"Now where?" Alucard sighed.
"That depends a good deal on where you
want to get to," Dracula replied.
"I don't seem to have much say in the
matter," Alucard grumbled.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," Dracula grinned at him, baring his fangs again.
"I would very much like to get away from here and back to where things make sense again," Alucard added as an explanation. "Either back to tracking eeD, or even back to your wretched Castlevania!"
"Oh, you're sure to do that," Dracula nodded, "if you only walk long enough."
Alucard hoped this first bit of reasonable advice was sound, as he ventured another question. "What is happening? Why is everyone acting so strange?"
"This is Wonderland, where nothing is as it seems. Everyone is mad."
"I know you must have had something to do with it, Father," Alucard remarked flatly.
"Oh, I can't help that," Dracula winked, "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"I don't think you've driven me quite mad yet," Alucard stated. "Though I wonder if it's a near thing," he admitted under his breath. Dracula's grin deepened.
"You must be," said the Lord of All Vampires, "else you wouldn't have come here."
"I didn't come here by choice!" Alucard snapped.
"Ah. So you would like to leave all this," Dracula's gesture was expansive, "and return home?"
"I should like to very much," Alucard replied, "but I haven't any say in the matter, do I?"
"You always have a say in the matter, m'boy," Dracula touched the tip of Alucard's nose playfully with his index finger. "Just make sure that you truly desire what you are asking for!"
"Just on the other side of these woods is the Queen's Courtyard. I'll see you there," said the Count, and he vanished. Alucard stared sullenly at the fanged smile until it disappeared completely.
Alucard was not much surprised at this, realizing that his father had taken the role of the "Cheshire Cat" for himself. While he was looking at the place where the smile had been, it suddenly appeared again, followed presently by the rest of his father.
"You are going to go, yes? To the Queen's Courtyard?" There was a touch of worry about Dracula's eyes as he voiced his question.
Alucard sighed heavily. "I think I must if I am to escape this bizarre wonderland of yours."
"I thought you would see it that way," said the Count, nodding in a satisfied way as he vanished again.
Alucard waited a little, half expecting to see Dracula again, but he did not appear, and after a minute or two he walked on in the direction in which the Queen's Courtyard was supposed to be.
"It has been years since I last read or heard the story, but Father seems to be taking great liberties with it," Alucard complained aloud to himself.
As he said this, he looked up, and there was the Count again, sitting on a branch of a tree.
"Oh, so you noticed?" Dracula asked.
"Rather hard not to," Alucard replied,
"and I wish you wouldn't keep appearing and vanishing so suddenly: it is
truly disconcerting."
"All right," Dracula agreed; and this
time he vanished quite slowly, beginning with the trailing ends of his
black cloak (the one with the blood-red lining), and ending with the grin,
the fangs of which remained some time after the rest of it had gone.
----------------------
Author's Notes -
And this chapter relies heavily on the dialog between Alice and the Cheshire Cat. I like the staccato pace of the banter back and forth in the original, where Alice never quite gets the upper hand in the conversation with the cat, so I tried to mirror that here.
Next chapter teaser - Chapter Six - Gossamer Duchess
Reviews, comments and constructive criticisms are always welcome! Please feel free to email me also if you see something awkward that needs to be clarified or fixed. I need all the help I can get!
stargarde (at) stargarde (dot) com