The Hatter sighs. "Wonderland has a very violent, bloody history, filled with insanity and chaos."
"Just my style." I say, smirking, then lean back in my chair, folding my arms across my chest. "I'm waiting."
"It all started when the first Alice came to Wonderland. You obviously know the story, so I'll spare you the details. But the story you know ended in Alice's trip to Wonderland being a mere dream. That is not true. Quite the contrary, in fact. Wonderland is very real, and so was everything Alice did during her time here. But because of her presence here in Wonderland, our world became more dangerous by the minute. So after her adventures, Ches and I took Alice back to the world above-to keep her safe. She did not return for many, many years, and things became normal again. Well...as normal as Wonderland can be.
"But when she reached her sixteenth birthday, she returned. That's when things got worse again. The Red Queen-angered by Alice's presence-automatically assumed that Alice had returned to conspire with the White Queen. So, she did the reasonable thing. She gathered her forces, intending to meet the White Queen and Alice on the battlefield. The White Queen had fought her sister once before, and was the only person to actually survive a battle with the Red Queens forces. She had become our only hope in surviving the Red Queen's attack." The Hatter pauses, his face grim. I look away from him to the other occupants of the table. The March Hare was gazing about calmly, his eyes saddened. The Dormouse was awake-for once-and was listening intently. Dee and Dum-normally crazy and hyper- were silent and solemn. White was oddly nowhere to be found.
"What happened?" I ask after a few moments, the silence bugging me.
"The White Queen wanted to stay out of it. But Alice- the stupid, stupid girl." Hatter's voice cracks, his eyes filling with tears.
"Alice didn't know what happened." Dee says, saving The Hatter from continuing the story.
"She thought Wonderland was still paradise." Dum continues.
"She went to the White Queen because she was scared."
"The White Queen didn't want any part of it."
"But she didn't want her subjects hurt because of Alice."
"A small battle was fought."
"Not many casualties on either side."
"But one would change the fate of Wonderland forever."
"The White Queen's beloved."
"Her betrothed."
"She went insane."
"Nuts."
"Off her rocker."
"She blamed Alice."
"Made her pay for the loss of her betrothed."
"With her life."
"None of us know the details."
"But we know it was brutal."
"The White Queen hasn't been seen since." Dee finishes.
"What about the Red Queen?" I ask, processing the information.
"She left us alone." The March Hare says. "With Alice dead and The White Queen obviously no threat anymore, there was no reason to attack."
"So why do you need me?" I ask, utterly confused. "All that happened was someone went insane and an idiot from another world got herself killed. White said you needed me to 'maintain order' or something like that, but you're just fine without me."
"That we do not know. All we know is something is wrong- terribly wrong, and we need another Alice to right the wrongs of the first." The Hatter says.
"And how do you know that?"
"The answers you seek will be found with the Blue Caterpillar. You may start your journey in the morning." Mr. Rabbit says from behind me. Where the hell was he? Oh well.
"Where's the Blue Caterpillar?" I ask, then think for a moment. "Wait...Can you show me a map of Wonderland?"
The Dormouse pokes her head up, her small brown mouse ears perked up. "Did someone ask about a map? That's my specialty!" She grins, then jumps up, suddenly full of energy. "I'll be right back!" She says, then runs off.
Well that was...odd...
She comes back after a moment holding a few sheets of paper. She sets one of them in front of me, entitled 'Wonderland'. It shows five different areas, separated by thick black lines. On the top left there is a large mountainous area with a small area in the center, titled 'Tower of Hearts'. Must be the Red Queen's domain.
To the right of that is an area filled with lakes and rivers. Many X's are scattered across that region, and in the center is a small piece of land entitled 'The Maze of Mirrors'. Hmmmm.... Wonder what that is.... Below that region is the biggest region of all, the size of both the previous regions combined. There I see many cities and towns, the biggest being 'Wondertropolis'. Ugh.... Who came up with that name?
Anyways, at the edge of that region, on the far left, is a door labeled 'Entrance to Wonderland'. To the right of that is the 'Enchanted Wood', a forest taking up a quarter of the region. Then I see a small house entitled 'The Hatter's Home'. That must be where we are now.
Below this is a region a little smaller than the Red Queen's domain. It's surrounded by small lakes and in the center is a castle labeled the 'Crystal Palace'. Sounds splendid. I wonder what it looks like. Anyways, that's obviously where the White Queen lives.
To the left of that region, there's the Mushroom forest, a.... Well... Entire forest made of mushrooms... Pretty self explanatory.
"So, and I'm just guessing here, The Blue Caterpillar lives in the Mushroom Forest, right?"
The Dormouse looks pleased. "Correct!"
"And we're here, right?" I ask, pointing to The Hatter's Home on the map. The Dormouse nods. "Okay cool. How long do you think it will take to get to the Mushroom Forest?"
"Three days." Says the Hatter. "We'll head out in the morning."
