Helaena just got the news that she was to marry Aegon. She didnt like that one bit but what was she to do? Her life was already planned out for her even if it wasnt the life she wanted.
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Can a trip down the rabbit hole change her destiny?
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"I...
The Hatter sat with Helaena on top of a high tower. Helaena chuckled at that, they were sat on a high tower, Hightower... she sighed remembering this was a dream and she would wake and everything would go back to how it was before.
"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" Hatter questioned.
"A riddle! This will be fun. Let me think about it." Helaena declared her lips twisting as she debated but Hatter pushed on.
"You do know what tomorrow is." Hatter remarked and Helaena sighed. "You do." Hatter repeated.
"The Frabjous day." Helaena agreed. "How could I forget? Oh, I wish I'd wake up!"
"You still think this is a dream?" hatter countered.
"Well, it can't possibly be real. This has all come from my own mind. That's crazy. You're crazy, I'm crazy!" Helaena informed him
''So what if I'm crazy? So what if you're crazy! The best people are.'' Hatter assured her.
"This is a dream Hatter, a lovely dream." Helaena whispered leaning into him.
"Which would mean that I'm not real." Hatter remarked sadly and Helaena grabbed his hand.
"No, I'm sorry to say. You're just a figment of my imagination. Why would I dream up someone who's half-mad." Helaena informed him gently.
"But you'd have to be half-mad to dream me up." Hatter countered.
"I must be then, I'm quiet bonkers everyone in westeros tells me." Helaena agreed. They leaned against each other, secure in the comfort of their own mutual madness. "I give up. Why is a raven like a writing desk?"
"I haven't the slightest idea." Hatter remarked.
"I'll miss you when I wake up." Helaena told him tipping her head into him.
"You don't have to wake up then." Hatter countered and Helaena chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her.
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The White Rabbit blew his trumpet as everyone gathered.
" Who will step forth to be champion for the White Queen?' the white rabbit declared. The Hatter stepped forward valiantly.
"That would be I!" Hatter declared.
"You have very poor evaporating skills. I should be the one." Cheshire remarked.
"No, me!" Dum declared. Dee pushed Dum behind him.
"No, me!" Dee countered. The White Rabbit held up the Oraculum, it rolled out revealing who the victor had to be and everyone saw the illustration of Helaena slaying the Jabberwocky. Everyone fell quiet.
"No other slayer, no how." Dum remarked.
"If it ain't Helaena, he ain't dead." Dee confirmed. All eyes turned to Helaena. She couldnt breathe, she wasnt a hero, she was a mad woman that was quite possibly still dreaming. She wasnt brave, she didnt have power or control over anything. She couldnt save the day, not like this.
"Helaena, you cannot live your life to please others. The choice must be yours because when you step out to face that creature, you will step out alone." The white queen informed her. But overwhelmed, she ran.
Helaena ran before falling onto a garden bench and wept. She couldnt save wonderland, she wasnt a warrior, why pick her? She was a scared girl that was being married off, that didnt have a purpose in life because she was not a man in the capital. Her life was set, she didnt choose her path, she couldnt save the day.
"Nothing was ever accomplished with tears." Helaena turned to the tree.
"Absolem?" She questioned wiping at her eyes.
"On the leaf." he informed her. He was hanging upside down on a leaf, spinning a chrysalis.
''Why are you upside down?" Helaena questioned still wiping at her eyes.
"I've come to the end of this life." Absolem answered.
"You're going to die?"
"Transform." He corrected as the chrysalis began to cover his body.
"Don't go. I need your help. I don't know what to do!" Helaena begged.
"I can't help you if you don't even know who you are, stupid girl." Absolem remarked and Helaena huffed out a breath.
"I'm not stupid! My name is Helaena. I live in Westeros, kings landing. I have a mother and father, I have three brothers, Aemond, Daeron and an unfortunate Aegon. I am Helaena Hightower. I am not bonkers, I'm not stupid. I know who I am!" Helaena shouted back.
''Helaena At Last! You were just as dimwitted the first time you were here. You called it Wonderland as I recall..." Absolem remarked. The name stir a distant memory, she realized no one called it that here.
"Wonderland." She repeated happily.
Her dreams came flooding back. She's Young Helaena in Wonderland; Young Helaena in the Room of Doors; Young Helaena with the Cheshire Cat; Young Helaena at the Mad Tea party, she did know the hatter, she had known him for years; Young Helaena with the Red Queen and Playing Cards painting the roses red, Young Helaena with the Caterpillar.
"It wasn't a dream at all. It was a memory! This place is real! It wasnt a dream. It was never a dream." Helaena whispered. ''All those times. And so are you. And so is the Hatter." The hatter was real, he was a real man and he liked her for her. He was real, this was real, this was all so very, very real.
All real, all this time, now she was truly going to die here, what had she done?
''And the Jabberwocky. Remember, the Vorpal Sword knows what it wants." Absolem declared. "All you have to do is hold on to it. Fairfarren, Helaena. Perhaps, I will see you in another life.'' He disappeared inside the green chrysalis.
