Alice in Red (ON HOLD)

Three

And she was falling again.

Alice let out a shrill scream of frustration; she was mad. Why was she still falling? Why couldn't she be flying or floating instead of plummeting down stupidly like a rock. At least this time the only good part was that she could see where she was going.

Wind tore anew at her closing cuts, peeling the skin from her flesh, leaving a trail of bloody droplets flying behind her. The shreds that were her clothes flew off, some strips still clinging desperately onto her body, resisting the whirling wind. It was strange, how it didn't hurt more, like a cut in the real world would hurt. In fact, Alice thought, she barely felt anything at all.

The sea was a vast expanse of blue and, surprisingly a dark purple. She had hoped that once she got out of the room and taken a good look outside, the body of water would've been smaller, much, much smaller. Instead, the more she strained to see past the bluish purple, to see if she could find a glimpse of land, the more it resembled nothing more than a plain carpet of glimmering indigo, stretching forever in each direction. Waves, ones that looked to be double her height, crashed with white foam together into their neighboring waves. Dark, shadowy patches could be seen beneath the surface of the water, some flashing before her eyes then disappearing just as fast, while others just stood in one place, unmoving.

It seemed that she was headed straight for one of the static shadows. Alice flipped and turned in the air, the sudden gust of wind from the sea tossed her around like a piece of ribbon. The world spun before her, creating a mix of sky blue and rich violet.

The unexpected slap of pain from hitting the water hard, made Alice lash out and give a small cry. Almost immediately she began to sink.

Normally sinking would be a bad thing, but this time Alice had a bit more to worry about; she now understood why it didn't hurt so much before-- so that this moment could feel a hundred times worse than it already was.

The water was full of salt. Alice screamed, this time a real scream full of pain. The whole of her body locked into place, unable to move a muscle from the utter agony. Every cut, every scratch, every scrap she had gotten in the past day burned, as if pure acid had been poured onto her naked skin.

It was too much. She was confused, angry and disoriented. She couldn't take it anymore, and with the last bit of air escaping her lips, Alice fainted.

~~~

Alice found herself alone in a large room.

She was laying on her back in a bed, one that felt extremely squishy. A downy fur coverlet had been placed over her body, warming her chest. The ceiling was a comforting shade of light beige, the colour of her own ceiling back at home. She felt content, it had just been a dream, as if she had fallen off of her tree and her tutor had brought her back to the estate. But sadly this wasn't what her room looked like.

Alice yawned, stretching her arms over her head when a thought made her pause. It didn't hurt. Reeling with anticipation, Alice grabbed hold of the furry blanket and yanked it off of herself. Not a single mark could be seen. Her clothes were gone and in their place, all she wore was a flimsy white shift. The dozens of angry red gashes that had scarred her body from before had disappeared without a trace. She felt her head. The pounding headache, the thing that had kept her from thinking clearly, had vanished as well. Alice laughed, a breathless sound, full of haughtiness and just a bit of relief. Of course she wouldn't have died, what had she been thinking? She looked around, studying the spacious room. The ceiling was the beige colour she had noticed from before but the walls were a deep, forest green, the far wall lighter than the other three. The floor was also green and carpeted by what resembled short, low, bristly blades of grass.