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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐔𝐋𝐆𝐄𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐒

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The buzzing of insects and the different sounds of the many creatures that inhabited the forest met Indigo's ears as the world around the trio grew darker. The three of them stood at the edge of the treeline in the exact spot where the day from the rest of Wonderland met the night of the most dangerous place in the realm. Even though she just led Will and Alice miles through the realm, Indigo couldn't believe she actually agreed to take them through the one place she never wanted to set foot in again.

"The Tulgey Woods," the blonde woman mumbled as she and Will looked around with wide eyes while the curly-haired girl next to them watched them with a blank look on her face, "the Hatter's place is on the other side."

"Wait, hold on. The reason you wanted me to take you through here was because you wanted to get to Jefferson's house?" Indigo questioned, drawing the duo's attention toward her, only to receive a small nod from Alice and an expressionless look from Will in response, "why didn't you tell me that sooner?! There's a handful of other ways to get there!"

"Well, you can't blame us entirely. You didn't ask," Will retaliated, receiving a glare from the younger girl in response. After rolling his eyes at her, the Knave turned his attention toward Alice. "And aren't you worried this is all a trap?"

"If there's a chance that Cyrus is alive, we have to take it," Alice stated, earning a scoff from Indigo and an irritated look from Will. The blonde woman chose to ignore their actions as she continued to look around at the dark forest in front of them. The three of them stood there with nothing but the sound of the Tulgey Woods to cut through the silence before the blonde woman reached into a bush and pulled out a large stick. "Right. Let's go."

Without waiting for a response from the two at her side, the curious adventurer began her journey into the darkness. As soon as she finished sharing a look with the man next to her, Indigo let out a long sigh before she and Will followed after her. After taking over the leader position from Alice so that they could safely get through the dark forest, the curly-haired tuned out their conversation. Her eyes scanned around their surroundings to make sure there was no immediate danger.

Indigo pushed away branches and hopped over fallen trees to keep them on the safest path. It wasn't long after that when her mind replayed the last words she heard leave the Knave of Hearts' mouth. If this was all a trap and they were heading straight towards the Red Queen, there was no way she would make it out alive. Was she really willing to risk it all for a woman she barely knew and a man who left her behind?

"You know you are, Iggie. And it's for the same reason as to why you haven't given up on that knight," Jefferson's voice rang through her head, only for her to keep her mind blank and continue walking through the woods as if he never said anything at all.

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"We've been walking forever. We should be at the Hatter's house by now," Alice complained as they walked past a group of large mushrooms.

A wave of irritation washed over Indigo as her grip on her dagger tightened before she spun around to face the blonde woman. "Well, sorry for trying to get you two through this place alive."

After sending the usually calm girl a confused look, Will's attention was drawn toward a large tree right behind her to see two pieces of paper neatly pinned to its trunk. Before anyone else could say a word, the Knave mumbled something under his breath before pushing past the curly-haired girl. He quickly tore the posters down without a second thought and let his fall to the forest floor while keeping Indigo's grip tightly in his hands. While he studied the picture of the girl printed neatly on the piece of parchment, both women slowly made their way across the small clearing to stand at the man's side.

"What exactly did you do after I left?" Alice asked the brown-haired man in a low tone as if speaking any louder would startle him like a wild animal.

"Don't ask," Will responded while keeping his attention on the paper in his hands before his eyes snapped up to meet Indigo's brown ones. The two of them just stared at each other for a silent moment then he spun the poster around so that she was staring at her own face. "I think the better question is what did you do?"

"What did I do?" Indigo repeated his question with a hint of anger and betrayal in her voice, catching the Knave off-guard once again. The Lark girl just stared at him for a long moment before letting out a scoff and continuing to speak. "What I did doesn't matter. What I'm currently doing is helping the two of you get through the Tulgey Woods instead of what I should be doing and have been doing since you left Wonderland two years ago. Hiding to survive another day. Now unless you want whatever lives in this place to find us, we need to keep moving."

"No. I'm tired of wandering around. We need a different point of view," Alice told the younger girl, making the annoyance she was feeling toward Will spread to the blonde woman as well.

"What do you mean?" the Knave asked his companion while moving his gaze to her and away from the girl he saved from the Queen's guards what felt like an eternity ago.

"If I get high enough, I can see the Hatter's house," the Kingsleigh woman explained while taking off her boots and placing them at the base of the tree. Before either of her traveling companions could respond, the curious adventurer began scaling the large trunk in hope of spotting where they needed to go. Indigo and Will stood in their spots as they watched the blonde woman climb the tree before she disappeared into its leaves, leaving them in the stillness of the forest once again.

The Ace of Spades kept her attention glued to where Alice vanished before she caught a flash of sudden movement out of the corner of her eyes. When she turned her gaze in that direction, she found Will walking away from the base of the tree with the blonde woman's boots in his hands. After mumbling a few words under her breath, Indigo looked back up at the tree one last time before taking off after the Knave of Hearts.

"Are you seriously stealing Alice's boots and leaving her to fend for herself, Scarlet?" Indigo called out to him as soon as she was close enough that she didn't have to yell, making the man come to a sudden stop while keeping his back toward her, "what? Too ashamed of what you're doing to face me? How very...typical of you."

"I've changed a lot since leaving this place, Indie. And it seems you've changed too," the Knave responded after turning around to face the Lark girl. The two just stared at each other and let the silence surround them once again before Will let out a long sigh and continued to speak. "I wasn't gonna come back here but then the rabbit mentioned that you were in danger."

"I'm not some damsel in distress."

"Trust me, I know that. But I also know I had a promise to keep."

That one sentence caused Indigo's entire body to stiffen. She couldn't help but think back to one of the last conversations she had with the man before he left Wonderland. A mixture of emotions flowed through her veins as a million thoughts swam through her head that her crazy friend was most likely hearing. After the Knave left her behind, the curly-haired girl never thought she would see him again and she definitely didn't think he'd remember that promise they made.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to respond to Will's words, a blood-chilling scream cut through the silence of the Tulgey Woods. The sound caused both of them to pause their conversation before looking back in the direction that they came from. Neither of them moved for a moment as they tried to process what was happening. Indigo was the first one to snap out of her daze and turned her full attention back to the Knave of Hearts.

"If Alice is dead when I get back there, it's on you," the Ace of Spades muttered before unsheathing her dagger from her belt and sprinting back to where they left the curious adventurer.

As soon as she reached the clearing where they left the blonde woman, Indigo found Alice facing off a hungry-looking Cheshire Cat. The curly-haired girl kept her distance as she tried to come up with a plan to get the blonde woman out of the dangerous situation. But before she had a chance to think, the purple creature used its tail to knock Alice off her feet and to the ground. Not even a second after that passed when the Cheshire Cat placed his large paw on her chest, pinning her to the ground.

After letting out a long sigh, Indigo tightened her grip on her dagger before stepping forward to stop the cat from finishing his plans. But she didn't make it very far when Will came out of nowhere and jumped onto the Cheshire Cat's tail. The Knave forced the curly-haired girl behind him as the giant feline turned his attention toward the duo. It wasn't long after that when Will broke off a piece of the large mushroom next to him and hurled it into the purple creature's mouth. The trio watched as the effects of the Wonderland plant took effect on the beast, making it shrink down until it was the size of a normal cat.

"Now then...go pick on somebody your own size," Will told the animal before it hopped into the surrounding bushes and out of sight.

"I can't believe it," Alice muttered as she got to her feet and made her way over to where Will and Indigo stood, "you. You were-"

"Brave? Daring?"

"Stealing my wishes."

"Oh, that," the Knave of Hearts sighed while Alice continued to glare in his direction. Indigo watched from the sidelines as if their conversation was the most entertaining thing she'd ever witnessed. "I think maybe you misunderstand. I was just protecting the wishes."

"Do you really expect her to believe that? Have you met you?" the curly-haired girl said, earning an irritated look from the brunette man while the blonde at his side sent a small smile her way.

"Can we please focus on the part where I came back and saved your life?"

"You know, you can't steal a wish. It has to be granted," the curious adventurer told Will before holding her palm out toward him to get back what is rightfully hers.

After letting out a sigh, the Knave dug through his pocket while muttering to Alice about how everyone knew that fact. It wasn't long after that when he placed the three small gems into her hand and gave her back her boots. Once that was settled, Indigo pulled her hood back over her head before continuing to lead the way toward the Hatter's house.

As soon as the small building was in sight, a huge smile appeared on the blonde woman's face as she picked up her pace and sprinted toward the cottage. Indigo and Will exchanged a skeptical look and followed Alice with a little less urgency. The curious adventurer continued to call out the man's name until she reached the house and pushed open the door. The two brunettes entered the house after her to see tons of hats littered about the dark house and dust covering almost every piece of furniture. Indigo took a few steps further into the small cottage to look around her former home before coming to the conclusion she expected in the first place.

"I don't like this," the curly-haired girl muttered without thinking while she watched Alice search every inch for Cyrus. After the blonde woman called out a few more times for him, Indigo found herself glancing up at Will, only to find him staring back at her. "Nothing has changed since I left this place a year ago."

"He must be here. It's too dark to tell, or maybe he's sleeping or something," Alice spoke as if trying to convince herself that her words were true before turning around to face Will and Indigo once again.

Before any of them could say another word, the creaking of the opening door cut through the silence and ended the conversation before it truly began. While her traveling companions turned their attention in the direction of the sound, Indigo backed up into the shadows of the Hatter's house and out of sight of whoever was entering the house.

"Oh, here you are. I've been looking all over," the familiar voice of the White Rabbit greeted her ears. That was enough to make the Ace of Spades come out of the shadows to watch the Wonderlandian make his way toward them. "I showed up with a whole troop to pull you out of that marsh, but you were gone."

"It's okay, Rabbit," Will told Percy with a hint of irritation in his voice before he let out a long sigh, "just dig us back home. All of us. Cyrus ain't here."

"No, he must be here," Alice argued while searching through the mess of hats in hope of finding some sort of clue.

"Alice...Alice," Indigo called out, causing the blonde woman to stop what she was doing to look over at the younger girl, "I'm sorry. But he's not here. And as far as I can tell, he never was."

"Maybe...maybe the Dormouse just named the wrong house, or..."

"Rabbit, enough," Will snapped, making Percy go silent and his ears fall as he stared up at the brunette man before the latter turned his attention back to his traveling companion, "if Cyrus were here, wouldn't he have shown himself by now?"

After she took in both her partner's words, Alice mumbled something inaudible under her breath before pushing past Will and Indigo to exit the Hatter's house. While the Knave practically scolded Percy about giving Alice false hope, the curly-haired girl's attention landed on a small object sitting in the middle of the table that she knew wasn't there before. The curious adventurer's shouts cut through the tension before Will and Percy ran out to see what was going on, leaving Indigo alone with her thoughts.

A shaky breath passed over her lips as she slowly made her way toward the bright red item before slowly reaching out to take it into her hands. Her eyes scanned over the chess piece as her fingers ran over the smooth surface. Indigo tried to figure out what it meant, only for Jefferson to give her the answer she already knew.

"You're Red Knight was here, Iggie."

"He isn't my Red Knight, Jay. Not anymore," Indigo mumbled while shoving the red knight chess piece into her cloak pocket at the same time the door swung open once again.

When she turned toward the source of the sound, the curly-haired girl found Will standing in the doorway with a blank expression on his face. The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment before the Knave finally opened his mouth to speak. "Alice found proof that Cyrus survived the boiling sea. We're gonna need a guide to help get us through Wonderland. Are you in?"

"Go with them. Maybe saving their friend will give you a chance to save yours," the Mad Hatter's voice rang through her ears as her grip around the chess piece tightened so much she was surprised it didn't break, "you know I'm right."

"I'll...I'll go with you," Indigo told him with a hint of uncertainty in her voice that didn't go unnoticed by the Knave. However, instead of pushing the younger girl to explain it, he simply shook it off and gestured for her to follow him out of the Hatter's House.

Unknown to all except for the White Rabbit, Kaden stood in the shadows just out of the three traveler's line of vision. His brown eyes studied his older brother who he never thought he'd see again for a long moment before they landed on the young girl traveling next to him. The sight of Indigo caused anger that wasn't his own to course through his veins as his grip around the hilt of his sword tightened. He let them walk further into the forest before he followed after them.

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