Chapter 8: Wonderland

"You really thought you could come to wonderland and I wouldn't slice your head off?" A hiss came from the voice.

I could not open my eyes. I could feel nothing in my body, and yet I could till hear.

"I have come here with him, in search of his mother." The witch. She was there. I could recognize her voice anywhere, even amidst the darkness.

"So you may try to kill her as well? I'll take the boy to his mother, but you will not be alive to see her."

A force inside of myself bubbled, something that I had never felt before. A resistance to whatever it was that held me there.

A gasp of breath and I shot upward, sitting up and blinking, barely able to take in my surroudnings.

A flicker of suprise was on both womens faces, but went away quickly. The witch was quick to my side, patting my back as I began to take in deep breaths, as if I had never been able to breath before.

"Hello, Flynn."

I took in my surroundings, and honestly wasn't really sure of what I saw. Trees and wildnerness was everywhere, but they were extremely colorful. Colors that would never be seen in reality. What was this place? The woman who had greeted me had bright blue eyes and long blonde hair. It was pale, unlike the gold that glowed from the witch. It was long, but not nearly as long as the witch.

She was wearing a delicate blue and white gown with black shoes. Elegant was what I would desribe her as. And there was power radiating off of her body. I again looked around to see cards, actualy cards with swords and spears and shields, surrounding them.

"I've brought him in peace. I believe Mother is after him, in search of his mother."

"And you think I'll believe that you have nothing to do with that? What say you, Flynn Ryder? Not that your word means very much, since this witch has an art for altering the mind." I couldn't help but remember what she had attempted before. Blocking my memories so I wouldn't know of her existence, yet here I was, in a world of the dead with what can only be assumed as a god in my presence, and a witch at my side. A life I never thought existed for anyone, and I was living it now.

"I'm here… I'm here to find my mother," was all I could rasp out. It was as if the liquid I had drank had burned my throat, and I was only barely healing from it. A sickness that would normally take weeks to recover, but I could feel myself healing. The burned parts of my body moving and fixing itself. A burning sensation that didn't necesarrily hurt, but it was still there and I could feel it. It was as if my body was not my own.

"Well… I will take you to her. However, I shall kill this witch for thinking she could come into Wonderland with no consequence." She motioned to a card, and a sword came swinging down.

"No!" I called out, jumping up and pushing the witch to the side, only for the sword to cut down on her cloak. The cloak now in shreds fell off her shoulders, and I felt this was my first time truly seeing her. The purple and white dress that hugged her, and the long braided hair. That hair must be incredibly long. I could already tell it was reaching the floor, but seeing how much was bunched up and collected inside of it, I could only imagine how long it truly was.

Alice leaned down to me, I was on my knees, barely having the strength to stand as I was realizing I must be coming back alive. I had drank poison to be in this world, and I had no idea how I was alive, sitting there amongst magical creatures and gods.

"You are an interesting one. That is true. Fine, I shall keep your witch alive, but if she is to make one false move, then she shall pay with her immortal life." She paused and looked me over again. "You are indeed strong, but you lack restraint and knowledge of who you are and your power. I assume you are here to learn how to defend yourself. Well, lucky for you, you can rest assured knowing fully that you are not only human, but elf. No mortal can come to wonderland unless their spirit was here, after their death. That poison did not kill you, but your humanity, and it shall remain in the mortal world until you return."

I had no idea what she was saying. Two cards came over to me and lifted my up by my arms, and I looked down to see my feet bare. My feet actually looked huge. My nails seemed to be sharp. I looked at my hands and saw the same. It took me a moment to steady myself. No one had gone to assist the witch. She still lay on the floor where I had pushed her. Utterly silent. I walked over to her and reached out my hand. She brushed her braid to the side and stood on her own, not saying a word.

"Well now, follow me to the castle of hearts."

The journey was longer than I expected, but it allowed me the time to process, to think. It seemed my body had enlarged, I could feel it in my steps and in my weight. Not by much, but by enough to be noticeable. The glances I kept sneaking at the witch seemed to go unnoticed. In a way, I'm sure she felt exposed without her cloak, but she was going to die, and for some reason she had not moved. Did not fight against it when that sword came swinging for her head. Did she wish to die?

Instead of worrying over it, I looked around again. Everything was so clear. The sky was bluer than any ocean or sea. There seemed to be no sun, no clouds, yet the world was so bright and lively. Bird flew above, or whatever you may call the creatures that flew. The hardest part to grasp was the cards, really. They held no face, no real body. Only arms and legs. Their arms held weapons, and their legs were thin, and in no way human. Their steps were utterly silent, as if as light as paper. Every part of me told me I must've been dreaming. There was simply no way that there were cards escorting us to the God's castle.

The castle suddenly appeared, a large rose garden surrounding it. It may have been a trick of my mind, but I could swear I could see the vines moving, shifting. I did my best not to stare.

The castle stood very tall, and if there were clouds in the sky, I'm sure the top would not have been seen. There was a soft melody of a harp playing around the garden, and when the wide heavy doors swung open with no one even touching them, the music grew louder.

I could distinctly hear the steps of the witch and I, but could here nothing from the feet of the card soldiers, or from Alice herself. The harp grew louder though, and I had no idea how far into the castle we were to go.

The witch was still silent. Her bare feet padding against the cold glass of the floor. I could feel it as well, yet it did not send shivers down my spine, as it would have before.

Large doors appeared after we took a sharp left. It then occured to me that when I had awoken, there was no exit to be seen. The tree we had entered only had the entrance, and if something were to happen, I wasn't completely sure if the witch would be able to get us out of here. Unlike before it seemed she was… weaker.

The door again opened with no word or movement of others. And inside, a woman with pointy ears, long brown hair that fell down very far. She sat on a stool, delicate hands playing the huge harp that stood in what looked like a throne room. She was wearing simple green cloth. Her were closed, but the face was smooth and soft. Her lips were thin, but had a small comfortable smile as she seemed to be eased by the sound of the harp. It was a moment before she stopped and looked up to the large entourage that followed Alice.

Her eyes stopped on me, and her smile fell, but not in a displeasing way. Her eyes widened, large grey orbs stared into my very soul, and suddenly I knew who this being was.

"My son, it is so nice to see you."

The witch was finally looking at me, gaging in my reaction, and I stood still, frozen. There were so many things going through my head, I had no idea what to say, or how to feel. The only thing I could do was stare. Suprisingly, a strong yet small hand was placed on my shoulder, and I looked to see the witch, a blank expression, but soft green eyes called to me. Giving me what I didn't know I needed. The strength to move forward and greet her.

"Hello, Mother."

Sorry if this chapter is a bit smaller, but I think it was filled with some good information. What do you think?