3. Alix Le Roy & Terrell Chapin[1]

From what I could tell from our admittedly short acquaintance, Alix Le Roy was an adventurous sort, full of the kind of curiosity that has been known to kill cats. She was the eldest daughter of a cloth merchant from the town of Lagny (or so she said).[2] She was hard headed enough to have been carved out of a block of Marmoreal marble, however, which made me doubt her place of origin.

She came to Underland one warm afternoon, bundled up as if to protect herself from a winter night that did not benefit from having been grouped with several other winter nights.[3] She swept across the squares of our land with those voluminous skirts and layers of contrasting fabric billowing as if she was a king—or a queen—of Underland itself.[4] With a singular purpose she approached the village in Snud, where I had helpfully informed her that the Royal Hatter could be found practicing his trade.

I was a jaded creature, many centuries old by then, and she seemed likely to cause the kind of trouble that I might find amusing. Trouble of the Alice sort. Her present trouble was of the hatting kind: she had lost her hood and was in need of an immediate replacement.[5] She imperiously stressed this numerous times as I floated through the air, leading her to the hatter.

Faced with the de-hooded lady, Terrell Chapin asked her, "How did you lose it?"

It was no wonder he was confused: the women at the court of Poch were not given to misplacing his beautiful headgear.[6] No doubt he was thinking that this woman, who stood before him flushed from her brisk walk, must be a careless sort of woman. Terrell, the proud royal hatter, was rather attached to his creations, and I could tell he was leery of a woman who was careless with hats.

"It tangled in the briers, when I slipped through the door," she puffed.[7]

"What door?"

"A door on the grounds of the monastery," she exclaimed impatiently.[8] "Can you give me another hood or not?" she demanded, and Terrell's eyes went wide: it sounded as if her foot had stomped the slate floor beneath her heavy skirts.

"A monastery?" Terrell repeated.

He was justly shocked by her avowal, because, while there were no such things as monasteries in all of Underland, he knew of them. The doors between Underland and Above were open more in those days than they are now. The Alices were not the only ones to come and go. Other humans and creatures wandered in and began new lives with much greater regularity. Therefore, it happened that Terrell's people had not been in Underland so long that he was not aware that young ladies should not be poking about the doors of monasteries. The monks would have something to Say about it at very least.

"I was curious," she responded, placing her hands on her hips.

She was turning so red that I was concerned she would pop, and, as I have noted, I do not care for the effect blood has on my fur. So, I offered a helpful Solution. "Give her a cap, Terrell, before she turns quite feral."

Terrell quirked a brow. He did enjoy a rhyme. Not as much as some hatters, mind you, but he appreciated them nonetheless.

She turned and narrowed her eyes at me. "Demon!"

I appreciated Alix's spirit after a string of several very lackluster Alices, but I did not much care for her calling me a demon. Nevertheless, if she truly thought me a demon, it did not greatly disturb her, for she had followed me anyway and it did not distract her from her purpose: she put out her hand, as if to silently call for a hood to be placed in her hand.

"Well, I'm afraid this was intended for the Queen," Terrell hedged, holding up a barett he seemed loath to bestow upon the young woman.[9]

She frowned, "I wouldn't wear it if it was intended for Queen Anne herself: that is a man's cap."[10]

Terrell smiled, but I knew it to be a false smile. He was already becoming annoyed with Alix. Mine, on the other hand, was real and broad, a grin that went from ear to ear, showing nearly every last one of my preternaturally white teeth, for I was right about Alix causing trouble.

"This is what comes from being led by devil's spawn," she added, looking askance at me. "One should guard against the devil, be forever vigilant."

To spite her I disappeared and reappeared behind her shoulder. "Then why didn't you?"

Alix was brave, however, and she would not wilt at the sight of floating, talking cats, no matter if they were devilish or not. After making a sign over herself, she readdressed herself to Terrell, ignoring my inquiry. "You're not much of a hatter if you make hats such as these for women."

"You're not much of a lady," Terrell retorted.

Oh, it was amusing, just as I had hoped it would be, but now I could see that the Worm had Turned.[11] A fool would have said they were not fond of each other, perhaps that they were even on their way to becoming certain enemies, but I am no Fool. Passion of that sort means only one thing.

She spent the next two hours telling him—with a great flourish—of the caps and hoods and veils in her world of which he knew nothing. Nominally she went to these lengths to chide him for offering her this very unfashionable headgear, but her true purpose was quite different. I could see through her, because I am oftentimes transparent and others appear similarly to me. I am terribly perceptive.

There would be no Alice to slay the Lindwurm in that age either.[12] Underland faced the poison of its bite and the pall of death without the aid of the Alice. The villagers of Underland wailed with no Champion to hear their cries. They died as so many had done before them. I have seen it…countless times.

All that curiosity and outrage wasted. On long distance trade, of all things.

Alix Le Roy had dreams of a merchant empire, and she could use a man of Terrell's skills, although she berated him and reminded him repeatedly in the course of those two hours that he was a tradesman and she was a merchant's daughter. That was all for show, a veritable sleight of hand: she wanted him for more than just his skill with a veil.

From what I observed, Alix also was rather skilled—at getting what she wanted in life.

A cap angrily flew across the room just as the mood shifted as quickly as a queen can dash across Underland. I left when the kissing began. Kissing humans are revolting—like dogs slobbering over a bone. Tongues should be used for the cleansing of fur, the drinking of milk, and nothing else. So, I departed posthaste.

That was the last Time I ever saw Terrell, for Alix took him with her right back Above. Or so I was told by the trees who saw them depart and survived what followed to tell their Tale.

Something changed at the close of that Age of Alice: our world became more separated from Above than previously. Time slowed. Alices did not wander into our world with the same frequency as before. We lost sight of Above just as we became madder than ever. Perhaps Underland had begun to give up hope. Perhaps she thought to protect its citizens from Alices who were not Alice enough to be worthy of the mantle of Champion. Although, I can not help but think Underland could have stopped this long ago if that is what she truly wished.

What could I have done? Nothing, certainly.

[1] Alix is the German or Old French version of Alice and Le Roy means King. Terrell is Old French and Old German and means "following Thor," the god of thunder. Chapin is a bastardization of Chapman, which means a shop man.

[2] Lagny had been one of the towns that participated in the Champagne Fairs in the High Middle Ages, but by 1500, when Alix came to Underland from Champagne, France, the annual fairs were no longer taking place.

[3] The Red Queen explains in Through the Looking-Glass that they sometimes group winter nights together in Wonderland (as many as five nights at once) for warmth.

[4] Late medieval fashions throughout Europe became heavy partially in reaction to the dropping temperatures that resulted from the Little Ice Age. French women wore long gowns with a natural waist that came to a point. Sleeves were wide and elaborately trimmed. Necklines were square, exposing the chemise. Skirts were slit to expose the underskirt and gowns were adorned by long trains.

[5] In France, England, and the Low Countries, women at the turn of the 16th century wore black hoods with veils at the back, which covered linen caps that allowed the front hair (parted in the middle) to show.

[6] The kingdom of Poch takes its name from one of the labeled compartments on the brightly colored playing board for Pochspiel, a card game originating in Germany. It appears as early as 1441 in Strasburg and was popular throughout the 15th, 16th, and 17th century in France, Germany, Switzerland, and England.

[7] The garden door to Wonderland was inspired by a door on the grounds of Christ Church College that led to the Cathedral Garden, which the Liddell girls could see from their nursery window, but were not allowed to enter. The plants along the border of the wall contained the flowers that are mentioned in Through the Looking Glass.

[8] When the Champagne Fairs were operational, the fair at Lagny was held each year on January 2nd on the grounds of a Benedictine monastery.

[9] Baretts with their upturned brims were a fashionable choice of cap for men, but in Germany they were also worn by women over beaded, silk lined nets that held the hair. Terrell's people were originally from Bavaria, and therefore, the fashions he created mimicked German styles.

[10] Anne of Brittany was Louis XII, the French king's consort from 1499 until her death in 1514.

[11] The idiom 'the worm has turned' must date to the sixteenth century at least, for it appears in Shakespeare's Henry VI: "The smallest worm will turn being trodden on". Shakespeare uses the word "worm" in the archaic sense of dragon or serpent.

[12] The Germanic wurm (or worm or wyrm) is a near equivalent to a dragon, but it is wingless. The Lindwurm could be bipedal, quadrapedal, or limbless. Their bites were believed to be venomous.