I slowly blinked my eyes open to the faint smell of ash and someone shifting next to me. It was still dark outside but the fire had gone out, leaving a pile of ash and dirt.
Madison has gone back to laying his head on my shoulder, scooting closer to be more comfortable. I noticed that he was lightly shivering, probably due to the cold. I gingerly wrapped my arm around his shoulder, pulling him somewhat closer. I heard him let out a small cough, indicating that he was clearly awake. I stayed silent for a moment.
"Can't sleep?" I muttered suddenly. Madison jumped slightly before letting out a small sigh and nodding lightly.
"I'm sorry if I woke you up or something, you can go back to sleep and I'll stay quiet this time," Madison stammered.
"There's no need." I chuckled. "I just know Hamilton's going to wake up any minute and will throw a bucket of water at all of us." Madison giggled, nodding his head. We sat in a silence for a while. I never pulled my arm away from his shoulder. Is this weird? Is it weird that Madison never made any remarks about it? Probably... But that was the last thing on my mind at the moment.
"Do you still think this is all a dream?" Madison asked in a mere whisper that I had almost missed what he had said.
Do I still think this is a dream? I'm actually not sure anymore. My logical side thinks that this must be a dream. I mean, men with ears, a disappearing, grinning cat, a cake that can make you grow, a drink that can make you shrink, and a monster called a Bandersnatch? Surely, things like that don't exist...
"Thomas?" Madison murmured, glancing at me.
"Well, it can't possibly be real. This has all come from my own mind," I answered with a hint of uncertainty. Madison nodded, looking off at some obscure object to the side.
"Which would mean that I'm not real," Madison mumbled.
I nodded, sighing a bit. "No, I'm sorry to say. You're just a figment of my imagination. I would dream up someone who's half-mad."
"But you'd have to be half-mad to dream me up."
"I must be then," I chuckled. "Why did you ask?"
Madison shook his head, "I thought you would at least think this is all real."
"Nothing seems real. It's so unbelievable," I shrugged. Madison faced me, staring into my dark eyes.
"Nothing?" Madison asked.
"Nothin'..." I muttered, my accent somewhat showing. "Everything feels so familiar though. Like Reynolds, the King, You..." Madison leaned in a little. "Especially you. Do you know why?"
"Perhaps..." Madison mumbled, his cheeks dusted a light pink. He slowly leaned in, his eyes half-lidded.
"I'll miss you when I wake up," I leaned in as well, our faces merely inches apart.
"Wake up, fuckers!!" Someone yelled. Madison quickly pulled away in surprise, his face turning a deep shade of red. Burr had woken up everyone especially Hamilton since he had started kicking his leg.
"I've decided to help you," Burr told Hamilton as the man tried to block out any noise by folding his large ears.
Phillip raised his head from his paws, opening his mouth into a loud yawn and Hamilton perked up.
"You will?" Hamilton smiled.
"Yeah, but I'm not following any of your orders," Burr sighed. "And everyone should get up, if you want to get to the White Queen's castle, we should hurry up."
Lafayette was already on his feet though Laurens was still sleeping, hugging a teal umbrella. Peggy jumped onto Laurens, waking him up as Mariah got up slowly and stretched. Everyone gathered their things, as I got up myself.
Burr led the way through the forest. He seemed to have no trouble navigating the woods, not hesitating on any twists or forks in the roads.
All the trees were tall and had black or dark bark, their branches twisted into mangled spikes. Dark teal leaves blocked out any sunlight, leaving us in the dark.
In addition to the dark, there were fireflies hovering in the air, making the forest somewhat less creepy. I watched Madison as he stared at the fireflies, curiosity glimmering in his eyes.
He looked so breath-taking.
It seemed like forever until we saw light ahead of the path. It wasn't long until we were out of the woods and into beautiful grassy plains. The grass wasn't as green as it was in the real world. It was pale and had glimmering water on its blades. Flowers of all colors sprouted from the ground.
A cobblestone road lay ahead of us. We walked along the path, soon standing on a hill overlooking a bustling town. There was a magnificent White Castle overlooking the whole town. Though it was smaller than the Red King's Castle, it was more beautiful.
Hamilton smiled, hugging Phillip who purred and let out a sigh.
"You're home, son!"
YOU ARE READING
Almost | Jeffmads ✓
Fanfiction[COMPLETED] "The saddest word in the whole wide world is the word almost." Thomas almost stopped his sister from driving to her death. He almost forgot about his past. He almost disregarded Wonderland. He almost forgot about his love for James Madis...
