Forever Wonderland CHAPTER 12
Characters: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland characters, and OFCs
Rating: G to PG-13 for some fighting sequences
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to claim Wonderland and all it's gloriousness, I cannot. Therefore, I give all credit to Lewis Carroll, Disney and Tim Burton.
Summary: Imagine being the granddaughter of the great Alice of Wonderland. Imagine for a minute that you wished you could go to the place where you heard the stories? Could it be possible? This world makes you think that it couldn't be, but really, could it?
The next four days in passing were horrible. Melody couldn’t look Tarrant in the eye even if she wanted to. They never spoke to each other. They never ate together. Early one morning Melody noticed Tarrant sitting at the kitchen table. His hair was more disheveled than normal and his clothes were falling off his body. He rocked his head from side to side, rubbing his finger over a spoon. She watched it bend under his white fingers. He shoved it across the table with such force that made Melody jump.
She quickly headed back upstairs to avoid Tarrant’s rage.
He turned his head as he heard her footsteps fade to the hall and vanish behind a slamming door.
Melody plastered her body against the back of the door, breathing heavily. Her breaths were coming faster and she couldn’t hold back the tears. She slowly slid down the door, wrapping her arms around her knees, burying her head. She continued to let the sobs take over her body.
What had she done, indeed?
Why was she doing this to herself? She loved him. He had professed his love to her. She had never met anyone like him before in her life. He understood her. He cared for her. He made her laugh and feel comfortable. And yet, she was pushing him away.
The tears kept falling.
Maybe that’s why, she thought to herself, she was still single. Maybe it was because she was so good at keeping up a wall and when things got to the point where she thought she could be happy, she wouldn’t give in and let herself do so.
Melody slammed her fists against the floor, screaming. She got to her feet and paced the room. So many thoughts were flooding her mind and she didn’t know what she wanted to do. Well, she did know what she wanted to do, what her heart wanted, but her logical side of her brain was saying that it was time to go home. Face the real world. Come back to reality and stop living in a fantasy land of wonder.
Of love.
She shook her head and flung the curtains open to the window. The sun was bright in the sky and it felt good against her skin. She closed her eyes and smiled. She opened the window and let the cool breeze caress her cheeks. The sun’s rays warmed her cheeks and she unconsciously lifted her fingers to her face. She could feel Tarrant’s warm hands on her skin and she smiled. It quickly fell when she realized that he was in the room below her, fuming with anger.
She didn’t like the way that he was acting since she told him that she couldn’t stay in Underland. His eyes were filled with love and hope. And she broke his heart by saying no to his invitation to stay. It made her feel worse when he told her that she was just like her other grandmothers. Most of the time, she was proud to be part of the Kingsleigh heritage, but the way he said the words was meant to be like a knife twisting in her soul. Just like her other grandmothers; she won’t stay.
A few hours had passed and she hoped that Tarrant had either gone outside to have tea with Mally and Thackery, went and passed out in his chair in the sitting room, or gone for a walk. She didn’t like feeling like she was a prisoner in his house. She didn’t want to be cooped up in her, well, his room, all day, knowing that he was downstairs.
She slowly walked down the stairs and didn’t see the bright orange frizz of his hair. She looked around the house. It was quiet. She opened the front door. No one was outside at the table. Maybe Mally and Thackery had gone into the town to help him cool down. Though, he should have been calmed down slightly; it had been four days since the ball, after all.
She walked into the sitting room and perused the bookshelf. She had finished reading the book that Tarrant recommended to her when she first came to Underland and she was in need of something new. She needed a new land to venture off in to.
She let her fingers glided over the bindings and watched a few flecks of dust fall around her. She skimmed over the titles; nothing appealed to her at the moment.
Her finger stopped over one book and she pulled it off the shelf. She brushed some of the dust off the cover and slowly opened it, being aware of the aging pages.
“Trelevent Imporium: Spells, Casts, and Wonders,” Melody read out loud.
She slowly flipped through the pages looking at the ancient writings and drawings. She could tell that the book had been used in the past; there were water spots and ripped pages.
“What on earth would you need this for, Tarrant, I wonder?” she whispered.
She flipped back to the beginning of the book, looking for a Table of Contents. She followed her finger over the words. They stopped over a phrase: “Undead in One World: Alive in Another.”
Melody whipped her head up, looked around and quickly went back to her room. She locked the door and got comfortable on the bed. She opened it to the pages she had marked and read what the “recipe” called for, and the incantations that were needed to be spoken. She felt her heart leap. It seemed so easy. So few ingredients were needed and she could get someone to help her with the proper annunciation of the spell.
She closed the book back up, coughing at some of the dust that flew in her face, when she heard the front door slam. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and she felt her heart flutter as they stopped in front of her door. She slowly pushed the book under the pillow, licking her lips. She knew it was Tarrant. But she also knew that he couldn’t come in since she locked the door. Then again, she was sure he had keys.
She let her breath go when she heard his footsteps move away from the door and she heard the door slam to the room next to her. She wondered what he wanted since he stopped in front of the room. Maybe he was going to apologize. A few minutes later, she heard the door open and heard Tarrant walking down the stairs. His steps seemed softer; not as angry as they were when he came upstairs a little bit ago.
She quickly pulled the book back out and looked at it. She fixed her eyes on the spell. She thought that maybe Mirana would help her out. But then, if she went to Mirana, Tarrant would find out and he would be furious that she didn’t come to him. Then again, maybe he would be happy that she decided to stay. Melody was so confused.
She decided to go downstairs and talk to Tarrant. She missed his voice. She missed his eyes. She just plain missed him.
Tarrant was in his chair in the sitting room, reading a book. Melody cautiously walked to the doorway and stood, holding the book behind her.
“Hello, Tarrant,” she whispered.
He slowly looked up over his book, sighed heavily, and went back to reading. Melody could see the circles around his eyes change from a soft purple to a dark gray at the sound of her voice. She bit her lip as she thought of what to say.
“May I have a word?” she asked hesitantly.
He slammed the book down into his lap. While looking at her with an annoyed gaze, he lifted his cup of tea to his lips, and slammed it back on the table. “What could you possibly say to me that you haven’t already expressed?”
Melody realized this was going to be harder than she thought. She tapped her foot and tried to lift it to move over to the couch. Her legs felt like rubber glued in cement. She finally got up the courage and sat down on the couch under Tarrant’s hard scrutiny.
“I, uh,” she stuttered. “I, well you see...I don’t like this silence between us.”
Tarrant rolled his eyes, tightened his lips, and picked up the book.
“Please, Tarrant, believe me. You know I love you. But you also have to understand my decision to go home.”
“Must I really?”
“Please. What you said about me being like my grandmothers hurt me, Tarrant.”
“Good.”
“No! Listen to me! You know I told you that Alice wanted to come back. But she started a family. And I’m sure that my other grandmothers wanted to come back as well, but life interfered and-”
“And what? So now you will go back and let your life interfere as well?”
Melody felt the tears start to well.
“I have family there, Tarrant,” she started quietly, trying to nonchalantly brush a tear away. “I can’t just leave them. They are going to come looking for me, wondering where I had gone...it’s been weeks-”
“Hours, maybe minutes even. You forget that Underlandian time is different than yours.”
She looked up at him. His darkened circles had faded a bit. At least he was talking to her.
“Tarrant...” She was trying to find the right words to say. “I want to stay, I do, but if I did, I would need to go back to my family and tell them what my plan was, and they would think me crazy and send me off somewhere. They already know that I believe in Grandma Alice’s stories a little too much as it is,” she said in a nervous laugh. “And I know they are real, because you are here in front of me.”
She reached her hand out to Tarrant’s, letting her fingers graze the top of his hand. He quickly pulled it back.
“Mother already thinks I live in a fantasy world and she tries ever so hard to say that you aren’t real.” She paused. “I...have to go back. And...forget...everything that happened here.”
There was a long pause and Tarrant got up from his spot.
“Fine. If that’s the way it must be and the way you want it. Then, fine. Let’s get you home.”
He started walking out of the room. Melody didn’t know what to say.
“How bad do you want me to stay?” she blurted.
Tarrant stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around to face her.
“How bad do you want me to stay, Tarrant?” she repeated. “If I stay, you have to promise me to tell me every day that I made the right choice.”
He moved slowly back to her. “What do you mean by mean that? You know my feelings. I thought I expressed them clearly to you. Do you doubt me? Do you doubt my honor?”
Melody violently shook her head. “No. I just need conformation. I need to know that you will never leave me alone here in Underland, never let anything happen to me, and never let me forget you.”
Tarrant searched Melody’s eyes. He wanted so badly to take her in his arms and hold her, kiss her, tell her that he would love her till her dying breath and even long after that. But she hurt him terribly. He didn’t know if he could let his defenses down again.
“As I said, you know my answer.”
She nodded and lowered her head. She stood up and moved over to him and removed her hands from behind her back. “I found this.” She opened the book and handed it to Tarrant. “It will make me ‘dead’ in my world, almost as if I never existed, and alive in yours. I will be here in Underland until I pass on.”
Tarrant’s brow furrowed as he listened to Melody speak as he read over the words. He shook his head and slammed the book shut. “No,” he said walking the book back to the bookshelf. “No, absolutely not.”
“But why?” Melody bantered. “I know it will work and-”
“I’ve heard too many stories and seen it end badly. I will not take the chance and really lose you forever. At least in the Overland, I know you will be alive and safe and with your family. At least I will have some comfort.”
“But, it’s the only way,” she pleaded.
Tarrant turned from her and rubbed his forehead. He paced the room trying to think of something that would help the situation.
“What if I came with you to see your family?”
“What?”
“Yes. I will come back with you. You can tell your family that you are staying in Underland with me. You can tell them that Underland needs you, it’s your duty as an heir to the legacy of the Great Alice.”
Melody shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Like that will help my case any better, Tarrant. I vanish, for what you said maybe a couple minutes to a couple hours, and come back with you? Mother will clearly think I have gone off the deep end.”
“But you said Alice had paintings of me and of Underland. They will be able to see that it’s real.” Tarrant took Melody’s hands and gently caressed them. “Maybe then your mother’s heart will soften and she will see that it’s not fantasy, but that her mother and her grandmother and her great-grandmother were all telling the truth.”
Melody searched Tarrant’s eyes. He was trying his hardest to make her happy, to make himself happy, and resolve this feud between them. “I think you’re mad. Incredibly daft.”
Tarrant stepped closer to her and placed his hands on her cheeks. He pulled her head to him and kissed her forehead. “One of the many reasons you love me.”
“Indeed.” She sighed and pulled back. “You really think it could work?”
“If all else fails, and they don’t believe you, you can come back to Underland knowing you tried.”
Melody felt tears well. She was going to see her family and she prayed that they would understand her decision and respect it; not think that she is crazy.
“Melody,” Tarrant whispered. “I’m sorry for my rash behavior. I never took your feelings and your life into account. I selfishly only thought of what I wanted. I hope you can forgive me because I don’t know what I would do if you didn’t, I mean, I could think of ways, but then again-”
“Hatter!” Melody giggled.
“Sorry. Thank you. I’m fine.”
“You know I already have. I hated these past few days of being away from you.”
Tarrant lightly placed a kiss on her lips. Melody drew her hands up to his waist and pulled him a little closer. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. She didn’t want this feeling to end.
“We need to get Mirana’s help to get us to Overland.”
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS:
Chapter 1/ Chapter 2/ Chapter 3/ Chapter 4
Chapter 5/ Chapter 6/ Chapter 7/ Chapter 8
Chapter 9/ Chapter 10/ Chapter 11
Rating: G to PG-13 for some fighting sequences
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to claim Wonderland and all it's gloriousness, I cannot. Therefore, I give all credit to Lewis Carroll, Disney and Tim Burton.
Summary: Imagine being the granddaughter of the great Alice of Wonderland. Imagine for a minute that you wished you could go to the place where you heard the stories? Could it be possible? This world makes you think that it couldn't be, but really, could it?
The next four days in passing were horrible. Melody couldn’t look Tarrant in the eye even if she wanted to. They never spoke to each other. They never ate together. Early one morning Melody noticed Tarrant sitting at the kitchen table. His hair was more disheveled than normal and his clothes were falling off his body. He rocked his head from side to side, rubbing his finger over a spoon. She watched it bend under his white fingers. He shoved it across the table with such force that made Melody jump.
She quickly headed back upstairs to avoid Tarrant’s rage.
He turned his head as he heard her footsteps fade to the hall and vanish behind a slamming door.
Melody plastered her body against the back of the door, breathing heavily. Her breaths were coming faster and she couldn’t hold back the tears. She slowly slid down the door, wrapping her arms around her knees, burying her head. She continued to let the sobs take over her body.
What had she done, indeed?
Why was she doing this to herself? She loved him. He had professed his love to her. She had never met anyone like him before in her life. He understood her. He cared for her. He made her laugh and feel comfortable. And yet, she was pushing him away.
The tears kept falling.
Maybe that’s why, she thought to herself, she was still single. Maybe it was because she was so good at keeping up a wall and when things got to the point where she thought she could be happy, she wouldn’t give in and let herself do so.
Melody slammed her fists against the floor, screaming. She got to her feet and paced the room. So many thoughts were flooding her mind and she didn’t know what she wanted to do. Well, she did know what she wanted to do, what her heart wanted, but her logical side of her brain was saying that it was time to go home. Face the real world. Come back to reality and stop living in a fantasy land of wonder.
Of love.
She shook her head and flung the curtains open to the window. The sun was bright in the sky and it felt good against her skin. She closed her eyes and smiled. She opened the window and let the cool breeze caress her cheeks. The sun’s rays warmed her cheeks and she unconsciously lifted her fingers to her face. She could feel Tarrant’s warm hands on her skin and she smiled. It quickly fell when she realized that he was in the room below her, fuming with anger.
She didn’t like the way that he was acting since she told him that she couldn’t stay in Underland. His eyes were filled with love and hope. And she broke his heart by saying no to his invitation to stay. It made her feel worse when he told her that she was just like her other grandmothers. Most of the time, she was proud to be part of the Kingsleigh heritage, but the way he said the words was meant to be like a knife twisting in her soul. Just like her other grandmothers; she won’t stay.
A few hours had passed and she hoped that Tarrant had either gone outside to have tea with Mally and Thackery, went and passed out in his chair in the sitting room, or gone for a walk. She didn’t like feeling like she was a prisoner in his house. She didn’t want to be cooped up in her, well, his room, all day, knowing that he was downstairs.
She slowly walked down the stairs and didn’t see the bright orange frizz of his hair. She looked around the house. It was quiet. She opened the front door. No one was outside at the table. Maybe Mally and Thackery had gone into the town to help him cool down. Though, he should have been calmed down slightly; it had been four days since the ball, after all.
She walked into the sitting room and perused the bookshelf. She had finished reading the book that Tarrant recommended to her when she first came to Underland and she was in need of something new. She needed a new land to venture off in to.
She let her fingers glided over the bindings and watched a few flecks of dust fall around her. She skimmed over the titles; nothing appealed to her at the moment.
Her finger stopped over one book and she pulled it off the shelf. She brushed some of the dust off the cover and slowly opened it, being aware of the aging pages.
“Trelevent Imporium: Spells, Casts, and Wonders,” Melody read out loud.
She slowly flipped through the pages looking at the ancient writings and drawings. She could tell that the book had been used in the past; there were water spots and ripped pages.
“What on earth would you need this for, Tarrant, I wonder?” she whispered.
She flipped back to the beginning of the book, looking for a Table of Contents. She followed her finger over the words. They stopped over a phrase: “Undead in One World: Alive in Another.”
Melody whipped her head up, looked around and quickly went back to her room. She locked the door and got comfortable on the bed. She opened it to the pages she had marked and read what the “recipe” called for, and the incantations that were needed to be spoken. She felt her heart leap. It seemed so easy. So few ingredients were needed and she could get someone to help her with the proper annunciation of the spell.
She closed the book back up, coughing at some of the dust that flew in her face, when she heard the front door slam. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and she felt her heart flutter as they stopped in front of her door. She slowly pushed the book under the pillow, licking her lips. She knew it was Tarrant. But she also knew that he couldn’t come in since she locked the door. Then again, she was sure he had keys.
She let her breath go when she heard his footsteps move away from the door and she heard the door slam to the room next to her. She wondered what he wanted since he stopped in front of the room. Maybe he was going to apologize. A few minutes later, she heard the door open and heard Tarrant walking down the stairs. His steps seemed softer; not as angry as they were when he came upstairs a little bit ago.
She quickly pulled the book back out and looked at it. She fixed her eyes on the spell. She thought that maybe Mirana would help her out. But then, if she went to Mirana, Tarrant would find out and he would be furious that she didn’t come to him. Then again, maybe he would be happy that she decided to stay. Melody was so confused.
She decided to go downstairs and talk to Tarrant. She missed his voice. She missed his eyes. She just plain missed him.
Tarrant was in his chair in the sitting room, reading a book. Melody cautiously walked to the doorway and stood, holding the book behind her.
“Hello, Tarrant,” she whispered.
He slowly looked up over his book, sighed heavily, and went back to reading. Melody could see the circles around his eyes change from a soft purple to a dark gray at the sound of her voice. She bit her lip as she thought of what to say.
“May I have a word?” she asked hesitantly.
He slammed the book down into his lap. While looking at her with an annoyed gaze, he lifted his cup of tea to his lips, and slammed it back on the table. “What could you possibly say to me that you haven’t already expressed?”
Melody realized this was going to be harder than she thought. She tapped her foot and tried to lift it to move over to the couch. Her legs felt like rubber glued in cement. She finally got up the courage and sat down on the couch under Tarrant’s hard scrutiny.
“I, uh,” she stuttered. “I, well you see...I don’t like this silence between us.”
Tarrant rolled his eyes, tightened his lips, and picked up the book.
“Please, Tarrant, believe me. You know I love you. But you also have to understand my decision to go home.”
“Must I really?”
“Please. What you said about me being like my grandmothers hurt me, Tarrant.”
“Good.”
“No! Listen to me! You know I told you that Alice wanted to come back. But she started a family. And I’m sure that my other grandmothers wanted to come back as well, but life interfered and-”
“And what? So now you will go back and let your life interfere as well?”
Melody felt the tears start to well.
“I have family there, Tarrant,” she started quietly, trying to nonchalantly brush a tear away. “I can’t just leave them. They are going to come looking for me, wondering where I had gone...it’s been weeks-”
“Hours, maybe minutes even. You forget that Underlandian time is different than yours.”
She looked up at him. His darkened circles had faded a bit. At least he was talking to her.
“Tarrant...” She was trying to find the right words to say. “I want to stay, I do, but if I did, I would need to go back to my family and tell them what my plan was, and they would think me crazy and send me off somewhere. They already know that I believe in Grandma Alice’s stories a little too much as it is,” she said in a nervous laugh. “And I know they are real, because you are here in front of me.”
She reached her hand out to Tarrant’s, letting her fingers graze the top of his hand. He quickly pulled it back.
“Mother already thinks I live in a fantasy world and she tries ever so hard to say that you aren’t real.” She paused. “I...have to go back. And...forget...everything that happened here.”
There was a long pause and Tarrant got up from his spot.
“Fine. If that’s the way it must be and the way you want it. Then, fine. Let’s get you home.”
He started walking out of the room. Melody didn’t know what to say.
“How bad do you want me to stay?” she blurted.
Tarrant stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around to face her.
“How bad do you want me to stay, Tarrant?” she repeated. “If I stay, you have to promise me to tell me every day that I made the right choice.”
He moved slowly back to her. “What do you mean by mean that? You know my feelings. I thought I expressed them clearly to you. Do you doubt me? Do you doubt my honor?”
Melody violently shook her head. “No. I just need conformation. I need to know that you will never leave me alone here in Underland, never let anything happen to me, and never let me forget you.”
Tarrant searched Melody’s eyes. He wanted so badly to take her in his arms and hold her, kiss her, tell her that he would love her till her dying breath and even long after that. But she hurt him terribly. He didn’t know if he could let his defenses down again.
“As I said, you know my answer.”
She nodded and lowered her head. She stood up and moved over to him and removed her hands from behind her back. “I found this.” She opened the book and handed it to Tarrant. “It will make me ‘dead’ in my world, almost as if I never existed, and alive in yours. I will be here in Underland until I pass on.”
Tarrant’s brow furrowed as he listened to Melody speak as he read over the words. He shook his head and slammed the book shut. “No,” he said walking the book back to the bookshelf. “No, absolutely not.”
“But why?” Melody bantered. “I know it will work and-”
“I’ve heard too many stories and seen it end badly. I will not take the chance and really lose you forever. At least in the Overland, I know you will be alive and safe and with your family. At least I will have some comfort.”
“But, it’s the only way,” she pleaded.
Tarrant turned from her and rubbed his forehead. He paced the room trying to think of something that would help the situation.
“What if I came with you to see your family?”
“What?”
“Yes. I will come back with you. You can tell your family that you are staying in Underland with me. You can tell them that Underland needs you, it’s your duty as an heir to the legacy of the Great Alice.”
Melody shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Like that will help my case any better, Tarrant. I vanish, for what you said maybe a couple minutes to a couple hours, and come back with you? Mother will clearly think I have gone off the deep end.”
“But you said Alice had paintings of me and of Underland. They will be able to see that it’s real.” Tarrant took Melody’s hands and gently caressed them. “Maybe then your mother’s heart will soften and she will see that it’s not fantasy, but that her mother and her grandmother and her great-grandmother were all telling the truth.”
Melody searched Tarrant’s eyes. He was trying his hardest to make her happy, to make himself happy, and resolve this feud between them. “I think you’re mad. Incredibly daft.”
Tarrant stepped closer to her and placed his hands on her cheeks. He pulled her head to him and kissed her forehead. “One of the many reasons you love me.”
“Indeed.” She sighed and pulled back. “You really think it could work?”
“If all else fails, and they don’t believe you, you can come back to Underland knowing you tried.”
Melody felt tears well. She was going to see her family and she prayed that they would understand her decision and respect it; not think that she is crazy.
“Melody,” Tarrant whispered. “I’m sorry for my rash behavior. I never took your feelings and your life into account. I selfishly only thought of what I wanted. I hope you can forgive me because I don’t know what I would do if you didn’t, I mean, I could think of ways, but then again-”
“Hatter!” Melody giggled.
“Sorry. Thank you. I’m fine.”
“You know I already have. I hated these past few days of being away from you.”
Tarrant lightly placed a kiss on her lips. Melody drew her hands up to his waist and pulled him a little closer. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. She didn’t want this feeling to end.
“We need to get Mirana’s help to get us to Overland.”
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS:
Chapter 1/ Chapter 2/ Chapter 3/ Chapter 4
Chapter 5/ Chapter 6/ Chapter 7/ Chapter 8
Chapter 9/ Chapter 10/ Chapter 11