Bloody Red Eyes

Um... Hey guys... *awkwardly waves*

I am ashamed...

I know... I know. The Christmas Challenge was a fail.

Well! Learn from your mistakes is what I say!

*Dodges flying tomatoes* Ok, ok! *Dodges some more*

I'm so sorry! I'm oh so very sorry!

It slipped my mind... It slipped all our minds. We're going to make it up to you with a Valentines day challenge.

The details will be released in a separate post, though. It might crowd the peace offering.

Yes. This is our peace offering and apology. Sorry for not posting, you guys. It really slipped our minds. I'm sorry. Really am.

*Gross sobbing* PLEASE FORGIVE US!!! DDXX

On with the story! *Sniffles*

Warning: This one-shot may contain spoilers for the stories Josh In Brownie Land and Through The Glass Cupcake. Read at your own risk.

(However, both stories will be posted mid-January at best, late-February at worst. You can choose to read now or wait. Your choice.)

-Xxx-X-xxX-

I stand tall against the flames. Above me, I hear Cheshire hiss. Next to me, I feel Hatter stiffen.

They are rather disappointed that the afternoon tea was disturbed.

"Shame." I hear Door Mouse say, his tone sleepy and bored, but even that, I know, is a mask. "That tea pot was a rather comfortable pillow."

Cheshire chuckles as we watch the table cloth catch on fire. "Aye," she agrees, her tail swishing back and forth, agitated. "Especially when you fill it with the fragrance of jasmine and milk..."

"Too bad, indeed." Hatter states, adjusting his cuff links. "I'll get you both a new one."

Cheshire meows and from the ground, I could hear her silently purring in approval. "Much obliged." She says. I grit my teeth and clench my fists at the tone of her voice.

Does she not care?

"Enough of this." I say, turning my back on our burning home. "Our general awaits our arrival at the Treacle well."

-Xxx-X-xxX-

"The tears of a Basilisk are powerful." French Mouse says, her accent painting her words heavily. "It gives its wielder power over the thoughts and emotions of people."

"A tear from the right eye makes a person good." Hatter continues, though his voice is low and quiet. "A tear from the left eye—"

"He has poisoned our Queen." The White Rabbit screeches in anger, making everybody flinch. "We have let the Mock Turtle, a convict guilty of the murder of the Griffin, run rampant. If we had taken him in sooner, none of this would have happened!"

I sit around the round table, listening as the White Rabbit shrieks his opinion on the situation. However, I am ashamed to say, I am not listening.

I scan the crowd that surrounds around us, noticing gaps and missing people. A lone guard. A soldier without his partner. A phoenix looking around for its owner, confused.

I cringe and look beside me. Hatter does nothing, but he worries. He may not show it, but I can see, as plain as day, that he worries.

Beneath the table, I grasp his hand, and he squeezes back almost immediately.

"Peace, Rabbit." Our General says as the White Rabbit continues to fume. "The damage is done, it is our job to fix it."

Silence reigns for a few moments before somebody braves to speak.

"Where does one go to encounter a Basilisk?" Alice asks. I turn to the girl and she looks lost. In fact, she has always looked lost, even if she had been here the longest.

"The Tulgey Woods." Our General replies, his index finger and his thumb pinching the bridge of his nose. "Mystical creatures run amok there. Anybody could capture a Basilisk as long as they are educated on how."

"But it takes a lot to make a Basilisk cry." Alice counters, frowning. "A jar of black fire, a stone of lime, a leaf from the tree of golden apples..."

"He must have had help." The White Rabbit says, still furious. "Perhaps the DoDo has the information we need."

"Where does the DoDo reside?" Our General asks. The White Rabbit frowns.

"He lives just on the border of the Pithecophaga, in the north east." He informs us. I wince.

Pithcophaga falls under the land the Mock Turtle and our poisoned Queen had conquered. Many of the people there had been force fed the Tears of The Basilisk, and now they guard the land with brutal force. It is most likely that the DoDo is no longer alive.

"There is no harm in trying to look for him." The White Rabbit says to me when I voice my concern. We all look to our General for the final decision and he nods.

"Take the Tweddles with you," He instructs the White Rabbit. "And perhaps a dozen soldiers. You may leave by sun down."

The White Rabbit bows in gratitude and from across the room, I see the Door Mouse's stomach drop.

I am one of the few people to bid the White Rabbit and the Tweedles goodbye.

-Xxx-X-xxX-

The world around us has been burning a lot, lately. I try not to notice.

We gather around the table, all agitated and tired as a squire stands before us, back erect and face red in exertion.

"The Tweedles and the White Rabbit were not found among the dead, sir!" He announces. I feel my own body stiffen. I stiffen some more when I feel Hatter reach for my hand beneath the table. 

He finds it, and I try my best to still his trembling fingers. It does not work.

Above us, Cheshire yawns.

"Such a bother." She comments, curling her tail up into a question mark as she turned her emerald green eyes lazily toward our White Knight, who had his forehead buried in his hand. "Should I go fetch them?"

"By all means." the White Knight says, looking up with his tired brown eyes. "I don't care how. Just get them back."

Cheshire grins cattily and stretches as she lowers herself down unto the floor.

"Aye, aye, general."

-Xxx-X-xxX-

"She's gone." the squire tells us the next day.

This time, Hatter doesn't search for my hand.

"Send me out!" He demands, getting up from his chair and slamming his gloved hands against the table.

Our general jumps, and so do I. Both our hearts hammer in our chests as we watch the fury burn in Hatter's eyes. I swallow thickly.

"You can't--"

"Don't tell me what I can or cannot do, Hare." He snarls, turning his bi-coloured eyes in my direction. Dark violet against fiery blue. "I've had enough." He turns back toward our general and takes a deep breath. "Send me out."

In the end, our general complies.

I am uneasy.

-Xxx-X-xxX-

"I still don't think that you should go, Hatter."

"Yes, Hare. I still think that you often times don't think enough."

-Xxx-X-xxX-

"He doesn't want to listen to me."

The Pepper cook smirks and waves her pepper shaker in the air. "That's a wonder, ain't it?"

I glower and sneer. "Cook."

Her smirk turns into a soft smile as she hands me a bowl of soup and for once, puts down her pepper shaker.

"He loves them. They're his family, too." She says, taking the seat across me. "He'll do anything for anybody here in Brownie Land. You know that."

"I still think that he shouldn't go."

The Pepper Cook smiles before she stand yet again to manage the pot she had left on the stove. "He'll be alright." She assures me. "He may not be thinking straight, but you and I know the truth. He can kill a man with just one swing of a sword."

I sigh and begin eating.

Later, Cook tells me off for I had barely touched my soup.

-Xxx-X-xxX-

I stand there, silent, as Hatter checks his sword's sheath. Again.

"You should take some of the Green Fire." I suggest, startling him.

Hatter turns to me and blinks his bi-coloured eyes in surprise before his face contorts into an annoyed frown. He shakes his head at my presence and returns to his sword, though I know that there is nothing wrong with the weapon.

"What are you doing here?" He demands, though his voice is quiet. I stare at him, and the room settles under the strong influence of uncomfortable silence.

It unnerves me. But it unnerves him more than me.

"Hare, what do you want?" He demands again. This time, I actually smile. But ruefully. There is no more time for mirth nowadays.

"Come back in one piece." I remind him, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. He squints at me, then shakes his head.

He stares and I wait for him to say something, but he says nothing, clutching instead his sword, which I think is about to break under the pressure his hand graces it with.

"Hatter." I say again, taking a step forward. He flinches back and my smile falls.

He stays silent, still staring at me before he casts his eyes over the floor. I wait again, but nothing comes.

I purse my lips together. Of course. He's still mad at me.

"Fine." I say, a little more haughty than I had anticipated. "I will be here when you return. See you then."

I leave, but I manage to brave a look back.

Hatter still stays silent and he says nothing.

-Xxx-X-xxX-

"Wait, Hare!" He had wanted to call out. "Hare!"

But Hatter's tongue stays glued to the roof of his mouth, and his jaw is locked.

"I love you."

The sentence falls upon deaf ears and Hatter's finger's shake, this time, however, he has nobody to steady them.

-Xxx-X-xxX-

It had been three days. There was no word from the legion and I begin to worry.

But I try not to show it. 

"Are you quite alright?" A voice asks. I turn to the source and I am surprised at who I see.

"General." I greet the White Knight as he trudges forward to seat himself by my side. "I did not know you were here."

"I did not count on my appearing here either." He replies, smiling softly as he takes a seat next to me. We are on the roof top of the hide out, staring out at the late afternoon sun. "But I wanted to speak with you."

I blink. "Pardon my asking but... Why?"

Our General smiles, but it lacks actual joy, so similar to the smiles I have been smiling nowadays.

"As you know, it has been three days." He says, his voice tight, as if the words were heavy maces, hanging from his throat. "And we haven't gotten word yet."

I nod, slowly to show my understanding. He stares at me for a few more seconds before he sighs and turns back to the rolling hills of forest before us.

"I just wanted to warn you, Hare." He says. I flinch at the sound of his voice, so raw and filled with hurt. "Sometimes, fate has a very cruel way of teaching us how to love."

I purse my lips. "I understand." I reply, though, in truth, I wish I didn't.

I knew what he was trying to say. I knew what he was trying to warn me of. But I try not to think of it.

"How is Door Mouse handling everything?" I blurt. Anything. Anything to change the topic.

Nevertheless, our General is not fooled. He squints at me and then shakes his head.

"He's devastated." He replies, adjusting his poise and crossing his legs in a casual arrangement. "He may not show it, but he's devastated. Heart broken, if you must. The White Rabbit was his closest friend. To have him gone... Well, you understand."

I do. And again, I wish I didn't.

"They will return, Hare." Our General assures me, putting a firm hand on my shoulder. "We know them. It will take a lot for the enemy to even lay a finger on them."

At that, I shudder at the idea of what the Mock Turtle may be doing to my Hatter...

My Hatter.

Mine.

"We need to go after them." I say, snapping my head around to look at our General in the eye. He frowns at my sudden suggestion, but he seems to agree, nodding his head and standing, hand already upon the hilt of his sword.

"I will have Door Mouse gather everyone." He informs me, already trudging away in that masterful gait of his. "We leave at sun set, Hare."

He does not turn to take one last look at me, but I am sure that he can see the red that has clouded my eyes.

I am out for blood. And I will get blood. No matter what.

-Xxx-X-xxX-

We have been tricked.

Outside, the others are fighting the Mock Turtle's poisoned legion, bloodshed and pain everywhere they turn.

Inside, the White Knight, Door Mouse, and I had been fighting, but I had gone ahead in hope of finding my missing comrades.

And found them, I did. But I knew, somewhere in my heart, that they were not my comrades.

For their eyes, instead of green, or brown, or blue, or that beautiful bi-coloured pair I had become so accustomed to, were red.

Bloody Red.

'They' all sit orderly around a long table, so uniform and behaved. For once, the White Rabbit is not laughing with his mouth stuffed with food, the Tweedles are not holding hands on the table, Cheshire is not floating above their heads, and Hatter's feet are not propped up on the table.

Instead, they just sit. Quiet, still, and reserved.

They are so proper, it hurts to look at them.

"Oh, Hare!" Cheshire greets me, grinning her usual grin. However, this grin is different. It is poor in mirth and rich in malice. I take a step back at the sight of it. However, she appears not to notice. "Come, join us! You must be so famished."

I continue to stare, and the Tweedles blink.

"Why the hesitance?" They ask me at the same time. I gulp at their sneers and tighten my grip on my sword.

They watch me for awhile, then, Hatter lifts up his cup in some form of toast and smiles.

"Tea?" He asks. I blink and shake myself out of my reverie.

No, I think to myself as I raise my sword. This is not Hatter.

This is not my Hatter. These are not my friends, either.

"What have they done to you?" I instead demand. Hatter just looks at me then replaces his cup on the saucer with a dainty sounding plink!

"What do you think?"

I stare. They stare back.

Just five pairs of unblinking, unnerving Bloody Red Eyes.

-Xxx-X-xxX-

They say they found me, unconscious but unharmed in one of the chamber in the enemy hide out. They do not know how I landed there or how I ended up unconscious but they do know one thing.

The Tweedles, Cheshire, the White Rabbit, and Hatter have been force fed the Tears of the Basilisk. As of now, they are the enemy.

I swallow and turn to my side, my back to our General and the Pepper Cook. I am in no mood for talking.

I fall asleep, and all I can dream of are a pair of bi-coloured eyes that sparkle even in the darkest of nights.

-Xxx-X-xxX-

"We found this in the hide out." Door Mouse says as he enters my chambers. "Our General told me to give it to you."

I blink and look up at the sound of his voice, eyes almost immediately alighting upon a box he carries in his arms.

"What is it?"

Door Mouse shrugs in reply and sets the box down unto the floor, leaving as soon as I permitted it alright for him to be excused. I watch his back as he leaves and I get an inkling of a feeling that he is hiding a thought from me.

I sigh and I walk toward the box, gingerly taking it in my arms and placing it upon my desk. I want to open it, but I think that I will dread doing so.

I leave the box there upon my desk for another week as our world sinks deeper, and deeper into darkness.

-Xxx-X-xxX-

We had conducted another raid and our healers had figured out what knocked me out that fateful day of the first attack.

It was a drowsy gas, strong enough to make me sway with just one whiff of it. I grit my teeth and clench my fists at the thought of the enemy using this as a device for cheating.

"Hare." Our General suddenly calls my attention, and I snap out of my reverie. When I look up, everybody else is staring at me.

"Hare, you broke..." French Mouse starts, her voice small and scared. I blink and I look back down at my hand to see the fork that I was holding bent in half and my hand red from the exertion.

"Hare, I think you need to step out." Our General says, nodding at me as I close my fist around the broken fork yet again.

I do not obey our General's order. Everybody else is surprised. And alarmed.

Our General looks sideways at Door Mouse, and the two of them share a secret message before Door Mouse stands and strides toward me, taking my arm and forcefully dragging me outside the door of the meeting room.

I don't fight his hold, but I still feel the anger within me, coiling at the pits of my stomach.

"It is for the best, Hare." Door Mouse says. I grit my teeth.

"The best my arse."

Door Mouse leaves with a bloody nose and I with a black eye.

-Xxx-X-xxX-

I keep to my chambers more now and only come out when called. There really isn't much I can do, anyway.

So I keep to myself. And I open the box.

It had been sitting there on my desk for a whole month now. Always there to wish me good night, there to greet my good morning.

And though I know it is mad, seeing the box sit there, still and proper...

I feel as if it is mocking me. Lauding in my face the thought of Hatter, calm, collected, and evil. Reminding me often that I had failed. Failed miserably.

I had tried to ignore it the best I could, but finally, I had had enough of it. So, I take it up, and open it.

I almost collapse with horror at what I see.

Robes. Colourful silk robes that look more like rags with the mismatched colours and the crazy patterns.

I know these robes. These are Hatter's robes.

I run my hands across the patterns that were sewed into to the ragged cloth. They are all so different from the grey suit I had seen him wear at the raid. So different from the silent and demure Hatter I had met a few weeks ago.

So different from the man who now looks at the world with tainted eyes of red.

"We found that in the hide out." A voice behind me says. I turn, startled, sure that I had left the door to my chambers closed.

However, it seems that I have not, for standing in the doorway is Alice, looking at me with an expression unreadable.

I glower at her and her poor attempts at practicing privacy.

"It was closed off in one of the chambers." Alice continues, ignoring my apparent distaste. "Some of the legion thinks the Mock Turtle forced him to change into something more orderly. Lord knows he is not as coordinated as the Tweedles, or as orderly as the White Rabbit. And god forbid he becomes as vain as Cheshire."

I grit my teeth for what seems to be the thousandth time in this month alone.

"The Mock Turtle has no taste." I say, ruefully. "But I must digress, Hatter is under the influence of poison. He has no control now."

We stay in silence for awhile before she reaches out and touches my shoulder.

"We have not lost him, Hare." She quietly says. "Do not mourn him just yet."

I clench my hand into a fist. "You know that?" I ask, the words lodged into my throat like burning hot coals. "Do you think it possible that he return?"

"I could only hold unto hope."

Alice is an innocent soul.

Bless her.

-Xxx-X-xxX-

We have grown tired. Day after day, the Mock Turtle and our poisoned Queen are simply taking and taking. Every week we loose land. Every hour we loose hope.

We are slowly being backed into a corner and we could do nothing about it.

"Where are you taking off to?" I ask one of the Avis, a former resident of the town of Jefferyi. She looks up from where she is grooming her wings and smiles at me wearily.

"Some of our scouts have found the hide out of the Champions." She says. I hide my dismay.

Hatter, Cheshire, the White Rabbit, and the Tweedles have been called the Champions of the poisoned Queen. In a span of a month, they have kidnapped almost a fourth of our legion, force feeding them the Tears and rendered us as useless as a legless horse.

"Is it far from here?" I ask. The Avis shakes her head.

"We will just examine the area." She tells me. "General says that if the location is not so closed off, then we will be able to plan another raid. Take back a little bit of land."

I stare. And then I nod.

I leave immediately after that.

-Xxx-X-xxX-

Bells have sounded, we all rush outside.

The Avis are all flying in a flock, all crowding around a figure without wings.

"He's here..." Alice says. I blink and I look at her as she suddenly appears at my side.

"Who's here?" I ask. She smiles as the flock lands.

"Our champion."

I blink and turn to the boy who staggers before us, looking both confused and a little green and wearing a dress.

But he sees me, and his eyes visibly light up.

"Hi," He says, thrusting his hand out for a handshake. "I'm Josh De Leon."

He is our champion?!

Alice, as if reading my mind, grins. "Yes." She says, taking my hand and leading it into our "Champion's" outstretched one. "Yes he is."

My stomach turns and I swallow the urge to vomit. 

We have absolutely no hope now...

-Xxx-X-xxX-

A/N: This one is open ended 'cause if I continue, it'll spoil too much already.

But then, with the amount of cliche-ness already seen here, I think you can predict the ending, more or less. Any which way...

If you're confused with who's who, then here's a list: 

Mad Hatter – Pancho

March Hare – Miguel

White Knight/ The “General” – Dustin (In Brownie land, there is no Black Knight)

White Rabbit – Nico

Door Mouse – Hyme

Tweedle Twins – Luis & Sven (They don’t have separate names here because they communicate telepathically (so people really don’t know what they call each other) and they talk in one voice when addressing others and do everything together. They’re two separate people that behave like one unit. That’s why people don’t say ‘Tweedle-Luis & Tweedle-Sven’ it’s always just ‘The Tweedles’)

Pepper Cook (The cook of the Duchess that owns the baby that turns into a pig in the original Alice stories by Lewis Carroll) – Cheska

Cheshire – Sam

French Mouse (This is completely different from Door Mouse) – Pat

Red Queen – Nicole

Alice – Sabrina (By ‘Alice’ I mean the very first Alice to ever fall through the worm hole leading to Brownie land. She stayed because, in her opinion, Brownie land was a much better place than her own home. She was there to greet the others who fell into Brownie Land and soon, after a few centuries (people in Brownie Land never age) the Kingdom of the Red Queen was formed and it has been like that ever since.)

The rest of Riverside are actually just ‘animals’ or people with animal ears and tails, like the Japanese characters you sometimes see in mangas and animes.

These people, or course, vary. Some have snake scales, while some bird wings, or maybe dog ears, or mouse tails, etc. They are like human-animal hybrids.

And, yes, I added the new characters (Josh and Dustin). The more the merrier, after all! XDDD  

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.

We'll be posting regularly again after this week, don't worry.

I hope to hear from you guys soon!

More Power To You!

-Duchess Constantine Nihilyon