Down the Rabbit Hole

Chapter 15

Cheshire

While they started taking pictures I decided to hide in the portal trees branches and wait for my chance. It felt right to wait here and if today was the day that Alice was to return to Wonderland then I needed to be close to the portal. I could almost guarantee that Alice would be drawn here and knowing how often her family dismissed her I knew she'd come alone.
I waited patiently as they took pose after pose in those outfits. I'm still amazed that they found an almost exact replica of that dress from 20 years ago. I can still remember her clearly from that day, when she was only a sweet innocent child. A lifetime of events have already passed for her, but to me it only felt like a single grain of sand passing through an never-ending hour glass. I watched as she smiled and posed with her brother and cousin, but her smile never quite reached her eyes unless they were making jokes or doing silly poses. I still remember that game of hide and seek that brought her to our world and I can't help but grin. My smile doesn't last long as I remember how badly I had broken my promise to her. Poor sweet Alice has had to face so much without knowing the full story of who she is and where she comes from. She needed me and I failed her. I plan to make up for my short comings. She deserves to have this world on their damned knees for her. I'd burn this retched magic less side and keep her safe in Wonderland if she asked me. I paused a moment, shocked I was having such violent thoughts, but I guess after hundreds of years letting my anger stew at my own failures was having a greater affect on me than I originally thought. Who knew how Hatter was going to react once he hears how she's been treated over the years. He may portal travel just to enact his own version of justice for how his claimed half was treated. Claimed half's were protective enough when their person had a normal childhood, Hatter would need a damned good reason to stay on his side.
I wasn't paying attention to the family anymore when I heard Alice and Jack sit down on the bench that surrounded the tree.
"This is never going to get easier." Alice looks out over the yard at her Aunt and cousin looking through the cameras pictures. That bit of magic still baffles me.
"There may be a reason for that. If your patient a bit longer then we may have some answers." Jack lowered his voice almost like what he said was a secret. I know from my own research that he'll never find concrete proof of Wonderland's existence. I am curious to see what he's been able to dig up though. He may not be an heir, but he is a clever young man.
"Enough Jack. We're never going to get the answers we want. Look at me, it's been 20 years and no one has actually listened to me once. You guys may hear what I'm saying, but you're not really listening to me. And this little photo shoot proves it. After this trip I don't think I'm coming back to the farm. Too much has happened here. When we go home, I'm done. The drawings of the characters and the weird ass dreams. It's too painful. It's time to figure out my life away from this. I'm done." I hear her sniffle as she starts to cry. Jack says nothing, only pats her knee before Lorraine calls him into the house to help with the pictures. I hear their mother talking with their father about them starting lunch together with Tilly.
"Hang in there Alice. Things will get better, trust me. I have a plan." He pats her knee a final time before he leaves to go into the house.
Once alone Alice puts her face in her hands and starts to cry harder. I quietly hop down the branches and sit beside her, I want to reach out and comfort her but I don't want to scare her. When she finally notices me she wipes the tears from her eyes and says.
"You must be the new barn cat. Thank you for keeping my favorite horse company. Though I'd guess you get more from that deal. You should know that everyone here is bat shit crazy and I may be the queen of crazy. Especially since I'm talking to a cat thinking you can understand me." She smiles sadly and wipes more tears away.
"Well I may be the bearer of good news for once in a very long time. I'm sorry I've been away for so long little Alice, but that's a tale to be shared over tea and let's not leave out Hatter. He's been so anxious for you to return." I watch her face turn pale and she looks like she's going to faint.
"Easy Alice. Deep breaths. I know this is a lot to take in again, but you need to breathe." She just stares at me with her mouth hanging open slightly. I wait patiently as her breathing starts to return to normal and she gets a bit of color back to her face.
"Did I die? Or did something fall on my head again and this is another medically induced coma? Cheshire isn't real. Hatter is a figment of my imagination. You're all made up. Not real. You're not real. Fuck, I did die. I died in this stupid dress because of course I did." I gently lay my paws on her lap and flex my claws so she could feel it, but it wouldn't break the skin. I hope that will ground her enough for her to understand that she's not gone mad yet.
"I assure you my dear, you're not dead. Can you feel the tips of my claws on your skin? If you can feel that then you should know you're not dead or dreaming. We are as real as you are and no you didn't get another head injury. I wouldn't be able to speak to you if you were in a coma. I'm real and yes I'm really back. Though I am sorry I was gone for so long, again another long story to be told over tea." She stares at me silent a moment before she starts to laugh. Only there's no humor in it. I can hear a mix of pain and madness as she stares at me laughing.
"So I finally went down the rabbit hole and lost my mind. Guess cracking my head open 20 years ago took awhile to catch up to me. Or maybe this has all been just my own personal journey to Hell. Took 20 years of torture but I guess the Devil finally got bored toying with me. So are you a demon here to walk me to my own personal fire pit of eternity?" She starts to gently pet me and I try to keep my facial expression neutral.
"Well, you may believe you lost your mind, but I can assure you that I'm not a demon. I'm your bloodlines guardian. We meet 20 years ago in Wonderland at the Hatter's tea table. You had scraped your left knee and ended up in the Bandersnatch's part of the woods. We had tea and we played games. The March Hare lost all the games you taught us. Need I go on?" She stares at me, her face unreadable until she grabs the scruff of my neck. I don't fight her grip on me, I know full well I deserve any punishment she decides to lay upon me. I brace myself waiting for the pain to start.
To my surprise she hugs me close to her and starts to cry harder.
"Cheshire. You're real. You're all real! Where the fuck have you been? I thought I was crazy. I tried to come back, but I couldn't get through. You promised you'd be back. Why'd you leave me?" I nuzzle into the embrace for a moment before I answer her.
"I'm so sorry Alice. After I went home somehow the magic weaved a sleeping spell over Wonderland. We've all been asleep until just over a week ago. Dormouse said you woke him up and he gave you a prediction. Since I woke up I've been trying to find where you were and then I had to figure out how to approach you without completely freaking you out. Also because Jack and Lorraine wouldn't hear my actual voice they'd only hear a normal cats meow." She nods against me but doesn't let me go yet.
"How'd you find me again? If we hadn't been here then I'd be back at my apartment and that's in  Willow's Grove and that's a 14 hour car ride from here."
"Hatter said you've been dream walking. I'm sure he would have eventually asked where to find you." She finally loosens her grip on me and looks into my eyes.
"You'll have to explain dream walking to me later, but for now take me to Hatter. I need to see him." I laugh then gently wiggle out of her grip to look around the tree.
"What're you looking for Cheshire?" She looks in the same direction as me as she asks.
"I'm making sure we're alone. Portal travel is hard to explain especially with the time difference between our worlds. One moment you're sitting under the tree and the next your gone, but with another blink of the eyes you're back again. You got lucky no one was around last time." She scoffs.
"Nothing about coming back last time I would call lucky." After one last peek around the yard and at the house I'm satisfied that no one will see us leave or travel back.
"I know. Butterscotch told me all about the time that I missed while I was gone, you'll have to fill in the blanks while you were away from the farm, but I know the important details." She doesn't say anything as she places her hand on my back and I place my paws on the trunk.
"Hold on. And don't let go."

Alice

I finally had the proof that I wasn't crazy. Even though no one else would believe me, I didn't care. I had proof for myself I wasn't crazy. I remember how I got home last time so I closed my eyes after placed my hand on Cheshire's back and let him lead me through the portal. I wasn't sure if I was ever going to come home and after today I didn't know if I wanted to go back.
My eyes were still closed when I felt my surroundings change.
"Open your eyes Alice. And welcome back to your ancestral world, Wonderland." 
Slowly I open my eyes and I remember the last time I crossed only the woods looked bigger and more menacing.
"Don't worry. As long as you stay on the path you won't have to worry about running into a Bandersnatch. And with Time still sleeping, no matter how much time you spend over here your family won't notice you're gone. To them it will be a blink of an eye or maybe two." I felt calmer after he said I wouldn't be missed, though part of me wonders if they'd even believe me if I said I came back here. Probably not, but some part of me was still hunting for my family to believe me or at least act like they cared.
"Knowing Hatter he'll have tea and your favorite treats waiting for you. So let's not keep him waiting any longer. He's probably driving himself mad trying to get everything perfect for you. Ever since he woke up that's been his only goal." Cheshire laughs as he starts leading me down the path.
"How does he even remember what I like? Does he even remember me other than the two times I dream walked to his table?"
"Oh my dear, Hatter was dreaming along side you, every time you saw him in your dreams, he saw you in his. You two have spent the last 20 years having tea in a shared dream space which is quite rare, except for a claimed pair."
The woods start to thin out and I know we're approaching Hatter's home. I start to feel a mix of nerves and excitement. I start playing with the bows on my dress as we get closer and I hear Cheshire chuckle.
"Why are you nervous? He's the same person you've been having tea with for 20 years. Nothing has changed."
"Yeah, but that was when I thought he was just a dream an nothing more. It was easy to be relaxed when nothing felt real, now though, it feels all to real. What if he doesn't like the way I look in real life? What if I've been wrong about my dreams and he doesn't feel the same way about me? There's so many questions and what if's." Cheshire stops in front of me and makes me pause.
"Do you really think I'd bring you back to have your heart broken again? Do you really believe that I'd do anything to cause you harm, emotional or otherwise? Because if you do we can leave right now. I'll take you home and you can believe this was another vivid dream, but I'll still be watching over you and keeping you safe. So time to make a choice Alice. Shall we have tea with Hatter or shall we go back to the farm? It's always been your choice my dear."