Alice slowly opened her eyes, frightened she might awaken to burning hellscapes or golden clouds covering the skies. But to her surprise, what lay before her was only a dark, narrow corridor, bending sharply about thirty meters ahead.
She gathered her courage and stepped forward, her shoes producing a faint echo against the stone. After turning the corner, she entered a long, low hall, illuminated only by the pale glow of lamps swaying from above.
The walls were lined with doors. Alice, having the strong urge to leave this place, tugged at each one, her small hands trembling as she used all her strength. Every door was locked. Her breaths grew shorter, and as her heart slowly began filling with despair, she turned back toward the corridor only to see a glass table standing in the corner.
Alice froze. She was certain the table had not been there when she entered. Its sudden presence filled her with confusion and a bit of dread. 'Had it always been there? Did I look and not see?' Just as she prepared to flee the hall, a golden glimmer caught her eye.
Curious but scared, she approached the table. There, gleaming in the lamplight, lay a tiny key. With shaking fingers, she picked it up and hurried to the doors, trying to open each in a hurry. But the key fit not a single one. 'It should have worked. It was for me.' At last, defeated, Alice sank to the far end of the hall, pressed against a heavy curtain, and wept.
"I'm never getting out of here," she whispered. "Mother and Father will not search for me in a rabbit's hole, and I cannot climb up such a long way. I will starve in this place, unseen and unloved, until no one remembers I was ever born."
Her voice faltered. She slid down the wall, pulling the curtain with her, and through her tears glimpsed a small bit of wood, in the otherwise smooth stone wall. She leapt up, heart racing, only to find that what she thought was her path to freedom was nothing but a door far too small for her to pass through.
Alice quickly jumped up, ready to inspect her only way out of here, but noticed that what now appeared to be a door seemed far too small to fit her through it.
"Not even my head would fit inside," she murmured. "How shall I fit my entire body through this pathway? Perhaps this hall, which has already produced a table from nothing, could hold an answer."
Determined, she searched the hall again. But it was empty; even the magical table had given her nothing more. Hours stretched into days, and still Alice found no clues. Her strength failed her, her limbs grew heavy, her sobs turned dry and cracked. 'The doors are watching. They do not open because they want me here.' At last she lay upon the cold hard floor beside the tiny door, her eyelids sinking, ultimately falling into unconsciousness.
Two days later, Alice remained laying there, frail, silent, her lips dry, throat burning from thirst. She opened her eyes, feebly scanning the room as she had done so many times before, knowing no help would come, no knight in shining armor would rescue her.
Her vision blurred. As her eyes drifted shut for what she thought would be the final time, and while her mind was being drawn back into darkness, she spotted a small vial on the glass table, glistening faintly, as if waiting for her trembling hand.
Drink, whispered the silence. Drink, and be small.
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AN:
Hey guys, I hope you liked this chapter. I had much more trouble with it than i had with the other two.
Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow.