The Heart of Wonderland

Chapter 11

Alison huddled in the undergrowth for what felt like hours, but she knew it could only have been minutes until the boy appeared again. She started when he materialized beside her out of the darkness.

"Where did you go?" she whispered at him. "What about those guards, or knights, or whatever they were?"

"I led them away, then doubled back to find you. The forest will keep them busy until it gets bored."

"Until it...gets bored?"

He grinned. "The trees have a pretty good sense of humor, but not the greatest attention span." As if to illustrate his point, Alison felt a tap on her shoulder. But when she whirled around, there was no one there. Leaves rustled overhead as if the trees laughed at her.

Her eyes widened. "You really mean...?"

The boy nodded. "This is Wonderland. Everyone—and everything—is mad here."

There were those words again. "I've heard that phrase before," Alison said. "There was a girl, in the real world, who said...."

She trailed off. If the boy was a figment of her imagination, he wouldn't know anything about the world she had come from.
"Who are you?" Alison asked. "Why aren't you dressed like those men were? In old-fashioned clothing, I mean." If she was going to dream about talking animals and knights in armor, it didn't make sense that her imagination would have plopped a boy her age, in street clothes, right in the middle of it.

Even if he was super cute.

Alison felt her cheeks heat and was glad for the dim light that shrouded them.

"My name's Maddox," the boy said. "And this isn't a dream." He stopped himself and shook his head. "I mean, it is, but it isn't." He ran a hand through his hair. "I've been here too long. It's hard to remember what's real and what isn't."

"You remind me of someone I met recently," Alison said. "A woman I met at..." She forced the words out. "At my parents' funeral."

Emotion flickered across Maddox's face, too quickly for Alison to decipher. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when the scent of lavender filled the air. Alison looked around eagerly, anticipating the appearance of the white rabbit, but Maddox grabbed her hand and tried to pull her away.

"Come on," he urged. "We should get out of here."

Alison resisted. "No, wait. It's fine. That scent means the white rabbit is here somewhere. It was trying to tell me something last time I was here. It said it had been waiting for me."
Maddox's mouth thinned into a grim line. "Trust me, that rabbit is not your friend. It might help you at first, but it always wants something in return."

"At least the rabbit is nicer than the Cheshire Cat," Alison argued. "The Cat always shows up just before something bad is about to happen, and all it ever does is make fun of me."

"Things—people—aren't always who they seem in Wonderland," Maddox answered.

Yes, that's right. People aren't always what they seem, are they, Maddox? The rabbit spoke as it entered the clearing. Small, white, and adorable, it looked like the most harmless creature in the world. What could Maddox have against the little animal? If anyone in Wonderland was trying to trick Alison, her money was on the Cheshire Cat.

"Leave her alone," Maddox ordered the rabbit. He pushed Alison behind him as if protecting her from the small animal.

Musical laughter tinkled in Alison's head as the rabbit spoke again. Oh, really, now. Is this necessary? You know I won't harm the girl. I've been waiting for her. Besides, what could I do to her? Just look at me.