My sensitive, overstimulated breast...
Oh God.
I'm left helplessly clinging to his rock-hard shoulders, dazed by the pleasurable shock of feeling myself lactate, the milk dripping into the were-lion's mouth as he suckles on my breast...endlessly.?? I'm mad, aren't I? ??IT'S WHAT ALICE ONCE asked the Cheshire Cat in the book, and lately it's all that I ask myself as well, every time I remember what went down between the were-lion and me. Honestly, I feel like I'm the world's most messed-up slut, with the way I'm feeling about Rayé...and Haine. Maybe it's normal to love more than one guy in Wunderland, but here in my world it's the opposite. You're supposed to choose, always. And if you don't...
"Addie?"
I grimace, realizing I've once again been caught staring at empty space. "Sorry."
"You've been like this since your last visit to Wunderland," my friend ventures uneasily. "Are you sure everything's fine?"
The school doctor levels a frowning gaze at my direction while Chassie's speaking, and I know right away I need to come up with something to put the other girl at ease.
Ever since Chassie and I signed up to become members of the Health Club, we've been spending our lunch break in the clinic, and for the most part it's a good thing. Damyan always treats us to the fanciest meal deliveries, and we can talk freely of Wunderland without having to worry about other kids eavesdropping and thinking we're crazy.
But...there's just one disadvantage, and that's when Damyan...isn't actually Damyan.
That's because - surprise, surprise! - another secret Chassie only revealed recently is the fact that Damyan has two other brothers, and while they're identical in looks and strength, they're worlds apart in everything else.
Damyan's quite chill but also a major flirt while Valentin's aloof and fiercely protective. Whenever the latter thinks I'm troubling Chassie unnecessarily, he'd go from looking awfully gorgeous to just plain awful, and since that kind of moment is happening right this very instance...
"Why don't you confide your worries to us, Adalheidis?" Valentin's tone is of grave concern while the glare he shoots my way threatens grave danger if I don't play along.
"Yes, please do." Chassie gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. "You can tell us anything, Addie. I hope you know that."
And since I have no plans of getting fried by dragon's breath any time soon, I nod and say without hesitation, "I think you guys are right. Maybe it's better if I'm, um, honest. " I clear my throat after this, doing my best to look like I'm about to unburden myself when in truth I'm just busy trying to come up with a plausible lie. "The thing is..."
Chassie looks at me expectantly.
"There's always been something about Wunderland that bothers me." An idea starts to form in my mind, and I just go with it. "While I always remember how I end up in Wunderland, why don't I ever remember how I leave it?"
"Is that all?" My friend appears relieved.
"It's normal then?" I ask dubiously. "How I never remember my leaving?"
"It's just one of Wunderland's rules," the other girl says ruefully. "She likes taking us out when we're sleeping or unconscious, even just for a second—-"
"Does she do it randomly?" I ask with a frown.
Chassie shakes her head. “It's like when you're playing a game," she explains, "and your character has to clear a level or a map. Until that happens, it really doesn't matter how many nights you end up spending there. But on the other hand, when you do clear what you're supposed to clear—-" Chassie makes air quotations on the word 'clear' to emphasize her point. "—-you don't get a choice to stay either. It's just like a game, too, in that sense. Once you clear a level, the game's programmed in such a way—-"
"The game being Wunderland, right?"
"Yes," Chassie confirms.
I absently feed myself a mouthful of truffle-flavored ramen as I literally and figuratively chew on her words.
So if I'm following my friend right, the first condition for Wunderland exits is that they only occur when humans like me are either sleeping or unconscious. As for the second condition...
Huh.
I look at Chassie. "Are there no exemptions to those rules? Ever?"
"The rules change if you become a permanent resident of Wunderland..."
But since I'm obviously not that...
Does that mean in the two times I went to Wunderland, "clearing" a so-called level for me meant I can only leave if I've done...that...with Rayé and Haine?CLASSES ENDED FOR THE day, and when Chassie asks if she and Valentin can drop me off, I make up an excuse about having dinner out with my sisters. Aside from Summer's aloof ruler being so obviously keen to have some time alone with her, I kinda want to be on my own as well.
I haven't stopped thinking about my friend's revelations on Wunderland exits, and even though things make more sense now, this is definitely one of those instances when ignorance would've been so much more blissful.