Alice in Wonderland

Smoke and Soup

The pasture was really far away.

From the carousel, it didn't seem too distant, but after walking for several minutes Alice realized just how large the stables were. What appeared as a small entrance was just really, really far away.

Alice fumed while she was walking. While Dolly was odd, she wasn't malicious, but the nerve of that old man! If her parents came home and found she'd lost her violin...

Who was he, even...

Lost in thought, Alice didn't notice she had already made it to the stables until a loud coughing echoed through the air. Flinching, Alice turned to see an entry booth with a blue robot standing behind the counter.

"Cough, cough—" 

Recovering with surprising speed, the robot stood up and said methodically, "Welcome to the beautiful green fields of Lilypad Livery, the dwelling of the Wonderlands' finest horses and cuisine—"

"Wait," Alice interrupted, eyes wide. "That voice—you were the one speaking from the loudspeaker!"

The robot was silent for a moment. Suddenly, it sighed.

"I'm just doing my job, missus." 

 Alice blinked. "I only—I'm sorry, did I offend you...?"

The robot ignored her and pushed a button on the counter. The gate to the pasture opened.

"I'm not a robot. Please try not to piss off Daleyza." The robot's voice didn't sound irritated at all, only bored. "Also, you're nobody special here, so don't act like you are."

"I don't—" Alice began, but the robot had suddenly collapsed behind the counter. A fit of coughing followed.

"Just so you know, smoking isn't good for you. Or smoke in general, really."

Its nonchalant tone beginning to annoy her, Alice quickly muttered an agreement and hurried into the pasture. She felt a surge of anger. The Wonderlands really don't care about me, do they?

But getting angry's not like me...

After leaving the robot, Alice found herself in the middle of a green field enclosed by a fence, stables in the far end and a house in the center. The house, while having no other special features, had a heavily smoking chimney. Alice remembered the robot's advice. 

...was he being serious?

The old man had said she needed to attend someone, so Alice assumed they must be in that house. Hurrying to the porch, she knocked tentatively on the door.

"...hurry up and come inside!" A angry, feminine voice sounded from the other side. "Or else—OH MY GOSH I SWEAR IF YOU DON'T GET THIS RIGHT—"

Feeling intimidated for some reason, Alice turned the knob and opened the door. Just as she stepped foot on the threshold, a porcelain bowl smashed onto the wall next to her head and shattered.

"What the—" Alice yelped, jumping back.

"IT'S ALL WRONG, ALL WRONG!" A woman holding a bowl of soup was in the room, which happened to be a large, modern-looking kitchen. A diminutive man wearing a chef's uniform was cowering beneath her, and a teenage girl was lounging at the table beside them. Grinning lazily, the girl turned to Alice and waved.

"Daleyza, she's here," the girl called, twisting her legs around the back of the chair.

The woman looked away from the chef (who promptly ran out the door) to Alice, who was still frozen in shock.