The Melancholy of Wonderland

The Manor Dressed in Black

Anya wasn't sure how much time had passed since she had started wandering around in the cave. Was it even a cave? Anya wasn't sure of anything anymore. She was beginning to give up when she finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Her heart lit up and her stomach was instantly full of butterflies. She had never run so fast in her life as the small opening grew larger and larger.

The breath was knocked out of her chest as she relished in the fresh air and warm sun. But when she looked around, it was clear she was nowhere near West High School.

The sky was a deep purple, melting into periwinkle and emerald green. The grass at her feet was tinged sunset orange, and the trees were aqua blue with grey trunks of every shade. Anya's breath hitched in her throat as she took a step back. She barely rendered tripping over her own two feet and falling on her bottom into the surprisingly soft and spongy orange grass.

"Where... Where am I?" Her voice was weak and strangled. She sounded like a tone-deaf frog.

"You are in Wonderland."

"Who said that!? Who's there!?" Anya quickly jumped to her feet and looked around wildly.

"I am known as the Cheshire Cat. But my real name is Fiona Rose. You may call me either."

A slim woman appeared from the shade of the trees. She had sharp blue eyes and bubblegum pink hair. She was wearing a violet hoodie with hot pink stripes and jeans shorts with ankle-high boots. A black mask with a large smile painted on covered the bottom half of her face. Two pink ears and a tail shimmied out from her hair and back.

"Wonderland? Like from Lewis Carroll's book? You must be joking," Anya rasped.

"It is not a joke. This land is called Wonderland," Fiona said monotonously.

"Ooookay then," Anya sighed, debating what her next question should be.

"I do not understand. Why do you seem so distressed?"

"Look, Ms... Rose. I'm not from here. I don't know why or how I got here, but I want to go back from where I came from. Which is nowhere in Wonderland."

"Then you must ask the Queen of Hearts."

"Why...?"

"Because the Queen of Hearts knows all directions. The Queen of Hearts is always right."

"And where can I find the Queen of Hearts?"

"In the City of Aces."

"And where the heck is the City of Aces in this crazy place!?" Anya exploded.

"Where the great river divides and the sun dips into the hills. Where the Ruby Palace lies on the evening clouds," Fiona replied.

"Is there a way I can get there?" Anya hissed, gritting her teeth.

"You can get there by train. The Midnight Express is open to all."

"Can you take me there? Please?"

"Just follow the Cool Bark trees," Fiona said and disappeared back into the shadows.

"Argh!"

Anya felt like punching something, anything. She was so frustrated, and her blood was practically boiling. Why couldn't that stupid cat just tell her the answers to her questions? She just had to reply with cryptic statements that made no sense. Why were people never helpful? Now Anya had to figure out what the heck Cool Bark trees meant or she was never getting out of this place. She considered her options.