#Seonghwa is my silly little rabbit

[changbin-froggy-jimin]

Hongjoong is my bias in Ateez I just like to chew on Seonghwa like he’s a little chew toy, as he’s all I think about, and all I write about, and every picture I see is of him, it’s not that difficult to process

[shining-red-diamond]

Ch. 24: Hieroglyphs

Cast of Characters//Ch. 1//Ch. 2//Ch. 3//Ch. 4//Ch. 5//Ch. 6//Ch. 7//Ch. 8//Ch. 9//Ch. 10//Ch. 11//Ch. 12//Ch. 13//Ch. 14//Ch. 15//Ch. 16//Ch. 17//Ch. 18//Ch. 19//Ch. 20//Ch. 21//Ch. 22//Ch. 23//Ch. 24//Ch. 25//Ch. 26//Ch. 27//Ch. 28 (coming soon)

Words: 1.6k

Genre: Fluff, some angst

Pairing: ATEEZ OT8 x OCs

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: mentions of illness, scarab beetle attack, mentions of fear

“Easy, San,” Seonghwa instructed as his crewmate carefully hopped down into the carved hole in the Sphinx’s foot.

The crew followed the map to where the Great Sphinx was located, and they found two large stones that covered an entryway to a hidden cavern. Jongho and Yunho removed the fases yellow stones and set them to the side, and Seonghwa was the first one to hop into the hole with a torch in hand as the flashlights had run out of batteries in India. One by one, the crew joined him in the dusty space, Mingi being the last one to join them.

“Okay,” Seonghwa said, “the maps tell us we don’t have far to walk this time, but like the last two there are still death traps. Be cautious.”

“Here,” Jongho piped up as he pulled out his lighter, “these torches will last about an hour, so we’ll have to go quickly if we want enough light to get us through.”

The tiny flame touched each torch, fire blooming and providing an orange glow in the pitch darkness. Seonghwa, Yunho, Jongho, and San all held a torch and positioned themselves to illuminate the front back and sides of the group. The walls themselves were much wider than the catacombs in Rome, allowing the crew much more room to journey through; ancient hieroglyphs decorated the walls as they depicted the most powerful pharaohs and told stories of the gods of Egypt. Dirt covered the path they walked on, but it wasn’t as rough as Italy’s.

“We need to look for the wall with the inscription on it,” Dahae piped up as they began their walk beneath the Sphinx. “The diamond is in a room with treasure hidden away by the great pharaohs.”

“What’s written in the inscription?” Seonghwa asked as they turned a corner.

“It’s all in hieroglyphs, but Celestia translated it.”

San couldn’t help but smile. Even when she couldn’t do much, she was still helping with the journey in her own way.

Dahae cleared her throat and read, “‘The treasure of Nephertiti. May the Eye of Horus watch over it. Thieves be warned as punishment will be upon you if you choose that path.”

“That last part makes absolutely no sense,” Dinah shook her head.

“I mean, Celestia did write ‘Weird, but okay’ at the bottom,” Dahae laughed.

The rest of the crew chuckled at Celestia’s humor, but Seonghwa composed himself as to continue with their quest. It wasn’t long before they reached a blank wall guarded by jackal headed statues made of gold. Putting his flaming torch to use, the first mate leaned it towards a sort of indention on the wall. He brushed the dirt away and discovered the warning that was translated on the map.

“Are we supposed to look for a switch or something?” Grace-Anne broke the silence as she tried to look around.

Seonghwa took note of a small vertical crack in the wall. It was so microscopic one would need to scan the wall a few times to see it. He followed it with his eye and found that it was a door that had been sealed.

“Yunho, Jongho, help me push this,” he commanded the two strongest members. The three of them handed their torches over to the women before placing their hands on the wall.

On the count of three, the men used their combined strengths to get the passageway open. It took a few grunts and strained muscles, but the door finally moved with Jongho falling forward a little. Inside of the cavern was dark with the exception of the torches illuminating the area. However, some sunlight was peaking through, but it provided enough light to display the treasure that was spread out in piles.

“Look,” Mingi pointed to something on the ceiling. The Eye of Horus was painted just above a large bust of what Seonghwa guessed was Nephertiti. More hieroglyphs decorated the surrounding walls, and four stone pillars held gold statues of Egyptian gods. Gold coins, jewels, and other precious treasures littered the floor, tempting to the soul who happened to stumble upon it.

“According to the map,” Dahae said as she checked around, “the diamond piece should be somewhere...San you’re standing on it.”

The navigator glanced down at his boot and saw something twinkling in the minimal sunlight. “Hey, you’re right,” he smiled.

Just before he could reach for it, Taeran stopped him.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she shook her head and released him after a pause.

With his gloved index finger and thumb, San carefully picked up the piece and placed it into a small pouch for Grace-Anne to examine later.

Suddenly the ground shook violently, causing the crew to tumble to the ground. Thankfully, the quake only lasted a few seconds, and some of the crew were dusting off the dirt and coins that fell on them.

Seonghwa stood back to his feet and helped Grace-Anne to her feet. “Whoever took some treasure,” he warned, “put it back. We’re not thieves.”

“No one took anything except the diamond,” Dinah defended. “Something else must have triggered the shaking.”

“Was it a curse?” Mingi whimpered in fright.

“I doubt it. Besides, the riddle didn’t say anything about a curse, but they did talk about some sort of punishment ‘for thieves.’ WOOYOUNG, STEP AWAY FROM THAT STONE!!!”

The crew turned their heads to where the young man was kneeled tying the laces on his boots. His head popped up in surprise at his girlfriend’s voice screaming at him. When he saw what his foot was on, his face turned a ghostly white in horror. At jack rabbit speed he jumped to his feet, and back as far away from the stone as possible.

The dark, yellow stone was sunken in between two brown ones and engraved with a large beetle on top of it, and Dahae knew it was another trap.

Crackling and chirping noises sounded from the walls and underneath them. It started soft but quickly grew louder and louder with each second.

“What’s that?” Dinah panicked as she pointed out something metallic blue that was oozing out from the cracks between the ceiling and the walls. It wasn’t oozing, but rather...crawling?

Dahae let out a horrified gasp as she pulled Wooyoung from the statue. “Scarabs!” she squealed. “Run!”

The crew made a dash for the door, however, the beatles were multiplying in numbers and charging towards them at lightning speed.

“Keep waving your torches at them,” Dahae instructed. “They won’t touch us if there’s light.”

Those who didn’t have a torch huddled together as the four men surrounded them. The group scuttled back towards the entrance, one beetle nearing Taeran’s foot and Mingi being quick to kick it away.

“Don’t stop running until we get to the entrance!” Seonghwa ordered.

-

“Byeol,” Celestia’s voice called. “Come here, kitty!”

Hongjoong’s eyes slowly opened. He wasn’t sure what was going on or who Byeol was, but it sounded as if the Choi’s somehow got a pet. A cat, as Celestia mentioned. He heard his bedchamber door creak open, but nobody came in. That was until a sopping wet Siamese cat jumped up on the bed and began to dry itself on the duvet. The captain jumped as he wasn’t expecting an animal to pay a visit.

“Hey! Get out of here!” Hongjoong shouted weakly.

Phoebe and Celestia dashed in and scooped the cat up off of the bed.

“Sorry, captain,” apologized Phoebe. “We were just about to dry her off, but she got away from us.”

Hongjoong sighed. “It’s fine. I just want to know when the cat became a new member of the ship.”

“Well, she snuck on here when we were in India,” Celestia explained. “I found her snuggling San, and she quite likes the company.”

Hongjoong couldn’t ever get mad around Celestia. Really, no one could. She was just that type of person that no one could ever hate or be angry with. She was such an angelic soul and did her best to be kind. Her pregnancy hormones did attempt to hinder that at times when she had her mood swings, but it was understandable as she was growing another human.

“We need to teach you how to knock, silly,” she cooed at the cat.

Phoebe wrapped Byeol in the towel and carried her out to go finish drying her off.

“Would you like for me to take the duvet to the laundry room?” Celestia offered.

Hongjoong shook his head. “Dahae will take care of it,” he mumbled. “You take care of the cat.”

“Alright.”

Not even two minutes after she left, Hongjoong heard what he guessed was a stampede of horses on the ship. He opened his eyes to see what was wrong, but his fiancée burst into the room, dirty and out of breath. The illness seemed to disappear from the captain upon seeing the love of his life in such a state. He jumped out of bed and was by Dahae’s said in a matter of milliseconds.

“What happened?” he asked her. “Is everyone okay?”

She nodded, and the center of gravity shifted. The ship was taking off.

“We got the diamond,” she whimpered through a forced smile.

Hongjoong believed her, but he didn’t believe the smile she was trying to give him. He could tell that the tears forming around her red eyes weren’t of loss, but rather of fear.

“Did a mummy scare you?” he teased a little in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Dahae shook her head. She didn’t say anything else at all, but rather just embrace Hongjoong as she couldn’t hold back her sobs anymore.

“It’s okay, my love,” he shushed as he stroked her hair. “I’ll run a bath, and we’ll talk about it.”

-

Tags: @treasure-hwa​ @ateezlovenet​ (Let me know if you’d like to be added or removed)

[barnesbabee]

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ - ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀʟᴀɴᴅ

WONDERLAND MASTERLIST

⇜ ᴘʀᴇᴠɪᴏᴜꜱ - ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ -  ɴᴇxᴛ ⟿ 

CHARACTER LIST:

White Rabbit - Choi Jongho

Absolem (Blue Catterpilar) - Kang Yeosang

Cheshire Cat - Kim Hongjoong

Mad Hatter - Choi San

Haigha (March Hare) - Jung Wooyoung

Tweedle Dee - Song Mingi

Tweedle Dum - Jeong Yunho

Bloody Red King - Park Seonghwa

 Send me a private message or send me an ask if you wish to be added to the Tag List

 You sat on the grass of the rose-decorated maze and hid your face in your hands. You wanted to cry, to scream, to crumple up in a ball and fall asleep so you could wake up from this nightmare. This colourful land was truly misleading... It was so beautiful and apetizing to the eye, but you had been tortured the second you stepepd foot outside of the tiny door. A soft voice calling you by your name snapped you out of your thoughts.

   "Miss? Miss Y/N?"

   You looked up, with your watery eyes and red cheeks, and looked around.

   Behind one of the bushes that served as a wall to the maze, a pair of bright red eyes almost covered by pitch-black hair stared at you.

   The man slowly uncovered himself, and as he unraveled his whole image you recognized him as the person you had followed in the park.

   "Who are you? How did you find me!?"

   He walked over to you, slowly as possible, thinking that if he moved too fast you’d run (just like a wild animal) and knelt beside your figure.

   "I'm the Rabbit! I followed you. I ran into the Hatter and he asked me to find you and escort you safely with great urgency!" The man was jittery as he whisper-yelled all the information to you.

    In the distance, you could hear metallic footsteps approaching and both of you widened your eyes, his big, bright ones standing out from his pale face.

    To your surprise, a pair of big, white, fluffy ears emerge from the top of his head. They turned many detections before he grabbed your wrist and started running towards what you presumed was the exit of this Hell.

   In a normal scenario, you'd question his ears and eyes, mayhaps you’d freak out at the sight, but at this point all of this was mundane. The bunny-like man was just the tip of the iceberg of madness surrounding you, 

   The heels the King had given you were long gone and your bare feet roamed in the freshly cut grass as the Rabbit looked for a way out.

   Anxiety started building up in the pit of your stomach when the footsteps got louder from one of the sides. The Rabbit took a sharp turn, trying to avoid what you assumed were the King's card army looking for you.

   After about fifteen minutes of running, your legs starts going numb, but the 'light at the end of the tunnel' gave you all of the strength you needed to exit the labyrinth. The well-built male pulled you roughly as he turned you both to run along a gravel road that lead to someplace unknown to you.

   The small pieces of rock hurt your feet, but you didn’t care. All you wished for was a safe place to take shelter in.

   “Where are we going Rabbit!?” You questioned him, almost out of breath.

  He only glanced at you and ran a little faster.

   Damned Bunny…

   After a minute or so, you could see a small shed in the distance. It was almost covered by the flowers surrounding it. Big flowers, like the ones that had greeted you when you first arrived. They fell on top of the little white house with a hay roof, almost as if hiding it, or protecting it. 

   When the animal-turned-man opened the door of the little habitation, he nearly pushed you inside. You looked around, the interior was strangely big compared to the outside…The Hatter sat inside the house along with his two friends, the Dormouse and the Hare. They were all served tea, of course. 

   You stood inside, with disheveled hair and puffy red cheeks, as your chest rose and fell quickly from all the running. In short, you looked like a mess.

   “If the cards find out about this location because of you” Absolem’s blue tip of the finger pointed in your direction “I’ll personally make sure every single one of you is beheaded.”

   The easiness and seriousness with which Absolem said that scared you a little, and you gathered all of the energy left in you to snap your head at the man moving across the room with wide eyes.

   A faint giggle sounded in the air and you immediately knew that Cheshire was present as well.

   He swiftly appeared, cross-legged, and sitting in the air as he looked down at you. He rested his head in his palm and smiled fondly.   

   “He doesn’t mean that, sweetheart.”

   Absolem shot Cheshire a look and squinted his eyes.

   “Oh but I do mean it.” He replied.

   The Cat just rolled his eyes and sat on a chair, like a normal person. Or cat… These ‘people’ made you confused on what you should call them.

   “L-looks like the King took a liking to you!” The Rabbit exclaimed before anyone could say anything else.

   He pointed at your red and black dress, decorated with the King’s beloved hearts. The Hatter immediately jumped in his seat, and you watched curiously as his orange locks bounced with him. He made a disgusted face as he waved his hands in the air in distress.

   “Oh but it’s hideous! You must take that off right now silly!” The Hatter complained.

   You looked down at your dress and inspected it with your hands.

    “But what else would I wear?...” You asked and cocked your head to the side.

   The man thought for a second, tapping his chin with his index finger in a pensive manner. As he was thinking of a solution, his big, green eyes caught sight of Absolem’s blue curtains.

   “Hatter? Hatter what on Wonderland are you doing!?” Absolem asked, clearly filled with indignation as to why his guest had just ripped his beloved blue curtain.

   Everyone watched in awe as the Hatter pulled out a pair of scissors from the inside of his green jacket. He cut the fabric with no mold whatsoever, but he did it with such confidence that it was impossible to question him. When the man was done trimming it, he grabbed a pointy needle from his hat and began sewing it with a white string he had pulled from somewhere you hadn’t even seen.

   It was truly mesmerizing how quickly his hands worked with the string, hooping it and tightening it around the light blue fabric. Absolem’s horrified expression quickly turned into a curious one, as he watched along with everybody else.

   Once the Hatter was done, he turned his final project inside out so all of the sewing marks would be facing the inside. He proudly stood up and showed the result to everyone.

   “Ta-da!” He cheered, holding up a beautiful, made-on-the-spot, blue dress.

   “It’s beautiful Hatter!” You chimed.

   “Do you like it?” He asked, as he handed you the dress.

   You nodded with a smile, excited about the gorgeous new piece of clothing that had been made just for you, and held it close to your chest.

   Absolem pointed to a room in which you could change, and you quickly got rid of the ugly red and black dress and replaced it with the piece of clothing that had previously been a curtain. You took a look in the mirror and fixed your hair as best as you could.

    After walking out, you twirled, watching as the flowy dress danced around you.

   “How did you do this so quickly yet so perfectly?” You asked, curious at the man’s skills.

   The Hatter shrugged.

   “I may be just a hatter, but I do know my ways around fabric.” He explained, and a small giggle left his lips by the end of his sentence.

   You thanked him for the beautiful piece as you brushed a strand of hair away from your face.

   “When you’re done playing fashion runway, should we discuss why the Hatter was so eager on finding this random girl?”

   You were a little offended at the fact that Cheshire had called you ‘random girl’, but then again, you were a random girl, that had fallen into this world by pure accident. Why had he gone through such trouble?

    The Hatter blushed, perhaps because of all of the attention he suddenly got (all pairs of eyes in the room were suddenly on him!), perhaps for some other unknown reason…

   “W-well I- I certainly couldn’t leave such an innocent creature in the hands of a beast, under such tyranny as the King’s! Who knows what he had planned for her before the Rabbit helped her escape, who knows what he did to her before!”

   All of the heads turned to face you, what had he done to you after all?...

   “The King was… an odd character for sure. He showed no interest in me at first, but when he bothered to lift his head and look at me something changed. He ordered me to get my clothes changed. Changed into that,” you pointed at the room in which your previous dress laid in “and then took me for a stroll in the park. It might shock you if I say this, but he didn’t seem all that bad-”

   Everyone in the room gasped, cutting you off from your sentence. The Hatter had gone as far as covering his mouth with his hand and the Hare was gripping the sides of his head, as if you were the mad one instead of them.

    “Would you listen to me? He didn’t seem all that bad as we walked, he talked like a normal person… That was until he noticed the roses in the garden were white… Then he ordered the guards to decapitate whoever had planted the roses. I was scared, and I couldn’t think of doing anything but running.” 

   Your hands roamed in front of you as you explained the story, and everyone in the room paid you full attention, as if you were telling them the most curious tale they’d ever heard.

    The Rabbit, who had been listening attentively with his arms crossed as he tapped his foot, nodded.

    “Yes, yes that’s true. His majesty hates white roses.”

    Cheshire evapored from his chair and showed up again next to you, startling you a little. 

    “And what do you suggest we do with her now? We don’t know where she’s from, and I surely doubt she knows how to get back, or else she wouldn’t be standing here.” The Cat concluded, as he pet his own ears. 

    There was a long silence. Everyone was thinking, yet none of them knew what about. What possibly could they do? Hide her forever? Walk (possibly) for eternity looking for her home? The current circumstances were a mystery no one knew the answer to.

    The peaceful sound of nothing was broken when two tall boys barged in through the uncovered window.

   “Oi, what is this? Is this a party?”

   “So it would seem!”

   “It is a party!”

   “A party it is!”

   You had no idea who was who, but their quick manner of talking left you dizzy with just a couple of words.

   “Be quiet!” The Hare exclaimed.

   His eyes twitched and his nostrils widened in anger as he gnashed his teeth. Clearly they drove him even madder.

   “Tweedles, would you calm down? We’re trying to settle an important matter…” Absolem requested.

   The boys exchanged a confused look and shrugged, before inviting themselves in and settling amongst the others. Absolem sighed and held the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger as he watched both boys tumble inside the house, making as much noise and accidentally tipping over as many items as possible.

    “What is it we’re discussing?” The taller Tweedle asked.

    “Yes, what would the discussion we’re discussing be?” The other one asked.

    “W-we, we don’t know what to do with Y/N.” The rabbit explained.

    “Yes, the King seems to have taken a liking to her and so has the Hatter…”

    The man inquestion looked at Cheshire, absolutely flabbergasted at the comment.

    “I certainly do not! Don’t speak such nonsense little Cat!” 

    You and Cheshire giggled at the little blush painted in Hatter’s cheeks and at the way he became agitated.

    Meanwhile, Absolem stared at all of them with a face that could only be described as omniscient. He sat in his kitchen’s counter, one leg crossed over the other, while his elbow rested on one of his knees. 

    The Hare decided to join the fun and tease his friend, poking his side while giggling and subconsciously twitching his eye.

   Only after a while did someone notice the Catterpiller’s odd behaviour. In a normal scenario he had already yelled at them to settle down and be serious about the matter in hands.

    “Absolem?” The Dormouse called “What are you so quiet for?”

    He only sighed and climbed down from his seat. Everyone followed the man’s movements with their eyes, watching as he walked over to you and tilted your chin up with his index finger.

     “I’ve found the key.” He replied.

    “Hm, and the key for what? If we might ask?” Cheshire asked with big eyes, as he rested his chin on Absolem’s shoulder.

    “For everything, actually. I’ve found what to do with her, and I now know how to lift this dreadful curse.”

    Gasps echoed in the air, and you became a little afraid. The image of you being sacrificed in some horrid way flashed to your head and you prayed to whatever was out there for the solution to be a different one.

   “She, my friends, is going to trick the King.”

[barnesbabee]

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴏ - ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀʟᴀɴᴅ

WONDERLAND MASTERLIST

⇜ ᴘʀᴇᴠɪᴏᴜꜱ - ᴛᴡᴏ -  ɴᴇxᴛ ⟿

CHARACTER LIST:

 White Rabbit - Choi Jongho

 Absolem (Blue Catterpilar) - Kang Yeosang

 Cheshire Cat - Kim Hongjoong

 Mad Hatter - Choi San

 Haigha (March Hare) - Jung Wooyoung

 Tweedle Dee - Song Mingi

 Tweedle Dum - Jeong Yunho

 Bloody Red King - Park Seonghwa 

 “Hatter!”

 “Hatter!”

 “Hatter!”

 “Hatter!”

  Two jumping boys dressed identically interrupted your conversation with the hatted man. Both boys had a blood-red vest over a frilly white shirt, tight black pants, and white tights. They approached the table and exchanged looks before talking to him. One of them opened their mouths to say something, but his eyes caught yours.

  “And who is she?”

  The other one of the pair frowned as he noted your presence.

   “I have never seen her!”

   “Neither have I!”

   “Likewise I have never caught sighy her around here!”

   “And I’ve never seen her walk by!”

   You were a little too amused and overwhelmed by their conversation to be able to reply or introduce yourself. Your eyes jumped from boy to boy as they kept talking. The Hare laughed loudly, twitching his neck to the right a couple of times while doing so.

  “That would be Miss Y/N! She’s not from here! She’s celebrating out unniversary with us!”

  You were thankful Haigha had cut them off and spoken for you, or else you’d just freeze up and say nothing. The boys approached you and each of them took one of your hands in theirs, shaking them violently. Your body wobbled in a silly way as they shook your hands.

  “Nice to meet you! I’m Tweedle Dee,” The smaller one with orange hair said “and he’s Tweedle Dum.”

   “Contrarywise, I’m Tweedle Dum and he’s Tweedle Dee!”

   "Nice to meet you boys!” You said, your voice a little wobbly from all the movement “But would you stop shaking me for a second?”

  They instantly dropped your hands, folded their own hands behind their backs, and nodded quickly at your request. The synchronization of their movements scared you a little, but it was amusing nevertheless.

  “Tweedles, what did you come here for, tea mayhaps?” The Hatter asked and giggled, while he supported his chin up with his right hand.

  The tweedles moved their attention to the tea party’s host. They stood next to each other as they looked at the Hatter.

   “You wouldn’t guess who is coming!” The taller one of the pair said.

   “Certainly not! You surely couldn’t guess!” The other one continued,

  You looked at them weirdly, confused as to why they spoke in such a funny way all the time.

   “Just tell us boys,” Cheshire spoke with his grin from ear to ear, already tired of all of their chitter-chatter “no use giving us riddles.”

   They giggled and looked at Cheshire.

   “The Queen’s army is on the way!”

   The second those words settled in, Cheshire’s face fell and he disappeared into thin air, with no further notice.

  The tension among everyone grew, and worried looks took over all of the guests.

   “Take her away! Immediately!” The Hatter said pointing at you.

   The Hatter grabbed your hand and attached one of the boy’s hands to your wrist, pushing them away to another road, so they’d hide you away safely. However, the second the boy had a grip on you, the whole group started hearing tens of synchronized steps approaching. They became louder by the second and the Hatter’s eyes widened. He realized there was no time for the Tweedles to escape with you without being seen by the Queen’s army, so he quickly lifted the white towel, exposing the bottom of the large table.

   “Hurry! You must hide under here!”

   The hurry and preoccupation in his voice made some worry raise in you, so you quickly fell to your knees and crawled under the table. You did your best to hide and not make any noise while under the table, as you started to feel the ground shake slightly, and the sounds of footsteps become louder. Suddenly it all stopped, and you heard Haigha, the Hare, giggle a little.

   “What is so funny?” A deep voice asked.

   There was no response, only laughs from the Hatter, from the Hare and from the Dormouse. 

   “I should send you to the King and have you lose your heads!” The same voice yelled.

  The Hatter giggled, and looked at the man in amusement.

   “But we already have lost our heads!”

   “Now, why don’t you calm down and have some tea!” Haigha grabbed one of the teacups on the table, one that was filled with hot tea, and threw them at the head of the Queen’s Army man.

  It shattered in his helmet, and the three of them burst into laughter once more. The man, who had had enough of the trio’s crazy antics, smashed his fists down on the table with a loud noise- You were caught off guard, and accidentally yelped at the sound and sudden movement of the table.

  The atmosphere around you grew silent. You covered your mouth with your hand and widened your eyes, praying to whatever God they might have had in that land that he hadn’t heard you.

  Unfortunately for you, the tablecloth lifted from the other side of the table and a black helmet looked straight at you. The man crouched down and walked until he had a hold of your arm. He pulled you out from under the table while you screamed and squirmed, trying to free yourself from the man’s grip on you, but to no avail.

  “What do we have here?” The rude man asked, inspecting you from head to toe.

   “Well, a girl.” The Dormouse replied smugly, earning a glare from the soldier.

  You looked around, panicked, and came across a sight that bothered you. The man that held your arm obviously had a body and a head, but the rest of the army were... cards with heads, hands and feet. Metallic red cards with numbers and suits (mainly Hearts and Spades) holding spears. How could cards be alive!?

     The man chuckled at the little mouse’s comment, although he certainly hadn’t found it funny.

   “Let’s see what the King thinks about your little tea-party guest.”

   You and the Hatter exchanged panicked looks, he had just told you to avoid the King at all costs, and no you’d be being taken to him.

   “Hatter!” You yelled and reached your free hand to him, as the cards started escorting you to the castle. 

  The Hatter lowered his head and looked at his tea.

  “I’m sorry...” He mumbled, loud enough for you to hear.

  The cards forced you to hike the long way to the castle. After about thirty silent minutes of walking, you could see an enormous castle in the distance. It had a squared shape, and what seemed to be five stories, judging by the placement of the windows. Each corner of the square had a long, cylindrical tower. Each tower had its own ceiling, one being a Heart, one a Spade, one a Diamond, and the other one a Club. The ceiling of the centerpiece was similar to the one you had seen in the Taj Mahal, except its color was red with black stripes. The whole castle was black, with gilded window frames, door handles, and small decorations, along with some nuances of red here and there.

  The outside of the castle was a big garden, decorated with beautiful white roses and tall bushes that had taken the shape of rectangles.

   Its inside, however, had a completely different aura. The air seemed to be heavier, and even though there were many lights on the walls and chandeliers on the ceilings, the whole castle seemed dark. The entrance had chess-like flooring, and dark wood stairs with a red rug on them. The army stayed behind as the black knight lead you somewhere. You walked with him through the red hallways covered with portraits, you could only assume were the King, until you arrived a big door. Again, it was in the shape of a huge heart.

   What is it with this man and hearts?

   The knight ordered the two servants to open the doors, and so they did, allowing you two to enter. The room, surprisingly, wasn’t red. The walls were black and the columns holding the ceiling were made of marble, as was the floor. The red carpet from the hallway extended itself inside the room and guided you to a big black throne. It was decorated with red hearts and the little details around it were all made of gold.

  On the throne sat one of the most beautiful men you’d ever seen, his skin was pale, his eyes were as dark as his hair, and his lips were plump and red. For a second he reminded you of Snow White, however, his stare was not docile like hers. Even though a long fringe covered one of his eyes, you could still tell he stared down at you intensely, with his chin tilted upwards and leg crossed over the other. One of his hands played with the gold on the chair’s arm, while the other was in the air, fingers playing with one of his rings, supported up by the elbow he sat on the chair’s arm.

  “And who might this be?” He asked, obviously bored at the presence of more people.

  “We don’t know Sir, she doesn’t seem to be from here, the Hatter was hiding her.”

  The man on the throne straightened himself and took a better look at you. Suddenly he took interest in your person. He smiled, but not a welcoming smile, one that suggested second intentions. The King took a couple seconds to analyze your image.

   “Well then, why don’t you take her to my dining room? We shall treat the guests of this land accordingly.”

  The knight seemed a little taken aback at the King’s reaction, but complied nevertheless. He bowed at his superior and started guiding you to the room he had instructed.

   “Oh and take that hideous dress off of her. Give her something red.”

  The man turned around for a second, bowed once more, and said ‘Yes, my King’.

  He took you to a fitting room, where the tall woman in it gave you a red dress, just like he had instructed. You didn’t want to comply with the King’s wishes, but then again, your previous dress had been ruined by all the struggling from before. You slipped on the piece of clothing and inspected it in the mirror. You weren’t particularly fond of the way the heart-shaped neckline exposed your chest, but you went with it anyway (not like you had much choice). You adjusted the black, box pleated skirt, that was decorated with red shiny hearts (predictably) and red ruffles on the hem.

  You could tell what the King liked to see...

  Once you were done you opened the door and met the knight who was waiting for you, very impatiently. 

  He grabbed your arm harshly, once more, and pushed you inside the dining room. 

  The flooring was similar to the entrance’s floor, as it was like a chessboard. The table in the room was dark and had a black and golden table cloth over it. The chairs had the same wood as the table and were very extravagant. Over the table was a big chandelier that illuminated the room, and numerous paintings and statues decorated the the walls and corners of the room.

  You found that the King was already in the room, staring out of one of the windows, looking ominous with his big black jacket and hands in his black pants’ pockets. 

  The door closed behind you, making a loud noise, and he turned around to face you. He smiled at your figure and approached you. 

   “You look beautiful in red.” He complimented, running a finger down your figure.

  You noticed a small red heart painted under his eye. You hadn’t seen it before, and you wondered if he had done it to himself or if it was a birthmark and the reason why he loved hearts so much.

   “Thank you.” You simply replied.

  The King chuckled and pointed at a chair, his hand never leaving your body.

   “Why don’t you take a seat?”

  You stepped back, to free yourself from his touch and slowly shook your head.

   “No, thank you.” You replied dryly.

  The King looked at you, shocked.

   “You know, the people of this land call me My King, and take all my orders.”

  You gulped, a little intimidated by his sudden deep voice and ruthless stance. He stepped towards you as he spoke, and looked you in the eye intensely. 

   “Well, you’re not my King.”

  The both of you seemed a little shocked at what you had just said, but to your surprise the King’s expression turned into amusement, and even a fond smile.

  He stepped back and opened the door.

  “What if we go for a walk?”

  Seeing that you had no chance but to accompany him somewhere, you agreed, and walked alongside the tall man as you appreciated the garden, which seemed to be the only thing in the castle that wasn’t red, black or gold.

  “You’re witty. No woman, Hell, no man or animal has ever dared to speak to me in such a way.”

  You shrugged and looked at the roses around you.

   “I simply told you the truth, I am not from this land, therefore you are not my King.”

  The man chuckled, his stare never leaving the side of your face. He was truly curious about you. He wanteed to know where such bravery came from, how and why you had the guts to speak to him like that.

   “Where are you from?”

  You sighed and looked at him for a second before averting your look.

   “Somewhere... A place I thought was the only one to exist.”

   “Somewhere... I have never heard of that land.” The King looked into the sky, thinking if he had ever visited such a land.

  You looked at the King, and laughed a little at his silliness once you realized he was serious. You couldn’t believe that a man seemingly so sharp believed that you came from a land called somewhere.

   “Would you... Would you do that again?” He asked, looking at you with a surprised expression.

  His odd question made you look at him with a confused expression.

  “That? What is that? I did nothing...”

  “Laugh... You laughed. I don’t hear that often, it’s a pretty sound.”

  You were flustered at his comment and honestly, a little sad... You chuckled at his flattering comment and he laughed with you.

  You were torn... Your thoughts were torn. Haigha and the Hatter spoke so terribly of this man, but he seemed to be a regular person... Mayhaps a tormented one, that had been misunderstood and turned to fear to make himself known. His comment was so pure, so innocent...

  Your train of thought was stopped when the King abruptly came to a halt. You looked at him and you were instantly scared at the expression on his face. He was staring at the roses you loved so much with a disgusted, enraged, and even tyrant expression.

   “White!? White!? I ordered red roses! Who dared plant white roses in my garden!? Guards!” 

  Upon hearing the King’s screams, three cards came running to the two of you. He shot them a furious glare. He was breathing heavily and his eyes lost any life they might’ve held before.

   “Find whoever painted these, and off with their heads!” He stopped for a second to breathe and yelled once more “And paint these roses red!” 

  Drops of spit flew out of his mouth during his psychotic speech, and you couldn’t believe your eyes or ears.

  When he turned to look at you, you were long gone. His terrifying behavior at something so small, his heartless order, and lack of compassion scared you beyond anything. Your legs moved faster than your head, without even thinking, you started running and running, until you were lost in a maze made out of bushes. You didn’t even care, you just ran around and hoped that the King wouldn’t find you. Ever.