Page 14 of Cheshire's Smile
“Tick!” I called out, irritation growing inside me. “Where are you, you stupid sneaky fox?”
I clutched Cheshire’s hand while searching in the dark, which ended up being pointless. After a few minutes of calling for him and waiting, we finally gave up looking.
“I think it’s safe to say he left us.” I sighed and leaned against the wall. Something crunched beneath my weight. Grimacing, I straightened. “Well, do we keep going?”
Cheshire squeezed my hand. “Do you know where this cave exits?”
Searching my brain for the memory, my lips curled up. “Actually, I do. It comes out behind a clock in Tick’s home.”
“Well, then. I think we should pay the little creatin a visit, don’t you?”
I giggled and pulled Cheshire along. Each step crunched and, the further we delved into the cave, the more the stench grew stronger. By the time we reached the back of the cave, I was holding my breath.
“It’s here somewhere.” I tried not to vomit as I pressed my hand against the cave wall. I’d almost given up hope when the wall gave beneath my hand. “Ah ha!”
Bright light burned my eyes. I covered them as I stumbled out of the cave. Cheshire pressed in close behind me.
I shoved the clock door shut and breathed in deeply. Sweet. sweet untainted air filled my lungs.
“I never want to do that again.”
“Me either.” Cheshire chuckled, his green orbs surveying the room. “This is Tick’s place?”
Hundreds of clocks covered the walls and ceiling. The tick, tick, ticking filled my ears. I walked through the room, faint memories of my short time here becoming clearer with every step.
My fingers walked across a low wooden table with a ragged tablecloth. Left over teacups sat on the table half filled with cool liquid. Two chairs circled the table, but one of them had been turned over on its side.
“Looks like someone came through here in a hurry,” Cheshire murmured, lifting a piece of clothing from a set of dresser drawers. Each of them was yanked open, and clothing was strewn across them as if someone was searching for something, but they weren’t being particular about being neat about it.
I picked up the chair and set it on its legs before sitting down with a huff. “Looks like he flew the coop. Now what do we do?”
Cheshire came around the table and sat down in front of me. “Well, he obviously didn’t come out through the cave. or we’d have heard him.”
“I don’t know. I came through the top.” I glanced up at the solid roof above us, frowning. The Underground will forever confuse me. How could one fall through a ceiling and yet the ceiling could now be solid?
Shaking my head, I let my eyes wander around his home. My eyes landed on the bed tucked into the corner.
A bone-weary exhaustion came over me, and my eyelids drooped. Living in the human world and taking day-to-day meetings wasn’t as tiring as all the chasing around I had done in the last few days.
At least, that’s what I thought it had been. Time in the Underground wasn’t exactly easy to track as the Human Realm.
“Alright.” Cheshire stood and scooped me up into his arms. “Since it looks like we are stuck here for the time being, I think we should get you to bed.”
“I’m not tired,” I muttered, burying my face into his chest.
A low rumble soothed me until my back pressed against something soft and creaky. Cheshire held me to his front, purring against my back until my eyes slowly slipped closed, and I was gone.
My dreams were usually filled with terror and ended with me waking in a cold sweat. Even with Hatter sometimes, I’d wake screaming, and he’d have to spend the next few hours calming me down before I could finally fall back asleep.
And yet, the only thing I remembered from my time asleep was this overwhelming feeling of comfort and a low vibration that kept the nightmares away.
A musky floral scent filled my nose. It reminded me lazy days laying in the grass staring up at the clouds with my sisters. We’d point out different shapes of animals and talk about everything. The scent reminded me of home.
I buried my face in that scent, nose brushing along warm smooth skin. The heart beating beneath my face soothed mein a way I’d never felt before. I could lay here forever and be completely content.
Cheshire’s hand brushed my hair away from my face. “Do you remember when we first met?”
“I’m sorry,” I sighed into his embrace and shook my head, my nose brushing against his chest. “I don’t. Not yet anyway.”
