The Secrets of Wonderland

[InnocentAgain]

Prologue

The clock in the direct center of the town struck noon. It was about time for the tea party to begin. The Dormouse, who made it his duty to oversee anything and everything that went on in the town square, sounded the gong three times before scampering down a hole and disappearing from sight. When he came upon the familiar table where the daily tea party was held, however, he found nothing. No one. Not a single trace of anyone who was supposed to be there. Except for an oversized top hat and a trail of crimson blood sprinkling the grass. Panicked, the Dormouse turned and scurried down another hole.

He had to inform the Puppeteer.

[InnocentAgain]

Chapter One: A Visitor to Tea

It was almost tea time again. The White Rabbit was coming to visit, which was never a good thing. She couldn’t quite place it, but every time that rabbit came to visit, The Mad Hatter always felt as though she was running late for something. It was a very disconcerting feeling, to say the least. To say the most, it was irritating. But he had insisted on coming today. And who was she to prevent anyone from enjoying tea time with her? With a flick of her wrist, The Mad Hatter sent the remains of yesterday’s tea soaring into the sky where they disappeared. A new tea set with gleaming white porcelain cups and saucers replaced the old.

“Knock, knock!” came the familiar voice of The Dormouse. “The Cheshire Cat is ill and has asked that we enjoy tea without her.”

“Well it’s good to have you, old friend,” The Hatter replied, seating herself at the head of the table. “Do make yourself at home, as always.”

The Dormouse bowed deeply and took his seat to the right of the Hatter.

“Will anyone else be joining us on this fine afternoon?” the Mouse asked, folding his hands politely in front of him.

“Oh, just that dreaded White Rabbit,” The Hatter replied, not bothering to hide her distaste for the Rabbit. “He said he had an announcement, or some other such nonsense.”

“Oh, not the White Rabbit,” the Mouse complained. “I always feel as though I should break that pocket watch of his on his behalf. I mean, he looks at the thing at least twenty times a minute.”

“You’re quite right, friend,” the Hatter agreed.

Just then, the White Rabbit rounded the bend and entered the garden.

“I’m here for a delightful tea party!” he announced, taking a seat to the left of the Hatter, across from the Mouse. “I’m overjoyed to be here with you, my friends!” he said, rather enthusiastically.

“Especially you, my dear Hatter.” And he winked in her direction.

The Hatter rolled her eyes. The Rabbit had always been something of a flirt, but his antics usually just annoyed her.

“Welcome to tea time in the Garden, dear friend,” the Hatter replied, hoping her smile was convincing. “We invite you to partake in the best tea in all of Wonderland.”

“Thank you for having me,” the Rabbit replied. He then proceeded to take a long, noisy gulp of his tea. When he was done, he set his cup down with a pleasant sigh of content.

The Dormouse and the Hatter looked at each other before starting on their own tea. The Rabbit said nothing more until the tea was complete. And all the while, he glanced down nervously at his pocket watch.

A silence dragged on as the Hatter and the Mouse looked at each other and then at the Rabbit awkwardly.

“I seem to recall you mentioning an announcement?” The Mouse asked, in attempt to break the silence.

“Oh yes,” the Rabbit replied. But he made no further attempt at an explanation.

The Hatter sighed.

“Aren’t you going to share with us?” she asked.

The Rabbit glanced down at the watch again.

“Oh yes. All in due time, my dear friend,” he replied, stuffing the watch in his pocket. “But for now, I must go. I dol hate to cut our tea time short, but I have some pressing matters I need to investigate at the moment. Please join everyone in the Town Square today to hear my announcement.” And with that, he scampered off, leaving the Mouse and the Hatter dumbstruck.

[InnocentAgain]

Chapter Two: A Peculiar Announcement

All of Wonderland had turned up for the Rabbit’s announcement. Tweedledee and Tweedledum were, as usual, in their own, strange little world. The Cheshire Cat was sitting on a tree, all smiles, her pink hair blowing in the wind. The Queen of Hearts sat atop a ridiculous sort of mobile throne, carried by her slightly sadistic and interminably faithful card knights. The only person who did not appear to be present was the ever sullen Jack of Spades. This was just as well, in the Hatter’s opinion, because he gave her the creeps.

The Rabbit stood in front of the crowd, wringing his hands nervously, and every so often, glancing at his pocket watch. The Dormouse scurried up and stood next to the Hatter.

“He really was serious, wasn’t he,” he said to the Hatter.

“Looks that way,” the Hatter replied. “Wonder what he’s up to this time.”

“People of Wonderland!” The Rabbit began. “Something in Wonderland is amiss! Not everything is as it seems!”

A murmur began amongst the crowd.

“What is he going on about?” The Hatter heard herself mutter.

“I dunno…” the Mouse replied, obviously uneasy.

The Rabbit continued. “We are being manipulated to fee-”

Mid-sentence, mid word, the Rabbit froze where he was. Members of Wonderland looked back and forth at each other, trying to figure out what just happened. And when they looked up, the Rabbit was simply…

Gone.

The Hatter furrowed her brow in confusion.

“Something wrong?” the Dormouse asked after a moment, fixing her with a concerned look. “What are you staring at?”

She turned and looked at him and then glanced back to where the White Rabbit had been, then back to the Mouse.

“N-no,” she replied. “Nothing’s wrong.”

The crowd stood there for a few more seconds in a confused daze before finally dispersing. The sun was sinking in the sky as another night came upon Wonderland.

“I’d better go ring the evening gong,” the Mouse said, wandering off.

“See you at tea tomorrow then,” the Hatter replied, her mind still somewhat hazy.

--

The Mad Hatter lay awake, staring up at the sky through her tree house roof. Wonderland was beautiful at night. Iridescent stars winked in and out of being and a thin sliver of golden moon hung in the sky. Off in the distance, she could hear the soft sounds of the Cheshire Cat calling in the night. A babbling stream told tales somewhere in the distance. Tonight’s tale was of an ogre and a bean stalk.

These were usually the sounds that coaxed her into a deep slumber. Tonight, however, it was taking longer for them to work their magic on her.

Today had been a really off day and no one seemed to notice. She wondered vaguely if tomorrow, anyone would remember the White Rabbit. And with that thought, she fell into a fitful slumber.

--

When Kaydance opened her eyes, she was looking up at a red and white checkered ceiling. The ceiling itself seemed to be warped, as though it was not flat. Which it wasn’t. In fact, the ceiling, the floor, and the walls made up a giant hole which extended as far as Kaydance could see.

She stood, and was surprised that, not only could she stand up straight, but there was enough room for another person to stand on her shoulders. Kaydance dusted off her clothes just to discover that she had never seen these clothes before. The jacket was short-sleeved and half midnight blue and half silver. There were two star-shaped buttons which crossed the two colors like a yin yang. Atop her head sat a silver top hat with an oversized blue daisy on it.

“Welcome to the Rabbit Hole,” a voice said. Kaydance turned to find the owner of the voice but no one was there. “Do not be alarmed,” the disembodied voice continued. “You are the Hatter. Mad or otherwise is your own prerogative. Your old name and occupation no longer belong to you. Your job is to oversee any and all tea parties that take place within Wonderland. Understood?”

“Yes,” she responded. Unintentionally, her eyelids closed over her brown eyes. When they opened again, her eyes were silver.

“Welcome to Wonderland.”

[InnocentAgain]

Chapter Three: An Intricate Tale

The Mad Hatter awoke with a start. What was that dream? Was it even a dream? Or a memory? Or a memory of a dream? She did not know. But the girl in the dream, somehow, she knew her name. Kaydance…

It was still late at night. But the babbling brook and the Cheshire Cat had both silenced. This was the quietest Wonderland had ever been for the Hatter. It was in this tranquility that she heard a rhythmic tapping coming from somewhere in the room. After a moment, she decided that this was the sound that had woken her. She pulled out a scrap of parchment and a quill and wrote the single word Kaydance on it. She then folded it into a tiny square and hid it in an elaborately gaudy tea pot that the Queen of Hearts had given her. She never used it anyway.

The tapping persisted. It was then that she recognized it as knocking. She walked to the front door and pulled it open. There, standing before her was the White Rabbit, bedraggled and clearly frightened. Tufts of his fur seemed to have been ripped out. His clothes hung loosely on his starved body and his bloodshot eyes darted back and forth wildly.

As soon as the door opened, he bounded inside and stood, shaking, behind the Hatter.

“P-please… c-close… d-door,” he stammered between violent shakes.

Hurriedly, the Hatter closed the door and turned to face her unexpected guest.

“What happened to you?!” she asked.

“W-water,” the Rabbit stammered. The Hatter quickly poured him a glass of clear water she’d drawn from the babbling brook. It had healing magic in it and was absolutely the only water she would use for tea. The Rabbit drank it greedily, noisily and panted slightly when the glass was empty. The Hatter quickly poured him some more. This time, he drank it slower.

“I do apologize,” he said between breaths. “I know that you don’t like me.”

The Hatter felt strangely guilty at this accusation. He spoke the truth, but she felt ashamed of her opinion.

“Rabbit…”

“No,” he interrupted. “No need to defend yourself. I’m not a very likeable guy. I’ll admit that.” He reached into his breast pocket, presumably for his pocket watch. He stopped short, as though having just remembered something and dropped his arm back to his side. The Hatter wondered vaguely if his constant check of the time was a nervous habit.

“I know the Dormouse doesn’t like me, that’s for sure.”

“We don’t dislike you,” The Hatter said.

“You don’t have to sugar-coat it.” He said sullenly. “That aside, things are changing in Wonderland. Maybe they’ve always been changing.”

“Nothing ever changes in Wonderland,” The Hatter replied softly.

“You can’t expect us to have been here forever,” the Rabbit replied. “There had to have been a time before Wonderland. So where did we come from? And where will we go?”

The Hatter instantly thought of her strange dream.

“Kaydance,” she breathed.

“Did you say something, Hatter?”

“No,” she replied quickly. Too quickly. Of course, the Rabbit noticed.

“Hatter…” he coaxed gently.

“I… I had a dream,” she finally said.

“Not you too,” the Rabbit breathed.

“What do you mean?”

“No, no,” the Rabbit said. “Don’t let me interrupt you. Please, continue. You had a dream?”

“There was… a girl,” the Hatter continued. She recounted her dream to him and the Rabbit listened without another word. When she was finished, he sat back in his chair, holding his cup of water and staring distantly out the window into the black night.

“Origins,” he finally whispered.

“Come again?” the Hatter asked.

“You’re remembering your origin. Listen, this isn’t going to be the last dream you have about Kaydance. I had many dreams like those. About Jayden. It was through these dreams that I came to realize just what Wonderland is. And what it isn’t.”

“Rabbit…”

“Don’t make the same mistake I did, Kaydance.”

“Kaydance,” the Hatter said softly.

“That’s your name, Hatter. When you came here, it was taken from you. Guard it well. For now, don’t let on that you’re awakening. This is a good thing. Or it could be. Now, I’ve got to go. I’ve just had an idea. I must speak with the Knave. Please, tell no one we have spoken, or that you’ve even seen me. If he finds out…”

“Wait, Rabbit!”

With a new found fervor, the White Rabbit bounded to the door and wrenched it open. Before the Hatter could question him further, he had disappeared into the night.