CHAPERONE

Rain. It was a vile thing. For someone who despised water for all it was worth, Chess had to remind himself that everything would be worth it in the end. Bushy black tail on level with the rest of his body, the cat made his way through the rainy town, bright emerald eyes glancing around periodically.

This worldis too...strange, Chess thought, curiously scanning the seemingly empty London streets. All was quiet, and all was calm. The cat always forgot just how large London was. Finding the girl would be difficult. Still, everything would be worth it. He just knew it would be. His eyes caught a momentary flash of white, dashing around a corner, and he froze, fur bristling.

No,not here...not him, Chess thought, eyes widening. Breaking out into a run, he bolted after the form. I've got to find her first.I've just got to...

...

Poking a raven-colored head out of the door, a pair of electric blue eyes peered curiously around. Determining that the coast was clear, the young woman stepped out into the street, pressing the button placed on the handle of the umbrella hanging at her side. The large device opened, providing the girl with a black shield with which to shelter her from the rain. Book tucked underneath her arm, she hurried away from her home.

The streets of London were completely empty, and the girl couldn't help but smile to herself as she rounded a corner, the large manor vanishing behind the alley wall. The Liddell Manor was a dreary place, it always had been. The ebony-haired female rather despised the home, with her over-bearing mother, clueless sister, and absent father continually pressuring her to be someone she was not, nor someone she would be.

Rounding yet another series of corners, the girl made her way through the labyrinth of alleyways, clutching the book to her chest. Seeing her destination in the distance, another smile danced across her lips. The gardens were a favorite haunt of hers, the ambiance consistently peaceful and pleasant. Though a social person, the solitude that the gardens provided was a welcome change in the girl's hectic and insane life. The flowers seemed to engulf her, the high evergreen hedges locking everyone else out. The gardens were her safe haven.

Making her way into the massive area, the girl glanced about. A varied assortment of simple flowers surrounded her, daisies and lilies in multitudes of colors lining the cobblestone walkway. In the center of the gardens, there was a rather large gazebo, with bright crimson and vivid snow-colored roses entangling and intertwining into the spaces in the gazebo's rooftop. Sitting on one of the many benches, the girl retracted the umbrella, placing it beside her and stretching out, smoothing the simple blue sun dress out around her. Placing the large novel in her lap, she opened it up, glancing upwards once more momentarily. She moved to smooth out the folds of her dress once more when her hand came across a carving in the wood.

Pushing her dress aside, she marveled fondly at the words engraved. Pandora Alice Liddell. She had carved her name into the wood a year or so before, when she had first stumbled upon the gardens. The carving marked the place as her own, in her mind. Running her fingers over the groves in the wood, she smiled to herself. Pandora. She'd always wondered why her parents had named her something so strange. They insisted it was her grandmother Alice who'd named her, for reasons they could never fully explain. Still, Pandora didn't mind. The name was perfectly off, for Pandora was an odd girl. Preferring brightly colored party dresses and heels to the bland grays and whites of the other girls her age, she was the talk of the town. It didn't take a genius to notice that she'd rather have her head buried in her fantasy novels than associate with the real world.

Books, to her, were more real than reality. They evoked emotions that Pandora had otherwise never known existed. Love, passion, purpose. They gave her a sense of longing. She supposed filling her head with fairy tales of princesses and knights in shining armor did nothing but give her false presumptions of the world around her. Still, she liked to believe that there was a bigger world out there, a world that accepted her quirks and embraced her as someone of worth. No one on the planet listened to her, it seemed, save for her father. But, with Mister Liddell traveling throughout the world, working as a merchant, there wasn't anyone to listen.

Turning back towards her book, Pandora's eyes scanned the page, only to be distracted by something new. Peering over the edge of the pages, she scanned her surroundings. Sitting on the other side of the gazebo, munching on a rose, was a shockingly white rabbit. Ice met fire as the two stared each other down, the rabbit's red eyes staring intelligently into Pandora's blue ones. It was an odd exchange, but there was something incredibly off about the rabbit. Standing and setting the book back upon the bench, Pandora slowly made her way towards the strange creature. There was a black spot right in between its eyes, ears twitching in her general direction. Pandora was surprised to see the creature, not many animals entered the gates of the gardens and made it out alive. The gardener was strict about animals that could potentially harm the plants.

Kneeling before the creature, Pandora peered at the spot on it's forehead, realizing that the splotch was in the shape of a club, imprinted on it's fur in the blackest of blacks. Everything about the rabbit was bright. The white fur seemed to glow, as if light was radiating from the small creature. The black was completely black, and it's eyes were the deepest crimson she'd ever seen, even deeper than the roses around it. Ears twitching, it hopped forward slightly, and Pandora was surprised as it began to sniff in her direction. Holding out her hand slightly, she watched as the rabbit slowly inched closer, inhaling deeply. It's nose touched her hand, and two things happened. The first was the almost painful jolt her heart gave, causing Pandora's hands to fly up to clutch at her chest, face contorted in shock and pain. The second was the glint that suddenly appeared in the rabbit's eyes. It was subtle, something Pandora would never have noticed had her attention been focused elsewhere.

The rabbit turned and bolted into the garden as the sky began to darken ominously.

"Wait!" Pandora called, struggling to get to her feet. The rabbit, for whatever reason, was fascinating to her. Finally gaining proper footing, she hurried after the creature, ignoring the slashes of rain coming down upon her, soaking her hair, skin, and clothing. Catching a flash of white around a corner, she turned to follow. The chase continued much like this for a while as Pandora followed the rabbit on foot, catching glimpses of white that told her where to run. Had Pandora been paying any attention, she would have noticed the changes in the atmosphere around her.

The sky darkened severely, though the rain remained at the same tempo. The hedges were becoming more gnarled and were climbing higher with each corner she turned. A slight, eerie fog had begun to build up, flowing lightly around her ankles. The bright flowers of the garden were gone, leaving nothing but thorns and vines tangling themselves into the hedges. Coming around yet another corner, Pandora nearly tripped over the vines that had grown over the broken cobblestone. Quickly, without much thought, Pandora shed her heels, clutching them in her hand and looking around. A small squeak called to her in the endless void, and she turned in the direction of the sound. Changing pace, she began to make her way slowly over the walkway, careful not to trip or cut herself on any of the jagged edges. Rounding the last corner, Pandora couldn't help but stand and stare.

The girl had reached a clearing, with nothing but a large, dead and gnarled tree standing strongly in the middle. The branches were bare and entangled together, and the large roots were half above ground. At the base of this monstrous tree, there was a rather large hole. From the mouth of the hole, there was an unearthly glow, with a vivid red light being omitted from something down inside the hole. The rabbit stood between Pandora and the tree, watching her intently. Tilting her head to the side slightly, she stepped forward, suddenly very cautious. Something inside her was screaming for her to turn around, to run away as fast as her feet would carry her and leave the strange place behind. There was something dangerous about the way the rabbit was watching her then, something akin to desire and longing, but in a twisted sense. Still, there was another part of her that was urging her forward, the curiosity overpowering her natural instincts to flee. Her mother had always said curiosity killed the cat... perhaps it was she who was the cat in this situation...

Before Pandora could take another step forward, there was a feral snarl coming from the hedge above her. Both the rabbit and the girl turned towards the sound, both equally confused. The pair looked just in time to see the abnormally large house cat leaping from the top of the hedge, tackling the rabbit to the ground and pinning it underneath its paws, fangs bared. The rabbit gave a few rather pathetic squeaks, but the cat simply growled some more, a deep and dangerous sound coming from the back of the creature's throat. Pandora stood there, slack-jawed and utterly confused at the turn of events. She was frozen to the spot where she stood, unsure of what to do. Again, she was torn. Did she leave, or did she stay and watch how things would play out?

A sudden pained yowling split through the air as the cat jumped off the rabbit, limping slightly. Its front right paw was matted with blood, and the rabbit had a red stain on it's white fur, and was up on all fours once more, eyes glinting. It turned and bolted towards the hole, leaping inside. Pandora was prepared for the rabbit to stay within the hole, but that was not the case. An unearthly roar came from beneath the tree, and Pandora stood, horrified, as the beast clambered from the hole, rabbit atop its back. The white creature hopped to the ground, standing at the base of the tree and watching calmly as the beast rose from the hole in the ground.

The beast looked like a large mix between a bear and an over-sized lion, with a pushed in face and massive fangs protruding from its mouth. It was a deep gray in color, with varied rust-colored splotches in the pattering of it's long fur. With the ears of a common horse, and a long, gray tail like that of a rat, it truly was the oddest thing Pandora had ever laid eyes on. It snarled ferociously as it's enormous hooked claws tore at the fresh earth, it's beady black eyes looking for prey. However, the beast's teeth and claws were the least of Pandora's concerns. It's fur was falling out in tufts, and it's gray-ish skin had turned a sickly black in places, with green and purple pockmarks contrasting heavily against the dark back drop of its skin. Whatever it was, something was seriously wrong with the beast.

Pandora came to the conclusion that she had been an idiot for not running when she'd had the chance.

The beast had finally risen completely from the hole, raising it's nose to the sky. It's eyes closed as it inhaled, swinging it's massive head from side to side. It did this a few times before stopping short, inhaling deeply, it's beady eyes flying open and leveling on Pandora. Heart practically leaping from her chest, she watched as the monster growled at her, dangerous, yellowing teeth bared. It's long tail lashed about frantically as it prepared to pounce, haunches raising in anticipation. Flexing it's claws and licking it's lips, the beast let loose another fierce snarl. Pandora could do nothing but stand there, too frightened to move. Her pale fists clenched together tightly, eyes closing. She had no desire to see the end coming before it actually got to her...

Another, more pained shriek practically split her head in two, ruining her train of thought and causing her eyes to open once more. The cat, previously nursing the wound the rabbit had inflicted upon it, had launched itself at the beast just as it had been finishing it's preparations to pounce, latching onto it's back and digging it's claws into the decaying flesh. The monstrous being bucked wildly, attempting to swipe at the cat with it's over-sized paws and long tail. With each failure, the beast became more frantic. This turn of events had yet again left Pandora utterly stunned, unsure of what to do. However, there came another sound from the gloom.

"Run, Alice! RUN!"