Twisted. Options

[Midnight Faerie]

Chapter One: Just beyond the doorway...




Heat. It is all around me, everywhere. Flames licking at my clothing, bright tongues of fire engulfing me, swallowing me whole. I am burning, burning in the sulpherous depths of the underworld. My scream is let out in amidst the crackling of the hellish fire, yet is unable to reach my own ears. I shall simply be left here, left here to die.


I sit up with a jolt, drenched thoroughly in sweat. My eyes glance over at the analog clock which sits perched on my dresser, the antique brown body polished to a rustic shine, the fine black hands indicating that the time is 4:36. This was the third time in the span of four hours that I have had this nightmare. Why? I do not know. My heart beats frantically as I glance into the mirror beside my bedside. My bright green eyes are like chips of gem as a curtain of my dark hair falls before my face, brilliantly contrasted against the moonlit pallor of my skin.
"Damn reoccuring dream..." I mutter, sliding out of bed to turn the ceiling fan on 'high'. Something pulls at my long victorian nightgown, startling me. I whirl around, only to find that the rough wood of my bedpost has snagged it. I sigh and smile to myself, relieved, gently unhooking the thin, white fabric. How silly of me to get so worked up about a nightmare. If Mother were to know, she'd scold me for being so terribly childish.
Shaking my head with exhaustion, I lay back down on my bed, hearing it give a soft groan of protest. I stare at the darkness for a while, until my mind needs to rest, and I fall back into slumber once more.


---



The sound of footsteps fade away just as I open my eyes. Metalic clicks hitting the smooth, wooden floorboards. Sunlight does not stream through the curtain folds, so I know that night is still here. Why is someone up at this time of night, then? How long have I been asleep? I turn to the clock once more, but find it not there. Puzzled, I slip out of bed again and walk towards the door, my pale hand holding the doorknob firmly, cool metal burning against it. I turn the handle, hearing the door open, but as I push it... nothing happens. Only a sliver of it is open, yet enough to fit in my slender frame.
Sucking in what stomache I have, I squeeze my way through the door. Once on the other side, I gasp and fall to the floor in shock.
I am in Wonderland.

Straight out of a Lewis Carroll classic, is the colourful landscape, swirls and curls and nothing as it seems. A magnificently gnarled old tree is sitting in a rocking chair, birds are flying backwards in the ground underneath my feet. The sun is sleeping, radiating a soft blue. But, no white rabbit in sight.
"Curiouser and curiouser..." I whisper to myself, spotting a narrow black road and making my way towards it.
As I near the path, tiny bushes of roses appear. Awed by the perfection of the crimson hue, I reach out to touch one. But as my finger grazes the petal, a sharp stinging pain stabs at my hand. Looking closely, I see the colour deepen, and, turning my hand over for inspection, I see that it has cut me.
The roses are saturated with human blood.
Appalled, I stumble backwards, walking swiftly down the road. For a good stretch of land, I see nothing but the twisted landscape. Until...
"Oh, pardon me, Miss!" The voice of a young man exclaims.
Whipping around, I see no one. Thinking it as just a trick of this marvelous parody, I start on my way once more. But again, I am stopped by that voice.
"Miss! Oh, Miss! Please, come back!" It pleads from behind me.
I bite my lip and turn around, coming face-to-face with a dashing boy of handsome features, piercing blue eyes staring straight into mine. A tremor goes throughout me, and my knees feel as if they will give out at any moment. His gaze holds me upward, until I break it, averting my eyes bashfully.
He says nothing for a moment, and I wonder if he is still there, so, I look up and see him. My breath catches at the sight of his perfect face. A shock of black hair sits atop his brilliantly moulded head, his skin as pale as my own, if not lighter. He smiles, a grin that makes me weak-kneed all over again, revealing white teeth with two canines protruding from the top. At that, my heart races. He is most likely a boy of vampyric nature.
Noticing my fear, he closes his mouth, frowning. Reaching a hand out to brush my cheek, which I find very forward of him, he says in an angelic whisper, "Do not be afraid. I shall not harm you."
I want to believe him, oh how I want to, yet another part of me has the urge to run away, leaving this handsome young man behind.
I stay, feeling as though I know him, like I've met him before.
Silly girl, I tell myself, How could you? Only a moment ago you stumbled into... Wonderland.
Now I'm sure this must be a dream. It is impossible. Of course I feel that I know him, doesn't this happen a lot in dreams?
But the feelings I got when he touched me... those were real. They had to be. So why...
I am interuppted from my thoughts by his voice.
"Dear girl, may I ask why you are out here? You are human, are you not?"
My green eyes gaze back into his blue ones, getting ready to speak.
"I..." My voice comes out in a whisper, so mustering up any courage I have, I say, "I don't know why."
The boy seems worried, and replies with this, "Then you shouldn't be here. Awful things can happen to a mortal. Wonderland is a mad place, girl. Nothing is as it is, yet everything is as it seems."
Feeling a tear roll down my face, I whisper, "I don't know how to get home. I cannot leave here."
Just like Alice....
Being the gentleman that I'm sure he is, the boy wipes away the single tear and looks at me fondly. "Same with me."
Biting back the urge to cry, I manage to ask him, "Pardon, but what is your name?"
Grinning, the boy takes a step back from me (and at this moment I realize that we were awfully close) and bows formally.
"Vincent DeWitt, at your service, madame."
I cannot help but smile as I curtsey, my long white nightgown looking abnormally good on me. "Glad to meet you, Vincent. My name is Christine."
He repeats my name over and over, as if tasting it on his tongue. Then, surprisingly, Vincent takes my hand and kisses it lightly, sending a jolt down my spine.
"A pleasure to meet such a lovely lady, with an exquisite name."
Blushing furiously, I take back my hand and follow him as we start down the road together.





Author's Note: I'll keep updating it, I promise. Unless it sucks too badly, then I won't. Please leave positive critique. No "Omg girl that totally sucked ass never write again". All right? Okeedokee.