
"What other way?" Sarah asked.
"A rabbit hole."
"Who knows about it?" Connor wanted to know.
"The King and Queen… your parents and grandparents… oh, and Dodo."
"Dodo? Like the extinct bird?" Connor's eyes lit up.
"Honestly, Conn. Mum and Dad are missing and you're trying to find dinosaurs?"
"A dodo's not a dinosaur!"
"Enough!" Charlie said, ending the bickering. "This Dodo is a person, not a creature. He's an old enemy of your father. He shot him several times for protecting your mother."
"So why now? Why would he come after them now?"
"Dodo was imprisoned for abducting your mother. He's been locked up ever since, until just recently. The King of Hearts, who rules in the absence of the Lady Alice, was dethroned by his son. Our whole world has been turned upside down."
"You think this Dodo has got our mum and dad?" Sarah asked, looking slightly confused.
"It stands to reason that it's a possibility…"
"That's it. Conn, pack a bag. We're going to Wonderland."
"Now? But what about homework?"
"Take a textbook with you if it makes you happy. Mum and dad are missing. I'm not hanging around here waiting for news. I'm going after them."
"How about I just stay here? Ya know… with Rex…"
Sarah glared at her twin brother. "You know what? I don't care. Stay. Play with Rex and your computer. I'm going to Wonderland."
*~*~*~*~*~*
"Owww…"
Hatter could feel the sticky wetness of blood on his scalp. He was used to that feeling, unfortunately.
"Oh, it's nice of you to finally join us, Hatter…"
He groaned, squinting up at the voice. Dodo's large head appeared as his vision cleared.
"Dodo? What…?"
"Last time we met, I almost had the pleasure of killing your…wife. And you made sure I ended up in the dungeon, left to rot in darkness."
"You were tryin' to kill us!"
Hatter tried to sit up, only to find he couldn't. His hands were bound behind his back and his right wrist ached.
"Don't waste your energy, Hatter. You're strapped down. Oh, and I took the liberty of fixing that hand of yours…"
He finally understood the searing pain in his wrist. Dodo had broken his right hand, rendering his sledgehammer useless. Dodo took away his one weapon.
"Oh, don't worry, Hatter. Alice won't suffer. No, no, that's reserved for you. I won't torture your pretty wife for long. Just enough for her to become an example to all those who follow her."
"You won't get away with this. Alice won't come to you."
"She's already on her way…" Dodo said with a sinister smile. "She couldn't seem to leave your shop fast enough when she heard I had you."
"You're lying."
"No. That's your area."
"If you touch her—"
Dodo's foot pressed down on his neck, cutting off his airway. Hatter struggled, tearing at the bonds holding him still. His right wrist throbbed, the broken bones rubbing against the inside of his arm.
"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to speak up."
Hatter gasped, thrashing about like a dying fish on board a fishing boat.
Alice…. Stay away… Take Sarah and Connor… Run… run…
*~*~*~*~*~*
The Duchess paced in front of the mirror. She knew there was a time difference between Wonderland and Alice's world—she wasn't exactly sure how that all worked—and she didn't even know where the Hatters kept the mirror.
Then Charlie stepped through the mirror, his hand on his sword. He bowed to Duchess.
"Sir Charles… did you find Alice and the Hatter?"
"My Lady, I regret to inform you—"
"Oww, oww, stop it, Conn!" a female voice called as two more people stumbled through the mirror. Both were wearing hats and one of them carried some green creature with wings.
One of them stood up, brushing off her pants. "Honestly, sometimes I could swear you're still five," she muttered.
"What happened to your sense of humor? Huh, Jabberwock?" the boy teased.
"Shut up or Rex goes back home."
"You wouldn't!"
"Try me!"
"My Lady, may I introduce the Lady Sarah and Sir Connor?" Charlie said, gesturing to the bickering siblings. Duchess looked horrified.
"Oh, hello," Sarah said, flipping her hat off and doing a fair imitation of a curtsey. Without thinking, she let her hat flip and land on her head.
"Welcome to Wonderland, Lady Sarah. Are you the Hatter's daughter?"
"Yup." The 'p' popped. "And this is me brother… Connor."
"Pleasure to meet you, Connor."
"Same to you… Lady…"
"You may call me Duchess," she said, smiling at the siblings. Of course they were the Hatter's children. It was stamped all over them, from the messy dark hair to the hats. Why the boy, Connor, looked just like a younger version of his father. The girl had a hint of her mother's features, but her father's eyes and hair. And apparently she also had his love of hats, judging by the hat tricks her nervous hands were doing.
"Nice ta meet you, Duchess," Sarah said.
She nodded. "Now, where are your parents?"
"Gone," they said together.
"Gone?"
"Dad never showed at work," Sarah said at the same time Connor said, "Mom ran out of the shop and won't answer her phone."
Duchess looked over to the White Knight for clarification.
"It appears that the Lady Alice and the Hatter have been captured by the Dodo."
"Appears?"
"There's no trace of them."
"This cannot be happening…"
"Duchess, or whoever you are, what the 'ell is goin' on here anyways? Who is Dodo and what would he want with mum and dad?"
"They don't know?" she whispered to Charlie.
"No, my Lady."
Duchess sighed, sinking down into one of the chairs in Hatter's office. "The Dodo was the leader of the Resistance about twenty-five years ago. Your father, the Hatter, worked for the Resistance as a smuggler. He found your mother when she got lost in Wonderland. He took her to the Dodo, who tried to kill her in order to get his hands on the Stone of Wonderland.
"Your father got between them, taking a bullet meant for Alice. She could have left him behind, but instead she helped him get away from Dodo. Dodo swore to hunt down your father and have him killed.
"Shortly after your parents returned to Alice's world, my husband, Jack, called them back to Wonderland. When it was discovered that your mother is the rightful Queen of Wonderland, Dodo decided to kill not only your father, but your mother as well."
Rex chirped in Connor's arms.
"Go ahead, have some grass. I don't think dad will mind," Connor muttered to the lizard.
The green lizard jumped from his owner's arms to the ground and ambled over to a patch of grass lining the office. He started to nibble at the blades.
Duchess stared at the lizard for a moment.
"So, Dodo's already killed them then?" Sarah asked, breaking her concentration on the strange creature.
"He failed last time and was arrested for his troubles. If I know my son, he's ordered Dodo to deliver your mother to him alive."
"But not Dad?"
Duchess shook her head. "I honestly don't know, Sarah. Your father is the King of Wonderland because he's married to your mother, but I don't think my son cares about him. Alice is the threat."
"Your son? What's he got to do with all this?"
"My eldest son has seized control of Wonderland. He's slowly destroying it. Our only chance to stop him was with your mother's help. Wonderlanders still believe in her. They would follow her against my son."
"I think that could be arranged…" Sarah said with a grin like the Cheshire Cat.
*~*~*~*~*~*
The High Chancellor of Wonderland was sitting on his throne, looking rather bored, when a Suit hurried into the throne room. He glanced up.
"What?"
"Your Supreme Majesty, I have news from the rabbit hole."
"Yes?"
"Alice of Legend has been captured. She's being escorted here along with the Hatter."
"Good," Damon said with a smile. "Inform the public that their Alice will be executed in three days' time if she does not swear allegiance to me and my rule."
"Yes, Sir."
*~*~*~*~*~*
A few minutes of rummaging through their father's closet of clothes and attempting to tame their unruly locks, left Connor and Sarah looking completely different. Gone was Sarah's hat and jeans. Gone were Connor's jeans and sneakers.
Sarah's long hair cascaded down her shoulders with just a bit at the top pulled back, like how her mother tended to wear hers. She pulled a pair of colored slacks on from her knapsack and wore one of her father's long jackets over her plain shirt. Adding her steel toe boots protected her feet.
Connor's transformation came mostly from his father's clothing. Both Hatter men were the same height and same lanky build. A pair of navy pinstriped pants paired with a blue-patterned shirt and navy tie hanging loosely around his neck made a big step in Connor's change. A dark leather coat went over the shirt. Against Connor's protests, she forced him into one of Hatter's spare bulletproof vests.
She fluffed up her brother's hair a bit and plopped his fedora down on it. "Much better…" she added after applying a bit of dark liner around his eyes.
"Hey, you actually look sorta like a girl!" Connor said, admiring his sister's transformation.
She punched him.
"Owww, what was that for?"
"Moron…"
Sarah stepped back into the main room where the Duchess and the White Knight waited. She stood before them, her knapsack slung over her shoulder with a few changes of clothes from her dad's closet and some food.
"My Lady Alice…" Charlie bowed.
"Charlie… it's just Alice."
Duchess walked around Sarah, observing her. "You sound like her now… and look like her. Except your eyes…"
"Hopefully no one will notice mine aren't blue."
"Oi! What about me?" Connor called.
Sarah chuckled. "You need to work on your accent. It's horrible."
"Not all of us are as talented at mimicry as you, sister dear."
"That's for sure…"
"Hatter… Alice…" Duchess snapped, trying to remind them of their new identities. "We're running out of time. I need you to reclaim the Vorpal Blade and bring it to the castle."
"Why?" Sarah demanded.
"The Vorpal Blade belongs to the ruler of Wonderland. It's a symbol of power and it chooses its master. We're going to challenge my son in an old-fashioned way."
"How?"
"Don't you remember when we studied Arthurian Legends in English Lit?" Connor said, looking at his sister.
"Does it look like it?"
"The sword in the stone, sis. Only the true king could pull it loose. That's how Arthur became king."
"Arthur? Isn't he the old guy whose wife cheated on him with his best friend?"
Connor sighed. "That was one interpretation. I can't believe all that you remember about the unit is First Knight."
"Okay, nerd boy, where is the sword then?"
"The sword in the Arthurian Legends was reclaimed by the Lake of Avalon or the priestesses after Arthur's death. No one knows where it is."
Sarah looked over at Charlie. "Where is the Vorpal… thing?"
"A replica was carried by the Queen of Hearts and used to behead her. The real blade has been lost for… centuries."
"Oh, good… so it could be pretty much be anywhere in Wonderland then."
"Not exactly…" Connor said. "If it was lost, it probably went back to where it came from."
"The forest of Wabe…" Charlie said, his face lighting up. "The Red King's castle used to stand there. The blade was forged in those very woods. There's were it must be."
"But that's where the Jabberwocky live!" Duchess cried in horror.
"Oh, that's nothing. I already live with one…" Connor muttered.
Sarah elbowed him. "Not a real one, moron. These Jabberwocky would eat Rex as a snack."
The lizard chirped at the sound of his name.
"Oh…"
"Don't worry, little brother. I'll make sure they eat you first."
Author's Notes:
There will be more Alice and Hatter POV bits coming up. I wanted to see what the kids were doing before we get back to our heroes. And yes, they are pretending to be Alice and Hatter in hopes of confusing Damon's people.
Yes, Rex is exactly like the loveable lizard from Primeval. I couldn't resist it, honestly. Hatter got him for Connor, so… who knows where Hatter actually got it from?
Sorry for the rant on Arthurian Legends. I love them. Basically in this story, they were based on events that actually occurred in Wonderland… which means the Vorpal Blade could very well have been the sword carried by King Arthur. Hope that makes some sense since it relates to all that rightful queen business.
Sorry about all the Dodo backstory. The twins didn't know about him. At all.
And the Jabberwock is going to become important soon…as Sarah and Connor get separated from Charlie.
Anyways, enjoy and please review!