The door in the tree led straight to the castle. Well, the castle grounds that is. We emerged from a narrow tunnel and into a beautiful garden, blinking against the bright sun. The garden was stunning. It was clear it had been maintained for royalty. It would have been even more spectacular if the entire thing hadn't been red. Red roses covered nearly everything. Carnations and tulips, all red. Even the trees glowed with the brightest red leaves I'd ever seen, as if it were a perpetual Autumn. Every one of the garden statues were ruby red. Even the grass had been dyed in a checkered formation with. . . wait for it . . . yup, red.

"This lady really enjoys her red, doesn't she." August commented as we waded through the grass.

The tunnel emerged into one of the green grass patches and it had recently been cut. We'd only taken a few steps before we were covered in green grassy juice. From this height, I noticed several paint cans carefully hidden away beneath one of the rose bushes. One of these plants had been painted. Or all of them had been. Honestly, nothing would surprise me all that much any more.

"How are we supposed to grow back to our normal heights?" I thought out loud. "We can't keep walking around like this. We'll never get anywhere."

August suddenly pointed a tiny table just underneath one of the colorful trees next to us. It probably wasn't even visible to anyone who wasn't looking for it. On the table were two tiny biscuits. "You think that's it?"

I waded through the grass, over to the table and gingerly picked up the biscuit. "There's only one way to find out." Before I could chicken out, I popped the entire thing in my mouth. It dissolved as soon as it hit my tongue. I didn't have to chew it at all.

The transformation started right away. It was just has horrible as the shrinking had been, only reversed. Instead of breaking bones to make them fit, I was being stretched beyond my body's capability to form to the new height. Thankfully, it didn't take long for the growing to finish. I looked down at August and gave him a thumbs up with a pained smile. "Your turn."

August didn't look thrill but he followed my lead and took his biscuit. Instead of growing any taller though, he simply disappeared. "August?" My heart dropped as I fell to my knees and searched through the grass around the area, calling his name. Where had he gone? What if one of the biscuits had been some sort of curse that had deleted him from this world, or worse even the real world?

I caught a glimpse of the table and frowned, turning my full attention to it. The second biscuit was still there, as if August had never taken it. I could have sworn I'd seen him eat it. So why was it still there? It didn't make any sense. There'd only been two biscuits. I was sure of it. Which means August must not have eaten it. Was I seeing things? None of that offered any answers as to where he'd gone to though. Everything kept running together in my mind. Suddenly I couldn't remember if August had even come through the tunnel with me. Had there only been one vial back at the other end? Had I come through alone? Maybe August was safe back on the other side. That thought made me feel a bit better. The idea made sense anyway.

I sat back on my knees and looked around. What was I doing crawling on the ground? What kind of a first impression was I going to make like this? The Queen could show up at any second and now I was covered in green stains. My eyes drifted to the tiny table where a second biscuit lay on the plate. That was weird. Why would the curse give me two biscuits? There was only one of me after all and I didn't fancy growing any taller than I was now. Maybe I'd have to though? How did this tale go again? I couldn't remember. All I knew was that I had to somehow figure out how to start time again for the Hatter, Hare and Mouse.

I stood up, but hesitated. I kept feeling like I was forgetting something, like maybe I was supposed to wait for someone to show up? Had I been traveling with anyone? I tried to remember, but every time I tried thinking back, my headache flared. Eventually I gave up. I'd think of it later. For now, I had to focus on the task at hand. If there was someone I was supposed to meet, they'd have to catch up on there own. Serves them right for falling behind like that.

I'd started walking toward the castle when a group of people showed up led by the queen herself. At least I assumed she was the queen. With her big head of bushy red hair and the golden crown, she was kinda hard to miss.

"You girl!" She pointed to me and looked back at one of the knights flanking her. "Do I know this girl?"

He shook his head. "I don't believe you do my queen."

She frowned and turned back to me. "What are you doing in my garden?"

I turned to look behind me, just to make sure no one else was there and then pointed to myself. "Me?"

"Yes you stupid girl! I am speaking to you. Who are you? What are you doing in my garden and why are you all green? The theme here is clearly red. How dare you disrupt the flow like this."

"A minute ago, I was all prepared to go change into something red to please you, but now that you've called me stupid, I don't think I will." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I hear you're the reason the Hatter is trapped in a perpetual tea party. Care to explain?"

The queen stomped her foot and turned to the knight she'd spoken to before. "Is she insulting me? I think she's insulting me."

"No your Majesty. I believe the term you are looking for is 'accusing'. She is accusing you of doing those things."

"Yes," she waved off his comment, "that is what I said. She hasbeen accusing me!" She whipped back around to face me with a murderous glare. "Do you know what happens to those who insult me?" She might have been intimidating if she hadn't been so small.

"I lose my head? Good luck with that. I'd much rather keep my head on my shoulders thanks."

The queen's face went as bright red as her hair. "I want her head!"

The knights immediately jumped into action. They were a hard to take seriously too. Their armor had been decorated as playing cards. Seven of hearts charged forward with five of hearts right behind him. They may have looked ridiculous, but they were a lot stronger looking than the queen was. Provoking them probably wasn't a good idea. In retrospect, provoking the queen wasn't a good idea either, but when have I ever been good at making decisions?

Instead of turning and running like any sane person would have, I charged forward and barreled through the two knights. I had shocked them enough to give me a few seconds of a head start. I winked at the queen as I passed her. "I'll be seeing you later."

She screamed at her knights again and I laughed as I tore through the garden. My situation might not have been grand, but I didn't have a care in the world. Those knights in their bulky armor couldn't catch me. I'd made it to the castle, returned to my normal height, successfully ticked off the queen and now I was on my way to finding the cure for the Hatter's time problem.

A small part at the back of my mind kept nagging me, like maybe I was forgetting something important. Again, I tried thinking back across my time in the curse. Isis had me trapped and I had to find some way out. No - that wasn't it. There was someone else. Someone much more dangerous than Isis. I shook my head. That was ridiculous. Who could possibly be more retarded than Isis? No one. That's who. So having someone possibly more dangerous just wasn't heard of.

Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. I wasn't supposed to be here alone, was I? Had I been alone the entire time? All those other tales, who'd been playing the roles along beside me?

Even with all the pressing thoughts running through my mind, I found myself laughing. Maybe that biscuit had affected my brain. After being shrunk down to be smaller than a mouse, to being stretched back to my normal size (though I was convinced I'd been ripped off by a few inches) my mind had a right to be a little messed up.

It was easy to lose myself in the maze that was the queen's garden. Before I knew it, I'd gotten myself completely lost, but the sounds of the knights chasing after me had long faded away. At least I'd shaken them off my tail. Now I could focus on finding the secret to fixing time. It couldn't be too hard right?

Wrong. By the time I found my way out of the garden maze, the sun had nearly finished setting. I could hardly see anymore without a light, which I didn't have. The guards around the castle had doubled which made entering nearly impossible. It was clear the queen expected me to make a reappearance. I smiled at the thought. We'd only met each other briefly, but that's all it took for her to fear me. And rightfully so. I'd spent my childhood with Colton. I knew a thing or two about getting people to give me what I want. I wasn't keen on the idea of stooping to his level, but if it came down to it, I would. There were people counting on me after all.

I froze. Huh, who was counting on me? I was sure somebody was, but who? I couldn't remember. How long had I even been in the curse? Had I let them down already by taking too long? My head began pounding as I tried to find memories that weren't there. A part of me began to wonder if maybe my mind had been tampered with. Being inside the curse, it was completely possible that someone had forced me to forget something and that something was probably important.

Just then, a light switched on near the second story balcony, illuminating me and the garden. I quickly shook myself from my thoughts and dove beneath one of the bushes to stay out of view. The queen sauntered out onto the balcony wrapped in a velvet bathrobe. With her hair down and that crazy makeup gone, she almost looked normal. She assumed no one was watching her, so her scowl had disappeared. I'd almost say she looked human. There was something familiar about her. Something I couldn't quite place. She reminded me of someone. Maybe it was the someone who'd been erased from my memories. If that was the case, I'd have to grant myself an audience with her's truly.

The queen took a few deep breathes of the evening air before she was interrupted by her lady in waiting. As soon as the young girl had arrived, the queen's scowl was fixed back in place. It made me sad to see it return. I could have sworn she'd been close to smiling the in the serenity of the peaceful evening.

The girl spoke a few fast words and the queen followed her inside. I smiled and silently thanked them for leaving the balcony door open. They'd just given me my way in.

I'd scaled a few things in my lifetime. I even scaled the school building once in grade school. I don't have a clear memory of it, but I know it took several hours for them to get me back down. Honestly, they should have just let me climb back down. Though looking back on it now, allowing an eight year old climb down a two story school probably wasn't a great idea.

The school building had been so much easier to climb. There was nothing to hold onto on this stupid castle. Not a single vine or loose brick. I wanted to scream. My one way in and it wasn't even accessible.

Like a petulant two year old, I stomped my foot and crossed my arms. Why did everything have to be so gosh darn difficult? Why couldn't anything be simple? I could just imagine Iris' smug face as she watched me struggle.

With a disgruntled sigh, I decided it was time to start looking for a different way in. I wasn't getting anywhere with the balcony. Yet as I turned to leave, something made me pause. A feeling in my gut that maybe I should try once more. I wasn't usually one to listen to my own advice, but this time I found myself doing it.

I slowly turned back around and padded over to the wall. There was one portion where the stone was a bit more worn than the rest which is where I'd been trying to climb. It was the only place that offered any sort of grip for climbing. Instead of returning to that place, I found myself standing directly beneath the balcony. Shockingly, when I felt the smooth wall, trying to find any sort of grip I could, my hands came away cut and bleeding as if I'd run them through one of the rose bushes.

"What in the world," I mused as I reached my hand out again. The same sharp pain greeted me as I placed my hand against the wall.

"Nothing is what it is, and everything is what it is not." Isis' voice rang through my mind clearly as if she were standing right next to me.

I searched for the source of the voice, but as expected she wasn't there. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You must train yourself to look at things in a new light." Isis' voice said. "For nothing is as it seems in this strange yet wonderful world."

"Yeah, wonderful is not the word I would have used." I grumbled as I took hold of the invisible vines and started my painful journey to the top.

"It is called Wonderland after all."

"Why are you even talking to me?" I snapped. "Get out of my head."

"Tsk tsk" Isis' soft laughter rang through my mind, "Iris really did a number on your memory didn't she? You've already forgotten we're on the same team now."

That comment made me freeze in my tracks. It even temporarily made me forget the pain shooting up through the palms of my hands. "Excuse me? Did you just say 'we' and 'same side' in the same sentence?"

"What's the matter, Taryn? Do you not believe that an old rival and her foe could team up and become one unstoppable force that will eventually take over the entire world?"

"That took a turn." I blew out a hot breath and returned to my climbing. "You have a few screws loose, Isis. Get back to me when you have your full mind in tact."

"You're going to need my help, Taryn." She insisted. "Once inside the castle, you won't be able to escape on your own. You'll

I chose to ignore her. I had to focus on getting through this tale alive, which meant I had no time to sit around listening to all of Isis' bull crap. There was no way I was letting Isis join my side. I'd never be able to trust her. I wasn't sure who this Iris person was that she mentioned, but I assumed she was the final boss at the end of this ridiculous game. Perfect. Now I had a goal to reach for.

Again, something kept nagging at me. I was forgetting something, but what? There was a reason I was here.

Yeah dummy because Isis put you here.

I shook my head. No, that wasn't it. There was more to it I was sure of that, but until I could figure it out I'd keep racing toward the objective.

I climbed with a new vigor. I could do this. Things were finally staring to look up.

I'm back! :D ROTC is drawing to a close now. Only a few chapters left! I will definitely be writing a third instalment to the story though whether I'll be posting it or not is still up in the air. I guess we'll see what happens :) let me know your thoughts!