It was wonderful, Wonderland was. Here, you could be anyone you wanted. No one would question you if you introduced yourself as Beth one day, and Mary the next, claiming to have no memory of ever knowing a Beth, or making the acquaintance of the person you were addressing, before. Names, personalities, reality didn't matter here.
Ashleigh smiled. It was going to be a good day. She just knew it. As she buttoned the last black button on the high collar of her stiff purple party dress, she nodded. Yes, today was a fantastic day to be an Ashleigh. She stood up, gradually adjusting to her clunky platform heels. Grace never wore shoes at all. Or rather, she never wore her own shoes.
It was, of course, an un-birthday party. It was hard to say whose, though. It was almost always someone's un-birthday, and whether they wanted it or not, they got a party. Ashleigh hoped there would be someone new there. She wasn't quite so introverted as Josie. Another smile, slightly cute, slightly mysterious. She had arrived. The Hatter answered the door, but not until after she had left herself in. It was already a wild party, and Ashleigh intended to further that state.
She started by introducing herself to a quiet, frowning boy with dark eyes. "Hi, I'm Ashleigh." She pulled him up and began to dance with him, although not necessarily the music, before he had a chance to introduce himself. It was better that way, really.
A cat came up and entwined himself in her legs.
"We need to talk, Wendy," he murmured. Not many cats can murmur, Ashleigh thought.
She pushed the boy away, already forgotten. "My name is Ashleigh," she told the cat.
"Well then, we need to talk, Ashleigh." He sauntered out through the crowd. AshleighGraceJosieMaryBethWendy followed him. They wound their way through the forest, ignoring the solicitations of the flowers, until the cat reached a seemingly unimportant spot. "I just thought you might find this interesting." He gestured towards a dark hole in their surroundings. Ashleigh wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't shown her, but now that she saw it, it was all she could see. Its slowly moving shadows and textures matched her dress perfectly. "Isn't it pretty?" the cat asked. Ashleigh didn't turn around to see the crescent moon smile he slowly dissolved into. She walked straight forward into the hole, and wondered what her new name would be.