M e s s a g e 3 8

[curiousher]

[The first thing anyone sees, even before the person posting...is a little pig, in one of the tea rooms. It snuffles and sniffles and sweeps the room for signs of danger, and once it is satisfied it trots away.

Then in a blink, Alice is standing in the middle of the room, pig cradled in her arms. And for the first time ever on the network, her face has wide blue eyes. She's a bit frantic, but otherwise unharmed.]

I think I'm starting to get used to doing that on purpose... Ah, hello everyone! It's...been some time, hasn't it?

[Even Alice can't seem to hide the fact that it's rather awkward to suddenly have eyes when she did not before. The pig squirms and she lets it down, as she's discovered it's wisest to listen to what the Duchess' pig wants.]

I'm so sorry to interrupt everything, but I need to warn you all! Something-- something terrible is going to happen soon! I don't want to cause anyone alarm, but it may very well be the worst thing that's ever happened to you.

[It's all distressing, and Alice crouches down to the pig's level so she can play with it's ears absently as she talks. It lets her.]

I'm afraid I still can't explain how I know, and the details are...rather distressing. But I promise, I'd never lie to all of you! I could never!

[She's adamant about that much at least. Even if her message isn't clear, there's more clarity in the way she speaks about it - she understands the importance of these messages now, in a way she'd forgotten for so long.]

Please, everyone. Take care of yourselves this weekend. I think it may be all you can do.

Comments

[postictal]

How long were you alone?

[She really is just a kid. He knows that she's just...just a kid. No matter how long she's been here, Wonderland is a strange place. It warps you. It weighs on you. And maybe it keeps you from growing the way you should, in more ways than one.]

[A kid shouldn't be left on the Mirror Side alone. Ever.]

[curiousher]

[She actually has to think about it.]

I was there...for five years, I think. I hid in the vents and stole food, so no one would find me and report me to the Queen of Hearts. By the time I was found, everyone I still knew in Wonderland was gone. No one knew who I was.

[Stories eventually stopped being passed down to new arrivals, and poor missing Alice was forgotten about.]

[postictal]

So is that when...the people started showing up? People like us?

[People she's tried to help for - maybe years now?]

[curiousher]

[She shakes her head.]

No, people like you have shown up for...hundreds of years. I came here more than one hundred and fifty years ago. The people I knew then just...they couldn't bring me back. Eventually they must have stopped trying, and...well, you know people go back to their homes all the time. After five years, there was no one who remembered I was over there.

[postictal]

[Is five years just the average lifespan? Or was it just chance? People have been here for longer than that, haven't they? Alice has. But then - Alice is pretty unique in a lot of ways. Maybe she's not the best metric for this sort of thing.]

...Alice.

[Is he asking her questions to pry? Is he doing what Jay has? Is he truly and honestly no better than that?]

[Or does he just pardon himself with the excuse that he's never going to be better than that?]

Do you know if...were the other residents ever...like you, do you think? People with lives, until Wonderland took them away?

[curiousher]

I...I'm not sure. Maybe? They come and go as well, so it's hard to keep track. There used to be a Hatter and Hare around as well, and the White Rabbit...and some of the ones we have now weren't always here.

[It isn't very comforting though, and Alice doesn't look particularly happy to be relaying this information.]

Even so, I don't think there's anything special about me. That is to say...I think it could happen to anyone, if they were here long enough.

[postictal]

Even the stuff with the...with your eyes?

[George had said she must be the exception, and he hates himself all the more for prying. Is this George? Is this Jay? Is this just him, being him?]

[God, she deserves better than this.]

[curiousher]

[Alice shrugs sadly. She wishes she had better answers for him.]

I've never heard of someone losing their eyes that way before me, but...I wouldn't rule it out. Not so long as the Queen of Hearts is still in power.

[postictal]

[All right. So he's given her question after question. Maybe now it's time to offer her some answers in turn.]

Me and...it was a bunch of us. We went to the Core. Got the Red Queen out from where she was trapped.

[curiousher]

Really!

[She's genuine in her curiosity though, and rests her chin in her hands.]

That was awfully kind of you. Though...she was keeping the Jabberwocky locked away, wasn't she? Did it get out as well, or is it still inside?

[postictal]

No idea.

[He honestly wishes he could give her a better answer than that. His eyes flick closed briefly as he grimaces.]

She said she was the only one who made it out at the moment, but...no confirmation on whether that's gonna stay the case. [She sounds - well, maybe the Red Queen is a little more favorable in Alice's eyes (har har, wow, he's a despicable human being) than the Queen of Hearts.] Is she...better than the Queen of Hearts?

[curiousher]

Hm...I'd like to think so. They're sisters, but she's a much more sensible person - and a better queen, in all honesty.

[Sense is a good thing for a monarch to have, and something the Queen of hearts could stand to have more of.]

[postictal]

What about...

[God, he really is no better than Jay, huh? He was supposed to be giving her something approaching answers, but instead he's just asking her more fucking questions. Still, he doesn't want to leave the thread dangling there if he can help it. So he presses ahead.]

What about the White Queen?

[curiousher]

I never knew her. She died before I came here, though people were very sad about it when it happened. I heard she was very nice though...

[Alice would have liked to meet her, if she could have.]

[postictal]

[So she's dead. But then...]

Everyone thought the Red Queen was dead too, right? I mean, the way people talked about her, it sounded like she was.

[curiousher]

[Alice shrugs. She's not quite sure herself.]

I don't think anyone really knew what the Core would do to her.

[postictal]

She was down there for kind of a while. I mean, that can't have been...you know, good for her.

[Core light is probably bad for your s...skin...?]

[And your memories. Those too. But he's not sure if residents like her would be immune.]

[curiousher]

No, I suppose not...I really wouldn't know though. The Queens are a bit different than you and I. It would absolutely destroy us, even being in there for a moment. But...I don't know. Did she seem okay?

[Alice has no idea, but this really is concerning.]

[postictal]

I guess she...seemed fine? When I opened the door one of my memories, it...but I mean, she got it back for me. But it's not like any of us really knew her from before, y'know?

[None of them have a reliable metric in regards to how the Red Queen...works.]

[curiousher]

That makes sense...

[She perks up though, and smiles.]

Well! I suppose it's up to me then! If I see her and she seems different than how I remember her, I'll be sure to let you know. Okay?

[postictal]

Okay. Yeah.

[God help him he just wants to keep this girl safe.]

You...stay safe, yeah?

[curiousher]

[Alice nods.]

I'll do my best to.

[postictal]

Thanks, Alice.

[And for a hair of a moment, she gets a tiny, terse flicker of something that's almost a smile. Whatever she might call it, it's grateful.]