Alice In Onederland

It wasn’t the first time it had rained this hard and it surely wouldn’t be the last. Drops streaked my windows as I stared more at the glass than I did the outside world. What was the point in going outside? I had books after all and that was enough adventure for me. Books wouldn’t result in real life carriage wrecks with real life consequences. Oh Mother. I don’t know how Emily had handled the wreck so well. I put on a facade, a cool face that led everyone to believe I was either unbothered or cruel. Emily couldn’t hold in her tears but then again she was always a Mother’s girl and thus received more coddling. I’d only gotten along with Father so well thanks to a few discussions with him about upsetting Mother over torn skirts or unladylike behavior. He always rewarded me with a hug and a simple “try being more mindful of your mum.”

I wore the last slate grey dress she’d mended for me to the funeral.

As much as Father let me get away with, there were still things I wasn’t permitted to do. Read certain tomes in his library. Sneak insects into my cousins’ pocket books. Or keep...rabbits?

Through the darkness and dreary weather, I spotted something bright and white in the garden. A small white rabbit who seemed to be staring back at me. Poor thing, he was probably going to catch a chill in this storm! Lucky for him, Father had gone out of town to conduct business with partners of his and wouldn’t be home for quite some time. This little lad had stuck gold. I snuck into a warm dress and a pair of Mary-Janes so I could go outside. Tiptoeing as gently as I could so I wouldn’t arouse suspicion from my darling sister ( despite our close friendship, Emily would always snitch on me and tell me it was for my own good), I crept out of my room and downstairs, to a small servants’ door in the kitchen that led outside. The rabbit was still there looking at me.

“Hullo, laddie”, I cooed softly. “Would you like to come in? Have a carrot?” The rabbit thumped his foot and I giggled. “Well, c’mon then!”

The rabbit stared back at me and took a step back every time I stepped closer. “Well, c’mon boy.”

“You c’mon girl”, it retorted. I gasped. No, certainly I was hearing things. Rabbits didn’t speak. They only spoke in books. It hopped away from me and thumped again. “We haven’t got the whole night!” he cried. What an odd thing. With no clear idea of what I was doing (maybe it was a need to collect such a specimen), I began running for him. Rabbit was faster and raced through the garden while I slipped and slid behind him. Oh if Mother was here to see my dress, she’d be so upset.

Rabbit moved with such precision and eloquence there was no way to convince me he hadn’t been here before yet I couldn’t remember seeing such white fur. With rain beating down on me, I chased after him only for him to leap into a hole. I collapsed on the ground next to it. “What is this?!” I yelled. Really, what was it? Was Rabbit a reality or was he the product of despair over losing Mother? “Clearly, you need sleep, Alice”, I said to myself though I still had to be sure. I was obviously going mad but I had to reach into the hole, even if it was just to prove that there really were rabbits living in it. Surprisingly, I felt no dirt walls from where the rabbits surely would’ve burrowed themselves into the ground. I was met simply with air. How queer. My knees squished into the mud, no doubt ruining my stockings but my curiosity had the better of me. I wanted that rabbit. Carefully, I reached in further, further, finding nothing but emptiness. There had to be something in here.

Whatever it was, it gave me a tug and I found myself tumbling, falling through a chute. I shrieked. The fall felt endless. There was no way I’d live. No, I couldn’t do this to Father and Emily. “Oh Alice, don’t be so scared!” cried the voice of Rabbit. “We’ll be safe soon! You’ll see.” No, no I wouldn’t live through this. “We’ll be there in...three. Two. One!” I landed on my bum with a thud feeling like I’d merely fallen out of bed. Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw a smiling blonde in front of me with big white rabbit ears. “We’re here Alice!” he sang, holding out a hand to me. “Look!”

I stood and began looking around the bottom of the rabbit hole. It looked like a town square made out of toffee colours. Pink cobblestone roads traced oddly coloured buildings with mint green lawns separating them. “We’ve waited so long for you!” Bunny-Man grinned.

“Who the bloody Hell are you?!” I demanded, ripping away from him. Bunny-Man frowned.

“Alice, darling I love you”, he pouted. “We all do!”

“Who the Hell is we?”

“The ones with roles”, he smiled. “I guess it’s only fair I give you my name. I’m Niall, Niall White. First in command to the Queen of Hearts and the man who needs you in his life-”

“I don’t even know you”, I snarled. What was this? Rabbit dens didn’t look like this? Niall didn’t mind though. He was checking his pocket watch.

“Come with me to the Castle!” Niall exclaimed. “I’ll give you a tour of the Kingdom! You can come live with the Queen and me!”

“I’m not living with you. Again, I don’t know you.”

“I told you my name is Niall. Now we’re not strangers”, Niall smiled. “Come, dear. You’ll be no safer with anyone else in this place!”

My jaw loosened itself. “Safer. What does that mean?” I asked.

Niall’s head tilted, a rabbit ear drooping as he stared. “Darling, it’s dangerous here!” he gasped. “Between the Hatters, the Queen, and the Carnival, it’s not safe here!” Niall paused and seemed to frown. “Well, there is Liam’s but we don’t go there very often. He is not to be messed with. That damned man knows too much and it’s rumoured-” Niall’s voice lowered to a whisper- “that anyone who converses with him too much might have their brains explode from the knowledge he’d bestow upon them!”

“So he’s a sort of seer?” I wondered.

“Worse!” Niall cried. “He’s a warlock. You shouldn’t trust him, love. Now come with me! The Queen would love to meet you!”

I looked around the place we were in. There was no one around, not a single soul, to help me if something really did happen. After a long minute of hesitation, I nodded. “Alright, we go to the Castle”, I said firmly.

Niall clapped his hands, white rabbit ears twitching. “Let’s go now!” he screamed, grabbing my hand. Just like that, a rabbit I’d followed into a chute dragged me away into a land I knew nothing about.

Notes

So, no actually this isn't inspired by the Burton films (which I hate despite being a Burton fan. I read Lewis Carroll's book-it was flawless. Burton's first movie was just a sequel to it). As the summary says, this is based off a manga I was introduced to in 8th grade and just picked back up- Alice in the Country of Hearts- only I'm not too far so I can still create enough predictions to incorporate here ;O anyway, if you haven't read it, walk your sassy self to the manga section of your local book store and pick up the first volume :3