Well, I certainly was never expecting this idea to come along. For those of you who don't know, I have been obsessed with Alice in Wonderland for nearly two years, ever since I heard about the Tim Burton version. I have already written a fanfiction based on the novel (Curiouser and Curiouser With You), one based on WCMI/Disney animated movie (Dehatterfying the Mad Hatter), and now, this. Honestly, I originally wanted this to be a one-shot. But, as you can see, this story can easily be expanded into a multi-chapter story. I have not decided what I am doing with this. I may even add more to this chapter. But for now, this is as it stands.

The reason for why this story will probably be multi-chapter is for two reasons: 1. the ending to Tim Burton's Alice SUCKED. Plain and simple. Or rather, it was terrible for us Hatter x Alice fans. Really? You'd think the same woman who gave us the glorious Beauty and the Beast would at least give us Hatter x Alice. But I'm not blaming anyone as I don't know who's idea it was to scrap that pairing (in case you didn't know, they originally kissed TWICE in the rough draft version of the script...yeah). Anyway, 2. there was little to no expansion on the interesting ideas the screenwriter came up with. I have read the visual guide and there is a ton of stuff they left out. Or rather, a ton of stuff they ignored or only mentioned briefly. My main goal is to expand those ideas so we get the full scope of Underland we should have gotten in the movie.

As I said, I have no idea where this is going yet. I need to do some more research. But this is the first chapter anyway. Please let me know what you think so I know whether or not to continue the story. I've got other personal projects to work on as opposed to this...so you know feedback is a necessity in this case. Reviews are obviously encouraged with this story, and also constructive criticism. Seriously, if something is screwed up, tell me now so I can fix it before I mess up the story even more while it's barely begun. Enjoy ~

Fairfarren

She now had everything, everything she could ever imagine and more. It was a new chapter in her life; a new adventure that awaited her in China. And yet, Alice Kingsley could not help but to feel as though something was still missing.

Wonder had set sail on its journey to China just a day ago. Having never traveled at sea before, Alice could not help but to feel a sense of nausea as the ship made its merry away across the ocean towards a new destination. She had been sick just a half hour or so after parting ways with her mother, sister, and Lord Ascot. That was nearly a day ago. Convinced that she must receive some fresh air in order to calm her nerves, Alice curiously walked along the deck of Wonder.

"Wonder. How ironic," she mused to herself, for had it not been for that unusual dream she had endured after accidentally falling down a rabbit hole (which was a silly event altogether), Alice would have never dreamed of proposing such an ambitious idea to Lord Ascot in the first place: let her late father's company be the first to trade with China. What a strange dream it had been; yet what a necessary dream it was. While it was not very proper for a woman to be in charge of such affairs such as embarking on a journey to China in favor of a trading company, Alice was confident she would prove herself in the end. After all, it was much better than marrying a dull, arrogant man such as Hamish for the sake of money.

Alice could not help but to frown at the very idea of Hamish. The image in her mind alone sent unpleasant feelings throughout her entire body. And to think she might have actually said yes to him! Again, it was all thanks to that wonderful dream. Yet, Alice was unable to recollect all of it. She distinctly remembered two boys who were exactly like the Chattaways, a dodo with a cane (though he was not in the dream for very long), a cat that always grinned, a rabbit wearing a waistcoat, a dormouse, a blue caterpillar named Absolem, a positively mad hare, and two queens who were fighting for the throne. Despite all the details she could conjure up, there always appeared to be one piece of the puzzle missing. Even as Alice continued to run through everything that had occurred during her dream, something-or rather, someone-was not present. It was as though she were talking to thin air in her memories.

"I'll miss you when I wake up," Alice recalled herself saying on a white balcony in the dead of night. But whenever the image played in her mind, there was no one next to her. Perhaps she had been talking to no one in her dream. It was a dream after all and therefore did not have to make much sense. Still, Alice was unsettled by this deduction.

The boat jerked suddenly causing Alice to be brought back to reality. As she focused on the sailors moving about the ship, she became distracted once more as some porpoises swam along the boat. Alice became entranced by the creatures, having never seen them before. She wondered what sort of other animals she may be able to spot while she was at sea: a shark perhaps or maybe a turtle if she was lucky. Though Alice was afraid the only way to see a turtle would be if it were caught rather than in its natural habitat: the only way to accomplish such a task would be to live under the sea with the turtle. And what sort of creatures would she see in China? Would it not be wonderful if some of the creatures she had seen in ancient drawings such as dragons were real? Or perhaps chimeras or some other fantastical creature?

"I believe that's six impossible things," Alice told herself, pleased at her ability to conjure up what others would deem as nonsense. Thinking of such things had caused her to no longer feel that uncomfortable nauseas feeling. At least, she was no longer pondering the nauseas feeling. Yet, Alice did not believe she was ready to eat breakfast just yet. In fact, it was still sickening just to think about food. Still, she knew there would be food waiting for her in her room. She had to at least tell whoever was bringing her food that she did not want it otherwise if the ship took a sudden turn, would the tea not spill all over? Alice was not very knowledgeable with how ships were run and therefore had no idea if her logic was correct or not.

Alice traveled back towards the location of her room. It took her a little bit longer than expected as she was still not accustomed to the layout of the ship and consequently lost her way a few times. When she did open the door to her room-at least, what she thought was her room-Alice did not recognize it at all. Normally, she would have shut the door to the strange room and continued along her way to find the correct destination. However, for some odd reason, she felt compelled to linger within the cabin a bit longer (cabin being the proper term). She was not fascinated by the bed or the eloquent trunk that lay against the wall. No, what caught her immediate attention was a looking glass directly across from her.

There was nothing particularly special about this looking glass. Yet it completely and utterly compelled Alice from the moment she laid eyes on it. As if in a trance, she walked slowly towards it. She quickly turned around to make sure that no one saw her enter the cabin before closing the door. Only after she was sure she was safe did she become engulfed in her trance again as she stepped directly in front of the looking glass. Alice stared at her reflection: her blue jacket and fair, wavy hair that fell beside her.

A strange thought crept upon Alice as she stared at the looking glass. What would the world on the other side of the mirror look like? She imagined it would be completely backwards: everything would be topsy-turvy as it was the opposite of what was on her side of the glass. What would her other self be like, she wondered. If she were to pass through the looking glass, would her other self disappear since there could only be one her on one side of the mirror at a time?

"Come Alice, that is enough pretending for one day," she scolded herself though her scolding was entirely playful and not meant to be taken seriously. In fact, a smile was present upon her face as she stared at her image in the mirror.

Even though she was pretending, Alice could not help but to feel compelled that she should reach forward and see if she really could pass into the world beyond the looking glass. Before Alice had any conscious knowledge of it, she was already stretching her hand towards the mirror. Her hand slowly touched the glass. To her surprise, as she lightly pushed against the glass, her hand fell through the looking glass. Curious, Alice pushed her arm further along, allowing the looking glass to completely swallow it up. As curiosity got the best of her, Alice found her entire body passing through the strange mirror and entering a world she had only thought was present in her dreams.

Once her face had managed to make its way through the looking glass, Alice came across a world unlike any she had ever seen. Or rather, she had seen it, only a few times in her life. But she never believed it to be real. It couldn't possibly be real...

But it was. Underland was as real as ever.