This week was hell , but now finals are out the way and hopefully I can focus more on this story. Thank you all for reading/reviewing and spending some of your time with this fic! By the way, I'm open to suggestions if you have any.
Nice reading!
All of Witzend waited in absolute silence for the arrival of the queens.
There was barely any room left in the throne hall to move. People stood next to each other , closer than anyone with the some sense of personal space would have enjoyed. They stepped on each other feet, and sometimes, on the smaller creatures.
The must cunning of them had found shelter on top of the taller ones. Soon, everyone had either a monkey or tadpoles clinging to their heads.
Tarrant and his family were behind the multitude, with their red hair and pink hats forming a line that outstood among the rest.
Next to them was Mallymkum, sitting down on Bayard's back.
The hound and his family wore pink collars. His children, no longer small pups, whined and licked their noses.
A little further to the left was Mc Twisp. He wore a royal waistcoat and held a trumpet in his hand. He checked his clock every second. Each time, he muttered a faint "Oh dear."
Thackery was on Pimlick's arms. They trembled and blabbered things too fast to understand.
They both had been equally anxious when they arrived, with Pimlick biting his nails and Thackery pulling his long ears around his face, while his eyes moved inside his sockets without control.
Tarrant didn't know if it was Thackery who had jumped to Pimlick's arms or if his brother had picked Thackery up, but the two nervous wrecks seemed to calm each other down
"It's a tizzy day in Underland today." Chessur materialized around Tarrant's shoulders and rested his head on his paws. Tarrant could see his eternal smile with the corner of his eye. " Tizzy with a chance of chaos."
"Chessur, you are late." Mally scolded him.
"Of course I am. I didn't want to come." A small purr accompanied his laughter. "And I dare to say the same about half of Witzend."
"And you wouldn't be wrong." Tarrant whispered to his ear.
"You should have been here on time! We can't let anything go wrong." Insisted Mally.
"I would have been on Time, but I don't see him nearby." Chessur looked around the hall, waging its tail close to Tarrant's face. It tickled his nose. "Looks like he didn't come. Time is indeed wise."
His grim chuckle sent shivers down the spine of every Witzender nearby. Pimlick hugged Thackery as if Undelrand's fate depended on it.
The hare had a fit of lunatic laughing.
Mally reprimanded Chessur again.
Tarrant sneezed.
"Enough!" Zanik and Bayard hushed them.
Zanik's stern eyes made everyone fall back in line. Even Chessur hesitated about continuing to express his opinions out loud.
"The Big Head hasn't arrived yet, and we are already falling back into tyranny." He whispered to Tarrant as a joke, but the hatter didn't find it funny at all and shook the cat off his shoulders.
Chessur kept floating above their heads, as calm and indifferent as if he was in the middle of a tea party.
Mc Twisp ears rose up and twitched. His jaw dropped and his watch almost fell from his hand.
Echoes came from the staircase next to the thrones, and a shadow became visible.
"They are here." Said Mc Twisp, and he dashed towards the front of the royal hall.
He was the first to notice, but it didn't take long before the rest of the guests knew of the inevitable presence of the queens.
The little tadpoles stayed close to their parents, while the codfishes hid their children inside their mouths.
One of Bayard's sons started to growl and show his fangs. His father had to bit him gently in the neck to calm him down.
"She is here. Snicker-snack, ant farm. Tiny, tiny things. She loves the tiny, tiny things!" Pimlick dropped Thackery down and tried to step back. His eyes were lost into the distance.
Bumalig grabbed her brother and tried to calm him down .She whispered soothing words to him. Her mother, nephew Bim and grandfather Paloo went to her aid, and together they managed to keep Pim's delusions at bay.
Tarrant tried to go to his brother's side, but his father held him back.
"It's going to be alright, Tarrant. We have to endure this." Perhaps his father was madder than he was. Tarrant found no other explanation for Zanik's reasoning. "Just hang in there, son."
And he was trying.
His mother, his father, his siblings, his nephew and grandfather…
Oh, if only they knew how hard Tarrant tried.
Then it happened.
Iracebeth emerged from the staircase and entered the hall. Her presence was announced by Mc Twisp's trumpet, but not even the jolly melody could counter the chilling atmosphere that followed her.
Her head hadn't gotten any bigger, but it hadn't gotten any smaller either. Her crimson dress had a tail so long Tarrant thought it could reach the Outlands and beyond. The Tweedles, clad in red uniforms, entered the hall carrying the final remnants of the dress
Iracebeth sat down on the throne next to the Unicorn statue. She raised her head high as she looked at the Witzenders, as if her eyes couldn't endure the sight of such scum.
Mc Twisp smiled to the audience and kept playing, in an attempt to bring some cheer, some applause, some anything to the Witzenders and the queen.
"Silence!" shouted Iracebeth, punching the throne with her fist multiple times, like a judge in a turbulent trial. "Off with your scandal, idiot!"
Mc Twisp became so scared that he fainted right in spot, and a guard had to carry him for the rest of the celebration.
Iracebeth didn't notice.
She snapped her fingers.
"Fat Boys, to my feet!"
Tweedledee and Twedleedum complied. They fought over who was supposed to kneel down under each foot.
Iracebeth laughed and forced them to shut up by stomping their heads with her heels.
"I love my Fat Boys. There's nothing like some twits degrading themselves for the sake of my entertainment." She laughed again, as if she had told the funniest joke Witzend had ever heard.
Nobody joined her.
This she noticed, and she didn't like it.
At all.
"Iraci!"
With soft steps and gentle movements, Mirana entered the hall. She wore a simple but elegant white dress, with a pink pattern in the form of spades and clovers. Her face was brimming with joy.
She smiled at the people of Witzend, who cheered and applaud her with great energy.
However, Mirana's happiness evaporated and transformed into indignation when she saw the two Tweedles under her sister's feet. She told them to go and join the rest of the Witzenders, but Iracebeth claimed they were her Fat Boys, and would only leave when she saw fit.
The sisters battled in silence with their eyes.
People held their breaths. The guards, though stoic in appearance, felt no less fear.
'This cannot be good' Thought Tarrant, shaking his head over and over again. 'No good at all'
After what it felt like an eternity, Iracebeth lifted her feet off the Tweedles and, with a kick in their buttocks, told them they were dismissed.
"I told you I was supposed to be on the right." said Tweedledee to Tweedledum.
"No, it was the other way around."
The twins continued their dispute as they joined the multitude.
Mirana took a deep breath and sat down in the throne next to the Lion statue.
She put her feelings aside and carried on with her role as Queen.
"Witzenders, people of Underland." Her voice, smooth as silk, reached everyone's ears without the need to shout. "As you all know, my sister Iracebeth has long given up her evils ways, and now she seeks to atone for her crimes. We gain nothing if we cling to the past; in fact, our world might be destroyed if we cling too tightly to it…But I digress. Today is the start of a new era for Underland, an era where Crims and Marmoreal rule together , not as separates realms, but as the unified whole they were always meant to be. Our new beginning is at hand, but it must come to us with curtsey and reason. And how can there be either in a realm where there are two queens, but just one crown?"
She moved her hands. A purple energy surrounded her fingers, and out of nowhere, the royal crown appeared in front of her.
The Witzenders were in awe.
Mirana put the crown on her head.
"It is for this reason, my faithful people, that I-"
"Silence. You speak too much and say too little." Iracebeth's face was red. "Cut to the chase. Come foward, Hightopp Clan!"
All eyes were on Tarrant and his family.
It brought back dark memories.
They felt real.
Tarrant now knew he didn't need the chronosphere at all to travel back in time.
"HIGHTOPPS!" Iracebeth's breath blew across the throne hall like an upcoming storm.
Pim imitated Mc Twisp and passed out. His final words were tiny,tiny things. Bumalig and Tyva put his arms around their shoulders and held him up.
Zanik looked at his family.
His wife and daughter had to look after his eldest son.
Bim was too young.
Paloo was too old.
Tarrant hated the queen more than anyone.
No, he had to take the initiative. It was his responsibility as head of the clan.
"Father?" Tarrant watched his father go alone to Iracebeth's throne.
He tried to go with him, but Bim and Paloo stopped him.
Mally, Bayard and Thackery helped them keep Tarrant in check.
"Don't leave me waiting! Off with your disobedience!" Iracebeth's order now seemed more like a tantrum.
"Iracebeth, enough." But Mirana, in spite of her powers and charm, had no control over her sister. It became more obvious with every passing day.
She only calmed down when Zanick was in front of her.
He took his hat off, made a reverence and held his head down.
The red queen smiled. She looked satisfied, entertained even.
"Finally. It took you long enough. Perhaps you need a new clock." Iracebeth spoke to him like she would to a servant. "Kneel down while in my presence, it saves time."
Zanik only had time to put one knee on the ground before Mirana disregarded Iracebeth's order.
"There's no need to do so, Mister Hightopp." She said to Zanik with a gentle smile.
She then glared at her sister.
Iracebeth's veins pulsated in her forehead with every beat of her furious heart.
Zanik, torn apart between his queens, remained with his left knee on the ground. His back soon began to hurt; he could only hope that, whatever he was meant to do, it wouldn't take long.
"Fine, don't save Time! I no longer have interest in him anyway." Iracebeth pursed her lips.
"Zanik Hightopp." Said Mirana. Her voice nullified his sister's. "Before we can move on to the new Era of Underland, there's something Iracebeth must tell to the Hightopp clan. I hope that you and your family find some comfort in this small gesture that we-"
"I forgive you." Iracebeth snapped.
Zanik looked at her with confusion.
Mirana was as shocked as the Witzenders.
The red queen pointed her finger at the red haired line on the back. It redirected all the attention back to Tarrant and his family.
"I forgive you all for having ruined my coronation, and for causing Underland's downfall as a result." Iracebeth explained, so convinced of her words that a couple of Witzenders almost agreed with her judgment. "Witzenders, do not blame them, for idiots cannot foresee the consequences of their actions. You may rest peacefully now, Hightopps, knowing your queen has granted you her invaluable pardon."
"And we accept it humbly." answered Zanik, lowering his head more.
Something inside Tarrant, that had begun to break ever since his father knelt, was know completely destroyed.
His breathing increased, dark rings appeared under his golden eyes.
"Tarrant." His grandfather begged. "Please..."
But Iracebeth gave no rest to her audience. She talked so quickly that Mirana had no time to stop her.
"But I don't want your words; I want a real proof. You shall craft to me the most wonderful, royal crown in the history of Underland. Until the day that crown rests on my head, I shall only take your repentance half-heartedly."
"Of course, you're Majesty." Agreed Zanik.
Iracebeth offered her hand to him.
" Kiss it." She said. "And be grateful."
"We are grateful."
Zanik held her hand gently. In his heart, he wanted to crush it like a tiny ant.
He had just put the tip of his lips on the royal hand when a voice boombed in the hall.
"NO!"
It was furious and scottish.
The queens and Witzenders looked at the hatter. He was standing on top the heads of his nephew and grandfather. Without a warning, he ran towards Iracebeth, using hats, heads, and tails of monkeys as his floor.
"Tarrant, wait!" cried Mally one last time.
He didn't stop.
"Oh no." Chessur disappeared from the palace, sensing the chaos that was about to befall upon it.
People grunted in pain as Tarrant passed over them, stomping their heads with his boots, but he didn't care.
Two guards tried to stop him, but Tarrant dodged them with a jump. He landed next to his father, and forced him back to his feet.
Zanik grunted at the aggressive touch of his son.
He looked at him.
He had seen Tarrant angry before, but never like this.
It was as if he was another man.
Zanik backed down, afraid.
Iracebeth panicked and ordered the guards to attack. Mirana called the order off and went to Tarrant's side.
She put her hand on his cheek and called his name, but to no avail.
All Tarrant could think about was of the gall of the Bloody Big Head. After all she had done, all the suffering she had caused to them, and she still delighted in humiliating his family…
"Is this the Queen that will lead us to a New Age?" he asked with an equal mix of mockery and hatred. The Witzenders listened closely to him."Oh, she shall…. But it will be an Age of horovendoush disarray, dark as the Crow's wings and destructive as the Jaberwocky's fire. People like you are no capable of bringing happiness to this land, you .. you Bloddy-"
"My queens, watch out!" cried the guard with Mc Twisp in his arms.
The glass behind the thrones shattered into a thousand of pieces, and a group of frenzied borogoves infested the hall.
One of them landed on Iracebeth's head and began to plucked her hair. She tried to scare it off, but her hands didn't reach the top of her head.
A group of them formed a moving circle around Mirana, greeting her again and again.
Soon, the whole hall became a pink, fluffy mess of borogoves chasing the Witzenders around. The Hightopp clan became their favorite target, with their pink hats catching their attention.
"Hey!" Said a borogove to Tarrant. "Hi!"
He slapped him away. It was the first of many.
Tarrant slapped every borogove and Wiztender he found in his way to the entrance. He couldn't bear to stay one more second in that place; it reeked of Iracebeth's poisonous words.
He thought they would stop haunting once he was out in the fresh air.
He was wrong.
"Son." Zanik was out of breath. He had lost his hat somewhere in his escape from the borogoves. "Wait, listen to me."
But Tarrant didn't want to. He couldn't.
He tried to walk away from his father, but Zanik was more persistent than he thought.
"You have to understand."
"I understand perfectly what she was trying to do." Tarrant turned around and faced his father. "Maybe it's you who must consider what you are doing, father."
"I was obeying my queen." Zanik's own temper was starting to flourish.
"You were yielding to a tyrant! Don't you remember all the dark years she brought upon Underland?"
"Years I spent trapped in an Ant Farm."
"And whose fault was that, father? Tell me!"
"Mine, it was mine!" Zanik screamed. Tarrant's eyes and face went back to normal at the sight of his father crying. When was the last time he had seen him shed tears?
Had he ever?
"The day of the coronation, it was me who broke the crown. The crown I made with my own hands." The lump in his throat distorted most of Zanik's words. "If I hadn't, then maybe none of this would have happened, but I…"
"Father, no."
"Forgive me, son. I disappointed you, I disappointed our whole family." Zanik walked towards Tarrant and embraced him. "I will make things right, I promise. Can you grant me the chance to prove it to you?"
Slowly but firmly, Tarrant departed from his father's arms.
"You needn't prove anything, father. Not to me, and especially not her." Tarrant took several steps backwards. Being angry at his father was much easier than seeing him so miserable.
He couldn't endure it.
"I will make that crown." Said Zanik, regaining some of his composure. "And then everything will be alright."
"It won't." Tarrant whispered. "Not like this."
"Tarrant."
"I'm sorry."
"Tarrant!"
He left him there, and didn't look back.
Tarrant ran through the empty streets of Witzend. His pink hat fell from his head at one point.
Everything was pink.
He wanted to escape from that hideous color.
Before he realized it, he was back at his family's shop. He had no place there, not now that his father was determined to crown the royal red head.
He had to leave, for the sake of his family and his own.
He felt something under his feet. He had stepped on a hat.
His gyre-hat.
Tarrant picked it up .
"Away." He chanted as she spun on his heels time and time again. "Away from here."
He spun one last time as he jumped in the air, and threw the hat without letting it go. He was off like a shot.
Witzend became distant and tiny in the matter of seconds, but Tarrant couldn't see it. He kept his eyes closed the whole time.
"Away." He repeated as the gyre-hat dragged him across the clouds. "Away from here."
He had thrown it with so much strength that his journey felt eternal.
Was he destined to never again return back down? , he thought, and realized he wouldn't mind so much if he was.
"Away from here." He was starting to lose altitude. It was better to prepare for the landing.
Tarrant didn't.
"And closer to her…closer to..."
The crash came.
His world went black.
Kaput.
"Alice!"
Tarrant was back in the palace of dreams. He didn't waste his time searching around.
He stood in one place, shouthing with all the power of his lungs.
"ALICE!"
An echo, barely more than a whisper, reached his ear.
Tarrant screamed once more. He couldn't stop.
His Alice had finally come to him, and he had to guide her through the intricate halls of the palace.
But no one came.
He was alone.