You finally decide upon the white and blue dress with diamonds. The one representing Alice from "Alice In Wonderland". It's not like you have a massive amount of choice. For you, it's the lesser evil. At least Alice as a character is connected in popular culture to drugs and fun time with substances. Better than being the victim of a big bad wolf or to crash at teddy ears' place like the Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks respectively. And as you look at the dress, you do notice that it's not as cheap as you might have expected. The dress is blue, with the hem subtly and finely printed with cats having a tea party. The white part of the dress - the one you wrongly thought was part of the dress itself - is actually a sort of apron - a pinafore, you dimly remember - which bears along its hem little stitched characters from the book. The white rabbit with a clock and running, the caterpillar and its hookah, a griffin, a dodo, the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen, and others you didn't even know existed. So you put on this costume and the wig. It's a little big but it could be worse. You feel a bit silly too, but it's a masquerade so it shouldn't be too bad. As you thought before, at least the costume isn't cheap. It gives off a little more style in that. The ridiculous aspect is thus toned down. So you head out to the masquerade at last.
The party is in full swing and all of the costumes are quite stunning. Completely stunning, in fact. Actually, they are so impressive and stylish that the overall atmosphere is pretty shabby in comparison. The costumes clash with the cheap-looking drinks and building. It turns out - surprise surprise - that a high school is NOT the natural setting and environment for a masquerade. But the costumes are incredibly diverse. It really looks like every fantasy creature met up to bring sophistication and refinement in this dinky location. The food and drinks that are chips, cookies and fizzy drinks just seem tacky in comparison. At least, people compliment you about your costume and you give back kind comments too. Which are sincere. You dance too, in spite of the inappropriateness of the music compared to the fine clothes around. And the more you dance, the more things turn around, the more things get blurry. Your head starts spinning and you stop, clutching your head. Oh, no... Are you getting light-headed because of hypoglycaemia? You close your eyes, ignoring the awful sensations. You even feel prickling on your scalp, as if insects are crawling in the wing and entering your skin. Ugh!... What's happening?
But as soon as it started, the unpleasant sensation vanishes and when you open your eyes, you discover a new world. A thick forest, with a tiny path. And you're alone. Completely alone. Are you dreaming? Were you drugged? It seems real enough, though. You look around, your brain noticing dimly that the costume does not feel as large anymore.
And though you don't realise it now, but in this world, it's not only encountering fairy tale characters that is a risk. You are not the spitting portrait of Alice, a little girl dressed like the perfect picture of female youth. You are a little girl lost in the woods, which means a lot of creatures would love to snatch you up, to adopt you or keep you as a little pet. Or sell you to other creatures for that purpose. Being invited to a mad tea party would nbe the best of outcomes, actually.