The Key

 

She had
to find it. It was the answer to everything. It was the one thing that
could guarantee her escape, her way home. It would allow her to flee the
gilded prison that the Hare and Mad Hatter kept her locked in.

She
inched closer and closer. They wouldn't have been so naive as to leave
it in plan sight for me, now would they? Her heart rate skyrocketed. It
had been so long since she'd seen the outside world, that quite honestly
she almost forgot it existed.

Were her parents even still looking for her? Or had they given up all hope that she would ever return?

It
was cold to the touch but it was real. She squeezed it so tight it left
indents in her palm but she didn't care. That pain would fade all too
quickly. A tear escaped glistening on her cheek. All was not lost after
all.