The Darker Alices.

The First and Final Chapter.

The whimsical world of Wonderland truly is a breathtaking place (as a resident, I would know), filled with colorful species of all shapes and kinds. Ones which speak, ones which sing..maybe a few who dance, or even host their own wacky tea parties. But I'd imagine no one has revealed to you the darker side of Wonderland. Only the story of our beloved Alice seems of popularity in the human realm. Lying unspoken are the tales of the five other Alices.

Now, my dear reader, I know exactly what you're thinking. Five other Alices? Just how exactly could five different blonde girls sharing the same first name fall down a rabbit hole into the realm of Wonderland? Simple. In our world, the term "Alice" isn't only used to refer to the original Alice herself. After she fell into our world, it seemed human visitors were just pouring in left and right, and rather than take the time to memorize these insignificant humans' names, "Alice" became a slang term for any human who found their way down here.

We first began labeling them by number, which was easy enough. But as the Alices began falling into our realm in different divisions of the country, residents became rather possessive. There are several portals to Wonderland, for example, the ever-famous rabbit hole you've heard of throughout your childhood. One or two of these portals lie over each division of our country: the Spade district, the Diamond district, the Club district, and the Heart district. Yes, just like the markings you find on the cards in a deck. And so, whatever district an Alice happened to stumble their way into became theirs.

Yet, you see, the other Alices who've fallen here haven't all been the most rational, which is exactly why our realm prefers to keep their tales behind lock and key (although, I trust you to keep a bit of a secret, dear reader). The reason we don't speak of the Alices to you humans is for political reasons. Since they're all labeled by district now, their silly mistakes become representations of the district they belonged to. Belonged, yes. Most of them haven't survived, and numbers four and five are currently missing. But anyway, you humans are impatient beings, so I'm sure you want me to stop speaking of technicalities and skip to the "good part."

The first Alice, who called herself Mercy (how very ironic!), fell into the Spade district on October 11th, 1873 (that's eight years after our original Alice), pocket knife in hand. This was rather unusual to us; humans of the female gender were generally more docile than men, but my goodness, did this one break that stereotype.

Only concerned with her own thoughts and wants, she slashed her way right through our happy little country, leaving a path of destruction directly through whatever came in her way. It became rather unbearable, citizens were huddled in their homes, fearful of this woman who thought she could get exactly what she wanted, whenever she wanted. As she was consumed with conceit, it came to a point when we were all tired of her childish rampage, and it was then that the Spade district sent their authorities on her.

She was captured in the forest not long after that (the Spade district has a good smattering of skilled hunters), and in a mad panic, she wielded her knife in an attempt to set herself free, but I suppose your aim does become rather skewed when your mind is filled with a rush of fear. Alice One ended herself by accident that night, October 27th, and was buried on the outskirts of the district, blade still in hand.

The second Alice, Kaname, plunged into the Diamond district on the morning of January 23rd, a rose entwined in his fingers. He was of gentle nature, and preferred more quiet activities than loud, which was an absolute relief to all of us. But it wasn't long till we found a fatal flaw in him. He had the most lovely, haunting voice any of us had ever heard. Now, you may think, that's not a fatal flaw at all! Oh, but it was.

Although quiet, he often dangled his talent in the faces of others, and the songs he sang...they could drive any respectable scholar absolutely mad. The notes he sang were inhuman, you could say, ranging far above and below that of anyone I've heard in my history of human studies. Some of us warned him not to flaunt his talent as he did, yet, he continued.

I wasn't joking when I said he could drive people mad. He sang a painfully high-ranged tune for so long, that the queen of the Diamond district herself ordered he be held in captivity. She sent her most respected servant to seize him, but the sound of the song was so unbearable, the servant lost patience and pulled a gun from his belt, sending Kaname to his next life, and himself to jail.

Alice Two left us by bullet through the skull; his rose planted at his grave. The rose flourished and became a bush, sparkling with delicate beauty, as Kaname had. It was a shame his boastful habits had brought him to an end. I happened to like him, in particular. Perhaps I was only drawn to him because I happen to be ruler of the Diamond district.

The third Alice, Machiko, joined the district of Clubs on April 18th, the following year. She seemed like a perfect human specimen, clothed in a formal, emerald dress. Innocent and blessed with stunning beauty, the citizens of Wonderland quickly warmed up to her presence. It so happened that that year, the beloved queen of the Club district passed, leaving many of us in shattered tears. Machiko was quickly nominated to take her place, as the queen had no daughters or sons.

Delighted, she accepted, and soon came to rule. Awe-stricken by her doll-like figure and tone of voice, as sweet as honey, the people of the Club district listened to her every request. All was well for a while here in Wonderland, but with each passing month, the queen became more and more concerned about her appearance. She had nightmares of becoming old and withered in the future, and lived in utter fear of losing her porcelain skin and thick hair. Eventually, the queen had forgotten how to live life to the fullest, and her days were spent in front of a mirror, examining her body for any signs of age. She ceased to smile, worrying the creases in her skin would speed up her aging process.

The day came when she found a wrinkle in the center of her forehead, and, distraught with her one imperfection, jumped from the castle balcony to the garden below. Shocked from the sudden death of their queen, the Club district urged the other districts to seal their portals to the human realm for the next few months to prevent any more destruction.

Obviously, we didn't take action quickly enough, for the fourth and fifth Alices tumbled through the Heart district's portal within the week. These two were a pair of fun-loving twins, Rei and Shin. Giddy with childish thoughts, they pranced through the gardens of Wonderland, stopping for tea under hickory trees, cackling over corny jokes.

They were quite young, clearly underage to be running around without supervision, which they seemed to realize themselves after a few days. Hungry, crying, and, frankly, out of tea, the two ran in a frenzied rush through Wonderland, having completely forgotten which way they'd come from. Without foresight, they had forgotten the importance of safety, and haven't found their way home since. We aren't sure of their whereabouts, but the Heart district leaves their portals open (which I find to be a terrible safety hazard; some new Alice could trip down it again), in case the two happen to wander their way back one day.

The portals, aside from the Heart district's, are all sealed tight now, for clear safety reasons. The visits we've encountered from you people of the human realm have been absolutely horrific, yet I'd like to thank you. The mistakes you've all made have taught my fellow citizens some terribly important lessons. You humans are quite strange creatures. However, if you'd ever like to pay me a visit so we can discuss crucial topics for my human studies, I believe the Heart district portal leads to the bottom of a well somewhere in Albany, New York... (I hope you keep our secret, human!)