To the Edge of Darkness - UNDER MAJOR EDITING

Prologue

There was once a land far away, where everything was beyond imagination. The forests, the mountains, the rivers, the animals and even the humans differed from anything we had ever seen on Earth. A place where the laws of gravity could have been broken, and where the most terrific secrets would have been revealed. Some called it the Land of Wonders, and others would have called it Wonderland. But however, this story does not quite start there...

It all began during a rainy evening of the month of November 1865, in a small train station situated in England. Almost everyone had already left, leaving the place filled with outdated newspapers, worn out train tickets, and forgotten suitcases. The last train of the day had left fifteen minutes ago, and the station master was heading in direction of his untidy office to work on some unfinished papers before leaving for the night. He locked the front doors and put out the oil lamps, but he, however, did not seem to notice the little girl who sat on top of a small suitcase, at the very end of the station, as though she could go unnoticed by whomever she pleased. She wore a blue fabric mantle with five round wooden buttons and a knitted wool scarf to keep her warm, which suited her big bright blue eyes quite well. She sighted her surroundings and waited for someone to come but realized after a fairly good number of hours that she had, once again, been abandoned. Letting go of a rather long and somewhat exasperated sigh, the little girl with curly blond hair got up and turned around to pick up her small suitcase.

And then she heard it.

It sounded like something exploding from the inside, but as the noise persisted it became hollow, and she could have sworn the concrete floor beneath her feet was trembling. As it obviously came from somewhere behind her, she did not dare turn around at first. But she was overwhelming with curiosity, and she somehow just needed to know what was happening. As she did so, her eyes immediately landed on the most unpredictable thing ever: a small, fluffy white bunny that was sniffing around the air. It only took a matter of seconds for the animal to notice the girl, and as soon as it did, its bright eyes widened out of surprise and fear.

After what seemed like an interminable moment of staring at each other, the girl decided to extend her hand forward with a wide smile, which formed small dimples on her cheeks.

"Hello," she tilted her head softly, her eyes staring yet again at the rabbit when she noticed it was not shaking her hand. "You have to shake it, you know. I don't bite."

The rabbit tickled its little pink nose as it considered her words and eventually gave in. However, it made sure to keep an eye contact with the girl the entire time their hands—or paws—touched. What an odd way of greetings those humans have, it thought. "Where... um, where am I?"

The little girl's smile widened a little, but she somehow did not seem surprised or shocked to be standing in front of a talking bunny, as though she was used of meeting animals gifted with speech. "I am not quite sure where we are, exactly, but if however, you did not know yet, we are in England." And then, as though the question had just crossed her mind, she frowned. "May I ask who you are?"

The rabbit swallowed thickly and made sure to glance away as he nodded. "I'm Piper. But everyone calls me Pip, although... now that I'm thinking of it, mum still goes with my full name." He said, seeming thoughtful, and then looked straight up to the girl. "And who are you?"

"I'm Alice, Alice..." she began as her eyes hovered upon the cold floor, as though she was trying to remember something very important. "I'm... just Alice." She paused, a new smile drawing upon her features. "Now, will you tell me what you are doing here? Are you waiting for someone too?"

Pip found his little heart clench as the question was asked. "I, um... I disobeyed my mother..." he reluctantly answered as he peered down to his delicate paws. "I stole her travelling necklace and used it to explore other places, but I accidentally crashed into this world..."

Alice gasped when he mentioned the stealing part and was about to quibble the rabbit, but her curiosity won over her common sense. "Wait, can you really travel to other places?"

The animal nodded heavily, seeing the growing interest in her voice. "Where I come from," he started, glancing around them and noticed that she was all by herself in this dark and sinister place. "You would never be alone. You know, maybe you could... come with me?"

The glints of excitement that suddenly popped into her blue eyes were almost impossible. "Really?" She gasped, suddenly thinking of what her new life could be like. "Will I... will I have a family?"

"Oh," the rabbit chuckled. "That, I can promise you..."

A large smile covered her lips when she turned around to grab her small suitcase and positioned herself so she would be standing right next to her new friend.

"Oh please, Pip, show me this place of yours!" Alice exclaimed. She was so desperate to leave this sad and cold world behind to follow the rabbit in this exciting new place.

He gently grabbed her hand and with his other paw, pressed a small button on the golden necklace around his neck and they both disappeared suddenly, leaving purple smoke floating around the deserted train station.