Hello reader! This is an idea I had and so I followed it up and I'm pretty sure it's going somewhere. When I saw Alice in Wonderland I instantly thought that it was unfair on the Red Queen and that her side of the story hasn't been told properly. So, because I love writing, I decided to think a past up myself. I really appreciate reviews so please let me know what you think!

Chapter 1: The Enemy

Alice wondered if she would ever get tired of her wonderland. She had had so many mesmerising dreams about it, or were they reality? It was hard to tell as the two seemed to blend together often. She had returned to Underland once again and had visited everyone as normal. The hatter, hare and dormouse were their usual slightly bonkers selves, the white queen was a brilliant and adored monarch and everything seemed to glimmer with prosperity. Alice was comforted by the knowledge that she had made all this happen.

Alice often wondered whether this was all real. She didn't worry, just wondered. It would be nice if it was, but it wouldn't be a disaster if it wasn't. It felt so real to her it doesn't matter if it was fact or fiction, true or false. She was 21 years old and she thought, maybe a little old for fairy tales. She was a lady now, with a bright and successful future, so why did she need Wonderland?

She did need it. It was her escape, her breath of fresh air. Her life wasn't hard, it just wasn't enough. She had tasted the mystery of miracles and embraced them. She was the child of Underland. Alice felt that without it, she would lose hold on her real life. After being in somewhere where anything is possible and nothing is as it seems, it's almost impossible to return to a normal life. She had tried, and she had failed. After returning, she began to question the point in her existence. To live the same day over and over again and no matter what excitement she tried to include in her life, it didn't compare to the feeling of being in Wonderland.

She had had her head in the clouds for her whole life. She was seen as strange as she had a completely different view on life to anyone she knew. Things may be impossible in her world, but not in others. It's true, nothing is impossible and she knew it. Alice Kingsleigh, the girl who fell down the rabbit whole and couldn't bring herself to climb out again, and she was perfectly happy living in her own world. It was the only place she felt at home, whether it was real, or just in her mind.

She dusted down her powder blue dress. She never wore it at home but whenever she entered Underland she found herself wearing it. She assumed that it reflected her character so perfectly that it had become part of her, as the hatter had his hat.

She was stood in a desert; a barren wasteland, where the only sign of life were the occasional, oddly-shaped cactus or electric blue lizard crawling through the sand. She knew why she was there, but she still questioned herself whether it was a good idea. She had made up her mind however, and continued her journey through the outlands.

Eventually, she came to a rocky outcrop with the large, gaping entrance to a cave in the bare rock. She tossed a lock of golden hair over her shoulder and braced herself before entering the gloom.

It was refreshing at first as she was plunged into the shade of the cave, out of the scorching sun, but almost immediately she found herself shivering, it really was quite cold. The cave was deep and she had no light but as she ventured further in, trying to dampen the sound of her heeled boots on the cave floor, she saw a flickering light ahead. She was only a few yards from the entrance, but the back of the cave was in complete darkness.

The light grew in size as she walked hastily closer. She knew she was treading on glass. She pulled all her courage together and cleared her throat.

"Who is it?" said a sickeningly familiar voice with a sigh. It was a tired voice of someone who was losing hope, fast.

"Alice." Replied Alice, knowing she wouldn't need to explain further.

The other person in the cave scoffed.

"Come to gloat have you, Alice?" Alice's name on her lips sounded like a hiss, she had spat it.

"Not specifically but I may later. No, I was asked to check that you were still here, your sister doesn't want you dead you know."

"Death has to be better than this. I'm tired, Alice. I don't want to live anymore. But when you are like me, you live for a bloody long time and there isn't much you can do about it." said the disembodied voice bitterly.

"Can you turn a light on? I need to see it's you."

Alice heard a sigh and watched as the small flickering flame which was so weak it had almost no effect grow until the back of the cave was bathed in a warm glow.

Alice took in the dishevelled form of a woman sat in the corner. Her once extravagant and expensive dress was dusty and ripped, her scarlet hair was messy and her face utterly miserable.

There was one thing Alice noticed though about her body's proportions.

"Your head has got smaller."

"Well noticed"

"How?"

"I am no longer queen." she said simply, as if that explained everything.

The last time Alice had seen Iracebeth of Crimms, the former queen, she had had an extremely large head. It was the first thing you noticed about her. It didn't make you laugh, however, in person she was truly terrifying. Her head size contributed to this as it made her feel small. The red queen's head at the current time was significantly smaller, so it was almost normal size.

Iracebeth sighed at Alice's blank expression and continued: "I am no longer queen so my head has shrunk."

"So being queen makes your head massive?"

"No, it was my choice that as queen, I would increase my head size."

"Why would you do that?"

"It's a long story."

"We have time."

"I don't want to tell you."

"I will ask your sister then!" said Alice and turned to leave when she heard Iracebeth's quiet chuckle.

"What is it?"

"You honestly think that if you asked my sister, she would tell you the truth?"

"Why wouldn't she?"

"She's been lying to you since the day you fell down that rabbit hole."

Alice shook her head. "No she hasn't. Why should I believe you?"

"Well, maybe not lying but she hasn't been telling the whole truth. I bet in all her stories, she never even mentioned my past."

"And why should she? You were horrible to her and always have been!"

Iracebeth stood up at this point, her dark eyes flashing bright red with anger.

"LIES! You have no idea what you're talking about so shut up! If you knew the truth, you would think differently! You know nothing!"

Alice was shocked and a little scared. She swallowed hard and met the ex-queen's gaze.

"Fine. You tell me the truth then."

"No. I don't want to tell you."

"Then you are obviously lying!"

"I'm not."

"Prove it!"

"Fine! I will!" Iracebeth said.

She sighed and sat down again, her legs crossed. She closed her eyes and balled her right hand into a fist. She sat this way for a few moments, her face showed that she was concentrating. She opened her eyes and held out her hand. In the centre of her palm was a small red crystal in the shape of a perfect heart.

"Take it." She said, a little more calmly "Take it and see for yourself. All of it is true, every bit so you can't say I'm lying."

Alice nodded, took the crystal heart and started to leave.

"Alice," Iracebeth said in a strangely gentle voice "Don't judge me by reputation or what other people have told you. Looks can be deceiving and people aren't always what they seem. Remember, there are two sides to every story, and you have only heard one."

Alice thought these words were strange but merely nodded to the former queen and left the cave, stepping into the bright sunlight. Shielding her eyes, she made for Malmoriel and he white queen where she would spend the night.

It was only when she got to her room and took the crystal out of her pocket that she realised she didn't know what to do with it. Though she was close to Mirana, the white queen, she had decided not to tell her about the crystal, she only said her sister was bitter, but alive.

She tucked the heart under her pillow as she settled down in bed. She would figure out how to use it in the morning.

Her mind was pulled into a deep sleep with Iracebeth's final words lingering behind her closed eyes.