The Clockwork Heart

Chapter Thirty-Two: Hatter and Rabbit and the Previous King

"He's dead. I can't believe he's really dead."

"You shouldn't have done it. It's not what Liddell would've done."

"She would've understood! You're the one who doesn't care!"

***

Meanwhile, in the forest, the Mad Hatter discovered the hidden treehouses. However, the king and Alice were already back in the city.

The Mad Hatter scratched his chin. The treehouses reminded him of a hidden memory. He recalled the previous king, the one who was called 'the False King', the dark hair and dark eyes and how the black diamonds on the crown shone terribly.

Then he shook his head; now was not the time for that. He went back to the cottage to grab some supplies, then he returned to the city. He found the castle in chaos.

After interrogating a servant, he found out about how in the previous days, the White Rabbit had been attacked and was now in coma, and how the king and the current Alice had somehow formed an alliance and was now occupying the castle. Apparently, the pair were now trying to find a way for Alice to go home without having to kill anyone.

The Hatter frowned. He was concerned about how the Rabbit was doing. He was also concerned about who the assassin was; he thought it could be the king, but maybe it was someone else, and he had missed out on something while he was away... Anyway, he proceeded to the Rabbit's bedroom.

The Rabbit's bedroom was barely furnished compared to his office. The bedsheets were the same color as the wall, and there weren't any personal belongings. The mattress and the blankets were thin.

The Hatter walked to the side of the bed and looked down. The Rabbit was asleep. His eyes were shut, his white hair was limp, and his face seemed thinner and paler than ever.

The Hatter always thought that the Rabbit was annoying, and he knew that the Rabbit probably thought so about him as well. Still, they knew each other well and they knew that each other had strengths as well as weaknesses. Seeing the Rabbit in this state was somewhat concerning.

Slowly, the Hatter dragged a chair over and sat down beside the bed. Then, he stared at the Rabbit's face for a while. Then, he stretched out a hand and brushed a strand of hair out of the Rabbit's face. The strand fell limply to the side.

Suddenly the Rabbit shuddered. His entire body convulsed, and his face contorted in terror, as though he was having a nightmare. The Hatter frowned; he hadn't smiled a lot ever since Alice appeared and this whole business started. The Hatter considered what he could do.

He remembered that the Rabbit still had a clockwork heart, which he got from Alice many years ago. The Hatter, as a magic user himself, could potentially activate that heart again. Using his clockwork magic, he could somehow teleport himself into the Rabbit's dreams. That way, in the nightmares, the Rabbit would see a familiar face.

Well, the Hatter had some time before he needed to go and do other things. He might as well do a bit of dreamdiving.

And so the Hatter activated the magic, and found himself within the White Rabbit's dreams.

***

The previous king was called Jasper. He was a little shorter than the Mad Hatter, but taller than the White Rabbit. Jasper didn't really smile alot, but when he laughed he laughed really loudly and when he ran he ran quickly.

When Jasper was a child, people mistakenly thought he was a girl/woman. After he grew up, however, he realized that he was actually a boy/man. So he transitioned when he was about twelve to thirteen and was known as 'King Jasper' ever since.

Jasper liked to build things. At this point, the Hatter suspected that perhaps Jasper had built the treehouses in the forest. Anyway, back to the present time.

While the Hatter was reminiscing about the past, the Rabbit was traversing through a horrific landscape. The first scene that he found himself in after he fell into a coma was when he was still a young man. Liddell had just gone home, and he and the Hatter had just taken over the kingdom.

The Hatter couldn't use his magic, because it was too wild and dangerous. So the Rabbit handled most of the public speeches, the administration, etc. while the Hatter worked with the staff and took care of kids while their parents were working.

In the Rabbit memories, those were the most wonderful times of his life. Every day was filled with work, then rest, then joy, repeat.

But then suddenly everything changed. The pristine podiums, the clean castle walls, the dark blue sky and white clouds--everything swirled together like a soup and dissipated into nothingness. The Rabbit clenched his fist, trying to grasp at nothing.

Then he found himself in a different scene. It was a memory from a long time ago. They were in the White Rabbit's office. Back in the days, the Rabbit's office was less cluttered. The dark oak of the furniture glowed. Yet somehow it seemed more claustrophobic.

King Jasper (the previous king) walked in. He had unruly black hair and cruel dark eyes. He stopped before the Rabbit and declared, "I've befriended a traveler from beyond the castle. I learned things from him."

"Like what?" the Rabbit asked.

"Like the fact that I'm being used as a sacrifice," said King Jasper. "Many hundreds of years ago, there was an evil tyrant. It was prophecized that a hero would come from another world to defeat the tyrant.

"However, even after the tyrant died, heroes kept showing up. Apathetic yet blessed with terrifying powers, they wreaked havoc across the land. In order to protect the kingdom, you and the Mad Hatter came up with a plan.

"With clockwork magic, he created a sentient creature. A 'fake' king, a sacrifice. So when another Alice arrived, she would just kill the sacrifice and go home. Then, there wouldn't be any trouble for the realm.

"And now--I've found out that I am the sacrifice."

The Rabbit stood up. The chair made a sharp scraping sound across the floor. "So what do you intend to do?"

"I'll destroy this place before it destroys me," said Jasper. His eyes were completely dark, without a hint of mercy. "Be prepared for my army."

"I won't allow you to do that!" the Rabbit cried, drawing a dagger from his belt. With a heroic cry, he plunged the dagger into Jasper's body. Blood flushed out as Jasper collapsed onto the ground, immediately stopped moving.

Then the door opened and the Mad Hatter entered the room. The Mad Hatter looked on the scene, shocked.

The Rabbit collapsed against a wall. "He's dead. I can't believe he's dead."

But then everything swirled together again. Little bits and pieces that didn't completely add up. The Rabbit found himself in a new nightmare, one after the other, all telling different versions of the same memory. He couldn't tell which one was reality and which was imagination. And so he fell.

And fell.

And

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