In Obscurum (3/9), an Alice in Wonderland fic
Mirana paced around her throne room, nervous for her Champion. If Iracebeth already had already brought her to Otherland--no! She could not think like that! She looked around--her Chief Advisor, several members of the Royal Guard and Absolem were already there. Once the last two finally arrived, they would be able to discuss what to do concerning Alice.
She frowned as she thought about the Royal Gateway. Her father had always warned her and Iracebeth of the dangers of Otherland. It was a world that was fraught with darkness and corruption, a place that had no room for Fate, but where Free Will and the Desire to do What One Wanted were supreme.
Years before her birth, the dark prince of Otherland, a master of poisons and toxins, took it upon himself to plague the land with the darkness of its citizens’ heart. He tainted the water from the River of Life, the only source of water in the land, with wretchedness and greed. As the people, creatures and plants drank of its water, its bitterness latched onto their hearts, corrupting them. Only those pure in heart were impervious to its power, her father had explained.
Over the years, her father had worked diligently to find an antidote for the dark prince’s poison. After nearly a decade, just as Mirana had just started to begin her study in alchemy, he had managed to find an solution. He had contacted Otherland, desiring to share it with the royal family on the other side of the mirror. But, his counterpart had refused his offer and the mirror had been closed off since then.
When she had successfully mastered the art of alchemy, her father had taught her the recipe for the antidote, in case Otherland was ever in need. It would take time, Mirana knew, Time that she didn’t have if she understood Iracebeth’s desire to claim Underland’s Champion as her own.
Mirana’s thoughts were interrupted as the large doors were pushed open with a franticness that only a Mad Hatter could have. “Is she alright?” he asked without paying any attention to anyone else in the room.
Of course he would know this was about Alice, she fretted. Ever since Alice had left, Tarrant had been constantly thinking, obsessing, about the Overlander. “Once Chess gets here--”
“Which I already am,” he answered lazily as he materialized above Tarrant’s shoulder.
She drew in a long breath. “Today I was contacted from Otherland,” she began. “Iracebeth told me about a revolution that has plagued their land. The Civil War has taken a turn for the worse, I’m afraid. She wanted me to send Alice--”
“Ye cannae send her over there!” shouted Tarrant.
Mirana smiled patiently. “I told Iracebeth no, but you know how my sister--even one from Over There--can be when she doesn’t get her way. I believe she is planning to send someone to Overland to lure Alice to Otherland.” She turned to Tarrant and Chess. “I need the two of you to make sure she does not go through the door. I fear that Iracebeth is planning to use the Champion’s Oath to her advantage. Chess, since you have been there before--”
“Don’t remind me. It is not one of my most fond memories.”
“Your help will be required if we are already too late.”
“If I may ask, your Majesty, who is running the revolution Over There?” Chess asked.
Mirana’s glance flickered to Tarrant briefly. “It would seem that the Hightopp clan is behind the rebellion,” she answered, avoiding Tarrant’s yellow gaze.
“Why you Hightopps do seem to enjoy the usurping of authority,” Chess commented wryly.
“To your benefit!” He reached out a thimbled forefinger and poked Chessur in his very ample and soft middle.
Mirana frowned. Perhaps it wasn’t wise to send the two of them together. But, she needed Chess’ expertise and Tarrant’s drive to make sure that no harm came upon Alice. “The two of you must hurry. I’m sure Iracebeth has wasted no time in trying to locate Alice.”
“If I might ask, why did th’ bluddy--I mean, the Red Queen contact you instead of the other Mirana?” Tarrant asked.
“Because,” she suppressed the urge to gag. “It would seem that she has been murdered.”
“By whom?”
Mirana looked away. “You need to keep Alice from going through that door, Tarrant.”
“I will, your Majesty.”
******************
As Alice fell to the ground with an ungraceful plop, she wondered where Nivens had gone. He seemed particularly twitchy in the garden today--even more so than usual. As she looked around and saw no signs of the rabbit, she made her way to the only door against the far wall.
It looked different, she noted. The wood was gnarled, rotting. In fact, she noticed, as she examined the room a bit more closely, the whole room seemed different. The lighting was darker, the ground was covered in mold and mildew. And the stench was nearly unbearable; Alice raised her hand up to her nose to mask the smell.
Alice frowned. There was something very wrong in Underland.
Questions bombarded her mind as to what could have happened during the two years she had sailed halfway around the world. Had Iracebeth and Stayne somehow escaped their exile? Was there some kind of beast more hideous than the Jabberwocky that had taken control of Underland? Why hadn’t Mirana found some way to contact her before now?
She needed to find answers.
She looked around the room, which was empty with the exception of a singular table in the center of the room. Instantly, she was reminded of the last time she had returned to Underland. She looked on top of the dilapidated table, but saw no key.
Perhaps Nivens had already unlocked the door for her, she thought.
Quickly, she made her way to the door and turned the knob, which was, thankfully, unlocked. As the door swung open and Alice was greeted by the views of Underland, she was tempted to return to the tiny room and shut the door. There were no signs of the beauty that had greeted her when she had returned to Underland the first time.
Gone were the bread-and-butterflies; they had been replaced with vicious-looking fire-breathing dragonflies, burning any signs of greenery in the area. The flowers hissed, shaking their pointy thorns at her. The sky was dark, only the light of the pale moon allowed Alice to see.
There was no sign of Nivens and she had no idea how to get to Marmoreal. Running from the Bandersnatch the last time had thrown of her sense of direction. Surely McTwisp would return once he realized Alice wasn’t on her way!
She retreated into the room, grateful to be away from that disturbing world. What had happened while she was away at sea? How could Underland have fallen to such a state, especially with Mirana as its queen?
For nearly a quarter of an hour, she contemplated Underland’s new appearance, before the doorknob started to turn. Instantly, her heart started racing. It was foolish, she knew. It was probably just McTwisp, wondering why she hadn’t kept pace with him.
“Alice?”
The lisp was instantly recognizable.
As she stood up, her dress caught on the edge of the ragged table, tearing slightly. In her excitement at hearing that familiar voice once more after so long, Alice barely noticed to mishap. “Tarrant?” she asked.
She saw him walk through the opening, oddly, without a hat. As soon as he spotted her, a mad smile passed over his lips. “You have no idea how long I have been waiting for you.”
******************
Alice was in danger.
It was the only singular thought running through his head.
Forgotten were the past two years when he had unabashedly hung on every word of Absolem’s reports of Alice’s successes in Overland. Forgotten were the long, restless nights he had spent berating himself for not making a stronger care for Alice to remain in Underland. Forgotten were the looks of pity that the queen and his friends had shot him when Alice’s name had been mentioned.
No, all that mattered was that he had been charged with the task of saving Alice from that foul, wretched, villious place.
And Tarrant would not fail in his commitment to find Alice and bring her back to Underland--and him--where she belonged!
Tarrant turned the corner, his feet sliding across the freshly polished floor, nearly slamming into the wall.
“You’ll be of no help to Alice if you are unconscious,” came the not-so-helpful reply from behind him.
“Excuse me for being more than a bit worried that the Bluddy Behg Hid might be trying to get her slurvish hands on Alice,” Tarrant shot back impatiently.
“She’s not the bloody big head there, Tarrant. She’s more like a timid kitten.”
“Ye don’t think Alice is going to be willing to work with her, do you?”
“The Champion’s Oath is not something she can easily forsake. Since Iracebeth is the last Queen of Otherland, it would be difficult for the Alice to deny the urge to protect the monarch,” Chess replied honestly. “And I wouldn’t doubt that Iracebeth would do anything to make sure she has a Champion.”
Panic gripped him. Alice couldn’t risk her life for her! He needed to make sure she stayed safe! “Then we need to make sure that she doesn’t get to her.”
“Tell me, Tarrant, how do you plan on protecting your Alice from harm with no weapon?” Chess asked, shaking his head.
Tarrant looked down at his empty hands. He knew he had forgotten something Important! But there was no time to go back to his workshop and bring up his sword. Alice needed him! Alice could not agree to become Iracebeth’s Champion!
“I’ll use my bare hands if I need to,” Tarrant replied.
“As…noble as you might consider that to be,” Chess retorted sarcastically. “I do believe that Mirana has already requested for McTwisp to retrieve your sword.”
No sooner than he had said it, the door at the end of the hall opened. McTwisp bounded into the room, holding Tarrant’s claymore and sheath.
“Thank you,” Tarrant said sincerely as he took the sword from him.
“The queen wanted me to tell you that in case you do not reach Alice before she has entered into Otherland that you need to return. She believes she can create something that the Red Queen will be able to use to her advantage,” McTwisp replied.
Tarrant made no promise to agree to the queen’s request; he knew he wouldn’t leave Otherland until Alice was with him.
McTwisp’s shoulders sunk as he realized that he wasn’t going to agree. “Be careful…and Fairfarren, Hatter.”
“Fairfarren.”
He turned around and continued running down the hallway until he reached the Portal. He pushed the door open and rushed inside.
Tarrant had only seen this room once when Mirana had given him a full tour of the castle when he had become her royal hatter years ago. The room was no less impressive then it had been when he’d first seen it.
There were nearly a dozen rabbit holes, several on the ceiling, a few on the floor and a couple in the walls, each leading to another world. No one used the holes, now seen as a rather antiquated way to travel when compared to the looking glass, outside of McTwisp when he made the rare journey to retrieve Alice from Overland.
Tarrant turned to Chess. “Which one is it?”
“This one,” the cat said, pointing to an oval-shaped hole in the wall.
“And you are sure this hold is quite Alice-oriented?”
“Yes. Regardless of the hole’s origin, all people foolish enough to travel this way will end up in the same location,” explained Chess, looking at the hole with a frown.
Without hesitating, Tarrant jumped through the hole. As they started falling sideways--certainly a most strange sensation--Tarrant closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them he would have an Alice face looking back at him.
Unfortunately, when he hit the bottom there was nothing waiting for them there other than a rather frumious room and one of the most distasteful pieces of furniture Tarrant had ever seen. When he took a closer look at the table, he noticed a small piece of cloth. Carefully, he picked it up.
“Let me see that,” Chess said. He sniffed the piece of fabric as he took it from Tarrant. “Most definitely Alice-scented.”
Tarrant’s eyes flashed yellow. “Then it means we’re too late.”
“To prevent her from entering Otherland, yes. But there is no guarantee that she has seen Iracebeth. As long as she doesn’t have contact with her, then she won’t be bound to her.”
“Then we better not waste any more time.”
************
It was Tarrant.
That fact alone should have made Alice feel at ease, but, for some strange reason, it didn’t.
Maybe it was the way he looked, she thought as she snuck another glance at him. His suit was perfectly pressed, his hair neatly combed. He seemed a little too flawless, like a watch that has been polished too much, she noticed. But there was something more than just his appearance that was unsettling to her.
There had been no warmth coming from him as had taken in in Alice’s reappearance into Underland. In fact, she had noted that his eyes were a barely controlled burning yellow and he hadn’t stopped scowling since she stepped through the door back into Underland.
She forced herself to be calm. Of course he wouldn’t be normal, she thought, there was something not right in Underland. Mirana would not have sent McTwisp to retrieve her from Overland otherwise. “Tarrant,” she said.
She told herself she did not see him flinch when she said his name.
“Yes, Alice?” he asked, his voice barely controlled.
There were plenty of questions she had, but there was one her curiosity needed to know. “Where is your hat?”
She watched him frown slightly before answering. “I’m afraid I have misplaced it.”
“Surely you have an idea where it might be!” Alice couldn’t understand why he wasn’t more bothered by the lack of his most prized possession.
He shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t know. Nevertheless, right now, we have much more pressing issues to discuss. A hat is of no significance in the grand scheme of things,” he replied.
Alice had no idea how he could say that! After everything his hat had seen throughout his years in Underland! She could only imagine the stories it could tell, of only hats could talk--which, she thought, could be a possibility--and yet, Tarrant seemed to no longer care about it.
She was tempted to press him more, but there was something unsettling about the way he was looking at her now. No, she decided, she would wait and ask Mirana about it when she saw her.
“Are you taking me to Marmoreal?”
That caused him to pause his walk. “As I said, Alice, there is much to discuss.”
She stood in front of him. “I need to know what happened to Underland.”
“And I will tell you…very soon.”
She watched him look around for a moment before he unexpectedly held his hand out for her to take. Unlike the fingers she remembered, which were stained orange in the creases of his palms and knuckles and his nails yellowed and en-brittled with toxins, this man's hands were white, clean, and perfect. It was only in the shadows between the digits that Alice thought she could see the stains of blood. She shivered when he reached for her.
What had happened while she was away?
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