Sadde's dawdling. That's what she's doing. But that's what she does every day, anyway, and she's sure her father doesn't want to see her any more than she wants to see him.
So she dawdles, and makes her way down London's city streets.
Sadde's dawdling. That's what she's doing. But that's what she does every day, anyway, and she's sure her father doesn't want to see her any more than she wants to see him.
So she dawdles, and makes her way down London's city streets.
This was presumably intended, and if not, she'll need to have Words with this Raven at a later date.
She follows the path.
The path continues to be a path through a forest, which might be almost surprising at this point. The grass continues to be multicoloured, although there begin to be fewer blues and yellows, and more purples and reds.
A little way down, she comes upon a hill to her left. It is perfectly round, treeless, and covered entirely in red grass. A figure in black armour is just barely visible around one side.
As she rounds the side of the hill, another black-armoured figure becomes visible. They appear to be standing on either side of a doorway leading into the hill. Each bears a long spear, held upright and resting on the ground. Both have their visors down, and they appear to be mirror images of each other. Neither of them move or respond.
"Erm, excuse me?" she tries again. "I'm somewhat lost and this place took me here. I don't suppose this would be where I'm supposed to be?"
"We are the guardians of the Red King," they intone in unison. "None shall disturb his slumber."
The path is, surprisingly, still there. As she continues along down it, the grass goes from red to purple to blue and back to green. However, the trees now have blue leaves and yellow bark.
This tree has quiet purring coming from somewhere in its branches.
A particularly orange patch of bark uncurls itself into a ginger cat.
"Hello again," he purrs. "Did you find the Raven?"
"I did! And then she was leading me somewhere and flew ahead too fast and the path changed on me. You wouldn't know if that was intended, would you?"
"Hmmmm. Did it lead you anywhere interesting?" Chess stands up and begins pacing along his branch, tail lashing to help him balance.
"Oh it was definitely foreshadowing. Perhaps I was supposed to challenge the guards or something but I'm not some tabletop RPG character, I'm sure it'll become a relevant plot point later and then I'll get to it."
"Guards, hmm? Yes, that sounds like foreshadowing to me," the cat agrees.
"Where were you going with Everless?"
Chess yawns, stretching himself out to his full length. "And do you want to see the Mad Hatter?" he asks.
"If you go that way, you'll meet up with Everless again," he adds, waving a paw in the appropriate direction, "but if you go that way, you'll end up at the Mad Hatter's before she does." He's pointing with his tail this time.
"Because of nerves connecting them to my head plus several years of constant, continuous feedback that turns into a subconscious body map and proprioception—although this has been in slight disarray these past few years because adolescence sorta messes with body plan and it takes a while for the brain to get used to it again."
"...Fair enough. Anyway, it feels like I know how to find people in Wonderland the same way I know how to find my tail." Chess waves said tail illustratively.
"So, do you wish to meet the Mad Hatter, or to find Everless? Or perhaps someone else?"
"I wish to join their little merry band. I do not know the Hatter, and Everless has left a less-than-stellar impression of her executive skills after disappearing when she was supposed to be leading me."
"No, Everless isn't cut out to be a leader," the cat agrees, "which is why she isn't. I'm afraid I cannot give a very detailed recommendation of the Hatter," he continues, "other than to confirm that he is indeed mad. But then again, so is anyone else you'll meet in Wonderland."
"I am coming to the same conclusion, yes, which does leave me in a bit of a pickle. The Hatter does seem to be my best bet but if you have suggestions..."
"I do not," he says. "But that's probably because I'm mad, too." He doesn't seem overly upset by this, but he no longer appears to be smiling.