Mei Ericson

A little project that I did for a creative writing class. The object was to practice descriptive writing.
Love,
Jessy

***

The first time I saw Mei Ericson, she was screaming in the middle of the street. It had been a brisk autumn’s day, and I was tired of the loneliness of my empty apartment, so I had grabbed my coat and headed to the nearby coffee shop for an expresso. There, I took my favorite seat in a couch by the restrooms, uncomfortable enough for most people to avoid, but with a perfect angle out of the frosty windows for watching the various people outside. With my eyes, I followed an elderly couple into the bookstore, examined the ice skating rink where children milled about aimlessly, swerving calmly every so often to avoid hitting one who had fallen, and sipped on my coffee as a teenage boy picked a scarlet leaf off of the branches over his head and produced it from behind his back to a beaming little sister. 

And then, out of the blue, there came a piercing scream. 

Even muffled by the chatter inside of the coffee shop and the glass panels lining the walls, I could hear the panic in the woman’s voice. A fraction of a second later, there came the sharp squeal of rubber skidding on pavement, an angry honk, and a shout of colorful language. Peering curiously out of the window, I observed a petite woman, somehow bearing the cold in just a cream cashmere sweater, burgundy skinny jeans, and black combat boots studded with diamonds. Her hair was pulled back into a messy French braid, revealing earrings on both sides and a dark strawberry birthmark on the side of her neck. Her chocolate eyes seemed tired and weary, but they still flickered as she exchanged shouts at the driver of a New York taxi cab. I was automatically enthralled by her. Not in a romantic way, of course, but after years of people watching from the same uncomfortable couch in the same local coffee shop, I could tell that this woman had an intricate character. I got up, shrugged on my coat, and exited the coffee shop with a half empty expresso in hand. 

By the time I’d reached the streets where the woman had just almost been hit, she had already stomped away furiously, the taxi cab driver yelling after her. Driven by curiosity, I trailed afterwards, copying her footsteps, observing her every action. She strode with an aura of confidence, chin tilted upwards just enough to show authority but not arrogance. I slowed my steps every so often to wait for her as she paused to pick a flower from the cracks of a neighbor’s driveway, petted and cooed at a passing stray cat, dug a sandwich out of her purse, which she then ate as she walked, and stopped to say hi to a passing friend. A while later, she tossed the crust of her sandwich to a nearby pigeon, who squeaked in surprise, then fluttered back towards the bread and began to peck at it happily. 

It took the woman around 10 minutes to reach her house. It was fairly decent in size, big enough to accommodate 1 person comfortably, but too small for 2. She paused at the front door, rummaged through her purse for a while, then dug out a set of keys and inserted one into the lock. A couple of seconds later, she’d disappeared through the door. Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to take a seat on one of the benches in the park across the street and wait for her to come back out. 

The woman’s house definitely stood out. From a row of simple white apartment buildings, towering skyscrapers, and busy bustling marketplaces, her sunset orange residence felt more out of place than I did in a crowd of New Yorkers. It seemed to have been plucked right out from a southern California suburb and dropped smack in the middle of the Big Apple. A row of bushes encircled the front half of the house, wrapping around a simple green lawn and a couple of stone angels scattered across the yard. A stone path winded its way through the grass, coming to a stop at the foot of the porch, where a rocking chair perched. Past that, a small wooden door stood stoically, painted with acrylic flowers and stars. Matching windows, also painted, sat on either side of the door, although I couldn’t see inside since they were covered by stark white curtains. Upwards, a white tiled roof sloped down from the center of the house. I tilted my head back to empty the remaining drops of coffee still left in the cup into my mouth. The bitter liquid warmed my body, but once the effect had faded, I was back to shivering in the cold once more.

My apartment was just a couple of blocks east, but I decided to endure the cold for a little while longer, hoping that the woman hadn’t decided to stay in for the evening. Meanwhile, I watched a group of tourists trump past, their guides barking out orders, a street vendor calling out at them, advertising his hot dogs, and a trio of teenage girls giggling and talking on their phones.

I began to get tired around the second hour. The sun had long ago reached its peak in the sky, and was now slowly dropping behind the tall skyscrapers piercing the clouds. But then, just as I was about to stand up and call it a night, a slim blue BMW pulled up in front of the house. A man, tall, broad, and complete with muscles rippling under a navy blue suit that complimented his black tux shoes, got out of the car. He adjusted his tie, fiddled with his hair, and strode up the path to rap on the door. A couple of moments later, it swung open, and the woman whom I recognized from this morning stepped out.

Her hair had been taken out of its braid, and was now twisted into a pretty coil at the very base of her head, decorated with shimmering silver flowers. She was wearing a navy blue dress that matched her partner’s suit, and silver stilettos that tapped rhythmically against the floor as she walked. The two of them exchanged small talk, laughing, joking, and playfully pushing each other around, before the man held out his hand, walked his date down the path, and opened the car’s door for her. A few moments later, they had driven off.

I watched their taillights fade as they got farther and farther away from the house, then turned my attention back to the woman’s home itself. I wanted to explore it, to uncover all of her hidden secrets, to delve into this woman’s private life and see what I could find. I stood up, dusting the snow off of my pants and stretching my arms in a tired yawn. The streets were still buzzing with activity and chatter, but I managed to slip into the woman’s yard without a second glance. I headed up the stone path and plopped myself down into the rocking chair. It swayed precariously beneath me, awkwardly hurling my body forward, then tilting me back again. I got up. 

The door felt like a warm invitation, begging me to turn the knob and test to see if it were locked. I accepted the offer. The metal turned easily in my hand, conceding my admittance into the foyer. And, without hesitation, I stepped through the door and shut it behind me. Apparently, Mei was forgetful as well.

I was standing in a long, open hall. Apart from that, I couldn’t quite make out my surroundings. My fingers fumbled against the wall for a light switch. The room flooded with brightness, and my eyes took a second to adjust before I could take a look around. On my left, there sat a tiny living room, with white leather loveseats placed in various positions against the walls, and a small television in the far left corner. A glass coffee table, with three odd colored mugs scattered on it, sat in the middle of the entire room. I turned to my right. It seemed to be some sort of dining room, although I couldn’t quite tell, because the only furniture happened to be a slim table draped with a pale blue cloth. A single black chair was pushed aside next to it, and on the table’s surface lay a plate with some half eaten fries still left on it. I tried one. It tasted stale, flavorless, and bland. Locating a trash can somewhere along the walls, I spit it into my hand and tossed it into the wastebasket. 

Proceeding further down the hall, I passed a half open door, which I assumed was a bathroom, and a small kitchen filled with dirty dishes and fast food bags. And then, at the end of the hall, the carpet came to a stop at the foot of another plain, white door. I held my breath apprehensively and turned the knob. 

Immediately, I knew that this was the woman’s bedroom. In contrast with the rest of the seemingly empty house, it looked fairly well taken care of. The walls were covered with pictures, posters, and the one that I was directly facing had been dedicated to the woman’s watercolor paints and sharpies. A giant constellation was painted in the middle of the wall, with another smaller symbol painted beside it. I recognized it as the astrology symbol for Aries. Around it, miniature flowers and fruits had been painted everywhere. Tulips, peaches, avocados, daisies, roses.  Tiny quotes written in silver or black pen were squeezed in, between the paintings, wherever there was space. I stepped forward and traced one with my finger.

You drape your wrists over the steering wheel, pulses can drive from here.

400 Lux by Lorde. I moved to another one.

Be my friend, surround me like a satellite. 

East of Eden by Zella Day. I smiled. Obviously, this woman had a love for alternative pop. 

I turned my attention towards the bed, a queen sized with fluffy white sheets and golden throw pillows. A nightstand sat on either side, one with a stack of envelopes on it and the other with a picture frame, car keys, and an empty water bottle. I picked up one of the envelopes to see who it was addressed to.

Mei Ericson.

So I could finally put her face with a name. Mei Ericson. It had a nice ring to it, and I thought that it suited her pretty appropriately. The room was well lit even without lights, for streams of sunlight filtered through the windows. I could see the sun setting outside, the sky painted with a canvas of cotton candy pinks and purples. Beside the right nightstand, there was a dresser, cluttered with makeup and nail polishes. A mirror was nailed over it, and in it I could see my reflection, a man in his mid 30’s with a thick coat on, his face stony but interested in his surroundings. 

Suddenly, a small noise in the back of my mind interrupted my thoughts. I frowned. It sounded like a key jimmying itself into a lock. Mei was back.

“Can you believe I forgot to lock the door? It’s lucky I left my wallet here, or else someone might’ve broken in.”Her voice traveled down the hall, filled with laughter, and I could hear the smile in her words. My eyes fell on a small rectangle of black leather. Mei’s wallet. Panicking, I looked around frantically, trying to locate a spot where I could hide. Footsteps echoed down the hall. I unlocked the window and pushed it open. The footsteps came closer. I leapt out of the house and gently pushed the window back down.

“Got it!”

Crouched beneath the window, a stone angel broken by my fall, I took a deep breath. I was safe.

Emily in Wonderland

This short story was written for a seventh grade creative writing assignment, but it was one of my better works that year, so I decided to share it with the world. I hope you guys like it!

Love,

Jessy

***

It’s a shame, really, that no one decided to name her Alice.

She was jogging. Sneakers pounding against the pavement, music blasting in her ears, beads of sweat escaping from her hairline and rolling down both sides of her face. She was intensely concentrated, so much so that she couldn’t hear the men shouting after her, nor notice the flashing orange sign that yelled Construction Zone, nor see the open man hole until she stepped on - or, rather, into - it and was clutching the brim of the sidewalk to avoid falling.

I’m so tired.

She allowed her heavy eyelids to shut and her breaths to slow, and as her heart began to beat slower, her hands slipped and she was forced to let go. Oh my god.

She had expected it to be painful - to wake up collapsed on a slimy concrete floor with several broken bones and a cracked rib or two. But she just fell. 

Falling wasn’t scary; she’d been on roller coasters worse than this, and the warm breeze drafting in from the opening she’d fallen in from made the air feel quite nice. Time, was scary. It had bound to be a full 30 seconds since she’d released her hands and fallen, but the tunnel showed no sign of stopping. Oh my god, I’m going to die. A strangled cry choked out of her throat. The walls around her seemed to close in, pushing the oxygen from her lungs; the air had turned a bitter cold. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to hold back her panicked tears. A minute had passed; she balled up her fists, nails digging harshly into her palms. As bravely as she could, she forced herself to open her eyes.

Thud. 

The blackness shattered before her.

***

When she awoke, a senile looking woman was glaring down at her. She started; the woman grabbed her wrist and pulled her up roughly.

“Emily Disario?”She snapped.

“Um y-yeah? I-”

“Shut your mouth and quit talking,”the woman hissed. “I’ve been expecting you for a full 3 days now, you’re late. Now, hurry up, you have work to do.”

Emily took in her surroundings. She was slumped against a sparkling white wall, across from a pristine white door and tinted white windows. A silken red carpet covered the floor, which looked as though it were made of opal. A girl stood beside her, stealing frightened glances at the woman. 

“Aria,”the woman snapped.

The girl jumped. Emily felt almost sorry for her. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Take Emily to her room and feed her some corn mush, she looks as though she hasn’t eaten in weeks. Shift 4 starts in an hour.”

The girl, Aria, nodded. “Yes ma’am.”

She hesitated, as if not sure whether she should move or not.

“Well go, you useless brat!”The woman yelled, pinching the bridge of her nose as if trying to ward off a headache. “And the stupidity of the human race continues to amaze me,”she muttered.

Aria winced and motioned for Emily to follow her with a jerk of her chin. Scrambling after her guide, Emily hurried off, grateful to leave the hostile woman behind.

“So that’s Miss Isa,”Aria sighed, shifting a clipboard around in her arms. “Lady Isabella, actually, but she prefers Miss Isa. Says it makes her feel young. Anyway, I know this might all seem strange to you at first, but you’re handling it quite well. I mean, at least you haven’t burst out in tears. Can’t say the same for the majority of the others. Truthfully? I cried myself to sleep every night my first week here.”

She gave a dry laugh. “Miss Isa lives in an estate with her two daughters, Lilian and Cristina. She owns this entire kingdom and probably more.”

Emily smiled weakly. “Kingdom?”She asked.

“Wonderland - It’s not what the Earthly media makes it out to be, I swear. White rabbits in coats? Ha.”

Emily could feel herself laughing. Laughing, and then all of a sudden she was doubled over, clutching her stomach and gasping for teary-eyed breaths.

“W-wonder-wonderland?”

A fresh wave of laughter hit her, and she collapsed to the ground in a fit of giggles. Hmm, perhaps her sense of humor had been impaired during the fall. Oh, she’d fallen through a man - rabbit, ha - hole, and now she was in Wonderland?

Aria stared at her in horror. “Um, Emily? Wh- are you okay?”

“O-ok?”Emily coughed out a strained laugh. “I’m in Wonderland! Oh, I’m in Wonderland, I’m in Wonderland, I’m in-“

It was almost impossible to repeat. 

“Wonder-“

She fell to the ground in fits of laughter.

***

“Well, here’s your room,”Aria announced, swinging open a mottled gray door; the interior was nothing like where Emily had awoken. Gray cement floors, a ratty gray rug, half a broken bunkbed that smelled like it hadn’t been washed since WWII, and a rotting wooden desk with an iron chair in front of it met her disappointed eyes. A barred window above the desk let in faint streaks of light that danced tentatively on the floor in shaking movements. 

“This is my… room?” Emily’s voice was laced with disgust.

“It’s not too homely, I know,”Aria sympathized. “Mine’s just the same. I’ve managed to cozy it up a little, though. Want to see? Or are you hungry?”

Emily’s stomach growled, but she shook her head. “No, I’m good.”

Aria smiled. “Great! It’s just down the hall, come on.”

Her room was admittedly better, but not by much. She’d managed to find herself a warm pink blanket which, Aria confessed, had been thrown away from the estate but had been found in the local dumpsters. A bouquet of wilting dandelions stood bowing in a cracked plastic vase atop her windowsill, and a fraying yellow ribbon had been twisted around the bars. Instead of Emily’s dusty gray rug, a cut piece of blue carpet had been laid across the ground. Atop a makeshift nightstand made of cylindrical rocks and a piece of splintering wood lay a flashlight, notebook, and ink pen.

Emily was impressed. “Wow, how long have you been here? And what is, here, anyway?”

“Two years,”Aria shrugged. “Feels like I’ve been living here my entire life, though. I was the first girl. Miss Isa used to take only boys, but she’s trying to even out the genders now.”

Emily frowned. “Take? What do you mean?”

“Miss Isa desires a palace,”Aria explained. “A palace so big that you can get lost in it, so beautiful that you are stricken by its grandeur, so wonderful that you almost believe that that’s where Wonderland gets it’s name. See, she began by hiring professionals: a woman named Cinderella and her two hundred workers. Miss Cinderella is simply the best architect. Her designs themselves are worth millions of dollars each. But Miss Isa is impatient. She is kidnapping children from our world to help build her magnificent palace. It is almost finished, but-“

Aria trailed off, looking sick to her stomach.

Emily scrunched her nose. “But what?”She pressed.

“Oh, I mustn’t say,”Aria frowned, pursing her lips. She sighed. “Miss Isa is planning to execute us after her palace is complete.”

And all of a sudden, Emily wished she hadn’t told her.

***

Skipping lunch had turned out to be a terrible mistake. When a shrieking bell blared deafeningly through the dormitory halls, Emily had found herself dragged half-run and starving, out the front doors and toward the construction site.

Said construction site looked a hundred times better than anything Emily had ever seen, even surrounded by levers & pulleys and covered in a faint layer of sawdust. It was white, with more towers than Emily could count and magnificent red flags waving at the tops of them. Several balconies looked out at the kingdom from 15 stories up, and massive marble columns lined the path to the main doors. Hundreds of windows blinked down at them. 

Them.

There were probably a thousand workers in total, all lined up perfectly in neat rows and staring up at a woman in a white blouse and black pencil skirt, who stood in the center of a tall black podium. She held a megaphone in one hand and a clipboard in the other. 

“Alright ladies and gentlemen,”the woman yelled into her megaphone. “It is day 692 of construction. Where is our newcomer today?”

Emily shuffled forward hesitantly. 

A girl grabbed her arm and yanked her back. “She’s not actually interested,”Aria hissed. “And you do not want to get on Miss Cinderella’s bad side.”

Miss Cinderella checked something off on her clipboard. “Alright. Now. Are we all here?”

A hum of assent traveled through the crowd. 

“Great! Alright then, let’s get started. Head to your stations, stat. Emily, is it? You’re on Station 7.”

“We’re together then,”Aria whispered, hooking her arm through Emily’s and pulling her toward a far corner of the construction site. “That’s good. Come on, I can show you the ropes.”

Emily followed her guide blindly through the bustle of workers. The roar of people talking mixed with the sound of hammers and saws was almost deafening. 

“Right. So, here we are. You should start with the blocks, it’s easier.” Aria pointed to a wheelbarrow filled with opaque white cubes. “They’re heavy, but all you have to do is drag them over to the pulleys and Farrin-“ 

She pointed above them to where the pulley ended. A freckled boy smiled and waved. “-will pull them up for you. He’ll take them over to Hannah, who’s in charge of placing and cementing the blocks today.” She gestured to a redhead who was yelling at a pair of boys. 

Emily shook her head to clear her thoughts. It seemed like she had been jogging just minutes ago. Which, come to think of it, she had been. 

“Oh god, ok. I’ll do my best not to mess anything up, but,”she joked weakly,”my apologies in advance.”

“You’ll be fine,”Aria smiled, placing a hand on the small of Emily’s back. “Besides, no one will blame you if you do, we’ve all been through our own first days after all.”

Emily’s stomach rumbled again. “When’s dinner? What’s the schedule, anyway?”

“We get up before dawn,”Aria told her, climbing onto the pulley and tugging herself up. “Breakfast is at 6:30. Shift 1 starts at 7. We get a 10 minute break at 10, then Shift 2. Lunch is at 1. Depending on the day, your station might have a Shift 3 after lunch, but we alternate because Miss Isa says she is satisfied with our rate of construction. Shift 4 starts at 4. Dinner is at 7, then Shift 5. Lights out is at 11.”

Emily suppressed a groan. Seeing her pained expression, Aria, who had just reached the top, laughed. “Don’t worry,”she yelled. “You’ll get used to it.

She turned and began stirring a bucket of what Emily assumed was mortar. Emily glanced back at the wheelbarrow behind her. Sighing, she picked up a block and began lugging it to the pulley. 

***

Dinner seemed almost heavenly. After only 3 hours of work, Emily’s shoulders ached and her legs felt at the verge of collapsing. 

“God, we have to get out of here,”she moaned through a mouthful of bread.

Aria laughed. “Well, there’s only one way out,”she sighed. “And it’s by marriage.”

Emily choked on her soup. “Marriage?”

“Miss Isa is an avid fan of romance,”Hannah, whom Emily had managed to befriend, explained. “If you’re lucky and some cute boy falls in love with you, she’ll let you leave.”

Emily scanned the cafeteria. Her eyes landed on a boy with a sharp jawline and warm hazel eyes. “Ooh, found him.”

“Can’t be another worker,”Aria mumbled, her mouth full. She stopped and swallowed. “Otherwise hundreds of people would lie and split up once they got out. Why do you think I haven’t left yet?”

Crestfallen, Emily sighed. “Right. But we’re not allowed beyond dormitory and construction site premises, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, but she allows visitors,”Hannah explained. “Not that anyone really comes. We get about 1 guest per year.”

The signal bell blared. Emily groaned. She stuffed a spoonful of corn mush - which turned out to be surprisingly good - in her mouth and downed it with a swig of water, then hurried after the rest of the workers filing out the cafeteria’s double doors.

Great. Where’s my Prince Charming when I need him?

***

“Any idea what the news could be?”Hannah whispered.

Aria shook her head. “None.”

They had been ushered quickly out of breakfast with the promise of good news. Emily, indignant that she hadn’t been able to finish her cereal, crossed her arms. “Well, it better be good.”

“Look, here Miss Cinderella comes,”Hannah pointed, bouncing up and down excitedly.

Emily blinked. “Is- is that Miss Isa next to her?”

It was. The two women walked side by side, heels clacking in perfect unison against the pavement. A whisper traveled through the crowd.

They stopped at the top of the podium. Miss Cinderella tapped her megaphone and cleared her throat. The workers fell silent.

“As you all already know, Wonderland is not the only kingdom in this realm. Last night, Lady Isabella received news of a ball being held in our neighboring kingdom. Prince Charles is in need of a bride.”

Excited murmurs spread through the girls. 

“And Princess Kacy a groom.”

Whoops from the boys.

“There will be two different balls on two different nights. Select girls will attend the first ball. Select boys will attend the second. Miss Isa and I will be choosing these lucky young people. You will be watched closely the next four days. 20 girls and 20 boys will be announced on the fifth. You will attend the ball by carriage and be back the next day to work.”

Emily exchanged an excited glance with her friends. If Prince Charles chose any of them to be his bride, they would be free to go.

Rescue us, Prince Charming, Emily pleaded. 

***

The last four days had passed in a blur. Emily had worked extremely hard during each, had sat up perfectly straight during every meal, had never arrived late to construction. But so had all the other girls.

Never had construction rate gone so fast, Miss Isa had joked. 

But now, the girls would be announced. They were gathered around the podium, squeezing each others’ hands, giving hugs, hearts pounding in excitement. Emily tried her best to make small talk, but her hands felt clammy and her mind focused only on the list. 

As Miss Isa and Miss Cinderella were seen walking towards the construction site, the crowd fell deathly silent. The workers parted like the Red Sea to let them through. Neither one made eye contact with any of the girls or boys. 

“We are gathered here today to announce the 40 men and women attending the ball,”Miss Isa started, as if she were reciting lines.

“Needless to say, all of you fools have improved greatly in your work these past few days. The decision was hard, but it will be final. We will start with the girls.”

Emily gripped Aria’s hand. She squeezed so hard she was afraid Aria might have permanent half moons indented in her palm from Emily’s nails. 

“Number 1. Miss Aria Lancaster.”

Aria jolted as if someone had slapped her. Her jaw dropped. Emily’s eyes widened; Hannah gave her a hug and whispered something in her ear. A smile exploded on Aria’s face, showing off her dimples. 

“I knew you would be chosen,”Emily grinned, but she could feel the envy pulsing inside her. 

“Number 2. Miss Flora Grey.”

A brunette standing several feet away from them jumped and screamed. Her eyes glittered with surprise and she was immediately smothered in hugs.  

“Number 3. Miss Hannah Shepherd.”

Hannah’s face turned a ghostly shade of white. She let out a small squeak. “W-what-“

“Both of us?” Aria gasped and hugged her friend. “Han!”

Emily, too jealous to feel even the slightest bit ashamed in herself, glowered. 

Numbers 4, 5, 6, all the way up to 19 were announced. Emily could fell her throat beginning to close up. There was only one spot left, and her name and yet to be said. 

“And, number 20-“

Emily squeezed her eyes shut and willed Miss Isa to say her name. I’ll do anything, she promised whatever gods were willing to listen. 

“-Miss Emily Disario.”

***

It was the night of the ball. Staring at herself in the mirror, Emily smoothed out a spot in her eye shadow and took a deep breath.

She looked stunning. 

Her hair fell in loose waves over her shoulders, framing her face. Hannah had swiped two thin lines of black eyeliner over her lids, and a dusting of golden bronzer brought out her sharp cheekbones. Her lips glimmered light pink. 

“Emily!”Aria gasped, hugging her friend. “You look absolutely perfect.”

Emily smiled softly. “Thanks, so do you.”

She looked down at her dress. It was black and made of silk, with equally dark lace and obsidian gems. Her shoes, sleek black stilettos hidden under the folds off her gown, boosted her height. 

It was perfect. Everything was perfect. 

“Hey, ready to go?” Hannah popped her head around the door. “Wow, you guys look amazing.”

Aria laughed and hugged her. “Are you kidding me? Look at yourself. The prince won’t know what hit him.”

Their carriage was waiting outside, driven by a coachman in a black suit and four white horses; the girls piled excitedly inside. 

It was going to be an unforgettable night.

***

The castle was a bright mixture of laughter, lively music, and the clink of champagne flutes. It looked like a scene from a fairy tale, and Emily soaked it all in.

It was perfe-

A hand covered Emily’s mouth. Another smothered her nose with a damp cloth that smelled of vanilla and strawberries. She thrashed weakly against her attacker, and, in her peripheral vision, saw someone dressed from head to toe in black doing the same to Aria. Hannah was nowhere to be seen. 

Her eyelids dropped dangerously. A yawn invaded her mouth. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

And for the second time this week, Emily Disario passed out.

***

It was like deja vu. When Emily awoke, a boy with blonde hair and glimmering blue eyes stared down at her. She screamed. He frowned and clapped a hand over her mouth.

“What the hell?”She hissed, swatting his hand away. “What did you do to me?”

The boy stepped back to reveal Hannah and Aria, still unconscious and slumped against the opposite wall. 

“I’m the Prince of Ayrshire,”he said cockily. “and, please. I’m helping you.”

Emily froze. The Prince of Ayrshire? She looked him over suspiciously. It made sense. The boy was dressed in an expensive blue suit, with the royal crest emblazoned on it in gold and padding that made his shoulders seem broader than they actually were. He smirked.

Emily blushed. “Your Highness.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Miss Emily.”

Aria stirred behind them; Hannah murmured in her sleep.

“But - why did you bring me here? What do you want from me?”

The prince smiled. “I know what Isabella is doing. And I intend to stop it.”

***

“So, what are you going to do?”

Aria and Hannah had awoken.

The prince flipped through a thick pamphlet just barely held together by a measly staple. “I’m going to take you back to Earth. All of you. And I’m coming with you.”

“Wh- do the King and Queen know about this?”

“Mom and Dad pushed me to do this.”

Emily sighed. She massaged her temples and closed her eyes. “It’s just - this is a lot to take in, which, you know, is saying a lot seeing that I was just kidnapped and sent to what basically is a labor camp a few days ago. How would you take us back, anyway? Through a portal? Hidden passageway? A magic flying horse?”She added sarcastically. 

The prince chuckled. “A hat.”

Aria gasped audibly. Hannah’s eyes bugged out of her head. “You mean… the, hat?”

Emily frowned. “What hat?”

Charles rolled his eyes. “What other hat is there? Of course, you fools! I have had my very best engineers and wizards working on it for the past half year. It has been reactivated.”

“Wait, I-I’m completely lost here. A hat? What-“

“3 millennia ago, a dark wizard who called himself Morvoro cursed a hat so that it could be used to travel through realms,”Aria whispered, as if possessed. “It was destroyed several thousand years ago by Farthin. No one’s been able to use it since.”

Emily frowned. “Farthin? Who’s-”

“He’s a relative of Morvoro’s,”the prince snapped impatiently. “One of the greatest wizards who have ever walked the realms.”

Emily closed her eyes. “But why would he-“ 

She took a deep breath. “Ok, whatever, sorry, you can move on.”

Charles sighed. “Anyway, the hat’s been reactivated, and I’m going to use it to transport all of you back to Earth. Now, it’s obviously been a long time since most of you have been abducted, but that’s how realms work. Not a second has passed since you arrived, because you’re all inhabitants of Earth.”

“But that doesn’t make sense, we were taken at different times,”Aria protested.

“All of you were taken at the same time on Earth,”the prince explained. “It’s the time in Wonderland that’s passed.”

“So my mom isn’t worried?”Hannah asked, chewing on her bottom lip nervously.

“You’ll be back exactly where you were right before Isabella decided to take you for the construction,”Charles confirmed. “And you won’t remember a thing.”

The girls exchanged a look. 

So I won’t remember my friends?

“So you won’t remember each other,”the prince continued, as if he could read Emily’s thoughts. “But, unfortunately, there’s no way around it. Even I have to record my meetings in foreign realms so I can watch it after I forget.”

“It’s ok,”Hannah said through a strained smile. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll meet some other time.”

Emily sighed. “Maybe.”

***

“You can’t just take them?! Who do you think you are? I am the ruler of this kingdom!”

Miss Isa was exploding with fury. Her face had turned a violent shade of red, and she was spitting like an angry alley cat. “Get out! Get out of my kingdom!”

Prince Charles glared down at the sputtering queen. “I’m in love with them, all of them. And your rule says that they’re free.”

Miss Isa shrieked. “You’re not in love with them! This isn’t love, this is a ploy to deny me my palace! Get out of my kingdom!”

Charles shrugged. “Come on girls,”he smirked. “Let’s go. Princess Kacy will be back for the boys tonight. We’ve found Wonderland extremely special, and we’d like them to have a permanent spot at-”he paused and cleared his throat. “Ayrshire.”

Miss Isa closed her eyes. “Any of you step out of those doors, and I will personally make your life, a living hell.”

Emily gulped. She raised her eyes to meet Aria’s, then Hannah’s. Then she nodded.

Charles bent down and slipped a slim black top hat out from inside his coat. He tossed it on the ground; a vortex of wind spiraled from it, turning purple, then blue, then a dark shade of green. Miss Isa gasped. “Is that-“

“Looks like they won’t have to step out of those doors after all,”Charles sighed. Emily almost laughed at the shock on Miss Isa’s face.

Aria let out a choked cry. She hugged Emily, then Hannah, and stepped forward.

“I taught you better than this,”Miss Isa hissed. “I’m disappointed in you, Miss Lancaster.”

Aria looked her straight in the eye. “You taught me nothing.”

She looked back at Emily and kissed her gently on the cheek, then gripped Hannah’s hands tightly. “I will always remember you,”she whispered. “Both of you.”

And then Aria Lancaster jumped through the portal.

***

She was on the slimy concrete floor, cradling her twisted ankle and moaning in pain. A girl peered down at her, worried. “Oh my god, are you okay?”

There was something familiar about the girl, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She winced and dragged herself back up to her feet. “Yeah, I think so. There’s a ladder down here, I think I can climb back up.”

At the top of the ladder, the girl hoisted her up to the surface. “Do you need any help? I can drive you to the hospital if you want. That looked like a nasty fall, and your ankle looks broken, maybe sprained?”

She smiled. “Yeah, that would be great, thank you. What’s your name?”

“Aria,”the girl smiled. “Aria Lancaster.”

“Nice to meet you, Aria,”she grinned. “I’m Emily.”