“Cheshire,” I said and Shaheen’s eyes lost the lust-filled haze and grew sharp. His clever fingers left me and I regretted it but it was necessary nonetheless. Fucking Shaheen again wouldn’t distract me from what was to come.
“He killed March Hare,” I said and Caterpillar sighed, removing me from his body so he could sit up. He reached for a glass of absinthe. Clearly, this conversation didn’t entertain him but…I had to talk about this, didn’t I?
“Does he murder people often?” I asked. Caterpillar hummed.
“I suppose,” he said, reaching for his hookah hose. He pulled it to his mouth and looked down his nose at me. I felt three inches tall when he looked at me sometimes and now was one of those times. This style of detached hubris appeared to come and go, depending on factors I couldn’t anticipate.
“Mad Hatter believes Cheshire means to kill her,” I said in a hushed rush. Caterpillar blew out rings of smoke. They twisted around the room as if they were dancing together. I watched, wondering if it was really happening or a trick of my eyes and mind.
He blew another round of smoke and I saw the large face of a cat, Cheshire to be exact. It smiled wider as it floated towards me and I gasped, breaking it apart with my hands before it could brush my face.
“Shaheen, please. I’m concerned. I need to know these things.”
“Do you?” He asked. “Do you really need to know? Wouldn’t it be best not to know if the knowing only causes you pain?” I looked at him in confusion.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “I just…”
“No,” he said, interrupting me as he had at our first meeting.
“Will you stop,” I snapped, irritated at him for the first time ever. His attitude made me feel all twisted inside as if I’d done something wrong. I snatched up my flimsy dress and pulled it back on.
“You running off to have him so quickly after me? Oh, Alice, you are terribly naughty,” he said with a laugh that made my cheeks burn.
“Stop it,” I insisted again, a bite in my words. He looked at me curiously.
“Stop what?” He asked.
“Whatever little fit you’re having.” I walked up to him. “I am not some game between the two of you. I care for you Shaheen,” I said, cradling his handsome face in my hands. His expression softened, his hand settling over mine.
“Don’t go,” he whispered. “Anyone but him, Alice. He’ll ruin you.” Ruin me? I snatched my hand back.
“You two are insufferable together,” I said. He looked at me in shock as I turned and left the room. I thought I might have heard him call my name, a soft plea laced with regret but my head was spinning, my body twisting up inside like vines on a trellis. I shuffled down the hall heading towards Cheshire and what awaited me. To be honest, I had wanted him to catch us.
Also, I was lost. I spun around, wondering how I could have wandered into the wrong hall.
“Alice.” I heard the soft voice of Cheshire call but when I followed it the hall didn’t look familiar. It was dark, the wallpaper blotched with teal mould.
Mad Hatter stepped from the shadows all of a sudden, a snarl on her lips, looking more frightening than I’d ever seen her. Sometimes she looked like a harmless piece of art, other days she came alive, leaping from her canvas as she did now. Dangerous.
“Alice,” she hissed as I gasped and backed away. “Help me.” Her features stretched into a scowl.
“I’m sorry about March Hare,” I said quickly. An unwelcome bark of laughter came from me. I didn’t know why. I pressed my fingers to my throat and grimaced. “Sorry,” I said again.
“Yes, you looked plenty sorry atop the table with Cheshire licking between your legs,” she sighed, rolling her eyes. I winced, looking down at my bare feet. Hatter reared back from me all of a sudden as if terrified.
“You smell of Caterpillar,” she gasped, pulling a sleeve over her nose. I stood in the hall feeling as if all my truths were on display. My tryst with Cheshire on the table for others to see. The cloying smell of Caterpillar’s pheromones soaked into my hair.
“What games are you playing here?” She asked, her voice muffled behind her arm. My eyes followed the stripes of her coat.
“I’m not playing games,” I said.
“You’re giving me a headache,” she huffed, pulling her arm down. Hatter leaned in and sniffed me, the tip of her upturned nose near my collarbone. I noticed the faded sight of freckles across her cheeks.
“I keep telling you to be careful with him,” she whispered, her eyes turning up to me.
“I don’t remember you warning me of anything,” I whispered back. Hatter hummed then took a big step back. A sneeze blasted out of her.
“You’re fucking both Cheshire and Caterpillar. Alice, if you aren’t playing games then I feel terribly bad for you because then you are the game.” I looked at her and sighed, brushing my fingers through my loose hair. Whether Mad Hatter was right about games or not, I was in trouble. Everyone kept telling me to stay away from Cheshire and even I knew he was trouble.
