Chapter 22 Missing Rabbits Late to Tea
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
MISSING RABBITS LATE TO TEA
I’m exhausted. The memory that returned to me last night was the end.
I’ve wanted to know the end of my story this entire time.
Hatter’s devastated face as he pushed me through the portal and sent me back home is going to haunt me for the rest of my life, and it has me wondering if I’ll ever leave Wonderland again.
Last night, I was contemplating returning home, where I belong. Now, with the complete story in my head, hovering like the ghost of doubt, I can’t fathom leaving him.
A knock at the door breaks me from my internal war, and I find a lady’s maid staring back at me when I look up.
“I’m here to dress you for tea, milady.” She curtseys as if I’m some royal who summoned her.
“I can get myself ready, but thank you.”
Her alarm has me pausing. “I’m sorry, Milady, but I’ve been expressly ordered to ready you; I can’t disobey a direct order.”
Sighing, I move to the vanity stool, looking over the alarming way my hair sticks off my head from the dreams that plagued me, keeping me from sleeping deeply.
“Do your best,” I tell her coldly, feeling entirely devoid after a restless night.
I’m so ready for Hatter’s warmth and to speak to him about the memory.
“We have lots of work ahead of us.” She lifts and drops a strand of mangled hair with a grimace. “Tea is only two hours away, so let’s see what I can do.”
I stiffen, sitting straighter. “Will Hatter and Lewis return for tea?”
“They will, Milady.”
A smile releases tension from my body, and a giddy warmth spreads through my stomach. “I have full faith in your skills,” I offer.
She giggles. “Eager to see Hatter, hm?”
She seems to realize her misstep, and her face changes. “I’m sorry, Milady. That was so bold of me. I should’ve never…”
“Oh, please. That’s hardly the worst thing anyone’s ever said to me. Yes, I’m excited to see Hatter today.”
She eases, setting to detangle my hair before she can tame it into a presentable updo.
“I’ve never seen him smile as much as he does with you,” she says in a hushed tone that implies the walls might be listening.
In Wonderland, one never knows.
“Thank you for saying so.” I beam.
She magically reverses all the tangles when the brush won’t cut through them, pins my hair into an updo with baby’s breath, and a ton of hairspray.
“It looks…” I start, turning my head and watching my reflection in the mirror.
“Presentable,” she finishes for me, and I grimace.
Dark circles are beneath my eyes from all the sleepless nights of memories returning and long training days.
“Thank you.”
“We’re not done.”
After another hour of primping, makeup, and doting, I’m walking out of the bedroom when Beau comes bounding down the hall.
“You’re late!”
I roll my eyes. “Not you, too. You can’t rush beauty.”
“Not when you look like death you can’t,” he says, wagging his tail as he trots beside me down the stairs.
“Want me to carry you down?” I ask.
“And ruin the look you’re barely keeping together? No, I’m fine.”
“You’re very snarky today.”
He snorts. “Didn’t sleep well last night. Sorry.”
“I completely understand, actually.”
I sit beside the White Queen when we get to the tea party. Beau hops onto a chair opposite me and looks much like his father as his watchful eyes scan the table.
“Has the March Hare arrived yet, Cirius?” the White Queen asks, her eyes narrowing at the massive clock hanging from a post at the end of the table.
I don’t know what the obsession with time is all about in Wonderland, but I know by the worried looks on the surrounding faces that Lewis and Hatter are late.
My throat constricts as fear claws up my spine.
“No, Your Majesty.”
“Any word from Acacius?”
My eyes move between them, hoping for good news.
“No, Your Majesty. He hasn’t sounded the alarm. No one’s used the caves.”
Swallowing, I fidget in my chair. “Something’s wrong. Lewis is never late.”
The White Queen’s eyes narrow as if the cogs are turning behind them. “Indeed.”
A thunderous amount of chatter falls over the table, worried tittering amongst the ranks.
The queen stands and walks toward the door leading into the palace with Cirius and another guard, and I’m left staring into Beau’s worried eyes.
“Are you okay?” he asks, but I can’t answer.
I can’t think past the anxious thrumming of my heart or the way my stomach is churning.
I thrust inside the palace, rushing past the guards and the queen and racing for my room.
Beau is on my heels, but I don’t acknowledge him.
Once inside, I leave the door ajar as I gather my things. The Vorpal Blade lies on a table near the door, sheathed and gleaming in the streams of sunlight filtering through the room.
“What are you going to do?” Beau asks, barely leaping out of the way when I toss a pillow, searching for a missing shirt.
“I’m going to find them. They could be in danger.”
“Hatter wanted you to remain here until he returned. It’s not safe.”
“He would come for me, Beau. Something’s wrong. I can’t just sit here and have tea and cakes with you when something’s wrong.” Tears stream down my face as I level him with my gaze.
He sits, his chest heaving with a sigh. “Fine. But I’m going with you.”
“Fine.”
Like I would’ve left without him. I don’t know where I’m going.
I hadn’t paid enough attention to my surroundings while traveling with Winston, Lewis, and Finlo.
I didn’t have to.
“I can’t find my blue blouse,” I cry, dropping onto the end of the bed in defeat. My hands cover my face as I sob, my body shaking. “I know it sounds stupid, but Hatter got it for me.”
“Eleanor,” Beau says.
“Don’t make fun of me; I can’t take it.”
“Eleanor!”
“What?!”
“You’re wearing your blue blouse.”
Looking down, I break into laughter. With the tears sinking into my flesh, the laugh sounds ridiculously absurd and contrasts with how I look.
“Oh God, I’m going mad.”
“About time, too.” Beau grins.
Beau and I made it through the Sarlun and Dawnkep, traveled through the caves, and out the other side of the Hepmeda Mountains. Now, we’re standing before the Cheshire Wood, somewhere I’ve gotten lost more than once.
“I’ve heard about this place before,” Beau says, intrigue coloring his tone.
“Well,” I swallow, “don’t get too excited. And stay away from the trees. They like flesh.”
“They eat flesh?! Is there any other way to the Bog?”
I smirk, knowing he’s older than me, but also not wanting to correct him. After all, dog years are different, right?
“There’s no other way.”
“What if we get lost?”
“We… Well, I know someone in there, but I don’t know if he’ll help. He’s quite the menace.”
Beau scoffs. “That’s reassuring.”
I shift my bag on my shoulder, feeling the weight of the Vorpal Blade cling to my side like heavy iron.
“Come on. We need to get to them as soon as we can.” Leading us through the treeline, I’m shocked when the canopy impedes all outside light.
The same confusing trees tell us to go this way and that, signs contradicting themselves more than once.
“Oh, we’re screwed.” Beau’s words go unanswered because part of me agrees with them.
“We’re going to be fine.”
I try to recall the direction we traveled through the wood when Winston led us through, hoping I’m not leading us to certain doom or in circles.
After hours of wandering, Beau and I stand in the middle of a four-way intersection, ignoring a tree’s moans as we try to catch our breath.
I wipe sweat from my brow. “I’m so lost.”
“There isn’t even a way to find our way back to where we began, either,” Beau adds, plopping onto the ground in defeat.
“Falvious? Are you there? Come out, please?” I urge, scanning the large mushroom caps and trees above for any sign of him.
“Falvious?” Beau gets back on all fours. “I’ve heard of him. He’s a two-timing, riddle-speaking beast!”
“I resent that,” Falvious hisses, becoming corporeal as his cat-like form swirls before us.
Hanging upside down, his massive smile illuminates as his figure pulses between transparent and fleshly, Falvious crosses his arms. “What can I help you with tonight, dearies?”
His mocking tone makes anger fizzle through me like fireworks. “What do you mean? You’ve been watching! You know we’re lost!”
“How do you know I’ve been watching? I have better things to do with my life than watching Eleanor get lost for the hundredth time. I don’t know why you don’t just ask for help at the entrance. It’s what you always used to do.”
I swallow, feeling foolish. However, it’s not my fault that all my memories haven’t returned.
“Can you please help us get to the Bog?”
“Oh, you’ve an actual destination this time. Things have changed.”
“What?”
“To know where you’re going is the first step,” he teases, transforming into a naked man before us, his hands perched on his hips.
Beau growls. “Put your clothes on!”
Falvious rolls his eyes, snapping his fingers. Clothes appear on his body, clinging to every sinuous muscle.
Looking down at Beau, I smirk. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
Beau smiles. “I didn’t either.”
“I don’t have time for riddles, Falvious. I need help to get to the Bog. I’ve lost enough time already. Hatter might be in trouble. He’s late!”
Falvious turns, leading us down the path directly in front of us. “What is everyone’s obsession with time around here? It’s fluid, don’t they know that?” he rants.
Beau and I look at each other momentarily before following Falvious through the woods, praying he’s not leading us to our eventual demise—or to his home to do unseemly things to us.
We approach the edge of the woods, and I realize the Bog is just on the other side. Taking a deep breath, I thank Falvious, promising to return and solve his riddle.
“You shouldn’t have done that. The man seems like a menace,” Beau says as we step out of the trees.
“He’s not a man. He’s a cat,” I correct.
“This place is bonkers,” Beau mutters, and I grin.
My eyes scan the Bog, searching for anything or anyone out of place.
Nothing.
Silence.
The table Hatter spread me out on is bare. Nary a teacup atop it. The chairs are all pushed beneath it, and the clock at its head ticks almost too loudly.
Dropping my bag by Beau, I run up the hill and into the house.
Nothing.
No kitchen mice, no Hatter, nothing out of place.
I can’t help but check my room, my eyes scanning every inch as if Hatter will jump out of my dresser drawers at any second.
My heart is cinching when I hear Beau shouting my name from across the yard.
Returning, I stop dead when I see the fear in Beau’s eyes.
“What? What is it?” My voice shakes.
“Invisible monsters,” he riddles.
“Invisible, what?”
A swirl of smoke atop the table reveals Prospero, who turns and pins me with a menacing look. “Good day, Eleanor.”
“You!” I growl. “You’re the reason for everything. You tell me where Hatter is right now!”
“Start at the pink tree, turn left at the sun. When you’ve hit the mushrooms, you might’ve gone too far.” Prospero laughs, smoke billowing out of his lips before I make it to the table.
I lurch for him, my hand meaning to wrap around his throat, but he disappears in a puff of foggy smoke, a smirk on his lips.
“Now, now, now, Eleanor. Is that any way to treat someone who’s come to help you?”
“Help me?! You’re the reason for everything!”
“Am I?”
“Yes!”
“Then maybe you don’t know the entire story.”