( open ) if i told you a flower bloomed in a dark room,

[interpersonal]

who | elena gilbert + you.
where | the indoor pool and elsewhere in the mansion.
when | february 15th.
rating | pg; action and prose both welcome.
summary | elena falls down the rabbit hole. pls don't make fun of the slippers.
the story |

OPTION A ➺ indoor swimming pool + hallways

[ it's not possible.

it can't be.

and yet it is. not for the first time, elena gilbert will have to accept the unbelievable. everything she thinks she knows is about to change - again. it's right in front of her, demanding to be seen as she breaks through the surface of the water and greets the new world with a sudden gasp. she is intensely familiar with the sensation, water filling her cloying lungs; at least this time around, she's not trapped in a car at the bottom of a lake.

no, she's in - an indoor pool? that's not right. only minutes ago, she was in the comfort of her own bedroom. the lingering sadness was inescapable, but at least she was home. it was morning, elena unwilling to get dressed just yet as she tried to think of an acceptable excuse to back out of her own birthday party. (as if caroline would let her.)

she's been kidnapped.

elena isn't unfamiliar with that, either. except she doesn't have a clear reason for this particular kidnapping. klaus thinks she's dead, doesn't he? it's all over, albeit with devastating results. her chest aches as she passingly thinks of stefan in the midst of her confusion. no, stefan would keep the secret. he'd never put her in harm's way. and why would anyone just leave her floating in an indoor swimming pool? armed with resolve, elena swims to the pool's edge and promptly finds her way out of it.

there you have it, Wonderland.

a new arrival, drenched from head to toe in her jammies.

elena wanders down to the first floor and its hallways with wary determination, and maybe chattering teeth. eventually she'll stumble on something, right? right. ]

OPTION B ➺ everywhere else in the mansion

[ once she finds dry clothes, claims a room, and gathers her bearings, elena remains unsatisfied. there's a small part of her that still (wants to) believe she'll wake up and everything will be as it was. her life wasn't perfect, but it was hers, and she was figuring it out.

just like she'll figure wonderland out.

she is determined to explore every nook and cranny. she roams the hallways, studies the mirrors, and keeps her eyes peeled for anything that might give her answers. she never likes to feel helpless, and she has learned that information is powerful. what you don't know? can always hurt you.

what will she find next? ]

Comments

b!!!

[coleader]

[ clarke is an astute young woman, especially when it comes to recognizing the half-curious, half-unsure expression that every newcomer to wonderland undoubtedly wears. she'd worn it herself, although she hadn't dared enter the mansion then; she slept out in the woods that first night, before simon had sworn to her she'd be safe indoors. this girl is clearly more accustomed to things like houses than she is, wandering around and inspecting everything.

and she's in pjs. that's kind of cute.

carefully, clarke peeks around the corner at her, having noticed her exploring the hallway. she doesn't wish to frighten the girl — she's already unsettled enough, clarke is sure — so she doesn't approach right away, only calls out to her. ]

Looking for something in particular?

[interpersonal]

[ elena's poker face isn't hopeless. her determination and bravery are certainly no ruse, but it's also evident she's shaken. at least she's managed to steady herself after that disastrous, and frankly frightful, moment in the pool. elena and bodies of water don't always get along. whoever brought her here, they have a certain kind of humor.

once clarke alerts elena of her presence, elena whirls around and follows the sound of her voice. a young woman who looks to be around the same age she does. it doesn't mean anything. how someone looks doesn't, for a moment, reveal how dangerous they may be. (isn't she an example of that?) ]

I'm looking for answers. [ doesn't she always? even when she convinces herself she can live with doubt, accept the status quo - she needs the truth. ]

[coleader]

[ clarke smiles a bit at that. aren't they all? she'd been the same way when she arrived — she still is, to an extent. she has so few answers still, but she's growing accustomed to living in such a strange, foreign world. at the very least, she doesn't feel like she's dreaming anymore. ]

Makes sense. There's a lot of questions.

[ she cocks her head to the side, as if inviting elena to walk with her. clarke can give her a tour, if nothing else. to answer what she's sure is her first question: ]

This is Wonderland. [ clarke knows it sounds ridiculous, and she can barely say it without rolling her eyes. wonderland; she'd felt as if she was being toyed with when she first heard about it. it certainly isn't always full of wonder, what with the beast they'd all had to fear and the way the mansion changes at will. still, it's more secure than anywhere in her world had been. ] Nothing's going to hurt you here. At least, not right now. It's safe to sleep here.

[interpersonal]

[ elena's hesitation doesn't last long. clarke's response catapults her into dumbfounded action, quickly falling into step beside her - not without a note of incredulity to elena's voice. ] Wonderland. [ s-so deadpanned. ] As in, Alice. [ as in, the queen of hearts and the white rabbit and the mock turtle. wonderland.

okay then. that's - ]

That's - [ she doesn't finish the sentence, where she otherwise might have. for someone that's breathing and living proof of the 'impossible', elena likes to throw the word around a lot. she's torn between appraising her surroundings and giving clarke her full attention. (clarke wins out.) let's try this again, shall we? ]

How is this possible? [ there, that's better, albeit still incredulous. ] And why am I here? [ she doesn't belong in wonderland. ]

[coleader]

[ that's the million dollar question, isn't it? ]

I wish I knew. It's— none of it makes sense, but... here we are.

[ clarke is still not entirely convinced she isn't wandering around in some coma dream, her mind playing tricks on her and making her believe it's real. it certainly seems like a dream. people talking about demons as if they're a well-known species where they're from, others acting as if they're from a century or more in the past.

she should give some answers, though; clarke does know the answer to a few. ]

I've spoken to Alice, actually.

[ it was a very bizarre conversation. ]

b; just a little light irresponsibility to break the ice???

[sponsored]

[ as elena wanders through the first floor, she might get a glimpse into the monotonous life of a slayer with nothing to slay other than dummies and various other inanimate objects.

despite the very large sign hung forbidding crossbow fire, faith is running drills with real bolts in the back of the new sparring center. if sharon's legit about it, they can have it out face to face when she finds the holes in the walls. (spoiler alert: sharon carter is really fun to annoy which is great considering she usually does copious annoying herself and therefore totally deserves a dish of her own. ]

Shit.

[ a jammed crossbow is no one's friend because they sometimes like to fire wild as its wielder tries digging out the bolt -- if elena is curious enough to step inside the room her likelihood of getting whizzed by is gonna increase tenfold. ]

Shit!

[ so what's it gonna be today, elena? watch from the hall as the pseudo-adult practices badly or an arrow almost to the knee? ]

perfect /chinhands

[interpersonal]

[ SACRE BLEU.

this is what a curious elena gets for moving toward the noises instead of away from them. don't ask how she can have a+ survival skills while lacking important self-preservation tactics at times, she is a mystery. she is also the queen of bad timing. by the time she realizes what's coming right at her, it's mostly too late. ]

Oh my God -

[ she grows stock still as the arrow zooms right past her, legs vaguely trembling to betray her otherwise immobile body.

faith, das rude. ]

[sponsored]

Yo, you OK?

[ first order of business is to not run but walk to her accidental target because everything is totally fine if faith just acts like it is, right? ]

Hey-- you with me?

[interpersonal]

Yeah - yeah, I'm fine. [ comparatively, she is fine. on the whole - well, that's an answer best left unspoken. strangers don't ask simple questions to hear the more complicated story, after all. they don't really want to know. she tugs in a steadying breath, and to her credit, bounces back quick. elena figures if faith had wanted to hurt her, she wouldn't be asking if she's okay. she'd probably be dead by now. that's the story and she's sticking to it. (everyone wants a better story.) ]

I'm sorry. I didn't realize what I was walking into. [ captain obvious here, reporting for duty... ]

[sponsored]

No big. You're in one piece, right?

[ she moves past elena to the wall, smooth and easy now that there really is nothing to worry about. it's short work, getting the bolt out of the wall. ]

You here for the lessons? Didn't think anyone was starting yet.

a!

[lifeskills]

<sub>[Victor is on his way up the stairs when Elena is on her way down them. Attention elsewhere, it's the wet squelch of water-logged slippers that gets him to look up. What he sees stops him in his tracks.

This is Wonderland. Strange things happen here. Consequently, it's not his first time seeing an under-dressed young person wandering around. It's not even his first time seeing a wet under-dressed young person. But even so, looking over and seeing a flash of bare leg is vaguely alarming, like somehow he's one step closer to sexual deviancy just by laying eyes on her.

The cause of his alarm could also be his inner neat freak shuddering in horror. For someone who lives firmly entrenched in the stuffy end of the Victorian fashion spectrum, her rumpled turn-out makes his eyes widen.

And what are those things on her feet?]</sub>

[interpersonal]

[ quietly, she halts upon the stairs.

for several beats, one would think they've decided to engage in a staring contest, until elena decides that this must be the owner of the estate. he looks stuffy and regal enough for it. she doesn't have any answers yet, much less a solution. she just knows one moment she was in her bedroom and now she's here. maybe she's still in virginia. maybe she's gone back in time. maybe they've used magic so much that it's on the fritz. or maybe she really has been kidnapped, but he looks as surprised as she does. ]

- I'm sorry. Is this yours?

[ that's vague. she clears her throat and motions around her. ] The house. [ wait, still imprecise. ] Mansion. It's big. And lovely. You have a big and lovely home. [ his silence, apparently, prompts her into a modest ramble. she's being careful, you see. the last time she was unceremoniously kidnapped, heads rolled. literally. ]

I swear I'm not trespassing. There's been a mistake. [ a magical mistake. ] I'm not supposed to be here.

[lifeskills]

No, uh, no... I'm not the owner.

<sub>[She's mistaken him for someone of authority, that much is clear from the onset. Spell of surprise broken, Victor shifts his gaze to the stair railing and quickly corrects her before the misunderstanding goes any further.

She must have been recently brought here. That's the only explanation he can see based on the tone of her questions. People who've stayed an extended time in the mansion recognize that the "owners" aren't the type of beings you simply bump into on the stairs.]</sub>

I'm an occupant, but that's all. Don't concern yourself with trespassing. I'd count as a trespasser, as well, by that definition.

_{[One thing at a time. He gestures toward the second floor landing.]}

You'll be needing something to dry off with? I'll... get it.

[interpersonal]

Oh. [ who is the owner, if not him?

elena glances down at herself at his offer; it's a pitiful state she's in. the slippers are ridiculous, it's true. that's part of why jenna gave them to her. she decided a long time ago elena could use some ridiculousness in her life, and elena would agree. the world is tired of sad girls. (the walls of her chest still shudder with grief when she thinks of her aunt, so she doesn't think it.) clearing her throat in slight self-consciousness, her sharp gaze returns to him. ]

Thank you. I'd appreciate that. I don't -

[ she swallows. in all her determination and little miss tough act, it didn't occur to her she'd need a mental blueprint of the place. ] I don't know where anything is. [ doesn't know where she is, but that's sadly a recurring affair. will he mean to harm her? her guard remains up just in case. ]

[lifeskills]

_{[Victor misses the mix of emotions that wash through her, too intent on following the dictates of polite society by looking at her with indirect glances. He was originally headed up, anyway, so he resumes climbing, checking a few steps in to check if she's following.]}

It's all right. You're not the first to arrive in disarray like this--there's no need for you to walk around dripping while you get your bearings.

_{[Meaning she doesn't have to thank him; introducing her to a towel is the least a decent person would do when she's probably cold, and confused, and questioning her sanity. The last part is debatable.]}

This way. There are plenty of unused rooms on each floor where you can get linens and something to wear.

b

[krmvgivv]

[Dipper is sitting in the hallway writing furiously on the mirror. He's writing backwards too, though it's not really slowing him down any. It seems to mostly be a lot of questions, but so far? No matching answers. He looks up when she starts approaching and stops writing. Huh, someone he's never seen before.]

Oh, hey. Are you new?

[interpersonal]

[ by now, elena's (mostly) gathered her bearings. people have been nice enough to explain things and give her dry clothes. the smile she gives dipper in greeting is tentative and subdued, but not without it's friendly warmth. she's just like that. ] I'm the new one. I take it you've been here for some time?

[ don't mind her, she'll just inspect the mirror, all curious and stealth-like. ]

[krmvgivv]

[The text reads:

ʕɿoɿɿim ɒ ɘvɒʜ ɘnoyɿɘvɘ ƨɘoᗡ ʕɿoɿɿim ƚƨɘblo ɘʜƚ ƨi oʜW

ʕbnɒlɿɘbnow ɘɿoʇɘd moɿʇ ƨɘiɿomɘm ɘvɒʜ uoy ʇo ynɒ oᗡ

ʕylɘʇɒƨ ɘɿoɔ ɘʜƚ oƚni ʞool ƨyuǫ uoy nɒƆ

!ƨƚɿɒɘʜ ʇo nɘɘup ɘʜƚ oƚ ʞlɒƚ oƚ ƚnɒw I

Dipper doesn't seem to notice or at least doesn't care that she's reading his writing. He stands up, putting the marker in his vest pocket.]

Yep, almost a year. I'm Dipper.

[interpersonal]

It's nice to meet you, Dipper. [ barring the circumstances, of course. ] I'm Elena.

[ the last part is spoken with some degree of distraction as elena steps forward. she squints at the mirror, trying to make out some of the questions. it takes her a bit to get just the one. ] I'm sorry, do you mind - what do you mean by everyone having a mirror?

[ it's become apparent to her there's a Theme - they're everywhere - but his questions suggest a deeper motive. ]

[krmvgivv]

Oh, you haven't gotten the rundown on that yet? [Dipper sits back to let her get a better look.] Evil doppelganger on the other side of the glass. Sort of a creepy... opposite person. Theoretically we all have one, but I'm trying to get a few more details about it.

b; as we talked about! :3

[nascensibility]

[By no stretch of the imagination would Evelyn consider it odd to see a new and unfamiliar face in the library. People tend to find themselves there in much the way she had upon first arriving, whether of their own volition or because someone recommended it, and perhaps unknowingly pointed them her way.

Having taken it upon herself be a liaison of sorts between general (and in-depth) knowledge of Wonderland and its fluctuating populace Evelyn considers it her civic duty to, at the very least, introduce herself.]

I don't mean to interrupt, but I haven't before seen you here,

[she states, neither unfriendly nor the sort of person to greet another with a dangling infinitive. It has the tendency to make her sound a great deal more concerned with propriety than she actually is. Rounding the table with a copy of Sir Ernest Budge's Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection in hand, she seats herself across from the girl so deeply involved in her writing.

An admirable pastime, as Evelyn's own collection of bulging notebooks might suggest.]

You must be newly arrived.

it's perfect :3

[interpersonal]

[ elena wanted to be a novelist, once.

long before she knew she was the petrova doppelgänger. long before she understood what it meant to wear someone else's face and carry mirrors where she goes. long before her selfish whims dragged her parents down to the bottom of a lake along with her. she was certain books would be her future. such certainty seems to belong in another lifetime and to another person. dreams have a way of fading with time and the brutality of loss.

no, she no longer dreams of sharing her writing with the world. but she will always write for herself. if wonderland feeds off of their memories, she will begin anew, blank pages filling in the first chapter, reminding herself of all of the things she never wants to forget. even when they hurt. (especially when they hurt.)

the voice is gentle, and it tugs elena away from her own words. she looks up with a smile; its subdued nature does not make it any less sincere. ]

I just got here. [ evie will likely understand why she isn't thrilled about it any. ] I'm Elena. Elena Gilbert.

[ she forgot to introduce herself properly to the rest of the people she's met. she's making up for it now. ]

[nascensibility]

[As dire as things get, Evelyn would encourage others not to let a fraction of hope die out - even with the dangers it poses. There are some things one cannot recover once they are lost.]

Evelyn O'Connell,

[she replies with a smile, and realisation sinks in slowly. While it is certainly difficult to recognise someone you've never seen in-person, there are far too many familiar names floating around Wonderland for things of this nature to be a coincidence.

"I am...very fond of my throat intact," she had pointed out, incapable of movement and eyeing his drunken swagger with
something resembling genuine concern. "Surely there is a middle ground that involves less...evisceration. You are terribly soused."

"Middle ground? You're right, there's gotta be something...but that's what Stefan and Elena would want, isn't it?
I've got to better myself to deserve them. In the end it doesn't matter, because it's always going to be Stefan."

She hadn't known them then - either of them - and only met the former at a later date when he wandered onto one of her dig sites looking like someone who was trying very hard to appear Byronic. Evelyn grimaces in understanding.]

I did the same thing, when I arrived. Nested in the library.

[interpersonal]

[ elena's smile grows a fraction warmer at evie's admission - and maybe it has a bit to do with how evie carries herself. she has that distinguished and timeless look about her. it wouldn't surprise elena at all to learn evie is from a different time, not that that's ever stopped elena from befriending someone. ]

Do you mind my asking how long ago that was?

[ evie's arrival, that is. elena tries to be sensitive about this sort of thing - to find a balance between her inquisitive nature and the experiences of others. if wonderland is fueled by their memories, then surely those who've been here longest bear the scars of its survival. they just wouldn't always know it.

and that matters to her.

(it has to.) ]

[nascensibility]

[The polite smile Evelyn has maintained up to this point does not falter, but it sobers ever so slightly. Elena is quick on the uptake - a boon rather than a hindrance, here - and pinpoints the only crux in the ease with which Evelyn carries herself in Wonderland. Far be it from her to lie for the comfort of others, much preferring straightforward discourse, but it does not make it any simpler an answer.

The implications inherent in the duration of her stay are unsavoury, at best.]

Over four and a half years.

[Clasping her hands together on the tabletop Evelyn inclines her head.]

I should assure you that the length of my stay is by no means representative of the entire populace. Myself, and...only a handful of others are anomalous in that regard.