Alice in Swelland 3

As she continued down the path, Alice took in what had become of her body. Her dress was now stretched over her large, round torso, her arms and legs rather puffy and round from the air still inside of her. Her head was also slightly sinking into her body, with her chin rubbing up against the soft curve of her ballooned torso. She could walk and move her arms a bit, but her torso prevented much more movement then up and to the sides. After getting tired of waddling down the path, she tried to walk normal, finding that took a lot of squeezing and squeaking to pull off. She sighed, and sat down on a nearby rock.

"Goodness me. How can anyone here live like this? I will admit, it is rather soft and comfortable when sitting, but how does anyone get around when you can't even walk?" She wondered aloud. She was always talking to herself when she was alone, a habit her mother was trying to break her of.
   
"That's because..." A voice laughed, "most float." A soft voice echoed near her. A plump cat suddenly appeared in front of her, purple fog floating in a trail behind him.

"Float? I already did a bit of that, thank you. I'd rather not try it again." She said, turning away from the strange cat.

But the cat simply floated up to her rounded shoulder. "Oh? Well, I would expect nothing less from our beloved Balloon Queen." The cat smiled a full set of sharp looking teeth. In her inflated state, Alice didn't much like looking at those.

"I still don't think I'm a Balloon Queen." She said, the cat moving around to her front.

"Not just any old Balloon Queen. The   Balloon Queen. You have rather special powers, Alice. Ones any person around here would like to have." The Cat explained.

"Like what?" Alice asked. This cat was rather interesting. Maybe she could learn more about the strange land from it.

The cat chuckled, "Well, for one, you can deflate yourself easily... Much like the people who lived here..." He smiled, flicking his tail back and forth.

"How!? Oh how I would like to be much smaller! It would make walking so much better." Alice said, jumping to her feet. "Please, tell me how." She asked, bowing to the cat.

"Well..." The Cat purred, scratching his chin,  "You could try just blowing it out, but that can go wrong if you don't have the right thinking going into it...." He smiled, "You could could poke yourself with a pin,  but that might have..." He giggle,  "Rather explosive results." He sighed, and floated up to Alice's face. "Try taking a deep breath, and letting it out slowly. And as you do, think about getting smaller." The cat said, moving into a reclining position.

Alice nodded as best she could, before taking in a deep breath. She felt herself grow just a bit, before she slowly started to let the air out, and with it, thinking about becoming smaller. Sure enough, as she blew out the air inside of her, she felt herself start to deflate, the air hissing out of her mouth. She looked up to see the Cat with a manic grin on his face. Before she could stop deflating to protest, the cat sealed its lips onto hers, making her start to blow the cat up like a striped pink and purple balloon. The cat grew and squeaked before her eyes, its body making a siblant hissing sound as it swelled up like a living balloon. Its legs were each swelling like small balloons themselves, making soft 'foop!' sounds as each little paw became fuller and rounder as more air filled the strange cat. The Cat's face became swollen and puffy as well, with its cheeks squeaking as it swelled up bigger and bigger before Alice.  The only mobile thing left, was it's tail. Otherwise, the cat was round all over, with only its puffy paws sticking out. He looked like a striped balloon with a cat's head on top.

By the end, Alice was a small, little girl again, and the cat was now a large, floating balloon over her head.

"Ooooo!" The cat shuttered, its tail moving it around in the air. "I've never been so big and full like this before!" The cat slowly started to float away, higher and higher into the sky.

"Oh! Mr. Cat! What's your name!?" Alice asked, watching as the cat balloon floated away.

"I'm the Cheshire Cat! I'll be around, Alice!" The cat called, slowly floating up into the sky.

"Well. What a nice cat that was. And I'm small again!" She said, twirling around freely. She turned, and walked down the path again, now able to move once more.


***

Alice walked along happily, enjoying the fact that she was down to a respectable size again. Of course, being able to do such things on command would no doubt come in handy. Could she, if she truly wanted to, blow herself back up? She looked down at her hands, wondering if she could just...blow into one of them to make it work. Or, could she simply think about it?

"Well the stories I read had the main character blow into their thumb." She said, looking down at her right thumb.
"But I like being small. Maybe I'll try it later." She said, before continuing down the path.

As she walked, she came across a rather strange looking man. He was strange in many ways, one of them was his rather patched up clothing. Even his hat had many patches sewn on, almost looking like they were done at the last possible second. The clothing he was wearing looked like a long purple suit jacket, a purple button down shirt, and a red shiny vest, all coming together with a green belt, and blue trousers. Of course, all of this, except the belt, were patched-worked with other fabrics, making the original artical of clothing harder to find. The man had soft features, with jet black hair under the purple hat. He was humming a tune as he plucked rather large fruits from a nearby bush, and slipped them into the basket he was carrying. Alice walked towards the man, wondering why he was picking those berries. He looked up at the sound of her footsteps.

"Hello there!" He said, with a smile and wave.

"Hello sir. It's very nice to meet you." It was refreshing to be able to curtsy properly again.

"Very nice to meet you as well. Come to pick berries from the Fleufluf tree? They are in season." The man said, holding up one of the fruits.

"No no, sir. I'm just trying to find my way home. You see...I fell here, through this hole in the ground. I helped some balloons get free, and now they call me their Balloon Queen. I don't-Mmm!" Alice's words were cut off by the man clamping a hand over her mouth.

"If I gather this right," The man was whispering now, "You are the Balloon Queen, come to Wonderland to restore order?" He asked.

Alice shrugged, still unable to speak with the man's hand over her mouth.

"I see. You are an outsider. You fell into a room filled with balloons, correct?" He asked, still whispering.

Alice nodded.

The man sighed, "I see what is going on. We'll have to wait for more talk about that later. The forest isn't safe for this kind of talk." He took his hand off of Alice's mouth.

"So you can explain this to me? All of it?" She asked, looking up at the man.

"I can do my best, your highness." The man said, bowing to Alice.

Alice couldn't help but giggle, "You don't have to call me that." She said with a smile.

"Oh, but I do. You hold domain over this entire land, including us balloon folk. That's...a story for another time. What is your name, may I ask?" The man said, smiling down at Alice.

"Alice. And you, sir?" She asked, smiling up at him.

"Most call me Hatter. Or more specifically, the 'Ballooned Hatter'." He said, with a tip of his hat. "I hope you will pardon my deflated state, as these berries require a gentle touch. I'd squash them with my puffy fingers." The man said, plucking another berry off the tree.

"What are these berries for, anyway?" Alice asked, looking the tree over. They were all blue, and were rather large for a berry.

The Hatter chuckled, "Would you like to come with me to see? I make potions out of them, mostly. Sometimes the others eat them." He explained, placing more into his basket.

"Where would we go? Back to your home?" Alice asked, looking over at the man.

"I guess you could call it that. It's more like a table than a home." He reached into a patched up pocket, and looked down at his watch

"Goodness. Is it that late already? I need to go set up for the party today. Would you like to come back and help me, Alice?" The Hatter asked.

"That sounds wonderful, Mr. Hatter." Alice said, curtsying again. It was so nice to be small and able to move around again.

"Alright then! Let's get to a clearing so we can get there faster. Don't worry, you're in good hands flying with me. I'm known to be the best flyer around!" He said, leading Alice down the wooded path towards a small glade in the woods. The air was warm, and there was a light breeze blowing around them.

"Ah, perfect flying weather." The Hatter said, putting a hand above his eyes to block out the sun. "This should be a nice spot." He pulled out a small basket from his inner jacket pocket, before tossing it out into the field. It sprang out into a fully formed hot air balloon basket, large enough for a few people to stand in.

"One Hot Air Balloon ride for the Queen." The Hatter said, bowing to Alice as he opened the door for her.

Alice smiled, "Thank you sir." She didn't think she'd get use to the 'Balloon Queen' thing. "But, sir, what about you?" She asked.

"Well, that's the fun part! Just give me a moment to get set up here." He pulled out a long net of sorts, and secured it over his shoulders to cover his back. He took each end of the rope, and tied it to loops on the basket, making sure they would not loosen in flight. He slipped his belt off as well, placing it into the basket.

"Hatter, what are you doing?" Alice asked. She knew about these sort of rides. They always required some sort of balloon.

"I will be your pilot, Alice. Don't worry, I've done this many of times in the past, and with heavier cargo. Just relax, and enjoy the ride." He said with a smile.

"But Hatter! The most dreadful things happen to those who've become a balloon around me. Like that one woman, Poppy! She burst in her own home!" Well, her entire home burst, but that was neither here nor there.

Hatter smiled, and walked over to Alice, "My dear girl, Poppy was rather crazy, if you asked me. She always wanted to be the Balloon Queen herself, and when she found it had to be an outsiderr, she made it her mission to pop anyone who came here. You were the first to beat her." The Hatter said. "Me, on the other hand, are just the right kind of crazy to pull this off!" He said with a smile.  The Hatter reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small tin, filled with little colored mints. There were blue ones, green ones, pink ones, and red ones. He pulled a red one out, and closed the tin, slipping it back into his pocket.

"Ready for takeoff?" He asked, holding the tablet close to his mouth.

Alice nodded, unable to speak out of worry as to what was going to happen. "Can you tell me how that works? It's rather strange to me, to be honest." She asked, just as he slipped the tablet inside his mouth.

"Oh, certainly! You see, the tablet I made was created from two potions, a bubble one, for size, an a balloon one, for lift and strength. This particular tablet will allow me to not only get big, but big enough to carry you and the basket high into the air!" And as the Hatter spoke, a soft hissing sound could be heard. His voice slowly rose in pitch as he explained. His body was becoming bigger and bigger at an alarming rate, his arms and legs swelling up quickly before being absorbed by the rest of him. His body filled with magic air, swelling bigger...and bigger...and bigger! The Hatter became huge, right before Alice's eyes!

"See?" He squeaked, waving his hands as he began to float upwards, the net that was over his body keeping him from floating away entirely. His cheeks filled with air, before the hissing came to a stop.

Alice watched the ropes tighten as the new Hatter-Balloon, a patchwork of stretched fabric now pulling the basket up into the air. She watched the ground get farther away from her as the two of them floated up and into the sky.

"Wow... It's so beautiful up here..." She said, looking out at the land down below. There were trees covered in balloon-like fruit, small animals inflated and floating around in the sky, even a tree that seemed to be a living air pump, the branches hissing with air. "I could get used to this place..." She sighed, resting her head on the side of the basket.

Just then, a pink and purple striped balloon bumped into the basket. Alice looked down, curious. "Cheshire!" She exclaimed, pulling the balloon cat into the basket.

"Oh, if it isn't the Balloon Queen." He quickly deflated, walking around on the basket floor. "Fancy seeing you up here." He purred.

"Yes, well, the Hatter's taking me back to his home. I'm going to help him with a party." She explained, sitting down across from the cat.

The cat purred happily, "I always love the Hatter's parties. Always so floaty and bouncy. I did enjoy that air you gave me. Thank you." He said settling into her lap.

Alice gigged, petting the cat. He was partially fuzzy, but also rather smooth, like the skin of a balloon.

"Can you blow yourself up, Chesh?" She asked, leaning back in the basket.

"Of course. It's simply more fun to be blown up then to do it yourself. Want to find out?" The Cat asked, flicking it's tail around in the air.

"No-no thanks. Up here is a bit dangerous. How about I blow you up again?" Alice asked.

"In a moment. I would like a bit of rest, for now. " He said with a pur, before falling asleep in Alice's lap.

Alice looked down at the sleeping cat, before looking up at the inflated man above him. This world was interesting, to say the least. Cats that blew up, people and houses that were practically balloons themselves... It was all very strange, yes, but rather interesting.

Carefully, Alice moved the Cheshire Cat off of her lap, and moved over to look down at the world below. They were still flying over forests, with a large, red castle looming in the distance. Was that who was running Swelland? Would she have to face whoever lives there?  

She looked over at Chesh, who was sleeping softly. He looked rather small, much smaller than he was before.

"I should help him out," She said, walking over to the sleeping cat. She looked around, and spied a small tank labeled with a big 'H', likely for helium, and a string. Tying the string around a paw, she carefully slipped the nozzle into his mouth, before turning on the helium flow.

Slowly, and with the squeaking and hissing sounds of a proper balloon, the cat began to swell, bigger and bigger before Alice's eyes. She giggled as each arm and paw filled up, stretching out and filling up with a "foomph!"

Chesh'a body stretched out more and more, becoming less cat like, and more purple and pink striped balloon like. "Hmmm..." He hummed, slowly rising into the air, stopped only by the string and the Hatter's body.

Alice watched as his cheeks ballooned as well, squeaking against the nozzle in the cat's mouth. She turned the helium off slowly, before pulling the nozzle out of his mouth.

"My, my, Chesh. You can get rather big, can't you?" She asked with a smile. Chesh was still asleep, not even waking up from being inflated. Alice tied him to a rope keeping the basket tied to the Hatter, and patted Chesh carefully.

"Mmmhmmp!" The Hatter called, waving his hands. Alice looked up, and saw his cheeks deflate, the air rushing out of his mouth. The balloon and basket all slowly started to sink down into a large, empty clearing, where a table sat with tanks of all sizes, and a table full of all sorts of strange things.

The basket touched down gently on the ground, with the Hatter floating down after.
"Well!" The Hatter sighed, "That was a nice trip." He said, taking off the rope.

"Mmhm.." The Cheshire Cat shifted awake, blinking slowly. "Alice...you blew me up?" He asked.

"I did. I think you look adorable." She said, patting his head.

"Well..." He blushed, "Let me float away, please. The Hatter's not a fan of my...tricks." He smiled.

"Oh. Alright." Alice loosened the tie, letting the Cheshire-Balloon float away into the sky.

"Right then!" The Hatter turned around, just missing the Cheshire floating away. "Let's get to the party setup. I'd like to show you a few of my tricks as well, Alice." He said, taking the basket of berries out of the balloon basket.

Alice stepped out of the basket, pushing the door open. She walked over to the table, looking over all of the things there. Shiny suits, deflated balloons, all sorts of colored liquids and other sugary looking treats. The table was rather large, with rather wide chairs for such a nice table.

"Wow, Hatter." Alice said, looking everything over. " What do all of these things do?" She picked up a bright pink, shiny suit, that looked to be much too big for her.

"Oh! That's a rather special floating suit. It's for a certain type of bubbly gum I make." He said, looking the suit over. "Would you like to try it? I would be honored to have something approved by the Balloon Queen." He said, bowing to Alice.

Alice looked the suit over, "What do you mean by 'bubbly gum'? Don't you mean bubble gum?" She asked.

The Hatter smiled, and shook his head, "Nope, bubble gum is different. I would be happy to show you, but I need to start setting up for the party today." He said. "Would you like to help?" He asked, handing her a deflated balloon.

"I would love to, Hatter. And I would be happy to try the suit and the gum." She said, setting the suit aside.

"Great! But first, I must return to my usual size. I can't be this small in front of the guests, no no. That would be just plain rude." He pulled out a chest full of all sorts of suits and other clothing. "Now...where is my nice suit...Ah ha!" He pulled out a black suit jacket, much too large for him, a pair of very large black trousers, and a patchwork vest and white shirt, all many sizes bigger than he was. He even pulled out a hat, where the top was sunken down into the brim. A black, thin skin was sitting there as well.

"Hatter, you are much too small for those clothes." Alice said, taking a seat for the moment. "Don't you think the clothing you're wearing is fine?" She asked.

"Oh, no no no! I must look presentable for my guests." He pulled off his hat, his jacket, and his vest, tossing them one by one into the trunk. "I can't look so small around them. I've got an image to keep up! No no, I have to make sure I am just right for them." He changed into his new clothing, draping it over his smaller form. He even put on a pair of huge gloves and shoes, covering his smaller hands and dwarfing his feet. He held his pants up, as he moved away from the trunk. "Even my voice is all wrong! Oh, what would they say if they heard me like this..." He tutted, before looking over at Alice. "Well, what do you think?" He asked with a smile.

Alice thought the man was crazy. He was drowning in clothing, and couldn't even keep his pants up! The clothing was not for someone of his size.

"Rather silly to me." She said. Even his hat looked silly, all flattened on his head.

"Just you wait, Alice. Soon, you will see me in my true glory. I do have to apologize for my lack of size and voice. It is rather rude of me." He pulled over a rather small tank of helium, one that just barely came up to his knee. A long hose was connected to the top, with a small valve sitting next to it.

"Well, here we go!" He slipped the hose into his mouth, and slowly but surely, turned on the helium, cranking it until a steady flow began to fill his body up.

"Mmmmph..." He sighed, feeling the helium start to fill his stomach with a soft hissing sound. At first, the change was slight, with the fabric still draped over his slim figure. But, with a faint 'foomph!' sound, his belly was starting to push the shirt forward, beginning to fit him properly. He held his pants up, waiting for his belly to come up and take over for him, but it was taking quite a long time. The shirt still looked small, but was quickly starting to fit the Hatter properly. Even his hat was starting to fill with air, blowing up like a small balloon.  

"Mm mm." He shook his head, holding his pants as he turned the helium up higher, his inflation speed increasing. With more air now flowing, his arms and hands began to plump up, filling out his once oversize gloves, now fitting his hands properly. His pants now fit around his torso, as well as the pant legs filling with his plumped legs. Even his feet had blown up, the leather squeaking slightly with the new pressure. His hat was a large, round balloon on the top of his head, squeaking as it blew up as well. His cheeks and face rounded out, making him look rather cute and jolly. He smiled around the hose in his mouth, his clothing actually starting to look tighter on him! Even his nose filled, looking like a very tiny balloon on his face.

Before he could become too big, he reached over and turned the pump off, his inflation hissing to a halt. He took the hose out of his mouth, and smiled.

"Well, Alice?" He asked, voice squeaking as he smiled over at the little girl, "What do you think of my true form?" He asked, smiling even bigger.

Alice was in shock. Here was this rather skinny man, now blown up like a human balloon. His skin, (of what she could see of it) was shiny in the light. Even his voice was squeaky!

"Wow..." She sighed, getting up to walk over to him. Carefully, she put a hand on his distended belly. He felt warm, and like he still had a bit of room left in him. "That's...That's amazing!" She said, shaking her head. "Are...Are you a living balloon?" She asked, looking him over.

The Hatter's smile faded. He nodded, "Yes." He said, walking over to his chair. "We all were, once." He sighed.

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking, that is." Alice said, standing next to the Hatter.

"Well, I should explain it to you. seeing as you are the new Balloon Queen." He sighed, "A very long time ago, this land was populated with people like me. Bakers, cooks, merchants, fisherman, all sorts of people and walks of life. We lived together peacefully and playfully for many years under the rule of our Balloon Queen. I was a Hatter of course, and I also made other playful things for people to try out. Everyone loved them, and I loved my job. It was nice. Very nice." The Hatter smiled wistfully.

"Then, the Red Balloon Queen struck. She turned many of my people to party balloons, left to float away or pop in the wind. She blew up our queen, popping her and deflating the grand Balloon Castle. The king was changed, and all the balloons that remained were rounded up and stuck in a room, far, far away from anyone. They were to wait for a new Balloon Queen, and when that time came, they would be free." The Hatter explained, "I, and many others, were able to flee by deflating and running for our lives. We've kept up hope that our Queen would return, and vanquish our evil ruler once and for all." He said.

Alice nodded, with the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "That's...that's terrible." She said, sitting down in her chair. "And now...I am supposed to vanquish the Red Balloon Queen?" She asked.

The Hatter asked, "I'm afraid so. Our people will never be free while she lives." He said.

"So...was Poppy one of your people?" Alice asked. The woman looked almost like a full balloon when Alice met her.

The Hatter sighed, and shook his head, "Poppy...Poppy was an agent for the Queen, as I told you before. She stole one of my potions that could change a person into a Balloon Person. She originally wanted to become the Balloon Queen, and ally with the Red Balloon Queen, but... you know the rest." He said.

"You have a potion that can do that?" Alice asked.

"I do. Why?" The Hatter stood up slowly. "Would you like to become one of us?" He asked.

"Well...I'm not so sure...Do I have to in order to save your people?" She asked, looking down at the table. What would it be like, to be a balloon all the time? Would she have to look out for sharp objects? Would it hurt to change? Would she become like Poppy?"

"Well....I don't know myself." The Hatter said, "But let's not do anything too drastic. We've still got this party to set up for!" He said, rubbing his hands together. "Here, take one of these, and a bundle of balloons. We want this place covered!" The Hatter said, taking his own tank and a bundle of balloons.

The two worked diligently, inflating balloon after balloon, filling the clearing with all sorts of colors. Some were small, others taller than the Hatter. Some were tied down to trees, others floated up in the air, but not floating too high.

"Hatter, why don't the balloons float away?" She asked, noticing the strange behavior.

"Because I've set up a spell for them to stay there. It's good for when the others come and start floating all over the place." He explained, before breathing into a huge balloon before tying it off and letting it float away.

At one point. Alice got a little playful herself. She took two balloons, and stuck them into the space where her chest would be when she got a little older, as her mother told her. She blew into both of them a little bit at a time, and when they were fully inflated, they were quite large, giving her the illusion of a rather well endowed chest.

"He he. I must look rather silly right now!" She said, looking down at her balloon chest.

The Hatter looked over, and gasped, "Alice! How have you done that?" He asked, looking her over.

Alice giggled, "Don't worry, Hatter. I've just stuck two balloons into my dress. It's something people do to be silly back home." She said.

"Really? Hm..." The Hatter looked quizzical. "That does seem rather silly. Why do that when you can just blow them up yourself? I've seen plenty of people do it." He said.

"Well, I'm only little for one. This would look silly on me. And for another, we can't blow up like you can back where I'm from." Alice explained. She spied a large pink balloon on the ground, and smirked. "Watch this." She picked up the pink balloon, and with it around the hose of the helium tank, she slipped it under her dress.

"Alice, you should know that balloon-" the Hatter started, before-
"Is perfect for this! Now you watch me, Hatter!" She turned up the valve on the tank, and with a sharp hissing sound, could heart the balloon start to swell.

Alice giggled, pulling her dress down over the small lump in her dress. But it wouldn't be small for long, as the helium made it bigger and bigger with more and more helium pumped inside. She ran a hand over it, feeling it start to push her dress up and out, forcing the other balloons into her face. She laughed, pushing the other balloons away and dropping the hose, the balloon now firmly wedged in her dress.

"Ohh..." She sighed, feeling the balloon beginning to stretch her dress out further, the balloon still getting bigger before her eyes. It wasn't long before the balloon stretched beyond her arms, and with a soft press, Alice found that it could keep growing!

"H-Hatter..." She sighed, looking around for the balloon man. At the sound of a hiss behind her, she jumped,
"Ahh!" She felt another tube slip down the back of her dress. Within a few seconds, she could feel the pressure of another balloon stretching out behind her.

"These are Magic Balloons, Alice. Which means..." The Hatter paused, waiting for something to happen.

Alice looked around, before she felt the two balloons at the top of her dress also start to expand on their own!

"H-Hatter! What is happening!?" She shouted, hearing her voice starting to raise in pitch.

"You're becoming more buoyant, Alice! Lighter, floatier, much, much more like a balloon!" The Hatter said with a little too much enthusiasm for Alice. She felt the balloon in front of her still growing bigger, now touching the ground and much farther out in front of her. The one at her back was catching up, with the Hatter making it fill up bigger and bigger...

"Hatter!" Alice squeaked, flapping her arms as the balloons at her chest starting to cushion her face.

"You should start floating soon." The Hatter said. Alice now looked rather odd, with two giant balloons stuffed inside the front and back of her dress, with two larger balloons at her front. Just as he said, she began to float up into the sky, the two balloons coming off of the tanks, and tying themselves off.

"Mmmph!!!" She called, flapping her arms as she began to rise high into the sky. The balloons in the front of her dress were pressing into her face, making it impossible to talk.

"Have fun, Alice!" The Hatter waved to her, watching the two large balloons carry her higher and higher into the air.

Alice heard the wind rushing by as she rose, feeling the balloons brushing against her as she flew past. She lifted her face out of the balloons, looking down at the ground below.

"Wow...These balloons are really taking me up..." She said. Before she crossed the tops of the trees, something stopped her accent. Gently, she bumped into a few other balloons, squeaking and rubbing them against one another.

Alice watched the balloons all around her, moving and shifting in the air. She rubbed the one under the front of her dress, feeling how big it was. How was it that her dress was able to take all of this stretching? It was one amazing thing, to say the least.

She gently touched the balloons stuck down her front, feeling how sensitive her skin was to the rubber rubbing there. She reached out to another balloon, feeling a spark jump from it to her hand.

Alice's eyes shot wide. The balloon floated over, resting against her palm, like a small animal come over for comfort. Other balloons followed suit, floating over to her as if she was a friend.  

"You all... You think of me as your Queen..." She sighed. The balloon in her hand nodded.

She knew what to do. She was the Balloon Queen, and she could get down, with a little help, of course...

"Please, deflate for me. I need to be able to get down." She said to the two balloons at the front of her dress. They did, the air hissing slowly out of them.

"Take me down slowly, you two." She said, and on command, the two balloons started to hiss, slowly taking her back down to the ground.

***

In the meantime, the Hatter had been hard at work. He had replaced the tablecloth, blown up the rest of the balloon to cover the clearing well enough, set up and display the suits, tanks, and various potions and treats all around the table. He was just setting the bubbly gum and the suit aside when he saw something floating down from above.

"By the bubbles..." The Hatter sighed, seeing Alice floating back down with the balloons. "It normally takes hours for those to deflate, if they ever do." He said. "You really are the true Balloon Queen." He took off his hat, bowing to Alice.

"I-I guess I am." She said with a smile. She looked down at her hands, wondering what other kinds of powers she had. "I have you to thank for this, Hatter. I would have never found out without you." She walked over, and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

"Oh..." He blushed, putting his hat back on. "It-It was nothing, Alice." He smiled over at her.

Alice smiled back, "Right! When will the others show up?" She asked, walking over to the table.

"Soon, very soon. And I would recommend you get a little bigger, Alice. It's only polite to our guests." He said.  

"I see. I do wish to be polite to your guests." Alice nodded. It was time to face facts. Here in Swelland, blown up like a balloon was the norm, and small was odd. She looked down at her hand. It was time.

"Stand back, Hatter." She said, lifting her thumb to her mouth. With a deep, deep breath, one that almost started to fill her, she blew hard into her thumb, her fingers filling up one by one with short, staccato pops. Another breath, and her hand started to swell up, looking a little comical. With breath after breath, the air traveled down her arm and into her stomach.

"Mmm." She said, putting a hand on her belly. She blew again, with little progress.

"This...this is hard." She gasped, her hand deflating instantly. She felt the small amount of air in her stomach, but she knew that wasn't enough.

"Would you like a little help?" The Hatter asked, reaching for a tank of air.

"I think that would be for the best." She said, taking the tank from the Hatter.

Determined, Alice slipped the hose into her mouth, and twisted the valve a few times to get the air flowing at a steady pace. Her cheeks plumped before her stomach swelled up more, her belly pushing against her dress. She rested her hands on the rising bump, before the rest of her torso rounded out like a beach ball. Her arms and hands filled up next, looking more and more plump. She looked to Hatter, figuring she should be at least as big as him...

"Mmmph..." She said, feeling herself get bigger as more and more air was pushed into her. She felt her body come up to bump her in the chin, her arms slowly filling up more and more. Her torso was rounding out, her body squeaking like a toy balloon. Her arms had started to fill as well, squeaking and shifting against her body.

"I think that's big enough, Alice!" The Hatter turned the valve off, stopping Alice's inflation before she could get any bigger.

"I...I thought I should be as big  as you." She said, just able to move her arms and legs.

"You don't. You're smaller and younger, so it would have been fine. Here." He walked over, "I can take a bit more." He leaned in, and started to breath in a bit of the air inside of Alice. As she deflated a bit, his body bloated up, straining his clothing further.

"There. Much better." He said with a smile. His cheeks were a bit puffier, and the button on his jacket and shirt were straining, but all in all, he was fine.

Now, the two of them were filled up like two puffy balloons. Alice half waddled - half walked over to sit down next to the Hatter. Now, the size of the chairs made sense. She's never fit into a normal chair at this rate.

"Now, we wait for the others." The Hatter said, smiling over at Alice.