Twisted Wonderland: Down the Rabbit Hole

"Off with her head!"

Queen Vivienne, a woman with long fiery hair and bright blue eyes, clad in a pink dress with a large red heart on it with red gloves, scowled at the mob surrounding her palace. She stood from her chair, fixing her small golden tiara into place. "Insolent fools, revolting like this," she murmured. "Chevalier!" she called, turning her head to the side quickly to look at the man kneeling beside of her, her blood-colored hair whipping behind her.

Chevalier, a man clad in black armor, had ashen skin and black eyes and hair. The knight raised his head slowly. "Yes, Empress?"

The Queen narrowed her eyes with a scowl. "Bring me my scythe."

The Black Knight nodded. "Yes, Empress." He stood, his armor clanking as he walked over to the closet. The closet was red, heart shaped and cold. Very cold, it was icy to the touch. A blood spell, meant to keep strangers and thieves out of her palace-she had spread it everywhere, through every corner and crevice of her large home. The blood of her family and servants-such as Chevalier-was included in the spell. They were the only ones who could touch anything without freezing or burning from the touch.

Chevalier grabbed the door knobs of her closet and yanked it open, aggressively pushing her various red and pink dresses to the side. He pressed on a brick on the wall in the back and a whole other compartment opened up to him. He quickly grabbed the scythe.

Its staff was black steel, the blade long and dark; stained with blood. Carved bone decorated the base of the blade, where it connected to the staff. Polished sulfur adorned the bottom of it. He tossed it to Vivienne just as the door was broken down. Two men stood in the doorway: The leaders of the rebellion.

They were none other than Riley Hatter and Jackson C. Heshire.

Riley, armed with an axe, narrowed his blood red eyes and grinned, brushing his ebony bangs out of his face."Oh mon Dieu, chère Vivienne. Vous avez l'air bien pour une femme morte."

The Queen of Hearts scowled at the Mad Hatter, not at all surprised that he got through her spell. He had some magic he probably used to sneak in. His grinning companion, of course, used to be a member of the Royal Guard. He was punished severely for his treason and exiled from the palace and the city. "Your French is mediocre, Riley." Was all the Queen said, raising her Scythe defensively.

Riley cackled as the cat that came with him swished his tail in mirth. "I bid you adieu, mon chère. Jackson, now!"

The orange-haired man lunged at Chevalier, biting and scratching as the Black Knight resisted. The Hatter raised his axe and brought it down upon the Queen's scythe.

The Cheshire Cat disappeared for a split second, before reappearing behind the knight and forcefully lifting him up. He covered Chevalier's face, his hand just below his nose and aimed up at an angle. He lightly touched the back of the Black Knight's head-the soft part-with his long claws and quickly jerked up his hand.

Jackson removed his claws, wiping the brain matter off of his shirt as the corpse of Chevalier fell to the floor, then disappeared into a cloud of black powder. Jackson gave the pile a sad look and knelt down beside it. "You shall be honored my old friend; honored in my memory, if no one else's," he murmured, before once again standing.

Jackson turned his attention to the Mad Hatter and how, after what seemed to be a not-so-fierce battle on Vivienne's side-as Riley had few cuts or bruises and Vivienne was bleeding all over the place-Riley killed the dictator Queen. He flung his axe at her head, ripping it clean off. He walked over to where the severed head was and retrieved his weapon before digging the blade deep into her chest and ripped her heart out with his bare hands!

Riley grinned. "Goodbye, Vivienne Heart. Such a spoiled princess does not deserve the power that you held," As he said those words, he crushed her heart, making her body rot and turn to dust. "It was mine, anyway." he murmured, taking her scepter from the pile of dust. He swiftly turned to his subordinate. "Jackson, we've succeeded. Tell the White Rabbits that we will be returning home soon."

. . .

Jackson sat down at his table. Peace at last... He smiled to himself, picking up a small photo. There were three people in the photo; Him, a woman and a small child. The woman had white hair, clad in a dark gray gown with a black monocle over her right eye. Dinah... That was her name. Dinah Heshire, his late wife. He sighed, he missed her. He could remember clearly how she'd died. It was while he was part of the Royal Guard, working under Vivienne.

He had just discovered the White Rabbit organization. His orders were to report every organization against the queen and record the names of the members. He was to have their families killed and to imprison them in the ruins of Bandersnatch Asylum, where they themselves would be tortured by The Gray Boy until their final breaths. .

The Gray Boy... That was the price for treason against Her Highness. No one escaped the Bandersnatch Ruins, so only Her Highness knew what The Gray Boy actually was... Of course, the traitors being tortured also knew, but they could not tell a soul. Rumors about The Gray Boy spread across the land; rumors of whom or what The Gray Boy was. A hideous monster, some said, that ate the bones of its victims and pickled their eyes. Still others said he was Vivienne's illegitimate child, raised in secret to be a Kings Assassin or a Torture Meister. And yet another spoke of Hierophant Grey...

Hierophant Grey was an unnamed Wonderland Scientist who had illegally went to the Chessboard world for the Black Queen's sister, Duchess Elaine Tweedle. They were lovers and their union was against the law. The child was supposedly killed, while Hierophant Grey was to be arrested. They never found him, though, and The Duchess was sold off as a prostitute. After all, who'd marry her after she'd run off and had a child with another man? At that point, she was useless.

So after he had discovered the White Rabbits, he thought deeply about their punishment and the rumors of The Gray Boy. Torture until death... A horrible way to go. All those people, they were good people. Normal peasants that were just fed up with Vivienne and her selfishness.

And what of their families? Surely they didn't deserve to die. Women and children, innocents, murdered by those who vowed to protect them! The thought disgusted him-that was not the way of the Royal Guard! That thought alone compelled him to join the White Rabbits.

He kept it a secret, remaining as part of the Royal Guard, spying for the Rebels. He told no one, but somehow Vivienne still found out. He still remembered that day, when he came home... His house burning to the ground-

He was jolted out of his thoughts by a loud knock on the door. He gently set the photo down, standing. He walked over to the wooden door, and barely after he opened it two bulky guards had seized him. He was pinned against the walls by his shoulders, struggling and trying to throw off the brutes. "Let me go! Get off of me!" Jackson screeched.

"Now, now, little kitty," rang a familiar voice. "That's not polite."

Jackson jerked his head up to see familiar red eyes and black hair. "Riley! What is the meaning of this?" he snarled.

Riley merely smiled. "Jackson C. heshire, you are under arrest for the murder of Dinah Heshire and Chester Heshire."

"What?!" the Cheshire Cat bellowed. "You traitor! Why, I ought've reported you and had you killed while I had the chance!"

"See? He's a dangerous criminal! Take him away, boys," Riley sneered, laughing madly. "He never served his punishment."