Long time no see, people! I know I haven't been updating my stories in aeons, but with summer here I hope to be updating them shortly! Until then, I will be beginning a new story I've been working on for the past few days..

I do not own anything from the QuinRose series "_ no Kuni no Alice", except a single song. That's it.

Chapter One: Welcome to Wonderland

Life has been boring since summer began, which is not something you'd expect a teenager to say during this time of year. But I did, because it's true; you'd be bored silly if you had to stay at home alone, only having the walls and cats as company. And here I am, sulking at the rain pattering on the glass window pane, not a soul in sight.

What do I do now? My friends are out of state, family is all working their butts off… leaving me alone. Whose idea was that, anyway?

"Oh well. Gotta find something to keep me occupied… Or I'll lose it." Sighing, I left my penitentiary and began the day's activities: eating, playing games, watching movies, reading books… and talking to myself. Hey, I'm a lonely girl…

After wasting several hours with little happiness as a result, I decided to do the next logical thing: sleep. Lying in my bed, cat cuddling next to me, I let the warmth of sleep enfold upon me, thoughts turning to nothingness.

"Hey, do you know? There are rules in every game. Rules everyone have to obey. It has been decided since beginning."

"You must participate in the game, that's also one of the rules. It has been decided since beginning."

"But, of course you already know about all of this, right? Huh? You don't know? As long as you understand that explanation, you don't need to worry."

"See..."

"..."

"Come, the game will start soon..."

I woke up in a cold sweat, my heart racing uncontrollably. I slow my breathing, hoping that my heart rate will follow suit. As I calm down, I think upon that really weird dream I just had.

What was that about? There was a guy's voice… talking about some game and its rules. What does that have to do with anything?

"Maybe it's telling me I should play another game?" I say sarcastically. Still, it couldn't hurt…

I open up my laptop, relaxing on my bed while playing a game of Solitaire. As always, I manage to win fairly easily, though not without some setbacks. "Darn this stupid game! Why can't I just make my own rules?"

As I yell at the laptop not expecting a response, I hear a knock at the front door. Curiosity piqued, I put down the device and walk towards it. Opening it, I look for the person who should be there… only to see nothing.

That's weird… No one's there…

"Am I being ding-dong ditched?" Annoyed, I slam the door and return to my comfortable couch… only to hear more ringing. What do they want from me?

Fuming, I stomp towards the door, screaming as I opened it. "Whoever's been punking me, it's not funny! Go away!"

As I shut the door, a tiny voice emanates from the front yard, causing me to stop immediately. "Don't scream my dear! Your loyal rabbit is here!"

My eyes catch sight of a white rabbit in my yard… wearing a bright red waistcoat and carrying a gold pocket watch. Ok, Alice in Wonderland much? Must still be dreaming… I'll play along then.

"Are you the White Rabbit? Did you come from Wonderland? And what is your name?"

The little guy smiled, nodding vigorously. "Indeed I am, ma'am. Peter White's my name, and you my dame…" He suddenly turned into a human, complete with bunny ears, and grabbed me in his arms. "…are coming with me."

Panic set in as he carried me off, jumping over our fence and into the backyard. "Will you put me down, you creep! I didn't ask for this!"

"Not creep, but Peter. Why must we teeter…?" He stood beside the well, the top of it mysteriously gone. As we leaned in my heart stopped, one thought present in my mind. Don't tell me we're going down there?

Unsurprisingly, he jumped in… leaving me screaming for my life in his arms. "Why did a rabbit boy kidnap me? Why am I falling down a well? I don't wanna die yet!"

The rabbit boy, Peter, looked at me with a look of annoyance, but quickly returned to his pleased expression earlier. "There's no need my dear to yell in my ear… But falling's fun, and you should enjoy it, for one."

As we kept falling, I finally realized that he was still holding me… and I promptly pushed him off. Creepy kidnapper, why would I dream up someone like him? Please be a dream… please… please!

He smiled, and I looked away from him. But no sooner had I done so than had we finally arrived at our destination… and I fell right on top of him. Oops… Sorry Peter…

Sadly, he decided to not be mad and help me up, his creepy smile giving me the heebie-jeebies. "Now Kayla my dear, we are here… Welcome to Wonderland!" He gestured widely with his arms, but I only stood there, arms crossed.

"Kayla, why are you cross? You cannot be mad at me, so why look so lost?" L grew furious, yelling at him full-throttle. "Maybe it's because a freaky rabbit-pervert kidnapped me? Not to mention throwing me down a well and into a place which I don't remember at all… Why do you thing that would make me happy?"

Looking a bit hurt, Peter took out this little bottle full of strange liquid, giving me a sideways glance. "Don't act so angry, sweetie… Your rabbit will make you happy." He began to drink it, and bent over to me… and kissed me.

No, not a kiss! He's forcing me to drink that gross fluid! What is that junk, anyways?

He backed off, leaving me to cough on the ground by myself. "Now that you've drunk this medicine, you'll be in the game… Oh, to think that things won't be the same…!"

I stood up, every fiber of my being preventing me from strangling him. "You, rabbit who makes absolutely no sense… If that was poison you gave me, I'll ring your neck!"

Seeming not to take the hint, Peter remained joyous. "You must come visit me at the Castle of Heart… But for now, we must depart." He just… vanished, leaving me stranded in a world I didn't know. "Jerk!"

I decided to walk away, hoping to find someone a bit more sane than that kidnapper Peter… Wandering into a forest, I run into another guy who, thankfully, lacked rabbit ears. "Hey, mister… could you please tell me what's going on here?"

The guy turned to me, a smile on his face. "Oh, hello there… What are you doing here?" Confused, I simply replied "Right back at you, Captain Red." He laughed, causing me to smile slightly. "My name's Ace, and who might you be…?"

My smile grows wider. "Kayla. Nice to meet you." After that little intro, I returned to my previous question. "So, Ace… Where are we, exactly?"

He looked around with a look of confusion, and I knew immediately that he was lost. Wrong person to ask, then… I almost miss Peter.

"I think we're in Castle territory, but I'm not quite sure… Maybe if we go this way…?" I followed the lost man, sighing all the way. Though it was kind of amusing at first, it did get old quite quickly…
"Ace, are you sure this is the right way?" We ended up at some mansion, two little kids standing by the gate. "Oh, this is the Hatter place… we should probably leave, before-"

"Hey brother, look who's here!" One of the boys spoke up, followed by the other. "It's the Knight of Hearts! Why, he's lost, brother!"

Ace is a knight? Well, that explains the sword…

I walked towards the two boys, smiling softly. "And who might you two be?" I saw their identical outfits, and guessed that they were not only brother, but twins. "Tweedle Dee and Dum, I presume…?"

The boys looked at one another, shocked. "She knows who we are, brother! What shall we do?"

"What we always do, brother…" They both took out their axes, which had been hidden up till now. A chill went up my spine as they ran towards us, wielding their WMDs. "Kill her, of course!"

Ace pushed me behind him, taking his sword out of its hilt. "I guess the kids need some more training, huh Kayla? We'll learn them a thing or two…"

He began to fight them off, and despite my fear I grew impressed at their skills. The twins weren't bad fighters, but they still couldn't compare to the Knight of Hearts. As they waited in a standstill, a booming voice interrupted the brawl.

"You brats, what do you think you're doing? You're going to get blood everywhere!" Another rabbit-guy came from the mansion, and I hoped that he was nicer than Peter. Please, anyone's better than Peter…

He looked at Ace, then me, then back to Ace. "You know better than to fight this guy without backup, don't you? You never learn…"

"What do you mean, chicken rabbit?"

"Yeah, weird rabbit! We just wanted to play with the lady… but he got in the way…"

Sighing, he pulled out a gun and aimed it at Ace… Geez, are they loaded up here… Pr, rather, down here… "I don't know what you think you're doing, but this is Hatter turf… Leave now, or I will shoot you."

Laughing, Ace prepared to strike the rabbit down, just like the twins before. "Just helping a maiden, Elliot… nothing too extreme. But a challenge is something I cannot back down from…"

I simple stood there, dumfounded, as they began to fight to the death. How can people be so stupid? Why kill each other over something so dumb?

As the Ace was about to deliver the finishing blow a smooth, milky voice managed to quell the fighting instantly. "Please Elliot, don't bother with this idiot… He can get himself killed elsewhere… Besides," he turned to look at me, smiling, "We wouldn't want to frighten the lass, now would we?"

I hope you guys liked that! I will at least update this story a few more times, but my main project will be working on the next chapter of Bitter Irony, which I have finally managed to figure out!

Also, if anyone has a copy of any of this series soundtracks (particularly those including full openings for Joker and Clover), please let me know. I've been looking for them forever (legit, not into illegal downloading in the least), and would appreciate it if the owner would upload them on YouTube.

Now that that's out of the way, NinjaGirl is out. Peace!