After Elliot had shown me the mansion, I decided to do a little bit of exploring outside the mansion. The twins wanted to come with me but Elliot yelled at them to get back to work or they'd get no pay. They whined a little but went back to guarding the gates like they were supposed to. I promised I'd be back soon and went on to exploring. The mansion was surrounded with a large forest, everything so new and fresh, it reminded me of Auburn.

Sudden homesickness made my heart ache and I stopped walking, emotion clouding my eyes. I had taken the closeness of my family and the companionship of a friend for granted and now I was stuck in a wonder world with no way to get home.

"Why do you look so gloomy, girl?" A voice broke into my thoughts and I snapped my head up to come face-to-face with a...cat. Well, a neko boy to be accurate, with messy pink-purplish hair and cat-like yellow eyes. He was dressed like a punk with pink fur hanging loosely around his shoulders. He was around sixteen or seventeen and kind of cute, especially those pink cat ears upon his head. I just wanted to snuggle him, but he was staring at me like my cat, Lupe, did when she wanted food.

"It's a beautiful day!" The cat continued. "You shouldn't look so down in the dumps! I'm Boris Airay, also known as the Cheshire Cat. What is your name?"

"My name is Sabrina Hyde." I said, still staring at his ears as they rotated on his head. "I...uh, did I look gloomy before?"

"Yepyep."

"Oh, I suppose I was just thinking of home, and I guess that just made me sad." I scratched the back of my head.

Boris's eyes widened considerably large and he asked, "Are you an outsider, Sabrina?" Without waiting for an answer, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and squeezed me tightly. "Wow, it's been so long since we last had an outsider! I miss passing the time with Alice."

"...Huh?"

"Never mind!" Boris's grip became tighter. "This is great! We're going to have so much fun together, Sabrina. Have you visited the Amusement Park yet? It's the greatest place if you wanna have fun!"

"Um...I don't know. I promised Blood and Elliot that I'd be back before dark..."

"Oh, forget them! Come with me to the Amusement Park, I'll promise you'll like it!" The Cheshire Cat grabbed my hand and began dragging me away.

"W-Wait! I don't wanna-!" I tried to protest, but he wasn't listening to a word I said. He just kept going on and on about the Amusement Park.

I feel like I just took a step from Wonderland and into Carcktasticland.

The Amusement Park was straight out a fairy tale, with shiny new rides, stands displaying fun games and delicious foods, but I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the large bustling crowds with screaming children and stressed adults. Kind of like Disneyworld.

Boris dragged me to an ice cream stand and asked, "What kind of ice cream do you like, Sabrina?"

I stared at the long list of ice cream flavors. I've never even heard of a lot of them before and it looked impossible to choose. And it didn't help that ice cream was my weak spot. So I said, "You can choose for me, Boris."

"Cool! We'll take two Lavender Dark Chocolate Chips!" He told the faceless ice cream man and kneaded the counter in earnest.

Lavender Dark Chocolate Chip? I thought, a slight grimace spreading on my face. That doesn't taste so good...

"Here ya go!"

A ice cream cone holding three large scoops of a frozen purple liquid was placed in my hand and raised to my lips. I expected it to taste bitter, but instead it so sweet, it made my jaw ache.

Before I knew it, I was chewing on the cone and Boris was laughing at me. "Ha ha! I guess you really were hungry, Sabrina!"

I wiped some of the creamy goodness from my upper lip with my sleeve. A voice called over, "Boris, there you are!"

I looked over my shoulder and saw a man holding a violin running towards us. It was a rather scary sight, since he was like forty years-old, and I was frozen to the spot. The red-haired adult screeched to a halt in front of us and stared at me through his round glasses. "Who's your little friend, stray?"

"This is Sabrina Hyde," Boris said, grabbing me by the upper arms and shoving me behind him. "She's an outsider, but I don't feel like sharing her, so bug off, Gowland."

"Umm...Boris?" I asked, trying to get his attention, but he wasn't listening...again.

"Oh, why not, Boris?" Gowland snapped. "I must have the pleasure of meeting her."

I could see Boris smirk. "I don't think so, Gowland. I'm not giving her up." I felt Boris's arm wrap around my waist and lift me over his shoulder.

"H-Hey! Boooooris!" I yelled as he ran away with me still slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Put me down!"

"Hehe. Nope~!"