A Seat at the Table (12)

“Well, isn’t this adorable?” Ty’s voice cuts through the silence as we gaze at the scene before us. “Looks like someone spent way too much time on the decorations.”
“It’s very… pink,” Kai added. The swamp had led us to an open clearing, pink sparkles dusting across every blade of grass. At our feet, broken clocks guide our way to a long table that stretches miles. It’s piled with teacups, pastries, and desserts of every kind. 

Dancing jello, heart shaped cookies, minicupcakes baked directly into china cups. Pink steam spilled from the saucers, curling into floating words: Later, before, almost, never. PIes were stacked on top of one another to create an unbreakable tower. 

At the closest end of the table sat two girls, already biting into the pastries in front of them. One was small, almost fragile as she stuffed her round ink cheeks with hourglass shaped macarons. She wore a tiny pink headband to pull her honey blonde hair away from her face. She kept eating as if we weren’t there, never raising her hazel eyes from the food.

The other child looked slightly older, wearing a Victorian style dress, a completely different aesthetic than the other. Her skin was darker, cheeks smudged with light pink frosting. Her jet black hair was twisted into two braids, revealing the brown curious eyes that stared back at us. 

“Take a treat, don’t be shy. A taste of mine will make you fly!”

“Behold, the perfect teaparty,” Ty exclaims dramatically as we make our way closer to the table. 

“If ‘perfect’ is a code for drowning in pink glitter, then yes, mission complete,” Kai mutters, trying to step around the stream of strawberry jello at his feet. 

“Oh, don’t ruin the magic for our baby sister,” Ty scolds as he reaches the blonde girl’s chair. He plays with a strand, drawing the Victorian girl’s eyes to the movement. “Isn’t that right, Sylvie?” Sylvie continues to ignore him, reaching forward to refill her plate with more sweets.

“I thought the food in Wonderland was cursed,” I question, watching in amazement as a miniature train winds its way past Sylvie, carrying dipping chocolate from one side of the table to the other. Wow, this tea party had it all.

“Not when it's homemade. It’s yummy, you see?” The girl takes a large bite out of a donut, red pudding dripping down her chin. “My brother helped me make it, just for me!”

As if knowing he was being talked about, a tall muscular man steps forward, carrying two trays of freshly made cakes. Despite his burly build, this man’s outfit is laughable; a small crop top fit sug against his pecs, a fluffy pink tutu that reaches mid thigh, and plastic cat ears atop his head. 

The man looks to be somewhere in his twenties with gentle brown eyes, a round face, and slick black hair pulled into a tiny ponytail. With a red face, and an even deeper voice, he introduces himself. “My name is Crash, and I like cats… hats… I mean bats…” He pauses, mentally going over the words in his head. “...And I’m not very brash.”

“Damn I’m starving,” Liam announces as he heads toward a chocolate cake. My hand immediately flies up to capture his wrist, earning me a sharp glare. “Look, the girls are fine, aren’t they? Clearly the food is safe.” He yanks his arm away, a look of repulsion sliding on his face. “And besides, the smell alone proves that the food is perfect, and I only deserve the best.”

“This isn’t even tea,” Ty whines, taking a seat next to his sister. “It’s just… sugar soup.” 

“It’s supposed to be extra sweet, dumbass,” Ka argues, taking the seat on Sylvie’s right. “Delilah, these are new guests to Wonderland.” Delilah tenses for a moment, eyes brushing over us.

Next to me, Jules carefully brings a sugar cube to her mouth, tasting it. After a moment of hesitation, she finally decides to sit down, Rue happily sitting next to her. I glance back to the cocoa swamp, confused. “But what about our window to leave?”
Crash makes his way around the table, gently lacing minicakes in front of each person. Kai quickly shakes his head. “No thanks, Delilah. We’re not eating anything today” he politely declines, using her name in every other sentence. “Surely you can under…” He pauses as the cake is set in front of him, stomach loudly announcing its own opinion.

Delilah laughs and chirps in that same singsong tone, “You haven’t eaten all day, just take a bite. Enjoy what you can before the night.” 

My eyes drop to the cake in front of me, stomach churning when I read the cursive written across it. Iris Cane. How did they already know… The pattern on the cake shifts slightly, and if I blinked, I would have missed it. It looks as if the swirls are curling by themselves. Round and round and round. I lick my lips when I’m suddenly hit with the strong scent of strawberries and honey. The cake sends u wisps of steam, slowly curling into letters like the tea had done. Just. One. Bite.