Alister was on the brink of losing his mind. His thoughts climbed on top of each other, each trying to grab his attention. His heart had gone haywire, expanding and contracting like a madman. His stomach had become a trapeze artist, swinging back and forth and doing stunts in the air. It took all he had to keep his expression neutral.
Valentine appeared beside him and punched him lightly on the arm. "I guess I owe you my block of chocolate."
The girl looked up at Valentine, her expression unreadable. "Sorry?"
And, as if suddenly noticing here presence, Valentine turned and met Gwendolyn's gaze. "Oh, sorry Gwen. It's just a silly game Alister and I were playing."
That stopped the internal anarchy that Alister was fighting to conquer. But only enough for him to think 'what game?' before it resumed again.
Gwendolyn raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"
"Yeah." Valentine replied, "You see, I told Alister there was a new patient named Gwendolyn and that if he could find her I'd give him my block of chocolate."
"I told you I was good," Alister said, playing along.
"Well we best be on our way," Valentine announced, turning away from her, "you know, places to go, people to bother."
She walked back to the table and Alister followed. When they sat down, Valentine began her usual rambling in the group that involved no response from Will, corrections from Marcel, paranoid remarks from Arisa and the occasional nod from Alister. Today, though, Alister was unable to nod at the right time. The very fact that Gwendolyn had suddenly appeared at the asylum had metaphorically thrown him off balance. Gwendolyn. The girl who had appeared in his dreams more often than he could count. The girl who's facial features he knew better than his own. The girl he had convinced himself did not exist.
What was she doing here?
Lunchtime passed without Alister taking so much as a bite out of his food. In the last minute, Valentine slipped something into his chest pocket while they hugged.
"Save it for later." She whispered her breath hot against his neck. He felt flustered all of a sudden and quickly let go.
When the nurse came, what little happiness he had left disintegrated and he felt his face mould into the blank expression that he usually wore.
"Guess what Alister?" The nurse said, her smile blinding, "Dr Xander said you're allowed to go outside!"
Alister eyed her cautiously. "Really?"
The nurse laughed as she put his straitjacket on for him. "Why of course!"
When she finished she led him through a series of corridors, her heels clicking on the white vinyl floors. They came to a halt at a glass door. Alister eyed the lush green grass and the flowerbed. A feeling of longing for The Meadow suddenly overcame him and he could help but feel disappointed at the view in front of him. Managing to suppress his feelings, he waited patiently for his straitjacket to be undone and the code for the door to be tapped in before he walked slowly out. He took a deep breath of air and continued to do so for a few minutes. The air in the asylum felt different somehow, slightly metallic and unnatural but the air out here felt fresh and new. It felt so good to take it in Alister wouldn't have been surprised if he was told they had somehow dissolved drugs into the air.
The wind was cold, it stroked and nuzzled his face; combined with the soft grass beneath him Alister felt euphoric.
The feeling lingered as he lay on the grass and watched the clouds pass by. It clung to him when the sun appeared behind the clouds and blessed him with her warm rays. It bound to him as he inhaled the sweet smell of the honeysuckle that grew in the flowerbeds. He felt horrified when his nurse reappeared and told him he had to come back in. The very idea of having to inhale the harsh chemical smell that the asylum radiated made him want to snap his neck. He took one last deep breath of air before he entered the building again.
The nurse took him to the Shower Room which was just a large bathroom with several bathtubs and showers. He took a short bath and felt his temporary euphoria dilute into the water and leave his body. When he got out he put on the new uniform that she gave him before following her out.
When they arrived at the Sleeping Units Alister felt truly tired. He didn't know exactly how the whole going-to-Wonderland thing worked but what he did know was that when he woke up, he always felt well rested.
The Door appeared faster this time and he went through it before it could make a sarcastic remark. He said hi to Timmy and the La La Children before entering the Forest. He concentrated on the image of the large top hat that was the Hatter House and it wasn't long before it appeared behind a branch. Dislodging the Mushroom Man that clutched his leg, he made his way up the stairs and knocked on the door. Timothy had told him earlier that that was where Valentine had headed off to.
A sign appeared at the door that read 'Tea Party- Go to the back garden.'
Alister walked behind the house and came across a gate which opened before he could. There, sitting at a long table with enough tea sets for an army was the March Hare, Mister Hatter and Valentine. March took a sip from a cup that had been cut in half, Mister Hatter was taking bites out of a saucer and Valentine was adding sugar to an overflowing teacup.
"Why hel-llo Alister my boy!" Mister Hatter called out, "Are you here to celebrate our unbirthdays?"
"Unbirthday?" Alister queried.
"Why yes, today just happens to be Valentine's, March's and I's unbirthdays!"
Alister frowned. "What's an unbirthday?"
"Any day other than one's birthday silly!" Valentine replied, "So technically, it's your unbirthday too."
"It's your unbirthday too Alister?" March asked taking a bite out of a crumpet. "How marvellous!"
"Take a seat take a seat!" Mister Hatter cried, "We were just about to sing the unbirthday song!"
"A very merry unbirthday to you!" March and Valentine sang, pointing at Mister Hatter.
He looked pleasantly surprised. "To me?!"
"To you!"
"Well, a very merry happy birthday to you!" He sang back, pointing at March.
Now it was March's turn to look 'pleasantly surprised'. "To me?!"
"To you!"
"Well, a very merry unbirthday to you!" March sang to Valentine.
Valentine giggled. "To me?"
"To you!"
They went quiet for a moment before they all simultaneously turned to Alister.
"A very merry unbirthday to you!"
Alister rolled his eyes but could stop the small smile that crept onto his face. "To me?"
"To you!"
They all burst into laughter, Alister included. It was the March Hare though who recovered early.
He put his hand behind Mister Hatter's ear and brought out a cake before shouting "Make a wish! Make a wish!"
There were about forty candles on the cake and Alister wondered how the hell there could be that many candles on a small cake.
They all blew the candles and the cake made a small 'pop!'. It disappeared and in its place were four presents which each had their names printed on top. Valentine's was a pretty hairpin which she freaked out over, March's was a cup of mocha tea which got him in tears and claiming was the best unbirtday gift he had ever gotten and Mister Hatters was a top hat which he immediately wore. Alister's was a compass of some sort. When Valentine looked over she almost dropped her hairpin.
"You got a Soul Compass no way!" she said, eyes wide.
"Is that a bad thing?" Alister asked.
"Well not necessarily. Unbirthday and birthday cakes usually turn into something you need. A Soul Compass acts as a guide basically. Each symbol on it represents something. If you can figure out what each symbol means then when it points to it you can comprehend what it's trying to tell you. I guess I'm just a bit shocked that you would need one."
Alister blushed before tucking the compass in his pocket.
"Oh, dear Mother I forgot to tell you!" Valentine said face palming herself.
"Tell me what?"
"The Winter Ball is today."
"Winter Ball?"
"Yeah, the ball the White Queen is holding at her castle." Valentine explained, "But don't worry I already got your suit and everything for you. You and I are matching."
Just as he opened his mouth to thank her she interrupted him. "Unless you don't want to match with me. By the Mother why didn't I think of that? I just got so carried away it didn't occur to me! I'm so sorry Alister you don't need to go with me. Dear Mother I'm always forcing you to do things I'm so sor-"
"Valentine, what're you talking about?" Alister asked, "Of course I want to go with you."
Valentine's unsure expression vanished and was replaced by a bright smile. "Really?"
"Yeah."
She pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek before quickly letting go. Her sudden rush of affection made even her blush.
"Well um..let's go try to get your suit okay?". She turned away but Alister had already seen the splash of pink that painted her cheeks.
They walked out the gate and left the March Hare to his mocha tea that he was rubbing on his cheek and Mister Hatter to his top hat which he was fawning over.
On the way up the steps, they saw Gwendolyn. She had her hair in a braid and wore an emerald green sundress. Valentine had been discussing how well the hairpin would go with her ball gown and how happy she was that they were matching but stopped immediately when she saw her.
"Uh- Hi Gwen!" She greeted.
Gwendolyn looked at her with an annoyed expression. "I prefer if you would call me by my full name."
"Oh, right um sorry Gwen-I mean Gwendolyn."
Gwendolyn rolled her eyes before walking past her purposely bumping shoulders with her. Valentine, bit her lip but turned around and called out to her.
"Will we see you at the ball?"
Gwendolyn turned around and shot her a fake smile. "Will you be there?"
"Oh yes!"
Gwendolyn's smile dropped. "Then no."
She walked away, leaving Valentine with a hurt expression on her face.
"I don't understand why she's acting like this," She said thoughtfully, "she was nice before. Do you think I did something wrong?"
Before he could reply she opened the door to the Hatter House and walked in. They spent the rest of the day getting prepared for the ball. By the time they were ready it was almost nightfall.
He waited at the bottom of the stairs for Valentine to come down and it wasn't long before she did. She wore a white sheer vintage ball gown with lace appliques on the sleeves and dress. The edges of the gown had lace décor on it and the dress sparkled under the light. She wore her hair down her back and pair of earrings. She was luminous. Beautiful. Alister couldn't stop staring at her.
"What do you think?" She asked.
He opened his mouth to reply but no words came out.
"Maybe I should change?" She said.
"No!" Alister replied, finding his voice, "you look beautiful."
She blushed and smiled. "Thanks."
He took her hand and they went outside were a glass carriage was waiting for them. It wasn't long though before they arrived at the White Castle. There were several carriages outside already and people were getting out. Valentine squeezed his hand and he gave her hand a squeeze back. He could tell she was excited by the way her speech became quick and her bright smile.
The ballroom was large and decorated with snowflakes. Everyone wore elaborate ball gowns and suits which were either white or silver. Some were dancing, others were laughing with their friends, clinking wine glasses. The ceiling of the ballroom showed an image of the starry night sky and there were people dancing in the air, going higher and higher.
Valentine taught him some of the traditional Wonderland dances, laughing and joking throughout the process. They spun and twirled and danced with other random people. They even did that dance that caused people to float.
"It's called Airdancing," Valentine said just as they began to float.
When they had settled down on the ground again they went out to the garden where there weren't any people.
"I'm going to go get us drinks okay?" Valentine informed before disappearing into the ballroom again.
Alister hadn't expected anyone to be outside so he was surprised when he caught a glimpse of a girl sitting on the branch of a tree. She had jet black hair that flowed down her back and silver eyes. Her skin was a deathly pale and her features catlike and pointed. She wore a black and white Lolita dress that had a handful of bows scattered on it and a bell tied to a black bow on her neck. Her shoes were black and her leggings white and she held a black parasol. The only thing that struck him as odd about the girl was the black ears that sprouted out of the top of her head and the white tipped tail the appeared beside her.
"Do you happen to be related to Cheshire?" Alister asked her.
A look of disgust climbed the girls face. "Unfortunately. And by the Mother, 'Cheshire' isn't his name. 'Cheshire' is a surname. His name is Edward. Edward Cheshire."
"And who are you?"
"Florence Cheshire. His sister. All the newbies just assume that Edward has no siblings and most of the locals think so too. But no. He does. In fact, I'm older than him and so is Beckett. It's just that Edward causes more trouble than the two of us combined so everyone pays more attention to him."
"You're older than him?"
"Oh yes. By a year. Life was great in B.E which stands for 'before Edward'. Dinah, our mother, paid so much attention to me, she was so much fun. And then he came along and all hell broke loose. I mean his twin Beckett, that's the one with blue and grey stripy fur, turned out okay so I thought Edward would too but oh no he just had to be different you know? Always causing trouble, driving mother dear insane. But that what you get for mating with a Castor cat. Those guys are so unreliable. Sometimes your kittens turn out great and sometimes they end up like Eddie. Most of the time they end up like Eddie. Or with strange powers."
"Strange powers?"
"Yeah. I mean mother was already a reincarnated with the power of speech and black and white fur instead of white, orange and red. You see, she was a companion of the Mother and when she died in the Mortal World, that's where you come from, by the way, the Mother brought her back in Wonderland and she ended up with weird powers. So when mummy dear mated with a Castor cat she was bound to get some strange kittens. My brothers and I can shapeshift and become human."
Alister laughed. "So you're the first cats to be able to do that?"
"Yep."
A wry smile graced her features. "You're the boy Hatter made the banquet for right?"
Alister nodded in reply. The girl suddenly appeared behind him, her face inches from him. "Quite the pretty boy aren't you?"
Alister took a step back and shrugged. It suddenly occurred to him that Valentine had been gone for a while. Where was she?
Just then, the air was filled with an ear-piercing shriek. At this, both Alister and Florence turned to the sound. Running down the hill was Valentine, her beautiful dress stained red.
Alister ran towards her and met her halfway.
"Valentine, what's wrong?" He asked.
She looked up at him, tears glistening in the moonlight. "Sabriel was right."
"What?"
Her eyes had a distant look in them. "The people going missing, it all makes sense now."
Alister cupped her cheeks and forced her to look in his eyes. "Valentine you're not making sense."
"They're here Alister."
"Who's here?"
"The kidnappers. They've come back."