(A.N./ And here we are with the last part! As always, it was such a pleasure to write this, and I hope you had as much pleasure reading! I strayed pretty far from the original story in this part, but kept with the characters. I always thought the Queen never got the whooping she deserved...oops! Spoilers! XP
Anyways, I hope no one is too disappointed that the Mock Turtle and Gryffin don't appear here. I ran out of characters, and the chain of events that happens is too closely lined that I couldn't really insert another scene, or squeeze characters in. Again, I'm really sorry I had to take them out! Now, enough rambling, read!)
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"Anyways, as I was saying before I was cruelly interrupted…" she paused and looked around at the people before her, "Begin."
Immediately half of the horses charged out of the stables in a mad stampede, barely missing the lucky heads of any guards who were in the way. The Queen, mounted on the best-looking and smallest horse, charged off with the crowd, demanding the head be chopped off anyone who got in her way.
Ichigo looked curiously down at her horse and wondered how to take off. She looked next to her and watched how the other people would do it. A few of them were looking around, confused, and just as inexperienced as Ichigo was. After a few seconds of observing, though, Ichigo collected that most of them would give their horses a short, hard slap on the rump and it would start trotting. Ichigo looked to her horse, who was still staring into oblivion. She turned, and, like she saw, slapped the horse where necessary.
Well, apparently, she had slapped it a bit too hard, for it started off with a loud whinny and broke into a full gallop. Ichigo clutched the mane of the horse for dear life, paying no heed to reins as she made a desperate attempt to steer. The horse seemed to not hear, feel, or pay any attention to Ichigo at all, really, for it continued to run, following the other horses and beyond. It kept up its gallop into a deserted part of the specified woods, where no other contestants in the hunting party was or had been.
There, it slowed to a trot, then stopped completely. Ichigo looked around at the scenery, and noticed a small, blue object floating a little ways off. She urged the horse on, slapping its hind and yelling to it, but it wouldn't budge or make any kind of noise or motion. Frustrated, Ichigo half-dismounted, half-fell off the horse. She got off the horse and wiped the dirt and grime off herself.
She pulled out the bow and arrow from her pack and wandered closer to where she saw the jellyfish thing. Mounting an arrow on the bow, she took aim and fired. Miss. The little blue blob just floated on by, much farther from where the arrow had landed. Ichigo growled in frustration,
"I'd be better off using my bare hands." she said to herself. Much to her surprise, she got a reply,
"That you would."
She turned to see, once again, the Cheshire cat, seated on a limb of a tree, wearing that smirk she hated. She frowned,
"What are you doing here?" The cat raised an eyebrow,
"I thought we were friends." Ichigo shook her head,
"I don't know. You kind of freak me out, and you give me bad vibes. Besides, that would make it two times in one day that you've proved yourself as a stalker." The Cheshire cat's smirk grew into a grin,
"Is that so? Hm, too bad." With that, he retracted from is casual position, stretched like a genuine cat, spreading his paws out before him and yawning. He got up from the tree and jumped down in front of Ichigo. Directing his attention to the jelly thing, he extended a paw and made a quick motion. The jelly thing floated over to him and rested in his paw. Ichigo stared with wide eyes,
"H-how did you do that?!" The Cheshire cat wore his smirk once more,
"Oh, it seems these things took a liking to me a while ago." he paused, twirling the little jellyfish thing in his paw before looking to Ichigo,
"Watch this."
He walked over to the huge horse and lifted a paw to it, like he summoned the jellyfish. A small ripple of air extended from his paw, and the horse slumped down in a sitting position, motionless. Ichigo gasped,
"D-did you just…kill it?!" The cat shrugged,
"Sort of. Don't worry, I'll put its soul back in an hour or so." Ichigo blinked,
"It's…soul?!" She looked with terrified, wide eyes to the Cheshire cat, "Okay, now I'm really scared of you!" The cat just grinned,
"Just watch, okay? It's not going to hurt anyone…maybe."
"What is…?" Ichigo said quietly, wringing her hands. The Cheshire cat took the light pink object that he had just pulled from the horse and molded it into the jellyfish thing. Tossing it lightly in the air, both objects morphed and swirled together until a completely new object stood before them.
It was a huge, monster-like horse creature, at least a dozen feet tall. Its massive body structure was built tough and durable, and its hooves looked like they could crush steel. It snorted through huge, dinner-plate sized nostrils, and squinted through bright, blazing red eyes. Ichigo screeched and held her face,
"Wh-what is it?! Make it go away!" The cat nodded to it,
"Like I said, it's not going to hurt you unless I tell it to. I figured the Queen needs a little straightening up, wouldn't you say?" Ichigo looked at him with huge eyes,
"Y-y-you're n-not going to…k-kill-"
"No, no, no." the Cheshire cat said, grinning, "I'm not that bad. Just straighten her up, you know? I mean, we can't have those innocent people she has locked up beheaded, now can we, kitten?" Ichigo massaged her head lightly and nodded,
"I-I guess you're right. I…" she looked at him once more and frowned, "I don't know why, but I have a hard time trusting you." He shrugged,
"I wouldn't blame you. I mean, I just made a giant monster appear in thin air, you mistook me for a stalker, and then there's that whole parasite deal…"
Something clicked in Ichigo's mind.
"What did you just say?" she asked, turning to him. He blinked,
"What?" Ichigo furrowed her brow and shook her head,
"Oh, nothing. Now, what exactly are we going to do?"
The Cheshire cat grinned mischievously,
"Like I said, we're just going to give the Queen a light scare…"
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"EEK! Guards! Guards! Kill it! KILL IT!"
The Queen yelled and shrieked as she galloped away from the huge monster that was pursuing her, its huge hooves practically shaking the ground in a tremor. The guards fired arrows and spears into the massive monster, but they just bounced off like toothpicks to metal.
Meanwhile, Ichigo was clinging for dear life to one of the ears of the huge animal,
"Why couldn't we get a saddle or something?!" she yelled in desperation. She clung to the huge ear like she would be flung off into oblivion if she let go, because she most likely would, too. The Cheshire cat sat, claws locked into the animals skull, steering it and giving orders. He turned to Ichigo, grinning in excitement,
"If you'd like, you can hold onto me like you're holding onto that ear, instead!" Ichigo stuck out her tongue,
"Yeah, right!" The Cheshire cat made a fake pout and turned back to steering the horse. Ichigo furrowed her brow as she thought,
This was a really stupid idea. But I've got to get all of those poor, innocent people out of the Queen's grasp! I'm saving innocent lives, so I guess that makes up for scaring the guts out of the Queen and her servants.
The Cheshire cat went over to the horse's other ear and yelled something in it. He then got down on its snout and the horse ducked its head to almost ground level. He leaned his head forward, calling out to the Queen on her horse in front of them,
"If you release all of your innocent prisoners, I'll call off my pet!" The Queen turned with an angry scowl,
"Never! GUARDS! Shoot that cat down!" The Cheshire cat soon found himself weaving in and out through volleys of arrows, climbing back up to the top of the horse. He shielded himself behind one of the ears and gritted his teeth,
"She's a stubborn one all right. Ah, well, we'll have to play this the hard way then." He turned to Ichigo, who's arms were becoming quite numb from the bumpy ride,
"Prepare yourself, this might get rough." She nodded and gripped tighter to the ear she was holding to. He yelled something into the horse's ear, and they began going faster and faster. Ichigo let out a small yelp and shut her eyes, focusing her strength on holding on. She soon felt the horse stop suddenly, and lost her grip. She screamed and opened her eyes, but felt herself being hosted back up onto the horse by her wrist.
"Keep low and don't make a sound." the Cheshire cat said in a hushed tone. Ichigo nodded, massaging her wrist. The cat walked down the now-lowered head of the horse, motioning to the guards to hold fire. He walked down casually, slowly towards where the Queen was pilled down by the horses hoof. Arriving next to her, he stood over her and looked down to her sternly,
"So? What's your answer? I can dispose of your guards, if you'd like; that may give you more time to decide."
The Queen scowled horribly in defeat,
"Alright. Fine. You win." The Cheshire cat grinned,
"Good choice. Now, give the orders, will you please?" The Queen frowned,
"First, release me."
"No." the cat said smugly. The Queen growled,
"Guards, free all of the prisoners in the cells." the cat shook his head,
"Try again."
Ichigo had never seen anyone so angry in her life. The queen growled even lower, glaring into the Cheshire cat's eyes the entire time,
"Guards, release all of the prisoners in the cells and on labor force."
"That's better." the Cheshire cat said cheerfully.
He got up from his position staring down at the Queen and casually, slowly made his way back up the neck of the horse, sending smug looks to all of relieved guards that were filing their way out of the forest and to their forced duties. Ichigo stared in awe from the cat to the Queen, and back to the cat.
Ah, the powers of negotiation.
The Cheshire cat muttered something into the ear of the horse, and it released the queen from its hoof. The Queen got up and lifted her mud-stained skirts to walk, accompanied by the few mingling guards left to escort her, her horse having fled quite some time ago. Ichigo giggled and stepped out from behind the ear of the horse,
"Wow, you really showed her! I'm so glad that all of those people are alright!" The Cheshire cat nodded,
"Yeah, that was pretty fun!" Ichigo scowled and looked at him,
"You only did it for fun?! What fun do you have in terrifying people?!" The cat snickered,
"You should try it sometime, kitten."
"I told you to stop calling me that!" Ichigo yelled rather loudly. The Cheshire cat just laughed,
"You get so angry so easily!" He recovered from laughing and was left with a grin,
"Well, I'd better be on my way."
He stepped off the head of the horse, its head lowering automatically when he stepped onto it. He offered Ichigo a hand as she came down, but she turned a nose at him and kept walking by herself, earning herself a nice trip over the horse's nose and onto the ground. She got up and felt her knee,
"Ow…"
The Cheshire cat giggled lightly. Ichigo scowled and shot him a glare,
"You just find amusement in the worst things, don't you?!" He nodded slightly, wearing his smirk,
"I guess you could say that." He walked over to the horse and waved a paw in front of it, the jellyfish and light pink orb separating into two once more after the animal had shrunk. He took the blue thing and handed the pink orb to Ichigo,
"Could you return this to the horse you were riding? I believe it belongs to him." Ichigo nodded timidly and took the object. The Cheshire cat saw her fear and added,
"The horse isn't dead, that's its soul your holding. It won't feel any pain, and it won't remember that affair." Ichigo nodded again, turning over the object in her hands. She looked up to say something, but the cat was gone. She frowned and shook her head,
"I don't know why, but he just scares me, in more ways than one…"
She traveled along the beaten path, backtracking from where the horse had come from. They had traveled quite a distance through the woods. The trees loomed eerily overhead, their thick leaves and branches shielding her from any sunlight trying to reach through. The clean, fresh smell of the forest filled her nostrils, and the crunch of leaves under her feet was comforting to her senses. But, it was just too quiet. She shuddered at the thought of what kind of creatures lurk wild in the land. After all, an apparently average (sort of) human-cat like herself had just conjured up the kind of monster in children's fairy tales. Anything at all could come out from behind a bush or tree.
Growing paranoid over time, Ichigo began to wish she was back home.
I've had enough of this strange land. I'm ready to go home…
Just then, after about ten minutes of walking, she rounded a corner to see the body of the horse. She crept up to it timidly and placed the pink, crystal-like object into it. It sunk in naturally, like the horse was welcoming it back in. She got up and watched the horse slowly arouse. It stood up on its feet and whinnied softly. Ichigo stroked its smooth mane gingerly.
It's so gentle… she thought. She lifted her hand and grabbed the reigns and saddle as to hoist herself up.
But then, she felt something, or someone, pull her back, and a sharp blow to her head.
Then, darkness.
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Ichigo blinked open her eyes, light flooding in them as she held her hand in front of her face. Her head hurt terribly. But the pain reminded her of what had just occurred, and the memories all rushed back to her.
"Order! Order in the court!"
She sat up in what she found was a wooden chair, seated behind…
A wooden box of sorts?
"Masaya, read the accusation!" She straightened up and leaned over to get a good look at him. There he stood, with his adorable ears and tail. Ichigo blushed and continued to stare. His dark hair, tanned skin…everything about him was perfect. She sighed deeply, but then snapped back to her thoughts when his words, in that sweet voice of his flooded to her ears,
"Here sits Miss Cheshire Cat, committer of assistance of threatening and injuring the Queen," The Queen held up a lightly scratched leg for emphasis, "…leaving the hunt without permission to commit crimes, and forcing the release of all of the sentenced criminals."
"They weren't criminals!" Ichigo cut in, standing up from her chair, "And I didn't do anything!"
"Silence!" roared the Queen, "Speech without permission in the court alone is forbidden! Off with her head!"
"Wait!" Ichigo yelled, "I honestly didn't do anything! The Cheshire cat did!" Masaya looked at her with blank eyes,
"But you're the Cheshire cat, Miss." Ichigo shook her head,
"No, a cat that wasn't me! The other Cheshire cat, I had nothing to do with this!" Ichigo was beginning to panic. The Queen had her turn to speak,
"Well, tell us then, what was his name?" Ichigo froze dead where she was, her eyes widening. She racked her brain to try and think of some kind of clue,
His name, his name…I never heard his name!
She turned her head slowly up to them,
"I-I don't know."
"Well then," the Queen said stoutly, turning her nose to the air, "All charges shall remain until we find the ringleader. Off with her head!" Ichigo shook her head,
"No, wait! That's entirely unfair! I didn't do anything, really! It was the other cat, you saw him yourself!" The Queen scowled,
"You still have a lack of intelligence when it comes to court, speaking so harshly without permission, bursting in like you do! You still deserve your head to be removed." A shout was heard from the back of the courtroom,
"I second what the accused says."
Ichigo scanned the crowed and saw a single man stand up.
None other than the mad hatter.
The Queen's scowl was curled deeper,
"There were no witnesses to the event, now take a seat!" The Mad Hatter, however, made no move to sit down. He stood straight and tall,
"From what it sounds like, there was a definite witness. You!"
The people of the court gasped as the Queen stood up, slamming her golden scepter on the marble floors,
"You cannot prove I was there!" The Mad Hatter's shoulders sunk a bit, and he lost the ambition in his eyes. Ichigo looked from him, to the queen, and back to him.
He's…defending me?
She spoke,
"There are more witnesses!" she motioned to some nearby guards, "I know at least one of you was there by the Queen's side! Did you see me there?" The guards looked at each other with nervous glances, and tried to avoid eye contact with any prying eyes. Ichigo huffed in frustration,
"This court is terrible! This land is terrible! No one understands me here, no one! No one will listen, no one causes me any sort of lasting good here!"
"Guards!" the Queen yelled, "She's snapped! Have her beheaded at once! That will silence her misery!" Ichigo's screams were drowned out by the excited buzzing of guards crowding her and dragging her away. She fought with anything, her head, fists, and legs, but they had a tight hold on her. She tossed and turned…
"Ichigo!" She hesitated, and closed her eyes.
"Ichigo!"
She snapped her eyes open to be staring into a sea of aquamarine blue. Ryou's eyes. She backed off from Ryou, who was too close for comfort,
"R-r-ryou?! W-what-"
"You were sleeping on the job, huh?" he said grouchily, "The lost hours of work will be made up with extra hours tomorrow." Ichigo screeched in protest,
"That is SO un-WHA-!" As she was getting up from her chair, she stepped forward and had slipped on the puddle she left on the floor from the spilt mop bucket. She rubbed her back and muttered,
"Ow…" Ryou let a small snicker and walked off, muttering,
"Baka Strawberry."
Ichigo stared after him, but made no move to get up from the place where she was, sitting in the puddle, letting her uniform soak up the mop water. She rubbed her eyes,
"What a strange dream…"
She glanced up at the clock on the wall in the kitchen behind her. She nearly screamed,
"Six-thirty?! My parents will kill me!" she got up in a skittering run, only to trip in the water again, landing on her backside. She growled and fell down, face up in the water. She just sat there idly for a moment, staring into space. Finally, she muttered a small statement under her breath.
"Ryou…you heartless slave driver…"
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(A.N./ And that's it! Hope you enjoyed!)