He was madly in love. There were many things about his love that were maddening. For one, he was in love with a princess and he was nothing more than a knight. And so their love was to be kept hidden from all. But even more maddening was watching his lover marry another.
But now, he was simply mad. But of course that was to be expected when one ventured into a world where all reason was abandoned. Where a White Rabbit lured young men and women from their homes. Where a Caterpillar gave advice in silly riddles. Where a young knight was forced to live the same day over and over again until it drove him mad as a hatter.
He stared at the party before him. Kettles of tea, cups stacked high atop one another, tiered cakes that threatened to topple over with icing dripping down the sides. It all felt familiar to him. A celebration he was so sure he had celebrated before.
But what was the celebration, he wondered. Why was the little Dormouse beside him napping upon his plate? Why did the March Hare leap onto the table to collect a cube of sugar for his tea? Why was he dining with such strange guests?
But as much as he tried, he could not recall. He could not think about the day before, nor the day before that, or even last week. All he could think about was today.
Today. Today. Today.
And what was so special about today?
Why, it was a birthday!
No, not a birthday. He didn’t know the birthday of the Dormouse or the March Hare. It wasn’t his birthday. He didn’t even know if he had a birthday. Or if he had a name. He didn’t remember anything except that it was time for the tea party.
Yes, the tea party. It was time for tea. It was always time for tea.
He joined the March Hare and climbed with his knees onto the table to reach the teapot perched precariously on the stack of plates and sang along in merriment for the tea party before him.
***
Alice waited night after night for the White Rabbit to reappear. She kept the strange bottle in her bedside table just in case that sleepy spell ever fell upon the castle but it seemed as if the Land of Wonder had forgotten them.
Until the night before Alice’s wedding. As Alice lay awake in her bed, listening closely for the pitter patter of the Rabbit scurrying down the hall, she felt as if a dusting of sand fell upon her eyes, making them feel heavy as a candelabra.
Quickly, before sleep could take hold, Alice grabbed the bottle labelled “Drink Me!” and drank.
The spell instantly wore off and Alice felt more awake than ever. She hurried to her door and peer into the hall, just catching a glimpse of white before it turned the corner.
With no time, Alice followed in her nightgown, her shoes already on her feet. Alice stole through the city where everyone lay fast asleep in the night. The Rabbit never noticed her behind it and Alice hesitated only a brief moment before tumbling after it through the rabbit hole.
***
Sometimes, Louisa could hear her mother’s voice. She had a way with telling stories that were all at once exhilarating, drawing the listener in so that they yearned to hear what happened next, and yet, lulling, pulling the listener into slumberland.
In the sparse moments when Louisa could lay her head down and close her eyes, her mother’s voice recited the tales once more, as if she were there with Louisa.
Before she became the Queen of Hearts in this Land of Wonder, she was the second eldest princess in her kingdom. She lived a life sheltered by her father and shadowed by her older sister, Alice.
Alice was the cleverest. Alice was the loveliest. Alice would inherit the kingdom while she would be married off to one of the princes of a distant kingdom. Perhaps the vain Prince Aven who could not be satiated. Or the cruel Prince Maxen whose disappearance was perhaps the only thing that saved Louisa from a marriage to him.
She was doomed to live a life chosen for her while Alice would get the world.
But Louisa could choose one thing. When the King of this land had taken notice of her, Louisa was not slow to act. She did all she could to keep the King’s eyes on her and away from her sisters, especially Alice.
She had lured Evans into this land to ensure Alice’s banishment and her marriage to the King.
In the few moments when Louisa wasn’t tormented by the madness clawing at her mind, she would smile to herself, knowing she had won.
***
Alice remembered this feeling. As if one were tumbling endlessly into the abyss. No sense of time, no sense of mind, just the never-ending freefall until one finally found the solid ground once more.
She hit with an audible “Oof!” Usually, she came into this world in a daze, cast under the White Rabbit’s spell. But not tonight.
Alice slowly rose to her feet and brushed the dirt from her nightgown. For the first time, she felt afraid as she stood before the door that had welcomed her in many times before.
The Doorknob was asleep, snoring through the keyhole that was its mouth. Alice wondered if perhaps she should wake the Doorknob. But it slept so soundly that she felt it rude to interrupt. So she squeezed the knob that was its nose but as she turned, it let out a horrible yelp and Alice let go.
The Doorknob wrinkled the knob, water filling its eyes until a sneeze erupted.
“Who has the audacity to wake me up at such an hour?” the Doorknob exclaimed. It blinked its teary eyes until it could clearly see who had grabbed its nose so violently. “My, my, is it truly so? Alice returning to the Land of Wonder? You, my dear, are no longer welcome. Now, off with you!”
“But I must see my sister,” Alice cried, but the Doorknob had fallen asleep once more.
“Wait!” Alice screamed and clasped the knob with both hands. She tried with all her might to twist it open, to get back into the Land of Wonder.
But the knob would not turn and the Doorknob would not awaken.
“You must let me in,” Alice pleaded.
“Perhaps if you were smaller,” whispered a voice.
Alice released the door and searched the room for the speaker. But the room was empty but for the table with a basket of biscuits and tiny bottles of colorful drinks. Labels on the treats enticed Alice either to eat or drink them but Alice was wary for she had seen what the strange food from this strange land could do to a person.
“If you were small enough, you could perhaps slip through the keyhole,” the voice coerced.
“Perhaps…” Alice muttered, staring at the keyhole. She then looked at the treats, considering her options. Her sister was on the other side of that door. Evans was on the other side of that door, waiting for her to free him from that world.
“Drink me,” the voice taunted. A smile that belonged to no one grinned at her, hovering over the biscuits and drinks.
Alice had no choice. She was out of time and so she picked a bottle, twisted out the cork, and drank it in one gulp.
Slowly, the world around her grew and grew until the table was a mountain, the tiny bottle she had dropped now bigger than her, and the keyhole a door. A door that was well out of her reach.
“I’m no closer to my sister than I was before,” Alice shouted.
“Don’t be so quick to despair,” the voice replied. A hand without a body hovered over her, dangling a fresh green leaf over her head. “You’re a clever girl, aren’t you?”
The hand vanished and the leaf floated down to Alice’s feet. She clasped it on both ends, the leaf big enough to wrap around her body.
“What am I to do with a leaf?” she asked aloud.
But this time, the voice did not come to her aid. Alice had to do it on her own.
Alice recalled the tumble down the rabbit hole. How her skirt would flare out and almost seemed to slow her fall. She looked up at the Doorknob, still slumbering away. Breathing in and out. In and out. In.
Alice wrapped the leaf around her shoulders, clasped the edge of the table cloth hanging just above the floor, and climbed.
Her arms ached and trembled as she pulled herself higher and higher, threatening to give up on the climb. But each time she nearly let go and tumbled all the way back down, she thought of her upcoming wedding. She saw her future, unhappily married to a stranger while Evans wasted away losing his mind. Each time she remembered, her strength swelled and she made it up another inch.
With a heaving breath, Alice made it over the edge and sprawled out across the table. But this was only half the battle.
Pushing herself back to her feet, she broke a piece of a biscuit, stuffed it into the pocket of her nightgown, and unwrapped the leaf from her shoulders.
She stood at the edge a moment, waiting for the right time. Hesitating from fear.
With her eyes shut, she brought memories of her sister to mind. How she was always so careful to bring them back home every morning. How she had failed to protect Louisa from the wonders of the land beyond the door. How she had lost her sister that night.
Alice opened her eyes. Then she leapt.
The Doorknob breathed in, pulling her close. But before Alice could get a foothold in the keyhole, the Doorknob blew out, sending her back towards the table.
Alice did her best to stay on course, to keep from going awry.
The Doorknob breathed in once more and Alice quickly guided herself back. She got a hold and pulled herself through before she could be blown away again.
Alice crawled through the dark passageway towards the light on the other side. To the side where wonder awaited her. Once through, she used the leaf to gently float down to the grassy meadow.
Ready to be herself once more, Alice quickly ate the biscuit stuffed in her pocket and she grew and grew until the blades of grass no longer reached over her head.
Alice’s heart raced. The world was all at once familiar yet strange. For she had not come as a guest but as a trespasser. The court was not there to greet her and lead her away to the festivities. Instead, Alice felt vulnerable, like eyes were peering at her from all around. Even the pansies at her feet seemed to be looking up at her, watching her every move.
She felt naked.
Exposed.
“Ah, you remembered,” the voice said. “I was afraid you would be stuck as small as a thumb.”
“Who are you?”
“Someone you have yet to meet, but someone who has seen much of you.”
“Do you have a face or are you simply a voice to taunt me?”
A tail unfurled from a tree limb and swung from side to side, as if ticking the seconds passing by. A mouth grinned followed by a face.
“A cat?” Alice asked, perplexed by the smiling Cat stretched across the tree limb.
“Oh Alice, after all the wonderful things you have seen here, you’re bewildered by a cat?”
“Well yes. A cat that speaks and grins. I must admit, it is a first, even in a place like this. I’ve never seen you before in all my visits.”
The Grinning Cat rolled over, his grin turning into a frown. “Stay in this world long enough and nothing will seem odd ever again.”
“Is that what happened to you?”
“I was odd before I ever came to this land. It merely allowed me to become truer to myself. And soon, you will become that way as well.”
“I don’t intend to stay long. I’ve come only to save my someone.”
“Someone? Or some two?”
Alice’s breath caught and her heart raced. Louisa had drawn away from her. Could she even be saved?
“I can take you to him.”
“Why are you helping me? Nothing in this world wants me here.”
“I do not adhere to the wants and needs of this world. Only to my own wants and needs.”
“And you want to help me?”
“What I want I will not say. But, my dear Alice, what I need is something that your dear sister will not give to me. I will take you to him and then I will guide you to her.”
Alice should’ve known better than the trust anyone in this world and what they wanted. But the Grinning Cat had gotten her here and so she followed him.
***
Louisa had become the Queen of Hearts in this strange land. She desired them, she ruled over them, she swayed them. So when she felt a new heart in her realm, one swelling full of love, she became curious.
She must have that heart.
***
Today was a birthday. No, no, not a birthday. Just a day. With a party. A party for…the Dormouse! No, he was busy sleeping.
Maybe for the March Hare currently grabbing a large slice of cake and dropping it on his plate.
He wanted cake.
As he reached for the knife, he paused. There was a heart engraved on it. Just a simple heart, no bigger than his nail. But it stirred something in him.
Grief?
Yes, yes, he had lost something. Or was it someone? Or had he even lost it yet?
Or did he feel anger? His knuckles clenched as he closed his fist. There was an anger in him but towards whom?
Why was it impossible to remember anything?
Why was he at this tea party again?
“You should eat,” the March Hare coerced. “You’ll feel better.”
Eat. Yes, it was hunger he felt. How silly! He was so very hungry.
His fingers wrapped around the knife and he sunk it into the cake.
***
Alice wanted to walk faster but the Grinning Cat was in no rush.
“Tell me, Grinning Cat, are you of this world? Or are you a stranger like me?”
“Everything in this world is strange.”
“Well yes. But do you belong?”
“Can anything truly belong? Do you belong to your world?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then why return? Night after night after night after ni-“
“Alright,” Alice quipped. “Maybe I don’t belong. Not fully.”
“No one can belong but those who make the rules.”
“And who makes the rules here?”
“Your sister. She is our queen. Until she is no longer.”
“What will happen when she’s not the queen anymore?”
“What always happens to the Queen of Hearts. The madness will consume her.”
“How much time until it does?”
“It’s already begun.”
***
Louisa hadn’t felt anything like this in her heart in a very, very long time. Instead, all she had felt for as long as she could remember was envy. Even when she was able to recall her life before she became queen, there had been envy eating away at her. It drove her, it pushed her. It would’ve been the end of her if she hadn’t found this new heart. All the hearts in this world were tainted but this one…this one was strong. It was fractured and full of cracks, but it was strong
It would be hers.
***
Singing was the first thing Alice encountered. Two voices, sometimes joined by a drowsy third. She recognized one of them and she ran to it.
Alice stumbled into the garden and found a strange, strange sight.
A long table set with many teapots, stacks upon stacks of dishes, three-, four-, even seven-tiered cakes. Pots with honey overflowing onto the tablecloth, sugar cubes scattered, spilled tea dripping from the cup.
And amidst the chaos sat the three Alice had heard singing. A March Hare bouncing in his chair, a Dormouse chiming in intermittently, and him.
Evans was all at once familiar and strange. He looked exactly as he always did but something in him had changed. Something was consuming him. She could see it in his eyes.
“How is he this far gone? It’s only been a couple months.”
“For you, my dear. But not for him. For him, it’s been years.”
“It’s not too late, is it?”
“To save him? Or to steal his heart back?”
“I do not steal, only retrieve what was once mine.”
“But, my dear, it’s much too late for that. For you have stole your way back into this world. And you have stolen the attention of our queen. If you want to save your beloved, you must now steal his heart.”
“So she knows I’m here?”
“She knows there is an intruder in her land. She does not yet know it is your heart she seeks.”
“Then I believe I must hurry.”
Lifting up the skirt of her nightgown, Alice stepped over the hedge.
Silence immediately fell and the partygoers all turned their eyes on her, including the drowsy Dormouse.
“What’s this?” the March Hare demanded. “I don’t recall giving you an invitation.”
“Perhaps it slipped your mind,” the Dormouse muttered with a yawn before returning his head to the slice of cake he had been using as a pillow.
“I most certainly did not invite her,” the March Hare asserted, crossing his arms with a ‘Harumph!’ “Did you invite her?”
Evans stared and stared but he simply couldn’t remember inviting this young woman. And yet he felt…relieved to see her? Like he had been expecting her? No, how could he expect someone he didn’t know? Or maybe he did know her.
He saw it. A flash, a memory fleeting. A hand reaching out to save him. He had been…drowning? Lost? He saw her smile and he felt warm.
For a brief moment, he saw a childhood nearly forgotten. A young girl, giggling in the shadows of a hall, hands pressed to his cheeks, lips parted to invite him closer. But then, the anger returned and he did not want to see her any longer.
“You were not invited,” he proclaimed, throwing the spoon across the table.
Alice’s heart gained speed. For a moment, she saw clarity return to his eyes. But now it was gone once more and he only saw her as a stranger.
“You’re right,” she replied. “I was not invited to your party.”
The March Hare huffed with a smile and said, “See!”
“But,” Alice continued, “I see so many empty seats that I thought I could join.”
“There’s no room,” the March Hare exclaimed.
Alice looked over the many, many empty chairs and the tea and sweets set out for at least twenty. “Surely you can spare one seat?”
“Each seat is taken by a guest we await to join us,” the March Hare explained. “The Dormouse awaits the Moon to wish him a goodnight. I await Sense to come indulge me in a chat. And he awaits Time to return to a past almost forgotten.”
“Well I certainly believe your guests may take time to arrive. In the meantime, perhaps I can offer my company? I know a lullaby my mother used to sing to me and I can give a stirringly good conversation to you. And perhaps I can help him hold onto the memories until Time arrives.”
The March Hare stared at Alice with a skeptical brow raised. “Quite the arrogant one, thinking you can take the place of our awaited guests. But if you fail to uphold your bargain, we’ve no problem giving you to the Queen to have you executed.”
Alice brought her hand to her neck, the company she offered now a daunting task.
“Alright,” she agreed and dropped into a chair. “Until your guests arrive, you will have me for entertainment. I’ll start with you, Dormouse. A good night’s rest? Is that what you seek?”
“I would if night were to come to this land but the Moon has been away for many, many days. One would think the Sun would tire of shining.”
“Well perhaps you must trick the sun,” Alice offered. She helped herself to a plate, a cup, and a teaspoon. She set the cup on the plate and propped it with the spoon. Using a napkin, she made a tiny bed for the little Dormouse.
The Dormouse dragged his feet across the table, fluffed the napkin and crawled into the little shelter Alice had made for him.
“Where has the Sun gone off to?” he asked.
“Perhaps like you, the Sun has gone off to bed. Though I suspect you’d want that lullaby?”
The Dormouse let out a long yawn, rubbing his eyes. “That was promised, was it not?”
Alice closed her eyes, recalling one of the lullabies her mother sang to her as a child.
‘A land, a land awaits you far
Away, away.
In time, in time, you’ll find
Your way, your way.
Where a moon shines bright to light your path
Through stars and clouds
And into dreams that lie awake
For those to slumber.
A land, a land awaits you near
It’s time, it’s time to find
Your way, your way’
As Alice trailed off the last line, the Dormouse fell into a deep slumber where dreams had been waiting for him all this time.
“Careful or the Moon will steal you away to bring dreams to everyone in this land,” the March Hare warned.
“And now for your promise,” Alice said, leaning on her elbows. “Tell me, what sort of conversation would you like me to indulge you in?”
“One far more sensible than this,” he huffed.
“I take it you consider yourself a very sensible one, then?”
“More than you, it appears.”
Alice didn’t let the jab persuade her as she helped herself to a slice of one of the high-tiered cakes. But then she remembered what the food would do to her in this peculiar land and she pushed the plate aside.
“Then tell me, sensible one. What is the party for?”
“What a silly question. It’s for a birthday, of course.”
“Your birthday?”
The March Hare paused, thinking a moment, and frowned. “No, of course not. Why would I throw a birthday party for myself?”
“Then it must be the Dormouse’s birthday?”
Once more, the March Hare went into deep thought, overfilling his cup with tea. He slammed the kettle down in a sudden anger. “No, why would he sleep on his own birthday?”
Alice looked at Evans. He had his eyes on her but they were distant, unfocused. She knew it wasn’t his birthday but in this bizarre land, anything could be.
“So it must be his birthday,” she concluded.
The March Hare didn’t need to think this one over. He gestured at Evans, spilling tea along the way. “How could it be his birthday if he remembers nothing?”
Alice sat back, crossing her arms. The March Hare grinned, thinking he had won the conversation. Alice felt every beat of her heart as her fingers brushed over her neck.
“Well…it’s not your birthday, it’s not the Dormouse’s birthday, and it’s not his birthday. It’s not my birthday, and I do not know if your awaited guests have birthdays. It seems odd to throw a birthday party with no birthday to celebrate.”
“Are you calling me odd?” The March Hare asked, throwing down his teacup. “It’s very rude to insult someone at a party.”
“I don’t mean to call you odd. Only the circumstance odd. A birthday party with no birthday to celebrate. Why, you could call it an…an un-birthday party.”
“An…un-birthday party, the Hare muttered. He rubbed a paw along his chin, repeating it over and over again under his breath. Suddenly, his ears perked up and he clapped his two front paws together. “Yes! That’s it, precisely! An un-birthday party. To celebrate this day of no birthdays!”
Alice finally allowed herself to picked up one of the many, many teacups and raised it to the air. “To our un-birthday! A very usual and ordinary day.”
The March Hare, now in a very different mood, raised his glass alongside hers while the Dormouse continued to sleep and Evans remained in his trance.
Alice slowly lowered her cup. Only one remained. The one who was waiting for Time.
But was Alice too late?
Or was she simply on time?
“You seek to remember a past almost forgotten, do you not?” Alice asked.
Evans blinked slowly, trying to see her clearly but couldn’t quite grasp clarity. “I can’t remember.”
Alice lowered her eyes, chewing on her lip. It had to be the right memory to get through to him. There were many, many memories to choose from but which one would save him and which would make him succumb to the madness clawing at him?
Maybe she should tell him of the first memory she had of him. When his mother brought him to the castle when he was but a child and they slipped into the kitchen to steal a tray of sweet buns meant for dinner.
Or the night she confessed her love for him as they hid themselves away in the garden to watch the stars
But would her proclamation of love only drive him further into madness, thinking she had abandoned him all those years?
“There once was a knight of the kingdom,” Alice began in a gentle, singsong voice. “He came to the castle as a young boy, bright eyed and brave. He met the five daughters of the king who quickly grew to twelve daughters. The young boy spent every day with the eldest daughter of the twelve. They made the castle their own, a riotous and raucous pair that ruled the halls and the shadows.”
As Alice continued her tale, she rose from her chair and moved closer to Evans.
“But the boy and girl grew older. One into a loyal knight, swearing his life to serve the kingdom with his sword, and the other into a princess, swearing her life to her kingdom with her vows. They knew that one day their fantasy would crumble. Until the brave knight asked the king to marry the princess. And the king agreed but only if the knight could save his daughters from the world that threatened to steal them away.
“But the knight did not know the dangers of that world and so he accepted. Before he could save his princess, he was caught and trapped in that land, awaiting his beloved to save him. But time passed and she never came. Time ate away until he lost hope.”
Alice slowly pressed her fingers to Evans arms. He began to flinch but soon relaxed at her touch. She could see him fighting to grasp those memories just within reach. Memories of the life he had lived before coming to this mad, mad world.
“The princess did come back to save her knight. She is here now. It’s time to remember and come home,” Alice whispered, leaning over Evans.
Evans blinked slowly, his pupils dilating as recognition washed over him like the tide gently easing itself higher and higher up the shore.
“Alice?” he muttered softly.
“Yes, Evans. It’s me. I’m here.”
Alice pressed her lips to Evans’, her fingers slipping into the soft curls of his hair. Evans, no longer startled by this stranger he did not know, returned the kiss. Alice was just in time to bring back his memories nearly forgotten.
“Alice,” he repeated.
Alice nodded eagerly, filled with joy as Evans finally recognized her and looked at her the way he once did.
“You came back.”
“Of course I did. I love you.”
“Such a lovely reunion,” the Grinning Cat said, his form slowly appearing over a thickly iced cake. He grabbed a pawful and stuffed it into his mouth, much to the March Hare’s dismay.
“What is that?” Evans asked, for he was not as accustomed to the oddities of this world.
“What are you?” the Cat asked in return, turning his head entirely upside down so his grin turned to a frown.
“A friend,” Alice explained to Evans.
The conversation came to a sudden halt as all eyes turned to the White Rabbit who had lured the princesses to Wonderland. He stood on his hind legs, checked his pocket watch, then cleared his throat.
“Alice, you are hereby summoned to appear before the Queen of Hearts and stand trial.”
“What am I accused of?”
“Theft from Wonderland.”
“Alice,” Evans whispered, slipping his hand in hers. “We should run.”
“I won’t leave Louisa. If she wants me to stand trial, then I will face her.”
“A foolish choice,” the Grinning Cat remarked. “But a brave one. I shall attend as your character witness.”
“What do you intend to take from my sister?”
“Just like you my dear, I only intend to take back what is mine.”
“Then so be it. You will speak to the court on behalf of my character. And I will ensure my sister returns what she has taken.”
***
A fit of rage and jealousy consumed Louisa suddenly. The heart she wanted had mended itself a small bit. True love seeped through it, bleeding over in rich, warm floods.
Louisa needed that heart.
The heart that belonged to her older sister.
***
Alice approached the castle that the White Rabbit had led the party to. She had never entered its halls in all the times she visited Wonderland despite it always looming over in the distance. The towers reached higher than Alice thought possible but so much impossible was possible in this land.
As the White Rabbit began leading them to the doors of the castle, the Grinning Cat floated in front of Alice and Evans, stopping them from getting any nearer to the palace.
“Perhaps a trial outdoors? The air will help us all keep our heads. Until we reach a verdict that is.”
The White Rabbit’s nose twitched and he checked his pocket watch again. He let out a sigh. “The Queen does not like those who are late.”
“Perhaps it is she who is late,” the Cat responded. “For we are ready for the trial right here. And we are waiting.”
The White Rabbit checked his watch once more, contemplating the Cat’s words. “Late, late. Yes, late. The Queen is late.”
And the Rabbit hopped right into the doors to retrieve the queen.
“Why a trial out here?” Alice asked.
“Trust me,” the Cat assured her. “If you step into that castle, you will never leave. That is the King’s domain and no one keeps their head once they enter.”
“And will we keep our heads after the trial?”
“That all depends on you, my dear Alice. Will you prove your innocence?”
***
“Late?”
The word echoed in her head, bouncing as if a mallet were hitting it around and around.
Was she late for the trial? But she had called for the trial. How could she be late for it?
But that was what the White Rabbit had told her. That Alice was already in attendance for her trial and she was waiting on her for the trial to begin in the gardens.
The gardens.
Right! Louisa had a round of croquet planned in the garden. Alice must be there to join her. She hadn’t seen her sister in so very long.
Louisa lifted the full skirt of her gown and hurried down the hall to see her dear sister who she hadn’t seen in what seemed like ages.
The doors opened and there stood Alice, dressed in her nightgown of all things! What an odd thing to wear to a game of croquet.
Alice was always the most beautiful of the twelve sisters. Her bright blonde hair fell in perfect curls, her green eyes the color of new spring grass.
But if you asked Alice which of her sisters was the most beautiful, Alice would always say every single one of her sisters were beautiful. She loved something different about each and every one of them. She loved Louisa’s heart-shaped face, speckled with little dots that spread further every summer after they spent hours in the sun.
Alice loved Louisa dearly, even after all this time, so when her sister ran to embrace her, Alice wrapped her arms around her tight, never wanting to let go.
“I’m so sorry for being late!” Louisa exclaimed. “Come, come. Let’s start our game now, while the sun is shining.”
“Game?” Alice asked, following Louisa into the garden.
“Yes, just like we used to play. Is your memory failing you, Alice?”
Alice did not question the odd turn of events. A game of croquet was a far better ordeal and perhaps the memories would bring Louisa back to her.
“Of course I remember,” Alice replied. “I even brought spectators.”
Evans had watched the sisters play their game many times before so Louisa thought nothing of him joining them. But she did take notice of the Cat the seemed to walk on air, grinning at her.
“What an odd pet,” she commented.
Alice grabbed the Grinning Cat’s mouth before he could reply but his mouth simply vanished and reappeared next to her.
“She is an odd one indeed,” the mouth said. “But a trained one as well.”
“A clever little thing too.”
Louisa snatched one of the tall pink birds standing in the garden, stretched out its legs, and used its long beak to hit the ball through the hoop.
She smirked at Alice and said, “That will be a tough one to beat.”
Alice looked at the poor birds. They didn’t flee, even after one of them had been snatched to be used as a mallet.
“Come now, Alice, before the sun gets tired of waiting.”
She needed to bring her sister home, so Alice grabbed a bird, straightened its legs, and hit the ball. Afraid of hurting the bird, she hit softly so her ball didn’t even make it to the hoop.
“You know I hate it when you throw the game,” Louisa said. “I want to beat you at a fair game.”
Alice tread carefully, searching for the right memory that wouldn’t upset Louisa. One particular memory came to mind and she smiled.
“I still take offense to your accusation that I was faking my twisted ankle.”
Louisa paused, her eyes becoming distant as she searched for the memory deep in her mind. Alice waited, fearing perhaps the memory was too far for her to remember.
But after a moment, Louisa broke out into laughter. “You were faking it!”
“I was not!” Alice objected, taking her turn. With her second hit, she nearly caught up to Louisa. “I was limping for three days!”
“You only limped when I was looking.” She hit the ball, sending it too far for Alice to pass her. “And to be clear, I would’ve won anyway.”
Alice smiled. Louisa was always so competitive. She always wanted to win, getting angry when she did not. Alice, though, just wanted to play and enjoy the time with her sister.
Louisa suddenly frowned, as if the memory soured. “I did beat you. I didn’t need you to fake your injury.”
“I didn’t – “
Louisa cut her off by slamming the bird down. It screeched, spread its wings, and flew off.
“You stole that victory. You are a thief, Alice, and you are to stand trial.”
“Louisa, please,” she begged. “Let’s just go home.”
“No. I am the queen here. I will not go back to being second best.”
“You were never second best.”
“Enough! Your trial begins now.”
Two knights grabbed Alice’s arms, but they were not knights like Evans. They were playing cards, just like the ones Alice and Louisa used to play with.
Evans had no weapons to stop them so he and the Grinning Cat were taken along with Alice to the trial awaiting her.
Every resident of Wonderland was there, watching her, including the woman with the petals for hair, the Caterpillar who spoke in riddles, the March Hair frowning at her, and the Dormouse nodding off.
And overlooking the trial as the King of Hearts. Alice’s heart fluttered at the sight of him, as it always did unwillingly. He smiled at her with his dark and piercing eyes. Alice had thought her trial would end well. She was adored by those of Wonderland but she had disobeyed the King by returning and now she feared her sentencing. She had seen so many stand before the King and receive their punishment. Being on this side now, she trembled.
“Do not fear my dear Alice,” the King reassured her. “I am not your judge. She is.”
Louisa stepped up to the throne next to the King. They looked quite the pair, both dressed in red as dark as blood. The King wore a necklace of thorns that pressed into his skin, drawing blood that dripped down. Louisa wore ruby jewels that glittered, giving the illusion of blood on her neck.
Alice rubbed her neck, thinking of all those who had lost their heads before her. Surely Louisa wouldn’t find her guilty.
But as Alice sat, Louisa did just that. She cried out the guilty verdict without giving Alice a chance.
“Surely I can defend myself,” Alice argued.
“You have stolen therefore you are guilty,” Louisa declared.
“I do say that means I have a mistrial,” Alice went on, appealing to the Wonderland inhabitants whom she had entertained all those nights. “A just a fair trial should be given to the accused.”
A consensus was immediately reached in the crowd. They at least wanted to watch a trial.
“Don’t be so rash my dear queen,” the King said. “They came to see a show. Give them a show.”
“So be it,” Louisa relented. “Alice will face her trial for her crimes of theft.”
“And what have I stolen?”
“You have stolen the heart of the knight named Evans.”
“His heart was mine. I merely took it back after it was taken away.”
“His heart was taken as punishment for trespassing into Wonderland.”
“Evans did not come to Wonderland willingly. He was lied to and lured here with something stolen and brought to our world.”
Alice pulled from her pocket the strange bottle, nearly empty after she had drank from it. Anyone could tell it came from Wonderland.
Louisa paled and she shrank back into her throne. Meanwhile, the King leaned forward, intrigued by the revelation.
“And who gave him such a thing?”
“Someone who would steal him,” Alice answered, refusing to tell her sister’s name. “Now, is it theft to retrieve what was yours?”
The audience murmured among one another, seemingly in agreement.
Louisa’s heart raced, fear taking hold. She would lose everything if she didn’t do something.
“Alice, you are also charged with theft from Wonderland, in the case of the stolen drink.” She smiled at her sister, knowing Alice would never turn the blame back on her.
And she was right. Even as the court turned against her, Alice could not bring herself to put the blame on Louisa.
Evans stepped forward to do so himself, but Alice grabbed his arm, stopping him.
“I call a character witness,” Alice declared. “The Grinning Cat.”
The King frowned and Louisa squirmed again as the Cat slowly appeared at the stand, grin first.
“Do you know Alice well enough to attest to her character?” the King asked.
“Does anyone know Alice well enough to attest to her character?”
Alice pursed her lips. She should’ve known better.
“Then how do you plan to stand as witness?”
“Does this pose not suit Your Highness?” the Cat asked and he rearranged his body so that his front legs stood on the stand and his back legs were in the air. His head came to a rest atop his tail.
The King was not amused and his anger made the land feel even more dangerous. “What will you bear witness to?”
“The things I have witnessed.”
“And what are they?” he asked, his annoyance causing his neck to tense and the thorns to press further into his skin.
“I have witnessed much in my time with Alice. She bravely stole her way into Wonderland, then she pilfered the company of the March Hare and Dormouse, and she nearly looted the mind of our dear queen. But never has she stolen the heart of the knight named Evans.”
Alice stood frozen. The Cat had been on her side and he betrayed her.
“So she is a thief?” the King asked.
“Quite the thief, yes. But is she on trial for those thefts or for the heart?”
“She has taken the heart,” the King reiterated. “The heart that did not belong to her, for everything in this land is mine. Even Alice is mine.”
Alice pondered a moment. She was thankful for all the conversations she’d had with the Caterpillar, for it taught her to speak in riddles.
“But I am not yours,” Alice argued. “I am not of this land.”
“And yet, here you are.”
“But I belong to my kingdom. I have a duty to my people.”
“A princess is not beholding to her people. She rules them.”
“But I have a husband waiting for me.”
The King frowned and leaned forward in his throne. “Your wedding has not come to be.”
“Do vows before an audience make a marriage?”
“If no one is witness, who is to say it’s true?”
“And yet, if you look into my heart you will see it is not yours.”
The King narrowed his eyes. “You do not love the prince. He does not have your heart.”
“I am not speaking of the prince. I made a vow to Evans, many years ago, that I would always love him. That my heart would always be his, no matter what the future may bring for us.”
Rage burned in the King’s eyes. More blood seeped from the thorns digging into his neck. For Alice’s words rang true. The King never owned Alice or her heart, no matter how often he lured her to his land. He had ensnared her mother years ago and the moment he felt Alice’s heart, he needed it.
He nearly had her that first night but his greed had gotten the better of him and he wanted her eleven sisters as well, even if their hearts weren’t as strong as Alice’s. Once her sisters were in danger, Alice became guarded and her heart was further away than ever. Even when the King sought to instill jealousy in Alice by pursuing Louisa, her heart only hardened further.
“I have stolen nothing from Wonderland,” Alice declared. “In truth, it is Wonderland that has stolen from me and therefore the King is guilty.”
Madness erupted in the audience, shocked by Alice’s bold claim. It seemed as if the King had no more rage and yet, he found more to boil over.
“All I ask,” Alice shouted, “Is to take home what is mine. Evans and Louisa.”
The King stood, looming high over Alice. That sinister smile that had terrorized so many before was now on Alice. “Louisa is no longer yours. She has given me her heart.” He pulled from his robe the throbbing red heart that once beat in Louisa’s chest. “If you take her, then you truly are a thief.”
Alice paled at the thought of leaving Louisa behind. It made her sick, but what could she do?
“Louisa,” Alice begged. “Please come home.”
Louisa, who had looked terrified through the whole ordeal, suddenly hardened again. “Why would I ever go home?”
“Because we miss you, especially father. I miss you.”
Louisa scoffed. “I will never go back.” She rose to her feet, scowling at Alice. “Alice is so perfect,” she mocked. “Alice is so lovely. Alice is so kind. Alice, Alice, Alice.” I will not got back to living in your shadow.”
“You were never in my shadow.”
“I was always second best. Except here. Here, I am the Queen of Hearts.”
“You see, Alice,” the King taunted, “Louisa is mine.”
“And she has something of mine,” the Grinning Cat interjected, slowly appearing wrapped around Louisa’s shoulders. Before she could react, his tail slipped into her coat and yanked out two vials, each holding a red wisp of light in it.
Louisa tried to grab them back but the Cat vanished, only to reappear on Alice’s shoulders.
“Those are my hearts!” Louisa screamed.
“Actually, they are the heart of a dear friend and an acquaintance, “ the Cat explained. “Given to me to fulfill an important request.”
“Bring me their heads!” Louisa screeched.
One by one, the Playing Cards shuffled around, circling Alice, Evans, and the Grinning Cat.
Alice met Louisa’s eyes but all she saw was bitter hatred in them.
Suddenly, the Grinning Cat leapt from Alice’s shoulders and took off running before the gap could close and trap them in.
Alice could not wait another moment. This was her last chance to escape. And so, she grasped Evans hand tight so as never to lose him again and she ran and she ran.
The Grinning Cat was far ahead of them and Alice feared he would leave them behind but he never did. He led them into a giant hedge maze and Alice followed.
Alice kept running through the endless maze, turning corner after corner, getting dizzier and dizzier. It seemed as if they were trapped forever.
Until a valley appeared in the distance, so tiny, Alice could hold it. It was a valley Alice knew better than anywhere else.
Her kingdom was just within reach and she ran faster and faster. Through the burning in her legs and the pain in her chest, she ran.
And in the blink of an eye, Alice was back in the valley where her castle sat. To her back was the lake, no sign of Wonderland to be seen.
Relief was short lived for this was not the kingdom she had left the night before. Thorny vines wrapped around the tall towers of the castle, strangling the stones. The vines stretched all around the castle and through the city, enveloping every home and shop in its sharp grasp. Not a soul stirred in the city and darkness hung over the valley so Alice could not tell if morning had come.
Evans squeezed Alice’s hand as he also stared in dismay at the castle he grew up in now hidden beneath the dark vines.
“What have we done?” Alice muttered.
“My, my,” a familiar voice said. Alice turned to the Grinning Cat only to find a man standing next to them. He had sharp, almost feline features and Alice thought she could just barely make out whiskers on his cheeks. “It seems I have come out the wrong way. I should retrace my steps.” He flashed the two vials he had taken back from Louisa and gave Alice that familiar grin. “I can’t keep a prince waiting for his bride.”
“Wait!” Alice cried as he turned to leave. “Can’t you help us?”
The man turned back to her, his face dark and serious. It nearly frightened Alice. “There is a dark and powerful magic at work here.”
“The King,” Evans muttered, clenching his fist tight.
“No, this creature is of this world and it has brought despair unto the kingdom,” the man explained. As he spoke, he moved closer and closer to Alice, his hand outstretched. Sharp claws reached for Alice and came to a rest just over her heart.
“You’re a brave young woman, Alice, with a strong heart. Protect it, for there are creatures throughout the land that would steal it for themselves.”
Alice’s heart raced and he could feel it against his nails.
“You are exactly where you are supposed to be, Alice. My son is awaiting my return so I must leave you now. But,” his claws pressed against her but Alice felt no pain. She stopped Evans from reaching out to the man. “If you allow me to take just a small piece of your heart, I will be indebted to you.”
“Yes,” Alice said with a nod, only needing a brief moment to think it over. “Only one piece so that I may call for you.”
The man grinned and he slowly drew a long red wisp of light from Alice’s heart. She felt no pain but she did feel the tiny absence in her heart.
He held out the wisp between his hands and looked at it closely, his mouth wide in a smile. “This is a good heart. It won’t work well in my current concoction but it will save me one day.”
He placed the wisp of Alice’s heart into a new vial, tucked it away with the others, and bowed to Alice and Evans.
“How will I call you?” Alice asked.
“Just simply call out my name.”
“And what is your name?”
“You may call me Rumpelstiltskin.”
And he finally departed, vanishing down the rabbit hole once more. Alice and Evans turned back to their city ensnared by thorns.
And Alice started walking back home with the man she loved.
Be Bold 