Violette left her house as silently as possible, trying her best to close the front door with as little noise as possible so her hardworking parents wouldn't be disturbed from their sleep.

     She looked at the stairs she hated. Those stairs meant she was going out-and there was only one reason, other than going to University, why Violette would go out--to work. She worked many part-time jobs while also going to University. But she wasn't complaining. She had to keep up a good image for her little sister to follow.

     The strawberry blonde let out a sigh as she slowly descended the steps, being as silent as a cat. She unchained her hard-earned bicycle from the railings and hopped on, driving her way to the last part-time job of the day--at the convenience store.

     The streets were eerily soundless, except for the sounds of Violette paddling and the occasional flickering sounds of the street lights. But this creepy setting brought some form of comfort to her. She liked it. She felt she could relate to the silence of the moonless night, being there but not being there at all.

     Soon, she could see the bright lights of the convenience store. She slowed down to a stop and hopped off the bicycle. She chained the bicycle at the entrance and pushed open the door, revealing her coworker, Jared.

     "Violette, I thought you'd never show up!" He joked. He took off his orange cap and jumped over the counter. Violette was unfazed by his excitement.

     "You know I'd never bunk," Violette said in a low voice. She was offended he'd even think that.

     "Whoa!" Jared comically backed off. "I'm sorry for joking about your great sincerity."

     Violette rolled her eyes at his bowing form and walked behind the counter. She put her orange cap and apron on, ready for work.

     She scanned the table to check if all the required items were in place. Confirming everything was in place, she looked up to see Jared sitting on a stool with his usual goofy grin.

     "Go home, Jared." Violette sighed. She looked through the drawers, making sure everything was in place.

     "I can't leave a lady alone this late at night!" Jared said, waving his arms around and making the stool tilt to the side. Luckily, he found his balance.

     "Do what you want," Violette curtly said.

     "It's not like anyone is gonna come out this late to buy stuff," A grin formed on Jared's face as an idea popped into his mind. Violette knitted her brows, knowing what was coming next. "How 'bout we go on a date instead?"

     Violette ran her fingers across her brows and gave Jared an annoyed look before saying, "I turned you down five times now, I won't hesitate to do it again."

     "C'mon!" Jared threw his hands in the air. "I'm only two years your senior, and we've known each other since we were kids."

     "Exactly," Violette smirked. "I can only see you as my older brother."

     Jared made an exaggerated hurt expression, placing his hands on his chest and tilting the stool backward. Violette let out a giggle, later being joined by Jared's laughter.

     "Okay, then," Jared said in between laughs. "I'm gonna head home."

     "Good night, Jared." Violette waved.

     "You get home safe, okay?" Jared said, concern showing in his eyes. "You should seriously request for a change in the timing of your shift."

     "If I do that, I won't be able to see your handsome face as much as I do," Violette flirted.

     Jared's ears turned red and he quickly pulled open the door to hide his face. But that didn't leave Violette's observant eyes.

     "Good night!" Jared said, running away like a little boy. Violette shook her head. She couldn't believe he was older than her.

     She stayed at the convenience store for two hours, receiving only four customers, all of them being people who visited only because they were concerned about her. They saw Violette as she was; a hardworking, sweet girl.

     Violette took off her cap and her apron since it was the end of her shift. The person with the next shift came in fifteen minutes late, frantically apologizing to Violette who didn't really mind. She wished a good night to her coworker and hopped onto her bicycle after undoing the chains.

     She peddled away into the night, making an imaginary to-do list in her head for when she got home. She gazed at the slightly clouded sky while enjoying the wind in her face.

     When she looked back down at the path she was cycling on, all she could see was white fog. She was blinded by a bright white light. She panicked and lost her balance, falling off the bicycle. But she never hit the pavement. She felt herself continue to fall. Forever and ever and ever, until she could see a bright blue sky above her and only a single white cloud.

     She closed her eyes, concluding that she probably died.

     But she kept falling. Violette knew something was wrong. She could hear the chirping of birds. She turned her body and looked down to see a well-architectured land. But all of it looked like a hamster's toy.

     Violette began to panic and she felt her heart threatening to fall out. Slowly, her vision went black.

     Once again, Violette opened her eyes to find that she was still falling, but this time, the land was closer and was nearing her by every second. Though Violette liked wind on her face, right now wasn't the time to appreciate how nice it felt.

     Violette tried to maneuver her body around but she was no expert. Her sudden movements send her body flying around, rotating.

     Violette blinked her tears away, knowing that it was all real and she wasn't dreaming. She knew the pain that would come when she would collide with the ground would be real. She knew she'd really die--painfully.

     Before she could realize it, she was seconds away from falling into a large white fountain, the worst place anyone could land in in a case like this. Violette braced herself for her nearing death. But the landing didn't happen.

     She slowly opened her eyes to find that she was suspended in the air, her face a mere meter away from the water. She breathed a sigh of relief only to fall into the water face first.

     She sat up and pushed her hair out of her face. Realizing she was alive, Violette laughed. She'd never felt so relieved in her entire life. She felt as if she was granted a new life. She'd never been so alive. In fact, she felt the fall was actually fun now that she survived it. That or her brain had no other way of coping with the fear she felt.

     "Let me help you," A deep masculine voice sounded. Violette looked in the direction of the voice to meet pretty pink orbs. She looked down at the man's extended hand. She raised her hand, grateful and ready to be hoisted up after that fall that seemed to have happened centuries ago.

     Before the man could help her up, Violette saw something glint in the corner of her eye. Somehow, she knew exactly what that glint came from.

     "Look out!" Violette grabbed the man's golden tie and pulled him into the fountain. Violette, already weak from the fall, coughed when her body took on the man's entire weight.

     Water splashed around and the sound of something cutting through the marble sounded right above Violette's head.

     Violette, with all her might, pushed the man off her and stepped out of the fountain. She straightened her shirt and removed her hair tie, not noticing the eyes of many horrified men. She casually turned around and pulled out the arrow that attached itself to the fountain. There was a note tied to it.

     But before she opened the note, she held her hand out to the man in the fountain, noticing only now that he wore a crown that was ready to fall off his head.

     The man stared at her wide-eyed, making Violette confused.

     "Are you okay?" Violette asked, concern written all over her face. The man hesitantly took her hand and Violette skillfully pulled him out. "You'll catch a cold if you don't get changed quickly."

     Violette's older sister instinct wanted her to say more but then her foodie senses detected a pleasant smell, making her turn towards the direction of the scent. Her eyes landed on a large chocolate cake sitting in the middle of a long white-clothed table. She made her way towards it, arrow still in hand and, somehow, forgetting she ever fell.

     Violette happily sat at the head of the table and served herself a large slice of cake with the goldware, only now noticing the gaze of several men who stood out of their seats, mouths agape.

     "What's wrong?" Violette asked. "It's a party, right? Why don't you all eat some cake? There's plenty."

     "The nerve of-!" A rather large man punched the table, making the cutlery and the plates shake.

     Violette winced and let out a gasp. "I'm sorry, I didn't know it was a private party." She stood up and walked back to the fountain, passing by the man who offered to help her out of it.

     Violette stepped back into the fountain, multiple eyes still on her, and looked up. She extended her hands to the sky and jumped a couple of times in hopes of being sent back. She looked down in defeat when her idea didn't work only to see many tiny fish in the fountain. She gasped and jumped out of the fountain.

     "I'm sorry, Fishies!" Violette apologized. She examined the waters to see if she injured any of them- by the fall, by pulling the man in, and by jumping. But they all seemed fine.

     She sighed, relieved, and turned around to be met by the tip of a sword at her throat. Violette took a few shaky steps back until she couldn't anymore because of the fountain behind her. She looked at the wielder of the sword to meet the same pretty pink eyes.

     The tall man's eyes held little emotion and it was more difficult for Violette to read him with his blond hair falling on his face, creating shadows that moved with the breeze. His sword reflected some light onto his face, making his eyes shine menacingly.

     "Sword!" Violette gasped, unable to come up with anything else.

     Fatigue and realization hit Violette and the shock finally settled in as her legs gave way. Her vision darkened as she let herself fall. She never felt the impact of hitting the ground. The last thing she saw was worried pink eyes before everything went black.

________________________

Hello lovely readers!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, don't forget to vote and comment.

Did you like Violette? Oh, I wonder what's going to happen next here in Wonderland.

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Peace.