As seen from its title, this is an Alice in Wonderland derivation. Hopefully it'll be good? This'll be my first actual series. With plot and everything. Um. It's going to be a bit darker than the original Lewis Carroll book/Disney movie, but not like the Tim Burton movie. Yes- Tessa is the protagonist, but I'd rather not have hate from that. She's actually a rather enjoyable character, despite what most think. Anyway- on to the story.

Theresa Gray had always enjoyed reading- she loved, as a toddler, sitting in her older brother Nathaniel's arms as he read picture books to her; and as she grew older, she loved going to their backyard and sitting under the tree with him, each reading a different book. They read every day in the summer, from just after dinner, when the sun was highest, until supper- whenever the sun went down.

Today, their parents were out, so it was just her and Nate, in the backyard, reading. It was silent, but in the companionable way. It was rather warm outside, the grass was slightly damp from the drizzle that'd happened mere hours ago, and it would probably stain her dress- but Tessa didn't particularly care, although she had been chided many times by her parents for it. As for Nate...he only cared when it was a dress he'd bought.

Tessa clutched the book to her chest, smiling. She absolutely adored Shakespeare, and Macbeth was her personal favorite. It was rather dark- but something about it made it beautiful in it's own way.

"Tessie," Tessa scowled up at her older brother and he grinned apologetically—that cute little smile that made all the girls swoon, the one where the left corner of his mouth quirked up higher than the right, and made his whole face light up, his blue eyes dancing mischievously—at her before continuing, "It is rather hot, do you want a drink?"

"No thank you," Tessa returned to her book, waving Nate away as he told her she should go inside. It was rather hot, though. It was only moments after Nate had gone inside that the noises started.

It started out with just a slight rustling in the bushes in front of her, then she swore there was someone looking at her from the bushes. Now, Theresa Gray had always been told she was a sensible girl, very mature for her age, and highly intelligent. So she was quite shocked when she saw a snowy white rabbit dart out of the bushes, a beautiful rabbit with silvery-white eyes, like a tarnished shilling. There was nothing remarkable about the rabbit- maybe it's odd coloring, but nothing else, except that it ran right up to her and stood on its hind legs, mere inches from her outstretched legs. It sniffed the air by her and cocked its head, oddly intelligent eyes staring at her for a few long moments. Then its eyes widened and it turned away to mumble to itself,

"Oh dear, oh dear! I shall be late!"

The fact that the rabbit had begun to talk to itself was rather odd, and Tessa attributed it to the sun, and when it darted away, but though she was filled with a burning curiosity, she did not pursue it. She was not stupid, she would not chase after foreign things. She had read many books where people had done rash things like that, and they did not fair well.

The rabbit's head popped out of the bushes and it gazed at her for a long moment, head tipped, as if it were confused. Then it disappeared into the bushes, Tessa staring after it. The process repeated a few seconds later, and now it definitely looked confused. As if it wanted her to follow it. But Theresa Gray was a sensible girl, and sensible girls did not go chasing after talking rabbits, however appealing they seemed.

Now, back to Macbeth. Tessa ignored the rustling in the bushes- now that she knew what was making the noises, it didn't really matter that much anymore. It was just a rabbit, and maybe its family. Strange though, she'd never seen any rabbits, and neither Nate or Mother or Father had said anything about rabbits. That was when she was unceremoniously scooped up by firm hands.

"Nate! Put me down!" Tessa spluttered. She'd dropped Macbeth, and if any of the pages were torn, Nate was dead.

"I apologize, but I am not your brother," the voice above her chuckled and Tessa lost her breath, her head snapping up. There was a strange man carrying her, one with a coloring she'd never seen on anyone before. His hair was bright snowy white, falling around his face, wavy-straight, and his eyes were silver, like a shilling. He was pale, like someone who never really went out much in the sun. He seemed familiar somehow...

"I do apologize for this, but it would have been much simpler if you had just followed me." He actually sounded remorseful, but then he smiled, "I will put you down when we get there, I promise. I am a gentleman."

"Get where? And who are you?"

"You may call me Jem, and we are going into that hole," he nodded with his head and Tessa frowned. There was a giant hole, maybe a yard in diameter, just a few feet from them. And with Jem's long strides, they would be there in a few moments. But wait.

"Why is there a hole in my garden?"

He smiled conversationally and shrugged. "I wonder." They stopped at the edge of the hole, and Tessa gazed down in trepidation. Pitch black, and absolutely no sound. And then, Jem continued, "But, don't you know? If there is a hole, you simply must jump in." Unceremoniously, he tossed her into the hole, laughing delightedly all the while.

This was so short only because this was the prologue. Sorry, haha

If there's any questions (like who's who), drop a review. I'll get back to any reviews privately and in the next chapters.
And about reviews. Here's a new rule: no new chapter until the previous chapter gets at least five reviews.

By the way; I am totally accepting of critiques- I encourage it actually. Thanks!