"Heavy booted footfalls thumped from above.
The caretaker kissed the boy's head with love.

Be swift as the white rabbit and run with haste,
Or the Queen Of Hearts will lay you to waste."

Her crying clashed with the bell's six tolls. The sky flashed scarlet, the mighty brass slammed against invisible walls and the wind shrieked to be known. Lightning howled. 

Trick withdrew his outstretched hand from the study door and whipped around, terrified by the onslaught of noises. He turned fluidly on his feet and sent himself barreling back towards the hallway.

The little boy cried out the name of his companion in as he halted, feet sliding across the floor as he made a sharp turn into the passage.

A fading rumble in the skies left the moor in silence. Stiff, suffocating silence, choking him around the throat like an executioner's noose.

Not a whisper of sound.

And not a wisp of her pink hair in sight.

One half of the orb was sitting on the floor. He stooped down to pick it up.

Panting, Trick whipped his head left and right. How had she disappeared so quickly? Had Alice fled the hall? His vision was slow in comparison to how his mind was racing.

He screamed out her name. Why? Why had he left her alone? Why hadn't he tolerated her jumpiness? Where had she gone?

To you, dearest reader of this work, the knowledge that alluded him was readily available. As Trick picked a random staircase to venture in hopes of finding his missing friend, he unwittingly left her behind.

Just because you can't see something, does not mean that it isn't there.

And just because he didn't hear a whimper of distress, doesn't mean that it never escaped the desperate lips of little Alice, who was only two feet away, forced into hiding by something that certainly wasn't Coryn.

"Please h-help me..." Black slowly melded with the combined orb's silver light. It crept away, plunging the hall into total darkness.

A gloved hand clapped softly over her mouth.

It spoke in a gentle, honeyed voice.

Shush now.

~*~*~*~

Alice dragged her feet as it led her by the arm. She felt sleepy. It seemed to notice that. It fiercely shook her shoulder.

Don't fall asleep now, little one.
Don't you miss the boy?

Her heavy eyelids opened, not without struggle. Her voice was thick and her words were mumbles. "Trick's coming back for me..."

You shan't think about him anymore.
I'm going to give you a new friend.
One that'll never leave your side.

Though the door to the study had been closed when Trick had come upon it, it had mysteriously opened itself again, precisely how Coryn had left it after fleeing.

Alice vaguely felt herself being lifted onto another comfy chair. She didn't know what kind of chair it was - for she'd never been inside the study before and it was far too dark to see.

Oh, dear me.
A naughty person stole the light.
I wonder who that could've been?

She remembered all those nursery rhymes that Coryn taught her and how his voice would change when he sang them. It sounded the same. But there was nothing to rhyme about. And it wasn't soothing to her.

Here we go~
I hope you aren't scared of fire.

A bright flame burst into existence, lightning up the shape of a tiny black lantern. As the four glass walls began to glow blue, she saw that it was hooked onto a thin candle holder that was shaped like a swirly metal tree.

It only illuminated the desk, which was strewn with sewing equipment. Alice recognised some of it and gasped.

Surprised?
How sweet.

"W-Where's Cory? This is his... This belongs to him!"

He's perfectly fine.
I didn't harm a hair on his hea-

An abrupt, thoughtful pause.

There's no need to dwell on that.
Do stop talking.
Or I'll use this needle and thread to keep you quiet.
~*~*~*~

He refused the embrace of sleep, choosing to so occasionally flutter his eye open whenever his robotic vision closed down.

Those subtle changes couldn't slip past his guard.

It progressed with every blink he made. No matter how fast he snapped his eyes open after closing them, something in the room changed.

Soon, entire paintings began rearranging themselves.

The ceiling's fairyfolk switched their positions restlessly.

Unsettlingly, the rabbit remained stoic, everlastingly fixing its haunting gaze on the room's prisoner.

The longer he kept his vision off, the more things moved or changed.

And on more than one occasion, Coryn had gotten the dreadful feeling that something was about to pop out from behind the reclining chair.

This entire manor is insane....!

But all I can do is wait for something to happen. Maybe these restraints will disappear. Or something may appear that could help me free myself...

Coryn felt its presence before it arrived. A breeze went through his hair, though there was nothing around him to cause it.

Swirls of cherry-coloured smoke poured in from all directions. It was like a suffocating incense, filling his lungs with its bemusing scent.

It was heard, but not seen. Oh yes, the dense smoke made quite sure of that. He only saw very distorted dark patches.

You can't escape, you know. I made those binds just for you.

"You really shouldn't have gone through the trouble. I don't intend to listen to a word you say," Coryn was replying to the disembodied voice, unsure if it could even hear him.

He meant to sit up, but as soon as he did, something pinned him back down.

His heartbeat sped up.

Why the alarm?
I just don't want you to get up so soon.

"Why would that be?" He questioned, his voice barely going past a throaty mumble. His quick breathing was terribly matched with the dancing smoke.

Because you'd miss this.

And so the mosaic rabbit that decorated the ceiling sprang to life.

A ripple of light pulsated through the room as it sailed towards the ground, snowy paws outstretched. Eyes that could've been made out of ruby, glittering with intelligence.

The light didn't fade.

It brought new life to the circular room, while allowing Coryn's normal eye to see the paintings and their true beauty with all their glamorous colours.

A dangerous whoosh behind him; the foggy smoke disappeared.

It revealed something that was received with a mixed response from Coryn. Horror, most certainly, and a tiny glimmer of relief.

Alice was standing there.

He couldn't see her face or discern her current state of mind. She was holding a button-eyed plush bunny, burying her face behind its patchwork body.

"A-Alice... Oh, sweetie! Are you okay?" His voice cracked, full of so many different emotions.

It doesn't matter what you do.
She won't answer you.

Coryn gave his restraints another tug, helplessness washing over him in waves, each more overwhelming than the one before it. Alice was standing right in front of him - and he couldn't reach her.

So close, yet so far... He thought bitterly, abandoning his attempt. No matter how reluctant, he knew it was futile to even try.

The white rabbit sprang onto his lap and wouldn't be moved. Uncomfortably for him. Its feet were pressing painful against his abdomen. He wished he could scare it off.

Coryn kept very, very quiet when something sharp found its way to his neck, meticulously tracing around every vein, muscle and artery.

Are you listening to me now?

[I have a question for you, wonderful reader... What would you do in the face of this peril? With love, from Phantom.]