Alice in Mirrorwoods

Chapter Five - Part I

Part 1

The guy looked in his mid twenties with short ruffled brown hair, sparkling black eyes that had a mischievous glint and wide grin which Alice wasn't quite sure was friendly or not.

His clothes or rather costume was similar to Robinhood's. Tight breeches, hooded undershirt with a leather vest and leather gloves.He even had a bow and a quiver full of arrows to go with the costume. Alice wondered if he worked as an actor or something. At least there was no feathered hat.

He was sitting on a wooden chair with a wooden coffee table next to it and another empty chair on the opposite side. The furniture was exactly of the same colour wood as the tree by which it stood so that it completely blended with the background and one would barely notice it at first glance.

Although he was sitting, Alice was sure he was tall enough to tower over her when he would stand.

"Awww stop checking me out." He smirked. "My wife wouldn't like it much."

Alice blinked and looked away for a moment. She wasn't checking him out in that way.

She turned back her gaze and looked straight into his eyes. "Who are you? And where am I?" She asked the most important two of the millions of questions she had.

"Ah! Haven't introduced myself now, have I?" He muttered and stood up. As expected he was quite tall. "I'm Felix Wizaari. Chief Guard of the Gates, Counsellor for Entrance and Inspector of Conscience."

"Inspector of Conscience?" Alice's eyebrows shot up. "Thanks for clearing that up."

"Hey!" Felix protested. "Anyways, one step at a time. That is my official introduction. And Welcome to Mirrorwoods." He grinned widely.

"Mirrorwoods?" Alice wondered if she had ever heard of such a place. "Is that the name of this... jungle?" She asked looking around.

"Jungle!" Felix sighed and sat back on his chair. "I've heard that one before. Why don't you come and sit down?" He gestured towards the chair opposite to his.

Alice eyed the chair uncertainly. "Not until you tell me where I am."

"Fine then. If you insist." Felix shrugged. "Mirrorwoods is the name of this Country."

Alice's mind went blank for a moment. Of course she didn't remember the names of all the countries in the world but she was quite sure that there was none called Mirrorwoods. "By country, I'm sure you mean as in village or rural area right?" She asked.

"No, I mean Country as in Nation, Sovereign State or Motherland." He clarified nonchalantly.

Alice blinked and stared at him. "I'm quite sure there is no Country in any of the continents that's called Mirrorwoods."

"Yes, not where you have come from." Felix agreed.

Alice frowned at his words. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Felix looked at her sternly. "If you want any more answers from me then I insist that you sit first." He said pointing the chair opposite to his with his thumb.

"Fine." Alice grumbled, took few paces towards the empty chair and sat on it's edge. "Now tell me."

"There's a lot to take in, you might as well relax." He said. "But anyways..." he trailed off and took in a deep breath. "You must have come through the Archway, right?"

"You mean the Oak tree?" Alice asked.

Felix shook his head. "The tree is just for appearances sake. It's actually an Archway." He tilted his head towards the intricately carved wooden Archway that stood nearby. "You came through it."