Impossible (A HEARTLESS Fanfic)

Chapter Two

Alice casually meandered away from the table while her mind raced through various ways to pilfer the tarts. Taking all three would certainly draw too much attention too quickly; she had to show some restraint. So she settled on stealing only one. Passing the dessert tables, she took a raspberry tart and tucked it into her sash. What she needed now was a distraction. She had several smoke bombs strapped to her legs, hidden well by her gown. But having just used one to obtain the dress, she felt she needed to be a tad bit more creative. As she glanced about the garden in search of an idea, her eyes rested on a stray hedgehog nibbling on crumbs by another table of delicacies. Instantly her mind formulated a plan. Reaching into her coin purse, she pulled out a crumbling piece of white cake. Breaking off a corner, she kneeled down several feet away from the creature and cooed softly to it.

"Hello, little fellow," she said.

The hedgehog lifted its head towards her, its wet nose quivering as it took in the scent of the cake held out to it.

"This is certainly better than those silly crumbs," Alice said, waving the cake back and forth.

The hedgehog's eyes followed the movement. Tentatively, it took a few steps closer. Then, all at once, it leapt towards her and greedily grabbed the tasty morsel. Alice smiled triumphantly as she got to her feet and wiped her hands, careful to remove even the tiniest speck. Turning back to the festivities, she removed herself from the scene of the soon-to-be chaos. In her head she counted down the seconds. It typically took no more than five or so, and as if on cue, when she reached five, she heard a woman scream. She was quickly joined by more screaming ladies, as well as many gasps and calls for guards. Not wanting to stand out as suspicious, Alice turned to the scene with a look of bewilderment and then of horror.

Before her stood a ten-foot hedgehog. The creature looked just as confused as the guests, although it wasn't quite as terrified. In fact, it seemed rather pleased with its sudden rise to height. Taking advantage of the commotion it was causing, it helped itself to some of the pies on the dessert table.

The crowd gathering about the hedgehog was growing, and Alice waited until a large walrus was standing in front of her to take a bite of the cake she had stored away in her sash. Shrinking to the size of a hummingbird, she scurried through the masses of feet and skirts, making her way to the Queen's tarts. When she was safely beneath the table, hidden by the draping red velvet, she took a bite of the cake she had fed the hedgehog. Crouched down so as not to upset the table, she returned to her normal size. She peeked through the tablecloth to be certain everyone's attention was still on the giant creature, which was now downing the punch bowl with great vigor. The guards were surrounding it, and Alice made her move. Slipping out from under the table, she pulled the raspberry tart she had taken earlier and replaced one of the Queen's tarts with it. The raspberry one was certainly no match for the Queen's own, but it was close enough in color to not be obvious. Pocketing the tart, she returned to the crowd of onlookers so as to make one last appearance before the tart was discovered missing.

The Cards were smacking the hedgehog with flamingoes in a vain attempt to subdue it, but to no avail. Alice tried to hold back her laughter and seem appalled and astounded like the rest. The humor of the situation only disappeared when she saw one of the human guards approaching with an axe. Had the Queen demanded the poor critter's head? Alice felt the guilt of its fate weigh down upon her. Desperately, she pulled out a bit of the Shrinking Cake she had left and elbowed her way to the front of the crowd.

"Psst!"

The hedgehog turned to her, and she inconspicuously showed the creature the bit of cake before tossing it at its feet. Despite having just devoured an entire table of pastries, the animal seemed more than eager to gobble up the small piece of cake. However, Alice had apparently overestimated the amount needed to return it to its original size, as in only seconds it completely disappeared from sight. A gasp echoed throughout the crowd. Alice scanned the ground for a sign of the animal, hoping she had not shrunk it into invisibility. The guards began to usher the crowd away, but Alice slipped by them, searching for the hedgehog, hoping it hadn't been stepped on. As she examined the ground closely, bent over to get a better look, she bumped into a pair of lanky legs. Righting herself, she saw that it was the guard who had found her wandering about the castle grounds. A shadow of a smile played on his lips as he looked down at her.

"We meet again, Miss Curiosity," he said.

"Well, small woodland animals growing to the size of griffins and then just disappearing. Whose curiosity wouldn't be piqued?" Alice responded, wondering if the poor hedgehog had been crushed beneath the guard's large feet.

The guard bent down and picked up something small between his fingers. A crumb of white cake. He brought it close to his nose, sniffing it carefully.

"I doubt it disappeared," he said. "More likely shrank."

Alice feigned incredulity. "Are you saying someone snuck in Shrinking Cake?"

"As well as Growing Cake. How else would you explain the sudden growth and disappearance of the hedgehog?"

"I'm not explaining. I'm hoping you will."

The guard flashed her a grin before scanning the ground about them, a twinge of concern on his face. "I only hope the poor thing hasn't been crushed in the fray."

He crouched down rather awkwardly, seeing as he was mostly arms and legs, and began to run his hand through the grass, his eyes moving back and forth as he searched. Alice dropped down onto her knees and joined him.

"Were the guards going to kill it?" she asked.

The guard had now resorted to kneeling, and the two crawled about searching for a tiny hedgehog. "It seemed likely. The Queen will be none-too-pleased to find out her tea party became such a circus."

"Is she going to behead it?"

"If she finds it, I would say, most assuredly, yes."

Alice's stomach dropped, and she hoped she would find the creature before he did. "But it wasn't the hedgehog's fault. It didn't know that it was eating Special Cake. It's just a dumb animal with a sweet tooth."

"Alas, no one is safe from punishment in Hearts."

Alice's hand came down on something sharp. Before she could stop herself, she let out a cry. The guard turned his attention to her, and as she cradled her hand, he scooped up the spiny object. He smiled and held his hand out to Alice, revealing a hedgehog no larger than a thimble. Alice's face dropped.

"Poor little fellow," she lamented.

"Well, it would be rather difficult to take off a head this size," the guard said, teasing the creature with his thumb. "I think Raven's axe is a bit too large for such a task."

The little hedgehog scurried about the guard's large hand before curling up into a ball. With a soft smile, the guard brought it up to Alice's head, gently placing it in her hair where it stuck like a burr. Tilting his head, he pursed his lips in thought.

"I think it suits you," he said. "Although, one may mistake it for a hat. We wouldn't want you being imprisoned."

He scooped the ball of spines out of her hair and placed it in her hand, carefully closing it around the creature. A playful light in his eyes and a grin on his lips, he leaned in so that his head was nearly touching hers.

"Don't let anyone see you with it," he whispered. "Might be best to keep it at the size it is, lest anyone accuse you of stealing sporting equipment from the Castle."

Alice returned his grin. "Now, Mr. Guard, do I look like a thief to you?"

He raised his eyebrows before leaning back on his heels. In one quick movement, he leapt to his feet and held out a hand to Alice. "The name's Ace," he said as he pulled her up.

"Polly," Alice replied, careful to keep the hedgehog from rolling out of her hand as she straightened out her dress. "Polly Laurens."

"It has been a pleasure to meet you, Lady Laurens. I do hope you enjoy the festivities. And try not to get into anymore trouble."

With a departing grin and bow, Ace made his way to join the Cards in their search for the missing hedgehog. Alice watched him leave for a moment before taking her own leave. The goose pimples had returned, but she was finding that she rather enjoyed them now.