Yeah, you probably all hate me right now. I know it's been a couple of weeks since I put up the first chapter, but better late then never, I like to say! Besides, I'm a senior in high school, and I can't fail now, so I have to devote a lot of my time to school work. Not to mention I'm currently working on two other stories-a multi-chapter fic for Yu-Gi-Oh! 5ds, and a oneshot for HNKNA! But since this story and Trophy Boys (as well as my school work) take precedence over the oneshot. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

PS. I read Sleeping Moon, I read Kaleidescpoe, but haven't had time to leave a comment. I'll try to get on that ^-^'

She felt like she had been falling for hours, but in reality it had only been about ten seconds.

Everything around her was black; she could no longer see the entrance to the hole she was falling down. Her mind was strangely clear as she continued to fall even further down this seemingly never-ending hole. She wondered if she was dreaming one of her weird dreams again, but the sharp pain from her numorous injuries told her otherwise. Panic began to sink in as she realised she was probably about to die when she heard someone call out her name.

"Amber, I'm coming, I'm coming!"

At first she feared it was her pursuer, but when she looked in the direction she believed to be up (she had lost all sense of direction by now) she saw a familiar white-haired man. She reached her hand up to him as if she could grab him; she was so sure she was about to die that it didn't seem strange to seek comfort from this complete stranger. She didn't even realize until later that this man should not even know her name.

He must have been falling faster than her, because he caught up to her very quickly and scooped her up in his arms. He was carrying something bulky in his left hand, but she couldn't see what it was. She got a good look at his face for the first time; he was actually quite good looking, with snow-white hair and wine-red eyes. He had a rather large pair of glasses perched on the bridge on his nose,.

She held onto him desperately, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. A red droplet splashed onto the man's pristine, pale face—Amber's blood. The frightened young woman had been beaten profusely; her arms and face had several clean slashes from a knife, and blood seeped through the thin fabric of her summer dress. There was no doubt that she would be covered in bruises in the morning.

"It's alright, my sweet, we'll be there soon," he stated.

"Where are we going? HELL?" she cried, fear in her eyes. How could he be this calm? They were going to DIE!

"Of course not," he cooed, an eerie smile painted on his face. "We're going to Wonderland."

Amber stared at him in disbelief. Was this man mad?

The tunnel suddenly got brighter, and Amber's stomach lurched as they slowed to a near stop. At first she thought they had hit the bottom of the hole, but she soon realized that they were gently floating to he ground. Her eyes began to adjust to the light, and she realized they were in a town.

"Wait WHAT? W-Where are we?"

"I told you, we're in Wonderland," he replied. Amber looked up and saw an immense clock tower looming over her. But as she continued to stare at the beautiful structure, something else came into her line of sight—

"Why are you wearing rabbit ears?" she asked, momentarily distracted. She searched his head for a headband, but found none. Instead, she an ear in eash hand and lightly tugged on them, but to her surprise they held fast.

"Please don't pull those!" the stranger cried. Amber gave him a confused look, but stopped nontheless. "Thank you."

"So, uhh…I guess I should thank you," the girl started, staring with worried eyes at the hole in the tower they had evidently fallen out of.

"He won't be following us," he said, reading her thoughts. He gentley placed Amber on the ground and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a little pink vial with a heart-shaped stopper on the top. He handed it to Amber and told her to drink it.

Amber suddenly realized how thirsty and exhausted she was. Her entire body sagged under an invisible weight as she removed the stopper and quickly drank what little liquid there was. The rabbit-eared man smiled as he watched her do this, the glint in his glasses disguising the look in his eyes.

She drank every last drop. When she finished, she shook the bottle to see if she could squeeze any more liquid out of it, but to her disappointment there really was nothing left. She handed the vial to the rabbit-eared man and asked, "Please, can I have some more?"

He laughed at her in response. "But my darling, you're already a part of the game."

Before she could question his strange comment, he placed his forefinger on his lips, effectively shushing her. She was too tired to fight back. "I want you to keep the vial. Think of it as…a welcoming gift. Don't worry," he added, seeing the confusion on her face, "you'll understand soon enough." He glanced at his pocket watch and furrowed his brows. "I'm afraid I have to leave now, my dear. If I don't depart soon, the queen will surely have my head."

Amber looked quite alarmed by his statement. A thousand questions were swirling through her head, but the only one she could voice was—"Who are you?" She tried to reach out to touch his face again, not wanting to lose this small glimmer of hope and comfort, but her arms felt as heavy as lead and fell limply to her sides.

He gave her another one of those eerie smiles. He stroked her cheek and told her, "Peter."

The poor girl finally became too exhausted to sit up. She collapsed onto Peter's lap and fell fell into unconciousness almost immeadiately.

Peter gentley strocked her hair for a moment, telling her, "It's okay, my love. I'll make sure you're happy here. All you need is me to be happy."

With much regret, he layed the girl on the ground and headed home to the Castle of Hearts. "All you need is me."