Tiger in Wonderland
By Tiger

                       I    

Tiger was taking her usual morning run on the wooded
path, when she tripped and fell down down down, into a
deep dark hole. She groaned... rubbing her head...
That landing had HURT! Things definately were not
normal... everything was skewed quite a bit! She shook
her head groggily and the vision she was seeing didn't
change a bit!. All of a sudden, The Mad Hatter popped
up right in front of her, nearly scaring her to death!
Except that the Mad Hatter looked and acted like Eric
Carr! "I have got to be dreaming!" She groaned and
winced a little at the ache in her head. "Helloooo
Gorgeous!" he crowed at her.. making her wince even
more. "Got a knot on the noggin?!" he asked... she
nodded, very warily. He leaned down and planted a kiss
on her hurting head, which made the pain vanish
immediately. She looked up at him surprised, and he
just laughed. "Hatter is the name and Mad is the
game... Catch me if you can!!!!" With that, he took
off at a run. She just burst out laughing and on an
impish impulse... followed him, only to see him vanish
among the trees. "I'll be...."  "SUPRISE!!!" She
nearly jumped out of her skin ... He had snuck up on
her AGAIN! She reached out and grabbed him this time!
He chuckled at seeing fire in her eyes... "You'll be
what?" She looked at him in a little shock...."Welcome
to the crazy, mad, world of WONDERLAND! You are my
guest here.... Tongue tied?! well that is to be
expected!!! After all, I havent had any visitors in
quite a while. Still dont believe you're here, well
here is the PROOF!" With that he gave her a kiss that
really blew her circuits... but good! She awoke later
in a cute little woodland cottage. She pinched
herself.... Now she knew she wasn't dreaming! No sign
of the Mad Hatter....

                       II

Tiger looked around at the cottage.... everything was
so full of color and life and light...She let her hand
stray to a flower and gasped... she felt the flower
pulse with life. She saw a stoppered container on the
table and reached for it, only to have her hand
stopped by the Hatter. "Ut uh, Beautiful....That stuff
will definately have you here... permanantly! Love
potion it is... but not number 9!!!" She smiled and
retorted... "I could think of a lot worse fate than to
be stuck here with you permanantly!!!!" The neon grin
lit up the room even more. "OH YEAH?!" "Yeah!!!" Tiger
stuck out her tongue impishly and headed out the door.
Only to collide with the Black King, who was not in a
very good mood anyway. "Watch where you are going!" He
yelled... "Take off her head!" he shouted, but she
shouted HIM down. "Try it my dear and SEE what
happens!" He stopped, taken just a little aback.
"Treat people with respect and THEY will treat you
with same!" She walked into the woods to allow her
temper to cool off a little She willed herself to calm
down and was just about to go back to the cottage when
the Black King appeared and APOLOGIZED! She accepted
his apology and watched him disappear. "Fireball,
aren't you?!" the Hatter's warm voice chuckled. She
turned around, spotting him leaning against a tree, a
wicked grin warming his brown eyes immensly. "A
bit..." She blushed. "More like a fire breather..." he
laughed and she grinned... "And now how would you
know?" "Only one way to find OUT!" he laughed and
started chasing her around the woods. She was caught
by the Cheshire Cat, before the Hatter could reach
her. "Looking for someone?" the Cat called to the
Hatter. "I see you got her trussed up... and yes...
she is the one I was chasing.... " "You have quite a
catch there old boy!" The Cat laughed as he turned
Tiger back over to the Hatter. "Don't I know it!" The
Hatter laughed as he accepted the trussed up Tiger,
releasing her from the ropes. She smiled at him.
"Thanks... I dont know what the heck hit me..." He
laughed..."the Cat will knock you flat before you can
blink, as you discovered! Now... lets discover just
how fiery you really are!!!" But before he could do
more than move.... she had been grabbed again.... This
time, by the March Hare, who bounded out of the
Hatter's way carrying Tiger up and away from that...
cackling....Egads... NOW WHAT?!


                              III

Tiger was getting seasick with all the bouncing....
Mercifully, right before she blacked out,  a
commanding voice yelled. "PUT THE LADY DOWN NOW!!!"
The March Hare complied. The last thing she saw was
the King Of Hearts really raising hell at the March
Hare. She mercifully slipped into oblivion. She awoke
back in the cottage.... very ill. The Hatter gently
gave her a drink... his eyes shot with concern. "How
you feeling, Georgeous?" "A little sick" she replied.
"drink this... It will help..." She took the tiny
glass from him and drained it to the last drop. All
thoughts of fire were quenched for the moment. He
encouraged her to go back to sleep. Warmth filled her
and wrapped around her like a blanket. When she woke
up later, she couldn't believe her eyes... A Unicorn
stood just outside the doorway. Pulled to her feet,
she toddled unsteadily towards the symbol of purity,
being drawn by an invisible hand. Before she could
move, the Unicorn's horn touched her head and tears
flowed as a peace like she had never known before
flooded her. *Everything that is no more in your world
is here and then some* The Unicorn spoke quietly.
*Little one... The Hatter was not joking when he spoke
of this as a wonderland. As you journey here, you will
see much that would baffle and confuse any other...
Look with your heart and not your eyes. Be well...
little sister* With that... the Unicorn galloped off
into the forest... leaving a very awestruck and soul
shaken Tiger. She climbed back into bed and shut her
eyes... A Journey was approaching... She slid into a
deep sleep one full of meaning.


                            IV

Tiger woke up feeling a lot better.... Still no sign
of the crazy Mad Hatter....She was beginning to enjoy
herself and her stay here in Wonderland. She was
tempted to just drink the potion on the table and be
done with it, but stopped herself, just in time. She
walked out into the warm sunshine and beautiful blue
sky... She wandered to a white marble arch that was an
entranceway to a pool with two pure white swans that
swam therein. She watched entranced as the two swans
came together, their necks forming a perfect heart. A
a radiant rainbow filled the area completely. Her
heart sang as she remembered the words of the Unicorn.
She heard a rustle in the grass and turned around.
"RATS!!!! You caught me!" The Hatter laughed, as she
smiled at him. "Getting quick on the draw, arent
you... Well CATCH ME IF YA CAN!!" He moved and she
started chasing him again. The little devil moved like
greased lightning! No matter how hard she tried... she
couldn't catch the little stinker!!!! She thought of
hitting him with a water balloon, and lo and behold
one materialized in her hand. She took aim and
tossed.....KERSPLAT! BULLSEYE!!!!! He turned around...
a devilish gleam in his warm eyes and tossed one right
back at her, which hit the mark! She shrieked as the
ice cold water doused her and swearing revenge, pelted
after him. The sounds of laughter floated through the
forest as the two played hide and seek, still pelting
one another with water balloons. The Cheshire Cat just
grinned at the two's antics. "Children" he chuckled.
They played like little children for hours until
sunset. He took her back to the cottage and made
certain that she was safe in bed, before he took his
leave of her. He reminded her seriously not to leave
the cottage after sundown and why... She agreed and
with a gentle kiss goodnight, he left the little
cottage.. She had seen sadness in his eyes.... why?.
She was determined to find out THAT answer and to make
the hurt go away. Her last thought was his eyes full
of sunshine as she finally slept, unknown to her, he
watched over her.


                            V

Tiger woke up to another beautiful day.. She started
searching for the Hatter, the remembrance of his eyes
spurring her on. She came upon the Cheshire Cat after
fruitlessly searching for what seemed like hours.
"Seen you the Hatter?" She quieried mildly. "Yes,
Tiger-cub... Go to the Well of Rememberance and you
will find the Hatter there." She followed the pathway
to the well. The Hatter was sitting on the ground
looking into the well. She gently touched him,as so
not to disturb him. He looked up at her and her breath
caught at the emotion in his eyes. Without a word, she
put her arms around him and just held him tight. It
was all she could do... Now she fully understood. They
both remained locked into an embrace. She felt some of
the pain lifting away and focused even more. "You do
understand..." his voice filled with  wonder. She just
smiled. Ruffling his hair, she sensed that he wanted
to be alone and letting him go, she followed the path
back into the woods. Where the March Hare ambushed her
again! She yelped once, then the crazy bouncing began
to make her sick. She felt like she was falling
again...this time into darkness. This time she heard
the voice of the White King. "Hare, PUT THE CUB DOWN
NOW!!!!....Dammit you have made her sick!" She
couldn't fight the feeling of nausea and bouncing that
she felt and just fell into darkness again. All she
could hear was voices. She awoke with a huge headache.
The King of Hearts looked at her. She shook like a
leaf in the wind... Mustering her strength, she formed
a water balloon and hit the March Hare with it! That
brought a laugh to all, including the Hare AND the
Hatter! The Cheshire Cat served her some catnip tea
for the illness. She drank it down, half expecting to
go bananas again. But instead, it calmed her down. She
smiled her thanks to the Cat and he grinned hugely!
The Hatter and The Hare were playing pranks on one
another, which despite her weakness, she laughed.
Everyone left finally except the Hare and the
Hatter... The Hare apologized and she forgave him..
Then KERSPLAT! she got hit with a water balloon and he
took off cackling again. "I'll get you for that
later!' she groaned.