Mirror Dreams

The door to the Tweedle's house was small and round and the colour of the grass. It was built into the bank of the stream that Jodie now called a river. Inside it was round like a rabbits warren and had minimal decorations in only four colours; red, green, white and blue. But despite the bareness it was still very homely and Jodie was glad to get in to the warmth that glowed from a small fire in the corner.

“Here, go and change into this; you’ll catch your death if you stay in those wet things,” Dee said, handing Jodie some clothes to put on. She hadn’t realised how wet she was, her clothes had shrunk with her body but now after a good soaking in the river, Jodie's jeans were starting to feel heavy and uncomfortable. She went into the bedroom that Dee directed her to and replaced her wet clothes with the clean dry ones that she had been given. It was a red gingham pinafore. Jodie couldn’t remember the last time she’d worn a dress, preferring to live in jeans and t-shirt; but, she reminded herself, beggars can’t be choosers and it was very kind of Dee to lend it to her. She went back into the living quarters where Dum handed Jodie her white plimsolls that had dried off quickly next to the warm fire.

“Would you like a cake dear?” asked Dee, offering her a plate.

“Oh yes please. I'm ravenous, I feel like I haven’t eaten in a year!” exclaimed Jodie as she took one of the butterfly cakes offered to her. The cake looked like an average butterfly cake except it was sprinkled with rainbow dust instead of the normal white icing sugar. Jodie gobbled up the small cake in two bites. She was starving and decided to have another. She reached over to the plate but noticed that the cakes had shrunk in size, in fact the whole room had. Was. It was shrinking rapidly. Soon Jodie's head hit the earth ceiling; but it didn’t stop there, it burst through to the ground above and startled a bird searching for worms. Jodie's right foot got slightly burnt as it put the fire out, her left foot smashed straight through the beautiful round door. She clawed herself some space in the grass and climbed out of the house. A sad sight met her eyes as she looked down, the furniture was broken and lying all over the place and clods of earth muddied the clean floor. But the worst part was two cracked eggs lying where Dum and Dee had been sitting. Jodie realised that in her sudden growth spurt and whilst clambering out of their house she had managed to murder the poor Tweedles.

“Oh what shall I do? If only I had some glue. Oh why weren’t they hard boiled.”

Jodie fretted and moaned until a blast from a horn made her look up. Racing across the grass towards her from one direction was a black king, two black knights and eight black pawns; and from the other direction was a similar group in white. The two kings spotted each other and urged their party on to be the first to reach the Tweedle's house. They arrived breathless at the same time.

The two kings hopped towards each other (for they had no legs, just a single stump).

“Now look here -” began the black king.

“Prithee tell why thou ist -” the white king spoke.

“You first,” gestured the black king politely. The white king looked towards one of the white knights and it hoped forward, bearing a scroll which it unrolled and began to read aloud from,

“Thine beloved white queen hast bequested her beloved white king and his horses and men to thee residence of thee Tweedles Dum and Dee where it hast occurred that they be cracked in two. Thine beloved white queen hast -”

“Oh get on with it will you fellow,” interrupted the black king. Looking a bit put out, the white knight carried on with more hast,

“...bequested that we shallt endeavour to put them together again.”

A black knight then came forward bearing a similar scroll with his tale of why they were there.

“Fellows, our queen has heard of the breaking up of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee and wishes that we be the ones to bring them together again. We will be rewarded with plenty of mead.”

At this a loud cheer erupted from the black pawns. Then all the knights and pawns piled into the house of the Tweedles. What good will these useless chess pieces do, thought Jodie as she watched from the side in dismay as the horses hooves crushed the shells even more and the pawns sat down to eat the butterfly cakes. Soon a white pawn and a black pawn came back to where the two kings stood conversing quietly.

“Ahem, alas it twould seem that we are unable to prevail.” The white pawn informed the white king.

“We can’t fix them. End of.” The black pawn said to the black king in their abrupt manner of speaking.

“Oh dear; no mead for us.” The black king replied despondently.

“Alas, what shalt thine beloved thinkst of me.” The white king said glumly.

“What shallst thou bade us do?” asked the white pawn.

“Hast thou tried superglue?” the white king answered.

“Oh for goodness sake!” Jodie interrupted. All the chess pieces turned to stare, noticing her for the first time. “Didn’t you hear? ‘All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn’t put Humpty together again.’”

“Humpty? What’s wrong with that fine fellow now? I’m having him bled, baked and glazed at this very moment. He shall never break again!” The black king said, not getting the meaning of the rhyme.

“Oh I do give up!”

And Jodie stalked away, leaving the chess pieces huddled around the hole in the roof of Dee and Dum’s house.