Seras In Wonderland
Ketti:
This is so boring, Seras griped internally as she lazed on the branch of her favorite tree.
She let the words of the days' lesson float over her, keeping an eye on her rambunctious puppy as he scampered along the limb after a squirrel.
"Seras!" Zorin snapped from her place at the base of the tree, "are you listening to me?"
No.
"Yes, teacher." Seras replied dutifully, pasting an innocent expression on her pixie like face. The blue eyed blonde grinned endearingly at the stern blonde tutor scolding her for day dreaming during her lessons.
"Tchaw... Go get your dog, and we'll have lunch, Seras." Zorin growled in an extremely unladylike manner, and the thirteen year old hid a mocking smile as she leapt nimbly from the branch to land with a flutter of her blue skirts. "Baskie! C'mere boy!"
The dog hopped obediently into her arms, and Seras turned to follow her teacher. When Baskie barked, she looked over to see a strange sight. It was a beautiful albino hare, its adorable pink nose twitching as it stared at the human and dog. Seras automatically tightened her grip on the dog, very aware of what "Mr. Jaws" could do to the poor bunny. To her surprise, the hare gave her what looked like a stately nod before turning to hop into the bushes. What a strange rabbit, Seras thought before dismissing the urge to follow it in favor of lunch.
Seras had half a sandwich crammed into her mouth while Zorin wasn't looking when she caught sight of the hare again, and this time Baskie took off after it with a chorus of barking. Seras jumped to her feet and chased after the pair, heedless of Zorin's calls for her to 'get back here'. It was far more important to make sure "Mr. Jaws" didn't get his teeth into that pretty pelt.
Seras dipped and wove through the foliage in pursuit of the retreating figures until finally she stopped and brought her fingers to her lips to whistle sharply for her pup. It took a moment, but the cheerful red eyes of her rottweiler appeared amidst the leaves and the silly stub tail wagged furiously as he leaped into her arms and slobbered on her face. "Bad boy." Seras scolded, and giggled, peering around curiously. She'd never been this deep in the woods before...
Turning around, she realized that she was good and lost in the forest. She held her pup tighter, feeling panic begin to set in. "Zorin? Can you hear me?" she shouted, hoping that the voice of her teacher would answer but only the birds seemed to hear. Sighing, she felt her childishness set in as tears sprang into her eyes. Sniffing, she wiped the back of her hand across her face when she saw the white rabbit once more, this time right in front of her! It was close enough for her to see the beautiful dark color in it's eyes. It blinked at her, seeming to chastise and comfort at the same time.
Grinning weakly at the bunny, she canted her head to the side curiously as it looked down at its forepaw, it reminded her of her father checking his watch. Giggling, she took half a step towards it, and was dismayed when the white rabbit hopped off. "Oh, do come back!" She called, following after the hare, temporarily forgetting how lost she was, and that it was a terribly bad idea to keep going deeper in.
The white rabbit wasn't going terribly fast, and she had an eye on it, but she must have blinked, because quite suddenly the rabbit had a vest, and… a pocket watch? He looked dressed up for a party!
So when the dapper bunny dove into a hole, she gave into her curiosity – an undeniable weakness – and followed. "Mr. Rabbit, oh please, Mr. Rabbit, wait up!"
The rabbit stayed just out of sight as Seras followed it down. She heard Baskie right behind her, but paid him no mind. It was as if something strange and exciting propelled her forward. She finally reached out, only seconds from the cottony tail of her "prey" when she slipped, falling down a near-invisible hole in the ground. She managed to grab hold of a root, swinging precariously for all of a second before plunging with a shriek into the dark.
It was like falling into a sinkhole. All around her were pieces of furniture, floating curiously in the air. She tumbled for a moment before her dress fluttered around her, forming a makeshift parachute and slowing her fall before she hit the ground. Landing with a soft "oomph", she looked at where she'd fallen.
Despite the bumps and bruises from her way down the rabbit hole, Seras felt her sense of adventure flare up like a beacon. The floor was tiled! And the walls looked carved from wood, in enticing patterns. She landed in an empty hallway, and when she glanced up, couldn't see anything. "Baskie!" She called, but the dog either couldn't hear her, or was too far for his barking to reach her. Clearly she wouldn't be getting back that way, so she did what anyone would do; she followed the slightly cramped hallway down into a surprisingly brightly lit room. Just then she heard a door slam, and turned to see... nothing. Blinking, she walked over to the where the sound came from, and saw to her surprise that there was a door! it was just very small.
She regarded the miniscule door with a mixture of humor and whimsy. How very curious, such a small door… Shrugging, she stood and looked around for another door to go through. To her confusion, she realized that the tiny door WAS the only door. Biting her thumbnail, she fought the claustrophobia that reared in her mind, instead going back to the door. Perhaps if I look through it, I'll be able to see someone and ask for help, she thought. As she knelt by the door, she suddenly felt very grown-up and brave for having thought such a bright idea.
They keyhole was very small, but she thought she caught a glimpse of light through it, so she reached for the knob and turned it – only for the door to howl!
"Oh! Oh… I beg your pardon." Seras squeaked as she jerked back on her heels, staring at the knob that suddenly had a pair of eyes above it, and the keyhole moved like a mouth.
"Whoo, oh, quite alright." The knob spoke, twisting his… nose? "But you did give me quite a turn."
"You see I was following-" "Rather good, what?" The door interrupted, chuckling, "Door knob. Turn." His knob nose wiggled as he laughed.
"Please sir," Seras said, and the chuckling stopped. "One good turn deserves another." The knob suddenly looked serious, "What can I do for you?"
"Well, I'm looking for a white rabbit," Seras explaining, leaning forward and bracing herself on her elbows, "so, um, if you don't mind?"
"Eh? Oh!" The knob exclaimed and opened his mouth wide, and she caught a clear glimpse of the white hare. "There he is! I simply must get through!" She reached again for the knob, feeling that sense of claustrophobia setting in around the edges of her mind once more.
"Sorry." The door said, pulling away from her, "You're much too big. Simply impassable."
"You mean impossible." Seras corrected.
"No, impassable." The door grinned, "nothing's impossible."
Seras frowned.
"Why don't you try the bottle on the table?" He suggested. "Table?" Seras asked, looking around. Quite suddenly, there was a table in the middle of the room! "Oh!" How strange. It wasn't there a minute ago!
"Read the directions, and directly you'll be directed in the right direction." The knob called, and chuckled.
The card attached to the bottle had elegant writing scrawled across it that read; Drink Me.
"Drink me." Seras repeated aloud, "Hm… Better look first. If one drinks much, from a bottle marked poison, it's almost certain to disagree with one sooner or later."
"Beg your pardon?" The door asked, looking skeptical.
"Oh!" Seras' cheeks flushed a bit, "I was just giving myself some good advice. But…" She sighed, and sipped the small bottle's contents.
"Hm… tastes like… cherry tart." She took another sip, "custard, pineapple, roast turke- Goodness!" She was smaller than the bottle now! How did that happen?
"What did I do?" She exclaimed, pushing the label off of her, while the doorknob laughed. "You almost went out like a candle."
She ran over to the door, excited, "But, look! I'm just the right size!"
"Oop!" He protested, pulling away a second time, "No use," he laughed, and she was getting very tired of that sound, "I forgot to tell you, I'm locked!" He sounded far too gleeful about the whole thing!
"Oh no…" Seras moaned, bringing a hand up to cover her face.
"But of course," he spoke again, and she turned to glare at him, "You've got the key, so-" "What key?!" Seras interrupted, horrified.
"Now don't tell me you left it up there." The door chastised her, and she looked up to see, that yes, the key was on the glass table, far out of reach. But it wasn't there a moment ago! Oooh…
"Oh dear." Doing her best to climb the table leg, she slipped and slid to the ground on her skirts, propping her elbows on her knees and looking despondent, "Whatever will I do?"
"Try the box, naturally." He grinned at her, and she was getting quite sick of him. A little golden box appeared at her feet and she jumped, "Oh!" Flipping the lid open, she saw multiple colorful cookie like items inside. "Eat Me." She read off a blue one, "Alright, but goodness knows what this will d- whoa-oah-oah-oah-oop!"
She grew so quickly that she only thought afterwards how thankful she was that whatever magic changed her also affected her clothes.
The knob mumbled something against the sole of her shoe, and she moved her foot, despite temptation to grind her heel into his face, "What did you say?"
He wriggled his knob nose and laughed, "I said a little of that went a long way!"
"Well I don't think it's so funny!" Seras protested, feeling tears pool in the corner of her eyes at the mocking tone of the unhelpful door, "now I shall never get out!" Sniffling, the salty droplets rolled down her cheeks and landed on the floor with little plops.
"Oh come now," the door said, sounding apologetic, "crying won't help."
"I-I know," Seras stuttered around her sobbing, "B-but I can't help it!"
Her shoulder shook as she leaned against the walls of the room that just barely fit her much-too-large form, and she sobbed and hiccupped as the door spluttered under the growing ocean of her sorrow. "You, you up there!" He called, but she couldn't speak around the choke hold on her throat. Oh god, she'd never get out! She'd die here, with only the door to keep her company, and no one would ever know what happened to her!
"OH LOOK!" He called desperately, "THE BOTTLE! THE BOOOOTTLE!"
The wave of her tears covered the door's mouth, but she still heard him, and reached down for the tiny thing. Amazingly she didn't break it, and took a sip of what was left. She shrank instantly, and tumbled down a good thirty feet, somehow landing inside the bottle amidst the waves.
"Oh dear…" Seras sighed as she looked around her, "I do wish I hadn't cried so much."
