The Forest Guardians

50. Wonderland Chapter 5

Mike's POV

"Hey, guess what's the safest place in Wonderland?"

I scoffed and replied, "what? Here?"

"Ohhh, that's a good one." Art commented. "I never thought of this place. I thought of Dream's house."

Dream?

If I remember correctly, it was the one that created Wonderland for its survival. That effectively means he is the owner of this World.

"I thought it would be the most dangerous place in Wonderland."

Art tutted. "No... I mean, excluding Dream, of course. The citizens of Wonderland can't enter his domain unless they allow it. Dream doesn't have a gender, so all of us settle to call "them" or "they". Don't get confused, okay?"

"Sure. But how did Dream come into existence? They can't just suddenly pop into thin air and just exist."

Now that Art was getting talkative, it was good for me to gather information from him. It was difficult for us to get out of the maze that even Dice couldn't make heads or tails of this place. Sitting down and conversing was better than nothing.

"You're right. But Dream's existence is tied closely with the creation of this World and the 4 original Alices."

Art winked, pointing at himself. He wasn't letting me forget that he was a part of the fourth Alice.

"Of course, the story wasn't widely spread outside of this World. After all, Dream was more focused on selecting specific Alices to dream of this World and them. But they would never reveal themselves. They live in their domain, and the only way to get there is to collect the stories of the 4 original Alices."

"What's the story then?"

Art smiled mysteriously as he leaned backward on the stairs. Somehow, the smile made the young boy look older and conniving.

"Are you trying to get to the end without undergoing some trials and tribulations? That's no good, Micheal."

I felt chills behind my back when Art said my name. It gave me the feeling of danger. Just when the mood turned sour and awkward, a "meow" echoed from my side. Immediately, the boy's face turned bright as he cried out Cheshire's name. The cat with purple fur and black stripes strode to him while begging for scratches. Its eyes were ever so wide with an unearthly grin. Then it slinked away to my right leg and rubbed against it.

"Cheshire likes you. That's a bonus."

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Gaining favours in this World will get you very far, you know? You never know when you might need their help." Art said cryptically. "Anyway, let's follow Cheshire. It's time to get out."

He stood up and stretched his back. Meanwhile, the grinning cat started walking down the stairs confidently. Following a set of twists and turns, we finally arrived in front of an unassuming door. The curious thing was that the phantoms were slowly lining up in front of the door, waiting for someone to open it. Cheshire sat beside the door and looked up at us, patiently waiting.

"I saw the phantoms passing through those doors."

"Well, as you can clearly see, not this door. Why don't you try opening it?"

There was a knowing look in Art's eyes as he gestured towards the door. I stared at him for a while before I sighed in defeat. Grasping the doorknob, I turned it and walked through the door.

My shoes touched freshly cut grass that was still wet. There were rose hedges lining the sides of the door, so high that they reached the sky.

"Oh, another maze."