I was gobsmacked.
"YOU WHAT?" Chess, Queenie, The Dormouse and I cried in unision.
"Its all quite simple really" The Hatter laughed. "Where is the last place you would think to look." We all thought hard. And suddenly it dawned on me.
"Oh my god," I breathed. "It can't be!"
"What?" Chess cried. "WHAT?"
"If she's not in Underland," I began. "Then she can only be-"
"Oh my god!" Queenie cried.
"UP THERE!" Chess cried. The Hatter clapped.
"And I know exactly where as well. Were were you when you came here?" My eyes widened.
"That old castle?" Queenie asked. "But its all in ruins! And we toured it all!"
"Not all of it," I muttered. "Remember all those old passages he missed?"
"I don't believe this!" Chess cried.
"But how do we get up there?" I asked.
"That I can answer," The Dormouse said. She stepped forward shyly.
"My mother was an enchantress, and she can make a brew with the same effect as the Jabberwocky blood. I could help."
"Brilliant idea Mallympkin!" The Hatter cried. He was obviously getting excited.
"We have to go at once!" I cried. The Dormouse brought out a small vial. The Hatter poured a little into three cups and we each recieved one. I hesitated at first. Then I raised the cup to my lips. But the Hatter stopped me. We all paused.
"Wait a minute. I have something to tell you. Carlotta will be watching you. She had spies. Never find yourselves alone."
"But we're together," Queenie said. "That's not alone."
"Yes but you are all aware of the situation. You need to be with someone else for your own safety. Be careful. Oh and one more thing," he pulled a few things out of his pocket. "Just in case," he said. He handed Chess a bright blue collar.
"Wow!" she said. "I could wear it as a necklace!"
"I never wore it anyway," said the Cheshire cat appearing from nowhere. Chess hugged him. At first he looked startled, but he began to purr. Queenie was handed an intricately decorated tea cup.
"Oh its beautiful!" she cried. I gazed at it. It was so delicately made, fit for any queen. “Finally for Hatter,” he said. He pulled out a golden pocket watch, beautifully made.
“Its beautiful,” I fingered it lovingly. Finally it was time to go. I took off my hat and handed it to him. He pushed it back.
“Keep it on,” he whispered. With one last wave, we raised the cups to our lips.
I opened my eyes to see a blue sky, with birds tweeting and clouds floating by. I sat up and brushed myself off. I was back in uniform! I looked at Chess and Queenie, who were grinning. We’d made it! Next to us were our gifts, and something else. Chess had a cat eared headband. Queenie had a crown. I had my hat. We suddenly heard footsteps and stuffed the things in our bags. It was Mr Greyham.
“Girls! Where have you been? We thought we’d lost you!”
“We went to the toilet sir,” Queenie said cool as cucumber. “We got a bit lost though.” Clever Queenie. Never fails when it comes to excuses. He tutted.
“Well it’s time to go now. Come on.” Chess frowned at me. ‘We’ll be back’ I mouthed. We got onto the bus in silence. Casie seemed to be avoiding us. All the better in my opinion. Once again we sat at the back. We sat quietly at the back for a bit, but I couldn't resist a quick peek. I looked at my hat from inside the bag. To my suprise, inside was a note. It read this:
Dearest Hatter, Chess and Queenie.
Ring, ring those bells of nostalgia!
Hello. Already everyone here is missing you terribly. We miss you! We understand that it is risky to write to you, but will we be put off by this risk? Most certainly not. Watch do those eyes of our enemies, but we aren't fussed. You may fear for us, but do not be worried friends. The things you worry about are completely irrational. Don't fear the spies that you imagine to be lurking around every new corner. Are you keeping well? The dangerous risk of obesity is now everywhere. Be happy for yourselves, today is a good day. You're careful still of dangers, but celebrate the smaller things in life. And frabjous day, caloo, calley! That's just a small thing. Watchful are the eyes of the jabberwockey.
Once again, ring ring go those bells!
Truly,
Tarrant.
Chess and Queenie read over my shoulder.
"What was that about?" Chess asked.
"The Sebald code," I muttered. "A secret code used by V.F.D that starts and ends with the ringing of a bell. A code word is placed between every ten words.
(Author's note: Although you probably can work it out I shall reveal the message:
Hello. We will watch you. The spies are everywhere. Careful and watchful.)
"Ah," Queenie said as she worked out the code.
"But how does he know that code?" I asked aloud. "It's from a Lemony Snicket book!"
"Maybe he's been reading up!" Chess laughed. I sketched all the way home, mainly fragments from our adventures. When we got back to school my Mum picked me up.
"How was the trip?" she asked.
"Ok" I said bluntly. Talking to my family has never been my strong point. Today was no different. The first thing I did was go straight up to my room. I put my bag on the foot of my bed and flopped on my bed. My bed was the softest in the house, and my duvet and pillow were so squishy it was impossible not to lose yourself in it. My duvet was black with silver stars. I lay on the bed and gazed at my room. It seemed like forever since I'd been in it. I stared at my jack the pumpkin king poster. I went over to my shelf and looked at my jack figurine and my Emily Doll. I ran through my Tim Burton DVD's.
The nightmare before christmas,
Sweeney Todd,
Beetlejuice,
Planet of the Apes,
Corpse Bride,
Edward Scissorhands, back to
The Nightmare Before Christmas again. I pulled hat out of my bag and placed it on my head. Then I put it in my chest of drawers that I never use. I lay down and swung the pocket watch in front of me, to and fro, to and fro. I heard the steady tick, tick tick tick...
tick, tick, tick, tick...
I slowly opened my eyes. It was dark now. I glanced at the pocket watch. It was ten o'clock. At night! Why had no one woken me up? All the same, I slipped out from under my covers and went into the bathroom. I ran a bath as quietly as I could, and slipped in. The steam rose from the bath, and the warm water was incredibly soothing. I ran the shampoo through my hair, I hadn't realised how greasy it was. Afterwards I got into my black nightdress and went back to bed. Dreams of the white queen swirled around in my mind.
