Mad as a Hatter (Sons of Wonderland Book 1)

by Kendra Moreno

  “So,” I begin after polishing off three more sweets from my plate. My stomach gives a satisfied gurgle as I sit back in my chair. “Tell me everything.”

  He pours us both more tea when the cups are empty. This time, my tea is a pastel pink color, and it tastes like blueberries. It’s sweet but not overpowering.

  “I can show you better than I can tell you,” he teases, his voice dripping with sin and sex.

  I clench my thighs underneath the table but roll my eyes at him.

  “You know what I mean.” I take a sip of the tea, humming low in my throat at the taste. My eyes catch on the Hatter’s bare chest before dropping down to his lap. When I realize what I just did, I jerk my eyes back up to see the laughter on his face.

  “Are you sure you know what you’re talking about?” he asks. He leans forward, those old gold eyes making an appearance right before our cheeks touch. “I can show you how mad I can be. All of Wonderland would hear you scream my name,” he whispers in my ear.

  My body heats up at his words and travels all the way up to my face, which I’m sure flames in response. There’s a raging inferno inside of me, and I want to let it out. But now isn’t the time even if the tension is so thick between us, I could cry. So, when he pulls back to look into my eyes, I kiss him on the tip of the nose. Surprise makes his lips part slightly and his eyes widen. I smile at the cuteness of it before I lean away and begin to take bites of the food still on my plate.

  “I need to know about the Red Queen and how Alice became her.” I’m really flying in the dark here. I need more information, so I know what I’m up against.

  Hatter smiles softly at me as he settles back in his own seat.

  “I can show you that as well.” He stands and reaches for my hand. I slip it without hesitation into his. “I will return,” he tells the tea party guests as he pulls me behind him. I manage to swipe another croissant before he drags me away completely. Tweedledum and Tweedledee ignore us. They’re still sipping their tea, a black mixture I haven’t seen before, watching the guests with interest. There’s a hunger in Dum’s eyes, and it makes me nervous.

  “They’re all friends,” I tell them before we leave the room. I swear I see disappointment on their faces.

  Hatter leads me towards the front door and opens it.

  “Where are we going?” I ask.

  “To see an old friend.”

  Hatter drags me around the house and into the trees. I say drag because the Hatter takes such long strides that I have to practically jog to keep up. I feel my body grow slick with sweat at the extra work, and I groan. How many times must I boil in this outfit before I get to take a bath?

  Once inside the tree line, Hatter slows down enough that I’m able to walk comfortably beside him. We move in silence for about twenty minutes before a small, abandoned cabin comes into view. I squint at it, expecting it to be an illusion the same way the hatter’s house is, but it doesn’t change. It’s tiny, rotting wood and moss covering every inch. Nature has reclaimed it, thick vines climbing the sides and hiding a lot from view. As I stare at the ramshackle house, giggling fills the air, coming from inside. I tense when a man steps through the doorway, the laughter coming from his mouth.

  The suit he’s wearing used to be luxurious and beautiful. That much I can tell. Now it hangs from him in tatters, moth eaten and dirty. He has two large, brown rabbit ears on his head, but one of them is missing half. They’re rough, like they’ve been chewed on, fur missing in patches here and there. The ear that is more intact is covered in piercings, little jewels flashing at us. I look at his face and realize his entire body mimics his ears. His skin in places is missing or rotting; I can see muscle and bone that I’m not meant to see. He looks like the zombies from TV, just add the bunny ears. I hesitate when the Hatter begins to walk towards the man.

  “Hatter,” the man exclaims, a gruesome smile full of sharp, bloody teeth spreading across his face.

  “March,” the Hatter replies, smiling warmly. “I’d like you to meet Clara Bee.”

  The man, March, gasps loudly, his gaze jerking towards me. It’s the first time I notice his eyes are blood red, no pupils to be seen.

  “It has begun?” His eyes are wide. I’m not sure if it’s fear or wonder in them. The Hatter nods. “Then come, come inside. Come inside. Hurry.” March gestures wildly at the door, retreating into the cabin, himself. It creaks as he moves across the floorboards, and I have to wonder how he doesn’t fall through the rotting wood.

  “The March Hare?” I ask Hatter as we make our way up the steps. They bow under us but don’t break.

  “Yes.”

  “What happened to him?” I don’t even know how March is still alive with the way he looks.

  The smell of mildew makes my nose wrinkle as we climb onto the porch.

  “The Red Queen,” the Hatter replies.

  Then we step inside the cabin, together.

  When we step inside the house and my eyes find March again, I can’t suppress a gasp. He doesn’t look in any way like he did outside. His suit is pristine, his skin smooth. I see no muscle or bone, no mottled flesh. The only flaw on his body is the missing half ear. That’s still the same even if his ears are covered in fur and healthy looking. Besides that, he’s handsome, strikingly so, even though one of his eyes twitch constantly, drawing my attention every time. It seems more of a tic than an anything. I notice some of his fingers do the same thing, flicking every so often to a rhythm I can’t hear.

  The house is the same as March. Outside, it looks ready to collapse, barely livable if at all. Inside, it’s normal and bright, no mildew smell or rotting wood. It’s cluttered but not dirty, warm and inviting.

  March giggles when he notices me staring at his ear. I’m trying to figure out why it’s the only thing that isn’t whole, why everything else is fixed beside the missing chunk.

  “It’s because it was gone before the red Queen got to me,” he says, pointing to the half ear. He accompanies the words with manic laughter, like it’s the most hilarious thing he’s ever heard. “I got that in a fight with a Bandersnatch. Well, with a different Bandersnatch.”

  I raise my eyebrows at him but don’t comment. I’m not sure if I want to know any more about the Bandersnatch, not after hearing the roar when I was with White.

  “Clara Bee wants to learn the history of the Red Queen.” Hatter’s voice is gentle as March offers us seats at a table. There are books stacked up under one of the legs, keeping it level.

  “Of course, of course,” he replies, bustling around the kitchen. “Best get to it before the Bandersnatch head this way.” He looks at the terror that crosses my face. He giggles, trying to stifle it by putting his hand over his mouth. It doesn’t work. “The beasts like to hang around,” he offers, “Because the Red Queen set them on me.”

  “Is that what happened to you?” I think of how he looked outside, like something had tore into him.

  His face darkens, the smile dropping instantly. I open my mouth to apologize for asking, but he beats me to it.

  “You’ll see soon enough.” His voice is rough as he grabs jars from the cabinets. He fills a kettle with water and sets it on a stove. He pours a bit from each jar into a tea cup and mixes them together. When the kettle whistles, he pours the boiling water over the ingredients, and a small cloud puffs up in the shape of a heart. He brings the cup to the table and sits it in front of me. I look at the liquid, noting the blood-red color of it.

  “Is it safe?” I ask Hatter, staring at the opalescent liquid. White had warned me never to drink tea from anyone, and yet here I am, accepting more tea. I’m terrible with Wonderland rules, apparently. I haven’t followed many of them.

  He nods before pulling me from my chair and into his lap.

  “Take a deep breath, Clara Bee.” His arms are strong around me. “It’s going to be a rough and intense ride.”

  With shaking hands, I lift the tea cup and sniff. Roses. It smells like roses and a metallic tang that
reminds me of blood. I take a sip of the liquid. At first, nothing happens.

  “Did it work?” I ask.

  Then the world explodes.

  Chapter 15

  I’m flying, or floating. However you want to look at it, my feet aren’t touching the ground. I have no idea where I am for a moment, only knowing I feel like I did in the Hereafter. I feel light. I look down in panic and see that I’m whole, but the feeling is still there. I’m floating about a foot from the white and black checkered ground, hovering. I glance around me and realize I’m in the same spot I landed when I came down the Rabbit hole. The table with the Drink Me teacup and Eat Me candy is sitting in the middle of the room. It’s the exact same as when I arrived, minus the human skin tablecloth.

  A childish scream fills the air when a little girl falls from a portal that opens in the ceiling. She lands hard on her tailbone. I grimace, knowing the pain. As she sits up, terror in her eyes, I make the connection. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and blue and white dress, I’m looking at the original Alice. This must be the first time she fell into Wonderland.

  “Hello?” little Alice calls, her eyes looking right past me.

  “Can you see me?” She doesn’t respond to my question, so I guess there’s my answer.

  She walks over to the table and stares at the key, curiosity filling her gaze. She picks it up, storing it in a pocket before taking a sip of the tea cup. She shrinks before my eyes and slips through the smallest door. The key opens it.

  The world swirls suddenly, and I’m no longer in the Rabbit Hole. I’m sitting at the Mad Hatter’s tea table, a guest that no one can see. Alice is sitting at the table along with Dormouse and March. Dormouse and March giggle and toss food back and forth. My eyes find the hatter and stick to him. He looks so happy and carefree, even if there’s still a touch of madness there. He’s absolutely beautiful as he smiles at little Alice, his gaze open. I lean closer to him as they all laugh and trade jokes. Even emotionless Dormouse joins in, his face smiling and kind. March tosses a teacup in the air before throwing something at it. The porcelain shatters across the table. Alice laughs and claps her hands with glee.

  “Alice,” the Hatter laughs as he tosses another teacup in the air. Alice shoots it with a sling shot, exploding more shards onto the setting. They all clap and cheer.

  I’m reaching out to touch the Hatter when the scene changes again.

  I’m outside a castle in a beautiful garden, one I’ve never been to before, but it’s bright. The castle glitters like a jewel under the sun. I watch as Alice runs giggling from the hedges, a blond boy chasing after her. Their laughter is innocent and filled with friendship. There’s three other people in the garden, all with crowns sitting on their heads. One woman is dressed completely in white, her crown studded with white diamonds. Her skin is pale, her hair even paler. Her eyes seem to lack color. She’s watching Alice warily. The other two people watch the two children play with smiles on their faces. A man and a woman. I immediately connect them as being the original King and Queen of Wonderland.

  “What do we know of this child?” the White Queen asks, a frown upon her face.

  “She’s just a girl.” The King waves away her concern. “Alexander seems to like her. Let them play.”

  “I don’t like it.” The White Queen worries her bottom lip as she twists her hands together.

  “Calm sister,” the Queen ushers. “Everything is fine. She’s just a fanciful young girl. What harm can she do?”

  The children giggle again from somewhere in the hedges, and I move towards the sound.

  “I’m going to find you, Alexander,” Alice’s young voice calls. The boy giggles from somewhere else in the hedge maze, hiding from her. They must be playing hide and seek. Alice doesn’t seem too concerned with finding him, strolling along the hedges, her fingers trailing in the leaves.

  A chipmunk scampers from the bushes at the disturbance, and Alice stops, falling to her knees before the creature.

  “Come here,” Alice whispers to it, holding out her hand. “Come on.” The chipmunk takes a few hesitant steps towards Alice, sniffing her fingers. “That’s it, little chipmunk.”

  The little thing climbs into her hand, and she squeezes her fist, trapping it. The chipmunk squeals, and I flinch at the sound, taking a step back. Screams of terror are coming from her fists now, where the chipmunk fights to free itself, scratching and biting at her palms, but she doesn’t release the poor thing. Instead, she grips him in both hands and twists, a sickening crunch making my stomach roll. I force myself to watch as blood wells from between her fingers. She grabs an empty pot and catches the bright red liquid inside. When the flow slows, she tosses the lifeless body of the chipmunk into the hedges and runs from the maze.

  “Your majesty,” she calls, smiling. “I found some paint. Can I paint some of the roses red?”

  The Queen giggles.

  “Such an imaginative young girl,” she coos. “Go ahead, dear.”

  The White Queen stares at the blood before her eyes flick up and look right at me. I stumble backwards.

  The colors swirl.

  I’m back at the Rabbit Hole again, staring at the white and black checkered floor. Everything has a darker feel to it, like night has fallen inside. When Alice falls through the portal this time, she doesn’t scream. She lands on the floor in a crouch, the tiles cracking beneath her. When she looks up, I freeze. Her hair is still blonde as corn silk. Her dress is still blue and white. But this time, it’s covered in blood. So much blood is streaked across the dress, her face, her arms. She’s much older, in her thirties maybe, close to my age. She stands and stomps towards the table, scattering everything to the floor. The teacup shatters, spraying the liquid across the tile. White runs from behind a curtain, his clock ticking away. There’s fear in his eyes as he runs.

  “Fuck!” I hear him mumble as he rushes past me. He’s moving so fast, I barely see him transform into a white rabbit and disappear through a door.

  “Come back here, White!” Alice screams in rage, storming after him. There’s a large bloody knife in her hand.

  Colors spin, and I’m staring at the Hatter’s house as he steps onto the porch. Worry wrinkles his face as he stares at Alice. She stands in front of him in the grass, watching. White is leaning against the railing, his ears twitching nervously. Cheshire sneers at Alice, his tail swishing back and forth in agitation.

  “What happened to you, Alice?” the Hatter asks, his eyes glancing at the blood drip, drip, dripping from the knife. It’s fresher than the last time I saw it.

  “I grew up,” she snarls, taking a step forward. There’s only ten feet between them. “When you abandoned me to the woes of reality.”

  “You’ve lost your muchness.” Hatter frowns at her. Cheshire tenses from his position, his claws sliding out from the tips of his fingers.

  “No,” Alice replies, stalking right up to him. He doesn’t move away. “I’ve gained power.”

  She thrusts the knife into the Hatter’s heart. Shock clouds his eyes as I scream. Cheshire and White jump into action. I run forward, but the scene changes before I can reach him. I blink at the moisture in my eyes.

  I’m in a throne room. Alice sits on an opulent golden chair in a bright-red dress. She wears the same crown on her head the Queen used to wear. Blood runs down her face and neck, pooling against the fabric and darkening it. Bodies litter the floor around the throne, left where they fell. When I look closer, I see the corpses of the King and Queen, their bodies mutilated, their heads cut off and sitting on the steps as a sort of gruesome masterpiece. Their mouths are open in horror. Blood pools beneath them.

  Alice holds a heart in her hand, still warm I suspect from when she pulled it from the Queen’s chest. I watch from my spot in front of the throne. Alexander stands before her, the bodies of his parents at his feet. He’s beaten and bloody, holding an arm at an odd angle. He’s older now, too, and the time difference confuses me. He looks like he’s closer to twenty one. He w
atches as Alice brings the heart to her mouth and licks the blood dripping from it. Alexander flinches.

  “Alice.” His voice shakes. “You’re not my Alice.”

  Quicker than I can follow, Alice is out of the chair and standing in front of Alexander, her hand around his throat. He claws at her hand, gasping for breath as she brings him close.

  “I’m not Alice anymore,” she snarls in his face. Her other hand leaves a bloody print on his jaw as she cups his cheek. “I’m the Red Queen.”

  She drags her claws across his face, tearing one side away. He screams in agony, his body going limp from the pain. Blood oozes from the wound before tiny roses spring up in its place. Alexander doesn’t fight as she kisses his lips.

  My heart beats hard in my chest as the scene changes. I’m afraid of what I’ll see next, of how bad this is going to get. I’m standing on a branch in a tree, looking down into a clearing. March sprints past, right into the center. Alice follows on the back of a fearsome creature. It opens its mouth, lips peeling back over its face to reveal sharp, blood-crusted teeth. I realize immediately it must be a Bandersnatch. It can’t be anything else. Alice rides on it’s back like a horse, glee on her face as they zero in on March. He’s stopped in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by more of the creatures. March makes one last effort to get out, sprinting right towards a Bandersnatch. He fakes to the left before moving right, but the beast expects it. My heart stops as the thing tears into March. Blood and pieces fly about the clearing as the other Bandersnatch join in a howl of victory. Tears roll over my cheeks when the screams reach me.

  I don’t know how much more of this I can take, but I don’t have a choice. Whatever drug-induced vision I’m in, I’m stuck until it’s over. The scene is changing again, and I pray that this is the last time I’ll have to watch something so horrible. Please don’t be the Hatter, I think. Please not the Hatter.