There was once a dream. The dream was quite small, and it was lonely. It was weak, and could easily die. But if it died, it would be forgotten. The dream thought and thought, and it finally came up with an idea.

"I will make the humans dream me, and then I shall live forever in their memories."

Akai stared at the ceiling of her room, adrenaline and fear pulsing through her veins. War had broken out here. She was stuck in this zone, this battle, simply an innocent girl who could be killed in crossfire. What had she done to deserve this? She lay down on her bed, hoping to escape to the refuge of sleep, just for a little while.

I wish I could leave this place of death.

A sudden wind blew by, and Akai looked around to see an entirely different world then the one she had come from. She was lying on soft green grass, flowers were blooming everywhere. There was a small plume of smoke from a small village on the horizon. She looked around, not knowing where she was or how she had gotten there. She felt at peace where she was.

This is truly a peaceful place.

She stood up from her sitting position, experiencing a strange feeling of contentment. Her footsteps were quiet on the ground. She smiled at the blue sky as she walked towards the village, happy for the first time in weeks. The village was actually quite close. In about five minutes, Akai was there, and it was beautiful. No yelling, no fighting, the village was populated, but not overcrowded.

Real things are never this beautiful

Akai looked around, no one seemed to think her strange. The clothing everyone was wearing looked as if it had come from the Renaissance, wouldn't her clothing seem outlandish to them? A nearby shop window made her understand. Her reflection revealed she was wearing an old red dress, beautiful, but not out of place here.

Is this me in a past life?

A small child came running up to Akai. "Alice! Alice!" The child was a little girl; she looked about six years old. Confusion clouded her gaze as she got closer to Akai "Are you Alice?"

Who is Alice?

Akai shook her head "I am not Alice." The child looked disappointed, as if she had expected another answer, and then ran away. There were now many disapproving stares directed at Akai, as if she had done something horrible. All of the villagers were quiet, there was no sound anywhere.

Why are they staring? I did nothing wrong!

Akai spun around in embarrassment, feeling angry that the villagers were acting so strange towards her. She walked into a random shop, hoping to escape. Swords and other weapons lined the wall of the shop, it was quite strange.

Weapons? Why do they sell weapons?

The weapons seemed appealing somehow, Akai thought it would be nice to have something to protect herself, and this was a strange place, after all. "How much does a sword cost?"

It's only for self-defense, after all.

Surprise shone in the shopkeeper's eyes "You want a sword?" his eyebrows pulled together in an expression of confusion. "I suppose you could just take the one you want, you won't be needing it, after all."

They're free? I might need one, so that's good.

With a smile, Akai looked at the swords. Her eyes fell on one that glistened in the sunlight; it was silver, infused with a beautiful ruby red colour. She reached out and grabbed it, the sword was warm, and Akai felt power radiating from it. After taking it, Akai took it outside. There were more people in the town square now, going about their daily business. When they saw the sword in Akai's hand, they all looked shocked.

Ha, see? You can't kill me so easily now! I know that's what you all wanted to do all along! You evil, evil people!

Akai started to laugh. These people were powerless now. She took her sword and attacked the nearest person, cutting off her head. The villagers screamed and Akai advanced towards them, she started attacking those she could reach.

You can't hurt me! I'm better than you!

Blood covered the ground and Akai continued the slaughter until no one was left. She smiled and looked at her blood-soaked clothing.

It's fitting for a red person like me.

She turned and walked out of the village, her long bloody dress creating a red path on the ground. Leaving the village behind her, she walked to the place she had started off at. The area seemed different somehow, more sinister. Akai smiled and sat down on the grass. It seemed different though.

Why do I feel so strange?

The wind seemed to whisper to Akai. The grass was cold, like a corpse. Akai stood up, frightened. Her dress seemed heavy, and her sword burned like fire. Screams of the villagers rang through Akai's memories. She turned to the forest, needing to get away from here but too scared to return to the empty village. She ran into it, the low branches whipping at her face. Her mind continued to replay the screams.

Shut up. Shut Up! SHUT UP!

The blood-stained dress seemed heavier and heavier on Akai, and in her haste she tripped and fell into a deep hole. It was a very narrow hole. Akai couldn't get back up, there were bars on one side of the pit where she landed, it revealed an underground cavern. The pit was like a jail cell, she could not escape. She grabbed at the bars, shaking them, yelling and screaming.

That girl was bloodthirsty and cruel. She was not fit to be Alice.

The first Alice was a gallant red one

Wielding a sword in a hand in the wonderland

Slicing down everything in her way

She was followed by a bloody red path.

This new ALICE deep in the woods

Was trapped as a wanted fugitive

If it weren't for the red path that she made

No one would think that she even existed.