“Contagion,” screeched the Red Queen as she pointed to
the odd flower. “Who betrayed me?”
Her retinue of cards threw themselves at her feet, jabbering
apologies. “Shall I pull it out, my Queen?” one asked.
“Pull? One of my precious roses? Off with his head!”
As the rest of the cards dragged the questioner away, Alice
looked at the flower again. Remembering it was important to curtsy first, she
asked, “Majesty, I don’t understand. You said this flower was a contagion, but
you don’t want it pulled.”
The Queen rolled her eyes. “No rose of mine could be a contagion,
you simple child. It’s been contaminated! Who did it? That gardener? I never
trusted her.”
“Majesty, are you sure this is a rose?”
“I am surrounded by fools,” she said, rubbing her
temples. “Child, where are we standing now?”
“Your rose garden.”
“And what grows in rose gardens?”
“Roses?”
“Precisely. Therefore, this is a rose that must have been
infected into forgetting itself.”
“Is it possible that a different sort of flower had been
planted?”
The Queen turned an angry red. “Are you saying I am mistaken
about what grows in my garden? Only roses are planted and only roses grow here!
Something infected it.” The Queen started examining the earth around the
flower, then noticed the book Alice held. “What were you doing here?”
“Reading a book about flowers from around the world. See,
there are sunflowers, orchids, lilies…”
The Queen reared back. “You did this! You gave my poor rose
ideas of being something else.”
Alice was fairly sure that wasn’t how things worked. She
watched dumbfounded as the Queen put a large pot over the flower. “Now it’s
protected. Get out or I’ll have your head!”
Alice left, but returned later that evening. She lifted the
pot, then dug up the flower. Using the pot to carry it out, she took it to the
Cheshire Cat’s woods where she replanted it.
“There. I’m really not certain what sort of flower you are,”
Alice said. “But you were hardy enough to survive this afternoon. You’ll be
happier here.”
The flower said nothing but released a sweet fragrance. Taking that as a good sign, Alice left.
 |
| The Red Queen by Mark Tonelli |
Song Choice: Painting the Roses Red from Alice in Wonderland
This piece of flash fiction was created for Poets and Storytellers United Weekly Scribblings #9: Contagion.
The Red Queen reminds me of someone . . . but I can't quite put my finger on who . . . lol!
ReplyDelete*snickersnort* I think many of may have met her in one form or another.
DeleteWonderful! I'm glad Alice and the flower both got away with it. A lovely portrayal of arbitrary unreasonableness on the part of the Red Queen. (And I like the Helena Bonham-Carter portrayal of her, pictured.)
ReplyDeleteShe did a fab job with the role
DeleteContagion in Wonderland, no less! I enjoyed this so much, Rommy! Hooray for Alice, for rescuing the fragrant flower!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you liked it
DeleteAlice was brave (as we all know) so let's hope white rabbit doesn't tell on her if he was there too.!
ReplyDeleteThat dang rabbit! But I think Alice and flower got away cleanly.
DeleteI absolutely love this, Rommy! Alice was wise to rescue the flower and plant it in Cheshire Cat’s woods.💝💝
ReplyDeleteThanks Sanaa
DeleteBelisimo!
ReplyDeleteGrazie
DeleteIf I grinned any wider right now, I might get stuck as the Joker's cousin or something. This is such a fantastic story, Rommy. I love what it says about origins, about how our roots and soil are important but they aren't what makes us, we are the result of our heart and soul and choices. I bet the Queen will screech and threaten for a while, but... this is a battle she can't win.
ReplyDeleteLOL, I hope she has tea and a throat lozenge or two to tide her over after the screaming
DeleteI love this beyond words! A great message slipped into a splendid story!
ReplyDeleteYay! Thanks. :)
DeleteAlways luv a good take on The Wonderland adventures
ReplyDeleteMuch❤love
Thanks Gillena :)
DeleteWhat an imaginative story in Wonderland!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it
DeleteOh the circular logic trap. I know too many people like this. Your story reminded me of each one of them, fondly as I don't have any dealings with them anymore.
ReplyDeleteHurrah for young Alice is saving the flower that would have been certainly destroyed. Cheers!
Hurrah for leaving that madness behind! LOL
DeleteYour stories always leave me wanting to know what happened next. Wanting to turn the page for just a little more. Reaching.....
ReplyDeleteAw! Thank you for the kind words
DeleteBeautifully conjured Rommy... I found myself reading it so eagerly... Also a telling fable for the moment we find herself in right now, for sure
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Thanks!
DeleteExcellent portrayal of Wonderland - and I can think of quite a few people over the years who used similar logic. So it was quite a social commentary, too.
ReplyDeleteHeh, heh...yep. Sadly that sort of reasoning can be found outside of Wonderland too.
DeleteSo lovely to read an Alice adventure (I wondered where she went to!)
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it, :)
DeleteI feel like this is a story that should be included as part of the original. Alice's questions and the queen's responses epitomize the importance of thinking for yourself. How someone else's thoughts and beliefs are not always valid no matter how they may rationalize them. It's important also to learn how to deal with an irrational person, Alice didn't lose her head. I like the juxtaposition with contagion. Are ideas catching?
ReplyDeleteAw! That's quite a compliment. Thanks :)
DeleteLovely story and the Red Queen...I had to laugh. Glad Alice found a place for the flower to flourish.
ReplyDeleteLovely retelling of Carroll. Some rulers also want only one kind of flower in their gardens. Carroll could well have said, "Let hundred flowers bloom!". Brilliantly done.
ReplyDeleteSadly all too true about those rulers.
DeleteI really love this story which portray one of many stories that could be told about the queen... These days anything relating to megalomania makes it all too real. On another line of thought your story made me think about William Blake's poem "The Sick Rose"
ReplyDeleteYeah... sometimes watching world events unfold feels like I've been transported to Wonderland
DeleteThe story between the lines has so many possibilities in this present world of ours...
ReplyDeleteGood old Alice - doing the right thing.
Anna :o]
Oh yes, there's a bit to see bouncing around between the lines. :)
DeleteWhat marvelous flash fiction! I wonder if the Red Queen judges people as she judges the flowers in her garden!
ReplyDeleteI'll bet you she does
DeleteHappy Sunday Rommy
ReplyDeleteMuch❤love
Thanks
DeleteOh this made me smile! Sweet take!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it :)
DeleteBeing the Wonderland freak that I am, this resonated with me from the start. Great writing, and characterization. Are you sure the Red Queen was not Orange??
ReplyDeleteThank you dear Rommy for giving us this fantastic story. Highlighting factors such as origins, roots and soil in which one is born, etc. are vital but that is not what gives us the value of who we really are but it is our heart and soul and finally the right choices we make. Happy Alice got away with the flower and hope she does not let the Red queen win this war.
ReplyDelete