Chapter two

Running. Faster. Running. Don't stop. Running. Can't stop!
My mind was full of nothing else. Here and there a face would appear - a blur in the shadows. I wanted to stop and see who the faces belonged to, but I couldn't.
Because if I did, she would catch me.
I ran faster. My heart was racing inside my chest, thumping painfully because it wasn't used to this amount of exertion. It wouldn't be - not when you've been cooped up in a prison your whole life;
Not a lot of room for running. And no need to run when you've already been caught.
But I'm free now! I reminded myself. Which meant I had to do everything within my power to keep my freedom.
Suddenly, without warning, I came to a halt - stopped short by a wall...No, a door. I pulled on the door knob. It wouldn't budge. Panicked, I looked over my shoulder. I couldn't see her, but I felt her presence drawing closer and closer like an oncoming storm. I pulled harder. There it was again: the shrieking cry of "Off with her head!"
Her voice was like nails on glass, setting every nerve on end and causing every instinct to scream for me to get away, get out - NOW.
With every last bit of strength in my body I yanked on the door knob...
And found myself free-falling...
Down...
Down.....
Down........
I awoke with a gasp. The first thing I realized was that I was not falling in an endless pit of darkness.
In fact, everything was white. My mind started racing. Was I back in the Hold - the prison cell that was my life-long home? Had I not escaped after all? Was it just a dream?
Suddenly I heard a sound. I whipped around and to find myself facing someone I'd never laid eyes on.
It was a girl - round-faced with almond-shaped eyes that reminded me of a cat's. She was very pretty - she had blonde and hair and blue eyes similar to me but different in color. Where my hair was pale, hers was a rich honey color, and where my eyes were a dark shade of blue, hers were a beautiful crystalline.
She moved toward me and I noticed how tall and graceful she was. At the same time, though, there was something...off about her. It took me a second to realize that she looked...faded. Almost like I could see through her. I shook my head. I must be hallucinating, I thought, But then again, this IS Wonderland. I looked back at the girl, as she was speaking.
"I wondered when you'd wake up." she said, a small smile on her lips, her feline-esque eyes looking even more cat-like with the curiosity they held in them.
"Who are you? Where am I?" I said warily.
"I'm sorry. I should introduce myself. My name's Kat." she said, stretching out her hand toward me.
I shrunk back, staring at the hand suspiciously.
After an awkward pause, she seemed to realize that I wasn't going to do anything and retracted her hand.
"What's your name?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"Alice..." I said hesitantly.
"Alice. That's a pretty name. So, how'd you get out of prison, Alice?"
I tensed up instantly and became defensive. Kat seemed to see the alarm written on my face because she quickly said "Calm down, it's ok. I found you in the forest wearing prison clothes. I brought you here before someone else found you." Her eyes took on a look of empathy and concern. "It's alright, Alice. I don't want to hurt you. You can trust me."
"How do I know that for sure?" I said, my voice hard with suspicion "How do I know you won't take me back to..." I swallowed the lump of fear in my throat "Back to the Queen?" I finished almost in a whisper, as if by saying her name too loudly, she would be able to hear me.
"Because any enemy of the Queen is a friend of mine." said Kat with a bittersweet smile.
I looked at Kat. She seemed so sincere, so nice. But could I trust her?
Suddenly, I heard a man's voice calling out "Kat? Kat, where are you?"
Kat cursed under her breath. "Hatter is NOT going to like this..." she said, a look of guilt mingled with worry crossing her features.
"Who's Hatter?" I asked, but before she could reply the door opened.
A man walked into the room. I took him in. A curious top hat rested upon his longish black hair that tumbled and twisted in a style best described as "controlled chaos". His face was firm and angular, and dusted with a light scruff of facial hair around the mouth and chin. His eyebrows were thick and fine and bordered his jade green eyes. Eyes that contained something strange and mysterious in them - almost maniacal you could say. A scar ran down the left side of his face. I noticed that he was muscled and contained the air of an experienced soldier. I also noticed he was young - around my age. To my surprise, I found myself thinking that he was very attractive.
Currently, though, he did not look very happy to see me.