Sound familiar? ------ Porcelain skin was such a rare feature nowadays. Powder prices were extremely overpriced, but due to being in a rich family, Alice could afford almost anything. Her long brown locks drifted down to her torso, and her unmistakeable blue eyes made her recognizable at the first glance. Without even knowing it, she had drifted off to sleep while her maid was tightening her corset. "Lady Alice?" "Hmmm...?" "It's time for your father's meeting, Lady Alice." When Alice woke up, she almost felt like gagging. Since when did corsets come in season?! They were too tight for her liking. "Thank you, Amelia. But God, this corset—" "Your mother requested it to be tight like this, milady." "But—" "There's a special guest here today, milady." "But—" "Educated young girls do not protest, milady." Maid Amelia's eyes were dancing with mirth, whilst Alice was trying to grow accustomed of her new attire. The corset was squeezing the life out of her— literally. "Oh my!" Deciding to ignore the corset, Alice turned around to face the mirror. She almost dropped her pet cat, Maroon, but fortunately caught him just in time. Her skin was paler than the moon, it made her look like a blood sucker! Not to mention, all the beautiful colors of her flushed cheeks were overlapped with the powder her maid had applied. "Amelia, you've overdone it again—" "Nonsense, milady, you look grand." That was a comment she couldn't deny. It wasn't because little Alice was vain, far from that. She was naïve, no doubt, yet was rebellious enough to lose her innocent status. Her eyes gleamed when they set on her dress, dark blue with midnight black ribbons and lace attatched everywhere. Her hair had ribbons attatched as well, and Amelia was holding a laced veil. "Must I?" She sighed. Alice knew the answer all too well. Her maid nodded before draping it over her head, adding a much needed dramatized effect. The bell rang twice before Alice was ushered out of the door and down the marble stairs. Her hair was curled specifically for this occasion, and it would be a death penalty if it were messed up. "Ahhh! Alice, dear! Come sit with me!" It was always a rare occasion for her father to allow her to sit next to him. Reluctantly, she agreed. Her slow and tender footsteps calmed the humoungous crowd, settling them down. All eyes were on her as her father kept patting the spot beside him. Well, at least a specific pair of eyes were on her... "Well... Father..." The tension grew worse and nervousness overswept the poor girl. The pressure was pushing down on her, trapping her and threatening to tighten even more, as if the corset weren't torturous enough. "Alice, darling! How nice to see you! How have your lessons been doing, my dear?" "Er... They're very... interesting." Interesting. The simplicity of it awed her, even if the meaning was completely different. It rolled off her tounge like an overused word. Her father raised an eyebrow before clearing his throat. A bit of chattering amongst the women were revved up again, and Alice blinked twice before staring at him. "Your piano lessons, dear? Is the instructor good enough for you?" "Why, yes, father. He's very... straightforward." Blunt, frank, obvious. "Oh, and I've learned a new piece! Would you care to—" "Nevermind, Alice. That's wonderful." His father turned to his fellow friends, and the entire ballroom became lively again. The girl shrank into her seat, shutting her eyes for a brief moment. 'So that's how it is... A mannequin, huh? A prize to show off... I get it.' "Father, may I pleased be excused?" "Not before you meet Mr. Anderson's son, Alice." "... Nice to meet you." The young man held his hand out, a gesture of friendship. Alice shook it before pulling it back politely, giving the boy a genuine smile. "Alison, this is Benjamin. Benjamin, Alison." "Hey Alice." "Hey Ben." The short exchange of greetings and nicknames made their fathers shake their heads. "Anyway, dear, feel free to explore the gardens. You know, it was expanded this month—" Since the discussion no longer included her, Alice took off to the gardens. Ben only looked at her from where he sat and shook his head inwardly. 'Ai, Alice... I know how you're feeling.' Alice's face heated up as she let out a sigh. She took short paced steps to the west, knowing that her favorite clearing was sure to be there. Footsteps were heard and Alice turned her head to catch a glimpse of a black tuxedo, before it vanished. She took after it, excited and worried at the same time. Was it a thief? Tree branches got in her way and her vision was clouded from the high of the chase. She was always a sucker without her glasses, and the figure in front of her couldn't been seen well. At the end of her chase, the figure just... slipped. Through the ground and into a hole. She stopped abruptly, looking down at the hole before dunking her head into it, taking a look. "Hello?" Her voice was echoed and she reached an arm into it, but unfortunately for her, she fell in. ... Or was she kicked in? "AHHHHH!" ----- >:3
----- Falling into the hole was like riding a horse that just wouldn't stop. Alice was speechless, the walls of the hole were checkered with purple and maroon, with a piano drifting around. There was a tea set and a top hat too... "Oh look! A watch!" The amusement on her face was yet to be wiped off. A book had just flown past her, and Alice grabbed for it. The title shocked her when she saw it. 'Alice in Underland' Miraculously, her previous death grip on the book was gone and it floated away as she pummled, ready to hit something facefirst. Fortunately for her, Alice landed on her tush. Blinking thrice, she looke down and saw that her midnight blue dress was gone, and switched with a red and white black laced one. "..." And if that wasn't enough, when Alice turned around and saw her reflection on a nearby mirror, she nearly lost it. Her vibrant blue eyes were replaced with dull hazel ones, and her curly hair had been straightened out. Freckles were on the bridge of her nose, and her veil had been swapped for a hairband, much to her dismay. "... OH MY HOMINY CHEESE CRACKED—" Her voice was emptied out as she tried to say the last word of her sentence. Turning around again, she was surprised when a sign was hung up, stating that "None shall curse in this world of oblivious peace". Frustrated, Alice coughed. Her voice was back, thankfully. Turning around, she was greeted with a table. Fazed by it all, Alice looked down to see two objects. A key and a drink. "Hm..." ----- Sorry for the long wait. I messed up. I wanted to beginning for Alice to be sent to her uncle's, where her mother would've greeted her and her father to introduce her to Benjamin, and tell her that he was her spouse... Crap.
----- Looking up, a door appeared. She blinked again before walking over to it, turning the knob to see if it was locked. Unfortunately for her, it was. Walking back to the table, she grabbed the key and stuck it inside the lock, turning it. The door swung open and she stuck her head through it, impatient. Patches of green land and flowers scattered everywhere, like a garden, Alice thought. Pulling back, Alice went to the table and looked at the tag attatched to the bottle. 'Drink this' "What's there to lose?" Alice said out loud. Taking a sip from the bottle, the contents of it went down her throat. She shrank, shrank, and shrank! Running back to the door, she slammed into it. "Argh!" ----- Short. Short. Update.