It really was a beautiful day for a Saturday, without the hassles of classes or gym, and indeed many a student could be seen out and about, frolicking with each others. For the rare few that had chosen to traverse the winding paths through Shokushu's forests, it seemed to be a wonderful day to go exploring for there were all sorts of beautiful flowers and lush plants that seemed to be scattered all about.

And of course, most would have known better than to travel into the forests alone, but sometimes... On such a beautiful day, it was simply impossible to resist the allure of exploring the lush and verdant sea of trees. Today was such a day for a particular student.

One could see lovely shining rays of the sun penetrating the forest all around, bringing light to a seemingly dark forest and setting it aglow. But on this certain path, it led to a beautiful clearing with a small pool of clear water that was accompanied by an especially large and old looking tree on one side, its roots reaching into the small lake.

In the two months she'd spent at the prestigious university, Emmeline had only ventured into thick, semi-wild forests once, on her very first day. She'd had such horrible, vivid nightmares that night she'd been spooked out of further explorations. Not that she had much of a choice in the matter; having transferred in mid-semester she'd had more than her fair share of school work piled onto her young shoulders. Today was the first instance where's she'd had the whole day to just relax.

She'd left her dorm room early in the morning with no real plans, content to just wander around the beautiful campus. By the time the sun had cleared the horizon and the last pink and orange wisps of dawn faded away the grounds were teaming with students enjoying their day off. Several friends and classmates spotted her, shouting and waving and calling for her to join them on the beach or on the wide grassy lawn between campus buildings. Emi just waved and continued on, intent on exploring alone. The sudden flood of socialization after 18 years of solitude had been rather jarring, and she was enjoying the quiet.

She wandered into the woods almost without thinking, as if she were being drawn there by some invisible thread. Her short blue sundress swished about her creamy white thighs as she delicately picked her way through the sparse underbrush, careful not to trod on any of the lovely flowers. Rather abruptly the undergrowth faded off and Emmeline looked up, startled when she found herself looking into an absolutely gorgeous little clearing, the sunshine filtering through the thinner canopy glittering off a little lake. Grinning, the girl broke out into a run and crossed the short distance between herself and the large tree at the banks of the water in an instance, hopping up onto the large, gnarled roots and carefully stepping out over the water.

With the arrival of this student, the clearing became just a bit brighter, as if imbued with magical properties. And all around, the thick woods silently became darker and more thicker, separated this little piece of the forest away from the rest of the island... For it was not quite a clearing, and it did not quite exist on the island. The very existence of the beautiful area was little more than the imagination of a certain perverse and evil demon.

And now his trap had been sprung. Without her knowledge, the student had fallen into his illusionary world, where everything was absolutely his to dictate, everything feeling quite real to the five senses, more real than even reality had been. After all, reality was what the mind perceived, no? And it was here, that the demon Fornicarus would unmake reality and introduce her to a world entirely different than the one she had grown up in, than the one she had been attending. A world that she would discover to be far different than she could have ever imagined it to be.

Nearby, despite the fact that no animals existed on the island, a fuzzy white rabbit came hopping into the clearing, near some plants. Taking no notice of Emma yet, the creature began nibbling on a plant. The sound of the munching it was making would no doubt reach the student and alert her to the cute animal.

The young woman reached her hands high above her head, stretching as the warm sunshine illuminated her solitary figure and letting out a soft, content moan. It was a wonderful sensation after eight weeks of being cooped up in classroom after classroom. She wondered why there were no clear paths to the lovely little clearing. Had she not been wandering aimlessly through the trees she never would have stumbled upon it. It seemed too picturesque, too perfect to have gone undiscovered in the...how many years ago had the university been established? On the other had, the forest covered a large portion of the islands and they were warned not to wander too far from the trails. She'd just have to make a note of where this place was when she left, so she could return to it in the future.

For several minutes Emmeline was content to just lean over the edge of the roots, peering down into the surprisingly clear water. Every so often she thought she saw some faint movement in her peripheral vision but she could never seem to get a clear view of the phantom fish. She was beginning to wonder if the little creatures were mocking, or if she were just imagining everything. She was beginning to contemplate just jumping in when an odd rustling sound caught her attention. She turned and the little white creature immediatly caught her attention.

It took all of the girl's self control to resist the urge to let out a squeal of glee. Emma loved rabbits. Emma loved pretty much all small furry animals. She'd always wanted a pet, a rabbit like the one she was very, very slowly inching towards, or maybe a cat. As quietly as possible she moved from root to root, hoping the little creature wouldn't flee.

Still not quite paying attention since it saw no natural predator around, the rabbit continued to eat the plant it had been feeding on, oblivious to Emma's advances. Now and then, its head would twitch about slightly, as timid and shy as rabbits were prone to be. But despite all that, it still did not notice the clearing's other occupant, absorbed in its food. With seeming no other animals on the island, it would have been natural to assume that the rabbit was simply accustomed to not seeing anything, or perhaps one might consider the thought that it could have been a former pet for one student before being released due to the school's rules.

But the demon knew she was coming. Oh, the demon certainly knew. And the demon made sure that the rabbit would be quite receptive to Emma. After all, what was the point of setting a trap without adding the lure, the bait. Like preparing an invasion without considering an army. And the Marquis was not one to find himself engaged in such foolhardy actions. No, instead, he would make sure that the girl would fall deeper into his trap. The rabbit, finally noticing Emma, shifted around slightly but still taking several bites of the plants, not seeming too concerned with the student.

Emmeline bit her lower lip to keep control of her mounting excitement. She hadn't expected to get more than a foot or so closer to the little creature, and could hardly beleive if hadn't bolted yet. Eventually she reached the edge of the large tree's exposed roots and stopped, crouching down and leaning forward to peer at the rabbit.

When the little creature finally noticed her Emma froze, expecting it to dart away, back into the brush. When it simply continued eating the girl blinked owlishly. Weren't rabbits suppose to be timid? Easily frightened? She was far from intimidating to other people, but even petite little Emmeline should have looked large and frightening to a little bunny rabbit. Hesitantly, she stepped down to the grass and then sank down to a kneeling position.

"Heeeeeey bunny bunny bunny..." She whispered softly, reaching one slender arm out towards the creature to try and pet it.

The rabbit, having stopped eating its food, cocked its head slightly at Emma, seeming a bit timid now but not too overtly worried. Tentatively, the animal took a short hop toward Emma, interested in this newcomer that one would undoubtedly think that it had never seen before. Another hop brought it a bit closer to the student's outreaching hand, nose sniffing at the very tips of her fingers.

And the illusionary forest began to shift ever so slightly, far below the perceptive powers of mere humans, but changes were being made now. The demon, modifying the clearing and preparing the next stage of his trap, smiled as he brought the rabbit forth even more, allowing its nose to sniff along Emmeline's hand, the rabbit clearly considering her less and less of a potential danger. In fact, it was close enough that it could be, gently, picked up and held.

"Eeeeeeee...!" The girl squealed quietly, almost a whisper. It took every ounce of self control she possessed to keep from shouting and scaring it away. Emi grinned broader and broader as the little bunny hopped closer to her, the tips of her slender fingers stroking it's silky soft fur. Careful not to move too quickly, she twisted her hand to slip it under the rabbit's body and gently picked it up.

With one hand she held the little creature against her chest while petting it with the other. She smiled brightly, flashing a row of perfectly straight white teeth at the little creature as she sat back to lean against the tree roots at her back. "Can't be wild..." she said to the docile animal, tilting her head to the side and looking at it curiously. "Were you a pet? That'd be awful, being abandoned out in the forest in a strange place after being raised in a cage. Heh, I kind of know the feeling actually..."

Not seeming spooked by the student picking it up nor talking to it, the rabbit almost certainly seemed like a lost or abandoned pet, as if confirming her question. Having been picked up quite carefully and held in such a manner, the rabbit couldn't help but purr softly before stretching in contentment, still purring away under the petting. The rabbit started looking up at Emmeline, now squeaking up at her.

And then the roots she had been leaning against broke abruptly! Snapping out of their place, the roots gave away to Emmeline as dirt collapsed around her, the situation worsening as the student suddenly fell into a large, abandoned rabbit hole, the animal in her hand squeaking as it became terrified by what was happening! The darkness fell, blackening out everything.

Soon, consciousness returned to Emmeline, as words began getting through to her. "Hey, hey! You all right? That was a nasty fall you had there, girl." But yet, there wasn't anyone around that could have spoken, nor any squeaks from a missing rabbit now, save for a table in the middle of the colorful room with a large statue standing by one wall. Along with a door that happened to be small, quite small in fact, no larger than an inch tall. And the voice came again, this time from the statue, and indeed its lips happened to be moving as well. "Well? Are you all right?"

Emmeline groaned as unconsciousness slowly loosened it's grip on her. She pushed herself up to a kneeling position, blinking slowly. Words reached her ears, but didn't quite seem to register. For a moment she thought she'd awoken in her bed, that it had just been an odd little dream, but when her vision cleared she was met not with the site of her blue bedding and white dorm-room walls, but with a strange room, nearly empty and painted with strange, bright colors.

She sat back, gazing around and looking completely perplexed. Slender fingers brushed her disheveled black locks away from her face, and she scowled down at her dusty blue dress. Suddenly a look of shock crossed her face and she jumped up, looking around frantically. Finally, the talking statue drew the girl's attention. She quickly crossed over to the table, a look of deep concern on her face. "I-I'm fine, thank you. You saw me...fall? Did you see a little white rabbit too?"

The statue tilted its head slightly as it was asked the question regarding the rabbit. Giving Emmeline a quick nod, the statue pointed down at the tiny door just by him. "Not quite, I only saw you tumbling down from above. Your friend took off, however, through the door. He was rather terrified, actually." Then giving her a shrug, the statue tried looking apologetic. "I would have tried to catch him and calm him down, but... I'm a statue and all, and a talking one at that, not a walking one."

And on the table, a bottle of purple-blue liquid slowly appeared, as if fading into view. It was not quite big at all, barely enough for a single gulp. Upon the bottle were the cursive words, saying Drink Me. "If you plan on finding your friend, I expect that bottle will help you with that. Good luck on your adventure, little girl." The statue took off its hat and gave Emmeline a bow, before returning the hat back on its head. "Oh, and a few words of warning, not everything is as they seem, and stay away from the Queen. She has been in the most terrible of moods lately!"

Emmeline looked up, gently biting her lower lip as she peered into the seemingly endless tunnel in the ceiling above her. She couldn't judge the distance, after fifty feet or so the opening was consumed by darkness, a black void stretching on for who knows how far. It didn't make any sense; she seemed to be completely unharmed, but falling through the tunnel was the only way she could have ended up here. And where was here anyway? Some of the upperclassmen claimed there was a vast series of secret corridors and rooms attached to the infamous "basement" but she was too far away from campus for this to be part of that, and aside from the hole she had fallen through the only other way in or out was that tiny door, practically a mouse hole.

"Maybe I bumped my head..." she murmured softly to herself, staring as the little glass bottle appeared out of thin air. She picked it up delicately, with two slender fingers, holding it as if she thought it might bite her.

Drink me.

Rather bossy for a tiny vial of mysterious liquid. Emmeline might have been a bit naive, but she was far from dumb and was in no rush to gulp down an unknown concoction, even if this was just some sort of dream. She looked back at the little statue as it bowed to her, perplexity and a bit of fear in her wide blue eyes. "W-wait! Can you tell me more? Where am I? How do I get home?"

The statue looked back at Emmeline, not quite surprised that she would try and ask more questions. She had certainly looked like a smart one, after all. "Well, there isn't really much I can tell you, as seeing I'm a statue and all. As to where you are, there is just but one answer. You now find yourself in Wonderland. This is simply the way in, so I have no idea on how one would get home but I imagine there would be people ahead who are certainly privy to that sort of information."

The statue gave Emmeline another shrug, as if to say that he was sorry for not being too helpful. "Though, if it is knowledge you want, then the Caterpillar would be the best one to seek out. I am told that he is known to cavort with many of Wonderland's people, along with the royalty as well. They say he is a purveyor of information among others. Of course, I hear the Hatter came close to be executed for telling people how to leave Wonderland, but that might just be rumor."

"Wonderland...?" the girl asked, blinking owlishly, "Like...like those books?"

Yes. Yes, she'd definitely hit her head on something.

Emmeline ran her fingers through her silky black hair, letting out a frustrated sigh as she tried to make sense of the situation. Unfortunately, after several minutes of tugging gently at her dark locks and staring at the wall, the only course of action she could come up with was to just go along with whatever this odd dream-thing was. It wasn't as if she could just will herself back to the real world...

This Caterpiller fellow seemed to be her best bet, but if people were being executed for trying to escape and he was friends with the royal set, she might end up with her neck on the chopping block just for asking. The hatter might not be as likely to know what she needed, but at least it sounded like he'd be sympathetic to her plight if he did.

Of course, if she couldn't get out of this room it wouldn't be an issue. Her deep blue eyes flicked from the tiny door in the wall to the jar of liquid lying in the palm of her hand. It was obvious what she was suppose to do. Normally she never would have willingly taken a drink of an unknown substance, but if this really was all in her head it couldn't really hurt, could it?

With a shrug she pulled the stopper from the little glass bottle and, in one smooth motion, tilted her head back, raised the glass to her lips and drank the entire contents in one swallow.

"Books? I don't know what books you're talking about, little girl." The statue spoke softly, also wondering whenever she had hit her head a bit too hard too. Getting no other questions from the young lady, the statue merely returned to watching Emmeline quietly. However, as soon as she drank the potion, the statue watched with interest as she suddenly began shrinking smaller and smaller, slow at first then gaining in speed.

At first nothing had happened, but then a tingling feeling began to form in her stomach, feeling almost as if her gut was being sucked in but not quite, and then the feeling began to spread all over. Before she knew it, the room began to grow larger and larger, until she was but a tiny creature on the floor, the previously small door now man-sized. It would have been a safe assumption that the potion worked well.

However, the door showed no keyholes, no doorknobs, nothing that appeared like it would have opened the solid-oak door. In fact, the door looked quite unremarkable, much like any other ordinary ones save for one item of interest. A brass plate, set on the middle of the door, that happened to be quite clean with nothing on it. And then... Words began forming on the brass plate, almost as if someone was writing on it.

The key to this door lies behind you.