Page Two
Alex walked right past all the bookshelves, knowing that she'd find little - if anything - there. She instead went to the area in the back of the library where she knew that her grandfather had worked, shivering. There was a draft coming from somewhere. Looking around, she found the source of the draft: a bookshelf right next to the wall. That's odd, she thought, examining it. Nothing that can help me here... She turned back to the rest of the area, looking around. The only other point of interest in the room was an old grandfather clock. She examined it, curious. The hands weren't moving. She thought back to when she first had heard the news about her grandfather, ignoring the sadness that came with the memory.
"Three thirty-three..." she muttered, turning the hands on the clock to read the time that she had stated. She heard a noise of something falling into place, then, from the corner of her eye, she saw the drafty bookshelf slide into the wall to reveal a passageway. Alex looked at it curiously, then followed it. A doorway lay at the end of the corridor, and she heard a muffled voice from the other side. Frowning, she opened it, coming face to face with a young woman.
Alice eyed the newcomer warily, obviously not used to women wearing pants or dark colours. "Are you my jailer?" she asked. A voice in the back of her mind reminded her of what the Cheshire cat had said, but she ignored it. This person can't be trusted, she thought to herself.
"Jailer? What?" Alex shook her head. "I've never even seen this part of the house." She looked the woman over. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question," Alice said. "What business do you have in Wonderland?"
"Wonderland? What the?" She shook her head, then a thought came to her. "Where were you two weeks ago at 3:33 A.M.?"
Alice looked away. "Standing in front of my house as it burned down with my parents inside it."
"Oh, I'm so sorry... I thought..." Alex hesitated. "My grandfather was murdered here at that exact time..."
Alice glared at her. "I am no murderer." She sighed. "My name's Alice Liddell, and I'm looking for a white rabbit. Have you seen him?"
Alex rubbed her forehead. "First Gramps died, and now I apparently have rabbits running around his house. This is turning out to be a wonderful year," she muttered. "I'm Alexandra Roivas, I... I'm staying here temporarily." She motioned towards the room. "Could I get in here?"
Alice nodded, and moved out of the way. "So... This is not Wonderland then?"
"Not when you're in my shoes," Alex said, looking around the room. "Hm, what's this?" she thought aloud, examining the large book on the desk.
"I would not touch that, if I were you," Alice said when she saw what Alex was looking at. "It does not give off a good feeling."
"Nothing does anymore," Alex said with a sigh, sitting down at the desk.