A/N: Based loosely on the Disney cartoon version.

Alice

Curiosity. It did not kill the cat, but rather the rabbit.

How do I know this? In order for me to give you the answer, I must first go back to the summer afternoon it all began.

I was sitting under an oak tree, trying to pay attention to my elder sister's retelling of the history of William I. If I remember correctly, I was daydreaming of a nonsensical world I would call Wonderland. It was difficult for me to imagine such a place. Of course, this was years ago.

My older sister then left to do her chores. I leaned back against the trunk of the tree.

I was not surprised when the rabbit crossed my yard. We often had rabbits trying to feast on mother's garden. It was white, covered in muck and infested with fleas. A disgusting creature. I stood up and chased the thing, but it would not leave the property.

It bounded over to my oak tree, ran around it a few times, then dove into a hole I hadn't noticed before. Naturally, I followed.

The dirt immediately covered my dress, face, and hands. For a moment, I worried about what my sister would think when she saw me filthy, but then I focused on the slope of the land. I kept slanting down, and I wondered when it would stop. That is, if it stopped at all.

Soon the ground became so steep, I could barely hold on to the wall. And then I got the sensational feeling of falling.

But it didn't last long. The ground sloped back gradually, slowing me down significantly, until I was able to walk down the hill on my own. The rabbit was a few yards in front of me, unharmed.

I followed it further. It led me through an underground labyrinth, which the rabbit hole seemed to have led to.

Deeper and deeper into the maze we went, until I knew I could never find my way out. And then, a door. The rabbit could not open it, for it had no thumbs, so I graciously turned the knob and let him in. I could have turned around and left then, but I knew no way out. That left me with no choice but to stay with the animal.

Behind the door, a luscious garden thrived. There was a funny-looking man with skin as pale as paste despite the fact that the sun burned bright and hot. This puzzled me, taking into consideration the fact that this place was underground. Or at least it should be.

As I walked on with the rabbit at my feet, I passed plenty of strange sights; a yelling man at a tea party with another man dressed as a hare, two plump twins humming a funny tune with name tags that read "Dee" and "Dumb", and three gardeners fussing over white roses. As I looked closer, I saw that they were painting them red.

"Why are you doing that?" I asked, forgetting the rabbit.

"Th- the queen. She likes her roses red," replied one.

"What could she do if they aren't red?"

"She'll execute us," the same one said.

"Behead us, miss," another gardener added.

"How terrible! Why don't you stand up to her?" They all looked at me as if I had three heads. It wouldn't be the strangest thing in this place if I did.

Trumpets began to play and the gardeners bowed down. The rabbit scurried away. I stood my ground.

Then I saw her. Haughty and high on her throne carried by servants, an ugly little woman is dressed in a gown far too big for her and wearing a crown a foot high. I wrinkled my nose, hoping she saw. But she didn't.

"What is that?" she snarled at me.

"I'm Alice. What are you?" I countered with the same disgust. Every mouth dropped open. I smiled with satisfaction.

"I," she said, narrowing her eyes. "Am the Queen of Hearts, ruler of this world. And you, Alice, are my subject. Bow before me, or lose your pretty little head."

"I come from another world. Therefore, you do not control me. And I will not bow."

"How dare you? Off with her head!" she shouted, and three guards began to chase me. I took off, easily outrunning them with all the weapons and armor they had to carry.

I took a sharp turn and saw the white rabbit. Anger surged up inside of me at the sight of it.

"You!" I shouted, pointing at the thing. "You are the reason I'm in this mess! You are the reason I'm here! Argh!" I screeched and dove toward it. I grabbed its neck and snapped it with one twist of my hands. Then I threw the carcass on the ground and stomped on it, ensuring the animal's death. The guards were nearly on me, but when they saw what I had done, their faces turned ghostly pale.

I then started to disappear, and it dawned on me that it had all been a dream. And just as the last whisp of my existence faded and I began to surface to conciousness, I caught a glimpse of a muck-covered, flea-infested white rabbit watching smugly from behind a bush.