Spades: The True Wonderland Awaits. (Of Wonderland Chronicles Book 1) by A.G. Stone Read Free Book Online

realized that I knew absolutely nothing about the owner of the thick, syrup-like Cockney accent that enveloped me in a warm blanket as I continued to fall down the rabbit hole.
    "You don't remember me? Oh, I'm hurt, luv," he said. "We did grow up together."
    "I don't know you," I said, shaking my head. "We never had a childhood together."
    "Well, I suppose it has been years," he said thoughtfully, ignoring my interruption as if I was naught but a bee buzzing around his head. "I guess I should tell you my name."
    "I'd appreciate it," I said dryly, and he laughed gaily, his captivating and enticing laughter somehow melting me until I felt like I was just a puddle of Bryony - all dark brown and black and white - falling down the rabbit hole.
    "Oh, luv," he said, and my cheeks flushed at the fond nickname he'd given me in his thick Cockney accent. "I suppose I will, since you so kindly requested it. My name is Seth, though the name everyone calls me by is different."
    "What is the name everyone calls you by?" I asked, and Seth chuckled.
    "Ah-ah, not yet. It isn't time for you to know that yet. You will know when you find me. Don't forget to use the key; it is the only thing that will open the lock. Good luck," he drawled, and then his voice disappeared so quick I was left blinking in shock.
    "Seth? Seth, where are you? Seth!?" I shouted, my voice echoing in the apparently reverberating rabbit hole.
    But there was no reply.
    I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest, watching the sides of the rabbit hole change, the objects pinned to the dirt walls changing as I fell father. I fell down for what felt like forever until I landed in a heap at the bottom, on a hard floor. I stood up and brushed myself off, surprised to find that, suddenly, I was dressed in a Victorian style dress. I looked down at it. It was light blue with short sleeves that were bunched up together with a bow made of the same light blue silk sewn on to my right shoulder. At the bottom of the dress, it lifted up to reveal white silk underneath. On the left side, the blue silk bunched up to reveal more of the white silk than there was on the right side.
    I looked around and found myself in a room lit with the flickers of orange and red flames. The floor was black and blue checkered, and the walls were plain and made of light wood that looked to be oak or pine. There were several doors lining the walls, and I looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling was striped like a zebra, except instead of the typical white and black, it was cream and dark brown striped. There was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling with several - about ten around the dark, twisting metal center - dishes with red candles basically glued inside with wax. There was a glass table to the side of the room, pressed against an open part of the wall.
    I walked around the room, wandering through the room. I tried each door, but all of them were locked. Then, with great joy, I remembered the key around my neck. I took off the key and tried each door, but alas! None of them would open to the key fitted into their locks; sometimes the key was too large, other times it was too small, and other times still it was just the wrong shape. I took a step back from the latest door I had tried and thought back to the original story. Oh, yes! I remembered; there was a tiny door hidden behind a small curtain in the story that the key unlocked.
    I looked around the room until I found the curtain, except it was not a curtain in great shape; it was dark crimson and moth-eaten until it was threadbare and holey. It was soft to the touch, though, and I pushed it aside with my index finger, getting down on my knees to examine the door behind the curtain. The door was tiny, about the same size that it said in the book, and it was made of a material, of a metal, that looked to be gold. I traced my finger tip over the door's carved surface, exploring the carved designs; it felt like gold, cool to the touch and sort of soft.
    I