Alice in Wonderland
Will sat up in a tree, lazily picking the petals off of flowers and enjoying the nice spring day. He was hiding from his tutor, why would anyone want to learn about some stupid history? He looked at some sunlight peeping through a hole in the leaves, making them appear an emerald color. He did a little sigh, bringing his hand up to a little daisy crown he made. He thought this world was beautiful, but it would be so much better with all of his ideas.
‘All the animals would wear clothes and talk and walk around,’ he thought to himself. ‘No one would be normal like here, they would all be interesting and fun and use magic. People would want to have fun all the time, and this place would be called…’ “Wonderland,” he said aloud to himself. He did a little sigh, enjoying the idea of such a place.
He closed his eyes, imagining this new world. Then he heard a sound, a faint sound. Almost like a ticking of a clock. He looked around until he spotted something, a rabbit. But this rabbit wore glasses and held a large watch in his six fingered paw. He was hopping somewhere, and at a very fast pace. “I'm late, I'm late!” he heard it say.
Will saw this as his chance, maybe this little rabbit could tell him where a new world was! “Wait, Mr.Rabbit!” Will called as he jumped out of the tree. He chased the rabbit by the pond and then through a little field of flowers until he finally saw the little thing scamper through a tiny hole in the side of a hill. Will gently got down on his hands and knees, trying not to dirty his baby blue outfit too much.
“Well, I guess I'll just have to follow him.” Will began inching through the hole, getting his whole body inside and continuing on the dark path. “Oh Mr.Rabbit! Where did you go?” Will kept going, until there was no longer any ground and he fell down the rabbit hole.
---
When Will finally landed he was shocked to be outside and not deeper inside the hole. “Maybe I've made it to the other side of the world?” He had landed in a field of beautiful daisies, all of them lightly holding him like a little bed. He brought a hand to his head, realizing his crown had fallen off. “Now where did that rabbit go?” He asked aloud as he sat up. He noticed a little ways ahead the daisies being pushed aside and a pair of large ears just above their tops. “Mr.Rabbit, please wait!” Will got up and ran after the creature, eventually chasing him into the forest. Will needed to catch his breath, so he found a little log to sit on.
“Hey!” Said someone from inside the log.
“Oh my, I'm sorry,” Will said. He didn't think anyone would be able to fit into a tiny log like that. Someone crawled out of the left end of the log, at first they were on there hands and knees but when he stood erect he was taller than Will. He had dark skin and brown hair and wore a funny little propeller hat. Will thought this was funny, but then another person came out of the other side of the log. He was taller than the first and had blond hair.
“No problem, young man! Let me introduce myself. I am Nate,” he said as he bowed.
“And I'm Lee!” Said the blond.
“Otherwise known as Tweedle Dumb-”
“And Tweedledee!” The blond finished.
Will clapped a little. “How wonderful! I was wondering if you could tell me where the White Rabbit was going. I seem to have lost his trail.”
“A rabbit? Well there's a rabbit a little ways down this path,” said Tweedledee as he pointed behind himself.
“I think he’s that way,” corrected Tweedle Dumb, pointing in the opposite direction.
“Nnnooooo, it's that way.”
“The other way, I remember last time we visited him.”
“What are you talking about, we never leave our log! We've never visited anyone.”
“We just went there a week ago.”
“Did not.”
“Did so.”
“Did not!”
“Did so!”
“DID NOT!”
“DID-”
“Excuse me, gentleman,” Will tried to politely interrupt. “But which way is it?” They pointed in opposite directions and Will was getting very confused. “Tweedle Dumb, Tweedledee, I really need your help-”
“I'm Tweedle Dumb,” said Lee.
“No, I am!” shouted Nate.
“We have been over this!”
“No we haven't!”
“Thank you for your help,” Will said quietly and walked off down the path in front of him, their voices still arguing in the distance. He continued on his journey until he came upon a strange party. “Excuse me, is anyone here?”
“Why yes little boy!” greeted a grown woman who was coming out from under the table. She wore mismatched clothing items of bright colors and a large hat atop her head. “Oh, don't be a stranger, come in!” she cheered as she ushered the boy into a large seat at the head of the table.
“Oh, well thank you for your hospitality, but why were you under the table?” This land just kept getting stranger, Will didn't know what to think of it.
“Well I was looking for my friend! I'm not sure where he went…” Just then the woman ducked under the table again, this time coming back up with a rabbit. “Here he is!” she exclaimed with a victorious smile on her face.
“Hatter, put me down,” the rabbit said.
“No problem!” She placed him in a seat and she sat next to him, both of their attentions turning to Will. “So my name is Mabel! What's your name little boy? Let me guess... Truman!"
"Well, no actually, it's Will-,"
"Oh, Will, what a lovely name! Here have some tea!” she said as she poured him a bit for a little teapot. “I just love tea parties!”
“Thank you, me too,” Will said shyly as he took a sip from his tea. The table they sat at was long, winding in all different directions. Different kinds of tea cups and kettles lined it and there were hundreds of treats to go perfectly with the drink. A light fog hung above the area, he assumed it was because of all the steam from the tea. “I was wondering if you could help me find a rabbit.”
The woman pointed down to her friend. “Found one! Now what do I win?”
“That's actually not the rabbit I was talking about. The one I mean has white fur and glasses and carries a large watch.” The rabbit who was sitting next to him almost looked like the other, aside from having no glasses and little brown spots on his fur they were almost identical.
“Six fingers on one paw?” The hare asked.
Will was shocked. “Why yes, indeed. Do you know him?”
“That little guy is my brother. He works for the King of Hearts.” He chuckled at that. “Of course he would get to, and not me. He always gets what he wants.” And then he downed his whole cup of tea in one go. “Hatter, fill me up.”
“Gladly!” she said as she poured him another cup. “Are you going to go to the castle to find that little bunny?” she asked Will.
“Well that's my plan. Do you by any chance have directions?” Will asked, then took another sip of his tea.
“Do I!” The woman took off her hat and reached inside. She laid out the whole thing and it took up half of the table. Will had no idea Wonderland was so big. “All you do is take a left here, then a right, and then a right again! Cross this river, turn at a fifty degree angle, do a little jig here, then just keep walking on straight! Got it?”
Will looked down to the map, completely perplexed by everything he just heard. “Um…”
“I'll take that as a yes!” The Hatter stood Will up and passed him his cup. “So head out this gate, follow my directions and you'll be there in no time! And don't be such a stranger, try to visit once in awhile!” She picked up a handful of cookies and put them in Will's hand.
“Say hi to my brother for me, will ya?” he heard the hare call.
“Goodbye little boy!” the Hatter called as she closed the gate behind him. Will knew it would be rude to go back once they already said goodbye, so he continued on his way. He walked for what felt like hours, becoming more tired and seeing even stranger and stranger things. He always felt like he was taking the wrong turn, and whenever he tried to go back the path would always change.
Just as he felt like he was about to collapse, he thought he saw the rabbit again. He followed it to an opening in the forest line, strangely it was shaped like a heart. He slowly walked through, collapsing soon after he saw some people that he hoped would come and help him. Just as he heard people start to run over, he blacked out.
---
When Will woke up again he was lying in a cold cell, a small blanket on his back. He figured he should get up and get a handle on his situation, no matter how weird it was. He walked toward the bars of the cell, finding they were not straight up and down but wavy and zig-zagged and all sorts of patterns. ‘How will I ever find the rabbit from in here?’ he thought to himself.
“Ahem!” he heard a voice say. Will looked toward the owner, just blanching at how strange he looked. The man in question was a playing card, and behind him were nine other cards. “The King would like to have a word with you, William.”
“H-how do you know my name?” the boy asked. He was frightened, who was this King?
“The White Rabbit of the court told us,” said the head card as he unlocked the door. Once Will walked out he was surrounded by the ten, and they kept a tight circular shape as they walked through the castle. Will couldn't see much due to the height of the cards, but he noticed the King had something for the color red. A large pair of doors opened, and then there was a trumpet blast.
“Introducing, the boy William Cipher.” That voice sounded oddly familiar, why it was the White Rabbit! The cards moved aside to allow Will to be seen.
“Mr.Rabbit, I have been looking everywhere for you!” Will was smiling as he looked toward the rabbit, but the smile soon faded when he noticed the nervous look on his face. The rabbit motioned with his eyes and Will looked over to see a man sitting on a throne. The rabbit did a small bow, and Will caught on and bowed to the man. This all seemed like one big game to him so he added on with a giggle, “Your majesty.”
The King looked down towards the rabbit, giving some kind of nod. “Guards! You may leave,” the King commanded. Will shrunk a bit at the large voice, the man seemed so forceful. Once the guards saluted and exited, the King looked down to Will. “Hello William, how are you liking Wonderland?” Will relaxed a bit now that the voice was calm, and he put a smile back on his face.
“It's very beautiful, but I have so many questions! Like how do you get here, and why is everything so confusing, and how come-” but the King held up his hand and the boy stopped.
The man laughed, enjoying the child's innocence. “So many questions for such a small thing. How about you come over here and I'll answer any question your heart desires.”
“Okay…” the boy said as he made his way toward the throne. The rabbit quickly pushed over a chair and put it next to the Kings. “Thank you. Oh, how do you know my name?” The boy still wondered how the rabbit learned his name, he may have said it once or twice in Wonderland but the rabbit was never there.
“Well,” the little rabbit began. “I've heard you say it before when I was up on the surface.”
“But how could you have heard it? The first time I've ever seen you was today and I never told you my name.” The rabbit was about to answer but the King beat him to it.
“He’s been up there before,” the King said quickly. He enjoyed how the boy looked at him and wanted it to continue.
“Oh, why do you come up? I think that world is so boring,” Will said as he looked back to the rabbit. The King let out a bit of a huff and crossed his arms, angered the boy was not paying attention to him.
“I usually go up there to find things for my King.” The rabbit was trying to smile so Will could not see his nervousness. The King was getting angry and they did not need a temper tantrum.
“What were you looking for?” Will said, eyes full of curiosity. He was nearly off of the chair with the way he was leaning on it.
“You,” he heard the King say. Will quickly turned around, seeing the King soften a bit at his expression.
“What do you mean, me?” He asked. He felt weird right now, like he shouldn't be here.
The King took a deep breath, snapping his fingers at the White Rabbit. He scampered off, leaving them alone. “I mean you, Will. You are a special child, and that's what I wanted. I sent the White Rabbit to go looking for someone with a beautiful face and an amazing imagination.” The King slowly brushed Will’s bangs away from his face, but the boy receded at the touch.
“Your perfect, and I had to bring you to Wonderland to rule by me. I wanted to make sure you would never lose that beautiful spark of yours so I took you away from that boring world and brought you here. I knew you'd follow the rabbit once you saw him, and I figured now was as good a time as any to bring you.” The King had a smile on his face, it was gentle and kind but Will felt like something was off about this whole thing.
“Thank you, but I don't want to stay here. I have to get home before people start to worry.” The boy was about to stand, but the King sent him a nasty glare. ‘Maybe just wait a little bit longer,’ the boy thought.
“William, you will stay here whether you like it or not. You will grow in grace and beauty while in my court and when the time comes you will rule by me.” Will didn't know how to feel, he brought his legs to his chest and buried his head in his hands. “I did not like the world you were in before, it was horribly lackluster and slow. Here, everything is exciting and fun, perfect for a boy like you.”
The man stood up, taking off his large, red cape. He lifted up Will’s chin, seeing how the boy had been silently crying. He put the cape on the back of Will's neck and then clipped it in the front. “Think about it, you'll get everything you want, get to grow up in a castle, and get enough love to last a lifetime.” He slowly got the boy to stand, then placed a kiss on his forehead. The man got an idea, using a bit of his magic in front of the boy.
Will stopped sniffling and instead looked at the magic in awe. The King had created a little crown of daisies, Will’s favorite. “May I?” The man asked. Will nodded, lowering his head and allowing the King to put it on him.
“How did you know?” The boy asked, feeling the crown lightly. A small smile had made its way onto his face.
“The White Rabbit.” Will smiled, the King glad he could get that out of the boy. “You can call me Dipper, by the way.”
“Okay. Dipper, can I ask you one more question?” The innocence of the child made the King’s heart melt, so did the boys pure imagination and perfect face.
“That was a question.” The boy laughed a little at that and the King smiled. “Yes, of course William.”
“Can I go home?” He felt like he needed to try, to see if maybe one last time would change his mind.
“You are home now, in Wonderland.” The man got on his knee, then brought the boy in close for a hug.
---
Will would go to bed, always hoping to wake up like this was some kind of bad dream. He would awaken after a night of dreaming that he found his way home, but then start crying and trying to imagine what the other world was like. The King would wake up, hold Will in his arms until he stopped crying, and then magically make his love a little crown of daisies.
Will tried escaping anyway he could, out the windows, through the moat, even just walking out the front gates. But the guards would always catch him, surround him and then bring him back to the castle to be presented to the King. Each time the King would scold him, like an adult talking to a child. As time went on this happened less and less, escape always on Will's mind but losing the courage to attempt it.
Eventually, Will learned to live in Wonderland with the King. He did grow into a handsome young man, one Dipper was proud to call his husband. He always kept the childishness that Dipper meant to preserve, something that pure had to be cultivated and nurtured in a place like Wonderland. It got harder for Will to remember his old life, the only thing he could recall were the lovely daisy crowns he always made.
One day while walking arm and arm with the King through the garden, Will spotted a patch of daisies. The King laughed as Will scooped down to pick them up, happy with his decision to plant them. As Dipper went to sit, Will continued through the patch only to find a small hole when he looked up. It seemed like an ordinary rabbit hole, but through it was another world. It was a whole field of daisies, Will was attracted to this world like magnet. He was about to climb through when the King shook his shoulder, and Will stood as expected.
When Will went again to the patch of flowers, the hole was blocked up and the daisies no longer there. They were instead replaced by rose bushes. The next time Will asked for a crown of daisies, the King acted like there never was such a flower and instead made him a crown of roses. Will reluctantly put it on, putting a fake smile on to please his King. The King would caress Will's perfect face, and think of the beauty he was preserving when he decided to keep that small boy in Wonderland.