Once Again

Chapter 1

Wonderland is a land of miracles, both ingenious and gruesome. Everyone here agrees that every person who joins and becomes an Outsider has taken at least one human life. No one knows for sure how Wonderland came to be, but it has become a resting place for the wicked, the wild, and the shunned. Still, it is quite beautiful, and for that alone, the citizens here, even those with magic, have all agreed to follow the unspoken rules.

---Rule number one: Always avoid magicians. (Unless, of course, one is an idiot.)---

A young child peaked her head from behind a large trash dumpster as she scanned her surroundings. Her eyes had targeted in on a large pile of gleaming apples in a cart across a bustling street. She wiped her grimy hands on her fraying shirt as she bared her teeth in a smile. Meanwhile, a crow had swooped down across the street and began its dreadful caws while it glared at the child. Sneering at the crow, the girl whispered, "As if a crow could do anything - you're even more pitiful than me, having to face the possibility of being eaten as my next meal... How wonderful, bird meat and apple today." She licked her lips and began a staring battle with the crow. Neither one - bird or girl - was willing to concede, and finally, the child angrily grabbed a pebble from the ground and breathed twice on it. The child's eyebrows scrunched together, and the pebble soon shot into the air to make a beautiful descent towards the crow. All the while, the crow cocked its head, watching as the girl clenched her right fist tightly, slowly became translucent, and quickly dashed towards the cart.

As an experienced veteran in using small tricks to earn a meal, the child found herself slightly proud as she arrived at the cart and placed a hand around an apple without anyone around noticing. On this street, no one knew that a small beggar girl had found a pile of dirty blankets and made a home for herself in the darkest corners of the alleyway. Suddenly, the crow took off straight towards the now invisible girl.

"Hah, what have we caught here today?" In a blink of an eye, the crow's wings had turned into human arms, its body had lost its feathers, and soon a wizened old woman with eyes hidden behind a pair of spectacles and dressed in a grey robe appeared; conveniently, she also had snatched up the little girl. "Trying to steal from me?" The old woman watched as the girl's form appeared abruptly. "Quite a smart child, though, to be able to use magic at such a young age." By now, the surrounding people had seen the two, and as soon as they caught the word "magic", the crowd immediately backed away.

One muttered, "Too dangerous. I'm leaving". Another spit out and quickly shouted, "Run! Magic users!" Soon, the once crowded street was so empty that a dropping pin could be heard, excluding the old woman and the child.

Laughing, the crow-turned-human said, "Call me Crow. Seeing as how you can use magic, I'll forgive you - you little brat - if you become my student." Crow had a smile on her face that seemed to help paint her own image as a friendly grandmother.

"And why would you teach me?" The girl muttered under her breath, "Stupid bird."

"Because I'm a good person. And I heard that, kid."

The girl tried one last time to escape, but the old woman's grip was simply too tight - who would expect a dried-out old bean of a person to have such strength? "No one's a good guy around here."

"Well, that's true. And by the looks of it, you're also an Outsider. Hmm, even more of a reason to teach you!" Crow laughed again. "A young murderer - how absolutely wonderful!" 

The girl's face blanched and she spit out, "You don't know anything, you old geezer."

"True - no one knows your story and you won't tell me anyways. What's the name?"

The girl muttered, "Don't have one, and you know that I wouldn't tell you if I remembered."

"So even a little beggar girl knows that names are powerful? Here, let's call you Red then. Got red hair and a temper like a red queen, you do."