Happy Pi Day! 3/14/15!
Last time, Nora went to the Anti-Tea Party (no political reference) and ran off with the Cheshire Cat.
The Cheshire Cat (counterpart to The Serpent) is taking her off into the woods. Uh-oh!
What is Nora thinking?
Somwhere in the woods...
Somehow Nora found herself alone with the Cheshire Cat. He was leading her down to the part of the forest where the trees blocked out the sun. He led her without recitation down every road he came down. At one point they came to a signpost that pointed in multiple directions. When they passed it for the fifth time, Nora finally pulled her hand out of the Cat's hand.
"What are you doing?" Nora asked incredulously. She gestured to the signpost with her arm. "Where are you even trying to go?"
Still smiling (cause that's his thing), the Cheshire Cat answered, "That depends on where you want to get to."
"What!? You're the one who invited me and-"
"Then it doesn't really matter which way we go~."
"Yes. it does!"
The Cheshire Cat was the one who ran off with her. He had promised to go to the party at the Court of Hearts with him since he had an invitation. Now he was acting like he had just taken Nora to only runaround with her for no reason. "Look, I am just really freaked out now okay. For starters I'm worried about Kimmie's landing."
He shrugged. "Eh, she'll be okay. Dirty doggy wanted to go and see her bad-hat-brat boyfriend."
Nora glared at him a little. "Not a dog lover, huh?"
"Disgusting creatures." He said. "Wouldn't you prefer a pet that's quieter?" He took a gentle step towards the girl. "More graceful?" And another. "Smarter?" And another. "Braver?" Another. "And is the best hunter in all of Enigmaland?" He was just an inch front of her. Nora didn't step back this time. She knew this cat wasn't to be trusted from the beginning. If she weren't an Alice-fan, it would be a big enough hint by what person seemed to be 'playing' him.
She stood, arms folded and a bored look on her face. "Oh, really?"
He purred. "Really. Here let me show you." The Cat disappeared in front of her, literally. He faded into his smile and was gone. Nora began looking around, and even up into the trees. For a second she thought that now it was her turn to be ditched and she would be left completely lost. Only for him to appear in the tree above her and pull a branch like it was a lever.
Nora jumped in surprise as an opening appeared in the tree behind her. It opened like an automatic door. "Come in." The Cheshire Cat said in a smooth tone. Memories came to mind for Nora of the last few times she stepped in the metaphorical lion's den. She'd be careful and have to keep a close watch on her 'host' who could disappear and reappear at will.
"After you." She said.
The Cat disappeared, except for his grin that Nora followed with her eyes as it went into the house. After a beat, Nora took a few hesitant, then steady steps in. The tree closed behind her. To Nora it left like she could be walking in a certain prison she had recently escaped. It reminded her of her friends and how they had difficulty finding her after that. But just like at Coral Grove, Nora was here for answers, and if she played her own cards right, this cat would likely give them to her.
She waked down a set of stairs that were all individually connected to the wall, all made of different kinds of wood. The light was coming from an odd mushroom growing out of the ceiling that was illuminating the rounded out room like moonlight. There seemed to be only one room in this tree, made up of a fireplace to one side a crescent moon shaped table in the middle and a long, curved wood-colored couch that took up the opposite wall. The message and theme were clear.
"You… really like your own smile, don'cha kitty?"
He laughed that laugh. "Now why would you say that?" He said revealing himself to lying on the couch. Nora lightly laughed and shook her head, but she couldn't keep off her smile as she took a seat next to him. "Like it?"
"It has a lot of character." She admitted. "And… I like the fact that it doesn't have any armor."
"Who would have armor in their living room?" the Cheshire Cat asked.
In an uninterested stare, Nora said, "A deceiving, no-good, snake."
"A slimy rat?"
"A dog."
"Wolf in sheep's clothing."
"More like wolf wearing skunk cologne."
The two of them laughed! Now Nora was well aware of who she was insulting and who she was doing the insulting with. She was just… having fun! Something she really hadn't done in a while. She hadn't always hated this guy, besides this wasn't the real guy. The Cheshire Cat was a smooth-operator for sure, but he was good company. Though Nora… she had gone with him with a plan of her own.
The Cat was already pretty close to her; Nora closed the gap by leaning in on his shoulder. "Ya know? You are one very cool Cheshire Cat. What were you doing at the Duchess' place if you live here?"
"Call me Cat." He told her, draping his arm over. "I had heard the Duchess was a catty woman and it quipped my interest. Yes, she was amusing for a short time, but when I got over her I wasn't able to leave. That woman is the only one who knows how to herd cats, she was even able keep me on a chain. Until recently."
Nora giggled. "Ya know, we don't have to go to the Tea Party."
"I was just thinking the same thing!" Again he took out the invitation. "But are you sure you want to stay?" he asked coyly.
Eyes half-lidded, Nora reached up and snatched the invite. She looked over the same read letters that Brandy had too quickly shown her reading:
Enterance to Court of Hearts Royal Tea Party.
Invitation Only.
Parties of only one or two per invitation. 3
RSVP and BE ON TIME!
"Hmm." Nora stared at it, taking a guess that if the Queen of Hearts was hosting this party for a son of hers, then it could only be one person. Nora then slid the little piece of paper into the coat pocket of the Cheshire Cat. Then she snuggled up against his shoulder and said. "Pretty writing. Now I'm curious what kind of place would hold such a big party. Does this place have a view?"
Arrogant as his counter-part, the Cat chuckled. "I'm afraid not. But!" He took Nora's hand and held it tight. "I can get us the best of views in all of Enigmaland."
"How's that?" Nora asked.
Ever-grinning, the Cat said. "Stay close."
Nora suddenly felt herself get lighter bit by bit. She looked down to see that she, along with the Cheshire Cat was disappearing. "Huh!?"
"Just relax." He assured her. Nora tried closing her eyes and taking an slow breath. For moment she felt calmer, forgetting that her body had just been fading right before her eyes. Then she felt a cold breeze blowing and opened her eyes. Before she had been sitting on a couch inside a tree, now she was on a high tree branch clutching onto the Cheshire Cat for dear life!
"Hee- Hee-Hee! You are so cute! And unpredictable." The Cheshire Cat purred. "I thought there was at least a fifty percent chance you were going to take the paper and run. And you didn't. Yet when I take you to a top of a tree you are afraid."
"It's not the height that startled me." Nora admitted she had been scared. "More like the sudden transportation." Nora was actually used to sitting around in trees. She released her hold on the Cheshire Cat, and steadied herself into a sitting position next to him. "Where are we anyway, Cat?"
He purred when she used the name he told her to use. "The Hoo-kah Tree."
Nora did a double-take. "The what now?"
With ease, he strolled over to the trunk of the tree and pulled another branch like it was a lever. This time, a compartment opened revealing a blue hookah with an attached pipe to it. "My secret stash. The Duchess used to think I was just lazing about in this tree. When in reality, I was keeping my eyes wide open!"
Nora looked at him with slight disgust. "You were smoking."
The Cheshire Cat snorted a laugh through his nose. "Hmph! It's not smoke that comes out of my pipe. No, no. It is the mist of time. It shows me every reason, and every rhyme." The Cat took out the device and closed the compartment. Then he settled himself by lying down on his back with head up against the trunk of the tree. "I can see the castle, sure enough. But watch as the mist changes color, and weaves about. I can see more than even the Great Gryphon can! Hee-hee-hee~! And I should. This was his pipe once. Look over there, you can see him arriving right now."
Looking over the much shorter treetops, Nora could see that Cheshire Cat was right. A fair distance away was a white castle with red tops on the four outer towers. At what must be the center, was a giant clock tower with the clock's face in the shape of a heart. Squinting her eyes, Nora could make out a brown lion-like figure with wings circling around it. The Gryphon landed below the trees where Nora couldn't see him anymore. "Why would you steal the Griffon's pipe?"
"That old bird was giving it away." The Cheshire Cat breathed in the pipe a little bit and blew out a stream of blue smoke. It slowly curled and weaved itself around his shoulders, like a snake. And it stayed there. "His mind is gone. And when your mind is gone your body follows. He cannot even remember his wife or his child. That is, if he ever had either. Griffon is also the Court Magician, he is well-employed that he could get another if her thought about it."
Nora glared from the corner of her eye at the Cat. Keeping her eyes on the castle she said. "And what benefit do you get from his pipe?"
"I need its magic." Cheshire Cat began to explain. Little by little he was puffing out clouds of smoke in variously different colors after each sentence. "I've lost a few things, including freedom, from my time with the Duchess. Memories evade my sight, which vexes me. I know the story of everyone in Enigmaland, except for my own. My past is missing. Though some visions haunt my cat-naps. I see a mountain, a small girl… a garden…a snake. Don't you have… things you've… lost?"
He fell asleep.
Nora watched him for a second. The mist around him all formed themselves into a transparent cloud around his head. Cloud went into his nose and closed eyes, but he remained in a peaceful sleep. Nora thought for a second about how almost angelic he looked while he was sleeping. Carefully, she crawled a bit closer to him on the branch. "I guess I've lost a few things lately. Like my faith in my family. Finnwich… and then my Dad. I don't know how to fix these things." Nora gingerly lifted her hand and reach up to the Cheshire Cat's head. Smoothing down the fur behind his ears, they felt so silky and warm! The Cat let out a soft purr as he continued to sleep.
Then, a wicked ad scheming smile crossed the girl's face. She took the precious invitation and stuck it in her own pocket. Using the skill of climbing and jumping out of trees she had learned as a child, Nora soon found herself safe on the ground. "I feel a bit about that. I got an invite, and a free ride out of him." She admitted looking back up at the tree. She had concocted her plan right there at the Anti-Tea Party. She knew that if the Cheshire Cat was anything like Serpent, she just had to play the right game to get here this close ."I may not be able to fix my own problems. But I made a promise to be there for when my friends need my help with theirs. Unlike some people, I honor my word." Nora wanted to see Jenny settled in with her aunt. She wanted to make sure Biffy cleared things up with his parents. She wanted to make sure The Serpent made good on his promise to take care of Lee.
Nora speed off and soon found the road to the castle. She couldn't help thinking about how the cat was really different than Serpent. Even if she had imagined him, the cat hadn't tried to banter with her or insult her, not much at least. He just seemed to want to spend time with Nora. The fact remained, however: Nora had beaten him at his own game! Beaming with glee that her plan had worked, she headed for the royal Tea Party.
Based on Nora's past with this guy, (sure she did what he did once) faking him out was probably the best option. Or was it?
She's finally got an invite! But does she still want to go home? Nora's got a dilemma, but can it be solved where she's going?
Leave a review readers all!