Echoes of Wonderland

Escapism

Red's POV

The dim light of the morning sun creeps through the cracks in the wooden shed, a pathetic excuse for a home, but it's mine now. Has been for the last three months. I turn my head, the ache behind my eyes reminding me of how much I drank last night. My mouth tastes like stale beer, smoke, and regret—same as every morning since I left Auradon and never looked back.

I shift on the thin mattress on the floor, groaning as I feel the heavy arm draped over my back. Great. Another one. Lifting my head, I glance at the man beside me. He's handsome enough—curly brown hair, sharp jawline, early twenties or late teens and a face that probably makes a lot of girls swoon. Not me, though. Never me.

I shuffle off the mattress, grabbing a blanket to cover myself as I stand. My muscles are sore, a mix of last night's activities and the general state of existing in a place like this. The Snuggly Duckling, a tavern full of lowlifes and outcasts, a place where they don't even ask my age as long as I pay enough, has become my nightly retreat. A place where I can drink until I forget everything—forget her. The fights, the stealing, the destruction—it all comes naturally now. I've been good at it, the perfect villain everyone always said I'd become. Guess they were right.

I walk around the bed and give the mattress a hard kick.

- Morning, sleeping beauty. Time to leave. - My voice is rough, not just from the hangover, but from weeks of pushing it too hard.

The guy stirs, blinking his eyes open, and gives me a lazy smile.

- Hey there, beautiful. Wanna go for round two? - I ignore him, rolling my eyes as I grab his clothes from the floor.

He sits up, only in his boxers, stretching like he's about to make himself comfortable again. He's tall, built, and probably thinks last night meant something. It didn't. Nothing does anymore.

He gets up and comes over to me, pressing his lips against my neck, trying to start something. I shove him off, not hard, but enough to get the message across.

- I'm good. Now go away. - He blinks at me, probably confused, maybe a little offended.

I don't care. I toss him his clothes and turn away, hearing him grumble as he gets dressed. He hesitates at the door like he wants to say something, but I don't give him the chance. I slam the door behind him, locking myself back in my little sanctuary of nothingness.

The silence hits me all at once. I pull the blanket tighter around me, standing in the middle of the shed—if you can even call it that. It took me weeks to make this place livable. A busted table, a single chair, that damn mattress. It's not much, but it's enough to sleep, to hide. I turned the old shed into something that resembles a home, just far enough from the old Rapunzel's tower to stay out of sight, but close enough to remind me I haven't fallen off the edge of the world completely. Just enough to still be in it, though I don't know why.

I steal a glance at the mirror I stuck on the wall, staring at my reflection. Bags under my eyes caused by the lack of sleep, the same nightmare over and over, keeping me up all night. Bruises, old scars, the faint mark from where I got stabbed two weeks ago—it's all there, painted on my skin like a reminder of who I've become. The fights, the stealing, threatening people who didn't deserve it... hell, I've done worse. I'm the worst villain in town, living up to every name I got called back in Wonderland.

And for what? What the hell am I even doing anymore? The Stabbington Brothers are after me now. Probably because I stole from them last night—big mistake, I knew that even while I did it. They'll come for me eventually. Maybe today. Maybe tomorrow. But they want me dead. I can feel it in my bones. Funny thing is, I don't even care.