Jennifer moaned as she turned over in bed grumbling. Someone was persistently continuing to talk as she was trying to sleep. "The time has come…" the voice- feminine, with a distinct lure of power- said. "To talk of many things."
The other voice – kind – grumted in agreement.
"Of shoes and ships and veiling wax, of cabbages and kings." Jennifer opened her eyes to find a woman, tall and proud with a feathered rump and a slightly askew crow.
The second voice – an elven man – with kind wide eyes and brown robes, turned to the feather rumped woman with a quirk of his brown and folded his arms. "Ceiling wax? What in the fade is ceiling wax?" He asked.
The woman frowned. "Do not trifle with me, your carpentry skills are lacking to not know of wax for the ceiling."
"I knew you were mad. I just didn't know how great." He threw his arms up with a sigh and looked towards Jennifer.
Jennifer blinked before stumbling out of her bed and into the water. As she fell and fell into its inky black debths, she emerged on the other side to find herself in a room with several doors, as the water drained away.
In the center of the room was a man with short black hair, lightly trimmed beard and mouse ears. He lounged in a white wrought iron chair next to a white wrought iron table, his mousey tail flicking behind him. "Nice of you to join us." He grinned.
"Where am I?" Jennifer asked as she slowly crept forward.
The mouse man grinned as he took a great big bit of cake that Jennifer hadn't noticed before. When Jennifer looked back after gazing around the room at all the doors, The mouse man was gone. All that remained was his heavy metal armor and his great, massive sword. Jennifer looked around the room, frantic as she knelt down. She heard a high pitched yelp, looking around she found the mousey man, his tail caught under her knee and he was stark naked.
With a surprised gasp, Jennifer lifted her leg and the naked mousey man fled to a small door inlaid in the corner of the room. "Hey wait!" She called out as she crawled to the door and peered in. The door was too small to fit through. She looked around, coming back to the wrought iron table and chair. There, in a little decoratively wrapped parcel read… "Eat me?" She opened up the package and sniffed. Her stomach growled, finding nothing to be wrong, she popped the morsel into her mouth and chewed.
She groaned as her stomach clenched. She looked around her and the room began to grow. Her stomach clenched again and she looked down as her clothes began to fall from her body. No, I'm shrinking.
She fell to the floor in a heap of leather and buckles, on striking her on the head. She hissed through her teeth and made her way out of the clothing only to discover herself without clothes. She shrieked, grabbing a tufted of her shirt to wrap about herself. Using her teeth, she tore the fabric apart, wrapping it about herself in a makeshift dress. She moved towards the door when the ground began to shake.
"Oh dear, I'm so very late!" Came the lilting brogue. Jennifer turned to see a tall elven woman with winding tattoos and furry white rabbit ears step into the room holding a ball of twine. She inhaled a morsel of food, pulling something from her clothes as she shrank. She darted out of the pile of mail and green leather, partially clothed towards the small door.
"Excuse me-"
"Oh, I'm late. No time to waste, goodbye! So very terribly late!" She darted through the door, quick as a rabbit and left Jennifer behind.
Jennifer looked around before inhaling deeply, steeling herself and walking through the door.
The door opened silently, no sound to be heard, to a long hallway. A light shone brightly at the end of the tunnel and Jennifer grimaced. Really? She entertained the idea of turning back when she heard the tell-tale click of the door shutting. She turned back to check the handle finding the door locked. Great.
She continued on towards the end of the tunnel and as she neared the bright light she heard the wind blowing lazily and birds chirping cheerfully. She rushed towards the light to find herself in a large beautiful garden. She pulled her wrap of a dress up higher and gazed at the multitude of flowers, from her beloved cockleshells, to roses, lavender and honeysuckle.
"Oh no, you can't possibly wear that!" Came a stoic yet gentle feminine voice.
"Huh? Is someone there?" Jennifer asked as she looked about.
"Yes, that simply will not do." Came the same voice but in a different direction.
Jennifer placed her hands on her hips as she stepped back. "It's very rude to not show yourself when you're talking to someone." She declared before bumping into a tall dandelion.
"Oomph." Came the voice. Jennifer turned to see a dandelion rubbing its nose. Wait, dandelion's have noses?
"I was showing myself. You just weren't looking." The flower peered down at Jennifer as did countless others, voicing their agreement. "Yes, she did."
Jennifer back pedaled away from the flowers colliding with tanned arms and bare skin. "What's wrong with what she's got on? Everything essential is covered." This voice was sultry, seductive and chipper with the hint of a tease.
The woman flower rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's all that's covered."
The sultry woman with a wide grin and twitchy ears and a tail that flicked enticingly, leered at the flower. "Not everyone needs to encase themselves in steel up to their eyebrows." And indeed the flower was encased in steel, or some metal, the tall thick stalks wrapped in what almost appeared to be armor.
Againt the woman flower rolled her eyes, "Yes, because letting it all hang out is appropriate for someone her age."
The catty woman pulled Jennifer aside, "Well, perhaps the wrap is left wanting." She pursed her lips in through for a moment before romancing about the garden, disappearing and reappearing somewhere else as if she dissolved into the shadows. She plucked the petals and leaves from the various flowers.
The woman flower winced and grunted, squeaked and squawked as the leaves and petals were pulled and plucked. "I'll get you for that, whore."
The catty woman grinned, flashing white teeth against tanned skin. "Promise?"
In a flurry of dexterous movement, the wrap dress was ripped clean from Jennifer's body and the leaves and petals were wrapped and pinned to her form in a very appealing, if sparsely clad, ensemble.
The catty woman and the flowers looke back over jennifer's form. The catty woman humming in approval and the woman flower groaning. "I suppose it'll do."
"It'll do? This is some of my best work!" The catty woman replied.
"Excuse me-"
"This is some of your only work!" The woman flower scoffed.
"Escuse. Me-"
"Why you-"
"EXCUSE ME!" Jennifer yelled, stamping her foot solidly on the ground. Both they catty woman and the woman flower looked to Jennifer. "Thank you for the clothes, but if you could just tell me where I can get home?
"No need to shout." Came the woman flower's reply.
"Yes, no need to get your knickers in a bunch." The catty woman exclaimed.
"You would know." The flower woman retorted, and once again he two argued amongst themselves as a bend in the flowers opened up a pathway through the garden.
Slowly, Jennifer led herself through the dirt path coming to a crossroads. The catty woman appeared perched on the lowest limb of a nearby tree. "You'll want to see the Had Matter."
"The Had Matter?" Jennifer asked looking questionably at the signs.
"Mhmm!" The woman's tail twitched. "The Had Matter." She disappeared and reappeared down the left path. "This way." She curled her finger at Jennifer and sauntered backwards as she watched a reluctant flower clad Jennifer, follow.
The catty woman walked to a stone bridge. She leapt up onto the edge, dexterously walking along it. "Across the bridge and through the bush."
"Through the bush?" She stepped onto the bridge and noticed just on the other side was a tall shrub blocking the bridges exit.
"Yep! Through the bush." The catty woman pushed Jennifer through the shrub.
Jenifer toppled onto the other side falling flat on her face. "Ow. Hey what's-" She looked back and noticed the shrub and the bridge were gone, along with the catty woman.
"So you've finally decided to join us." Came a sarcastically chipper voice, he bore a tall hat with a large light blue and black plume, honey brown eyes and a snarky smirk.
"Wha?" She asked rather lamely.
"You're late." A man with creamy white tattoos and caramel skin with a cream toned set of bunny ears interjected. He sat, straight backed in his half chair, showing amazing balance and agility.
"Ouite, we were about to have tea." The hatted man replied.
"A-are you the Had matter?" Jennifer asked.
"No, not quite, I'm the Mad hatter, but it wouldn't had mattered." He smiled with a slight crinkle around the corner of his eyes.
They bunny eared man scoffed into his tea and knocked gently with the tip ofhis nail onto the spout of a tea kettle. "Rise." Came is curt response.
Out of the kettle came the mouse eared man. He squeezed from the spout, as large as he had been before Eat Me, and sat at the table with a clink and a clatter of china. "So, you're here! Merry Un-Nameday!"
"Un-Nameday?"
"Tish tosh! The Had's don't matter and the Matters never have had!" Proclaimed the hatted man. "Say…" He paused his eyes shining bright blue and his chipper voice changing. "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"
Jennifer jumped at the abrupt change of his tone.
The bunny eared man peered at the hatted man over the rim of his tea cup. "Abomination."
"Right!" The chipper voice was back and Jenifer looked upon the three.
"Excuse me, where might I find the way home?"
The hatted man stopped. The mouse eared man perked up his ears hopped onto the table that was ten feet long and crawled with metal armor towards Jennifer. He peered into her blushing face before smiling.
The bunny eared man gently set his tea cup down. "With the Queen."
They all looked down solemnly.
"The Queen?"
The hatted man nidded slowly. "Queen, the Red Queen. White changes to red once the blood is spolled and tainted."
"I don't-"
"Merry Un-Nameday!" Chimed the mouse eared man once again.
The catty woman appeared with a wide grin. "White Queen turned to the Red Queen when her blood became tainted. He was never the same." The catty woman pointed to the mouse eared man. "Siblings."
"Siblings?" Jennifer asked.
"Siblings." Replied the catty woman.
"Siblings" said the hatted man.
"Siblings." The bunny eared man grumbled.
"Siblings." The mouse eared man replied sadly.
A loud bell tolled in the distance. The catty woman vanished with a suggestive leer and a wide grin.
"You must go to court with the Queen." Said the bunny eared man."
"Me? Why me?!" Jennifer asked frantically.
The mouse eared man smiled. "Because she misses you."
"Me?" Jennifer squeaked and pointed to herself and they all smiled, and the hatted man pushed her down a hole.
"Holy craaaaaaaaaap!" She screamed as she plummeted only to land on a cushioned chaise, bounce upwards and land awkwardly on her rump. "Ow. Owie. O wow!" She hissed as she rubbed her backside.
"Well, I'll be damned. Lucky fall." Jennifer opened her eyes to find herself face to face with an overgrown caterpillar with sever mugs of ale. Jennifer blinked and stood dusting off her backside.
"Your petal is ripped." He pointed to Jennifer's rose petal top where the sleeve was torn and half of her right breast was revelaed. Jennifer squealed and hurried to cover herself before mumbling a quick 'thanks.' The caterpillar bowed fully. "That, messere, is why I'm here."
"I'm supposed to be at court with the Red Queen." Jennifer exclaimed distractedly.
"Well, why didn't you say so?" The caterpillar whistled and a large hound bounded forward. The caterpillar gestured to climb up the beast when the hound lowered himself and she climbed up his nost to rest atop his head. "Hold tight." He murmured then whistled and the house sped off. Jennifer rolled to the back before she grabbed hold of it's fur.
"Slow down you rascal!" The hound stopped causing Jennifer to fall forward. "Oomph!" When she had situated herself she moved back towards the hound's head and patted him. "TROT." And the hound did, making the remainder of the journey pleasant.
They arrived at the grandiose estate with red tapestries and a blocky hawk shaped design.
"Oh dear, I'm late for court! So terribly very late." The white bunny eared elf girl darted forward the ball of twine trailing behind her. "So very late."
"Wait!" Jennifer ran after her to a magnificently rich red and gold throne room. Thhere in blue and silver sat a woman with dark hair and deep brown eyes.
"Are you the Red Queen?" Jennifer asked. The queen smiled and nodded. "Then why-"
The queen giggled, "Then why am I wearing blue?" She stood, lacing her fingers behind her back. "Because I fought back." The queen walked forward. She embraced Jennifer in a tight hug whispering softly. "Keep fighting back. Promise me – no matter what- you'll keep fighting back." At Jennifer's nod the queen let go and there stood all the people she'd seen.
The bunny eared man walked up to her and she remembered. Fenris. "Keep fighting…. For us."
And he bent forward kissing Jennifer passionately on the lips.
-ooo-
Jennifer awoke with a start and rubbed a hand over her face. "What a weird dream."