Chapter 2: The Cheshire Cat
"Scared, little human?" A voice purred. His head whipped around but he saw no one. Then, above him, appeared out of thin air a girl. She looked around his age with fiery brown hair and smoldering amber eyes that seemed to look into his soul. She lounged on a tree branch, holding a red lollipop and licking it with loud popping sounds. Connor then notices her ears, and her tail. Her ears were pointed and Catlike and perched atop her head and colored an odd shade of pink. Her tail, cat like, trailed down in red and purple stripes. She wore a black leather jacket and cropped red shirt and baggy black pants.
She smirked as she felt him stare at her body. She knew what effect she had on men. She took another lick of the lollipop
"Wh-who are you?" Connor said, taking a step away from the girl. In an instant she vanished and appeared behind him, reting a clawed hand on his shoulder.
"I think you were just talking about me to that little rabbit friend of yours."
"You're the Cheshire?!" Connor gaped at her. She smirked and suddenly, vanished.
An instant later Conner felt a hand run across his neck and someone (three guesses who) whispered in his ear, " So, little human. Answer your question, am I pretty?"
"Uh." Connor felt his face heat up and the hand vanished, the girl appearing in front of him with a hand on her hip and her lollipop gone.
"So, what brings a little human like yourself to my forest?" The Cheshire purred, tongue rolling over each syllable in a lazy sort of fashion.
Connor felt his heart beat speed up. The girl was within touching distance and he suddenly felt an overwhelming want to touch her tail which swayed by her feet, or her ears which twitched at every noise. The Cheshire knew what desires were entering the little man's brain and smirked.
Connor suddenly snapped back to reality and reminded himself she was a monster, and couldn't be trusted nor gentle, "I want to see the red lady."
"Oh? I suppose she'd want to see you. It's been so long since she's had a little human all to herself." The cheshire replied in a purr, she vanishes and appeared closer in front of him, holding his chin and looking over him, "though, you wouldn't make much game, or much of a meal."
Connor felt his heart beat race at her closeness. She vanished and appeared in the tree line, "Well, are you coming little boy?"
"Uh," Connor replied. He felt a bit of drool at the corner of his lips and wiped it away quickly and walked up to her, she turned without a word and walked (more like glided) deeper into the dark wood.
Connor, being the clumsy human he was, walked behind the cat and tripped over everything from roots to pebbled. Or so it seemed to Cheshire. She rolled her eyes as she heard another thud from behind her and a swift moan. He quickly scrambled to his feet again.
"So, uh, the rabbit said you're powerful. Well, if you are why do you serve the, uh, red lady? I mean, she seems abusive."
"Each of us who has power enough to rival her serves her because she has something we don't. She has control, and she can help us control the parts of ourselves which remain off limits. Take the white rabbit who guided you here. He has power beyond it, but if he attempts to use it… lets just say it uses him. Or the flowers, the red queen keeps weeds from their garden."
"You can't control yourself? I mean, you're strong. You seem like you can do anything. What on Earth could get the better of you? You even guard the red lady's home." Connor spoke the words without thinking. The moment they left his lips he regretted them. The Cheshire stopped in front of him, "I'm sorry," he said, "you don't have to an-"
"I suppose if, by some miracle, you are allowed to live with the rest of us you would need to know."
"No, if you don't want to talk about it-"
"The red lady helps me control my memories." The Cheshire spoke it softly. In an instant Connor felt thousands more questions enter his mind. He also felt like something had been bridged between them. Suddenly she seemed… fragile. She seemed like a passing breeze would break her.
What, Connor wondered, could have been so horrible in her memories that she needed help controlling it? Connor reached out to touch her shoulder but before he could the Cheshire had continued her trek through the forest. Connor's hand recoiled back to him and he clutched his wrist, wondering what had come over him to want to touch something like that? By what he had heard, she was a monster. He suddenly felt it getting harder to view her as an evil, heartless monster.
It's probably a trick, Connor told himself, to make me let my guard down. She's probably going to lure me in and kill me.
Connor walked a little ways distance behind her.
The sun was ducking behind the horizon and the forest was getting darker since its only source of light was gone.
"Uh, shouldn't we stop to make camp?" Connor asked, tripping over a root he hadn't seen.
The Cheshire turned to face him, realizing he was a sloppy human who couldn't see in the dark. She nodded. Her amber eyes sparkled
They walked to a small clearing where the Cheshire made a fire for the sake of the delicate human. She walked to a tree an vanished up in its branched.
Connor curled in a ball next to the fire, wondering why he had trouble believing the Cheshire was evil. It might have been her looks. Right, her looks.
He sighed and layed his head back on a small log. He pictured her as she had looked after telling him of what she couldn't control about herself. Her hair gliding across the tanned skin and her slight frame. Her tail swaying gently in the breeze… her beautiful face twisted in sorrow like a weeping angel… her amber eyes staring at the ground only completing the image of her perfect body, doubled over in sadness. He wanted just to reach out, to comfort her.
He shook himself. He was being stupid, he couldn't go weak because she batted her eyelashes at him. But what if she wasn't acting…. what i she really was as lonely and lost as she seemed? Who could blame him for wanting to help her.
Suddenly a large hand closed over his head, blotting out a yell.
"Lookee here a little human."
He was suddenly lifted off the ground and came face to face with an eight foot tall bear with a leathery hide and featured more human-like than bear. He immediately felt fear surge through him and he bucked and kicked.
"Oh, its a fighter…. they always taste the best… less fat more muscle."
He tried to yell out for Cheshire but he couldn't talk. He could barely breath. Suddenly he felt the bear pulling his head toward it to bit it off and then, like Connor assumed, the rest of his body. If he was going to die, let it be quick.
Suddenly he felt a jolt and he fell on his butt on the ground. The bear let out a loud bellow of pain. Cheshire dropped in front of him, landing in a crouch. Her right hand was covered in blood and bits of bone. The bear staggered back and Connor saw its hand, the one that had been holding his head, gone.
Cheshire stood, "this belongs the red lady. He is off limits. Leave in peace and you keep your life."
"The red lady hogs! She deserves not another human and neither do you! You can't stop me little girl!" The bear bellowed and charged at Cheshire.
Cheshire's amber eyes narrowed and she lowered her left foot behind her in a ready stance. The bear took two lumbering steps forward and Cheshire pushes off the ground, bringing her clawed hand in a diagonal ark that separated the bear's top half from its bottom. It fell in two pieces, blood and gore pouring out of the gaping wounds. Cheshire land in a crouch beyond it and stood, her right hand coated in a liquidy blood with things that looked like parts of the bear's intestines and bones poking out of the red ooze.
Bits of bone and gut and blood had splattered on Connor's dirty and ripped Sunday suit. Some even graced his face. Connor had to keep from gagging.
Cheshire turned, her eyes sparkling dangerously and saw how Connor was fighting to keep puke inside his throat. Purely for effect Cheshire ran her tongue through the blood and gore on her finger. Where she licked the blood vanished, showing her skin. Connor gagged.
Cheshire smiled, the look made her beautiful face turn rabid. Her features contorted and suddenly she no longer looked like a gentle angel, but a fallen one, a wild and uncontrollable angel who reveled in blood. Connor was suddenly reminded why he should not get a soft spot for this creature.
Alright, to answer a question: in this I'm using the red queen instead of the queen of hearts. I'm using red to symbolize blood, in case you haven't noticed how violent the red queen is. Alright! any more questions, review. Thanks! -Hellantroy