WonderLand

We fell asleep like that, the Cat with his back against the massive tree trunk, and me curled in his lap, my head resting on his chest. Perhaps it was my recently filled stomach, or the warmth of the Cat's body and his even, rhythmic heartbeat in my ear, but for the first time since I'd come to WonderLand, I had a decent night's sleep. when the golden slanting rays of sunlight spilled onto my face in the morning and woke me up, I felt more rested than I had in days. I also was in more pain than I ever had been in my life.

The previous days adventures had really done a number on me. I was achy and sore and bruised and beat up; from my encounter with the Walrus and the Carpenter, and the Flowers, and from running madly through the forest, from dry heaving as WonderLand rejected me, and all the other stupid things I'd had happen to me.

Blearily, I opened my eyes. I was only slightly surprised to see the Cat already awake and packing up the mess of plates and half eaten food we had left strewn around the the mossy ground the night before. As I stretched and yawned, trying to work out the dull ache in my neck, the Cat turned, saw me awake, and gave me a quick, tight lipped smile. As he did, I realized how long it had been since I had seen the smile he had first greeted when he rescued me from the Tweedle Brothers. During these last few days, all of his grins, smirks, and smiles had seemed forced, fake. My presence here was putting a strain of everything, it seemed.

"Glad to see you're finally awake, my dear Alice."

"Why do you always do that?" I asked with a jaw achingly big yawn.

"Do what?" The Cat replied, raising one of his eyebrows.

"Switch between calling me Alex and Alice like that."

"I have no idea what you mean." The Cat said stoically, and I dropped the subject.

"So what do we do next?" I asked instead. "Where do we go from here?"

"North, to the Chessboard. We'll meet up with more of the Rebellion up there, and see what Hatter and Hare's plan is." He replied, standing up and slinging my backpack over his shoulder.

"Will it take a long time?" I asked, rising to my feet as well and trying to dust the worst of the dirt off my clothes.

"Not if we travel quickly. It will probably be easiest if I carried you, Alice. I'm a bit more sure footed in the forest than you are, if you don't mind my saying so."

I scowled. I had better balance on a tightrope than most people have laying down. But the Cat was right; for one reason or another, the forest always seemed intent on tripping my up at evry possible moment.

"Yeah, alright." I conceded grudgingly. The Cat held out his arms, his expression thankfully free of his mocking grin, and with a sigh of resignation I stepped into them. He scooped my up bridal style, and instructed me to wrap my arms around his neck.

"Hold on tight, and don't let go." He warned. "Ready?"

I opened my mouth to say not really, but it wasn't like had much of a choice in the matter anyways; but suddenly something happened to the noise in the forest, and it froze the both of us in our tracks. It wasn't even the cracking of a twig, or the rustling of a bush. Instead, it was as if a complete hush had fallen over the forest; every bird stopped chirping, every bush's rustle seemed to stall, even the wind through the leaves in the trees fell silent. It was as if the entire forest was holding its breath, and for some reason, it filled me with cold dread.

The Cat had stiffened, his arms around me hard and straining, and his eyes flashed, though what emotion was being playing across his face I couldn't tell.

"Oh Gods," he said, his voice a low rasp. "He's here."

"Who-" I began, but then he stepped out of the shadows.

The Jabberwocky was huge. He must have been nearly seven feet tall, at the least. Even more disconcerting than his height was how impossibly thin he was, as if he had been stretched out like a piece of taffy. His spindly arms and legs moved like a spider's, with lightning quick jerks and countless little twitches. He was dressed in a black tuxedo, all stream lined and exquisitely cut. He almost looked like butler. If the butler was Lurch, from the Adams Family, anyways.

It was his face that stopped the breath in my lungs and sent an icy chill running down my spine. It was best described as a mess of raw meat, all puckered scars and oozing open wounds, clumsy rows of stitches patching together a semblance of a face. His mouth was little more than a crooked gash, a lopsided hole in his face, from which rows of sharp little teeth and a fat, red wet tongue peered. His eyes were the most disconcerting part of his visage, however. They peered out from behind heavy, hooded lids, and didn't seem to stare straight into your soul so much as tear open your chest and nestle in the bloody cavity. They were two different colors; the right one bloodshot, with the iris unnaturally huge, taking up nearly his entire eye, and blacker than anything I had ever seen before. The left was milky white and clouded, and I might have thought it was blind if it weren't for the way it stared directly at me, unblinkingly, silently judging.

"Oh, how charming," he purred. Though his swollen tongue flopped uselessly in his mouth as his sharp little teeth gnashed without any semblance of speech, his voice was disconcertingly sweet, with a refined lilting tone, as if he was just about to break into song. "Our dear Cheshire Cat, holding his pretty little savior in his arms. You two make quite a picturesque image, you know."

"Jabberwocky," The Cat said, plastering a huge, painful looking smile onto his face. "And how are you doing this fine morning? You look in poor shape; still falling apart at the seams, I see."

"I do so love your bravado, Cheshire. It makes you almost pitiable," the Jabberwocky replied genially. He gave a sudden wet snort, and something that might have been a smile pulled his lips back, exposing his predator teeth. "I can smell your fear. It's sweet, and ripe. I can't wait to sink my teeth into it."

"You have a little something oozing right here," The Cat said, motioning to the corner of his mouth. He gently set me down, and stepped in front of me, partially blocking the Jabberwocky from my view.

"Now what is the occasion that honors me with your present, my pungent lord? I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess it's probably not for afternoon tea."

"Quite right, my dear Cheshire. I'm afraid I've been sent to... reprimand you. I see you've retrieved Miss Alice, as instructed, but it would appear that you are going in entirely the wrong direction to return her to our Majesty the Queen, as were your orders," the Jabberwocky intoned in a voice of helpful innocence.

"The Queen sent you, did she?" The Cat said in mock interest. "I'm not surprised. What a loyal little lap dog you are! If you wouldn't mind telling the Queen for me, I'm terribly sorry but I'm afraid I've got some prior engagements to see after. Right when I've finished taking care of those errands, I'll just toddle myself back up to the Queen's Palace and hand over the girl, promise!" With every other word, the Cat took a tiny step backwards, away from the Jabberwocky, and increasing the distance between me the monstrosity as well.

"Ah, errands. Such a shame. Perhaps I can help. If I simply tear your heart from your chest here and now, you shan't have to worry about running any errands ever again."

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass," the Cat smiled weakly. "Now if you don't mind-"

"Oh, but I do," the Jabberwocky said, and suddenly a long, thin sword was in his hand, drawn so quickly I hadn't even seen the action, and pointed at the Cat's heart.

"I admit I was rather hoping to avoid this," the Cat frowned.

"Hand over the girl, Traitor, and I promise I'll kill you before I feast."

"I think that 'feasting' bit is a tad bit unnecessary, whether I'm dead or alive," the Cat complained lightly. "Besides, I'm not armed. You wouldn't attack an unarmed man, would you?"

"Yes, I would," the Jabberwocky replied, and he lunged at the Cat, thrusting his blade with deadly precision. I screamed in warning a second too late, but the Cat had already shoved me forcibly to the side and blocked the Jabberwocky's sword with one of his own, drawn from god knows where, with a millisecond to spare.

"You're damn lucky I'm a liar, or else you'd have quite a mess to xplain to Alice here. She's quite sensitive, you know," he grunted, parrying the Jabberwocky's blow with difficulty.

"Cat!" I shouted, scrambling to my feet. He had to run, I wanted to tell him to forget about me, to run, to flee into the forest of else the Jabberwocky would kill him--"He could have killed me then and there..."--but he never gave me the chance to.

"Alex, run! Get out of here, the Forest will protect you! Run as fast and as hard as you can! Go!" he shouted, without turning to look at me. The Jabberwocky lashed out again, and the Cat only barely dodged the jabbing tip of the sword. The Cat made to strike back, but he swung too wide and the Jabberwocky reached beneath his outstretched arm and sliced the fabric of the Cat's purple suit.

"But Cat-" I began, frantically, unable to take my eyes off the battle.

"No! I won't die in vain, Alex! Run!" he roared, and those words sent me spinning on my heel and running into the forest, as hard and as fast as I could.