Hello! I made the unfortunate mistake of watching Once Upon A Time, and then I was hit with this idea that I couldn't get out of my head. I am a huge fan of Carroll's books and their winding wordplay, and although I know I can't do that as well, I figured I wanted my shot at this so here it is. I have cool ideas for this, and I hope that I get some readers and some feedback. Thank you for giving this one a shot and I hope you enjoy. (Also, I obviously only own my own interpretations, not the characters themselves)
Chapter 1: A Pirate's Life for Me
"Alice? Alice are you in here?" A rather large white rabbit in a waistcoat hopped up to my cell.
"You're late." I stood up from the cold floor and placed my hands on the bars.
"I know, I know. I apologize, dear Alice. Do you still wish to get out of here?"
"If only I knew where here is," I laughed. "But yes, friend, I should like to be free again."
Keys jingled in his hands, "How long was it here?"
"Five years of course. Here or there or anywhere, I'd imagine."
"Twenty years, Mrs. Alice. Twenty years for us."
Twenty years? I could feel my heart breaking. "And what of Grace? What of Jefferson?"
"They believed you dead the last time we spoke, but that was a long time ago." The door finally opened in a clang. I stepped out with a sigh. "You have barely changed, Mrs. Alice."
"And yet I have changed so much, Rabbit. I should have thought you wouldn't recognize me." He hopped down the stone steps in front of me and I followed. "I would like to see my family as soon as I can." We descended for a while and I began to feel the tears welling up; don't cry Alice. Crying is a silly thing.
"I am afraid it will take a long time. A long time indeed. I myself found you by chance, I should think it impossible to return." With a swing of the wooden door we stepped out onto the fresh green grass and the sun hit my face full on for the first time in a five years. I looked down at my striped stocking covered feet. This was where they belonged. Not on the unyielding stone, but on the squish of the grass. Setting off in the direction of the sun we stepped across the small patch of grass and into the forest.
"We all know what I think about impossible things." I stepped over a log and then helped him up after me. "Mr. Rabbit, where are we going?"
"They are in another world, not Wonderland, but somewhere else."
"Hmm, I do love a good riddle." I tapped my chin as we walked and hopped along. "Well, that's an easy one. There is only one way to get to a far away land." The trees were gradually becoming more spread apart and soon my fuzzy friend scurried ahead of me. "The sea." I stopped suddenly. There it was. My ticket back home. I looked down over the edge. The waves were crashing against the wall of the cliff. I held my hand above my eyes and scanned the coastline. "There," I pointed, "That port is where we will see exactly how possible impossible is." I smiled down at my friend.
"I should like to get back home, too." His nervous eyes looked up at me.
"Then we can't waste anymore time." I began to make my way along the cliff when a large grin appeared before me.
"Time with friends is never wasted. But my dear, you look as though you did waste away in that cell." The cat's body came into view.
"I should have known." I walked past him. "If you are coming too then hurry along. I don't want to keep Grace and Jefferson waiting any longer than they have to." And off we went towards the bustling port, on a whole new adventure.
-o0o-
When we entered the small town the first thing Rabbit had me do was get some shoes. 'A proper woman can't go running around with only stockings on her feet,' he said. After that it was off to the docks to see if we could catch a ride.
"Do you have any money?" the captain's rough voice sent the confidence from my bones.
I looked down at my shoes. We spent all of our money on the soft black leather boots. "No, Captain. But we need to get home. I haven't seen my daughter or my love in five years. I have to get there."
The leather-skinned bearded man leaned down to inspect me. "Can you work? Hoist a sail, man a crow's nest?" I nodded. He looked down at the White Rabbit and Cheshire Cat, "And they are with you I take it?" I nodded again. "I'll tell you what, you work for me, earn your keep, and then we will have a good talk about finding your home. And you aren't going to find another captain to take you, I promise you that."
"And why's that?"
"You're a lass, dear. And on these seas it can't hurt to be superstitious."
"Then I guess we have a deal." I held out my hand and he accepted. He brought me on board and had his first mate show me the ropes, both literally and in the figurative sense.
"If we didn't already have a mighty good cook I would say you should be suited for a kitchen." I furrowed my brow at his words. "But I suppose this'll do. Just keep your mouth shut and keep those critters out of my way." I nodded.
This was no ordinary ship, I came to find. This was, if fact, a pirate ship and in the course of a year and five months I myself became a pirate. I had only realized this one night while on duty in the crow's nest. Rabbit was curled up next to me and the crazy cat was floating along beside me like a soft breeze. "I don't remember who I was before this, friend."
"You're still Alice, and quite a bit more Alice than I have ever seen."
"I worry though, where does the time go? Will they still be there for me?" There was no response, just the silence. It's been so long, surely they would have forgotten. "I wonder if Grace has a new mom, or is a mom of her own now. Or if she likes tea just like me." Still no response. I looked over to see a rather obnoxious display of boredom by my whiskered friend.
"Were you talking to me? I'm sorry; I don't listen to such pitiful whining. If you must, wake up the bunny, he will surely worry with you." I sighed and kept silent for the rest of the night. I was glad to hear the bustle of my shipmates beneath me once more. It wasn't long before the sun washed over my still pale skin. I looked myself over as a break from eyeing the seas. My body now bore the marks of a sailor. The two swallows on either shoulder facing each other yet separated by my collarbone. They had forced these birds on me after my first 10,000 leagues, perhaps to lighten my suffering, but whenever I looked down I could only see Jefferson and Grace; the definition of my one true home. They hurt the least. The worst were the crosses on the bottoms of my feet. "It'll ward off the sharks if you ever fall overboard, deary." Considering I had fallen over twice, and have not once been eaten by a shark I took it that the marks were working. On the top of my right foot was a rather angry looking rooster, and I don't want to begin to tell you what that was about, nor the pig on my left knee. That night I was hesitant when the Captain required more ink be laid. "You can steer using the stars, you should be proud to wear these," he said just before he, himself, pushed the apparatus into my skin. The nautical stars on the inside of each forearm did make me feel proud. Alice the proud pirate, a sailing swashbuckler on these salty seas. More interesting was the overdue conversation we had after he washed the leftover ink from my skin.
"I think it is time we start to talk about getting you home, lass." I couldn't hide my smile from him. "I expect your man misses you something feirce, you pretty young thing."
"I miss him as well, Captain."
"And don't I know it. Watching you these past months, I could have sworn you were an arrow."
"I've never been an arrow, but I imagine it might be fun." He disregarded my statement and put more ink on the needle.
"Now give me your hands." I followed his order. The pains were quick and when he pulled back the words 'HOLD FAST' were printed across my knuckles. "Truer words were never written, my dear." He poured some water over my hands and cleaned the wounds. "We just need to make port one last time and let the other fellas choose if they will join us. We are going to go through some dangerous waters, I'm afraid." I couldn't help but feel the exact opposite feeling of fear run through me. Nothing was going to get in my way, not even the Red Queen could stop me now. "It will also give you a chance to make yourself a bit more presentable for your Grace." I looked down at my badly worn clothes and a giggle bubbled up out of me.
"I have no money, Captain, and thus no means of presenting myself in a more presentable fashion."
He laughed with me and set down a small pouch, "You have made me that fifty times over. It is no problem." I graciously smiled. "Now get up to that crow's nest and keep an eye out for trouble." I stood up immediately.
"Yes, Captain."
On my way up to the nest I grabbed some bread for the White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat. And from my perch I peered out farther than I ever had before, so far I might've even seen home.