11So far so good.
The ride to the City had been the same as always. There was nothing odd about Suites taking leave or leisure time to the City - everyone did it, so no one cared about Rachel taking a ride over with a few of the White Rabbit's number; and scarabs were always coming and going around the clock with goods, patrols, and oysters, so she wouldn't have to worry about a ride back if she chanced a night's stay away from the casino and only got back early morning. Always before sun-up, before she was "on the clock," as she had overheard an oyster say in a fleeting moment of lucidity. She walked the streets now, up and down ladders and stairwells, broken walks, past derelict building installments with broken doors and windows. What had happened to make such a beautiful city such a shell of what it used to be? She couldn't even remember, she had been much too small a girl back then, and besides that, it hadn't happened all at once, but she knew that it was the fault of the Queen of Hearts, ultimately - everything gone wrong in Wonderland was.
Rachel came to the end of an alley-walk, looked left and right, seeing no one, she then looked behind her, still no sign of any other Suites to accost her. Casting another quick left-right glance in front of her, she ran forward to a long pole that passed up and down through several flights of city walks. Never once breaking the motion she leapt over the empty space and grasped the pole with both hands, wrapping her legs around it, and slid swiftly down for a few flights. When she got to the level where she wanted to be, she tightened her grip with her arms and legs, letting the friction stop her, and then reached out tentatively to a ladder that ran alongside the pole. Once she was on the ladder, she stepped off onto the walk, made a sharp right turn down into another alley, up two sets of stairs and then a left across a chasm-spanning stretch of walk, through a door on the right into an abandoned-looking installment, down a short set of stairs inside, turned left again into a hall and... here she was. Oftentimes, the shortest way to get somewhere in Wonderland was to take the long way 'round, and likewise, the longest way to get anywhere usually involved time spent taking short-cuts, such was logic in Wonderland.
There was a pretty good crowd here, apparently Hatter's web of connections was still as good as ever, and people were already having drinks, tea, coffee, hot chocolate and the like. Rachel sought out the manager of the hole-in-the-wall establishment to check in with them, let them know that she was here, and to discuss when she would take the floor. There was no actual stage, of course, but the tables of the patrons had been arranged so that there was a space of floor so that everyone could see the entertainment, and there were various lamps adjusted to cast light onto this space - it would have to do, Rachel sighed. She sat down at a small empty table and ordered a drink - tea, with cream and sugar, lots of sugar - and took in more of her surroundings, a little surprised to find no sign of Hatter in the room, since he had indicated that he would be there, but it wasn't too much of a surprise, as his mind changed with the tide of his interest. She decided that she would stop by his Shoppe later, see what he was up to, talk business and pleasantries, as he was a friend of sorts, after all.
They had one very profound thing in common, at least, they were both a couple of two-faced liars, working for the Hearts while at the same time giving help and hope to their enemies. Sometimes Rachel wondered if that would ever change.
Somewhere in the place, a record stopped playing. The manager got to the center of the floor and announced tonight's in-house act, sweeping with one hand towards Rachel. That would be my cue, she thought, as she took up the spot on the floor where the manager had then vacated. The manager's associate put on a different record, and Rachel just stood still and listened to it play for a few bars, getting a feel for the tune. Then she looked around at her audience, and spied one man sitting at a table close to the front of the floor with a cane. She approached him and asked softly, "May I borrow that?" pointing to the object in question. The man looked confused but when he didn't object, Rachel picked up the cane and twirled away from him a few steps, before sending the cane into a spinning arc with a snap of her wrist and then quickly catching it with the same hand. The crowd clapped and made general sounds of approval, and Rachel gave a brilliant smile as she fell into the flow of the music, turning and swaying, dancing with the cane as a prop to accent her performance.
All eyes were on her as she dipped and bent, stepped, and turned on her toes, letting the music get into her veins and make her move with it. Every move was candid, an artful and physical expression of her deepest sincerity; none of it was the bawdy, "stand here, and turn your shoulder this way" routine she had to show off in the game rooms of the casino. It was a good thing that the tune was a fairly relaxed one, so she wouldn't have to do anything too energetic and end up tiring out before she'd had a good, long string of dances done. Now this is what makes life worthwhile, she thought. Nothing else existed, not the Queen of Hearts, not the Looking Glass, or the Suites. Right here, right now, all that mattered was the music and the motion, and the sparkle in the eyes of her audience as everyone in the room was swept up in the magic.
xXx
It had been a good night, Rachel thought smilingly, as she walked in the direction of Hatter's Tea House, it had been just as she had hoped. The casino Diamond strolled at a leisurely pace, she still had a couple of hours before she had to hitch a ride back with one of the scarabs, and Hatter's Shoppe wasn't at all that far from where her gig had been. Rachel felt both exhausted and energized at the same time from the night's show - far better than any goddam high from some god-awful oyster potion, she scoffed. Although part of her knew and understood why most people did it, at the deepest level she really couldn't fathom what people were so afraid of that they would spend their whole lives chasing a quick fix, when blood, sweat, and tears lead to things that were far more satisfying and lasted longer. Just what was so worth it that made it not worth it? She wondered, as only a Wonderlander could wonder.
Rachel was just about to cross the stretch of walk that bridged over the empty space and lead right up to Hatter's door, when a soft breeze wafted into her face, bringing with it a very distinct smell. The smell of gun oil, expensive cigar smoke, and pressed linen, all wrapped up in the velvety notes of an oh-so-pricey aftershave. Rachel's eyes went wide, body stock still, her blood and insides froze, her breathing shallowed, and her heart thundered. She swallowed hard, her mouth dry... She knew that smell.
A/N - I'll bet you thought for a minute there that I was gonna have her sing, huh? SURPRISE! :D No singing for this chapter, everyone has the girl sing in their fics; it's been done, it's cliché, it's unoriginal, and therefore, it's not my thing. Review please! I need more inspiration!