Wonderlust

2:00

"Allis, this is your dream. You may have whatever you like."

I can have whatever I like?

"Yes. Of course. You just have to-"

"Miss? Are you alright?"

"Hmmmm," I groaned at the sound of someone's voice.Had I drank alcohol the night before? I had a terrible head ache. I had such a strange dream... or maybe not?

I opened my eyes to slits, hoping that the light wouldn't cause me any discomfort. However it seemed that the sun had already set. How long had I been asleep?

"Um, Miss Allis?" A voice drew my attention to my left.

The creep from earlier. He cocked his head to the side as if in curiosity.

"Where am I?" I demanded stiffly as I sit up.

"This is Underland. Does It help you remember anything?" He seemed hopeful.

"Not in the slightest." I shook my head, " There is no way I can remember a place I have never been."

"Why, Of course you can. I do all the time." His long ears twitched as he rubbed his jaw, " This is troublesome. That man will be angry."

That man?

I bit my bottom lip. What to do? I suppose I could escape? But to were? I was in an unfamiliar country. I never asked my brother were we were going. I never even looked at the map he always kept with him. I suppose all I could do was...

I looked up at the man in front of me, who seemed to be thinking deeply about something.

"Hey," I said , as I stood up from were I had been laying on the ground, " What is your name?"

His ears suddenly straightened and his eyes widened. "Pardon my rudeness madame." He took a deep bow. "My name is Tat. I am a secretary."

"A secretary for whom?"

"Why ,for everyone, of course. I make sure That the people of Underland keep their promises. You were a bit late so I went to fetch you."

A promise I haven't kept?

"There must be a mistake." I said as I pushed my hair off of my shoulder. "I Haven't made a promise and I don't live here."

"You have made a promise, but you are right to say that you are not a resident here." He grinned widely ," This is the first time an outsider has been connected to this place. I was very excited to meet you."

He made no sense at all. It was as if every word he spoke was a puzzle piece that did not fit with any of the others. How could I understand?

"Erm," I took a moment to look around and observe my surroundings. It was dark and the only source of light was the lantern Tat had and the moon. What a strange moon it was. It resembled a crooked smile that hung in the sky. Had I ever seen a moon like that?

"Madame?" Tat took a moment to glance at his pocket watch that he pulled out of his breast pocket. " It is a bit late. If you like we could camp here or we can continue on to your destination."

I ran a hand through my tangled bangs, "What, may I ask, is my destination?"

He blinks for a moment, as if he remembered something important then began to dig through his coat pockets. " Right! Here it is!"

He presented to me a crisp envelope. The wax that sealed it was a dark blue. The seal seemed to be a raven. I carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the thick invitation inside. It was also blue with oriental black swirls.

The inside read:

"My Lady,

We here by invite you to a tea party held at the Hatter Estate. The party will begin as soon as you arrive. We greatly look forward to your arrival.

Sincerely, C"

A party? Who would send this? I had never been to that country before. I did not know anyone there. Yet I received something strange such as that?

The entire event was quite strange. Perhaps I was dreaming? Yes, that must be it. Perhaps I fell asleep on the train. Brother would wake me up soon. All I had to do was wait.

"Madame, What shall we do?" Tat asked patiently.

"What do you want to do?"

His ears jump in surprise. "Hmm, well the forest is dangerous at night. All sorts of things roam around at this time. It would be troublesome to run into one. Maybe we should camp and make a big fire?"

"Then we shall wait for dawn."