I look over at the willow tree and smile a little when I see Zach's eyes light up and come from behind it. "Hey," he smiles, sitting next to me.
"Hello," I say, my accent coming out mildly. He looks at me and his smile gets a little bigger, his eyes glinting. "You wanted to tell me something?" I ask, getting back on the subject. He nods and looks down at the ground and doesn't say anything for a really long time. "Well…get on with it." I smile.
"I like you…a lot." he murmurs quietly.
"What?" I'm a little thrown by this. I mean…he's one of the cutest guys in school with the short dark hair and the beautiful and captivating hazel eyes. Then his smile…wow. That's my favorite part about him is the smile.
"I like you a lot…" he repeats. "And I know I probably shouldn't have even told you this because I know you probably don't like me back and that there's nothing that special about me and you could do a lot better but I was just thinking that you needed to hear that."
"But…why?" I ask.
"You smile and cause others to as well. You laugh and it seems like no matter what happens everything is going to be okay. Whenever I feel like I'm about to cry, you make me smile. I more than like you Ariadne…." he says.
I look at him wide eyed. "W-what?"
"I love you." he says quietly. "More than anything ever."
"But…I just don't understand." I say in shock.
"What don't you understand?" he asks curiously.
"Why a guy like you, who could win anyone's heart likes me…" I say.
"I don't like you." he says, obviously trying to make that clear. "I love you and I love you because it's not hard to love a girl like you. You're easy going and smart and beautiful." I just sit there amazed.
"Really?" I say.
"Yeah." he says still somewhat nervous. I take his hand.
"You give me butterflies deep inside. Whenever I see you I don't know what to say and when we start talking I feel like my life is amazing. When you say my name, I get really shaky and blush." I say. "I get lost sometimes when I look into your eyes."
He smiles a little. "Really?"
"Yeah." I say. I lean in and that's when we both fall. Screaming, I notice a Piano dropping and I hold on to Zach's sleeve like it's a life line. He's able to grab my waist and when the piano crashes into the side of the wall I sigh in relief as we fall down on the ground, me on top of Zach. "Whoa." I say breathlessly. I get up and look around. I see Eat Me cake and take a bite, growing huge. I grab the key and sip the drink me potion. When I get tiny, I go to a smaller door and look over at Zach to find him drinking it too. When I open the door, I eat a little bit of the cake as I get out so I'm normal size and so does he.
"Hello welcome to wonderland!" someone greets us. I look over.
"Wonderland?" I ask.
"Yes. Wonderland." he answers. He was dressed in a suit with a pink tie and a top hat. His hands are scarred but he has a huge smile.
"I'm Ariadne." I say holding out my hand. He just looks at it so I awkwardly place it back at my side. "And this is Zach."
"Well it's a joy to have you!" he says.
"Yeah eh…where are we supposed to go?" Zach asks.
"Stay away from the Red Queen." he warns in a deep voice, highlighting his British accent. "Stay away."
"Um…okay but that doesn't exactly answer my question. Where do we go?" Zach says.
"White Queen. Go. Quickly." he says.
"Wait…why? What's going on?"
"War. Bad war. White queen. Slay. You." he points a finger at me. "You are the slayer."
"What?" I ask oddly. "I'm sixteen…" he shakes his head.
"You are the slayer." then walks away. I look at Zach eyes widened. Shaking my head a little, I walk over to a tree and lean against it. I hear a voice and jump.
"Ariadne." it says. I turn. "Over here and down." it orders. Since it's voice is coming from the write I turn and look down to find a dormouse.
"Hello." I say sitting down beside it. "Who are you?"
"I'm the dormouse of course." It says obviously. It has light brown fur and…an outfit on which I find odd.
"Oh okay." I say. "So…I'm a slayer? Slayer of what exactly?"
"The Jabberwhocky of course." he says.
"Wait…I thought he was already dead…" Zach says. "Remember…Alice?"
"Who's she?" Dormouse asks. My eyes widen.
"You're kidding…right?" I say. "That poem was in Alice in Wonderland…"
"No…it's not a poem it's a prophesy…" Dormouse says.
"But Lewis Caroll…" I start.
"Lewis Caroll made up that story after coming down here." Dormouse says. "I'm not lying about this and neither is the hatter. You're the Jabberwhocky slayer and also the one the Red Queen wants tortured and killed."
My eyes widen. "Okay…so I'm here…Zach's here…does he play any part in this?" I ask.
"No I don't really understand why he's here but there must be some reason." Dormouse says. He turns and looks away. "She's coming."
"Who?" I ask.
"Red Queen. She's coming." he looks at me then at Zach. "Protect her otherwise she and you could end up dead. Protect her with your life." he runs off. I look at Zach.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"We're in a mythical place and I need to protect you with my life and you need to be a slayer." he says. "Great this doesn't seem too crazy."
"I'm sorry." I say. "I didn't mean to-"
"Stop it's fine." he says. Looking around I hear a group of soldiers.
"She's over here." One says. Zach grabs my hand and we run in the opposite direction as them. Jumping over branches on the ground, I start slowing down after a few minutes and Zach lifts me up and runs with me in his arms. We reach a river and he puts me down.
"Okay we need to walk across some how. Uh…here." he puts me in front of him and takes my hand. We start walking on a log and then move to the next walk. I almost fall in but he catches me. Slowly moving, we get to the other side. "Now run." he says. As we do, we race into an area that resembles a jungle.
"Ari." I turn startled to see a cat purched on a tree. "We've been expecting you." His eyes glow like the moon itself and he rests his head on his paws.
"Who are you?" I ask.
"I am Ches. Welcome to Wonderland." he purrs.