She never once forgot her first visit to Underland. She had called it Wonderland then, before she knew its true story. Alice Liddel had an informer, you see, a dormouse. The Dormouse. When she heard that the Frabjous day was upon them, she purchased a one-way train ticket to London. Unfortunately, there was a terrible train crash just hours before she was schedule to leave. Her ticket was transferred for a week after the time she originally wanted to go.
Time moved different in Underland. She couldn't remember if the days went faster or slower, and she hoped that time moved slower. She needed the extra time to find the rabbit hole in the park. She couldn't remember exactly where the portal was, but she had already made plan to meet Dormouse at the train station so he could lead her there. She remembered how to make it through the door, no problem. She just needed to get there first.
Alice was worried. She hadn't visited Underland in many years. She knew what was going on, though. She knew that on the Frabjous day, she would have to slay the Jabberwocky, and she knew that the Red Queen was still running the place. Although she wanted the White Queen to be the ruler, she couldn't change what the calendar had written on it; you can't change fate.
When a week later Alice finally arrived in London, Dormouse was not waiting to greet her as he had promised. She waited for hours for her informer to arrive, but he never did. She hadn't been to London since she was 6. Without somebody from Underland to guide her, Alice would have no chance at making it down the rabbit hole in time to kill the vile Jabberwocky.
That gave her an idea- the rabbit hole! Why hadn't she thought of it before? Down a rabbit hole she must go, so a rabbit hole she must find. Alice grabbed her parasol and bag, and left the train station. She didn't need to wait for some rodent to show her the way to Underland, Alice just needed to find the right hole. She remembered that it was nestled by a tree root somewhere in London. It wouldn't be that hard to find a hole big enough for a small child right next to a tree.
Alice Liddel searched day and night for a week, hardly stopping for a rest. When the fate of another world was in your hands, you couldn't just sleep. You only needed to eat if there was no way to survive without it. Breaks were time wasted, time that could be used to save her friends. She could rest once the Jabberwocky had been slain. She could rest once the White Queen took the throne. She could rest only when she had fulfilled her destiny.
A week with little food, little water, and no sleep put Alice into a craze. A crazed illness. It refused to go away, and it hindered her progress of searching for the entrance to Underland. She began talking to herself about the vorpal blade, and how she could easily end it all with two swipes of the broad sword. One swing to slay the vile creature causing her stress, and one to end her own pain. She was riddled with pain. There was from vomit burning in her throat. Her stomach was at a constant ache with its constant yearn for food. Her head hurt from the thoughts spinning in her head. Her eyes were dry and jittery, exhausted from being constantly open. Her legs shook from the walking that never seemed to cease. Her fingers were bloodied from scraping desperately against bark to find anything that could resemble a rabbit hole.
Alice searched tree after tree after tree for three weeks before somebody contacted the police. She was scaring the children of London with her disheveled appearance. Her eyes were surrounded in dark rings; her ribs showed through her tight, bloodied bodice;her fingers twitched, and red, bright as roses, was the color that covered her hands and wrists. Leaves and branches stuck every which way out of her unbrushed, dirt hair, dirt covering the length of her faded blue dress. One eye was swollen nearly shut, and she was missing a shoe. There were spots of yellow bile covering the handkerchief that she carried with her at all times, and her striped stockings were riddled with holes.
Yet Alice did not see herself as sick, or ugly. All she thought about was all the pain she could cause to make up for all the pain that she had felt. When she came to the rich side of London, she found herself at a home so grand a whole town could live in it. She stopped, and stared. The place was beautifully decorated. Everything was covered in roses and chrysanthemums that were, sadly, rotting. There was a patio with a bench around it, and in the center stood an altar. Beside the altar stood a boy. A quiet-looking red-haired boy.
Something about his posture suggested that he was sad or disappointed. Alice was brought out of her trance-like state- wasn't she sad and disappointed as well? Could this boy possibly understand her, or care to help her? There was only one way to find out. Alice slowly approached the poor sad boy.