Chapter Fourteen
JACK
Of all the things Jack anticipated upon his arrival into Underland, being pounced by the Cheshire Cat was not one of them. It was more of a tackle rather than a pounce since the Cheshire Cat used all of his weight to knock Jack flat on his back. Unlike his normal pleasant demeaner the Cheshire Cat was not smiling and had a great frown on his face as well as an annoyed tapping tail.
"You certainly took your time returning to Underland." He snapped irritably as he glared down at Jack.
"For someone who just tackled me, you don't seem too thrilled to see me." Jack didn't dare move, mostly because he couldn't, to avoid any of the Cheshire Cat's wrath.
"You better have that Bandersnatch Salve." He hissed, his entire being growing tense as his claws dug in the fabrics of Jack's suit.
"Is she worse?" He winced as he gingerly sat up so as not to jostle the Cheshire Cat. His tail finally stopped tapping and he inhaled deeply, as if trying to control his displeasure with the Wild Card.
"Throughout the night she has had a steady fever that got worse upon her accidentally touching it this morning." The Cheshire Cat explained through gritted teeth. "The girl simply refuses to allow me to purify it, and I'm afraid that even with the slowing of time in Underland that the decaying process has already started in her wound."
The Cheshire Car normally wouldn't ask for permission for such things and would normally do as he pleased. He had snatched Jack's hat so many times despite Jack's asking him not to do so. It was just so odd that he would listen to a request of anyone other than his own selfish wants that he wasn't quite sure what to do.
"So, time has stopped here too?" Jack blinked in curiosity at the cat.
"It hasn't stopped so much as it has been paused." He nodded his head from side to side in trying to reason his thoughts out.
"Why has it been paused?"
He earned a glare from his question. "Let's just say that Absalom and I have worked it out with Time to give us a few more days. . ."
"Why?" He couldn't quite fathom why they would need more days. All cats had nine lives and the caterpillar would go through a cycle in his life.
"That doesn't concern you." There was a growl in the Cheshire Cat's warning and left Jack wondering if it truly did have something to concern him with.
"Well why haven't you purified it?"
"Because I can't do anything to her or for her without her permission." The Cheshire Cat snapped as he hopped off. The Cheshire Cat continued to glare at Jack as he took the chance to stand up and dust himself off. "She very similar to you in regards that certain rules do now apply to Wild Cards as they do to the rest of us. She has a completely different set of rules since she isn't even from this Realm, therefore I cannot purify her arm unless she wishes me to do so. Which she has not despite my offers!"
"Well that's rather unfortunate." Jack hissed and placed his hat on his head and stared at the ground. "I had hoped she would allow you to purify it."
The Cheshire Cat scoffed. "I take it that means you don't have any of the salve for her then if you hoped that she would have allowed me to purify it."
"There was a bit of a mishap in my Realm. . ." Flashbacks to the Queen's summoning him to her made him clench his hands into fists. "It just has put a change in my plans and I'm going to have to go to the direct source here and get the salve from the Bandersnatch."
"I don't see why you couldn't have done that in the first place." He rolled his eyes in frustration. "It would have saved us all a lot of time and wouldn't have caused her arm to get to the worse condition that it is."
Jack wanted to rebuttal that remark since Alice had refused the Cheshire Cat's help multiple times, but he could not since he had volunteered to help Alice himself and kept falling short. It caused him to grit his teeth and mentally scold himself for not being better at this. Had the fire not been in his room, had things not gotten so out of control, had that stupid jar not disappeared into thin air maybe he could have been better; or maybe he shouldn't have tried to cut corners and do it the correct way first.
The Cheshire Cat sat and watched the internal struggle on Jack's face and released a sigh. "Her life is not in any peril, but she's definitely not going to get better any time soon if she doesn't get her arm purified."
Jack dragged his hand across the back of his neck as he could feel the instant dread filling in the pit of his stomach. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"You know where I live." The Cheshire Cat threw his nose in the air and evaporated to leave Jack alone.
Turning back around to the door in which he used to enter Underland Jack closed it fast, knocked three times before stepping through it. With a confident mind but a nervous heart Jack walked through the Space of Doors before finding a door at the end of the way. He grabbed onto the handle of the door, opened it and stepped into his room in the Red Castle. He was relieved to know that it was a success to arrive in his room but couldn't forgo the dread that was in the pit of his stomach. Being around his Queen of Hearts was still too fresh in his mind to have him ready to see the younger version should he run into her today.
Not wanting to waste too much time thinking of ways to avoid seeing the Queen, he went to the bathroom and rummaged around in the cabinets looking for a small mason jar to collect the Bandersnatch's saliva. He was overtly aware that he had spent a large amount of time away from the Red Castle and it was bound to catch up with him, but he would deal with that once it caught up with him. At the moment he needed to get the salve to heal Alice's arm before it rotted off. She was a much bigger priority than trying to avoid the Queen; though it would still be good to avoid her as long as he could.
His hand finally found a small enough of a jar tucked away in the farthest corner of the cabinets and he almost laughed out loud when a knock came to the door. He fell back on his rear and clutched the jar to him as he stared out into his room. He froze as he tried to remain as quiet, but his heart made too much noise in his chest. Much to his chagrin there was another knock followed by a soft voice.
"Wild Card." A soft voice hissed, and he recognized it was Auris. Releasing a sigh to calm his heart he pushed himself up from the floor and went to the door. He unlocked the knob and undid the latches at the top to allow her to enter.
"Auris." He threw on a quick smile.
"Goodness, I wasn't actually expecting to see you." She blinked in surprise and glanced around her. "May I come in?"
"Of course." He wanted to deny her request as time was very precious but chose to be a gentleman rather than a rude brute. He held the door open for her and once she considered the coast clear she slipped into his room. Not wanting to expose her entrance to his room he closed the door quietly and locked the doorknob before turning around to see her.
She stood pensive, her lips rolled in, her tiny hands opening and closing their nervous fists, and refused to look him in the eye. He stood as close to the door as possible to give her as much room as she so required to calm herself. He was rather used to this sort of reaction from most of the other residents in Underland, it was a common reaction to Wild Cards as he had come to learn. He had hoped that she would have gotten sued to him since they were supposed to be working together, but he didn't hold it against her since he had been absent recently.
"Was there something you wanted to tell me?" He cleared his throat and tried to help guide her to whatever conversation she wanted to have with him.
"Yes." She nodded her head and her ears flopped a touch in doing so. "I just wanted to inform you that the Queen had a fabulous birthday yesterday and that I believe things are greatly improving between the King and Queen."
"That's great!" His eyebrows lifted in surprise and he couldn't hide the smile that came on his face. The faster the Queen realized that the King was her one true love and dumped the stupid Knave, the better.
"It would be, if Stayne stopped trying to interfere so much with the King's plans." She huffed not able to smile in return. "He planned a wonderful garden party for her where she was able to enjoy all the pretty red roses, but Stayne has been trying to manipulate everything for the worst."
"Is she seriously falling for it?" He scowled at the sound of her not easily falling for the King as they all hoped.
"Not quite." She shook her head. "He aggravated her so severely that she had him put to his room for a whole twenty-four hours. He acted like a spoiled child being grounded."
A sly smile appeared on her face; it must have been quite the sight to have seen.
"When will he be allowed to leave his room?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Not until this evening." She confirmed and that was some of the best news Jack had received yet. It would make gathering the saliva much easier without having to constantly look over his shoulder.
"It looks as though I miss out on the best of thing when I'm absent from the Court." He chuckled.
"The Queen did miss you." Auris spoke quickly and he could see her relaxing as she continued to speak with him. "She was rather put out that you weren't there for her birthday party."
"I had other things that she required of me to attend to yesterday. . ." His hand tightened on the jar in his hand as he spoke a half-truth. He was definitely discovering much of the girl Alice, but more so for his own benefits rather than the Queen.
Auris studied his face, as if trying to piece together what these requirements were that would have kept him out all day but said nothing of that matter as her eyes rolled to the jar in his hand.
"What's that?" She pointed to the jar.
"Just a jar." He spoke quickly and gripped it tighter. There was no point in trying to hide it, but he had to think quickly about what to do with it.
"What do you intend to use it for?" She tilted her head curiously.
"I actually need it to collect some of the Bandersnatch's saliva." He explained. "The other day when Stayne let the Bandersnatch loose, I'm afraid I got a bit of a slash from him."
"Oh, my goodness!" Her hands flew to her cheeks. "Shouldn't have purified it by now?"
"I thought I had some on hand." He gestured to his exposed cabinets in the bathroom. She looked to the bathroom to see how he had rummaged about in a desperate search for the jar. Jack was glad it was just believable enough.
"Obviously you did not. . ." She looked to his arm. "Does it hurt?"
"Not unless I touch it." He chuckled nervously. "You wouldn't happen to know where the Bandersnatch is kept, would you?"
"Of course." She nodded her head and picked up her skirts. "Come, follow me. I'll take you immediately." She grabbed his free wrist and drug him behind her as she left his room.
He was rather taken aback that she openly was escorting him through the halls after she had made it rather obvious that she wanted to keep as little contact with him as possible. He almost wanted to comment on it, to tell her that she didn't have to drag him, but he did not want to lessen her concern or make her suspicious of him. Getting scratched by a Bandersnatch was not something to sneeze or laugh at. There were very few that lasted more than a night from a shallow scratch, let alone such a deep one as Alice had. As Auris continued down the winding halls he was glad she was quick with urgency to get him to the Bandersnatch's doghouse.
She pulled him to a stop within the shadows of the columns as she did her best to remain out of sight of the passing Card soldiers. She released his hand and pressed her back to the column as she looked to him.
"I won't be seen with you going into the Bandersnatch's abode, but I have at least taken you here." She explained as she looked over her shoulder. "Any more than this and it would look as though we are having an affair or that I'm going behind the Queen's back."
"If anyone asks just tell them you were assisting me." His brow furrowed. "If you tell the Queen, surely she would understand –"
He let the rest of that sentence fall short at the look that Auris gave him. He suddenly remembered who their Queen was and how quick she was to being rash in her decision making.
"That wound must be hurting you badly for you to come to that sort of conclusion." She looked at him in wide eyed disbelief. "I suggest that you get it as quickly as you can."
"Thanks." He snorted with a smile as he watched her look over her shoulder. Jack secretly wanted to tell her she shouldn't be so nervous but remembered how delicate her position was as a member of the Queen's Court. Even the slightest thing of helping one of her favorites could reflect badly of her and get her beheaded before she could explain.
She gave him a quick smile and bow before returning to the shadows of the halls and getting as far away from him as she possibly could. Jack let out a soft sigh as she went and hated the fact that he simply couldn't have friends her in Underland. It wasn't that he necessarily needed them, but it would help save him from being so ostracized from the rest of Underland's society. He was used to it, of course, but he always let the hopes of friendship build too high too soon when he knew better. He and Auris could never really be more than members of the Queen's Court without the impending threat of being beheaded constantly.
Shaking his head of those negative thoughts he pushed himself from the shadows and walked casually over to the Bandersnatch's abode. It was a black doghouse covered in hearts that had sun windows in the roof with bars over the small windows on the sides of the house. It was almost a cute house, except Jack saw it as a cage. He never let his Bander be put in a cage, he wanted at least one of them to roam freely. Ducking under the roof he bent down and entered the Bandersnatch's abode. The door creaked open and only proceeded to wake the Bandersnatch and cause him to growl as Jack closed it behind him.
The sight of the one-eyed Bandersnatch just broke his heart as he knew that the poor creature was in such pain. He already had tiny eyes with limited seeing, but now he was left with one to see out of. A low growl erupted from the Bandersnatch as he barred his teeth in warning to Jack but showed no signs of attacking him.
"You poor thing." He tutted as the sad beast pulled at his heartstrings. "I hate what has happened to you."
The large beast merely snorted in response and settled back down in his spot as he kept his eye on Jack. He could tell that Jack was not going to harm him or pester him, but he couldn't quite figure out why he was in his space. Slowly bending down to eye level with the great beast, Jack slowly inched closer to him. A low warning growl came from the Bandersnatch in response.
"I'm not gonna hurt you." Jack reassured soothingly. "I just need some of your drool."
The Bandersnatch's ears bent back as he continued to watch Jack with his one good eye.
"You hurt my friend pretty bad." He continued to speak to the animal as he inched closer. "It wasn't your fault, of course, it was the stupid Dormouse's fault."
Teeth were shown in this growl, almost in an agreement with Jack as he permitted the human to continue to approach him.
"As soon as I can, I will do everything that I can to get your eye back." He promised as he stood less than two feet from the beast and held his hand out for him to sniff. Glaring at him and growling lowly, Jack watched as the Bandersnatch's nose quivered as it sniffed his hand. The growling stopped but the glaring did not, and the beast pressed its nose into Jack's hand. With the permission from the beast, Jack sat the jar down on the ground before reaching up around the ears of the beast and giving him the best ear scratch. The glare on the beast's face melted away into a happy smile that even had his tongue sticking out, which is exactly what Jack needed. With the tongue out, the drool soon followed and sloppily fell into the jar as well as onto the floor.
"Who's a good boy?" Jack gushed as the beast soon rolled over and Jack scratched from its ears down its throat to his chest. It almost seemed to laugh in happiness with receiving some affection in a great quantity and even rolled over in great anticipation for a belly rub; which Jack did not deny him. Carefully scooting the jar out of the way to not get knocked over or broken, Jack continued the scratches and gave the Bandersnatch the best belly rub he could offer. Like a cute puppy, its hind leg began to bounce in happiness too.
As Jack came to a close with the belly rub, he patted the beast's chest before taking a step back and smiling down at the Bandersnatch. He stood up and snatched up the jar half full of drool and quickly screwed on the lid while the Bandersnatch sat up in disappointment that his belly rub was finished too soon.
"Don't be too cross with me." Jack chuckled and patted the top of his head. "I'll come by again and make sure to give you a good scratch."
The Bandersnatch snorted a pout before stretching out and curling up into a ball. It was when the Bandersnatch curled into itself that Jack saw it. It was a wooden treasure chest. Jack's brow furrowed as he looked at it. Just what could be so precious that it had to be guarded by the Bandersnatch? A ferocious creature to strangers and those who show it fear, but a great friend and ally to those of a brave heart, he was the perfect candidate to guard something, just what exactly needed to be guarded.
Not wanting to waste any more time Jack shook his head and left the Bandersnatch's abode. Alice needed her arm fixed up or it would rot off entirely. He tucked the jar into his pocket before heading off in the direction in which he came to get to the closest door to him. None of the Card soldiers around him even blinked at him as he suddenly walked inside a broom closet. He tripped on a broom and mop as he stepped inside, but he didn't want to risk anyone seeing his coaxing the doors to redirect its entrance.
"I need to go to the Cheshire Cat's House." He whispered and pressed his head to the door. There was a slow buzz from the door as it reacted to Jack's request. "Please take me to the Cheshire Cat's House."
A soft hum came from the door and Jack could feel the door changing. He could just faintly see the touch of light peeking under the door and Jack took his opportunity to leave. Grabbing the handle, he turned the knob and pushed the door open to step out of the broom closet in the Red Castle and into the foyer of the Cheshire Cat's House.
There was a touch of humidity in the air as a strange heat seemed terribly contained in the small house and worried Jack greatly. He searched the foyer for the Cheshire Cat, only able to see him in the other room tending to a bedridden Alice. Before him he watched the Cheshire Cat place a wet cloth on Alice's forehead as he fussed about her fever. Being respectful to the Cheshire Cat, Jack kicked off his shoes before closing the door behind him and caught the attention of the cat. Big green eyes full of worry glared at him as he entered his house.
Upon seeing Jack, though, he only looked slightly relieved and floated over to him. "You certainly took your time." He hissed with a frown. "You better not have come back empty handed!"
Jack said nothing to his defense and pulled out the jar of Bandersnatch Salve before he walked past the cat to get to the paling girl that only seemed to be growing weaker and sicker. She was sweating from her hair down her arms that rested on top of the sheets. Her right arm was a glowing red under the bandages and Jack knew she was in pain. Jack quietly strode across the room and stood over her to look at her arm. Her face was twisted in pain, her teeth gritted, eyes squeezed shut, forehead deeply furrowed with wrinkles, and her breathing was growing uneven.
"If she was this bad when you came to me, you should have just purified her arm then." Jack hissed in a wince as he looked at her. His heart pounded in his chest and he was severely worried that he wouldn't see those pretty blue eyes again. All around Alice was the monochrome world that Jack was used to, and that terrified him.
"I would have if I could." He snapped at him and gently patted Alice's cheeks and neck with a cool wet cloth. "Even I have rules that I must abide by. Now stop wasting time, her condition is worsening by the second!"
He carefully removed the bandage from her arm and hissed upon seeing it. The scratch was a lava angry red that only grew more aggressive upon being exposed to the air. Even Alice hissed as air was allowed to graze the wound. Not wanting to see her in pain much longer, he unscrewed the lid off the jar and dug two fingers into the saliva and gently applied it to Alice's arm.
"Ow!" She hissed and finally opened her eyes. Her eyes searched the space above her before landing on Jack, and for once he almost wished she would have just kept her eyes closed. They were very glassy from the fever and there was a little bit of fear in them as well. "Jack?" She rolled her head to the right to look at him.
"I'm here." He nodded and stayed still as he watched her.
"What are you doing?" She panted and reached for his hand. He only held her hand, it was so weak, and it caused his heart to freeze upon feeling just how weak she was.
"I've got the salve." He gently rubbed his thumb over her knuckles and held her glassy sleepy gaze. "I'm just applying it to your arm. . ."
"It hurts. . ." She winced and those blue eyes disappeared behind their lids in another wince.
"I know." He gave her hand a squeeze hoping to reassure her. "But I have to put this on your arm or you're only going to get worse. . ."
"It stinks too." Her nose crinkled and Jack released a small laugh through his nose.
"I know it does." He agreed as his nose was much closer to it than hers. "But it's going to make your arm better, okay?"
"Okay." She gave a weak nod before settling against the pillows, but she refused to release his hand. He didn't want to let go of her hand either. Setting the jar on the nightstand beside the bed, he dug two fingers in and made sure to have a good glob of the salve and gently rubbed it over her wound. She winced and hissed when the salve made contact with her skin but eventually hummed out a sigh of relief as the salve worked its magic in purifying her arm.
Glancing back and forth between her face to judge her pain levels and the wound that was gradually receding from a glowing red to a warm pink. As he continued to rub the salve gently over the raised skin, he could feel the heat cooling and that the skin was already healing itself and the swelling was going down. Her brow smoothed out as all the tension she held in her body relaxed and the faint curl of a smile rested on her depleted face.
He continued to rub the amount he still had on his fingers in small circles to make sure it was in each crevice and nook and felt his own tension leaving him. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better." She breathed and opened her ocean blue eyes. They were still glassy and murky from the fever and her exhaustion, but there was a little light left in them which only promised that she would get better. She gave his hand a squeeze of gratitude.
"Good." He bent down and screwed the lid back onto the jar and tucked it away carefully into the drawer of the nightstand. He held onto her hand and brushed the back of his other hand across her forehead to push her bangs away from her sweaty brow.
"Thank you." She blinked and the murk dissipated with each blink.
"You had me worried." The Cheshire Cat sat on Jack's shoulder as he looked down at her. His tail flicked limply behind him as he studied her face. "I wish you would have let me purify it sooner, but I'm just relieved to know that you will get better from now on."
"I'm sorry, really, I am." She frowned in guilt as she looked to the Cheshire Cat. "I didn't mean to worry you. I truly thought I would have woken up by now and it would have been healed by now. . ."
"Still think this is a dream?" Jack snorted and reached his hand out to brush the rest of her hair from her face. She tilted her head towards his hand and squeezed his other hand.
"It has to be." Her brow furrowed as her eyes searched his. "I've never met a man like you before, and in my reality, you would never exist so this must be a dream."
"I don't know whether to take offense to that." His nose wrinkled at statement.
"I don't think you understand." Her hand relaxed its grip on his hand. "No one has ever spoken with me the way you do since my father passed, everyone else thinks that I'm odd or silly. If I wasn't of my class or at the age to be engaged, no one would even show me a glance. Though I don't know if I prefer that to be an outcast. . ."
The light dimmed in her eyes and Jack felt a knot twist in his chest as he saw that. She has mentioned that she doesn't like many aspects of her life in her reality, Jack couldn't help but wonder just how different her Realm was from the two Jack already knew.
He squeezed her hand in hopes of getting that light back. "If I were from your reality, I would hope to be your friend so we could be odd together."
She gave him a weak smile in response and Jack could see that her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red before she turned her face away from him.
"As sweet as this is, Alice you must really get your rest." The Cheshire Cat chuckled as he looked between the two.
"I won't argue with you on that." She chuckled and released Jack's hand and slipped it away from his. Jack withdrew his own hand and hated how cold it suddenly felt after losing the gentle heat of her hand. He slipped his hand into his pocket and balled it into a fist to try to cling to the tiniest shred of heat that stuck to his hand.
"We'll be in the other room if you need us." Cheshire spoke over Jack's shoulder. She smiled with a nod before sinking deeper into the bed and under the covers as she allowed herself to give into her exhaustion. Jack was reluctant to leave, but with the Cheshire digging his claws into his shoulder, he stood up and left the room but not before stealing a final glance at Alice as her blue eyes were hidden away from him again. A little bit of color had returned to his world, but it was still rather dark.
"She'll be fine now." The Cat hissed in his ear. "Let's allow her to rest up."
With no other choice, he closed the door gently behind him and made sure that it closed without the click to disturb her. Once they exited Alice's room, the Cat hopped off his shoulders and sat on the back of his couch. Much relief had come to the cat's eyes, but his tail flicked in worry as he watched Jack step away from the door.
"Shall I make tea?" The Cat stretched before floating over to the kitchen. "A cup of tea would do us both good."
Jack merely followed the cat and propped himself against the doorway as he watched the cat flit and float about. He bustled about with a kettle under the water faucet and set it on the stove. He turned the knob to a medium high setting before shuffling about in his cupboards grabbing tea cups.
Jack's eyes glanced around the room and could tell that something was off, not only in the kitchen, but in the entire house as well. "Has something happened in Underland?" He finally asked.
"Beg your pardon?" The Cat raised an eyebrow at him as he set two teacups on the counter and hid his face back in the cupboards to find the saucers.
"Has something happened in Underland?" Jack repeated and continued to search the area. He noticed that a clock that once sat above the sink was gone and only a shadow of where it sat remained.
"No, not to my knowledge." The Cat sat the saucers down and closed his cupboards up. "Why?"
"Well something has happened where I'm from." He crossed his arms and watched as the Cat continued to float about in the kitchen looking for his tea.
"Really?" He looked over his shoulder and paused to bob up and down in the air. "Hopefully nothing too dreadful."
"I haven't figured out if it is or not yet." He admitted and saw the Cat's tail twitch nervously. "Time has slowed for me in my Realm."
"Really?" His eyes dilated as his curiosity grew and floated over to Jack. "Has it slowed throughout the entire Realm?"
"I don't think so." Jack shook his head and put his hand up to keep the cat from being in his face. "Just for me and an acquaintance of mine since we're technically from Underland."
"How fascinating." He purred and clapped his paws together. "Fascinating indeed!"
"With that reaction, something tells me you know what's going on with the change in time." Jack kept his eyes locked with the large green ones starring at him in great interest.
"In a way yes." The Cat nodded and sat back on his back in the air. "But I can't take all the credit for it, it was Absalom's idea. I just had the means of sealing the deal."
The kettle began to sing, but the Cat quickly pulled it off the heat and poured the water into the cups.
"Why did you do it?" Jack just couldn't comprehend it. Messing with the flow of time and asking Time himself to slow time was not an easy task from what he had been informed by Tres.
"Slow time?" His tail flicked at the question, but he didn't look at Jack. "Because we needed a little bit more time to convince you before Frabjous day arrived."
"Convince me of what?"
The Cat floated up to the top of his cupboards and pulled out two Earl Grey teabags. "To convince you to not harm Alice and allow her to do what she was set out to do."
"I have no intentions of hurting her." Jack glanced to the door where she resided. She was an innocent in this Realm, not to mention she had so many things she had to discover about herself that it would be terribly rude of Jack to prevent her from discovering them before she reached her full potential.
"After getting the Bandersnatch saliva, I can finally believe that." He snorted and dropped the teabags into the cups. "However, both Absalom and I are worried that you will try to prevent her from completing her mission."
And what about his own mission? Were they aware just how much she was preventing him from his own assigned missions? Is that why they did this, to drag this out even more than what it really needed to be?
"Well that's a little unfair of an expectation to place on her, is it not?" He balled his hand into a fist and frowned at the Cat. He wasn't sure what to believe at the moment, but he really hated the fact they were using Alice. "She's still so unsure of herself and you all expect her to slay the Jabberwocky!"
"Because she will." The Cat shrugged and stirred in a few cubes of sugar into his tea. "It has already been foretold that she will. Just because she doesn't want to know doesn't mean that she won't in the future."
"That's a terrible expectation to put on her." Jack's nose wrinkled in displeasure.
"She is still too wrapped up in the tangles of her own Realm." The Cheshire Cat rolled his eyes as he set the spoon on the saucer. "She still doesn't recognize who she is. Once she does, she won't be the scared little creature she is currently."
"And if she doesn't?" Jack questioned. They were all so sure that she would just get over her troubles and her woes and just be ready to step up to the plate; that was a terrible thing he was used to from the Queen.
"Then it will be up to you to decide what you'll do." He looked over his cup as he sipped his tea.
"What?"
"Should Alice, for whatever reason, fail to get into the right mindset then it will be up to you to complete the task of killing the Jabberwocky."
"You're joking." His hands balled into fists at his sides. Just how selfish were they? Should the one they dragged into Underland fail they expected him to pick up the mantel and take her place? Spade spiked through him and a pained prickle touched his heart as memories of replacing others for the Queen of Hearts tried to resurface and haunt him.
"No, I'm actually quite serious." His tail flicked behind him as he spoke. "You're the Last Wild Card that Underland has, the last one it will probably ever see really. We both know that you choose who you follow and what you do. If you truly didn't want to follow the Red Queen, then you would do as you wish; though I still haven't figured out why you still choose to follow her."
"Why me, though?" Jack's brow furrowed. "Why couldn't you or Absalom do it?"
"Because neither of us are of pure heart." He answered simply. "It doesn't matter who kills the Jabberwocky since it is the Vorpal sword itself that is its true enemy, but it does matter of the purity of the heart of the wielder."
"And you think I have a pure heart?" Jack scoffed. "Do you even know how many I have decapitated at the Queen's request?"
"But you are of a pure heart nonetheless." The Cat smirked and poked at Jack's chest. "I can see it, you know. The two of you have this shining light in your hearts that the rest of us Underlands don't have. If she does not do it, then you must take her place."
Jack slowly shook his head in disbelief. "It can't be that simple."
"Oh, but it is." The Cat nodded and returned to his tea.
"And should I refuse to take up the Vorpal sword against the Queen, what then?" Jack demanded.
"Then you will have doomed not only all of Underland, but Alice as well." The air in the room dropped to a chilling degree. Jack could only blink at him. "Alice still believes this to be a dream, in case you've forgotten. Should you both fail to fulfill the prophecy of Frabjous Day, then Alice will surely be beheaded by the Queen and will never wake from her never-ending dream."
The Cat merely stared at Jack and watched as his words finally sunk into his brain and could see yet another internal battle going on in another youth's head. "But enough about that." The Cat chuckled and finally handed Jack his lukewarm tea. "Would you like sugar for your tea?"
"Three cubes." He snorted as he turned into the living room to sit on the couch. If only three cubes of sugar were enough to ebb away the pressure of Underland bearing down on his shoulders. Three plunks sounded from his teacup as the Cheshire Cat dropped in the three requested sugar cubes before floating into the room.
"Are you planning on staying here?" The Cat crooned as he sat across from him on the other couch opposite the Wild Card.
Jack had barely touched the cup to his lips when he looked to the Cat. "Excuse me?"
"Do you plan on staying here this evening?" He waved his cup in a circle as he gestured to the house. "To help me keep an eye out on Alice?"
"With time acting peculiar here as well as my own Realm, I don't know if it would be safe for me to travel between the two Realms." Jack sighed in defeat. He hated not having that option of leaving Underland, but there was little he could do since things had been even more forced upon him. He quickly took a sip of the lukewarm tea to try to still his nerves and calm his thoughts. His thoughts were running a little too rampant of just ignoring what everyone expected him to do to simply just do what he wanted. He would kidnap Alice in an attempt to save her from the same fate, though that would probably just make things worse for the both of them.
"Do you intend to spend the night in the Red Castle?" The Cat set his now empty cup on the coffee table and looked expectantly at Jack. "Or shall I get you a set of bedding?"
He had never planned on returning to the Red Castle this evening and though he probably should for the sake and safety of Alice, he just couldn't. "I'll stay here for the night at least, tomorrow, I don't know."
"You perfectly welcome to stay as long as you like." The cat's tail flicked happily behind him as he smiled broadly at Jack. "Alice will more than likely be excited to have you here as well."
The Cat evaporated into thin air and Jack could feel an unfamiliar heat rising to his cheeks. There was something about the words the Cheshire Cat spoke that made his heart drum a little faster in his heart. It was a wonderfully strange feeling that had Jack downing the rest of his tea to cool off.
Just what exactly was that?
Author's Note:
Thanks so much for reading, I hope you're enjoying the story so far!
Please remember to leave a comment or review and tell me what you think! The reviews encourage me and tell me if I should continue writing this story.
Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!
Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter.