Chapter One

The White Rabbit

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Choices are the hinges of destiny.

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"Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue, Alice?" I inquired turning my head to the side to gage her reaction, "Why not green or yellow or possibly pink?" I raised my hand above my face, stretching my fingers elegantly in the air. She smiled whimsically in reply, rolling over onto her stomach to meet my gaze.

"I'd much prefer violet or perhaps orange," she beamed, propping her chin upon her fist. She really did look lovely today, prettier than usual. I'd always envied her chocolate brown eyes that seemed to almost speak sonnets to all those who were hypnotized by their beauty. I, myself, am an oddity. I stick out like a sore thumb. My eyes were as my first name described, Scarlett. My pale skin only highlighted the exotic color of my eyes more so. They were dark red, maroon in the autumn, I heard some whisper they were the color of blood. It remained a mystery to why my eyes were so unique. Mother told anyone who inquired to the color of my eyes that I contracted Scarlet Fever as a baby and had been burdened with the deformity from then on. The lie was not well taken considering a person's eyes were supposed to turn yellow whilst under the weather, not red. I was teased as a child, called a demon or the devil by the neighboring youth. However, none of the ridicule bothered me because I had my sister, my best friend, I had Alice.

"If we're going to address the sky, Scarlett, we must acknowledge the dull color of the clouds," said Alice, smiling weakly as something was obviously on her mind. I knew she was not looking forward to Lord Ascot's scheduled party we were being forced to attend in the latter afternoon and frankly neither was I. You couldn't blame her, she had to deal with Hamish after all. I couldn't stand the flaming redheaded snob, but Mother's incessant gentle disposition prevented me from speaking to him in anyway that wasn't completely benevolent whilst in his presence.

"Ladies, we mustn't be late again," called Mother from the back door. We were always late, to everything really. It was even worse when Father was still alive. He relied on a pocket watch that never managed to hold the right time. He once told me it was his most treasured material possession because it was concealed within the swaddling clothes I arrived in. You see, I was not technically the born daughter of Mr. Charles and Mrs. Helen Kingsleigh. No, I was taken in by them when I was just out the womb. It was the typical cliché, infant left in a basket on the doorstep of a well off family on a dark and stormy night. A small note was attached that read:

Dear Sir and Madam,

This is my daughter, Scarlett, of whom I love with all my heart. I leave her with you good people because I care about the safety of my child more than anything in the world, and I know you can give her something I am incapable of obtaining and that is a prudent home. I include a pocket watch inside her basket as gratitude for safekeeping of my dear Scarlett, and I also leave behind a necklace, my most venerated possession, around her neck. Please make certain she takes special care of the jewelry I enclosed. It was a gift to me from her father, and I regret to admit is the last item I have left after his death. I fear I will soon suffer the same fate.

Sincerely Yours,

T.D.

No matter how hard I try I cannot remember a single thing from before I became a Kingsleigh. The necklace that was left about my neck was made of white gold, decorated with a coin-sized red heart that dangled carelessly from the chain. A curious gift, though no less cherished. It never left my neck and it mysteriously never tarnished, remaining remarkably flawless. It was the only treasure I owned from my past.

"Oh, no we mustn't be late," said Alice sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "I am ever so anxious to see Hamish."

"Try to stay positive, dear sister," I smiled feebly, climbing to my feet before helping Alice onto hers. I was four years older than Alice, yet four years younger than our older sister, Margaret. It appeared that I was to become the only Kingsleigh sister to remain unmarried as it was now obvious that Hamish would undoubtedly be proposing matrimony to Alice quite soon, though I hope she refuses his offer once the day arrived. I am not jealous, don't think that I am, I have yet to meet the man I desire to spend the rest of my life with. However, in proper society love honestly had nothing to do with marriage. What mattered was status of one's class. Hamish's family was extremely well-to-do leaving a good chance that Alice would be pushed into an acceptance of his proposition.

I, myself, had few suitors over the years, seeing as my scarlet orbs scared many people away before they could even give a second look at me. I could bare to be around any of the men we were surrounded by anyway. I could not stand to be around them more than an hour due to the fact that each and every one of them were so humdrum and self-absorbed I'd nearly fallen asleep in their presence. My untamed spirit did not fit the typicality of those in proper society. No, I was considered quite the oddball to all those who made my acquaintance.

Straightening my pale red dress with my palms, I followed Alice towards the front of the manor, and into our carriage after Mother. Our dear Mother hadn't been herself since Father had passed not long ago, none of us had really. Charles Kingsleigh was the kindest, most generous, understanding, and brilliant man who ever walked the earth. He and Alice were the only two people I had ever encountered in my twenty three years of life who completely understood me. He didn't think I was strange or unwieldy like the others. He once told me "The best people are always a bit mad." My chest still ached at the thought of his loss and perhaps it always would.

I stared out the wooden coach's window at the narrow stream along our beaten path. I was so consumed with my thoughts of what it would be like to be a fish that I hadn't realized Alice had been trying to grasp my attention for quite some time.

"Don't you agree, Scar?" she asked, eyeing me hopefully.

"Terribly sorry, I was daydreaming, agree with what now?" I inquired, receiving a disapproving glare from my Mother.

"That if it were agreed that proper was wearing a codfish on your head, everyone would follow suit," said Alice.

"How funny," I smirked. "I was just thinking of what it would be like to be a fish."

"Oh, how interesting," Alice cheered, dropping the previous subject instantly. "Was it a codfish you were imagining or perhaps a rainbow trout.? They're not really rainbow, you know."

"Well, actually I always saw myself much more as a triggerfish than a-"

"Please, girls, not today," Mother sighed.

Mother was never keen on the bizarre fantasies that Alice and I often lost ourselves in.

"Father would have laughed," said Alice causing my heart to climb deeper into my throat. I could tell she immediately regretted her sentiment after spotting the heartbroken look upon Mother's face. She sought to redeem herself with her usual excuse. Though I suppose it really isn't an excuse when it is perfectly true. "I'm sorry, I didn't sleep well last night."

"Bad dreams again?" asked Mother, concerned.

"Yes, but it is always the same," said Alice. "Do you think that's normal?"

"If anyone ever accused you of being normal I fear they'd gone even madder than you," I giggled, earning a hardy laugh from Alice, and I even caught a Mother fighting a grin.

To perfectly honest, I could relate. Though I did not have one solitary dream, I did have one reoccurring nightmare that haunted my subconscious. There was screaming, so loud I could barely stand it. Fire shot through the air, flames as tall as a house. So many faceless people were running, trying to escape the chaos. Then there was this unforgettable roar like nothing I could explicate, like a monstrous howl that made every hair on my body to stand on end. Then I would see myself before my own eyes. Once I began to hover over myself I wake up, each and every time.

The carriage came to an abrupt halt before Lord and Lady Ascot's enormous mansion, fit for royalty. Though it was improper to run, we came about as close as a woman rightfully should to doing so in order to lessen the time to which we were tardy. Picking up my skirts to keep up with the taller women. I was growing rather warm, wishing my dress had short sleeves like Alice's did instead of sleeves stretching just after my elbow, matching the style of Mother's gown with lace escaping the insipid red fabric about my forearms.

Lord Ascot and his dreadful wife, Lady Ascot, met us just before we reached the crowd of people I suppose we would deem "friends." Alice and I looked at each other wearily from the corner of our eyes, wondering why so many people were in attendance. Lady Ascot criticized us for being late, again, and then nearly dragged Alice along with her towards the dance floor. My sister looked back at me over her shoulder as if she was pleading for me to save her.

"Darling, why don't you go on and socialize a bit," suggested my Mother, urging me to depart so that she could speak to Lord Ascot in private. I obliged without protest, for once. I had just descended the ancient stone steps towards the hoards of aristocrats when Faith and Fiona Chattaway had bombarded me, no doubt aching to spew some of their ignorant gossip from their big mouths.

"Oh, Scarlett, so good to see you," said Faith.

"It has been much too long," said Fiona.

"Ah, yes, it has," I sighed, fighting the urge to roll my eyes.

"I suppose you're quite distraught to be the only Kingsleigh daughter to be without a husband after today," said Faith.

"Yes, quite distraught indeed," Fiona added for good measure.

"I'm sorry?" I said with an upward inflection.

"She hasn't heard?" said Faith, looking sideways at her sister with an excited expression.

"She hasn't heard," Fiona repeated nonsensically with much too much enthusiasm.

"What haven't I heard?"

"Of your sister's engagement to Hamish," Faith blurted out, covering her mouth afterward as if to attempt to erase her statement.

"This is to be their engagement party!" said Fiona with even more fervor than her sister.

"And she does not know," I said to myself, just above a whisper.

"She does not know?" said Faith.

"She does not know!" said Fiona, "How outrageous!"

I thanked God when I felt a gentle hand upon my shoulder. Turning to meet the eyes of the intruder, I discovered it to be Margaret. She smiled kindly at me, barely acknowledging the Chattaway sisters before leading me away from their presence. Once out of earshot from the gossiping twosome, I began my frantic inquiry of my older sister.

"We must warn Alice," I said desperately.

"Don't be silly, Scarlett," said Margaret. "Her engagement is to be a surprise."

"A terrible surprise, you mean," I objected. "How can you allow her to remain oblivious to this atrocity-"

"Atrocity?" said Margaret in an aghast tone. "How could Alice marrying a Lord be an atrocity?"

"Because she does not love him," I replied simply. "She would be destined for a life of misery if she accepts his proposal."

"Scarlett dear, happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance," she smirked. "I was lucky enough to fall in love with Lowell, but unfortunately not all marriages include such a superfluous emotion. Hamish is a Lord for goodness sake. Alice should consider herself fortunate to wed a man of such a high social stature. Someday when you settle down you will understand-"

"You are a fool, Margaret," I frowned.

"Scar-"

"Please, excuse me," I snapped more maliciously than I intended, looking over at my aging and quite senile aunt across the yard. "I see Aunt Imogene is in need of more genial conversation, and who am I to deny her such a pleasantry?"

"Fine, do as you will," said Margaret defensively. "I must go and find Alice anyhow."

"Ah, yes, go and carry on with your charade, Margaret," I seethed.

Pivoting about quickly on my heel, I stomped off towards Aunt Imogene. She always served for interesting banter. However, I suddenly became distracted by an abrupt rustling in the adjacent bushes. Jerking my head quickly to the direction of the ruckus, I spotted a white rabbit. I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision, obviously my eyes must have deceived me for I could have sworn I saw the small rabbit wearing a blue waistcoat. When I removed my fists from my eyes it was gone. I blew a dark curl out of my face so my eyesight would not be compromised. My raven colored locks often fought their way from the constraints of hair pins, quite the opposite of Alice and Margaret's perfectly trusty tresses. My hair was wavy, like my younger sister though it was several inches longer. It was peculiar how my hair never grew longer than the length is currently was. Whenever it would be trimmed, no more than a day would pass before it would grow back to its original extent. After my tenth birthday my Mother simply gave up on her attempts to manage my locks.

I was nearly knocked on my face as an abrupt force struck me from behind, knocking the wind clean out of me. It was Alice, she looked as if she'd been chasing something. She helped steadying me, making sure she left me unharmed. I didn't care about my balance at the moment. All that mattered was speaking to Alice about her proposal that afternoon.

"Alice! The Chattaways told me of your proposition from Hamish," I gasped. "You mustn't accept, sister, you mustn't."

"I do not know what to do, Scarlett," she said sadly. "I'm trapped-"

Suddenly the same rustling sound as before could be heard behind the adjacent bushes, grasping our attention.

"Did you see that?" asked Alice hopefully.

"Of course I did," I replied, "It was a white rabbit unless my eyes deceive me, but returning to the subject of Hamish, Alice-"

"I'm so happy you saw it as well," she replied, breathing a sigh of relief. "For a moment there I thought I was going mad."

"All the best people are," I said solemnly, quoting Father as Alice commonly did.

"Perhaps we're both a bit mad," she smirked.

"Perhaps we are," I smiled feebly back at her.

A flash of bright red hair appeared behind Alice seemingly out of no where. I fought the urge to regurgitate my lunch.

"There you are," said Hamish, peering down at Alice, bowing politely at me before returning his determined gaze upon my younger sibling. He took her arm without another word, leading her towards the gazebo with me following several steps behind the unhappy couple. I felt as if I were watching a prisoner being escorted to the gallows.

--

There we stood, every person in attendance, ogling Hamish and Alice as if it were the most entertaining sight we'd all seen in years. I stood beside Mother, catching Lowell staring at me out of the corner of his eye beside Margaret who was in between Mother and he husband. He winked at me as I fought the urge to regurgitate my lunch. When the redheaded Lord knelt down upon one knee, Alice shot me a terrified look. I wanted to shout out to her, scream how utterly preposterous it was to watch such a depressing scene. Yet, my mouth could not move, my jaw locked shut. I felt my corset dig deeper into my skin as my breaths became even more drastic than before. Mother drew her eyes away from Alice for a moment after hearing my gasps.

Hamish made his proposition, and Alice replied quietly. I could tell she was denying him his wish to marry her because Hamish's hopeful smile faded as quickly as it had come. When she pulled her hands away from his I knew she'd heeded to the demands of her beating heart. I fought the urge to smile. Alice walked forward, facing the congregation, several whispers could be heard though I could not decipher what was being said. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she finally addressed the lot of us.

"I- I need a moment," she said, and without another syllable she was off. Alice took of sprinting into the maze of roses and shrubbery.

"I'll go after her," I muttered swiftly to Mother as I ran after my younger sister. I didn't wait long enough for her to object. I turned into a red blur before disappearing into the garden. I caught sight of the blue skirt tail belonging to Alice. I called her name several times, and she appeared to be deaf to my pleas for her to stop. When I finally caught up with her, I spotted her from a distance, she was leaning forward on her hands and knees to peer into a hole of some sort.

"Alice?" I called, shrinking the distance between us with each stride. I was gasping for breath once I finally reached her side, kneeling delicately behind her. "Alice, for goodness sake stop!"

The second I rested my hand upon her shoulder, the earth that separated her from the black hole before her. She began to topple forward with great force. I extended my arm to catch her, preventing her fall. However, my attempt backfired, I lost my balance as well. I fell headfirst into the darkness, utterly unaware of what was to come.

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A/N: This plot has been bouncing around in my mind since I saw the new Alice in Wonderland movie (which was amazing btw). I even downloaded it and watched it about a dozen times. I started it a week ago, and I finally got around to finishing Chapter One. I'm alright with it… I think the next few chapters will be much better. Please review. It will give me the inspiration to write more quickly.

P.S: This fic is based on Alice in Wonderland 2010, but I also incorporate bits of the 1951 movie, Lewis Carroll's book, and even the tiniest tidbit from SyFy's new Alice movie. Though you may not even notice much change from Tim Burton's masterpiece.

PSS: I haven't reviewed this as well as rightfully should, so I will edit it tomorrow morning most likely. So sorry.

Next Chapter: Alice and Scarlett arrive in Wonderland. In comes the Dormouse, the Tweedles, and the Dodo Bird, White Rabbit and the others. The Bandersnatch makes a mess of things. The Hatter and Absolum recognize Scarlett as someone who was known to have died more than two decades prior. Scarlett and Hatter discover they share a connection neither of them knew existed.

Please, do not alert or favorite this fic without reviewing. Pretty please!