I recently watched Tim Burtons
Alice in Wonderland and sort of fell for Johnny Depps adaptation of the Mad Hatter and have been considering writing a short series. I'm not entirely sure if I want to but I figure I'll post the first part and see what kind of a reaction I get.
This first part will be a bit boring but it gives a solid background and character description, bare through it, message me or rate the story and tell me what you think. If the feedback is good I'll continue it.
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Tightly curled strands of platinum blond hair hung loosely over the creamy white exposed shoulders of Alice Anne Ascot as she exhaustively listened to her grandmothers gossip about the towns folk.
"You should have seen! Dear, such public display's of affection! Scandal has seemed to have become a fashion! Oh, Nerve just like your Mothers, I do swear. You though, sweet granddaughter will not be one of these… 'modern' women. You are a classy lady, aren't you?"
Nana Ascot (As her grandmother preferred) rambled on daily like this, especially about dear Alice Anne's mother, Alice Kingsley, for whom she had a fine distaste. Some 19 years back on a night of drunken passion and lust was Alice Anne conceived. Alice had returned home from a business venture to Hong Kong, and had dinner with the Ascots. One glass of wine turned in to six and one thing led to the next, soon Alice had engaged into a rather unsatisfying night of throes with Lord Hamish Ascot, her one time suitor.
When her pregnancy was discovered Hamish begged and pleaded for marriage, which Alice denied. Alice explained that she would raise her unborn daughter alone, and that she would live the life of three queens and experience adventures most only read about in books.
Lady Ascot promised legal trouble for Alice if the child wasn't left in her care. It was quite a feud,only after long hours of understanding negotiation did her business partner, Mr. Ascot come to an agreement between them. The child would be split under joint custody, half a year with her mother and the other half with her father on the estate.
Her mother certainly was a 'modern' woman. Almost by definition, and like she had promised, Alice's daughter always had great adventures. She learned valuable business trades, saw the latest fashions in Paris and giggled at argumentative Italians over dinner.
Life on the estate, however, was different. Being a child born out of wedlock was unpopular in a town of tradition and her grandmother was constantly trying to over compensate for that fact, buying expensive clothes for Alice, etiquette classes, and arranging weekly gentlemen callers from the sons of business men and court officials. Truth be told, though Alice had the wild and tenacious blood of her mother, and she didn't fall well under tradition. She was a fiery, passionate girl who loved to write short prose of a land called 'Wonderland' a place her mother often told her of, and had a penchant for brightly colored garments.
Nana Ascot especially disliked these traits in Alice because they reminded her so of Alice's mother,her Granddaughters first name often times bothered her too.
After another hour of empty conversation with her Grandmother, Alice became restless and miserably bored.
"Excuse me Nana, But it's terribly muggy in here. I do think I'll go for a walk in the garden. The breeze is nice today"
Her Grandmother nodded forcibly. Alice stood to leave, but before she could her grandmother grabbed her hand aggressively, and after realizing that she'd done so, stroked it.
"Alice, dear. Before you go trampling outside do go see your father. Hes something to tell you."
Alice nodded and wandered down the hall toward her fathers study. She was glad to be rid of her Grandmothers ramblings but honestly did long to stroll in the gardens, she was always happy wandering the labyrinth and some nights when she was restless she'd go walking about it.
She arrived at her fathers study. Hamish was a considerably lame man these days, his right knee had been injured in a hunting accident and since then he had an awful limp. He was lame in his mannerism's, too. It was quite obvious his undying love for Alice's mother. And upon the realization he could never have her, he spent most of his time speaking unexcited of the weather, or watching birds,and had since dropped all formalities and loyalty to tradition. He did, however love his daughter and his daughter loved him too, although they never had much to speak about.
"Father" She said opening the door quietly.
"What? Oh yes, come in darling" He looked up from a stack of property taxes he'd been correcting.
"Nana said you wanted a word?"
"Oh yes dear. Your mother sent a letter for your Birthday" He picked it up off the desk, stared momentarily at it and then extended it out to her.
"Oh!" Alice excited opened it. The letter explained Alice's pride and joy of her Daughters upcoming 18th birthday and promised a special gift when Alice would be sent out for her mother.
next month.
"So much time has passed, it's incredible. Our daughters finally become a woman" Hamish spoke almost to himself while Alice finished the letter.
"You look so like your mother, now all we need to do is find a worthy man." He put his focus away from the paper work and on his daughter.
"Do you have any ideas of who you might want that to be?"
Alice shook her head.
"Not a single idea…. Not here at least, I was thinking maybe a Frenchman" She Smiled and her father laughed quietly with her.
"And why a Frenchman?"
Alice Anne pondered the thought for a second then replied.
"Well, The french are wonderfully adventurous and spontaneous...I've also heard that they're madly passionate about love and romantic sorts of things..."
"You've got her sense of adventure too... You know? Not all French are mad men, and not all mad men are french"
"I didn't say I wanted a mad man father... Just madly in love" she said a little defensively
He laughed "Yes well, trust me. Love is mad whether or not its with a Frenchman. But I'm sure you'll learn that one day."
He focused his attention back to his paper work.
"Just don't speak to your grandmother about any Frenchmen"
He smiled and began making further scratches on the paper with his pen.
Alice took this as being dismissed and made her way down to hall towards the Gardens, making sure to tip toe around Den where her Grandmother sat reading.
She had finally found her freedom outside, and as she began to explore the garden.