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Chapter 7: A Mad Tea Party
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When we last left Lillie, she had come across the home of the Duchess and her cook, whom looked just like Professors Burnet and Kukui respectively, but certainly didn't act like them. When 'Burnet's' infant son was threatened over the course of their heated argument, Lillie escaped with him, only for him to transform into a Tepig and scamper off. She then had a lengthy discussion with a 'Cheshire' variety of Meowth, who gave her some helpful tips about navigating this strange land, as well as directions to a couple 'mad' individuals she could go and meet.
She had been walking for a little while, not encountering anyone along the way, which was probably for the best. She thought she would become lost again, but the path she was on seemed to be well-traveled, with trodden ground winding through the forest.
When the trees gave way once more, she came across one of the strangest dwellings she had seen thus far on her journey. It was a two-story house with giant rabbit ears on top, its roof seemingly made out of fur.
"This must be the place," Lillie said, and she went to the front door. She knocked a few times, but there was no answer. Only then did she hear talking and laughing coming from the backyard.
She headed to the other side of the home, and there were several hedges staged, mostly in the shapes of rabbit and bunny Pokemon. In the center was a large round table covered with a white cloth. On top of it was all sorts of teapots, teacups, and decorative trays filled with more desserts than one could possibly imagine.
What surprised her the most was who was present. It appeared to be her friends Ash and Mallow from her time at school in Alola. Ash was wearing a blue suit with a large black top hat. Mallow, on the other hand, was dressed up what she could only describe as a bunny girl costume, complete with Lopunny ears and a cottontail on her lower back. A Pikachu wearing a tiny hat of its own was laying on its side on the table, sleeping the afternoon away with a little blue blanket in its clutches. All of them were huddled together on one side, with enough space for at least a dozen other potential guests.
"Guys!" Lillie called as she approached the table.
Those already present and awake stood up, waving their arms.
"No room! No room!" 'Ash' and 'Mallow' shouted.
Lillie was confused. "What are you talking about? There's plenty of room! And how come you're dressed up like that?"
'Ash' and 'Mallow' looked to each other, then back to Lillie with confused looks of their own.
"This is the way we ALWAYS dress," 'Ash' replied, straightening out his suit.
"Yeah," 'Mallow' said, looking back at her cottontail. "And who exactly are you?"
"Uh...I'm Lillie...don't you remember?"
'Mallow' tilted her head. "Lillie? Doesn't ring a bell. Does it to you?"
"Nope," 'Ash' replied. "And I thought WE were the crazy ones around here."
Lillie couldn't believe what she was hearing. For the second time today, people she thought she knew did not recall who she was.
"Well, since you're already here," 'Ash' said, "I suppose we can make an exception." He turned to his friend. "Don't you think so?"
"I don't see why not," 'Mallow' commented, waving Lillie over. "Come on, join us!"
'Ash' and 'Mallow' sat back in their seats, while Lillie took the one in-between them.
'Ash' poured out some tea from the closest pot to him to the closest empty cup. "Piping hot, just the way the hipsters like it!"
"Huh?" Lillie exclaimed. "Why do they like it that way?"
"Because they always partake in things before they're cool!" 'Mallow' replied with a laugh, grabbing the cup for herself.
Lillie groaned at the play on words. "I should have seen that one coming..."
"Like the train you look for by putting your ear to the tracks?" 'Ash' asked, pouring another cup and passing it to Lillie. "Here. You look like you could use some of this."
She took it with a meek 'thank you,' and stared at her reflection in the tea for a bit.
"What's wrong?" 'Mallow' asked noticing her unease. "Aren't you thirsty?"
Lillie tried to shake herself out of it. "Sorry," she replied. "I've just been through a lot today, and most of it has not been good at all..."
"Ooh, story time!" 'Ash' commented, pouring a third cup for himself. "I love stories, especially when they're about things I don't know!"
"Which is quite a lot!" 'Mallow' laughed.
Lillie gave a weak smile. "Well...hardly any of it is really known to me..."
'Mallow' took a sip of her tea. "Yeah...come to think of it, this is the first time I've seen you. You're not from around here, are you?"
"That's...putting it lightly," Lillie replied. "I'm a stranger in a strange land, with no way of getting home in sight..."
'Ash' took a large bite out of the chocolate cake in front of him. "Anything can be in sight. You just have to know where to look!"
"Look, look, look..." The Pikachu mumbled in his sleep, as if in agreement.
"Weird," Lillie commented. "Usually Pikachus are more energetic than this..."
"Not this one," 'Ash' replied, patting the Pokemon on the head. "He spends more hours of the day sleeping than awake...unless certain...others are out and about."
Lillie tilted her head. "Others? You mean like ca-"
"Don't finish that sentence!" 'Ash' yelled. "You'll get him all riled up!"
Lillie put a hand over her mouth. "Sorry," she said in a muffle.
"I've got a brilliant idea!" 'Mallow' declared. "Let's change the subject! Come on, let's hear this story of yours! No more interruptions!"
Lillie took a breath. "Well...today started like any normal day..."
While she didn't go over every minor detail, she went on about her adventure thus far. 'Ash' and 'Mallow' seemed to take in every word, soaking it all in like sponges.
"That silly Scorbunny," 'Ash' commented once they were all caught up. "Always late for everything he's involved in, and always early for everything he's not."
"You're one to talk," 'Mallow' said. "Have you checked YOUR watch recently?"
'Ash' pulled one out of his suit pocket. "Let's see...what day of the month is it?"
Lillie thought for a moment. "It's...the seventeenth, I believe."
"TWO DAYS SLOW!" 'Ash' shouted, looking over at Mallow. "I TOLD you that butter wouldn't make a difference!"
"But it was the best butter we had!" 'Mallow' replied.
"Maybe," 'Ash' grumbled, "but there had to have been some crumbs in there from the toast we had the other day. I knew I should have used something other than the bread knife..."
'Ash' then took the watch by its chain and dipped the whole thing in his tea, to Lillie's astonishment. When it was thoroughly soaked, he pulled it out and gave it another listen, but apparently it did nothing else different.
"That's a weird watch," Lillie commented. "It tells you the day of the month, but not the actual time?"
"Why should it?" 'Ash' asked. "Does YOURS say what year it is?"
"I have several ways to tell the time," Lillie replied, "but not a watch like that one."
"Then it's just as well," 'Ash' replied, putting his back in the pocket it came out of.
"Anyway," 'Mallow' continued, "I can't believe you've been so many different sizes. That's amazing!"
"Not the way I'd put it," Lillie replied. "That's why I haven't had any tea or desserts here. I don't know if they'll affect me the same way as everything else I've had so far."
"Wouldn't hurt to try," 'Mallow' stated. "Besides, don't you have those mushrooms you mentioned? Any effects this stuff may have can just be reversed, right?"
Lillie thought about it. "Well, I guess you have a point..."
She blew on her tea a little, then took a small sip. She waited for a moment, but just like the Caterpie's mushroom she didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. 'Ash' and 'Mallow' looked on, as if they were anticipating any possible changes along with her. After a minute or so, there was nothing, much to the disappointment of the normal residents.
"This is...pretty good," Lillie commented. "What's in it?"
"Razz and Bluk berries," 'Ash' replied. "It's a special blend of mine I make for special occasions."
"But...we have this all the time at our tea parties," 'Mallow' commented.
"That's because all of these occasions are special!" 'Ash' said. "If they weren't special, we'd be having something else!"
Lillie laughed. Confident she wouldn't be experiencing any changes in size here, she took a longer sip of her tea.
"I wonder how the Queen's get-together is gonna go this time around," 'Mallow' said.
"Hopefully better than that...other time," 'Ash' said with a mumble.
"Why?" Lillie asked. "What happened?"
"We were all gathered for a poetry reading," 'Ash' replied, "and I was to recite 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Zubat' to everyone there."
"I've never heard of such a poem," Lillie stated. "How does it go?"
'Ash' cleared his throat and began to recite it.
"Twinkle Twinkle Little Zubat,
"How I wonder where you've been at.
"Up above the world you fly,
"Like a tea tray in the sky..."
"Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle..." The Pikachu mumbled in his sleep, which got a giggle from Lillie.
"That's as far as I got," 'Ash' explained, "when the Queen stood up, shouting 'He's murdering the time! Off with his head!'"
"How awful!" Lillie exclaimed. "Who would order such a thing?"
"She would," 'Mallow' replied. "She is very temperamental, and it doesn't take much to set her off."
"I've met quite a few people like that," Lillie commented. "Some of them earlier today..."
"And ever since," 'Mallow' continued, "neither of us have been able to keep time the same way again."
'Ash' sighed. "It's true..."
"Is that why there are so many things out here at the table...and so many empty seats?" Lillie asked.
"Yeah," 'Mallow' replied. "It's always tea time, but we have no time to watch between miles."
"That sounds so depressing," Lillie said.
"But let's change the subject again," 'Mallow' called in as upbeat a tone as she could. "Do you have any other stories to tell?"
"Well...not really," Lillie replied.
"Then it's clearly Pikachu's turn to tell one!" 'Ash' announced, pulling at one of the Pokemon's cheeks. "Wake up! We have company!"
The Pikachu yawned and stretched his body out. "I wasn't really sleeping," he said. "I could hear every word you all were saying..."
"Come on, Pikachu!" 'Mallow' cooed. "Tell us a story!"
"Yes, please," Lillie encouraged.
"And be quick about it," 'Ash' said, "or you'll be back asleep before you're done."
The Pikachu yawned again. "Once there were three young sisters," he began. "They were named Elsie, Lacy and Tilly, and they all lived together at the bottom of a well..."
"A well?" Lillie asked. "What did they live on?"
The Pikachu thought for a moment. "They lived on treacle," he finally replied.
"That doesn't sound right," Lillie commented. "They'd been sick all the time if they did that."
"Oh, they were," the Pikachu stated. "Very, very sick."
"And why did they live at the bottom of a well, anyway?" Lillie asked.
"Why, it was a treacle well, of course!" The Pikachu said.
"There's...no such thing..." Lillie said.
"If you're going to keep on interrupting him like this," 'Ash' interjected, "you may as well finish the story yourself."
Lillie sighed. "Sorry. I told you about the weird stories I heard earlier, and this feels like it's becoming one of those. I'll try to be quiet."
The Pikachu nodded, continuing. "Now, the three sisters were leaning how to draw, you see..."
He paused, looking to Lillie, as if expecting her to interrupt him again. When she didn't, he had to think of what to add next. "Oh right...what were they drawing with? Why, treacle, what else?"
"Where would they draw the treacle from?" 'Mallow' asked.
"You draw water from a water well," 'Ash' quipped. "It would only stand to reason you'd draw treacle from a treacle well!"
Lillie shook her head, turning back to the Pikachu. "What did they draw?" She figured since 'Mallow' interrupted first, an innocent question following it wouldn't hurt.
"All manners of things starting with the letter 'M'," the Pikachu replied with another yawn. His eyes were beginning to shut again, and he laid down once more.
"What did I tell you?" 'Ash' said, pinching the Pikachu in the cheek, and he woke up with a shout.
"All sorts of 'M' words!" He proceeded. "Like Mousetraps...the Moon...Memory...Muchness..."
As he tried to list off more words, he fell asleep, snoring loudly.
"Oh dear," 'Mallow' lamented. "He can never seem to finish anything without dozing off."
"Let him rest," 'Ash' said. "He's had a busy day."
Lillie giggled. "Couldn't have been that busy. He was probably sleeping through the day already."
"Oh, he was," 'Ash' replied. "This little exchange of ours is pretty much a full day for him."
"Well, enough of that nonsense," 'Mallow' said. "Let's enjoy ourselves some more!"
Lillie nodded, and the three had their share of tea and desserts while partaking in small talk. To both her surprise and relief, nothing she had here had any effect on her except to fill her up. She certainly felt much better in more ways than one.
"You know," she commented, "I was told by someone that the two of you were...what's the best way to put it...not of sound mind? But that hasn't really been the case, at least not from what I've seen."
"Oh, we can be absolutely crazy some days," 'Mallow' replied. "Some are better than others, so maybe you caught us on one of those 'off' days."
"Hey, madness isn't something you can just flick on and off like a light switch," 'Ash' said, gathering some of the used plates and cups.
Lillie laughed, then became more solemn again. "There's still one thing I don't understand. You look just like people I know back home, but it's as if you're different people entirely."
'Ash' thought about this for a moment. "Perhaps we appear to you as your mind wants us to appear."
"Or it could be you're having a bad trip from all those weird things you've eaten," 'Mallow' suggested.
"But...it's been a bad trip as it is," Lillie said.
Not THAT kind of 'trip,'" 'Ash' replied. "She means what you've eaten or drank earlier is making you hallucinate the way everybody looks. It's some kind of coping mechanism our brains will use sometimes when it doesn't know what to do. But hey, who's to know?"
"We certainly don't," Mallow' added with a shrug.
Lillie sighed again. "So...are you going to the Queen's games later?"
"Well, we did get invited," 'Ash' replied, picking up the Pikachu in his arms. "Speaking of which, we'd better get ready for it. She doesn't like it when those who are invited don't show up..."
He and 'Mallow' got up, as did Lillie.
"Before you go," Lillie said, "I was told I could find several trees with doors in them all over the place. Do you know of any around here?"
"Oh sure," 'Mallow' replied, pointing into the woods behind her. "There's one right in there that I use all the time. Do you have any keys?"
Lillie got excited. "Not on me...but I think I know where I can find one."
"Good to hear," 'Mallow' said. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to get a move on."
"Right," Lillie nodded. "Thank you for the tea...and for the talks. I really needed them."
"Our pleasure," 'Ash' replied. "Best of luck with trying to get home..."
'Ash' and 'Mallow' went off towards the house, while Lillie entered the woods again.
She followed another narrow path, looking around for the tree she was told about. Eventually, she came across another oak with a door at its base.
"Let's hope this takes me where I think it will," she commented, opening the door.
Sure enough, it led her back into the room she was in at the start of her adventure. Everything was as she had left it, except that all of the tears she had cried earlier had dried up. The bottle from earlier was still on the floor. Not wanting to feel like a litterer, she retrieved it and placed it back on the glass table.
Remembering the Scorbunny, she took a quick look around to see if his fan and gloves were still here, but they were gone. She guessed that perhaps he remembered where he had lost them, and came back to retrieve them on his own.
Putting that worry out of her mind, she turned her attention to the key that had been a thorn in her side from the start.
"I am NOT forgetting about you this time," she said, grabbing it up and walking towards the tiny door. She unlocked and opened it as she had before, but made sure to hang onto the key in case things shut on their own again. "Now to get to that garden..."
Pulling out an appropriate mushroom piece, she took a tiny nibble of it before putting it back in her apron pocket. She held the key tight as she began to shrink once more. While watching the room expand around her was still a sight to behold, she had become used to it at this point. The key became larger and heavier to her while she dwindled, but she was able to maintain her grip on it.
When the process stopped, she felt like she was the same height she was when she first drank the strange potion. Satisfied, she set the key down beside the tiny door for whoever decided to use it next. Taking a deep breath, she stepped outside...
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At long last, Lillie has succeeded into getting to her preferred place, despite not knowing where exactly it is. She'll discover it leads to "The Queen's Croquet Ground," coming soon...
