"Alice. It's time to wake up." The Cheshire Cat stands next to the bed that he had placed in the Hatter's home the day before, staring at the beautiful creature laying gracefully before him. Ever since he had first seen her and heard her musical voice, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her.
Now she lays before him, in the room that had been his gift to her, and he has to wake her. He has to pull her from her slumber only to find him, the cocky, sarcastic bastard.
Don't be fooled, he loved his sarcastic nature, it was who he was. But it wasn't who Alice deserved, who she wanted. So she would never be his.
"As long as she's happy." He whispers to himself, and raises his voice. "Alice, you must wake up." She stirs, and he is gone before she opens her eyes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I wake up after hearing someone try to wake me, but when I open my eyes, I'm alone. Oh crap... Am I going even more insane?
I decide not to think about my growing insanity and struggle to get out of bed, glancing at the clock conveniently placed on the bedside table. 1:52... crap. I'm probably in trouble.
I run downstairs and into the living room, and straight into Hatter. Literally. Way to go Alice.
"Alice," The Hatter says, a bit dazed, "What's the rush?"
"I thought we were leaving today?"
"Oh yes! I almost forgot!"
I roll my eyes, and I hear snickering from behind me.
"Really Hatter?" I turn to see Tweedle Dum trying to hold back laughter.
"Wonderland's savior arrives."
"And you somehow forget."
"The sacred mission."
"Only you Hatter."
"Yes, yes. I can be a bit forgetful at times." The Hatter responds, completely unfazed.
"We know," the White Rabbit says, appearing behind The Hatter, "You're always terribly late."
"Oh lighten up! You've always got your panties in a twist!" He bursts into a fit of laughter, leaning on White for support.
White narrows his eyes and opens his mouth to speak, but is interrupted by footsteps pounding down the stairs.
"I'm awake!" The Dormouse yells, her glasses askew and her cheeks flushed. She skids to a halt next to me, breathing heavily. "I'm awake." She says again, softer this time.
Now everyone is crowded into the living room... And I don't like small spaces. "So uh... I don't mean to be pushy but... When are we leaving?" I ask, starting to get nervous.
"Now!" The Hatter proclaims happily, and smiles at me. Wait- no. Not at me. He smiles at everyone. Why would he smile at just me?
He grabs me by the elbow and leads me out of the suffocating room and out into the bright sun... Both are equally annoying, but at least I can breathe now.
"Wait here. We'll go get the cars." Wait... Cars? Plural? How'd they even get one here? Of course they do have electricity and furniture and fancy crap like that, so I guess I shouldn't be that surprised.
The Hatter walks away with White and- surprisingly- only one of the Twins. I didn't know that was even possible.
"So where'd you go earlier?" Dee asks me, then pauses, as if she's waiting for Dum to continue. When she doesn't, Dee seems to remember that Dum isn't there. "You were gone for hours."
I don't really know how to respond. If I tell her I was in the kickass room rather than the pink death, Hatter might find out and be upset. Plus, they didn't seem to like Ches, so they might get mad that he broke into the house and installed a shit ton of stuff just for me.
Then the Hatter pulls up in a black Porsche, and my eyes widen. Dum follows in a bright red Ferrari, and the Mr. Rabbit- true to his old school nature- pulls up in a DeLorean.
Automatically Dee gets in the car with her Twin, and March pulls a very sleepy Dormouse into the backseat of the DeLorean. The Hatter gets out of the car and smiles brightly. "I guess you're stuck with me." He opens the passenger door open for me, and I quickly check to make sure I have my weapons. Switchblade from home - check. Awesome knife from the shed- check. Random bow and arrows from The Twins- check. All set!
I climb into the car and close the door behind me, and The Hatter sits in the drivers seat. He smiles at me yet again, and I notice his hands are shaking.
He takes off down the road, and I see the two other cars following.
"So how are you liking Wonderland?"
"It's beautiful, mad, and quite odd." I say honestly, but avoid looking at him.
He chuckles softly. "That pretty much sums it up."
We sit in silence for a while, and I decide to sneak a glance at him through the corner of my eye. He's visibly relaxed, so much so that he's even placed his top hat on his lap. Suddenly, I find myself staring at him, his ginger hair falling in slight curls on his forehead, his freckles on his cheek that seems to make a smiley face. I see a blush rise to his cheeks, and I realize he probably noticed me staring.
"Thank you for the dress." I say softly, and he smiles, a genuine smile that lights up his whole face.
"I'm glad you like it. I hoped you would..." He glances at me, then continues. "I also made something else for you, a set of all black, form- fitting clothes that you can wear if you're every anticipating a fight."
"Thank you. By the way, speaking of fights, why are there no guns?" I personally hate guns, but a sense of curiosity pushes me to ask.
"Guns don't work in Wonderland. No one really knows why."
"Oh."
We fall silent, and although I experience the desire to break the silence, I can't bring myself to speak. If I speak, it could spark a conversation, causing me to feel close to him again. But he'd just draw back again, and I'm too proud to get my feelings hurt again.
So, we just sit there, and I stare out the window at the trees flying by, a whirl of black, brown, and green.
