Introduction ; A Way Out
disclaimer ; the only idea I claim ownership of is the OC, and all other characters, settings, and ideas belong to Lewis Carroll, Walt Disney Pictures, Tim Burton, or Linda Woolverton, unless otherwise stated by myself.
Wilhelmina Bethany Bauer had always believed that she made her best decisions while standing in front of a mirror. It brought everything into perspective. Being able to see herself made everything seem real.
Tonight, standing in front of her mirror, she did not like what she saw.
Staring back at Mina was someone she did not recognize. Her hair which had been previously curled to perfection was a mess. Her make up that had been applied carefully was streaked with lines from tears.
She lifted her fingers to her swollen cheek, dark hues of purple and blue slowly replacing the redness. She wiped the blood from her nose the best that she could, trying to keep it from dripping on her dress.
Mina turned away from the mirror and began packing. She could no longer live with the person she had let herself become.
As she thrust her clothes into a large duffel bag she tried to fight the shame. Mina tried to justify herself, but she couldn't.
It started with love. Love, which turned into commitment, then to abuse. It was her fault. She let him lay his hands on her. Now, she needed a way out.
The only option left was to run. She had reached her breaking point, and there was no turning back. He would never let her go, and there was no more forgiveness left inside her.
As she packed her belongings, she thought of her family. Her parents across the hall, her sister in the next room. She thought of the disappointment they would feel, of the hurt that would settle in their hearts. They wouldn't understand why she had left, and she couldn't bring her self to tell them.
Stuffing the bag full to the brim, Mina forced it to zip, its seams threatening to tear. She sat down on the floor next to it, directly in front of the mirror.
For every second she stared into her own reflection, she felt the pity and shame and fear melt away. In it's place, determination began brewing. Determination to change. She knew that she could no longer be a shadow of her former self. She had to change, her sanity and life depending on it.
Mina had to find herself.
The White Queen paced back and forth in her study, her hands held softly behind her back.
The information she had received only hours ago was still on the forefront of her mind. The Oraculm had revealed another Prophecy. Another Champion.
Mirana was not foolish. She knew the day that she would again require a Champion was approaching. She had only thought that it would again name Alice.
Traces of disappointment washed over her face as she tried to take in the news. The scene of her Champion arriving had most certainly not been Alice. No, this Champion had dark hair that did not fall in curls like Alice's had, and 'Oh dear.' She thought, stopping her self from judging the girl any further. She thought she would have learned her lesson by now, after receiving so many lectures from books on the matter.
Mirana took a seat at her desk, clasping her hands together. She rested her chin on her hands, staring out the large window her desk faced.
It was while staring out into Marmoreal in to the setting sun that she considered what the Oraculm had depicted. 'She will come to you, but only after she has made the decision to part from her world. A decision that will come from great suffering and hardship.' She felt a pang in her heart as she tried to imagine what kind of Uplander tragedy that her soon - to - be Champion was enduring.
Sighing quietly, Mirana realized that once her Champion arrived, the hardships would not end. The life of a Champion was a difficult one, and their responsibilities to the Queen and her kingdom were great. Representing Mirana against challengers, commanding an army, defending Marmoreal, 'Oh dear.' She thought, 'I seem to be rambling again. She hasn't even arrived in Underland yet, let alone take her vows!' With that thought Mirana resigned her self to think of those things later.
Her Champion would arrive tomorrow on the Gumpling day, and she needed to prepare herself.
Mina walked through her house quietly, just an hour before dawn. She had spent her last few hours at home preparing her self to leave.
She had taken a long shower, letting the hot water drown her senses. Afterwards she had written out a letter to her family, leaving it on her bed neatly folded. She wrote of needing a change of pace, a new setting. She left her cell phone sitting on the bed next to it.
Now, standing in front of the door with her bag in hand, her free hand on the cold metal knob, she made her final decision. She twisted it, pulling the door open, quietly stepping out side. Shutting the door as gently as possible she pulled her car keys out, walking absent mindedly towards her car. She walked through the grass, rather than down the concrete pathway.
Mina fumbled with her keys, paying notice to the large tree that adorned her front yard. As she neared it, she paid no attention to the sizable rabbit hole next to its rather large roots. In fact, Mina paid no attention to the roots what - so - ever, causing her a great deal of surprise when her right foot hitched. She stumbled forward a few inches, regaining her balance temporarily, only to step right into the middle of the rabbit hole.
As she felt her foot fall inside, a rush of fear swept over her when her foot did not meet ground again. Mina braced herself against her bag, trying to use her free leg and sheer force to pull her self out.
Rather than relinquish Mina's foot, the hole widened, chunks of dirt and grass falling away into the blackness beneath her, her free foot falling inside.
Her knuckles were a ghostly white as she tried holding on to her bag, trying to keep from falling into the blackness. Mina kicked her feet wildly, trying to find something to brace them against, only to feel nothing.
Mina's heart raced with fear, and for a moment she considered screaming for help, the sound stopping abruptly in her throat. 'No!' She shook her head, 'I have to do this. I have to get out of this hole, and I have to get away from here.'
Pulling all of her upper body strength together Mina hauled her self up on to her bag, breathing heavily. She smiled with triumph, not feeling the dirt begin to crumble underneath her.
It was only moments before Mina realized what was happening, and by then it was too late. She and the bag were falling into the nothingness, and in one final attempt to save herself, she let out an ear piercing scream.
the title 'One Step Closer' is from Christina Perri's A Thousand Years.
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