Uncovered Project: Wonderoz Chapters 1-3

Chapter One: Dorothy and Alice

I could speak in rhymes or in cryptic songs sung in high-pitched childish keys, but I won’t. I could smile and tell you this is all a child’s fairytale, only to be taken with a grain of salt and your unprotected imagination. But I won’t. I will smile and through my smile I will tell you that maybe I am lying, or, maybe I am not. Perhaps this is all a little joke. Perhaps it is my own silly imagination. Perhaps this is your imagination. But whatever this and whoever I am are not the real riddles of this story.

   I will speak of Alice and Dorothy. Two girls from a world of realism and logic. In their world, two plus two does not equal fish. And certainly animals do not speak, or, think for themselves. There are no singing flowers. There are no witches. It is certainly a dreadfully boring place. But their world is not their own. They were not born in this boring place, nor do they belong there. They belong here with me, with the talking animals, and the witches. It is a wondrous place they belong. It is Wonderoz they belong.

   Now, the story of Alice and Dorothy begins, with all things, me. Who am I? Actually, there is no real way to explain who I am. I am neither alive or deceased. I am neither imaginative or, real. I am easily comprehended, but at the same time, it might destroy a mind to try to do so. Oh no, I am by no means a God, or, the God. I am simply Cheshire. What’s a Cheshire? Well, that’s me! And whatever I am that is what I have always been called and I am the very beginning of this story. This story of two girls named Alice and Dorothy.

   Now, Dorothy is the eldest in mind, body, and spirit. From a very young age, it was extremely apparent she had an old soul. Her hair grew chestnut brown and uncontrollably wild, coming out several inches from her head in wild ocean waves. Her face was soft and round, covered with ravenous freckles. Her eyes, the color of dark forestry, peered out from behind thick eyelashes that grew like a raven‘s wings. She grew to have long legs and arms, along with big feet and small hands. But she was a strong girl, extremely strong. Alice was younger, but by far her ability to imagine and create was greater than that of her sisters. She had dark, slick hair like that of midnight water. Her hair never seemed to want to grow too long, as if it were afraid of heights, or, falling. Her eyes were like tiny brown orbs set in ivory and surrounded by thick, lush vines. She was short and small, but an extraordinary beauty with perfect skin. Certainly, the girls were a perfect match to be sisters. The adventurer and the dreamer. It is, after all, what stories are made up of. 

   Now, the people they knew as parents were of course not. They were a couple in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by countryside and spanning boredom. Of course, the girls could easily remedy this. Dorothy created adventures, building forts and digging tunnels. Alice created stories and incantations. And in their young minds, these fantasies became real. The forts Dorothy built were giant castles made of glass. The renovated foxholes were treasure-laden caves filled with dragons who breathed acid and snow. Alice’s stories became their lives, whisking them away from their adoptive parents’ farm and the dull schoolhouse lectures. 

   What was real for them became real for us. Real for Wonderoz. 

   Now, for Dorothy, as she grew up her skill for building became a talent. With her father’s help, she built a longstanding fort in an old oak tree just in the trees beyond the house. And it became her constant project of love and care. For years, she continued building and adding to it. The forts came down the trunk, expanded on the roots. She researched and learned how to build houses underground and so the fort went underground.

   This little nook became Alice’s favorite room. She would sit and read for hours. She carved into the dirt walls, drawing scenes from their made-up childhood. She painted herself into a corner one day while painting the wooden floorboards. She kept her notebooks and journals down there, sometimes even filling one in a sitting. This behavior, of course, worried her parents. But Dorothy knew what Alice wrote, and she knew that there was no real reason to worry. 

   Now one day, when the sun was high, sky blue, no clouds at all, the sisters went out to pick berries. Dorothy loved raspberries and blackberries. Alice liked blueberries and strawberries. As such, their mother had given them the chore of getting what they wanted. It was easier for her that way. Less run about while the girls were out, less arguing amongst them and the house was quiet for a spell.

   As they walked, Dorothy started talking about music and school, even though it wouldn’t start for another month. All the while Dorothy swung the basket back and forth and Alice listened while her gaze drifted off into the cloudless sky. She hated it there weren’t any clouds. She loved to find pictures in them that she would later draw in her journals. Suddenly, Alice saw something peculiar. The sky was changing colors and twisting. 

   Alice leaned into Dorothy, stopping her basket swinging. “Dorothy," she gasped in a hushed tone. "Look.” She pointed into the air for Dorothy’s eyes to follow.

   Dorothy craned her neck upward, going along the path her sister's finger instructed. Her brown eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open. “What is that?”

   The sky opened up like a pocket, clouds and wind spilling out from within. The more the pocket opened the more the sky turned black and purple and gray. The clouds and wind made way, parting a path as a funnel came spinning out of control towards them.

   “It‘s a twister!” Dorothy pushed against her sister, grabbing her arm and running forward. “Run," she screamed as they held onto one another. Hands clasped so tight, afraid to let the other go that one may be left behind.

   Their feet beat against the earth, kicking up grass and dirt in their wake. Alice turned and looked over her shoulder at the enormous thing coming towards them. Whipping, spinning and spitting violently it chased them like a monster.

   “Dorothy?” Alice cried as she glanced over her shoulder, for sure she heard the monstrous wind call their names.

    “Just keep running!” Dorothy raced forward, but she was suddenly jerked back and down onto the ground. “Alice!” She screamed and clutched onto her sister’s hand. Somehow, Alice had fallen into a hole that hadn’t been there before and Dorothy was her only rope back up to land.

   “Don’t let go!” Dorothy grunted as she tugged on Alice, but it was as if something was pulling at Alice’s leg.

   “Something’s got me!” Alice cried, her fingers twisting in with Dorothy’s. “It won’t let go!”

   Dorothy, so intent on freeing her sister from the hole, didn’t realize she was being lifted up into the air. It was only until she saw the look in Alice’s eyes that she knew something was wrong.

   “Don’t let go!” They echoed one another. Dorothy was floating up into the belly of the beast, Alice was in the throat of the monster. Hovering between worlds it seemed.

   “My shoes!” Dorothy gasped, feeling the hissing wind nibble at her squeezing toes. The straps of her overalls started to beat against her face. The basket on her forearm struck her side with harsh rhythms. 

   Out from the front pocket of Dorothy’s overalls fell her pocket watch. The chain spilled out like pouring water, then the face of the watch slapped Alice against her cheek.

   “Don’t!” Dorothy cried and was sucked in. The watch had broken them apart.

   Alice screamed, trying to grab back onto Dorothy as she slipped into the darkness of the hole. All she had managed to grab was the pocket watch, the chain slithering into the air above her as she was sucked down.

   Now what had caused these anomalies, the hole that was never there before, or, the sky monster, was even a mystery to me. But whoever it was wanted the girls in Wonderoz. 

   I searched the four corners of Wonderoz for answers. I checked the North first, knowing very well it would be the last place I’d find anything suspect. I check in on Glenda and her kindly nature, making sure she knew to watch the skies and to protect anyone who would be falling from them.

   I went in the opposite direction to the South where the Animals were the majority. I knew I’d find nothing there. What use did the Animals have with Dorothy and Alice? I looked over Dormie as she studied and healed, forewarning her of what I had already told Glenda.

   I went to the East where sharply dressed Monkey’s polluted the sky around the great Looking Glass Palace. I suspected something here, but nothing was to be found. The supposed Queen sat in her room, lounging in furs and oils as a Hare served her luxurious teas. 

   Finally, I went West, not knowing what I would find there. I never knew what I’d find in the west up in the Winky Mountains and into the highest tower where the Green One herself always knew of my existence. It was no use hiding myself and subliminally warning her like I did with Glenda and Dormie. So I appeared to her.

   She stood at her window, overlooking the valley.

   “Expecting something?”

   She turned, her raven black hair tumbling down her back in heavy curls and ringlets. Her lightening green eyes flashed at me and she smiled with painted lips. Attractive though she were, she was the one person I didn’t know. I couldn’t understand her like I did everything else. She was like me.

   “Are you?” She asked.

   “The girls.”

   “It wasn’t me.”    

   I nodded. “I just needed to know.”

   “Do you know who?”

   “Do you?”

   All our conversations were like this. Back and forth. Back and forth. We didn’t need explanation, rhyme, or, reason. We just were. That’s all.

   She smiles and turns back to her window. “They’ll be here soon.”

   “Catillia.” I mouthed.

   She didn’t move, but I recognized her response.

   “They’re here…for a reason…” I don’t understand myself if I was asking or telling her. I just was.

   “Yes,” she whispered, neither answering or questioning. “They are here for a reason.”

   I went away then. I went to the center of Wonderoz where the Green City grew into the sky. I went into the highest tower and watched as the Mad Wizard danced around his inventions and greatness. His giant hat fit to burst with all his ideas and magic. I doubt he had anything to do with the girls, let alone even know a thing about them. I warned him as I did with the others whispering into his mind about the angels falling from the sky. Despite how I thought his ego got the best of him, I knew he would be the best man to guard these girls.

   And then it happened. I watched with wide-eyed anticipation as the first one came down from the sky. As I suspected, it was Alice, having taken the highway to Wonderoz through the Hole-That-Was-Never-There-Before. Her red jumper flapped up around her then puffed out, parachuting her down to the ground. I could see the watch glinting in her grip. The panic in her wide, green eyes.

   That’s when the Queen’s head knight, the Gryphon, sliced through the sky and grabbed Alice up. But how did the Queen know? How could she have possibly gotten the wind of this? It didn’t matter now, I had to protect Dorothy now before the Queen, or worse, got their hands on her. Knowing her sister was in trouble, Dorothy would rescue her. So I had to find someone to rescue Dorothy.

   Dorothy, having been brought to Wonderoz via the scenic route, would be due soon. Hopefully Glenda or Dormie, or by a miracle of miracles, the Wizard, would reach out to take the girl. 

   Shortly after my thoughts raced away from me I saw Dorothy, spinning and spiraling out of the control from the sky. The Sky Monster had spat her out like cold leftovers, not caring how the poor girl fell. Thank goodness she was out cold and couldn't see the ever spiraling predicament that she was in. Still, there was no one to save her. No one reaching out like I had planned. 

  Just as I was thinking of where to go and who to fetch; Dorothy was gobbled up by a glowing pink bubble. I curled back in relief. Glenda was always reliable. And now she’d know what to do. But poor Alice.

   I stare off East and towards the Looking Glass Palace where the wicked Queen of Hearts, the witch, was filling the poor things head with lies. Turning Alice against the good. Against Dorothy. 

   But Glenda the good thing, took Dorothy to her home in the Gillikins and laid her to rest in a big comfy bed. Ready to greet her with treats, warmth, and songs when Dorothy awoke. And as though sensing her sister’s plight, Dorothy woke sooner than later.

Chapter Two: Dorothy

To Dorothy, Glenda looked like a human cupcake. Her sweetness came out like glittering icing. Her charm like sugar sprinkles. Dorothy felt no fear as Glenda smiled down at her with red velvet lips. Her dress like pink lemonade and glazed donuts. 

“Where am I?” Dorothy asked, blinking up into Glenda’s hot chocolate eyes. She rubbed her eyes lazily. “Am I dreaming?” She brushed her wild hair from her face and slowly sat up. “Are you an angel?”

The woman before her giggled happily. “I am Glenda.” The cupcake woman radiated sugary sweetness. “You are in my home, darling. Safe and sound.” Glenda replied. “And I am no angel,” she corrected. “I am a witch.” She almost seemed offended Dorothy thought anything else. 

“A witch?” Dorothy murmured dreamily as she rose from the bed. She was tucked lovingly into a bed that smelled like chamomile tea and looked like the pink froth of strawberry icing. “Are you sure I’m not dreaming?” She asked with a smile of disbelief on her face. “Where am I really? What is all this?”

Glenda brushed Dorothy’s hair with her fingers. “We are in the Gillikins, where the Gillikinese live.”

“Yes but…where is that exactly?” Dorothy asked, rubbing the back of her head. “Are we like, in the south or something?”

“Why,” Glenda said with a soft laugh, “you are in Wonderoz, lovely. And you aren’t in the South! You’re in the North.”

Dorothy’s dreamy smile was smacked from her face and replaced by a wild look of bewilderment. “And what is Wonderoz?” 

Glenda smiled again in a sort of sad yet knowing way and it was then Dorothy realized. “I’m not home anymore, am I?” She was knocked breathless.

Glenda shook her head, her ginger snap hair waving welcomingly. “I’m afraid not, my poor thing. You are very far from where you came.”

Dorothy took a deep, waiting breath, crossing her arm across her stomach. “And my sister?” Her eyes darted to the nearest window.

“Far from home,” Glenda hissed through her teeth, “and far from you.” Her voice was sympathetic and soothing. She moved to the tray of tea and treats beside her. 

“Where?” Dorothy gasped standing up, remembering her bare feet. “Where is she?”

“In the East,” Glenda and lifted a tray of iced cookies, “cookie?”

Dorothy took the cookie and mindlessly, “Is she okay?” She started chewing on the cookie in her nervousness, barely realizing it was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.

Glenda handed Dorothy a cup of tea to have with her cookie and eased her back to sitting. “She arrived safely,” she began as she dropped sugar into the tea cup. “Although,” she dumped cream after the sugar and sighed, “I am afraid she, herself, is in a very dangerous situation.”

Dorothy’s eyes grew wide and she choked back the mouthful of cookie. “Dangerous? But you said she arrived safely!”

Glenda touched Dorothy’s cheek. “She will not be harmed. But she will be lied to, and is a lie not extremely dangerous for your sister?”

It was, Dorothy thought and knew, but how did this woman know? Dorothy licked her lips, tasting sugar as if it were in the air. “Who are you?” She asked again, setting everything in her hands aside. “You said you were a witch,” From the sweets and Glenda’s obviously saccrine lifestyle, she was reminded of a witch who lured children to their demise with a candy domicile. Yet, witches didn’t usually look so beautiful and glamorous did they?

“I am Glenda,” she answered simply, “the Witch of the North.”

Dorothy pressed her lips into a firm line. “Yes, you said this before,” she murmured, “That doesn‘t quite answer my question.”

“Oh,” Glenda seemed disappointed. “Well, what is the question?”

“What does witch mean here?” Dorothy asked. “Is it a title? Do you eat children?”

Glenda shook her head as she threw it back with laughter. “I am a good Witch! I most certainly do not eat children!” She pointed at Dorothy’s feet and a pair of clean white socks appeared. 

Dorothy gasped, squeezing on the cookie in her hand. Red galoshes blossomed on her feet next and she stared in gaping awe.

“Wow!” She modeled her feet before her and stared up at Glenda in admiring awe. “Are they magic, or, anything?”

Glenda laughed. “No, but I can make magic shoes if you’d prefer them.”

Dorothy dropped her feet and shook her head. “No. These are fine. Thank you.” She looked over Glenda’s face and nodded. “I can trust you, can’t I?” She then hesitated and reworded herself. “I know you somehow, don’t I?”

The sugary witch shrugged. “You’re the only one who knows that. Now eat your treat and I’ll tell you a story.” Dorothy sat back and bit into the cookie. It tasted like raspberries and blackberries. 

Glenda started telling Dorothy the story of Wonderoz. How long ago, the rightful queen disappeared leaving the Four Witches of the Corners and the Mad Wizard of the Center to take care of things. The Witch of the South with her ability to heal others and understand the souls of Animals and animals. The Witch of the East who had taken over the Looking Glass Palace and named herself Queen of Hearts and took to tormenting the small people of Munchkinland with her ability to change size.  Then there was the mysterious Witch of the West who appeared suddenly in a puff of smoke and fire. There was also the Mad Wizard, a man of immense knowledge and magic who kept the Great Book of Record. She then told Dorothy of the Rightful Queen’s daughters and how they were whisked out of harm’s way in order to wait they day they’d be ready to take over the throne to Wonderoz.

“Princesses?” Dorothy asked, licking her fingers clean. During Glenda’stale she had cleared out the entire tray of cookies and sweets as well as several cups of tea. “Where did they go?” She asked. “In a place with as much magic as this you’d think they would be safest home.” She swiped some powdered sugar from the plated onto her fingertip. 

“They were just young things,” Glenda sighed sadly. “Their mother had just vanished, and their father had been mortally wounded and had to go into hiding. Two young girls like that needed to be hidden somewhere out of harm’s reach.” She looked over Dorthy, her bright eyes and freckle spotted cheeks. “Not many people travel between worlds. Its almost impossible.”

Dorothy met her eyes, her chin dropping slightly. “Between worlds…” She hesitated, mind grinding and working away at the information given to her. 

She then let out a laugh. “This is all just so...silly!” She stood up and went over to the window, looking out before her at the rolling hills covered with blossoming trees. “It all seems too much like a dream to be anything else. And yet-” she gripped the windowsill hard in her hands. “And yet this is all too real as well.” She pressed her lips into a hard line. “Wonderoz...four witches.” She turned and looked to Glenda. “I need to find my sister.” She stated strongly. 

Glenda nodded gently. “That you do.”

“You’re a witch right?” Dorothy asked as she turned back towards her. “You can use your magic to help me right?”

“No,” Glenda said simply, causing Dorothy to deflate considerably. “Magic does not simply work that way,” Glenda explained to her. “Even if someone is truly powerful, magic has limits. It isn’t limitless like in legends and it doesn’t always work.” She looked hard at Dorothy, a dark and serious look crossing through her sweetness. “My magic keeps balance, along with the other witches. I have to keep it in the North, within my boundaries.”

Dorothy swallowed, nerves flapping and hopping about in her belly. “I have to do this on my own then?” She sniffed stiffened her shoulders. “Fine! I can do it. I’m not afraid.”

Glenda stood up, “I’m glad to hear you say that.”

“I’ve gotta go save her.” Dorothy murmured, psyching herself up. “What other options do I have, Ms. Glenda?” She looking up at her. “I’m not gonna sit around and twiddle my thumbs waiting for someone else to fall out of the sky and rescue me.”

Glenda pulled her wand from her sleeve. A long silver stick with pink bubbles and fairy floss all wrapped about it. “I know that.” She put her hand on Dorothy’s shoulder. “But you need to be prepared for her rescue.” She raised her wand above her head and began waving it around. More fairy floss fluttering out and building up into a ball. “You need a change of clothes. And you need some provisions. Your sister is a long ways off from here and you can‘t just go barreling blindly into unfamiliar territory.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Dorothy said in awe as she watched Glenda’s magic work above her head.

Glenda had Dorothy stand back and she pulled a bubble over the top of her. The bubble burst and Dorothy stood there wearing a fresh cotton blouse with no sleeves and ruffles coming up the middle. Over that were blue and white checkered suspenders attached to dark blue pants tucked into the red galoshes. Then, a coat floated down onto her arms and shoulders. The collar bubbled up around her neck and chin and on the lapel a bright emerald glowed.

“That emerald will allow you safe passage into the Green City to see the Mad Wizard. It will also direct you out of harm’s way as well as keep a locked point on your sister’s location.” 

Dorothy tapped the brooch and looked up at Glenda again, “why can’t we just contact this Wizard guy? If he’s so amazingly powerful and all that, can’t we just call him or something?”

“There are many eyes and ears all about the Wizard,” Glenda whispered. “Wherever his magic is, there is someone listening. We can’t risk your location getting out, so this is the unfortunate way you must go about.” Glenda explained as she picked up a basket.

“That’s my-” Dorothy gasped, reaching for the one familiar artifact she had left.

“You wouldn’t let go of it when you came through.” She placed it back into Dorothy’s arms. “Everything you need is in here.”

Dorothy opened it up and frowned, “but there isn’t anything in here.” She looked deep inside. “In fact, it looks like it has no bottom either.”

Glenda winked, “anything you need will be there when you call for it.”

Dorothy nodded knowingly and closed it back up. “Is there anything else?”

“Yes,” Glenda said, leading Dorothy out of the room. “In case you should ever need me, you can call me.”

Dorothy nodded. “How?”

Glenda brought her hand up towards her mouth and made a circle with her thumb and forefinger. “Put your fingers to your lips like this and blow.”

Dorothy did so. Mimicking the good witch’s gesture. She blew between the circle and a bubble popped up and floated before her eyes.

“Do this and I will come immediately.” Glenda pulled Dorothy to her and kissed her forehead. The kiss filled Dorothy with a sweet warmth, like a kitchen being filled with the scent of baked sweets. “Now let me show you on your way.”

They walked outside Glenda’s little home into the bright sunlight and into the Gillikins. Dorothy saw high rolling mountains made of colored clay. Trees that dripped with ripe, luscious fruit. And a road that was made of golden-yellow bricks.

Glenda pointed. “That road leads to all corners of Wonderoz.” She tapped the emerald on Dorothy’s lapel and a beam of light shone out, pointing Dorothy down the yellow road. “Your pendant will point you in the right direction you need to go.”

“But-” Dorothy heaved. “What do I do when I get there?”

“Lovely…” Glenda gently touched Dorothy‘s hair. “You are never alone. And right now, your sister needs you. You will find the courage you need along the way. Your heart will be full of love, and you have a sharp brain on you.” She winked at her again, “you know how to call me if things get over your head. And above all else you have the knowledge you need deep inside.”

Dorothy wasn’t quite sure what Glenda was talking about. She felt like she was just getting a swift boot out the door. She took a deep breath and stepped down onto the road, feeling suddenly what Glenda had been talking about. She looked forward, felt a sugar coated breeze brush against her cheek and she ran.

Glenda turned and looked up at me on my perch. “She is strong,” the steadfast belief that she spoke to Dorothy with was gone, replaced by worry.

I smiled, “of course she is,” and then I went off to look after Dorothy a little while longer.

She stopped an hour or two later and came to rest on a mossy hill that was overlooked by a cornfield. She sat down and laid back, looking up at the cloudless sky that seemed to fade from radiant blue to heather purple in rippling waves. She finally sat back up and reached her long arm into the picnic basket. A moment later she produced a white, paper sack with a rather fatty looking lunch inside. She had eaten enough sweets to kill  beast back with Glenda, I was quite unsure how she was so hungry again.

In Dorothy’s mind she thought herself strong and mature to be taking on such a task alone. But, in her heart she was crying for her sister, for anyone, to come and share her meager meal with her. Such simplistic wishes from a girl in a very un-simplistic situation. Most would be wondering why this place was called Wonderoz, or, how they arrived in such a strange world. But not Dorothy. No, her worries were focused on eating alone.

She was cracking open a bottle drink when, from within the cornfield, crows screamed and cackled. Dorothy looked up over her shoulder as they dive bombed into the cornstalks. She stared harder, noticing the stalks of corn weave and part and sway as if someone was racing through them in  clumsy circles.

Dorothy sat her meal aside and stood up. She took a few steps off the mossy bank and looked up, watching cornstalks sway and crows fly in odd patterns, weaving in and out of the field. She heard laughter and caws, almost as if the crows were talking amongst themselves.

“If there are witches I’m sure animals can talk,” Dorothy murmured to herself.

“Help!” Someone cried out from within the corn. They followed up by yowling and yipping in pain. “Stop pecking me! Ow! You’re being-ow!”

“Hey!” Dorothy yelled into the cornstalks. “Hey, you need help?”

“I dunno!” It was a man inside the corn.

Dorothy jumped over the fence and split the corn so that she could enter. She looked up, watching where the crows soared up and dived back down into the stalks. She finally came upon them. The man was racing in circles as crows dive bombed him in a sort of synchronized dance.

“Get!” Dorothy ran forward waving her arms and shouting at the crows. “Leave him alone! Go on, get!”

“Or what?” One of the crows cackled as he soared before her.

Taken aback by the fact the crow talked to her, Dorothy composed herself and cleared her throat. “You do not want to see me angry!” She roared.

The crows, easily scared, screamed and flapped off, surprised by Dorothy’s loud echoing voice.

“That’s right! Get!” Dorothy barked after them. “Think twice before you pick on people!” She then turned her attention to the young man still running circles in the corn.

“Hey!” Dorothy held her arms out and brought him to a stop. “Its okay! Hey! They’re gone now.”

The man brought his arms away from his face and opened his eyes, showing off the emeralds that sat in the sockets. Dorothy could have been taken in by how handsome the young man was. But Dorothy had never been one to care about appearances, all she saw were the peck marks on his face and neck.

“Oh, are you okay?” She gasped, wiping at the blood with her sleeve.

The man shrugged. “I dunno.”

“Well what were you doing to provoke that?” Dorothy lead him out of the cornfield by his gloved hand. 

“I dunno,” the man replied dazedly. “But thank you for helping me!” He said with a blushing smile. 

He was dressed in sloppy, oversized clothes that looked like thin quilts and were the color of baked earth. He was a tall, gangly fellow, with a crop of wild, dirty hair that sprang in multiple directions underneath a straw hat.

“Anyone would of done it,” she replied, somewhat relieved to have someone around. She sat him down on the mossy bank. “Are you hungry?” She asked as she reached back inside the basket.

“I dunno,” the man replied, shrugging.

“Is that all you can say?” Dorothy giggled as she produced a first aid kit from inside the magic basket.

“I dunno-” the man caught himself and smiled.

Dorothy opened up the kit and pulled out a cloth and started cleaning the man’s wounds. “Well, what’s your name?” She asked. “I’m Dorothy.”

“I dunno…” he trailed off again. “But it is nice to meet you, Dorothy.”

“Does this hurt?” Dorothy dabbed a cloth to his cheek, cleaning the peck mark there.

He flinched and hissed. “It stings.”

Dorothy looked into the boy’s face to find something of him within that silly grin and somewhat blank eyes. She pulled from him his eagerness to befriend her and his timid fears. He was a lost soul like she was and they both needed someone who would hold their hand. 

“That means it working,” Dorothy finished patching him up and handed him water and half of her lunch. She eased back, feeling relaxed that she was no longer lonesome. They ate in silence, the mindless fool had nothing to say and Dorothy had no idea what to say even though she had so much of it to say. She instead enjoyed the warmth beside her and decided it would be best not to burden to poor boy.

“Well, whoever you are I certainly don’t know.” She said. “ But it was very nice to meet you too.” She said and went back down to the road.

The mindless boy stood up following after her. His feet seemingly forgetting how to work and she tripped over nothing, stumbling and diving before her on the yellow brick.

“Oh no! You okay?” She asked as she knelt to help him.

He grinned his big toothy grin at her and laughed. “I fell.”

Dorothy smiled sympathetically at him. “Yeah. You did,” she said as she helped him stand. “But are you okay?”

He shrugged and smiled. “I dunno,” he swallowed. He then perked up, back straight, head high, looking desperately at Dorothy. “Where are you going?”

“To the East,” Dorothy pointed behind her, paralleling the beam of green light from her pen. “I’m trying to find my sister.”

“Can I come with you?” He asked, clasping Dorothy‘s hands in his. “I don’t have anywhere to go and I barely know where I am half the time I do go anywhere. I find, it sure would be awfully nice to have someone around who knows the other half that I don’t. And I don’t think I eat a lot. And I can sure promise that I don’t talk a lot because I don’t know what it is I am talking about.” He hesitated and swallowed his words. “So…”

“So?” Dorothy mimicked his head crook.

He squeezed onto her hand. “Won’t you take me with you?”

Dorothy beamed. She had been too shy to ask what he had just asked. “Why of course I will.” She then pointed. “But what am I supposed to call you?”

He grimaced and shrugged. “I dunno.”

“Alright then,” Dorothy chimed with an instant idea. “I’ll call you, Eye.”

Eye tilted his head onto his shoulder. “Huh?”

“From now on, when someone asks for your name, you’ll reply: Eye Dunno.” Dorothy said, trying to reveal her cleverness to the naive boy before her. “Get it?”

“I dunno.” Eye said, shaking his head.

Dorothy sighed and took Eye by his knobby elbow. “I knew you’d say that.”

I stepped out onto the road behind them and watched as they walked off. I had a feeling from this Eye fellow. He was like some sort of rag doll, a play thing, a puppet. But who was the puppet master behind him? And what made me think that at all? But whatever it was, I sensed no danger from him otherwise and I was at least eased that Dorothy would not be alone. The girl needed people around her. More than needed, deserved people around her.

“Who is it you’re looking for Dorothy?” Eye asked.

“My sister,” Dorothy replied solemnly. “Her name is Alice.”

Eye turned and looked at Dorothy’s strong profile. “Why is she gone? And what has happened that would have you looking for her?”

Dorothy smiled up at Eye. “I dunno,” she said shrugging.

Eye put his hand atop Dorothy’s head. “Me neither.”

I sighed. They were made for each other. Now, I just have to tell you about Alice and her adventures as well. Do I not?

Chapter Three: Alice 

Alice simply fell. Unlike Dorothy, she did not have the pleasure of coming through unconscious. Throughout the entire trip through the hole she was horribly lucid. She glided through an experience, watching time reverse, slow, speed up, and ultimately become a confusing mess. For her, once she was spat out into the vast skies of Wonderoz it was a relief to her senses. Unfortunately, the ground was rapidly approaching. The wind was whipping and whirling about her, both pushing and pulling her as she descended. 

She wanted to scream but he voice wouldn’t come. The wind took everything away.  She closed up, folding herself into a ball and clutching onto the last thing that kept her anchored to earth, the pocket-watch.

“Save me Dorothy. Save me Dorothy. Save me Dorothy.” She repeated over and over in her head like a prayer.

Then she stopped. She  gasped and shuddered, stunned by the sensation of moving forward rather than down. She looked up, seeing powerful wings and sharp talons, gripping onto her shoulders. She had never seen such a creature before like the Gryphon and her mind raced to make sense of what it was and what was happening.

He had scooped Alice up from the sky as he would claw his meal from the stream. “Does he plan to eat me?” Alice thought as she tried to calm and collect her thoughts. “What would Dorothy do?”

The Gryphon turned it’s mighty head down at her, sharp gold eyes piercing into her own. She let out a scream and hammered her small fist down on his talon, hitting the exact spot he had injured earlier.

And like that she was falling again, but not for long.

Alice smacked onto a broad, flat leaf and tried desperately to claw herself into stability. Unfortunately, the leaf didn’t hold and it snapped from its branch. A wind caught it and sent Alice and the leaf gliding through the air.

Alice braced herself up, and despite her hammering heart she made herself watch. She stared at the scenery that passed her by, trying to remember it for later. North she saw a lavender sky and sparkling trees. South, she saw a vast jungle dotted by jagged, blue mountains. In the West she saw nothing but a wall of mountains and a gray-green sky. In the East, which was the direction she was heading, she saw a pink and orange sky outlined by what looked like a giant forest.

The leaf began loosing altitude and Alice knew what was coming. She was heading straight for the giant forest. But as she got closer, she noticed something very strange about it. The things she thought were trees weren’t, Alice recognized them as ferns. She also saw giant ivy vines, azalea bushes, and other common garden decorators that were normally no higher than her knees! How had they become so giant?

“Have I shrunk?” Alice thought aloud to herself. She looked below her and saw a vast orange sea, dotted with black. She squinted and stared until it had passed under her.

“Poppies?” She questioned.

Then she plowed into the Giant Garden. Her flying leaf crashed into what looked like a massive foxglove. She was tipped into a lavender-pink cup but the light-weight flower couldn’t hold her and she ripped through to another leaf, sliding from it to another, and from there she free fell.

Alice screamed, fearing the worse. She closed her eyes tight and held her breath.

POOF! 

Alice slowly opened her eyes and looked up. Her sight blocked by giant foxgloves and a sunflower. She looked to her side and saw bright yellow. She sat up and stared around her. Half-smiling, half panicked.

“A marigold!” She laughed, hyperventilating. 

Elsewhere, just beyond the rim of the Gillikins, Dorothy’s emerald suddenly changed directions.

Alice doubled over, laughing and crying in the joy she was alive from such an event. She finally cried herself to sleep in the marigold, perhaps one of the better beds of her life. She fell asleep this way, convinced it was all a dream and that once she woke up she’d be safe and sound in her underground room with Dorothy calling out her name.

I sat there in the marigold with her for a while. Reflecting on how lucky she was to haven’t of landed in the poppy field but lamenting the fact she would now be hunted no better than a Gump. 

I sighed and looked over her tear stained face, pictured her sister halfway across Wonderoz and running around with a nitwit. Alice never needed anybody. She lived in her own dream world, happily fulfilled with her tiny underground room. She would search all of Wonderoz alone if no one offered to help take care of her. 

I then heard voices coming from within the Garden. The This Way That Way Cabaret was nearby, another lucky coincidence. Surely a patron or employee would see Alice and help her out. Then, out from behind a fluffing dandelion came the Tweedle Twins.

I had always liked them, their story was just as interesting as this one. Their deformity was enough proof of that. It was also this physical defect that made them such a popular act in the This Way That Way Cabaret. For, from the chest up, they looked like two normal and extremely handsome boys. But, from the waist down, they were conjoined. Forever melted together from some freak fire inside the mother’s womb. Their mother, so disgusted by them at birth, left them to die in the Garden. Luckily they were saved and raised as proper young boys should be. Now women fancy them for their shared loins and long legs. 

Dee was the left side, handsome, smart, and always calm. Dum was the right side, beautiful, optimistic, and hilarious. They worked perfectly together as an act and comedy duo like an eternal odd couple. On stage they would perform in outlandish, sometimes revealing costumes. They would serve and host in the Cabaret and they weren’t above earning extra money on the side with shadowy business. 

But now that didn’t matter. They had found Alice, and with their giving nature, inherited from their adoptive father, they were taking her in. Dum was the one who noticed Alice. He was ignoring his brother prattering on and his eyes caught the shadow of Alice sleeping above them.

“Where did she come from?” Dee murmured as they looked over her.

Dum looked upward, seeing the wreckage Alice had caused by her fall. “Up,” he murmured softly.

“I heard whispers from the Hare that another girl fell in the North,” Dee checked to make sure Alice was still breathing. “We better take her in.”

“Girls falling from the sky?” Dum asked as they carried Alice down from the marigold. He chuckled, “the witches must be having quite a time with this!”

“You don’t find this extremely odd?” Dee scoffed.

“Cute girls raining down isn’t appealing to you?” Dum stared over Alice, his heart suddenly skipping a beat.

“Dum,” Dee coaxed warningly.

“I ain’t doing any harm just looking at her.” Dum sniffed. “Calm down.” His free arm reached around and stroked the hair from Alice’s  face. 

Dee, with his spare arm, reached around and boxed Dum’s ear. “Don’t touch her like that while she’s unconscious!”

Dum whipped around and clocked Dee’s nose. “And don’t you dare hit me!”

“Dorothy…” Alice murmured in her sleep. “What’s going on?”

Dee and Dum looked at one another. “Dorothy?”

Dee noticed the pocket watch in Alice’s hand and took it. The chain curled around Alice’s fingers, keeping him from pulling it too far. 

Dee flipped the pocket watch open and looked inside where Dorothy had stuck the picture of her and Alice just inside the door. He hummed, smoothing his thumb over the pretty brunette standing beside Alice.

“Must be her sister.” He said, closing the watch and placing it in the pocket of Alice’s jumper.

Dum thought for a moment. “Perhaps she’s the one who fell int he North.” “Dorothy…” Alice’s hand rose and slapped against Dum’s cheek. “Stop trying to scare me.” Her hand seemed to recognize that the contours of Dum’s face weren’t Dorothy’s and Alice shook awake.

“What-” Alice gasped, horror struck.

“Calm down. Calm down.” Dee coaxed. “We’re not going to hurt you.” His and Dum’s arms worked together in sliding Alice to the ground and helping her stand on her feet.

Alice turned and stared at them. First her eyes got wide like saucers, then her mouth pouted and jaw went slack. She stared at the Tweedle twin’s shared waist and legs then up to the fork that allowed them to keep there own chests and set of broad shoulders and arms. 

To her, she could see their faces were near identical. But she noticed the finer niches. Dee had smoother cheek bones and a more prominent mouth. Dum was rounded at the corners and had a mole at the right corner of his lip. They both had platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. Their hair style differently and their eyes held different depths.

“What-” It took everything Alice had to keep from pointing. “I beg your pardon,” She continued staring, barely moving save for wringing her hands around the pocket watch. “Can you tell me where I am?”

“The Giant Garden.” Dee replied.

“In Wonderoz.” Grinned Dum.

Alice tilted her head slightly to the side and let the word simply roll over her. Her lips parted slightly. “Wonderoz?”

The twins nodded. “Where did you think you were?”

“No where called Wonderoz that‘s for sure!” Alice gasped. “I…I fell into this hole that wasn’t there before and…and my sister…” She started to feel the panic again. “My sister was eaten by this thing that came from the sky.”

The twins looked at one another again. “The Twister.” Dee mouthed.

“The Rabbit Hole.” Retorted Dum.

Alice wrung her hands, clutching at the watch in her pocket. “I have to find my sister,” she said decisively. “Excuse me,” she tried walking by the Twins but they stopped her.

Dee reached out and took Alice’s elbow. “Come with us. We can help you.”

Dum brushed against her cheek and touched her shoulder. “We know someone who can help you.”

In order to keep from panicking, Alice allowed the conjoined boys to lead her off. She rubbed her thumb back and forth roughly against the glittering gold casing of the pocket watch and flipped it open to study the picture inside.

“Are you worried about her?” Dee asked.

“No.” Alice shook her head. “No. Dorothy is…I know she’s okay. I know she can handle anything. But…” She licked her lips. “I know she’s going to worry about me so I just have to…I just have to let her know I’m okay.”

“So where did you guys come from?” Dee asked. “Why did you come here?” 

Alice shook her head. “I don’t know why we’re here.”

Dum squeezed on Alice’s shoulder. “We’re almost there. And don’t worry, Caterpillar will know exactly what to do.” 

Alice furrowed her brow. “A caterpillar?”

The cabaret where the twins worked was well known not only for its acts, but for the business that went down there. Many a coup had been planned there. Some even spoke of a resistance that was building to bring back Princess Ozma forming within the walls of the This Way That Way Cabaret. I won’t ruin the surprise by telling if it’s a rumor or truth.

When they arrived, the Cabaret was getting ready for business when it opened at sundown. The lights were dim, but Alice could still see the employees darting around preparing tables, mopping, and cleaning. 

The man behind the bar had a horse head. The waitress dressed in the revealing red dress had skin that looked like diamonds. 

“What did you find?” She asked as she approached the them.

“This is Alice. The Rabbit Hole got her.” Dee explained. “We need to take her to Caterpillar.”

The girl’s ruby eyes got wide. “The Hole? Really? It hasn‘t done anything in quite sometime!” She gasped and looked at Alice. “How interesting! But I don’t think you’ll be able to get to Caterpillar till after she finishes her act.”

“That late?” Dum whined.

“You two need to get ready.” The girl made of gemstones scolded. “You go on first tonight.”

“Right.” Dee huffed. “Do you mind watching after her for us?” 

The girl frowned. “I can’t. I’m too busy right now.” She turned and pointed. “Why not see if the Hare will baby-sit her,” she grimaced. “He’s already here.”

Alice followed her sparkling arm and saw a man sitting at the bar in a burgundy suit and tawny hair seemed to tilt to one side of his head. 

“Oh, Snap!” Dum called.

The man turned and Alice saw his ears, long protruding things that stuck out over a foot from his head. Never mind his face. It was always his damned ears.

“Here’s ten oysters.” Dee said, slamming some coins down on the counter before the man. “Keep an eye on her, okay?”

Snap took the coinage. “Of course. Now what is the little lady’s name?”

“Uhm,” Alice started. Still the ears. They looked as if someone had taken his ears and pinched them then stretched them out like children’s dough, giving him rabbit’s ears.

“Don’t worry about it,” Dee sniffed.

“She had an unpleasant trip,” Dum warned, whispering. “So she’s a little shaken. None of your usual business, alright?”

Snap grinned. “Then all she needs a drink.” He snapped his fingers. “Bartender. Drink me!”

Alice sat down beside Snap and looked up at the Tweedle Twins expectantly.

“We won’t be long.” Dee coaxed, patting her back.

Dum massaged her shoulders gently. “We just gotta do our act and then we’ll be done.” He replied, grinning. “And after Caterpillar is done too, you can ask her to find your sister. Just enjoy the show alright?”

“Okay.” Alice swallowed. “Thank you.” She forced a smile. “You’re very sweet.”

Dum blushed and Dee nodded.

“You’re welcome.” They both replied in their own way and whisked off.

Snap patted Alice’s back. “They said you had a rough trip. What happened to such a pretty thing as you?” 

“I had a rather jarring fall,” Alice murmured, fidgeting a bit to try and regain composure.

The Hare eyed her curiously. The pitch black orbs that sat in the socket taking her in, noticing her strange clothing, the way she couldn’t stop staring at everything around her. She didn’t seem quite to fit in.

He looked up as the horse-headed bartender placed a glass bottle and two glasses before them. 

“What’s that?” Alice asked pointing to the glass.

“Curiosity.” Snap said uncorking the bottle and pouring the contents into a crystal glass dotted with ruby hearts.

“That kills cats.” Retorted Alice.

Snap grinned. “That it does!” He handed the glass to her. “But none of us are cats here, are we?”

Alice smiled. “Guess not.” She sniffed the glass then took a tentative sip. “Its sweet.”

“It is also safe.” Snap said, pouring himself a glass. 

Alice was now able to get passed his ears and she noticed the aquiline features of his face. The curl of his lips. The way his hair shadowed his left eye. The way his eyes were completely dark brown, no whites, with a golden ring circling the pupil should be.

He smiled at her then pinched an earlobe between his fingers. “Ears?”

Alice blushed. “S-sorry. But they are quite…”

“Prominent. Yes.” Snap laughed. “I know.” He drank from his glass. “Tangy.” He smacked his lips and shook the glass. “Curiosity. Its different for everybody.”

Alice took another sip and nodded. “Makes sense.”

Snap hummed. “So, what do you need to see Caterpillar for?”

“I’m not sure who Caterpillar is and what she can do for me. But the twins think she can help me find my sister.” Answered Alice. 

Snap licked his lips, his tongue dark purple. “You have a sister!” He exclaimed. “What a lucky world that there are two of you.”

Alice chuckled, blushing softly. “Oh no. Dorothy and I are as different as sisters can possibly be.”

“Dorothy?” Snap oohed. He had one name. “Dorothy and Uhm?” He asked.

Alice blushed more. “Oh, that’s right,” she turned more towards him. “My name is Alice, actually.”

“Alice,” he breathed happily. “It suits you.”

Alice watched him as he elegantly drank his Curiosity and waxed onto her. He was so odd looking. But at the same time he was oddly beautiful to Alice. She could sense the tragedy in him and it intrigued her. This was only heightened by the Curiosity.  

Alice cleared her throat to catch his attention. “Do you mind me asking something?”

Snap shrugged. “For you?” He flourished his hand before her. “On the house.”

Alice screwed up in her mouth as she second guessed herself. “What are you exactly?” She finally asked.

Snap pursed his lips and thought. “Good one. Well, I am Snap H. March. I am someone who can be bought. By that I mean whoever has enough money can buy me for any service.” He laughed when he saw the shy and stunned look that crossed her face. “Well, my services vary but I mainly work in information trade.”

Alice squinted her eyes at him. “So you’re a bad guy?”

Snap‘s head tipped back slightly as he laughed. “If someone pays me to do so I will be.”

“Is that why the twins paid you?” She asked. 

He nodded. “Of course.”

Alice mocked his quick, jolting nod. “I get it. But what exactly are you? You’re not human are you?” She urged for the answer.

Snap furrowed his brow. “What’s a human?”

Alice was taken aback. “I uh-er um…”

Snap tilted his head towards Alice and his deep, dark eyes became squinting slits. He moved back and took his glass back into his hand. “Human…weird word. Sounds like you’re asking, who man?” He snorted. “Woman.” He mouthed the word, coming up with other homonyms for the mystical little word Alice had spoken. “Hue man. Do these Hue Mans change color? Like a chameleon?”

Alice shook her head. She felt like shrinking away and folding into herself to escape ever saying it. “No. They don’t.”

“Anyway,” Snap sighed, continuing, “whatever this Hue Man thing is, I am certainly not it. I am a Hare.”

Alice went to question him but the doors to the Cabaret opened up and people started filing inside from a line that had formed from the time Alice and the twins had come inside. The lights dimmed and people cooed and cawed in anticipation. Alice looked to Snap who was now staring towards the stage where the curtain’s pulled open. A stage light came down, sprinkling golden glitter with it. 

The twins stood there, draped in a long red cape with a high, black collar of fur. But Dee was the only one visible. His face was painted white, his eyelids lined with thick black eyeliner, his lips painted red and in the shape of a heart. His wore what Alice guessed was a wig because it was long, curly and black. She barely recognized him if it weren’t for his exceptional beauty. She could tell it was Dee, because he didn;t have the beauty mark that Dum possessed.

His blue eyes opened up and he turned his face to the audience, his body still and turned in profile. Dum still hidden somewhere amongst the costume.

“Wow!” Alice mouthed.

Snap glanced over at her. “Hmm?”

Alice didn‘t realize her hands were gathering up around her mouth. “He’s beautiful.”

Snap smirked. “Ah, yes. Certainly, there is no creature more beautiful and hypnotizing than the Tweedle Twins. The pride and horror of Wonderoz.”

“Can we get closer to the stage?” Alice asked, already standing.

Snap pursed his lips. “Certainly.” He put his hand on Alice’s back and they walked up to the front of the stage, taking a table away from a woman with ears like a dog and another who had long tentacle hair. 

Music started up and Dee’s lips parted. “Twinkle, twinkle little bat.” He lifted his arm up as he sang and a dark cloud of smoke came out, shaped like a bat. “How I wonder what you’re at.” He extended his other hand and a spray of gold glitter came into the crowd. “For how doth a little crocodile improve it’s shining tail? Where do ravens sing? Why does the writing desk cry? I will answer all your riddles while dancing with the fiddles and tea trays in the sky.”

They spun and now Dum was visible. He face was just as white, eyeliner just as thick, lips like a baby doll’s and signed like a sentence with a period. His hair was white, long, and sleek. The collar surrounding him and blocking Dee was also white. His eyes a deep blue.

“Lobster’s dance in quadrille cordials while fake turtles cry. Happy summer days. Happy summer days.” He extended his hand and more glitter came from his fingertips. He tilted his head and continued singing. “Twinkle, twinkle little bat. How I wonder what you’re at.” Another black-smoke bat. “Riddle me this and riddle me that.” The cape came up, showing off the single pair of legs underneath. “Who is afraid of a big, old bat?” The cape dropped to the ground, revealing both brothers attached to the same waist. 

The crowd erupted with gasps and applause. 

“Riddle me this and riddle me that.” The twins sang in unison. “How doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail? I didn’t know that they had glittering scales. Where do ravens sing to make the writing desk cry? What do all these riddles have to do with you and I?” They touched each others faces and Alice thought for sure they were going in to kiss.

They pulled away and lifted their arms in the air. “Riddle me this and riddle me that. How I wonder where I’m at. Up above the world so high. We one or two will get you by.”

Women in the crowd screamed and swooned.

The twins grinned and looked down, seeing Alice for the first time in the crowd. Dum stretched out his arm and pulled Alice up on stage. 

“Twinkle, twinkle like girl. Where in this world do you belong?” The cape came up from the stage floor and melted around them. It collapsed and fell again. None of them on stage.

Below the stage, just underneath a trap door, Alice was clutched onto the twin’s shared waist panting heavily. The fall from the stage had terrified her, reminding her of her trip down the Rabbit Hole and on the giant leaf.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Dee reassured.

Dum stroked her hair. “We didn’t mean to scare you!”

Alice shook her head. “No. I’m fine.” She quaked. “I’m fine.”

“Okay then. Lets get you ready for Caterpillar.” Dee said as they turned her down a long hallway.