Death of the Mad Hatter (27 page)

C
HAPTER
F
ORTY-
E
IGHT

(
Ryley: Present Time in Wonderland)

Giant soldier cutouts
escorted me to the castle. They looked like knights in shining armor but had no faces. If I didn’t know better, it would appear that shadows animated the bronze armor. A playing card imprint was just over their heart, like a badge. A number two, five, seven, eight, and a ten circled around a granite table. There were two chairs decorated to appear like there were snakes were crawling up the legs and armrests.

Two women, who looked like they’d been dipped in
white paint, stood by the queen’s side, eyeing me like I’d personally insulted them. Giant red hearts were painted on their faces. They were the queen’s personal guards, no doubt.

The queen motioned for me to sit while she attended
a fire that a fire breathing lizard had started when we arrived, dripping wet from the rain. Once the flames turned blue, she turned her attention to a frazzled porcupine, holding a tea tray. She acted like I was a guest, but I knew I was merely getting the royal treatment for a prisoner.

When I reached for the back of the
chair, it moved. I just stood there and watched the chair move back all on its own. Disbelieving my eyes, I examined it. The table and chairs weren’t made of granite. They were snakes painted to look like the rock. When I refused to sit, the soldier with number seven of spades poked me with his paper mache sword. I shouldn’t have been surprised that it drew blood. There was no logic in this world.

I raised my hands and sat down on the chair. The snakes slithered back
into the table. Their tails tickled my skin, curling around my ankles and legs. They’d tighten and relax in sync with the gigantic ticking clock that hung next to a portrait on the wall. The picture of the fellow looked like my dad, but he was a little older. He had to be my uncle Eddie.

“
Edward was a glorious king until having a misfortunate accident involving one of my toys. I really shouldn’t have left that guillotine lying around. Thankfully, we have a wise and forgiving queen. She spared my life,” said a man wearing a dunce hat.

He
sat on a crimson red carpet beside me. He pulled a box of matches from his tall socks. Lining up a match to the strike box, he flicked matches in the air and let them burn.

“
You must be the Joker,” I said.

“
You must be the boy—”

“
With the girl’s name,” I interrupted. “Yes, I know. It was a cruel joke my dad played.”

“
Oh, but the cruelest of jokes are usually the best,” the Joker said in a not-so-pleasant way. “Usually people don’t get my humor. Glad you do.”

The
porcupine that Hearts had been speaking to walked over to the table. He stayed as far away as possible from the snake chair but managed to place a tea cup in front of me and pour me a cup of steaming tea. The cup had a black heart with a red tear drop painted on it—the Bleeding Heart. Speaking of Hearts, she sat down across from me.

“
Please, drink. It’s the finest blend the court has to offer,” the queen said, watching me closely.

“
I prefer my tea cold,” I said.

Without a word, the
porcupine took off running toward the door. In less than five seconds, he returned with an ice tray in his hands.

“
What took you so long?” The queen asked the porcupine. Before he could answer, she turned to me. “It’s so hard to find good help these days.”

The
porcupine offered me the tray. I took a few cubes from the tray and plopped them in my cup but didn’t bother taking a sip.

“
Please, drink,” the queen said, again.

“
I’ll wait until the ice melts first,” I said and crossed my arms. “Why did you banish my dad from Wonderland?”

“
Oh goodie, I’ve been meaning to have such a conversation with you, ever since I realized you existed,” Hearts said. She still hadn’t taken a drink of the tea.

“
Joker, could you be a dear and give Ryley and I some seclusion. We have private matters to discuss,” Hearts said. “Take LeDee and LeDum with you.”

The Joke
r pulled a smoke bomb from his pocket. He flicked a match in the air and threw the bomb at the match, lighting the fuse. Smoke exploded. When it cleared, the Joker was gone along with the two white painted women.

I pointed to the card soldiers.
“What about them? Won’t they hear our
private discussion?
”

“
They won’t be telling anyone my secrets.”

“
Because they have no tongues?” I asked.

“
Because they have no heads.”

Oh.

“Your Uncle Eddie is amongst them, but it’s not like it’s
him
anymore. He’s just an emotionless, headless drone who looks no different than number eight,” she said, indifferently and pointed to the random soldier with an eight on its badge.

“How many soldiers do you have?”

“I have many minions, but enough of that. Let’s get down to business. You father proclaimed false witness to your uncle, my late husband’s murder. Robert actually had the audacity to accuse me of being Edward’s murderer. Can you imagine?”

“
Why did he accuse you of murder?”

“
Because a lying
grasshopper told
Robby that it was me who pushed Edward onto the guillotine when in fact I just watched in horror,” Hearts said. “I was made out to be this scandalous witch of a queen. And, with the awful news that had just been leaked, many creatures were determined to see me booted from the throne.”

“
What news was leaked?”

“
Word spreads fast in Wonderland, Ryley. Lies catch wind even faster. Rumor had it that King Edward had fallen in love with a seamstress named Genevine. The king was going to leave me for her, renounce his throne to be with her. He told me in a love-letter. I have never been more ashamed. But, his death was bad timing—a coincidence. Surely you can understand why the creatures of my court were suspicious. Robert wouldn’t quit ranting about my crime so I had him banished. People will believe lies if they are convincing enough, but, it doesn’t mean it’s the truth,” Hearts said, holding the tea cup in her hand. She still had yet to take a drink. “I hope you can forgive me for what I was forced to do to your father, because it is my hope that we are to be great friends.”

“
So why is Alice Mae positive that you are going to behead me?”

“
Al hasn’t ever been very bright,” the queen said. “She hears one thing and exaggerates it to another. Stupid girl.”

“
So you didn’t request that she find me and bring me here?” I asked and then took a sip of the tea.

Hearts watched me with an intense
stare. When I didn’t fall over dead, she sipped her own. “I did ask that she find you, but not with the intentions of killing you. I offer the opposite, if you’ll have it. Edward left me childless, which means there is no Heir to the throne of the Red Court when you come of age. When do you turn eighteen?”

“One week,” I said.

“Only one week! Then it seems you’ve returned just in time! If you want to rule, be something bigger than yourself, you could rule this court. The choice is yours. I would ensure that it’s the greatest ceremony the Red Court has ever bared witness to, if it would please you. The choice is yours, but it would be misfortunate if you choose wrong.”

C
HAPTER
F
ORTY-
N
INE

(
Ryley: Present Time)

Crawling up the rabbit hole was about as
feasible as squeezing through a crack in the sidewalk. Nevertheless, I trusted the white rabbit to lead me out of the forsaken world. Wiggling and pulling as I pried myself out of the alternate dimension left me gasping for air. Rain and mud clung to my clothes. Mr. Ruth was once again a stuffed animal, making me think that I’d just been on a bad trip and not really traveled anywhere.

Alice Mae was waiting for me.
She leaned against the apple tree, holding a dirty top hat. Her makeup was smudged from the tears she’d cried. When I looked at her, it felt like a disease had crawled its way into my heart and poisoned my veins. There were so many things we had to discuss. She brought me to Wonderland to die—at least that was what she thought. Even though it was wrong, it didn’t mean that she didn’t believe it. Could I really have fallen for someone who would sacrifice my life?

“Hearts doesn’t want to kill me,” I said.

“
She lies.”

“
She wants me in Wonderland as Heir to the throne.”

Alice Mae
stood up. Even though I towered over her, it didn’t matter. She was on a mission to convince me that a lie was the truth. “She’s up to something, Ryley. She has a plan for you, and it doesn’t involve you sitting on the throne.”

“
You belong in a straightjacket instead of a pretty dress.”

A tear drizzled down her cheek
. I hated that my heart ached as I watched more slide down her polished skin. Each tear washed away a bit of dirt still on her face. She grabbed my hand. I didn’t move it away, but I kept it stiff in hers.

“
I meant what I said, Ryley. I do love you.”

“
You would see me dead! I know now that my death was the endgame in your devious plan. You tricked me, Alice Mae. You made me fall in love with you just so you could save your own skin!”

“
What would you have me do!” she yelled. “Hearts wouldn’t just come for me. She’d kill everyone I’ve ever loved. It would be a massacre.”

“
So sacrificing my life was your solution?”

“
I was just a girl when I agreed to Hearts’ terms,” Alice Mae said. Her breaths became rapid. She was hyperventilating. Struggling for air, she admitted it was a poor decision to make, and it was wrong. “You aren’t alone in your feelings,” she said. “Everything I told you wasn’t a lie. My heart burns when I see you. I can’t even describe the way my soul turns to fire when we kiss, but I don’t—”

“
Don’t you get it? I’m breaking up with you! You brought me to Wonderland to die! Luckily, Hearts had something else in mind. I draw the line at death! I’d be a bonehead to stay with you!”

C
HAPTER
F
IFTY

(
Alice Mae: Present Time)

Eighteen days marked off the calendar, and Ryley was the first person I thought of when I woke up in the morning. He was the only person that wiggled into my thoughts during my leisure classes, like advanced chemistry or microbiology. When my aunts finished off a batch of candies, I didn
’t linger around the kitchen, waiting for the pieces to cool just enough to gobble them up. Even my dancing couldn’t distract me from the breaking of my heart. Every class was just another hour of torture that I had to endure. Nothing the Joker did to me compared to sitting next to Ryley in class and not being able to speak to him. Every note I slipped him, he crumpled without reading. Every text went un-read (I think). He wanted nothing to do with me. I couldn’t blame him.

However,
I couldn’t hide from the tear stained pillows anymore. I knew I had to make things right. In the middle of the night, I crawled out of bed. I grabbed three pointy jacks that I’d stolen from the Joker during one of our many play dates and shoved them in my pocket. I didn’t trust many things in Wonderland, and the queen was at the top of that list. I cracked the door. Chez must have been sleeping against my door because he jumped onto his feet suddenly. He looked up with sleepy, grumpy eyes. I imagined him telling me that I was ruining his beauty sleep.

“
I need to see Hearts,” I whispered, afraid to wake my aunts at this late hour. “You need to convince the queen to see me, tonight.”

Chez
yawned. Lying back on the ground, he closed his eyes.

“
Fine, I’ll go back to Wonderland by myself,” I said, and tiptoed down the stairs. I moved quickly so that even if my aunts saw me, I’d be out the door in a few seconds; thus, free of any of their endless questions.

I raced to the rabbit hole next to the apple tree in the front yard.
Chez was out there waiting for me. He batted his paw at me and then disappeared.

She did not summon you, Al. She’s not going to be happy about this midnight interruption.

I ignored his warning and stepped toward the apple tree. And so I fell down the rabbit hole again. Mr. Ruth met up with me in the
Waiting Room.
No matter how many times I told him to stay safe in hiding, he refused.

“
You’re not going to get rid of me so easy, my friend.”

I kneeled beside him.
“Then promise you won’t interfere. Just know that having you stand by my side has been one of the greatest honors.”

Within the hour, I was in the queen’s private chambers. The room was deceptively striking. For such heinous crimes committed in this place, I thought it would be more fitting if it looked like a dungeon, but it didn’t. Climbing red roses covered the walls and dangled from the ceiling. The balcony was chiseled from black granite. Huge drapes blew in the breeze. On the wall, next to yet another picture of the late Edward Edgar was a clock. The numbers were drawn over painted white roses. The entire room was a picturesque spring scene, except for the guard standing at the entrance. I could almost believe it to be beautiful, if such a vicious woman didn’t occupy it.

Hearts
appeared about as thrilled to see me as one would be to get a colonoscopy. She sat in the chair by the balcony, holding her Bleeding Heart cup as a mouse poured a warm, dark beverage into it. After filling it, he poured a thimble for himself. He drank it quickly—so quickly he probably burned his tongue. When he didn’t knock over dead, the queen sipped from her cup.

“
Well, get on with it. Why are you here? I don’t recall summoning you,” Hearts said, looking at the clock on the wall.

Mr. Ruth, who was glued to my leg,
tugged on my clothing. He didn’t have to speak to let me know he was worried. I could see it in his precious eye.

“
Don’t kill Ryley,” I said to the queen.

“
Didn’t you hear? The queen has no intentions of killing him,” Chez said, curled up at the queen’s feet.

“
You truly want Ryley to be next in line for the throne?” I asked.

“It’s his decision to make,” she said. “He’s of age to take over if that is what he wants.”

“He’s also of killing age now,” I said. “When I brought him here a couple weeks ago, he wasn’t.”

“Inconvenient timing,” Chez said
.

The queen took a sip from her cup and then set it on the nightstand.
“Why did you wake me up at this hour, Al? Did you really think telling me a heart-wrenching story wouldn’t bore me? I knew you had fallen for him the day you told me of your plan to lure him here.”

“
You knew?”

Hearts exchanged a look with
Chez. It was one of those looks that people give when they think you’re too dumb to follow the conversation.

“
If I promise you that I won’t attempt to keep time from ticking, will you spare Ryley’s life?” I asked, desperate to set things right. I couldn’t bear to know another loved one died because of me.

“
No,” Hearts said. “You already promised that you wouldn’t dabble in time meddling the day M.H. died.”

“
Take my life instead of Ryley’s,” I begged. “You won’t have to worry about me ending your reign.”

“
But, you can’t guarantee that Ryley won’t end her reign either,” Chez said, bored with the conversation.

I wished that
damn cat would stay out of my business.

“
But wouldn’t he do just that? If he is Heir to the throne, he would only end your reign when you die—of old age or of natural causes,” Mr. Ruth said, frantically
.
He paced nervously, back and forth, as he spoke. I couldn’t blame him. The last time he was so close to the queen, he lost an eye.
“You wouldn’t have to worry about assassinations or the
Bleeding Heart Prophecy
coming true.”

“
Go back to your world, Al, and take the rumperbabbits with you. Hearts will summon you if she’s interested in any service you may provide,” Chez said. “It’s getting late, and I haven’t gotten a sufficient amount of beauty sleep yet.”

“
What if I could convince Ryley
not
to come back to Wonderland?” I said out of sheer desperation. “I know that you wanted Ryley here so you could end his life. It would take care of your little prophecy problem about a boy with a girl’s name ending your reign, and it would be a final blow to Robert for telling… for spreading all those rumors about you.”

Hearts picked up her tea and took a sip.
“You really don’t think I killed Edward?”

“
No,” I lied.

“
Then you are a stupid girl,” Hearts said under her breath. “But you have enough wit to know that I’m not going to let anyone tell lies about me. Robert should have died for his insubordination, but I guess his son’s death will suffice.”

“
You can’t kill Ryley!”

“
Oh, I can. I can, and I will.
When
he comes to Wonderland to claim the throne, his head will become… detachable,” Hearts laughed. “Perhaps you can make one last delivery to Robert, for old time’s sake, and give him his son’s head on a platter?”

Enraged
, I grabbed the jacks from my pocket and flung them at Hearts. Chez disappeared as the pointed metal hurled closer.
One jack pierced Hearts’ neck, but the others missed. They hit the clock behind her. The pointy ends stuck through the glass and pinned the second hand so that it could only move forward a few ticks. Then, discouraged with its lack of progress, the second hand ticked backwards. It repeated random ticking so that time moved forward and then backward—forever stuck in a proverbial time warp.

“
The Jack was right,” Mr. Ruth whispered. He saw the second hand acting up as well.

The prophecy rang in my mind.
A strong-Willed child shall set the time-stalemate into motion, but only if a tWo-eyed hare can lure her to the Wonderful World of Wonderland. She Will be given a choice to live Wondrously forever or be banished to Weep in her homeland. Seconds Will tick forWard and backWards until her decision no longer Wavers. HoWever, she Will choose Wrong.

Hearts picked the
jack out from her neck. She inspected it like the blood on it intrigued her. “I should kill you for that, but I won’t. I’m a fair and merciful queen, Al. So, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll spare the boy’s life
if
he never steps foot in this realm.”

“Done.”
I said. “I only need to return to the Otherworld once more to convince him.”

“I wasn’t finished speaking,” Hearts said. “He
never
returns, but you will, and you will never leave. The Joker has been positively lonely and needs a playmate.”

“You want me to make my decision to live here or in the Otherworld?”

“The decision is yours. Time is ticking.”