Then again, I was wearing Victorian-style clothing. I guess I wasn’t one who could talk.
Everything around the area was colored in either a red or white decor. It made sense, since it was the Red and White Kingdoms. It really stood out and I couldn’t believe that I was standing in a city that had been from a work of fiction.
The ground had red and white tiles, just like a chess board. If I wasn’t there, I would have never believed it. All the buildings were designed like medieval castles, with moats in some areas and everything. It was abandoned, though, just like they said it was. No one lived here, there were no people in the streets, no voices of conversation. There was nothing but us.
“So this is where your leader is? Was he part of this kingdom?” I asked as we passed yet another moat. I looked down in it and saw something green move around.
Malcolm shook his head. “No, he has been around before the Red and White Kingdom existed, in fact he was around before the Heart Kingdom as well. No one knows where he is from, he just comes when he is needed.”
“Such as now with the Circus?”
“Yes.”
So he was like the mysterious mentor in all the stories, like Obi-Wan or Gandalf. That was pretty cool. “Who is he, in the stories I mean?”
Chase was the one to answer that. “He is known as the Caterpillar.”
I remembered that chapter in the story. From what I remember from the book, I always found him rather annoying, and I couldn’t believe that he could be such a grand mentor now. “The Caterpillar? I thought in the story he turned into a butterfly or something.”
Chase laughed. “The story isn’t exact, word-to-word, remember?”
“I see,” I lied. I really didn’t understand. None of this made sense. “I still don’t get why I’m important.”
“He had a premonition about you. He told us where to find you so you could help us,” Chase whispered so that I only could hear him.
“A what?” I whispered in return. “And why are we whispering?”
“A premonition. A dream, if you will. Those of this world are different than those who represent dreams. He can explain it better than any of us. And I’m whispering because we aren’t supposed to tell you anymore until we have arrived.”
So that’s what it was. Did they know more than they were letting on? Why was it so important that Howard tell me everything? It was obvious that Chase wanted to tell me more, but something was holding him back. Why that was, I had no idea. It would make sense for them to just tell me everything right away so I would understand, but if Howard had more answers than them, I guess talking to him would be a better idea.
I was also curious why Chase seemed to despise Malcolm. I didn’t think that in the stories I’d read that the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter hated each other. Did they always or was it something that happened recently? As they mentioned, the story I knew had been warped by the writer. In fact, in the stories that I knew, Chase had been an actual cat, not part human. I wonder if that fact had to do with Carroll not understanding they were anamorphic or if Alice just didn’t mention it when returning from Wonderland.
We still hadn’t caught sight of Davis and Melvin. I hoped that they were all right and didn’t get captured by Bill and his men. I had no idea what kind of things they would do, if it was like the stories they would have their heads cut off. But that was the Heart Kingdom, not the Dream Kingdom. Either way I still worried.
“You have nothing to be afraid of, Alice.” Malcolm grabbed my hand and kissed it gently. “We will be here with you.”
I felt myself blush. Realistically, there wasn’t any reason I should trust him nor any of the others. They pretty much kidnapped me and brought me here without telling me why they needed me. But for some reason I felt as if I could trust them. I felt as if this was where I was supposed to be, but that didn’t really ’t make any sense. I was somewhere that wasn’t supposed to be real. But this world had everything I’d always wanted, an adventure, the boy I had a crush on, new things to explore.
A place where I could be myself.
But was that true? I mean, did I actually ever act like myself around others, I wondered. Did I really know how to act around others or was it all just a lie? Was I simply trying to fit in all the time, or was this who I was? I felt as if I didn’t know anymore, not after the condemning I received from my parents and the shadows I hide in at school. So the question really was, who was I?
“And if he’s not to your fitting, I will be here for you Alice.” Chase grabbed me and pulled me away from Malcolm.
