Behind Sanity

Chapter Thirty-Seven

                                                                    Behind Sanity

                                                             Chapter Thirty-Seven

                                                                         

The Hare spared no force in his work.  Alice’s limbs were kept precisely two feet off the ground at all times as he carried her through the twisting halls of the Keep, and upon reaching her destination, he tossed her violently through a pair of ornate doors that opened automatically by the arrangement of gears turning inside.  The skinny young woman fell to the floor without grace, but was quick to rise and straighten her dress, glaring back at the large Hare who exited through the doors which sealed themselves behind him. 

Of all those with few manners...  She grumbled in her mind, but after she had arranged her dress, decided that those were scarcely thoughts worth having.  She turned her efforts toward examining the room.

It was not the most welcoming hall she’d ever set foot in – even in Wonderland.  The ceiling was dark, with numerous rafters bowing over her head.  There were various metal contraptions suspended from them, some of which were at the perfect level to snag an eye.  While some were nothing more than looped chains, others had rusty hooks upon the ends.  Some were metal box frames, which Alice guessed to actually be devices of torture.  They reminded her of some of the terrible headgear she’d seem on a few of the insane children. 

Minding her head, she moved forward several steps into the quiet room.  The floor she stepped across – which she’d met face to face when she’d been thrown into the room – was tile in a pattern of black and white checks, and it was smeared with blood in places, giving Alice the sudden idea that someone’s idea of cleaning had been to smear the liquid around with a broom.  The only light was an orange glow that came from two fireplaces on opposite sides of the room – which was much longer than it was wide.  Set directly between those two blazes, a long table was stretched across the room with several chairs positioned along its length.

Moving closer and ducking through several chains that hung like a curtain, she finally saw what gave this room its true character.  She let her eyes trail up to the man standing at the fire, propped up on his cane, staring into the blaze.  He was impossibly tall; she couldn’t believe how he’d stretched!  It was likely that the top of her head barely rose past his chest.  His hat of black and white checks slumped forward atop his head, probably as tall as Alice’s legs were long.  The rusty gear jutted out from his slumped back, but it did not turn as she watched him.  She did, however, chance to see that there were smaller gears at his elbows and the backs of his knees.  It made her curious, but she kept her manners for the time.

Though she had made few sounds since entering, she was sure he knew she was there – and it was rude, once again, for him to ignore her.

She stood still and quiet, letting the light flicker over her from the second fireplace.  Finally, without turning, the old man began to speak.

“I see you’ve made it, my dear,” he said, the fire dancing over his arms, giving the false impression that he was moving.

“Yes,” she said. “And with a lovely escort.  I was surprised there was no red carpet.”

“Would you like me to make you a red carpet?  Shed some blood on it perhaps?” the man with the sagging face man and overbite asked. “Perhaps yours?  That would make it a lovely red befitting a queen!”