A/N: And here we have, chapter the first - With Mouse being a bit more than a Shameless Plug this time round.
Chapter 1 - Down and round we go
Look past the mirror,
Look past your fear
See the white rabbit
And chase him, my dear.
On the other side of the mirror, it all started with the kind of thin, restless, itchy boredom that gets under your skin, makes you irritable and snappish, makes you want to do everything and nothing at the same time, the boredom borne of monotony, or perhaps it wasn't.
Perhaps it didn't.
At any rate, something, whether it was ka, or fate, or some god's debt paid, something compelled the human known as Mouse Rathmone to wish upon a star that night. She murmured, "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I make tonight."
Even though she knew, in the sensible part of her mind, one of only the few semi-sane parts left, that it was stupid and immature and probably nothing would come of it. I wish, she thought something really extra-ordinary would happen.
When she woke up the next morning, there was no real change to the world, no eldritch hum signifying the beginning of some greater path. After she was slightly
(awake when all sleep has gone from thee)
more awake, she got up and dressed in her black jeans, and her favourite woollen jumper, royal purple with broad black stripes that made her resemble some psychedelic wasp, then hunted around for her Zippo lighter. When it was nowhere to be found, her good mood faltered slightly, but then she shrugged, and went out, humming the latest Linkin park song merrily.
She went into the garden (although gardens might be more accurate here, about ten acres, eight of which where woodland and only two that were actual lawns and flowers and suchlike) and headed down to the river. Or tried to, at least. Something was decidedly strange about the path this morning. Every time she attempted to tried to turn off the main path to the right direction to the river, it seemed to twist, to say, 'No, you're not going there today' and she was back on the broad sandy path that, after the third or fourth occurrence, Mouse could have sworn blind that it was laughing at her.
It was frustrating, to say the least.
After a while, the path began to darken and become more shadowy. Mouse began to hum again, the first thing that came into her head. Weirdly, embarrassingly, it was the teddy-bears picnic.
If you go down in the woods today,
You better go in disguise
If you go down in the woods today,
Prepare for a big surprise…
Something rustled behind her.
Mouse swung round and was relieved (and oddly disturbed that she was relieved) to see that it was only a large, pale grey-and-black striped tabby tomcat. It gave her a measuring look, and a soft purr as she stroked it gently, discovering several bald patches on it's neck, vicious burn stains that had only just began to heal. She gave it one more scratch behind the ears, set off again, finding that the path was now less of a path and more of
(down the rabbit hole)
a tunnel. The trees, if trees they actually were, were crowding the edges of the path and seemly leaning and stretching overhead, as if purposely trying to block the light.
When the trees seemingly could get no closer and the lack of light became a pitch darkness, that's when Mouse began to feel as though she should be a bit worried. She had never, even as a small child been afraid of the dark, but this was Unnatural. It was less darkness, and more a sheer un-light that caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand to attention, a weak imitation of a scare technique mastered millions of years ago by most self-respecting mammals.
She reached out to the side of the path, so as to be able to feel her way along…and jerked back, with small cry of surprise. What had been once rough bark was now hard, grainy stone. The path was now truly a tunnel.
No sooner had she thought this, than the ground fell away. Down, down, down, she tumbled, her mouth open in a never-ending howl of surprise. Then, mercifully, she lost consciousness.
Mouse groaned and opened her eyes. There was a pair of huge orange cat's-eyes blocking her vision. The grey tabby tomcat, which had somehow followed her, was sitting on her chest, staring into her face. Apparently satisfied that she was awake, the cat allowed her to sit up to view her surroundings.
She stood up. Huge dark hedges rose up on either side of her, blocking her view. Not ordinary hedges either, but long tangled coils of dark green, nearly black brambles, with inch-long thorns and great blood-red rose-blooms dotted here and there.
She sat down again, because the
(garden? woodland?park-type area?)
place she was in was too strange to deal with right at that moment. Beside her, The Cheshire-Cat stretched and purred. "Welcome," He said, baring his teeth in his thin, savage grin. "To Wonderland."
A/N: Look at the poor purple button down there
Give him a click, to show that you care
Please review, to tell what you think
Was it worth the time and ink?