First Fanfic, sorry if it stinks, I'm not really a writer, more of an avid fanfiction reader, but I really wanted to read a story about Jefferson and Alice, couldn't find one that really suited my fancy, so I decide to write one myself, for my own amusement. So with that here you go.
It was a day in spring when Jefferson's life was turned upside down. The forest floor was dark and covered in all kinds of life and moss, and he had been collecting mushrooms and other various berries to sell later that week at the spring equinox festival.
He heard her before he saw her. She landed on the ground with an "oomph" and a loud pant. Jefferson left his basket and gingerly turned around; coming face to face with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her eyes widened, meeting his. He noted the dazzling blue of her eyes, while she noted the danger of an unknown stranger in an unknown world.
"Shit," she muttered, trying desperately to pull herself up. It was then Jefferson noticed blood covering the pantaloons on her left thigh. Jefferson took another step towards her with his hands raised, and she struggled in a panic trying to drag the dead weight of her leg along the terrain of the ground.
"Wait, please," Jefferson pleaded. "I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to help," he said, acting as he would to an injured animal, which with her wild eyes, she very well could be. Her heavy breathing slowed the slightest bit as he crouched down to the ground and brought a hand to her leg to examine the wound, resulting in a cry of pain.
"Sorry!" Jefferson sputtered and retracted his hand. "Where are you from?" He questioned hesitantly. "Is there somewhere I can take you?"
"No," she said. "I'm from... Not here." She mumbled, not looking at him.
"Any family?" He asked.
"No," she said glumly.
"Well I suppose you'll have to come home with me then," he said shyly, but with forced nonchalance.
"No, thank you for your offer kind sir, but I must be on my way," she said graciously. She tried to pull herself up, and nearly did until she had to use her injured leg to support her weight, and came falling back to the ground.
Jefferson immediately caught her in his arms, and as soon as the shock of the fall wore off, her face turned to annoyance in anticipation of what she knew was about to come next.
"I must insist ma'am, you are in no condition to travel," he said. She sighed.
"I was afraid of that," she said, as Jefferson placed her arm over his shoulders to support her weight, and they slowly made their way to his cottage.
"So, you said you aren't from here," Jefferson prompted as he set her down on the small cot he had in the corner of his home.
"Yes I did," she said matter-of-factly.
After waiting a few moments in expectance, Jefferson pulled up a dining chair to the bed and took a seat. "And where would that be?" he asked, suddenly interested.
"I told you... Not here," she said averting his gaze.
"Not the Enchanted Forest?" He raised his eyebrows in disbelief, it was the first time he had ever met anyone from outside of this realm. "So are you from a different land?" He asked curiously.
"Something like that." He couldn't say he was surprised; her attire matched none he'd ever seen in his life time. It was regal, yet showed years of wear and tear; a faded cerulean blue dress which had been cut off near the waist with white pants horribly worn and dirty boots.
"Wait a minute..." she started slowly, grabbing at her back, "Where's my cloak?! Where is it?!" She began to scream in panic.
"Relax, I have it." He said quickly. "It was on the ground when I found you, so I put it in my bag."
"Oh," she said with a sigh of relief, calming down immediately. Her intense demeanor was gone, and replaced with a smile. "Would you be a dear and fetch it for me...? I'm sorry, I never got your name," she said lamely.
"Jefferson," he said with a small smile.
"Alice," she replied with her own brilliant smile, causing Jefferson's heart to skip a beat.
"Alice," he repeated warmly. He then left his chair to retrieve the seemingly ruined piece of cloth from the corner of the room. He returned and handed it to her, and as soon as it was in her hands she let out a sigh of relief.
Upon inspecting it, the panic returned in her eyes. "It's ripped," she whispered dejectedly. "Oh no," her voice quivered. Tears started to fill her eyes and she began to hyperventilate.
"Alice!" He grabbed her by the shoulders, "We can mend it!" He said trying to reason with her. Although he wasn't sure why she was so upset about the cloak, as it was not of very good quality in the first place.
"You don't understand! I'm not from here!" She moaned.
"Well yes, you said that," he said confused. "But don't worry, I'll get together some money and get you transport back home... And a new cloak," he added. Jefferson was taken aback, but eager to please the curious young lady, who he had, to his embarrassment, already become smitten with in the hour that they had known each other.
"I don't want another cloak! I need this cloak! And it's ruined, it cannot be mended" the heartbreak in her voice and eyes pulled at Jefferson's heart. "I'm not... From this world," she said hesitantly. Jefferson just stared at her, not seeming to understand, and she sighed.
She calmed herself down and began to explain. "There are worlds beyond your own. Infinite numbers of worlds upon worlds, and some can travel between these worlds. I'm one of those people."
"And... What world are you from?" he asked.
"Me? I'm from Wonderland." She stated.
"So... You want to leave?" He asked, his voice filled with more disappointment than he would have cared to admit.
"Well, I left Wonderland to get away, and I ended up here. I must confess I'm in the middle of a pickle at the moment there, and I was hoping to steer clear of it by staying in another world, but I have to go back eventually. I must," she said, more to herself than to Jefferson.
"You could always stay here, you know," Jefferson added shyly, but hopeful.
Alice smiled in return at the bashful young man. "That is very sweet of you Jefferson," she said kindly. "But there are people who need me," Alice explained, wiping her tears. "But the cloak is damaged, it won't work anymore, and it's how I get from world to world."
"There's no way to fix it?" He asked.
"No, I'm afraid it's not like any ordinary cloak. It must be a wearable piece of clothing, and contain no impurities, so mending it is out of the question. Once it is damaged it cannot be repaired."
"Well does it have to remain a cloak? What if it was made into a shirt, or a shoe... or... I don't know... a hat? My father used to be a hatter, and I learned some of his tricks, so it's possible that I could make a hat out of it," He offered.
Her eyes lit up, "Jefferson, that's a wonderful idea! Oh I could kiss you!" She said gleefully. She tried to jump out of bed, but remembered her injured leg as it hissed in pain. Jefferson was overjoyed he could help the beautiful maiden, and basked in the happiness he felt in pleasing her.
"Tomorrow," Jefferson assured her, "For now, let's just worry about getting you fixed up. And with that he left his seat to go fetch a medical supplies box.
Alice let out a sigh of relief. She hated being contained in one world for too long, but as she gazed at the stranger who had taken her into his home, who had kindness in his eyes. If she had to be stranded in a foreign world, she had to admit it could've been worse. And as he returned to her with the supplies, and a cup of tea, she was felt reaffirmed. Oh yes, things could've been much worse, she thought with a smile.
Jefferson had to admit, it was very awkward to be in the presence of a lady with bare legs, and even more so having to tend to her wound, but it seemed Alice did not think much of it. Jefferson was beginning to notice that Alice was a unique woman who didn't seem to care what others thought of her.
Upon further inspection, the wound was not as bad as it initially seemed, it did not cut down to the bone, but was deep enough that Alice would feel pain in the following weeks. He cleaned the wound with herbs, a skill that he had learned from his mother, and then bandaged it.
"There, all better," Jefferson said gently.
"Thanks Jefferson," Alice said with a smile. "Could you help me up, love?" She asked casually. Jefferson blushed at the term of endearment and obliged. Alice began unlacing the back of her dress, leaning up against the wall for support. Jefferson coughed, trying to alert Alice that he was still in the room, but Alice did not seem to notice, or take any discomfort with the fact that she was standing incredibly scantily clad in front of a man she has barely known a day.
"Umm... Alice?"
"Yes Jefferson?" She said, struggling to untie the last lace on her corset.
"Could I offer you some clothes, perhaps?" He said hopefully, keeping his eyes on the ground.
"Oh no thank you dear I'll be just fine," she said, turning to Jefferson. She noticed his discomfort, and then was startled when she realized why he was so nervous.
"Oh my goodness. Dear me, I'm sorry, love. I've been in a place without the rules of society for a great deal of time, and also forgotten how to be a lady," she said apologetically. "I suppose I'll be taking you up on that offer, then." She blushed.
Jefferson nearly let out a sigh of relief as he turned around and rummaged around in a large trunk full of old belongings. After a minute or two of digging he finally found what he was after, and pulled his mother's old nightgown out, shaking out dust as he stood up and turned to Alice.
"This should do it," he said, letting out an awkward cough.
"Thank you," She said pulling the gown over her head. "I really am sorry about that, when you are out in the wild on your own with a bunch of mad savages you kind of forget your manners over time. Then again even as a child I was a free spirit," she said wistfully.
"I'm afraid I don't understand." He said.
"Well I grew up in a different world. Much different than Wonderland. There were strict rules and uncomfortable dresses and people expected you to be all polite and proper and go to parties. When I was a young girl I followed a world traveler through a portal, and found myself in Wonderland. It's a wonderful place, it's fantastic and beautiful and everything I could've wanted as a child. But life happened, and things became corrupt," Alice said, fiddling with the fabric of the night gown.
"I'm sorry," Jefferson said, wishing he could find words that could comfort Alice.
"Don't be," she said with a sigh, and began braiding her long blonde hair in preparation for bed.
"You said it was corrupt... Is that how you got that cut?" He asked.
"How keen of you, I was wondering when you were going to ask. I might be a criminal for all you know!"
"Are you?" He asked with wide eyes.
Alice returned his question with a proud smile. "Yes."
"Oh."
"Oh? You are curious man Jefferson. You're not going to ask what crime I have committed?" She pushed.
"Only if you wish to tell me," he offered.
"Well, I'm not a mad murderer, if that's why you're wondering. Mad? Yes. Murderer? No. I was standing up for my people, against the Red Queen."
"The Red Queen?"
"A cruel woman who chops your head off if she catches you even thinking rebellious thoughts," she said darkly.
"Well that sounds a bit extreme," Jefferson agreed.
"I got into a bit of a brawl with one of her guards, and that's how I ended up with this," she said gesturing to her injury. "I was cornered, so I came to the first world the cloak would bring me to, and here we are." Alice yawned, and sat herself down on Jefferson's bed. She stared at him expectantly.
"Well aren't you going to go to sleep too?" She asked patting the space beside her.
"Umm... Well... I'll just... I'll just sleep on the ground," he sputtered out.
Something seemed to click for Alice. "Oh yes, I'm doing it again, sorry. That would be most imprudent I suppose. Well... Good night Jefferson," Alice said.
"Good night, Alice," and with that Jefferson blew out the candle and settled down in a corner with a blanket and lumpy pillow. And with that, the day that had changed Jefferson's life ended.
So review if you like, let me know if you want to hear more