The impact of me slamming full force into the lady surprisingly sends her only a single step back.
She was able to catch and hold me up for a moment before the ground under the foot she used for leverage gives. The both of us yelp as gravity sends her backwards, the two of us rolling down a hill like a bowling ball as our limbs tangle together, twigs breaking under our shared weight.
I grunt as our fall stops at the bottom, groaning at my aching bones. Remembering that there's actually someone under me, I jolt up to ask if she's okay but end up freezing before I can get a word out.
Looking at her felt like looking directly at the sun- that's how stupid I think I looked anyway, all squinting and head drawn back and all that. Bet if I look away right now, there will be black spots in my vision. I can't though- not in the meantime that is. I'm kind of busy just looking.
Her plush lips have a tint of a pretty gradient red, red like her hood that's decorated with pointed ear-like attachments made of leather. She didn't have the literal glow that Bunny has but she felt like she did at the moment. The sunlight filtering through the trees light her fair skin up, along with her sun-dyed hair. Dark eyes watch me as I stay still as a statue. It's like someone pressed the pause button for my brain and it just suddenly stopped working.
Her big, wondering eyes blink up at me in question and, as if it's the signal for me to step back into reality, I sit up like I've been electrocuted. "I-I-um- are you okay? Crap- Does it hurt somewhere? A-are you alright?" I stutter.
She sits up without effort as if she didn't just fall down a hill after getting bulldozered by me, holding the front tip of her hood so it stays on her head.
"Yes, I'm quite alright. You, however-" she lifts a hand to touch my cheek and I flinch as I feel a sting. She pulls back her hand in apology. "You're bleeding," she says with a worried look, pulling some stuck twigs and leaves off of my curly hair.
I touch my cheek before looking at my hand. I see red. The sunlight filtering through the trees hit the crimson smear on my hand, making it look brighter.
Uh-huh. This.
"Yeah... it's from the axe you threw..?" I cautiously say as she freezes, blanching. She stutters around in panic, apologizing and digging in her little basket.
In a daze, I look around and is greeted by a small meadow of bright flowers and lush grass. The sun is shining brightly in the middle of the blue sky, three arches run from one end of the horizon to the other. It was night not even three minutes ago, how is this possible..?
"I-I don't think I have any potions with me right now- Oh, you still have one! Hurry and drink it up!" She says after rummaging around fruitlessly. I blink at her and look down at where she pointed, around my hips.
There's two crossed leather belts with little bags and tool hoops around my hips, a bottle with green liquid in it hanging in one. What on earth am I even wearing? I stand up and wobble a little bit from the sudden movement, the lady slightly lifting her arms up to catch me just in case as she stands up too.
I'm wearing a dress. This wasn't what I was wearing earlier when I left work. Shit- where's my bag?? I look around in panic, not seeing it anywhere nearby. I check my small pockets and blink as I see a secluded one, padded. Inside it is the pocketwatch Dad crafted.
How did it get there? Where's the case? Wait, I digress- everything I have is in that bag! Phone, keys, wallet-
Wait.
Right, I'm in a dream.
This is just a dream.
Everything feels so real that I keep on forgetting. It sinks in as I sigh in relief and look down to take a closer look at my new clothes.
It seems that it isn't really a dress since all the pieces are separated. I don a light blue skirt with a white vertical pattern, a really frilly petticoat under it keeping it puffy. Over it is a weird white button up with short, ribboned balloon sleeves. It extends down and slightly covers the front and sides of the dress like an apron. It has faint smudges of dirt on it from when we fell down the hill but nevermind that- It has three big pockets, one on each side of the skirt, which I pat in delight. Yay, pockets!
I take notice of my checkered leggings, alternating in aqua and magenta. The colors remind me of Bunny and Cheshire. Layered on top of the button up is a blue vest and the leather belt from earlier. Strapped in place on the other side of the belt, mirroring the bag where the pocketwatch is, is a book.
I didn't have time to actually look at the book because I realize that Miss Red Hood over there is staring at me turn around, lift my skirt up and squint at myself like I'm seeing myself for the first time- which is the truth here actually. I must look pretty crazy.
And cute, of course. At least the shoes I'm wearing feel comfortable despite the elevation, probably because of the chunky heels.
"Are you... okay? Nauseous? Dizzy? You'll feel better if you drink up," she says, finally. Gingerly, I take the bottle. It has designs on both sides and a "DRINK ME" in all capital letters on it. Well, ain't that ominous. Am I going to shrink if I drink this? Or turn into a giant? I don't remember which one it is, it's been a long time since I last read the actual storybook sitting on one of the shelves in the coffee shop.
I look back at her and regard the small bottle in my hand. "Is this safe?" I ask and she raises an eyebrow. "Well... it is a potion, isn't it?" She slowly lets out, now as unsure as me. And it's on you so you should probably know about that, right?- my mind translates the confused look on her face.
If I drink this, will I wake up?
If that's the case then... I shrug and drink up, closing my eyes. The liquid, despite its weird week-old-and-forgotten-in-the-garage kind of Mountain Dew looking appearance, tastes like really good water. It's mysteriously cold too even though the bottle is warm, making it really refreshing.
When I open my eyes, an angel is there. Am I in heaven? Nope. I'm still here, that's just Miss Red Hood. Nevermind. It seems I didn't wake up.
Something feels as if it's pulling my body up but my feet don't leave the ground. The heavy feeling in my bones lifts and leaves me with no ache. The scratches on my arms close up and clean themselves and fresh bruises disappear, leaving spotless skin.
Damn, that's really handy. Is there a way I can take some of these with me when I wake up?
The bottle, its contents now gone, dissolves into the air like white sand and disappears like smoke. I wave my hand around where it was and there's nothing. Trippy.
The lady curiously looks at me as I fan the air like a kid seeing fog for the first time. Realizing that she's staring, I stop, feeling sheepish.
"I'm... not from around here. Uh- can you tell me where we are?" I ask and she nods with an 'Oooh' as if what I said just answered a bunch of her questions. Her body relaxes in relief, making me realize that she's been taut and on guard the entire time.
"You're currently in the Sleeping Forest. Southwest Domain of the Kingdom of Clover and southwest corner of the Land of the Four Queens. You say you're... ... ... not from around here. May I ask where you're from?" I blink at the information and my eyes follow as she places her right hand in the basket hooked under her left arm while she asks the question.
It's as if she slowly realized something important while explaining and ended up being on guard again. I look back down at my clothes and notice embroidered signs on my front pocket.
A heart, a spade, a clover and a diamond.
Just my luck. Thanks Cheshire. I don't know if he's actually the one who gave me these clothes but I was still wearing my normal clothes before I fell earlier. He also kicked me down that hole- which really hurt, by the way, since he's wearing stilettos- so I've decided he's an ass and will now blame everything on him.
I nervously look back up at Miss Red Hood.
Part of me thinks it would be funny if she straight up pulls a gun out of that thing and go full-on Bayonetta on me but part of me belatedly gets nervous out of the unknown chance that such a thing might actually happen here.
I hope she follows the whole weird fantasy setting this dream has.
I recall the tomahawk axe she threw earlier and gulp, my stomach churning at how close it was to hitting me right in the face or, maybe, in the back of the head if I didn't turn around in time.
Yeah, I should at least get ready to duck down or something.
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