Chapter One: Down the Rabbit Hole

I don't know why mother and father decided it would be a brilliant idea for me to study with Alfred. I love my twin brother, don't get me wrong, he has his good points, but he is a total idiot. He's really an idiot, I wish I was kidding but I'm not! We're in the garden, surrounded by pretty flowers and multicolored butterflies. All I wanted to do was pick flowers, despite how unmanly that is but -give me a break -I'm fourteen!

Our empty tea cups sat at the base of the tree and an unopened copy of Romeo and Juliet sat in my lap. I had read it on my own and had been excited to discuss the common themes through out the play and how it connected to modern life with my normal tutor. Unfortunately, he had gotten sick and I was stuck with Alfred. Alfred, who was sitting up in the tree and not even talking about Shakespeare.

"Yeah and, bro, I want to be totally real with you right now. This chick was so fucking -I don't even know!" he gushed laying on his back and swinging his legs in the air, barely missing kicking me in the side of my head, "She had this fucking hot Russian accent and had serious boobage, dude."

"That's lovely, Alfred," I sighed rubbing the front of my book, I lifted it and looked at it sadly before hugging it to my chest. "I'm sorry Romeo," I whispered to the book, "I promise I will know your easily applicable themes soon. I will come for you Romeo, your true feelings will be revealed to me."

"Mattie, you say somethin'?"

I sighed, "No, Al, I didn't."

"Hm, that's what I thought, HAHAHAHA!"

I leaned back against the trunk of the tree, turning my face up to let the sun rays -that were being filtered through the canopy of leaves- caress my face. I really want to do something fun, I thought, Al isn't really fun. Or, at least, not my type of fun. Tilting my face back down, something on the edge of the forest caught my eye. It was a tall, pale, well dressed man. A FUCKING HOT man!

He had pale, almost translucent, skin, broad muscles and messy white hair. He had a strong jawline, thin, pink lips and an aristocratic nose with a small bump on the bridge. This man was wearing a Prussian blue coat with a flipped up collar, wide sleeves and ended just above his knees, grey trousers tucked into knee high black leather boots, a black waist coat with a blue heart pattern, a pressed, bright white shirt and a black cravat. This finely -richly -dressed man made me feel inadequate as I decided to wear my worn gardening clothes, which consisted of brown trousers, calf length black and white striped socks, a periwinkle ribbon holding my wavy hair into a ponytail and a loose white blouse with too long sleeves and a hem line that ended at the bottom of my thighs.

What REALLY got my attention, though, was the tall, white rabbit ears sticking up from his white hair.

He pulled out a pocket watch, flipped it open and looked at the time. The man scowled slightly before flipping it closed and placing it back in his coat pocket; suddenly, he looked up and his eyes fell on me. I quietly gasped. His eyes were crimson red and so, so beautiful! Almost immediately, I was caught in his gaze and, when he smirked, I blushed as my insides fluttered.

Come on, Birdie, he mouthed, lifting his finger and motioning me towards him, Come vith me.

Where are we going? I wanted to ask but I couldn't open my mouth, even if I could I doubt that any words would coherently form. I found myself rising to my feet and walking steadily towards him, my stocking feet made no noise as I walked through the garden and in the direction of this hot man with bunny ears. Alfred continued to talk, not noticing my departure.

"Who...who ar-are you?" I breathed looking up at this stunning creature in awe.

He graciously bowed. "Hallo, Birdie, I am known as ze Vhite Rabbit," the albino said with a slow spreading smirk, one that sent a delicious shiver down his spine, "but you can call me Gilbert."

"Gilbert," I said liking the way his name tasted coming from my mouth, "Gilbert, where are you taking me? Where are you going?"

"On an adventure," Gilbert said taking my hand and leading me into the forest, he caught my staring eye and his expression softened, "It's actually more like a journey. To find your true self."

"Why? Why are you here?" I asked scrunching my brow in confusion.

"You...You really don't remember."

I was caught off guard by his heart broken expression and I pulled on his hand, stopping him. Reaching up to cup his cheek, feeling the tough, scratchy skin beneath my fingers, I gave him a regretful look, "Non. I'm sorry." This all feels oddly familiar. Like...we've done this before, like we've met before.

"It...It is alright, Birdie," the white rabbit said holding my hand that I had on his cheek, "You vill remember eventually."

"...if you say so."

We began walking again in a comfortable silence, Gilbert holding my hand and me not minding. After about fifteen minutes we came to a stop in front of a snarled, twisted, old tree. At the base of the tree, covered over with roots, was a giant hole that seemed to go on forever and was big enough for a grown lumberjack to fall through.

"Zhis is ze rabbit hole I came from," Gilbert explained looking at it with obvious distaste, "You vill have to go down zhere. I von't be able to go vith you, ze...ze queen von't allow it. I vill try to help you out as much as I can, but...ve von't meet face to face for a vhile. I'm sorry."

"It's...ok?" I said hesitantly, "So I just...drop down?"

"Ja."

"Alright. I'll...see you around?"

"Hopefully," Gilbert said with a small smile, he gripped my shoulders gently before bringing our lips together. I gasped against his lips, resting my hands on his shoulder blades and pressing harder against him. It felt so...so right. As if we were meant for each other. There was no tongue, just our lips melding together and massaging gently. "I'm sorry but you'll be late ozher vise," he said against my lips, giving me one last, drawn out kiss, "Ich liebe dich, mein Birdie." That's when he pushed me.

I fell, breaking through the roots and falling into the rabbit hole. I screamed falling into pitch blackness, clawing at the dirt around me and trying to find something to hang onto.

Almost crying with relief when I saw light at the end of the tunnel, I tried to slow myself down. That didn't work out so much and I started tumbling faster, falling out of the tunnel and slamming onto the floor. My body slammed against the floor, a scream escaping my lips, as the pain rattled my teeth. I curled up on my side, whimpering and struggling to my hands and knees. Breathing heavily, I looked around at the room I had fallen into. It was a circular room with black, cracked walls with white doors of all different sizes, the floors were black and red tile, their was a small, square glass table with an amber jug and a small key on it.

"Merde..." I mumbled getting to my feet, I dusted myself off and spun around, absorbing my surroundings, "Where am I? What am I supposed to do?!"

Take ze key on ze table and find ze door it unlocks.

It sounded like Gilbert's voice so, for some unknown reason, I was compelled to obey. I approached the table and grabbed the key that was no bigger then my pinky finger. There were ten doors in the room and I went from door to door, testing the key. None of them opened.

"GOD DAMN IT!" I yelled in frustration. I looked around the room, trying to find a door I had missed; that's when I saw the thick, red velvet curtain. I approached it and shoved it aside, seeing a door that was as big as the calf on my leg. I kneeled down and unlocked the tiny door with the tiny key, it worked and I pulled it open, pressing my face closer to the small doorway. What I saw amazed me.

On the other side of the door way was a remarkable garden. There was grass so green that I wasn't sure if it was grass at all, florescent blue, pulsating mushrooms the size of houses, thin, twisting trees with black park and pink spotted leaves; there were giant butterflies landing on equally giant flowers and strange, mutant animals as well as a black and red tiled road leading through this strange garden from the small door.

"This...it's..."

Awesome?

"Oui," I breathed with a small smile, "Absolutely awesome."

Go zhrough ze door, Matthew.

I tried to squeeze my way through but me head was too big and the door was too narrow. "I-I can't fit!"

Shit...forgot about zhat...on ze table is a jug. You see zhat? Drink it.

"Why? What does it do?"

Just trust me, liebling.

With a sigh, I stood up, taking the key with me; I walked to the table and picked up the jug, reading the label. "Maple syrup," I read, then reading the note tied to the neck of the jug, "Drink me." I stared at it for a minute, weighing my options. To hell with it, I decided, pulling the cork loose and bringing it to my lips. I gulped down some of it, finding that it tasted really sweet but not unpleasantly so. I took another gulp, some of it leaking from my mouth and dribbling in a sticky mess from the corner of my lips and down my chin.

Fuck, how ze hell did you make drinking zhat look erotic?!

I blushed, choking a little and slamming down the jug, wiping the syrup off my face.

Did I say zhat out loud?

"OUI!"

...Sorry...

I huffed, my face still red in embarrassment as my stomach flip flopped. For some reason what he said made me feel hot and bothered. That was, until I felt my bones breaking. I screamed, my bones creaking and sending waves and waves of pain through my body; I felt my skin being yanked and manipulated, making two stray tears fall from my eyes onto the ground that was rushing up to meet me.

And then, just like that, it was gone.

I pealed open my heavy eyelids -when had I closed them? -and looked around; everything seemed...bigger. Or was I smaller?

I'm sorry I forgot how painful people said it vas. I'm a hybrid so I never have to take it.

"A...A hybrid...?" I croaked.

Ja, me und mein bruder. Ze queen made us to be servants but...Ludwig fell in love so he was kicked out of the castle.

"You've never been in love?" For some reason, I felt my heart starting to hurt, tears making my throat thick.

...I have...but...ze queen needed a servant so she took mein love avay from me. She wanted to break mein spirit.

"And...d-did she?"

Did she...? Nein, she didn't. She just pissed. Me. Off.

"Oh..." I looked around, then looked down when I felt a breeze on my legs, "WHERE ARE MY PANTS?!"

You must be too small for zhem...Kesesesese~!

"What are you chuckling about?!"

...Nothing...

"Yeah, that's what I thought," I mumbled, "And where's the key?"

FUCK! You left it on the table!

"...God damn it...!"

Vait, vell, fuck, here eat zhis.

Suddenly, in a poof of violet smoke a stack of...something appeared. "What are those?"

Pancakes...

He sounded sad and I bit my lip, feeling guilty. "What...What do these do?"

Zhey should make you bigger, zhat vay you can grab ze key zhen shrink down again.

Looking at these pancakes, I got an uneasy feeling that this probably wasn't the best idea.

Trust me.

I bit my lip, I can't say no to him, especially when I made him so sad earlier. I picked up the fork that was laying beside these... "pancakes" and took a bite.

Alright so that's it. this wont be that long...don't know why I'm starting this.

SO I don't know if there will be actually smut in this but it's rated M just to be safe and for sexual themes.

Matthew: Alice

Gilbert: the White Rabbit

Alfred: Mattie's big bro