Chapter 3

You Have Friends You Don't Know About

-~:{+}:~-

Walking on the grassy knoll the path had become, Elise came across the edge of a forest.

{Pretty obvious I'm entering a different area, isn't it?}

The edge of the forest was very clean-cut. A very obvious border between panels. Next to that edge, was something that seemed like a train-station of sorts. It wasn't very grand, just a small building with a platform near train tracks. It seemed very quiet and empty from where Elise was standing.

{Well, there may be someone inside. They could help me out.}

Approaching the station, she noticed that there was no one present. The entire place was empty. Wondering if the station was even in operation, the sound of a train was heard in the distance. It came very quickly, a steam engine, billowing smoke everywhere. The door was right in front of where Elise was standing on the platform, and opened the instant the smoke around her face dissipated. A man in a white conductor uniform was standing before her, his face partly covered with his hair and hat.

"Will you be boarding, miss?"

"Boarding? But I don't have a ticket…"

An arm from behind her reached past her and handed the conductor a set of tickets.

"We're both boarding this train, actually."

She was quickly pushed on board the train car by whoever was standing behind, doors slamming shut, the conductor leaving for another car. Taken back a little, Elise couldn't help but turn around and address whoever just forced her onto this train.

"Whoa, wait! I didn't ask to be on this train."

"Well, you were at the train station, so you must have been waiting for a train, weren't you?"

"No, I was not. I was just looking for where to head next."

"Oh, well, then I suppose I choose for you... Sorry…"

The replying voice contained a heavy dosage of melancholy. The man had black, somewhat wavy hair. Or perhaps tousled, it was kinda in-between. Matching his voice, he even looked groggy, or foggy, and soggy, or what other set of rhyming words that can easily turn depressing.

"I guess I just assumed what you would do. I thought you were heading towards the White Palace, as you normally do, old friend…"

{Old friend?}

"Sorry, but I don't remember ever meeting you before."

"What? But we knew each other since childhood…"

The young man sunk into a nearby seat. Elise sat beside him.

"I'm sorry, but maybe you have the wrong person? If I've learned anything from science, you should avoid assuming too much. My name is Elise Tenniel."

"Elise… Tenniel? I guess you may be right. I'm Midgley. Edwin Midgley… Sorry about that."

{What a melancholy person.}

Edwin truly was a melancholy person. He just stared at the floor. Many could say he has nice features, yes, but the sad disposition that was perpetually on his face was not very complementary. After looking around the empty train car and watching the world fly by for a few moments, Elise tried to strike up a conversation with the guy. She never liked it when people where just plain depressed. Not on her watch, at the very least. Thing is, she didn't know quite what to talk about.

"Sooo… I like your bowtie."

"Huh?"

"You're bowtie. I think it's, uh, cool."

Still dejected seeming, but at least he stopped looking at the floor. Elise, on the other hand, couldn't help but silently face palm. Referencing Doctor Who at a time like this, although a blue police box would be nice. It probably wasn't the best topic, even though she did legitimately like bowties.

"I wonder if that topic could be turned into a joke…" sighed Edwin.

A little confused about the the remark, she started to wonder just what kind of jokes she knew about bowties and such. Prefereably none that were in-jokes or fandom references. Edwin just sighed again, maybe half-expecting her to make a joke.

"Do you perhaps know any jokes?" Elise tried to shift the weight of the conversation from herself, as she couldn't think of anything at the moment.

"No, I'm not very good with jokes, you see. That's why I prefer others to make jokes. You seem like you're a girl much more lively than I. I'm jus terrible at jokes though." His mood just jumped off the slope, as he shook his head dejectedly.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up over that. It's not so bad."

{Who this guy is depressing. I've met plenty of depressed people, but still… Now that I think about it, it does seem a bit familiar. Reminds me of my friends.}

-~:{+}:~-

The train then came to a quick stop. They reached another train station. Elise pondered as to get off or not, but others begun to board the train.

She froze.

Something was off about them. When she actually tried to look at them, she noticed something strange. Something abnormal to her. These people didn't have "faces." At first she didn't move a muscle, it almost felt as if her heart had even stopped. Eyes wide like saucers, using even her peripheral vision to find any details or normalcy in these peoples' faces. Elise almost panicked. But she did see that they did have a nose and a mouth, but they all had similar ones, and she couldn't help but wonder how these people could see. They didn't have eyes. They weren't the Slenderman, and she thanked the Lord for that, and yet, she creaked her head over towards Edwin to see no response.

{What? Is this normal here? He's not responding to this at all. Does he see they have no faces? I mean normalcy is relative, but this is just insane. I'm mean, they're not some relatives of Slendy! Koh the Face Stealer isn't in this realm, right!? Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! Keep calm, and carry on. Yes, be British or something!}

Elise stared at the floor, in an attempt to pretend they were her normal. She tried to hide the fact that she had trouble comprehending the entire situation.

{Keep calm. If I really am in another world, then some things are obviously going to be different. If I don't keep a cool head, and carry on, I won't get anything done. Take a page from Morrie. Detach. Be the leaf.}

Calming down considerably, she did what she normally did. Elise was known to be a bit odd, but it only showed outwardly to random observers due to conscious decisions, such as eating hot cocoa powder mix with a spoon during class. But when that distance is notably lessened, her personality is comparable to the fashion of Harajuku: these things should never go together yet somehow they work on this person, like a massive paradox. Not that she found herself impressive overall, minus the random bouts of arrogance. Overall, her ability does allow her to remain relatively, inconspicuous.

{I suppose I'll just stay with this Edwin guy for a bit… Seems relatively harmless. Like a gnat.}

Forces of physics acting out again, the train started to move once again. A few passengers began chatting, but other than their lack of eyes, nothing seemed significantly different from an average-Joe. Across sat a somewhat chatty woman. Elise's ears couldn't help but perk up at what they mentioned.

"Hey, hey. Did you guys hear? A foreigner appeared in the library yesterday."

"What? A foreigner?"

Being a little surprised, and a little confused, Elise continued to listen to the conversation, but couldn't help but wonder.

{Didn't I come out of the library? But that wasn't too long ago. Certainly not more that a day. Was someone else here before me.}

"They say she might become the White Queen's pawn."

"Is that so. Could you tell me where you heard this."

Edwin's voice entered the conversation. Curiosity may have relieved some of the depression. He inquired about the woman.

"Well, I'm a maid in the palace. I caught a glimpse of her, but I couldn't see her face. Actually, she looks very much like the young lady next to you."

"Oh, mum! You can please stop talking now."

A girl who had just entered the car begun to tell the maid to stop talking. The daughter argued with her a bit, soon got her to quiet down. Turning towards the two passengers with faces, she apologized about her mother causing trouble, but mentioned something Elise thought was the oddest thing.

"I'm sorry, I have to take her to another country. She was injured quite some time ago, and it was a really close call. We have to go get clearance to go to another country, to see if we can fix her up. It's almost as if she's been set foreword by a few hours. I've never seen a heart do that before." The girl bowed apologetically, and ushered her mother into another section.

{That doesn't sound quite right. It sounds as if she is talking about a watch being set on the wrong time. Strange.}

"Hey, everyone! We're crossing the brook now!"

The train was crossing a very straight, neat, creek. On the other side was a city. A city of white buildings. Actually, after looking out the window for a while, Elise recalled seeing other similar creeks. A long creek they were traveling alongside with more meeting it in a perpendicular manner. This is the first time they were even changing direction. This steam-engine was traveling alongside the borders of this land, outside to board. Now it had entered into the plot controlled by the White Queen and her half of Charity City. Edwin disturbed her thinking though. He seemed even more curious after the maid had spoken.

"Hey. Are you- by any chance a foreigner?"

Elise silently nodded her head. Saying she's a foreigner so much in such a short amount of time felt so odd, but she had to go with it. Their eyes locked for a bit, but they were less looking at each other, instead looking through, thinking as to what action to take next. This situation does prove to be uncommon for both parties at best. Almost automatically Edwin decided to escort Elise to the Palace of the White Queen.

Notes: Well, chapter three was a bit shorter than expected. I'm sometimes the idiot who uploads things hot-off-the-press and edits it later. :P

Oh well~ If anyone has any opinions to share, please do so.

References: The gnat is the first person Alice encounters after starting her journey in Looking-Glass land, and she does meet him on a train, just a Elise meets Edwin. The gnat is very depressive, likes jokes but can't make them, first confused Alice for an old friend, and sighed himself out of existence. There have been maps made of Looking-Glass land giving areas those names like City of Charity, and it was considerably separated from Wonderland by mountains and sea. And yes, I made a Doctor Who reference. Couldn't think of anything else. Just like in the story. Strange...

Also "Tuesday's With Morrie," the "Keep Calm and Carry On" meme, Legend of Korra's "be the Leaf" quote, of course our lovely and faceless Slendy, and also Avatar: The Last Airbender's Koh, the Face Stealer.