Rattle The Stars

Chapter Five: Preparing for the Journey

The next week passed by in a blur of packing, sewing, and meals by the fire in Dr. Doppler’s parlor. Every once in a while, the doctor would hurry by, muttering to himself about a crew and a space suit.

Towards the middle of the week, Alice finally got a chance to sit with a proper tea made up. As she poured herself a cup, Jim and Sarah wandered into the room.

“…didn’t manage to find much,” Sarah was saying. She sighed heavily. “Thankfully they didn’t take my safe, or my sewing machine.”

“Sewing machine?” Jim said with a laugh. “What’re you gonna do with that?”

Sarah swatted Jim, taking a seat on the sofa across from Alice. “I’m going to make us all some new clothes, that’s what.”

“So you’ve visited the inn?” Alice asked, pouring Sarah a cup of tea.

Sarah took the cup gratefully, heaving another sigh. “More like picked through the rubble. Those pirates didn’t leave much of value. I didn’t expect them to—what thief would just leave valuables lying around?” She shook her head, adding her own cream and sugar to her cup.

“I’m so sorry,” Alice said, stirring her tea contemplatively. “I can’t help but feel as if it’s partially my fault.”

“What, that you and Bones got shot out of the sky?” Jim retorted, flopping down next to his mother. “Unless you were the one who wrecked the ship, I don’t see why you would blame yourself.”

“What was a young lady like you doing in the company of a fellow like Bones, anyway?” Sarah asked.

Alice chewed her lip. “Well, you see…it was all a bit strange.” She fiddled with her tea cup, wondering where to begin. “I’m not from here, you know. I’m from a place called England.”

“England?” Jim scratched his head, looking just as confused as Bones had been when Alice had told him. “Never heard of it.”

“I know.” Alice nodded. “I wandered into Mr. Bones and his crew very unexpectedly. Through a great, green door, at the bottom of a rabbit hole. And they assumed that I must have come from Montressor, which is why they were passing through. They were going to escort me here and then continue on to…wherever they were going.” She tilted her head. “You know, they never told me where they were going.”

Jim and Sarah simply stared at Alice for a long moment, then exchanged wary glances.

“That is the strangest thing I’ve ever heard,” Sarah announced. She peered at Alice. “Are you sure you didn’t end up with a concussion or something?”

Alice shook her head. “I’m quite sure. My mind is perfectly well.”

“Huh.” Jim studied Alice curiously. “I mean, that’s not too hard to believe, actually. Especially not after seeing what the map can do, and Treasure Planet being on it, of all things.” He glanced down as he thought. “But apparently, this Bones guy was hiding the map all along. And the cyborg…whoever he is…was after it. He must have seen Bones’ ship and shot it down.”

Alice nodded. “That’s what Mr. Bones told me when the ship took the first hit.”

“Oh, dear,” Sarah said, her eyes widening in sympathy. “That must have been
terrifying. Goodness knows I wouldn’t have wanted to be on that ship when it went down.”

“It was quite a terrible experience.” Alice shuddered, pushing away memories of the ship falling from the sky. She took a hurried sip of her tea to calm her nerves.

“So…how are you planning to find your home?” Sarah asked. “We’ve never heard of..England, was it?”

“Yes,” Alice affirmed, patting her mouth with a napkin. “And, to be quite frank, I’m not entirely sure. I suppose, as we travel along, I’ll be looking for England, or for that green door that I passed through.”

Sarah shook her head. “I’m sure your parents must be so worried.”

“Well,” Alice explained, her throat tightening, “you see, my parents…” She looked down into her tea cup. She couldn’t bring herself to say the words.

“Oh, my.” Sarah covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry, Alice, I didn’t mean to—“

“It’s quite alright.” Alice smiled sadly at Sarah. “How could you have known?”

A heavy silence fell over the three of them.
“Who is your guardian…if you don’t mind me asking?” Jim added hurriedly as Sarah glared at him.

“I don’t have one,” Alice answered quietly. “My elder sister used to be my guardian. But she sent me away to a boarding school in the highlands.”

“I see.” Sarah cast her sad blue eyes down at the floor.

“So...what if you can’t find it?” Jim asked. “Your home, I mean?”

Alice smiled. She knew she should go back. She knew her sister would eventually worry. But the thought of not returning home, of staying here in this world, with people she liked better than anyone she’d met in England, filled her with a deep sense of relief. “I’d be perfectly happy to return here, to Montressor, and help you and your mother rebuild the inn.”

Sarah blinked in surprise. “Oh, honey, you don’t have to worry about that.” She smiled at Alice, reaching across to pat her hand. “Heaven forbid you don’t find your way home, I’d adopt you in a heartbeat.”

Jim rolled his eyes. “Mom’s always wanted a daughter.”

“Jim!” Sarah tossed a dish towel at him, while he laughed. She turned back to Alice.
“All I’m saying is it would be nice to have another female around here.”

Alice smiled.

*

On the day they were to depart, Sarah pulled Alice aside.
“I made this for you,” she said, laying out a few garments. “Well, some of it, anyway. I know traveling in space isn’t usually what young ladies like yourself do, so I thought you’d need something…a bit more practical to wear.”

“Oh,” Alice said softly, touching the soft ivory shirt, blue vest, and leather breeches. “It’s lovely!”

“The pants were an old pair of Jim’s that he’d outgrown. I hope you won’t mind,” Sarah chuckled. “It was one of the only things I managed to salvage from…you know.”
She paused, sniffing hard to keep the tears at bay.

Alice glanced at Sarah, then pulled the woman into a hug.
“Thank you,” Alice whispered. “You’ve been so kind to me, and I’ve done nothing to deserve it.”

“Oh, stop.” Sarah squeezed her back. “You’re gonna make me cry again.”

Alice drew back, smiling, but Sarah shooed her into the restroom.
“Go on! Put it on. I want to make sure it fits.”

Alice did as she was told, slipping into the breeches, savoring the way the ivory shirt billowed around her arms but tightened around her feminine torso, giving her a shapely silhouette. The corset-like vest went on next, so close to the shade of her eyes Alice was stunned. And another piece Alice hadn’t seen before, two long, blue lengths of fabric like scarves, were last.
She frowned at them, then stepped out.

“Look at you!” Sarah clasped her hands together. “You look like a genuine spacer!” She took the fabric from Alice’s hands, then led her to a mirror. “Here. I’ll help.” She began to pile Alice’s hair up in a similar style to her own, and Alice smiled. She liked the way a few loose pieces of her blonde hair fell and curled around her face, and how Sarah skillfully tied the scarf, securing the style with a knotted bow.

The second length of fabric went around Alice’s waist, through the loops in the waist of her breeches, knotted at the side with the remaining lengths trailing down, framing her right hip.

“Now. What do you think?”

Alice studied herself in the mirror, her blue eyes wide. This was like nothing she’d ever worn before. But it gave her a roguish air, a spirit of freedom and adventure she’d never felt in her school dresses or Victorian gowns.

“I think I like it.” Alice smoothed her hands down her tucked shirt. “It will take some getting used to, but it makes me look…”

“Fierce,” Sarah finished. She grinned at Alice, patting her shoulders. “That’s what I was going for. I don’t want any of those rough types thinking they can mess with you just because you’re a lady.”

Alice smiled back at her. “Thank you.”

Sarah kissed her cheek, then hurried her towards the parlor. “You’d better get going. The boys are champing at the bit to get to the port.”

As she entered the parlor, Jim and Dr. Doppler glanced up expectantly. Dr. Doppler did a double take, his eyes widening as he took in Alice’s new clothes.

Alice, too, stared at Dr. Doppler in shock. He was encased in metal, his face visible through a clear window in his gold helmet.

“Well, my dear,” Dr. Doppler said, his voice tinny and distant within his space suit. “You look like you were born to space!”

“Thank you,” Alice laughed. “Um. You do, too.”

Jim took a step closer to Alice, studying her. “Cool look for you. Wait.” He tilted his head in confusion. “Are those my old pants?”

“Jim, don’t you start,” Sarah scolded. “Yes, they are, and they don’t fit you anymore.”

Jim laughed. “It’s fine, Mom. I just thought they looked familiar.” He looked at Alice, giving her a lopsided smile. “They look good on you.”

Alice shifted her glance away, feeling a bit of warmth in her face. “Thank you.”

“Well, let’s not waste any more time.” Dr. Doppler pulled a pocket watch out of one of the compartments in his suit. “We don’t want to be late!”

A memory of a white rabbit flashed in Alice’s mind, and she smiled.

Sarah pulled Alice and Jim into a tight hug. Jim coughed, struggling to get free, while Alice giggled.

“Please be safe, you two.” Sarah kissed both their cheeks. “Come back in one piece, you hear me?”

“Okay, mom,” Jim rasped, wiggling free.

“And Delbert,” Sarah scolded, turning to Dr. Doppler as he clomped towards the exit, “don’t let them out of your sight.”

Dr. Doppler gave a salute. “Will do, Sarah. I mean, won’t. I won’t let them out of my sight.”

Sarah laughed, waving from the door as they clambered into Delilah’s cart.

The trip to the solar ferry passed quickly. In the sunlight, Alice could make out many more details about Montressor. They passed several homes built in the same ramshackle fashion as the Ben Bow Inn, and the people walking along the street were just as likely to be human, like her and Jim, as they were to be aliens like Dr. Doppler or Billy Bones. She smiled as they passed a group of children playing together near the road, tossing small purple fruits at each other and cackling with glee.

Once on board the solar ferry, Dr. Doppler dropped some coins into the ferryman’s hand, asking him to take Delilah back to his home. Then they were off, sailing through the open air to the crescent spaceport, the glittering sails catching and refracting the sunlight in a mesmerizing pattern.

“This is amazing,” Alice sighed, peering over the side of the ferry as Montressor faded into the background behind them.

“You think this is cool?” Jim grinned at her. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

“What do you mean?” Alice asked.

“I’m sure Jim is referring to his questionable hobby of solar surfing,” Dr. Doppler explained, rolling his eyes.

“Hey,” Jim grouched. “It’s not questionable.”

“What’s solar surfing?” Alice asked.

“It’s kind of like this.” Jim gestured up at the ferry’s sails. “But on a smaller scale. You can go faster, and do tricks.”

“Wow,” Alice gaped. “That would be a curious thing to see.”

Jim smirked. “Maybe I’ll show you sometime.”

Alice smiled back, her cheeks flushing. “I’d like that.”

“Yes, well, it would be in your best interests not to,” Dr. Doppler grumped, crossing his arms—a difficult task in his space suit. “You’ll transform her into a ne’er-do-well like yourself. Then what will her parents think?”

Alice furrowed her brows as Jim slunk back in his seat, brooding. “Dr. Doppler, I won’t be returning to parents. I’m a ward of the school I attend.”

Dr. Doppler’s face abruptly reddened, and he coughed, stuttering for words. “Well, um…I…My apologies, Alice.” He fell silent and said nothing else until it was time to disembark at the space port.



AlyCatAuthor