Authors Note: This is my very first piece. I fell in love with the relationship between Alice and Tarrant, and I'm very disappointed the movie did not end in a kiss! Its so obvious they have a special relationship. This is my take on Alice's life upon her return to Underland. The first chapter is kind of slow but I promise it gets better! Rated M for later chapters!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or stories represented in the Tim Burton film Alice in Wonderland.
Chapter 1
Alice sat staring into the flickering fire, reflecting on the past weeks. Mrs. Kinsleigh had taken an illness that had slowly drained the life from her. Upon hearing word of her mother's illness, Alice took the first ship back to London from China. Ironically, her and Lord Ascot were in the process of their return home. Their plans had been successful and he saw no need to keep himself or Alice from London. Unbeknownst to Lord Ascot, "London" had not been the word that had produced a sigh of pleasure from Alice; it had been the thought of Underland, her beloved world.
She had been gone for three years now, and though her mind was frequently full of business, not once had she gone a night without dreaming of her true home. Though they were frequent, they were not always easy to recall. Alice did know that the image that visited her dreams the most was that of her dear Mad Hatter. The haunting look of his face the moment she decided upon leaving has always left her waking with heartache. Her mother had passed peacefully, but the loss of her was something that left Alice devastated, she was only comforted by the thought of her and her father being together at last. Alice decided that she would stay with Margaret through their grieving and would not leave until she was convinced her sister no longer needed her there. She believed the time was right to return home at long last, and she would, just as soon as she spoke with Margaret.
Alice paced under the silver moonlight. She looked at the roses that appeared to come alive in the wind and she laughed quietly, recalling the greeting from her first return to Underland, excitement had begun to make her feel rather giddy.
Margaret rounded the corner of the house and quickly approached Alice.
"Sorry dear, I was having trouble putting the twins to bed, now what is it that we need to discuss?"
Alice smiled and gathered Margaret's hands in hers, "Its really fine Margaret, but I'm afraid the news you're about to hear will shock your stockings off".
"Really Alice! What language!", Margaret looked up her sister with disapproving eyes.
Alice squeezed her hands, and spoke in a rush, "I'm afraid my stay here in London has come to an end. I plan on leaving tomorrow as soon as the sun rises."
Margaret stared at Alice blinking. "Where on earth are you off to?"
"I have decided to return to a land I had stumbled upon in my travels", she wasn't being completely dishonest, she thought, "You need not worry about me being on my own, I've made friends there and I could only imagine how pleased they will be to see my return".
Margaret raised an eyebrow, "You never cease to surprise me Alice. I noticed your restlessness, but I only thought it normal of you", Margaret teased.
Alice crossed her arms impatiently, "Yes, yes we all know I have butterflies for brains, but what I want to ensure is that you will go on well with the children and Lowell...without me here".
Margaret smiled lovingly at her younger sister, "My dear of course I shall be well. I will miss you terribly, you know that. But anyone would be a fool to suggest that your destiny is to stay here in London, I've learned that it is not so, and so did mother". Alice smiled and couldn't help the joyous laugh that escaped her lips as she embraced her sister.
"But wait, what is the name once more?" Margaret asked.
Alice hesitated, "Oh…Well it has a rather odd name…", she thought quickly, "It is not easy to pronounce in English but the closest translation you can find is Underland". In her excitement she had completely forgotten the plan to produce a false name.
Margaret snorted, quite out of character, "Underland? It does indeed hold an odd name…But I can see the love in your eyes Alice", her face turned soft, "it must be beautiful".
"Oh it is", Alice replied confidently, "I could not have dreamt of a more beautiful home".
Alice lay in bed unable to sleep, she was much too anxious. The talk with Margaret had gone well and she was convinced she was not abandoning her sister. Margaret has always been strong. She promised she would eventually visit, in hopes that it would be possible. "It would be lovely to be able to fish that lazy sun from behind the hills", she thought, she was becoming more impatient with every second.
She had began counting the loose threads on her nightgown when she heard an amusing voice, "Good evening Alice".
She jumped so far off of the bed that she landed with a loud thump on the wooden floor, tangled in her blankets.
"Absalom!", she cried at the sight of the haughty, blue butterfly. She untangled herself and approached his fluttering figure.
He landed on her nose, making her eyes cross, "You looked quite concentrated, I was sure I would find you snoring," he said mockingly.
"Oh this is wonder-...I do not snore, you rude butterfly", she batted him off of her face and stood with her hands on her hips.
" Defensiveness is unattractive", he hovered in front of her tauntingly, " I was expecting a more gracious greeting", he spoke with sarcasm.
Alice could not help the grin that slowly spread across her face. Absalom was here, and that meant her return to Underland is moments away!
"I am truly happy you are here Absalom. You have come to fetch me back to Underland I take it?", she was beginning to feel giddy again.
"I leave the fetching to the dogs, but in other words, yes I have come to escort you back home". The word home caused goosebumps to sprout about her arms. She was finally going back, back to the ones she loved...back to where she had left part of herself all these years. Her smile grew wider, "Excellent! I'm afraid I haven't packed quite yet." She had thought it might look slightly suspicious to Margaret leave all of her belongings behind.
"No matter...If you would only step to the center of the room please." The sky was brightening outside, turning into a periwinkle blue as the stars faded in the light. She crossed to the center of the room and turned to face him once more.
"How did you know that I was planning on returning home this morning?" She asked, suddenly realizing the timing.
He flew a little further toward the ceiling,"My ignorant girl, it has been written so in the Oraculum".
Before she could even take a breath to reply, the floor from under her broke away with a loud crack as the sunlight spilled into the room. She fell into darkness as she watched the light of the room fade above her. She couldn't help herself from shouting in fear. There was only blackness at first, then dirt walls began to surround her, until she was falling once again through a narrow deep tunnel. She closed her eyes and braced herself as she fell backward, past floating furniture and candle sticks, until she felt herself come into contact with something softer than a marble floor. She still had hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of her, and she struggled to sit up on her elbows. Looking around the familiar room she realized the entire floor had been covered with dozens of pillows, all beautiful and of different colors, with feathers, lace and intricate patterns. She smiled knowingly, there could only be one person she knew who could make such lovely creations. Her heart swelled at the touching thought, her body had taken quite a few bruises from her last landing. When Alice finally got to her feet, she looked up in time to see half of her rooms belongings crashing down towards her.
"Oh for heavens sake!". She lunged out of the way before several trunks and a large chiffrobe crashed into the pillows, sending all of her belongings flying about. She stood back up as feathers floated all around her.
"Honestly Absalom, if you wanted to kill me you could have only pushed me out my window!", she said in no particular direction. She began to search the cluttered mess of wood, clothing and feathers for the tiny "Drink Me" potion she hoped would be waiting for her in one piece. She felt around on the ground for a few minutes before her hand bumped into a angled object, "Aha".
She yanked the bottle from under her discarded clothes, opened it and drank it eagerly. She felt her body tingle and watched as her body began to shrink, down, down, down until she was small enough for the door that would lead her into the warm jungle. She struggled to gather her nightgown around her and tied the sleeves to form a strapless gown. She headed to the door, closing her eyes in the hopes it would not be locked. She turned the knob and pushed. It slowly swung open and Alice stepped into Underland. She deeply breathed in all of the familiar scents and smiled up at the sun beaming down on her. She was home.
