A Beautiful Madness...
Alice walked around the desolation of her once beautiful Wonderland, her long raven colored hair swishing gently behind her. She held her kitchen knife, which was now stained with blood. "Whatever happened...to Wonderland..." She collapsed to her knees, breaking down and letting the warm tears overflow from her dark eyes and stream down her face. She covered her face with her hands; her skin was so pale now, and her fingers were practically bones. She would be such a beautiful young lady, if it weren't for the heavy darkness under her eyes and uneasy mental stability, which was quite unpredictable these days. A familiar, smooth voice surprised her, making her uncover her eyes from the horror of the old, previously happy dream that had shifted into a nightmare.
"Come now my dear~ You haven't given up, have you?" She frowned at the grin of that cat, the one that gave him his name. It was, after all, a very cheshire grin, almost sinister and never ceasing.
"Cheshire? Why are you still grinning and acting so jolly? There is nothing here to smile about!"
"Awwh, not even me?" The cat chuckled softly, watching her with his yellow slit eyes. "Now, now, my dear, we can't have this."
Alice looked at him curiously, wiping away a few left over tears from her pale cheeks. "What else can I do...?"
"Oh, Alice, never the bright one~" He let out another soft chuckle. "You need to fight."
"Fight? I've all ready fought! And it's still a complete mess!" Alice sighed softly, regaining her regular serious, soft composure. "I had to put Hatter back together...and I don't think he's even alive anymore..."
"Hatter? He's bitten the dust?" Cheshire's eerie grin only widened. "Perhaps I'll search for his hat then, I've always quite admired it."
"Cheshire! He used to be your friend! Mad as he was, he was your company, you ungrateful cat."
"'Mad as he was'? Oh, my dear, you really have been gone a while."
"Don't you remember what I told you before?" Alice only gave him a look, though it was unreadable, much like the girl herself. "I assume you've forgotten then. Let me tell you again." Cheshire laughed, happy as always to say his favorite phrase. "I'm mad, you're mad, we're all mad here."
She sighed and nodded, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Yes, Cheshire was her dear friend and she doubted he'd ever think of hurting her, but he still wasn't one you'd like to test or push too far.
"Yes Cheshire, I do remember." Alice stood, making her taller then Cheshire who was sitting, though not by as much as a normal cat. Because, of course, Cheshire was anything but. "I also remember playing that odd game with flamingoes and hedgehogs...that was a very different Wonderland, though. The awful creatures that are here now weren't, and other then the Red Queen and the Jabbawocky, it was wonderful."
Cheshire nodded, his eyes intensifying at the girl, the slitted pupils shrinking a bit. "It's no use to remember, unless you plan to do something about it, dear Alice."
"But...what can I do?" Alice asked the question curiously, fiddling with the skirts of the steampunk- like outfit she wore, which was adorned with browns, blacks, and coppers.
"Defeat the evils which have ruined your Wonderland, take it back." Cheshire's eyes brightened as he spoke; Alice wasn't the only one who needed this place. This world created him, if it fell apart, as did he.
"Defeat the evils..."
Alice uttered the words thoughtfully, thinking back to where she'd previously been. The odd teapot-like mechanisms, the disgusting creatures which where made of a mass of black ooze, having faces like white masks. She hated them, she didn't want them in her Wonderland. "All right Cheshire, I'll do it." There was more determination in her voice, she stood straighter. She was ready to save the beauty of this place; or what was left of it.
"Wonderful. Now, you best get a move on to your world. They're looking for you." Cheshire smiled widely, with his slightly yellowed teeth.
"But...what about Wonderland?" She asked the question quite concernedly; if she left now, would Wonderland perish?
"All in due time, my dear, all in due time." Cheshire faded from her vision, everything surrounding following suit, until Alice was simply alone in darkness.
