Victoria

It is the year 1831 in England. Victoria was borne to a poor family in the slums of England's Industrial Revolution. Malnourished, underweight, and sickly, she barely managed to survive the first years of her life, and many of her siblings died. Once she had turned eight, her parents sold her to a nearby textile factory, like many other parents in that time period. Forced into grueling, monotonous work, Victoria would often escape into her imagination and dream of somewhere far away, somewhere where she could be free. The foreman, displeased with her constant day-dreaming, frequently beat her and starved her in hopes of more productive work. Whenever she heard him yell, she would start crying and escape into her mind to avoid the horrors of reality.
One day, while she was working, she noticed a cat inside the factory. She watched it, concerned that if the foreman noticed, he would probably kill the cat. She met the feline's eyes, and the cat cocked her head and gestured with her tail, as if to say, "Follow me"
Victoria shook her head, sadly I can't, she thought to herself.
The cat kept its glare on Victoria, gestured again with its tail, and slipped out the front doors.
Curious now, she checked to see if the foreman was watching. Once his absense was confirmed, she ran out of the factory, following the cat. The cat lead her to the fields beside the river that was behind the factory, once full of trees, but had since all been cut down. Suddenly, the cat stopped. Victoria caught up with the cat and reached out to grab it, but before she could it leapt down into the rabbit hole it had stopped in front of.
"Kitty?" Victoria called down the hole, worried.
"Kitty?!"
In the darkness, she saw two tiny eyes gleaming at her, saying, "Follow me."
Victoria hesitated for a moment. What was she doing? She stared into the hole. Then, she heard a familiar voice, the foreman had noticed her absence.
She froze. She couldn't go back. There was no way she could go back. Taking a deep breath, she leapt down the rabbit hole, revealing it to be far larger than she originally thought. She tried to scream, but the wind swallowed up her terror, stinging her eyes and lifting her dress. Slowly, a soft light began to make way at the end of the dark hole. It crept, closer and closer. Closing her eyes, she braced for impact.
Slamming into the grass below, she screamed in agony, her cries echoing throughout the forest she landed in and causing strange creatures to be upsetted and fly off. She rolled onto her back and sobbed hysterically.
After what seemed like ages, the initial shock of what happened had worn off, and so had some of the pain from her landing. She finally opened her eyes to reveal a bright green canopy shimmering above her, minus a few broken branches from where she had fallen. Blinking in the bright sunlight, she wearily got to her feet, limping on one leg. Biting back tears, she looked around, hoping to find someone to explain what was happening. Slowly, the feeling of lonliness crept over her.
"....Hello?" she called out shakily. Her voiced echoed through the still forest, the sound of leaves waving in the wind her only response.

And then, someone found her...

♥