Mystery In Wonderland

Chapter 7

The Hatter's Memories

The Hatter walked around the well, this time making sure not to fall in. Though it wasn't exactly her fault since the Cat pushed her in last time. As she walked further and further in, she began to detect a very strong scent of something sweet. The smell was getting stronger and stronger by the second, till the point the Hatter knew she was close. As she reached where the smell was coming from, she saw the two strange beings from before.

"Well if it isn't Lime and Flu. Why are you two here, shouldn't you be guarding the entrance of this path?" The Hatter questioned. "By the entrance we stand." Said Lime. "Hand to hand." Continued Flu. "But why would we guard?" Started Lime. "For it would be hard." Finished Flu. "Well, what if someone bad just so happened to stroll in here?" Asked the Hatter. The two simply gave the Hatter a grin before Flu began to speak, "Go to the Tailor, he has the answers you seek." Lime was quick to follow after Flu, finishing the sentence. "But be warned, it takes a lot to make him peep." The two quickly showed the Hatter the way to the Tailor. As the Hatter stared up at the store belonging to the Tailor, she turned quickly to thank the two, and noticed that they were gone. The Hatter shrugged it off and approached the Tailor who was whistling a tune, as he swept the outside of the store. The Tailor was merely a skeleton who wore a fancy suit and a hat perched on top of his head, or skull if you will.

"Hello, Mister Tailor, I was wondering if you could give me some much appreciated information?" Asked the Hatter politely. "Information? Would it kill you to be more specific, my dear?" Of course the Tailor knew what the Hatter was speaking of, the Tailor practically knew everything. If you ever needed answers, he was the man- or skeleton, you should go to.

The Hatter gave him a disturbing grin, gave a chilling giggle, and tilted her head, much like a confused child. "Haven't you heard, my dear Tailor. The Queen said that you knew of the killings that have been occurring lately." The air suddenly grew cold and tense. It, however, didn't seem to affect the Tailor in the slightest. "Ah, the killings! Why didn't you just say so in the first place..." He trailed off, mentally taking the Hatter's measurements. "Would you like a new coat?" The Hatter's mood drastically changed. "Well yes! I would love a new coat, a red one would be lovely!"

The Tailor jumped in place, feeling excited, "Oh fantastic!" He quickly took out a measuring tape that seemed to appear out of nowhere, and began to take the Hatter's measurements, making sure that the measurements he took in his head were correct. And of course it was, after all he is the Tailor.

Cheshire observed the Hatter from her position on a nearby tree, and watched the scene boredly, flicking her tail every now and then. "Hatter, you get distracted so easily. What was the reason you needed the Tailor, it may be important." The Hatter didn't seem to hear the Cat over her excitement of getting a new coat. Either that or she just ignored Cheshire, which the Cat would just not tolerate. The Hatter and the Tailor walked into the store, where the Tailor showed the Hatter the different types of fabrics that he owned. Cheshire gave a long sigh and teleported in front of the Hatter. "Hatter, it would be in your best interest in asking him now. Or the truth will continue to elude you. Ignorance may be a bliss, but knowing the truth is worth the suffering."

Back To Cheshire In The Present

Despite the Blue Caterpillar sending some killer smoke against the Cheshire Cat, the cat wasn't all that mad. If anything, Cheshire was more curious than angry. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but satisfaction bought it back. "I really don't want to have to fight with you at the moment. It's so exhausting." Cheshire couldn't help but sigh, to be honest all she wanted at the moment was for the quest to end. Alice truly was getting too troublesome for her at the moment. The Blue Caterpillar looked at the Cat, and breathed out a large amount of smoke, bringing out more smoke that was shaped as goblins, and sat there, enjoying the show of Cheshire struggling to defeat them.

Cheshire teleported further away, but not before leaving a small cut on the Blue Caterpillar's side, making sure that he knew she meant business. The Caterpillar looked at the cut, then back at the Cat, and brought out more enemies to the field.

The Hatter's Memories

Cheshire shook her head as the Hatter was distracted, once again, by the Tailor. "Hatter, I suppose that the suit you like would be red, yes?" The Tailor asked. The Hatter was in awe as she looked around at the store, so she simply responded with a small nod. As she observed the store, she noticed a small figure of a mouse that was resting on one of the shelves of some multi-colored fabrics. The mouse figure looked so real, so real that if the Hatter were to touch it, it would come alive.

The figure seemed to be in a sleeping pose. The Hatter hesitantly raised a hand towards the mouse, while asking a question to the busy Tailor. "Hey... Why do you have a figure of a mouse in all this fabric?" The Tailor was silent for a second, not sure what the Hatter was talking about. The Tailor spun around just in time to see the Hatter finally touch the mouse, and it moved!

The mouse slowly raised its head, looking around in confusion. "Wha? What's going on?" Asked the confused mouse. "Dormouse? Why are you here?"

"Oh Hatter! I finally found you, listen we need to go to the Lake of The Hearts."

"Why?" The Hatter asked.

"No time for questions! It's the Queen's order. Now lets go." The mouse ordered.

"Right...I'm sorry Mister Tailor, but it seems I must go and you have no information for me. However, I would like my new suit soon, goodbye." And with that farewell, The Hatter and the mouse left with Cheshire following close behind.

As the Hatter walked forward with the mouse, she caught the same familiar scent from before. "What's that smell? It smells so sweet..." Asked the Hatter. "That's the lake, it's known for attracting creatures with its aroma. They say that if you drink the water, it can give a person a great amount of knowledge." Explained the Gliridae creature. Just as the mouse finished explaining to the Hatter, they reached their destination. The sign that was in front of the lake read, 'BEWARE OF THE LAKE OF HEARTS.' It was written in a dark shade of red. The lake was indeed a deep dark shade of red, it could've even been mistaken for blood. Coming from the lake was the strong aroma that the Hatter kept catching before. "Hey! Hatter, I have a great idea. Why don't you drink the water." The Hatter looked at the Dormouse in confusion, "Why? Aren't we supposed to bring this to the Queen?"

Cheshire narrowed her eyes at the mouse, feeling wary. "Didn't the Queen say she didn't want you to come back without the killer?" The mouse responded. "Well... yeah, I suppose that's true..."

"Then if this lake truly does give one knowledge, then perhaps it will help you find the killer." The Hatter pondered over the idea, "Mmm, what a good idea." The Hatter bent down in front of the lake and grabbed a handful of the red liquid, she stared at the liquid for a few minutes before taking a sip.

Cheshire's eyes widened as she ran forward, "Hatter! Don't drink the water!" However, she was too late, the Hatter had already consumed the liquid. The sweet liquid soon turned bitter. The Hatter was silent, which made both the cat and the mouse curious.

Hatter's P.O.V

Laughter.

Laughter was all that the Hatter heard, it was the voice that always seemed to be with her, the voice that always bothered her. And it wasn't a soft, quiet laugh. This laughter was so loud, so loud that it blocked all outside voices. The voice spoke in a loud, dominant tone. "Why must you deny me, all these years, all these long, lonely, years of being sealed away, forgotten! And now I can finally kill the woman that changed you, the woman that made you put me in this dark, isolated void that is your head. I AM THE MADNESS THAT WILL CONSUME YOU, AND I WILL KILL THE WOMAN THAT SEALED ME AWAY! THE WOMAN THAT HAS BEEN USING YOU ALL THESE YEARS!" The voice suddenly stopped, and began to whisper quietly, "I will kill that pathetic Queen, the one responsible, the one who sealed me away."