Splintered Fanfiction

After the Battle

I stare at the smoldering ruins around me. Wonderland, which had once been so

chaotic and beautiful, is now despondent and gray, but it is beginning to heal. I kneel and

brush away a pile of ash, revealing a young, fragile zombie flower. The plants which

Queen Red had used in the great battle are all dead, yet the flowers are returning, and

without Red's influence, the new ones are nothing like their predecessors. The young

zombie flower yawns and pats my chin with a leafy arm, and I smile. "Nice, isn't it, luv?" The cockney accent and smooth voice warn me who it is before I turn and stand, coming face to face with Morpheus. He, too, had been surprisingly quiet in the weeks after the battle, but like Wonderland itself, he has has been making a comeback. Now, he looks at me with that familiar, arrogant smirk on his face. I never thought Morpheus would need cheering up, but I've been doing just that. I smile to see that he seems back to normal. Morpheus's smirk turns into a genuine smile as he looks at the zombie flower. "I can see that Wonderland's wonders are coming back to us, after all," he says. The jewels under his eyes flash a cool, serene blue. Then, his serious manner vanishes. "Of course, some of them have always been here. Take me, for instance,". Morpheus bows and doffs his hat, a new one I've never seen before.I brush my blond hair out of my eyes and grin. "Well, now that you've brought attention to it, you'll have to tell me what that new hat stands for,"I say, with my hands on my hips. "Can't you guess?" Morpheus teases, stepping closer. I take one step back, and examine it more closely. This hat looks like a fedora, and it seems to be made out of a deep blue velvet. Tiny moths encased in glittering shards of. . . it looks like ice, but It can't be... adorn the front, and a line of sky blue caterpillars form a band around the brim. Suddenly, I know the answer. "Why, Morpheus, I never expected your hats to mean something so deep and serious!" I coo, tauntingly. He frowns in confusion. It's my turn to smirk now. "That's your hat of hope, isn't it? Caterpillars turn into moths, and Wonderland will become beautiful again," I say triumphantly. Morpheus's jewels flash gold, the color of pride, before he smirks again. "Nonsense, luv. I just thought it was rather beautiful, very much like someone I know." He steps even closer and tilts my chin up towards his face, and his eyes grow

seductive. The smell of licorice and smoke is intoxicating, but now is not the time to lose

myself in his eyes. I jerk my chin away from his cool hand, not without some difficulty. "By 'someone beautiful', I suppose you mean yourself," I say, peering at him from

under my lashes but stepping away, all the same. He looks disappointed for a moment,

then laughs and bows. "You know your loyal footman too well, my queen."