Through The Looking Glass

Through The Looking Glass

 

“Are you sure this is it?” Allie looked at the small man that stood quivering before her.

“Absolutely, child. But if you have your doubts, if you don’t want it…” He held out his hand, prepared to take the object back.

“I am not a child,” Allie said, holding firmly to the talisman the man had delivered to her. “I will need to take it to her to find out for sure.” She turned to leave but he grabbed hold of her arm, holding her back. He was no longer quivering, but determined.

“You will pay me first.”

“And if this isn’t the mirror I am looking for? You will have my payment and I will be the fool with a useless relic.”

“And if you don’t pay me, you will never know. Are you prepared to lose your last chance…” His fingers closed around hers and she felt her grip on the mirror’s handle loosening. With a strength he didn’t show in his aged features, he reclaimed the mirror, placing the object back into the bag he had first produced it from.

“NO!” Allie lunged for the bag, but he stepped back.

“Tut, tut, you know what I want. Give it to me and the mirror is yours.”

Allie sighed. “Very well.” Turning, she started to leave and then stopped, seeing that he was preparing to follow her. “Wait here.”

“No tricks,” he cautioned. “I will know if you try anything… funny.” He cackled then, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

Allie’s stomach knotted at the unpleasant sound. “I promise, no tricks.”

She slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her. A moment later she stepped into another room. A baby lay sleeping in a bassinet. Allie smiled down at the child. “Don’t worry, Regina, I have no intention of giving you to him, promise or no promise.”  

She stepped past the baby’s bed and touched a panel on the wall. It slid open, revealing an empty chamber. She picked up the knife she’d hidden there and then opened up another panel that led into the room she had left the little man. His back was turned to her and he remained unaware of his danger as she approached him. He stiffened when the knife plunged into his back, but offered no other resistance. His top hat fell off his head as she lowered him gently to the floor.

***

Allie had spent years trying to find her mother’s old mirror. Now that she was dying it became more imperative than ever that she succeed. Her mother’s only chance to live was held within the mirror. She looked down at her mother now, while the nurse administered another round of medicine… intravenously. Her mother had long ago lost the ability to swallow. So used to the constant prodding, Alice slept through the needles prick, even smiling.

“Do you think she is dreaming about him?” The nurse asked.

“Who else would make her smile like that?” She held Regina against her, patting the baby bottom, while the nurse took her mother’s pulse and emptied her catheter. When she was finished, Allie handed her a piece of paper. The nurse looked at the check, confused.

“It says final payment.”

“Your services will no longer be required.”

“But…”

“This may very well be my mother’s last day. I wish to spend it with her alone.” She held up the mirror and the nurse gasped, understanding.  “Don’t worry, we will both be okay.  We will be together. Oh, when you leave, can you please use the back door. There’s a bit of a mess in the front foyer and I wouldn’t want you to slip.”

After the nurse was gone, Allie woke her mother.

“Allie…” Her mother’s voice was weak when she spoke and Allie put a finger to her lips, silencing her.

“Save your strength, mother, you will need it. We are going on a journey.”

“Where are we going?” Alice’s eyes fell on the mirror. “No, Allie… “

“You are dying and the only chance for you to live is in Wonderland. You will be young again… and you can be with Hatter.” She lifted the mirror and held it in front of them.

“You don’t understand!”

Her mother’s voice was panicked and Allie worried she might have a heart attack and die before they made it through the looking glass. She wondered if there was something she should say. Then the mirror began to ripple and she found herself falling forward. A white rabbit waved at her from the other side of the mirror. And then the rabbit disappeared and a woman in red stepped into place.

“Allie, no! That’s not my mirror… it’s hers!”

***

“Welcome back, Alice. I told you we’d meet again.”

Allie looked at the woman that was speaking to her. “I’m not Alice.” She turned to her mother and cried out, dismayed. The woman next to her was dead, her body already turning to ashes. “No. NO! This was supposed to save her.”

“Perhaps if you had just paid what we’d agreed on.”

The strange man that Allie had killed in her own world stepped from behind the Red Queen. He appeared younger and now Allie knew him from her mother’s descriptions. The Mad Hatter, Alice’s true love.

“But… I… How?”

“You should know,” he said, taking Regina from her arms, “That in Wonderland, nothing is as it appears. I am not THE Hatter. My brother died long ago.”

“He was the first after Alice left,” the Queen said, taking the baby. “She took something from me when she did and I vowed I would get back what was rightfully mine.”

“What? I will give it to you! Just please, give me my baby back.”

“Give me my baby back,” the Queen mimicked, laughing.  “You don’t understand, Allie, she took my baby from me. That’s right, you, child. And now that I have you… and my grandchild home, I am never going to let you go.”

 

Word Count: 1,000

The Masque of the Fairytale

Written for the Twelfth Night Masquerade Flash Fiction Contest. Check out all the awesome stories.

 

The Masque of the Fairytale

by Lisa McCourt Hollar

 

Katarina watched them dance around the room, the King and Queen of the Masque. The anger inside her surged as they twirled past, the two smiling, secure in their joy. That should be her in his arms. He had been hers…  Once upon a time. That was long ago, when she had believed in fairy tales and happily ever after.  

Then she had shown him her sister.  The curse the witch had put on her made Aurora appear as though she were simply sleeping.

“We’ve been waiting for the spell to be broken for seven years,” Katarina had whispered.

“What is the cure?”

“A kiss from her true love. But none that have tried have succeeded.”

Katarina had turned to leave before she’d realized what Philip intended. When Aurora’s eyes opened, Katrina’s heart was shattered.

“You should be happy for your sister,” her mother said just days before the wedding.

She tried, truly she did. And each day her anger grew, filling her until all she could think about was destroying their love.

“I can help you get him back,” the witch had whispered.

They looked alike in every way, except that Katarina had a small mole on the side of her lip. A blemish that no longer adorned her face. She’d had it removed with the help of the witch.

“Lure her outside and I will take care of your dear Aurora,” the witch promised.

“And my first payment?”

“Your first born…a fair trade to find the happiness you deserve.

Katarina pulled the mask over her face and approached the happy couple.

“May I borrow my sister for a moment, Philip?”

Aurora took her arm, winking at her sister conspiratorially, as they had done when little girls.

“Have you seen the way Prince Dashing looks at you?” Aurora asked once they were outside and away from the others. “I think he may have designs on you.”

Katarina shuddered. John Dashing was short, barely taller than those idiot dwarves their cousin Snow was slumming with.

“I have designs of my own, dear sister.”

Aurora’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Who is he? Is it the Duke? I saw you dance the first dance with him. He’s not the most handsome, but I’ve heard stories… ”

“No sister, the prince you stole from me,” Katarina said, removing her mask. “Philip.”

“Your mark… it’s gone,” Aurora gasped, and then, “Philip?”

“He was mine and you took him.”

“If you hadn’t wanted us to marry, why didn’t you say so? Katarina, I never would have if I’d known.”

“Because,” Katarina said, as black smoke surrounded Aurora, “he wanted you. And now he will think I am you.”

When the smoke cleared, her sister was gone.

“Where is Katarina?” Philip asked when she returned to the ball.

“She had to leave. She said to give you her goodbyes.”

The Fairy Tale Disguise

This is a day late but was written for #FridayFrights. I used the artwork of Thomas Arensberg for inspiration, along with a story suggestion from my daughter's grandfather.

 

The Fairy Tale Disguise

By Lisa McCourt Hollar

 

“The pigs, the pigs!”

“He screams that over and over, doctor.”

“Could be a reaction from being hauled in here by the police; I’ve never cared for them much myself.”

Nurse Sally rolled her eyes at Doctor Stanton’s attempt at humor. The two were standing outside of a locked door, staring in at the man sitting in the corner. His arms were restrained by the straight jacket, an attempt to prevent the patient from harming himself as well as the staff at the mental institution.

“What was his demeanor when they brought him in?”

“Agitated. He was howling… you know the type.”

“There was a full moon last night.”

Sally chuckled. “Since he wasn’t hairy and his teeth are missing, I think it is safe to assume he’s not a werewolf.”

“Tell me about the teeth,” Stanton said, looking at the chart. “It says that his mouth was bloody and it looked like his teeth had all been pulled out recently.”

“A butcher job. It looked like someone had taken a hammer to his mouth.”

Inside the room the man tilted his head back and howled, a long mournful sound that sent chills through Nurse Sally. She’d seen patients that thought they were werewolves before, but something about this John Doe seemed… different. He howled again, then looked towards the window she and Dr. Stanton were observing him through. Shuddering, she took a step back. For just a moment there was something in his eyes, something that was almost animalistic. Then it disappeared and he let out a slow sob before screaming again. “The pigs! The pigs!”

“This case isn’t that unusual,” Dr. Stanton said, making some notes in the chart. “Give him the usual cocktail and we’ll see how he is tomorrow. Moving on…”

Sally followed the Doctor down the hall to the next patient, a woman who thought she was Marilyn Monroe.  Looking behind her before they entered the room, making sure the security cameras in the hallway had been disabled. Dropping a card on the ground, she shut the door… Marilyn would keep Dr. Stanton busy long enough for her brother’s to get the job done. She was just glad she’d been working when the police had brought in their newest patient.

As the door closed, three orderlies came around the corner.

“Here it is, just as she promised.” The fattest of the three bent, his breath coming in short gasps from the effort of bending. Retrieving the key card from the ground he and the other three made their way to John Doe’s room.

“This seems a little too easy,” the shortest of the three said as he stared through the small window. “Like taking candy from a baby… where’s the sport in that?”

“Where’s the sport…” the skinny one slapped him on the back of the head. “Don’t forget, he tried to kill us first.”

“Hush it you two.” The fat one took the card and held it against the key pad. The red light changed from red to green as the lock made a soft clicking sound. Pushing the door open the three orderlies skulked into the room. 

Against the wall, John Doe shrank back, a small whimper crossing his lips before he screamed.

“Hey Frank, look… I think he’s trying to change.”

The fat one chuckled, “Won’t do you any good Thomas. The wolfs bane we shoved down your maw will stop you from shifting. It also makes you act a little insane, right Toby?”

“Let’s just get this done,” Toby said. “And let’s try not to flub it up this time by letting him get away.”

“Where’s he going to go,” Stubby chuckled as the three morphed into pigs. Their teeth jutted out, sharp and jagged, canines that would rival any wolf’s glimmering against the light.

“You should have just stayed away, Thomas. We don’t like the taste of wolf blood, but we’ll drain you just the same.”

Thomas howled again, his eyes flashing between wolf and human. If he could just change, but the wolfs bane was still in his system and the pain was too much. Looking past the pigs he looked down the hall. They’d left the door open, maybe someone would see him. Then he did see movement… a flicker of red. Then Stubby’s head exploded as a stake shot out from the back of his skull. The vampiric pig turned, snarling at the girl.

“Ooops, I missed,” Red grinned, already loading another stake into her gun.

The pig tried to dodge, but was slow from the damage to his head. This time it landed where she intended, piercing the dead heart of one of Grandma’s killers. Then she took aim at the other two.

Frank ran straight at the girl. Dropping her gun, Red grabbed a stake from her basket and slammed it into his heart.

“Mmm, bacon,” she said. Smiling slyly at the one remaining pig she bent her finger, wiggling it. “Here piggy, piggy.”

***

Nurse Sally stepped into the hall, straightening her top. Dr. Stanton followed, a little dazed. Sally wiped a lingering trail of blood from her mouth.

“I’ll go get that cocktail you ordered for John Doe.”

“Yes, that would be good,” Stanton said, his confusion beginning to clear, a false memory forming in his mind. Nothing unusual had happened in the patient’s room. Turning he headed in the opposite direction of the nurse and was just beginning to turn the corner when her screams reached him. Running back down the hall he found Sally standing outside of John Doe’s room, a hand covering her mouth.  The patient was no longer there, his straight jacket lay shredded in the middle of the room, along with the bodies of three of the orderlies.

“How did he…”

“He never finished his question. Sally ripped his head off, her anger at her brother’s death fueling her rage. She guzzled the blood as it spurted out. She would find Thomas and Red and when she did she would avenge their deaths. She had an idea of where they might go next. Vampire hunters were so predictable… they would be looking for their next victims and Hansel and Gretel didn’t live far from here.

 

I will be continuing this next week with another of Thomas's contributions.

 

 

 

 

A Crooked Story

A word of warning: This story is not for kids. It may contain characters from beloved fairy tales, but the following tale is anything but child's play.

 

A Crooked Story
By Lisa McCourt Hollar

Jill struggled up the hill, her small legs having trouble traversing the terrain. The two buckets she carried were too heavy for her alone, but ever since Jack’s fall, he’d been unable to help her bring water back down to the village. Their poor mother was too old to climb the hill and the other children that lived with them too small.

Care for the orphans had mostly fallen on Jill and she tried not to be resentful, after all Mother Hubbard had given up much for them. When the food ran out a few months ago, leaving the cupboards bare, she’d slaughtered the dog so they could eat. Some of the younger ones cried, but Mother said it was better than eating shoe leather, which was the next step if they didn’t find something to eat soon.

“Fine day, isn’t it?”

“It is if you have nothing better to do than sit on walls,” Jill said, glaring at the oval shaped annoyance. Humpty just laughed, rocking back and forth, acting the fool everyone thought he was. Suddenly a gust of wind came along, pushing the egg off balance. He teetered back and forth, his arms flailing.

“Heeeelp,” he wailed, tipping forward, about to fall off of the wall. Jill watched, horrified as Humpty splattered on the ground, his yolk spreading out in a gruesome display. Looking around, she saw that there was no one else around to witness what had just happened. She knew she should call the Kings Men to put Humpty back together, that was the standard protocol when he fell and he fell often, but just as she was turning to run for help another idea entered her mind. Setting her buckets down, she carefully scooped the yolk into one of the containers. When she was finished, she buried the shells so no one would discover what had happened.

“Look what I have,” Jill said, proudly displaying the bucket for Mother Hubbard.

“Egg? Where did you find eggs?”

“A crooked man walking with a cat and a mouse,” Jill lied. “He was thirsty and sold me the eggs in exchange for a drink of water.”

“How fortunate we are,” Mother said, heating up the stove to make scrambled eggs.

That night when Jill went to sleep she dreamed about a crooked man.

“You lied,” he said, pointing a crooked finger at her. The road they were on began to shake, twisting itself into a new shape. When the tremors were finished, Jill found herself standing on a crooked path. The crooked man laughed, twisting his mouth into a gruesome smile. He held out his hand, offering her a seed.

Waking, Jill couldn’t shake the dream. She wanted to tell Jack about it but he had already left to go help Bo Peep tend to her sheep. Jill felt the vaguest wisp of jealousy forming in her belly. Bo lived on the other side of the village and lived in a nice house, not a shoe. She ate every day, not just once a week and didn’t have to drag buckets up a hill to get water; she had indoor plumbing. And Jack was in love with her. Last week he was showing off his jumping skills, trying to impress the girl. Jill thought it served him right when he burnt his dick on the fucking candle stick.

“Boy never learns,” she mumbled, heading out the door to go find him. She didn’t have to go far though, since he was running back home.

“Did little Miss Priss laugh at you again?”

“No, look!” Jack held out his hand revealing a seed.

Jill clutched her stomach, feeling ill. “Where did you get that?”

“A crooked man gave it to me. He said to tell you thanks for the water.”

“Throw it away,” Jill whispered. Her throat felt tight and blood rushed in her ears, drowning out the sound of a crooked laugh.

“I know it’s not much… but it’s food.”

“THROW IT AWAY!” Jill smacked Jack’s hand, sending the seed flying through the air.

“Why did you do that?” Jack asked, searching the weeds for the tiny seed.

“Let’s just go back home,” Jill said, pulling on his arm. “Maybe you can help me with the water today?”

“I don’t think so, my head is still too woozy.”

That night they had nothing to eat and Jill went to bed hungry. She dreamed about the crooked man and a giant ogre. Jack was trying to steal golden eggs from the hulking beast. The earth shook from huge feet that chased Jack across a misty ground.

Stifling a scream Jill woke to excited whispers outside her window. “What’s going on?” She asked, looking out. A huge beanstalk had grown overnight and Mother and the children stood around it, staring up into the clouds. Jill looked up, surprised to see that the stalk rose all the way to the sky.

“Jack climbed up it,” Mary Contrary said, her eyes wide with excitement. “He said the Crooked man told him there would be golden eggs up there.

“NO!” Bolting out of bed, Jill rushed outside, she had to save Jack. But just as she reached the stalk and put her foot on the lowest vine, thunder erupted from the clouds and golden yolk sprayed down on them. A booming voice echoed from above, “Fee Fi Fo Fum, I smell someone that will fill my tum!”

“JACK!” Jill screamed as something fell out of the sky, splattering on the ground. It was Jack’s head and this time he really did break his crown.

“This is all my fault,” Jill cried, falling to her knees. Between sobs, she confessed to Mother what she had done.

“It’s too late to do anything about it now,” Mother said, her voice forgiving, “and I suppose something good has come from this.”

“What?” Jill asked.

“Breakfast! Have you ever had fried brains?” Laughing, the old woman snatched up Jack’s head and headed back into the shoe.