by Lotus Rose
Rick shrugs sheepishly. “We feel bad for capturing you, but the curse compels us against our will.”
“That’s horrible,” Humpty says, and the others nod and voice their agreement.
Ada nods. “It’s too late for us, but hopefully you all shall pass the test. Unfortunately, you must all pass to be let go.”
Rick says, “But hopefully you’ll be successful, and Malice shall go and get her age shifted, in order to thwart Dorothy. And hopefully Alice herself shall stay in the Outside World.”
Malice says, “So explain to me how shifting my age to below the age of consent would be so wonderful. I mean, if I did that, I would never be able to play with adults in that special way you go on about. And...” She looks at Hatter. “If I stopped aging, I’d always be too young...to be in relationships with...certain people.”
“Ooh, you mean Hatty?” Sleepy B blurts out.
Hatter looks at the ceiling, raises his chin, now he closes his eyes.
Malice snarls at Sleepy B. “You and your mouth.”
Sleepy B cringes. “Blimey, I’m sorry. But we all know it was obvious who you were referring to.”
“Bah,” Malice says, and shakes her head. She looks up at the munchkins. “So why would I wish to ‘stunt my growth’, as it were?”
“To keep the potential power within you from unleashing,” Ada says, “and to prevent Dorothy from using you.”
Malice huffs. “She’d have to capture me first.”
“She wouldn’t need to capture you to use you. She believed that once Alice came of age, their powers would combine, intensify, and project outward. But as long as Alice is in the Outside World, that won’t happen. But then again, you just might turn out to be her fill-in, with the same powers.”
“Wait, my power will increase her power?”
“Yes,” Rick says. “According to her, Dorothy and Alice’s power would feed on each other and mix and increase. So if you or Alice ever come of age in this realm, Dorothy may become much more powerful than she ever would alone.”
“Exactly what kind of magic is it?” Malice says. “What sort of things would she be able to do?”
“Yeah,” Sleepy B says, “would she turn into a superperv?”
Rick says, “We can’t tell you exactly what her powers entail, Queen Malice, due to your age, but suffice it to say she would be able to control and hurt people much more than she does now.”
“Well, that’s not good,” Malice says, “but if I come of age, I’d have those powers too, right? If I’m like Alice, that is. So I could oppose Dorothy...”
“Yeah!” Sleepy B exclaims. “Put an end to her perv party!”
“Quit talking like that,” the Jabberwock tells her.
“You could try to oppose her,” Ada says to Malice. “It’d be risky, though. Dorothy told me she thought Alice might be a threat to her power, so she doesn’t know if she would want to team up with Alice, or just kill her. So Dorothy might end up trying to seduce you or kill you. But you can thwart her by making sure you never get to that special age. That way, you’ll no longer be of any use to her, she’ll no longer have a possible motive to kill you, and you’d prevent all the other possible calamities as well.”
Hatter intones, “‘Calamities’ reminds me of ‘clams with ties’.”
The munchkins cast puzzled glances at him, but Malice is used to him, so she ignores him, and says, “Pray tell, what horrible, unspeakable catastrophes shall descend upon us all like locusts if I should ever dare to grow past that peculiarly particular age?”
Rick says, “You seem to have taken on a mocking tone, but I assure you, if you are anything like Alice, then your coming of age could bring about the corruption and devastation of not only the wastelands, but the surrounding areas as well, rendering them dismal, bleak lands of violence, perversion, and woe.”
Malice draws back dramatically. “Sheesh! All of that shall come about from me simply choosing to blossom into a true woman? A bit dramatic, don’t you think?”
“Is it?!” says Ada. “Dorothy told me that once Alice’s power blossomed, it would combine with hers and their combined magical energy might be powerful enough to radiate outward and change the very nature of this realm.”
Rick says, “If you ever come of age, your combined sexual energy could actually alter reality. Is that dramatic enough for you?”
“Sexual energy?” Malice says. “Is that the kind of magic that’s involved here?”
Ada glares at her brother. She returns her gaze to Malice and shakes her head. “I apologize. He shouldn’t have used that term.”
Malice says, “I suggest, use it more, and stop being so vague. I’m not a baby.”
“But you’re underage,” Humpty says.
Ada points down at him, and says, “Thank you.”
“So are you,” Malice says to Humpty.
“Am I?” Humpty says with a quirky grin.
“I don’t know, are you?” Malice says.
Humpty looks up at Ada. “A thought occurs to me... What if Alice returns from the Outside World someday, and she too is over the age of consent, along with Dorothy and Malice?”
Ada and her brother exchange worried glances.
“What do you think?” Ada says to him.
Rick frowns. “The effects could be even worse than just Malice and Dorothy alone.”
Ada looks down at the team. “We hadn’t considered that possibility. We didn’t even know about Malice until now. But if all three girls were in this realm at the same time, all above the age of consent, their power would combine and feed on each other, and we can only imagine how drastically their radiating magic would distort and pervert the nature of the surrounding lands.”
“But it might turn out to be fun, right?” Sleepy B says.
Ada sighs. “Or horribly horribly bad and perverse.”
Sleepy B says, “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Hatter shushes her, causing her to scowl at him.
“Dorothy would love to so drastically shift the reality of this realm,” Rick says. “She believes that way, she’ll have more naughty fun. We shouldn’t give her what she wants.”
Ada says, “Hopefully, Alice never returns to royally muck things up like that. You say she’s in the Outside World?”
Hatter says, “Yes, but there’s a distinct possibility that she shall return some day, because she’s done so before, in the future.”
Ada and Rick exchange a glance. “Beg your pardon?” Rick says, whilst Ada says, “Huh?”
The Jabberwock says, “There are those who claim that Alice may return one day, that she may develop a black heart and attempt to seduce and break the hearts of many in Wonderland. They fear her actions could somehow transform Wonderland into a dismal, heartless land.”
Malice says, “I have even been told, that in an alternate version of reality, the future Alice actually did cause the Wonderland of the past to become brutal and heartless and dark. But 13-year-old Alice did something to alter the chain of events to prevent the Alice of the future from ruining everything. However, there’s still a chance that the future Alice will simply repeat her actions, and things will go back to the same mess.”
Hatter says, “That would mean that the future would repeat itself, which we don’t want.”
Ada and Rick look somewhat confused as they process what was just said.
Ada says, “This alternate-future-Alice you speak of...was she over the age of consent?...in the future, that is.”
Malice nods. “Yes.”
Ada says, “You say the alternate-future-Alice seduced others and broke hearts. That suggests she had the sort of magic we’ve been talking about. So if you want to prevent the future from repeating itself...”
The Cat says, “Yes, of course we’ve already thought this through. To prevent the future Alice from mucking things up, we can make sure she never returns to Wonderland. And if she does, we can make sure the Tinkerer never uses her time machine.”<
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“Time machine?” Ada and Rick say at the same time.
“Never mind that,” Malice says. “It’ll only complicate things. Ada, are you suggesting something?”
Ada nods. “Do you think the catastrophic chain of events might also be prevented if Alice never reaches the age of consent?”
Malice snaps her fingers. “Brilliant! That would prevent her seducing and whatnot. And if she never gets into that sort of trouble, her heart probably won’t grow black, which caused her to muck up the past. But, of course, it may all be moot, because Alice is in the Outside World. We don’t have to deal with her age unless and if she ever returns.”
“Very well,” Ada says. “But what about you, Queen Malice?”
“What about me?”
Ada says, “You could turn out to be the substitute of Alice, in the future. It could be you who takes Alice’s place and fulfills her destiny of bringing about such woe to Wonderland.”
Malice grins. “No. I will never do such things. I’m not like her. I have my ticktock heart that makes me be kind...” She frowns as she realizes.
“What is it?” Ada and Rick say at the same time.
“But—” Malice says, before she goes into a daze, lost in thought.
The Jabberwock jumps in with, “But it’s been malfunctioning lately, leading to occasional...lapses...of murderous rage.”
“It’s been going kaput, it has,” the Cat says. Now he blows a raspberry and makes various noises to indicate something breaking.
“Bing bong!” Hatter contributes, with a hop.
Ada’s brow arches. “I see.”
Malice looks down at her hands, imagining them doing cruel things to her loved ones, ripping out Hatter’s and Humpty’s heart. She mutters, “I could never do such horrible things, could I?”
Rick says, “That is perhaps another good reason to have the Wizard set your age below age of consent—to prevent such a fate.”
Malice raises her head. She feels as if she’s about to cry even though her eyes don’t feel very moist. “But if I do that, I’d never be able to experience that special kind of playing that grownups do with each other. I’ll never experience that special bond with someone I love.” And though she tries not to, she can’t help but glance at Humpty, who is looking at the ground and blushing. She looks at Hatter, who is peering at the ceiling for some reason.
Rick says, “How can you truly miss what you’ve never even known, especially when such high stakes are involved? We’re talking about the whole fate of Wonderland and the wastelands here, right?”
Malice gives a big sigh. “Right. I may have to sacrifice the full blossoming of my womanhood, for the sake of the fate of Wonderland.”
“And the wastelands,” Ada says.
“Of course, that too,” Malice says. “So I shall have to be deplorably inconvenienced.”
The Cat says, “At least you’d stop aging. No wrinkles. No dying from old age.”
Malice sighs. “But I was hoping my age would get closer to...um, I mean to say, I meant to grow more mature to be more on the same maturity level as some of the older people.”
The Cat chuckles. “Well, forget that notion. Of course, if it was really so important to whomever that older person might be, they could always go to the Wizard and have their age lowered—lower themself to your level, as it were.”
“Yes...” Malice says, considering that. She glances at Hatter, whom she catches looking at her, and he quickly looks away.
Curious.
Rick smacks his hands together. “Alrighty, then, enough chit chat. Let’s get on with the show.”
“Wait,” Sleepy B says, “you never told us the story of the fairy tale being who used to live here. I like stories.”
Rick says, “We’ll tell you after the tests, how about that? We’ve dallied long enough. The challenge of the mirror awaits your team, Queen Malice.”
“What does the mirror do? How do we pass the trial?” Humpty says.
“To pass the challenge, you must choose to embrace your reflection, rather than reject it.” Ada says. “You shall each enter one at a time, to be challenged.”
Rick leans forward and whispers something in Ada’s ear. Ada thinks for a moment. She whispers something in her brother’s ear.
Rick looks down at Malice, says, “You say you have no reflection, so the mirror shan’t challenge you. Also, you are clearly a key figure, very important to each of your team members...”
Ada says, “For those reasons, we feel it shall be appropriate for you to accompany and aid each of your teammates on their turn.”
“Excellent idea!” the Cat exclaims. “They shall each be glad to have you along with us, I’m sure.”
Malice says, “Who said you could come?”
The Cat does a good job of looking shocked. “Why, my dear, it’s what I do. I observe, all whilst not interfering.”
Malice sighs. She wishes she could muster up the anger to chew him out, but her heart prevents it. “Let’s get this over with. Who shall go first?”
“You’re the Queen,” the Cat says.
“Very well. Humpty first. Let’s go, love.”
Humpty gives a little whimper. But now he firms his face up and tries to look brave.
Malice takes his hand, and together they walk through the archway.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
MALICE AND HUMPTY FIND themselves within an oval room lined with blue tiles, and lit from above by a chandelier. A full length looking glass in a wooden frame rests in the center of the medium-sized room, next to a grooved white pedestal in an ancient Greek style.
As they approach the mirror, they hear a large crash behind them that causes them to jump.
They turn around to see the back of the Cat’s head, as well as the fact that a slab of stone has slid down to seal the archway.
“Crikey!” the Cat exclaims. “What a feat of engineering.”
Humpty says, “I hadn’t noticed you had followed us in here.”
“Well, I’m just glad I’m not trapped in here, like you two.”
Humpty glowers at the Cat. “Yes, you could transport out of here at any time, go chase a mouse or something...”
“I could, but I very much wish to provide my friends with emotional support...” He flashes his Cheshire grin.
Humpty huffs before turning back around. They approach the mirror—which looks like an ordinary one. Humpty’s and the Cat’s reflections appear in it, but Malice’s does not.
Atop the pedestal rests a ball peen hammer, and a short verse is carved onto the top of the pedestal:
View the you you wish to be,
Gaze upon its face.
Decide if you like what you see,
Then with hammer, crack, or with arms, embrace.
“I suppose I should pick up this hammer?” Humpty says with a quivering voice. He peers at the hammer from various directions in his hands. “Now what?”
The Cat says, “Now you look in the mirror, I suppose.”
Malice shoots him a firm-yet-polite glance for intruding on their moment. “Yes, dear,” she says to Humpty.
Humpty stands awkwardly in front of the mirror whilst staring at his squirming reflection.
I swear, that boy even feels shy and awkward beneath his own gaze.
“I don’t see—” Humpty says, but his sentence is cut off as the mirror glows with a golden light—and Humpty is peering into it with a dazed, wide-eyed expression, as if he is in some sort of trance.
The light fades, and Malice peers at the zoned out Humpty. “Are you okay, love?”
“Look,” he says. He points at the chest region of his reflection. The tunic should be blue, but it’s red and emblazoned with the word “braveheart”. And the face of the reflection is subtly different as well. The real Humpty and his reflection hold similar facial expressions and postures, but the reflection looks slightly more confident and assured, his posture slightly straighter, holding his body in a self-confident manner
.
“Why is it different?” Malice says.
Humpty is staring into the eyes of his reflection. “He’s the me I wish I could be.”
“What do you mean?” Malice says.
“He’s braver. I wish I could be braver—not so shy, so meek. It keeps me from doing so many of the things I’ve wanted to do. I regret all those missed opportunities, and I don’t want to regret anymore...”
“So, embrace that reflection of yourself. The braver version.”
He whimpers and frowns, but his reflection keeps a smug expression. “But that would be like accepting him. Striving to be like him someday.”
“Like the reflection?”
“Yes,” he says with a shaky voice.
“Okay, so strive to be like him, then. Besides, if you don’t embrace your reflection, you’ll be stuck in this place for eternity.”
“What do you mean?” Humpty says. Both he and his reflection bear a puzzled expression that is authentic, as far as she can tell.
“Don’t you remember?” she says tentatively. “The munchkins said you have to embrace your reflection or be trapped here. So there’s nothing to think about. So do it.”
“But I’m scared to! And what munchkins are you referring to?”
“Do you know where you are, love?”
He shrugs.
“The Den of Mirrors...”
“Never heard of it.”
Malice looks to the Cat for help.
The Cat says, “I’ll bet he’s been enchanted to forget all about the test of the mirror and the consequences. That way, he’ll make a true choice, according to what he truly feels.”
“What test?” Humpty says.
The Cat says, “He must choose to embrace his reflection and what it represents, according to his own internal reasons, and inner strength. That’s the basis of the test.”
Malice sighs. “I see.”
“This is terrifying,” Humpty says. “I don’t think I ever want to be like...him.” He points at his reflection. “I should just stay the way I am. I should just crack that mirror!” He waves the hammer at his reflection, who waves its own back, but looks much less terrified and nervous.
