My heart slammed against my ribs. “What?” I snapped. “It already took- I almost died! And what does it matter if I passed?" Evander hummed, amused.

  “Oh Katrina,” he breathed. “You still think the Tower only takes what you notice and only if you lose?” The fine china pieces that weren’t all there anymore stopped moving. The clearing leaned in. Evander lifted one finger. Not at me. Not at Hatter.

  At the bunnies.

  I froze. “No,” I said, the word so sharp it cut through the air. Frankie’s ears twitched, and Houdini went rigid beside her like a guard made of fur and rage. My lungs forgot how to work; I felt as if I could drown on dry land. Whatever, they aren’t taking either of them!

  Evander’s voice was sweet, “That rabbit didn’t just appear-” My stomach turned. “-she was brought.”

  Wait.

  What?

  The Seer jerked as if someone had yanked invisible strings attached to her spine. The too-bright relief in her face cracked, shattering into something raw and real. “I wouldn’t-” she whispered, blinking too fast. “I don’t take living things.”

  “No,” Evander’s grin widened, knife bright. “You didn’t take them.” He leaned closer, voice dropping into something intimate and cruel. “You simply maim or misplace them.” The Seer flinched like he’d struck her, then a sudden look of melancholy was on her face.

  My hands started shaking uncontrollably. “What does that mean?” I demanded, turning on her. “What does he mean?" Are they going to do something to my babies? The Seer’s mouth opened and yet no words came. Her eyes flicked to Frankie, and for a second she looked like a young child, staring at her own sin.

  “I remember her,” she whispered. “I remember her warmth. Also, the terrible guilt that came from a choice made without permission. Needing her to pass but not knowing she would pass on."

  That was the wrong sentence for me to hear. I think I'm about to lose my shit completely in this place and they will see some real insanity! That was the sentence that made the truth real; they know me from before HERE. I feel as though my head is cracking open, the pain of losing Frankie the first time came rushing to the surface. The loss of someone's first love- mine being an animal so small that could fit into my pocket at one point- is one of the most devastating moments in someone's life. My voice cracked. “Why...how would you-” now I might lose her twice?

  The Seer’s gaze snapped at me like she was trying to grab the correct timeline out of the air. “I saw—” she started, then swallowed hard. “I saw too many endings.” Evander’s eyes glittered; he was eating this up like it was some sick cosmic joke that we weren't in on. “In most of them…” the Seer whispered, “you didn’t make it past the beginning.”

  Hatter went very still beside me. My blood ran cold and I shivered. The Seer took a step closer to me like she wanted forgiveness, but she didn’t deserve it. “She was an anchor,” she said, voice trembling. “A thread and something truly loved. Something yours that could pull you back.”

  “Wait, so you pulled her first?” I rasped. “She died though...didn’t she?” I don't understand.

  Seer’s eyes filled with memories. “I didn’t remember doing it. Not like that. Time doesn’t keep me whole.” Her voice broke. “But I remember her crossing.”

  “How did this happen, where did she go then?” I choked. This wasn't the end of the story that I know had happened with Frankie. The Seer wiggled, looking uncomfortable.

  Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  "Well, I was looking through the threads of fate, as one does," Seer’s gaze slid away like it physically hurt. "I saw where the threads faded and wanted to thicken them again. I had brought flowers one day to their realm of horrors, to brighten our chances of threads aligning." She was now on the table, softly petting some moss. Small sprigs of mushrooms popped up where her fingers had just traced. "Well, if one crosses realms, it’s for more than one person’s reason. In the transfer, tragically, some flowers went to the wrong people. So, the flowers sent to Katrina had petals that were misplaced. They took their toll in an urgently violent way instead of a soft, calming one. I didn't know until years beforehand that's what had happened." She sighed and shook her head. "She crossed back over with me but then she sprang to the woods,” she whispered. “She ran. She was frightened.” Then, softer-reverent. “She followed a butterfly with a galaxy for wings.

  My skin prickled. That’s not possible, I shook my head- hoping to clear away that thought.

  “A little thing made of starlight,” Seer whispereded. “Galaxy wings- like a tear in the sky shaped itself into a guide.” The world narrowed to Frankie’s ears, breath, and her tiny heartbeat. “She followed it,” the Seer said, “and it led her to a place that wouldn’t harm her.” Her eyes flickered through visions and then they finally lifted.

  To Hatter.

  Hatter’s throat bobbed. He looked surprised by this news, hats slowing their flicker; his voice came out slightly shy. “She came to me-” Frankie pressed against his boot like she’d done it a thousand times. “I figured it was just a random creature, then I remembered- it's WONDERLAND. Must be important to someone, but she never left my side. I didn’t know why,” he whispered. “She just… stayed.”

  My vision blurred. “So... I didn’t do it, but I did?” I whispered. She was my everything and then one day she was just gone and I was left broken. We found out she had passed away from being exposed to tiger lilies; they are toxic to bunnies if ingested. I had gotten them as a Valentine from a stranger; I had no clue they were poisonous. All it took was a petal that Frankie had taken a few curious bites out of. I thought it was all my fault, but Seer is the one who brought them to me? It’s my fault that I didn’t check the flowers safety but it’s still my fault because of what ever being in this current mess is. What about poor Frankie? Has she been here the whole time? Was she in pain? Endless questions flooded in.

  “It’s complicated,” Hatter said, sounding sympathetic. He then glared at Seer, then Evander. Evander smiled like he’d been waiting for my heart to split open this whole time.

  “That’s the point,” he said brightly. “It’s a loss you didn’t choose. Darling, you really are learning now.” Evander let out a vicious laughter.

  I stared at Frankie; at the way she sat like she belonged here. Like she’d always belonged here. She was safe and alive. My stomach somewhat untwisted; it wasn't really my fault, that’s all that matters. “So, what now if I have already paid the price?” I cleared my throat and wiped away a stray tear. I smiled softly at Frankie, who cares as long as she is alive right here and now. The road shifted again, stronger—impatient. I will save this feeling for later; relief was brief, but the rage within me is mounting higher from what was taken from me- time. The Seer’s voice was then barely audible.

  “Now…” Seer whispered, blinking hard, “the Road takes what’s been paid for. There is no running now; a trial has been accepted. Katrina, you have my deepest apologies dear,” Seer stood up then bowed to us, then she spread her arms wide and stretched. “I do love get-togethers, even if they are short and painful at times. I’ll be watching, buzzing around.” She whirled into herself like a black hole and blipped from our view. She wasn’t even brave enough to hear what I had to say on the matter!

  The table-turned-path leaned forward like a mouth opening, ready to devour something whole. Houdini growled low and Frankie’s ears lifted. Hatter motioned at me to follow him; I got up, and we went over to the buns. He picked up Frankie and I picked up and cradled Houdini. I stood facing Hatter, reaching out to Frankie and stroking her ear gently. She stood up for a brief second and licked my index finger gently.

  “Stay close, Katrina.” Hatter’s voice dropped beside me like warning and apology in the same breath. He grabbed my bag and handed it to me; I flung it over my right shoulder as he flew his own bag over his left shoulder. We were carrying the buns in our left arms. He picked up his squirt gun pistol by the handle and tapped the nose on the table twice. "Switch it back." His voice had gone back to its normal gruffness as his hats flickered once more.

  “Fine, you’ll need all the help you can get!” Evander huffed while snapping his fingers. Hatter’s water gun went back to being a sawed off 12-gauge shotgun. I walked back to the table and faced the Tower tarot card. It turned from a tower pictured in the middle to a picture of Frankie. The word TOWER slowly dissolved, and FRANCINE took its place. I picked up the card; Houdini leaned over sniffing it-then marked it with his chin.

  The break was over.

  Wonderland had finally opened its mouth, and we were its appetizers.