Glassbreaker Alice

Chapter the Twenty-Third, In Which Things Get Ugly

After Alice had returned from her jaunt through the rooftop and gone back to a more normal size, the cat greeted her. "Well, back again, are we?" he asked with a smirk.

She held her hands against her head, feeling loopy from the sudden change in altitude. "I shot up through the clouds, you know, the smoke," she said.

"Really?" the cat asked with interest. "How was it?"

"Awesome," she said. "The sun was shining. The sky was blue."

"Hmm," said the cat, longingly. "I haven't seen the sun in forty-seven years." He looked sad.

"Forty-seven years?" asked Alice. "How old are you?"

The side of his mouth curled up. "That is none of your concern. Besides, haven't you figured out by now that I am not merely a simple cat?"

She made a face instead of answering.

"Well," said the cat, "on to other matters. Look now. You asked for help in shedding that horrible skirt, and there you have."

She looked down. She'd been so distracted by shrinking and expanding that she hadn't even noticed that the dead weight of the skirt was gone. "Hey, you're right," she said. "I almost forgot. Awesome! Thanks, cat."

Tinklebottom nodded. "Of course. Of course. Happy to help. Don't mention it, and all that hullabaloo. And now, you must make haste to leave, for the guards are surely on their way after the redecorating you've done to the place." He pointed up at the missing roof." All that was left were some straw and splintered wood. "You made quite a din, you know."

"Well, it's not my fault!" she said. "I didn't know I was going to get so big!"

"That may well be," the cat said pleasantly, "but that does not alter the fact that the guards will be here in less than 30, 29, 28, ah, let's see, 25 seconds."

She looked around at the solid stone walls. "Where can I hide?" she asked.

"I'm sure you'll sort it out," answered the cat. "In the mean time, I wish you a fond adieu, sweet Alice, for this may very well be the last time our paths shall cross." He turned suddenly and trotted toward the stone wall. Then, he stopped and looked back at her. "By the way, don't forget to secrete the bottle in your back pocket."

She poked the bottle and the cake into her skirt pockets, and the cat smiled and turned to leave. "Hey, wait a second!" she cried. "How am I supposed to get out of here? I need you to help me." But she might as well have been talking to a rock all the good it did her. The cat just kept on walking until it somehow managed to saunter through the wall itself.

She groaned and kicked the wall where the cat had disappeared. "Stupid cat," she muttered.

By now, she could hear the sound of footsteps approaching. Her eyes raced over the cell walls, but the stone was solid without even a crack. She leaned her head back and looked at the hole in the ceiling. There was no way she could climb up to it. She thought about taking another swig from the bottle, but then the guards would be sure to see her. How could they avoid spotting a forty foot tall girl?

As she ran through her options, the footsteps tramped louder and louder, and she could even hear the clanging of the guards' armor.

She glanced down and noticed a crack between the bottom of the cell door and the floor, and she hit upon a plan.

She dug in her back pocket for the cake, raised it to her mouth, and took a bite. Within seconds, she was less than three inches tall.