Chapter 9 - Pure Water.
Alice awoke from her sleep with a scream that woke up Christopher and startled a nearby poesy of roses.
"Alice what's the matter?" Christopher asked, still groggy but definitely awake. No-one could have slept through that scream of terror. Alice was hesitant to talk of things she dreamed about especially since the person she dreamed of was quite dead. "I just had a terrible nightmare!" was her response.
"Want to talk about it?"
"Not really."
A moment of uncertainty passed between them. Alice was unsure of if Christopher should hear about her nightmare and he wondered what caused her distress. Maybe he wondered a little to much?
"If your alright Alice, we must keep going towards the looking glass realm. If we're lucky, we should reach it by dinnertime."
"That's all very well," said Alice "but the last time I was there, there was nothing worth rushing towards. You were in the Hatters asylum there remember?"
Christopher of course did remember, unfortunately.
"After you defeated the Hatter Alice, the looking glass realm has become more civilised, there are people living there now. I think it's where I came from originally."
The people who lived there before must have been converted into automatons (which explained why there were so many of them when she was taken there) people living there now must be very brave, or very stupid.
"Alright. We'd better get started then." She sheathed her knife and they were off once more.
On the way Alice talked more about her previous adventure which Christopher listened to intently as he had only been in the Hatters prison and the Chessmen world.
"Tell me more Alice." he would keep saying.
He found the tales of the Mock turtles particularly interesting. They were a rack of pretend turtles always on the run as their shells were in great demand for mock turtle soup. The honour of the amphibian had been bestowed on her for saving one of their kind.
"I don't understand." Asked Christopher.
They paused next to a shallow stream to demonstrate.
"Watch this." Said Alice and dived into the water which came up over her head and there she stayed.
And she stayed there for quite some time. Christopher was amazed by how long she could stay under without coming up for air at all until after about 10 minutes she emerged gasping.
"Amazing!" he cheered, clapping his hands.
She stepped out of the water and was instantly dry which confounded him again.
They continued and it wasn't long till they spotted a small town beneath a giant clock, which was backwards but going in the right direction.
"What a peculiar clock?" uttered Alice. "I wonder how they tell the time?"
"It's a normal clock." replied Christopher. "it's just goes backwards that's all!
"Is it left over from the Hatter?" she asked, carefully.
"Surprisingly no," he replied. "It was built there by the bandersnatch."
"The Bandersnatch?" Alice wondered to herself. After all of her travels through wonderland she had never encountered a bandersnatch. She remembered reading a poem about the Jabberwock which had the word "Bandersnatch" in it. Apparently they were very frumious. Whatever that meant.
The headed into town where they were greeted by what seemed like normal people similar in appearance to humans. The buildings were not un-similar to those in the troll village in the outskirts of wonderland except they were almost shining in the sunlight and much larger.
"Well now that we're here, what do we do" asked Alice hoping the journey was not a waste of her time.
"Maybe we should see the Mayor. Good a place to start as any?" he suggested.
Alice would have to rely on her reputation of being a "savour" to get her about. She had never considered herself to be a celebrity, she was just a young girl to herself. But she had done a lot of good in this world. Hopefully it would help.
The biggest building in the town was a cathedral (in fact the town seemed to be built around it) It was very large and quite old looking. It seemed like something strange and mysterious was going on in there. "Come, come Alice." She thought to herself "It's a cathedral, a place of worship". She noticed quite a few people were coming in and out of it constantly. She pointed Christopher to it.
"That's the Cathedral of the religion." He informed her. "Nothing evil goes on in there. At least none that we know about. It's a holy place."
"Really?" said Alice curiously. Ignoring what curiosity did to the cat, she continued.
"It's been a while since we went to church. Come on"
Christopher agreed (to Alice's surprise) and they walked up the main road that lead to the large open doors to the cathedral where a large congregation were sitting in rows of pews listening to a prominent figure who was delivering a sermon. He was dressed in a white robe with occasional golden braiding and he had the attention of everyone in the building. Alice and Christopher sat down in a row near the back and listened.
The sermon continued:
"My fellow brothers and sisters. Today is no ordinary day for the people of this town. We are blessed by the coming of the one who liberated this world from the oppression of the evil Queen of Hearts."
Alice felt uncomfortable and fidgeted unconsciously. How did he know?
"If you should see her, do not be rude or hostile. She has delivered our souls into the light of freedom from the shackles of tyranny. And now I offer a prayer for our protection."
"Protection from what?" Alice wondered
"Oh mighty guardian, protect us from the darkness that lies beyond the great mirror and see that the evil therein never sees the light of our beautiful town. Amen"
"Amen" The congregation repeated and they all began to disperse.
"That was odd!" said Alice, to no-one in particular.
"But maybe we should now take advantage of our new found stardom?" replied her companion
Come to think of it, she was quite hungry and they did need a place to stay for tonight.
"Alright. You and go find a nice place with something to eat. Here take this."
She placed her vorpal blade in his hand. He initially rejected it.
"Please no Alice. I can't stand knives"
"As long as you don't use it, it'll be alright. It's proof your with me silly!" she chuckled
He proceeded out of the door and off into the town whereas Alice drew a deep breath. If what the caterpillar and the queen said was true. She was risking a lot talking to a bishop of the religion.
She approached the priest, splendid in his white robe. He was reading from a large book when he looked up and she caught his eye. He voice was surprising gentle and harmonious.
"Hello you worship. I'm…"
"Alice, yes I know."
She found it disturbing that everyone knew who she was and when she was due to arrive. It spoils a girls fun when she loses the element of surprise!
"And as for the religion, I can only tell you of what I myself do."
"Well?" she asked, slightly rudely and impatiently.
"After the Queens lieutenant, The Hatter, was defeated, the people in this realm were lost and without purpose. After the religion came to this place, things have been growing well. The people are happy, local business is booming, relations are not as hostile and our message spreads easily."
"Yes, yes. But what is your message."
He cleared his throat as if to deliver a slogan.
"Give yourself to the religion, and know well being."
"That's it!" Alice was very disappointed.
"Everyone who follows us takes communion and drinks the holy water of purity."
Her interest spiked.
"Tell me about the water." She insisted.
"Well it's used in the same as wine in Christianity I suppose. The brother or sister kneels before me, gives a blessing and drinks the water. After that, the world seems to get better for them."
"Why?" asked Alice almost immediately. The priest felt like this was becoming an interrogation and appropriately became uncomfortable.
"That my child, I cannot answer. That is where you must have faith."
This simple sentence had ended their conversation. Alice felt extremely disappointed but more knowledgeable about the mysterious religion. The Priest felt lifted as he felt like he had a test of faith and succeeded. Alice also felt hungry.
"Well thank you for your help your eminence?" Alice finished on with a definite air of sarcasm. "I must leave as my friend is waiting for me in the village. If you were hungry and needed lodgings, where would you go?"
"The Hotel" was his simple reply
"I know that but which one?"
"We only have one child. And it is called "The hotel""
Aside from occasional madness, Alice very rarely found simplicity in wonderland.
"You will find it straight down the main road, you cannot miss the sign."
She curtsied, smiled and set off towards the door. Her smile vanished as soon as her back was turned. The Priest knelt down in the sanctuary and prayed. The tone of his voice dropped to a deep growling.
"You may wish to pray tonight Alice." He said, alone "You'll need it!"
Alice awoke from her sleep with a scream that woke up Christopher and startled a nearby poesy of roses.
"Alice what's the matter?" Christopher asked, still groggy but definitely awake. No-one could have slept through that scream of terror. Alice was hesitant to talk of things she dreamed about especially since the person she dreamed of was quite dead. "I just had a terrible nightmare!" was her response.
"Want to talk about it?"
"Not really."
A moment of uncertainty passed between them. Alice was unsure of if Christopher should hear about her nightmare and he wondered what caused her distress. Maybe he wondered a little to much?
"If your alright Alice, we must keep going towards the looking glass realm. If we're lucky, we should reach it by dinnertime."
"That's all very well," said Alice "but the last time I was there, there was nothing worth rushing towards. You were in the Hatters asylum there remember?"
Christopher of course did remember, unfortunately.
"After you defeated the Hatter Alice, the looking glass realm has become more civilised, there are people living there now. I think it's where I came from originally."
The people who lived there before must have been converted into automatons (which explained why there were so many of them when she was taken there) people living there now must be very brave, or very stupid.
"Alright. We'd better get started then." She sheathed her knife and they were off once more.
On the way Alice talked more about her previous adventure which Christopher listened to intently as he had only been in the Hatters prison and the Chessmen world.
"Tell me more Alice." he would keep saying.
He found the tales of the Mock turtles particularly interesting. They were a rack of pretend turtles always on the run as their shells were in great demand for mock turtle soup. The honour of the amphibian had been bestowed on her for saving one of their kind.
"I don't understand." Asked Christopher.
They paused next to a shallow stream to demonstrate.
"Watch this." Said Alice and dived into the water which came up over her head and there she stayed.
And she stayed there for quite some time. Christopher was amazed by how long she could stay under without coming up for air at all until after about 10 minutes she emerged gasping.
"Amazing!" he cheered, clapping his hands.
She stepped out of the water and was instantly dry which confounded him again.
They continued and it wasn't long till they spotted a small town beneath a giant clock, which was backwards but going in the right direction.
"What a peculiar clock?" uttered Alice. "I wonder how they tell the time?"
"It's a normal clock." replied Christopher. "it's just goes backwards that's all!
"Is it left over from the Hatter?" she asked, carefully.
"Surprisingly no," he replied. "It was built there by the bandersnatch."
"The Bandersnatch?" Alice wondered to herself. After all of her travels through wonderland she had never encountered a bandersnatch. She remembered reading a poem about the Jabberwock which had the word "Bandersnatch" in it. Apparently they were very frumious. Whatever that meant.
The headed into town where they were greeted by what seemed like normal people similar in appearance to humans. The buildings were not un-similar to those in the troll village in the outskirts of wonderland except they were almost shining in the sunlight and much larger.
"Well now that we're here, what do we do" asked Alice hoping the journey was not a waste of her time.
"Maybe we should see the Mayor. Good a place to start as any?" he suggested.
Alice would have to rely on her reputation of being a "savour" to get her about. She had never considered herself to be a celebrity, she was just a young girl to herself. But she had done a lot of good in this world. Hopefully it would help.
The biggest building in the town was a cathedral (in fact the town seemed to be built around it) It was very large and quite old looking. It seemed like something strange and mysterious was going on in there. "Come, come Alice." She thought to herself "It's a cathedral, a place of worship". She noticed quite a few people were coming in and out of it constantly. She pointed Christopher to it.
"That's the Cathedral of the religion." He informed her. "Nothing evil goes on in there. At least none that we know about. It's a holy place."
"Really?" said Alice curiously. Ignoring what curiosity did to the cat, she continued.
"It's been a while since we went to church. Come on"
Christopher agreed (to Alice's surprise) and they walked up the main road that lead to the large open doors to the cathedral where a large congregation were sitting in rows of pews listening to a prominent figure who was delivering a sermon. He was dressed in a white robe with occasional golden braiding and he had the attention of everyone in the building. Alice and Christopher sat down in a row near the back and listened.
The sermon continued:
"My fellow brothers and sisters. Today is no ordinary day for the people of this town. We are blessed by the coming of the one who liberated this world from the oppression of the evil Queen of Hearts."
Alice felt uncomfortable and fidgeted unconsciously. How did he know?
"If you should see her, do not be rude or hostile. She has delivered our souls into the light of freedom from the shackles of tyranny. And now I offer a prayer for our protection."
"Protection from what?" Alice wondered
"Oh mighty guardian, protect us from the darkness that lies beyond the great mirror and see that the evil therein never sees the light of our beautiful town. Amen"
"Amen" The congregation repeated and they all began to disperse.
"That was odd!" said Alice, to no-one in particular.
"But maybe we should now take advantage of our new found stardom?" replied her companion
Come to think of it, she was quite hungry and they did need a place to stay for tonight.
"Alright. You and go find a nice place with something to eat. Here take this."
She placed her vorpal blade in his hand. He initially rejected it.
"Please no Alice. I can't stand knives"
"As long as you don't use it, it'll be alright. It's proof your with me silly!" she chuckled
He proceeded out of the door and off into the town whereas Alice drew a deep breath. If what the caterpillar and the queen said was true. She was risking a lot talking to a bishop of the religion.
She approached the priest, splendid in his white robe. He was reading from a large book when he looked up and she caught his eye. He voice was surprising gentle and harmonious.
"Hello you worship. I'm…"
"Alice, yes I know."
She found it disturbing that everyone knew who she was and when she was due to arrive. It spoils a girls fun when she loses the element of surprise!
"And as for the religion, I can only tell you of what I myself do."
"Well?" she asked, slightly rudely and impatiently.
"After the Queens lieutenant, The Hatter, was defeated, the people in this realm were lost and without purpose. After the religion came to this place, things have been growing well. The people are happy, local business is booming, relations are not as hostile and our message spreads easily."
"Yes, yes. But what is your message."
He cleared his throat as if to deliver a slogan.
"Give yourself to the religion, and know well being."
"That's it!" Alice was very disappointed.
"Everyone who follows us takes communion and drinks the holy water of purity."
Her interest spiked.
"Tell me about the water." She insisted.
"Well it's used in the same as wine in Christianity I suppose. The brother or sister kneels before me, gives a blessing and drinks the water. After that, the world seems to get better for them."
"Why?" asked Alice almost immediately. The priest felt like this was becoming an interrogation and appropriately became uncomfortable.
"That my child, I cannot answer. That is where you must have faith."
This simple sentence had ended their conversation. Alice felt extremely disappointed but more knowledgeable about the mysterious religion. The Priest felt lifted as he felt like he had a test of faith and succeeded. Alice also felt hungry.
"Well thank you for your help your eminence?" Alice finished on with a definite air of sarcasm. "I must leave as my friend is waiting for me in the village. If you were hungry and needed lodgings, where would you go?"
"The Hotel" was his simple reply
"I know that but which one?"
"We only have one child. And it is called "The hotel""
Aside from occasional madness, Alice very rarely found simplicity in wonderland.
"You will find it straight down the main road, you cannot miss the sign."
She curtsied, smiled and set off towards the door. Her smile vanished as soon as her back was turned. The Priest knelt down in the sanctuary and prayed. The tone of his voice dropped to a deep growling.
"You may wish to pray tonight Alice." He said, alone "You'll need it!"