Once upon a time: Ever After High in Wonderland (Book 2)

Ch.25 Strange garden

(16 years ago in Wonderland) At the Hatter's Tea Shoppe, the Hatter along with the White Rabbit were taking care of the place by setting up cups and dusting the area.

"Hatter" Rabbit said "Do you worry about Alice?"

"Of course" the Hatter said as he stored plates into a shelf "I worry about her everyday, I mean, we haven't seen her in like 4 years".

"You think something happened to her?" Rabbit asked with a worried look.

"I don't know, I hope not".

At that point the Cheshire Cat appeared with a worried look.

"Guys!" she said worried "We've got a problem!"

"Cat what's wrong?" Rabbit asked.

"So I was in the Ever After world just floating around being invisible when I spotted the Evil Queen's castle, I decided to float around and see what's up and I saw the Queen in her room through the window. I watched her talk to her magic mirror when I heard her talking about Alice! I then heard her say that she's gonna go to London to look for her!"

"What?!" the Hatter and the White Rabbit gasped.

"It's true! And I got proof" Cat pulled out her mirror phone "I caught her talking on film".

She showed them the video of the Evil Queen talking to her magic mirror about going to London to look for Alice to get rid of her so she could rule Wonderland.

"Oh my ears and whiskers!" Rabbit gasped.

"We have to warn Alice!" Hatter suggested.

"How?" Cat asked.

"I know" Rabbit said as he pulled out a paper and an envelope "I'll send her a letter".

He then began to write the letter to Alice as he placed it in the envelope and sealed it.

"And now to send it" he said as he pulled out his pocket watch and turned to hands to 12 as a rabbit hole appeared on the floor.

He held the envelope over the hole.

"Please get to Alice" he wished as he dropped the letter down the hole as it disappeared.

"You think she'll get it?" Hatter asked.

"Well the rabbit hole knows where it wants to go" Rabbit said "So I'm positive it'll go to Alice".

"But do you really think she'll come?" Cat asked "I mean, she hasn't been in Wonderland for 4 years, maybe she forgot about us".

"I doubt it, if she did, we wouldn't even exist, I think".

Down the rabbit hole the letter went, it fell down until it came out of the portal and into London as the portal closed. The wind carried the letter down into London and swayed pass the people and buildings until it came upon Alice's house. The wind then pushed the letter onto the front porch and landed on the bench. At that point the house maid came out from the house and spotted the letter on the bench. She picked it up and saw Alice's name written on it. Confused to who would send Alice a letter, she went back in and delivered the letter to Alice.

As everyone continued walking, they soon came upon a garden filled with flowers of different sizes and odd plants that can only be found in Wonderland. As they walked through it, they all seemed to be getting an uneasy feeling.

"Anyone else feel like we're being watched?" Bunny asked with nervous look.

"I don't know" Kitty shrugged "I mean, we could be in the garden of live flowers, maybe that's why it feels like we're being watched".

"Well if we really are in the garden of live flowers" Lizzie said "Then why aren't they talking to us?"

"Maybe they're sleeping" Maddie said, not knowing that a bunch of eyes were watching her as she walked pass them.

"You know" Darling said "I don't remember seeing this strange garden here".

All of a sudden some tiny flowers snuck up behind her and opened their mouths showing their razor sharp teeth. Darling felt that something was behind her, but before she turned around, the flowers went back to hiding as she turned around and saw nothing. She shrugged as she continued to walk.

But as they were walking, Alistair didn't watch where he was going and he grazed his arm on a large thorn cutting his arm.

"Dammit" he hissed as blood started to drip out of the slice.

"You ok?" Chase asked.

"Yeah, I just gotta put something on it".

He then noticed some dark green berries hanging on a plant.

"Aha" he said as he went to the berries "I know these berries, they make good medicine for cuts".

"Um, are you sure about this?" Chase asked as he went up to him "I mean, I haven't been inside this garden before, those berries could be deadly".

"Oh come on" Alistair said "I've used these berries before, and they are certainly not deadly".

At that point vines came out from ground and wrapped around their ankles.

"See what I mean?" Chase said as the vine lifted them into the air as a large flower came out from the ground and opened it's mouth and sucked them in.

"Guys!" the girls screamed.

"Oh boy" Darling sighed "I got this".

She then started to stretch.

"I just gotta get them out before the flower suffocates them" she said.

"Suffocates us?!" the boys screamed from inside the flower.

Inside the flower, Alistair and Chase were squeezed together as they tried to get out, but the vine was still wrapped around their ankles so they couldn't seem to move.

"All right" Darling said as she pulled out her sword "Now everyone cover your eyes".

"What?" the girls said.

"Just do it".

As they covered their eyes, Darling swung her hair and time slowed down. As her magic touch, swinging her hair causes time to slow down for anyone who watches and making time move fast for her. And thanks to her magic touch, it slowed the plants down as she quickly ran to the flower and used her sword to cut the vines making the flower come apart as it opened it's mouth and Alistair and Chase slid out. At that point time went back to normal and the flower went back into the ground.

"You guys ok?" Darling asked the boys as they got up feeling a bit light headed.

"I guess" Alistair rubbed his head.

"Wow" Chase said impressed "You really saved us".

"That is my thing" she smiled "Now let's get out of this garden before it actually eats us".

Everyone agreed as they headed out of the garden.