A/N~ sorry this has taken me sooo long. What with work and studying German. You know, lessons dont actually lessen the more you work at them. They just get more difficult! Anyhow, excuses, excuses, let's have some Margaret adventures! Please leave a review for the Hatters, they do enjoy compliments and will be entering our story shortly.
"Nasty cat, don't try to bully me! I'm very much on edge!"
"Purrfect, if you're not on edge, you're taking up too much space."
~ Alice: Madness Returns
Chapter 4: Wonderland, proper and improper
Margaret opened her eyes to find she was once more face down on the ground, this time, she smelt earth and as she sat up, caught a glimpse of grass, towering overhead like trees. From this angle, in fact, it looked exactly like trees. She stood and took a glimpse around but there was nothing really to be seen. The trees- er, grass- made sure of that. Beside her lay the key on the chain she'd put it on. She stooped down to try and lift it.
"I wonder why this was brought with me." She mused.
"Clearly, you're going to need it." Chess's voice echoed somewhere above her. She shot an irritated look towards the air, hoping he caught it.
"If that's all the help you're going to be cat, you can just be on your way. I refuse to take insults from a feline." She instructed, dusting herself off carefully. She pat her hair, self-consciously. Oh, why did she have to lose her ribbons? It was so indecent!
"How about something to make you larger again? Not normal size, but large enough for Wonderland." He purred somewhere. She fought with herself, wishing she had an excuse to turn down the offer but she knew she couldn't save Alice the size of an ant and so she nodded. Instantly, something dropped beside her- a chunk of mushroom.
"I hate mushroom…" She complained. Still, if it would make her taller. She grimaced before swallowing the piece of fungus with a wince. Immediately, she began to feel lightheaded and empty, with her stomach growling. She was growing again, she realized with a start. She glanced about as the grass-trees came up to meet her and then she was soaring past them… so that they settled waist-high. She realized the tops she'd mistaken for canopies were simply the heads of purple wild flowers. They swayed in the perfumed breeze. She was surrounded on three sides by forest- real forest- and the fourth side was a small cottage, overlooking an ocean of sorts.
She stooped to grab the key, which was still the size of a small dagger. She had no pockets it seemed and so she slung the chain around her waist like a makeshift belt, pushing the key through the loop so it dangled midway down her leg. She glanced up again.
"This place seems too peaceful and real to be Wonderland…" She commented as she began to walk towards the cottage. "Still surreal to a city-dweller. All I ever see are buildings… but this- an actual scenery!"
"There's very little of that left where you come from and more and more vanishes with each passing year. Mankind grows tired looking at the same picture everyday. He needs to demolish something natural in order to tame it and remake it in his image." The cat commented, suddenly appearing at her side. In the sunlight she could see what the darkness in her room hid. That several patches of fur were missing and his ribs stuck out vividly on his sides. He turned and she noted that part of one of his ears was missing. "Wouldn't you agree?"
"I've often wondered why people have to tear down trees and plow wild fields such as this to build their houses. Why not rebuild over a condemned property?" She replied.
"Nothing like the feeling of conquering something feral, wouldn't you say?" Chess suggested with a wicked glint in his eye.
"I don't understand, you said Wonderland was in trouble, that it was being destroyed by some menace. Why, this looks as fine and as normal as any sea-side cottage…" Margaret breathed.
"Do you honestly think I'd drop you right into the thick of things? You're not prepared for that yet. You'd be of no use to Alice dead." He pointed out. "With you, it's much trickier than with Alice. With you, everything must follow a rational logic. Which is why-"
"Why the rabbit was clockwork!" Margaret finished, realization dawning on her. "You don't think I can accept my sister's stories!"
"Have you yet to do so?" It asked calmly, stopping to lick it's paw.
"Well… no. This has to be a dream of sorts… a very, vivid dream. Brought on by that creep's attack in the garden!" She reasoned. The memory urged her to glance down at her broken hand but it was whole and completely healed. Surely, this was another sign that she was dreaming?
"Keep telling yourself that if it keeps you on the right track. Dream or not to you, you still have to save your sister and this world from certain death." The cat reminded her darkly, before halting halfway to the door. He gestured with his head. "Beyond there lies the real danger. I recommend spending some time in this field getting acquainted with the feel of Wonderland."
"The feel of Wonderland?" She repeated. He sighed, as if already losing patience.
"You can't expect typical laws of gravity and physics to exist here, as you must have realized from the fact you've already been several heights today. I suggest exercising a bit. Run, jump, anything to more firmly grasp how your body reacts to this world." He explained. "You'll need a weapon to face the dangers ahead, which I'm afraid to say I can't give you at this time. Until further notice, that key acts as your blade."
"This key?" She demanded, holding it up by the chain with a look of utter disappointment. "What am I supposed to do? Swing it around and trip them up? It's not sharp enough to do any real damage!"
"Just test it out!" The cat snapped before vanishing without another word. She huffed but turned to acclimate herself as instructed. She saw a rock in the distance and began to sprint to it. The air offered little resistance to her frame and she found she could breathe with ease afterwards.
"Well, it's not really exercise then, is it?" She remarked to herself. "Surely you can't be exercising if you can't even feel it anywhere."
She then jumped up on to the rock, nearly crying out when her feet left the ground and she went much higher than a normal jump. She landed on the rock with ease. Then, she jumped back off, watching in bewilderment as she floated gently down, similar to what had happened in the rabbit hole. Like before, the moment she focused on the ground, it was as if a weight landed on her and she dropped like a stone. "Most peculiar. I'm lighter here, unless I glance downward. Now, to test this so-called weapon. I hope I won't need it, I don't know the first thing about fighting… not that I've ever been ashamed of that before now, of course."
She undid the chain from around her waist, finding it slid away easily at her command, practically wrapping itself around her hand eagerly. The key glittered sharply on the end of the chain. She took a practice swipe at the rock, certain it would bounce back and hit her. The key made a hissing noise as it collided with the stone… and left a noticeable scratch in it. She let the key fall to her side, staring in shock at the boulder.
"Impossible." She grasped the chain tightly, swinging the key in a few circles before striking even harder than before. A huge gouge was left in the rock, a bit of it carved out and laying at her feet in pebbles. She took a fresh look at the key. "A weapon, indeed! I'm sorry I ever doubted you. I just hope I wont have to put you to much use."
There was a chuckle and she hurried over to where the cat had materialized in a low lying branch of a dead tree, right next to the cottage. "Well, Margaret. Do you think you're ready to face the new Wonderland?"
"I don't know… I have to think on it." She hedged, stepping back and eying the door warily. She seemed to have more agility and lightness of foot here yes, and swinging the key proved no difficulty at all, but could she actually fight something if she had to? What if this was all some big mistake and she wasn't meant to be a hero? What if she failed Alice before she even got into Wonderland proper? She felt her shoulders slump and her body felt suddenly very heavy.
"Careful now, you don't want to let those kind of thoughts consume you raw. You're beginning to sink into… self-pity." The cat said smoothly. Margaret glanced down and saw that it wasn't self-pity but the ground that now had hold of her feet. She jumped and hopped a little bit.
"What's happening?"
"Serenity is becoming unstable." He informed her, inspecting the ground as if in disgust. "I don't mean to rush you but Time is not exactly fighting on your side at the present moment."
"I can't even think on it?" Margaret demanded and the answer was another lurch from the ground. She hopped away, taking one last look at honey grass and the peaceful sway of wildflowers in sunshine. Then, she opened the door and hesitated just on the brink of the entranceway. Inside was pitch black as far as she could see.
"A word of advice you will want to follow: curiosity kills the cat." Chess grumbled. She glanced over her shoulder at him carefully.
"It's killed- not kills." She corrected, knowing the age-old lesson from her mother's scolding of Alice. The younger girl had become a tad sensitive to the expression after the disappearance of Dinah a few months ago.
"We'll see." Was all Chess said before vanishing once more into nothing.
"And here I thought he was going to go easy on me and not talk in riddles all the time…" Margaret grumbled up at the empty space in the tree. The ground gave a threatening rumble at just that moment and Margaret watched in horror as en entire piece of land seemed to fall away into nothingness, taking the tree with it- roots and all. It was the incentive she needed and she turned and abruptly took a step into the darkness inside the cabin.
It was as if her stomach jumped and she realized she was once more drifting downwards. So, no floor in the bloody cabin? Then- what if it had already dropped away like the tree outside? What if she was falling into this void? She'd already lost! She glanced around horrified and panicking. Without thinking her gaze fell down below and for a moment it was as if time slowed down.
She saw abandoned railroad tracks, dropping away into broken shambles. All around, tiny figures twitched and whirred, little cogs and gears spinning away in their limbs. They were hollow shells with glowing eyes and blinking bulbs. Skin haphazardly stitched over the framework of machines. It was something straight out of her nightmares. Then Time caught up with her again.
She began to fall towards the ground at an accelerating rate. Tree limbs- dead and skeletal- whizzed past her, one grazing her cheek painfully as she screamed and fell. Dark ominous flowers glowed faintly beneath her and she could tell they were venomous and hateful things. The ground was very close- she closed her eyes-
A squeak of springs and dust tickled Margaret's nose along with the smell of mildew. She sat up, cradling her head and got her first glimpse of 'the new Wonderland'. It was dark, dank, and rotten with an odd fog hovering over everything. Mysterious toadstools in vibrant toxic colors dotted the barren darkness, oozing suspicious liquids. Strange creatures slithered across the ground, with multiple heads, glaring eyes, and sharp teeth. Margaret reached up to run her fingers through her hair fretfully and pulled away a slug.
"Ugh, oh gross!" She whimpered, shaking it off and springing to her feet. The thing she'd landed on was of course an old bed with wrought ironwork frame and a moldy blanket haphazardly draped over the discolored mattress. She glanced around as her eyes adjusted and caught sight of hanging wires, occasionally sparking. The ground just beyond her was actually ankle deep in water. Metal tunnels branched in all directions.
"Which one should I take?" She whispered breathlessly, fearful to speak too loudly. Who knew what sort of things hovered in the darkness just beyond sight? She didn't want to attract any attention. Gripping the key tightly for comfort, she climbed down off of the creaking bed, glancing around. Something moved out of the corner of her eye- something that looked very similar to the mechanical rabbit that led her here. Impulsively, she began to chase it.
"Hey- wait! Please! Mr. Rabbit?" She called, splashing through the murky water after it. The thing's jerky movements were projected on to the walls, dancing manically across her vision. She blinked it away, picking up her skirt slightly to run easier. Her hair fanned out behind her with the impressive speed of her chase but still, the shadow always stayed far ahead. It seemed to be gaining distance- "Wait!"
She rounded a bend in the echoing metal tunnel only to find a steep drop. She tried to stop herself in time but her feet slipped over the grime covering the floor beneath the water and she pitched forward headfirst into a stagnant pool.
It was disorienting under the water, with no light to pierce the dark and alert her to the whereabouts of the surface. The only solution was to swim and hope she swam in the right direction. Thankfully, all the running had barely caused her heartbeat to speed up, let alone cause her breathing to be labored, and Margaret kicked around for a while before her head finally broke through to the chilled dark air of the tunnels. She gasped in deep breathes. Although running through the atmosphere of this place wasn't challenging, breathing under water was still out of the question. She struggled to keep her head above the metallic smelling stagnant water, gasping at the rank air gratefully.
After several gasps, she stilled, listening for any sounds other than the subtle splashing of her arms keeping her afloat. There was nothing but the lonely drip. Suddenly, a bright light washed over her and Margaret panicked, fearing the worst but then it faded some and she could make out the one holding it- not Mr. Rabbit at all, but a mouse. She swam towards the narrow ledge it stood on gratefully.
"Oh, Mr. Mouse, will you help me?" She urged as she got close. She looked for any way up but found no ladder. With a surprising show of strength, the mouse easily plucked her from the water with one hand, setting her on the ledge and twitching it's nose at her.
"What are you?" It asked, plainly.
"I'm a human." She replied, blinking in confusion. She stood, wringing out her hair and dress and holding out her hand. "My name is Margaret."
"I've never heard of a Margaret." He squeaked, narrowing his eyes at her and sniffing noticeably. "Smells fishy to me."
"Well, yes. I mean, I was just in that water and oh, it's chilly. Do you know a place I can get dry before I continue on my way? I'm looking for someone." She said as politely as she could. Still, it was hard not to stare when one finds oneself talking to a mouse. He seemed to become annoyed because he huffed and turned from her with a stiff motion from his head.
"Who's someone?" He asked as they maneuvered the narrow ledge, slipping into a narrow crack in the wall Margaret hadn't even noticed. She glanced about as they walked, baffled by the glowing mold and crystals on the slimy stone, tripping over little creatures and vines that twitched and retreated as if alive. She learned to step over these.
"Her name is Alice- Alice Kingsley?" She offered. Mr. Mouse stopped abruptly, turning to her with beady eyed curiosity.
"The Alice? The Third Queen? What would you want with her, then?" He asked, suspicious.
"I came to bring her back with me. She's my sister." Margaret said simply. She knew Chess was probably yowling in disapproval even at that very moment, but hadn't he helped her out of the water? And wasn't he leading her to- well, somewhere? Alice had mentioned a Mr. Mouse helping her on her first journey, when she was precocious and not at all good at manners.
"I was so rude to him, Maggie. It's a wonder he didn't leave me to drown!" Alice giggled at the recollection.
Margaret shook these thoughts away, swatting at them like an annoying bug. She kept one hand firmly on the wall to guide her as they walked. "Will you help me find her? Or at least point me in the right direction?"
Mr. Mouse shook his head in an odd twitchy way, but maybe that's just how mice were. Her mother always complained about the twitchy, squeaky mice in the kitchen. Margaret thought it impolite to ask. Besides, he was talking in that quick, agitated way he had. "Don't know where The Alice is. Didn't even know she was back now, did I? The Alice would be sitting on the green throne if she was at all present and the green throne is empty."
"Well, I think she might have been captured." Margaret said as they emerged from the crack into a brightly lit room filled to the ceiling with giant, leaning towers of books. They were far too large to be of much use for reading, but as Margaret glanced about, she could see people slipping in and out of the pages. Living literature it would seem. At one end of the room, she could have sworn she caught sight of Mr. Toad, a character whose wild adventures their father used to tell them about before bed.
"You don't say…" mused Mr. Mouse in a dry, echoing voice. Margaret strained and could have sworn she heard some sort of mysterious clicking noise accompanying his words. She turned to study him carefully, her fingers lightly tracing the key at her waist. The affect was immediate. As if sensing her fingers on the cool metal, Mr. Mouse's head snapped up and his eyes glowed.
"I'm afraid, my dear, we haven't got time for the Caucus Race. It seems you are needed elsewhere." He said in a dry monotone voice. Margaret shrunk away from him, her heart dropping. She had a feeling this encounter was going to come with a lesson.
"I know where I'm needed and that's wherever my sister is." She said as bravely as she could.
"Well then, allow us to escort you." With that being said, he seemed to grow before her eyes, shagning shape as the fur fell away like a rotten cloak. It dropped to the ground with a sickening squelch noise, attracting flies. All around the room, costumes seemed to drop away and dark figures were forming. Men shaped like cards… carrying spears!
She turned to run away, hearing the horrible click-click and squeak as the mechanical Mr. Mouse prepared to give flight, his red glowing eyes burning a hole into his prey. She could hear his voice, loud as if booming over a megaphone and surrounding her with dread of the inevitable with it's metallic twanging order. "Card Sharks- get her!"
Author: oh, I am positively wicked! At least the next chappie's almost written.
Syfy Hatter: um, who are you talking to?
Cartoon Hatter: I told you, never put butter in the works with a bread knife!
Mad Hatter: well... I couldn't very well use a fork, now could I? Scurvy red queen worshippin'-
Cartoon Hatter: my good man!
Mad Hatter: I'm fine!
Author: Ugh, whoever will listen.
Syfy Hatter: um, yeah. uh, clearly... I'm not supposed to be here.
Author: Good point. hm, that gives me an idea.
Syfy Hatter: What?
Author: Oh, just follow me and you'll see. Since you're not our REAL Hatter, you might be useful as a sort of... helper.
Syfy Hatter: Eh. No. Use him as your bloody helper!
Author: he's received an invitation from the duchess to play croquette. He's going to be a little... tied up. Hence why we'll need your help.
Syfy Hatter: I'm confused.
Author: Will you just come with me, already?