The Lost One in Alice's Garden
ARC 02 Clover Forest
Chapter 16 Missing Cat And The Ethereal Tree
Stepping out of the forest, the three travelers were greeted by something that made her eyes widen: a vast, clear blue ocean. A tranquil and calm, refreshing breeze hit her gently, letting her hair sway with it.
In the Black Country, she could only see night sky, while in Clover Forest, the sky is being covered by tree leaves; this is the first time that she has a better view of the clear of it. She stood on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the horizon. The view of ocean and sky together is mesmerizing that she finds herself digging into her memories if ever there's a time she enjoys such a tranquil view.
Everything was perfect, if only that shimmering golden castle not far away from them did not irritate her vision every time the sunlight hit its structure, sending a blinding beam of light.
She sighed.
"That's the castle of the Gold King." There was no need for her to turn her head to know who was speaking.
"Gold...?" Hatter stands next to her, hands shoved in his pockets.
"Everyone says he's a kind king," she hums, "completely opposite of the Red Queen."
"Then why aren't you living there?"
"I used to live there..." White seems to sense that her words were directed at him, and he answered. The short duo turns to him, "but because of that incident, the King vanquished me."
"That incident...?"
White nodded, "The very reason why I am entitled to be called a man-eating tiger."
"Well... you cannot really blame him for making such a decision. You ate one of his citizens; of course, he'll do something to ease their worries."
"I cannot say I don't understand what you are trying to say. Of course, I knew that and accepted it as well."
"Then the Red Queen gave you that very place; in exchange, you'll do what she asks for." White nodded. "She's not actually that bad, huh..."
"Who?"
"Red Queen."
"Isn't that called manipulation?" Hatter's eyes are narrow. "Putting someone into debt, then using it as leverage afterwards."
"Well... let's look at White's situation. She has many chances to use him to kill those who are opposing her, like you guys told me once. But the first time White received an order, it was with us. Then I could say that the Red Queen has no real intention to use him. Or maybe... it's our fault?"
"Oi... Are you alright in the head?"
"Beats me. What do you think?"
"I think you are..."
"That's also what I've thought."
Unsure, worried, and hesitating, White has no idea how he should feel about this conversation; all he can do is watch the two agreeing on several mind-boggling things concerning their sanity.
"Are you guys alright...?" The shorties simply shrug their shoulders. White chuckles awkwardly.
Feeling the breeze and mesmerized by the view, the trio stays quiet for quite a long time, not until Hatter grunted loudly.
"Hey, White!" Hatter calls out, "Go into Beast Mode!" Such a sudden, selfish request undoubtedly shocks the lad.
"No way!" White refuses vehemently.
"I'm bored right now!"
"It doesn't matter! In the first place, we must look for Cheshire right now!" He tries to reason, but it falls in vain.
"I don't care what happens to that stupid waste of space!"
"But what if I hurt you two?!"
"Oh~" A devilish smirk appears on Hatter's face.
'Wrong words, White; that just flips his switch.' She decides not to say that at all: This will be fun, is what she thinks.
"So, you were saying that you are far superior to me?"
"N-no..." White denies while stepping back, trying to get away from Hatter's scary gaze.
"No? But you are clearly saying I can't protect her from you~"
"That's not—"
"Good luck, White~," the girl mumbles.
"Don't 'Good luck' me, Alice!" Oops, he flips another switch. "Help me!"
"She won't," Hatter informs him. "You just literally pissed her off."
"Eh?! Why? How?!"
No one gave him an answer to that; the girl turned her back to them, continuing to gaze at the vast ocean.
"Hehehehe~" Hatter cracked his knuckles. "You've chosen the wrong call~" And to think they were just talking about it moments ago.
'Hatter is just messing with him...' Another fact that she chose to leave unspoken, as punishment for calling her 'Alice.' Yeah, it sounds petty, but who cares?
She ignored his wails and pleas; even his apologies were ignored, letting the lad suffer by declining Hatter's absurd request.
The wind blew softly and gently passed the trio, which at the same time made White halt and forgot Hatter, who quickly caught on. The adult man watched as White sniffed the air. The Alice noticed the silence but chose not to be bothered.
Within this silence, a question entered her head:
'Where could Cheshire be? Did we miss him—or maybe we've taken the wrong path?' She sighed; they probably had.
The strong scent of seawater hits her nostrils, making her feel nostalgic, and a smile forms as she continues inhaling the fresh scent brought by the wind.
An intrusive event interrupts her: someone's laughter, a childish voice, and someone gleefully running along the shore.
She opens her eyes, still gazing at the vast sea.
This refreshing feeling is cut short when someone pokes her cheek. She turns to the culprit without showing any expression.
"White found something interesting," Hatter informs her, jabbing his thumb in the lad's direction.
The Alice turns and quickly finds White crouched down at the foot of the biggest tree there. She walks toward him while Hatter follows suit, quietly approaching the lad to see what he is inspecting.
"A rabbit hole..." she mumbles softly, making White jump in surprise. He is so engrossed in the hole that he doesn't sense her presence near him. "You'll be killed in no time," she nonchalantly tells him. Whether it's a joke or not, White cannot tell, and he cannot bring himself to ask; somehow, she scares him. "So?"
"Ah! Yes..." White turns back to the hole. "I can smell Cheshire's scent from here..."
"That asshole probably got so curious and went there. This is how he mostly gains information—maybe..." Hatter concludes, hesitating at the end.
"For the record, what is Cheshire's smell?" Her curiosity piques Hatter's interest.
"Hmm? The smell of leaves." She then points at Hatter. "I can smell many scents from you, Hatter, but I cannot tell which one it is."
"Strongest?"
"Jasmine tea."
"Tea, huh... I think that makes sense, since he tends to throw tea parties. But if you say he has many smells of tea, then that means... he smells awful."
White chuckles awkwardly but says nothing further.
"For your information, I always wash myself carefully to make sure the smells are removed."
"There are smells that can no longer be removed."
This hits Hatter so hard that he goes quiet and secretly sniffs himself.
"Don't worry, only White could smell that..." There's a pause as an intrusive fact comes in, "and maybe Cheshire too."
That destroys Hatter's confidence. "FUCK!!! ANYONE BUT THAT BASTARD!!!"
"But... did Cheshire ever mention it?" White quietly asks her.
"Definitely not." White looks at the shorter girl and sees a small smile on her face as she watches Hatter, totally troubled.
"How could you tell?"
"If Cheshire told him about his smell, Hatter should have had a different reaction by now."
"Ahh... true."
The Alice fixates her gaze on the vast darkness inside the hole, wondering if it'll lead them somewhere or at least to the missing cat.
Without a word to the two guys, she enters the hole and falls into darkness.
White tries to stop her, but it is far too late; only a second passes, and Hatter follows suit with enthusiasm. With great hesitation and fear of the unknown future, White goes inside as well.
After sliding through the completely dark, long tunnel, they emerge in a place that can only be seen in fantasy shows, leaving them in awe.
In an enclosed underground space, a thick, aged, huge tree stands alone in the area, surrounded by vines, piles of green grass, and some blooming small flowers. The light that illuminates a small part of the place comes from a hole in the ceiling where sunlight is allowed to enter. Adding to its beauty are the dancing, glittering dust particles in the air.
In front of the aged tree is the person they were looking for; his tail swings to a slow beat.
Hatter clicks his tongue and marches toward the cat while spouting insults, "Ruining this beautiful place!" The cat, in return, turns his head to the shorter figure, recognizing their presence. "Oi, you fucking stupid cat!"
White watches this interaction while the girl's attention is unusually not on the two; her eyes are caught on something, making her blink in curiosity. She walks towards it, crouching down to get a better view.
"We're so worried about you, Cheshire!"
"Hah?! Who will worry about this asshole?!"
"You're the only one," she disagreed with White.
"You're really kind, White..." Cheshire smiles at the lad, but that smile is replaced with a frown and an upside-down smile the second his eyes land on the others, "—unlike these two." He pouts.
"So?" Completely unaffected, The Alice starts, "—what is this place?"
Cheshire smirks, moving to the side and letting them have a view of the huge hole in the tree, where the person inside is none other than Green Rabbit, hugging her knees.
"This girl—Green Rabbit. So what's with you chasing her this far?"
"She's known as this land's observer. She became curious about the noises above her underground territory, so she met us, but she has a very bad attitude—pretty rude on top of it all."
"Just like you?" Hatter commented, which Cheshire ignored as he continued.
"I've been curious about where her place is, and I saw that chance."
The Alice's head tilted, staring blankly at the proud cat. "So? Are you satisfied now?" Cheshire flinched at that cold question from the shortest.
"Eh? By any chance, are you angry?"
"For what?"
"That I took off? That I halted our search?"
"No... not at all." Her voice and tone were ice cold.
"Really?" Ignoring the worried cat, she walked towards the hole where the rabbit was; with this cold treatment, Cheshire felt anxious about the shortest's real feelings regarding his mischief.
Meanwhile, the Green Rabbit, who was obviously uncomfortable with The Alice's presence near her, went further inside her safe zone. "I'm sorry for intruding; we will leave now."
"Wait up! What if she's an Alice?!" Cheshire was ignored again.
"Can you tell us where the exit is?"
"Same entrance..." Green Rabbit mumbles.
"I see... thank you..."
The Alice stands and walks past her companions. Despite her curiosity and desire to ask about the decision, Cheshire follows her quietly with a pout, thinking that the shortest must be really upset. Hatter, after shoving his hands into his pockets, follows suit, and there's White, who, after giving the quiet, lonely rabbit a last glance, also goes along with his companions.
It didn't take too much time for them to return to the surface, thanks to Hatter's ability.
"Hey, are you sure you won't question her like you did with White?" Cheshire whispers, but receives no answer from the nameless Alice; he goes quiet too.
"Petty," Cheshire pouted.
Stopping in her tracks has made the others stop as well. They thought that she got pissed off at what Cheshire said—who wouldn't?
"Hey!" She turns around, her gaze bypassing the two older ones. "How long are you going to follow us?" A cocky smirk spreads across her face. "Just don't stay quiet. You see how awful it is being ignored, yes?"
From behind the bushes and trees not far away from them, Green Rabbit came out.
"So, you used us to set an example..." Cheshire and Hatter both concluded.
"So? Why are you following us? It's not like we're up to no good, Miss Observer."
"The Golems hate you."
"Seems like it. They attacked me once, and thanks to these two, I'm still alive."
"Why?"
The Alice shrugs, "Beats me."
"Will you destroy our world?"
Crosses her arms over her chest. "I don't have any obligation to answer you, correct?" Silence falls in their place, and they can clearly hear the rustling of leaves. "If you have nothing more to say, then we'll be off. Follow us or not; it's up to you." After saying that, all of them continue.
•••••
"Is that true?"
"Yes, sire."
"How could they do that? Bandersnatch is a gentle soul; for them to destroy his home is unforgivable."
"According to the creatures living near his place, Bandersnatch has attacked some travelers."
"Hmm? Why? That wasn't like him..."
"No one could."
"How's Bandersnatch now?"
"The creatures saw the very same travelers carrying the unconscious Bandersnatch."
"What? But they were attacked by him, right?"
"They may have an ulterior motive."
"Putting him in debt... huh."
"Might be."
"I see... thank you for your report."
"All for you, my Gold King."