It was a long swim, but she would make it there eventually, wouldn't she? The young woman continued to swim, her lungs starting to burn with the increased effort she put into it. He rheart was beating hard in her chest--almost painfully so, but she on;y had a bit more to go and the storm was gone and it wasn't going to rain on her, hindering her advance anynmore than it should. Freya had to be mad with worry right now, upturning everything on the island trying to find her missing sister. For the sake of the faculty and students, she had to get back as quickly as possible. Even if she tired and all she wanted to do was was to just lie in the water and cry, she kept going--

--at least until she was swooped away!

She kicked and flailed as much as she could. The pink haired maiden would shout to be let go, ignoring what he had initially said about the waters being banned. How could it be banned, she thought. Water cnanot be banned so easily! And hadn't all of that bene hers at one point? Stupid bird! Man...bird...thing! Agh! Persephone's anger had returned and she was ready to get into a fight with nearly anyone and everyone--god damn the consequences because, god damn it, she wanted to go home and to get there fast!

When she was let down, she was surrouned by strange creatures all half animal, half...well, not really half human per se. More like these things really had their genetic make-ups disturbed and perverted to create the beings they were now. Some of them even looked downright creepy and spooky, but her ire at being tossed around like this was not making her happy. Persephone had braved quite a bit back there and that included quite a bit of embarrassment by being made to masterbate in front of someone! And all those feelings welled up inside of her and...well...One could guess how she would feeled being watched from all ends like some piece of meat....dripping in sexual juices...or water. She couldn't quite tell anymore. Toughing her still wet hair, she supposed that it had thinned out into actual water eventually. She was wet, but perfectly clean now. And bereft of a proper pair of underwear. But still...

Persephone whirled on Merrick, giving him a cold hard stare at would have made Freya proud.

"Now listen you. You musn't ask others for their names without first introducing yourself--it's rude," she began to lecture, hands on her hips. "On that note, my name is Persephone." She held up a finger and pointed at him accusingly. "Second of all...I've gone through HELL and back and I am not in a good mood mister. I woke up this morning to discover I'm dressed like Alice of all people, a weird rabbit leads me to God only knows where, I get humiliated beyond belief and to top it all off I get tossed around like a rag doll in a kindergarten booth--so I am very cranky right now!" The last part was screamed rather loudly--enough to make some of the creatures around them cringed slightly at her volume.

"So I could care less about a ban because...because...b-because..." She was starting to trail off here, her lowerlip quivering all of a sudden. It had started once she had let all her pent up frustration out and now, she felt like spilling more wetness, only not from between her legs. A tear suddenly fell down from her cheek as she stared down Merrick. She bit her lip and had to hold it in, lest she started crying in front of strangers. It wouldn't do to break down in front of strangers, after all. "..be...because..."

Before Persephone could even finish her sentence, she was being pulled away and brought into a court, of sorts, high in the air. She was set in a place in the middle of a tall post and the young woman sat there quietly, water still falling off of her like gentle rain on the wooden beneath her. It was still odd that she could be so utterly wet, but she didn't think of it too much, clutching onto the pure white rosary as her situation finally hit home and she felt truly miserable. A few tears were at the corners of her eyes and they fell silently as she trembled somewhat. She wanted to go home, she thought sadly. She wanted to go home already.

Persephone idly supposed that this was how little Alice felt, so far away from home and everything she knew and loved.

Her whole body trembled as a cacophony of voices filled the mound with cries for justice and mercy alternately, but not because they were scaring her. The young woman's thoughts were far from the present and where she was as she kept sitting there quietly--much too quietly for someone who was obviously on trial. She tugged half-heartedly at her clothes, which were still drenched and clinging to her body. She rubbed the material between two of her fingers, the fabric still soft to the touch. Ah, Freya had chosen a good quality fabric to make this dress. It was felt sinfully good on the skin, even wet.

Her left hand grasped the pearly beads wrapped around it. She raised it up and stared long and hard at them. Freya. What could she be thinking right now? Had she given up looking for her? Or would she, in her own stubborness, keep going despite everyone tlling her it was useless to keep searching for someone gone for so long? Persephone felt like it had been many hours since she had gone down the rabbit hole and she was beginning to doubt any chances of going back to the human world.

However...

I'm a Williams, too. I'm Freya's stubborn little sister. I'm...I'm the brave one! Persephone thought, starting to get her resolve back once again and all from looking at these simple beads. They weren't magicla in the 'traditional' sense, but as long as Persephone had them, they would inspire her to keep on going somehow. Yes, as long as she remembered her reason for continuing, she would stand up as long as she had a good pair of legs to walk on. Come what may, Persephone would get back to school!

Although water was dripping from her hair still, some of it getting into her wide sky blue eyes, irritating them, no one could doubt the determination, the decision in them. She looked up at Merrick and smiled prettily.

"I'll be fine. Whatever happens, I know I'll be finding my way home," she said, a bit non-sequitar considering she hadn't been listening to the accusations that had been flying and no one there could have guessed at her thought process either. "I'm not scared. If I get punished for being dropped into the that water, then I suppose I should be. But mark my words...I won't let any of you keep me for longer than neccessary."

It was amazing that she still hadn't dried off yet, after all of this time sitting and listening to everyone argue around her. She had very little time to ponder over the discrepancies between what was currently happening around her and what was read in the book. Just because she was in Wonderland, didn't mean that she would have to go through the exact same experiences that Alice had, although, she had the feeling that the journey would be just as long or longer. She remembered the causcaus race between the dodo and various other birds at the beginning after little Alice floated about, but now? What was up with the water ban? And this trial? It certainly was a strange trial! Never had the young woman ever witnessed one like this! Certainly the court dramas she used to like watching weren't this chaotic and loud. At the very least, one person would have been held in contempt of court for being too rowdy!

The hide used to dry her...she was a bit wary of such a thing being used on her, but she allowed Merrick to dry her off, oddly feeling calmed by this. Back home, some considered drying someone a rather intimate act. Was it something she learned from a manga? Possibly. But it felt really nice and the avian creature was surprisingly gentle with her--had been from the very start, now that she thought of it. She could almost fall asleep from the soft moments of the cured hide moving on her scalp, face, neck and arms. When the leader moved away from her, she had unconsciously leaned into his touch and nearly fell off of her seat in her happy little stupor. She righted herself immediately, blushing the same color as her hair and feeling not a little foolish by her own actions. Really, getting all cozy like that, what was she thinking?

The pink haired girl had to admit though, it had been very pleasant and she wouldn't mind him drying her off again. Perhaps she was experiencing some sort of homesickness and separation anxiety, which was why she wanted some comfort...Yes, that's right. She was simply out of her element and was seeking solace through some kind of physical comfort--nothing wrong with that. People who suffered trauma tended towards grouping with others and keeping in physical contact...

Persephone reached up and undid her bonnet, wringing it of the water. She didn't expect it to really dry off; she had done it to keep her hands busy and her mind busy as well with doing ltitle tasks, but found that, strangely, the little hat was completely dry. How strange. And as she would sit there, beginning to explain how her sister had upset her by dressing her up like Alice in her sleep, her drenched pink hair started to dry as well, becoming the fluffy, silken mass of locks it always was. But the rest of her seemed to be quite wet. She shivered a bit, feeling cold.

"...And then I ended up in a hall of doors where I met a door gargoyle named Charc and...well..." The next part was hard to tell, considering what she had done to get to where she was at this very moment, sitting amongst all of these styrange creatures. She blushed and shifted uneasily on her perch. Remembering what had happened made her body tingle a little and her whole body heat up all over, chasing the chill she felt away. At any rate, she glossed over this point.

"...He told me that a table would help me and it sort of did...it used some weird magic to create a lake in the room and to srhink me to fit Charc's door. The torrent was too strong for me and carried me...all the way here. I'm...I'm not sure how long I've drifted through the water..." She shrugged.

"And...well...the rest is history. Here I am now, amongst all of you and I have no idea how I'm supposed to get back home..." She looked at the rosary wrapped around her hand and and wrist. She fidgeted with the cross at the end. "...And to answer the question once again, yes, I am human. Can't you tell?"