Chapter Text
**The Banquet**
"The Vks and HKs! The heroes who saved the Queen of Hearts!" the announcer exclaimed, his companion grinned. He felt the same way; the group were about to celebrate their first major victory against a villain.
Red, with her long straight red hair cascading down her back, and all her companions, moved to enter the banquet hall. They took their seats near the other guests at the grand feast celebrating the rescue of the Red Queen from Maddox Hatter's clutches. The castle was filled with music, food, and joy.
"I told you, endings are the best part!" Luis looked at her with a goofy smile, his brown curly hair falling slightly over his brown eyes.
The redhead smiled back at him, her own brown eyes crinkling at the corners.
"You're such a weirdo!" She punched him playfully, but he grabbed her softly, pulling her face forward. Red couldn't react in time, so he kissed her.
Chloe's brown eyes filled with tears. Her long, curly blue hair framed her stricken face as she watched them. Max, with his distinctive purple-black hair, tried whispering something to her, but Chloe wouldn't listen. She ran away.
Red pushed Luis off of her.
"Dude! What were you thinking?"
Luis's brown eyes widened in surprise.
"I-I'm sorry, I thought—"
Red turned around aggressively, looking around for the blue-haired girl with brown eyes. Max shook his head, when Red's eyes met his.
"She left."
"Fuck…" Red ran her hand through her long straight red hair. "I need to go after her, this is not what it looks like."
The purple-haired guy nodded. He made a sign to Squeaky, one of the Smee twins, who gladly hollered for everyone to move out of the way. Red took that as her sign to run, so she did. She ran as fast as she could to reach Chloe. The castle corridors were long; she felt like she'd been running forever, until she saw the entrance. She barged outside with force, only to see that there was no one there.
Red's breathing hitched. She couldn't see Chloe, there was no trace of her. Maybe she left… that was the only consideration Red made before looking at the sky. What a weird cloud formation… is the sky… red?
She felt a drop on her face. She quickly realized it was raining. But the rain didn't look normal; it looked like the sky was bleeding. The sound of thunder scared Red; it had always scared her. She knew something was strange. Wonderland wasn't a place where the sky turned red randomly, so she decided to run inside.
The lightning came just as quick as the rain. It was crimson, almost completing the tense atmosphere that the weather was creating, completely alarming. The storm emerged almost too fast. Red wasn't able to run inside in time. The rain and lightning completely engulfed her body. She felt trapped; she couldn't move.
She had no idea how much time had passed… Once she woke up, everything felt different. She noticed the sky; it was full of stars, a bright full moon shining. Then she noticed the smells: oak tree, fresh grass that had been soaked by rain water, something sweet that smelled like lavender and roses.
The sounds were the next thing she noticed: the sounds of the night creatures that probably roamed around… the woods.
Red's brown eyes widened at the realization. She wasn't home anymore. She was in some woods who knows how far from the castle. When she tried to get up, she felt a sharp pang at her side. When she looked at her hands, they were covered in blood… her own blood. The redhead started to breathe heavily. What happened to me? At the sight of the blood, she looked around to see if she had any other wounds, but she was horrified to find something even worse. She was completely naked in some woods that she didn't know, without anyone to help her.
She stood up, her legs wobbling under her. She had to move. She was completely naked, scared, and she needed to find help quickly. Her ears twitched; there was a sound behind her.
"There she is!" she heard a man scream.
"Oh shit," she muttered under her breath. She tried to run, but her legs were weak. The pain she felt from her side was expanding to her whole body. She didn't know how or when, but suddenly her body felt lighter. She was running faster, coordinated, and somehow there was something telling her where to go.
The sweet smell became intense, something amazing that made Red feel warm inside instantly. Her body knew where to go. The red-haired girl managed to run towards a house, a big house that looked way too fancy to be in some woods. Once close to the door, she slowed down, her body stopping completely before she collapsed.
A woman opened the door. Her long, curly blue hair caught the moonlight, and her brown eyes widened in recognition.
"Oh, Red… what happened now."
She carried the taller girl inside, preparing everything to cure her pupil once again.
A couple of hours later…
The morning sun hit the house, its rays illuminating the walls, the windows, and the blue hair of the lady. Chloe turned around to see the rising sun, humming when its warmth hugged her face. She smiled quickly before readjusting her posture. She stood up to check on her uninvited guest.
"Red, Red, wake up…"
The redhead groaned, unable to open her brown eyes. Chloe giggled softly. What an idiot, she thought to herself.
The red-haired girl turned around, her heavily bandaged body moving softly.
"Five more minutes…"
Chloe frowned. Usually Red would simply open her brown eyes, no matter how rough the night before had been.
"Come on, sleepy, we have things to do."
"No…" she moaned, but then she opened her eyes. Her usual dark brown looking up at Chloe's brown eyes. "Hey, Chlo." She smiled.
That just made Chloe frown more. Red never used that pet name with her, let alone smile so early in the morning. And something about her brown eyes seemed different, softer somehow.
"Are you okay, princess?"
Red frowned as well, her straight red hair falling over her shoulders as she moved.
"Why are you calling me that?"
Chloe sighed, her wavy blue hair shifting with the movement.
"Well, at least that's normal." She moved, touching Red's wounds, making sure she had cured her completely. Red blushed slightly, but that went unnoticed by Chloe, who was concentrating. "You seem okay. What happened last night? Did the kids rough you up too bad?"
Red opened her mouth.
"K-kids?"
"Yeah, the younglings. You were supposed to check their advancements on surprise attacks last night."
Red couldn't understand anything, but she played along. She felt that was the only thing that could give her answers.
"Yeah, they were rough."
Chloe smirked, her brown eyes gleaming with pride.
"Well! I guess I trained them well then."
Red nodded slowly, her straight red hair swaying.
"Sure. Could I use your bathroom?"
Chloe arched an eyebrow, a strand of her wavy blue hair falling across her face.
"You're awfully formal today." But she stood up anyway, giving Red space to move.
Red stood up slowly. When she did, she noticed something.
"I thought I was smaller than you."
Chloe smiled, pushing her blue hair behind her ear.
"You're acting crazy today. You've always been taller."
Red ran her hand through her long red hair and nodded.
"Yeah, you're right. Maybe they gave me a nasty kick to my head."
Chloe looked at her, really looked at her, suspicion in her brown eyes.
"Whatever you say."
Once in the bathroom, Red splashed some water on her face. Her brown eyes stared back at her from the reflection.
Where the fuck am I?