A/N: Hey there! I see you've either come back for more, or just started reading.. If so, welcome :D I just have to say thank you SO much for those who reviewed, followed, and/or added this to their favorites! It means the world to me.
Here is chapter one to Stay Believing.. I hope you enjoy! Lots of love to those who review ;)
The sky was a shade of maroon, comparable to the color of an old bruise. There wasn't a single sound to be heard besides the flipping of a fresh book. It was considerably chilly, and so young Alice had a blanket draped around her shoulders as she sat in the center of a freshly green field. The feeling of tree bark against her back was numb now, as her mind was distracted and in a place far away. A place with dragons, mermaids, knights with shining armor and swords made of Valiant steel. A ruling Queen after the conspiratorial death of her husband did everything she could to capture a certain threat - a girl of young age, a danger to her kingdom.
The distant calls of 'Alice' didn't register, as her eyes scanned the pages faster, her fingers hastily flipping pages as she read the most entrancing part of the story yet. The eagerness showed as she hunched her shoulders, an unknowing grin pulling at the corners of her mouth. It wasn't until she felt a strong grip resting on her shoulder that the blonde realized the presence of another, and flinched from being startled.
"What are you doing out here? How many times must I tell you to stay inside?"
His voice was harsh, spitting out careless words as he pulled his daughter by her wrist. Her book dropped from her lap into the dirt as she was pulled to her feet and dragged back towards the estate. She reached for the book, but he didn't give her a chance to pick it back up. She knew better by now than to complain. . . it gave her a reason to come back tomorrow.
". . . Are you listening to me?"
Alice blinked as she snapped back to reality, her bright and intrigued eyes turning dull as they flickered to her fuming father.
"It would be quite a challenge not to hear the volume of your voice," she quipped, must to his distaste.
The rest of the walk home was silent, everything that needed to be said was told by the uneasy breathing coming from Alice's father. He always seemed to have difficulty breathing through his nose when angered. Alice, on the other hand, was calm and uncaring, her footsteps steady and graceful while his were stomping.
There were many differences between the two to count. Alice was short and slender, while Mr. Pleasance was tall and paunchy. Alice was light while he was dark - her hair blonde, his dark brown. Her eyes were a shiny sapphire, while his were coal. It wouldn't be a far-fetched conclusion to believe that Alice took after her mother. A tranquil, loving woman who passed too soon after a winter far too cold.
Stumbling from the easy push through the threshold, Alice took the blanket from her shoulders and placed it on the hook next to the front door. As soon as it was placed there, it was ripped down and crumpled up into a messy ball.
"Lady Garefield was disappointed by your absence. As she always is."
"Perhaps she should find someone else's mind to propagandize."
"Your fairy tales aren't going to help you in three months when you're expected to marry."
The silence was back. Alice turned and disappeared down the hall, the slam of her door echoing around the otherwise quiet house. It was always quiet. At least, it was when Alice was home. It was a rare occurrence these days, since the teenage girl always found a way to escape these dreaded walls - with or without her father knowing. She was almost always missing when Garefield would come over in attempt to teach Alice 'responsibility, and the correct ways of a lady.'
In attempt to convince Alice that a place named Wonderland was never real.
Alice had already came to her decision. She wasn't going to marry Liam Agursworth, the twenty-year-old Scott that already had planned courtship with Alice. The millionaire with no personality didn't quite catch Alice's interest, and neither did the idea of growing up. She was satisfied at her current age, but her seventeenth birthday was only three months away. Her seventeenth birthday was also the day she was meant to be wedded. Of course a simple 'no' wouldn't do. Her father wouldn't have it. He needed Alice to be married into this family. In other words, he needed Alice to be married into this money. . . plus, the idea of handing over the laborious responsibility for Alice was a perk.
Angry thoughts thrashed back and forth in her mind as Alice threw herself onto the bed, not before locking the door to her bedroom. The bottom of her shoes leaving dirt at the foot of her bed wasn't a concern in the least bit. The only thing that did matter was how to escape this place for good. Alice's father was well-known around London - her whereabouts would be reported back to him only hours after a sudden disappearance. Running away therefore wasn't an option. There had to be another way.
A sigh passed through lips, blue eyes blinking up at the ceiling. Her pupils dilated as the last amount of sun met the opposite side of the world and moonlight took its place in London. It wouldn't be until the dead of night when footsteps could be heard out in the hall, followed by the slow creak of a door closing. Outside the window, a howl of a dog could be faintly heard, along with hoots of owls and taps of hooves as a carriage brought home late workers.
It wasn't until then that Alice had realized just how long she had been laying, thinking thoughts that were full of negativity, with a just slight glimmer of hope.
And that was when she told herself:
Think lovely thoughts.
If her eyes had closed, it had gone completely unnoticed. The gloom had drift off, and fantasy wisped in and overwhelmed the mind. She left her room. The wind blew through her blonde locks. A glorious, light feeling of soaring through the air. London was underneath her. The only thing that was above was two stars, and her eyes focused in to the second to the right. It shined brighter than the others; even shined brighter than it's familiar sister star. It was as if the star had a sing-song voice that was luring her in, calling her name and beckoning her to embrace it.
Straight on 'til morning. Alice passed the star and a flash of light was nearly blinding as the sun made itself known again. A jungle of road and buildings were gone and replaced by a jungle of plants. Nature reigned here. The sky was no longer polluted - instead it matched the clear blue color of the sea underneath her.
If Alice ever had seen a home; if she had ever felt at ease. . . it was now. This was different from Wonderland. Giant mushrooms didn't grow excessively from the ground and the heaviness of magic didn't fill the air. The magic here was light and welcoming, and the green of trees was a refreshing sight.
When her feet met the ground, Alice was standing at the shore of the sea, an entire jungle in front of her. From what she had seen from the sky, there was much to explore, and the curious girl would waste not a second. Her troubles back at home were left behind as soon as she had seen that star, and there wouldn't be any questions asked as to how she got to wherever this was. She had learned of magic when she was in Wonderland, and while magic here felt different, Alice had her doubts about if it worked any different.
Little did Alice know, was she had much to learn about this place.
Much to learn about Neverland. . . and most of all:
Much to learn about Peter Pan.
