Chapter Two: Unsaid Things

[manniness]

Mirana takes one look at Alice’s face and feels her smile curl up and crawl into a corner of her mind. She regards her friend’s expression, notes the lines of tension and misery that Alice struggles to hold behind her fury, and sighs.

Alice knows.

“You didn’t tell me.”

The office door closes behind Alice. The sound is as soft as the

Comments

OMG

[alice_hightopp]

Alice is pissed off, but then again I would be too. How can Tarrant die? How can Mirana not tell Alice? You are being soo cruel to Alice... Not even her friends who knew told her. Oh well, I am counting on you to make it better!!

Re: OMG

[manniness]

Ah... what we have now is only the tip of the iceberg of What's Really Going On. All this Alice Torture will become clear very soon. (^__~) And the "better" bits... ah, that is be a ways off yet, I'm afraid.

Oh, poor Tamial...

[anonymous]

That father/son moment was sooooooo adorable!! I loved it ^_^, it made my heart swell and slightly break all at the same time. I wonder how he's going to take the news :-/.

And Alice is... quite... angry, but who wouldn't be. Though I do have a few questions: why did the Jabberwocky's leave? Will we be figuring this out later? And Mally's stuttered speech confused me a little; they knew the "truth" meaning they new what Tarrant did, or did Tarrant's actions have some affect on his scar moving too?

I'm sure more will be answered in chapters to come, but I just want to make sure I'm not missing explanations.

Great chapter as always :-), I just can't wait till it gets happier, hehe.

Can't wait for Ch. 3!

Hugs,
futrCSI1490

Re: Oh, poor Tamial...

[manniness]

Ah, I see you are Confused! Excellent! There are hints as to what's Coming, but no, I have not explained yet. You will see very soon what all of this means for Alice. It's all part of the Plan. (^__~) Of course, many of the foreshadowing parts are purposefully vague and may require a re-read once you know What's Going On.

Re: Oh, poor Tamial...

[anonymous]

Ok, good ^_^!! That's what I figured what you were doing, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. Thanks hun, I can't wait till things make sense! Hehe ^_~.

~futrCSI1490

Re: Oh, poor Tamial...

[anonymous_plume]

She shakes her head and turns away, pacing toward the hearth. “So let’s all be sorry! Let’s just be sorry and continue on with life as if nothing will change! Let’s show Amallya how to make a tricorn! Let’s show Tam how to polish brass gears! Let’s have meetings and talk about Tarra’s latest bloody chair and let’s plan for another round of Wooing Rites that we both know aren’t necessary in the slightest and let’s be normal! Let's just pretend-pretend-pretend-!”

This had me gasping and choking on sobs. damnit. :(

wow

[katalyst84]

I can't tell you how much this chapter touched me on a very personal level.

The hat that Tarrant made for Tam really tears me up. When my mom died (cervical cancer - a rather slow death as is spreads through the body) she had written everyone letters to open when she had gone - my dad, my brother, my aunt, I think even a cousin, etc. But not me. I was the only one she didn't write something for, her only daughter, her youngest child of the two of us. And I'll always wonder about that, and wish I had something like Tam's hat, I was only 20 after all. I like think she thought maybe I didn't need one, but it would have been nice to read it.

Anyway, enough with the sniffles, my fiance is wondering what on earth is wrong with me lol. It was a a very moving chapter, obviously. It also makes me wonder what it was that made Alice so optimistic when she came back from the castle...

Re: wow

[manniness]

First of all:

**HUGGLES**

I know what it's like to lose someone to cancer and I can't help but feel that perhaps your letter was written... it was just never written down. What I mean is, I'm sure your mother had so very much to say and she kept writing and re-writing that letter to you over and over again in her head and... then she convinced herself that she'd already written it. My grandmother (who passed in her 50s from lymphoma) was rather forgetful near the end and, I guess what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't think of it as a Lack of Letter, but as an Overabundance of Things to Be Said. You knew her, so I'm sure you Know what she would have wanted to tell you. Yes, I understand; a letter would have been precious. But sometimes... sometimes Silence Speaks, too. If that makes any sense.

And as for Alice's optimism... I still haven't told anyone what it is she sees (in OPK 4, too) in the Oraculum. I haven't forgotten. It's on my To Write List. (^__~)

Huggles,
Manny

Re: wow

[katalyst84]

Thank you, sorry to sop all over your story lol. You may, indeed, be right about that. She was very confused the last two weeks, she couldn't write her name. Anyway, I listened to some Train and I'm ready for more angst (does back and forward step with boxing gloves on) bring it!

[yappichick]

Oh Manny, you are so awesome. My love for this chapter knows no bounds

[manniness]

I'll tell you a secret: I LOVE writing Tarrant and Tamial together. Dad!Tarrant is amazing and Tam and he play so well together! (^__~)

Unfortunately, there isn't much in the way of Alice and Mirana friendship in this fic (you'll see why Very Soon), but I wanted to be very clear: when Alice needs help that is beyond her and her husband, Mirana is who she turns to. Without Fail.

And Chess... I adore Chess. But you already knew that. (^__~)

Nope, I am definitely not a parent. I suppose I just have a good imagination. (I'm not a sister, either, nor have I ever had a very good father figure, so it's a good challenge for me to try to write these sorts of characters and relationships.) I'm just glad it's believable.

This angst is illegal in only 29 states? I'm sure I can do better than that in the next chapter! Bwhahahaha! Speaking of which, nope, sorry, it hasn't been written yet. I'm currently struggling with an opening, honestly. But it will be written. Because I say so and I am--*mutely points to icon*

(^__~)

[yappichick]

Well, you do an absolutely fabulous job capturing the father/son relationship. ♥

Hmmmm..not much in the way of Mirana and Alice, huh? But I think you have established throughout the past four books (plus two chpaters) how much Alice and Mirana rely on each other and it's wonderful to see. I love their BFFness :D :D

Really...how can one not love Chess? LOL

You need not to worry about whether or not your relationships seem believable...from the intense love of Tarrant and Alice, to the I-love-you-but-you're-so-annoying brother-like relationship between Chess and Tarrant, to the I'm-trying-to-understand-you mother/daughter relationship of Helen and Alice to the deep friendship between Mirana and Alice, you have got them down cold.

ROFL, well, you know, some states are more liberal than others. Extreme angst is allowed, ROFL.

And yes, you certainly are Queen Awesome. LOL

[makrciana]

I think I want one of those "Answer To Your Prayers" hats

You know how much I love all the "magical articles" in your books?...really, in "your wonderland" anything is possible and it's such a beautiful thing =)

I really likes how you write "the others" reactions to Tarrant's fate...all of them are "in-character", Chess's irony, Mally's sadness, etc...Mirana, of course, is one of my favorites characters in this story, the Queen, the friend, her perspective is very welcome in your narration...is almost like "our eyes" about all the troubles in the Hightopp Clan's life

I think I don't understand why Alice is "happy" after her meeting with the Queen, but I'm sure sooner or later, I will...

Sorry for my english!...

And please, update soon!

[manniness]

Hi, sweetie! Yes, you're right to be a little confused about Alice's happiness. We will find out, by the end of the book, what she saw in the Oraculum.

I adore your comments. Thank you so much for sharing them. (I know English is a pain. You use it very well, though!)

*hugs* (^__~)