Chapter 1

Use the Term Looking-Glass

-~:{+}:~-

Loud, obnoxious, and crowded. School hallways were always like this after school, but just about every living soul in the building was bottlenecked at the gymnasium doors. Everyone was ready to leave this Friday before winter break, doubly so for seniors who were exempt from first semester finals. One of these students, a short, petite girl, swung her bags around left and right, trying to make some room.

{Assemblies, assemblies. Good thing I'm reeealy scrawny. Sharp elbows are pretty nice weapons.}

Annoyed, the dark-haired girl tried to fight the crowd. The closest exit always proved to be the one people avoided, as no one had lockers in that direction, but Elise just carried all of her stuff in the two bags she carried around with her. Well, that is unless she needed a portfolio, camera bag, painting kit, or something large like that. Gasping for air, there came a sudden relief from getting out of that crowd and into the cafeteria.

"I am too short for crowds of white people. I want to go back to the oriental store. I feel tall there." A bit of sarcasm appeared in her voice. She was half-white, after all.

Pulling out her jacket, she soaked in that winter air. Actually, it felt close to fall around here, crisp and cool. If anything, this winter had been extremely mild. Which is strange. The area wasn't particularly known for such consistent weather, oftentimes the temperature changing drastically overnight. Elise Tenniel really didn't care too much, since she would do whatever possible to stay inside, with her best friend: the laptop. The girl headed straight towards her destination, not caring much for the strong winds on her neck. Convenient that the public library was a block away. Elise straddled off to do some research.

People often considered her a bit odd. Most that knew her from a considerable distance thought it was just a few quirks, like wearing a different pair of uniquely coloured long socks or carrying a stuffed animal, otherwise they often interpreted her quietness the same way most people believe the silent ones are: smarter, polite, and shy. It didn't necessarily help that she was part asian, or better yet, made research entertainment. Probably the biggest history buff in the entire area, Elise would be the sort of person to notice that the new adaptation of The Great Gatsby would have inaccurate clothing, the costume designers being off by nearly three years. She would go on long-winded rants about such things, flailing her arms and raising an eyebrow. But she still planned to watch the movie.

Upon entering the library, she smiled. Elise always did that when she passed under the letters spelling "Carnage." It reminded her of the Gilded Age. Andrew Carnage was the favorite out of those business tycoons. Bonus points for the smell of books. God she loves her books.

Thinking about 19th century culture, the second floor was the next stop. High ceilings and marble floors, covered in the glare from the tall windows. Ploping a sketchbook open, pages upon pages could be viewed filled with all sorts of life drawings. Then she stuffed it back in her tote. That was the wrong sketchbook. Actually looking at what was in her bag this time around, Elise nudged out her sketchbook for all her historical illustrations. Scanning the shelves for any new books, she spotted something in the corner mirror. Normally, people don't sit at the corner table, since the second floor is often for people doing research, and such people would rather be by the photocopier. The spot rarely had any sort of disturbance. Elise almost exerted a sense of ownership over the table.

"Hmm… The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll. Looks like someone was a fan."

Puzzling over the book, she wondered what to do about the item sitting upon her territory. Concluding that she had drawn way too much of Queen Zenobia for one day, Elise felt content to reread a childhood classic. The girl had been in quite an Alice in Wonderland mood as of late anyways. Having read the entire set of books with Alice and her adventures multiple times in the past did affect her reading it once again, however.

{Really, Alice? Really? Let's just cry ourselves to death then.}

{Gawd that pig-baby's creepy as fuck}

{Jezzy Chrezzy. Dem Queens be crazy.}

Part of the mental commentary may have been caused by the long day, still, all the running and cheering from earlier in the day took it's toll, eyelids heavy. She looked like a damn bobble head.

-~:{+}:~-

{Crap! I bet Harry forgot to feed the cats!}

Snapping upright, the thought of her fuzzy buddies being neglected woke her up. Elise's fondness for cats didn't seem to be shared by her sibling. Spinning around, just what time was it?

{Shit, shit, shit! The one time! The one time I have to worry about an actual dinner time. What da hell is my mom thinking about anywhos. Making dinner instead of letting me forge like usual. Guess she just really wanted some pansit.}

Stuffing her sketchbook in her tote, a favorite pin just popped off. Rolling across the floor, the short girl followed it on her hands and knees, towards the corner mirror. The mirror was nudged pretty well into the corner. Not quite an oval, but more like a rounded rectangle if anything. Sticking her pinky finger behind the obstacle, she just cringed each time she squished a dust bunny. Knew the taste of titanium white oil paint she did. Probably ingested quite a few photography chemicals as well. Yet dust and dirt wasn't something for this girl to shrug at. Unless it was clay dust.

"Urgh… damnit…"

Whining like a child she followed the ornate frame of the mirror, trying to see if it would budge. If anything, Elise was starting to get a little distracted by the design. The frame and a romantic aesthetic and quite art noveau.

"Please don't be authentic nineteenth century. I need to get Holly Golightly back..."

Searching for a crevice with the wall, she leaned on the perfect glass. Not a single imperfection. Yet it felt a bit dull and a sort of blue silver in appearance to her, though it could have been the lighting. A strange sensation came over the petite girl. Strange, but familiar. The sensation of of weightlessness. The feeling of falling.

Notes: So yeah~ First chapter to first story. It's a Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice fanfiction, though it starts off kinda separately for a while, and it's based more of "Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice Found." I admit that overall, this story is more like a complimentary one to Alice's tales in Wonderland. This chapter is a bit short, but it's my first one anyways. But I hope you'll enjoy my first fanfiction here~

References:Elise's name was chosen as it is related to the name Alice. Tenniel was the last name of the original artist for Lewis Carroll's famous tales. Her appearance is also related the real-life Alice Liddel as she has a similar haircut to when Alice was a child. (A short, bobbed haircut). Also, though not mentioned, Elise tends to wear gold and navy blue, as was the first colour scheme for Alice. As with "Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice Found" Elise arrives in Wonderland through a mirror. And this happens in winter, just like the book.

The new Great Gatsby movie with Leonardo DiCaprio is mentioned. Andrew Carnage was one of the 19th Century American business tycoons, a Scottish immigrant forming a monopoly on the steal industry, later becoming one of the richest men in all of history. He later became a philanthropist, and was probably the nicest out of all those wealthy men of the gilded age. Many libraries do hold his name. Queen Zenobia was one of those super-badass warrior queens from Ancient Times, her Empire actually being stolen from the freakin' ROMANS in the 3rd century. Jezzy Chrezzy was from an Eddy Izzard sketch about how Jesus was probably tired of everyone calling him and using his name in vain automatically. Holly Golightly was the character played by Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" which if you haven't seen you have no life.