The Clockwork Heart

Chapter Twenty-Five: Tomorrow Night

"Why are people no longer to practice the old religions, Rabbit?"

"Well, that's because of... never mind, it's complicated. You'll understand when you're older, Your Majesty."

***

The Cheshire Cat returned to the dungeon.

The man was gone now. The coffin lid was closed. She got onto her knees and felt around on the floor, until she touched something cool and metal. She picked it up and saw it was a golden necklace.

Finally... she let out a sigh and started to leave.

Suddenly, footsteps came echoing down the stairs. She froze, thinking the man had returned. However, the person who appeared was actually a soldier wearing a black cloak. She realized it was the same type of cloak, worn by that sleeping figure who had the clockwork heart.

She immediately made the connection. This person probably belonged in the same role with that sleeping figure, and may have the same heart.

The soldier looked at her for a few seconds, processing. Then they asked, "Who permitted you to enter the dungeon?"

She realized that because they were only a soldier, that meant they probably didn't know a lot about other things in the castle. So she made up a lie.

"I... I am a maid sent by the king. He wanted me to bring one of the princess's personal belongings to him. He needed it to do something."

The soldier didn't move. Slowly, they tilted their head and stared at her with wide, blank eyes. "Display an item of the king, such as his crown. To prove that he sent you."

The Cat shook her head. "I'm merely a maid, so he wouldn't entrust me with any important items. You probably haven't heard from the king, because it is a personal wish of his, and he didn't want others to know about it. You should probably forget about this encounter with me too."

The soldier walked towards her, one step at a time. Then they leaned in, peering into her face. She held her breath. Was her tone confident enough? Did she sound convincing enough? At last, the soldier turned and walked away.

The soldier's movements were stiff and unnatural, like some sort of doll.

"I must ask the king about this, I must look for him," the soldier said. "Stay where you are. Do not leave this room. Or else..."

When the soldier's footsteps faded completely, the Cat let out a long and heavy breath. Quickly, she climbed out of the dungeon and went to the spot near the castle wall, where the March Hare promised to meet her there and help her sneak out.

The soldier must've let her go because they thought she was really young, so she wouldn't risk anything like escaping. Unbeknownst to them, she had an ally waiting for her.

The castle walls were tall, wide, circular, and made out of dense black stones. Beyond that wall, a beautiful sunrise colored the sky in a soft orange color. She waited there, standing in the grass and clutching the necklace.

The Hare met up with her and helped her sneak out.

"Did you get it?"

"Yes."

"Good. Tomorrow night, I need you to come to our meeting, and testify. Tell them you stole this from the princess, and you saw her alive." The Hare glanced at her, checking her expression. "Don't worry. I'll erase your face and voice from their memories afterwards, so you don't have to worry about them bothering you."

"Okay."

Although there was a sun, the autumn morning was chilly. The Cat was only wearing a thin jacket. She stuffed the necklace into her pocket, and then clutched the jacket more closely around herself.

She looked up at the sky, the many colors. Then she looked at the city, which sprawled beneath the castle, which was where she lived. Then she suddenly felt very dizzy, and everything went black.

When she woke up again, she was in a completely different place.

***

"Where were you yesterday?" The Dormouse face popped into her line of vision. She realized she was in her own mattress, in her own room at the tavern.

Slowly, she sat up and looked around, and realized that despite everything, nothing had changed.

"I asked you a question," the Dormouse snapped. "Where were you last night? Why weren't you performing?"

The Cat flinched. She glanced at the Dormouse and quickly said, "I was... um... I needed a break, so I ran away for a while. Sorry..."

"You should've told someone," the Dormouse said angrily. "A lot of customers were waiting for you last night, but you didn't come. I had to spend a lot of time trying to placate them. You really disrupted the tavern's business, did you realize that? You caused a lot of loss for both the tavern, and me."

"I didn't realize that, I'm really sorry..." the Cat said stutteringly. She looked at the Dormouse face, at the familiar gray hair and plain cotton shirt and skirt. Suddenly she began to have a stomachache, and looked down at her blanket-covered legs.

The Dormouse drew in a deep breath and breathed out. When she spoke again, her tone had softened into just annoyance. "Alright, I'm going to go get ready now. Don't miss tonight again, alright? I let you sleep yesterday without waking you up, so today you'll have energy to make up to the customers. This is important for both the tavern and your own life."

"Okay..."

After the Dormouse sat down at the dressing table, the Cat looked out the window and saw it was already sunset. She'd slept through the entire day.

Carefully, she climbed out of her bed and got onto the floor. The room looked just the same as alwasy, with a bunkbed on one side and a dressing table/mirror on the other side.

The Cat tried to not think about tonight, about the lies that she had to tell. She took off her pajamas and put on her dress. Then, she realized the Dormouse was watching her.

The Cat grinned winningly, but the Dormouse shook her head.

"What's wrong with you today?" the Dormouse walked over and put a hand on the Cat's face. Then, that hand slowly moved from her face to the side of her neck, tracing the skin. "What are you thinking about?"

The sensation on her face made the Cat feel as though bugs were crawling over her body. But the Cat didn't step away, since she felt that would be rude. Instead, she forced herself to grin even wider.

The Dormouse stared at her, before taking a step back and returning to her work. "...At any rate, the workday is starting in a few minutes. Or shall I say the worknight, hehe? Now come over here, Cat, and let me brush your hair."

The Cat sat down and looked into the mirror. The reflection seemed monstrous, and she felt disgusted by it. Once again, she recalled what she was about to do, and she felt her stomach churn.