WONDERLAND ✯ Louis Partridge

16 | Outside Wonderland

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Y/N

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FOLLOWING THE LILIES was harder than it seemed.

Not only were the flowers covering a worn out path through the forest, I was weighed down by the thoughts in my mind. They were yelling at me from all angles, telling me that I deserved to be shut out, and that Louis had every right to hate me.

He said he didn't, but I worried a part of him still did.

And all I could do was follow this strange path, hoping it let me out somewhere safe. I trusted it would, because Louis told me to take it, and I trusted Louis. He just didn't trust me.

I followed the path for what seemed like hours, shivering in the cold, and feeling burned out from the journey. It seemed like I was going nowhere. All I saw were the same trees, the same flowers, the same pathways, like I was stuck in a time loop.

Until I saw the busted up sign from behind a shrubbery.

YOU ARE LEAVING WONDERLAND
GOOD RIDDANCE

Wow, even the signs seemed to mock me.

I passed it by, not thinking about where I was, and walking straight into the exiting forest. I probably should have considered the geography of the kingdom, or maybe have done some research, but I just wandered in like the fool I am.

Which is why I didn't expect to see people running at me with spears in their hands once I crossed the border path.

"Halt!" One of them yelled, "don't move!"

They were dressed in white armor, looking resemblant to medieval nights I had seen in history books. They weren't the Cards, which was a relief—not that it mattered, since I wasn't even the prophecy girl.

I froze, my eyes widened in slight fear. Holding up my hands, I lingered by the sign, watching as a figure emerged from the dark forest on a horse. They kept coming closer, and closer, and closer, until they stopped in front of me, the animal bucking its teeth as it snapped at me.

But what caught me off guard was the woman riding the horse. She had a crown on the top of her platinum hair, with a matching garment of pearl sequins running down to her ankles. She looked like a snow princess, or a Queen.

"I do apologize for the hostility of my guards," she said, her voice light and airy, "everyone who leaves Wonderland must be inspected."

I didn't say anything, blinking in confusion. And fear. Fear and confusion.

"Can't have one of my sister's Card Guards infiltrating my realm," she laughed, before narrowing her eyes. "Are you with the Queen of Hearts?"

I shook my head, "definitely not."

"How can we trust you're telling the truth?"

"You can't."

I have a death wish, don't I?

I don't know why I said that so bluntly, but my mood was pretty sucky, and I'd rather be thrown off a cliff than to go back to Wonderland and face humility and hatred. I'd deserve it, anyways.

At my words, the woman narrowed her eyes, gesturing for one of her knights to help her off the horse. One of them rushed forward, holding out their hand for her to take, and they lifted her gently onto the ground, her shoes hitting the leaves beneath her. Judging by her posture, she was far too regal to have a secondhand title.

"If we can't trust you," she said, walking towards me, "then why have you come?"

"For the same reason," I said, "I lost someone's trust."

The woman narrowed her eyes, bending down to match my eye level. She didn't seem to hold any hostility towards me, just suspicion. But when she was about to tell the guards to send me away, something caught her eye, causing her to stop.

She smiled, letting out breathy words. "I see."

I was confused about what she noticed, so I took a cautious step back, feeling incredibly nervous now. Was there something on my face? On my jacket? Whatever it was, it had to be significant for her to wonder about.

"You see?" I questioned, "what do you see?"

The woman laughed softly, holding up her hand towards me. "May I?"

"Um...sure."

I didn't have any clue of what she was talking about, until I felt her fingers brush against my neck, lifting something cool into the air to observe. It was only then that I knew what it was—and in all honesty, I forgot it was there. It had become a second part of me.

"Your chain," she said, "I'd recognize it anywhere."

"You would?"

"It belongs to Louis, doesn't it?"

I nodded my head, and the woman continued:

"If Louis Partridge gave you that chain, it means you're someone he trusts," she said, "he's never taken it off since the very first day he came here."

That felt like someone impaled me with a stake, and I flinched at her words. He doesn't trust me anymore, and it wasn't any consolation to know that he did. Past tense has no place in the present.

"You know Louis?" I asked, watching as she let go of the chain, retreating towards her horse.

She laughed a brilliant laugh. It sounded just as light as she carried herself, and if I wasn't so confused on everything that happened, I might have dwelled upon it further. Instead, I just watched her beckon towards her guards.

"Oh, sweetheart," she said, flashing me a smile, "everyone does."

And then she turned towards the knights, pointing at me as she whispered 'she's safe' or 'take her to the castle' and other things. At some point I found myself being lifted onto a horse of my own, directed to follow the woman down a separate path.

"What's your name?" the woman asked, turning her head towards me as we rode.

"[y/n]," I said.

"White Queen," she greeted in return, "welcome to my realm."

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INTRODUCING!

Anne Hathaway as the White Queen