Just A Spoonful Of Poison

The Hatter and March Hare sat together at the head of the table, quietly murmuring words of insanity to one another. Their tea was steaming yet untouched as it sat in front of them, it's warm scent slowly filling the air. Neither one of the mad couple took their eyes off the blonde haired girl at the other end of the table. Knowing what was to come, they didn't want to miss it.

The Hatter quickly glanced at his golden pocket watch, he marked the time and then simply placed it back into his trouser pocket. Young Alice Liddell politely sipped her tea, uncomfortable with the Wonderlanders lingering eyes upon her. Suddenly, she turned her nose up at the drink and quickly caught herself before spitting the lemon flavoured beverage out.

"My God, that was awful." She cried, bringing the nearest napkin to her lips. She again noticed the couple glaring at her from afar but refused to stare back. Suddenly they began whispering.

They were acting rather odd today, which wasn't uncommon for the March Hare and Hatter, however, on this particular occasion it was almost as if the were up to something, acting more mischievous than usual. Alice cleared her throat and called across to the others who were now giggling,

"Excuse me..?" Her voice squeaked, capturing their attention. Suddenly the Hatter's face fell serious and inquisitive his friend, the Hare, watching intently beside him.

"Yes, my dear? How may we be of assistance?" Said the Hatter, his piercing green eyes not leaving Alice's.

"Uh, well... It's just that the tea-"

"Oh, do you like it?!" He interrupted rather enthusiastically, clutching the March Hare's hand in his own. She squealed with delight, her free hand flying to her whiskered mouth. "It's an original recipe! Marchy and I brewed it ourselves but none of them seem to taste quite right." Together they pulled matching sad faces and sighed.

"Oh?" Remarked Alice, internally rolling her eyes, "How so?"

The March Hare's face lit up in a rather disturbing manner,

"We..." she started, "Well we just can't seem the get the ingredients right. Isn't that so, Hatter?"

The Hatter was nodding in agreement.

"Quite right, March. Quite right."

Alice ponded this for a moment.

"Hmm... Curiouser and curiouser." She mumbled from the other end, watching her tea with intrigue. The swirling movement of the hot and streamy liquid almost made her dizzy. She let out a small cough and shook the dizziness from her head. The lemon flashed a bright yellow at the bottom if the cup, leaving traces of its sourness to circle the tea.

Out of all the tea the Hatter and March Hare had offered to her today, this one had got to be the worst! It was almost a case of Goldie Locks and the Three Bears (which the March Hare had confirmed were most definitely real bears). Each cup of tea she tried today was odd in one way or another...

The first one seemed to have far too much sugar and was rather sickly. The second was much too weak with mostly milk. The third tea she tried was steaming hot, followed by the fourth which was icy cold! It was absolute nonsense!

"Tell us, Alice-" The Hatter began, breaking sweet Alice from her thoughts, "what does this one taste like?" He asked, gesturing to the cup in front of her with a smirk.

Alice was slightly startled. It was as if the Hatter had read her mind. She quickly shook the thought and positioned herself in a more upright position,

"I do believe that this particular tea tastes rather sour, I'm afraid." She pulled the cup towards her lips and took another sip to clarify, "Ugh- yes,' She coughed, "terribly sour, but..." Suddenly, she paused, reconsidering her decision, "But then again..."