Return to Wonderland

Return to Wonderland: Land of Chess
based on "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass"

Disclaimer:
The original story belongs to Lewis Carrol (god rest his soul) and I'm only borrowing the characters.

Author's note:
I have decided the cut this whole story into two sections. The first taking place in 'The Land of Cards' and the story continues in 'The Land of Chess' or Mirrorland as some people so aptly call it. Well, hope this clears some things up and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.
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Return to Wonderland: The Land of Chess
AJ Angelique

Chapter 1: Crossing Over

Griffin and Alice flew through the night and reached the western boarders just moments after the sun rose in the East. There the two landed in a feild of long grass and wild flowers, none of which spoke at the time due to the fact that they were still waking up.

"What are we doing here?" Alice asked.
"This is the border between the Chess and Card kingdoms," Griffin said as he led Alice through the feild.

"Kingdoms?" Alice asked.
"Yes. You see, Wonderland is actually a pretty big place. The land you stand on is apart of the Card Kingdom, which is divided into four relams which are ruled by royals of the four suits," Griffin said.

"Heart, Diamond, Spade and Club," Alice said.
"Yes and the Chess kingdom is split in half to be ruled over by two royal families."
"Red and white."
"Correct again. Now, remember how you got to the Chess Kingdom?"
"Yeah, I slipped through a mirror."
"And you will get back there the same way," Griffin said as they came to the top of a hill. The two looked down and Alice was surprised to see what looked like an very ornate archway stuck in the ground...yet rather than curved, the archway was boxed, as if someone had taken a picture frame and buried one side of it in the ground. Either way, the structure was made of a silvery metal that was highly polished and well taken care of. The two approached it and Alice noted that there was no other structure in the area as a soft wind blew in the air and made the long grass bob up and down a bit. Then Alice was caught by surprise once she and Griffin were in front of the structure, she saw her own relfection!

"Alice?" Griffin asked, curious as to why she looked so surprise. Alice turned to look at him but then noticed that he didn't have a reflection.

"Where's your reflection?" she asked. Griffin raised an eyebrow at this and looked into the frame to see that she was casting a reflection.

"Odd," he commented.
"What's odd?"
"Alice, this is a mirror. This is also one of the few gateways between the two kingdoms. Normally, it doesn't cast a reflection," Griffin said.

"Then why can we see m" A" Alice asked.
"I don't know...maybe it's one of the reasons why Spirit has asked you to go to the Chess Kingdom to see the queens," Griffin said.

"Maybe...how do I get in?" Alice asked.
"The same way as before, just step through."
"I see," Alice said and turned back to the mirror. She lifted up her hands and carefully placed the palms against the glass only to be surprised when the space around them began to ripple as if she had just touched the surface of some body of water. Yet when Alice pulled her hands back they were dry.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Alice commented to herself as she placed her hands back on the mirror and it began to ripple once more. This time, Alice pressed her hands on the glass only to have them slip into the glass as if it was water.

"Well, here I go. Thanks for all your help Griffin," Alice said and took a single step into the mirror. As she slipped through the mirror, she felt a tug pull her forward and in the blink of an eye the sceenery around her changed from a wild feild to a tended feild cut to look like a giant checker board.

"I'm back," Alice gasped as she looked around the feild. She was alone save for a few flowers and some distant trees, but she couldn't see either castle from where she stood.

"Well, guess I better start my journey," Alice said and began to move forward.
"WAIT!" shouted an small female voice which startled Alice and made her jump so badly that she landed on her tush with a loud 'umph'. She then looked around and saw that one of the nearby flowers was looking at her. It was a single Morning Glory with the face of a young girl.

"Did you just talk?" Alice asked.
"Yes, I did. Lady, you have to be more careful when traveling around here," Morning Glory said.
"Why? Are the two royals playing chess today?" Alice asked.
"No, they aren't."
"They why...?"
"Because the feild isn't what it appears to be be. Each square you see out there isn't a section of feild but whole 'nother part of the kingdom."

Alice blinked twice in surprise at this and looked around the feild once more. This time, her second sight showed her that what Morning Glory told her was true. To her upper left she saw a beach where a walrus walked with a carpenter. To her upper right she saw a bleak looking forest. Right to her right was the two knights fighting once again. Behind her, to her lower right was a set of bitter cold mountians. To her lower left was a libary full of stuffy looking books where various animals had gathered for a lecture. Right behind her was a vast desert and right in fornt of her was a rather pleasent looking forest.

"Now you see," Morning Glory said.
"Yes, thank you for helping me," Alice said as she stood up and brushed herself off before she stepped into the square right in front of her. Yet just as she stepped and vanished into the squarho sho should appear but of all people...

"Chesire Cat!" Morning Glory gasped and closed her petals up on her face. Unfortunatly, he heard her voice and looked down at the trembeling flower.

"You there! Tell me, did a girl come by here?" he demanded but his loud and angry tone of voice only served to frighten the flower even more and she didn't have the nerve to talk.

"Shit!" he cd und under his breath and he pissed on the flower which screamed in terror before he sniffed the air a couple times for Alice's scent and stepped into the square to the left of the one Alice vanished into.

The chase is on.

Next)
Chapter 2: Odds and Ends

The pictures have finally been posted!
www.angelfire.com/ok5/tangled_web