"That was fast..." Mat heard as he lay on his back, his little body going through it's start-up process once more. "When you told me you would come back, I assumed it to be a few days or more before you'd return. Especially with the stories."
"Wh..." Mat whimpered, coughing gently. He could hear the creaking of boats at a dock off in the distance. It was raining as well, which didn't help with the chill he had felt. They were under an awning though, away from the brunt of the rain. "What happened?"
"People here are disgusting, that's what happened. I'm glad you hadn't been found by anyone else, you'd have been sold or worse."
"Alice?" Mat whimpered as he regained his sight, looking up to see Alice's face looking back to him. Her green eyes fixated on his little body though... She looked quite different than the person he met before. Her hair was shorter, she looked dirty - covered in muck and grime like she hadn't bathed once in her life. "What happened to you?"
"Welcome to London..." She said, her smile wavering only slightly. "I'm more interested in what happened to you, My adventure can wait a moment."
So he told her. He told her about the cold and snow, the few years he spent in Aero's shoe, as well as the little bit of time he had with the Shrine Maiden underneath her foot. She listened, but she still looked somewhat skeptical about everything he had said. He cleared his throat when the little story was over, taking note of the disbelief on her face.
"Something wrong?" He asked shyly, looking up to her as he sat.
"It's just that your story's so long... I mean, I believe you but."
"But?" Mat whimpered, sitting forward a bit to hear her answer. "What's up?"
"I've only just left the Hatter's Domain. I can't quite recall when you finally flattened up but it can't have been more than an hour or two ago."
"It's been years... You're telling me I've only been gone for a few hours?"
"That's exactly what i'm saying. I'll take you along with me, there are some books I'd like to look into at the Mangled Mermaid but after a few years inside of that Jester's shoe I doubt you'd want to-"
"I'll go..." Mat whimpered, "I want to ride inside your sock this time if that's alright with you. If not, you can always keep me around a bit longer or something. I understand."
"You're more of a loon than I am..." Alice said as she sat down on the crate next to him. She only took off her right leg's shoe and sock, fanning the long thigh-high piece of fabric out until it was ready to accept a passenger. She leaned forward, lowering the mouth of her sock until it was level with the side of the crate they were on.
Mat slowly stood up, stretching slightly before he walked over to the edge of her sock. He could smell the air rising from the opening. It was sopping wet though, like she had just been pulled out of a river.
"Go on, I haven't got all day." Alice said jokingly.
"See you soon..." Mat said with a smile before stepping forward, tumbling into the abyss.
Her sock was soaked, chilling him to the bone as he made his way to the toe section. It was long, so to keep him from hitting the ground Alice pulled the sock up gently before he could reach it. Without waiting for him to get comfortable, she slipped her foot back into the confines of the sock and made sure her new little passenger was comfortably positioned beneath her toes for his ride. Then came her shoes...
Mat was in darkness. Her toes were frigidly cold, soaked with water, but they still smelled as they always did - horrible. Being driven insane by all of this mess was the only logical answer to why he was so willing to be tortured.
Either that, or it was something programmed into him...
Alice began to walk through a building filled with bricks of ice, her footfalls clacking down on the wooden floorboards. A few more steps as she came around the corner toward the stairwell... This time she felt him. He slid beneath the ball of her foot as it lifted on the third step, his body quaking violently as she climbed. She couldn't stop herself in time as her weight shifted onto him. His body flattened out with a little pop, sending a chill up her spine as she felt his blood mixing in with the sweat and grime of her skin.
"It's what you wanted, I guess... Strange little creature." She said under her breath as she stood on the stairwell. Instead of lifting her foot off the step, she casually pressed her foot down and attempted to grind Mat's little body further into the fabric of her sock. It worked... After a few seconds on the stairwell she couldn't feel him any longer.