The Wonderland Chronicles: Realm of Three Kingdoms

Chapter Two: Down the Rabbit Hole (Part II)

I gave the room another thorough look over, and gave a start of surprise.

A tall little glass table to the far side of the room sat with a tiny bottle atop. That had most definitely not been there before!

I got up and walked towards it slowly, the little handwritten tag on the clear bottle catching my eye: "Drink Me," was written upon it with neon purple ink. I cautiously picked it up and examined it, turning it over in my hands. Inside the glass bottle was a bright pink liquid with a slight shimmer to it. I had never seen anything like it before. The closest I could compare it to would be mercury, but very pink!

I carefully twisted the little cork stopper out of the top and held it under my nose for a sniff. It smelled good: sweet and faintly of strawberries and roses. I hesitated though, what if it was poison or something? Flipping the parchment tag around, I saw written, "Not Poison."

I snorted. That's exactly what someone would write to make me think it wasn't, when in fact it was! But surely if it was poison, one would not even elude to it in a note? My mind jumped back and forth with the two possibilities. Poison, or not poison?

But did I really have anything to lose? If this truly was poisonous, perhaps it was better to die quickly from drinking it rather than slowly of starvation in this room, as would surely happen eventually. I shivered at the morbid thought. Indeed, better to die now than suffer for weeks!

With that grim thought in mind, I squeezed my eyes shut, took a deep breath and drank the entire pink "Not Poison" contents down in one swallow.

I set the bottle down with a 'clink' on the glass table and blinked my eyes, vision suddenly going funny. Was this how death by poison started then, with failing eyesight? I held very still and tried to remain calm, keeping my breathing steady to soothe my nervous heart. Gradually, the symptom faded, and things around me came back into focus. When my vision was no longer blurry, I rubbed at my eyes, looked around and gaped in surprise.

There in the previously empty wall between two larger doors, was a small little door. No wider than half a meter and half tall, it was made of a dark brown wood and had a golden knob. Had I missed it on my initial study of the strange, black and white tiled room? Surely I would have noticed if it had been there before? I stepped closer and bent down to see the door more clearly. My eyes widened. Carved into the doorknob was a little upright rabbit. It was wearing a waistcoat and pocket watch, exactly as the white rabbit I had been following was!

Could this be a sign then? Was this the right door? Maybe even the one the peculiar rabbit had gone through? It certainly seemed so as drinking that potion was what revealed it, and now the engraving. The door was the perfect size for a rabbit as well. Looking around one last time to see if any new surprises had popped up, I grasped the handle, pulled it down gingerly and slowly cracked the door. Bracing myself for whatever torments would rush out from behind, I was thoroughly relieved when none did.

A bright light shone through the sliver I had opened and I squinted, shielding my eyes with my hand until it faded a little. Believing it to be safe, I took a breath and pushed the door in all the way. When still nothing awful occurred, I knelt down to look through the entryway, but all I could see was a beautiful bright glow. No horrid storm or flood in sight. I warily stuck one of my hands into the luminous doorway, and when I was unharmed, my whole arm. Nothing.

Feeling optimistic, some of my battered hope regained, I went down on my hands and knees and began to crawl through the small radiant doorway, leaving the black-and white checkered room behind.