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Alice in Wonderland World part 5
🕑 Added 2022-02-08 23:40:40 +0000 UTCAlice in Wonderland World part 5
Sarah marched down the hallway between the two employees in playing card outfits. “Look, if this is about that house, I can pay for the damages. I don’t really know what to say, but things became a bit too real.”
“Quiet.” Sarah gulped. The guard ahead of her in a two of hearts outfit so real Sarah almost believed it was a living playing card said, “You have been summoned by the Queen.”
Sarah ran her hands over her apron. “Why? Is it something special to do with the park?”
“You will find out when we get there.”
Sarah sighed and rested her hands on the side of her dress. “Come on. I don’t see the reason to not tell me. This is nothing but a Wonderland-themed park. No need to take your jobs so seriously.”
The three of spades behind her laughed. “Park? We are in the red queen’s castle. Show respect, Alice.”
Sarah narrowed her eyes. “I am not. . . oh, never mind.” They walked down the torchlight hallway. There were red hearts designed into the walls and floor. Eventually, they came up to a massive heart-shaped door, and the two of hearts guard pointed at it.
“Ok, Alice. Open it.”
Sarah put her hands on her hips. “Isn’t that your job? You work here, right?”
He pulled out a sword from his side. “Do it unless you want to lose your head.”
Sarah gulped. “Fine, fine.” She grasped the golden door handle. “I don’t want to lose my head.” She then slowly pushed the massive doorway open, the golden hinges creaking as it inched forward. On the other side of the gate stood an enormous courtroom filled will strange-looking people. To her left was a jury box filled with an assortment of bipedal animals in tiny outfits holding small note pads and to her right, a bench with only a few people sitting. Sarah narrowed her eyes as she recognized those sitting there.
“You have got to be kidding me. What is Gregory doing here, and why is he dressed up as the Mad Hatter?”
Sarah felt one of the guards press into her from behind. “Move over to the bench with the others.”
“Ok, ok.” She shook her head. “You can ask nicely.” She quickly walked over and sat down next to Gregory.
“So, how did you end up here?”
“Do you want some tea, miss?”
“Umm, no?” Sarah shook her head. “Gregory, I just want to know why in the world. . .” She narrowed her eyes as he dipped a pocket watch into a teacup. “Umm, never mind.” She looked down and put her hands into her dress. “I wish I knew just what was going on here. Everyone else is going crazy.”
She raised her head as the playing card guards raised trumpets and played them all at once. She then spotted her friend Carien, who now looked like a human white rabbit. Sarah took a deep breath as her friend hopped up towards the center of the room. “Keep it together. You will find a way out of this for both you and Carien. Just need more time.” Sarah sighed.
Carien raised her voice. “Everyone, please stand up.” Sarah jumped to her feet. “Now, please be seated for the illustrious Red Queen.” Sarah turned her head as a woman she had never seen before entered the courtroom in a massive red and black dress. She had long dark hair and her blue eyes scanned the room as she approached her seat in the center of the room. Once the Red Queen had seated herself, a small man with a crown dashed out with a timid wave. Sarah arched an eyebrow as she recognized Patrick. He took a seat next to the Red Queen and adjusted his red suit.
The Red Queen then slammed her hand down onto the podium. “Silence.”
Carien looked up and lowered her white ears. “No one has spoken yet, my queen.”
She crossed her arms. “I know. But it will do good to remind them of their place.” She smiled. “So who’s head are we removing from their shoulder today?”
Carien turned around and fumbled with something that Sarah couldn’t see. When she turned back around, she had a long scroll in her hands. “Let’s see.” She ran her paw down the scroll. “The accused is charged with disrupting the natural order of Wonderland, destruction of the duchesses’ house, and theft of the royal tarts.”
The Red Queen jumped to her feet. “Off with their head.”
“But don’t you want to know who the accused is?”
“Off with all of their heads.”
Patrick pulled at her dress. “We should at least see who the accused is, my love.”
She took a deep breath. “Fine.” She crossed her arms. “At the very least, it will be somewhat more amusing that way.” She sat down and crossed her arms. The Red Queen then pointed at Carien. “Well, then let’s get on with it.”
She hopped in place and nodded. “Umm, first we need to call a witness who has witnessed these atrocities in action.”
The Red Queen rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
Carien stood up as straight as she could, even stretching her fluffy white ears upward. “Will the Mad Hatter come to the stand?”
Gregory suddenly stood up and spilled his tea into Sarah’s lap. “Oh my.” He looked all around him. “Look at me, having to speak and no hat in sight.”
Sarah shook her head. “There is one on your head Gregory.”
He touched the giant green hat with a 10/6 card sticking out of it. “Ohh.” He laughed the most resounding laugh she had ever heard come out of his body. “Of course, it is there. How silly of me.” He then skipped up towards the small podium just below the Red Queen’s chair. “And how are you doing, my lady?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Get on with it if you want to keep that head of yours.”
He laughed. “Why, of course.” He reached for his hat. “I remember it like it was yesterday, my lady.”
“Guards, stop him!” The Red Queen jumped to her feet, her cheeks rosy red.
Gregory held his arms out to the side, his massive hat in one hand and his other hand waving in the air. “I was just removing my hat.” He gently touched one of the spears pointed at him. “My queen.”
She sat back down. “Carry on. But I am watching you.”
He smiled. “Thank you.” Gregory slowly picked up the teacup which had been sitting on his head and set it down before him. “So there I was, having my tenth tea break of the day.”
“And why would be having another tea break of the day?” asked Carien
Gregory took a sip. “Because ever since I had an argument with time, it is stuck at six pm.” He held up his pocket watch. “And do you know what time that is?” When no one answered, Gregory, said, “Teatime.” He drew his left hand across his brow. “Oh, how dreadful it always being tea time.” He took yet another sip.”
The Red Queen tapped her fingers away on the wooden edge of her chair. “What does that have to do with this case?”
He took another sip. “Well, I had been sipping on my mandatory tea when I had seen it.” His eyes went dark. “Oh, it is too horrible to recall.”
The Red Queen narrowed her eyes. “You will recall what you saw, hatter.”
He took a huge gulp from the teacup. “Oh, but it was truly dreadful. A perfect plate of tarts just sitting there like that and then they. . .” He shuddered. “Then they weren’t. It was too much to bear, and I needed more tea to calm me down.” He took another sip.
The Red Queen stood up. “Ok, but who was it that you saw. Tell me if you want to keep that head of yours.”
He quickly drank the rest of his cup and turned around. “Why Alice over there, of course.”
Sarah crossed her arms. “For the last time, that isn’t my name.” She gulped as two spears were pointed at her.
The Red Queen smiled. “Ahh, perfect. Off with her—
“Oh, honey, I think we should let the poor dear talk first.” Patrick’s shrill voice filled the courtroom. “It is a kind thing, don’t you think.”
The Red Queen looked down at the king with seething anger. For a moment, Sarah thought that she was going to explode, but suddenly the red in her eyes vanished. “Of course. We can let Alice speak.” The spears were pulled away. “Hatter, you are excused.” Gregory jumped up and ran back to his seat; another teacup pulled out of seemingly nowhere.
Then all eyes turned onto Sarah; she gulped and slowly stood up. The playing card guards parted and created a path to the podium. She put her hands into her apron pockets and walked forward.
Once she was standing in the podium, the Red Queen stood up and yelled, “Off with her head, off with her head.”
“But I haven’t even had a chance to say anything yet!”
The Red Queen narrowed her eyes. “Alright. Get on with it already.”
“I didn’t take your tarts.” She crossed her arms. “I have never seen any tarts before.”
“Nonsense. You have already been identified as the tart thief by our expert eye witness.” The Red Queen pointed over at Gregory, singing to his teacup. “His testimony proves it.”
Sarah shook her head. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“So you confirm you stole my tarts. Off with her head!”
Sarah slapped herself on the brow. “I didn’t confirm anything.” She looked over at Carien. “Carien, it’s me, Sarah. Come on, let’s get out of this crazy park while we still can.”
The Red Queen slammed her hand down. “Stop trying to trick everyone, Alice. Now, if you don’t have anything further to say in your defense, can we move.”
Sarah gulped and slid her hands back into her pockets. She felt the mushrooms from before, and a small smile crept onto her face. Then, as the Red Queen continued to talk, she threw one of the mushrooms into her mouth, hoping that it would be the right one to get her out of this situation.
“Now that I have all of the evidence to make my little hubby here happy, I can finally say with confidence off with her. . .”
The Red Queen gulped as Sarah quickly began to grow. Her dress quickly tightened onto her body, her apron stretching and a moment later ripping apart. Her Mary Jane heels expanded outward, the fabric groaning in agony from her growing body and tightening onto her feet. Her petticoat tightened around her waist, and Sarah’s big round dress looked more and more like a miniature skirt. In moments her head hit the ceiling, and her growth stopped. She took a deep breath and looked down, her hands on her torn dress.
The Red Queen looked up and gulped. “Will you kindly bend down so we can get on with the proceedings? We can’t move forward with your giant head all the way up there now, can we, Alice.”
Sarah took a step to the side. “My heels are killing me.” She suddenly fell over onto the jury as her heels finally gave out; her feet burst through the dark leather. Sarah shook her head and then slowly picked up the strange-looking members of the jury one by one. “Oh my, I am so sorry.” She slowly set them back into the jury box. “Please forgive me.”
“Alice, can we please get on with this?” She turned her head at Carien’s voice. “Please stop holding this up.”
“Oh right.” She stood back up, her knees no longer crushing the six of spades. He made his way to his feet and wiped the sweat from his brow. Sarah then turned back towards the Red Queen. “Ok, you were saying?”
The Red Queen jumped to her feet. “You head. It is your head that I want, Alice.
Sarah crossed her arms. “I think you should calm down. It isn’t so nice to be demanding people’s heads. And my name isn’t Alice. It is . . .” She paused. “Umm.”
The Red Queen smiled and crossed her arms. “It is what, my dear?”
Sarah held up her hand. “I need just a moment.” Her head started to pound. “Umm. . .”
She looked down at the mad hatter. “He is my old friend from work, just twisted into some strange wonderland variant.”
Gregory stood up and spilled his tea onto the floor. “How outrages.”
“His name is. . .” She tapped her palm on the side of her head. “The Mad Hatter.” Sarah blinked. “No, that isn’t right.”
The Red Queen laughed. “Stop wasting our time Alice.”
She turned around and pointed at Patrick. “The king there. He is.” She narrowed her eyes. “I know this.” She put her hands on the royal stand and looked deep into the kings' eyes. “Why he is just the Red King.”
Patrick wearily spoke up. “I could have just told you that.”
She then turned her attention to Carien. “But I know who you are.” She picked her up. “You are my umm.” She looked at her, but her mind registered a blank.
Carien stared back and twitched her ears. “Alice, can you please put me down?”
“Oh, sorry, Ms. Rabbit.” She set Carien down. “Goodness me, I don’t know what came over me.”
The Red Queen crossed her arms. “So, Alice, are you still confused about who you are?”
She shook her head. “Oh goodness no. Why would I be? Of course, I am Alice. Haven’t I always been?”
The Red Queen smiled and rubbed her hands together. “Good. Good.” She stood up.
“For now, we can excuse the royal tarts.” She raised her voice. “But only this once.” Alice took a step backward and held up an arm defensively. “Now, all of you get out of my courtroom now.” She stood up and walked out of the courtroom with a giant smile on her face.
***
Later that day, the Red Queen retired to her chambers. “That couldn’t have gone any better.”
A cellphone on her desk suddenly rang, and she checked the room to make sure she was alone. With no one in sight, she walked over to answer the call.
“Hello?”
“Vess? How are things going?”
She smiled and began to take off her dress. “Perfect. My new formula is working great. Mixed in with the real Wonderland cookies and drinks that I stole those months, we will have a running theme park on our hands in no time.” She laughed. “It will be so real that no one will know that what is the attractions are actual people.” She paused. “How are things on your end.”
“Slow but steady. Maybe when you are done there, you can come check things out?”
“I think I have seen enough of your actions on the news. But don’t worry, I will come and visit soon. Look, I have to go. Talk to you later. Bye.”
