Chapter 1

When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a completely different world from her own. The reason why she knew that was painfully simple. It was simply impossible for the comfortable furnishings that dotted her cottage to be replaced by such utterly distasteful, dull ones in a matter of the five hours that she was asleep, and that, was ignoring the overall horrifying design of the entire house.

The room she awoke to was not nearly as terrifying as the rest of the place. It was a pretty, plain room that was littered with bits of cloth and thread, and different types of fancy clothing strewn over the dark, discoloured furniture. The walls were painted a similar dull gray, with a black clock in the shape of a cat hanging on the wall opposite of the bed she awoke in. Faint rays of light burrowed their way into the room from a broken window, while an unpleasant, rancid breeze barged in, throwing up the torn rags that adorned the window frame in irritation, howling at the coloured pest that managed to worm its way into the perfection of this monochromic world.

The brunette wrinkled her nose slightly at the odour, which was possibly ten times worse than the smell of the rotten meat that lay hidden in the pantry once, but said nothing as thoughts of returning home flooded her mind, flushing out everything else. She pushed herself off the murky-coloured bedsheets, trotting over to the rotting door and sent it carelessly crashing down upon realising that it was locked.

It is almost time for breakfast.

Turning corner after corner, she somehow managed to find her way out of the maze of interconnecting corridors, pushing open the delicate double-doors, never once paying attention to the little sounds of scurrying that were much too loud for any sort of animal, the occasional shaking of the house, as though it were alive, the elegant paintings of beautiful, proud Monsieurs and Madames softly whispering behind her back, seemingly gossiping about her, and the silent, slithering creature that appeared and disappeared from behind her from time to time, leaving behind an eerie, sadistic grin as it faded in and out, as though foreseeing something pleasant in the near future.

I must finish preparations for breakfast and wake Alice up soon.

The putrid smell had gotten worse than before as she stepped out of the desolated building. It pierced through her nostrils, down her throat, and right into her lungs, remaining there like a snake's poisonous venom, slowly scraping away at her body from the inside. The urge to hurl was overwhelming, but she forced it down with mere willpower, and headed down the single, stony path that greeted her. Passing through the open gates of the fence that towered the entire area, she was fairly disgusted by the appearance of white bones that peaked out from the grayish soil, along with rotting parts of the human body scattered across the yard, and other dead animals as well.

I cannot stay here for long. I cannot.

As she approached the end of the trail, through the towering gates and down the dusty dirt path, ahead lay a split in the road, where an old signpost stood rooted in between. A single grin hovered above said signpost, and slowly but surely, a body began to form, seemingly from thin air, producing the shape of a single, plump tabby cat, who seemed to be mocking her with that overly cheery grin plastered all over its face.

"What an unexpected guest," it said, the smile on its face never fading the slightest inch. Frowning at the cat, undoubtedly irritated by its presence, she turned her attention to the lines that were haphazardly carved into the wooden signpost. Her irritation rose another notch as she realised that it was impossible to decipher it, and a further few more when the grinning figure opened its impudent mouth once again.

"You do realise that you are not supposed to be here, right?"

"Does it even matter to you?" She said curtly, forcing a smile onto her face as she headed down the path that appeared more appealing (The other lead to a sinister looking forest). The cat stared at her as she moved forward with those eyes - those intimidating gray eyes - and slowly, slowly, started fading away.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. Just a piece of advice, my wilful princess. Be very careful of what you choose, because things are never what they truly seem to be." With those words as a parting gift, the cat disappeared, just as he had appeared. The female said nothing in response, choosing to ignore what was actually friendly advice from the creature, and continued walking down the path.

"...Just like Wonderland, Elizabeth."

The words came as a whisper in her ear, and she whipped around, only to find a landscape devoid of all living beings. There was not a single trace of that grinning, gray tabby cat left, and yet it seemed as though there was still something behind her, constantly watching her every movement.

Wonderland?

Was this where she was?

Bits and Pieces :

ΓΈ The name Elizabeth comes from the the game American McGee's Alice, where Elizabeth Liddel is Alice's elder sister. Just thought I'd point that out.