Author's note:

I'm uploading quite often, aren't I? Anyways, that's about all I had to say at the moment, so I'm actually just wasting your, and mine, precious time. How's THAT for bad planning? Btw, is it just me, or are the names on these chapters just getting longer?

3. A Meeting and An Annoying Rabbit

Alice was rummaging the entire house a second time, more and more worried. There were many places a child could be hiding in, but surely she must have searched in all of them now. Her hand hovered over the telephone a moment whilst she considered calling the police. She moved it away, however, instead cupping her ears, trying to find out from where that noise was coming. Alice was certain she had heard it earlier…

McTwisp!

That pesky rabbit! For years she'd been hoping he might turn up and bring both herself and Isabel to Wonderland. Of all days to turn up, he had to choose the one Isabel went missing. That figures.

Everybody thought Alice mad already, and she did not wish to give them another reason to think so. "Go away." she mouthed at McTwisp. "I can't talk to you right now."

McTwisp didn't leave; he waved at Alice, trying to show her this was very important. With a loud groan, Alice went out to talk to him.

"This better be important." she bitched. "Because I have something I have to do, namely; finding my daughter."

McTwisp paled slightly. "I-I, we, the queen-" he stuttered nervously.

"Spit it out." Alice demanded.

"I know where she is." the shivering rabbit blurted. "She's in Underland. It may have been my fault…"

A moment, Alice considered smacking him. How could he lead her daughter to Underland just like that? Didn't he realise Isabel wouldn't survive very long without a parent?

But Isabel does have a parent in Underland, doesn't she?

But how was he going to take care of a child? Impossible.

"Take me there, McTwisp. Take me to Underland." Alice said, beginning to march in the direction she thought best. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"You're going the wrong direction." the rabbit pointed out.

Walking the proper direction was much more effective than Alice's first choice would have been, although she wasn't glad to admit it. Alice didn't like to be wrong, and she didn't like being told she was so by a rabbit. And the fact her daughter was running around in Underland, probably with a madman, mysteriously enough, wasn't really helping.

"Are we there yet?" she whined and then winced, that was exactly what Isabel would have said had she been there. "I mean, how far is it?"

"Not too far, I think you can see it from here." A tired McTwisp assured her. Anything to keep her quiet.

Alice decided to shut up for a while; surely, McTwisp would need to rest his ears. The silence lasted about a minute. "I can't see it." she complained.

Usually, she wasn't the sort who complained, but this time she felt she had a good reason to do so. And why, for the love of all strange, couldn't this annoying excuse of for a hat just move a little faster?

My daughter is all alone in Underland, probably terrified.

Could McTwisp possibly move any slower?

Isabel was, indeed, alone, but that was the only point where Alice had been right. She was far from terrified, calmly playing with some scraps of fabric, trying to make them become something by simply staring at them. Little need be said for you to know that it wasn't really working out. The girl' attempts continued to fail until she gave up and threw the fabric across the room. There was a faint knock on the door, and soon thereafter the Hatter entered, smiling like mad, which he was.

"Do you have any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?" he half-whispered.

"No." Isabel admitted. "Do you have any idea why the fabrics won't do what I want them to?"

The Hatter's smile brightened seemingly. "That I do. I make hats, you know." he said, tipping his slightly.

"I know. That's why they call you Hatter."

"That's why? Oh, dear…"

Hatter sat down next to his new friend, searched his pockets for some threads and fabrics, and started tutoring the girl.

"You see. When making a hat, you must remember that it does, in fact, not go on the foot. It goes on the head, see?"

Isabel listened eagerly every once in a while asking questions like; "But why can't you wear it on your foot?" and "What happen if you don't have any pins, will sticks work as well?"

All of a sudden, the Hatter darkened drastically, going back into a scale of different grey colours. He breathed shakily and stood up with great haste. "Alice!" he roared, smashing his creation to small, brightly coloured pieces that contrasted greatly to his white-grey skin.

Unsure of what was happening, Isabel ran. She ran and she ran, not stopping until she ran into a lady, nearly knocking her over.

"What's happened?" the lady asked. "Are you hurt, dear?"

"It's the Hatter." Isabel sobbed. "He's loosing it again."

"I'll send in the guards."

It took quite a while, but eventually Isabel stopped crying and looked sadly at the lady. She remembered Hatter saying the lady was a queen, the White Queen to be exact. The Queen was White indeed. All white, white hair, white skin, white clothes. But her eyes were black… That's why Isabel had screamed when she first saw the queen. She had thought only bad people had black eyes.

"My eyes are black," the Queen explained. "Because my heart is pained."

"Why? You're a queen; surely you can have anything you want." Isabel stated.

"Almost anything…" the queen sighed and added: "But there are also things I have that I'd never wish for. Being queen, it gives you enemies. Enemies who will do anything to destroy the things you love."

"They destroyed something of yours, didn't they?"

"Yes, Isabel, they did."

Something small hit Isabel's head, causing her to look up. The velvety marble ceiling was cracking in great speed. Isabel had just enough time to step away before a big block of it hit the place she'd been standing on. Before her feet lay several pieces of shattered marble and someone with golden hair.

"Oh dear…" the Queen mumbled.

Author's note:

I made another cliffy? This makes me feel so… evil. Anyways, thanks for reading. There will be a big price (read: nothing but maybe the pride of being right) to whoever can guess who the someone with golden hair is. Or who's Isabel's father. Toodle-pip!