A Curious, Mad Dream

Quick Glossary for this next chapter on how to pronounce some new (and old) words:

Acelin: AZ-LEEN
Civmiralli: SIV-MER-ALL-EE
Xonia: EX-ZONE-YUH

Ok, that should be all of the words FOR NOW. There will be more words that might be harder to pronounce later on in the story, but I will always provide you a small glossary of the words that are used in that specific chapter. Sorry for using rather difficult sounding words >.<

But it IS Wonderland after all ;) lolol hope you enjoy Chapter 2!!
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I groaned and blinked my eyes open only to become blinded by the light of the setting sun. Have I returned home? My cheek rested on cool, solid ground; the surface felt smooth and polished beneath my fingertips. So, chances are, I was not home.

“Oh good. You’re alive.” The words were ones of relief; however, the voice that spoke them was devoid of any such emotion.

I blinked my eyes open against the bright sunlight for a few moments before picking myself up from the tiled floor. My eyes focused down on the ground as I stood shakily to my feet; the floor was checkered black and white. I touched my fingers to my head wincing when I came upon the knot that had formed on the side of my forehead from where I had fallen earlier. Fortunately, the cut had ceased to bleed although I could feel some dried blood caking the wound. I glanced down at my now soiled blue, off-the-shoulder top and torn, black and white striped leggings that had suffered some terrible dirt stains. I released a disappointed sigh. This was why I refrained from buying nice things.

My eyes flashed up to the man who had spoken so indifferently earlier. He shifted his weight from one foot onto the other as he folded his arms across his chest. Impossibly pristine white dress pants clad long, athletic legs that eventually joined with a narrow waist which led up to a lean torso. His chest was clad with a white button-down shirt; the sleeves rolled up a quarter of the way up his forearms. Fitted snugly over the button-down was a familiar ruby red vest with a silver chain dangling from the bottom right pocket.

Moving my violet-blue gaze up, I took in the sight of the man’s face. He had a softly rounded jawline and a cute almost button-like nose that oddly fit the charming, round structure of his face. His lips were a plump, cotton candy pink that were now gleaming in the dwindling sunlight from where his tongue had traced along their rims. Eyes the color of aquamarine met my gaze with little interest. Although his facial expression showed slight curiosity and annoyance, that bright blue gaze was completely dead. Detached.

His appearance seemed normal enough. Well, that was until you noticed the tall, slender white rabbit ears that sat nestled in a soft bed of pale blonde hair. He brushed his bangs out of his eyes with irritation before focusing solely back on me. God help me, I couldn’t tear my eyes from those ears. Were they real? My fingers twitched wanting to caress the soft fur.

“I would have taken you straight to the queen, but you and your…friend…made that nearly impossible,” the rabbit man sighed irritably. The tip of his left ear twitched whenever he was annoyed I noted.

His words snapped me out of my daze of staring in awe at his lifelike rabbit ears. My eyes frantically searched the immediate area for my friend, but I didn’t see him anywhere.

“The queen?” I asked with confusion. Had he somehow taken me to England? He didn’t seem to have an accent… I shook my head.

“Who are you? Where’s Henry?” I growled angrily remembering how Henry had dove headfirst down the hole after me.

“Yes, the queen. She is the rightful ruler of this land. Although her land has now become separated since The First War,” he answered somewhat sadly deciding to avoid my angry questions. I would not be thrown so easily off-track. I took an intimidating step forward.

“Who. Are. You,” I spat between clenched teeth. He arched a finely trimmed, pale blonde brow.

“You may call me Vincent. My full name being Vincent White,” he calmly answered observing me through lifeless eyes.

Vincent, please!

Henry’s words rang through my head bringing a tsunami wave of memories crashing down over my brain. Henry had given me a birthday gift shortly before I had gone chasing after a white rabbit in a ruby red vest… My eyes flashed to the vest Vincent was wearing as the memories kept coming at me. Deep in the forest I had tripped over a root then had been kidnapped by Vincent. He had jumped down a large, seemingly endless hole with me in his arms and Henry falling down after us. As we had been falling, Vincent caused me to pass out somehow and Henry had called out his name… How had Henry known the rabbit man’s name?

My gaze met Vincent’s with conviction. “Where’s Henry?” I reiterated. “Where did you take him?”

“He is where he rightfully belongs,” Vincent answered cryptically. The answer was enough of one to fill me with relief that Henry had at least returned home. This brought another question to the forefront of my mind.

“Where are we?” I demanded of the rabbit man. The tip of his left ear twitched in irritation at my bossy words. Ignoring me, he slipped a pale hand into the vest pocket and retrieved a silver pocket watch. It appeared larger than the typical one I was accustomed to seeing back home…

Vincent exhaled loudly through his nose. “It seems that answering all of your inane questions has led us to be late for a meeting with the queen. Come along before she has our heads.”

He made a move to grab me, only this time, having seen it coming, I dodged him. He watched me with anger and confusion.

“I’m not going with you. I refuse! You’ve already kidnapped me and taken me to some…some…” My eyes roamed the area beyond the place we stood. We must have been standing on the roof of a large, very tall building since I could see over the top of a forest that expanded out from the area. The forest surrounded the building in a complete, thick circle of trees. Far beyond the forest to my left was a palace of sorts and to my right beyond the forest was a large mansion.

I shook my head not knowing exactly where we were, but by the architecture of the buildings, we certainly weren’t in England like I might have thought. And we definitely couldn’t be in America, that’s for sure.

“You kidnap me and take me to some foreign land then just expect me to blindly follow you to wherever you decide to take me? How do I even know you have a queen? How do I know you aren’t taking me somewhere to kill me?” I snapped with fear and anger.

“There is no time to argue. Just…please…come with me!” He lunged for me again managing to wrap his slender fingers around my wrist. I struggled against his surprisingly strong grip.

“Let go, rabbit bastard! I said NO!” I yelled clawing at his hand.

“Quiet,” he hissed. “Or else—”

“Let her go, White,” a low, masculine voice warned.

Both Vincent and I turned towards the sound of the voice. The man was wearing a long, hooded cloak that covered everything but his hands and feet. The hood shadowed his eyes, yet exposed the bottom half of his face. The shadows around us grew as the sun sank below the horizon. However, I did not miss the long, slender blade that glistened in the last remaining rays of sunlight as the mysterious man held it confidently by the hilt in his left hand.

“This had been exactly what I wanted to avoid,” Vincent grumbled beneath his breath. Yanking me to stand in front of him, Vincent wrapped a strong arm around my throat firmly pinning my back against his chest. I struggled to remove his arm from my neck only to cease all movements when I saw him snatch out his pocket watch. Before my very eyes I watched in shock as the watch transformed itself into a small gun. He pointed the barrel at the man. Well that escalated quickly, I thought morbidly to myself.

“This doesn’t concern you, Sinclair,” Vincent told the man. I strained for a gulp of air against the heavy pressure his arm was causing on my throat. Vincent’s hold on me loosened just enough for me to draw in a small breath of relief.

“You’re in Xonia, White, which is my territory. So, you see, it DOES concern me,” Sinclair answered his blade never wavering from its pointed position towards Vincent. Although Vincent had a gun and he a sword, something told me Sinclair could easily dodge a few bullets.

“She is wanted by the queen,” Vincent calmly proclaimed.

“Then the queen can have her…when she leaves this region of her own accord,” the hooded man declared. “You know the rules of Xonia better than any Civmiralli. So you should know that unless a person leaves with someone of one’s own free will, they cannot be harmed or taken.”

“Ah, yes, but don’t the rules also state that weapons are not to be drawn unless threatened by a danger?” Vincent retorted with a smirk. “And I do believe you drew your weapon on me when I posed no threat to you.”

My eyes flashed to the black silhouette of the man wondering how he would retort. The pale rays of the rising moon shone upon the steel blade, the shadows of the light dancing along the sword as he lowered the tip to touch the ground.

“You are right, Vincent, you did not threaten me. However…you did threaten the girl. And the great thing about owning your own region? You get to make the rules.” A wide, evil grin spread across Sinclair’s face.

“And break them!”

He whirled around swinging his blade low causing Vincent to stumble back at the sudden attack. His grip on me faltered allowing me to tear myself away and quickly dart to the stone ledge of the roof. I peeked over the edge wondering if there might be a ledge I could jump down to without killing or majorly injuring myself. However, all I saw was a straight shot to my impending death upon the ground. Although there was a dull light that shone out from the building a few hundred feet down; unfortunately there was no safe way to climb down to the inlaid balcony. I vaguely wondered what could be making that strange glow from the tower.

Behind me I heard the sharp hissing sound as metal clashed against metal. I turned around wondering if Vincent had transformed his gun into a sword. Instead I found him blocking off Sinclair’s thrusts and sharp blows using his gun’s barrel as a tiny shield.

At the moment, Sinclair was pushing the flat side of the blade closer and closer to Vincent’s neck while he straddled the rabbit man’s hips. The only thing keeping Vincent alive at the moment was his gun that blocked the slender blade from accomplishing its task of beheading him. Why had he not shot at Sinclair yet? Or did he already know what I had sensed about the man; that bullets might be futile against him?

The sharp edge of the blade bit into the flesh of Vincent’s shoulder causing the white fabric to tear. A dark liquid seeped out staining the once pristine clothing. Sweat glistened along his brow as he struggled to hold out against Sinclair. I could tell that that cut wasn’t the only injury he could have possibly sustained from his fight with Sinclair thus far. My eyes scanned the open area of the checkered roof looking for any sort of weapon I could use to possibly break the fight before someone, namely Vincent, was killed. Unfortunately, even with the help from the moon’s pale light, I found nothing. Although I didn’t expect any different.

My eyes snapped back to the men in fear upon hearing a strained grunt. Vincent had made quick work of tucking his long legs up to his chest to plant his feet solidly against Sinclair’s chest and throw him off. Vincent used the leverage from his kick to hop to his feet and start firing bullets off at Sinclair. Shot after shot rang throughout the night shattering the fragile silence that had been in the air. The man easily dodged rolled the tiny cylindrical cones of hate and death before pouncing to his feet. For a minute I began to wonder if Vincent was ever going to run out of bullets. My question was answered when Vincent stumbled forward blasting off one last shot before the gun clicked empty. Sinclair swung his blade up across his face to successfully deflect the last bullet that had discharged from Vincent’s gun. The rabbit man’s gun hand swung limply at his side as his right hand clutched his side where red began to seep through his fingers. My eyes widened as I began to panic wondering if I should help him or let him bleed out.

Vincent grimaced.

“This isn’t over, Sinclair. The queen will have her one way or another,” Vincent warned slipping the watch back into his pocket once it had turned into a normal clock.

“Then tell Lydia that if she wants the Outsider so bad, then come get her herself,” he retorted slicing his sword diagonally through the air; the tip of the blade touched ground.

Vincent then turned to meet eyes with me; mine were still wide with shock and panic. Those blue orbs shone brightly even in the darkness.

“I hope you forgive me one day and understand that I did it all for you, Acelin,” he whispered with a pained expression on his face. The first true emotion I had seen him display. My eyes widened even further upon hearing my name fall so sadly from those lips. My gaze dropped to the ground in thought. I had never given him my full name. He might have heard my nickname being used by Henry as he chased after me, but not once had my true first name been disclosed.

“How di—” My words were cut off upon seeing Vincent gone. The only trace he had ever been there being a few small droplets of dark liquid on the white tile where he had stood. Vincent had definitely been further injured in the fight. I scoffed wrenching my gaze away from what was obviously blood on the tile. Why should I care if he was injured? That crazy, kidnapping rabbit man deserved it after using me as a human shield.

I turned towards Sinclair wondering if I should offer my thanks or not. I gulped and took my chances. I mean, he was on my side after all, right? He had defended me, a stranger, against Vincent. So surely he was a friend.

I walked toward him and stretched out my hand in gratitude.

“Thanks for sav—eep!” I let out a startled sound of surprise when the sharp point of the sword was being gently pressed into the thin layer of skin on my neck; the flat of the blade being pressed against the underside of my chin.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Sinclair said in a deep, calm tone.

“I wasn’t exactly given a choice,” I snapped after taking a cautious step back from the point of the blade.

“You shouldn’t have followed him here. Now things will only get worse.”

“Well, excuse me! I saw a rabbit in a friggin’ vest. Curiosity kind of got the better of me,” I answered still eyeing the blade carefully.

“Do you think you might be able to lower the blade?” I asked with a nervous chuckle.

“Soon everyone will know of your presence here and then you won’t be able to leave until it’s over,” he cryptically told me completely ignoring me plea to lower the sword.

I rolled my eyes. “Guess that’s a no to the sword thing then,” I mumbled quietly to myself.

I released a sigh of frustration not understanding anything he meant.

“Until WHAT’S over? Who are you? And you keep saying ‘here’. Where’s here?”

“Wonderland,” he responded darkly. I let out an amused chuckle running my fingers through my unkempt black hair.

“Well, Toto, it looks like we’re not in Kansas anymore.”