The sound of the sword hitting the stone was still reverberating through the courtyard. The executioner stepped back, wincing and touching his muscles where the shock had jarred him.
The Tweedles stared at each other in disbelief, almost daring one another to disagree about what had just happened.
Then, the Rabbit looked up. Before him was what looked like a floating head, with no body attached at all. Then it all became clear. It was the Cheshire Cat’s disembodied head wearing the Hatter’s hat! He hovered there before them all and grinned. “Good morning, everyone!”
“Chess, you dog!” the Dormouse cried in delight.
He winked at her. The sound of the Hatter’s familiar laugh drifted across the courtyard, and everyone turned to find him perched on a balustrade near the Queen’s courtiers.
“Madam,” the Hatter called cheerfully. “You are being heinously bamboozled by these lickspittle toadies you surround yourself with!” He reached out and tugged lightly on Lady Long Ears’ nearest ear. It promptly came off in his hand, and Lady Long Ears screamed. The Hatter held up the ear and the Red Queen squinted at it from her balcony.
“What is that?” she demanded.
Terrified, Lady Long Ears lashed out to defend herself. “I’m not the only one, Majesty,” she shrieked. “Look!” She grabbed the enormous nose of the woman beside her and pulled. It came off with a noisy squck, revealing her real, ordinary-size nose underneath.
“A counterfeit nose!” blustered Big Belly Man. “You should be ashamed!”
“Me?” Lady Large Nose yelled. “What about that big belly you’re so proud of?” Before he could escape her prying hands, she grabbed his shirt and pulled it up to reveal his fake belly. As the Hatter had expected, they were remarkably quick to turn on each other.
And as he’d also expected, the Red Queen was mightily displeased to find her courtiers were conspiring against her. In fact, she was nearly apoplectic with rage by this point. “Liars! Cheats! Falsifiers! Off with their heads!”
Pandemonium broke out. The Hatter leaped to a high ledge and called to the creatures below. “To the abused and enslaved of the Red Queen’s court, stand up and fight! Rise up against the bloody Red Queen!”
Monkeys threw off their tabletops and chair seats, screeching their defiance. A frog holding a tray of tarts tossed them up into the air. Birds dropped their lamps and coasted down to land on their legs, resting their exhausted wings. All across the courtyard and inside the palace, creatures threw off their bonds and took up the battle cry.
“Downal wyth Bluddy Behg Hid!” they shouted. The phrase echoed off the flagstones and filled the morning air. “Downal wyth Bluddy Behg Hid!”
Infuriated, the Red Queen clutched the balcony railing and stamped her foot. “RELEASE THE JUBJUB BIRD!” she screamed.
A bloodcurdling screech cut through the cries of defiance as the JubJub Bird swooped down from his aerie. He clawed and snapped indiscriminately, sowing death through the panicked onlookers below. The Queen watched with a vengeful smile.
“You’re right, Stayne,” she said fiercely. “It is far better to be feared than loved.”
But what she did not see in the chaos below was a small crowd, including the Hatter, the Dormouse, the White Rabbit, and the Tweedles, gathering to escape.
“Come boys, quickly,” the Hatter called.
“Hatter!” said the Dormouse.
“Come on, Mally. Quickly! Come on! Come on!” he responded.
They darted away from the JubJub Bird’s death-dealing talons and made for the drawbridge . . . and freedom.
“Prepare the Jabberwocky for battle,” the Queen commanded. “We’re going to visit my little sister.”