A Sip Away | PG | Alice in Wonderland
Title: A Sip Away
Prompt: Maybe Alice saved some Jabberwocky blood so she could return to Underland down the line... who's she going to see?
Fandom: Alice/The Red Queen, Alice in Wonderland
Requested by: jennedyjld
Rating: PG
Word Count: 652
Disclaimer: Not mine. Wish they were. Please don't sue.
Author's Note: I recently rewatched AiW and begged for prompts. This is the first of the two that I received. Hope you enjoy!
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For the twenty-third time that day, Alice thought of the blood of the Jabberwock. The remaining liquid resided within a tiny vial that she kept on a blue ribbon around her neck. She wore it always, for it reminded her of impossible things and gave her courage when she needed it (which was at least twice a day). It seemed to Alice that the possibility of returning to Underland gave her strength; her escape was only a sip away.
She thought of it often and longed to return. She thought of the Hatter and of the Cheshire cat, of the beautiful queen that peacefully ruled her most favorite magical place. Her desire to return was strong but she had resisted for three years, taking comfort in knowing that she could go if she so wished.
And she did wish, and often. Alice missed her friends, missed surrounding herself with people and creatures as mad as she. She felt more at home there than she did anywhere else.
Alice forced herself to remain strong in her decision to carry out her father’s dreams, which had become her own. Her responsibilities kept her rooted firmly in reality, though her mind still drifted to her treasured far away land.
It wasn’t much of a surprise for Alice to discover that with responsibility came loneliness. She was a good worker; her apprenticeship had opened many doors and opportunities that made her feel like a woman of value, of worth, and less like the scared child that was good for nothing but taking orders. Now she gave orders. Now she had a voice.
But growing up was hard, harder than Alice had ever expected it to be. She’d once believed it would be a grand adventure, but with each birthday came greater expectations and less time for the frivolities that gave her great joy.
Alice couldn’t think of anything worse than being lonely. She was surrounded by people and yet she often felt alone. She was still an outsider. She had a feeling that she always would be.
It was for this reason that her thoughts often drifted to one particular inhabitant of Underland. Not her dear friend the Hatter or the beloved pair of boys, but of the banished Red Queen.
Her sympathies confused her. The Red Queen truly had been rather vile and malevolent; that was not in question. Alice could not even disagree with her punishment. But what could be worse than an eternity of having no kindness shown to you or no friends to accompany you? Alice herself felt bereft during the days that passed without the comforting smile of a stranger or the gentle hug of a friend. She could not imagine a lifetime of solitude, spent with a man who hated you.
She often wondered if it had been worth it for the Red Queen. Were the crimes justifiable?
Alice clutched the vial in her fist and closed her eyes, wishing that she were not on a deadline. She longed to return to Underland. She didn’t want to have a lifetime of loneliness. She knew with relative certainty that if she were to return, she would seek out the Red Queen. It would be foolish, of course, to disobey the White Queen’s orders, but it was a compulsion that Alice felt very strongly about.
Perhaps just a smile, or a hug, or even a nod of her head would give the Red Queen a fragment of the compassion that she had so desperately craved. Perhaps a little kindness would make eternity pass a little easier.
Alice would not return to Underland. Not yet. She would save the blood of the Jabberwocky for when she’d earned a true vacation. She would honor her responsibilities. She would go back, and when she did, she would mollify her loneliness just a little by visiting someone who needed it as much as she did.
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Prompt: Maybe Alice saved some Jabberwocky blood so she could return to Underland down the line... who's she going to see?
Fandom: Alice/The Red Queen, Alice in Wonderland
Requested by: jennedyjld
Rating: PG
Word Count: 652
Disclaimer: Not mine. Wish they were. Please don't sue.
Author's Note: I recently rewatched AiW and begged for prompts. This is the first of the two that I received. Hope you enjoy!
-
For the twenty-third time that day, Alice thought of the blood of the Jabberwock. The remaining liquid resided within a tiny vial that she kept on a blue ribbon around her neck. She wore it always, for it reminded her of impossible things and gave her courage when she needed it (which was at least twice a day). It seemed to Alice that the possibility of returning to Underland gave her strength; her escape was only a sip away.
She thought of it often and longed to return. She thought of the Hatter and of the Cheshire cat, of the beautiful queen that peacefully ruled her most favorite magical place. Her desire to return was strong but she had resisted for three years, taking comfort in knowing that she could go if she so wished.
And she did wish, and often. Alice missed her friends, missed surrounding herself with people and creatures as mad as she. She felt more at home there than she did anywhere else.
Alice forced herself to remain strong in her decision to carry out her father’s dreams, which had become her own. Her responsibilities kept her rooted firmly in reality, though her mind still drifted to her treasured far away land.
It wasn’t much of a surprise for Alice to discover that with responsibility came loneliness. She was a good worker; her apprenticeship had opened many doors and opportunities that made her feel like a woman of value, of worth, and less like the scared child that was good for nothing but taking orders. Now she gave orders. Now she had a voice.
But growing up was hard, harder than Alice had ever expected it to be. She’d once believed it would be a grand adventure, but with each birthday came greater expectations and less time for the frivolities that gave her great joy.
Alice couldn’t think of anything worse than being lonely. She was surrounded by people and yet she often felt alone. She was still an outsider. She had a feeling that she always would be.
It was for this reason that her thoughts often drifted to one particular inhabitant of Underland. Not her dear friend the Hatter or the beloved pair of boys, but of the banished Red Queen.
Her sympathies confused her. The Red Queen truly had been rather vile and malevolent; that was not in question. Alice could not even disagree with her punishment. But what could be worse than an eternity of having no kindness shown to you or no friends to accompany you? Alice herself felt bereft during the days that passed without the comforting smile of a stranger or the gentle hug of a friend. She could not imagine a lifetime of solitude, spent with a man who hated you.
She often wondered if it had been worth it for the Red Queen. Were the crimes justifiable?
Alice clutched the vial in her fist and closed her eyes, wishing that she were not on a deadline. She longed to return to Underland. She didn’t want to have a lifetime of loneliness. She knew with relative certainty that if she were to return, she would seek out the Red Queen. It would be foolish, of course, to disobey the White Queen’s orders, but it was a compulsion that Alice felt very strongly about.
Perhaps just a smile, or a hug, or even a nod of her head would give the Red Queen a fragment of the compassion that she had so desperately craved. Perhaps a little kindness would make eternity pass a little easier.
Alice would not return to Underland. Not yet. She would save the blood of the Jabberwocky for when she’d earned a true vacation. She would honor her responsibilities. She would go back, and when she did, she would mollify her loneliness just a little by visiting someone who needed it as much as she did.
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