Chapter One
Angelica sat quietly against the earthen wall. She had been there for weeks now, in a dark, sunless hole in the ground. She rarely got food, and when she did it was because some men dropped it into the hole. Sometimes they would taunt her with it, dropping it inches away from her reach, her chain pulling taught and refusing to move. Water would be drizzled from above. Depending on how far away she'd cup it in her hand or catch it in her mouth. Thing was she never knew how clean the water was or if it was even water. The darkness blinded her to its colour and all she could think of was the taste of a liquid quenching her throat.
She glanced at her bleeding ankle where a metal anklet was tight around her ankle. She had lost the feeling in it from the constant re-opening of her wound. Every time it would clot she would be taunted, pulling it and causing it to bleed. She hadn't worn new clothes since the day she was dropped in. Her white box-dress was tattered, torn and soiled. She felt disgusting, and was disgusting. She wanted out more than anything. She would give anything to be free, to not have to live in her own filth and misery.
Just then she saw a little snow-white rabbit. It approached her. Curiously she reached out to touch it when it hopped away. It stopped again and looked at her. She crawled forward until the chain was taut. Just then something flew out of the shadows at her. She pressed her eyes closed until she heard a sharp snap. She carefully opened her eyes and turned to see the chain broken. She could move freely now. She saw a card pierced into the ground. It was white-lines with an inner black and red argyle pattern. She went to touch it but yelped when it cut her. She stuck her cut finger into her mouth. She looked over to the shadow to see a figure. Its figure was definitely masculine with gleaming red eyes. She saw a towering hat with a set of what appeared to be rabbit ears. She wondered what he was doing down there.
Just then he dashed into the shadows, followed by the snow rabbit. Angelica pushed herself to her feet. She was unsteady, like a new born doe. She fell over a couple times until she managed to stay on her feet. The chains had split just in front of the split where it held her ankles together. With that she could run. Without second thought she dashed into the shadow area. She half expected to hit a wall but instead was engulfed by a blinding light. She tripped and fell down a hill. She shrieked in surprise and she continued to roll down. When she stopped rolling she opened her eyes. The brightness hurt her dark-adjusted eyes. She was surrounded by pastel greens and vibrant teals. Other colours of red, pink and rainbow filled the green scenery. She gazed at the oddly coloured trees and the over-sized mushrooms.
"Wh-where am I? She murmured. Her throat was dry with thirst. She needed water, but didn't know where it would be. But first she wanted to answer the question of where she actually was. Even though she had been in seclusion for so long things shouldn't have been so bizarre. Trees were purple with red tops and bushes were blue with pink tear-drop blossoms. The ground was a flurry of obscure colours that didn't make a lot of sense. This wasn't the land she was use to, making her wonder where she was.
Just then she saw the snow-white rabbit again. She walked over to it and it started hopping away again. She followed it closely, wanting to know what it was doing. It sped up a hill and she saw the figure again. It was clearer this time. It was definitely a boy with the light outlining his chin. His face was shady except the bright glowing red eyes again. He was sporting a white dress shirt with a black vest. He had jeans on with a chain running into his pocket. The hat he had been wearing was a black top hat with a red heart and a golden club on it. He had grey rabbit-ears poking out of his hat and silver hair.
The boy turned and started to walk away. Angelica blinked a bit. "Wait," she called "Where am I?" The boy stopped and turned to her. He bore a soft smile as he said "We wouldn't want to be late." He continued to walk away and she curiously followed him. Late? Late for what? He intrigued her so much with his mysterious looks and his few words. She stumbled along to the top of the hill before stopping and gazing out at the land. It was such a vast area, reaching far beyond her gaze. This was right beside her all a long? She didn't understand what this land was but she was overwhelmed with a desire to explore. She gazed down to the bottom of the steep slope to see the boy still walking away. She slowly began making her way down the slope.
As she made her way down she felt a large shadow pass over her. She quickly glanced up to see an empty sky but knew it wasn't. She looked down to see the boy running. She felt her heart race; she didn't want to be alone. She tried to hurry down the slope but lost her sturdy footing and began sliding. She winced at the grating pain of rocks tearing her feet apart before landing. She searched for the boy before running through the forest. He must have been fast because no matter how long she ran he was never in sight. Maybe he had turned a corner but she didn't know, she just wanted to get away from the shadow.
Eventually she stopped at a large tree. Exhausted, she leaned against it and settled her rapid breath. Her feet stung and her body felt weak. She hadn't eaten for days and was even thirstier. She also wasn't use to moving so much. She closed her eyes and listened to her surroundings. Something was nearby, a familiar sound. She opened her eyes and remembered. Water. She could hear water. She felt her mouth water with desire. She began exploring the area, following the sound of the trickling water. She eventually found a small stream. It was oddly coloured, appearing slightly purple but she didn't care. She just wanted to have a drink. She knelt down beside it, cupping some into her hand. She brought it close to her about to drink it when something flew between her lips and her hand. She bolted back, shocked. She dropped the water and turned to see someone standing not far off.
"What are you doing drinking that?!" he snapped. He was a tall boy, almost mistakable for the rabbit boy. There were obvious differences though. For one this boy didn't have any animal features. He had a black top hat with a red cross printed on it. Silver chains laced the hat with sterling crosses dangling off it. He was sporting a black leather vest and black pants with silver shoulder guards. He was gripping several cards. Angelica recognised them; they were the same cards as the one that broke her chain. Was this boy related to the rabbit boy?
"I-I'm sorry. I-I d-didn't mean to t-take it without permission," she stuttered. She was scared of what he'd do to her. The boy walked over to her and eyes her. She gazed at his deep red hair and blood-red eyes. He was intimidating.
"What's your name?" he hissed in question. Angelica shuffled slightly, wanting to get away from him. He patiently waited for her response.
"M-my name is A-angelica," she murmured. She looked down as he came up close to her. He gently took her chin and tilted it up to his face. His deep gaze made her heart throb.
"You aren't from here, are you?" he murmured. She quickly shook her head and he released her chin. "I can tell. Aside from your inability to tell that water is poisoned your looks just don't match." He was still running his eyes across her body. She felt her body tremble slightly. She swallowed hard.
"Th-thank you," she muttered. Her head started spinning as her body started to teeter. She was too malnourished to be moving so much. The boy turned to her in time to see her collapse. He reacted and caught her unconscious body.