'Wha... Morning already?'
I opened my eyes and found myself surrounded by clocks. They were all Grandfather clocks of different colors and designs. I noticed that all the clocks were set to 6:00. I lifted an eyebrow.
'Okay, I'm assuming that the 'here we go again' theory is at work here.'
My theory was confirmed when the clocks dissappeared and mirrors of all shapes and sizes appeared.
'Yep, here we go again.'
One in particular cuaght my attention. It was a small black one with a red rose on top. I grabbed it.
'How pretty. I remember the mirrors, but I forgot what they were for.'
I put the mirror on top of a bigger one and they all dissappeared.
'Okay, now what?'
At that moment, the ground under me completely collasped, but it wasn't long before I felt the familiar puffing of my dress slowing down the fall. I chuckled.
'Well what do you know, little blue dress and all.'
The fall was steady, but after a while I started getting bored and impatient.
'Is something gonna happen, or am I just gonna float down all day?'
At that moment, all the clocks began to chime.
Tick tock...
Nothing.
Tick tock...
Nothing.
Tick tock...
After the third chime, a green light appeared. It was so bright that I was momentarily blinded.
'Damn, where that light come from?'
When the light faded and my vision cleared, I once again saw the mirrors. This time, they showed me various images of Wonderland. Needless to say, Wonderland looked like it had gone to hell in a handbasket.
'Oh my... What choas has ensured since I've been gone?'
One image in particular stood out from the rest. It was an image of a sprialed staircase with doors all over both walls. The final door at the top had a heart shaped emblem engraved on the keyhole.
'Heart shaped emblem, huh? I'll be sure to remember that.'
That mirror flew downward as I was about to touch it. I watched it until it was no longer in my line of sight. Another one appeared a few seconds later. This one showed an image of Wonderland Woods. My eyes widened in shock at the sight of the plant life being nearly all dead.
'Oh man! Wonderland really looks like crap now! What happened since I've been gone?'
The image dissappeared and a cloud of black smoke appeared. I burrowed my eyes in confusion.
'What's up with all the smoke? Was Wonderland Woods under fire! I sure hope not. That would explain why the plant life looks so dead and destory though.'
My heart sank at the thought of it. Even though it was a pain in the ass sometimes, I really liked Wonderland Woods. I didn't have time to dwell on it though. After a minute, the smoke dissappeared and I saw a hugh black hairy leg of some sort. I shuddered.
'Must be one of the insects from the woods. This promises to be a very interesting experience indeed.'
The mirrors all dissappeared and a single wooden desk with a black book on top appeared. I reached down to grab it. I laughed when I read the title.
'"Libby In Wonderland." Now I know I'm dreaming.'
I opened the book and started reading.
'I wonder where it ends this time.'
I continued reading until I came to the last two written pages. The first with me jumping into the book of bizzare things in the library at the skool. I chuckled as the memories started rushing through my mind.
'That's right. I was supposed to go meet the Mayor Elder in the lab to make the potion. There was something I was supposed to do before that, but I don't remember what. Well, it'll come to me soon.'
The very last page had the words "Time to write the conclusion to your dark tale" written on it in red ink. That me quiver in both excitement and fear.
'The conclusion, huh? Looks like I'll get to finish what I started after all. I'm dying to know what's waiting beyond the Fortress Of Doors. Let's just see how this little story of mine goes.'
The book dissappeared from my hands as I felt my feet hit solid ground. I looked around and found myself back in the main hall of the skool.
'Alrighty then, here at last. Now, what was it that I was supposed to do?'
The sound of approaching footsteps broke me out of my thoughts. I reached for the crouqet mallet, but much to my dismay and annoyance, I realized that none of my toys were on me. Not even the ivory ribbon. I sighed in frustration.
'Oh no. This not good. Not good at all.'
I ran and hid under the stairs as the door opened. Two spade cardguards walked in, looking very edgy and paranoid.
'Why do they look so paranoid? They don't know that I've returned yet, do they? I only just got here, so that's doubtful. I can't be too hasty right now, though.'
The two spades stopped right in front of the stairs and started looking around. I backed up into the darker corner to see them better.
"The queen is going to have our heads on a silver platter when we get back. You know that, right?" One said.
The other spade nodded.
"I know. Those two are harder to find than a needle in a hay stack. They've been nothing but trouble ever since that wretched girl left. Good riddance, I say." he said.
My eye began to twitch.
'Wretched! Oh, he did not just call me that. These idiots don't realize how fricking lucky they are right now. Someone really should teach them to watch what they say, though. You just never know who might be listening.'
The first spade sighed.
"I hate it when the queen orders us to look for those two. One of them can run like hell, and the other can appear and dissappear at will. They're damn near impossible to find, let alone catch." he said.
"I know what you mean. I hate going around Wonderland chasing them too, but she wants them trialed and you know what that means." said the other.
Both spades shuddered. I just closed my eyes and shook my head.
'Trialed, huh? Yeah, I know what that means alright.'
I waited until I heard a door close signaling the two spades' leave before coming out. I sighed in frustration and worry at what I had just heard.
'Trialed? Who does the queen think she's kidding? The minute she has them it'll be "off with their heads!" Well, not if I have anything to say about it. I have to find them, but I need to find my toys, or I won't be of much use to anyone.'
I searched the whole hall with no luck. I was so caught up in my search that I almost didn't notice the three Boojums that had made their way into the hall.
'Oh, great. You have got to be kidding me. Three Boojums and I'm left with no means of defending myself.'
I looked around for something that I could use against them. Frustrated at finding nothing I tried opening the doors, but they were all locked.
'Oh, this is nice. Real nice. I have no means of escape either.'
I looked up and found that the Boojums had not moved at all. I lifted an eyebrow.
'They're not moving. What the hell is wrong with them? Its like they don't even know I'm here. I suppose I shouldn't be complaining about that, though.'
A grayish shawdow dashing under the stairs caught my attention. I went to check it out, but found nothing. I sat down and started tapping my fingers on the floor.
'What is going on? I can't stay here forever, but if I try to leave the Boojums might spot me. What a predicament I'm in.'
A loud piercing scream broke me out of my thoughts. I covered my ears to avoid going deaf.
'Right. I forgot about that scream of theirs.'
I poked my head out a little to see what was going on. I saw one of the Boojums fall dead right in front of me. I looked for the other two, but they were gone.
'What just happened? And where did the other two go?'
I came out and took a closer look at the dead Boojum. It was cut and scratched up with blood gushing from the wounds.
'That's weird. This looks like the work of some wild animal rather than a weapon.'
I leaned down to see the cuts better. They were definitly made by claws.
'Who or what did this? Well, one less Boojum to worry about at least.'
When the body dissappeared I saw something glimering in the blood.
'Hmm... What's this?'
I grabbed the item and wiped the blood off with the skirt of my dress. It appeared to be a piece of jewelry. When I finished wiping the blood off, I saw that it was a rusty golden earring.
'Wait a minute. I've seen this earring before, but where...?'
I did a double take when the realization finally hit home.
'CC! How did his earring end up here?'
"CC!" I called.
No Answer.
"CC?" I called again.
Still no answer.
"CC!" I called again.
By now I was really starting to become annoyed. Where was he and why wouldn't he answer me?
"CC! Come on, this isn't funny! Stop messing with me and get your mangy butt out here!" I said.
Nothing. I sighed.
'Of course, I forgot. You can't just come out and tell me. Dammit. Guess I'm on my own for a while, then. That's okay dude, I'll fingure this out evenually.'
Another scream was let loose. I saw the other two Boojums again. I sighed and covered my ears.
'When I find my toys, they are so dead.'
I ran under the stairs just in time to avoid be being spotted.
'Okay, this whole hiding under the stairs thing has got to stop. What's a girl to do?'
I leaned against the wall and my eyes fell upon a small dent on the floor.
"Oh, what's this." I said.
The dent had a circular shape to it. I looked at CC's earring and back at the dent.
'I wonder...'
I put the earring in the dent and it rose slightly to reveal a knob. I chuckled.
'Yes! Now we're getting somewhere!'
I turned the knob and another knob rose.
'Interesting.'
I turned the knob and a piece of the floor opened up. I saw a big beautiful wooden jewerly box with a silver key.
'Right then, let's see what we've got here.'
I grabbed the key and with a bit of effort, managed to lift the jewerly box. I chuckled.
'I feel like I'm about to open Pandora's box. I wonder what's inside.'
I opened the box and gasped in delight.
"My toys!" I said.
I grabbed them all and got CC's earring from the knob. The floor closed and returned to normal. I giggled.
'Good ole CC. You can always count on him to keep your things safe while you're gone.'
I was about to come out, when the whole floor began to shake.
'Oh, what now?'
I looked down and gasped when I realized that I was no longer in the main hall. Instead, I was literally walking on water.
'Oh my god! This is so cool!'
I walked a few steps until I felt the water begin to rise.
'How weird. I'm walking in the water like nothing and I don't feel wet at all. I wonder why.'
A few seconds later, I was completely submerged in the water. Imagine my surprise to find that I could still breath, though. I smiled.
'This is bad. I wish I could do things like this while I'm awake.'
A light from under me got my attention. I swam down towards it. When I got there, the light dissappeared and a door appeared. I shrugged and opened it. The force of the water pushed me in. I heard the door close. I looked up and the door was no longer there.
'Figures. Well, where to now?'
I looked up and saw the water level decreasing. When it was knee high, I looked around and found myself in a celler. I walked over to the only shelf and found some containers with the sugar and spice that I needed to make the potion.
'How convinent. Two of the items that I need right in the same shelf. What are the odds?'
I took the two containers and nearly dropped CC's earring in the process.
'I've got to be more careful with this. Honestly though, he really should just get a new one. But until then...'
I got the earring and put it on my left ear. At that moment, I heard laughter behind me. I turned around, but found nobody there.
'Yeah, either I really am just hearing things, or I'm being messed with.'
I heard the laughter again. I got the crouqet mallet and scanned the whole room. Still noone in sight.
"Looks like I'm not the only one who wants to play." I whispered.
I walked in the direction the laughter was coming from and found a big door. I took another look around and listened for the laughter. After a moment I figured it was safe and turned my attention back to the door.
"Well now, what do we have here?" I muttered.
It looked like a normal door expect that it was made of stone rather than wood. I tilted my head.
'A door made of stone? This is starting to feel more like D&D rather than Wonderland. Who am I to judge, though?'
I looked for the knob, but was dumbfounded to find none.
'Great. How am I gonna open this thing?'
I tried pushing the door with all the force I could muster, but it wouldn't budge. I tried looking for a level, no luck there either. I even tried looking for a trap that might open the door after being disarmed. Nothing worked.
'How the bloody hell am I supposed to open this door?'
I caught myself playing with CC's earring. I sighed.
'It's worth a try.'
"CC?" I called softly.
No answer.
"CC?" I called again.
Still no answer.
'Uhh... Forget it.'
By now I was so frustrated that I was about to smack the door with the mallet, when I noticed some writing on it.
'Only the power of Zues can move me.' I lifted an eyebrow.
'Zues? Okay, he's the god of thunder and lightening.'
I looked at the mallet and back at the door.
'Let's see if this works.'
I smacked the door with the mallet. Some electric jolts came out and the door moved a bit. I smirked.
'Huston, we have lift off!'
I backed away from the door and let a few electrified balls fly at it. The force of the electricity made the door rise completely and a portal was revealed.
'Thanks Zues. That worked quite nicely. Now, let's see what's behind door number one.'
I heard the laughter once again as I stepped through the portal.