Cheshire: The Exile

Chapter Two

"Alice!"

The blonde haired savior of Wonderland runs down the path of the Dark forest with me following after her.

"Alice!"

And at last I reach Alice but before I can touch her to shake her shoulder, blood begins to coat my fingers.

Raising my arms blood drips down to the ground from where there are slits in my wrists.

Alice turns to me and I gasp.

Something cold hits my body and I snap awake my vision still a bit blurred from sleep.

I find red flaming hair, much like my own, filling the parts I can see.

"KATRINE!"

I sit up rubbing my eyes, "I'm already awake, Angel."

She huffs and the bucket that she had used to throw water on me falls to the floor and Angel wraps me in a hug.

"You were screaming in your sleep. Everything okay?"

I sigh, "I was dreaming of Alice."

"As in Alice in Wonderland, Alice?"

I give her a sideways look as she untangles herself from me.

"What other Alice would I be dreaming about?"

She rolls her eyes and goes, "And? And?"

I relay my dream to her detail by detail.

Angel's eyes go wide.

"Wow. No wonder you were screaming."

-----------------------

The day quickly flies by with me re shelving the books in the library. I was on the second floor shelving the young adult section when I hear the main library doors open.

And before I can lean over the railing to call out to whoever was there, I hear Angel's voice with my heightened hearing.

"Coleson, Fury! What are you doing here?"

"We need your help, Natasha."

My curiosity finally gets the best of me, and I lean over the railing, calling out to my friend.

"Hey, Angel! I'm done with this section, do you need anything else?"

Angel looks up at me and smiles before calling back, "No, Katrine! You can come down and meet my friends!"

I decide to not Cavort down there, but instead use the stairs. Don't want to scare anyone today.

Two men stand at the door, and they turn toward me when I come bounding down the stairs.

They are looking at me, as if they are judging me.

Pushing my hair out of my face, I raise an eyebrow. A perfected move I learned from Angel.

"What's up with the eye patch?" I ask the colored man standing next to the shorter one. He had a black patch covering one eye perfectly.

"Katrine!" Angel scolds surprised though at my unusual behavior. I am usually calm and polite, but I dislike these men already.

I shrug and go behind the desk picking up my backpack. Before I can go back around the desk, Angel stops me and tells me to go to the storage room and find the box of old junk mail. I groan, yet I comply

Dumping my backpack on the desk I rummage around for my keys and finally finding them I throw a teasing glare at Angel before going to do as she asked.

Once they assumed I was out of hearing, they began to speak.

"Who the hell is that?"

I hear Angel's voice reply calmly, "She's my friend."

"Impossible, you don't want friends."

"I never said that. It's just hard for me to with my job and all working at SHIELD and what not."

Shield? What are they doing talking about a freaking shield? However, from the way Angel worded it...I gather that Shield is a place.

"So what's the deal with her?"

"I don't know actually.  She must be mad or something."

Hmph. 

"Mad?"

"Yeah, either the crazy kind or the I'm-going-to-ignore-you anger kind. I usually shut her up with tea or Alice in Wonderland."

"What?"

"You heard me. Alice in Wonderland."

"Is she crazy or something?"

I hear Angel's chuckle, "You have no  idea."

I come back around the corner, pretending that I didn't even hear their conversation.

"Angel, I'm going to head home, okay?"

Angel turns toward me and says, "That's fine. Lock the doors and-"

"Don't take candy from strangers. I got it. Geez, it happens one time and it haunts you for life."

Angel snickers, before waving to me.

I open the door of the library, yet before I step outside Into the cool air, I turn around and smirk, "Besides, Mr. Fury, We're all Mad here."

I leave to the shocked looks on all three of their faces.