Hatter’s lips stretch across his face, so wicked that I shift on my feet. “I do, backwards, forwards, and upside down.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me, and I chuckle, looking back towards White for the next part.
“It is time to exchange your vows and gifts.” White frowns. “Umm, I assume Clara goes first. Someone didn’t write anything on my notes about that.” He reaches forward and takes the skull from us, tossing it into the crowd. A creature shouts with glee after catching it and holding it aloft. I’m pretty sure White wasn’t supposed to do that, but I choose not to worry about it right now.
Meeting Hatter’s eyes, I take a deep breath and thread my fingers through his. “Hatter, I didn’t fall in love with you.” There’s a moment where I can tell people don’t understand, but I continue as if they aren’t even there. “That makes it sound like it was an accident, and I very much love you on purpose. I believe that there is fate and destiny in this world, and that Wonderland likes to have a heavy hand in all that happens, but I also believe that we’re fated to do the things that we would choose to do, anyway.” At his encouraging smile, I continue. “Since the moment I fell into Wonderland and met a certain Mad Hatter, I knew my life was about to change, although at the time, I wasn’t sure if it was for better or worse. Now, standing in front of you, the danger of Alice gone, with the opportunity to love you without limits, I make these promises to you.” I let go of his hand to reach into the hidden pocket of my dress, where I have the ring. Hatter told me that it’s tradition to exchange a gift at the wedding, but when I explained the ring exchange in my world, he’d been far more excited about the idea. The ring I pull from my pocket is mostly gold, a thread of twisting purple and black metal running through the middle. Slowly, I slide it onto his ring finger, and he swallows, his eyes watching the movements. “I promise to love you until I’m no longer able to open my mouth and tell you, and even then, I will still love you from the depths of my soul. I promise to always embrace your madness, to accept everything that comes with being a Son of Wonderland. I promise to love you, to respect you, and to keep you by my side forever, because I would simply go mad without you. I promise that if you ever slip so deep into the madness that you can’t find your way out, that I’ll be the beacon to bring you home.”
There’s an audible sniffle, and I when I look at White, he scowls. “Stop looking at me,” he hisses. I laugh and turn back to Hatter, my smile so wide, my cheeks ache.
“Above all, I promise to be your wife, your Clara Bee, and anything else you ask of me, because when I look at you, I understand that love is both a hurricane and a warm summer day, that it’s both terrifying and perfect. One side can’t exist without the other, and I choose to never exist without you again.”
“Hatter,” White growls, skipping the actual line and gesturing wildly at him. I try my hardest not to laugh at his obvious distress about being touched by my words.
Hatter doesn’t even seem to notice White’s problem, his eyes riveted on me and nothing else. “Clara Bee, if there’s a point I start to rhyme, I’m sorry, but I know you won’t care because you’re perfect in every way for me. When I first learned of the prophecy, of a woman that was meant for me, I thought it was utter madness. Until you arrived, and my heart beat so hard, I thought Alice had surely done something to the organ. You didn’t back down from the frightful world. You rose up to the challenge and took on everything that Wonderland asked of you, including one very Mad Hatter. Now that I get to stand here and make you my wife, and my Empress, there are some things that I need to get off my chest and promise you.” Gently, he reaches up and takes off his top hat. He runs his fingers along the inside and pulls out a little pouch before handing the hat off to White. When he dumps the ring from the velvet, the sparkle makes me blink, and I blanch when I see the size of the purple stone on top. The metal wraps around the stone, and I realize with a start that the black metal forms skulls, the perfect representation of the Hatter. “I promise that if my madness ever gets to be too much for you, I’ll tell you to thump me upside the head to bring me back. Although, there are certainly other ways you can distract me.” I laugh as he slides the ring onto my finger, the weight of it both odd and yet comfortable. “I promise that I’ll always look at you as my equal, and that I will be by your side for anything this world, or any other, throws at us, whether prophesied or a surprise. I promise that I will help you lead this world in the best way I know how, and when you stumble, I will be there to keep you from falling. If we do fall—which will inevitably happen because I’m the Mad Hatter, after all—we’ll fall together, and then we will help each other stand again. If there ever comes a time where we must walk into the darkness, I promise I will hold your hand there, and that I will lead you back into the light.” There are, obviously, many more sniffles from the crowd now, including some from myself, and I struggle not to cry. It’s futile, and the tears start to spill over my lashes, anyway. “And, finally, I promise to love you with all the madness in my soul. I’m yours completely, for as long as you’ll have me,” Hatter says, his voice husky with emotion. “And when Wonderland deems it my time to move on, when we must walk into the Here After together, I’ll love you even then, because even death can’t take away what I feel for you.”
Hatter pulls me into his arms, and I gladly go into them, wrapping myself around him and holding him close.
“Wait, there’s still more to do,” White interrupts. “Before you two get carried away and forget there’s a whole crowd here watching you, we need to do the coronation part, too. Someone please get the crown.”
Jupiter stumbles from her seat and moves up the dais to a small box. When she lifts it and walks towards us, I pull back and meet her eyes. “It’s alright,” she whispers, winking at me. “Just a trinket, nothing more.”
But she’s a total liar because when she opens the box, it’s much more than a trinket. The crown is filled with crystal-clear stones, each one so pure-looking, any jeweler would probably weep when looking at it. It won’t have any color until I’m officially crowned, and Wonderland assigns me one. Apparently, every monarchy must come with a label; there’s so many little things that the creatures of this world have no control over that it makes me a little sad. Maybe I can be that change.
Jupiter lifts the crown from the padding inside and looks at White expectantly. Hatter kisses the back of my hands and then steps back, letting me stand for a moment on my own. Clearing his throat, White flips his wrinkled paper over.
“Turn towards the crowd,” Jupiter whispers in encouragement, and I follow her direction, clasping my hands in front of me and meeting far too many eyes. I tilt my head up, trying to appear as regal as an empress should be, but I’m certain I just look odd and unqualified.
“A new era is starting,” White begins, his voice booming in the quiet room. “And with it, a new reign is crowned. History has ways of becoming, Wonderland has ways of deciding, but this reign will mark the moment that both are in agreement. Clara Bee, do you swear to uphold this world with your reign, to bring it prosperity, luck, and peace? Do you swear to keep your arms around Wonderland and do what must be done to keep this land safe?”
I take a deep breath in through my nose. Am I ready for such a sacrifice? Because that’s what this is. This isn’t just some pretty crown and a title that I won’t have to touch. This is a huge deal, and I refuse to be anything like Alice. It’s harder to rule without fear, but far more satisfying to rule with love. Can I love every creature of this land, and earn their respect in return? Am I ready?
My eyes dance over to the Hatter as everyone waits for my answer. I expect an encouraging smile. I don’t expect a playful wink. There’s a glitter in his eyes when he glances at the crown that tells me he’s imagining me wearing the piece and nothing else, and I can’t help the quiet laugh beneath my breath. I may not know if I can handle this world, but I certainly know I won’t be alone for it. With the Hatter by my side, nothing can seem so impossible.
“I
swear,” my voice rings out into the room, and a hundred smiles meet my own.
“Then, by the power invested in me by some weird twist of rules and fate,” White announces, a teasing lilt in his voice, “let’s crown the Empress.”
Jupiter steps forward then, the crown cradled in her fingers. She’s shorter than I am, so I bend my knees a little, giving her better access to lift up and place the crown on my head. My first thought is about how heavy the metal and jewels are, how the weight already puts strain on my neck. The crowd murmurs, a few claps and quiet cheers trickling out, but it all descends into silence when a light so bright flashes in front of me that I have to squeeze my eyes shut from the pain. The room grows still, and when I peek from between my lashes again, I realize that no one else is moving, frozen as if in ice.
“Clara Bee,” a tinkling voice that is both a single sound and a million, says, and I jerk as if I was slapped. “I am so proud of you.”
I look closer at the brilliant ball of light in front of me, even though it’s painful, and see the vague shape of a woman. I can’t make out any other details, as if she purposely keeps herself hidden.
“Who are you?”
“I am all,” she says, the light throbbing.
“You’re Wonderland?”
“In a sense.”
“Then, I have a bone to pick with you,” I snap, stepping forward. “This world is not a toy. You play with emotions and prophecies as if we’re nothing more than a dollhouse. Your hand in everything needs to stop.”
Tinkling laughter is my answer, and I scowl. “I knew you were perfect the moment you fell down the Rabbit Hole, Clara Bee. And I know you will make a great Empress. This world needs your spine and your love.”
“So, that means you’ll stop?”
The light lashes out, blinding, and the pain burns my retinas. “I did not say that. I am still a goddess, Clara Bee, and an Empress has no place giving me orders.”
“Then why are you here?” I snap, “If all you’re going to do is throw your might around.”
“To give you your color, Clara. I had to look at your soul to find it, and what a wonderful color you are.”
The light begins to fade, spots dancing in front of my eyes until it blinks away completely. The next second, everyone starts to move again, and they look around in confusion. Cal is the first to notice it, standing from her seat with her mouth hanging open. I look down at my dress, at what used to be white, to see the brilliant yellow of the sun, of the light the Goddess had used as punishment. The crowd gasps at the realization, that the transformation happened without them seeing, all except for Cheshire. He stands from his seat, a solemn look on his face as he meets my eyes, and I wonder if he’d been frozen at all during the time. He nods his head the barest amount, and I know, he’s met the goddess before, has dealt with her, and it makes me feel a little better that I’m not alone in that. Cheshire understands.
“The color of happiness,” Hatter mumbles, coming to stand beside me, threading his fingers through mine. Together we face the crowd, a united front, Hatter in his purple and me in my newly added yellow.
“Introducing!” White shouts, and the hall grows quiet, “Clara Bee and the Hatter, wife and husband,” he pauses for dramatic effect, and I almost roll my eyes. “Empress and Emperor of Wonderland.”
When the crowd erupts in cheers, I hear the TICK, TICK, TICK of a clock. Curious. So very curious. When will the ticking stop?
The celebration afterwards will be written in the history books. All the creatures of Wonderland converge in the Hatter’s clearing. Music and shouts fill the air, and many dance in the center space left for such a thing. I’d had the pleasure of dancing with Hatter right away, all eyes on us as we sailed around the clearing as if we were flying. Then Hatter had announced “Tea for everyone!” and the partying erupted. We were just now getting a breather after the many creatures came to give us their congratulations, each one smiling brightly as they clasped our hands. The words, “Long live the Yellow Reign” danced on their lips. The line still makes me laugh, a tiny bit of immaturity slipping through, but no one seems to mind. I’ll have to have a talk with Hatter about changing the words a little.
Out on the dance floor, I watch as Atlas twirls around with a few of the Wonderland creatures, a woman with deer antlers playing his partner. Doe and Flam dance around as if they float on air and laugh as Atlas and the woman try to keep up with them, all their heads thrown back with genuine laughter. I grin when Atlas throws up his hands and starts doing the chicken dance at them, mock insult on Flam’s face.
Atlas isn’t the same fifteen-year-old boy he’d been last time he was here, however. No, he’s older.
“I can’t believe Atlas has grown so much,” I tell Cal, who sits across from me at the table. All of us sit together, away from the party a little, watching the festivities, but there are things that need to be discussed, things that need to be said. “It’s only been a year since you three left.”
Cal and Cheshire look at each other, a comfortable ease between them now that hadn’t been there before. The time away has done them good. “It was four years for us.”
White and Jupiter sit to my right, the latter shifting in her seat with unease. We know the news we must share won’t be happy, not at all, and I dread having to say it at all. Hatter sits on my left, his hand in mine, our fingers hardly separating the entire night. “We have something to tell you,” I say, keeping my voice low. My eyes find Atlas again on the dance floor, now doing the sprinkler, and I smile at the now nineteen-year-old, but it disappears when I meet Cal and Cheshire’s gazes. “We’ve received a message from another world.”
Cheshire scowls. “Of course, you did. What bad news doesn’t start with that line?”
“It’s from the Daughters of Neverland,” Hatter continues as if Cheshire didn’t speak, knowing the longer we let this go on, the worse it’ll be. “They’re in trouble, and they’re asking for our help.”
“Okay. Neverland,” Cal breathes, running a hand through her hair. “And what does that have to do with us?” Her eyes dance between us, trying to piece together the puzzle.
I sigh. “There are four Sons of Wonderland.”
“Okay.” Cal’s frown deepens but Cheshire stiffens beside her, already knowing where this is going.
“The Protector of the Here After,” I point at Hatter, “The Time Keeper,” I pause with a nod towards White, “the Hands of Justice . . .” I look towards Cheshire.
“And the Berserker,” Jupiter whispers, her eyes looking anywhere but at Cal, her fingers twisting over and over each other.
“Atlas will be tantamount in helping Neverland,” Hatter adds, a frown on his own face. He doesn’t like this any more than I do. We’ve all grown fond of the young Berserker.
Cal already started shaking her head the moment the words came out of Jupiter’s mouth, but now she shakes it so hard, I worry she’ll make herself dizzy. “No. Absolutely not!”
“It’s too late,” Cheshire whispers, anger dripping from the words as he wraps his arm around Cal. “He was chosen before, and no one could have known he would be needed again so soon.”
“I’m not letting my little brother go alone into another strange world! He’s only nineteen! He just got settled into college.”
“He doesn’t have to right away,” I say, meeting Cal’s eyes. I understand her pain, of not wanting Wonderland to have a hand in her brother’s life in such a way, but Cheshire is right. It’s already too late, and if he doesn’t go, a world might perish. “You can still go back to your world in the meantime, but when Neverland calls and when the time is right, Atlas will have to go to Neverland. Some of us can go with him. Not all, because some will have to stay here.”
“The Empress won’t be able to leave,” Hatter says, meeting my eyes, “And neither will I. If I’m not here, the dead cannot cross. Everyone else will be able to cross over and help.”
“And what is this threat that they’re facing?�
� Cal asks, her face hard, needing to know as many details as possible.
“We don’t know. We only know that they wouldn’t have asked for help if it wasn’t dire,” White finally speaks. “I hold the key to their world, and have been there once, a long time ago, but I haven’t been able to figure out what the threat can be. It has to be something that came after my time there.”
“Fantastic,” Cal grumbles.
Atlas runs up from the dance floor then, laughing, his hand on Cal’s shoulder as he tries to pull her in. “Come on, sis!” But then he sees the matching expressions on our faces, and his own grows hard. His shoulders straighten as he meets my eyes, and I see the man he has become, and who he will grow to be. Atlas is every inch the Berserker our world needs. “What’s happened?” he asks, his voice strong.
* * *
“Sons of Wonderland lost,
Triad of love understood,
Enter now–the Berserker stood.”
* * *
White’s words hang in the air for a moment, lingering with long forgotten prophecy. Atlas nods his head in understanding, knowing when he was chosen, when he’d picked up that weapon in the armor room before, that something would change, and that he would be given a role.
“I’m ready,” Atlas says, his eyes hard.
“You won’t be going alone.” Cal stands and stares us all down. “We’ll go together when the time comes.”
When Cal, Cheshire, and Atlas left the first time, Attie had left his Berserker weapon behind, saying he wouldn’t need it in his world, and he’d been right. Was there a reason a fifteen-year-old needed that thing hanging in their bedroom? Definitely not. But now, the need is here, and Attie is no longer a child, but a man. Change is coming, and a new world beckons, despite our wishes. We’ll face it together, just like Cal said, but at that point of this new adventure, Atlas will stand tall, the forgotten Son of Wonderland, the Berserker.
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