Page 17 of Knot My Wonderland

"Alliances," the Hatter replied, fingers drumming a complex rhythm on the tablecloth. "And strength of your own. An Omega who cannot be controlled is an Omega who cannot be claimed against her will."

"You make it sound like I need to become some kind of warrior," I said, my laugh coming out more nervous than I intended.

The Hatter didn't smile back. "In a way, you do. Wonderland respects power, Alice. Always has. The form that power takes—that's up to you.”

I set down the strange, pulsing fruit and studied the Hatter's serious expression. "What kind of power could I possibly have? I'm not... I don't have magic or strength or whatever it is Wonderland values."

"Don't you?" The Hatter tilted his head, those wild green eyes seeing something in me I couldn't yet recognize. "You survived Wonderland as a child when many Dreamers are consumed by it. You found your way back when the door should have been closed forever. And you've already begun to adapt to its magic." He gestured to my hands.

I looked down, startled to see a faint silver glow tracing the veins beneath my skin, pulsing in time with my heartbeat.

"What is that?" I whispered, turning my palms over in fascination and mild horror.

"Wonderland, recognizing you. Changing you." The Hatter reached across the table, his long fingers hovering just abovemine without touching. "The food speeds the process, but it was already happening. Dreamers who return... they become part of the magic."

I stared at the silvery light tracing through my veins. It didn't hurt—if anything, it felt like a gentle hum beneath my skin, almost pleasant. "Is this... permanent?"

"The visible glow will fade," he said, withdrawing his hand. "The changes won't."

I flexed my fingers, watching the silver light pulse brighter with the movement. "What changes, exactly?"

The Hatter's smile was enigmatic. "That depends on you. Wonderland shapes itself to its Dreamers, and they to it. A symbiosis, of sorts." He rose from his chair, moving to a cabinet that seemed to lean into his touch when he approached. "The changes will enhance what's already within you. Your instincts, your senses, perhaps even abilities you haven't discovered yet."

He withdrew a small leather pouch from the cabinet and returned to the table, setting it down between us with a gentle clink. "For now, though, we have more immediate concerns."

I reached for the pouch cautiously. "What's this?"

"Insurance," the Hatter replied, nodding for me to open it.

Inside, I found a necklace—a delicate silver chain supporting a pendant that seemed to be made of liquid glass, swirling with colors that shifted as I watched: emerald green, midnight blue, hints of gold and violet dancing together like northern lights trapped in a teardrop.

"It's beautiful," I murmured, lifting it from the pouch. The pendant was warm against my palm, almost like it had a pulse of its own.

"It's more than ornamental," the Hatter said, his voice dropping lower. "It contains a fragment of my protection—a piece of Wonderland that answers to me. While you wear it, I'llalways be able to find you. And others will know you stand under my shadow."

I turned the pendant over in my palm, watching the colors dance. "Like a magical tracking device?"

His lips twitched. "In a manner of speaking. Though it offers more than mere location. In moments of true danger, it can shield you—briefly. Long enough, perhaps, to escape or call for aid."

I slipped the chain over my head, letting the pendant rest against my sternum. The moment it touched my skin, warmth spread outward in gentle waves, as if the magic recognized me.

"Thank you," I said softly, wrapping my fingers around it.

"Don't thank me yet," the Hatter replied, his expression growing more serious. "The pendant will help, but it's only a beginning. There are those in Wonderland whose hunger won't be deterred by a charm, no matter how powerful."

I nodded, letting the pendant fall against my chest. Its weight was reassuring, like a promise made physical. "So what's next? More magical accessories?"

The Hatter's mouth quirked. "No. Next, we teach you to defend yourself." He rose from the table with fluid grace, gesturing for me to follow. "Come. There's someone you should meet…or rather reintroduce them to you."

I followed the Hatter through a narrow doorway that seemed to stretch and contract as we passed through it. The corridor beyond twisted at impossible angles, lined with doors of different sizes and colors. Some were barely larger than a mouse hole, others tall enough for giants.

"Who exactly are we meeting?" I asked, hurrying to keep up with his long strides.

"An old friend," the Hatter replied cryptically. "Someone who knows more about survival in Wonderland than most."

We reached the end of the corridor where a door stood slightly ajar and lead out into a garden. The garden beyond was unlike any I'd ever seen. It sprawled in defiance of all logic—some areas lush with impossible flowers that towered overhead like trees, others sparse with delicate blooms no larger than dewdrops. Vines twisted into archways that seemed to lead nowhere and everywhere at once. The air was thick with scents that changed with every breath: honey-sweet one moment, spice-sharp the next.

"Watch your step," the Hatter warned as we followed a path made of flat stones that occasionally shifted position when I wasn't looking directly at them. "The garden has its own ideas about where visitors should go."

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