"What…" she mumbled softly underneath her breath as the white rabbit begun to take off again. He can't keep doing that.
Checking the time again, he quickly hurried off to a whole other street with her in tow. "You see, the white queen only cares for perfection and not the lives of her people. I cannot tell you more, just you must be weary." He finished as he took her hand to a new shop.
It was a food shop! Finally her tummy wouldn't hurt. She hadn't eaten all day, and it was nearly a full day since she's been awake.
However that wouldn't stop her. "Are you going to explain mister rabbit?" She asked as she took a look around.
"Do you not like seafood?" He asked with his head tilted while pointing at fish in a small bowl. Not only do they not treat people right, but also fish.
Was he truly ignorant or distracting her? "No…" she tried to say. However he let out a sigh of relief and took her to a table in a corner.
The whole store looked quite fancy, an ongoing theme. There were chandeliers everywhere, and bright decal. Large windows that showed the sea, and the menu was quite expensive.
Shaking out of her thoughts, she tried to push. "Mister Rabbit, please tell me more about this."
However, he dodged the question again while pulling out some books from the bag he carried. Winking, he handed them to her with a menu on top. "Please try the seventh, it's so good!" He said.
It did look good, a full seafood platter for breakfast? She really wanted to eat it but he was dodging her questions all over again.
As she closed it, she noticed the books were from the library in weird script, but a bit legible. "Do you not know how to read? I'll help."
He smiled and winked at a waiter who pulled out a bunch of papers and pens from nowhere. He must be a regular for them not to question it.
Thinking back, she was perfectly able to read the dormouse's writing. "Here you go, the writing in these books are actually illegible!" He smiled as he handed her an alphabet?
Please explain she thought silently in her head. How do you read an illegible book? Is anyone going to make sense? "You'll learn to read this way:"
The words were familiar but not in any sense at all. "How do you… pronounce." She whispered while one of the waiters smiled at her.
"You don't need to pronounce them." He said while another waiter came out and handed her a single blue rose which seemed to be made of crystals.
As soon as she touched it, the flower grew to her finger and she tried to jump but the others watched as it solidified around her finger. A bright crystal ring.
Before she could talk a turtle quickly came up to their table with a red neck as he bowed handing a letter to the white rabbit. "It's an emergency!" He cried scratching at himself.
Just then, she thought about how odd it was a turtle would come in to see the rabbit. Unfortunately, he wasn't there to see him but her.
Handing her a small envelope, she nervously grasped it. "This seal…" she mumbled out loud. It was definitely the queen's, that tattoo of all "sacredness".
As if it weren't enough to force a weird magic staff onto her, she now had to deal with the queen's handwritten letter which held a task.
"Huh?" She gasped as the letters on the page made sense but yet not at all from mere seconds ago. Didn't she just struggle?
It's like they danced on the paper but actually stopped all of a sudden at the moment. She had read it clearly, "Dear Alice Kletzerfierre, the new Great Magician and my servant, you have been bestowed the greatest honour. You will come to my castle at the time of all sunrise or you will be forcibly taken and thrown in the cellars. Do not dally, or else."
One, was this a threat or invitation? She wondered what kind of person sends such a scary thing as second, how did she read it? Third, her last name wasn't Kletzerfierre was it? "Oh no no!"
The white rabbit gasped as he tore the paper. Immediately, he begun running with her in tow as the staff bowed and did their best to close shop.
She barely grabbed her own staff as "Mister.. Rabbit" she gasped struggling to keep up with large strides and even hurting as she got pulled around. Boom!
"Oh dear oh dear he interrupted the introduction. Sadly, he's taken a liking to you." The white rabbit said as he pointed to his ear, a small earring.
It wasn't noticeable but it was shaped like a clock with flowers like roses. "This will save you." He could barely say as he lost grip on her.
As she fell, she found herself in slow motion once more but it vanished when strong arms grabbed her. "Watch out."
A harsh voice rasped into her ear as she was spun and in the arms of a man she'd seen. The library! It's the same guy who looked at her.
"Thank you…" she mumbled while he helped fix her. Handing her a napkin, he took out a rope. It looked like this was not safe.
"Please tie," he said after ruffling her head, "up. Queen's orders," he hummed while pulling out a mint.
She was utterly confused and reached towards her staff. "Has he ordered it since the library?" She asked while he tilted his head confused by her question.
He didn't recall going to the library but perhaps the queen did send an order. Was she asking about that or for something else?
She suddenly shook her head and said no. "You're not him, even if you look the same." His eyes widened as he grinned and put the rope away.
"Tweedle Dee." He said with a bow and took off his cap, polite smile. She was completely right in calling him different. His predatory instinct was not same, but collected.
She heard a bulb "Then… he must be your twin?" She asked. The tweedles were twins. Have they really looked so similar before?
She could tell all the differences off the bat as soon as he looked at her, from the way he spoke with her voice to his general appearance.
He had the same green hair style and pink eyes but they held sincerity. He was quite tall but pretty short for an adult, barely as tall as the queen. The key difference was his right eye containing a crystal pink rose instead of a green one.
Above that, his outfit was a bit messier with untucked edges and it was ever so slightly duller. She could barely see earlier, but they were not the same.
He wore a messy military uniform for the red queen's army but his was a commander's. It had checkers and plenty of embroidery.
She couldn't speak as he pushed a candypeppermint lolly into her mouth. Clapping she could practically see his eyes sparkle. "So that's why he likes you!"
Huh? She thought tilting her head wondering who he was referring to. "The queen? Your twin? Mister rabbit?" She asked.
He laughed but for a split second she could see a pained looked. "You poor girl has caught the attention of his majesty, Isaac Kletzerfierre."
She couldnt react as he begun dragging her. He wasn't using the rope but she knew not to run. Thistles may be a good way to describe him. Or even the rose in his eye.
She had wondered why the rabbit ran but she knew. The queen was about to kidnap her and even used her like a fool. She sent out a guard to ensure she couldn't run.
"Mister," she begun but paused while they stopped but he was definitely listening with a gesture. "Why am I unfortunate?" She asked.
It was reference to how he pitied her a man to a child of unfortunate luck to another with the same fate. However, her voice cracked slight at that in truth. Her question wasn't just because of the queen's letter.
She wanted to know why she was unlucky enough to be Alice. Is it really because her name is similar? Or created this character?
Her friend often asked her for advice so she thought she knew this character thoroughly but not so. She would never make the original suffer, would she?
With a pop, he opened his mouth throwing the mint. "Don't address me so formally when we're the same rank and age! You're probably older than I am actually. 14 and counting! But ya know." He begun shocking her.
This child was her age yet so mature? What about his twin?
She wanted to ask more but couldn't as he thoughtfully answered her. Maybe he was smarter than a twenty year old. "Everyone here is unfortunate, but we have something to protect."
"To you it may be your life, to me maybe my brother, to the queen his people, the rabbit his love." He huffed as the sun begun rising and a gleam off his eye hit just right while he looked at her.
"You suffer the consequence of what you cannot handle. None of us chose it but are forced to in order to protect, and when we dedicate ourselves to our goals we begin to break and go mad only driven into a worse fate considered beautiful so long as what you've protected works." He explained.
He didn't answer as if though it was her poor favour but rather her whole life. He barely knew. And yet he answered so clearly something the real Alice wants to hear.
Maybe even she needed it. She wasn't alone in suffering from illness and each role had one although different but none of them had a choice.
He was speaking to her strictly from experience.
"Hey, let's get going!" He suddenly announced looking up and tugging her hand while touching his eye. As he ran out he carried her in arms and jumped high and onto a horse.
It was like magic she could tell. She didn't need an explanation as she knew he created the horse through magic, and controlled it.
With one hand he steered and the other he ordered. He gave signals for the people to move while jumping high and through crowds.
Was he really younger? He proceeded to wear a blindfold as his horse begun to get to the castle while his whole facial expression changed into that of his twin she saw awhile ago as he shouted his illness. He was forced to endure a personality change for the worse each time he summoned his magic creature.
Without asking he slung her over his shoulders proceeding to take her into the castle despite protests. "Shut up, kid." He barked.
Wasn't their dynamic of him and her based off of who was younger?? Him!! She wanted to struggle but couldn't as he expertly navigated to the throne room.
"You're late, and used magic like an idiot?" The queen sighed as he scolded stepping closer. But why was he blindfolded? Putting her down, he bowed to the floor and grinned. "Your majesty, it's all for you." He sang out happy.
The queen rolled his eyes as he immediately went to Alice and snapped. "Bring her to my quarters." As soon as she entered, she was dragged off to a whole new place.
She felt an endless sense of worry but couldn't help but smile at seeing Cynthia when passing and being dragged all the way to the queen's room so far away. Seriously it was huge with the bed and windows even a mini library within it! She physically had to stop from gawking from how fancy he was! "Now, rest."