LPOV

Songs: You've Got A Friend by Carole King, Running from the Cops by Phantogram, Matchstick by American Royalty, Mean Monsoon by Dan Auerbach

Rose's smile split her face wider and wider until the ends of her mouth looked like they reached her ears. Her grip on my shoulder tightened and a disturbing giggle escaped her lips. I wasn't sure if I should join her, or barricade myself under the table. Before I could make up my mind, her light chuckling accelerated until she was cackling maniacally. Her fingers dug into my skin and I could feel bruises forming underneath them. I should have been terrified, and maybe I was at first, but the look in her eyes held no mal intent and resembled desperation more than anything. It was like she was clutching onto me for support rather than animosity.

Her delirious laugh echoed through the forest and tears were escaping the corners of her eyes. "What's wrong with her?" I turned to Chris, worry filling my insides.

"Quick, grab her arms. Sit her in the chair so she doesn't hurt herself." I did as I was told and jostled Rose into the seat next to me. Her body was racking with laughter as she gasped for air.

"What do we do? How can we help her?" I had never witnessed a fit like this before. The horrifying scene before me was enough to make any normal person want to cut and run, but for some strange reason, I had an overpowering urge to help her.

"Sing to her," the rabbit ordered.

"What? How is that going to solve anything right now," I looked at him skeptically.

"Trust me, it will help." His crystal eyes twinkled in the sun, and that familiar look gave me assurance.

"When you're down and troubled,

And you need some love and care,

And nothing, nothing is going right,"

My voice was unsure and shaky at first as I tried to soothe Rose. She was still laughing, but as I continued, it slowly started to die down to a chuckle rather than a howl.

"Close your eyes and think of me,

And soon I will be there

To brighten up even your darkest night."

As I approached the chorus, Rose's eyes focused on mine and stared at me with wonderment. I looked at her and smiled as I continued to sing.

"You just call out my name

And you know wherever I am

I'll come running to see you again.

Winter, spring, summer or fall

All you have to do is call

And I'll be there

You've got a friend."

I paused, noticing Rose's laughing had completely subsided. She sat still, looking at me in awe. "That was lovely Alice," she finally spoke. "Where did you learn it?"

"My mother used to sing Carole King whenever I was having a bad day," I thought back to when I was a child, her loving face lit up as she sang to me. When I grew older I would join her and sing along, my worries quickly melting away with the comforting lyrics.

"Hmm," Rose cooed melodically. "Maybe you could teach me sometime?" There was a shy hopefulness in her tone. I thought sharing something as precious to me as those moments with my mother, to a stranger nonetheless, would have bothered me, but somehow sharing them with Rose felt natural and almost therapeutic. Sitting there with her I suddenly felt like not only could I share anything with her, but I wanted to. I smiled while nodding before giving my response, "That sounds delightful, Rose."

She beamed at my response and hopped up from her seat, grabbing a tiny top hat and plopping it onto her head. "Well then, what are we all doing here sitting around? We've got a date with a caterpillar!"

/

Hearing Rose say that a caterpillar could help me find my way sounded like the ravings of a madwoman, but from what I had seen in the past few hours I wasn't about to turn down help from anyone—or anything. Especially with the sun starting its descent. It was still relatively bright out, but the yellow orb was no longer high above us and was shifting to a darker orange haze.

"How far is this place," I asked Rose as we trudged through the woods. "Aren't you worried about Strigoi coming out soon?"

Rose kept her attention ahead of us. "It's not much further. Besides," she peered at me over her shoulder with a serious look on her face, her hand ghosting over her stake. "I can sense them." Her dark eyes told me she was speaking the truth and she quickly turned back around to move a low hanging branch out of our path.

Christian was hopping along beside me remaining skeptically quiet. Something told me he wasn't thrilled about meeting the caterpillar but why, I wasn't sure. There seemed to be something he wasn't telling me since I brought up the idea of leaving. Before I could ask, Rose's excited voice piped up. "We're here!"

I moved beside her to see another clearing surrounded by mossy trees and giant mushrooms. And when I say giant, I mean GIANT. They were all different colors—red, green, violet—with large white spots on them, big enough to lounge on. Between the moss I could see strange luminous fruit hanging off the branches, pulsing with an orange glow. It made the small clearing illuminate like a dim bar. I walked over towards one of the peculiar trees and reached my hand up to touch the fruit. They felt slick, like plums, but were about the size of pomegranates.

Suddenly, an oddly shaped cloud of smoke wafted by my raised hand and split around my arm as it passed by. I looked to my right and could see a few more clouds heading in my direction. Each one was a color that mirrored the surrounding mushrooms and as they glided along, I could sense they all had their own unique smell as well.

I followed the bulbous trail of cinnamon, mint, and lavender to their origin where a hovering fog rested above a lime green mushroom. I gave a hesitant glance over to Rose who was busy plucking the strange fruit from a nearby tree. "Where is your friend, Rose?" She lazily fanned her hand in the direction of the fog, keeping her focus set on a particularly high target she had in mind.

I turned back to the colorful fog and noticed the smaller clouds had stopped pumping out. "Ahem," I cleared my throat. "Anyone there?"

The mist slowly started to fade and I could see the outline of very tall, very large figure. A vision of a giant caterpillar monster worried itself into my head, but the more the fog dissipated, the more the figure shrunk. Finally, the area was clear and left standing wasn't a caterpillar at all—it was a Moroi. He was about my age, maybe slightly older, with fawn disheveled hair, broodingly handsome features, and an extremely cocky grin. I stared at him in confusion, unsure what to make of him.

"Well, well Little Hatter. What have you brought me today," he called out to Rose. I heard a light grunt and some rustling on the ground as Rose landed from the tree with her desired fruit in hand. "This is Alice," she supplied, plopping down onto a nearby mushroom.

"I see." The Moroi looked back towards me and dipped down into a gallant bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Alice. Welcome to my humble abode. I'm Adrian."

"How do you do," I politely smiled and gave him a small curtsy in response.

"You look regal enough to be a Princess," he smirked at me and flashed me a quick wink. I heard Chris huff in the background and Adrian peeked over my shoulder to greet him.

"Ah, fireball. I almost didn't see you there." Rose let out a giggle and Christian curtly ignored him.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude," I interjected. "But we are supposed to be meeting someone here. A Mr. Caterpillar." Rose took a huge bite of the juicy fruit and motioned over to Adrian.

"That's him," she said with a full mouth. My brow furrowed in confusion at Adrian standing there, seemingly in agreeance with Rose. "Um, you don't look much like a caterpillar."

He let out a light chuckle and leaned his face exceedingly close to mine. "It's the eyes." He raised his eyebrows and I could see that they were a sharp emerald green. "She says they are as green as a caterpillar." He looked over to Rose again and smiled, then backed away from me and walked over towards the green mushroom. Adrian picked up a hose that I could now see was connected to an extravagant hookah, and took a deep drag while lounging on his makeshift Papasan. As the smoke escaped his mouth in a long exhale, the minty green cloud formed into a caterpillar and floated over to Rose. She rolled her eyes at his antics, but couldn't suppress the smile spreading across her lips.

"So, Little Hatter," Rose dipped her top hat at his nickname. "I assume you've come to ask a favor. You know those don't come for free." Adrian took another long drag of his hookah, this time lavender rings seeping out. I heard Christian let out another disapproving grunt behind me.

Rose reached into her purple military jacket and pulled out a small glass bottle filled with some kind of amber liquid. "Is this what you are looking for," she teasingly shook the bottle at him. His eyes perked up and she tossed it over to him. Adrian clumsily caught it, juggling it in his hands before getting a good grasp.

"Ahhh Rose, you are too good to me." He unscrewed the cap and moved the bottle to his lips.

"Uh ah ah," Rose tsked. "Answers first. You know it dulls your talents." Adrian pouted but obliged, slowly putting the cap back onto the glass bottle.

"And what is it I can do for you," he looked between us. Christian moved a little closer to me, his eyes fixed on Adrian's perch. I moved my mouth to speak, but Rose beat me to it.

"Alice needs to be somewhere, but she can't remember where." I was slightly annoyed that she was speaking for me but brushed it off all the same.

"I need to return to where I came from," I added. The longer I was here, the more I could feel my memory slipping away. But one thing was for certain, I didn't belong.

"Hmmm," Adrian pondered. He stared at me curiously, inhaling another puff. His eyes shifted from my face to the space above my head and he looked like he was studying the air around me. "Are you sure about that Miss Alice?"

I jutted my head back at his response. Of course I was sure. I may not remember everything I needed to right now, but I trusted my gut. I had to leave. Didn't I?

"It appears you have made some valuable friends here," he motioned to Chris and Rose. "I can see that you have some reservations, but are also at ease." I looked at my two companions—Rose smiling at me reminded me of the comfortable feeling I had around her, and the white rabbit's crystal blue eyes held a look that was almost pleading. I still had this strange feeling that he knew more than he was letting on.

"I...I," it was becoming hard to form the necessary words. "I have," I replied hesitantly. "But I need to go." Adrian gave me a sad smile and let out a sigh.

"Well, in that case," he took another drag of his hookah and the colorful smoke formed into an array of trees and bushes. "This is where you need to go. I'm sure the rabbit can show you the way." I looked over to Chris and he bowed his head shamefully. I finally realized what he was hiding. He knew how to get me back.

"Why didn't you tell me before? Why lead us all the way here?" He kept his gaze on the ground as I questioned him.

"You're the only one who can help us. The only one who can stop—" a twig snapped nearby and Rose immediately shot up from her perch with a stake in hand.

"What was—"

"Shh!" Rose interrupted Adrian. The snarl on her face made her look ready to take on an army and her warrior stance made me believe that she could. Eerie silence spread across the forest. The only sound coming from our short breaths. Everyone was perfectly still, tension radiating from each of us. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a low, disrupting laugh. A woman's laugh.

Christian's eyes widened and shot in Rose's direction. "She's here."

I looked between the three of them, unsure what to say or do. Before I could think, a voice snaked its way into the clearing.

"Hello my dear. I've missed you."

A face appeared from the shadows framed by slick black hair. It was pale and beautiful with familiar crystal blue eyes that sent shivers down my spine. Those eyes somehow reminded me of the white rabbit's, but instead of comforting and understanding, they were cold as ice. As she made her way out of the shadows, I could see she was the vision of perfection. A sleek red dress that clung to her slim figure, tall leather boots that dug into the moist soil, and perfectly manicured nails that matched her attire. Everything about her screamed precision—except for the marred, gaping scar that slanted across the right side of her face.

The Queen.