Chapter 5

The Duchess

and the Wise and Absolute Chihiro

Walking along a path since Mika was needed somewhere after hearing that voice call for him again, the three arrive at a little fancy greenish-gray Victorian house. Still being outside, they could easily hear the very loud sneezes and a few yelling between a male and a female. With Mika knowing exactly what the situation is inside, Yuu felt nervous from the commotion. "Well, my 'mistress' is having one of those heated arguments with her cook again." Mika crossed his arms over his chest and let out a sigh of annoyance.

Standing close to the other boy with Obsidian not enjoying the noise, Yuu looks at him with curiosity and a hint of nervousness in his eyes as he set the bandersnatch down and he goes behind Yuu's legs. "Does this happen daily?" Then the two noticed that Obsidian did not like all of the yelling and loud sneezes either since the noise was starting to hurt his little ears.

With a nod, Mika replied grimly, "Unfortunately yes. I normally try to stay out of it and just leave when things get really hot in there with their pointless arguments."

Hearing the voices get louder and louder caused Yuu to cling onto Mika's arm. "I'm not so sure about going inside."

"Don't worry, we'll only be in there for a few minutes and we will leave as quickly as we came. I'll be sure she doesn't lay a finger on you."

Earning a nod from the ravenette, the Cheshire Cat had Obsidian wait for them outside until they came back. Going through the front door, as they made their way to the kitchen, Mika calls down the hall, "I'm back."

In the next second, they saw a short woman with long pink hair in pig-tails underneath her dull-gray duchess hat, red eyes pop her head out to the hall and her face beamed when she saw Mika. "There's my beloved Cheshire Cat! Where have you been, Mika kitty?"

Growling to himself, hating it when she calls him that, Mika keeps Yuu behind him as they enter the kitchen. "I was just out on my usual stroll." Once in the kitchen, Yuu peeks from behind Mika's arm to see the duchess and her cook; the duchess wore a dull-gray dress that went just above her ankles and open in the front where you could see the matching heels and white silk stockings that reach up to her knees but couldn't see much of the cook since he had his back to them and had a chef's hat on top of his short black hair. However you can tell that he is older than her just by his height.

But with Yuichiro peeking from behind Mikaela's shoulder allowed Krul to see him. As soon as he noticed her eying the other boy, Mika held him closer. "What is this, Mika?"

Glaring at her, Mika said as he hugged Yuu closer to him with one arm, "This is Yuichiro Amane, Mistress Krul." Hearing him drag the word 'mistress', Yuu could tell that Mika really does dislike her.

Hearing his name, Krul froze which also got the cook to turn to their guest. Just as Krul was opening her mouth to say something, the four heard a knock on the door but it sounded shaky and uneven. Going for the door, the duchess opened it to find a messenger from the Castle of Hearts. "What can I do for you, good sir."

Trying his best to get over his fear of Obsidian the Bandersnatch even though he's only a baby, Yugi noticed that the messenger was a fish in a royal delivery man outfit. Taking out the letter with a shaking hand, the fishy messenger gave it to her as he said, "The Queen of Hearts wishes to have an audience with you and play croquet in the castle courtyard."

With the letter in her hand, Krul couldn't help but smile at the fact her cousin is inviting her to the castle when normally Mahiru rarely wants anything to do with her while her sister Shinoa invites her to her castle once every other month. "Thank you very much for your service." Krul takes out a little reward for the messenger who gladly accepted the treat. With a bow, the messenger quickly left before he could annoy the Bandersnatch.

Stepping back inside for a moment, Krul calls back to her cook, Mika and Yuu, "The queen has just sent me an invitation to the castle. So I'll be gone for the day." To hear that she'll be gone for the rest of day, Mika beams and Yuu sighs in relief. And so, with Krul gone, the two immediately left the house while the chef Kureto mumbles a "Good ridense!" as he finally worked the way he wants to without the duchess bossing and nagging him, got Obsidian and continue on their path.

After walking for a while, Yuu couldn't help but think about this one question from before. But before he could ask, the boy notice that Mika has stopped walking and the two listen to these weird voices among the trees.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

Listening to the voices talk such a way, Yuu felt slightly confused as to why.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!"

To hear that about his new big friend, Yuu strokes Obsidian to show that he is the one Bandersnatch he won't shun away like these strange words say.

He took his vorpal sword in hand:

Long time the manxome foe he sought-

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

Yuu assumed that meant someone had killed the fearsome Jabberwocky.

He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back.

"And, hast thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"

He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

To hear that the voices were finally done as they fell completely silent as Mika then regained his composure from standing like a statue, Yuu couldn't help but be at awe at what he had just heard. Seeing the Cheshire Cat back to his normal self, Yuu faces him with that look of awe in his eyes. "What was all of that we heard just now?"

"It's a poem that all of Wonderland knows. Eventually it became part of this legend that the Wise and Absolute Chihiro had foretold some time ago before she predicted your arrival.

"Which is another reason we had met the moment you appeared in Wonderland because she informed me you were arriving and she trusted me to be there once you did."

Just then, Yuu became very puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Before answering, Mika had finally noticed their surroundings; the three were all of a sudden surrounded by thick smoke that smelt of leaves and fruit and some of the smoke took on different shapes. Knowing exactly who smokes this from her hookah and makes these shapes, Mika takes a hold of Yuu's hand and said, "Chihiro will explain things better than I can. She'll be able to answer your questions better as well."

And so, they walk on a little farther until they come across a few mushrooms that were surrounded by the thick smoke. When it cleared enough, they saw a girl about the same age as Kōta with shoulder length blue hair and her blue eyes under her glasses, lounging on one strangely large mushroom with a small hookah next to her, singing gently.

A

E I O U

A E I OU

The two notice that as she sings with each inhale from her hookah, the smoke took on the form of the letters.

U

O

A

U E I A

U

She had ceased her inhaling when she saw she had visitors. Looking at the younger boy, the blue girl said after inhaling with the smoke turning into an O, a R and an U as she spoke to Yuu, "Who are you?"

"Yuichiro Amane, miss." Yuu said with a bow since he had finally remembered the manners his parents taught him since he was six, actually more like beat into his head by his sister.

"Chihiro, everyone that has met him believe that he is 'The' Yuichiro Amane from the legend and he's been curious about what we mean by that."

"So you came to clear your confusion, boy?" When Yuu simply nods, Chihro turns toward Mika while pointing to a scroll settled on another mushroom-like stand. "Unroll the oraculum."

With a nod of his head, Mika took the scroll and unrolled it, revealing all kinds of pictures but not a single word was present. "This tells us each and everyday since the beginning, which includes about the legend I've foretold several days ago."

Showing Yuu a picture of four queens, a Red Queen of Hearts, a White Queen of Diamonds, a Black Queen of Spades and a Green Queen of Clovers at war over Wonderland, Mika explains the legend. "You see Yuu, there is a legend that foretells of a war between the four sister queens, with two who wants to rule over Wonderland with evil and darkness while the others wants to protect Wonderland from such a reign.

"The prophecy mentions that when all seems lost for the Queen of Diamonds, the Queen of Clover and their army, a chosen hero will rise for them, face the Queen of Hearts, the Queen of Spades, and their loyal Jabberwocky, defeat them all with the legendary Vorpal Blade and save Wonderland."

"When do you suppose this war will start? And why?" Yuu asks the both of them and then notices a sheathed blade strapped to Mika's waist for the very first time.

"The war is a few years away but no one knows the reason of the war starting." Mika reply with a shrug of his shoulder.

"Then what does this have to do with me?" Yuu asks since that one question is still lingering in his mind.

"I had a vision of the chosen hero. All I saw of him was his form and his name." said Chihiro as she inhale the smoke and blew it around them.

"So all that everyone who supports the Queens of Diamonds and Clovers knows is the hero's name; yours. And that makes you everyone's hope." Mika had wrapped up the explanation.

To know that everyone sees him as a possible hero made Yuu feel excited and nervous at the same time. If people see him as a hero, Yuu felt happy that people will really like him and look up to him. However at the same time, he was scared of the possibility of facing a fearsome creature that the Tweedle Sisters had warned him about some time ago.