I watched as he ran around the yard, his bald head gleaming in the sunlight. Smiling, I reached out and grabbed him, tugging him into my lap. "Marina!" he cried, frowning. I grinned, kissing his cheek before letting him go. "You shouldn't read out here, it's cold. You'll get sick again."

I tapped his nose. "If anyone should worry about getting sick, it's you, silly!" He frowned, crossing his fat arms. "Don't you frown at me, Mister." His frown broke into a large grin, and he ran back into my arms.

"I love you, sissy!" he said happily. I smiled and pulled him into my lap. "Could we play a game, sissy?" My head started to thump when he said game, but I nodded. I turned around when I thought I heard someone talking.

"Please, Nightmare. Once more. I know she'll stay with us, forever!"

Nightmare? I shook my head, instead focusing on the little boy in front of me. "What game should we play?"

He tapped his chin before he said excitedly, "Cards!" My head throbbed again.

"Cards?" I repeated.

"You must find someone that can easily forget, Rabbit. Someone that needs us."

He nodded happily. "Yea, cards! Let's play a card game!"

A smile made its way to my lips, and words escaped my mouth. "Because that's the rule." He stared up at me, shaking his head. "What?"

"I will. I know the perfect girl."

"You're silly, sissy." He jumped off my lap, and I set my book down. "I'll go get the cards!" I waved after him, waiting patiently. I shook my head, waving off drowsiness. Why was I tired all of a sudden?

Truth curled up next to me. "He's taking a while, kitty," I said, rubbing his fur. He purred happily. "Think he'll mind if I take a nap while waiting for him?" He crawled onto my chest when I laid back and shut my eyes. I smiled sleepily, "I'll take that as a yes."

"Hey, did you know?"

Falling. It was the first thing I noticed when I opened up my eyes. I was falling, down down down. It seemed like the hole lasted forever, and daylight kept getting further away. The next thing I noticed was the strange man that held me close. He had the ears of a white rabbit. He must've noticed I had opened my eyes, because he said, "We're almost there, Miss Marina."

Blinking, I said questioningly, "How do you know my name?" My heart jumped into my chest when I heard the furious mews of Truth. He was with us? "Where's Truth!?" I screamed. He held his ear tightly before he revealed the black cat that was clutched in his vest.

"I know your name because I know everything about you! And the filthy kitten is right here, too." I reached for the kitten, letting out a surprised gasp when we instead collided with solid ground. He let me out of his grasp, and I snatched Truth from his vest and backed up.

Pointing at him, I screamed, "Who the heck are you!?" He smiled and bowed.

"My name is Peter White." He adjusted his glasses, smiling from beneath the shadow his hand casted. "I hope I haven't caused you much fright." I shook pathetically, backing up when he pulled a vial from his pocket. It had a Heart stopper on top, and the liquid looked entirely too sweet.

Peter was suddenly in front of me, smiling widely. "It's time for you to play the game, Miss Marina."

My body shook, head thumping in pain as I stared at the potion. "I do love a good game…" I reached out for it; I wasn't in control of my body. I watched as my free hand grasped the vial. My other hand cradled Truth close to my chest.

"Games always have rules."

The voice sounded familiar; it sounded like his voice. I could see his outline in my vision. I could see his happy smile. "The rules are simple, Miss Marina; you can't go home until you make everyone here love you. Fill up the vial with the potion to go home. Or stay."

I uncorked the vial, placing it against my lips and letting the pink liquid drain down my throat. As I had thought, it was entirely too sweet. It seemed like I was back in control of my body when I smacked my lips together, "Too sweet."

Peter's ears twitched, and he smiled. "You drank it so nicely! I knew it, you weren't feisty."

I wrinkled my nose as I crossed my arms, Truth purring in my clutches. Sticking my nose up in the air, I feigned arrogance. "As I said, I love a good game." Suddenly, his words hit home with me. "I… I can't go home until I fill the vial up?" He grinned, nodding. I've made a reckless decision again… Doing before I think…

"Mhmm… But, you can stay forever if you decide you like it here!" he said cheerfully, spinning around me. "Oh, I'm so happy you drank the Potion of Hearts, dear!" He extended his arms, "'This is the Potion of Hearts! Once you drink it, you must participate in the game!'"

I tutted, trying to put on an 'I-don't-care' look. "Ah, home wasn't good for me anyways. This should be much more fun!" But, all my things are at home… And he's there, too… I tutted again. I should finish this game quickly so I can get home to him!

My head started to hurt when I thought of his smiling face and chubby cheeks. I mumbled his name under my breath, causing the albino-rabbit-man to blink curiously at me. It clicked suddenly. There's no way someone can have bunny ears! "Who is that? Another cat?"

"It's decided from the beginning..."

I shook my head, feeling better. I just have to beat this game, right? "He's someone important to me."

He tilted his head, eyes becoming impassive. "Is he your lover?" Why did he sound upset? Ah, whatever. This is just a dream. Definitely a dream. But, I have a feeling it's going to be a long one…

I chuckled, pocketing the vial before petting Truth. He purred in my arms contently, forcing his head into my hand. "Lover? Hardly! He's my little brother!" I grinned at Peter. He blinked once before smiling back at me.

"Miss Marina, you're very sweet!"

I shook my head, "No way. I just like games. And dreams." He frowned at the word, but smiled when I looked back at him. He nodded, watching as I approached the edge of the building. I could see all of my dream world from the building's roof. There was a mansion with large gates, a castle, an amusement park, a forest, and what appeared to be a small house surrounded by flowers. "Wow! Peter, where am I?"

He smiled, standing next to me. "You're in Wonderland."

My breath hitched. "Wonder… Wonderland?" From the story? Alice in Wonderland... This… this isn't mine, then. Why am I having an Alice in Wonderland themed dream? I haven't read the book or seen the movie in quite a while...

"Is that a problem?"

"No… no… It's just… you've got the wrong girl. I'm not Alice…"

"Who's Alice! We don't want Alice!" He laughed a little too loud for my taste. He was hiding something… He stopped laughing when I frowned. "You're our Alice." He went to touch me, but I slapped his hand away. "Miss Marina?"

"You're not telling me everything." I glared at him, "I don't like people that don't tell me everything. If this is a game, you have to tell me all the rules!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that… I'd be breaking a rule, and then I'd have to send you back without completing the game." He placed a finger against his lips, "So no way, okay?" He scampered off, and I felt myself get angry. I followed him down the staircase (which was incredibly long) and out the door, clutching Truth close.

He quickly ran into the woods. I attempted to follow, but got lost among the trees. I found myself at the house with the gardens surrounding it. Slowly, I approached the house, hoping someone could tell me something. Something about Alice…

I knocked on the door with one hand, only to jump back when a girl with no face opened the door. I mean, she had lips and a nose and eyebrows, but her eyes! They were missing! She seemed just as lost as I was, for she just turned over her shoulder and yelled, "Mistress!" Even without eyes, I could see the distress on her face. So… she could see me?

I heard the thumping of someone moving, and stepped back when a young lady, no older than I, stood in front of me. Her hair was the color of a flower stem, and her eyes were the color of the softest red roses. Her jaw dropped, and she grabbed my hand. "That… idiot!" She looked at the girl that let me in, who I finally really looked at. She had white hair and wore a flowing, Spanish-styled dress. "Chamomile, make sure that stupid bunny is gone! And make sure no one saw this girl and cat!"

I stared at her, mouth open in a small 'o'. "Who… who are you?"

She grinned, "I'm Rose La Rosa, leader of The Gardens Group. Welcome to The House, Little Miss Foreigner." She looked up when the white-haired girl-Chamomile-returned. "So, Cammie, is he gone?"

She nodded, "No sign of him anywhere, Mistress." Rose smirked when she said, "But that stupid knight is still in the woods… He was lost again, so I gave him directions." The red-eyed girl took Truth from my arms, petting him contently.

"He left you all alone, didn't he?" I nodded, causing her to frown. "Just like he did with her, only explaining the rules and never showing her around…" I watched as her eyes got a crazy haze to them, and she suddenly looked at me. "Sorry, Miss, never got your name."

I stuttered, "M-Marina. Marina Jenkins." She grinned again, letting Truth go. He wandered around, but stayed relatively close to me.

"Marina Jenkins? Hm, unique name." She lead me to a table, and I saw a girl with light purple hair making something. "Would you care for some Rose Water?" she asked.

"Rose Water?"

She sighed happily, sitting down. I sat across from her, watching as she eagerly drank from the cup that was set in front of her. "Rose Water is a Gardens specialty. Flower Waters in general. but there's something positively wonderful about Rose Water." I nodded slightly. It sounded interesting. "Lilac, get Marina some Rose Water!" The purple-haired girl presented me with a glass, and I hesitantly drank from it. The water had a peculiar, slightly sweet taste. It wasn't that bad, actually. "Do you like it?"

I nodded again, "It's good." She smiled widely, her eyes twinkling happily.

"So, Marina. You've noticed that I have a Face by now. And that my dear friends here are, in fact, Faceless." I noticed that the kitten purred next to my legs when I nodded. "He really didn't tell you anything?"

"Just told me about the Potion of Hearts. Which I drank." She snorted.

"Not surprised. It's an enticing drink, right? You wanted to drink it. You couldn't help but to drink it." She shook her head, crossing her arms and leaning back into her chair. "Lilac, darling, go fetch Bud for me." The girl nodded, quickly scurrying from the room. "I'll explain everything to you when Bud gets his tail end out here." Lilac returned after a moment, a young boy with a face following her. He looked exactly like Rose, but instead of red eyes, he had light pink.

"Big Sister?" he called. Rose turned, opening her arms. I felt a pang in my heart when the boy ran into them. "Who is this? A new Role Holder?"

"Role Holder?"

Rose pressed her finger against his lips. "Shush, Bud. Introduce yourself."

The boy extended his hand, which I shook. It was the same size… "My name's Briar La Rosa, but you can call me Bud." He smiled, and I saw the two front teeth missing. I smiled gently at him.

"It's nice to meet you, Bud. I'm Marina Jenkins." He shyly buried his head into his sister's shoulder, but continued to stare at me. "So… what are these Role Holders?"

She set her brother down, and he scampered off. "Lilac, get Lily to watch him, please? He's been going near Blood's Rose Garden again." She nodded and scurried off. She stared at me, "So, you know the rules of the game, right?"

"Fill this vial up with the liquid, then I can go home."

She laughed, "Oh, honey, that's just the tip of the iceberg."

"You knew that, right?"