Under Wonderland

I had been reading Alice In Wonderland for some weeks now. At once I realized I was hooked. Thinking that it would make the story more realistic, I wandered out to the garden. Sitting under the large oak tree, I opened the book once more.

A cough brought my attention to the rabbit sitting in front of me. To my surprise, the rabbit was holding a large pocket watch. Raising one white paw, the rabbit tapped the watch and disappeared into a hole underneath a large maple tree.

"No way," I whispered, shutting the book. Running to the rabbit hole, I looked inside.

An invisible hand seemed to push me into the darkness. I screamed, tumbling down an impossible distance. On and on I went, down and down. Still screaming, I felt myself bounce off of something soft before continuing to fall.

Abruptly, I stopped an inch from the ground. Slowly, I floated to the floor, landing softly on a tiled floor.

"Umph," I said as I landed. Looking around, my eyes landed on a table. I gave a small gasp. "I'm in Wonderland!" Jumping up, I ran to the table, looking around. With a squeal, I picked up a small bottle with a tag on it.

'DRINK ME'

Lifting up the bottle, I raised it to my lips to drink.

"Wait," I said, looking at the table again, "Think Amy-- what did Alice forget in the story?"  A small key was sitting on the table. Remembering, I put the key on the floor before taking a drink from the bottle. Stowing it in my pocket, I felt coldness sweep over me.

At once, I began to shrink. Smaller and smaller I got, until I was the size of a thimble. Picking up the key, I ran to the tiny door, jamming the key into the lock. It clicked, and the door swung open. I ran outside into Wonderland.

~~~~

I reached a table soon after leaving the tiled room. There were three creatures sitting at the table-- a man in a hat with crazy hair and wild eyes, a hare, and a mouse. They all looked at me when I reached the table.

"You're late for tea!" the hare called, hurling his teacup at me. I ducked, the tea flying over my head. I jumped up again, glaring at the hare.

"How was that necessary?" I asked him.

"You were late," he argued, folding his arms across his chest.

"Alice, you're here!" the crazy man said. I knew at once he was the Mad Hatter. He walked across the table, knocking things over as he walked towards me. Jumping off the table, he crouched down in front of me. "You are most defiantly Alice, I would know you anywhere. It has been too long, my dear."

I looked at him, confused. "I'm not Alice. My name's Amy."

The Mad Hatter raised his eyebrows. "Amy?" he said quietly, "But I was CERTAIN you were Alice!"

I shook my head. "No, I'm sorry. I'm Amy. my grandmother's named Alice, but-"

Ignoring me, the Hatter turned to the pair behind him. "She's not Alice! We have to send her back!" He reached out a hand and lifted me up by my sweater hood.

"HEY!" I protested, "Hey, I wanna' stay here!"

"I'm sorry, Not Alice," he said sadly, "But we need Alice, not Not Alice."

"But I know why a raven is like a writing desk!"

Hatter paused. "…really?" he said.

"Yes," I replied, "It's because they both have inky quills."

Hatter sat for a moment, thinking. "That's good, Not Alice."

"So does that mean I can stay?" I asked hopefully, "Maybe I could be Under Alice. Like an Understudy."

"What is an Understudy?"

"It's someone who takes the place of someone else who doesn't show up," I explained, "If Alice doesn't show up, I can be her Understudy."

"It's worth a try, Hatter," squeaked the mouse, "Let's take her to the White Queen and see what she has to say about it."

"Alright then, Under Alice," said the Hatter, putting me on my feet again, "Let's see what the White Queen thinks."

~~~~~~

"Absolutely NOT." The White Queen began to pace before us, agitated.

"But Milady," Hatter said, "Under Alice is the perfect substitute--"

"No she isn't!" the Queen shouted, "She is Not Alice, therefore she cannot be Under Alice. Her talents and skills are Under Wonderland standards. We need ALICE, not Not Alice!"

"This is all very confusing," I said, making the Queen stop her pacing, "But can I at least TRY to be Under Alice? Even though I am Under Wonderland's standards for heroes?"

The White Queen sniffed. "I suppose," she said, "that you can…TRY to be Alice. But you shall be known as Under Alice or Not Alice until the REAL Alice arrives."

I curtsied. "Thank you, milady," I said, "You shall not be disappointed."

~~~~~~

As it turned out, the White Queen took a liking to me. I was named her helper after a week of being Not Alice, and she agreed to call me Amy. As the days went by, I discovered that the Red Queen had challenged her sister to a duel. Alice against the Jabberwocky. The White Queen had accepted, but with no Alice, she was afraid.

"The duel is tomorrow!" exclaimed the Queen, "What will we do?!"

"I could go, your Highness."

At once, the Queen said no. "I will not have this, Amy," she said for the dozenth time, "You are not Alice, I will not have you trying to do things that only Alice can do!"

"But I CAN be Alice!" I protested, "I know everything about Alice! I'm Under Alice! Her Understudy! Let me try!"

"No."

I left the Queen's rooms and ran towards my own, feeling my eyes growing misty. I had tried again and again to be Alice, but here I was just Under Alice-- unable to do the things that Alice could.

A golden sign caught my eye. I wiped my eyes and read it.

'ALICE'

Opening the door to the room, I looked inside. The room was decorated with drawings and paintings of Alice when she had first come as a small girl. There were pictures of her fighting, laughing, playing, reading, dancing, singing, and just being Alice.

A glint of silver caught my eye. Alice's armor that she was supposed to wear tomorrow was on its stand. It was beautifully crafted, with carvings of Wonderland all over it. Held in its hands was  a sword.

I walked over to it, lifting the sword up. It was perfect in my hands as I held it, feeling the energy flow through the handle and into me. Picking up the scabbard, I settled it onto my bag and sheathed the weapon. Leaving the room, I stopped at a writing desk. A black quill was sitting ready in an inkwell. Walking over to it, I scribbled something on a piece of paper before marching out of the room with the paper in hand. Shutting the door, I jammed the paper so the words were visible over the top of the sign that read the name I had come to hate. I stepped back to admire my work.

'NOT ALICE'

~~~~~~~

"She's gone."

"GONE?!" The White Queen looked in horror at the Hatter.

He nodded. "Gone. And she has the sword with her. She has gone to duel the Jabberwocky."

The Queen covered her mouth, nearing the verge of tears. "Oh, my Amy. She will not survive! She is Not Alice!"

"True," said the Hatter, a mad gleam in his eyes, "But she is Under Alice."

~~~~~~

I entered the clearing where the duel was to be held and waited. The sounds of marching feet came closer and closer. Tying back my brown hair, I looked at the clearing in front of me. It was filling with red soldiers. At the head of them was the Red Queen.

"You must be Alice," she called to me, "What a pity, I expected someone more…more…"

"I am not Alice," I shouted, "My name is Amy."

"Amy what?"

I thought for a minute, then smiled. "Amy Understudy."

"What a stwange name," said the Red Queen. "But wet us get down to business. JABBERWOCKY!" She bellowed the last word.

There was a roar, and the most enormous beast I have ever seen lumbered into the clearing. It was covered in black scales and it's eyes were red like blood. When it opened it's mouth, I saw sharp white fangs just waiting to rip me apart.

I gulped.

It charged.

I ran at it, thinking desperately of a way to defeat it. "Well, I can't fight, I can't trick it, so what?" I said aloud. And then it hit me. "AHA!" I shouted, reaching into my pocket for a small vial.

The Jabberwocky pulled to a stop in front of me, roaring.

"This is it!" I shouted, throwing the vial into its mouth. The beast shut it's mouth, confused.

It gulped.

I watched in amazement as the creature began to shrink, down and down to the size of a thimble. It gave what was supposed to be a mighty roar-- which sounded more like a hiccup-- and charged at me.

Gently, I picked it up by the tail until it was eye level. "Sorry, bud," I said as it snarled, "Better luck next time." I dropped it into my pocket.

"HOW DAWE YOU!" The Red Queen shouted, "OFF WITH HER HEAD!"

The soldiers, however, did not move. They turned and began to walk back to the castle, talking amongst themselves.

"WAIT!" the Red Queen pleaded.

The army of the White Queen arrived, the Queen herself at their lead.

"Your rule is over, sister," said the White Queen, "I hereby banish you to the outskirts of Wonderland."

The Red Queen screamed and vanished with a puff of red smoke.

"Amy!" The White Queen ran over to me, hugging me close. I laughed and hugged her back. "You're alive!"

"Of course I am, your Highness," I said.

"I think," said the Hatter, coming forward, "That you shall be known as Alice from now on."

"Yes, I agree," said the Queen, releasing me. "I hereby name you Ali-"

"Wait," I said, raising a hand to stop her. "I don't want to be known as Alice."

The Hatter and the Queen looked at each other.

"Alright," said the Queen, "What name do you wish?"

"Amy," I said, "Amy Understudy."

~~~~~
"We shall miss you, Amy." The Hatter smiled as he said his final goodbye.

I grinned at him. "I'll miss you too, Hatter." I began to drink the potion that would send me home.

"Oh Amy?" he said.

"Yes Hatter?" I asked, lowering the vial from my lips.

"Why," he said, "is a raven like a writing desk?"

I grinned again. "I have no idea." I raised the vial to my lips and took a long drink.

At once, stars began to pop in my vision. The last thing I saw was the Hatter waving goodbye, then it was all black again.

I opened my eyes--though I didn't remember closing them-- to sun. Pushing myself to my feet, I climbed out of the rabbit hole I had fallen into.

"Amy!" called a voice, "Amy, where are you?" An elderly woman wandered into the clearing.

"Hello, Grandma Alice," I said.

She blinked at me. "Good heavens, girl," she said, "Where have you been?"

I grinned. "Down a rabbit hole."

Grandma Alice smiled and took my hand. "So tell me, how's the Hatter?"

"Mad," I said, "Positively bonkers."

"But I'll tell you a secret," said Grandma Alice, patting my hand. "Only the best people are."