2.1 | Alice ✔

The Fall of Wonderland

Zain wasn't exactly sure what kind of magic Raelen possessed, but he had to admit that time travel-or whatever it was he called these portals he conjured-was way more psychedelic than he could have ever imagined. The magic only lasted in short bursts, but by the time they'd completed their first trip, he could barely stand on his own feet.

Ezra checked their surroundings as Raelen removed his hat to scratch his head nervously. The smog had practically lifted from this place, and there was no sight of the dead and gloomy grove they'd just been wandering through. In fact, this location was quite the opposite. It was cheery and uplifting, with a rickety windmill house, and a long dining table with numerous and unique seating. Not to mention all the dining ware and scrumptious smelling food that was floating about in the air. Zain had never seen such realistic sorcery! Ezra's expression was frigid as she slowly turned to Raelen, and he lifted his hands defensively.
                   
"I swear, I had no intention of us ending up here," he began before she could even speak. That only made her bristle more, and she opened her mouth to shoot a scathing remark, he was certain. "Ezra, please don't overreact. Ever since leaving the White Kingdom, my magic has become frustratingly unpredictable. I suspect it has something to do with this forest. But I promise we'll get where we're going if we don't waste any time."
                   
"What is this place, anyway?" Zain asked, he and Saber ogling everything in awe.
                   
"No time!" Ezra snapped irritably. "Raelen?!"
                   
"Yes, ma'am," he sighed, conjuring another portal, and they were sucked in once again. Zain wondered how many trips it would take to get to the Red Kingdom. He was sure too much of this wouldn't be good for anyone's health or state of mind.

When they emerged again, they seemed to be back on the right track. They were smack in the middle of that awful smog, and the atmosphere felt even more hopeless and heavy.

"We still seem to be quite off the mark," Raelen stated, tapping the face of his watch. "What is going on with this stupid thing?"
                   
"Wait a minute," Ezra said, her ears twitching left and right simultaneously. "I . . . I hear something."
                   
"I know this place," Katherine muttered, her monotone voice seeming darker than usual.
                   
"This is Eris' domain," Zephyr informed, and everyone turned to find him inhaling deeply. "Yup . . . she's right over here." Without warning, he quickly strode in a random direction, and they all scrambled after him. The smog grew so thick, Zain couldn't see his own hands if he held them to his face. But soon enough, the smog cleared just enough for them to see a shadow in the distance.

They all stopped in their tracks, and the hair began to stand on the back of his neck. When the area cleared a bit more, he understood why.
                   
Sitting atop a throne of mushrooms was the most grotesque creature he had ever seen. No, grotesque was way too strong a word. From her head down to her hips, she was a perfectly normal and very attractive woman. Her light blue hair was gathered to the side of her head in a bun that resembled a rose. He wasn't sure how it was possible, but she pulled it off like no one could. Blue makeup marked her pretty face, really making her amber eyes pop. A blue top with glittering embellishments covered her breasts, and with a hookah mouthpiece hanging from her lips, she looked every bit the stoner mermaid. That explains where all this smoke is coming from . . .
                   
But she was far from a mermaid. In fact, the large, scaly, slimy appendage that coiled beneath and around her made her look like a snake. 
                   
"Naga," was the word that tumbled past his snarled lips.
                   
"I'm a caterpillar, you uncultured peasant," she hissed, wisps of smoke trailing past her teeth as she reared up, her tiny legs that he hadn't noticed before wriggling angrily at him. He suppressed the urge to laugh at how adorable the sight was. "What the hell do you all want? Why have you come here?" she growled, her eyes sweeping past them all to settle on Zephyr. Her demeanor seemed to grow even darker as he grinned ridiculously back at her. "What the hell is this, Cheshire?"
                   
"W-we're very sorry, Miss Caterpillar," Ezra cut in, curtsying to the grand creature. "We really didn't mean to trespass. We're trying to reach the Red Kingdom-"
                   
"What?!" she snapped, her voice seeming to echo all around them. Saber suddenly clung to Zain's arm, and he found himself shrinking against her, too. "White residents trying to infiltrate the Red Kingdom?! Treason!" She slithered towards them in the blink of an eye, and Zain almost wet his own pants. "I don't know how you got past White Alice, but I'll report you to the highest authority!"
                   
"Oh, come off it, Eris," Zephyr laughed with hysteria. "You're threatening the king's beloved pet, for goodness sake!"
                   
"Hey!" Ezra snapped, forgetting her fear to turn and stomp her foot at him. He promptly ignored her.
                   
"Besides, we were sent here by Al himself," he continued, his face quickly turning grave. "King Jeremiah is dying. We need to deliver a parcel to him."
                   
Eris' face instantly paled at the news, and she slowly turned to retreat back to her throne. Once she was settled, she began shaking her head, taking a long drag of her hookah. She sighed heavily, the smoke swirling around her really beginning to resemble distraught faces. Goosebumps pickled on Zain's arms.
                   
"What a bloody mess this has become," she said forlornly. "There was no threat of death when we were still united as Wonderland. If this is happening to the Red King, of all people . . . what the hell is going to happen to the rest of us?"
                   
"Wonderland?" Zain and Saber said simultaneously. Ezra turned to them with a forbidding glare, but Eris had every intention of answering their question. 
                   
"Yes, mortals," she sniffed. "Before all the hatred, destruction and calamity; before Verloren and the Red and White Kingdoms . . . there was Wonderland."