Echoes of Wonderland

Heathens

Red's POV

My confusion deepens. Maddox? My friend, my tutor? The one who's always been there for me, the one who gave us the tools to stop Uliana?

I say his name like it's some sort of curse, this makes Chloe's face go pale.

- Maddox? - Chloe repeats, her voice laced with uncertainty. - What are you talking about? I didn't see anything about him.

I can barely hear her as I kneel down to pick up the cards, my hands trembling uncontrollably. The gears in my mind are turning so fast, it feels like my head might split open. All those times Maddox guided me, taught me, protected me—they were all lies. My eyes are wide with fear and disbelief, and when I finally look at Chloe, it's like I'm looking through her, into the cold, dark truth that's unraveling before me.

- He made it all look like it was Uliana... - My voice breaks, and the weight of the realization crashes down on me, crushing my heart. - But it was him. All along, he wanted to time travel, to take control, it was him.

A wave of nausea rolls over me as I try to process the words I've just spoken. Maddox, the one person I trusted more than anyone, the one who was supposed to help us—he's the one behind all of this? My mind races, but nothing makes sense. It's like the world has turned upside down, and I'm struggling to find my footing.

- But why? - Chloe asks, her voice cracking as she tries to grasp the enormity of what I'm saying. - Why would he do this?

My gaze drops to the bracelet on my wrist, the one Maddox gave us for protection. It was supposed to keep us safe, a symbol of his trust. But now, it feels like it's searing my skin, a burning reminder of his betrayal.

- He's gone mad, just like his father. - My voice is barely more than a whisper, but the words hit Chloe like a ton of bricks. - Maddox has taken over Auradon.

The ground beneath me seems to shift, as if the entire world is collapsing under the weight of this horrifying truth. The news is so unexpected, so unreal, it feels like I'm trapped in a nightmare. But this isn't a dream. It's real. Uliana never had the power to destroy everything—Maddox did. And he's used that power to twist Auradon into something grotesque, something terrifying.

- But the pocket watch, Uliana had it, and, the bracelets... - Chloe says, grasping at anything that might make this make sense. - Why would he give us real protection if he's behind all this?

I shake my head, tears welling up in my eyes. I'm so lost, so broken, it feels like my chest is being crushed under the weight of everything I've just discovered.

- I don't know, Chloe... I don't know. - My voice cracks, filled with a deep, painful sorrow that I can't hold back any longer.

It feels like the ground has been ripped out from under me. Everything I thought I knew, everything I believed in, is crumbling to pieces. Maddox, the one person I trusted more than anyone, the one who was like family to me, has betrayed us all. He's turned Auradon into a twisted version of Wonderland, a place where everyone is under his control, trapped in his mad, twisted world.

I look at Chloe, and the weight of what we've just uncovered presses down on me, almost suffocating. We're standing in the moonlit night of the Black Lagoon, but it feels like the darkness is closing in, as if the entire world is about to collapse around us. The magnitude of Maddox's betrayal is too much to bear, and for the first time in my life, I feel truly, utterly lost.

---

The tears are hot against my cheeks, but I barely feel them. My mind is a whirlwind of thoughts, crashing into each other with no direction, no purpose other than to drive me deeper into the storm. I can't breathe. My chest is tight, like a vice is clamped around my heart, squeezing the life out of me. The world around me blurs, and the only thing I can focus on is the pain, the betrayal, the overwhelming sense of loss that's tearing me apart.