Last Prompt of the Summer! [Summer Special 2015]

Mine is a bit long so I'm doing a separate post

When Ana and I did the word of the day prompt our words was, "belated" meaning late.

Very general character sketches accompanied by bad editing and half-butt labeling that I did before writing the story. I've actually never done this before but the story of "Alice's adventures in wonderland" is very visual to me so I found myself drawing outfits and hair for the characters when coming up with the idea.

Sketches I didn't use

"W. Rabbit"

Consciousness comes to him like a warm wave. The force of it nearly knocks him down. His surroundings and his current situation comes to him in steps. He’s staring at a large clock as the hands move to indicate the time. [11:00] on the nose. The next thing he is conscious of is a teacup in his hands. A small tag hangs off the handle, “DRINK ME” is beautiful printed on it in large letters that somehow seem familiar to him. Looking at the words he feels the sudden thirst of someone who hasn’t drank in many days. Looking into the cup curiously he wonders if he drank any of the mysterious blue liquid that smells strongly of some sort of berry. Holding the tea cup is his own white gloved hand. His eyes travel up his arms.

He’s wearing some sort of tux. Or pieces of one. He seems to be missing his jacket. His waistcoat is some sort of light blue color. The white shirt under it comes down to his wrists, he looks down and sees that his pants are white as well. A black bow tie is sitting comfortably at his throat. He runs his hand down the silk of the fitted waistcoat. He finds a delicate dark silver chains running from the pocket of his blue waist coat to the pocket of his white dress pants. He tugs on it. A watch flies out of the vest pocket. [11:01]

With the unveiling of the pocket watch he finds himself very dizzy. The room around him spins in slow motion. “How odd.” He’s in a party room. There are tables of food and drink. People dress in costumes.

“Who are you?” A young woman suddenly advances on him and puffs dark blue smoke into his face. What on earth could be in that pipe to make the smoke this color or this smell? Pungent berries again, like the drink. The girl has black hair that is tied back into a tail and clipped up so the tail flies up. She’s wearing a purple gown that floats the floor and held up by one shoulder strap. She has a head band of insect feelers in the same purple of her dress. On her back is a pair of large black butterfly wings that look like they’re made of black glittery cob webs or spider webs.

“My name is Whitney, Whitney Rabbit.”  What an odd name.

“I didn’t ask you name I asked who you are.” Whitney’s eyes water with the next puff of smoke she blows into his eyes.

“Who is he?” Another girl comes up beside them, this slightly one older but slightly shorter than the woman with wings. This one is dressed in a tight metallic looking tube topped colored in horizontal magenta and purple stripes. She’s wearing some sort of black tutu with it, only it doesn’t stick out as much as a regular tutu. Her hair too is a sort of magenta colored that is tied in a braid that is swept onto her shoulder and reaches down to her hands that are both set on her hips. The pair of ears stuck on her head with a headband identifies her as a cat, as well as the whiskers and pink triangle for a nose painted on her freckled face. “Curiouser and curiouser.” She says after they both finish examining each other.

“I am trying to figure that out.” The lady in the purple dress says with another drag of her pipe.

“Kathryn Ghesure is the name and hiding is the game.” The girl with the cat ears introduces herself with a cheeky smile and a wink. Whitney notices then that her eyes are and overwhelming shade of magenta as well. “But do call me Kat it annoys her so much.”

“Who?” He asks, glancing at his watch [11:05]

“Catherin.” The butterfly says simply. “Spelled differently, most importantly with a ‘C’.”

“Kathryn, Kat with a ‘K’ is cat. A play on your name?” He says pointing to the shorter girl with ears who is now tilting her head at him. Does she blink? “And Catherin, Cat with a “C’ is . . . a butterfly?”

“I was a caterpillar earlier today.” She says with a shrug of her bare shoulder, she looks around cooley as if looking for something more interesting than the conversation she is currently holding.

“You should have seen in her in that gross chrysalis.” Cat (the butterfly) jerks her elbow in Kat’s (the car) ribcage. She (Kat the cat) purrs up at Cat (the butterfly) with a smile. Her (Kat the cat) eyes twinkle and seem to change colors to a lavender. Whitney blinks his own eyes and rubs them. Humans can’t change their eye colors without contacts. He gets distracted again by the way Kat (the cat, boy this is complicated) gazes up at the taller woman.

“Are you two a couple?” Whitney asks, glancing down at his pocket watch [11:07]. Cat chokes on the smoke she was inhaling, dropping her pipe. Kat bends over at the stomach, laughter ripping through her like a tornado. She falls on the ground, tears spilling from her closed eyes. Whitney picks up the fallen pipe, seeing that the design is a caterpillar carved out of dark wood. When Cat recovers she snatches the pipe from him and glares at Kat.

“Get off the ground you dirty little mongrel.” Kat stops laughing.

“I am no half-breed.” Interesting. Whitney never knew mongrel meant half-breed. Anger fills Kat’s eyes, making them seem more red than magenta. Whitney takes a step back from the two. “At least I’m not a tranny.” Cat grips the pipe in her head, fire burning behind her eyes.

“There is nothing wrong with havening been in transition. Just like there’s nothing wrong with being a half- breed.”

“I am no half-breed!” Kat growls through her teeth, bared by her pulled back lips.

A ruckus catches the group’s eye from across the room. “Contrariwise!” Someone shouts. Tension drains from the fighting girls as they get distracted. Two twin girls knocked over a table stacked high with small cakes decorate with icing of every color. The words “EAT ME” were also beautiful marked on the food. Both of the twins have handfuls of little cakes, icing on their lips and crumbs stuck to their chin and chest. The twins must have fallen under the word’s spell. Spell? Whitney shakes his head to clear out the nonsense filling his head.

“Contrariwise!” One of the twins shouts again along with more words Whitney cannot understand. Must be one of those twin languages only they two can speak.

“Nohow.” The other twins says, stomping her foot and crossing her arms over a white and orange stripped crop top. The twins are dressed the exact same, their hair styled the exact same. They each sport a white and orange horizontally stripped crop top, shorts and leggings. Their hair is blond and maybe shoulder length but it’s hard to tell because they both have side pony tails on opposite sides of their heads. From where Whitney is standing he can see each girl has an embroidered name tag on their shirt. One says “Didi” and the other says “Deedee”.

Whitney wonders of these tags are so they twins don’t mix up their clothes. For other people to identify who’s who. Or for the twins so that they don’t forget who is who.

“Not enough smarts to fill a teacup.” Cat grumbles with a puff of smoke as Kat giggles and snickers out the words, “Not enough sense to fill a tea cup.” The two interesting characters look at each other. Cat (with the wings) glares murderously. Kat (with the ears) gives a toothy grin, her smile spreading wide. Whitney is surprised her lips don’t tear or bleed she’s smiling so big.

Her smile is almost. Not human. “Nonsense.” Whitney mutters.

“What was that White Rabbit?” Cat asks, having composed herself she takes a drag on her pipe. When she puffs it out Kat takes a deep breath and closes her now magenta eyes.

“What did you call me?” Kat grins before looking over at the heard of woman dressed like flowers clean up the mess the twins made. “I must be going mad.”

“We’re all mad here.” Kat says without looking away from the cupcake clean up. “I’m mad. You’re mad.”

“What makes you say I’m mad?”

“Did you just say it your own self?” Kat takes Cat’s pipe out of her hand while she is to still watching the cupcake clean up as if mesmerized. Kat takes a deep puff. “Besides you must be.” Said the cat. “Or you wouldn’t have come here.”

“As sure as ferrets are ferrets.” Kat agrees.

Whitney slowly backs away from the strange creatures. He shakes his head to clear it. People not creatures. That smoke that blew in his face must have messed with his head. He searches the crowd for someone familiar. Something familiar. He checks the pocket watch attacked to him by more than a chain. [11:15]. When he looks up he finds what he hadn’t really known he was looking for.  Who he was looking for.

Time stops for a moment. The clock he held in his hand that ticked loudly along with the pulse of his heart goes still.

Her hair is shorter than he remembers. She must have cut it, he thinks as he walks towards her. His white dress shoes tap with the now moving ticks of the pocket watch still in his hand. Her blond hair feathers down to just below her small ears. When she turns around he sees the familiar blue ribbon is still in her hair. Her outfit is different as well. But that is to be expected. She is wearing some sort of blue and white vertical stripped bodice with two tails like a waistcoat that juts over a black tutu like the one the cat was wearing. When she sees him her blue eyes rest on him in recognition. She smiles and rushes toward him. “Al.” He says with a sigh as she wraps her arms around his neck, lifting up on her toes to reach him properly.

“I’ve missed you.” A commotion distracts the couple’s reunion. Several girls dressed up as flowers come bursting out of a pair of white double doors at the west side of the tea party room. Whitney then notices most of the crowd consists of woman dressed as flowers. The only difference is the color variation of the petals, or the hair on their head that is somehow styled to give the allusion of petals. The set of flowers that come in through the doors push a tray on wheels with the largest cake he has ever seen on top. Whitney automatically looks at the clock when the do this [11:17].

The flowers push the big white cake into the middle of the room. Wait. Ladies dressed at flowers push the cake. Not flowers. Their long green dress with leaf embellishments swish when they stop.

The crowd of flowers and other strange creatures beam at Al as the whole room starts to sing happy birthday as if they know something Al and Whitney don’t.

“Happy birthday dear Alice.” The sing. This surprises Whitney.

“Why do they think you are someone named Alice? And is it your birthday, Al?” Her face is smothered in pure terror. She shakes her head. It’s not Al’s birthday. Words circle the cake in black writing “EAT ME” just like the little cakes.

“Attention everyone.” The curtain of deep maroon that was covering a large portion of the east wall pulls to the sides to reveal a stage. Whitney checks his watch again [11:18]. Why does he keep doing that? What times is he waiting for? And what will happen when the time comes? Late. The word hits him and for a moment he can’t breathe. How very odd. Curious even. He gets distracted by two identical woman who hold hands in the middle of the stage. They each sport black top hats, long black hair pulled back into thin pony tail that trails down the middle of their back. They each wear suits of black, styled slightly different than an average tux. All they have on is the jacket and the pants. One of the lapels is pulled over the other almost to the side of each of the ladies and held there with a large black button.

“Klotchyn!” One of the magicians shouts.

“You heard her, listen up.” The other says.

“We ask the guests to gather around – “

“And prepare to be amazed and delighted.”

“By the Lewis and Carroll magic show.”

“Also known as the Carroll and Lewis magic show.” That one must be Carroll, Whitney decides as he takes Al’s hand and pulls them both to the front of the stage.

“We start with a card trick.” One of the magicians throws out several decks of cards into the audience. They flare out in an intricate design that makes them “ooh” and “aah”.

“What a tea cup full of – “

“Cat!” Whitney can hear the two girls bicker at the back of the crowed.

“Don’t worry caterpillar.” One of the magicians say. “That wasn’t the trick.” Kat furiously holds the other woman back who looks as if she is ready to throw down with the magicians. They will pay for calling her a caterpillar, Whitney knows, that is one lady even he wouldn’t mess with.

“Alice my dear.” One of the magicians gets on her knee at the end of the stage to look down at Al. There are frantic whispers in the crowd.

“That’s not Alice.”

“Not the true Alice, she be.”

The magician ignores it. “Is this your card?” The magicians pulls out a red queen of hearts card.

“I don’t understand. I never chose a card from the deck. I could take one from the floor.” She offers, never arguing that she is not Alice.

“No need. Check your pocket.” Al looks down at her outfit, she runs her hands over the fabric.

“I have none.” She answers. The magician kneeling in front of Al grins, the other laughs while shuffling with wild flair, another deck of cards.

“Of course you do.” She winks at Al, her eyes move to land on Whitney. Alice looks at him as well, her lips part as she reaches for him. Whitney holds his hands out before he realizes she is reaching for the pocket at his heart. For a moment he is worried she wishes to touch his watch. But he sees a card is indeed sticking its head out of his pocket. But it is not the head of a queen of hearts.

“My card is not that one.” Al says to the magician, now having the other card.

“Is that so?” The other magician jumps down from the stage.

“Oh your majesty.” She calls out through the crowd. “Could you help our little Alice out, she did take a great fall today, we shouldn’t blame her.

“When did you fall?” Whitney asks Al as a woman pushes her way to the front of the crowd.

“Never that I remember.” The woman approaches Al. The first thing Whitney notices is the largeness of her head. The headband around her forehead with a ruby heart could fit around his waist like a belt. Well maybe not. But her head was very large. The bottom of her dress went along with the large them. The corset she wears under the dress keeps her thin waist but after that the dress flares out into a dome shape of red and black vertical stripes. The top of the bodice is a large heart that rests against her chest and spans from shoulder to shoulder. She holds something behind her back and wears a face of calculated innocence as she walks towards Alice.

“May I.” the woman’s voice is slick with strawberry jam. Al gives her the card. The queen takes it, reveling a large gold staff with heart shaped rubies embedded in it. She has white gloves that go up to the sleeve of her dress. Her fingers glitter with several gold and ruby rings. When the card is between her fingers her eyes flash up to Whitney. Oddly he didn’t expect to see brown eyes embedded in her skull. Everything down, or rather up to her hair is red. Clipped up in the same style as Cat.

Whitney looks back to see if Cat sees that they have the same hair style. She must at that exact moment because she tears the butterfly clip out of her hair and shakes it out with a murderous look on her face. Kat too looks angry at the woman in front of Whitney. He wonders why. Looking around he sees all the creatures are murderously angry except for the flowers who look blessed to be in the woman’s presence. He sees Cat’s lips move. He can’t hear her from where he is standing with the screaming of excitement coming from the bloody flowers.

“Downal wyth bluddy behg hid.”

“Down with bloody big head.” Whitney looks back at the woman to see if she is the one that whispered in his ear. She is still looking at him. He hears the crowd utter other words he can only decipher as gibberish. Words like, “gallymoggers” and” guddler”. The words are said with such harshness that Whitney can only imagine they don’t mean good things.

The woman in red purses her lips, also painted an alarmingly bright shade of red, and blows on the card. When she turns it back around the flowers shriek when they see her image on the card. “It seems to me you do in fact have the queen of hearts card dear Alison.” With this she walks away, disappearing through the crowd.

“And now an old trick.” One of the magicians say, Whitney doesn’t know who is who by any ways. They don’t look like twins but he still can’t tell them apart from one another.  “We’re going to a pull a rabbit out of this hat.” She pulls a black top head out of thin air spins it around her hand and places it on her head the brim covering her eyes with a flourish. Where did the other hat she was wearing go? This one looks different.

“A nice hat isn’t it.” Whitney jumps to the side, away from the person who suddenly appeared next to him. His shoulder bumps into Al, who doesn’t notice as she watches the show. A young lady, a very young lady. She couldn’t be any older than fifteen at the most. Her innocent and sad face makes her look much younger. Her curly red hair falls out from under the most amazing hat Whitney has ever seen. She wears a vest similar to his in white without an undershirt, she has a black tutu very similar the cat’s. A large bow that spans from shoulder to shoulder is pinned to her chest.

“Yes, a nice hat.”  Whitney understands she is talking about the prop they are using on stage. “I’ve always had a fascination with top hats. Yours is quite lovely.” She smiles, her eyes finally meets his and he sees why she was shy to look at him. One of her eyes is a clear green, the other a foggy blue that sits slightly of center.

“My name is Hattie, I am the hatter.”

Someone nearby coughs out, “The mad hatter.” Hattie looks away for a moment.

“Rabbit, do you have any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?” She asks breathlessly, looking back towards the show before he can answer, not expecting him to.

The twins nearby hearing her question and hearing it often answer in parts. “Because there is a ‘b’ in both –

“And an ‘n’ in neither.” The girls smile at each other. Very proud.

“I was going to say because it can produce a few notes, “ Hattie’s head turns abruptly to look at him. “Though they are very flat; and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front.” A tear escapes Hattie’s green eye, the one that looks at Whitney with such gratefulness. It was as if his answer broke the madness in her.

“How beautifully bizarre.” Cat says with a puff of dark blue smoke, as Hattie grins at Whitney. Cat and Kat must have crept to the front after the red woman left.

“May I ask you a question, Hattie?”

“Of course. “ The young girl answers.

“Why did you call me rabbit?” Hattie, Kat and Cat gives him mirror images of the same strange look.

“What?” He asks, still very confused

“Curiouser and curiouser.” Kat mumbles to herself as all four of them, Al included, stare at him.

“What am I not understanding here?” He turns to Al, hoping she will clear this up for him. “What don’t I see?” Al pulls out a small oval mirror that was hanging around her neck under her dress. A tiny golden key slips down next to the mirror, having shared the same chain.

“Look.” He looks at himself in the mirror with a shock. He realizes he doesn’t know what he looks like. Oh boy is he pale. His skin is so white it is almost translucent. The pink of his lips and eyes pop against his snow skin. Why are his eyes pink! Surely something is wrong with him. His hair is also very white. Not blond. White. And like Kat he has a pink triangle painted over his nose along with several black whiskers!

“What the jubjub bird.” What the heck did he just say? Whitney shakes his head. Like he’s been doing all night. He’s been seeing and thinking crazy things since [11:00]. What times is it now? Whitney tips his head to look at the pocket watch he pulls out when he sees something crazier than anything he’s seen tonight. “Oh my ears and whiskers!” He is delirious! He is crazy! He is mad! “Why are there ears on my head?”

“I thought you knew. Or I would have told you.” All says as whitney pokes the headband of long white ears.

“Told me what? What in the name of the white queen is going on here?” Who is the white queen? “This is gallymoggers!” What is happening to him? The room spins as Whitney looks around as if for answers. “Oh my dear paws.”

“You’re a white rabbit, Whitney Rabbit.” A new creatures tells him. Two new girls approach him. The one who spoke has two brown hare ears in her hair that droop down. She has brown hair that goes down to her shoulders. Her tube top also matches her hair and ears as well as her skirt that is layers of the weird tutus everyone is wearing, hers goes down to the floor in layers of brown and black. Her friend has the same brown hair but shorter, her ears are also brown but these seem to be mouse ears. She wears the same top and skirt but hers is just one of the tutus. “Be grateful. Not all of us can be pure bread white rabbits.”

“Whitney this is Holly the hare and Molly the mouse. Holly resents you of course for the whole pure bread thing when she’s a mutt. And her younger sister there also resents you because her hero does.” Cat says coolly as she smokes from her caterpillar pipe.

“Sisters?” Al wonders out loud.

“By marriage.” Kat whispers. “A very strange marriage.”

“Shut up, kitten.” Holly snaps. Cat wraps her hand around the shorter woman’s wrist. Kat bares her teeth and hisses at the name. “Remember I’m not the only mutt here.”

“I am no half-breed!” Kat screeches before throwing herself at Holly.

“You’ve done it now.” It seems that Cat has only two ways of speaking, very cool or very heated. “Even I can’t hold her back from that one.” The two girls scrap across the floor.

“Why did you let her go?” Al asks dumbfounded and horrified as she watches bloodshed.

“I’m the only one who can call Kathryn kitten and mutt and get away with it.” She shrugs as if there is no significance together.

“Are they a couple?” Al whispers to Whitney.

“Yes, but they don’t know it yet. And don’t let them here you say that.” Al nods with understanding.

“Excuse me but can we get back to the part about me being a crazy character of this, this, whatever it is.”

“I mean really Whitney, you though the name Whitney Rabbit wasn’t something to hiccup over?” Cat crosses her arms as she calmly puffs on her pipe. She doesn’t seem concerned at all with the screaming and fighting girl’s rolling across the floor. “Kat are you done yet?”

The two girls on the floor freeze and look up and across the room at a new fight that has broken out. All eyes turn to the two woman. The woman in red stands across from a woman in white. This new woman is more beautiful than any woman Whitney has ever seen. Her skin is pale, her hair is long and white. A crown of icy blue sits on her head. She wears a string of pearls around her neck that barely touches the slight V of her dress that is made out of some sort of sheer lavender fabric. With a closer look he sees she is not wearing a dress. But a bodice that hugs her chest and is held up with delicate straps. The skirt goes long and flowy.

“Mother?” Whitney finds himself asking.

Holly tuts at him. “Fool you are a rabbit. She is no more your mother than Molly is my blood sister.”

“You are wrong.” Whitney is sure of this. “I am a man and she is my mother.” The woman in red grabs his mother’s wrist. He rushes forward along with the other.

“Winter!” Whitney can hear Cat and Kat call out to her.

“White queen!” This from Holly and Molly.

“My queen!” This from Hattie and the twins.

“Mother!” A flutter, the delicate wings of a butterfly, passes through Whitney’s chest as the woman in red raises her golden staff above everyone’s heads. Whitney fights through the crowd of flowers. It suddenly seems like there are hundreds of flowers where once there was maybe twenty. None of the creatures who seemed to want to help Whitney’s mother can get through. They are her flowers. The belong to the woman in red, he realizes. Whitney looks back at Al, behind him and also trying to find a way through. He takes her hand, “Stay with me.” He tells her.

The room is suddenly loud with fighting voice. He thinks he hears her say, “Always.” Before he turns to fight his way to his mother again. None of them move and inch.

“A curse!”  The woman in red – the queen of hearts – says. “A red curse! From your queen of hearts.” The flowers cheer as they hold back the white queen’s followers.

“You are not my queen!” He shouts but goes unheard.

“Kathyrn!” Cat shouts as the two who were once holding hands like Whitney and Alice to stay together are pulled apart. Hands with green gloves cover both their mouths as they are taken away. Whitney moves to try to help them. He catches eyes with Kat. Her eyes go wide, she manages to point at his mother. She wants him to go to his queen. He nods, understanding. He tries to force his way to the front again to no avail. Alice’s hand slips as she gets stuck between two flowers. He grabs onto her wrist and holds on for dear life as her wrist twists out of his grip.

“Contrariwise!” “Nohow!” The twins sob as somewhere where Whitney can’t see they are pulled apart for the first time since the second twin was born and they first met.

“Alice!” Whitney turns back. She’s gone. A flower with blue petals is in her place.

“She is not the true Alice.” She tries to grab him.

“No!”

“You all know the red curse. The curse that was undone by that one.” Whitney turns and sees that she is pointing at him. The white queen turns to meet his eyes.

“Mother.” He whispers as he is grabbed by several flowers and pulled to the front of the crowd.

“Rabbit!” He hears Hattie call him from a distance as she too is pulled away. He tries to search for her but sees nothing but a sea of flowers behind him. The flowers with their vines wrapped around him jerk him around to face the front again. His mother tries to mouth something at him but she too is jerked to face the main event.

“The curse that sent us to our home! Where I am queen! Where we are creatures! Free from these human bodies!”

“No!” Memories flood Whitney’s head. Things he couldn’t remember, things he repressed come rushing back. He was a rabbit. Not a man. She wants to send him back. To take away his human form. “You can’t send us back! Wonderland is no more!” He remembers when the white queen’s castle shattered to the ground at their feet. He remembers when Alice came back from the human world with a looking glass and a key to their world around her neck. She knew Wonderland was in trouble before any of them did. With her looking glass and key Alice lead them through to her world. The process must have stunt their memory. Some left with more memory than others.

“At midnight tonight.” Late. “We will be turned back into our true forms.” He is late. The word pounds in his head with the rapid beating of his heart. Late . . . Late . . Late . Late. Late.Latelatelatelate! His pocket watch falls out of his vest during the struggle with the flowers. [11:58] Late! He felt it the first time he looked at the time. He knew. The white rabbit has the ability to know everything as long as it involves the turn of a clock. His subconscious knew what would happen at midnight. But his memories were too suppressed to listen. He wasn’t able to know until he remembered his past and what he could do.

He had a whole hour to stop this. And now it was too late. Late. Late.

“You sllurking urpal slackush scum!” He shouts at Red.

“It is Horunvendush day! Bring the girl!” Whitney’s eyes go wide as Alice is pulled by several flowers to Red. She fights with the venom of a warrior. She is the warrior. The savior. On her Frabjous day she s;ay the Jabberwocky with the vorpal sword.

“Downal wyth bluddy behg hid, Alice!” Whitney shouts at her as the both fight from their hold. She looks at him, her blue eyes go wide. She remembers. She turns to the red queen.

“Downal wyth bluddy behg hid.” She says as she is presented to Red. How did they not know when they looked at her evil face? How did they not know?!

“It is time Alice, my dear. Through the looking glass we go.” She pulls the chain Alice wore around her neck out from under her shirt. Red gasps when she sees the chain is nothing but a broken loop. The key and the looking glass gone.

“You can blame your little army for that.” Alice says, through her teeth.

“Search her! It probably fell into that ugly dress thing she is wearing.” The flowers surround her.

“Whitney!” Whitney is finally pulled to the very front of the crowd. He sees his friends waiting for him there. The cat, the pillar/butterfly, the hatter, the twins, the hare, the mouse all held back by flowers. Kat smiles at him nervously. A tick he remember she has, to always smile. Smile more in the face of the enemy. This smile is different though. Her magenta eyes look at him, begging him. For what? To see. The tiny key Alice wears around her neck is between the big white teeth bared by Kat’s smile.

The key to the looking glass. He understands. Where is the mirror? He notices Hattie’s top hat is pulled down much farther than usual. The brim sits tight and low over her forehead. She is standing strangely. Trying not to be jostled by the crowd of flowers. She meets Whitney’s eyes for a moment. She gives a slight nod of her head. The mirror is under the hat.

“A lovely smile you have, Kat.” She pinches her lips together now. “And a lovely hat, Hattie.” He tells them more with the look he gives them than with the word he says. The red queen and the flowers don’t see it while they search the floor for the key and the door to their world, long destroyed, having not found it on Alice’s person. What they don’t see Alice does. Her eyes search the ceiling. Whitney has seen that look upon the girl’s face before. She is looking for a plan. He waits for her eyes to light up.

Whitney hears the tick of a minute gone by. [11:59] He has slowed down time to give them space to try to fight this. Late. Whitney’s eyes never leave Alice’s face. She still searches the ceiling. “Come on, Alice.” He mutters. The others look at Alice as well. They look to their warrior. Winter may be their queen but Alice is their warrior. Save us.

Then it happens. Her eyes light up and her head snaps to the creatures being held. But it’s too late. [12:00]

LATE!

Whitney feels a pain in his chest. He is the first to bend over at the waist and transform. The others with ears attached to their heads with headbands bend over and cry out as their true selves are revealed. Alice does not cry out. She was her true self the whole time. She was never forced into another skin. While Rabbit is happy to be himself again, he wanted to be a man for Alice. He would rather be a man with Alice than be an alone rabbit. His paws touch the floor.

The followers of Alice and the white queen are free as their captures turn into flowers. The mad hatter holds Ghesure in her arms, who sneezes as a black butterfly rests on her nose. The hatter rushes to collect the other animals. She holds them with one arm and takes the twins hands with the other.

“Hatter! Ghesure! We need to leave!” Alice runs towards them, having grabbed the white queen’s hand as power rushes over Red. Whitney understands what her plan is. Go home to Wonderland. It is their only options. The creatures start to flicker as if a hologram. There is not enough magic for such creatures in the human world. Go home to a destroyed wonderland is their only choice. But close Red out. They could save their world. There is a chance. But there can be no bloody big head. The land cannot heal with her in it.

They must work fast. The hatter takes off her hat. She puts the Ghesure cat into it who opens the door with the key trapped between her teeth and disappears. The hatter pushes the other creatures through, keeping the portal open with one hand as the queen and Alice fight their way across the garden. When she arrives at the portal Alice pushes the white queen before her. She looks back at Whitney. Now a white rabbit hoping across the floor. “Go!” He tells her. “I will follow!” She nods before jumping into the hat.

“You too.” He tells the hatter, who hesitates. “I will close the portal behind us.” She does not move. “Now hatter! I am time and we have none left! You do not know how to close a portal, I do! So go.” She listens this time and jumps through her own hat. The white rabbit hops through next. “Fairfarren human world.” He grabs the edge of the portal and pulls it in with him. He holds onto the hatter’s hat as the portal separates from the inside of it.

He topples.

Through the looking glass

Until next time, 

Totally Ky