The queen was alone in her room when I finally reached the balcony. She looked like she'd been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy and she kept wiping her nose on her sleeve. I felt bad for her. No one should be that unhappy. Even the villains. Everyone had a right to be happy. I'd heard it said that a villain in your story was the hero of their own story. I wasn't sure I believed that to be true all the time (cough - Isis - cough) yet seeing anyone that upset just wasn't right.

She was too distracted to notice when I first entered the room. I'd made it halfway to the door when the guilt finally got to me. Something told me the queen didn't have anyone here at the castle she could talk too. She put on a brave face around the staff and her subjects, but alone she was a mess. I knew personally how hard that could be. I'm guilty of doing the same thing. Before August came along, I'd never opened up to anyone. Showing emotions or sharing feelings wasn't something that happened inside our household.

I frowned. That name. August. I knew that name, didn't I? Suddenly it felt weird in that sentence, like maybe I'd gotten it wrong. There had been someone I'd let in, right? I could have sworn -

"Taryn?" The queen's voice broke me from my thoughts.

I looked up to find her staring at me with wide, disbelieving eyes. I offered a half smile. Did I know her?

She leapt to her feet and raced toward me with her arms stretched out. Wait, is she going in for a hug? I quickly ducked under her arm and spun to face her back. She frowned and turned back to me in confusion.

"Taryn?"

"That's my name. Don't wear it out." I eyed her cautiously. Maybe she was just disillusioned from her recent cry fest. I know I got a little weird after crying.

"Taryn, it's me. Dixie." She waited for any sort of recognition but I had nothing. I'd never known anyone with that name.

A stabbing pain shot up through my head, as if someone had just driven a hot spike through my skull. I flinched and clutched my head but I kept a careful eye on the girl. I didn't trust her. She was way too friendly.

"Are you ok? What's wrong?" She actually looked concerned. I was almost tempted to tell her the truth. Almost.

"I'm fine. Just bumped my head on the way up and now I have a headache." I swallowed hard and slowly released my head. The pain quickly receded. "How do you know my name? Did Isis tell you? Are you working with her?"

The queen (what had she called herself? Dixie?) looked horrified. "You really don't know me? Taryn, we were in the curse together. I helped you escape remember? You, me and August all live together now."

I lived with this girl and some guy? You'd think I'd remember something like that. Unless she was making all this up, which sounded like the much more reasonable explanation.

"I don't know what we're all doing back here in the curse, but we have to find a way out."

"Wait, wait. Hold on a second." I put my hand out to stop her. "If you really know me like you claim to, then why didn't you recognize me earlier in the garden? You didn't seem to know me then which only proves you're lying now."

She quickly shook her head, causing her crown to nearly fall off her head. "I knew I couldn't break character. Not with so many people around. You know the rules." She frowned. "I recognized you right away. I would have assumed August would be with you though. Where is he? Have you found him yet?"

"So this other guy is here too? Great." I said with sarcasm. "Is he going to insist on knowing me too? This is all getting really weird." I took a few steps toward the door, careful to remain out of reaching distance of the girl. "I'd love to stay and chat. You know, catch up on all the memories only you seem to possess, but I don't have any time to waste. Literally. I have to go save time for the Hatter and the Hare."

Dixie reached out toward me but I leapt out of her grasp. "You can't leave now! We need to figure out what's going on. Please, Taryn you can't leave me. Do you know what it was like being sucked back into this stupid curse?" Tears clouded her eyes again and I started to worry she might start crying again. I was never good around crying people. "I thought I was finally free. I thought I'd never have to come back here, but I was swept up into another nightmare. I'm scared."

I shifted my feet awkwardly. "Aren't we all? Isis is completely deranged. I'm working on it though. I'll defeat the curse and give you all your lives back." I continued to skirt around her and toward the door. "Just hang in there. You'll be free again before you know it."

My hand grasped the doorknob just as the first tears began falling from her eyes. I forced what I hoped was a friendly smile onto my lips. Opening the door, I quickly backed out and closed it again behind me. Dixie cried as she called after me. I felt guilty, though I wasn't sure why. I didn't know her. I didn't owe her anything. She could just wait like all the other characters for me to get them out of here. Just because she played the queen didn't make her special. As for her insistence of knowing me, I didn't know what to think of that. I was sure I didn't know her. I'd never seen her before in my life. She must have had me confused for someone else. Or else the curse was messing with her mind. The poor girl. Isis was going to pay for what she'd done to these people. No one deserved that. I set my jaw stubbornly as I raced down the corridor. I was going to give them their lives back. I'd destroy the curse so it could never come back to harm anyone ever again.

I wasn't watching where I was going and accidentally ran headfirst into another body. They shouted in surprise as we both tumbled to the floor. I groaned and pushed myself back up to my feet, rubbing my head.

"Sorry about that. I should probably watch where I'm going."

When I looked up, I was met with intense stormy grey eyes which lit up as soon as they saw me. Great, I thought, another weirdo who's going to assume they know me.

The boy leapt up and grinned wide. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Save yourself the trouble." I waved him off and started walking down the hall again. "Like I told the other girl, I don't have any idea who you are. Any illusions you have of knowing me are just that. It's the curse messing with your mind. Within five minutes you won't even remember what I looked like. Just keep walking that way." I pointed back down the hall in the opposite direction I was walking.

He looked offended. "You don't recognize me? I know we've only been friends a little while but I'd assumed you'd be able to remember my face."

I shrugged. "Apparently not."

"You really have no idea who I am?"

I sighed. "Not a clue. Should I?"

"I'm Chord. Last I saw of you, you were headed to go find Iris." He grimaced. "And it looks like you found her. She must have really done a number on your memory."

I turned on him angrily. "Look, pal. It's not my memory that's gone to whack. This is obviously just Isis playing her dumb games again and I refuse to play along. We don't know each other. Never have, never will. Now leave me alone!"

I spun and marched angrily away, ignoring his calls just as I had done to the girl. I didn't stop until I was a safe distance away from him. What was with these people? Were they all acting like this because we were in Wonderland? Was it some sort of weird side affect? If it was, I was more than ready to finish this tale and leave.

For the thousandth time I wished I knew what I was looking for. It would have made this task a lot easier. What in the world could possibly fix time? I found myself checking every clock I found along the way. I didn't remember this ever being part of the tale. Then again, it was Wonderland. If any tale was going to be unpredictable, it would be this one. Occasionally I'd have to hide myself around a corner or behind a piece of furniture whenever any of the staff would pass by. For the majority of the time though, I didn't see anyone. It was eery. Shouldn't a castle of this size have more than a few staff members? The queen had seemed a little off her rocker but even she would have been smart enough to keep the place fully staffed, right? Something wasn't right. I could feel it.

I hated being right. I stepped around a corner and found myself in a large drawing room. Sunlight streamed through the windows in a dazzling warmth. Flowers of all kinds and colors lined the walls and hung from the ceiling. It was a welcoming sight from all the red in the rest of the castle. Off in the corner of the room was a small round table with three elegant chairs around it. The entire thing screamed, 'tea time'. Only completing the picture was the large, porcelain teapot sitting on the table with the plate of little biscuits beside it. Each of the chairs was occupied and they all turned to look at me when I entered.

"Taryn! How lovely of you to join us!" Isis showed her teeth in a smile that rivaled the sun's rays. She lifted her cup toward me in greeting and then took a sip of the still steaming beverage.

"I'm not here for tea." I said.

"Psh," she waved me over, "come have a seat." With a wave of her hand, another seat appeared beside her.

I didn't make any move to go sit down. I'd be dead before anyone ever caught me having tea with Isis. The man beside her sneered at me and for a moment, he looked familiar. It was my turn to be the creep who thought they knew everyone. It was probably just my imagination, yet he looked so familiar. The woman on Isis' other side was clearly related to her. They looked so much alike it was scary.

"It is rude to refuse an open invitation." The woman said with a cold smile.

"I don't drink tea."

The man snorted. "You haven't changed much, have you?"

Maybe I did know him. I decided I didn't like either of the new people. They both gave off the same vibes as Isis. Only the woman on the right seemed more evil if that was even possible. I wasn't sure she was even human. No one could look that cruel.

"Her manners have never been very good." Isis laughed. "She's always trying to drag people down into her pitiful pit of despair. Just ignore the bad attitude and you'll be fine."

I glared at the witch. "Watch it, Isis, or I'll do more than just make you grumpy."

She laughed again. "Isn't she just adorable when she's making threats? I can't take her seriously. Now, if she knew her true powers and could wield them properly, then perhaps we'd have reason to fear. As it is, she's fairly harmless."

"True powers? What's that supposed to mean?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Tsk, tsk," she shook her head and glanced over at the other woman, "you really did a number on a her memory. Was it really necessary to erase the entire thing? It's more fun when she remembers the events because then she gets angry and starts saying ridiculous things that are just hilarious."

"We're not here to play games, Isis." The woman snapped. She turned to me again with a cold, angry stare. "Come sit down before I force you against your will."

I decided not to argue, though there were a few things I would have liked to say to her. I took the seat between Isis and the man and slouched down into it. The man kept eyeing me up like he was looking for a fight and it was making me uncomfortable. Who was this guy?

"Since you seem to have lost any memories of us, I shall start with introductions." Isis placed a hand on her chest. "Of course you know who I am."

"Unfortunately."

"This beautiful woman is my sister, Iris. I do envy her beauty. She was always mother's favorite you know."

"Are you kidding me?" I looked between the two women. "You two are nearly identical."

Isis blushed. "Why thank you, Taryn. That was a very sweet thing to say."

The man grunted. "Can we move on already?"

Isis rolled her eyes. "This impatient man is our brother, Colton. If we ignore him, maybe he'll go away."

For once, I was in agreement with Isis. I didn't like him hanging around. "Isn't there another one of you?" I wasn't sure where that had come from, it just felt right. They were missing one member of the family.

Isis smirked at Iris. "Apparently not everything was wiped."

"Our sister couldn't make it. She had -" Iris paused, choosing her words carefully, "other arrangements."

Isis huffed. "I think she's just still mad that we cut her off for so long."

"Honestly, she shouldn't have been so surprised." Iris said. "She doesn't even have any magic. Did she honestly believe we wouldn't disown her?"

"You disowned your sister and now you're mad that she isn't attending a tea party?" I shook my head at their ignorance. "For witches you all are pretty dense. I wouldn't want to be around you either if I were her. Heck, I don't want to be around you now." I made to stand but was held back by an invisible force. Iris smirked and I knew it was her keeping me there.

"You can't leave now." Iris said in her silky voice. "We have a few things we need to discuss."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"We want you on our team."

I choked on my own spit. There was no way I'd heard her right. "I'm sorry . . . what?"

"Told you she wouldn't go for it." Colton shrugged.

I stared at them all in disbelief. "Are you all insane? You must be to have said that. You do realize that I will never join you. My entire existence is seems to have been created just to appose you. It would be a bit counter productive if I were to start working with you. Besides, just about everything you do goes against every moral conduct in my book."

Isis gave me a pleading look. "You must think about it, Taryn. I don't think you understand how important you're skills would be for our cause."

"What cause? To make my life miserable? Congratulations, you've won."

Iris took a sip of her tea. "Our mission is to bring magic back into the real world."

I turned to her. "Isn't magic already in the real world? That's how Isis lured me into the curse in the first place. If there wasn't magic in the real world, how did you make this fictional one, huh? Come on, you can't fool me that easily."

"She's as dumb as ever." Colton stuffed an entire danish into his mouth.

"Is seems as though this is going to take a bit of explaining." Isis sighed.

"I expected nothing less." Iris wiped her mouth daintily before jumping into her explanation. "Magic is severely limited in the real world. People born with our abilities are unable to wield their powers freely because of the tiny minds of humans. It's the lack of belief that this world has that prevents those like me from thriving. Simple magic can be done, yes. In fact, many witches and wizards in the modern world make a fine living off of it. However, their talents are believed to be nothing more than tricks of the mind, each move requiring some form of illusion. None of it is real to the human mind. It's a disgrace to us. Only those who are truly desperate, needing so badly to exercise their gifts, or gain acceptance from the crowd, become magicians for the public. Those of us who still have a shred of dignity left, have found an easier way to use our skills."

Isis shuttered. "I can't stand street performers. They give witches like us a bad name."

Iris continued as if the interruption hadn't happened. "You see, curses like this one, are easy enough to create. They're simple. Not much actual magic is required to bring one to life, but once you enter, the world inside is entirely your own. We find it easy to hone our magic with no restraints. Curses like this have become an escape for witches and wizards alike. My sister used the fairytale curse as a means to avenge our family, but she wasn't using it to the maximum potential. Isis has never had the desire to use her magic. She knows how to use it, yes, but she doesn't look for every opportunity to do so."

"You make that sound like an insult." Isis huffed.

"She does not use her magic in the same way that most others do."

"Alright," Isis crossed her arms and pouted, which on any other person would have looked ridiculous but since she was Isis it was actually adorable and I hated her even more for it, "now you're just being mean."

"She enjoys playing mind games with other people. She finds the simplicity of the human brain to be fascinating. I on the other hand, acknowledge my powers and am willing to sacrifice greatly in order to strengthen them. One day I will become the most powerful sorceress in the world. Then I will use my power to bring magic back into the world! Everyone will believe again and then those like me will be able to freely use their gifts.

"I have been able to sway the minds of most, however there is still one who stands in my way. You, Taryn Bauer, your power is still far greater than mine. However, if you were join us, you could use your gifts to further along the cause. With your help, it won't be long before every witch or wizard is able to freely use their magic without being confined to an illusion of a world."

"You sound insane." I told her honestly. "You can't expect me to believe that. I have no powers. I'm not a witch. End of story."

Isis' pout grew stronger. "She didn't believe the first time either. Why did you have to go and erase her memory like that? Now we'll have to convince her all over again."

"It was a necessity if we were to have any hope of converting her."

"You know I'm sitting right here, right?" I raised an eyebrow. "Look, even if I did have magical voodoo powers, I wouldn't use them to help you. Who says having the freedom to use magic in the real world would be a good thing? You know what I see when I picture that? Chaos."

Colton gave Iris a pointed look. "The kid has a point. I tried to tell you the same thing. We should have just left things the way they were."

I could see the anger behind her eyes, yet she took a breath and calmly said, "Witches and wizards should be allowed full use of their abilities, no matter what world they are in. It would be like telling a pro athlete that he could no longer participate in his sport because it wasn't socially acceptable. You're forcing a fish to live on dry land when you take a witch's power from her."

I shook my head. "This is still a bad idea and I refuse to be any part of it. Just leave me out of this."

Isis gave me a sympathetic look. "You should have chosen to help us, Taryn. You won't like what's going to happen next."

Iris' eyes danced with a sudden amusement. "If I'm being honest, I'm glad you chose not to help. It will be so much more fun this way. It's time we move on to plan B."

Colton leapt up in excitement. "I'll get the ropes!" He looked like a kid who'd just been given permission to raid the candy jar.

Iris' smile sent chills down my spine. I had a feeling I'd just signed my own death sentence.

"You have sealed your fate now, Taryn. Your friends aren't around to help you this time. With any luck, you won't be seeing them again . . . ever."

I would have gotten up and ran away as fast as my legs could carry me if Iris' magic hadn't been holding me down. I swallowed hard and met her eyes stubbornly. "I'm not afraid." I lied.

"Good." Her smile widened. "Let's begin."

Only one chapter left! It's definitely going to be leaving on a cliffhanger so please don't hate me too much lol anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this weeks update and hopefully I'll have the next one up by friday! :)