Once Upon a FairyTale

Chapter Eleven: Maxwell

Peter and I stood in front of the large house. It was two stories tall, and filled with countless rooms. Laughing people filed in, walking right past the burly security guards.

"Ready, Maxie?" Peter asked.

I nodded, "Let's make this elaborate."

He grinned and linked his arm in mine. We tried to portray Alice and The Hatter as well as we could. To do so, Peter let go of all reality. He laughed as if he belonged in the nut house. Without Alice, or, should I say, me, he would be there.

We skipped up to the bouncers. It was demeaning, almost ruining my reputation. Still, it was necessary. When we arrived at the door, the guards looked at us and sneered.

"Invitations," one spat.

Peter pulled two slips of paper from his jacket pocket. He showed the papers to the guard and laughed, "Alice and The Hatter, at your service!"

I bowed a bit. The guard wrinkled his nose, but let us in. That told me for sure that my spell was working.

I had created a potion that, when drunken, could make us look like whoevers hair was in the drink. It would hold, keeping us as Alice and The Hatter, until the spell-binding time of Midnight. Or, until one of us uttered our real names, whichever comes first.

Peter and I walked into the house. It was decorated almost like a victorian mansion. There were some decorations relating to Halloween, like a bowl of candy corn sitting on a side table.

Everybody in the town was there. They were dressed as everything under the sun! It was sickening. Although, I didn't see a single soul dressed as a witch.

"I'm going to go scout the area," Peter whispered.

"You mean find Wendy."

"That too," he grinned, "Remember to drink lots of tea."

He released my arm and vanished into the crowd. I looked around for a refreshment table. It was hidden in the corner of the living room. The table was long, and covered with a white cloth. Snacks and drinks of all varieties filled every empty spot the table had to offer.

I went up to the table and poured myself a cup of tea. Tea was my least favorite drink, but I had to drink it in order to portray Alice. She and The Hatter were almost never without a cup of tea in hand.

As I took a sip, I felt my tastebuds recoil. It tasted like liquid screams. I've seen liquid screams, it looks nothing like this, but their taste mimicked each other. I had to choke it down, especially when a familiar figure walked up to me.

"Alice!" the girl cried, "You're back!"

She ran up to me and pulled me into her embrace. She was a bit shorter than me, but that was to be expected. She was only fifteen, but, then again, so was Alice. The girl was beautiful by most standards. With hair as dark as raven's, and skin as white as snow, she was the embodiment of the perfect woman.

"Snow," I tried to sound sincere, "It's nice to see you again."

When she pulled away, she looked like she wanted to explode. I glanced up and down her costume. She was a princess. Her skirt was large and pink, while her top was pink with pearls sewn onto the front. Her hair was in a golden circlet, almost like a tiara. She held a paper fan.

"I've missed you so much," she smiled, "Are you feeling well?"

I nodded, "Oh yes, much better."

"Have you spoken to Maxwell Grimm lately?"

I was ready to punch her in her perfect little nose. The way she said my name was dripping with hatred. Over half this town hated me. There was no rhyme or reason, I was born this way. I was born to cause trouble.