Forever Wonderland CHAPTER 15
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?
“What happened?! Tarrant, what the bloody hell happened!?”
Tarrant stood as shocked as Melody and slowly shook his head.
They had landed in one of the towns that surrounded the forest by Tarrant’s house. Houses were smoldering, people were crying and debris was everywhere in the street. Tarrant grabbed Melody’s hand and led her to some people standing in front of the coffee shop they visited a week or so earlier.
“Anancia, what has happened here?” he asked the weeping woman.
“Ransacked. The Black King came through the village and destroyed our lives, Tarrant. He killed my husband and a few other men. He let some of his men take our daughters and use them as playthings.”
“The Black King? But, he was defeated. I killed him.”
The older woman looked up at Tarrant with weary eyes. “Not Grffyn. His son. Brennan.”
Tarrant’s eyes grew wide. “His son? He never had a son.”
“That’s what we all thought. But I recognized him. He was one of the gentleman at the ball in your honor. He danced with her,” she said as she pointed to Melody.
Melody felt a horrible feeling in her stomach. “Alec? He was the only one I danced with at the ball. But he said that he was the son of Lord Hylinder.” Melody cursed. “I should have known. I knew right from the beginning there was something off about him. He pulled the wool right over all our eyes.”
“There’s more,” Anancia continued. “He kidnapped the White Queen as she lay sleeping. He has her hidden.”
“I think I might know where he might have taken her,” Tarrant said in a deep whisper. His eyes were turning dark and his voice changed to the thick Scottish accent. “Gather the men. We will fight.”
Tarrant took Melody’s hand and walked her to the blacksmith shop. He took the horse tied at the rail and mounted it, pulling Melody along with him. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist as he put the horse in full gallop. The wind blew against Melody’s face and the tears streaming down her cheeks left cool trails where the air hit.
Tarrant brought the horse to a slow stop once they reached the castle at Marmoreal. Melody hopped down, followed by Tarrant and they walk into the castle.
Everything was in a disarray and the servants were trying to tidy things up. Paintings were ripped, vases broken, plants knocked over.
“Oh, Tarrant, this is horrible.”
“Yes, my dear.”
They continued walking through the castle to the library. Tarrant cautiously opened the door and looked in. Books were strewn everywhere. Pages were ripped out and scattered on the floor. Tarrant started rummaging through the rubble.
“Tarrant, what are you looking for?”
“The Oraculum. It will tell us what happened here and what is to come.”
“Oh. What does it look like?”
“Parchment. A scroll.”
“Oh.”
Melody scanned over the room at all the papers across the floor. She had no idea what she was looking for in the first place. She bent down and began sifting through the pages.
“Tarrant!”
He looked up to see Nivens panting heavily.
“What is it, my friend?” Tarrant whispered walking over to the little rabbit. He watched Melody as she continued to search through the pages.
“The Black King, er, Brennan, uh...” Nivens nervously stuttered.
“Yes, yes. We know. One of the villagers told us when we returned to Underland. Where is Mirana?”
The little white rabbit quaked in fear. “He took her. To Brungretter. I didn’t have time to save her. I feel horrible. There was no time to sound an alarm to warn the guards.”
“It’s alright, Nivens. I know that she will understand.”
“Tarrant? Is this it?” Melody called. “It’s...moving.”
Nivens and Tarrant hurried to her side. Tarrant ripped the parchment out of her hands and looked at it. He watched the pictures move on the parchment.
Brennan came through the villages burning them down, seeking answers from the villagers. He continued on to the castle, found Mirana sleeping peacefully and bound and gagged her. She didn’t put up a fight. The Oraculum continued to show him taking her Brungretter, sitting her in a chair and tying her hands. She sat silent as he forcefully questioned her.
“She went with him peacefully,” Tarrant stated. “But it doesn’t show anything of what’s yet to come. Usually, there is some form of prophecy.”
Melody took the parchment out of Tarrant’s hands. She watched it as it slowly played the scene in front of her. Lines were twisting and turning as a new scene was unfolding. She watched as the picture drew a girl with long wavy hair riding on a horse with a sword in hand. At once she knew it was her. She swallowed hard and quickly rolled the parchment up and held it tight in her hand.
“Where is the Vorpal sword?” she asked timidly.
Tarrant’s eyes grew wide. “What did you see on the Oraculum, Melody?” he asked firmly. When she didn’t answer, he repeated himself. “What did you see?”
Melody stood strong in her spot and continued to look at Tarrant’s changing eyes.
“Where is the Vorpal sword?” she asked again, a little more demanding.
“If you think that you are going to fight with it, you’re crazy! It’s not something I would wish on anyone. I will not lose you.”
“Mirana has faith me. Grandma Victoria had faith in me. All my grandmothers were champions, remember? Why can’t you have the same the faith in me?”
“I do. But I don’t want to see you get hurt. You are not strong enough for battle.”
“I have a strong heart. And the Vorpal sword will tell me what to do. Someone has to save Mirana and Underland. And I am willing to do it.” She paused. “I have muchness, you know.”
Tarrant felt his jaw clench. He knew that Melody could do it, but he just brought her back to Underland and he wasn’t going to lose her.
“Tarrant, I’m going to ask one more time. Where is the Vorpal sword?”
Tarrant continued to look at her without saying a word.
Without looking away, she directed her question to Nivens.
“This way,” he trembled.
Melody began following Nivens out of the library.
“No!” Tarrant said sternly. “No. You will not go.” He grabbed Melody’s arm and twisted her back. “No, please,” he pleaded quietly. “I love you, Melody and I will not lose you again. If you walk through that door, I will not go and fight with you.”
“So be it,” she whispered. “I believe this is my destiny. And I will follow. I will save Underland. Nivens, take me to the sword.”
Melody ripped her arm out of Tarrant’s grasp and followed the rabbit out of the room. He led her down long corridors to the throne room. Melody gasped at the beautiful armor that stood in front of her. As she neared it, she could tell that someone had tried taking the sword out of the armor’s clasp. She ran her fingers over the metal and wrapped her fingers around the handle of the sword. She breathed in deep, holding her breath and closed her eyes. With ease the sword came out of the armor’s grasp.
She stumbled a few steps back and moved the sword in front of her. She ran her fingers over the blade. It sparkled under her clasp.
“You are the Champion,” Nivens replied. “Only the Champion is allowed to yield the weapon.”
“I was right,” she whispered. “Nivens, help me place the armor on. I need to find Renenvere and visit the surrounding villages. We need to gather troops to fight against the Black King if need be.”
“Yes, your Grace,” he bowed.
“Call me Melody. I am no royalty.”
“But you are a Champion. You deserve honor.”
Nivens helped Melody dress in the armor and walked her to the stables by the horses.
“Renenvere?”
A horse whinnied. “In here. Our new Champion has returned, I see.”
Melody smiled.
“It’s good to see you again, Melody.”
“You as well. Take me to the villages. We need to gather people to fight.”
“As you wish.”
Melody mounted the horse and rode off to the towns. Her brain was going a mile a minute trying think what she was going to do. She never fought before, let alone lead an army into battle. She wished that Hatter would have been there with her, but the decision was hers and she chose it.
As she spoke to the towns, her courage was building and she was starting to feel like her place in the world was being written. The people gathered around her. A few of the villagers recognized her as a Kingsleigh descendant and they quickly and willingly followed. Many men, as many that were left standing from the attacks on the villages, gathered whatever they could find to use in defense and followed Melody to Brungretter.
It took two days journey to get there. There were many older men with them, and Melody saw fit to stop along the way to let them rest. She knew that in order to keep up their strength, her men would need food and when they stopped to rest, they ate as well. She went around checking on all of them to make sure that they were okay.
Once they reached Brungretter, Melody felt her blood start to churn. Her nerves were starting to get the best of her and she was frightened. She looked around at the men that followed her here. Some were going to lose their lives today. In front of the lines were the Tweedles, Mallymkun, Thackery and Nivens. She smiled at them in appreciation. But her smile quickly faded.
Everyone was there to fight for Underland. Everyone except Tarrant. Melody thought for sure that he would have changed his mind on coming and fighting. Maybe the previous battle he had was too much and as soon as he decided to go, the thoughts of the battle blocked him from going.
Melody felt a tear in her eye. Her best friend, her love, her companion, was no where to be seen. How was she to do this on her own?
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS:
Chapter 1/ Chapter 2/ Chapter 3/ Chapter 4
Chapter 5/ Chapter 6/ Chapter 7/ Chapter 8
Chapter 9/ Chapter 10/ Chapter 11/ Chapter 12
Chapter 13/ Chapter 14
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?
“What happened?! Tarrant, what the bloody hell happened!?”
Tarrant stood as shocked as Melody and slowly shook his head.
They had landed in one of the towns that surrounded the forest by Tarrant’s house. Houses were smoldering, people were crying and debris was everywhere in the street. Tarrant grabbed Melody’s hand and led her to some people standing in front of the coffee shop they visited a week or so earlier.
“Anancia, what has happened here?” he asked the weeping woman.
“Ransacked. The Black King came through the village and destroyed our lives, Tarrant. He killed my husband and a few other men. He let some of his men take our daughters and use them as playthings.”
“The Black King? But, he was defeated. I killed him.”
The older woman looked up at Tarrant with weary eyes. “Not Grffyn. His son. Brennan.”
Tarrant’s eyes grew wide. “His son? He never had a son.”
“That’s what we all thought. But I recognized him. He was one of the gentleman at the ball in your honor. He danced with her,” she said as she pointed to Melody.
Melody felt a horrible feeling in her stomach. “Alec? He was the only one I danced with at the ball. But he said that he was the son of Lord Hylinder.” Melody cursed. “I should have known. I knew right from the beginning there was something off about him. He pulled the wool right over all our eyes.”
“There’s more,” Anancia continued. “He kidnapped the White Queen as she lay sleeping. He has her hidden.”
“I think I might know where he might have taken her,” Tarrant said in a deep whisper. His eyes were turning dark and his voice changed to the thick Scottish accent. “Gather the men. We will fight.”
Tarrant took Melody’s hand and walked her to the blacksmith shop. He took the horse tied at the rail and mounted it, pulling Melody along with him. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist as he put the horse in full gallop. The wind blew against Melody’s face and the tears streaming down her cheeks left cool trails where the air hit.
Tarrant brought the horse to a slow stop once they reached the castle at Marmoreal. Melody hopped down, followed by Tarrant and they walk into the castle.
Everything was in a disarray and the servants were trying to tidy things up. Paintings were ripped, vases broken, plants knocked over.
“Oh, Tarrant, this is horrible.”
“Yes, my dear.”
They continued walking through the castle to the library. Tarrant cautiously opened the door and looked in. Books were strewn everywhere. Pages were ripped out and scattered on the floor. Tarrant started rummaging through the rubble.
“Tarrant, what are you looking for?”
“The Oraculum. It will tell us what happened here and what is to come.”
“Oh. What does it look like?”
“Parchment. A scroll.”
“Oh.”
Melody scanned over the room at all the papers across the floor. She had no idea what she was looking for in the first place. She bent down and began sifting through the pages.
“Tarrant!”
He looked up to see Nivens panting heavily.
“What is it, my friend?” Tarrant whispered walking over to the little rabbit. He watched Melody as she continued to search through the pages.
“The Black King, er, Brennan, uh...” Nivens nervously stuttered.
“Yes, yes. We know. One of the villagers told us when we returned to Underland. Where is Mirana?”
The little white rabbit quaked in fear. “He took her. To Brungretter. I didn’t have time to save her. I feel horrible. There was no time to sound an alarm to warn the guards.”
“It’s alright, Nivens. I know that she will understand.”
“Tarrant? Is this it?” Melody called. “It’s...moving.”
Nivens and Tarrant hurried to her side. Tarrant ripped the parchment out of her hands and looked at it. He watched the pictures move on the parchment.
Brennan came through the villages burning them down, seeking answers from the villagers. He continued on to the castle, found Mirana sleeping peacefully and bound and gagged her. She didn’t put up a fight. The Oraculum continued to show him taking her Brungretter, sitting her in a chair and tying her hands. She sat silent as he forcefully questioned her.
“She went with him peacefully,” Tarrant stated. “But it doesn’t show anything of what’s yet to come. Usually, there is some form of prophecy.”
Melody took the parchment out of Tarrant’s hands. She watched it as it slowly played the scene in front of her. Lines were twisting and turning as a new scene was unfolding. She watched as the picture drew a girl with long wavy hair riding on a horse with a sword in hand. At once she knew it was her. She swallowed hard and quickly rolled the parchment up and held it tight in her hand.
“Where is the Vorpal sword?” she asked timidly.
Tarrant’s eyes grew wide. “What did you see on the Oraculum, Melody?” he asked firmly. When she didn’t answer, he repeated himself. “What did you see?”
Melody stood strong in her spot and continued to look at Tarrant’s changing eyes.
“Where is the Vorpal sword?” she asked again, a little more demanding.
“If you think that you are going to fight with it, you’re crazy! It’s not something I would wish on anyone. I will not lose you.”
“Mirana has faith me. Grandma Victoria had faith in me. All my grandmothers were champions, remember? Why can’t you have the same the faith in me?”
“I do. But I don’t want to see you get hurt. You are not strong enough for battle.”
“I have a strong heart. And the Vorpal sword will tell me what to do. Someone has to save Mirana and Underland. And I am willing to do it.” She paused. “I have muchness, you know.”
Tarrant felt his jaw clench. He knew that Melody could do it, but he just brought her back to Underland and he wasn’t going to lose her.
“Tarrant, I’m going to ask one more time. Where is the Vorpal sword?”
Tarrant continued to look at her without saying a word.
Without looking away, she directed her question to Nivens.
“This way,” he trembled.
Melody began following Nivens out of the library.
“No!” Tarrant said sternly. “No. You will not go.” He grabbed Melody’s arm and twisted her back. “No, please,” he pleaded quietly. “I love you, Melody and I will not lose you again. If you walk through that door, I will not go and fight with you.”
“So be it,” she whispered. “I believe this is my destiny. And I will follow. I will save Underland. Nivens, take me to the sword.”
Melody ripped her arm out of Tarrant’s grasp and followed the rabbit out of the room. He led her down long corridors to the throne room. Melody gasped at the beautiful armor that stood in front of her. As she neared it, she could tell that someone had tried taking the sword out of the armor’s clasp. She ran her fingers over the metal and wrapped her fingers around the handle of the sword. She breathed in deep, holding her breath and closed her eyes. With ease the sword came out of the armor’s grasp.
She stumbled a few steps back and moved the sword in front of her. She ran her fingers over the blade. It sparkled under her clasp.
“You are the Champion,” Nivens replied. “Only the Champion is allowed to yield the weapon.”
“I was right,” she whispered. “Nivens, help me place the armor on. I need to find Renenvere and visit the surrounding villages. We need to gather troops to fight against the Black King if need be.”
“Yes, your Grace,” he bowed.
“Call me Melody. I am no royalty.”
“But you are a Champion. You deserve honor.”
Nivens helped Melody dress in the armor and walked her to the stables by the horses.
“Renenvere?”
A horse whinnied. “In here. Our new Champion has returned, I see.”
Melody smiled.
“It’s good to see you again, Melody.”
“You as well. Take me to the villages. We need to gather people to fight.”
“As you wish.”
Melody mounted the horse and rode off to the towns. Her brain was going a mile a minute trying think what she was going to do. She never fought before, let alone lead an army into battle. She wished that Hatter would have been there with her, but the decision was hers and she chose it.
As she spoke to the towns, her courage was building and she was starting to feel like her place in the world was being written. The people gathered around her. A few of the villagers recognized her as a Kingsleigh descendant and they quickly and willingly followed. Many men, as many that were left standing from the attacks on the villages, gathered whatever they could find to use in defense and followed Melody to Brungretter.
It took two days journey to get there. There were many older men with them, and Melody saw fit to stop along the way to let them rest. She knew that in order to keep up their strength, her men would need food and when they stopped to rest, they ate as well. She went around checking on all of them to make sure that they were okay.
Once they reached Brungretter, Melody felt her blood start to churn. Her nerves were starting to get the best of her and she was frightened. She looked around at the men that followed her here. Some were going to lose their lives today. In front of the lines were the Tweedles, Mallymkun, Thackery and Nivens. She smiled at them in appreciation. But her smile quickly faded.
Everyone was there to fight for Underland. Everyone except Tarrant. Melody thought for sure that he would have changed his mind on coming and fighting. Maybe the previous battle he had was too much and as soon as he decided to go, the thoughts of the battle blocked him from going.
Melody felt a tear in her eye. Her best friend, her love, her companion, was no where to be seen. How was she to do this on her own?
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS:
Chapter 1/ Chapter 2/ Chapter 3/ Chapter 4
Chapter 5/ Chapter 6/ Chapter 7/ Chapter 8
Chapter 9/ Chapter 10/ Chapter 11/ Chapter 12
Chapter 13/ Chapter 14