Iracebeth loomed above him, a wicked gleam in her eyes.
“From now on, I’m in charge,” she declared.
Triumphant, the Red Queen led the way down the stairwell, her soldiers dutifully following her with their prisoner. Time had finally been caught.
Alice burst through the door into Hatter’s house, too excited to bother knocking.
“Hatter!” she shouted. “Your family! They’re alive!”
His main room was empty and he didn’t emerge from the back. After a quick glance around, she ran up the bright blue spiral staircase to the second floor.
It opened directly into the bedroom, where she found her friends clustered around Hatter’s bed. Hatter himself was stretched out on the mattress, his eyes closed, his once vibrantly orange hair now a limp white.
McTwisp was holding a stethoscope to Hatter’s chest, but as Alice approached, he removed it and shook his head sadly. His nose quivered.
“The Forgettingfulness,” Tweedledee said.
“It’s unfilled his head,” Tweedledum finished for him. The brothers rocked gently from side to side, unable to bear it.
“We fear you are too late,” the White Queen said softly from her place by the bed.
Alice couldn’t—wouldn’t—believe that to be true. She hurried forward to sit on the edge of the bed, and took Hatter’s hand. His skin was clammy and cool and his pulse was faint.
“You were right,” she whispered fiercely. “They’re alive!”
But Hatter didn’t even twitch at her voice.
“I can’t bear to see him like this!” Mallymkun sniffed.
Bayard gently nosed her to crawl onto his head and carried her down the stairs, the rest of the group trudging after them. Mirana paused for one last wistful glance, but Hatter’s face remained dead to the world. Slipping away, she left Alice alone with the comatose Hatter.
A patch of color caught Alice’s eye and she turned to find the blue paper hat on Hatter’s nightstand. Gently picking it up, she fingered the spiraling paper.
“I know what this means, Hatter,” she said softly. “You made it for your father when you were young.”
She looked up, but there was no change. Undeterred, she continued.
“And remember the magic tree, Hatter? It wasn’t magic, it was him.” Alice pictured Zanik sneaking out in the dark of night to leave candy for his son. “All those years, it was your father. And on the day the Jabberwocky attacked, he left the blue hat there as a message that they’d survived!”
At a flicker of movement beneath Hatter’s eyelids, Alice sat forward eagerly.
“Because he kept it, Hatter,” she said. Taking Hatter’s hands in her own, she cupped them around the paper hat. “That blue hat you thought he threw away. All his life, a token of his love, his love for you, his son.”
Hatter’s body shivered slightly.
“And he still does, Hatter. Because he’s alive!” Alice finished emphatically.
At her words, Hatter’s eyes blinked open slowly. He gazed at the blue hat in his hands.
“He…kept it?” he asked tentatively.
“Yes!” Alice nearly shouted. She jumped up and grabbed Hatter’s shoulders. “Yes, I was there. I saw it. He picked it up and kept it. Your family is alive!”
Hatter propped himself up on his elbows and peered at Alice, recognition dawning in his eyes.
“It is you, isn’t it? I’d know you anywhere. You’re Alice!” he said.
Bursting with joy, Alice flung her arms around him. “Oh, Hatter!” she cried. “I’ve missed you so much!”
Color crept back into Hatter’s face and hair. He patted Alice’s back as she hugged him. But when she leaned away, his gaze was sober.
“Why have they not come home?” he asked.
“Because they are being held captive,” Alice explained. “By the only person cruel enough to keep them locked up all these years—”
“The bloody big head!” Hatter bolted upright, his head nearly brushing the canopy over his bed as he stood on the mattress. His eyes were bright with purpose, his shoulders set. He was the picture of vengefulness—besides the flowing nightgown he wore.
“I’m going to find the Red Queen,” Hatter proclaimed, grabbing Alice’s hand and stepping down to the floor. “And bring my family home!”
Alice squeezed his hand. They would do it together.
Five minutes later, they strode out of Hatter’s house. Hatter wore a safari outfit only he could pull off: a dark blue pith helmet, which matched his plaid pants; a plum riding jacket; and brown leather boots buckled up to his knees. He’d also insisted Alice change out of her dreadful asylum garb, so she was now cinched into a tailored black vest, a bright red blouse, puffy gray pantaloons, and laced-up boots.
With a high whistle, Alice summoned the Bandersnatch, and a few moments later, he bounded out of the woods. His broad mouth was open, displaying rows of pointed teeth, but he panted happily as he wriggled up to Alice. Hatter pulled out some riding equipment, and together they saddled the Bandersnatch. The white-haired beast shook his fur, the black spots along his body rippling as Alice and Hatter climbed aboard.
“Come on, we’ve got a family to save,” Alice said. She turned the Bandersnatch down the path into Tulgey Woods and clucked her tongue.
The beast gathered his muscles and leapt forward. As they rode into a clearing, they found their friends gathered under a tree. Mirana’s hands rested on the Tweedles’ shoulders while Mallymkun viciously thrashed her needle-sword at blades of grass. The White Rabbit and the March Hare pawed sadly at their ears, and Bayard was sprawled out with his head on Mirana’s foot, his eyes mournful.
“Hatter!” Mallymkun cried joyfully as the Bandersnatch clawed to a stop in the grass.
“He’s altogether back in pieces,” the Tweedles exclaimed together.
Hatter swept off his helmet and bowed, his orange hair almost aglow.
“The very same,” Hatter said. “Now, if you will excuse us, there are urgent matters of rescue and vengeance ahead.”
Without hesitation, Bayard sprang up. “I cannot let you face this danger alone,” he said. “You have my nose.”
“And my sword,” the Dormouse offered.
“And my brother,” the Tweedles said, pointing at each other.
The White Queen smiled and stroked the Bandersnatch’s nose fondly as she looked up at Hatter. “We are all coming with you.”
A ROW OF GLACIERS bordered the Outlands. Alice shivered on the Bandersnatch and dug her hands deeper into his fur as the beast padded through a tunnel in the icy mountains.
On the other side, the Outlands themselves stretched for hundreds of miles. Jagged mountains pierced the skyline here and there, but nothing moved against the fields of rolling grass in between.
Not wanting to linger, Alice and Hatter spurred the Bandersnatch onward. Bayard bounded alongside them, Mallymkun riding at his collar. The Tweedles and Thackery rumbled up next on a cart. Mirana rode atop a white steed, McTwisp clinging to her nervously. As they crossed the grasslands, Alice and her friends went over the plan again. The Red Queen must be holding the Hightopps captive somewhere in her Outlands castle, so once inside, they would split up to search every possible room.
At last Iracebeth’s castle came into view. It was shaped like a giant heart and seemed woven entirely out of red vines. Gray storm clouds rolled ominously around its curves. Alice thought it a very bleak place indeed and felt a stab of pity for Iracebeth. She quickly shook it off. Even if she had once been a helpless little girl, the Red Queen was now a merciless, power-hungry tyrant.
“My family is there,” Hatter said. “I know it.”
Alice nodded; she could sense it, too. Somewhere within those walls, the Hightopps were being held prisoner.
They pulled up to the castle’s entrance, which was unguarded. Alice looked around the main hall suspiciously. The walls—made of spongy plant matter—bulged slightly, and pillars of twisting vines held up the c
eiling of the tall central chamber. Winding up from the floor, a stairwell composed entirely of roots and vines branched off in different directions. If it hadn’t been for the bloodred coloring of all the plants, it might have been oddly beautiful. Instead, it almost seemed as though they were standing inside a heart, especially since the plants on the walls pulsated slightly.
The White Rabbit rubbed his paws over his nose and glanced around nervously. “Is this where we—”
“Split up!” Mallymkun called out excitedly.
The friends divided into groups and explored different hallways. Alice and Hatter walked elbow to elbow down a long corridor that ended in two doorways. As they approached, vines grew up over one of the passages, forcing them through the other into an upward stairwell. The steps creaked under their feet.
Alice paused next to an open doorway, hearing something tick inside. Poking her head in, she saw a large black grandfather clock wrapped in red vines.
“She has one, too,” Alice said with a jolt. “That’s how she visits Time!”
But Hatter wasn’t there to hear. He had continued on, and now his figure disappeared around a turn. Not wanting to be separated, Alice hurried to catch up.
At the top of the stairs was a solid wooden door covered in carvings of hearts.
Lowering his shoulder, Hatter shoved the door open.
“Father! Mother! Anyone…?” he called as he bounded inside, Alice on his heels.
The room had Iracebeth’s stamp all over it. A series of cabbage, turnip, and carrot heads hung from chains, their faces frozen in cries of pain. Lining a set of shelves were bottles of poisonous plants, scorpions, and unidentifiable blobs Alice guessed were equally dangerous.
With a gasp, Alice noticed a skeleton, sporting a dunce’s cap, propped in the bed. A heart-shaped eye patch over one of the skull’s sockets identified it as having once belonged to Stayne, Iracebeth’s former paramour and lackey. Alice recalled that as soon as the Red Queen had been deposed, Stayne had tried to kill her rather than be sentenced to permanent exile with her. Perhaps he had never truly loved Iracebeth. Either way, he had not survived her punishment.
Stifling a shudder, Alice glanced around the rest of the chamber. She spotted what looked like the remnants of Time’s travel machine piled to one side. She wondered if Time was truly on Iracebeth’s side. Did he really trust her? He must not know what had become of her last lover.
Hatter finished searching the room and turned to Alice in despair. “They’re not here,” he said. His knees buckling, he plopped down to the dirt floor. “I was certain they were here. I could feel it.”
Kneeling next to him, Alice patted his shoulder gently. They would keep looking. The Hightopps had to be there somewhere.
Hatter sighed and looked up; then his eyes grew wide.
On a table sat an ant farm. The tunnels within were suddenly forming a shape—which looked to be the outline of a top hat.
Hatter leapt to his feet, picked up the ant farm, and brought his face right up to the glass. Tears pricked his eyes, but he smiled broadly.
Inside, several tiny people with bright red hair waved up at him, banging their hands against the glass.
“Father! Mother! Everyone!” Hatter cried happily. “It’s you! Teeny tiny yous.”
He leaned down and kissed the glass, just as—
Clang! A heavy grate of vines slammed down over the nearest window, interrupting the happy moment. Then: Clang! Clang! Clang! Grates fell to block off all the remaining windows.
Alice and Hatter spun to face the door.
There stood the smirking Red Queen. Behind her, four vegetable soldiers formed a tight guard.
“Hello, Alice,” Iracebeth said acidly.
Two of the guards moved forward and grabbed Alice, patting her down.
“Thank you ever so much,” Iracebeth continued in a sickly sweet tone. “You have delivered to me the most powerful device in the entire Universe.”
The guards wrestled the Chronosphere away from Alice and handed it to Iracebeth.
“Along with the person whom I hold truly responsible.” Iracebeth turned as more of her guards arrived in the hallway, escorting the White Queen.
Mirana’s face appeared serene, but the prisoners behind her were less poised. The Tweedles clung to each other, and Bayard had his tail tucked between his legs. Thackery’s eyes rolled side to side nervously, while McTwisp’s teeth chattered. Mallymkun was, of course, the only one putting up a fight. A soldier held her far away from his side, even as her fists swung fiercely.
Iracebeth chuckled, clearly enjoying herself.
As he clutched the ant farm to his chest, Hatter eyed the Red Queen. “I recall now why I don’t like her,” he said.
“Now we shall see justice!” Iracebeth shouted. She followed her guards as they shoved their prisoners back down the stairwell—all except for Alice and Hatter.
Although Alice sprang after them, another grate crashed into the floor, blocking the doorway. She grabbed the bars, seeing Iracebeth cast her one last smug look before disappearing around a bend.
Hatter turned back to the ant farm, where his father stood at the top of the sand.
“Tarrant?” Zanik called in a small voice through the glass. “Is that really you? I’d stopped believing so long ago it feels impossible.”
Smiling, Hatter replied, “It’s not impossible, merely unpossible.”
“Oh, Hatter,” Alice cried from the door. She’d been trying to squeeze through the bars, but it was no use. “What have I done? We have to stop her! We have to get out of here.”
Hatter looked at Alice, then at his family. Then he pulled out the blue paper hat he’d brought along for luck, his eyes alight with a crazy idea.
H IS BROW furrowed in concern, Zanik peered up at his son. This was by far the scariest thing he had ever done. Stalling, he ran his hands along the blue paper airplane once more. His son had constructed it out of the blue paper hat, and it seemed sturdy enough—for a paper airplane.
Uneasy, Zanik stepped into the center of the airplane, testing its balance. Hatter cheerfully picked up the airplane, causing his father to topple over within it, and carried it to the window.
Whistling shrilly, the wind whipped past the high tower. The ground seemed hundreds of miles away. Zanik brought his hand up to his head.
“I feel like I’ve traded the frying pan for the fire. This is crazy,” he shouted.
“Someone once said wisdom is born from total insanity,” Hatter said sagely.
“Who said that?” Zanik asked.
“Me, just now.” Hatter pulled his arm back and then launched the paper airplane through the grated window before his father could protest.
“Aaaahhhhhhh!” Zanik screamed as the airplane zoomed through the air.
Only, now that he was flying, it wasn’t quite as scary anymore. Zanik shifted in his seat, redirecting the plane. It whirled in a loop, tipping Zanik upside down for a moment.
Zanik screamed once more, this time in excitement.
The plane coasted down and landed in a patch of grass. Zanik stood up and stepped out lightly, patting the blue paper affectionately, his mouth stretched in a grin.
Thunk! A paw shook the ground, and the meager sunlight overhead disappeared. Something wet hit Zanik’s hat.
He slowly raised his eyes.
A white beast loomed above him, a stream of saliva dripping from his razor-sharp teeth.
Zanik gulped, then straightened and addressed the animal his son had assured him was on their side. “Good day to you,” he said. “My name is Zanik Hightopp. I wondered if you might give me a hand releasing my family from their prison. It is rather an urgent matter.”
Lowering his snout, the Bandersnatch sniffed Zanik loudly. Then he scuffed his front foot against the dirt and nodded. Relieved, Zanik scrambled up the beast’s nose and hauled himself up onto his massive head. He settled right behind an ear, grabbing on to tufts of fur.
With a ferocious g
rowl, the Bandersnatch reared up and turned toward the castle. As Zanik held on tight, the beast galloped into it and past all the grasping vines to the topmost tower.
Once they heard the Bandersnatch thumping up the stairs, Alice and Hatter rushed to the door, but they stepped back as the creature snapped his powerful jaws around the gate. In one move, the Bandersnatch yanked it away. He panted proudly as Alice rubbed his cheek and Hatter lifted Zanik off his back, then set him down next to the other Hightopps.
“Now to grow you back,” Hatter said. He spotted the dome-covered plate on the table and removed the cover to reveal the Upelkuchen cake. “Aha.”
Hatter broke off a piece of cake and gave it to Zanik.
“Not too much now,” Hatter cautioned. “Careful.”
Zanik nibbled at the cake, then passed it along to his family. Alice gathered blankets and sheets from around the room so they could fashion new clothes for themselves after they grew. In next to no time, the Hightopps were back to their regular heights, laughing and hugging one another.
Hatter set his shoulders as his father approached him.
“I see you haven’t changed a bit,” Zanik said, glancing at Hatter’s zany attire.
“Nope.” Hatter smiled, a nervous but determined gleam in his eye.
Zanik studied his son. “Good,” he finally said.
Tears stinging his eyes, Hatter reached forward to hug his father. Just then, a shudder ran through the room, and Hatter’s arms moved as though they were immersed in water. Alice spun—or she tried to. She, too, felt her body slow down as though it were trapped in honey.
Hatter’s arms finally closed around his father with a thud as time returned to its regular speed. Confused, Hatter and Zanik stepped back and looked around.
“What the dickens was that?” Zanik asked.
Patches of rust had sprouted along cracks in the walls and floor. Alice touched one of the spots, her finger coming away covered in metallic red dust. It was the same powder she’d seen on Time’s heart clock in Witzend when he’d begged her for the Chronosphere. It was rust. What if the Grand Clock was affected, too? Perhaps without the Chronosphere, it was losing power.…All signs seemed to point to the possibility that Time was grinding to a halt.
Alice in Wonderland- Through the Looking Glass Page 10
