The book is pretty much about the real story of "Alice in Wonderland." It's not the happy version where she goes down the rabbit hole and finds a crazy world. It's a dark version were Alyss is the princess of Wonderland and she has magical powers and everything seems just dandy. Until her Aunt Redd arrives.
Age's I say are probably around 11-15
Prologue[]
The prologue shows Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson showing Alice[1]Liddell (whose name is actually spelled 'Alyss' even though everyone else thinks otherwise) the rough-cut for his story, Alice's Adventures Underground. Alyss becomes upset at Dodgson because he made her tragic story turn into a festive little book. She refuses to speak to Dodgson ever again.
Main Story[]
On Alyss' seventh birthday, she gets a very unwanted gift. Her evil Aunt Redd and her troops attack Heart castle and Wonderland itself. During the bloody surprise attack, Alyss is forced to flee Wonderland with Hatter Madigan. The Cat is right on their tail. Genevieve and Redd fight in a final battle as Alyss barely manages to escape from the palace. Genevieve is killed by Redd, while Alyss looks on in shock. During the bloody battle, Dodge's father, Sir Justice Anders, is murdered by The Cat, creating a sense of hate and anger inside of Dodge. He vows that one day, he will kill The Cat and avenge his father.
Hatter and Alyss, enter a portal called the Pool of Tears. From it they find themselves on Earth. The only way out is through puddles that work as exit portals. Alyss and Hatter are separated during the journey and she arrives in London, while Hatter arrives in Paris.
Alyss spends some time with street orphans, trying her best to survive. Everyday her Imagination is becoming weaker, until it practically disappears. Suddenly, she finds herself being adopted by the Liddell family. She is given the name "Odd Alice" for her stories about Wonderland, Imagination, and the way she insists her name be spelled. When Dodgson changes her stories, she shuns her imagination and makes herself believe that Wonderland never existed.
During this time, Hatter is searching every corner of the world to find Alyss. He's always said that men that deal with hats are to be trusted above all others. He stops in every hat shop he can, asking about the whereabouts of the Princess. He also follows people with the glow of White Imagination, knowing that Alyss would most likely glow the brightest. During his journey, he becomes a mystery to people on Earth. They begin telling stories of how he is searching for a young lady and that he is a blade-wielding man on a strange quest leading him to hat merchants around the world.
After thirteen years of searching for the lost princess, Hatter finds Dodgson's book. He uses this to track down Dodgson, and to find Alyss, who is now twenty years old. When he arrives at Oxford, Hatter discovers that the princess is to marry to Prince Leopold. Before Hatter is able to rescue the Alyss, he is unexpectedly wounded and driven back to Wonderland. Dodge himself decides to go into the Pool of Tears, and rescue Alyss.
For thirteen years, the people of Wonderland have suffered under Redd's dictatorial reign of Black Imagination. There are some who are still loyal to White Imagination. They gather in the Whispering Woods and have been surviving on their own. Their leaders are General Doppelganger and Bibwit Harte. They are called the "Alyssians" and they enjoy battling against Redd's forces, trying to weaken her grip on the throne. After thirteen years with no sign of Alyss ever returning home, the camp begins to lose hope and the Alyssians are considering turning themselves in to Redd to face the consequences, unless the unthinkable (and somewhat impossible) happens. Alyss returns to Wonderland.
Characters that I Haven't Gotten too in Depth to but are still Pretty Important[]
- Dodge Anders - Alyss' best friend. He hates The Cat for killing his father and becomes isolated after many years of not being able to kill The Cat.
- Hatter Madigan - The Queen's, and later Alyss', bodyguard. He wears a hat that can flatten and produce S-shaped blades and he has a pack with an unlimited supply of weapons.
- Bibwit Harte - Alyss' tutor. He works for Redd after Alyss and Hatter leave, however, he is only there to give information to the Alyssians since they needed an "inside man".
- General Doppelganger - Commander of the Royal Army. He can split himself into many General Dopples and General Gangers, but usually he just sticks with one of each.
- Jack of Diamonds - Alyss' betrothed in the beginning. He becomes a double agent, working for Redd and the Alyssians; however he always withholds many important pieces on information.
- The Cat. Redd's top assassin. He has 9 lives, making him difficult to kill. Whenever he upsets Redd, she takes one of his lives away. Dodge wants to take away any remaining lives the Cat has in order to avenge his father.
A Little more Insight into Wonderland and Other Small Details[]
- Wonderland is ruled by the use of imagination and without it, there would be no imagination in the world. Wonderland is a Queendom with an advising Parliament that is made up of a playing card hierarchy. The Heart family is the ruling family and the parliament is made up of the Spades, Diamonds, and Clubs families. The ruling families are matriarchies, making the object of ridicule in Boardeland, which is in fact a kingdom.
- The Pool of Tears got its name from being the place where loved ones go to cry and wait for family members who have jumped in to return. Puddles on Earth that don't seem to "belong" in places (such as puddles on store windows or in a dry area that has not seen rain), are the exit portals, through which one can return to Wonderland.
- Imagination's Eye is a power that seems to be possessed by the Royal family. It can be used to find someone that you are looking for or to look at a place that is too far away to walk to. It's mainly used for spying on others.
- Black Imagination - Bad (Redd)
- White Imagination - Good (Alyss)