Chapter 26
We were all falling…
through something resembling a very long dark tunnel.
Chairs and wardrobes were swimming through the atmosphere; I even perceived lantern lights and butterflies surrounding me.
It felt so strange, and yet I wasn’t afraid.
Maybe because I knew I wasn’t alone, but surrounded by the men who belonged to me.
And then a mirror fell past, halting right in front of me.
As I looked inside, I saw myself dressed in fine attire. I was wearing light-pink pants with bows and ruffles at the ends and a color-mismatched blouse over a lime-green puffy shirt.
Why was I dressed so differently?
Before I could think further about my new clothing, I fell again. The hat floating away from my head caused me to look upwards.
I saw an old clock floating around. That was very weird. It almost felt like the time was ticking backwards.
Where were we?
What first started as a sudden, sharp tumble through darkness was beginning to slow down, like gravity had forgotten us.
Strange whispers surrounded me, along with the tones of a faint music box. Echoes saying, “Up is sometimes the way down” and “You are very late for tea, my dear.”
What was going on here?
“Is this our end?” I whispered. Was this the gate to heaven or whatever after-place that existed for us?
“No,” Damien breathed beside me, as he gripped my waist. “This is something else entirely.” His eyes scanned the shifting scenery around us. “This place… it bends reality. Like a dream.”
A dream?
Suddenly, the colors around us shifted, first twilight purples and deep blues, then carnival reds and golden lights.
We landed softly with our feet on a marble floor that began to ripple and reshape itself into a doorway.
It led to a towering golden door adorned with jesters and playing cars, as if it belonged to the Queen of Hearts itself.
“Are you okay?” Xavier asked, as he pressed himself against me, stroking over my arms.
“Yes.”
And suddenly all of them were staring at me like a treasure or some kind of curiosity.
“What?” I asked.
“You look different, my dear,” Xavier remarked, his fingertips brushing over the fabric of my vest.
I looked back at Xavier; his attire had changed as well.
He definitely wore the same red hairbands, but his blouse had changed into a deep burgundy vest with a ruffled black shirt underneath.
A small crimson tie was hanging around his collar.
His pants were in an asymmetrical design.
The red leg had a black pique symbol and the black leg had a red heart symbol.
His waist adorned a thick dark belt, with a red-and-white checkered cloth tucked into it, almost resembling a silky napkin.
Xavier was the male embodiment of the Queen of Hearts.
Especially with the glittering red eyeshadow and eyeliner he was wearing.
How can a person be so beautiful? And why did I constantly ask myself this question?
With his eye makeup, he looked like a winged creature from heaven, who had come here just to be admired.
He must have noticed his changed outfit at that moment, because he started to smile as well. Or had he read my thoughts again?
“I think the portal really listened to your dreams,” Xavier replied, smirking.
My gaze wandered over to Malakai and Damien standing beside Xavier, as they also studied their new attire.
Malakai was wearing a tailored white high-collared shirt and a corset with delicate embroidery.
He looked so graceful with the light clothes that I had almost overlooked the bunny ears…
my angel was the white rabbit. I suppose it made sense.
He had come to us much later, and yet he was the first I’d perceived in Carnivalland as I fell through the rose hedges.
He was the one who saved me, long before Maverick took me here.
“I’m wearing bunny ears,” Malakai stated, confused. The way they rested against his pale blonde hair made him look almost unreal—not that the beauty of an angel could ever be something understood by mortal kind.
“And I have cat ears on… is that supposed to be better?”
I smiled, amused, taking in Damien’s attire, which consisted of a deep charcoal vest worn over a teal blouse with puffy sleeves.
Around his slim waist he was wearing a silver band, and his pants were velvety green.
And with the scar on his eye and the eyeliner, he very much resembled the Cheshire Cat.
“It looks…” I could not even form any words… With the dark liner framing his intense eyes and his lips slightly stained, he stirred something reckless inside me.
“No words, love?” he asked, his lips curving into a smile as his hands drew me closer to him.
Suddenly Maverick flew through the tunnel, settling itself on Xavier’s shoulder.
“How…?”
“I told you he finds us wherever we are… even through portals,” Xavier explained, stroking his feathers. It caused me to remember that Maverick had also found me in the human world.
And then out of nowhere the cylinder hat fell back to my head… causing all of them to grin at me.
“Now, your outfit is perfect. My little Mad Hatter,” Xavier said, grinning, and pressed a soft kiss to my fingers.
I smiled at his comment. I guess my imagination had somehow influenced our attire, which meant… it wasn’t a long tunnel we had fallen through.
It was a rabbit hole.
Xavier opened the golden door and we all stepped through the entrance, finding ourselves in a huge saloon that resembled a circus tent with a long, golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
Lanterns glowed in impossible colors around the wall, some were flickering upside down, while others were lighting up the ceiling.
While I was passing a vintage mirror, I noticed that my eye makeup was just as mismatched as my blouse. One eye was with pink eyeshadow, the other one with blue.
“How is this possible…” And I didn’t only mean my Mad Hatter outfit, but the entire portal transforming into a twisted Wonderland experience, when minutes ago we were trapped in a cave.
“The portal is influenced by you, Gwendolyn. Instead of bringing us back through the Ancient Springs, it created some sort of shell for you. A shell with all of your dreams…” Malakai explained, the feathers of his wings brushing against my back.
Although Malakai and I have been in each other’s presence for mere hours, it felt like he knew exactly how to touch me to calm me down.
My gaze drifted through the room, looking at the table in the center with lace-trimmed tablecloths in purple and orange, covered in candied apples, checkerboard cookies, different pastries and a giant cake decorated with cherries and sugared roses.
Was this really my creation? Did my dreams and wishes affect the portal somehow?
And then my eyes stopped at a very specific item on the table… a carousel, small and delicate. But instead of traditional horses, this carousel featured little white rabbits.
“Oh, is this one of the little white rabbits you had hoped would save you?” Xavier asked, clearly teasing my astonishment. His gaze wandered over to his raven, whispering loud enough for me to hear, “Poor Maverick, if you would have been a white rabbit, she would have loved you even more.”
I rolled my eyes, which I knew Xavier hated. But surprisingly he didn’t comment on it. Maybe the entire portal had lightened up his mood.
“You know that isn’t true. I love Maverick for bringing me here… to you,” I said.
Xavier tilted my chin gently toward his gaze as his lips brushed against my knuckles and then he took my hand pressing a soft kiss against it. Do you really believe that I didn’t notice your eyes rolling at me, my little demon?
My gaze tilted upwards to him, he read my mind and somehow the tension, the fact that he’d be able to sense every feeling of mine, made me blush again.
Prepare your sweet ass when we are home. Because I ache for you right now in a way that even men of my kind aren’t meant to feel.
A soft gasp escaped my lips, as Xavier layered my hand in kisses. On the other side, I felt Damien brushing over my hand, making me look at him.
“Do you want some tea, my love?” I gazed at Malakai, who was holding the brewing teapot in his hand, waiting for my answer.
How could this man have spent so much time alone and in this miserable state, and now was thinking of serving me. Malakai was so selfless…
“Be careful brother, you’re going to make Gwendolyn tear up,” Damien said amused.
Malakai grinned as he poured me a cup, causing me to blush even more.
“Take a seat, my little Mad Hatter,” Xavier said, adjusting the chair for me so I could take my place. Just like the teapot, there were cups in the forms of sugared roses that kind of reminded me of the faerie houses.
It truly seemed like this portal had created my own sort of escape. It was like my inner self knew it was whole with Malakai being there… and now I was surrounded by my home. Them.
Malakai’s wings brushed against my back, as if he wanted to make sure I was real just as much as I needed to reassure myself, I wasn’t dreaming. My angel was here in the flesh, and I could touch his skin.
The tea in my rose cup shimmered faintly, steam curling upward in the softest scent of peach and vanilla, even some flower petals were swimming inside the liquid.
My gaze drifted toward the cake on the table which had two tiers, adorned with red and purple icing shaped like roses and garlands. Glossy cherries crowned the cake like jewels.
“Oh, I see what you are truly after.” Xavier chuckled, standing up and grabbing the cake server. “Should I be jealous that your eyes are more drawn to the cake than me?” He leaned in, his lips brushing my ear. “Or will it make you hungrier for something later?”
My eyes widened, my face blushing a red that even the face full of makeup could not hide.