Chasing Rabbits

by ERIN BEDFORD

  Getting up from my sprawled-out position, I placed both of my hands on the mirror and snarled, “If you don’t send me back right now, I’m going to find you in this time and shatter you. You hear me! I will smash you into tiny little pieces and scatter them all over the Underground, so they will never be able to put you back together, and then just for good measure, I’ll shatter all of your brothers and sisters too.”

  The mirror did nothing for a moment, but when I moved backward to make good on my word, the surface rippled and I fell through the mirror. This time landing hands first on the hard black floor with Mop and Trip on either side of me.

  “Lady! Lady is back, Lady is.” Trip hopped around beside me, making me feel more tired than I already felt.

  “Finally.” Mop grouched. “Thought I might have to come in after ye.” He shook a finger at me as I moved each aching limb into a standing position. “I told ye to leave it alone. I told ye and ye did it anyway. I swear ye have a death wish, ye do.”

  “Yea, yea. I know. I should have listened. I won’t do it again.” I rolled my eyes but gave a wary glance back to the mirror and the man I had left in the past.

  My lips still tingled where we had kissed. I didn’t know how I was going to face him again without thinking about what happened. Would he remember? Did I break something here?

  “Don’t sass me, girl.” Mop glared. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room and into a golden hallway. “While ye were playin’ around we found Hatter, so let’s get him and get out of here before that damn cat be lookin’ for us.”

  At the mention of Chess, I felt even worse about my little make out session with the prince. “You’re wrong, you know.” I followed Mop down the corridor, Trip hopping along beside me. “Chess isn’t as bad as you made him out to be.”

  Mop snorted. “A little pheromones and he’s got ye wrapped round his finger.”

  “Pheromones?”

  “Yeah, some Fae give off a pheromone that bends humans to their will, makin’ them more pliable. I’m not surprised ye didn’t notice.” Mop harrumphed.

  That was actually kind of a relief. Not that I could be controlled by some Fae mojo, but that I wasn’t just being slutty, though being controlled wasn’t a pleasant thought either.

  “What about the prince? Does he have these pheromones?” I was pretty sure I knew the answer, the pressure that pressed down on me when he had me locked in his gaze had to be some kind of magical influence, but I had to be sure.

  “Of course, he does. The stronger ye be the stronger the pheromones are. I’m surprised ye could even put two words together with him, let alone talkin’ back the way ye did.”

  We approached a large set of double doors that were darker than the golden walls by only a fraction. Muffled music and party going could be heard from behind them. Who would have a party at this time of day? It was late in the human world, but here? It couldn’t have been more than ten in the morning. Not that I had a watch to go by.

  “Anyway, ye need to be watching yer self. Cheshire is a liar. He can’t help himself. He’ll do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Ye be wise to not trust him with ye heart or any other part of ye.” Mop nodded his head at me as if I would naturally agree with him.

  He reminded me of my dad when he tried to warn me off boys. Sometimes I wished I’d listened to him and stayed away from the whole lot of them. I’d go on random dating boycotts, but it never lasted. I would see a pretty one and think ‘I bet he could reach that pot on the top shelf!’ It was survival I swear.

  “You’re just pissy because he bested you at cards.” I scowled at Mop.

  Mop pulled open one of the large doors and peeked his head in. After a moment, he pulled his head back and growled in a low voice. “It wasn’t just a card game. I lost half me jewels to that game! I would have finally won too if that damn cat hadn’t pulled a flush out of thin air!”

  “Is that so?” I smirked, raising my brow at his childish rant.

  “Don’t be lookin’ at me like that, ye weren’t there.” The brownie snapped at me, trying to keep his voice down.

  “Trip was! Trip was!” The white opalaught waved his paws in the air.

  “Well?” I looked to Trip, a smile on my face. “Did Chess cheat?”

  “Trip’s not sure. Trip will think, Trip will.” Trip’s tail straightened out severely as he tried to remember.

  I watched the opalaught as he scrunched his eyes closed. The fur on his body shook with the effort he was putting into it. My curiosity wasn’t worth his discomfort.

  “That’s all right. I’m sure it will come to you. There are more important issues to worry about right now.” I gave Trip an encouraging smile. “So, what’s the plan?” Changing the subject, I peeked over Mop into the ballroom.

  The ballroom was pretty much what I expected. The high ceilings were held up by large columns that circled the room. The décor was an array of gold with hints of white here and there to accent it. Even the planters had gilded flowers and leaves. And the guests were no exception to the gold theme.

  Beautiful men and women dressed in various shades of gold and white circled the room. Some of them were dancing to some weird floating kind of music while others socialized or ate from the refreshments being passed around. The dais at the top of the room with three golden thrones was the only thing keeping me from fooling me into thinking it wasn’t some kind of costume party.

  On top of two of those thrones sat a man and woman. Neither wore a crown, but they didn’t need one. Their regal presence stated clearing who ruled the room’s occupants. The queen was just as beautiful as the rest of the guests, if not more so, but unlike them, she did not laugh or smile. She simply watched the crowd with cool calculating eyes.

  The White Queen.

  Her white dress fit her like a glove, pressing her breasts up above the bodice and her waist small. The gown swept down over her legs and down to the ground where it was trimmed with golden lace. Her hair was pulled up into a braided crown upon her head and was set with small gems that sparkled in the light. Her face held no makeup, save for the golden-colored paint on her bow-shaped lips. Those lips were set in a stern straight line, and I could hardly imagine she had ever smiled before.

  Wasn’t she supposed to be the nice one? I had expected an overwhelming presence, but the hardness in her face was not what I had thought the White Queen would be like.

  Her king, on the other hand, seemed to be the friendlier one of the two. His own pale blonde hair curled at the edges as it swept the top of his matching white shirt. He was the perfect opposite of his mate, where her face was hard, his was softer.

  The king craned his head up from where he sat to chat with an attractive male with long silvery hair pulled back into a severe knot at the nape of his neck. A tall top hat sat on his head and unlike the rest of the room, he wore a golden patch-covered suit with a tail coat. He had a small amused smile on his face as he mumbled to the king and every once in a while his eyes would cast a wary glance over to the queen.

  “There’s Hatter!” Mop pointed at the man on the dais. “Now to get him.”

  “You have a plan?” I looked from the Fae Mop claimed was Hatter to Mop. Were any of the stories of the Wonderland occupants true? This Hatter was far too young to be the one of the classic fairytale.

  “Smiling Cat dressed Lady up real nice, Smiling Cat did.” Trip tugged on his ears, looking me up and down.

  “What he said.” Mop pointed at Trip with his thumb.

  What was their point? I was wearing the same clothes as the Fae in the ballroom, yes, but that didn’t make me look anything like them. Only an idiot would think I belonged. I shook my head at them, backing away from the door.

  “No. No way.” I waved my hands in front of me. “I can’t go in there!”

  “And why not? Ye look just like them. We’d stick out like a troll doing the samba.” Mop gestured to Trip and himself.

  He had a point. Between the three of us, I was the on
ly one who looked the part. Compared to the Fae in the ballroom, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure I would even pass as one of them. If it had been the prince, or even Chess, it would have been all right. They were attractive enough to make the cut, but I wasn’t even pretty enough to be in the running.

  “Why do you look so different from the other Fae? They all look like they came out of a fashion catalog while you and Trip are....uh...not.” I couldn’t think of a nice word that wouldn’t offend my companions, but who could compare to such beauty in the other room?

  “Just say it.” Mop shot daggers at me. “Ugly.”

  “Well, yea.” An awkward frown filled my face as I surveyed the ballroom door. “But it’s like comparing a novel to a book of poetry. A novel might be a glorious piece of art in a whole, but a few lines of poetry can touch you so much deeper and stays with you longer than any novel could.”

  “Pretty words for someone who ain’t ever been called ugly.” Mop crossed his arms over his chest.

  He was right. I’d never been called ugly before, but it had been implied.

  I once had a boy from school take one look at my family picture and then look and me and ask, “What happened to you?” As if I had been slapped with an ugly stick. But I was used to it. I was always being compared to my younger sister in looks and personality.

  She was tall and leggy, with high cheekbones and fashionable clothes. I had never been into that kind of thing. I’d rather spend my days surrounded by books then all the expensive clothing in the world.

  That was probably why I was a librarian and she was soon to be a rich man’s trophy wife. If only people didn’t judge everyone by their cover and got to know them as a person first, then maybe they would know what a raging bitch my sister really was.

  “Seelie are High Fae, Seelie are,” Trip offered up. I could always count on him to tell me what was what. “Trip is Lower Fae, Trip is.”

  “What about Chess and the prince? Are they High Fae? Are your looks the only thing that distinguishes what level of Fae you are?” It didn’t seem fair. They couldn’t help what they looked like and to call them lower beings because they weren’t the same was just superficial.

  “Of course not! The Seelie Queen may be shallow, but she doesn’t decide who be what. Besides, it ain’t like we want to be livin’ in the Seelie Court anyway.” Mop’s eyes filled with disgust. “Bunch of self-righteous whore mongers. We UnSeelie may not be the most attractive Fae, but least we be honest ‘bout what we are.”

  “And what is that?”

  “Honest,” was all he said, and then waved a hand at me, “Don’t worry yerself ‘bout us. Ye need to be gettin’ in there to get Hatter.”

  “But won’t they be able to tell I’m human? Chess and Teeth did right away.” I was stalling. I knew I was. I really didn’t want to go in there and pretend to be one of them. Acting was so not in my skill set.

  “Ye’ll be fine. They’re far too full of themselves to pay ye any mind. Just grab a glass of whatever they be servin’ and act like ye belong. When ye get close enough to Hatter just say Hare be waitin’ on his tea. He’ll understand.”

  I ground my teeth together. It wasn’t that I didn’t have faith in Mop, though my faith was in short supply lately – he hadn’t let me down so far – but up until that point, I hadn’t really been alone. Going in that room and facing all those Fae by myself, I couldn’t imagine it going any way but bad.

  I glanced down at Mop once more. “What do I do if someone figures it out?”

  Mop sniffed the air around me in a curious manner and then nodded his head. “They won’t.”

  I cursed under my breath. What were the chances I would get in and out in one piece? About as likely as my sister stepping into a library – slim to none.

  10

  The Seelie Court

  BLENDING IN WASN’T as hard as I thought it would be. I assumed I would be the only one showing so much skin, but I was more clothed than most of the occupants. Male and female Fae danced in various stages of undress. Some of them were only wearing what could barely be constituted as underwear while others were fully dressed like me with only bits of skin showing. It made blending in a lot easier and me a whole helluvalot less self-conscious.

  I grabbed a champagne flute off one of the passing trays and scanned the room around me. The large ballroom had thick round columns holding up a high ceiling. There were doors along the walls that led out to balconies, giving a view of a darkening sky. Could it be so late already? I hadn’t been there long enough to go through a whole day. Shrugging at another Underground oddity, I turned my attention back to the glass in my hand.

  The liquid inside bubbled a dark golden hue. Didn’t they know any other colors? I sniffed the top of the glass but jerked back when the contents singed my nose. I took a tentative sip. The drink was sweet and fruity, but it had a bite that caused me to go into a coughing fit.

  “Are you all right, dear?” The hand belonging to the concerned voice sat on my arm.

  “I–” I coughed and then croaked out, “Yes. I’m fine.”

  I glanced up at the Fae woman towering over me in stilettos taller than my boots. She had dark brown hair that fell around her shoulders in waves and magenta-colored eyes. Her outfit, if you could call it that, was a golden string bikini that left the majority of her flawless cocoa-colored skin bare. Her chest was the size I always wished I had. Not small enough to be flat chested, but not so large she wouldn’t be able to leave the house without a bra. It made her top seem more modest than if I had worn it.

  “Not a big drinker, I take it?” The woman’s full lips were painted a dark gold and were curved down in a frown as her curious eyes scanned me up and down. Her sultry features made the expression seem more seductive than inquisitive.

  “Oh no. I drink all the time. It just went down the wrong pipe.” I coughed once again as I lied.

  I hated drinking. A bad night of drinking lost me most of my female friends and had a dozen guys calling me at all hours wanting to ‘hang out.’ I could safely say I didn’t drink much anymore. But she didn’t need to know that.

  “Right.” The woman dragged out the word, disbelief on her face. “Well, drinker or not, I’m Magenta. You know, for the account of my eyes.” She splayed a hand across her face framing her startling magenta-colored eyes. “But you can call me, Mags.”

  “I can see that.” I took a tentative drink this time as I was prepared for the burn. “They are very lovely.”

  “Aren’t they, though?” Her lips quirked up, clearly proud of herself. “And what do they call you?”

  “K – Lady.” I caught myself before I gave her my real name, using the alias that I had gained since I had entered the Underground.

  “Lady? Why would they call you that?” She looked me over once more before leaning forward and sniffing at the air around me.

  I fought the urge to sniff myself just to see what the fuss was about. Did I forget to put deodorant on?

  “I don’t know. That’s just what they call me.” I took a big gulp of my drink, looking anywhere except at her.

  “Oh! I get it!” She exclaimed clapping her hands together. “I was trying to figure out where I’d smelled your scent before. It’s been awhile since I had my turn. I’d almost forgotten what he smells like.”

  “What?” I tilted my head to the side. I didn’t have to lie this time. I had no idea what she was talking about.

  “Chess, of course!” Mags giggled looping her arm through mine. She leaned into me like we had a shared secret. “You don’t have to play coy with me, dear. Anybody with half a nose could tell you’re one of Chess’ play things.”

  “What?” I asked again, my eyes wide at the mention of Chess. I searched the room to see if anyone had heard her, but no one was paying us any mind.

  “Oh, don’t be so shy, Lady.” She gave me a playful little shove, dropping my arm. “Almost every Fae here has done a turn at being Chess’ flavor of the week.”

 
“Really?” I frowned, a little perturbed.

  My mind flashed back to my kiss with Chess. Had he done that with other women? I was beginning to feel like I wasn’t as special as I thought I was.

  “Of course, silly. It’s like a rite of passage. And besides,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “we have to keep the mediator happy or you-know-who will…” Mags made a cutting motion across her throat.

  I nodded like I understood, my teeth grinding against one another. If she called me silly one more time I was going to punch her in the throat. I grabbed another glass off a passing tray as I tried to wrap my head around the new information.

  Who was the mediator? Chess? Why did they need to keep him happy?

  I searched out Hatter again, planning on returning to the task at hand. I could ask Mop about Chess’ play things later. Much later.

  “It was nice to meet you and everything, Mags, but I really need to–” Before I could excuse myself to find Hatter, Mags started waving her arms in the air like a crazy person, yelling into the crowd.

  “Jewels! Gab! Over here!” She motioned a male and female couple over. “Come meet Chess’ new playmate!”

  As the two approached, a sinking feeling began to grow in my stomach. I had never been one for attention and Mags’ outburst had caused more curious eyes to focus on me. If I wasn’t careful this chatterbox was going to blow my whole plan.

  “Well now, aren’t you delicious?” The male wrapped a strand of my copper hair around his fingers, his jewel-encrusted nipple rings flashing in the light. This must be Jewels. They sure were a creative lot in the Underground.

  Unfortunately, the nipple rings weren’t the main attraction of the male Fae invading my personal space. My eyes darted down to the thick muscular thighs surrounding the golden speedo barely covering any of his special parts. My face flushed when he angled it my way, pretending to bump against me.

  “Hands off.” Gab smacked his hand away and gave me an appraising glance. “You know she belongs to Chess right now.”

  Jewels pouted, his long blonde hair falling over his eyes. The two must have been twins. They both had the same shade of long pale blonde hair reaching their waist, and their eyes were the exact same shade of cerulean blue. But while Jewels was hard and muscular, Gab was soft and feminine.