Shadowlands X: through the looking glass (and what alice actually found there)

"Tweedledum and Tweedledee1

Agreed to have a battle2

For Tweedledum said Tweedledee3

Had broken his new rattle"4

Says the nursery rhyme quoted by Charles, or it says something like that at least. Charles went on to tell of how a giant crow flew up and scared them so that they forgot their quarrel. At which point they ran away.5

However he does not go into the details of how Tweetledee had used it to strike his dearest niece over the head with the great noisy mace. Nor does he go into detail of how he sent his beloved alice back into my care for the second time.6

But fortunately, through my own nightmares and what little fragments Miss Liddell can remember, I have reassembled it for your enjoyment.7

Alice looked over at the chessboard a few feet from where she sat in a chair in front of a warm fire.8

The board had been in disarray after her game, and was further scrambled by the black kitten who pawed at the marble pieces demurely. She had narrowly escaped a cleaning from her mother, at the cost of her white sister, who now sat mewing with an ear pinned to the ground.9

"Do stop that Dinah," Alice scholded in her perpetually sweet demeanor, "You've been cleaning her face for an hour. We played a whole game of chess while her sister and I watched. I daresay your daughters coculd both be taught chess by the time you finished cleaning them each day."10

She looked at the black kitten, who was gnawing on the queen. "This little devil has already made her strategy." She picked the kitten up by its neck and carried it to a mirror. "Look at that," she cooed to the kitten. "A whole other world on the other side. I wonder if they've a fire in the other room. It's like some forgotten dream," I think she was talking to me.11

As she watched herself in the glass, she did not hear the muffled scream of her uncle, as his mind was consumed by a haunt for the second time. It had waited for his pain medication to kick in, reducing the struggle.12

She did not see him as he approached from behind. His fingers came up a little, threading through her hair. He pushed suddenly forward, and her forehead slammed into the glass. Alice stumbled through the mirror and watched the reflection who had just switched places with her.13

She was a pretty blond girl like alice, who liked wearing twirly dresses. She seemed to fancy blue, like the real Alice.14

Unlike Alice, she had a bit of a problem. Alice, being the darling girl she is could not figure out what had caused it, but knew there should not be blood streaming down the reflection's face. If only she could see her more clearly through the spider web of glass, but the reflection could not be moved. So she stayed there, slumped against the other side of the mirror.15

"Oh what a confusion it will be when they come and see her. They'll think it's me and I will shout, 'No dear sister, I'm in the mirror, that's my reflection,' she must have tripped on a chess piece. I will have a word with Dinah about her messy children when I come back." She started to walk but stopped short. "But perhaps they won't hear me. That would be a shame. I've never heard my reflection shout, no matter how hard she tries."16

She looked at her motionless reflection again, "Well you must be a sturdy girl, you've hit your head and you don't thing anything of it at all."17

The rest of the story is vague in my mind, but C L Dodgson tells it well enough for the two of us. Up until the point where she met the Queen.18

It was not, in fact, the Red Queen she met, but a messenger in a disguise, sent to lure her over to the brothers Tweedle.19

I was on the other side of a stream, when I saw the rift open up to let her soul into the realm of shadows and spirits. I had been dreaming of another spirit appearing for some time, and so I was not surprised, or unprepared.20

When I saw the rift open, I summoned a crow from a nearby murder. I blessed it, and it grew into a monstrous shadowy bird.21

Alice awoke amongst the fragments of a giant ceramic rattle, to the shouts of "I found her, so I bring her to the queen."22

"Dee you idiot! It was my mace what took her down, and to repay my loss, I get to take her. I'm willing to give you some credit," Dum crossed his arms and tilted his chin up.23

"I don't care what you, my my, what is that wind?" Dee proclaimed. He turned away from his brother.24

"The hot air you're blowing no doubt," retorted Dum, turning his way and facing the other.25

"I see a giant black thing, let's leave, if it leaves and we're still alive, i'll gladly share her, I gave the work, you gave the rattle."26

"Contrariwise, if we die, I'll split the blame, I did the work, you spoilt the rattle!" Dum replied, and they ran off in a hurry.27

Alice lay motionless on the ground, taking in the wonderful dream. She did not want to attract the crow's intrest. She accepted everything in her own normal way.28

She had no difficulty thinking of it as another 'real' which she had not yet met. She accepted everything in stride.29

Then she saw my face. My smooth pale face of sharp features and soft skin. She looked into my deep remorseful eyes. Her disbelief slowly faded into the knowledge of where she really was.30

Upon seeing me for the first time in five years -of her life- she began screaming. I tried to hold her still as she pushed away from me.31

She tried denying my existence, hoping that if she just looked away I wouldn't be there, and the horrors of a long forgotten dream would not return.32

But sadly, it was not a dream. It was very real, and I was very there.33

"No! It's not real!" she screamed at me as I wrapped her up more tightly in my arms. "You don't exist, you're just a story my uncle told me, you're just a dream! You never existed!" Her words were like venom in my ears. She meant everything to me, and it broke my heart that the only way to be happy, was to bring her here.34

I held her as she struggled in hysteria. If I wasn't careful, she might hurt herself, or I might hurt her.35

Eventually she gave up, and remained quite still and catatonic, sobbing gently in my arms.36

"You shouldn't cry so much you silly girl," she scholded herself. She looked up at me and gave a halfhearted smile, accompioning it with a weak chuckle, nearly drowned out by the sharp intake of breath assosciated with recovering from tears.37

After a minute or two she smiled more reasuringly, and squeezed my hand. "I suppose Vix will be happy to see me? How is he?"38

"Don't know," I said, "He disappeared in the cardhouse when you left, never saw him again."39

"That's sad, I'm sure he'll show. It's nice seeing you again," she gave my hand another squeeze.40

"Don't lie Alice, your reaction was deserved. I can't blame you for how you feel. I'm happy to see you again, but i'm so sorry I couldn't keep my promise."41

"You needn't worry about it. I'm sorry I reacted the way I did, but I'm still glad that you're here. What's that?" Her head turned. I vanished instantly.