A man in black stood in front of Alic. He was dressed in a black trench coat over his lacy white dress shirt and black trousers,making him look like a mourner. A black top hat sat atop his messy black head but the strangest of all was his resemblance to Ru.
The same fair skin and hair that was done in a rushed fashion, the only difference was his eyes-they were gold instead of hazel and the air around them. Alic found Ru's aura to be laid back but the man in front of him…he was an enigma.
"What's wrong with ya' Cheshire Cat got ya tongue?" Spoke the Ru-lookalike.
Alic stared at him like an idiot, " No and shouldn't it be cat got your tongue? By the way, where am I?"
The Ru look-a-like only huffed before pulling out a box of cigarettes from his pocket, putting one into his mouth as he explained, " You're in wonderland, where else and what are ya the dodo? It's Cheshire Cat, not cat. There's a difference. Now, stop dawdling, you're going to stop traffic." With that, he turned his heels walking away only stopping to turn to a stunned Alic, "What are you waiting for? HURRY UP!"
++++++
The man who looked like Ru led Alic to a small two story cottage that was squashed between two high buildings. It wasn't pretty, it was boring especially compared to the wonderful colours and extravagance of the other houses. The roof drooped down as if it were sad with the wood peeling off some parts of the cottage. Green leafy vines grew from the banister, wrapping at least part of the house in moss.
"You don't particularly care for your house do you?" Said Alic as he wedded through the overgrown lawn.
The man didn't speak a word but simply took a key out from his sleeves, unlocking the shabby blue door, opening it he turned to Alic, " Make sure you don't break anything."
The inside of the cottage was surprisingly nicer than the outside. The walls were covered with a mint coloured wallpaper and shelves of mounds and mounds of books. The living room was as elegant as it could be, with a simple couch and chairs surrounding a coffee table that looked vaguely like a chess set. The only odd thing were the windows, they didn't show anything only pitch black darkness.
The man led Alic to the sitting room, gesturing him to take a seat as he tiptoed on his feet to light the suspended oil lamp. He then disappeared into another room leaving Alic alone.
Standing up, Alic took a look around the sitting room. He didn't dare go up to the second store for fear of losing a place to live, not after coming all the way and still without a plan to get home.
There was nothing special about the sitting room, it looked like any normal Victorian one. A small refreshment for Alic who had journeyed through the nonsensical lands.
"Mew.."
Alic spun around before finding a plump white cat standing at his feet. The cat was truly intriguing, its eyes particularly for it were cobalt blue, so bright that it was unusual .
Gently, Alic picked the grumpy cat up ignoring the soft hiss that came from it. "What's your name, huh? " asked Alic as he tried to see if it had a collar.
"His name's Alumina but just call him lulu." Spoke up the man as he returned with a tray of treats and tea. He had foregone his trench coat and top hat so he now looked a little brighter than before.
Alic couldn't help but stifle a laugh, 'Lulu..what a cute name for such a grumpy looking cat' he thought as he placed Lulu on his lap. Taking a seat on one of the chairs.
The tray was filled with sweets of all sorts, most Alic could only vaguely recognise- for example there was a bowl of jelly beans within jelly and cakes with icing that seemed to change colours, a teapot and a couple of cups stood at the side. The man took a seat opposite of Alic, pouring the latter a cup of tea as well as a small sample of the sweets.
"The jellies and the cake may be a bit overpowering so try the tea if it's too much for you." Instructed the man, "Oh yeah, what's your name?"
"Alic," said Alic as he took a bite of the Jelly, tasting it for a moment before drinking a gulp of the tea, "You were right. The sweets are a little empowering"
The man simply chuckled, taking a sip of the tea. Extending a hand, the man said, " You're right. Can't tell how people are able to handle it, the name Ozge by the way, but you can just call me Oz."
Shaking his hand Alic smiled, "Nice to meet you Oz. Also thanks for letting me in."
Oz looked at Alic for a moment before setting down his cup onto the table. Crossing his arms, Oz looked at Alic in the eye causing the other to freeze in place.
"Are you Alice?" He asked.
'Alice? What is he talking about?' Thought Alic alarmingly, eyes not tearing away from Oz's. Oz's golden eyes were now dull, lacking the light before.
Silence followed before Oz started to laugh, causing Alic to stare in puzzlement.
"Hahahahaha! Sorry about that joke, any who. You can stay here Alic. There's a spare room at the end of the corridor on the second floor, there should be some clothes you can change into and the bathroom is attached."
Alic laughed along with him although it was strained, thanking Oz. Alic quickly walked up to the second floor, a part of himself wanting to get away from Oz.
When the last of Alic's footsteps faded away, Oz's smile dropped. Standing up, he walked into the kitchen before stopping in front of a small trap door hidden underneath the sack of flour. Retracting the latch bolt, a small creaking sound was made as the trap door opened. Making sure nobody was around, Oz dropped down into the darkness, closing the door back into place.
The hole was dark and damp, the air was musty from the mold growing. Dirty, sewer water trickled down the rusty iron ladder. Oz, careful to make sure he didn't fall, slowly climbed down the ladder eventually reaching the basement.
The basement was nothing like a basement. It was simply a cave that had been used for storage space and for oz, an office.
Turning the fluorescent lights on, Oz descended down a row of steel shelves, a great number of boxes and paper filled the space. Putting a finger on the items , Oz traced the spines of each and everyone of his belongings as he softly counted, "1146, 1254,7645,5367 and…4637"
4637.
A simple straw basket that was tied together with a rope due to the exceedingly great number of papers inside. Untying the rope, Oz opened the box and to his pleasure he found what he was looking for.
Removing the papers and files, Oz uncovered a small journal that was bound with a yellow string. The label on the cover read,
[A & W: 46874364797326498 edition]
Oz let out a smirk before repacking everything, placing the journal in his back pocket. He needed answers if the one above couldn't.