Winter Rabbit in Wonderland

Chapter 17

The water remained cold. No, it felt as if it was getting even colder.

“Oh, c’mon.”

She mumbled in annoyance as she wet her towel to wipe off her body. Bothered that she had slept on the ground, she was hoping to have a good wash, but she didn’t have much choice.

I’ll just suck it up and wash my hair. She looked for shampoo but found only soap. Curse words were at the tip of her tongue, but she resisted and washed her hair with the soap.

To get out of this situation, there was only one thing to do. She had to hurry and find either Heart or Mad Hatter. What did I expect out of March, anyway? After he’s done with his part, he’s nothing but an extra.

Alice left the bathroom and searched for March. He was in the kitchen, poking a large can full of firewood.

“Thank you for letting me use the bathroom. But what are you doing?”

“Boiling water,” March answered blandly as he placed a coiled wad of paper into the flames. When the paper was lit, he brought it to the kindling and set it aflame.

Oh, my. To the Alice of Wonderland, this was a strange sight. Other people’s houses wouldn’t be like this, right? Suppressing her annoyance was getting progressively harder as worry sunk in. She forced a smile.

“That looks hard.”

“Oh, you’re from Outhouse. Pay attention. Most people use fire like this. Unless you have a person with magical powers in the household.”

“I see.”

Alice felt relieved. The men that were to fall in love with her were not most people.

As Alice imagined the house she would live in and the man she would choose, March placed a large pot of water over the flames. Alice, not having much to do, watched with her chin propped against her hands.

Soon, the water started to boil. March picked up the pot and went to Dor’s room. Alice trotted behind him and frowned as she looked at the things readied: towel, soap, a pot of cold water, and a tub. March poured the tub half full of hot water and adjusted the temperature with the cold. Undressing Dor, he placed her into the tub.

“You’re all better now, so this is the end of me having to wash you. You will now have to learn how to bathe yourself,” March said as he rubbed soap onto a small towel. Although she was 15, she looked much younger, and her mental age seemed even younger.

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“Can I bathe with Rabbit?”

“Sure.”

March washed Dor thoroughly from head to toe, then dried her hair with a towel. He sure cared a lot.

“I’m going to sleep,” Alice said and left the room. She couldn’t stand any more of it.

She was saddened by the fact that the old sofa was dirty and hard. And so her second night in Wonderland passed.

***

March did all he could for Dor, who had been asleep almost all her life. To make sure she could adjust smoothly, he let her lie down often, and when she complained that her body didn’t move well after waking up, he would massage her.

It was actually a miracle that Dor could move around like a normal person who only slept one day at a time. But why couldn’t March shake off this irksome feeling when he went to tell SoYoon the good news?

“March.”

SoYoon put out hot milk for March. It was the only thing that SoYoon could cook.

March’s mind wandered again to Alice. She had thought boiling water was strange. Of course, not everyone in Wonderland used firewood for heat. SoYoon had a glass box that got hot with the flip of a switch. Mad Hatter had made it for her when she had the idea. It was called an induction oven.

Everyone in Outhouse used such things. Now that he thought about it, Alice didn’t respond to the term Outhouse at all. He had been preoccupied with bathing Dor, so it had slipped his mind, but it was definitely strange.

“Why is your expression like that? Is something wrong?”

“Huh? No. It’s something good. Dor woke up. The girl that fixed her said she is completely healed. She woke up this morning without anything happening, so I can trust her, right?”

His eyes were swollen from lack of sleep; he had spent the night watching over his sister’s bed. SoYoon petted March’s hair.

“Stop! I’m all grown now! I’m even taller than you!”

“I know you like it. What’s there to be embarrassed about?”

“No! I hate it!”

Unlike SoYoon, whose expression was blank, March blushed red. It was obvious that SoYoon was the winner in this little contest. Her brown eyes held a tenderness that made March close his mouth.

“But, what do you mean, the girl who fixed her?”

“Oh, Alice Liddell. I brought her to my house when he fainted two nights ago. But last night, in Dor’s room, she...”

March described the miracle of the previous night. Even as he explained it, he sounded as if he couldn’t believe it. Was this magic? Never in his life had March seen magic, so he assumed this to be it.

“Unlike before, Dor is fine moving about. She can even walk.”

“You should still take her to see Doctor. With Alice also.”

“Yes. And Dor says she misses you.”

Truthfully, that was the reason he was here. SoYoon hesitated but nodded.

“Morning will be tough...but I’ll stop by in the afternoon.”

“Sure. Um. Are all Outhouse people like that?”

“Why? Are you infatuated with her?”

SoYoon smiled teasingly. She had always thought of him as a little kid, but he was all grown. She had already known that March would fall for Alice at first sight, but knowing that was different from actually witnessing it. As she said this, March looked at her in exasperation.

“I knew you were a little weird, but have you decided to go all the way with it? I told you to stop hanging out with the weirdos.”

“What’s with the sudden nagging?”

“Cuz you are speaking nonsense.”

SoYoon expected this embarrassed reaction. March had warned SoYoon to be careful around Baby, Mad Hatter, and Duke.

“Okay. I understand. So you just take Dor and Alice to Doctor.”

“Are you sure you understand?”

“I understand. I’m busy. I have to go see Heart.”

“You wouldn’t be making up a fake appointment so you could get rid of me, would you? You better come see Dor in the afternoon.”

After March left, SoYoon got ready. She had made up a fake appointment, but she did have business to attend to. She had to tell Heart about Alice.

When SoYoon arrived at Heart’s house, she was led not to his office but his bedroom. Heart was wearing black silk pajama pants, lying on the sofa, and eating a late breakfast.

She sat across from Heart. He was still a bit drowsy, so he smiled more dreamily than normal.

“What a surprise. I would have never expected you so early.

“In seven minutes, it will be ten.”

SoYoon removed her mask and pinned her hair back with the pin Heart handed her.

A few moments later, the same breakfast as Heart’s was set in front of SoYoon. She had missed breakfast due to March’s arrival, so she took it gratefully. Heart had finished before her and got up to make coffee, then brought it to her.

“It must be important for you to show up here without even calling.”

“Two nights ago, a girl came here from Outhouse. Her name is Alice Liddell. She has the ability to heal.”

“Healing powers? Not magic?”

“That’s what I believe. She healed Dor.”

Illnesses could not be cured by magic. Hence, Alice’s powers were not magic. SoYoon knew that Alice did not have magical powers and so beat around the bush, thinking of an excuse.

Heart got up from his seat and approached her. Anticipating his next move, SoYoon put down her mug. As expected, he sat on the arms of the armchair and buried his face into her neck. Taking in a deep breath, he whispered.

“What is your relation to her?”

“I’ve never met her.”

“Really?”

His seductive voice and breath on her neck aroused her sensitive skin. SoYoon flinched.

“Stop. It tickles.”

“You’re just sensitive.”

“I doubt it.”

Baby always criticized her for being oblivious. When she said this, Heart laughed quietly...because it tickled.

“You must be close to Baby. What about the girl?”

“Why are you so obsessed with this Alice you’ve never met before?” Heart whispered. His voice pulled at her insides, making her hot.

“When you said her name, you smiled.”

Heart’s unclothed arm embraced her shoulders. She turned her head to find that his face was inches away from hers.

SoYoon pretended to look at the ruby piercing on his lips and turned away. But Heart grabbed her hand and placed it on his chest where his heart was and slowly swept it across.