How to Princess - Series

Chapter 7

I stood up and looked in the mirror. I wore a black top that showed off my stomach and a grey tartan skirt. I was a lot skinnier than I was before I ended up in Wonderland so my clothes hung off me strangely.

I brushed my hair that now reached the bottom of my ribs and tied in back in a long wavy ponytail. I sighed and ran my fingers over the large scrape covering the side of my face fron my forehead to my chin. The side of my nose was also scraped and I had a healing cut beneath my eye from Wonderland.

My bare knees were cut and scraped and the scars were still visible coiling up my forearms. I had felt much better after a warm shower and smiled at the feeling of being clean again. I started to put on silver bracelets on my wrists and smiled as I adjusted the dagger tucked into my skirt. Caelan had insisted that I had a weapon on me at all times and I didn't object.

I looked in the mirror again and frowned as I pulled my hair out and let it fall down my back. I smiled and walked out of the room to see Caelan leaning against the banister. I gave him a kiss on the cheek as I passed. "Happy birthday" I whispered and walked down the stairs out the door.

Caelan followed in silence but he smiled as I skipped along the road. "Where's Felix?" I asked him as I skipped to his side.

"Don't know. He pulled that glass out your back, handed me your fathers hook and took off" Caelan shrugged. "He must have come back though as the hooks gone again"

"I'm hoping there's an explanation as to why Felix had my fathers hook?" I asked shocked. Caelan watched me confused and then his face relaxed as if he was remembering something.

"It's how he got here. Saph carried it about so that she wouldn't just disapear. Well thats what we think would have happened. She wasnt very open to experimenting" he chuckled and I laughed.

"What have you been doing for the past year then?" I asked smiling.

"A bit of sulking. Fighting with Felix. A lot" he chuckled. "Getting scolded by Saph"

"Doesn't sound like her. Usually she's the one getting into trouble"

"Yeah well she grew bored of us and she is very irritable" Caelan smiled. "What about you? What have you been up to over the past year?"

I frowned and opened my mouth to start but nothing came out. "I... I..." I looked to him for help but finally took a deep breath. "I think I went crazy" I let out quickly.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

"Well I would see things. Not hallucinating exactly. More things I saw were warped and strange" I tried to explain.

"You were in Wonderland. It was bound to be strange" Caelan laughed.

I sighed. "No. It was different. Saph said when we first got there that everything was dying. But it wasn't. And then I drank the tea and everything was dark and twisted. The whole world seemed to flicker between the two and I never knew what was happening" I looked at him and he grinned. "What?"

"That's what happens. In Wonderland you see the nice side as it draws you in. You see the dark side when it's not interested" Caelan smiled. "You refused the nice side so it gave you the dark side but still showed you what you were missing"

I frowned "Like the tea" he raised his eyebrow again and I sighed. "The tea would show me what I wanted. Which was to come back here. Everyday I was forced to drink the tea and I would have to watch what I couldn't have. It makes your heart break a little bit each time something like that is dangled just out of reach"

Caelan wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I looked up to see that we were at the park where me and Caelan had shared our first kiss. "You still havent told me why you think you're crazy"

I looked around. "I have this horrible constant fear that something bad is going to happen and no matter how much I make myself believe that everythings ok I'm still terrified"

"Willow that doesn't make you crazy. It makes you human. You've been through a lot and you should expect to be a bit nervous" Caelan smiled and pulled me in for a hug. I buried my face in his chest and clutched at his black t-shirt.

"You smell nice" I muttered. He chuckled and I could feel the vibrations through his chest.

"Sorry to ruin your moment but Willow, you need to come with me" I pulled back and saw Felix standing. His eyes were full of tears as he stood holding my fathers hook.

"She's not going anywhere" Caelan said stepping in front of me protectively.

"Yes pirate. She is" Felix said as he lunged forward and grabbed Caelan's arm. Caelan grabbed my arm to push me away but when I hit the ground it wasn't on grass but a marble floor.

I groaned as I hit my elbow and rolled up into a squatting postion. I straightened up and looked around. I heard this loud screaming and I hissed and covered my ears but it didn't help. Caelan was staring at me and I growled. "Saph!" I shouted and the screaming stopped.

"Sorry. I was making use of you not being able to hear me" she giggled.

I groaned and shook my head. I looked about and saw that we were in a very grand ballroom. The doors opened and a small girl stood at the door. "Izzy?" I said confused as I looked at Jasper's little sister as her eyes widened.

"Willow. You can't be here. I'm sorry" she muttered before she ran away.

"Wait! Izzy!" I called after her. I spun to Felix. "What have you done!" I shouted as I shoved him. I heard struggling behind him and saw a guard covering Caelan's mouth as he struggled. "Caelan!" I shouted and went to help him when Felix grabbed my arm. His grip was strong and even as I struggled it was clear he wasn't going to let me go.

The door opened again and a familiar blonde head walked in. "Hello, my queen" he said raising an eyebrow at me.