Madness Solver in Wonderland

by E E Rawls

  His memory of her skin glowing like liquid sunlight returned. What was she really? Was she finally going to stop hiding from him and talk?

  Alice perched on the bench, much like she used to whenever he was feeling down about something, to lend a friendly ear. He’d missed that.

  “You saw them making faces and laughing at me, the boogers,” he replied.

  “Wonderland flowers don’t have any manners,” she said. “Everybody knows that.”

  “Hmph.” He almost laughed, but too much had happened for him to really laugh. “Does this mean we’re friends again?”

  Her lips looked like a puckered tulip. “If you promise not to ask questions about me.”

  His chest sunk. But if that was what she wanted, then it was her life, her choice. He didn’t have the right to pry.

  “All right. I promise. But if you ever change your mind, and would like to talk,” he faced her, “you know I’m here for you.”

  Was it a trick of the light or did she blush?

  “And sorry about...you know.” The line of his mouth winced.

  “Ha!” Her eyebrows lowered slyly. “You think I’ll forgive you so easily, Peeping Tom?” She patted his cheek roughly. “You owe me a year’s worth of favors, and more, for that.”

  “Ahh, fine.” He mock huffed and rubbed at his cheek. “I live to serve you, princess.”

  She grinned back at him. “I saw you all come back from the forest,” she said next, her tone a touch careful. “And I forced the details out of Harrey.”

  “Ah. Harrey never could keep a secret.” That was all he could think to say. His heart was raw thinking about the Haunted Forest, and the one who would not be returning from it.

  “You can’t do everything, Madnes,” she said. “Not every person can be rescued. All you can do is try your best—and that’s exactly what you did.”

  “But it’s a life, Alice. A life. I can’t brush that off. Nico’s life is gone, and I was the only one who could have helped him.”

  Her hand lightly caressed over his. “Take your time and grieve, Madnes.”

  Something about those words loosened the tension in his shoulders. He was allowed to grieve.

  “And remember to be thankful for those you did save. Don’t forget about them.” She smiled.

  TWILIGHT GLOWED A REDDISH purple beyond the bedroom window. Sitting on the edge of his bed, his back slouched, Madnes stared at nothing. The top hat dangled from his fingers.

  He envisioned Nico handing it back to him, green moss and vines taking over his small body while he smiled sadly.

  The Madness Solver was needed, just as Cheshire had tried to tell him; he hadn’t fully realized that until now. A heavy responsibility, with lives at stake.

  That forest was the result of something tainting it—Syn tainting it. Whether Syn was a legend or not, there was some truth to be found in most myths. What worried him was how closely that forest from Wonderland had melded itself with Oswick. It was a danger he had to put an end to.

  “I won’t forget you, Nico...” His grip tightened on the hat. “This time, I won’t let you down.”

  “MADNES? MADNES! THERE’S trouble.”

  An incessant knocking woke Madnes, giving him a headache. He pulled himself out of bed, grumbled, and tugged open the door to be greeted by Harrey’s expressive face and grease-and-paint stained attire.

  “What now? Don’t tell me you put those kids in one of your crazy flying inventions! If they’re hurt, so help me, I’ll—” Madnes began.

  “No, not that. It...you have to come see for yourself!” Harrey sprinted back down the stairs.

  With a groan, Madnes got out of his panda pajamas, slipped on a new maroon jacket, and followed. Mom spotted them and shouted after him as he sprinted out the door: “You get back here! Madnes! You’re still grounded, you—”

  “Be back in a bit, Mom!”

  He hurried out after Harrey, adjusting his hastily put-on clothes and buttons. “What trouble? This had better be worth the trouble I’m going to face from Mom...”

  They reached the park, and both his trot and words slowed to a rattled halt.

  The park looked like a scene out of Wonderland: the rocks were mushrooms the size of children, and flowers like rainbows sprouted in the trees; a flock of hammer-head birds perched on branches, and a two-headed snake hissed.

  A normal sight for Madnes, and now for Harrey too, as he could see Wonderlanders on Earth. But the problem was the crowd of ordinary people who stood around the park, staring and gawking. It could only mean one very troublesome thing:

  Normal people could see it now, too.

  Something was wrong with the worlds.

  “Oh...crud.”

  Chapter 33:

  Betrayal

  MADNES’S MOUTH HUNG open, speechless, at the crowd of people—the crowd who could see Wonderland creatures in the town park. Even steam cars from the street across had squealed to a halt.

  At Harrey’s tap on his shoulder, Madnes looked back. His friend pointed at a line of ninja bananas hurrying out of the park, taking cover. “I don’t think everything is visible, Madnes. It’s just the park area, for some weird reason.”

  Madnes eyed the bananas now clear of the park, and indeed it didn’t seem like anybody noticed them.

  “But how can people see the park like this, in the first place?” He backed up, tapping a foot and pressing his thumb to his lip, observing the situation.

  The ground rumbled beneath their feet suddenly, and a flash of light blinded them.

  Madnes blinked repeatedly, trying to see past the white spots dancing in his vision.

  “It’s gone!” he heard Harrey shout.

  The white afterimages faded, and Madnes tried to see the park, but he couldn’t spot a single tree, giant mushroom, or any Wonderland creatures.

  Where was the park?

  Dirt, bare ground. There was an expanse of nothing where the park had just been.

  Harrey was right. The park was gone, along with everything and everyone in it.

  Madnes swallowed, trying to keep calm yet fearing the worst. “Where the heck is Cheshire when I need him?”

  CHESHIRE TOSSED HIS hat aside and ran over to the open portal nearby the palace. It had grown twice its size since he and Madnes had last been there, and its watery surface roared and swirled with hurricane force.

  This behavior was abnormal; he’d never seen a portal do this before.

  “What could be the cause?” If it didn’t stop soon, more pockets of space would form and connect to Oswick, and who knew what the consequences of that might be?

  The cat trotted in his boots, circling the portal, inspecting it. If all the portals around Wonderland were doing this, then it meant the balance between worlds was being disrupted. Something or someone was to blame, and it had to be stopped fast.

  “I must warn the Red King.”

  Cheshire turned in the direction of the palace.

  He had taken no more than five steps when his keen cat ears heard a voice.

  He quickly climbed up the nearest tree—not something he liked to do; he hated doing anything that resembled Earth cats, but a sense of urgency warned him to hide.

  He watched and waited.

  “Yes, they appear to be in working order.” A short, rotund man with a long nose approached the portal below. He tapped its metal tree frame with a pen before writing something down on a clipboard in hand. “Nice...very nice.”

  Cheshire eyed the man from above. He recognized him as the advisor to the Red King.

  Something didn’t sit well. The short man seemed pleased about the portal being out of control.

  When the advisor headed back towards the palace, Cheshire decided to follow and learn more. Keeping to the trees and bushes, his cat stealth came in handy.

  The advisor continued his way into the palace, and Cheshire climbed the palace wall from windowsill to windowsill until he could sneak inside through an open window. He spotted the man aga
in down a hall and followed him via the palace’s air duct system.

  The advisor entered the royal chambers.

  Cheshire peeked between the bars of the vent inside the royal room wall. There the Red King sat, drinking tea, and the long-nosed man waited to speak.

  “All is working properly, as you planned, Your Majesty,” the advisor said, once the king’s hand had signaled for him to speak. And he showed him the clipboard.

  “Good.” The Red King’s gaze roved over whatever was written there. “The Terraforming process has begun, I see.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.” The short man grinned. “The crystal focal points for the spell are stable and holding strong. It’s finally working—fantastically!”

  “And the crowv woman inside is still contained?”

  “Yes, yes of course, sire!”

  Crowv woman? Crystal focal points? Cheshire tried to steady his heart’s rapid pounding. The Red King was breaking the law of the portals and tampering with forbidden power? Madnes’s suspicions about someone in Wonderland being up to no good had been true.

  ‘Madnes—I must get back to him!’

  In his haste, Cheshire rose to stand, and his head thumped the ceiling of the air duct.

  “What was that?”

  Cheshire covered his mouth with a paw and backed away from the vent bars.

  But not fast enough before the advisor ripped off the cover.

  “A cat?” the advisor exclaimed.

  Cheshire hissed and leaped at his face before the man could react—claws swiping at his eyes and forcing him to draw back.

  “Cheshire!” shouted the king, “Grab that cat!”

  The moment his paws touched the floor, Cheshire bolted on all four limbs across the room for the door, all dignity thrown aside. His furry paws and boots slipped on the marble hallway outside the room, and he kicked his limbs forward and back, seeking a solid grip. He scurried down the hallway as they stormed behind him.

  The advisor lunged, hands grabbing for Cheshire; he felt them skim above his fur.

  Cheshire pivoted and turned down a sharp corner, narrowly escaping the hands. His claws click-clicked on the hard surface in a frantic, awkward run. His invisible power didn’t work inside the palace, so he couldn’t hide.

  A figure appeared ahead. Cheshire tried to put all four paw-brakes on, but he couldn’t stop his skid across the slick surface.

  Oz looked down at the cat skidding toward his boots. With one hand he reached down and grabbed him up. His other hand pulled the hem of his royal cape around the cat in his arm, hiding Cheshire from view.

  The advisor almost bumped into the prince in his hurry around the corner. “Oh, Prince Oz! Terribly sorry to disturb you,” the rotund man blabbered. “You didn’t by any chance see a...a cat running about, did you?” He craned his neck, looking this way and that, trying to see around Oz’s much taller frame.

  Oz barely moved his proud head. “A cat? No. But there is a dog here before me. Try looking in the mirror.”

  The advisor’s face turned dark, but he backed away. “Better watch yourself, Your Highness,” he said menacingly over a shoulder. “No one is safe in Wonderland. Not even your high self.”

  Oz held his head high.

  Once the man had gone, Oz turned into the nearest room with Cheshire held tightly under his arm.

  Chapter 34:

  Terraforming

  CHESHIRE mreeowed as he was tossed to the floor of the small room. Oz closed and locked the door behind them, then turned and faced the cat.

  “On the run from my father, are you, flaky cat?”

  Cheshire stood upright, dusting at his waistcoat. “The better question, rude young man, is why did you save me from him? I won’t do anything for you, if that’s what you’re expecting.”

  Oz sniffed. “As if I’d ask a favor from a cat,” he said brusquely. “I simply don’t like that advisor. I thought it’d be fun to cause him some stress and hide you away.” The prince chuckled. “Though, I am curious...” He bent halfway down to the cat, a smirk on his lips. “Why were you on the run? Have you been a naughty kitty?” He leaned back from Cheshire’s claw swipe.

  “How long has this scheme of your father’s been going on?” Cheshire growled, sounding more like a cat hiss. “And to think, there was a time when I thought well of him, and of you.”

  The prince tossed the royal cape back over his shoulder and narrowed his expression at the feline. “Scheme?” He turned his nose up. “I could care less what you think of me anymore, Cheshire. I’ve given up on that. But I haven’t a clue what scheme you’re referring to.”

  Cheshire’s tail swished back and forth as he eyed the prince. Oz had no more reason to lie; it was clear Cheshire would never grant him the power from Madnes, not after the way Oz had treated the boy. So, had the king been keeping his son in the dark about the portals too?

  “In that case, I’ll tell you what I overheard,” he said decidedly. “The balance of the worlds has been disrupted; your father has betrayed our trust and broken the law of the portals. I fear everyone in Oswick is in danger...”

  Oz’s shoulders shrugged, nonchalant.

  “Your father mentioned something about a Terraforming spell or process. Have you heard the name before?”

  Oz’s stare was blank.

  “Anything about crystal focal points for a spell? And a crowv woman?”

  A spark lit in Oz’s eyes. “Crowv woman?” He got close to the cat, his countenance suddenly dark. “Explain,” he demanded.

  “She’s being contained, but I haven’t a clue what for, where, or who she is. That was all I could overhear.”

  “Could it be...?” Oz’s gaze cut sideways, to the room’s empty fireplace and leftover flakes of ash. “Mother...is that where she’s been?” He thumbed his chin in thought.

  Cheshire watched the prince with caution. “The queen?” Last he and Wonderland heard, the queen had died of an illness. Did Oz have reason to believe otherwise?

  “I must know the truth.” Oz suddenly made for the door.

  “Wait, prince!” Cheshire wasn’t sure what was going on in the youth’s head, but if Oz let on to the king that he knew about his father’s plot, Oz could find himself in danger. “Even if you are his son, the king is a man to be feared. You must tread carefully. Don’t put your life at risk, when this crowv woman could be anyone; it’s highly unlikely that she is your mother.”

  The prince’s stride paused. “I don’t care about Oswick or Earth. Nothing matters to me but finding my mother—and nothing will stop me from doing so.”

  THE KING’S ANTEROOM doors flung open. Oz strode inside, his wings spread wide, the black feathers that circled the back of his head resembling a crown.

  The king looked up from one of his many ornate chairs, dressed all in black but for the blood red robe.

  “Is it true?” Oz demanded.

  The king raised an eyebrow, both in question and rebuke.

  “Cheshire passed through here. He says you’re doing something with the portals, some sort of spell, and that a crowv woman is involved.” Oz drew near, step by step, black feathers swirling around him angrily. “Is it her? Where have you been keeping Mother all this time?” he growled. “Tell me!” His shout echoed and the marble floor rumbled.

  The king looked up from the game he’d been playing: a tier of boards and chess pieces. His opponent, a mechanical hand, awaited its turn.

  One glance at Oz’s show of anger, and the king’s attention returned to the boards. “I suppose there’s no longer a reason to keep it from you,” he said smoothly, ignoring any threat Oz tried to pose. “It’s called Terraforming, and it’s a spell I’m using to cultivate the land on Earth. Oswick is the easiest place to start with. Soon, the island will be reformed and made into the likeness of our lovely Wonderland—creating a second Wonderland, if you will. Won’t that be nice? Having another world under my rule, a new place our people can call home?” He stroked his thick, trimmed black beard.
/>
  Oz’s expression didn’t waver. “You know I don’t care about any of that.”

  The king finally turned in his seat, every bit as imposing as when on the throne. “Your mother was ill, Oz. You saw for yourself how her health deteriorated. Why are you so set on believing she’s still alive?”

  Oz didn’t let himself answer, instead his lips thinned together.

  “There is a crowv woman, yes,” admitted the king. “But it is not your mother. The crystal she’s contained within is the only thing keeping her alive after battling the same illness that took your mother—the illness so many crowv people have perished from. She cannot leave it and live, at the moment, but we are using the spell to draw in energy from Oswick and transfer it to help her recovery.” His frown made the stonework of the room feel soft.

  “You see, not only is the Terraforming spell giving us new land, but it is also transferring all that gathered energy to heal the sick.” The king rose to his full height and in two strides reached Oz, planting a hard hand on his shoulder. “You and your mother’s crowv people may no longer be in danger of extinction, thanks to this spell.”

  Mixed emotions whirled through Oz like a storm. He’d said it wasn’t Mother, but a gut feeling didn’t want him to believe anything the king said. Mother had to be out there, somewhere—and alive.

  “The spell is helping her?”

  The king tipped his head forward in a slight nod.

  “Where is this crowv? I want to see her.”

  “In time, my son. There is work to be done. But once the spell is complete, you may.”

  “I don’t want to wait,” Oz persisted.

  The king motioned with a hand, and an invisible force shoved Oz, skidding him back across the floor and tripping him over a carpet. “In time,” he repeated.

  Oz’s hands clenched. But he relented. Father was powerful—he couldn’t force him to talk.

  But that was fine; now that he had a vague idea of where this crowv woman was—somewhere inside one of the spell’s crystals—he could find her on his own.