Chapter two, Through the Pool of Tears

Charlie hit the surface of the pool with a huge splash. It felt like he had hit a layer of glass and smashed his way through it. He desperatly clutched at the girl that so resembled his sister. All around him was water that pulled him down, he let out a large gasp and lost all his breath, the water filled his lungs and forced him to lose conciousness, but not before he and the girl were shot out the other end of the pool onto the streets of London england.

Charlie came around a few minutes later, beside him the child cried and screamed. The air was freezing and the sky was black. The world he was now in looked nothing like Wonderland. With a splitting pain in his head Charlie stood up and looked around him. No one was walking the streets and most things were silents except for the odd creature that would run across the road they were on.

Houses were made of stone and were built so close together, some were even the same building with two doors. Like somebody had taken two houses and pushed them together. There were rows and rows of them, how strange, Wonderland certainly was very very diffrent. Charlie then picked up the girl, Ryah, that was her name, the princess his mother and father were currently replacing with his sister. Now that he thought about it, Charlie did not want to go back, not back to his family anyways, and this poor little princess, it wasn't her fault that she had been born into the Heart family. Charlie rocked her back and forth until her cries turned into sobs, then to whimpers, then to silence.

"Come little princess, we will find you a new home here in the world. We will find you a family and a new life." Charlie whispered to her as he started to walk down the street.

Charlie had been walking all day, or night, things were backwards here. Now as the sun was rising he felt exahausted, he needed to find a place to sleep for the night, and he needed to feed the princess. Luckily enough his parents had taught him how to read english and had given them the last of the money from this world. By the time the sun had finally rissen over the city he was in, all the street side stalls were open and vendours called out to those who were walking down the streets to come and buy their things.

"Freshly baked bread!" yelled one of them.
"Come and get todays paper! Learn what the gaurds havn't been telling us!" called out another. Charlie kept walking first he needed food then he would ask around for an orphanage. Finally one stall caught his eye, there in small baskets were small, bumpy and red foods. He walked up to the stall and took a closer look.

"Hello there," smilled a woman with rosey cheeks and big blue eyes. "can I intrest you in a taste test of our finest raspberries?" Charlie nodded. The lady smilled and handed him two of the small red bumpy... berries. He popped one in his mouth and gave the other to the princess, who made a strange face but ate it anyways.
"Is that your little sister?" the lady asked.

"No," said Charlie "this is Princess Ryah of Wonderland. I'm supposed to find an orphanage for her then find a home for her. Then I'm supposed to go back to my home, but I don't want to."
"Oh, I see, well where are Rias parents? Or even your parents?" the lady asked going along with the boys story.
"Her parents are gone, they have a new princess now." Charlie told her. "I don't want to go back to my parents and they don't want me, my own mom pushed me off the cliff into the Pool of Tears anyways." Shock washed over the ladies face. What mother could push her own son over a cliff into a lake?
"So you need an orphange then?" she asked a in a slightly sadder tone than before.
"Yes." Charlie said back.
"For both of you?"
"Yes, but I was hoping for a family and not an orphanage for the princess."
"Will you stay here while I get my husband?"
"Yes."

With a quick nod the lady ran into her home. She was gone for a while then the door opened and she and a man came out and walked back over to the stall.
"Charlie this is my husband Richard, and my name is Darla." the lady said. Richard walked up and shook his hand, he was very tall and had a big smile.
"You see Charlie, we've wanted a daughter for a long long time. So maybe, you would let us adopt her?" Richard explained. Charlie was confused so these people would just take her and leave him to go and fend for himself.

"I can't leave the princess." Charlie blurted without really thinking it over. She really was the only connection he had left to Wonderland, and he couldn't let that get away from him.
"Well we thought of that too." said Darla "We would be willing to let you stay in the guest house, if you work the stand and help out with chores, the thing is we just don't have enough money to keep both of you fed without getting extra help around here."

"I can do that." Charlie agreed, just happy to be able to be near the princess. Smiling Darla took the princess into the house leaving Charlie outside with Richard.
"You better work hard boy, one slip up and you will be sent straight the the Charing Cross Foundling Hospital." Richard said coldly.

"My wife may seem cheerful and sugary but it's only to mask the true pain inside, we've lost two children in the past. You better make sure that you never upset her or our new daughter!" With that he grabbed hold of Charlies arm and dragged him to the back of the house, in the yard was a small shack, painted above the door were the words Guest House. Richard pushed open the door and threw Charlie inside.

Charlie fell to the ground dazed, what was this turn in personality, maybe he should have gone back to Wonderland, not even his father was this cold towards him. Infact he was now starting to miss his father, and possibly even his mother. Though he knew he could not leave Princess Ryah alone here now, he had to look after her, and when she got old enough, he would take her back to Wonderland.