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Harsh light bit down on Heather where she stood caged in the courtroom's dock. She squinted, barely able to register her surroundings. Much less with the dull ache still lingering in her head from the flurry of having been dragged to the courtroom without warning.
On the Judge's throne in front of her sat the Queen of Hearts herself, Courtney. She looked down at Heather with a stern scowl. It was a jarring contrast from the kind smile she'd regarded her with only hours prior; turning her from a welcomed guest to a lowlife blight.
Everyone else in the courtroom seemed to view her as such, too, and their whisperings only affirmed it. Most vocal of all were the other three queens that made up the jury. Under their eyes, Heather’s stomach turned uncomfortably, but she made sure not to let it show. She'd be torn to shreds if she did.
“Court is in session!” Courtney declared and banged the gavel, demanding silence from everyone present.
“Heather Jīn,” she addressed once the room had settled, “You have been brought before the court for the death of the White Queen. How do you plead?”
“Not guilty.” Heather said resolutely.
“Your honor?” the Queen of Clubs, Justin, raised his hand, “That’s an obvious lie.”
The other queens beside him nodded in agreement.
Heather turned to them with a harsh sneer, “Isn’t the jury supposed to be quiet during a trial?”
“Isn’t the accused supposed to speak only the truth and nothing but the truth during a trial?”
“I am!”
Eva, the Queen of Diamonds, slammed her fists against the wood of the jury box. “Liar! We all know you killed the White Queen!”
“I didn’t do it!”
“Heather,” DJ, the Queen of Spades, calmly— albeit without much sympathy— spoke, “You’re only making this worse for yourself.”
“What, am I not allowed to defend myself?”
“Of course, but not with lies-”
“I’m not lying!”
“Your honor, it's blatantly obvious that she is.” Justin said.
“Can you shut up?” Heather yelled. This entire trial was ridiculous; she didn’t need a jury of queens heckling her and pretending to care.
The courtroom began to stir with unease. Loud whispers were passed around in the audience, but none of the cards were brave enough to speak out— especially as the queens got louder and louder to choke out any attempt Heather made to have her voice heard.
“It’d be for the best if you just confessed,” DJ assured.
“Pah!” Justin laughed, “Like she’d ever confess. No, best is to just go by what we know and be done with it.”
“Well… what we know is what we know…”
“Exactly! And what we know we know to be true. Simple.”
“That makes zero sense!” Heather groused.
“Of course it does, it’s factual!” Eva spat and fixed her with scolding eyes of amber. “Just like how the blood of the White Queen is on your hands-!”
“I DIDN’T DO IT!” Heather’s voice bellowed— making the courtroom tremble and the cards of the audience cower. Hadn’t she been so engulfed in anger, Heather too would’ve been surprised by what had happened to her voice. Alas, she wasn’t given time to even question it as Courtney began to bang her gavel once again.
“Disorder in the court!” she turned to Heather, “I ask that the accused not cheat by looking at other hands.”
“They started it!”
Courtney’s gaze turned fiery and sharp, demanding nothing but perfect obedience.
Heather drew her lips tight. Hidden behind grit, she quietly mourned the hospitable and understanding Queen of Hearts she'd lost; and loudly cursed her for turning against her so quickly. For subjecting her to ridicule instead of believing her.
“I hereby declare-”
Heather’s heart dropped. Panic broke through her mask as she looked up at Courtney, “What?”
“-that the accused, Heather Jīn, is-”
“I didn’t get to defend myself!”
“-guilty!”
The gavel slammed down hard— and the sound ricocheted through the courtroom to stab Heather in the back. Silencing whatever retort she could’ve given.
“Off with her head!” Courtney ordered, slicing her finger across her own throat.
The audience and the jury of queens cheered approvingly before quieting down to excited murmurs as the heavy doors to the courtroom swung open. Heather looked back just in time to see the Ace of Hearts take his first step into the room. He walked in a straight line toward her, wielding a heavy axe with both hands.
Heather looked around for any means of escape. There was no way she’d make it past the Ace unscathed, and she was well aware that the entire castle was riddled with guards at all times, no exceptions. Right on the verge of panic, she spotted a metal hatch and hinges on the dock’s floor.
Heather lunged for it, undoing the hatch and pulling open a trapdoor to reveal a rabbithole. She wasted no time jumping in— hearing the courtroom first erupt at her escape, then fade away into the ticking of clocks as she fell deeper down the technicolored path.
It spat her out somewhere in the expansive forests of Wonderland. Heather allowed herself a few seconds to recover from the vertiginous trip before picking herself back up.
Unsure if anyone had followed her through the rabbithole, she ran. Trusting that pull within her to lead her through the foliage to where she wanted to be. Like it had done so many times before. And after a while, she finally saw it; the familiar lights of the village glowing in the night.
Heather breathed a sigh of relief and slowed her strides to a walk. Even though the verdict still hung over her— as did the hurt of so many being eager to see her dead— she felt herself relax. Eccentric as its inhabitants may be, the village was a safe place. And the aforementioned inhabitants were always kind to her.
At the village gate, Heather paused at a sudden realization. She'd been alone in the courtroom. Where were her lovers, Noah and Alejandro? Shouldn't they have been with her, at the very least on the sidelines?
A pang of worry hit her hard. She hadn't seen them in a while, couldn't remember if they'd even been with her at the castle. They were supposed to, had promised her to.
But maybe, as Heather had been dragged to the courtroom, Noah and Alejandro had been sent back to the village. Maybe they were waiting for her; missing her like she missed them.
With these thoughts in mind, Heather hurried past the gates.
Unsurprisingly, the villagers were gathered at the table in the village's center, bathed in the soft light of the surrounding fruit trees and enveloped in laughter. Even the Cheshire Cat, Duncan, was seated. He was the first to notice Heather approaching, snickering animatedly when he did. Heather only acknowledged him with an annoyed glare before going back to scan the gathering's participants.
Everyone was present— except for Noah and Alejandro.
That was when the twins, Katie and Sadie, spotted her.
“Oh, me.”
“Oh, my.”
Their gasps caught the attention of Owen, the March Hare, whose ears perked up as he searched for what had caused the twins to react. His curiosity fell the moment his eyes landed on Heather.
“Heather!” he squawked, between a greeting and a startled acknowledgement. And just like that, all eyes were on her. Just like that, the jovial atmosphere ceased.
A sense of something foreboding fluttered around Heather. She ignored it.
Izzy, the Mad Hatter and leader of the village, rose from her seat and jumped up on the table. She walked over it, stepping between trays of pastries and teapots. Once she’d reached the other side, she jumped down to land in front of Heather.
“I see you’ve returned,” she said. “Enjoy your trip?”
“Not in the slightest,” Heather replied. “Where are Noah and Alejandro?”
“That I do not know.”
She pursed her lips in thought. “Maybe they’re in our room. I’ll be right back.” as she made to leave, Izzy grabbed onto her shoulders, keeping her planted in place.
“We heard of the trial.” Izzy said upon Heather’s questioning look.
“Ugh, don't even mention it.”
“Dreadful it may be, we must.”
“Excuse me?”
In a swift movement, Izzy had turned Heather around to begin leading her away from the village center. “It wouldn’t be wise to let you stay here.”
“Are you kidding me?” Heather gaped. She shook off Izzy’s hands to face her, “You don’t actually think I did it, right?”
“What we know is what we know.”
“And what we know we know to be true.” Owen added with agreeing nods from the Dormouse, Tyler.
“And with all that said,” Izzy raised a hand, gesturing along as the villagers spoke in unison, “You are no longer welcome here.”
Heather stared in utter disbelief. Her angry words were held back by a frail sliver of hope that this was just another display of the villagers' eccentricities. That a joke would reveal itself at any moment.
It broke her heart when it never did.
“You can’t do this to me.”
“But see, we can.” Izzy snapped her fingers, and out of nowhere appeared a vaudeville hook that attached itself around Heather's waist. “Adieu!”
And with that, Heather was yanked back by the vaudeville hook. It was a powerful tug that dragged her away from the village gates and deep into the forest. Deep enough that the lights vanished between the trees.
When the hook released her, Heather had been dumped in a clearing. She picked herself off the forest floor, grumbling complaints that ceased the moment she looked down on herself. Her dress had become torn; the decorative tassels ripped off and lost somewhere in the forest. Her hair had come loose of its intricate bun from the rough handling, and fell like ink over her fair skin that had become stripped in red from the claws of flora.
They’d really thrown her out…
“Whatever!” Heather screamed, “I don’t need you! Any of you!”
She stormed off with no plan in mind— too angry to be concerned with figuring out her next move.
What had she done to deserve having the world turn on her like this? For the people who once worshipped her to suddenly hate her?
‘I've done nothing wrong. I don't deserve this.’
Heather kicked at a rock, remaining wholly indifferent to the small scream of the unfortunate creature who’d been resting on it. She continued on her aimless journey; it was as unremarkable as can be, which was only more proof that the world had turned on her.
The monotony was broken, however, when she found herself by the ruins of a cottage— the one she’d stumbled upon her first day in Wonderland. It looked no different than it had back then.
She wondered…
Digging around in the rubble, Heather was soon holding a broken picture frame in her hands. The one with the family photo, where each face had been charred off. It looked just as familiar as when she’d first laid her eyes on it. The kind of familiarity that haunted every face she encountered in Wonderland. Like she knew who these people were, but something in her mind prevented her from connecting the dots.
Would things have been different if she had known where these faces originated? Would she still have ended up where she was now?
Heather was snapped out of her thoughts by growling and the crackling of fire— distant, but close enough to cause alarm. She flicked her eyes across the surrounding treeline and quickly caught sight of yellow eyes glowing in the dark. Eyes she’d come to learn belonged to the Sun-hounds.
It stalked toward her, kicking up embers with each step it took. Never once did it let Heather out of its sight; and Heather returned the favor with equal tenacity. Moving slowly, she ran her hand through the cottage ruins, searching blindly for anything that could pass for a weapon. Right as the Sun-hound went to attack, Heather’s fingers curled around something sharp. She pulled it from the rubble and swiftly stabbed it into the underside of the beast’s jaw.
A scolding, tar-like substance dripped from the wound and onto Heather’s arm. She yelped at the burn and jerked away, scrubbing off the substance with her dress. It left behind patches of bright red on her skin.
The Sun-hound let out a pained howl as it stumbled back. It whined— before breaking out into a furious roar; igniting its body with fresh flames as the pitch black body pulsed in shades of red and yellow. It charged at Heather with the rage of a thousand suns.
But before it could reach her, two arrows pierced its head— killing it instantly. It fell to the ground in a cloud of smoke, its fire snuffed out to leave behind a charred body. Heather backed away, waving her hands to rid the smoke that was making her cough.
“Heather!”
She paused at the familiar voice. Looking up, she saw Noah and Alejandro come running toward her. Relief washed over her— and so too did an agonising resentment.
“Where have you been?” she demanded. Her voice carried enough edge to make the boys pause in their tracks.
“We’ve been looking for you,” Alejandro said with a puzzled expression. His eyes then widened, as if he'd only just now realized the state Heather was in. “Mi luna, what has happened to you?”
“A lot has happened.” Heather huffed, “I’m being blamed for a murder I didn’t commit. I was on trial that made no sense, and because of it, I’m no longer welcome in the village.”
“Trial?” Alejandro turned to Noah, who mirrored his confusion and shrugged. Then he paused. “Someone died?”
“Yes! How do you not know? Everyone knows!”
“Well,” Noah said, “We’ve been a bit busy trying to find you.”
Heather gritted her teeth, but her anger was becoming dull. Eroded by the hurt billowing inside her. “Why would you even need to find me?” she questioned. They were supposed to be with her, always. In the village, at the castle, in the courtroom.
“YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE WITH ME!”
The flora surrounding them retreated in fear.
Noah and Alejandro stared at Heather in shock. Alejandro opened his mouth to speak, but seemed unable to get his words right.
Tears had started to prick at Heather's eyes, taunting her for having gotten so bothered. She was pathetic. What did it matter what a bunch of losers thought of her? She knew her worth, and that wouldn't change under any circumstances.
Let them hate her. Heather had survived worse.
And if Noah or Alejandro— or even both— wanted to leave her behind like everyone else, then so be it. Heather didn’t need them, nor would she miss them when they’d gone.
She wouldn't. No matter how much her heart ached at just the thought.
Then she felt it— a gentle hand at her face.
Without Heather noticing, Noah had stepped closer to her. He cupped her cheek, bringing her attention to him as he wiped away an escaped tear.
“Eṉ cantiraṉ.” he said; spoken like the softest vow.
The aching left Heather through a quiet breath. She leaned down to let her forehead rest against Noah’s. He hummed and brushed his thumb over her cheekbone in calming motions.
At her other side, Alejandro took her hand and placed tender kisses on each claw mark covering her knuckles. Next, he moved down to the burns on her arm, where the kisses lasted a little longer.
“Mi amor, we’re with you now,” he said when she looked at him. “It’ll be alright. We’ll figure it out.” he then pulled her closer into an embrace, Noah following quickly behind to complete the circle of affection,
Heather felt herself melt in their arms; throwing down her guards to surrender completely. The embrace was warm, loving, and above all else, safe.
For the first time that night, Heather wasn't being rejected, but cherished; wholly and truly.
Crack!
Alejandro and Noah tensed— wincing as the sound of glass breaking suddenly echoed through the forest. They stepped back from Heather, despite her reluctance to let them go, and revealed cracks running up from under their shirts.
The cracks grew with each step they took, each movement they made, and clawed at their distressed faces.
A small chip fell from Noah’s cheek. “H-Heather?” he said in a quiet voice that stabbed at Heather’s chest. It twisted at the looks of betrayal both boys sent her.
“I didn’t- No, I didn’t do it.” her words were met with apprehension.
“Please, listen to me. I-” as she took a step forward, the boys backed away clumsily.
Noah set his foot down, and his leg broke in two; knocking him off balance. Alejandro reached out for him, but the moment he caught the other boy, his arm split off.
Heather gasped, watching in horror as the two boys fell to the ground— shattering on impact. She dropped to her knees and reached out with trembling hands for their remains, “No, no, no, no.”
The glass shards cut her, pulling ribbons of crimson from her skin. But she persisted— trying to replicate what the boys had done when reassembling each other over and over.
“As long as the pieces remain, we can always be put back together again.” Alejandro had once said.
She had all the pieces; why wasn't it working?
“Don’t leave me, don’t you dare leave me!” with each touch, they crumbled more, until Heather was cradling nothing but broken glass in her arms— refusing to let go even as it sliced her skin. Even as it had lost all traces of her lovers.
Succumbing to the weight that had haunted her all night, Heather cried— ugly and undignified. She hunched over, curling in on herself to hide from whatever lingered beyond the treeline. Tears ran wildly over her face, painting it in shades of despair.
It was unfair; she hadn’t done anything wrong, yet she was punished like she had.
Heather clutched fistfuls of the glass in her hands, held them close to her chest. Like a cruel trick played by her mind, she felt the phantom touches of Alejandro and Noah’s embrace. Felt the echoes of their warmth, their love.
“Come back to me… please.” she whispered.
“Oh, it’s far too late now.”
“You ran out of time, dear.”
Whispers in the wind and the heavy ticking of clocks compelled her to lift her gaze. When Heather did, she immediately caught sight of a white-dressed figure lurking in the distance— watching her from behind an opera mask.
The White Rabbit.
Their eyes locked like they had done so many times before. But this time, Heather didn't feel the tug of curiosity. Instead, she felt the burn of rage.
Baring her teeth, Heather scrambled to her feet and dashed toward the White Rabbit. She remained perfectly still until Heather was mere inches away from her; then she bolted to take the lead in their chase. Over checkered fields and shallow creeks of sugary pink water. Through bioluminescent orchards and caves of looking-glass. The White Rabbit was never too far from Heather— but always just out of reach.
Until finally, finally, after what felt like hours of running, Heather managed to grab onto the white fabric of her hanfu. She stumbled as the White Rabbit stopped all too abruptly, and snapped her head back to look at her.
Heather tightened her grip on the hanfu, dusting it red with her blood. “You know more than I,” she said firmly, “So tell me why this is all happening; I’ve done nothing wrong!”
The White Rabbit didn’t respond, nor did she make a move to leave. Her eyes continued to bore into Heather, reaching uncomfortably deep.
Annoyed, Heather snarled and jerked back. “I don’t deserve this! Any of this! I’ve been nothing but good…” she paused, “Or, I haven’t been bad, at least, I… I’ve tried! Isn’t that good enough?”
Each second of silence that passed only made her angrier. Only made her more desperate for assurance.
“It’s not my fault. Say it’s not my fault.” and when she was refused an answer for the third time, Heather roared with all her might, piercing through the serene night, “SAY IT!”
The White Rabbit remained mute. The deafening kind that revealed all too much.
Heather shook her head. Her rage slipped through her fingers, and the final strings holding her together came undone.
“I didn’t do anything,” she said quietly as fresh tears began to well up in her eyes. “I didn't do anything.”
She fell to her knees, hiding her face in her hands as she sobbed— no more dignified than she had earlier, despite the audience. If anything, the White Rabbit’s presence made her crying all the more ugly.
It all came crashing down, worse than it had done before. The suits wanted her dead. The villagers rejected her. Her lovers were broken beyond repair.
She’d lost everything. And there was nothing she could do to fix any of it.
Grabbing tightly at her hair, Heather screamed. Loud enough to break her voice— loud enough so that everyone in Wonderland could hear and feel it. Loud enough to shatter the moon shining kindly in the sky above.
And it must’ve been enough for the White Rabbit to take pity on her. She knelt down before Heather and took her face in her hands, lifting it so their eyes were once again locked.
“Why did you bring me here? To this world?” Heather sniffed, “Why did you give me all I’ve ever wanted just to take it away?” she didn't know if the White Rabbit truly was behind all that had happened; it just felt better to pretend. It felt better to believe someone else was to blame instead of herself.
But the White Rabbit didn’t say a single word. She only stared at Heather with tired eyes— and her disappointment cut deeper than was fair. As if there indeed was a reason she’d brought Heather to Wonderland, and Heather had failed to live up to the expectations.
Like she truly was nothing but a lowlife blight.
With her aching heart laid bare, Heather asked, “Why didn't you save me?”
Is there anybody out there?
Is there anybody left who cares?
All I wanna do is dance.
Here in Wonderland.