Alice

Welcome To Wonderland

Through the door I could see a dark forest with trees so tall and thick that the moonlight had trouble piercing thought the canopy. A faint dirt track was only just visible beneath the thick under-growth. Molly turned to Jace and said in a voice that I swear could have turn tough guy Dave pale if it was directed at him, “So we take this girl to the twins, then what? Drag her along and make ourselves an even bigger target?”

“We will take her to the White Queen; she will know what to do if she is the Alice the twins were talking about.” Muttering under her breath Molly dragged me into the forest. Lucy danced ahead, twisting and turning to the rhythm of the wind through the leaves of the trees. She’s so young I found myself thinking. There is no way that she is any older then Ms. Allen’s eldest child.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I might never see Ms. Allen or the young ones again. I could die here and there would be no one to look after them, no one would bring bread to the starving children. I can’t die here; I need to get back to Ms. Allen. She was like a mother to me, when my parents had died she had made sure that I always had food and I know that if they had of had the room in their small house she would have taken me in. She fed me right up until Mr. Allen died, and now it was my turn to repay her and keep her family alive, just like what she did for me. I can’t die here.

If I was the girl these twins were talking about I will just have to tell them that I can’t stay and that I wish them good luck for the future. I kept thinking this right up till we got to a clearing with a large weeping willow in the middle, then all I could think of was how beautiful the moon light looked reflecting off the dew that rested on the grass and leaves. Before we stepped into the clearing Jace grabbed me by the arm and pulled me over to him. “Before we go meet the twins there is a few things you should know.” His voice was a low whisper like he was worried that he would be overheard. “Don’t speak, unless the twins speak to you first, also try not to stare at their… deformity” he said after a brief hesitation. “And don’t scream. They hate it when people scream, and Dave is looking for any reason to get rid of you.”

I studied him for a moment “and you’re not?”

“I find you interesting. I mean how many people would follow a white rabbit out of town and down a rabbit hole?” he grinned at me like it was the funniest thing in the world.

“Jace, stop flirting and get over here!” Dave called from the clearing. Jace frowned at him and lead me into the clearing. As we reached the others Dave stepped closer to the willow, his head held high with a smug look on his face. “Tweedle Dee! Tweedle Dum! I, Dave, request a meeting with you!”

A pair a voices rung out from behind the curtain on leaves that surrounded the willow “Why does the March Hair seek our council?”  Dave shoved his nose higher into the air and replied to them in a voice that was full of some much cockiness that it made me want to hit him even more.

“We wish to know why you sent Lucy to fetch this girl like some common dog!” the curtain of leaves parted and reviled to short boys, both exactly the same. The both had the same white eyes with no pupils, the same purple tattoo of an eye on their forehead, and both of their mouths’ were sown shut.

“Alice,” their voices rang. “Welcome to Wonderland.”