Kita In Wonderland

Chapter 12 - The Twisted Cabin

Kita had been traveling down 'What Way' for a long while. She hadn't seen any creatures or people, making it a lonely journey. Trying to be more positive, though, she kept reminding herself that she had a marked path with something guaranteed at its end. It was more than she had when she entered the forest.

However, as she walked on, she started feeling even more tired than before. She started entering a half-asleep state, even while walking.

"Oof-!"

Kita didn't even see the signpost in front of her. When she looked up, she saw the path forked two ways. One read 'Not Me' and the other read 'Why Her.'

"What..." Kita gasped, "Oh! This is it."

Instead of proceeding down either path, she left the sandy trail and pushed through the foliage. Thankfully, she didn't have to go far before it opened up. The sight left her in awe.

In the middle of the large clearing, there was a tall, twisted cabin with uneven floors and crooked rooftops. It almost looked like a fantasy dollhouse, composed of several towers and cutouts ranging in shades of brown, gray, and bronze. A giant teapot handle was sticking out of one side, while the other had giant rusty gears. There was a path leading to the cabin with white, gray, and gold alternating bricks, with some mechanical bits laid in as well. On the side of the house, there was a pond with brownish water smelling of tea. Appropriately, it was fed by a giant teapot supported by a tower of teacups. The pond led to a stream that intersected with the path. Oddly enough, along the sides of the path, there were stakes with crooked, gaudy top hats.

Kita felt uneasy. "This is a new level of strange, even for Wonderland." 

She started down the trail, keeping an eye out for people. At the uneven doors, she hesitantly raised her fist to knock, but just before she touched the door, it creaked open.

Still nervous, Kita peered inside. There was no sign of life. There were shards of porcelain and glass on the ground, and other very random things like scrapped gears, cogs, and bolts. There were some rotting carrot tops, empty silver jars, and a shredded violet umbrella rolling around in circles. The actual layout looked like utter chaos; several halls and staircases leading about randomly. There were even stairs going sideways along one wall.

"Hello?" Kita spoke. "Is anybody there?"

There was no response. Kita stepped inside, expecting this to be like the White Rabbit's cottage. However, there weren't any clues. Just a filthy labyrinthine house. The only bright side was that there was no 'Bayard' to chase her.

"Hello?" Kita spoke again.

Still, nothing. She took a deep breath, trying to figure out where to go.

'SLAM!'

She flinched as the door suddenly slammed shut, and a loud 'whirring' could be heard. Kita stepped away, watching the door with wide eyes.

Finally, something flew open, and Kita barely realized it was a trap door. Instead of falling very deep -like when she entered Wonderland, she quickly landed, bouncing off something and sliding down in a spiral.

By the time she crashed and stopped, she was in a noble wooden chair, at the bottom of a very tall room with pale gold and white pinstriped walls, and a black-white checkered floor. Random steaming pipes, turning gears, pumping pistons, and other mechanical contraptions lined the walls. They were all bronze and shiny, and one of them was a series of music box gears that played a waltz theme. In front of her, there was a very long table that spiraled upward in a corkscrew, with no legs to support it. It had a white tablecloth, with several types of tea sets and pastries. On the floor, in the middle of the spiral, there was a large copper pot.