Staring out into the deep blue waves crashing against the heavy ship set on a course from china, Alice sighed loudly to herself. It felt like years since she and the mad hatter had been reunited for the second time but in reality it had been no more than twelve months since she had defeated the Jabberwocky and had the Red Queen banished alongside her traitorous follower Stayne. After a month on the sea, Alice could not wait until she felt the earth beneath her feet and not a creaking wooden deck. One can only do so much when on a ship and after practically drawing every vivid memory of her times in Underland on every piece of parchment stored in her room she began to silently pray for land. As Alice had said before she left Underland, she had so much that needed to be done, and exporting to China had been a wise decision on her part. Their market had expanded and their profits had doubled in only 4 months, but there was still so much more that needed to be done to secure their place at the top of the export company food chain. With all of the great things happening in her life, Alice began to wonder to herself why she felt that her life still held no meaning. Thoughts of the mad hatter still plagued her mind each night and regret ensued each morning as she lay in bed, wondering what the man was doing and whether her decision to leave had been the correct one. There were more important things that needed to be resolved however and so Alice never thought twice about the mad hatter and any of her memories from Underland when she left her bedroom. Only in there would she allow herself to dream about a life she gave away... Luckily Alice was broken from her musings when the bellowing call of "Land Ho" boomed through the ship and had Alice running to starboard and watching the land creep closer ever so slowly to her delight. Home at last...
"But I don't want to wear a corset"Alice groaned but the woman in front of her refused to listen as she pressed her foot into Alice's back and sucked all of the air out of the young girl's lungs. "Nonsense Miss Alice" The woman fussed as she threw the dress over Alice's head and began to pull it over her body, "It's a disrespect to not wear one, and besides, it really does make you look pretty. It'll be a change from the horrid things you were forced to wear in that savage land" The lady tutted as she buttoned the back and smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles that seemed too afraid to form. Alice would have spoken had she not felt so out of breath from the tight bodice and the sea of breasts that seemed to want to leap out of the top of her blue dress. Alice had been so preoccupied with trying to breathe normally that she didn't notice the powder puff until it attacked her face and turned her whiter than a rabbit.
The next ten minutes had turned her from Alice into someone she couldn't even recognise in the mirror. Deep scarlet was painted over her lips and charcoal covered her eyes thickly while rouge tinted her cheeks and causing a permanent blush upon her face. The dress itself was quite beautiful in itself; a light blue silk on the bodice that slowly transformed itself into a pale aqua while white lace worked its way around the dress and through the seams. All in all the dress was magnificent and only served to brighten Alice's eyes all the more, but it was no longer Alice but a more refined and perfect version who looked exactly like every other pompous old woman and marriage-hungry girl. Before she had time to argue about her apparel she was doused in perfume and forced out of her bedroom before being practically thrown into a carriage and carted off like some animal in a cage. Alice could only huff indignantly as the woman who had dressed her was now running her through the dos and don'ts when it came to formality. Tuning out, Alice closed her eyes and began to wonder what was so special about today that she needed not to know.
"And we're here Miss Alice. Now you remember what I told you right? Miss Alice?" The lady began to shriek when Alice refused to respond but calmed down when the blonde nodded and began to exit the carriage. "Yes yes fork is on the left, but what am I here for?" Alice whined, taking half a breath so as to replace the lost oxygen in her lungs from only a sentence. The woman glared at Alice for a moment before breaking out into a smile, "Oh I cannot tell you Miss Alice, it would ruin the surprise. But do have fun Miss Alice and stay safe" She laughed and waved as Alice walked towards the arch entrance awkwardly. Looking around at the green fields and the mounds of women and men dancing, a sense of foreboding flooded Alice's senses. The place seemed so familiar, almost as if she had been here before, only very long ago. Alice was brought back into reality when an old woman hobbled over to her with a predatorial grin that once adorned a scorning face. Realisation drew the breath from Alice like a corset to a bodice ((So to speak ;3)), Alice had been in this garden only 12 months ago, dancing with the ever so dreadful Lord Hamish Ascot before being proposed to. This was where she fell into the hole, met the mad hatter and slayed the Jabberwocky before outright refusing the marriage and insulting just about everyone who had deserved it. "Oh Alice, my deepest regrets for your mother, her and I were quite close you know. I can only hope that you can consider us as warm a family as your old one" The wrinkled woman grinned largely, showing her horrid teeth which had only lost their lustre in the year that she had been absent. Alice merely nodded politely before being dragged around and introduced to anyone she did not know, zoning out completely and falling into her own thoughts.
"Ah Miss Alice, still beautiful and unmarried I see?" A Cocky male voice said as a pair of wet lips planted themselves on her hand and a head of blazing red hair illuminated her vision. "H-Hatter?" She said, surprised but found her enthusiasm waning almost instantly when she noticed who the red haired male actually was. "Oh hello Lord Ascot" She said politely as she tried to move away. But he would not have it and pulled her flush against his person, sidestepping and beginning what she could only describe as the 'conversational waltz'. "My my Miss Alice, you seem to have grown even more beautiful in your absence and yet, still without a husband? How tragic" The pompous man mocked, attempting to look seductive but failing madly, "One would think that you would rather turn into your Aunt" He laughed at his own joke and Alice's eye twitched slightly as she tried to school her face and ignore the blatant insult on her family. "That may be what you think however I'm merely waiting for the right one, I wouldn't want to marry an idiotic fool would I? Not with my booming business only growing as we move further out worldwide." Alice hoped that the fool in front of him took the hint, but apparently he didn't because he beamed twice as much and nodded and continued to dance.
"You are exactly right Miss Alice, although you can't think to run a business as a woman. Your husband would take over of course because you clearly couldn't do it yourself." Alice would have throttled the man had he not stopped dancing and clutched her hands, a serious look on his face,
"Alice, I could be that man. You wouldn't need to worry about money because I would have more than enough with your partnership when you sign it over to me. We'd be perfect for each other and I understand that the last time I asked you were too immature, what with your head always up in the clouds. But now I think that you could really buckle down and bear me an heir don't you?" Hamish flashed a crooked grin, not noticing how Alice's teeth were grating together in anger. "You know what Lord Ascot," Alice began, still glaring though a forced smile had formed on her face, making her look terrifying; not that the fool in front of her could see. She was about to give the man a piece of her mind when a loud shrieking caught her off guard and a woman flew past her, pushing Alice and sending her tumbling into Hamish.
"Falling for me already Alice" He chuckled but Alice merely threw him her hardest glare and stood up again, "I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man on the Earth, even if you actually had a personality!" She yelled before running off to find what had caused the commotion that everyone was cautiously walking towards. Hamish stood alone, mouth gaping wide and staring at the place where Alice had been standing only moments before, wondering what had caused her to be so callous and hurtful towards him. Feeling an upset stomach coming on he ran in the direction his mother had been seen in to cry and have his 'tummy' kissed better.
Alice arrived where the crowd had by now formed and was having trouble seeing what it was that was so intriguing to them all the way out in the forest.
"Oh what a filthy and disgusting thing, can we have it killed?" An elderly woman screeched and a bout of 'yea' resounded through the crowd. Rolling her eyes at their barbaric natures she placed the back of her hand on her forehead and sighed loudly.
"Oh my!" She yelled, beginning to catch their attention as she swayed left and right, "I feel so dizzy... So... Out of breath" She said before falling to the ground. As she had suspected, the crowd was now stationed around her yet none of them actually did anything to help. 'Figures those aristocrats wouldn't even be able to help a dying person. Probably afraid I might breathe on them and contaminate them as well' Alice thought as the people continued to stand around her and whisper loudly about her. Finally losing her patience she opened her eyes and a woman yelled out, "A miracle!" Everyone began clapping and Alice couldn't help but roll her eyes at their idiocy.
An elderly man had decided to help her up but half way through the random woman who served no purpose but to yell out important plot twists yelled out "Look! He's getting away!" Everyone turned to face their first form of entertainment and the man let go of Alice, her hand in his forgotten as she fell onto her posterior with an 'oomph'. "Some help you were" She grumbled but was brought back to the more pressing matter when a male began to speak. The voice was like music to her ears and Alice suddenly couldn't contain the urge to find out who the elusive man was.
"Very sorry bu... Rabbi... Dodo... Dance... Fudderwupping..." Was all that Alice was able to make out as she jumped and pushed in an attempt to see past the group. In seconds however she found that it wasn't needed when they began to scream and run away in the direction of the other guests. Alice crouched and covered her head with her hands, hoping that she wouldn't get stood on or hurt too badly by the stampede of fools. Hearing their distant cries, Alice felt it safe to look up and see what it was that was so terrifying that it sent a bunch of... cowards running for their lives.
Alice lifted her head, only to see a man standing not too far from her, arms outstretched and panting heavily with a huge grin upon his face as if waiting for the applause that would never come. Blazing green eyes and hair like flames Alice could only thing of one man to fit the description, "Hatter..." She said before fainting for real this time.
Nyaaa what do you think? Boring? Confusing? Enticing? Do tell!!! R&R
xox tartar
