AliceIf looks could kill… I had been giving Peter an evil glare the entire walk to my room. What was the best way to get what I wanted from him? Well I had never been one for subtlety, “Take me to my brother now. I know you know where he is being kept.” Peter, for his part, had remained silent up until this point. When he turned to finally speak I wished I hadn’t said anything, “I could take you to him I suppose, but wouldn’t you much rather I take you to my room? It’s just up the hall. I made sure that we could stay close.” “Never mind. Forget I asked. Okay maybe direct is not the correct approach for him. I made sure to put significant distance between as I began to slip into my room. With one final creepy grin cast in my direction he moved away from the door.
A quick look around told me that this room was definitely not made for me. Don’t get me wrong it was pretty to be sure, but “pretty” wasn’t exactly my style. I strode past the ridiculous fountain in the center of the room, and plopped down on the plush couch. Pulling out the two notes, I decided to read Ace’s note first. I think I still needed a bit more time to decide if I was going to read Jack’s note at all. In surprisingly elegant handwriting Ace’s note began:
Dear Alice,
I’ll be as brief as I can for there is much you need to know, and we don’t have a lot of time to get you caught up. First, TRUST NO ONE! Not even me. You’ve entered a world of lies and deceit, and everyone has to play their part including you. Second, the queen wants to add you to her collection of dolls. Let her. However do know that you are in very real danger love. Lastly, I request that you meet me in the garden maze in which you first arrived. Don’t worry about directions, for I’m confident you’ll find me just fine.
- Hatter
P.S. Ah yes Friday at midnight would be ideal.
Hatter? Alright, that threw me for a loop, but I think I can see what he is saying. From right off, I noticed there was something strange about this place and these people. I hoped however that he was using “world” as a figure of speech, rather than casually throwing out the notion that I had transported to a world that wasn’t my own. My head started to hurt contemplating the notion of parallel worlds and such. The most glaring problem with this note was the warning not to trust anyone. Why would I listen to anything that lunatic said when he specifically told me not to trust him? Although, telling me not to trust him somehow made him seem more trustworthy. Ugh… Making my final decision I opened up Jack’s note. I noticed Jack’s familiar scribble with only a few words scratched on the paper:
Meet by the lake outside of the west wing. Friday at 11. TELL NO ONE!
- Jack
Now that just aggravated me even further. I’m not even sure I wanted to hear an explanation from him. Furthermore, to feel the need to tell me not to tell anyone, after all this cloak and dagger, was both redundant and idiotic. Of course I wasn’t going to speak about my secret rendezvouses with strangers, but of course he must think me an idiot. He was able to deceive me for years like a fool! Well it was Sunday now and looked I had two meetings on Friday to figure out whether or not I would even show up to. But if I was honest with myself, I wanted answers. Needed answers.
On Monday I was invited to afternoon tea with Vivaldi. Which involved getting dressed up in a ridiculous outfit that the queen insisted that I wear. I completely forgot about my outfit once I entered her room though. Now
this was ridiculous. There were giant toys and dolls everywhere. Honestly some of the dolls really freaked me out. I tried to plaster a smile on my face as we sat and chatted about nonsense while drinking tea. She talked about dolls, balls, servants, tournaments, and dresses. In fact she did all the talking while I just nodded and smiled when appropriate. We were due to have these little tea sessions daily except this Wednesday when a grand tournament was taking place apparently. “This is so nice!” Vivaldi suddenly exclaimed. “We feel as if we haven’t had such pleasant talks in quite a long while. You know, there was a time when all our days were filled with such happiness and laughter. There was even a time when we were in love…but we were betrayed.”
That dark turn of events made me curious about something, “I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting the king your majesty. Is he around?” She appraised me with cold eyes, “Ah yes…There would have been a time when the king amused himself with pretty young girls like you. This mattered not of course, because we loved him not.” Who was she in love with then? She continued on unaware of my unspoken thought, “However we did produce an heir for him. That child was only four when he accidentally dropped one of the king’s precious hunting trophies, smashing it to pieces. Do you know what the king did then? Smacked the child so hard he fell to the floor. His small body laid there crumpled on that cold floor. How disrespectful… I present him with a son only for him to MARK MY DARLING BOY’S FACE! So naturally, I had him beheaded.” She finished with a laugh as if she had just told a hilarious story. “Beheaded?!” She gave me a doe-eyed look, “Well of course. He was only a king because I made it so. Everyone in this kingdom exists because I deem it so. I hold the power, and anyone who dares to defy me well, OFF WITH THEIR HEADS! They would make fine additions to my collection…”
Wednesday arrived soon and brought what I thought would finally be my chance to search for Alec, because the entire castle was preoccupied with the tournament being held that day. However, Vivaldi made certain I remained attached to her side despite my urgings to have nothing to do with any of it. Somehow I did find myself drawn to the festivities as both Jack and Ace were featured in most of the events. Jack proved to be quite the amazing archer, and Ace dominated the swordsman competition. He even bested Peter who was clearly displeased with the result. Gossip from some nearby ladies informed me that Ace was the best swordsman in all of Wonderland. Well then… I must say I never would have guessed given his rather sketchy nature. Vivaldi even looked upon him with pride that day instead of her usual contempt. Speaking of the queen, she took first place in the King Pin competition. Of course it wasn’t as if anyone would actually dare to win against her though. She looked a little too pleased knocking over those little wooden kings I thought.
The next day Vivaldi decided to throw a masquerade ball to celebrate the victors, but mostly it was just another event for her to fawn all over Jack. Honestly it kind of made me feel sorry for him, and sad for Ace. She put Jack on a pedestal and forced him to compare to this idol version of himself, not that I can truly say for sure which version of him is real or not though. Ace, on the other hand was forced to live in the shadow, being careful not to do anything that would draw too much attention from her darling Jack. I mostly danced with Ace, and fixed a determined glare towards Jack whenever he looked like he wanted to walk over. The obvious flirtation between Vivaldi and Peter was surprising to me though. I assumed he was just her lapdog, but Ace informed me that there might actually be something serious between them. Unable to tear my focus from them, I saw her reach up and whisper something in his ear. In response he smiled, kissed her hand, and made his way upstairs. I made an excuse to Ace, and snuck upstairs after Peter. Following him proved fruitless unfortunately, because I promptly lost him. However, I did stumble upon a shady corner holding none other than Jack with a busty blonde draped all over him. When he spotted me he moved to come closer, but I held up my hand, “Just…save it. So this is the real you huh?”
I was furious! I was mad at him for being lying to me and being with that woman. I was mad at myself for caring. I was mad at Vivaldi for creeping me out. I was made at Ace for being…well Ace, and I was definitely mad at Peter for bringing Alec here. As I bolted around a corner I ran smack into what had to be a wall, but when I looked up I was face to face with Peter. “Oh my, what’s this?” Peter mumbled while reaching up to kiss me on the forehead and wipe away tears I hadn’t realized were falling. Giving myself a mental shake, I smacked his hands away and tried to put some distance between us only to be thwarted by an actual wall behind me. Not willing to give me an inch Peter leaned in close to case me in. “You’re so beautiful and would only be wasted on him. Could it really be true love he feels, or simply just a whim?” He spoke barely above a whisper, but either way I had no clue what he was talking about.
“Having a nice chat?” Ace suddenly popped out. “We were,” Peter said emphasizing the past tense. “Hmm, seemed a bit one-sided, but I guess that’s how most things go for you eh Peter?” Was that a jab at Peter’s relationship with Vivaldi? Peter said nothing in response, nor did turn to look at Ace. His eyes simply narrowed while he continued to gaze at me. I gave him a glare, and could have sworn a flicker of sadness masked his face. It was quickly gone as was the man himself. “Well that was awkward.” Leave it to Ace, who then proceeded to follow me to my room. “I don’t need a guard!” “Don’t you?” “No!” I then opened what I thought was my room door to the sound of Ace shouting at me. His shouts were muffled as I became entranced with my new surroundings, and the adorable little boys in front of me, or were they towering over me? The room seemed to be spinning, or perhaps I was spinning. I was no longer certain of anything. I… Who was I again?
