The Forest Guardians

47. Wonderland Chapter 2

Omen's POV

"Think you are ready to go?"

Envilia asked me when the twins returned from scouting our surroundings and told us what they had seen. I nodded my head. With her help, I was pulled back on my feet.

"So, what now? Where do we go?" After hearing from Yin and Yang, I asked Shiro, who was thoughtfully deciding on our next set of actions.

Now that I no longer held the reins in decisions, it was a funny feeling. Previously, I wanted to set ground rules to restrict them. Now, seeing my mesias operating as separate entities was kind of odd. Yet, strangely I like it. It felt like I was taking care of myself.

"We saw a tea party straight ahead. Should we go there?" Yang suggested as he pointed at the thick foliage.

Shiro placed her hand under her chin as she contemplated.

"For now, I think we should follow in Alice's footsteps. After falling into here and getting washed away by her flood of tears into the whimsical forest, she followed the white rabbit and stumbled onto a tea party. If we are to follow that, we should have a better chance of surviving and finding Micheal."

Everyone nodded their head in agreement after exchanging looks with one another. Also, to be safe, we had Shiro be the conversation starter since she was the most levelheaded one among us. Envilia and I would be the ones to guard us while Yin and Yang were the scouts.

I summoned out Corvus, which was humming lightly in greeting. The mesais placed their hands on my sword before summoning their weapons. Once we were ready, we set off with Envilia and me in front of the group to clear the way.

It didn't take long for us to get to the tea party because we heard cheerful humming and singing. It was a full-blown party with teacups and pastries flying around a few people dancing wildly. Wild was an understatement because I could not find an appropriate word to describe their dancing. Can people move their legs like that? It was like they had no bones in them.

The moment we stepped foot into their place, the party-goers turned around and stared at us.

<That one with the huge hat is Mad Hatter. But, I don't know the blonde girl with two pigtails...>

Shiro trailed off in our minds. We had agreed earlier to speak to each other telepathically when saying important information.

It was pretty obvious to know who Mad Hatter was from their appearances. He was a man with an enormous hat on top of his head. The hat was so peculiar that you could neither say that it was distasteful nor agreeable to the eyes. On his purple suit, there were all sorts of art and craft trinkets all over it. Perhaps, if he encountered someone who had a wardrobe crisis, he could conveniently use them?

As for the blonde girl in two pigtails, she was dressed as if she was on a picnic. She looked cute and innocent with a pair of blue overalls over a white shirt and a white headband to tie up loose trails of hair.

"Ah! Visitors, how delightful." Mad Hatter commented. "Definitely Alices, judging from your... beating hearts."

His eyes twinkled strangely as he talked about our hearts. Then, he blinked, and that creepy feeling he gave me was gone, as though it had never happened. Like clockwork, he lifted his teapot and gestured to us.

"Tea? Please have some, weary travelers."

Shiro immediately stepped up and took over the conversation.

"Oh, that is terribly kind of you. But, we couldn't possibly impose on you for our sudden visit. If you would direct us the way to the village, that would be helpful."