It's All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses Their Mind

“The queen, she found out what I could do with some of my hats…” I answered, grinding my teeth as the annoyance rose within me once again. When the queen took prisoners, she made sure they never forgot their capture.

Jefferson and I had fallen into a simple yet lovely routine. We took turns spending the day with each other, alternating between wandering in the forest to find his fungi with the occasional spontaneous dive behind bushes, and spending the day in my workshop where he would admire my hands as I crafted new hats for him to try on. Whenever a market was being held, we would arrive together and Jefferson helped me set up my stall before he ran over to help his friends sell the food they had gathered, returning near the end of the day to help me carry my unsold items back to my home.

We had created our own little world of joy where we couldn’t be disturbed, or so I thought until the queen’s guards stormed towards me on their horses. They surrounded my stall and scared away my customers before frightening me into a corner with their gigantic swords. Trapped and helpless, I was thrown on the back of a horse and taken away, looking back to see other guards carelessly packing away my precious hats.

The guard shoved me off his horseback before escorting me through the castle to a room where the queen was awaiting me. I automatically bent at the knees to curtsey, bowing my head and hoping I was showing the queen enough respect, despite the fact she had shown me none by her method of apprehending me.

“I heard a little rumour that you’re very good at making hats,” Queen Regina remarked as she looked me over, seemingly disapproving of my appearance.

“Thank you, your majesty. I have actually sold you a couple of hats before,” I replied. We were interrupted by a few pairs of feet thumping into the room and I turned to see some of her guards emptying containers of my hats they had gathered at my stall. I winced at how rough they were being handled, wishing the men understood the proper care requirements of a good hat.

“Is that so? Can’t say I have many hats,” the queen dismissed my statement with a tiny wave of her hand. I gulped, wanting to ask why she had brought me and my hats here, but I knew better than to step out of line. Besides, I had an inkling that the answer wouldn’t be something I wanted to hear. She strode over to the pile of hats on the cold floor and lifted one, slowly rotating it before her dark eyes. “You’ll have to make me more one day.”

“Of course, your majesty,” I agreed. I clenched my fists into the side of my skirt, hoping that was all she wanted to ask of me and the rest was simply her being dramatic and flaunting her power.

“Tell me, does this hat open portals?” Regina questioned. Her calm expression turned sinister as she glared at me. I could feel my face pale and my eyes grow wide.

“I beg your pardon?” I stammered.

“Don’t even try to lie to me,” she spat, seeing through my attempt to pretend I knew nothing. Afraid of her magic, I decided to speak the truth.

“No, it doesn’t,” I answered and Regina let the hat fall to the floor, creating a dent in its side.

“Which ones do?” she demanded, staring at the pile.

“I don’t know- None of those ones, I don’t think,” I uttered quickly, my heart rate only heightening when Regina frowned upon me.

“I want one of your magical hats,” she stated and I rose my shoulders in half a shrug.

“I- I honestly don’t know how I make them, they just sometimes work, and they only last one trip,” I tried to explain to her. Her unforgiving expression showed me I wasn’t fairing well and I winced. “I’m telling the truth, I swear it, your majesty. I don’t understand the magic, this gift I’ve been given.” She narrowed her eyes and walked towards me, squashing one of my hats with her heel along her way.

“Do you know your way around the other worlds?” she asked, tilting her head slightly backwards to ensure she continued to look down on me.

“Yes.” The word came out as a squeak. I was almost trembling from the uncertainty of what magic she might inflict upon me.

“If I asked you to retrieve something for me, from one of these other lands, could you do it?” the queen wondered and I gave a minuscule shrug.

“I could try?” I offered as an answer, aware it would be a mistake to promise her something and then fail to deliver. “The hats have rules, and these other worlds have rules… I might not be able to return with what you desire.”

“But you could try,” Regina stated with a smirk that made sure I understood she was ordering me.

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Very well. The next time you find one of your hats has magic, travel to Wonderland. I need you to retrieve a box from the Queen of Hearts for me,” Regina explained while turning on her heel and striding across to one of her dressers. She reached inside one of the top drawers and returned to me with an amethyst necklace. “This will glow brighter the closer you are to the correct box. Do not open the box, simply bring it back to me.”

“I will do my best, your majesty,” I said as she handed the necklace over. It was a simple design, a small stone encased with silver to match the chain.

“Your reward for not speaking of this to another soul, as well as for being successful, will be tremendous. You would even be able to stop working for the rest of your life,” Regina promised. I glanced over to the pile of hats and smiled.

“I could never stop making hats.”

“She tricked you, didn’t she?” she asked and my brow creased.

“No. She was honest, which I didn’t expect from an evil queen,” I admitted. She sensed I wished to move on with the story.

“So tell me about Wonderland!” she exclaimed. I took in a reluctant breath.

“I hate Wonderland…” I muttered.