Alice In Onederland

You got this Alice, I thought, walking down the path. The road’s cobblestone bricks were crooked, weeds of plants I couldn’t recognize, let alone fathom to name, sprouted up between them. Twisted trees towered over me, casting demented shadows and giving me the feeling of being watched. It was silly since I was obviously alone but I started sprinting. Sprinting away from whatever was in the trees though I don’t think it ever went away. I ran until my legs were tired which in itself was weird. The road Niall had shown me to the Palace wasn’t this long and this was supposed to be the shortest way to Liam’s. My chest was heaving but I willed myself to keep going until my legs turned to jelly. The trees weren’t watching anymore. Maybe I was safe. While Mother or Emily would’ve scolded me for unladylike behaviour, I sat myself under one of the trees by the side of the road.


“You’re weird”, laughed a voice. I straightened up so I could look around.


“Who’s there?!” I gasped, almost coughing since my mouth was so dry. A man in red and purple twirled around a tree trunk on the other side of the road. His clothes were quite strange; fur vest with mix matched tights, a fuzzy purple boot and a tattered red boot. The thing that got me though weren’t just the big striped ears on his head but the magnificently bushy tails following him. There were four.


“It’s only me”, he purred, stroking the chin scruff he had. “I’m Louis, Louis Chesire. You must be Alice of Other Worlds? Of course you are. Look at you. Acting so silly.”


“Who-er, what are you?” I asked.


Louis approached me and took a colourful flask from a crooked belt on his hips. “I’m a cat, duh”, he chuckled, gesturing to his ears. “Want to feel them? I so love ear scratches.”


“No thank you”, I mumbled.


“Suit yourself”, he shrugged, tossing me the flask. I opened it to sniff. There was no odour. “It’s just water”, Louis informed. Watching him carefully, I took a sip and felt relief once I realized he was right. It was just water. “Why are you on this road? This leads right to the Hatter’s?”


“Is that Liam?” I inquired.


Louis scoffed, tails wagging happily behind him. “Of course not, silly”, he giggled. “No, if you’re looking for the warlock then you need Lavender Street. Let me guess, the Queen set you on this road?”


“How did you know?!”


“She’s shite with directions you know.” Louis folded his arms as he kicked at a leaf. “Do you want me to show you to the warlock? A young girl really shouldn’t be visiting the Hatter like this.”


“What’s so wrong with the Hatter?” I asked.


He laughed again. “Apart from his guards shooting you on sight? I don’t know. Harold’s crazy, a right shite employer, and a little on the shady side, don’t you know?” Louis offered me a hand decked in rings and a leather, fingerless glove. “C’mon. I’ll take ya to the warlock.”


I accepted his offer since there was really nothing else for me to do. He helped me stand before giving me a strange sideways look from blue eyes. “What’s a human like you need the warlock for?” he whispered.


“I was told Liam could help me understand this place”, I answered.


Louis shrugged and headed into the woods. “Can I ask you a question?” I called, chasing after him. Louis was nimble and it took every bit of effort in my being to keep up with his practiced leaps over large rocks or fallen trees.


“You already did, but you can ask me another one.”


“If you’re a cat, why do you have four tails? Cats only have one.”


“Cats only have one?” he repeated. “Maybe if they’re on their last life.”


“Excuse me?”


Louis flicked a tail of his in my direction. “Cats have a tail for each life they have left”, he grinned. “How queer for a cat to only have one. Obviously, that’s not a very good cat. Such a disgrace.”


How queer for a cat to have more than one my mind corrected. I followed the strange man clumsily through the wicked forest until my feet landed on soft purple dirt. “This is the road to the warlock’s”, Louis announced proudly. He threw his arms out which I ducked under to examine the new surroundings. From here, I could look back and see the blue bricks but how could I not see this path from there? The trees were much friendlier here with a sort of whimsically sparkling haze in the air around them and it smelled a little like tea cakes. A few people walked up and down the road, people without faces. People without roles. People who weren’t people. I huddled closer to Louis, not wanting to be too close to the beings as he pointed a scrawny finger that looked like it’d been broken and never healed properly. “That’s Zayn. Watch him.”


“Heard that, Cat”, said a black cloak that approached us. The hood was dropped to reveal an olive skinned man with bleached white hair. “Alice”, the man continued, bowing.


“Stay for a while!” Louis begged. “We’re going to see the warlock!”


“I just left Liam’s”, the man I guessed was Zayn stated.


Louis threw his arm around Zayn’s neck to bring him down to eye level. “Do be kind to our guest”, the cat purred. “Alice, this is Zayn Ace. Zayn-”


“Don’t threaten me again, Cat”, Zayn snarled, ripping away.


“Oh, I never threatened you!” Louis cackled. “Fucking Knave. Now c’mon. We haven’t got all day and it’s dark, innit?”


I looked up at the sky, seeing night had already fallen. No, that wasn’t possible. Only minutes ago the sun had been overhead. Zayn relented as he glared at Louis. “Night is no time for a lady to be out”, he muttered, linking arms with me. “Alice, please allow me the honour of escorting you to Lord Liam’s-”


“Ah, ah, you naughty, naughty Knave!” Louis hissed. “She’s my new friend and I’m extorting her to-”


“Extort?” Zayn repeated. “Louis, please learn to speak.”


“My speech is fine.”


“You just said you were extorting her! Do you even know what that means?!”


“You were trying to extort her!”


“Escort. Ess-corr-tah. Extorting is something entirely different.”


“Is not. I said exactly what you did, you shite fucking card-”


Rustling in the trees behind us made me jump. “Gentlemen, can we please just go?!” I pleaded. “I don’t mean to sound pushy but-”


“But this is no place for a lady to be”, Zayn interrupted, glaring at Louis. “Fine, Cat. You can ‘extort’ her.”


Louis grinned, ears relaxing as his tails wagged. “Wonderful! Lady Alice, if you would follow me then!” Zayn brought up the rear and while I detested it, I felt a little more comfortable when he brought out a large rifle complete with scope and moving gears. Louis strutted down the road which was much shorter than the Hatter’s road. The lilac dirt brought us out in the town square, still glittering despite the plain town around us. A large white tower loomed over the center of the square proudly boasting stained glass that had different crests in each of the artworks. The only one I recognized was Queen Taylor’s mechanical heart.


“Oh waaar-lock”, Louis called, clicking his k as we opened tall but skinny lavender double doors. A brown haired man rolled out into the circular entryway, brown eyes hidden behind purple lensed glasses with a matching hookah in his lap.


“Louis, you know my name”, the man said in a soft but firm voice. He didn’t stand up from his rolling chair, a bronze, green, and violet contraption that moved seemingly without him. He didn’t direct it, it just pushed its way over to the three of us. “And Ace, you should be collecting those samples I asked for.”


“This is Liam?” I inquired, confused. He was quiet but rolling around like a madman in this chair as he puffed out clouds.


“I haven’t time to answer insolent questions”, he barked. “Name yourself and your business.”


I took a step back only to have Zayn’s free hand land on my shoulder. “Your Lordhsip, this is Alice of Other Lands-”


“Other Lands?” He perked up and raced towards us only to blow a new cloud of sugar smelling vapor in my face. “What are you made of?”


“Skin, like most people”, I frowned, pulling back before he could try inspecting my arm.


“Flesh!” Liam adjusted himself in his chair, bringing both legs into a criss-cross position. “How novel!”


“How is that novel?”


“We’re made from synthetic materials!” Louis grinned. “Handmade by the warlock himself!”


“The Queen isn’t made of-”


“Oh, cards no!” the cat laughed. “The Queen herself is porcelain! Coated in a layer of, what is it called warlock?”


“Latex paint”, Liam replied.


“Yes! Spandex paint!”


I ripped away from Zayn. These people weren’t real people. “What are you?!” I wailed. “Robots?”


Liam chuckled. “Nothing of the sort”, he informed. “They are creations, yes, but nothing so fanciful. I’ve hand crafted everyone in this world and I must say, I’m very proud of my work. Ace for example has been made to be an elite soldier. I’ve taken the best pieces of the fallen cards of the Queen and reconstructed them into an unbelievable assassin.”


“So you’re Frankenstein?” I questioned in revulsion.


“No. I am merely a creator.”


“Like God?”


“No. For I am no fairy tale.”


“Then what ARE you?!” I demanded.


Liam’s chin lifted proudly. “I...am the warlock of the Kingdom of Hearts.”

Notes

I realize my character personalities aren't toootally true to the manga but then again, I just said this was heavily based and not TOTALLY based. Anyway, I don't know how I feel about this part and side note, I strongly considered giving Liam four arms but I figured Louis already had four tails so it didn't happen ;O

And I'm STRONGLY CONSIDERING putting this on wattpad too :3