Prologue
After all those years, she was back to Wonderland, standing in front of a large, white gate. She saw a familiar long table in the middle of the garden, and the old memory made her smile a little. 'The tea party'. Both the Mad Hatter and the March Hare were there, drinking tea – they haven't changed a bit as far as she could tell. The Mad Hatter suddenly looked up and noticed her. For the first time, she took a look at his face (what had been shadowed by the hat), and she gasped in surprise. 'He's changed a lot since last time,' she noted in herself.
Why did he change, she didn't know, but now he looked more real. Messy, dark brown hair, big brown eyes, and all in all his face looked like he lacked sleeping. But, thanks to all these things, he really looked like he was mad. Her gazed shifted over to the March Hare, but unlike his friend, he didn't change.
With a smirk on his lips, the Hatter walked closer to her. "My dear Alice, it's so good to see you here again," he said, giving her a quick hug. She noted that he was taller and more muscular then he had been before, but didn't say anything. 'What happened to him?' Alice asked herself, but she didn't have much time to think, because the Hatter led her to the table, while the March Hare gave her a cup of tea. He started a conversation, but it was soon interrupted by the Mad Hatter. "You are engaged?" he asked. He didn't seem to be surprised or hurt - he was only asking a simple question with a straight face.
Alice on the other hand was shocked. "How do you know?" The Hatter looked at her hand, and she did the same. A ring. There was an engagement ring on her finger. She was engaged, yes, but she hadn't got a ring yet. She met her fiancé once or twice in Oxford, he asked her father if he could marry her, he said yes, so now she was heading to London, so they could announce the wedding. "Oh, yes," she spoke up slowly, examining the ring. "I'm engaged. But I don't have a ring. Yet," she added quickly.
Looking up at the Hatter, she saw sadness in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared, and he was staring blankly at the cup of tea in front of him. She was twenty-four, she studied a lot since her first time in Wonderland, and now she knew it was nothing more but a dream. A strange, and incredibly realistic dream.
Now it was the same dream, but unlike before, the only person she could think about was the Hatter. This strange Hatter, whose appearance had changed a lot, and who seemed to be sad by the fact she was getting married. Was it some kind of a sign? Maybe this wedding was a bad idea. Maybe she should...
"Alice. Alice, wake up. We're in London," her sister announced excitedly. Alice slowly opened her eyes, and glanced out of the window, letting out a quiet sigh. She simply couldn't share her sister's excitement.
Author's note: I was listening to 'Alice' from Avril Lavigne today and came up with this. Do you like the idea?