It was like he was a monster. It was wrong to ever try and understand a man like that, Alice thought. It was originally to sustain his suffering was what she said to herself giving him the benefit of the doubt, but that was just her own hopes and ideas projected off of what she knew from the novel.
Just because he lived in the same state as them does not mean he was like them. Those were the eyes and tone of someone who feels no sympathy any longer, he was using her. That's the only reason she wasn't dead yet.
As she vomited out a little more, a large hand was pressed and begun rubbing onto her back, trying to soothe her. Why was he trying to console her rather than yell at the tyrant?
"Oh stop crying, she'll get fixed. Everyone in this country can be fixed with magic, so long as you try. It's why that white traitor is still alive." The queen huffed as he rolled his eyes back.
The words he said sounded like they had little value to him, but to her it weighed the world. This wasn't a book to him, but reality and yet he so easily decided a life can be broken and put together with ease.
Even if they could, would that make it okay? Was the original Alice someone who thought the same as him? As the people around who considered it everyday life?
As she tried to get up, the white rabbit helped her and even grabbed a bottle of water. "You really never learn, your majesty. Outside of Carneline the only way people die are natural, murder, or war." He waved his finger back and forth in a scolding manner.
Groaning, the queen fell back in his throne as the white rabbit began to lecture. "She's just a delicate child who has never left her house, you can't be murdering in front of her yet, and don't trouble the dormouse." He huffed.
It sounded like a friendly joking conversation but yet his words were extremely heavy. He was scolding the queen for murdering again, as the young boy thought of it as a nuisance, a lecture he heard a million times.
Raising his shoe, the queen kicked the white rabbit straight in the nose. "Silence, old man!" He yelled causing her to flinch. Just how corrupted was this kid?
Clutching his nose as blood poured out, the rabbit turned and put a tissue up to it. "demand… paid leave… cruel… haughty.." she could hear a string of mumbled complaints coming from him.
"The dormouse must do his job it's his role. He can't complain about doing it unless he wants to be beheaded and repaired by that crazy hag." He hissed out and clicked his tongue.
She was not familiar with the dormouse or hare in the story, nor what their jobs were. In fact, she had never heard of the Mad Hatter.
Regaining his composure, the rabbit argued back. "Just because he's capable of restoring a person's psyche doesn't mean he should constantly do it." He proceeded to pull out a pocket watch and mark the time.
"If he drops dead the old hag will save him, she loves him. If not, you'll assign the next dormouse." The queen responded and twirled a finger through his hair as the rabbit begun mumbling that nothing is on time according to his schedule.
The dormouse… will die if he saves people? She understood that, or that he will temporarily die that there's someone who could possibly save him, at least. She wanted to protest out against the queen, but his gaze alone intimidated her.
"Hah, if you're scared but something like this you can't kill that traitorous witch." The queen said looking at Alice. He knew she was afraid, and yet he continued to taunt.
"Stop sucking my sweet Alice's suffering!" The rabbit shrieked before pulling her into a tight hug. She'd feel a lot better if she didn't just vomit, have her life threatened, witness murder, and know he was an extremely sketchy individual.
Ah, she's back to disliking the rabbit. "Could you please explain what's happening?" She asked shakily, still not recovered.
"Will Cynthia… be okay?" She asked as the other two's eyes widened at her question. She wasn't sure if she said something wrong, but they sure looked like she did.
The white rabbit thought for a second before putting his watch away. "We're late for the meeting anyways so let us reschedule for tomorrow at four pm not a second late! Since you're curious about the woman… Cynthia was it? Let's go visit the dormouse. We have a meeting at seven in the morning!"
Grabbing her wrist, he marched off before she could say anything, or even apologise to the other maids for vomiting on the floor.
Despite the shouts of the queen, the white rabbit hurried out with a small yell, "I'll borrow Alice for awhile until tomorrow! You probably make her uncomfortable your majesty."
It was a little bit startling that she was just grabbed and all her protests were ignored, but she had to admit it was much better being outside the castle and nowhere near the queen.
"You don't need to know the names of the soldiers, citizens, or maids. Getting attached will only break you, Alice. It's been over a thousand years and the rule of the red queen lineage has always taken out the pure white queen's people." The rabbit suddenly said.
Hearing this surprised her. The rabbit in the novel would never say anything like it. "How can you be so pure, Alice? Even the look you give me now says you haven't changed." he murmured so softly that even she couldn't hear.
"I'm sorry mister rabbit, but care to explain?" She asked getting annoyed at him all over again. No wonder the original Alice would often ignore him and deny they're friends or anything else.
Smiling, he flicked her head. "Positivity leads you nowhere in war. No matter how magical some people are, this world is in war. This whole country, too." He went back to his large strides on ahead, tugging at her so she wouldn't get lost.
It didn't make sense, however. This country wasn't at war, it was neutral the entire time of the plot until the bloodborn prince tries to invade, and Alice retaliated with the dragon, jabberwocky. The being itself too, seemed to probably have a disorder from how it acted with its nonsensical wisdom now that she thought about it, poor dragon.
Besides a tyrant the country wasn't violent so why exactly would the white rabbit say that? As she opened her mouth he clasped a hand over it and shushed.
"The dormouse retires so early! Truly no sense of time, he's late to fix. Be wary Alice, he does not take kindly to strangers." He whispered as he proceeded to slam the door of a small house open as loud as humanly possible.
Yelling out, he pulled out a pocket watch and began noting the time. "MOUSEY, WAKE UP YOU'RE LATE!" He begun, getting louder the further they entered, "IT IS NEARLY FIVE WHICH IS CLOSE TO SIX WHICH IS PRACTICALLY SEVEN!" he continued.
She thought she had a bad sense of time these past few weeks but it seems he was worse. For someone who takes care of clocks and people's future he sure is bad at it. He's even worse than her mom when she asked her to wake her at seven on the day of a school trip, while her mom wakes up at five.
As they entered through the house she felt a bit bad for neither knocking nor introducing herself to a stranger as she followed the time-crazed rabbit.
Finally, they arrived into a room with a single teapot in it, located at a crack in the wall. Confused, she titled her head. Surely… he wasn't an actual mouse?
Just as she thought, the white rabbit begun knocking over the mousehole. "It's here, a new body! His majesty demands they be fixed soon, mousey." He called out.
She couldn't believe her eyes, even if this world was fantasy. Out of the teapot rose a small mouse-man, who reached for a saucer. Pouring some tea from a small gold vial his size holding itself up by the teapot, he drunk it all.
He begun to grow large, even taller than the rabbit himself, who was quite notably tall to a child. "Again?" He asked as put the vial away, into his hole.
The dormouse, she presumed, had a lazy and monotonous voice. He was tall with pure white almost sickly pale skin and long ash-grey hair that faded brown near the tips in a ponytail. His eyes were a brilliant golden colour, and his attire changed as well.
What was once sleepy pajamas became a large fluffy checkered poncho coat, a deep brown shirt with little frills, and above the stomach white pants, with a few belts on the side… with cheese.
Groaning, the man walked towards a different room and moved two fingers to follow. "Make it quick, I wanna sleep. Let's do it before the mad march maiden hare visits again. Where are they?" He asked.
It too, seemed like he was immune. Was this really something which happened so often that it's become a chore? An unwarranted one at that?
"Uhm.. sorry for coming so early, but could you please help Cynthia?" Alice asked with a small curtsy. The man huffed and rested his chin on his palm.
Pulling a piece of cheese from his belt, he begun eating. "My lady, if you're truly sorry then return her to where she came." He stated before going to pour himself some tea.
Shocked, she couldn't help but let out a small noise. "Are you saying you don't want to help Cynthia?" She asked unsure what to make of him. It was only her first impression and yet it was terrible.
"It's my role as dormouse to fix what the queen breaks, but if you were sorry then you'd convince the queen to shut his damn mouth and stop killing for fun like a brat!" He huffed out as he angrily drank her tea.
"If I could I would! Do you think that watching people suffer seems fun?" She yelled back in anger. All everyone has done is degrade life!
As the white rabbit tried to interrupt by getting between the two, the dormouse continued. "Where do you come from? Sunshine land is it?"
Glaring daggers, he slammed his hands on the table. "It is inevitable that the mad draw the mad to them, everyone in this damn kingdom has a role to play like it's a story, and all of them are mad! Do you really believe you're any different? Are you telling me that I should put a smile on my face and fix up bodies forever until my own shuts down then? Learn to not be hypocritical in someone else's house you damn brat." He yelled before trying to storm out.
What he said confused her. She couldn't understand. Wasn't what he said contradicting? Does he want to do his role or not? Why was she the hypocrite? Why was he so angry when his role is to save lives, the best one by far? If anything, she'd save Cynthia and let him handle the queen.
Grabbing the man, white rabbit set him down. "We've got a meeting soon and you shall not delay it." He sighed before turning to Alice.
Apologetically, he bowed and clasped his hands. "Mousey is a little mean but he's good at his job. Although he can fix a person's psyche, it wears down at his own body and mind. He's incapable of staying awake more than a few hours these days and he's getting a bit cranky." He raised his pitch and exaggerated at the last word.
Cranky? This man was beyond cranky as he was downright rude. She already learned her lesson from pitying the queen, however. "So that drawback thing from him is that it makes him dead tired?" She said a bit more aggressively than intended.
"The drawback thing?" He murmured before snapping at the rabbit. "Who is she? She's seriously dumb." He said with a scornful look. Everyone in Carneline knows about this.
Turning back to the mouse, the rabbit threw his hands around her and begun doting. "Alice the Great Magician. Isn't she so cute, just look at her cheeks! My she reminds…" he begun to ramble.
It looked like he didn't care however as he got up and walked away while the rabbit was distracted, leaning down to her for a second to warn her. "All people here are mad, naivety will kill you so play your role until you turn to dust, Magician. You are no different to us."
A man that looked harmless, yet his tone was that of a stern veteran. The words he said held the same venoms to the queen, the very man he called a brat and seemed to not like.
"If all his drawback is would be him being tired, he should lose that attitude. Honestly, if he could save everyone he should be happy! Anyways.. you never told me about yourself." Alice said tilting her head ever so slightly.
Humming, he snapped out of his brag. "Well it's not like that, after all mousey will likely die.." he covered his mouth before she could hear him saying the last few words.
"My my, what bad manners to talk about crude things with a lady," he scolded himself before making himself at home. "My illness… hmm would you really like to know, Alice? The tale of my eternal record loyalty."