9. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
Alice
" O h, don't look so alarmed, little Alice," Cheshire said, his grin softening to something almost kind. "I may be mad, but I'm not cruel. At least, not to those who don't deserve it."
He dropped gracefully onto a stone bench I could have sworn wasn't there a moment before. The garden seemed to shift around him, flowers bending to brush against his fingertips with something like affection.
"The Hatter tells me you need to learn defense," he continued, examining his nails which, I noticed with a start, tapered to subtle points. "How to survive Wonderland in all its hungry glory."
I glanced at the Hatter, who watched Cheshire with a mixture of fondness and wariness. "Is he... safe?" I whispered.
"Nothing in Wonderland is entirely safe," the Hatter replied, as he kept his eyes on Cheshire. "She needs training," he said, voice firm. "She needs to understand what she's facing now that she's returned as an Omega."
Cheshire's smile dimmed slightly, those unsettling eyes narrowing. "Ah, so that's the delicious scent." He inhaled again, more deliberately this time. "No wonder you've hidden her away. Half of Wonderland must be howling at your doorstep by now."
"Which is why she needs your help," the Hatter replied. "No one knows Wonderland's shadows like you do."
I found my voice again, stepping out from behind the Hatter's protective stance. "I can speak for myself," I said, meeting Cheshire's gaze directly. "And I don't need to be talked about like I'm not here."
Cheshire's eyes widened slightly, his grin spreading to reveal those sharp teeth again. "Oh, I do like this one," he purred, rising from the bench in one fluid motion. "So much fiercer than you were as a child. You used to ask so many questions. Now you make demands."
I kept my chin lifted, refusing to look away despite the way his gaze seemed to see through me. "I didn't choose to come back here. But since I'm stuck, I need to learn how to survive."
"Stuck?" Cheshire laughed, the sound rippling through the garden. "Such a limited perspective. You're not stuck, Alice. You're unleashed." He moved closer, circling me with that same predatory grace. "Wonderland has claimed you twice now. Do you have any idea how rare that is? How precious?"
"So I've been told," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "But being 'precious' doesn't feel like a privilege when it means everyone wants to claim me."
Cheshire stopped circling, his head tilting at an angle that was just a bit too sharp to be human. For a moment, his form seemed to flicker—solid, then translucent, then solid again.
"You misunderstand the nature of your power, little Alice," he said, voice dropping to a silky whisper. "Being wanted gives you leverage. Being hunted makes you dangerous."
The Hatter stepped forward, placing himself partially between us. "This philosophical debate, while fascinating, isn't why we're here." He fixed Cheshire with a pointed look. "She needs practical skills. Not riddles."
Cheshire's smile curled at the edges. "But riddles are the most practical skill of all in Wonderland." He sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes. "Very well. Practical skills it is."
He reached out suddenly, fingers hovering just above my cheek without touching. I felt a strange electric tingle where his presence neared my skin.
"She has potential," he said to the Hatter, though his eyes never left mine. "The magic is already settling in her blood. I can see it shimmering beneath her skin."
The Hatter nodded, adjusting his gloves with a precise movement. "Which is why we need to begin her training immediately. Before others sense it too."
Cheshire withdrew his hand, stepping back with a theatrical sigh. "Very well.” He moved to a small clearing where the plants seemed to shrink back, creating a perfect circle of bare earth. With a graceful flick of his wrist, he beckoned me forward.
"First lesson," he said, all traces of playfulness suddenly gone from his voice. "Wonderland responds to belief. Your world trained you to doubt—to question everything, to seek logical explanations. Here, that will get you killed."
I stepped into the circle hesitantly. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," Cheshire said, beginning to pace around me, "that in Wonderland, if you believe something is possible, it often becomes so. If you doubt, you weaken yourself."
"So you're saying I just need to believe I can defend myself and I will?" I asked skeptically.
Cheshire laughed, the sound like wind chimes in a storm. "If only it were that simple. Belief is just the foundation. What you build upon it requires work." He stopped directly in front of me, those teal eyes suddenly serious. "Close your eyes."
I hesitated, glancing at the Hatter who gave me a small nod of encouragement.
"I promise not to disappear while your eyes are closed," Cheshire said, amusement coloring his voice again. "This time." Reluctantly, I closed my eyes, feeling immediately vulnerable in the darkness.
"Now," Cheshire's voice came from somewhere to my left, though I hadn't heard him move, "tell me what you feel."
I focused inward, trying to detect anything beyond the obvious—the whisper of wind through the garden, the faint warmth of sunlight on my skin, the subtle perfume of strange flowers.
"I don't feel anything special," I admitted after a moment.
"Deeper," Cheshire instructed, his voice now somehow behind me. "Don't listen with your ears or feel with your skin. Reach for the part of you that's changing—the part that tingles when you eat Wonderland food, that makes your veins glow silver."
I took a slow breath, trying to quiet my rational mind. At first, there was nothing—just darkness and the growing tension of feeling exposed. Then... a flicker. Something warm and electric pulsing beneath my sternum, spreading outward in delicate tendrils.
"There's... something," I whispered, focusing on the sensation, trying to figure out the words to describe everything I was feeling. "I feel..." I hesitated, struggling to put the sensation into words. "Something moving. Like currents in water, but through the air."
"Good," Cheshire's voice purred from somewhere else now—behind me.
"That's the magic of Wonderland flowing around you.
It's everywhere, touching everything. Most can't feel it at all.
Dreamers sometimes sense it. But you—" His voice moved again, circling.
"You're already beginning to see the patterns. "
"What do I do with it?" I asked, keeping my eyes closed, focusing on those strange currents. They felt almost tangible now, like invisible threads brushing against my skin.
"Reach for it," Cheshire instructed, his voice coming from directly in front of me again. "Imagine your hand extending beyond your physical form, touching those currents."
I felt slightly ridiculous, but I tried to visualize what he described—my consciousness stretching outward, fingers extending to touch the invisible flows of energy. For several heartbeats, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, I felt something catch—like dipping my hand into a stream of warm water.
A gasp escaped me as the sensation rushed up my arm, tingling and bright. I opened my eyes reflexively and found Cheshire watching me with an intensity that was almost frightening.
"You felt it," he said. It wasn't a question.
I nodded, my hand still tingling where I'd somehow touched the invisible current. "What exactly did I just do?"
"You reached for Wonderland's magic," Cheshire replied, his smile widening. "And it reached back."
The Hatter stepped closer, his eyes fixed on my hands where a faint silver glow had returned, tracing delicate patterns across my skin. "Impressive. Most Dreamers take weeks to sense the currents, let alone touch them."
I stared at my hands, flexing my fingers as the glow pulsed with each movement. "It felt... alive. Like it knew me."
"It does," Cheshire purred, circling me again. "Wonderland remembers all who walk its paths, but it particularly favors those who return willingly."
"I didn't exactly come back by choice," I pointed out, watching as the silver glow gradually faded from my skin.
"Didn't you?" Cheshire's voice was a silken challenge. "Something in you was seeking Wonderland long before you fell through that cliff. The door doesn't open twice for those who truly wish to stay away."
I frowned, wanting to argue but finding the words stuck in my throat. Had some part of me been yearning for this place? For this magic that now hummed beneath my skin?
"The currents you felt are Wonderland's lifeblood," the Hatter explained, mercifully changing the subject. "Learning to sense them is the first step toward defending yourself."
"And how exactly does feeling magic help me against someone trying to claim me?" I asked, still watching my hands where the last traces of silver were disappearing.
Cheshire's laugh was soft and dangerous.
"Because, little Alice, once you can feel the currents, you can learn to redirect them.
" He moved with liquid grace to stand beside me, his presence a strange mix of comforting and unsettling.
"The most dangerous Alphas in Wonderland can manipulate these currents to enhance their strength, their speed, even their ability to compel others. "
A chill ran down my spine. "They can compel people? Like... mind control?"
"Not quite so dramatic," the Hatter interjected, adjusting his gloves absently. "But an Alpha command voices carry more weight here than in your world. They can... push against your will. Make suggestions feel like, necessities."
"And as an Omega," Cheshire added, his voice dropping lower, "you're naturally more susceptible to such influence. Your biology is designed to respond to Alpha commands."
I crossed my arms, a defensive gesture I couldn't quite suppress. "So I'm basically doomed," I finished, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice.