Red in Wonderland

A woman in red awakens with no memory. With a little help from a talking Rabbit and a woman named Alice, Red must find the person who holds the only name she can remember. Robin Hood.

Darkness clawed at me, I couldn't breathe. I need to find him. I thought. But who was he? I couldn't remember. My eyes snapped open and I was on the ground, looking up into a colorful canopy of trees: reds, blues, greens and the occasional pink. I sat up and looked around. Where was I? Who was I? I couldn't remember anything. Not even my name.
I was wearing a long dress, the skirts maroon in color, my corset black, a white apron tied at my hips. I stood and a long, red cloak draped around me, reaching the toes of my tall black boots. A sword and dagger hung from my waist.
Someone grabbed me from behind and threw me to the ground, and before I could catch my breath there was a knife at my throat. "Who are you, stranger?" A voice whispered. A black hooded figure was crouched over me, a pale feminine hand was holding the knife.
"I wish I knew." I said. "I can't remember, I don't even know where I am."
The stranger stepped back and stood, pulling back their hood to reveal a young woman with pale skin and golden hair, eyes black as midnight. "My name is Alice, Alice of Wonderland. Come with me, Red." She said, holding out a hand. "I know someone who can help you."
Alice took me to a strange little house. It was a squat little place and looked for all the world like a mushroom, the roof was red and peaked with large white spots. Inside there was a small wooden room that tripled as a living room, dining room and kitchen. In the kitchen humming away over a boiling pot of green brown goo, is a white rabbit, about five feet tall if you include the ears and was wearing a blue waistcoat, the chain of a gold pocket watch looping from the pocket to a hook on the waistcoat.
It was the most peculiar thing I'd ever seen.
The rabbit turned to us, a pair of glasses perched on his pink nose and he promptly said, with slight annoyance, "Alice, I asked for a ridiculum herb, not a human."
"Sorry, Jillian." Alice said. "She needs our help more. This is Red. She is missing her memories, not a clue who she is."
"Oh!" Said the rabbit, Jillian. "Well, I have just the thing for that." Jillian shuffled over to a cupboard on his large flat feet. He crawled in and a bunch of chaotic noises, the yowl of a cat, pots and pan clashing together, the breaking of glass. Finally the rabbit emerged, fluffy white tail first. He was holding a glowing green vial with a large base and a small neck.
"This should do the trick." Jillian said as he handed me the potion, pushing his glasses up his nose. "It won't work right away but gradually your memories will come back."
I nodded and uncorked the bottle, tipping it back to drink it all down. It tingled and made my head hurt, I was flooded with cold and the pain shattered my head in a scream.
One word. One name: Robin Hood.
I gasped and breathed out the name. "Robin Hood. Who is Robin Hood?"
Alice gasped and crossed herself. "Heathen scum who shouldn't be allowed to live."
Jillian sighed. "There is no need to be rude, Alice." He turned to me. "Robin Hood was a good man, a hunter. But he lost his wife and went wild. The king took her as punishment. He has a gang of hooligans that he uses to steal from the wealthy nobles of the king. Not that I really object, the king is a horrible monster."
"I need to find him." I said. "This Robin Hood. He has to know who I am."
Jillian turned to Alice. "Alice, darling. Please take her. You can protect her better than I can. Besides I still need that ridiculum herb."
Alice groaned. "Fine, if I get to kill something this will be worth it." She flipped her blond curls and stalked out the door.
"Why did Jillian say you could protect me?" I asked.
"I'm an assassin." Alice replied curtly. "Trained by the infamous Hatter and the elusive Cheshire. Fifteen years and I am the highest paid assassin in Shirewood."
"How old are you?"
"Eighteen."
The rest of the walk was spent in silence.
The scenery was peculiar, tall trees with trunks of varying colors: reds, browns, orange, even blue here and there. Once in a while we would pass a bush or a patch of flowers that stood taller than me and had faces crafted meticulously from the petals or the seeds within the center of the flower, each flower was different but they all resembled haughty old ladies at a dinner party, neither speaking to the other of anything less proper than the weather or their health.
The path was made of pebbles that consisted of a million different shades of every color imaginable, but none of them I could name as red or blue or yellow or any of those normal colors, they were colors not of this world.The grass surrounding the path and going through the trees, grew in an odd checkered pattern. Different shades of green colored the grass in squares, with each side being about a meter wide, to give the grass the look of a chessboard but the board never ended and the pieces were not here.
I absently wondered how they could get the grass to grow in such a peculiar way.
After an hour of walking and searching for Robin Hood and his Merry men, we came across a dead end. We couldn't see anything. All around us was a thick cloud of multicolored smoke. After much coughing and sneezing we came to a clear spot to find a very large, blue Caterpillar smoking a hookah, puffing out the shifting smoke.
"Who are you?" The caterpillar croaked, his voice hoarse like a chain smoker.
"I could ask you the same thing." Alice retorted.
"Then why didn't you?" The caterpillar said before proceeding with an awful coughing fit.
"Because I don't have the time."
"I am Caterpillar Jones. Now who are you?"
"I don't know." I said. "That's why I need to find Robin Hood. Can you help us?"
"I can." Said Jones. But he did nothing more.
Alice rolled her eyes. "Will you help us?" She asked, somehow managing to sound both bored and annoyed at the same time.
The Caterpillar hacked and spat for a moment, took another pull from his hookah, and blew out a "yes."
Jones blew out another puff of smoke and it changed into the shape of a pulsing arrow. "Follow the trail through the woods and you will find the second to the man called Robin Hood."
"Great," Alice grumbled. "Thanks." And they started on the trail.
Not long after they were on the trail a snap sounded in the woods and Alice drew out her knife, dropping into a defensive crouch. I pulled my red hood up over my dark brown curls. Out of the trees came the strangest sight I'd seen all day. It was a man, a very hairy man with a wolfish face.
"Werewolf." Alice hissed.
The werewolf was dressed most strangely. He was wearing a pair of knee high leather boots of a bright red, toes pointed to a ridiculous measure. A dark blue corset covered most of his chest, but curly dark hairs still covered him up to his shoulders and over his arms. To complete the outfit he had a fitted shiny, metallic silver skirt, barely reaching his knees. His face was painted with blush and lipstick and his eyebrows plucked to perfection, lashes long and a fake sparkly blue, his hair was styled in spikes and mixed with three pounds of glitter, every move shed sparkles like snow on Christmas.
"Hello, girls." The wolf said in a deep voice. "Going somewhere?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact." I said, stepping forward. "We are looking for Robin Hood. Have you see him?"
"Sorry, Red." The wolf put his hands on his hips and tapped his red boots. I noticed that his nails were bright painted pink claws. "You want anything from Melvin, you gotta answer a riddle."
"A riddle, Melvin?" Alice said. "No way. Come on, Red. This is a waste of time."
"Ah ah!" The wolf said, stepping in her path. "I can't let you pass till you answer the riddle."
"What is it?" I asked.
"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"
Alice groaned. "That's not a riddle. It's a question. I've been asked that riddle before. There is no answer."
"Yes there is." I said. A memory surfacing. "Because it can produce few notes, tho they are very flat; and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front!"
Melvin giggled and clapped his hands. "Well done, Red! Keep going down the trail and you'll find Little John."
As we walked away, Alice hissed at me under her breath, "How did you know that?"
I shrugged. "I haven't the slightest idea."
They kept going down the trail and before they could wonder who Little John could be, a large man stepped in their path. It had to be Little John, the name however, was ridiculously inadequate. John a ten foot tall male wearing little more than pants and a leather vest over his bare chest. Unruly red locks governed his head and a scruffy orange beard colored his face.
"Who goes there?" The giant boomed.
I pulled back my hood and looked up at the giant. "I seek Robin Hood. I need him to tell me who I am."
"Oh!" Little John grinned. "Why sure! Come on!" And the giant led us to a circle of trees. As the giant walked it was like a storm of branches and needles, I pulled up my hood.
"I wouldn't go in there yet." Little John said. "He's practicing, and he doesn't like to be disturbed."
"But I can't wait any longer." I said, I rushed into the clearing. There was a man, a hooded green cloak around his shoulders, a sword in hand, and a deadly grace to his movements.
I walked toward the man in green. A twig snapped under my boot and the man whirled and lunged at me so fast that the only thing I could do was stumble back.
My mind was reeling but my limbs knew exactly what to do.
My hand reached for the sword at my waist and pulled it out to block the attack from the man. A deadly dance of sound and steel began and even though I couldn't remember any of it happening before...it was familiar.
The hood of my opponent was up so I couldn't see his face, and my own face was hidden from him.
I ducked and parried, I lunged and slashed, blocking his blows as easily as he did my own.
There was a singular problem with this fight, I was out-matched. This Robin Hood was a far better swordsman than I was, but the rage I felt reverberating in every blow of his sword made him slightly predictable.
I didn't know how I knew this fact but I used the information to my advantage.
I was holding my own well, even against the better fencer. Despite my own loss of memory at ever having wielded a sword, I was quick as a snake and graceful as a cat.
I knew, though, that my fight would not hold him back forever, and my opponent knew it as well.
After what seemed like forever the man disarmed me and I fell back, my hood falling to reveal my face.
The man stopped, frozen in shock. He fell to his knees and threw back his hood. Handsome blue eyes framed by bronze curls stared in awe at me.
"Marion." Robin Hood sobbed.
With that name, every memory came flooding back. My name was Marion, I was 28 years old. Robin Hood was my husband, and I was kidnapped by the king. He was a Jabberwocky and he tried to kill me, but I cut off his head and fled into the forest. Though not before the evil man had a chance to erase my memories.
"Robin." I said, and Robin Hood swept me up in a hug and buried his face in my curls.
"Welcome home." He said.
* * * *
A home lost by memories stolen
A man gone mad by his home a broken
A journey taken to find dear mind
A joyous reunion to find Marion alive
May this tale be wrought in stone
How Little Red Riding Hood found a way home