Remember, Alice...

When you left Wonderland to go back to your world, we did not go away. We are still here, waiting for our great and courageous knight to return to us from the land above. We have struck danger again, you see, and are in desperate need of your help once more. The Red Queen and her accomplice have escaped, free, causing the land much panic. There is a great beast that lies within the woods in which they ran. If she captures that creature and tames it - a job that could be easily done if her accomplice's "pets" still rest in the woods - she would surely destroy our kingdom to take it as her own. She must be stopped. Alice, remember how you got here, remember your friends here, us, remember your bravery... We need your help. Remember, Alice...

-The Mad Hatter

Chapter 1: As Late As the Nightingale Sings

Alice arose unmistakably early on the morning of the twelfth. "Oh, what a lovely day it is to be today! To rise so early is a pleasure for my tired eyes. So beautiful a morning, and I am granted the first to witness it!" It certainly was a grand of mornings, the sun shone brightly and all outside alit to a dazzling presence. Alice pulled back the curtains. Outside rained sunbeams throughout her quarters like a downpour from the heavens themselves. "It is so magnificent," Alice commented, in almost a whisper. "I cannot wait to experience it's comfort and warmth up close."

Alice dressed herself and headed down to corridor to start off the morning with some warm tea and croissants with jam. "I am going to spend as much of today outside as possible. It is too glorious to ignore!"

She had just about finished her breakfast when Rose, the housemaid, walked in. "Miss Liddell! You are up so early! Did you have trouble sleeping, my dear?"

"No, no trouble. It is just such a great day, I wanted to start as soon as possible." Alice smiled, and was soon out the door.

"Alright. If you need anything, just call for me and I'll be there faster than a march hare!" she shouted after Alice, but Alice had just exited earshot.

She was headed towards the gardens, her favorite place as a child and a place that would absolutely glow on a day like today. She initially intended to walk calmly, but that didn't happen for long. Her excitement for the day grew and she ended up at a sprint, running as fast as she could up the hill to the gardens. The forest in between was only a blur.

When Alice arrived, she was not disappointed with what she found. Every rose, daisy, buttercup and tiger lily gleamed with the bright morning glow, as if each flower was made of solid gold and handcrafted to the most utter perfection. Alice collapsed in the grass, exhausted after her run. The dew sparkled at the disturbance and moistened Alice's dress. She sighed. "Even the ground smells wonderful on such a fine day! How lucky I must be!" At the notion of smells, Alice sat up and put her nose to each flower, one at a time, all but memorizing each individual scent as she inhaled the sweet pollen.

Alice stood and brushed the grass blades off her knees. She looked around. "Curiouser and curiouser," she pondered, walking. Finches and sparrows darted between the trees. "With so many birds of the same color and shape, how can they possibly tell each other apart from their neighbor?"

She strolled along until the sun was high in the sky, hanging right above her head. "Oh my! It is becoming quite late. Rose and Mother will be wondering where I have gone for so long!" She gathered her dress and began walking quickly in the direction of the house. "Goodness me, I hope they are not too worried..."

There was a rustle behind Alice and she spun around. "Whose there?" She demanded. There was another rustle in the other direction. "Stop it!" A thick cloud covered up the sun, and all fell dark. Alice started running.

There were sounds all around. Out of the corner of her eye, Alice saw a flash of white fur. "What is that?" She was sprinting now, eyes wild with the start of fear. She saw the white running through the forest parallel to her path. "Is that a... Hare?" It was hard to focus on the animal while concentrating on keeping her footing. "And is he wearing... A shirt? And hat?" It was true, the hare looked prepared to join a royal court of some kind, or maybe he was already in one. Shaken by this unusual sight, Alice pushed her pace. Her legs could not move any faster.

The hare darted in front of her then into a hole only a couple meters ahead. Quite large for any ordinary rabbit hole, Alice thought. It was easily jumpable, though, so Alice kept her pace and leaped over the simple opening. She would have made it, too, if it had not moved to right beneath her feet.

Alice screamed. She had no idea what was going on. The damp earth had swallowed her up, and now she could see nothing but blackness. Feel nothing but the act of falling. She could hear no more as her scream echoed away into a land unknown.

When Alice awoke, she found herself laying beneath a very large flower, dizzy. She could barely make out the moon as she drifted in and out of consciousness. A nearby nightingale cackled, mockingly, as to make fun of Alice's unfortunate fall of fate.