Lucy in Wonderland

Summary – Alice and the Mad Hatter unintentionally conceived a child, and Alice didn't find out until after she returned home. Alice named her Lucy. Now that Lucy is six, Alice believes it's time to let Lucy and The Hatter meet. But, things in Wonderland don't stay happy for long. The Red Queen is plotting revenge against Alice, and sometimes, a child's curiosity can be extremely deadly.

Authors Note – This is one of my most favorite Chapters!

Disclaimer – I don't own any versions of Alice in Wonderland, nor do I own the Characters, animals, plants, tea time, or the suite of hearts in a deck of cards. :P I do, however, own a poster of the Mad Hatter. That's right. Be jealous.

Chapter 6: Unleashing Day

Lucy was running ahead of her mother and, well, her father too. That would take some getting used to. She was kicking up fallen leaves as she ran and she ignored the calls of her mother to slow down.

Her foot suddenly slipped and the sudden gravity dragged the rest of her body with her foot down a steep hill. Lucy's breath caught in her throat, about to scream; but she suddenly came to a stop, safe with only a few scratches. She had slid down the embankment of a slow and lazy river.

Lucy stood up and dusted herself off defiantly. "Well then, that was sudden." She said aloud. "Where do you suppose the river goes to, especially if we are underground?" Lucy took a tentative step forward (in case the soil is lose, I really should be careful, Lucy thought) and peered down the river. The river, however, took a sudden turn left and Lucy could see it no more.

"Where are you going now, Lucy Kingsley?" a lazy voice asked. Lucy glanced into the trees and found herself looking at the Cheshire Cat.

"Well, I wanted to know where the river leads-"

"Then you have to go down the river, now don't you." He sipped at a cup of tea.

"Well, I can't swim." Lucy replied smugly. She thought she had fooled the cunning cat by saying this. Oh the Cheshire Cat, who thinks he's so smart. He thinks he always has the answer.

"Then take the boat." He replied, pointing to the left of Lucy. Lucy looked over with a frown on her face: There had been no boat before, but now there was one. Only, Lucy wasn't quite sure she could call it a boat – it was an enormous leaf.

"That's a leaf." Lucy pointed out the obvious.

"Wonderful eyesight, my darling. You don't have to believe me, but if you want to see where the river goes, it really is your only option." The Cat began to disappear.

"Wait! Don't you know where the river goes?" Lucy said pointedly.

"Well of course."

"Why don't you tell me?"

"Because that would be too easy for you. I enjoy watching people try, try, and fail at understanding the ways of Underland. I watched your mother succeed, though, and a few others. But there are some people who mistakenly show up here who just don't get it." That cat was rambling to himself.

Lucy caught on to what he was saying. "Were there more people than just my mother who came down here?"

The Cat frowned. "Are you going to follow the river or not?"

Lucy got the point – he wasn't going to tell her. She glanced at the leaf, and then glanced at the cat, who was tsking at her. "No backbone?" he trilled.

The teasing got to her. She pushed the enormous leaf – which was very tough, sort of like cardboard, it really gave Lucy a sense of comfort – into the river and watched to bob up and down for awhile. Lucy removed her shoes and tossed them in the leaf and then carefully, trying not to rock the little boat too much, climbed in.

She looked up at the Cat. "I have a backbone."

"For now. It depends on how you react to where you are headed." The cat disappeared.

"Wait! Where am I headed? Cat! Hello!" The cat did not reappear. Lucy tentatively leaned back in the boat. The current was slow and relaxing and Lucy was tired. She found herself… drifting.

The boat shook. Hard. It jolted Lucy awake and the erratic movement nearly tipped the boat. Lucy was about to scream, but all movement stopped. She had hit ground. Lucy peered over the edge of the boat.

The land was barren and desert like. "Well," Lucy commented aloud, "This isn't nearly as attractive as the rest of Wonderland."

Lucy climbed out of the boat and began to walk. It was dreadfully hot and muggy out, not at all like the warm, playfully breezy part of Wonderland – the place where her father lived. Lucy grew even more tired – despite her long nap.

That's when she spotted the people.

"If you complain… One more time…. I. Will. STRANGLE. YOU!" Stayne shouted. The Red Queen sniffed.

"You complain. You're complaining about my complaining right now. Besides, there is no way you could strangle me. You don't have the guts."

Stayne shut up. For the last six years, he has suffered. And suffered. And suffered. And from that suffering, he learned to shut out the stupid Queen. He'd be dead if the bloody woman would let him strangle himself. And, for the type of woman she was, she was surprisingly strong – otherwise she'd be dead too.

"You know, this could be enjoyable but you're such a…. Stayne, what's the word?" The Red Queen asked. Stayne wasn't going to answer that.

Suddenly, the Queen gasped. "Stayne! Stayne! A little girl is walking towards us!" Stayne rolled his eyes.

"It's only a mirage, you imbecile."

The Queen gritted her teeth. "You're the Imbecile, IDIOT!"

"How can I be an Imbecile and an idiot?" Stayne challenged.

"I'm serious! Look, Stayne, oh look will you?" The Red Queen watched as the mirage or girl or both came nearer. Lucy, on the other hand, was beginning to think that coming to these people was a mistake.

Lucy came to a stop in front of the strange looking woman. She had tightly curled red hair and a, well, an enormous head. How unfortunate for her, Lucy thought. It must be ridiculously heavy to carry around.

"Um… I lost my way –"

"Your way? Everything in Underland is my way!" The Woman declared. "Off with…." She trailed off. "What do you want, child?"

"Like I said… I've lost my way and I need to know how to get back to the Hatter's." Lucy continued.

"Well I don't give directions to just any old creature. They have to pay more for my advice." The Queen sat upon the branch and studied the little girl. There was something quite familiar about that face, and something even more familiar about that hair.

"That's not fair! I haven't got anything to pay you with!" Lucy stomped her foot indignantly.

"Off with –" The Queen stopped herself once again, for something glittery caught her eyes. There was a…. a key hanging about the girl's neck. A key she had seen before, about six years ago. A key with a bright red heart for a handle. A key that used to be in her sister's possession, and a key that had locked her away on Frabjous day.

"What do you call yourself, Little Girl?" The Red Queen inquired.

"Lucy. And you?"

"Iracebeth of Crims, Red Queen of Underland."

"Well, if you're a Queen, then why are you all locked up?" Lucy asked.

The Queen had already formulated a plan for this question. "I was blamed for a crime that I had nothing to do with. Nothing at all. And they banished me to the Outlands."

"How terrible!" Lucy's brow crinkled. "Where I come from they have trials before banishing someone! Did you have a trial?"

"Oh, no. They just…locked me away. With him." The Queen gestured to Stayne.

"And who is he?" Lucy said, still distressed over the thought of banishing someone without a trial.

"The Knave of Hearts, girl, you talk too much."

Lucy smiled. "That reminds me of a nursery rhyme. The Queen of Hearts she made some tarts all on a summer's day; The Knave of Hearts he stole the tarts and took them clean away."

"Stop that." The Queen ordered.

Lucy frowned – The Queen was much too bossy for Lucy's likes. "I'll go get the White Queen, she should know what to do. Simply terrible."

"NO!" The Queen stood up and grabbed Lucy's hand and yanked her back. "No! You mustn't go to her!"

"And why not?" Lucy asked indignantly. She didn't like the Red Queen much.

"Well, why go walking around here like a blumbering fool. You don't even know how to get there. And, you have the key." The Red Queen shouldn't have said that.

Lucy pulled out and key and smiled. "I don't just unlock any old creature. You have to pay me."

"You're a brat."

"You're an over controlling bimbo!" Lucy shouted.

The Knave was now paying attention. This was getting interesting.

"Give me the key!" The Red Queen shouted.

"No!" Lucy took a step back, but alas, the Queen was quicker. She grabbed the hand that held the key and wrestled with The Girl for a moment, and then she grabbed the key out of Lucy's hands. Lucy fell backwards on her butt. "Give it back, it's mine!"

"No, I don't think I shall." The Red Queen smiled at the girl.

The Knave was now standing, "Your Majesty, is it really the key."

"Of course it is. Don't doubt me, idiot." The Red Queen bent towards the lock holding them to the dying tree. She put the key into the lock and twisted it to the left. The key and lock made a little popping sound, then the chains that bound fell to the ground.

The Queen made a sound of triumph. "Knave, we will be so much more smarter this time. More fear and fewer pardons. Come."

The Knave stepped forward.

"We must gain new pets. Something much more horrible than the Jabberwocky. I'll always miss my Jabber-baby-wocky." The Red Queen turned and nearly stepped on Lucy.

"You're absolutely horrid." Lucy ground out angrily.

"Who are you?" The Red Queen asked.

Lucy picked herself up off the ground and said angrily. "Who are you?"

"Well, I'm ruling Underworld, and he's Stayne and his job is to make sure that you don't run away."

Stayne grabbed Lucy by her hair and put his hand over her mouth. Lucy tried to scream but she couldn't move because her hair hurt. Something crashed against the back of her head and her vision blacked out.

Yes. Yes I am evil.