A Curious, Mad Dream

Quick Review:

Acelin: AZ-LEEN
Civmiralli: SIV-MER-ALL-EE

**NEW WORD!!
Silen: SIGH-LIN

--Not difficult to pronounce, I know, but I figured I would add it into the glossary just in case there might be some slight confusion as to how I want it pronounced. Basically just think of the word 'silence' without the 'ce' ^.^ Happy reading!!
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Thane’s P.O.V

I flung open the door calling out to Acelin or, well, anyone really. Upon hearing no response throughout the room, I released an annoyed sigh knowing I shouldn’t have ever expected differently. That girl had the same blinding curiosity as her mother. She didn’t care about the dangers of an unknown world, not if it gave her answers to her endless questions. I moved toward the kitchen to fix myself a cup of tea as I pondered over things. I just hoped the Hatter would keep his word and not reveal too much to her so that Silen could discuss her role in this world with her. I grabbed out a kettle and filled it halfway with water, setting it on the stove to heat up.

Although Silen was technically a part of Wonderland, he was typically roaming dreams all over the world or feeding off the thoughts of the innocent and corrupting them. The reason no one believed me about his presence was for the simple fact that no one cared to notice him. I had been the only one to witness him amongst my blank dreams and it was because of that recognition that Silen had foretold me of Acelin’s appearance in Wonderland. And he had been the one that informed me of her arrival with Vincent on the roof. Out of everyone in Wonderland, I believe it was Silen who held all the answers; he was the one who knew the whole truth behind Alice’s abandonment and Acelin’s arrival.

“Is there a reason Acelin is at Gage’s right now?” a silky voice purred from behind me. My back grew rigid at the sound of that voice. A voice I typically only heard from the darkness of my dreams. I slowly turned away from the stove where the kettle was still warming up my water for tea.

“Silen,” I coldly greeted. Although he had been helpful up to this point, Silen could still not be completely trusted. He was a rogue. He wasn’t on the queen’s side, the Hatter’s side…he didn’t even consider himself a part of my side. “What are you doing away from your element?”

The snow haired Civmiralli lifted a single, pale brow. The steel chain that circled his neck fell down the length of his body to pool around his bare feet. He swept his hand across the length of his bangs pushing them away from his eyes. The thick handcuff slid loosely down his wrist; the chain links swaying from the cuff around his forearm down to his elbow where the end link had clearly been broken off.

“Now, now, Thane, no need to get hostile,” the man smirked as he rested his hands on the curve of his hips; the soft clinking of the chains being the only sound in the room.

The shrill whistle of the kettle cut through the silence of the room and effectively broke the tension between Silen and me. I sighed, turning back to the stove removing the whining kettle from the burner and setting it aside to cool.

“Fine,” I ground out. “Yes, there is a reason she is at Gage’s at the moment.”

Silen stepped towards the kitchen, the chains around his feet dragging along the floor behind him.

“And what, pray tell, would that reason be?” he asked folding his arms across his chest.

“Look, you know as well as I do that that girl has as much curiosity as her mother did. If she wants answers then nothing is going to stop her from getting those answers. Not even being in a strange world where creatures seen only in her nightmares could be lurking,” I responded irritably still wishing she had just done as I had told her and stayed here. Somehow I just knew that damned cat played a role in all of this. “Plus he promised he wouldn’t mention anything about the past or reasons as to why she might be here.”

“And you put faith into the Hatter’s word that he would not tell her anything she wanted to know? She is her daughter after all. The Hatter would do absolutely anything for her if given half the chance.”

“You’ve been away for a long time, Silen,” I chuckled as I removed a mug from the cupboard and poured the steaming hot water into its awaiting mouth. I slipped a teabag out of the box on the counter and steeped it in the water waiting for the liquid to turn dark enough for my liking.

“Have I now.” I lifted my gaze to meet the ruby red irises of Silen. Although his words were formed as a question, his tone suggested otherwise.

“The Hatter would go into a murderous rage if anything about Alice was mentioned to him. Not even Acelin, Alice’s daughter, could calm him out of such a rage. Ever since Alice abandoned Wonderland…he hasn’t been the same,” I sighed slipping a spoon out of one of the drawers and circling it around the mug to even out the flavor of the tea. Taking a careful sip of my hot tea, I once more turned to face the enigmatic man known only as Silen.

“But you may be right about putting stock into what the Hatter says because we all know I trust him about as far as I can throw him and that’s not very far, but…” I dropped my gaze to the dark liquid inside the mug and watched the teabag float along the surface. I played with the tag at the end of the teabag’s string wondering why now of all times I was trying to defend the Hatter.

“But after all we have been through together and after everything he has done for me in the past…I owe it to him to give him the benefit of the doubt every now and again,” I finished.

Silen sighed once more pushing his silver-white bangs from his penetrating ruby gaze.

“And you are going to risk her life on that? What happens if he does go into this…murderous rage while she is there and he attacks her? You’re willing to risk that because you ‘owe’ it to him to give him the benefit of the doubt?” he scoffed incredulously.

I narrowed my eyes at the obvious accusation he was stabbing at. “I trust him enough to know he won’t harm her. Even if he got blinded by his rage to where the chances were high he might kill her, something tells me she has made at least one friend who would be willing to protect her if needed.”

Silen turned on his heel heading back towards the living room; his bare feet whispering along the carpet whilst his chains followed along behind him. The ends of his shining white hair fell in multiple layers down to his shoulders blades as he walked away from where I stood. Out of all the citizens that had lived, or were still living, in Wonderland, Silen had to be the most ethereal and mysterious. He walked with a divine grace that had women leering in envy and left men speechless secretly wishing they had the grace and look he had that could turn every head, man or woman. Maybe that was why he often lived in the dreams of others because there he wouldn’t be sneered upon with bitter resentment and jealousy. For the dreamer, he was nothing more than a passing thought; a creation of their mind that was constantly searching for perfection. It was those dreams he fed upon so that he could twist them into ones that reflected their true reality to always constantly remind the dreamer that life…life was not the world one wished it to be in their dreams. Silen was the constant reminder that there is no escaping reality even in one’s fabricated world.

“Thane…” Silen called out to me over his shoulder; his pink lips the only color on his pale face. “Tell her…that I will come to her when she is ready to hear truth’s answers.”

I nodded in understanding at his words, but he had already disappeared with the slightest sigh of the chains clinking being the only thing that signaled his leave. I brought the lip of the mug to my mouth and sipped on the now lukewarm tea. A breath of contentment left my lips as I placed the half empty cup on the counter behind me and pushed off towards my room. I slid the cloak off my shoulders and tossed it across my bed along with my sword and its scabbard. I kept my gun holster strapped around my chest as I raked a tired hand down my face.

I brushed my fingers along the underside of my jaw and up around my cheek. Beneath the touch of my fingers, I could feel the short stabs of facial hair beginning to poke out from the skin of my cheeks. I rolled my eyes knowing I needed to shave soon, but too lazy to actually get up and do something about it at the moment. Even though it was easily mid-afternoon, possibly early evening, my body felt suddenly tired. I hadn’t been able to get a good night’s sleep for what felt like ages and this time probably wouldn’t be any different. I kept telling myself that it was worry over Acelin that had kept me from a decent night’s sleep last night, but I was lying to myself. Too many things were keeping me from resting and most of them being thoughts of the past and worries about the future. Now that Acelin was finally in the picture, that just turned out to be one more thing I worried consistently over. Funny how she had only been here for barely one day and already it seemed like Wonderland had changed because of her. Silen swore that she wouldn’t abandon our world the way her mother had, but not even Silen could guarantee an outcome like that. He may be powerful with knowledge, but that didn’t make him any more informed on how this would all end. Or maybe it did, who knows?

I fell back onto my bed careful not to lie across my sword. As I felt my eyes grow heavy with drowsiness, I vaguely wondered when Acelin would return. I feared for her safety being out in Wonderland on her own although my gut told me she was anything but alone at the moment. Even so…I didn’t want what happened to her mother…to happen to her. Somebody needed to at least leave Wonderland with a happy memory instead of one full of lies, heartbreak, and war. When would this all end? How would this all end? Will she leave a war in her wake…or will she finally restore peace to our divided land? Only time, unfortunately, could tell that tale.

~|~

Henry’s P.O.V

As the hours wore on I grew more and more angry that I was still being held captive in this room. I knew why they wanted to keep me from her. If she were to find out the truth then the future of their land would change. Not that very many would be against such a change. Well, all except for one.

Fury turned the blood running through my veins into liquid fire causing my skin to heat just thinking about it. I couldn’t stay here any longer. I needed to escape. I needed to go after Acelin. She was depending on me; I couldn’t just leave her to fend for herself in a world she barely understood and a land she didn’t know. I was still pissed at Vincent for having taken me back while Acelin had still been knocked unconscious on the rooftop of the clock tower. The only thing I could do was pray that Sinclair was able to intervene and take her under his wing; hopefully explain some things to her so she wouldn’t feel so alone and out of place. God only knew the trouble that girl could get herself into within the blink of an eye. Especially if she was more than determined to unveil the answers to her never-ending list of questions she no doubt had by being here.

I had to escape as quickly as possible and the only way I could do that would be to create a distraction. With the furious lava flowing beneath my skin disguised as blood, a distraction would not be hard to create. I swept my arm across my desk watching in satisfaction as the pencils, pens, books, and various items fell to the floor in a giant crash. The adrenaline that was pumping through my body made my fingers tremble and my body shake as a terrible, gleeful madness filled my mind. Why had I not thought of doing this sooner? I ran back to my bed and threw off the covers tossing them across the room knocking over the floor lamp in the process. Feathers exploded into the air filling the empty space of the room as I shredded the pillows apart using my bare hands. The soft, white, down feathers of the pillows slowly floated down from the high ceiling to land amongst the debris of my desk and settle lightly on the tops of my shoulders; some even managed to get caught in my tousled hair.

My head whipped around at the sound of someone shouting from down the hallway; footsteps hurriedly approached the door before slowing with caution as they neared the door. I bent down and wrapped my fingers around a sharp, broken piece of glass that had once been a beautifully handcrafted figurine. The razor blade edges of the crystal bit into the flesh of my palm and lower half of my fingers as I grasped it tightly in my hand. I felt the warm trickle of blood run thin lines down my wrist continuing along the length of my forearm as I approached the door with stealth waiting for the tiny click of the lock as I heard the key enter the keyhole. Drops of blood hit the bedroom floor, darkening the already red carpet with its deep ruby stain. I brushed the tip of my tongue along my bottom lip waiting with agonizing impatience for the door to swing open. The moment it finally creaked open to reveal one of the faceless guards, I pounced into action. In one swift motion I slashed the glass’ edge across the man’s exposed throat watching as the crimson liquid sprayed frantically with freedom across the wall speckling my face in the process. The guard clutched at the wound on his neck that had been gouged deep across his aorta trying futilely to save himself. He slumped against the wall, his mouth opening and closing trying desperately to speak his last words with no sound emitting from his throat except the gurgle of him choking on his own life source. I jumped over his now lifeless body that lay across the ground and out into the long stretch of hallway.

I swept crazed eyes left and right down the hallway as I strained to listen for the sound of any more footsteps. All I could hear though was the soft hush of blood rushing through my head. It would only be a matter of time before the other guards became suspicious of their companion’s long absence and came to check on him. By that time I needed to be long gone from here. I readjusted my grip on the red stained crystal glass piece causing new cuts to form along the inside of my hand. I sprinted down the hallway knowing all too well my way around. I snuck around corners and ducked inside rooms to hide feeling like an escaped convict or spy which, in a way, I was more like the escaped prisoner than the spy. After what felt like hours of heart pounding, suspenseful moments, I made my way carefully to the door leading outside. I had yet to see any of the guards rush by in a panic meaning it was only a matter of time before the alarm sounded and they all knew of my escape.

I flung open the door that led outside to the garden maze, grimacing when I saw the sun still shining high in the sky. I should have checked the time of day before attempting my breakout considering escaping under the shadows of the night would have been much easier than trying to move about in broad daylight. Having made it this far, I knew it was too late to turn back or care about the time of day it was. I ran full speed out into the garden maze making quick work of sliding left and right around corners; my brain instantly remembered the layout of the maze and the quickest route out of this hell.

I heard the faint distressed shouts of guards as they raised the alarm that sounded shrilly throughout the place like some sort of prison which, to me, it may as well have been. Up ahead I saw the garden arch that signaled my exit out of this place. I pushed my legs to run faster knowing that it wouldn’t matter if there were dozens of faceless guards already tearing through the maze, it was already too late for them to catch me. I skidded to a stop at the arch and turned back to look at the place I had once called ‘home’. A triumphant smile spread wide across my face as I came to the realization that after I found Acelin then hopefully I would never have to step foot in that awful place again. I released a breathy chuckle, shaking my head, as my eyes scanned the meadow that held so many memories. My gaze traveled up the hill to the forest beyond that would lead to my freedom and ultimately take me to Acelin. I stared at the forest that had started this entire adventure for us.

I shook my head free of those thoughts knowing that my opening to get away was slowly closing into a thin line. Racing across the meadow towards the base of the hill, I made sure to keep my eyes focused completely on the forest. My gaze continuously scanned back and forth across the trees staying alert to any sort of movement of the foliage. I didn’t need HIM to ruin my plans. Just as I reached the top of the hill there was a sudden pierce of a needle along the column of my neck. I slapped a hand to the affected area and pulled away a small tranquilizer dart that was smaller than my pinky. My feet trudged forward as my body began to grow very heavy like I was attempting to pull the Titanic up the hill. The forest started to spin in a circle as my vision blurred and my body tumbled backwards rolling down the hill.

As I laid there forcing my eyes to remain open, a blurred figure walked into my view to stand almost arrogantly over my lethargic, paralyzed body. The person knelt down onto their haunches and leaned closer into my face so that their features sharpened enough for me to make out who my captor was. Blonde-white hair fell forward into piercing aquamarine blue eyes.

Vincent clicked his tongue against his teeth in disappointment.

“You didn’t think we’d make it that easy for you to escape, did you? My boy, you underestimate us.”

I opened my mouth to cuss him out, but nothing came out but a groan. Vincent pressed a pale finger against my lips silencing my attempts at speaking.

“Hush, hush now. Acelin is doing just fine without you. Why go and ruin it for her? She will be ours soon enough. Just trust me.” The corners of his mouth turned upward into a malicious grin. All I could do was cut the rabbit a glare.

“Now don’t act like that,” Vincent pouted. “You know I was only carrying out orders of the Queen lest she beheads me. I love Acelin as much as you do, you know.”

With each word he spoke, I could feel the drug take over my body more and more making it difficult to keep my eyes open and focus on White’s words.

“I will keep her safe until it is time. Until that moment, you must remain here. Do not try to come after her again. You will only regret it. Neither me or the queen want to see such a fate fall upon you.”

My eyes slid closed, body falling limp, as Vincent lifted me into his arms with a grunt.

“You must stop growing or I fear I may not be able to carry you for much longer, my P—”

Darkness swallowed me cutting off any words that were to follow.