Down The Rabbithole

Ch17

(Characters and art belongs to Vivziepop.)

Allison was forever going to be stunned by this small cat she swore. Chesire kept his word and repaired the stone wall he destroyed, as well as magically levitated the doors he blew off. The two guards also groaned and managed to stumble and wobbled to their jello feeling legs and blinked their tired eyes. Gasping and drawing out their swords as soon as they saw Chesire floating towards them with two doors right behind him and Allison walking slowly a little ways behind him and smiling. They were about to swing at the smiling cat with scowls on their faces and Chesire still didn't flinch. For a moment Allison thought he was gonna get sliced into minced meat until they were stopped by a woman's familiar voice.

"STAND DOWN AT ONCE!!" Both stopped and looked up at the Queen who walked by Allison and sighed. Chesire didn't even blink at them or anything and just continued to floating along humming to himself. "He is not our enemy..Not any more."

Both guards looked completely confused, but dared not disobey their queen and slowly sheethed their swords, still absolutely confused as she walked past. Allison jumped when someone chuckled behind her and she snapped her head around and up to Fortune. The giant moth had picked back up his smoke pipe and more of that sweet smelling pink smoke whirled around him as he looked to her and gestured ahead to them. Chesire was already narrowing his eyes and rubbing his chin as he tried to maneuver the doors back into place to fix the hindges. Veveteen stopped to look at Chesire for a moment, not that the cat noticed at all and if he did didn't acknowledge her, giving him a worrying look real quick....before hurrying walking ahead, her two guards walking behind her.

"Change is not never easy." Allison blinked and looked back up to the moth who blew out more pink smoke with a patient smile. Without looking at the small human girl, started walking forward casually. Allison blinked and hurried to catch up with him, stopping to walk beside the taller male. "It's going to take a LONG time for my dear Velveteen to fully accept and conform to the new truth she's faced with, and your friend still has to face the tall bump in the road in your friendship. But all changes for the better start somewhere.....You might've done Wonderland a great job today Miss Allison. I applaud you for your determination.~"

Allison blinked. "Me? What did I do? All I did was get angry because she hurt people. Even if she was trying to be good, it was bad."

He side eyed her. "Don't lie to me. I'm too wise for that.~ I saw that determination and passion in your eyes. You beat her through the love and concern for your friend, and the realization of your own self worth. I wouldn't say that was just getting angry wouldn't you?"

....Allison shook her head and gave a small smile. "Y-Yeah...Well, Chesire means a lot to me." She turned ahead of them and giggled and the funny expression of Chesire having narrowed eyes, frowning, stroking his chin, and his tongue sticking out doing a blep as he tried fixing the other door. "I..Guess we're even now."

He smiled wider as they approached, "Well you have my thanks for finally getting through my beloved's hardhead and setting her on the right path. She'll need more guidance, but she has me for that now."

Allison rose a brow. "Yeah. No offense but what do you see in her?"

He fully looked to her and chuckled. "No offense taken my dear. A lot of people wouldn't understand but where most see a terrifying, tyrannical Queen...I see a hard working, independent woman who's trying to make the best of a hard life and situation she was thrown into by past family and fix her life around. After all-" He gave a wink and chuckle. "We both know how it is when you're thrown into a completely new situation thanks to family and have to piece back together things. Don't we?"

Allison stopped in the doorway by the door Chesire was still fixing and stared at him. "How did you-"

"I didn't I just guessed. ....But if you really want to know, I find Velveteen a woman who loves me for who I am and banned people to let me have the privacy I always loved. How many lucky men can say a woman did that for them, eh?" He talked and waved his free hands behind him as he continued walking away from them, his voice echoing throughout the halls. "And it also doesn't hurt she has a nice figure.~ Hmhmhm."

Allison rolled her eyes and shook her head before looking to Chesire as the door finally snapped magically back into place and he smiled again. Sighing as his work was done and he looked back to Allison with his same usual grin. " WHELP!! That seems to be everything!"

"Well not exactly everything." Allison started walking and Chesire floated right beside her as they walked along, and she looked at him. "You still haven't told me why you turned the old king and queen to ashes? I mean..Y-Yeah. I know they did really horrible things but why did you do something terrible back?"

Chesire went quiet for a moment as they walked along. Servants and guards giving the two worried expressions and peeking behind doors as they passed but didn't dare approach the mad Chesire and Human who fought the queen and one. .....He slowly blinked back to her with those mitch matched eyes and gave a sorry, sad look. "Remember when I said my magic gets stronger with each new generation? When I was younger and first came back, I only seeked vengeance for my family....I did not think it would be this important later in my life...But we all have to live with that fact I suppose.....I really am sorry for not telling you, Allison. I only wished to protect my friend from my world, as you took me in and protected me from yours."

She smiled wider. "Well then I guess we all have things to apologize for. But now...Let's just go home. Me to mine, and your home away from home."

He laughed at the statement. "Agreed. You've adventured long enough."

They walked along almost aimlessly through the castle's checkered floors and expensive furniture-d hallways not caring about the glances they were given as Allison just really followed Chesire's lead as he seemed to know which way they needed to go and soon enough had stopped floating and pushed open a door to a room to the left and went in, and of course Allison followed. And paused at what exactly she was seeing. The Queen and Fortune Teller were there too, the room was completely empty and devoid of anything except a giant reflective mirror built into the back wall which showed all of their reflections as the two already in the room turned to Allison and Chesire floated up to the mirror with that smile. His tiny paw reached out and tapped the surface making the reflective surface ripple like if you threw a rock into a lake. He then giggled and looked back to Allison as the other two and gestured excitedly for her to come in. She hesitated for a moment before slowly walking towards it and stopping just three feet away, still staring at it.

"Is that-"

"Yes," the queen nodded her head and pointed to it, "This will take you directly back through the way you came, the way back home. You...You deserve to go back."

Allison smiled and stepped towards it but stopped when something red flashed in front of her face. The Fortune Teller was holding out her umbrella, she had completely forgotten about that back at the arena. More pink smoke swirled around his antennas. "You'll need this to transport you back, otherwise you'll fall back down here and who knows where you'll end up."

She slowly took it from him and smiled. "Thank you.." Then back to the mirror. "So how do I make it work?"

"The same way you did it before. Just open your umbrella and jump right in!," Chesire excitedly announced happily. "And don't worry. I'll be jumping in right behind you so you have no need to worry! You finally get to go home!"

The umbrella unfurled by itself and Allison blinked. Walking closer to the reflection and smiled. Casting one more look to the ones around her and saying, "Thank you."

Before she-.....

JUMPED!!

WHOOSH!! It was like a giant gust of wind just forced her forward and back into the air. Her sore arm hurt from the giant yank on her arm sand on instinct she clutched the handle for dear life. Her body being swung back and forth like some ragdoll and she was scared she might be flung off to who knows where again for a moment. Her hair whipped behind her freeing her face and she gasped as a giant grandfather clock flew passed her, her head twisting to follow it as it went down...Wait. A CLOCK?! She looked up and wmiled when she rapidly blinked at the absolute spiral of BRIGHT orange-pink funnel stared back at her while she was falling up it- She yelped and moved aside as a teacup. A TEACUP!! Of all things flew past her next. Followed by another, then a matching teapot, then a matching tea tray, silver tea spoons, and the rest of a whole tea set. Oh yeah. She remembered those. In the distance more objects started to whizz past her as she continued to free fall up to whatever this thing lead to, which was hopefully back home. A book, thankfully not a very thick one, hit her forehead before continuing on past her. Her red eyed looking around at the now clutter of things as they whizzed by her. Chairs, tables, tea sets, books, paintings, hourglasses, watches!! You name it, it was there. Just like when she first fell down this tunnel, her umbrella whooshing her back up the way she came she hoped. She got her answer when a giant gust of wind just forced her forward and faster and faster and things whirled past her. As she drove deeper and deeper into the unknown, all of a suddenly things were starting to spiral out of control. The random clocks, tea sets, and other things were starting to whizz past her faster and faster. And she was spinning and spinning faster and faster out of control as her surroundings became nothing but swirls of bright colors that was making her head hurt and her arms REALLY hurt from the amount of strain they were using to hold on! So she closed her eyes as soon as the bright light became too much! Her stomach felt like throwing up and she only spun faster and faster. Her fingers finally loosening their grip slowly.

Slowly.

....Slower...

.....Slower..

SLOWER!!

She screamed when her body was flung down like she was fired flom a slingshot down into the center of a bright light upwards, and she slammed her eyes shut. Until with a final smack, she fell to the ground face first like a limp ragdoll.

.....

......

......*COUGH*!!

A hand slowly came to shakily clutch at the ground she was flopped against and Allison's head slowly lifted itself from the ground and coughed again. The ground beneath her was soft with a scruffy rug like feel. She blinked her still blood red eyes and looked around the familiar room. The dark room had just enough light for her to see that it was....Her granny's old meditation room!! She smiled and quickly pushed herself to her knees, looking around the room and jumping when a flash of lightning flashed outside. It was STILL storming but not as badly as she remembered. Allison looked down spotting her phone by her grey lap.....GREY LAP!? She blinked and looked down at herself. The tacky red dress and stockings were gone, replaced back with her old sweats and shirt! She smiled wider and grabbed her phone and sighed, looking around the quiet home and taking it all in as the rain poured outside. She was home...And she had gotten here. She didn't think she'd miss this place even more than she already did but this proved her wrong. A giggle made her pause and look up, and Allison couldn't help but smile back at what she saw. A pair of mitch matched eyes blinked down at her as the blue cat waved his tail from side to side.

"Welcome back from Wonderland, Allison.~ I hope you enjoyed your stay.~"