The door creaked open and I peeked in. The shop wasn't as bad looking in the inside than it was on the outside. It was neat and organized, but there were cobwebs visible every now and then.

"Hello?" I called. No one answered. Typical. I walked around the shop looking at the little trinkets and items that were on display. I walked over to the clothes section and they all seemed as if they came out of fairy tales. Dresses and shirts lined the tables. Jewelry and accessories shimmered in the light. I saw a beautifully designed hand mirror and picked it up. I looked into it and gasped quietly. 

My face was splattered with specks of blood. my skin was beyond pale, much a sickly white, and my eyes changed from the usual blue to a deep invigorating red. My mouth stitched up with black thread, bleeding from the sides. The only thing that confused me was that the gruesome reflection I saw was crying. 

She opened her mouth, the threads stretching. She did not speak, but the threads started to arrange into different words. Don't. Trust. The. Old. Woman. Her mouth shut tight and she looked at me with sad eyes. She had my face and some of my features, but I knew that this reflection was not me. She started to disappear into a misty darkness. A hand gripped my shoulder and I turned quickly. A little old lady smiled at me. The words that the stitched girl told me echoed through my mind. Don't trust the old woman.

"Hello, dear." she said. I paused then made a quick glance at the mirror. I had my face again: blue eyes, pale skin, and little specks of leftover blood from the fight. I placed the mirror down and turned back to the lady. The old lady turned to the mirror and she flipped it upside down. She smiled again.

"Hello..." I said nervously. She laughed a sweet grandmotherly laugh and took my hand gently. She led me to another room and made me sit down. I kept on alert, making sure that this wasn't a trap. The old woman waddled over to another room and brought back a wet cloth for me to wipe my face. I wiped my face clean and she brought me a new set of clothes. It was a fluttery milky white dress that was soft to the touch. I hesitantly took it from her and words popped up in front of me. 'Do you wish to wear this?' The words asked me and a 'Yes or No' popped up. I clicked the 'yes' and the dress appeared on to me. My old clothes disappearing somewhere.

"We don't get visitors much, so this one can be on the house." she said. I pursed my lips together. How could someone this kind, be someone you can't trust? There was a pang in my head and I winced in pain. 'You can't trust anyone, Alice' the voice of my other half said.

"Alright alright, I get it." I whispered. I heard her chuckle. 'It's payback for before.' The old lady looked at me with concern and my other voice died down.

"Is something the matter?" she asked. I shook my head.

"Nope, I'm okay." I said and smiled. She squinted her eyes at me, then smiled.

"My name is Rita." the old woman said.

"I'm Alice." I said,"And this is Eclipse." Eclipse stayed quiet on my shoulder. She hasn't been talking much ever since we entered and I'm not sure why. Eclipse stared at Rita with her big eyes.

"You guys traveling to kill the queen?" she asked. I shook my head no.

"It's a bit dangerous for me... but I might change my mind." I said. She nodded. I looked at her forehead, no marks.

"Is there anything else you need here?" Rita asked. I shook my head and stood up.

"I think I should leave, thank you for the clothes though." I said. She looked at me sadly.

"Would you stay for tea with me at least?" she asked. I frowned.

"Oh... sure, I guess." I said. She smiled.

"Good good!" she laughed and led me over to a table,"It gets quite lonely for me all by myself here." I sat down on the chairs and waited patiently as Rita made the tea. She came back with a cute little teapot and tea cups. She poured me some and I picked the tea cup up and smelled the fragrances. It was a nice smell, mixed in with sweetness and something else... I took a tiny sip. Rita watched me and smiled.

"Do you like it?" she asked. I was about to smile back at her when there was a pain in my heart. I grabbed my chest and started falling out of the seat. I grabbed the side of the table with one hand and looked up at Rita.

"Oh my..." she said sarcastically. She got up and walked over to me, putting her face to mine,"Isn't this a problem?" Her eyes were a deep threatening black.

"What... are you... doing?" I asked in between gasps. She smiled and rubbed her forehead, powder started falling off. She moved her hand away from her face so that I could see a diamond. I fell over and Eclipse toppled to the ground, however she still didn't move. Rita picked up Eclipse.

"Don't worry, dear, the cat is fine, this is just a replica of her, she's somewhere trapped outside." she informed me. The replica turned into dust and my eyes were slowly closing. Then everything went cold.

My eyes slowly opened and I found myself in a cold, wet place. I tried to move my hands, but they were chained to the wall. I kept pulling and pulling, but I didn't have any strength. I gave up when my arms started to hurt. I heard a door open and slam shut and footsteps walking my way. I bent my head down so it looked like I was still unconscious. The footsteps stopped in front of my cell and the jingle of keys were heard as it was opening my cell door. The door creaked open and the footsteps walked slowly towards me. I felt a cold hand grab my chin and forced me to look up. I closed my eyes, but I had a feeling I knew who it was. She turned my face from side to side as if observing me then she let go, making me drop my head down again.

"Hmm, should I sell her in the black market or kill her and use her blood?" she thought out loud,"She's a little dirty, but once cleaned up she'll be as pretty as a pearl and she'll sell at a nice price.... but I haven't feasted on a young being for a while and my body is growing old. I need fresh blood to turn me young again..."

"How about you let me go?" I suggested and looked at her. She turned to me.

"Oh dear, you were listening? That's not a good thing to eavesdrop, you know?" she said. She walked closer to me and I kicked. She stopped and stared,"Do I really need to bind your feet too?" I frowned angrily at her and looked away.

"It's not a good thing to drug and tie up a person, old hag." I murmured.

"What did you say?" Rita said obviously getting ticked. I smiled at her sweetly.

"Nothing." I said happily. I dropped my smile and looked at her,"It's just that you're an ugly old hag, nothing that important, you know?" A vein popped on her face.

"H-How dare...." she began. I shrugged.

"But it's the truth after all, you're a tiny useless old witch and no one can deny it." I said. I was getting angry and my blood was boiling.

'That's right, get mad Alice.' My other side cheered on happily.

"Why I ought to...!" She said.

"Ought to what? Kill me? Sell me?" I said,"Go ahead and try." I haven't felt so free in ages. I never talked back, none the less, I never talked to anyone and it felt great spouting out my anger on her. She raised her hand and slapped me hard, I felt her nails digging into my cheek. My hair covered my eyes and I felt the stinging pain burn on my cheek, but I didn't care. I didn't feel anything. Rita sniffed the air.

"I-Is that your blood I'm smelling?" she asked. I stayed silent,"It smells absolutely delicious." She touched my cheek and I turned quickly snapping my jaw at her. She pulled her hand back, but I could see my blood on her hands and my head drooped.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"Well, isn't this dandy?" I said,"Alice is learning how to fight back and I'm here chained to the wall, but that won't be the case for long." The old crone looked at me surprised like all the other people that see Alice acting like this. I pulled at the shackles and they begin to give way. I pull harder and they come off the wall, dust flying everywhere. I still had the shackle and chain attached around my wrist, but I didn't have the time to worry about them at the moment. I turned to the old hag and she sneered at me.

"I'll be done with you in 5 seconds flat." she taunted. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, suuuure you will." I said fixing my shackles so it would be more comfortable on my wrists. I looked at her with a smile,"Let's go."