The Clockwork Heart

Chapter Five: Dead Princess

"A man called 'Mad Hatter' is going to come to the castle. He's going to be your tutor from now on. He's a bit... eccentric, but you don't have to be scared, okay?"

"Okay... but um, rabbit?"

"Yes?"

"...Nothing."

*** '

In the darkest corner of the cell, a beautiful princess cowered amidst the shadows. Her dress was filthy and the expensive fabric was torn from sleeping on the rough floor.

The dungeon was dank and dark. Even the air was cold and scratched the insides of the rabbit's nostrils.

Frowning, he turned to his master the King of Roses. "How could you treat the Princess of Hearts this way? The King of Hearts is going to be furious--the alliance is definitely going to fall through now, and there may even be a war, if we're not able to handle this properly."

The king ran a hand through his striking red hair, shrugging. Although his face was handsome, the apathetic expression on his face was extremely annoying.

The rabbit sighed, as though he fully expected this reaction. Ignoring the king, he quickly walked up to the Princess of Hearts. "Your Highness? How are you?"

He received no response except for silence and stillness. A hint of alarm crept into his voice. "Princess? Princess? Are you okay?"

Still nothing. The princess simply slumped there in her filthy dress, unmoving like a rag doll. The rabbit stepped back, his eyes widened with fear. "Unlock this cell door," he told the soldier.

However, the soldier ignored him, instead looking at the king for direction. The soldier's cloak showed that they're one of the personal soldiers of the king, rather than a royal guards of the castle. Role of the soldiers? Why aren't they around the king? The king nodded before glancing at the rabbit, who only crossed his arms but didn't say anything.

After a click of the key, the cell door creaked open by just a crack. The rabbit rushed inside and knelt down beside the princess. Moving her hair out of her face, he noticed her skin was blue and stiff and cold like ice. He pressed his fingers against a vein in her neck, and his face contorted into a terrified expression.

"She's dead!"

It must've been hypothermia. The dungeon was far below ground, and the air was chilled, torpid, and damp. The princess was only wearing a thin autumn dress, she didn't even have a blanket, and her bare arms were wrapped tightly around herself.

The rabbit shuddered. He felt a chill creeping up his spine.

Was she in a lot of pain before she died? Just earlier that morning, she'd been playing croquet with them in the warm autumn sunlight. But by this afternoon, she had frozen to death on a dirty dungeon floor. She had fallen through the jaws of hell...

...The rabbit shook his head and slapped his own face. Now wasn't the time for thoughts like this. There were so many things to do. First, he must figure out a way to inform the King of Hearts.

Then, he'd have to deal with the backlash that her death would cause, both from average citizens and from other aristocrats. After all, if the King was cruel enough to kill a young princess, what's stopping him from killing them all?

The rabbit glanced at the king. The red-haired man seemed surprised, and his eyes widened momentarily. But then he shrugged and smiled, as though this was an innocuous bump in the road, instead of a princess's corpse.

The king met the rabbit's gaze and quickly said, "I didn't mean to! I really didn't, okay?"

The rabbit was clenching his fists so tightly that the skin almost broke. He tried to keep his voice steady. "...Meet me in the garden at 9 pm this evening. We'll talk."

With that, he walked out of the dungeon, and the king was left all alone.

***

Alice was led into a cozy well-lit room. The walls and curtains were pale yellow, and right before the large glass window, there was a round table with dainty teacups and teapots and plates.

She remembered walking into a shabby abandoned shack... Clearly space-time must've been distorted somehow, because this well-furnished room didn't seem like the inside of a shack at all.

She looked behind her. "What is this place, Mr. Hatter?"

He pressed a finger against his lips and said quietly, "It's my house, our secret hideout."

"But what are we hiding from?" she said, frowning and lowering her voice as well.

"There's a monster out there." He smiled mysteriously and didn't say anything else.

With his hands in his pockets, he strode past Alice into the room. Settling down into one of the chairs, he poured himself some tea and began to drink slowly. Alice saw that she wasn't going to get anything else out of him, so she began to rummage about the place on her own.

After searching through a few cabinets, she glanced at the Mad Hatter to make sure he wasn't going to stop her, and then she continued.

In the very back of a small drawer, she found a book with a fancy-looking title on the cover.

She squinted at the words for a while, and then she turned towards the Mad Hatter. "What is this?" she asked him.

"Grimm's Travel Journals."

"What is it about?"

"You can read it if you want. I don't mind."

"I'm 12-years-old, but I've never been great at reading chapter books, so this book is way too hard for me. I want you to explain it for me."

"...Aren't you a curious one?" said the hatter, eying her with an unfathomable look on his face. He paused for a few seconds before chuckling and launching into a long explanation.

"Grimm is a traveler from the Northern Countries. (We don't get those too often.) And--"

"Why don't you get travelers often?"

"The Northern Countries are too different. It is filled with strange magic, dark arts..." the hatter spoke quickly, as though suppressing his impatience. "Anyway, as I was saying, Grimm was trying to solve a mystery--"

"So is Grimm a sorcerer? Why did he travel to this place?"

"...Wow, you really have a ton of questions." The hatter rubbed his temples and sighed. "There's a dictionary in the second drawer to the left. How about you read the book for yourself?"

Alice stuck out her tongue and crossed her arms. She glared at him for two minutes straight, but received no response. Reluctantly, she pulled out the dictionary and plopped both books on the table. She sat down beside the hatter and began to read, her face scrunched up in concentration.

The hatter darted a few looks at her here and there. She was slowly but steadily working through the pages, and by the look on her face, she seemed like she understood most of it.

Such a clever girl, such a pity.

She's been cooperative so far, he thought, chewing on a biscuit. But she probably still wants to go home, so she's trying to learn as much about this place as possible...

Ha, she still thinks she'll be able to get home.

A malicious smirk appeared on his face. Contempt flashed in his eyes, as his face slowly contorted into a villainous expression. He hid it by taking a sip of tea.