《爱丽丝梦游仙境-2》第18章

The Red Queen's castle was eerily¹ silent as Alice and Hatter crept down the stairs and into the main hall. Not even the leaves on the walls rustled². 

"Where is everyone?" Alice whispered. 

"Look!" Hatter pointed⁴ through a doorway⁵ to the garden, where what looked like an impromptu⁶ courtroom had been set up. 

In the center of the grass, Mirana stood tall and dignified⁷, with a determined⁸ McTwisp at her side. Bordering the courtyard was a line of vegetable soldiers, including several who guarded the Tweedles, Thackery, Bayard, and Mallymkun. Before them all, on a raised platform, Iracebeth gleefully bounced on her toes in front of a throne of branches. Time was chained to a smaller, less decorated throne set next to Iracebeth's. His face was haggard and he was clutching his heart. In her typical self-involved way, Iracebeth appeared oblivious⁹ to the fact that she was killing¹⁰ Time. 

"We're too late," Alice said, taking in Time's condition. 

"He's almost out of himself. We must hurry." 

Hatter took her hand and squeezed it. They couldn't give up yet. 

"Mirana of Marmoreal!" Iracebeth declared loudly, glaring down at her sister. "You are accused of treason. I hereby sentence you to—" 

"Wait!" McTwisp objected. "What about the verdict?" 

"Sentence first! Then verdict," Iracebeth bellowed¹¹. Her gaze snapped back to Mirana. "You are banished¹² to the Outlands," Iracebeth continued. Her voice was now almost hushed, and it trembled slightly. "No one is to show you kindness or ever speak a word to you. You will not have a friend in the world." 

Mirana faced her sister, her eyes wide. 

Taking a deep breath, Iracebeth lifted her chin defiantly¹³. "You have lied. You have stolen. You are not the rightful queen of Underland," she said. 

The White Rabbit bounded forward. "Objection! Where's your proof" 

"I don't need proof," Iracebeth spat¹⁴. "I've got better. I shall have a confession¹⁵!" She lifted the Chronosphere, its metal bands glinting brightly. 

Puzzled, Mirana drew her eyebrows¹⁶ together as Iracebeth descended¹⁷ toward her. The Red Queen threw the Chronosphere to the ground and it immediately expanded to its traveling-through-time size. As the bands spun¹⁸ and whirred, the lights along its edges glowed white. A jolt¹⁹ ran through Alice as she realized Iracebeth's plan. 

"Wait!" Alice burst from hiding. "Stop! Wait!" 

Everyone turned to stare at her as she rushed across the courtyard. 

"You cannot change the past, Your Majesty," Alice cried. "Believe me, I have tried." 

Narrowing her eyes, Iracebeth huffed angrily! Before anyone could stop her, she latched²⁰ on to her sister's arm and tugged²¹ her past the whizzing bands into the heart of the Chronosphere. 

Iracebeth expertly steered²² the Chronosphere into the sky. Alice stared upward, watching the golden ball wink²³ against the clouds before it disappeared completely. 

Frantic²⁴, Alice spun to face the crowd. "We've got to stop her!" she cried. 

Clambering up on the stage, Alice and Hatter rushed to Time. The rust³ had spread across his body and he was slumped²⁵ to the side. 

"You've got to take us back," Alice told Time as she and Hatter untied²⁶ him. "She's going to change the past!" 

Time gazed blankly at Alice and then at the grass, where Zanik and the rest of the Hightopps were laying out the pieces of the Tempus Fugit. His eyes clouded over, his face weary. 

"C'mon, old chap," Hatter said. "Don't give yourself a hard time." 

But Time just shook his head slowly. "I'm too weak," he wheezed²⁷. 

"No, you're not." Alice poked²⁸ his shoulder. 

"You're Time. The Infinite ..." 

"The Immortal²⁹!" Hatter cried. 

"I'm beginning to wonder about that last part," Time muttered. 

"And besides," Hatter continued, ignoring him, "you're the only person who can rebuild that thing." He pointed to the array of cogs, chains, wooden levers, and beams that were spread out like a jigsaw³⁰ puzzle before them. 

As Time's eyes finally focused on the pieces, a spark lit deep within him. It was his nature to march onward³¹! After casting a quick smile at Hatter and Alice, he shuffled³² toward the parts. It was about time he got to work. 

Just a few ticks later—longer, admittedly, than it had taken the first time—the Tempus Fugit was ready. Time gave it one final inspection³³, then nodded to Alice and Hatter. 

The three of them climbed aboard and began pumping the levers to launch it skyward. The Ocean of Time flickered³⁴ below, various moments bubbling to the surface. 

Time gazed below, and he saw something troubling. Every day was tinged³⁵ with a smattering of reddish brown. Noticing his somber³⁶ expression, Alice took a second look and her confidence sank. 

The rust was spreading. They didn't have much time. 

 

爱丽丝和疯帽子下楼走进了大厅，红皇后的城堡内出奇地安静，连墙上的叶子都没有响动。 

“其他人呢？”爱丽丝低声问道。 

“你看！”疯帽子指向通往花园的大门，那里看起来像一个临时法庭。 

莫安娜笔直而又威严地站在草地中央，坚定的白兔子站在她身旁。法庭的外围站着一列蔬菜士兵，那些押着双胞胎、三月兔、贝亚德和睡鼠的士兵也位列其中。在他们面前高起的平台上，伊拉贝斯兴奋地在一个树枝宝座前踮着脚跳来跳去。旁边摆着一个大小、装饰都不及树枝宝座的座位，“时间”就被绑在上面。他脸色憔悴，手捂着心脏。从伊拉贝斯一贯以自我为中心的行事风格来看，她并没有意识到其实她就要杀死“时间”了。 

“我们来晚了。”爱丽丝看了看“时间”的情况说道。 

“他快不行了。我们得快点。” 

疯帽子拉过她的手，紧紧握着。他们现在还不能放弃。 

“大理石宫的莫安娜！”伊拉贝斯俯视着她的妹妹宣布道，“你被指控犯有叛国罪，我在此宣判你——” 

“等等！”白兔子反对道。“裁决结果呢？” 

“先判刑！再裁决。”伊拉贝斯怒吼道。她的目光又转向莫安娜。“你将被流放到蛮荒之地。”伊拉贝斯继续说，她的声音变得很轻，甚至有些微微颤抖。“没人可怜你，甚至没人理睬你。在这个世界上，你不会再有朋友了。” 

莫安娜面向她的姐姐，瞪大了眼睛。 

伊拉贝斯深吸了一口气，轻蔑地抬起下巴说：“你撒谎，你偷窃，你不再是地下世界的合法女王了。” 

白兔子向前跳了一步：“我反对！你有什么证据？” 

“我不需要证据。”伊拉贝斯啐了一口，“我有更好的东西。我要的是忏悔！”她拿起时空传送仪，上面的金属球箍闪闪发亮。 

莫安娜不解地皱起了眉头，伊拉贝斯朝她走了下来。红皇后把时空传送仪往地上一扔，它立即扩展成时空旅行机的大小。球箍嗡嗡地转了起来，边缘泛着白光。爱丽丝全身一震，她明白了伊拉贝斯的计划。 

“等等！”爱丽丝突然从藏身处冲出来，“快停下！等等！” 

她跑过院子的时候，每个人都转过身来盯着她看。 

“您不能改变过去，殿下。”爱丽丝喊道，“请相信我，我之前试过。” 

伊拉贝斯眯起双眼，怒火中烧！别人还没来得及阻止，她就拽着她妹妹的手臂，穿过呼呼转动的球箍，进入了时空传送仪的内室。 

伊拉贝斯已经熟练地操纵着时空传送仪飞上了天空。爱丽丝抬起头，眼睁睁地看着金色的圆球在云层间闪动着，直到完全消失不见。 

爱丽丝急忙转向众人，喊道：“我们必须拦住她！” 

爱丽丝和疯帽子爬上高台，冲向“时间”。他身上已经长满了铁锈，身体也已经歪向一边。 

“你得带我们回去。”爱丽丝一边对“时间”说，一边和疯帽子一起帮他松绑，“她想要改变过去！” 

“时间”茫然地注视着爱丽丝，然后低头看向了草地，草地上桑尼克和高帽子族的其他人正躺在时光机的碎片上。他的眼中愁云密布，一脸疲惫。 

“振作起来，老伙计。”疯帽子说，“不要自怨自艾啊。” 

但是“时间”只是慢慢地摇了摇头，“我太弱了，”他喘着气说道。 

“不，你没有。”爱丽丝戳了戳他的肩。 

“你是‘时间’，是主宰……” 

“是永恒的存在！”疯帽子喊道。 

“我现在开始怀疑你刚才说的这句话了。”“时间”喃喃地说。 

“而且，”疯帽子没有理他，继续说道，“你是唯一可以重新组装起那个东西的人。”他指着那堆像拼图一样摊在他们面前的齿轮、链条、木杆和横梁。 

当“时间”的目光聚焦在那些碎片上时，心底燃起一丝希望的火花。不断前进本来就是他的天性！他对爱丽丝和疯帽子匆匆一笑，拖着脚步来到那堆零件跟前。是时候起来工作了。 

几秒之后——诚然，这次比第一次组装花的时间要久——时光机就准备就绪了。“时间”最后检查了一遍，然后向爱丽丝和疯帽子点了点头。 

他们三个人登上了时光机，开始推动控制杆驱动机器驶向天际。时间之海在下面熠熠闪光，变幻的瞬间一个接一个地浮出海面。 

“时间”凝视着下方，他看到了令人不安的场景。他眼中的每一天都染上了一层浅浅的红棕色。爱丽丝注意到他神色忧郁，仔细观察后，她的心也沉了下来。 

铁锈正在扩散。留给他们的时间不多了。 

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