Santana paced around her house, screeching at nobody in particular. She was furious. She wanted tokillto stupid thieves, and she would, but she didn't know where they'd holed up. The tracking charm that she had placed on them had become ineffective after they had gone through the veil, a very undesirable effect of messing with space and time. The Cheshire Cat passed the room that Kurt had slept in and she stopped her screaming to stare at the Princess of Sparks' old room. It seemed an eternity ago that Santana had sat at the edge of that bed, watching her girlfriend paint the room, which she claimed was to dull. Santana stood in the doorway, rememberingthat day.She had told the Princess that she should go and see Wes, whom she had been missing for ages. It was Santana's fault she was even there. It was Santana who had said that there were drinks in the kitchen, and Santana was who, essentially, stole her life. A single tear leaked out of her eye and as it splashed to the floor, sizzled and ate its way through the floorboards. Even her tears were poisonous. As she thought of her old friend a familiar sensation of being pulled from the room hit her. The air choked her as she screamed, tugging against the force. Her heart thudded unevenly as the scenery changed and she was back in a place she had sworn never to return to.

She could barely remember where she had been the past few hours, but that was normal. A girl, twelve years old, though she looked six, ran from house to house, taking valuables and food. By this time she had learnt to wear a scarf over the stripes down the side of her face, her distinguishing features. She had always been a thief. How else does one get by without family? She was one of the Blackouts; a group of thieves who dominated the streets of Clover. They had called her the Cheshire Cat, and given her the name Santana, after the woman who had founded them. She kept running, the Playing Cards were on her tail. She was almost at their hideout when he grabbed her. At the time she had thought he was quite handsome. He had rescued her from the soldiers. She hid behind him, while the Cards ran past, but when she tuned to thank him, he had grabbed her arm and thrown a Crystal. She was scared. The only people who owned Crystals were thieves, murderers and royalty, none of which she wanted to meet. The only thieves she associated herself with here the Blackouts, and they were one of the friendlier groups. She knew thieves and murderers would kill her, and royalty would imprison her. Santana gasped as she saw the high towers of the Palace of Hearts. She struggled and tried to vanish, but it was a skill she hadn't mastered yet. He grinned at her evilly, dragging her to the Palace.

She tried to scream, but no sound came out. The Cheshire Cat had hears that there were cells under the Palace of Hearts, unbeknownst to the Queen. She was already getting sick then. The man dragged her into a side entrance to the Palace, that led straight to the cells. She couldn't believe that the Queen didn't know about this. As she was getting kicked into a cell, she mustered up the courage to talk to her captor.
"Who are you?" She asked, voice shaking. He flashed a wicked smile before answering her.
"Hunter Clarington."

-O-

A searing pain in her collarbone shocked Santana from her sleep. She looked down to see a heart branded into her skin. Hunter looked bored.
"That will stop you from leaving." He said, voice monotone.

-O-

She worked for him until she was fifteen, assassinating, stealing, and being grateful for the small scraps of food she was given. All this time she had been looking for a way to get out. The brand controlled where she went, and when she came back. Hunter would summon her and she would feel herself slipping from where she was and find herself in front of him. If she didn't do what he told her, the brand would burn until she couldn't take it anymore and did as she was told. However one fateful day she was sent to kill a man who called himself the Mad Hatter. When she saw him, she knew who he was instantly. He had lived in Clover for a while, and had made the most beautiful clothes. He had always been kind to her. She couldn't kill this man. The moment she thought this the dull burn started. She ran to his house and banged on the door, screaming as the fire spread through her body. When Nick answered, he immeadiatly brought her in, whispered a couple of words and the pain went away.

He told her the spell that, if said every night, would keep her fromhisclutches. As she thanked him, Nick smiled and brought her into a warm hug, and for the first time in a long time she felt safe.

-O-

"You hid for a long time, Chesh." Santana grimaced at her nickname coming from his lips.
"Bastardo." She spat. "If I had been smarter, you would never had found me." Hunter's lips twisted into a sadistic smile. He never aged.
"Yes, but your little bit of faerie magic won't work now. I have you now."

-O-

Kurt screamed as Santana materialised in front of him, and it wasn't because he thought she was going to kill him. Her face was mutilated, her mouth sewn together, like those of the Playing Cards. His scream had awoken Rachel, who stood alert in front of him, however on seeing Santana, her expression turned from protectiveness to sadness. She touched Santana's cheek and a tear rolled down, missing Rachel's hand, but scorching the marble floor. She cast a look at the door, but suddenly she was doubled over in pain, the heart shaped brand on her collarbone lighting up red, and pulsing. More tears welling in her eyes she held her hands out to the both of them and Rachel called out for the Tweedles, who burst through the door, White Rabbit in tow. Blaine's eyes bulged and he ran to Kurt, taking his arm protectively, but Jayce immeadiatly walked over to Santana and tapped her cheek twice, Jem following the suit. It was an old sign of respect in Wonderland, seldom used anymore, but intended for those who had been through great suffering. Blaine's ears were standing on end, instead of flopping down on to his head like usual and he looked wary when Santana offered them her hands. Regardless they all grabbed Santana's arms, and felt themselves slipping from the room.

While they were in the veil, partly in one place, partly in the other, Sebastian's voice rang out.

"Stand at the way to your heart's desire
Or build your way to your friend's pyre
Choose the right path and put to sleep,
The forest of Witches Teeth."

They were in a desolate forest of sorts. There were dead trees everywhere, black some holding a handful of leaves on their sad branches. Scattered around the trees were hundreds of doors, all partially burnt and scratched, as if they had been attached by vandals with nothing to write. They stood in front of three particular doors, and Santana's voice filled the air.
"One will take you forward, one will take you back, and one will take you where you need to go."
"The Paths." He heard Rachel whisper, and when he turned to confront Santana, she was gone. The poem was still echoing in Kurt's head. He stood, confused. It was obvious they had to choose a door, but which one? To his immense surprise, the twins were grinning madly, staring at each other.
"You'd think he doesn't know what goes on in his own kingdom!" Laughed Jem.
"Yeah, no way he thought we were going to be here." Jayce said. "The Tweedle Twins, Kings of the Paths!" Kurt, Blaine and Rachel exchanged confused looks, and Jayce explained.
"When we were little-" he began.
"Fifty years or so ago!" laughed Jayce
"We used the Paths to get everywhere!"
"And nobody every figured out our trick!" It took Kurt a couple of seconds o process this. He understood the Paths just fine, it was the '50 years or so ago!' that confused him.
"Fifty years? You can't be that old." He said slowly. Blaine smiled at him.
"They don't age as quickly as the rest of us. For them, being little is when they were seventeen, and in an eight year old's body."
"What about when they were babies? How did they deal?"
"We grew normally until we were about four." Said Jem. "Same with San." Kurt was even more confused.
"Santana? How old is she?"
"Like forty-something. She ages around the same rate as us."
"Okay. Great." So time was just another thing that was messed up here. "How do we get to... where are we going?"
"Into the mouth of the beast." Grimaced Rachel. "It's an impossible mission. So many people have tried to put the forest of Witch's Teeth to sleep and they all died. So what's the secret?" Rachel's voice brightened.
"Oh, you can hear what's going on, on the other side." Said Jayce. "So we got taken to these doors." He pointed to the three doors they had appeared in front of. "One will take us back, I think that means to the Palace of Hearts. One will take up forward. No idea about that. And one will take us where we need to go. So to the Forest of Witch's Teeth. Everybody, put your ear to a door, and let's go!" Kurt and Rachel leant against the middle door, while Blaine listened to the door to their right, and Jayce and Jem pressed their ears to the door to his left. The more he concentrated the more he could hear. There was a swishing of wind, and a ruffling of leaves, then a sweet high voice hit his ears.
"Hey Burt! Look! Kurtie did my hair!"Anna's voice hit him like a bullet. He froze, then called out,
"Anna! Dad! " but just as he was about to run through the door, Rachel grabbed his arm.
"I know what it means." She whispered. "'One door will take you ahead' Way ahead. It will take you home. But that's cheating. Blaine will die, and Hunter will go to your world and take you back anyway." Tears fell to the ground and Kurt cried,
"But my Dad! Finn!" It was like his heart was being wrenched from his chest as his tears fell to the ground. Rachel nodded.
"Time is different here Kurt. When you go back it will be the same time as it was when you left. The door is just replaying the last thing you hear there." Kurt vaguely remembered Anna saying that as he chased after Sebastian. He pressed his ear to the door, and his father's voice hit him.
"Nice one, kid. Why don't you go find him?"

He kept his ear pressed to the door as it replayed that quick exchange over and over, until Blaine came over, and said, "It's this one. I can hear her cackling." They all stood and stared at the door for a long while before taking each other's hands, and walking through.