The Crimes of Alice: An Underground Prequel

by ERIN BEDFORD

  Coby and I moved into the depths of the trees, my eyes wandering about the tree, trying to catch everything. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. The sugar fairyland inside of the tree was out of place in the middle of the nightmare of a forest. It was almost a relief to see.

  “Oh, my,” I marveled, releasing Coby to turn around in place. “Are we dreaming?”

  Chuckling at my actions, Coby rubbed his jaw. “The cat does have quite a thing for theatrics. The magic alone to create such a display is far more than most Fae are allowed.”

  “Uh huh,” I murmured, my eyes still taking in the surroundings.

  Luminescent, emerald green grass carpeted the ground and bounced beneath my feet. Every inch of the ground was covered in flowers of every hue and color. A path of grass lined by bright pink mushrooms trailed up from the willow vines to the base of the tree where a high-backed chair sat empty.

  “Well, where is he?” I moved my head from side to side, my hands out to my side in dismay. “And where is Carban?”

  “Inside,” a rumbling bored voice answered from above.

  My head tipped back, up the tree trunk to the branches above. Sitting on a branch sat a purple ball of fur. That cat!

  “You again!” I pointed a finger at him, my eyes wide. “I should have known.”

  The purple ball uncurled, and a small cat head popped out, a curious sort of look on its face. “Yes, you should have.”

  Turning away from the cat, I glowered at Coby, gesturing a hand up to the cat. “What’s this?”

  “Alice, meet Cheshire.” Coby tucked his hands into his pockets, rocking back and forward in place a twinkle in his eyes. “Our host and friend.”

  The cat hissed and lashed out a clawed paw. “I have not yet agreed to be your host, and I am certainly not your friend, Tweedle swat.”

  I stiffened at his insults and shot a nervous look at Coby, who didn’t seem bothered by Cheshire’s words in the slightest. To my surprise, he actually laughed and then waved a hand, gesturing for the cat to come down.

  “Is the pretty pussy still mad that I beat him at cards?” Coby gave the cat a full tooth grin. “I’d think you’d have gotten over that a long while back. Come down, and next time you’re in Summerville, I’ll buy you a saucer of milk.”

  With an angry growl, the cat jumped from his perch. In mid-air, the tiny thing transformed into a tiger of purple and black strips. He barreled at Coby whose eyes widened but didn’t move fast enough to dodge the cat’s attack.

  Knocking Coby to the ground, Cheshire pressed a sharp-tipped paw on the twin’s chest and peered down at him with blinking emerald green eyes.

  “Who are you calling a pussy? I’ll bite your cock off before I take anything from you.” Cheshire licked his jaws and snapped his teeth in Coby’s face but didn’t aim to hurt the tailor, only scare him.

  “Leave him alone,” I snapped, taking a step toward the tiger, “you mangy beast!”

  The tiger languidly turned his head from Coby to focus on me. Those eyes so large and brightly out of place in the tiger’s head made me stumble back. Stupid Alice, threatening something bigger than you. Stupid, stupid girl.

  “See, now you’ve gone and upset Ally.” Coby sighed with distaste. “It’s alright, Ally. He’s just fucking around.”

  I frowned at his vulgar words but didn’t stop staring at the tiger. He seemed to be studying me. His gaze moved along my body in a slow perusal. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking behind those slanted pupils. For all I knew, he could be slowly planning how to eat me or worse maul me to death.

  He broke his gaze away and turned back to Coby. “Very well. I am getting rather peckish.” He removed his paw from Coby’s chest, and the fur on his form rippled and melted away.

  Four legs became two as his front paws turned into long pale hands with sharp nails on the ends of his fingers. The fur on his body shifted and settled onto his head where it fell into a waterfall of pale purple hair. He wore baggy pants and a wraparound shirt, leaving a long expansion of his chest exposed. A thick fur of purple and black just like his pelt had been hung over his shoulder, and his hand sat on it with a strange sort of tenderness.

  “There, that’s better.” Cheshire flipped his hair over his shoulder, exposing his pointed ears decorated with gleaming diamond studs. He held a hand out to Coby which the twin took and helped him to his feet.

  Coby took one look at my gaping face and snorted. “Show off.”

  Arching a brow in my direction, Cheshire stroked the long thickness of what I now realized was his tail as it hung over his shoulder, even if the movement of his hand suggested he was touching something else entirely. Fangs peaked from between his lips in a salacious smirk, telling me he knew exactly what I was thinking. If anyone back home ever found out I was sexually attracted to a cat, they'd have me thrown in the asylum before you could say 'Tea Time!'

  “I do not believe we have been properly introduced.” Cheshire half-bowed to me, taking my hand. He brought it up to his mouth where, instead of kissing it like the others, he turned my palm over. His tongue darted out and licked my wrist, pulling a gasp from me at the action and the unexpected roughness of his tongue. Lifting his head slightly to give me a heated look, he purred. “I am Cheshire Cat. You may call me Cheshire or Cat, but never pussycat.” He shot a warning glare at Coby who bit his knuckles to fight a smile.

  A bit overwhelmed by the figure before me, I found myself at a loss for words. “I… um… I’m Ally. I mean, Alice.” I gave a small curtsy. “At your service.”

  Cheshire straightened and gave me a once over. “Yes, you will be.”

  “What’s going on?” Carban’s voice called out, and we spun around to see his head peeking out of the surface of the tree trunk. “Are you going to stand out there and chit chat all day? We have things to do. A wedding to attend. And I like my head where it is.” He didn’t wait for our reply before his head disappeared back into the tree.

  “That brother of yours needs to wet his dick so that maybe he might loosen that stick shoved so far up his ass.” Cheshire and Coby laughed before the cat turned his eyes on me. “Maybe after we’re done, you can help him with that?”

  I gaped at the cat. My hand lifted, and I was one second away from smacking that arrogant smile on his face when Carban yelled for us again.

  Cheshire turned away from me and waved us forward. “Come inside before someone else decides to bother me with a visit.”

  STEPPING THROUGH THE SIDE of the tree wasn't like anything I expected it to be. It was far too easy and over just as quickly, as if stepping from one room and into another.

  One moment I was outside of the willow, the gleaming vines hanging overhead, and the next, I was standing in the doorway of a nicely furnished living room. Carban lay spread out on a couch of cream-colored fabric, a golden chalice in his hand. He sipped from it with a lazy expression on his face.

  “Sit.” Cheshire waved an arm toward the chair. I moved to do as he asked but he stopped me with a single hand. “Not you. Him.” He inclined his head at Coby who wagged his brows but did as he was bid.

  “And what about me?” I asked, lifting my chin to stare the cat down. “Should I sit on the floor like a dog and wait for your call?”

  Amusement rolled from the cat as he stroked his tail and then angled his head toward a door. “In there… unless you’d like an audience?”

  My brows furrowed. Why would we need privacy for him to let us use his looking glass? My eyes moved from the cat to the twins who watched me with growing amusement. Well, Coby did. Carban seemed to be put off by the whole thing… or maybe that was just his normal face.

  Since they weren’t objecting, I walked toward the door, allowing the cat to open it for me before we stepped inside what appeared to be his bedroom. A large bed filled most of the room, covered in silken cream sheets and more pillows than I could count. Off to one side stood a closet with its door left open and clothing falling out onto the floor.

>   “Would you like to wash first?” Cheshire nodded toward another door across the room. “The bathroom is through there.”

  I eyeballed the door and then shook my head. “Uh, no. I’m alright. Thank you. I’d just like to get this over with. Where’s the mir—” My words were cut off as I turned around to see Cheshire had opened his shirt. “Why are you taking your clothes off?” I gaped at the beautiful man with the pointed ears and thick tail hanging over his shoulder.

  His emerald green eyes rolled over to look at me with a disinterested expression. "Would you rather we mated with our clothes on?"

  "Mate?" My voice raised to such an octave that Cheshire winced. "You mean as in… sex?"

  Lips pursed, Cheshire lifted an elegant brow. "The queen sent you, correct?"

  "Yes...?"

  "Then what is the problem? Would you prefer me in cat form?" He lifted his hand, the fingernails so long they could be called claws. "Do not feel ashamed. Many do so enjoy it. I know I do." His hands dipped inside of his shirt, pushing the edges open and pulling it from his pants as he let it droop off his shoulders.

  I flushed and gasped in a mixture of horror and attraction. Once I got over my initial surprise, the sheer audacity of the implications the cat dared to mutter in my direction should have sent me in a tailspin, but it only frustrated me.

  Crossing my arms under my chest and staring him down, I asked, “What, by everything that is good, do you think the queen sent me for?”

  Cheshire’s eyes dipped down to my breasts where my corset and my arms had pushed them up to an almost obscene view. I dropped my arms and shifted away from him, turning to face the other direction. I couldn’t look at him with his shirt off, the image of his lean muscular form too much of a distraction.

  "It's alright to be nervous," he murmured, no more teasing in his voice. His footsteps were quiet on the soft carpet of the bedroom. Strong warm fingers curled over my shoulders, moving in soothing circles along my tense muscles. He kneaded the flesh, and my head lulled. A small whimper slipped out of my throat, and that made him chuckle. "See, this doesn't have to be a chore. The queen wishes us to mate, but we could be much more than that, if you were so inclined."

  My eyes fluttered closed, my head rolling to the side as I barely registered his words. His mouth found the junction of my neck where his tongue lapped at my skin. A sharp sting made me hiss, and I jerked away from him, my hand clutching my neck.

  "You bit me."

  Cheshire's brows furrowed, his tongue flicking out to lick the blood from his lip. "What is that?" He ignored my outraged and brushed his fingers over his lips, his mouth smacking as he thought aloud, "What is that I taste?"

  "If you don't like the taste of me, you can't blame me," I snapped, stomping to the bathroom. I shoved the door open and searched for something to clean and bandage my neck. Opening and shutting drawers, I didn't pay the cat much mind as he came marching in behind me.

  "You're a human." He said it like it was something disgusting, as if I had offended him by being what I am.

  "Of course, I am," I called over my shoulder, grabbing a rag from the drawer and wetting it in the sink. I winced as I touched it to the nick on my neck and turned to give the cat the full force of my glare. "What did you think I was doing here with the Tweedles? We're trying to get to the palace, not whore our way through the whole Underground."

  Cheshire rubbed the sides of his forehead, his eyes going to the ceiling in a silent prayer. "Then why didn't you lead with that?"

  "Well, you were a bit busy planning on who else I could fuck after you had your fill," I reminded him with a sneer. I shoved past him and back into the bedroom where I hurried through to the living area. The cloth still on my neck, I shouted at the twins. "Get up both of you. We're leaving."

  Coby and Carban looked up from the game of cards they were playing on the couch. When their eyes landed on me and then the cloth, their eyes widened, and they jumped to their feet.

  "What happened?" Coby came to my side, reaching for the cloth.

  I moved away from his hands with a scowl. "You need better friends."

  Carban didn't wait for me to give permission but snatched the cloth from my hand and jerked my head to the side. "Did he do this to you?"

  "I already apologized," Cheshire announced from the bedroom door. Carban released me and came at Cheshire, grabbing the cat by the throat.

  "No, you didn't," I argued, marching over to where he stood.

  Carban squeezed his hand, making the cat flinch. "You hurt her."

  "No, I tasted her as I would have done with anyone I meant to bed," Cheshire growled, shoving Carban away from him. "I just didn't know that she wasn't for mating." His eyes moved to me, and his head dipped. "My apologies for the misunderstanding."

  I studied him for a moment, my lips pressed into a tight line. "You are forgiven on the chance that you will allow us to use your looking glass to get to the Unseelie Palace."

  Coby snickered. "She's got you by the tail now, Cheshire. Better give her what she wants lest she cry foul and the queen finds out."

  Cheshire snarled at Coby and then jerked his head toward the wall where a long mirror hung. "It's there, but you shouldn't go out there bleeding like you are."

  "Well then, bandage it, and we will be on our way." I dropped the cloth and arched a brow at him. "It's your fault after all."

  Still shirtless, Cheshire slid his hands over his chest and cupped his tail, sliding his fingers through the fur with a pensive expression. "Yes, you are correct. However, I think we are uneven as we are now."

  "Uneven?" I arched a brow and glanced at the twins. They shifted uncomfortably beneath my gaze and didn't offer up any help.

  "Yes," Cheshire continued. "I have nicked you, yes. I have insulted you, agreed. However, the use of my looking glass has a higher price than your honor."

  "Excuse me," I cried out, my brows shooting up to my hairline and my mouth dropping opening. "I have to disagree. You very nearly took the one thing I haven't messed up in my life by accident, and you think it's not worth the same as your ridiculous magic mirror?" I waved a hand carelessly at the object on the wall.

  "So, you are a virgin." Cheshire smiled broadly, licking his lips. "I thought you might be. You blush far too much for a seasoned woman. I only have my shirt off, and you can't keep your eyes off me."

  "Yes, I can," I snapped and then caught my eyes dipping down to follow his hands across his pecs and down his abdomen. "I mean… stop distracting me and put on your clothes. What is wrong with you people? Don't you have a sense of decorum?" I moved my weight from one foot to the other, shaking my head. "I've never met a group of people so against clothing. I like being naked as much as the next person, but this is ridiculous."

  Coby patted me on the shoulder. "It's alright, Ally dear. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, but you really should let Cheshire close the wound. He can at least do that right."

  I eyed him warily for a moment and then nodded, resigning to let the cat fix me. Sitting down on a nearby chair, I splayed my skirts out around me and smoothed them over my legs. "Very well. Let's get on with it. Hatter will be here shortly, and I don't want to have to explain this to him."

  "What does that mad old man have to do with anything?" Cheshire mused, kneeling beside me.

  "Oh, didn't we tell you?" Coby said in a sing-song voice, earning him a warning look from me. "They're engaged to be engaged. Well, as soon as she tells her human that she's leaving him."

  Cheshire arched a perfectly shaped brow at me, brushing my hair away from my neck. "Not whoring yourself through the Underground, hmmm?"

  I was tempted to stick my tongue out at him but settled for a scathing glower, turning my face from him. "Just get on with it already."

  Carban chuckled and sneered, "Words he's never had directed toward him."

  "As if I have any control over how others perceive me. I cannot help that I am irresistible." Cheshire flashed his fangs at me.

/>   "And humble too," I countered, making him frown.

  "More of a curse than a blessing," he murmured to himself more than anything. "Now, I'm not going to hurt you, so control your urge to hit me."

  "Fine," I huffed, placing my hands in my lap and forcing myself to stay still. "I will try to keep my hands to myself."

  "Much appreciated."

  I waited for the cat to do some kind of magic to close my wound, but there were no preparations, no sparkles or flash of lights. Then Cheshire leaned forward and pressed his mouth to my neck once more.

  I tensed, my hand itching to push him away.

  "Relax," he purred against my neck. "I won't bite you again. Not unless you beg for it."

  Rolling my eyes, I sighed. "Never."

  A rumbling laugh reached me in return. "Never is an awfully long time." Then his wet rough tongue found the edges of my bite. It rolled and licked across the torn flesh, causing warmth to spread through my body. I shifted in my seat, suddenly finding an uncomfortable ache between my thighs. The hands that itched to push him away wanted to pull him closer.

  My face turned toward him, my nose burying into his hair. He smelled of vanilla and cherry blossoms. The scent made my pulse race and my mouth water. Before I could think less of it, my hands moved from my lap and latched onto his pants, pulling him closer to me.

  "There you go, love," Cheshire murmured against my skin, making no move to leave me. "All healed."

  Not caring about my wound any longer, I laced my fingers into his hair and jerked his mouth to mine. The twins made a sound, a mixture of amusement and disapproval that I noted for later as my mouth and mind were otherwise preoccupied with the Fae before me.

  "I see you have even charmed the notoriously horrid cat, my dear Alice," Hatter commented from somewhere in the willow, and I jerked my mouth away from Cheshire's blushing furiously. "I wouldn't expect anything less."