The Pocket Watch

(I would appreciate it if people could review it and tell me how it sounds. I haven't edited it and this thing was written in 90min while the idea was still fresh in my mind. Thanks!)

[b]The Pocket Watch[/b]

When Heart Queen tucked him into his bed, he couldn’t help but ask, “Where’s Alice?”

“Who’s Alice?” Heart Queen replied.

“Alice is Alice, just like Mom is Heart Queen and I am White Rabbit.” His gap-toothed smile lit up the dark room and his mother smirked, a tiny quirk of her lips. She kissed his forehead, brushing his downy blonde hair out of the way.

“Then Alice will be by tomorrow, she had to go home with your father today.”  The rustle of a nightgown and the whisper of slippers against wood floor. Heart Queen closed the door, leaving a tiny crack to allow light into her son’s room.

White Rabbit still smiled as he closed his eyes and settled into his blankets. The only thing on his mind was a young girl he called ‘Alice.’

The next morning, White Rabbit bounded down the stairs, clothes askew. His stomping making quite a racket, Heart Queen was waiting for him at the bottom. With a great heaving sigh, she buttoned his jacket and smoothed his collar.

“Mom, you look very pretty today.”

She smiled, her bright red lips parting. A flowing black gown clung to her, a shiny silver necklace dangling at her breast. “Thank you dear. Now, go outside and play. Alice will be here soon.”

Not wanting to miss Alice, White Rabbit dashed out the front door as a long car pulled up. A young girl with raven hair stepped out, looking sombre. A knee-length dress dyed blue was what she wore, her favourite dress, she’d told him enough times to remember. A hand clasped his shoulder; Heart Queen had exited behind him. The smirk of the night before made its reappearance.

“Heart Queen?”

“Yes dear?

“Why does Alice call Dad ‘Dad’ but not call Mom ‘Mom?’”

“Because I am not her mom.”

White Rabbit mulled over this for a few moments. It didn’t make sense to him. But it didn’t matter, Alice was here now. She had seen him as well and her lips perked up as she walked over. A quick bow to Heart Queen and Alice slipped her hand into White Rabbit’s.

“Come on, I promised we’d play today, didn’t I?”

He allowed her to pull him along, away from Heart Queen and away from the car. Running like a bunny late for an appointment, White Rabbit had to move his short legs quickly to keep up with Alice’s long stride. After they rounded the corner, she picked him up and carried him on her back. White Rabbit giggled and clutched her shoulders tightly.

“Faster Alice, faster!”

A bark of laughter. “It’s Alice today? Who are you then?”

“I am White Rabbit,” he said proudly.

“Well then, White Rabbit, we shall travel through Wonderland together. Where would you like to go first?”

White Rabbit thought about it for a minute as Alice dutifully carried him to the back of the house. “The Hatter’s party of course.”

Turning to the back, a tall man in black with an equally tall hat sat next to a short woman in red. The Hatter who was mad and his Hare. The Hare had married him in March, so she became the Hare of March. They were visiting for the month but rarely departed from their rooms. Today, they sipped tea out of pure white cups both engraved with a cursive ‘H.’

Hatter noticed them first over the lip of his cup. “Ah, Peter. Your sister came to visit today?”

White Rabbit slid from Alice’s back and nodded while smiling. “But my name isn’t Peter, it’s White Rabbit.”

“He’s playing pretend again dear,” Hare of March whispered in Hatter’s ear.

“Ah.” Hatter set his cup down on its saucer daintily and touched the brim of his hat. “Say, White Rabbit, what has your mother planned for the day?”

“I think she wanted to go out, Heart Queen’s all dressed up.” White Rabbit felt Alice’s hand grasp his again; it was cold and it shook slightly.

Hatter smirked slightly, narrowing his dark eyes. “Is that so...”

Looking up at Alice’s face, White Rabbit noticed she looked upset and scared. Why would she be scared of Hatter and Hare of March?

“White Rabbit, would you like to see the twins now?” she asked after a moment.

“Oh, yes Alice!”

Alice smiled politely at Hatter. “It was a pleasure to see you today. I’ll take White Rabbit to play with Strauss and Morgana now.”

Hatter nodded and resumed sipping at his tea. Hare of March leaned and whispered again in his ear. He shook his head slightly but glanced at Alice as she pulled White Rabbit away.

Near the wide garden, the twins tossed a blue ball back and forth while maintaining their pristine white clothes. Morgana was in a similar dress to Alice’s while Strauss had breeches and a loose shirt. They were both only a little taller than Alice.

Morgana smiled as they approached and threw the ball to her brother. “Ah, Pe-”

A shake of Alice’s head cut her off. “Wonderland today,” Alice mouthed.

Smile turning into a wide grin, Morgana corrected herself, “Are you White Rabbit?”

White Rabbit nodded happily and Morgana kneeled to hug him tightly.

“Do we always have to play along with his silly games?” Strauss called as he sat.

His sister snapped at him to be quiet and Strauss glared before turning away. “Ignore him White Rabbit; he’s just being a silly boy.” She stuck her tongue out in her brother’s direction. To Alice, “I can’t believe you still come here, considering how they treat you.” She sounded annoyed.

“No, no. It’s quite alright. They’re within their rights. A girl must deal with harsh people if she is to be a fine lady.”

Alice and Morgana giggled but White Rabbit tuned out their puzzling conversation. He was watching Hatter’s tea party. Heart Queen had joined, and the three were discussing something passionately. Only when Morgana told Alice to “be careful,” did he look away.

Alice nodded. Her face was taunt with worry but she was quick to smile when she noticed White Rabbit was looking at her. “It’s alright. Morgana has invited us to play with her, would you like to?”

“Yes.”

After he agreed, Morgana marched over to her brother and asked him as well. Strauss obviously said no, but his sister wouldn’t accept that as an answer. Jerking the ball from his hands, she threw it at his head and quickly ran. Surprised, Strauss launched at her, tackling her to the ground.

“Eek! Stop! You’ll ruin my dress!”

Letting go of White Rabbit’s hand, Alice ran over and tapped Strauss on the shoulder. He looked up and she yelled, “Tag!” before dashing off.

“Hey! Get back here!” Releasing Morgana, he chased Alice until he brushed her back. “Tag!”

Alice laughed then tagged Morgana. Morgana in turn, tagged White Rabbit. Pleased to be included in their game, White Rabbit chased Strauss until he caught him.

“Tag!”

Tag flowed into Hide and Seek and then into Catch. White Rabbit couldn’t remember having more fun in his life. Only dinner interrupted their game.

Tired but happy, they all trotted toward the doors where one of the servants awaited them. Once inside, they headed toward the dining room. Though there were settings for seven, there was no sign of Hatter or his wife. Heart Queen, however, was standing off to the side.

“Alice, can you come with me for a minute? Your father is on the telephone.”

Looking confused, Alice went over to Heart Queen and followed the woman into another room. White Rabbit, Strauss and Morgana sat down as Hatter and Hare of March joined them. Another servant bowed and served the meal, whispering in Hatter’s ear. Hatter nodded.

“White Rabbit, it appears your mother and sister had to go out for a bit. She said she will be back shortly and to eat without her.”

White Rabbit nodded but was felt sad. He wanted to eat dinner with Alice. The twins looked suspiciously at each other but said nothing.

Dinner came and went without any conversation. The same servant collected their plates and returned them to the kitchen. Night fell completely and neither Heart Queen nor Alice had reappeared.

White Rabbit sat on the steps outside to wait, staring down the long driveway. Morgana and Strauss placed themselves on either side to wait with him.

Another hour passed. White Rabbit leaned into Morgana and cried. “Why isn’t Alice back yet?”

She wrapped an arm around her cousin and patted his head gently. “I don’t know. Perhaps something is holding them up.”

After another hour, neither Alice nor Heart Queen had pulled up in the driveway. Feeling the boy fall asleep against her, Morgana scooped White Rabbit up and took him back in the house and tucked him into bed. Her brother waited outside the door until she came out again.

“What do you think has happened?”

“I can’t be sure but if Auntie hasn’t retuned either...” she couldn’t bear to finish the thought.

Not exchanging another word, the twins retreated to their chambers for the night.

White Rabbit awoke as the old clock chimed twelve times. With a yawn and a stretch, he rubbed his eyes and climbed out of bed wearing his white pyjamas. The house was quiet, the only reason he heard it. From downstairs, a soft and gentle song wound its way into his ears and drew him toward it.

Successfully reaching the main hall, the melody was perceptibly louder. He walked toward it until he heard voices. Hiding in a corner, his listened.

It was Hatter. “And what would you have us do now?”

“Just go about your business. There’s nothing you need to do.” That was Heart Queen. She was home, that meant Alice was back as well! White Rabbit beamed just thinking about what games they would play together in the morning.

Footsteps began and quieted quickly, Hatter’s boots clomping against the wooden floor. Heart Queen’s soon followed, the soft rustle of her slippers a gentle contrast.

White Rabbit waited a few more minutes to begin moving again, not wanting to be caught out of bed. After a few metres, he smelled something strange. Iron burned his tongue.

 Something wasn’t right.

Trying to be very quiet, he followed the melody still playing. It seemed familiar now, like the songs Heart Queen had once sung for him to put him to sleep. The music led him to a door left ajar. He pushed it open.

Alice sat in a corner.

“Alice!” White Rabbit whispered loudly. She was home! But something was wrong. Alice didn’t open her eyes. Her sky blue dress was stained red and she was very pale. He touched her and she was cold.

“Alice?” a little louder now. Still, she didn’t budge. Tip toeing, he walked over and pushed her shoulder. Her head lolled to the side.

White Rabbit started crying then. Wiping away his tears, he left small red streaks on his face. Before long, the whisper of slippers on wood grew in volume and strong arms lifted him. He buried his head in Heart Queen’s chest, his bawling muffled. She stroked his back and brought him back to his bed.

Opening his eyes the next morning, White Rabbit looked down at his pyjamas; they were grey. Heart Queen was at his door and came quickly to his side when she saw her son was awake. “You had a nightmare last night dear, are you alright now?”

Tears began to fill his eyes and roll down his cheeks. “Where’s Alice?”

Heart Queen smiled softly, a mother’s smile. “She went home with your father. She said she was sorry she had to leave so early yesterday.”

When White Rabbit kept crying, Heart Queen sighed and tried again to console him. “It’s alright dear. Your father will be by in a few days as well. He’s decided to come home early from business. You miss him, right?”

He nodded. When Heart Queen told him to come to breakfast, he did, but didn’t taste anything. Morgana and Strauss attempted to entice him to play but White Rabbit merely sat in the garden where he and Alice had spent the day together.

Near lunch, Heart Queen joined him, one hand hidden behind her back. “White Rabbit, I have a present for you. I was saving it for your birthday but I think it will cheer you up.”

White Rabbit glanced up at his mother, expression devoid of emotion. Heart Queen pulled out a small box wrapped in a red bow and placed it in his hands. “Open it dear.”

Without much enthusiasm, he pulled the ribbon from the box and opened it. Inside lay a small golden pocket watch like his father’s, with a chain he could clip to his pocket. Feeling a little bit better, he opened the cover to stare at the watch’s hands move around its face.

Softly and slowly, a familiar melody began to play and all White Rabbit could picture was a broken girl with raven hair in a blue dress stained red.