first_in_time | Zagreus Sits Inside Your Head (for Splendid

Barbara looked out at the view as Ian put the last of their things in the car. From the front door of the little Bed and Breakfast, she could see beautiful rolling hills for miles. The last of the morning was being chased away as the sun rose higher in the sky, thawing everything out. Even the cows seemed more active on one particular hill.

"I wish we could stay for a little longer," she sighed to Ian, turning her back on it all so that it might be easier to leave. Her arms folded, one hand still held on to the key they were yet to return. "I don't suppose your car has a secret time traveling device so we can spend an extra few weeks here?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

first_in_time

She nodded, secretly pleased that she caught him off guard. "Life threatening dangers and adventures through time and space or not, you were still attractive and I still have hormones. At least you now know that you're welcome to touch my legs at any appropriate momènt you wish to."

From:

splendid_roman

He smiled at her. "I know that now." He stopped and twisted round a bit to brush the back of his free hand against her leg. He was in the perfect position to see a white rabbit crawl into a rabbit hole that was definitely too small for either of them.

"I just saw the rabbit again," he told Barbara as he straightened up. "Over there." He pointed to where it had been. "It was definitely wearing a waistcoat." If it had said anything it was too far away for Ian to hear.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara had been rather enjoying that touch but whirled around to see where Ian was indicating in the side of the hill.

"Let's go for a closer look," she said and trotted over to the hole too small for either of them to fit in. There wasn't anything go articulately special about it. It was small, round, surrounded by grass. That was it.

"Excuse me," Barbara called down the hole. She figured that it was all worth a shot. "Excuse me, Mr. Rabbit, are you home?"

From:

splendid_roman

"No." The voice was definitely coming from somewhere inside the hole, judging by the sound. "I'm very late." The white rabbit bounded out of the hole and nearly ran into Barbara.

"Excuse me," he said and turned to go up the hill.

"What are you late for?" Ian asked him.

From:

first_in_time

"A very important date, so if you don't mind!" the rabbit told them and hopped away up the hill.

"We should follow," Barbara said, "doesn't he go to the Queen's palace and after something, Alice goes home?"

From:

splendid_roman

"I don't remember. I suppose if we're following the book we'll have to go to the palace sometime." Even if they didn't really have a desire to see the Queen. But he did start off after the rabbit, having to jog to keep up with him.

Once they were at the top of the hill and Ian was resolving to be better at keeping fit, they did have a good view of wherever it was they were. The Queen's palace was at the bottom of the hill and it looked like the road circled around the hill, so you could reach the palace from either direction.

Curiously, the horizon seemed to be white, with roundels in it.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara hadn't spotted the horizon, she was too busy trying to keep up with Ian who was trying to keep up with the rabbit. She really wasn't built for running. She got to the top and rested on her knees as she sucked in deep breaths.

"Which way?" Barbara puffed, trying to straighten.

From:

splendid_roman

Ian put a hand on Barbara's back. "I don't know." He had been distracted by the view and the rabbit had vanished. Presumably down another rabbit hole. "Maybe if we stay here for a while it'll reappear." And if it didn't, they could decide where to head next.

From:

first_in_time

Oh, good. If they stayed she'd be able to catch her breath. Barbara slowly started to take in the view: the Queen's residence, a hedge maze, the pretty house with the tea party and the procession of cards marching along a road not to far away. No white rabbit to be seen, however.

"It will be dark soon," she said softly, "we may have to move."

From:

splendid_roman

"Assuming the sun moves the same way as it does at home." It looked like it was setting, but Ian wouldn't be surprised if it bounced back up or there was a second sun at night or something.

Looking around, nowhere looked especially like a good place to go. He was sure he could see the sea in the distance in the other direction, but if it did get dark, that wouldn't be the best direction to go in.

"We could wait until it gets a bit darker than then head towards the lights."

From:

first_in_time

"And then have something come at us in the dark when we can't see all that well," Barbara said and wrapped an arm around Ian's waist. "Maybe we should wait for a little longer and see if the sun will set a little more. We could walk down the hill in semi light, then be close to the palace by dark which might hide us from most of the guards."

From:

splendid_roman

"That's a good idea." Ian put an arm around Barbara's shoulders. "I knew I married you for a reason." He grinned at her.

From:

first_in_time

"I'm glad that it was for more than how pretty I can be sometimes," she grinned back.

From:

splendid_roman

"You're always pretty," he said in a more serious tone, and kissed her. As he did he heard scuffling and broke off quickly to look around. He saw the rabbit again. It had come out of a camouflaged rabbit hole and now hopped down the hill complaining about being late.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara snapped around just in time to see the rabbit dash away. As much as she would like to stand on a high hill and kiss her new husband as the sun set, it was a lot more important that they catch the white rabbit.

"Quick, let's go!" she said to Ian and ran.

From:

splendid_roman

Ian agreed with that and he caught hold of Barbara's hand as he ran down the hill. The trouble with running downwards was that it was harder to stop - or run slowly. It did mean they could keep up with the white rabbit better, at least until it reached the bottom and vanished again.

All Ian could see was a dark space that he presumed was some sort of ditch. He made sure to keep on his feet, but it was no use because he suddenly found the ground vanished from beneath him and he was falling.

He worried for a moment and thought that he should of let go of Barbara's hand, rather than pull her down with him, until he realised he wasn't falling so much as floating.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara felt as though she was slowly falling forward but then righted again, only to still not be able to touch the ground. Her dress looked as though it were a parachute, slowing her down but when she held it into her (heavens knows what could be beneath them), she began to plummet. Best leave it alone, then.

"I can't remember this part of the story," she said, watching herself go upwards in a mirror while she went down.

From:

splendid_roman

"Didn't Alice get into Wonderland this way?" They seemed to be falling past some sort of storage room for odds and ends. There were a few cupboards on the walls, which Ian didn't dare open, although they were falling slowly enough that he probably could. A bookshelf they passed was full of identical copies of Alice in Wonderland.

"Odd sort of hole, though," he said, just as they found themselves out of it and fell gently on the grass by the car.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara looked around and saw their car before them. She glances at Ian then back at the car, then up and down the road.

"Do you think we're back, or do you think that it's part of this Wonderland?" asked Barbara quietly, braced for a surprise.

From:

splendid_roman

Everything looked normal, which was a good start. "I think we're back," Ian said cautiously. "I suppose we'll find out if anything odd happens."

He still had the car keys in his pocket, he found, which was something. "I wonder what time it is." The sun had moved round a bit, but it was hard to be precise.

From:

first_in_time

"We'll find out eventually I suppose," she replied, "particularly if we listen to the radio; they often give updates on the time, date and weather."

Barbara put out her hand out for help from the ground and dusted off the back of her dress. With any luck, they'd have come back just before they left, unlike when they got home from the TARDIS.

From:

splendid_roman

As Ian helped Barbara up he considered that he was as probably as dusty and dishevelled as she was. "We'll put the radio on," he promised. "And stop at the next services."

He was glad he'd put everything away and locked the car before he'd gone off into the forest in search of Barbara. It at least meant no one had stolen the car while they'd been gone.

Everything continued to stay normal while he unlocked the car, got in, started it up and turned the radio on. He was half expecting the car to turn into a carriage pulled by pigs or something like that.

From:

first_in_time

She remained on high alert until Ian had pulled away and began down the road but nothing happened. No burst of light, no music, no mice soldiers or anything out of the ordinary. Her hand found Ian's leg once she was sure that nothing was going to happen.

"I think you might be right," she said at last, "I think we might be back."

From:

splendid_roman

"And not long after we left, either." The radio had given today's date and the time was only an hour later than his watch said it was. And they had been in Wonderland a while.

"I wish I knew what it had all been about."