A/N: I do not own Alice in Wonderland. This is just a child of my screwed up brain. I do, however, own Ashton and all of the events that happen in this story. I give thanks to the late Lewis Carroll for giving me the inspiration to warp his characters to fit my needs. (Disclaimer pertains to the rest of the chapters)
I stared out across the school yard. It was May, a good month of the year. Spring was starting to change into summer, and school was almost out. Kids were starting to get excited about summer, making plans and chatting about what they wanted to do.
My pencil was poised above my sketch pad. I had spaced out while sketching one of the weeping willows. I blinked and glanced at the paper. It looked nice, except for the fact that there was a white rabbit looking at a watch near the base of the tree. My eyes slid back over to the real tree, and I saw no rabbit. There was, however, a thin girl glancing at a pocket watch. She had snowy white hair with white rabbit ears. She turned around, looking for someone. A soft white rabbit tail contrasted with her black skirt. I rubbed my eyes, but it was still there. I stood up and hurried out of the classroom. It was lunch, no one would notice.
By the time I got to the school yard, the girl was gone. I spun around, looking for her. She had just disappeared. All of the students seemed frozen. I tapped a few on the shoulder, but they didn't move.
"Guys? This isn't funny!" I cried, biting my lip. Something moved just on the edge of my vision, catching my attention. I whipped my head around and saw a flash of pink and purple just as it darted behind the tree.
"Hello?" I called out, placing a hand on the bark.
"You should hello yourself." A voice said from behind me. I jumped and looked at the new comer. It was a guy, with sort of shaggy black hair. His green eyes were penetrating as he stared at me. A wide grin was plastered on his face, reminding me of Ichimaru from Bleach. A pink and purple cat tail swished around his long legs.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice quivering slightly.
"You are who?" He replied, bending at the waist. He looked me up and down. His pupils shrank, becoming like a cat's. I whimpered and took a step back. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you." He said, straightening. "But, I'm not you, so continue."
"I don't need your permission." I spat. His smile faltered for a second.
"I wouldn't be so sure." He looked around. "I wonder where she went…" He turned around and around, looking for something. "Did she already leave…?" Musing to himself, he examined the students that were frozen.
After watching him for a while, I gathered up the courage.
"What's your name?" I asked, my voice slightly stronger. He jumped when I spoke. It reminded me of a cat.
"Shire." He replied, blushing lightly. "If you'll excuse me, Ashton, I have to find a certain person."
"How did you know my name?" Shire rolled his eyes.
"Have you ever read the book Alice in Wonderland, or Through The Looking Glass?" He asked, looking down on me. I nodded.
"Of course. I love them."
"Then you'll remember Lewis Carroll's character that he based off of me." With a curt nod, he waved his hand. A black top hat appeared and he placed it on his head. "If you'll excuse me."
"Wait!" I called out, just as he began to walk around the large tree. "You're basically saying that Wonderland is real?" Shire sighed.
"It's always the same thing…." He muttered. His back was turned, so I couldn't tell if his smile was wiped off of his face. "Every time…" I blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"You hate your world, don't you? You believe that no one loves you, and that your life is boooring." Shire glanced over his shoulder. His green eyes were as bright as his smile. "Answer me this question. Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?" I blinked. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance." I said after a while. It shocked me as much as it did Shire. His green eyes stared through me.
"Oh, my ears and whiskers!" A female voice cried. "Shire! Are you there?" The new voice shocked Shire out of his trance.
"I'm here." He yelled. He took a step backward, tipped his hat and grinned at me. That was it. He began to melt through the ground.
"No!" I cried. I lunged after him, and just barely brushed the tip of his hat. "Take me with you…" I whispered. I was still in the school yard, surrounded by the frozen students. I closed my eyes, wishing that I was in Wonderland, away from all of this. I opened them after a moment, but saw nothing had changed. Sighing, I stood up. Every one was frozen, and I had no idea how long they would stay like that. I walked back into the school and into my class room. I glanced at the mirror that my teacher had hanging on the closet door. It seemed to be rippling. I shook my head, feeling my nose start to tingle.
"Don't cry, you. It's no use." My hands balled into fists. "Great…. I give myself advice, and it's good advice, but I never listen to it!" I glared at the mirror as I picked up my sketch book. Out of anger, I threw it at the silvery surface. It hit it, and melted into it. One of my pictures, a gryphon, seemed to grow on it. It developed dimension, and poked it's head out.
"Come with me." It said, melting away. "But I hope you can swim…" The voice faded as I stared. The mirror was still rippling.
"Well, this is one of the most stupidest things I've ever done, but hey." I mused, taking a few steps closer to it. I gently placed a hand on the surface, and it slipped through. Just like water… I thought, pushing more of my arm through it. I was up to my elbow now. Taking a deep breath, I pushed my way through, letting it mold around me.
Cold. My movement was slow. I glanced around. Everything was in a silvery light, draining the objects of color. I was floating in a lake, a moon high over head. As I watched, people started to stand from the water. I continued to watch, amazed by what was happening. They weren't people, per say, but people with animal like features. There was a small boy with mouse ears, and a large man with a coat that was made out of feathers. He was wearing a mask that had a dodo beak on it.
I began to swim to shore, and the people followed. It was actually sort of creepy. None of them talked, and their eyes were vacant. They moved as if they were in a dream. The man with the dodo mask joined me on shore. I looked into his eyes. They were the pale blue that only the dead got. He raised his arm, showing me that he had a cane.
He sure does act like a dodo. I thought, watching as he turned to the rest of the people. They lined up and began to walk, keeping their eyes trained on him. It took a moment, but eventually they began to sing.
"Imagine a place you can always escape to, an island off the coast of nowhere. A new destination of your own creation, just waiting till you choose to go there." It took me off guard. The voices sounded haunted, like they were on the verge of losing their sanity. I glanced behind me, looking for a way to escape. There was a large forest that framed the lake. I decided that it was the best place to hide from the dead animal-people.
I hid behind a tree, still listening to the haunting song. It sent shivers down my spine. I began to walk, looking around at the trees. It took me a while to realize that I was drenched with water.
"So much for my uniform." I murmured. "Bet there's no place for me to change, either." I continued on my way, keeping an eye out for a house or inn or something.
I don't know how long I was walking, but I finally found a large house. It was made out of glass and mirrors. It struck me as odd, but I decided that everything here was odd. I opened the door and stepped inside.
The first room was large and held only a small table and a mannequin. A blue dress was fitted on the mannequin. It was nice, and looked like it would fit me. Shrugging, I slid it off of the pale figurine and quickly changed.
The dress hung down to my knees, hugging my waist and my chest. I could still move around in it, so it wasn't all that bad. I turned and looked at the table. There was something off about it. Sitting on it was a large bottle of wine, and a small goblet.
"Alright, those were not there when I got here." I said to myself, examining the bottle. A tag that read 'Drink Me' hung off of the neck.
"Go ahead, drink it." A familiar voice said. Shire half appeared in front of me. I blinked, slightly surprised to see him here. "You found your way here. You'll have to find your way out." He over pronounced the t in out, making it sound a lot sharper than it usually was.
"Why won't you help me?" I asked. Shire's grin just got wider.
"If I or she should chance to be
Involved in this affair,
He trusts to you to set them free,
Exactly as we were." He said. I was confused. "You'll understand it in time." Shire stated. I looked at him. His top hat was gone, revealing cat ears. His hair almost hid them, but not quite. One was purple, while the other was pink. His body slowly began to disappear, leaving me staring at his head before long.
"Drink up." He popped the p, just as he disappeared completely. I looked at the bottle and hesitated. Alice had drunk the tea, and she had shrunk. What if it was poisoned? I shook my head, chasing the thoughts away.
"If this really is Wonderland, then I'll just shrink, and be a part of it." I muttered. Taking a deep breath, I pulled the cork out.
The bottle was cool against my lips. The liquid inside of it tasted like a bunch of different things. Before I could stop myself, I drank the entire thing, right out of the bottle. A strange tingling sensation ran down my spine.
In an instant, my head felt like it was splitting open. I screamed and dropped to my knees, the pain immense. It stayed with me for what seemed like an eternity. Hot tears ran down my cheeks. I had no idea what was happening to me.