Reflections of a Champion

Chapter 1: Return of the Champion

Alice Kingsleigh had borne many titles in her life. She had been called a daughter, a sister, and a playmate. She had been referred to as a fiancée – well, almost! – a champion, and an apprentice. Some people said she was mad – a most delightful “M” word, if she did say so, herself! She had been called stubborn. A daydreamer. A lost cause. She had been called wild. Odd. Unladylike. And many men had dared to call her beautiful, though utterly impossible to tame. Occasionally, one or two of the more vulgar members of the crew had called her names that made her fists clench and her cheeks burn with anger at their ignorant, chauvinistic comments. Yes, Alice thought, she had been called many things in her life, but “proper” certainly wasn’t one of them. Alice sighed as she looked out the carriage window. She had hoped that by apprenticing with her late father’s company, she would be able to escape all of the strains and limitations that society placed on her, but the men aboard The Wonder were no different from the men in London. In fact, if anything, they had been worse. She constantly had to remind them that she was in charge of the mission, but aside from the captain – who was an old friend of her father and Lord Ascot – no one ever seemed to listen to her. And even he had regarded her with a somewhat protective, paternal air. He meant well, she knew, but she was a Champion, for goodness’ sakes! And after fighting an electric fire-breathing Jabberwocky, enduring the crude humor and crass words of a few drunken sailors should have been a walk in the park. Nevertheless, she reluctantly conceded, it was probably a good thing the captain had looked out for her; the hunger in the eyes of the sailors and the hunger in the eyes of the Jabberwocky held two completely different meanings. Alice shuddered at the thought. And what was worse, still, was that amid all their snide comments and slovenly behavior, she had still been expected to act like a proper lady! And she was still expected to take a second seat to the men. When it was time to negotiate the trade agreements with the Chinese, it was the captain who signed the documents – though he was kind enough to ask her to write the terms at her discretion. True, she had been free from wearing dresses and corsets aboard the ship – had dressed much like a man and had frequently pinned up her long hair so that she looked the part – but no matter how hard she tried to assimilate into their culture, no matter how hard she tried to blend in as “one of them,” she never quite earned their respect. She was never truly a part of the crew. To them, she was just an odd, attractive young woman who wanted to tag along on a men’s business trip. In their eyes, she would never be more than a little girl – no, scratch that – she would never be more than a woman. And in this world, a woman wasn’t worth anything more than a cook, a maid, and an occasional distraction. She had seen how their eyes raked over her, and thank goodness she hadn’t been wearing a dress, for if she had, she was quite sure that they would have seen to it that she was freed from any corset she had been wearing! Hot tears streaked down her cheeks as the carriage hit another bump in the road. She might have been better off if she had just stayed home and married Hamish! Hamish was a bit of a pig, but at least he was enough of a gentleman to respect her personal space. “You could stay,” a voice echoed in her mind. She should have, she realized belatedly. There was only one man – aside from her deceased father – who would ever appreciate her for just being Alice. There was only one place where her madness would be embraced instead of discouraged, one place where she would truly fit in, one place where she would feel at home. “Wonderland,” she whispered. Well, actually, it was called Underland, she mentally corrected herself, but to her, it would always be Wonderland. She missed her friends. She missed the adventure and excitement and nonsense of it all. Most especially, she missed the Hatter. She hadn’t realized it when she left Underland, but now that she’d had nearly three dreadfully dull years at sea to think about it, she knew that she felt more for the Hatter than just friendship. She had told Hamish that he wasn’t the right man for her, but at the time, she hadn’t known that the man who was right for her had been living right under her nose – or rather, right under the Ascot’s lawn – her entire life! Yes, she would most definitely have to return to Underland soon. Very soon. The carriage rolled to a stop in front of the wrought iron gate entrance to the Ascot estate. They weren’t expecting company, so there was no one to greet her, save the guard at the gate, who recognized the lord’s apprentice and promptly let her in. She had just returned from the voyage to China, and she had planned to surprise her mentor before going home, as the Ascot residence was along the way back from the docks. Alice smiled. As much as she despised Lady Ascot and as much as Hamish annoyed her, she was glad to be back in the company of familiar faces. She removed the pins holding her golden tresses in place and shook her curls loose from their restrictive grasp, letting the gentle spring breeze run its fingers through her hair and play with a stubborn tendril that insisted on falling right between her eyes, sticking the pins in her pocket for safe-keeping. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The air smelled of roses and fresh-cut grass and sunshine. It was a welcome relief from the months she’d spend smelling nothing but sea salt and fish and the rum-laced stench of the crew. When she opened her eyes again, she was surprised to see a magnificent blue butterfly, the color of a cloudless sky in autumn, fluttering across her path. “Absolem?” she wondered aloud. Curious as ever, she found herself wandering off the path, following the creature until it landed on the branch of an old, dead tree over a very familiar rabbit hole. Alice grinned. “You know, you didn’t have to come and get me this time, Absolem. I was going to come back on my own just as soon as I’d visited Lord Ascot and my mother.” She frowned suddenly. “Perhaps I should go and speak to them first. They might begin to worry if I am gone for too long…I told them the ship would be coming in soon.” The butterfly fluttered down over the hole, flitting up and down impatiently. “Well…I suppose it can’t hurt. After all, I didn’t tell them I was coming today specifically…And I was only gone for a few minutes last time even though I spent a few days in Underland…” Alice smiled again. “Alright, Absolem. I’ll do it.” She stepped back a few feet and took a running leap into the hole. She could have sworn she heard a familiar voice fondly mutter, “Stupid girl,” as she plunged into the darkness, laughing and screaming in exhilaration.

As usual, she came crashing through the floor and landed rather uncomfortably on the ceiling beside the elegant chandelier, whose candles somehow seemed to suspend themselves in the air, flames floating freely in the Underlanian air. Then the room shifted. “Oof!” She slammed into the floor. It was a wonder she hadn’t broken any ribs or fractured her skull on any of these trips down the rabbit hole. She picked herself up and brushed the dirt from her sailor’s pants. “There must be a less painful way of doing this,” she mumbled irritably. But her frustration vanished nearly as quickly as it had come. She smiled. She was back where she belonged again. She glanced around the small room, looking for the usual box of upulketchen and bottle of pishalver along with the key…but the table was bare. No shrinking potion, no growing cake, and worst of all, no key. Well, this was certainly not what she had expected! She had assumed that, because the items had been there on her past trips down the hole, they would be there once again. But when she had come as a child, someone must have been expecting her, and when she had returned as an adult, they were waiting on their Champion. But this time – the one time she chose to come of her own free will – Underland did not need her assistance, and so no method of escape had been provided for her. “Well, that’s just lovely,” she huffed. “There must be a way out of here somewhere…” Any other girl would have panicked, but Alice was a Champion. And Champion does not panic. Over the years she had spent at sea, Alice had learned to become quite resourceful. When you’re a woman on board a ship full of men, you have to learn to live with the basics and make do with what you have. But all Alice had was a table and the clothes on her back and – Suddenly, she had an idea. Alice reached into her pocket and felt for the hairpins she had tucked away earlier. She half expected it to be empty, but surprisingly, a few of the pins had survived the fall. She pulled one of the pins out and carefully bent the metal so that it became a straight wire. Knowing that she would be too large in her current form to use the little door, she decided to try opening one of the larger ones, instead. Alice inserted the wire into the keyhole, and after a few moments of jabbing and poking and jiggling the doorknob, there was a satisfying click. The door swung open to reveal, not the garden of talking flowers and literal dragonflies and horseflies she had been expecting, but a dense, dark jungle-like forest. Alice suspected it was the Tulgey Wood – which would have been quite nice, as it was closer to the Hatter’s tea table than the garden was – but having never entered through this door before, she was a bit hesitant to make such assumptions. I wonder where this will take me? If, indeed, it was the Tulgey Wood, then it was highly likely she would run into Chess, and he could direct her to the Hare and the Hatter. But if it wasn’t…Well, Alice didn’t know where she’d end up. “Well, there’s only one way to find out.” And with all the muchness of a Champion, she stepped out into the forest.

It was dark. Too dark for her liking, and without the light of a lantern to guide her way, it was rather difficult to see where she was going. Not that it really mattered, since she had no idea where she was headed anyway. Still, it would have made things much easier. She tripped on a root, stumbling headfirst into a brushy thicket. Relieve that no one had seen her – their Champion! – take such a clumsy fall, she tried to stand but found that her hair was tangled mercilessly in the squimberry brambles. She fought with the briars for what felt like at least half an hour, though it must have only been a few minutes, and finally managed to break free with only a few minor scratches and a few stubborn twigs caught in her curls, though her jacket sleeves were utterly ruined with mud stains stretching from her wrists to her elbows. Ah, well. It was a small price to pay to see her friends again. That is, assuming she would ever find her friends! Suddenly, there was a rustle in the bushes. Alice gasped and whirled to face whatever fiend might be following her. “Hello? Is anyone there?” The thick mist felt cool against her skin, sending an involuntary shiver up her spine. Perhaps it was just Chess, playing a trick on her, as cats are so apt to do. But Chess didn’t usually cause the bushes to rustle. He just appeared wherever he needed to be. No, if it was Chess, he would have snuck up on her silently. “Chess? Is that you?” A twig snapped. Alice’s heartbeat was racing. On board the ship, she had always carried a weapon – a gun or a sword or knife of some sort – but upon her return home, she hadn’t expected to need any form of defense. With Stayne and the Red Queen banished, Underland should have been a safe place again, but was it? Many years had passed since she was last in Underland. What changes had occurred during her absence? Was the White Queen still in power? Alice gulped and found herself suddenly wishing she hadn’t been so hasty to abandon her weapons, but Alice was a stubborn girl, and she refused to let her weakness show. She narrowed her eyes and threw her hands on her hips, glaring at the spot where she had last heard the intruder. “Chess, if you think you can frighten me, you are mistaken. Now, come out of there!” She glanced around, hoping to see the emerald eyes and characteristic toothy grin of her feline friend materializing somewhere nearby. There was no response. She was becoming worried. “Chess?” The crunch of leaves from behind drew her attention. “I’m afraid not,” a silken voice crooned. Alice froze. She would know that voice anywhere. She turned slowly to face her pursuer. Illosovic Stanyne grinned wickedly. “Welcome back, Alice.”

Chapter 2: Magic Mirror on the Wall

The Hatter had never been one to sleep peacefully. Not since the Jabberwocky attack on his village, anyway. Ever since that day, there had been dreams – horrible dreams of fire and screaming and half-charred bodies. Dreams of the tyrannical Red Queen and a moat than ran red with the blood of the innocent. And most recently, dreams of Alice leaving. One would think that after years of having such dreams, he would come to realize that they were just that – dreams – and could not harm him. The part of his brain that was still somewhat sane tried to tell him this, but of course, the madness always won out. And so, each time that he had a dream, it was like he was having it for the first time. Each time, it felt real. The Hatter tossed and turned uncomfortably on the mismatch-colored sofa in the old windmill house. Beads of sweat on his forehead mingled with the tears on his cheeks, running rivulets down the side of his face. He was gasping for breath, sobbing and shaking with fear and rage at an unseen enemy. He rolled over again, kicking and punching the quilt as though he was fighting for his life. “Nae! Ye will na take ‘er from meh! Ye will nae take ‘er! ALICE!” He woke with a start, panting heavily as reality gradually sunk in and his racing heart slowed to a normal pace. His amber, red-rimmed eyes faded to a dull green, then blue. They seemed to be that color a lot lately. He sighed and glanced over at the large oval looking-glass sitting across the room. He looked like a complete wreck. His hair was sticking up at all sorts of odd angles. His cheeks had lost their rosy hue. His eyes, now almost constantly ringed in red or bordering on blue, were tired and defeated, surrounded by dark circles. And he almost never smiled. “This is all yer fault, ye know,” he said, glaring accusingly at the mirror-Hatter. “Ye shouldnae have let ‘er go wi’ out tellin’ ‘er ‘ow ye felt.” He remembered leaning in to kiss her right before she left, but at the last moment, he had lost his muchness and ended up just whispering a forlorn goodbye. Why, oh why, hadn’t he kissed her then? Or on the balcony? Why hadn’t he done something to show her that he didn’t just want her to stay. He needed her to stay. Feeling suddenly angry with himself, he grabbed the nearest teacup and chucked it at the mirror, watching it strike the wooden frame and shatter into a million pieces…just like his heart. Tired of seeing his mercury-stained, mad, never-good-enough-for-Alice self, he drug himself off the couch and turned his back to the looking-glass, picking up a teapot and walking toward the kitchen to prepare a soothing cup of tea to ease his frazzled nerves. And then he heard a voice he thought he might never hear again. “Hatter?” The teapot fell to the floor. “A-Alice?” He was hesitant to turn around, having heard her voice too many times in his dreams to believe that it was actually her. But his curiosity won out, and he slowly turned, expecting to see nothing, yet hoping that perhaps, somehow, this was real. He was surprised to see that Alice was, indeed, standing behind him. But what shocked him even more was that she was inside the looking-glass. He wondered whether it might be a hallucination, a product of his mad, sleep- deprived mind come to haunt him. “Alice? I-is it really you? What are you doing inside the looking-glass?” Looking-glass travel and long-distance communication had once been quite popular, but after the Red Queen began her reign of terror, it became virtually unheard-of. Looking-glass travel had always been somewhat unpredictable. You could show up somewhere at a very inappropriate time, and you could only travel from one mirror to another, connected mirror. That meant you traveled to the looking-glass nearest your destination. And, of course, with many popular destinations along Crimson Sea near Salazen Grum, you might very well end up coming through one of her looking-glasses. And then there was the problem of Iracebeth using the mirrors to spy on those she believed to be disloyal to her…For the safety of her loyal subjects, Mirana had closed off all the looking-glasses of Underland. It had been nearly ten years in Underland’s time since the White Queen had returned to power, but the looking-glasses had not yet been reopened – at least, to his knowledge. And only the rightful ruler of Underland had the power to open them. “Hatter, please,” she whispered urgently. “Please, come quickly! I’m in danger! I need your help.” Alice was in trouble? “Where are ye, lass? Wha’ ‘as ‘appened ta ye?” “I’m in the Outlands.” Hatter stiffened. Something seemed…off. “I dinnae know there was a lookin’-glass in the Outlands.” “I found an old looking-glass at an abandoned house.” “An’ what are ye doin’ in the Outlands, lass? Don’ ye know that the Red Queen is there?” “That’s why I need your help! I was coming to see you, and I got a little turned around. I ran into her and Stayne in the forest. She’s raising an army against the White Queen, and they have taken me prisoner.” She glanced behind her, as though checking to see if she had been followed. The Hatter would recognize his Alice anywhere. And this Alice…well, she certainly looked like Alice. She had the same tea-colored eyes, the same golden curls – though considerably shorter than he remembered, but he supposed that she could have cut them in her time away from Underland. She even had the same blue dress she had worn on her last visit to Underland. Yes, the mirror-girl certainly looked like Alice, but something was different. Something was wrong. But what if he was mistaken? What if Alice really was in trouble? He couldn’t risk leaving her in the hands of the Red Queen. And he had been waiting to see her for such a long time! He had made his decision. He snatched his signature top hat off the table and placed it determinedly on his head. “Alrigh’, Alice. Ah’m comin’.” He closed his eyes, imagined the forest of the Outlands, and stepped through the cool surface of the glass. He was going to see Alice! His Alice! And if it wasn’t really Alice, well…what was the worst that could happen?

Chapter 3: The Knave’s Heart

Alice took a step back. The last time she had been this close to the Knave of Hearts, he’d had her pushed up against a wall. And she had been much bigger then. Her wide eyes suddenly narrowed. “What do you want, Stayne?” The raven-haired man chuckled darkly. “Why, Alice, is that any way to address an old friend?” “You are NOT my friend. And you didn’t answer my question.” “I want the same thing that you do. To see Iracebeth pay for her crimes.” Alice’s face hardened. “I don’t believe you.” “And I don’t expect you to, but seeing as though you are lost and in need of directions, and I am the one in possession of a weapon,” he paused to draw a knife he’d had hidden beneath his cloak, directing its tip toward Alice, “I don’t think you have much of a choice in the matter.” With surprising speed and dexterity, Alice grabbed his wrist, threw a fist in his face, and kicked him square in the groin. The dagger fell to the ground, and Alice snatched it up, holding it to the knave’s throat. She smiled triumphantly. “Looks like I have a choice, after all.” Stayne was doubled over in pain. “Where,” he panted, “where…did you…learn…to fight like that?” “I am not the same little girl who first came to Underland, Stayne. I know who I am now. I am Alice Kingsleigh – adventurer, businesswoman, and Champion of Underland. I am quite capable of defending myself.” “Yes, I can see that,” he grimaced, wiping the blood from his nose. As he stood to his full height, Alice noticed for the first time that he had changed since she had last seen him. The years of banishment had not been kind to him. His once dark, glossy hair had grown longer, falling past his shoulders in a twisted, tangled mess. His face bore stubble and new scars, evidence of a recent, crude attempt at shaving. His cloak was torn and ragged, his black armor dull with scuffs and scratches. His dark gloves were missing and his right hand was…Oh! “What happened to your hand?” Stayne snorted, glancing down at the void where his hand should have been. “I had wondered how long it would take you to notice.” He sighed. “While my intentions toward you may not have come across as being…friendly…I wasn’t lying about my position with the Red Queen. Can you imagine being chained to that woman for ten years!” Ten years? Had it really been that long here since the Frabjous Day? Alice bit her lip, almost sympathizing with him. “No...No, I can’t…It would…drive a person quite mad, I suppose.” And not in the good sense of the word, she added to herself. “Mad enough to take off my own hand to escape. That dagger,” he nodded at the knife she still held, “was my savior. I found it at a rubbish heap in the Outlands when we were scrounging for food. I attempted to keep it hidden from Iracebeth, waiting for the opportune moment to kill her – preferably when she slept, so there would be no struggle. I shouldn’t have waited.” “Go on,” Alice prompted. “Later that night, I waited until I thought she was asleep. I slipped the dagger out from under my cloak, but she surprised me by waking up just as I was about to attack. I did a rather sloppy job of it, I’m afraid, stabbing her quickly and then cutting off my hand while she was distracted. I assumed she would die of blood loss or infection, but somehow, she managed to survive.” “You could faced the same risks yourself, you know. I imagine you lost a lot of blood.” “Even a slow and painful death would have been more merciful than spending another day with her.” “And you want me to help you dispose of her?” she asked skeptically. “Yes.” “Why should I help you?” “She is raising an army against the White Queen.” Alice paused to think about that. She was the White Queen’s Champion, was she not? Wasn’t it her duty to defend the crown? Stayne licked his lips, choosing his next words carefully. “I can take you to the Hatter.” Alice glared, all traces of any sympathy she might have harbored toward him immediately erased. Her grip on the dagger, which she had temporarily lowered, tightened. “What have you done with him?” “Iracebeth has been working with a…sorcerer…of some sort. I have not seen him, but it I believe that he is the reason she healed so quickly from the wound I gave her. She has reopened the looking- glasses.” “I…don’t understand.” Stayne sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. For a moment, Alice wondered whether he would steal Absolem’s famous line: Stupid girl. “Only the rightful ruler – the ruler that Underland’s previous king and queen chose to rule – should have the power to open the looking-glasses, but there are a few ancient rumors of sorcerers who were able to control looking-glass travel.” “So, where is the Hatter?” “Trapped in a looking-glass somewhere in the Outlands.” Alice didn’t miss a beat. “Take me to him.”

As it turns out, Alice had been heading in the right direction, after all. Well, the right direction to get her to the Outlands…which would have been the wrong direction if she’d been trying to get to the tea party to see Hatter…but since Hatter wasn’t at the tea party, the wrong way ended up being the right way in the end. Alice shook her head at the thought. Too much more of this Underlanian logic, and she would start sounding as incoherent as Hatter in one of his rants! She missed those rants…She missed a lot about the Hatter…And to think he had been waiting ten years for her to return! The thought nearly made Alice sick. What if he wasn’t still waiting for her? Alice tried to push the thought to the back of her mind and focused, instead, on the situation at hand. She and Stayne had spent the past few hours in silence, and it was beginning to unnerve her. She made a rather feeble attempt at conversation. If she was going to trust the knave, she needed to know as much about him as possible. “So…you said that you desired to see Iracebeth pay for her crimes.” “Mmph,” he nodded. Alice took the grunt to mean ‘yes’ and continued. “What sort of crimes did she commit against you?” His eyes dropped to the ground. “That is…a rather long story.” “Well, if I’m to understand you correctly, we have quite a long walk ahead of us, so we should have plenty of time. Besides,” she smirked, brandishing the dagger, “I don’t think you have much of a choice.” The knave glared at her with his good eye, then proceeded to walk on ahead of her. Alice ran to catch up, jumping in front of him. “Wait!” She stared up at him, looking a slightly remorseful. “Stayne, I may have taken your weapon, but I did follow you. And though it may not be the wisest choice, I am trusting you with my life, as well as the life of the Hatter and the queen. But trust cannot stand if it is only one-sided. If our temporary alliance is to be successful, then I need you to trust me, too. Here.” She took the blade of the knife in her hand and held the hilt toward him. “Take it.” The knave eyed her suspiciously, then slowly reached out to accept the weapon. Alice’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t make me regret this.” Stayne had no intentions of doing so – at least, not in the immediate future. He had already lost an eye and a hand, and he didn’t fancy the thought of losing some teeth should she punch him in the face again…That girl could hit surprisingly hard! He was a bit wary of the temporary truce…No one had ever afforded him such trust before, and while part of him felt as though he ought to exploit the opportunity, for some reason, it just didn’t seem right to abuse power that was willingly given to him. He shrugged off the strange twinge of morality. It wouldn’t stop him from reaching his ultimate goal: He would become the sole ruler of Underland by first eliminating the Red Queen under the guise of patriotism and later ensuring that her sister had a most unfortunate accident…He smirked. He would play Alice’s game…for now… “My…association…with the Red Queen goes back a long way…I was an orphan child, left to fend for myself since the day of my birth. No one knows who my mother was, though some suspected that my father was one of the members of the king’s court. I was found on the castle steps, and the queen, being the kind-hearted woman that she was, took me in. I grew up as a servant in the castle. My jobs were fairly easy, and for the most part, I enjoyed all the same privileges as the two young princesses.” Alice gasped. “You grew up with Mirana and Iracebeth?” “Indeed.” Stayne paused. Alice really didn’t need to know all the details, did she? He decided to leave out the part about how he used to torment the girls with the help of a few of his arachnid and serpentine friends. Surprisingly, he mostly succeeded in tormenting Iracebeth…Try as he might to frighten Mirana, she just didn’t seem scared of anything that was alive. In fact, she’d found his friends quite fascinating…That was one thing he’d always admired about her… She didn’t care about outward appearances…She judged the heart. “What were they like as children? They’re so…different…If I didn’t know better, I would never guess that they were sisters.” “They’ve always been like that – complete opposites. Mirana loved white, and Iracebeth loved red. Mirana couldn’t harm a fly, and Iracebeth took pleasure smashing them into the wall. Mirana dreamed of peace, and Iracebeth dreamed of power…But despite it all, I believe they truly did care for one another…” He paused. “Did you know that when Mirana was given the crown she actually offered her sister the position as a subordinate queen? Originally, they were to be joint rulers with Mirana catering to the people of Marmoreal and Witzend and Iracebeth ruling the land of Crims and the Outlands under the unofficial title of ‘the Queen of Hearts.’ But Iracebeth was power-hungry, and in the end, Mirana’s kind gesture may have been her downfall.” Alice took a moment to let this information set in. “So, where did you fit in all of this? Why did you side with Iracebeth if you knew what sort of person she was? And why did you destroy the Hightopp village? What wrong did the Hatter’s family ever do to you?” “I was rather…attached to Mirana when I was younger…And a certain Hatter got in the way.” Alice looked rather uncomfortable. “Oh.” “Not that Mirana could have ever courted either one of us, seeing as though she was royalty and we were but servants. But she took quite a liking to him.” “And…” Alice was almost afraid to ask, “…and did he…did he take a liking to her, as well?” Stayne snorted. “Bah, that fool was too dense to even know that she was interested, which made it all the worse because I – ” “You loved her.” It wasn’t a question. It was a realization. And that was one realization that Stayne wasn’t quite ready to admit out loud. “It was a boy’s infatuation, nothing more.” He glared at Alice, who was giving him a knowing smile, before continuing. “At any rate, she either didn’t recognize or ignored my affections. Unfortunately, Iracebeth took an interest in me, though I was not very fond of her. But I played along, hoping that, if nothing else, I could endure her company long enough to wait for Mirana to realize that the young hatting apprentice did not see her as anything more than a friend. That day didn’t come fast enough. When Iracebeth was set to rule over Crims and the Outlands, I was sent away with her, and the Hatter remained employed by Mirana.” Alice was angry. “You killed an entire clan because Mirana chose Hatter over you? Even when he didn’t reciprocate the feelings?” “No. I killed an entire clan because Iracebeth had promised me that when she was the sole ruler of Underland she would make me her king.” “But didn’t she already have a king? As I recall, it was the king who was persecuting you for stealing some tarts when I was here as a child.” “Yes…There was a king. But she claimed that she had only married him because her position as royalty required that she marry someone of noble birth. She told me that after she did away with the king, we could rule together. But I should have known better. She just wanted the throne to herself again.” “She used you…” Alice mused. “Yes.” Alice’s face hardened. “That doesn’t excuse what you’ve done…but it does make it easier to understand…” She hesitated. “I’m sorry,” she glanced up. “About you and Mirana, I mean.” Stayne nodded curtly. He didn’t need any sympathy, though having a hold on Alice’s emotions might work to his advantage…Perhaps he should play it up a bit? “Yes, well…I never properly thanked you for defending me court.” Alice stiffened. She wasn’t falling for the act. “I might not have defended you so vehemently had I known what you would do to Hatter’s clan.” “A man cannot undo what he has done, Alice. He can only do better in the future.” “Hmmph. Well, I shall have to see it before I believe it.” “You don’t believe that a man can change, then?” Alice turned to face him, arms crossed over her chest. “No, I believe you don’t want to change. You’re not ready to give it up yet. I can see it on your face.” “Alice, just as you are no longer the little girl who came to Underland many years ago, I am no longer the Knave of Hearts who burned Hightopp Village and stole the crown.” “Prove it.” It was a challenge, he knew. And Illosovic Stayne never backed down from challenge. Alice had found a weak spot. They spent the rest of the day walking in silence.

Chapter 4: Enemy Territory

The first thing Alice was aware of when she woke up was that she had spent the night in the Outlands with the Knave of Hearts – who was armed with dagger! – and had not been injured or taken advantage of in any way. The second thing she was aware of was something very wet and very rough brushing up against her side. Her eyes flew open, and she immediately stood up in a defensive position only to find herself laughing at a very surprised bandersnatch! “Bandy,” she chuckled, “don’t frighten me like that!” She scratched him gently between the ears, earning a contented huff from the bear-like creature. The beast closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. As not many people would pet a bandersnatch, this was quite a treat! Alice smiled. “It’s good to see you again.” Suddenly, the large yellow eyes snapped open, and the creature emitted a low growl. It began sniffing the air suspiciously, and took a step between her and the rocky Outlands that lay ahead. “What is it, Bandy? Is someone over there?” She tried to follow his gaze, expecting to see the Red Queen’s army emerging from a hidden cavern or canyon. There. Was that someone coming around the corner? Alice tried to hide herself behind a boulder, wishing for Stayne’s dagger and – Where was Stayne, anyway? Without warning, the creature charged forward, knocking the intruder to the ground. Alice watched quietly from behind the rock, waiting to hear the sound of an approaching army of reinforcements. What she heard instead surprised her. “Get this frumious beast OFF ME!” That sounded like…Alice laughed and came out from her hiding place. Beneath his great, furry paw, the bandersnatch had Stayne firmly pinned to the ground. Stayne was not amused. “Do you find something humorous about this, Alice?” Alice grinned. “Yes, actually. I find it highly amusing.” Before he could reply, she turned to the bandersnatch. “Alright, Bandy, let him up.” The beast hesitated. “Go on, let him up…He’s well…he’s on our side now…temporarily, at least.” She sent Stayne a meaningful glance, warning him that if he broke his promise she wouldn’t hesitate sic the bandersnatch on him again. He nodded in unspoken agreement. The bandersnatch gave a rather disrespectful huff before reluctantly removing his paw from the knave’s chest. Stayne stood abruptly, dusting the dirt and bandersnatch fur from his cloak. Alice turned to him. “Where did you head off to this morning?” “I was out scouting the area. It seems as though we’re not as far away from our target as I had imagined.” He pointed at a rocky outcrop in the distance. “The Red Queen’s camp is just over that ridge.”

Alice and Stayne peered over the top of the natural stone wall that lined the eastern edge of the Red Queen’s hideout. Riding the bandersnatch had made their trip significantly faster – albeit bumpier – than if they had been traveling on foot, and they’d arrived just in time to see Iracebeth screaming at a mirror, her long, messy red curls hanging loosely from her bulbous head. Alice nearly thought the scene humorous until she heard the distinctive Scottish brogue of a very angry Hatter. She strained to hear what was being said. “Wha’ did ye do tah mah Alice? Where are ye hidin’ ‘er?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Alice couldn’t see the Hatter, but she was certain that his eyes were turning a fearsome fiery red. “LIAR! Ye rotten, slithey, ulpishk, slackrul – Aaahhh!” Alice glanced worried at Stayne. It sounded as though the Hatter was in pain. “What’s she doing to him?” “She isn’t doing anything. I believe it is the looking-glass. It must be under some sort of enchantment.” “Why does she even have him in the looking-glass? Why not just kill him?” Stayne smirked. “That can be easily arranged.” Alice glared at the knave. “You know what I meant. The Red Queen is not known for her patience. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t keep a prisoner for very long, so why keep him trapped in the mirror?” “For information.” He paused. “And bait.” “Bait for wha –” Alice felt her fists clench. “She’s expecting me, isn’t she?” Alice fumed. “You knew she was trying to lure me, and you brought me straight to her! YOU – ” A hand covered her mouth. “Shhhh!” Stayne hissed. “Are you trying to get us both killed?!” Slowly, he removed his hand from her face. Alice looked slightly surprised. “So…you weren’t turning me in?” “Do you think I would lie about this?” He held up the stub of his right arm. “I work no more for the Red Queen.” Alice looked down guiltily. “I’m sorry. I – ” Her sentence was cut off by another scream from the Hatter. Immediately, her attention was turned back to the scene before her. It was then that she realized just how large the Red Queen’s army was. Before, she had been so focused on the interaction between the Hatter and the queen she had scarcely taken notice of the others, but now it looked as though there were thousands of them! Hundreds of makeshift tents and lean-tos bustled with creatures of every shape and size – unicorns, dragons, centaurs, minotaurs, and a host of other strange creatures she didn’t recognize. These were the residents of the Outlands – the riffraff and outcasts of Underlanian society, the runaways and convicts, the banished and bitter. And they wanted revenge. It looked as though Mirana’s plan to banish rather than to kill her enemies was backfiring, and her compassion just might be her undoing. Alice turned back to Stayne. “You didn’t tell me half of Underland would be fighting at her side! We don’t stand a chance against them!” “I thought you said you could defend yourself.” “From a handful of people, yes! But not an entire army! If you think we can just march in there and take over, you’re – ” “Mad?” Stayne grinned. Alice’s eyes narrowed. “I was going to say ‘stupid.’” “What is a champion without a bit of bravado? Where’s your muchness, Alice?” She crossed her arms. “Alright, then. What is this wonderful plan of yours?” “I thought that perhaps you could sneak in and cause a distraction. I’ll wait here until the opportune moment and then – ” “And then leave me to fight alone if your plan if you feel it’s too dangerous! I think not!” “I’m not leaving until the Red Queen is dead.” “And I’m not leaving without the Hatter. But two people can’t fight an entire army, Stayne!” “No, they can’t. But the bandersnatch might be able to.” Alice remembered the day she had escaped from Salazen Grum on the bandersnatch. The metal card soldiers fell over like dominoes. But this was no army of cards. This was an army of flesh and blood. Would the bandersnatch be able to hold them off? They had left the creature a few miles away so as not to attract too much attention. The land was mostly flat out here, and there were few boulders large enough to hide a bandersnatch. Before leaving Underland on her last visit, Alice had trained him to come when she whistled, but now they risked being exposed prematurely if she called for him. They would have to walk back…and that meant more time for the Red Queen to torture the Hatter. “You want to know where your precious Alice is, Hatter?” Iracebeth sneered. “She’s left you.” “Nae! Nae, it isnae true! She promised meh she’d come back!” “Then where is she now?” Another agonizing cry from the encampment was all it took to send Alice over the edge. “RIGHT HERE!” A soft murmur of gasps arose from the crowd, and all eyes lifted to the crest of the hill where Underland’s champion stood, a look of fierce determination gleaming in her eyes. This time she didn’t have the White Queen’s armor to protect her. This time, she didn’t have the Vorporal sword. She didn’t even have Stayne’s dagger. This time it was just Alice. But even stripped of her armor and her weapon, she still had the air of a champion. Alice descended the hill with the grace and agility of a cat, a lioness cornering her prey. “Alice…” the Red Queen smiled maliciously. “How very good to see you again!” “Funny, I can’t say the same about you.” “Al…Alice…?” Inside the looking-glass, the Hatter was struggling to sit up, but his arms gave way, and he collapsed in a heap on the ground. “What did you do to him?!” The crimson-haired queen laughed darkly. “My dear girl, I am not the one who did this to him. You are. I simply took advantage of the madness…I played with his mind, but you’re the one who broke him.” Alice lunged, pinning the queen to the ground. “TAKE IT BACK!” Alice had never thought she was capable of despising anyone enough to strangle them, she was coming quite close. She had both hands around the queen’s throat and was just considering letting off the pressure when a stinging sensation pierced her left shoulder. An arrow had struck just beneath her shoulder blade and was protruding from her back. Alice clenched her teeth and jerked the offending weapon out. A crimson stain spread out from the wound like a blossoming red rose from the gardens of Salazen Grum. Alice suddenly felt dizzy and nauseated, and her grip on the queen loosened. “SIEZE HER!!!!” A thousand swords were loosed from their sheaths, thirsty for blood. Arrows fell from the sky like a torrential rain. Alice dodged and kicked. She bit and hit and fought with every ounce of her strength. And Hatter could only watch as they held her down and prepared to chop off her head. And Stayne ran like the devil was on his tail. That coward! Alice watched hopelessly as her only ally – well, her only ally not trapped in a looking-glass – scampered off like a little puppy with his tail between his legs. He was probably halfway to Marmoreal by now if he had taken the bandersnatch. Of all the nerve! If she survived this, Stayne was certainly going to get a piece of her mind! Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and the soldier who’d lifted his sword to deal the killing blow fled. An ear-splitting roar sent the rest of the troublemakers running. Alice had never been so happy to hear the sound of an angry bandersnatch! And she had never been so surprised as when she saw who was riding it. “You came back…” The knave smirked. “You thought I’d leave you here to have all the fun?” He reached out his good hand to pull her up. He would have to deal with Iracebeth later…to do so now would be suicide. “Not yet! I have to get the Hatter!” Alice ran to looking-glass and struggled to drag it toward the bandersnatch, who was still fighting off a few of the braver soldiers. She pushed her way through the fray, using the wooden side of the mirror as a shield to block the blows of their swords. Finally with the help of the bandersnatch’s tail and a hand from Stayne, she finally managed to drag the mirror and herself onto the beast’s great furry back. The knave urged the animal forward, and they went galumphing toward Marmoreal, leaving the Red Queen’s camp in a trail of dust. Alice’s shoulder burned like fire, but she dared not let go. For while she knew that shattering a looking-glass in Overland brings bad luck, she imagined that such a crisis in Underland could cause much more serious damage. And she was right.

Chapter 5: A Not-so-happy Reunion

By the time they reached Marmoreal, Alice had lost quite a bit of blood, and her left shoulder was burning with pulses of searing hot pain. The guards, though first wary of Stayne, allowed him to enter when they saw their champion slumped over in pain, though still clinging fiercely to the enchanted looking-glass. They helped her down and took the looking-glass – which they were surprised to find contained a weak and worried Hatter – to the queen. They offered to help her inside, but Alice, being her usual stubborn self, politely declined the offer. She was a champion, and a champion should not appear weak before her queen. But Alice could feel herself slipping. Every muscle in her body ached. Every nerve screamed. Alice was not one to swoon easily, but the pain of her wound combined with the physical exertion of fighting was too much for her body to handle. She saw the White Queen step forward, a look of shock on her usually calm face. She saw Stayne’s lips moving, but no sound came out. She saw him reach out to steady her. Then she was falling and everything faded to black.

Alice’s eyes fluttered open. The room was still spinning, and the walls were too white, too bright. It made her head hurt. Or maybe that was from where she had landed on the floor. Did she ever even hit the floor? Alice didn’t remember. She felt as though she had just woken up from a very deep sleep, and for a split second she feared she was back on the ship again and her entire trip to Underland had just been a trick of the mind. If that was true, she didn’t want to wake up. She forced herself to open her eyes again, to see if it was real. Alice didn’t recognize the room she was in. It certainly wasn’t the room of a ship, though, and it was most definitely not her room at home. And it was white. Very white. White curtains, white furniture, white carpet, white sheets. There were even white roses in a glass vase on the nightstand beside the bed. Alice smiled. She had to be in Marmoreal. Nowhere else was this white – with the possible exception of heaven, or at least, how Alice pictured heaven. But her head and shoulder still throbbed painfully. Alice sighed. She was unquestionably alive, and at the moment, she almost wished she was unconscious again. Confident that her most recent adventures in Underland were not the product of an overactive imagination, she started to close here eyes again. “Alice?” She looked around, unable to tell where the voice was coming from. “Who’s there?” It was barely a whisper. “Over here.” On the far side of the room to the right of the bed, there was a radiant light that nearly blinded her. The looking-glass. “Hatter?” Alice had to put her hands up over her face to shade out the late afternoon sunlight reflecting off the mirror’s surface. She made herself stand up and close the curtains. Her legs were still a bit wobbly beneath her, and she had to lean on the nightstand to keep from falling. “Oh, sorry, Alice. I didn’t mean for you to have to get up.” She sat down on the edge of the bed nearest the looking glass and smiled weakly. It was good to finally see the Hatter again. “It’s alright. I was going to have to get up sooner or later anyway. How long have I been asleep?” “A few hours.” “Has it been that long?” Alice smiled. “I suppose I’m late for something important again, then?” The Hatter’s eyes darkened. “Aye, yeh’r late! Yeh kept meh waitin’ ‘ere fer ten bloody years!” “Hatter, I – ” “Yeh promised meh, Alice! Ye promised! Ye said ye’d be back afore Ah knew it! Ye lied tah meh!” His voice hitched, and he had to choke back a sob. “Ah missed ye, Alice. Ah missed ye so much!” Alice had to swallow hard to keep her own tears in check. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, the Red Queen had been right about one thing: Alice was the reason for Hatter’s pain. Alice was the reason he was broken. “Hatter.” She walked over to the mirror and placed a gentle hand on his cheek, touching the cool glass surface where she should have felt warm tears. “Hatter, I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. Time passes differently in Overland. I didn’t know it had been so long here, and when I left last time, I know you asked me to stay, but I didn’t think – ” “The ye shoulnae speak.” The last time he’d said those words to her, she’d been but a child. They had all been in jest, of course, at the time. But now, spoken in his thick Outlandish brogue, they sent a chill up her spine. “Hatter, if I had known how much you wanted me to stay…if I had I realized how it would effect you…I would have come back sooner.” He looked up at her sullenly, eyes an incomprehensible swirl of emotions. “But ye still woulnae ‘ave stayed.” “I couldn’t just leave my family forever without giving them some sort of explanation! They would have worried about me...If never returned they would have given me over for dead!” The Hatter stood to his full height, eyes a flame of orange and red. Even confined to the looking-glass, his presence was intimidating. “An’ wha’ abou’ us? Wha’ abou’ the White Queen and Mally and Thackery? Wha’ abou’ me? Do ye nae think we worried about ye? That Ah worried about ye?! Wha’ were ye out doin’ while Ah was ‘ere dyin’ o’ a broken ‘eart an’ broken promises? Did ye ‘ave fun, Alice? Did ye enjoy yerself?” Alice could feel the unshed tears stinging the back of her eyes. “Hatter, I’m sorry!” “Aye, yeh’re sorry! An’ so is tha’ bloody knave, I suppose? Turned o’er a new leaf, ‘as ‘e, nauw?” Hatter shook is head. “Well, sorry cannae bring back mah clan, an’ it cannae unbreak a broken ‘eart! SORRY ISNAE GOOD ENOUGH!” “WELL, THEN, WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?!” “Stay.” His voice was barely audible, and Alice had to strain to hear it. “What?” she whispered. “I want you to stay, Alice. Stay here in Underland. With me…” “But, Hatter, my family – ” “Means more tah ye than Ah e’er will. Well, if ye like it so much up there, then WHY DO YE NAE JES GO BACK AN’ STAY THERE!!!” He was shaking with rage, fists clenched and trembling, chest heaving. And Alice was crying. Not sobbing, not wailing. Just shedding silent, angry tears of hurt. He had wanted to make her feel his pain. He had wanted her to know just how much he had been hurting. But he hadn’t meant to make her cry. Now he wanted to take her into his arms and hold her. He wanted to reach through the glass and wipe away her tears and run his fingers through her hair and smell her sweet Alice smell and tell her he was sorry and he loved her and it was all going to be okay. But he couldn’t. So he turned away so he wouldn’t have to see her cry and she wouldn’t see that his shoulders were no longer trembling with anger but with the silent sobs that squeezed all the air out of his chest and made it hard to breathe. “Hatter?” Her voice was shaky, but strong. He couldn’t bring himself to respond. Alice sighed and pressed her lips gently against the glass. “Good night, Hatter.” She walked softly to the door and closed it quietly behind her. When he finally turned around, the sunset had dimmed to a soft gray, and the impression of her lips, etched in the mist of her warm breath against the glass, had disappeared without a trace.

“Having trouble with the Hatter?” Alice jumped. She hadn’t expected Stayne to be out in the hallway. She looked down guiltily, tears still fresh on her cheeks. “You heard?” “From the way you two were yelling, I think half the castle heard!” Alice was surprised to feel a strong, gloved hand on right shoulder. She noticed, then, that he had been given a new wardrobe – though where Mirana had found black clothing in Marmoreal, Alice didn’t know. She looked up at him, confused by his sudden gesture of kindness. “It is better to be feared than loved, Alice,” he sighed. “I made that discovery a long time ago.” She shook her head, smiling through her tears. “You’re wrong.” She swallowed back the lump in her throat. “Fear is the easy way out. Through fear you can gain control, but not loyalty. Not respect. The Red Queen is proof of that. Anyone can be a tyrant, but it takes someone special to love. Someone strong. Nothing really worth having ever comes without pain. Victory in war comes at the price of death. The miracle of a child comes with the pain of labor. And love…Love comes with a risk, too. It comes with the risk of fights and arguments and tears. It comes with the risk of broken promises and broken dreams and broken hearts. And that’s why so many people don’t want to love. They’re afraid of being hurt…of being broken…but in the end it’s all worth it. Loving another person means fighting – not with the one you love but for them. Fighting for your friendship even when it seems to have no future. It means believing in impossible things. It means learning to think of others before yourself…I have failed in many of these, but I will not give up. Fear is the weapon of a coward. Love is the weapon of a true champion. And I am not a coward.” Stayne hesitated. “And…you believe that I am?” Alice shook her head, tears still tumbling down like a waterfall. “That has to be your decision, not mine.” Then she turned and ran down hall. He stood there, watching her blonde curls bouncing against her shoulders as she faded into the shadows. And he wondered why his plans for power suddenly seemed so unappealing. Could he really go through with it, he wondered? Could he betray Alice after she’d placed such trust in him? Could he betray Mirana, the woman he once…still…loved? The thought made him uneasy and sick to his stomach. Stayne had a decision to make: to conquer with fear or to conquer with love. Alice said that only cowards used fear to control others. And Illosovic Stayne was no coward. These were the thoughts that plagued him as he stood in the hall, still as a statue, still staring after Alice. And then he decided to do something he never imagined he’d do of his own free will. He was going to talk to the Hatter.

Chapter 6: Visions of the Past

Mirana had been expecting Alice for quite some time. It was taking a bit longer than she had thought, but then again, Alice always did seem to show up late, so the White Queen wasn’t especially worried about her champion. The Oraculum had clearly shown that Alice would return, but it hadn’t exactly explained the circumstances of her arrival. That was the problem with the oracle…it only showed a certain distance into the future, and it only showed bits and pieces of what would or could potentially happen. It predicted the future, but it didn’t determine the future. It could not affect an individual’s free will, and therefore, could not force a certain outcome of events. Like the slaying of the Jabberwocky, for instance…It had shown that Alice could be successful if she attempted to slay the beast, but she could have refused to accept the position of Champion. Mirana shuddered involuntarily as she thought about what might have happened if Alice hadn’t taken up the Vorporal sword. The doors to the throne room suddenly burst open, and a handful of her guards rushed in, carrying a large looking-glass. Mirana was about to ask what was going on when a second set of guards entered, followed by a tall, shadowy figure and tangled mess of blonde curls. Mirana’s face went from surprise to fear to shock. Yes, Mirana had been expecting Alice, but certainly not accompanied by a certain knave, and certainly not in her current condition. Alice was gritting her teeth, trying to bite back the scream of pain that she’d been holding in since their departure from the Outlands. She was extremely pale – almost as pale as some members of the queen’s court. Even from a distance, Mirana could see the blossoming splotch of scarlet that had worked its way down her side trickled down her shirt sleeve. Dropping all pretenses of royal court etiquette, the queen jumped up from her throne and practically ran down the steps toward her champion. Stayne glanced briefly at the queen, their eyes meeting for only a fleeting moment before he looked down again. “Majesty,” he nodded politely, “she is badly wounded. Your sister is raising an army in the Outlands. Alice intervened and took an arrow to the shoulder.” He noticed she was a bit wobbly on her feet and instinctively reached out to steady her, but just as he touched her right arm she swayed dangerously. Her eyes rolled back, her legs gave way beneath her, and she fell to the floor, landing in a crumpled little heap of curls and blood-stained fabric.

Mirana anxiously twisted the napkin in her lap. After sending Alice off with some of her female courtiers to be tended to and checking briefly to see that the Hatter, who was still suffering from a splitting headache, courtesy of the Red Queen’s sorcerer, was alright, she had sent for a bath and a change of clothes for the knave. Her common sense told her that he was still the enemy, but logic is rarely heeded in Underland, and when she saw how poorly he was dressed, noticed his scraggly hair, noticed his hand (or lack thereof), something stirred within her. And for a split second, she didn’t see the filthy, traitorous knave…she didn’t see the tattered, battle-scarred and incomplete man before her…For a brief instant, she saw her childhood friend. And the part of her that had always had compassion for any living thing – even those creepy crawly spiders and slithery, slithey snakes he’d once put in her bed – could not turn him away. After all, she reasoned, he had brought Alice back to them when he could have easily taken advantage of her wounded state…A decade of banishment could change a man, and maybe, just maybe he had changed. It seemed unlikely, but in Underland nearly anything was possible if you believed it could be so. Mirana wanted to believe that there was some good in everyone, and generally, she found that to be true…but no matter how much she wished, no matter how much she believed in impossible things, no matter how much she had begged and pleaded and cried, her sister was still the same selfish, immature, ruthless woman as the day she’d sent the Jabberwocky to destroy the Hightopp Clan. That she was raising yet another army against her was proof of that. Mirana sighed and stared into her tea. A single tear slid down her cheek and hit the surface, creating ripples that marred her reflection. She was somewhat startled when she heard a voice behind her. “Such a beautiful face was not meant for tears, Majesty. Blue is Alice’s color. It does not suit you.” Mirana smiled weakly at the pun. There was a hint of the old Stayne coming out, the Stayne that had existed before her sister had corrupted him. She gestured tiredly at the table. “Please, take a seat, won’t you?” He considered taking the chair beside her but thought better of it and opted for the chair directly across from her instead. He was still walking a fragile line with her trust, and he needed that trust in order for his plan to work. At this point, he had decided against killing her, but he still wanted the crown…and if he was completely honest, his “boyhood infatuation” hadn’t quite worn off. So he was going to play nice for the moment. He would force her to marry him later. Mirana reached across the table and poured him a steaming cup of tea. He nodded his appreciation before lifting the cup to his lips. The queen stared down at the table, studying the contrast of her coal-black fingernails against the white background of the table cloth. She couldn’t quite look him in the eye yet. “So…what brings you to Marmoreal?” What she really meant was “How did you escape banishment and find Alice?” But she couldn’t bring herself to think about banishment at the moment. Thankfully, Stayne understood her unspoken meaning, though his response wasn’t quite as polite as he’d intended it to sound. “Can you blame me for wanting to get away from her?” Mirana chuckled softly. “No, I can’t say that I do. Quite frankly, I’m surprised it took you all those years of service as her knave to figure out what a horrid woman she is.” She frowned. Iracebeth was her sister, and she would always love her…but she was also a traitor and a murderer, and Mirana had to accept that, no matter how much she didn’t want to believe it was true. “I should have gotten out of that place years ago…Perhaps I never should have gone with her in the first place.” I should have stayed here with you. We could have been happy together. “What did you ever see in her?” Mirana wondered aloud. Stayne countered with a question of his own. “What did you ever see in the Hatter?” Mirana’s face hardened. “A loyal, kind man who put others before himself.” Stayne scoffed. “He’s a madman whose mind is so addled with mercury, he can’t even decide which personality he is!” Mirana slammed her teacup down, sloshing some of the hot liquid onto the tablecloth, staining it a brownish yellow. “You will NOT speak ill of my Royal Hatter in this castle!” Stayne was genuinely hurt, though he masked it well. “You still love him, don’t you?” The queen skirted the issue of love. How could she tell him the truth? How could she say that she had never loved the Hatter as more than a friend, that it had all been an act the young milliner and the princess had devised to make the knave and her sister jealous…because in truth, she had always loved him…“The Hatter is my friend and employee, and as such I believe he deserves some respect.” “The Hatter hasn’t been employed at court in years!” “Exactly! Ever since Alice left, he hasn’t been the same…Now that she is in Underland again, perhaps things will change. He deserves to be happy, Stayne. He has been suffering for so long…I will not allow you to demean him for his behavior. A broken heart can drive anyone to madness.” She had watched it happen…had watched the light of love die in his eyes until what was once a fierce green fire [1] was nothing more than dull, gray ashes. She had watched him cry and rave and descend into a madness so deep, she feared he might never come out of it. He had tried to come back to court, hoping to take his mind off of all things Alice, but in the end, though it pained her to do so, she’d had to send him away. She had offered many times to allow him to visit Alice’s world or to reopen the looking-glasses that he might at least see where she was. But he had refused all of her attempts at comforting him. He didn’t want to see her because he knew that if he did, he would want her to come back that much more…and he would NOT interfere in Alice’s life. She would come back on her on when she was good and ready. But he waited. And waited. And waited…and the weeks turned into months, and the months turned into years, and before long there was only a shell of a man where the Hatter had once been. It had pained Mirana to see him in such a state, but he would not let her help him…So she’d watched helplessly as he’d spiraled down the deep, dark rabbit hole of depression and thrown his life away. “Yes. I suppose it can…” “Hmm?” Mirana had become so lost in her own thoughts that she’d scarcely remembered Stayne was there. “I said yes, I do believe that love can cause one to make…irrational...decisions.” He reached for a scone that Mirana had also been eyeing, accidentally bumping her hand in the process. She withdrew instantly, as if she’d just touched a plate hot out of the oven. “What would you know of love?” “More than you might think…” This time he looked into her eyes, and strangely, Mirana found that she could not tear her gaze away.

*1+ The “fierce green fire” in Hatter’s eyes is a reference to Aldo Leopold’s “Thinking Like a Mountain” in A Sand County Almanac. It has nothing to do with Alice in Wonderland, but I liked the description and thought it fit the Hatter nicely.

Mirana felt her heart leap inside her chest. What did he mean by that? But the queen was an expert at masking her emotions – always appearing calm and collected, even when she wasn’t inside. She cleared her throat. “So, tell me what you know of my sister’s plans…” Stayne told her everything he knew. He told her about his years spent in exile with Iracebeth. He told her about his escape. He told her about finding Alice and how they’d run into trouble at the Red Queen’s camp, though he didn’t tell her exactly why he had been interested in helping Alice find the Hatter. But the whole time he was telling her the story, his mind was elsewhere. He was still staring at the scone, which neither one of them had dared to pick up. And he wondered if he had been the only one to feel the strange jolt of electricity when their hands had touched.

Chapter 7: Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer

The soft click of a doorknob turning and the creak of the old oak door to the guest room caught the Hatter’s attention. “Alice?” he lisped hopefully. He felt horrible about his outburst. How could he have been so slurvish, so selfish? He desperately wanted to apologize to her, but that was the problem with being stuck inside a looking-glass…you really couldn’t move very far. The door squealed on its hinges, swinging wide open to reveal a silhouette emblazoned against the golden light of the lanterns in the hall. He couldn’t make out any details, but he knew who the figure belonged to. And it certainly wasn’t Alice. The Hatter let out a low, feral growl. Of all the people who could have walked into the room, why did it have to be Stayne? The knave stomped over to the looking-glass. “What in Underland did you say to her, Hightopp?” Of course, he had heard their yelling – nearly everyone in the castle had – but he hadn’t been able to make out all of the words. And although he couldn’t explain why, it had bothered him to see Alice so upset. Alice wasn’t just an ordinary girl. She was a champion. She had fought and killed a jabberwocky, tamed a bandersnatch, taken an arrow to the shoulder…and once, long ago, before she’d been a champion, she’d been a friend when he needed one. If not for her, his head would probably be rolling around in Gummer’s Slough right now. She had defended him in court when no one else would. Now it was his turn to do the defending. “Yew stay away from mah Alice, ye bluddy knave!” “I’m not the one who made her cry, now am I?” “If ye touch ‘er, if ye go annaewhere near ‘er, Ah’ll – ” “You’ll what? Threaten me? Curse me? In case you’ve forgotten, you’re trapped in a looking- glass!” “Aye, an iffin’ Ah wasn’, Ah’d be kickin’ ye out tha’ door, ye urkish, slurpal, sackral, lyin’ – ” “HATTER!” The Hatter didn’t respond immediately. “Why did you help her? Why did you help me?” Stayne felt his stomach drop. Was the Hatter onto his plan? “I…wanted the Red Queen dead…I told Alice that you were there, hoping she would help me devise a plan to get rid of her. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite go as planned.” “Ye expect meh tah believe tha’ ye jes started hatin’ ‘er o’ernight after ye’d been workin’ fer ‘er – lovin’ ‘er – fer o’er half o’ yer life?” “No. I started hating her when I realized that she was using me. I was just around to do the dirty work.” The Hatter’s eyes were a deep crimson. His voice was low and gravelly. “Like killin’ me clan?” Suddenly, the knave was very thankful for the glass between himself and the Hatter. How do you apologize to a madman for killing his entire family, for sending him over the edge? When he was speaking with Mirana, he’d blamed Tarrant’s madness on the mercury, but he knew that the Hatter’s trade was only half the reason for his condition. “It…was an assigned task, yes. I know we’ve never gotten along well, but my reasoning behind the attack on the village had nothing to do with you personally.” “Tell tha’ teh me mum an’ me faither. Tell tha’ teh mah li’l sister who ne’er lived past ‘er sixth birthday. TELL THA’ TO THE ASHES O’ ME FAMILY SCATTERED AROUN’ WITZEND!” The knave winced. He remembered that day. He remembered watching the White Knight – Underland’s champion at that time – burst into flames with a single breath of the jabberwocky. He remembered the black smoke that engulfed the woods, the screaming of the children…He’d tried to block it out, tried to tell himself over and over that the jabberwocky was the one at fault…but he had been the one to lead it there on the pretense of delivering a message to Mirana…The knave might have been cold-hearted and power-hungry, but he wasn’t completely incapable of feeling. He had killed children that day, for goodness’ sake! Innocent children! The Hatter didn’t know it, but he wasn’t the only one plagued by memories of the Horvendush Day… A simple “I’m sorry” would never be enough to make up for what he had done. What could he say? Thankfully, he didn’t have to respond. “Thank you,” the Hatter whispered, “for bringing Alice back and protecting her.” As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he knew that if the knave had truly wanted to take advantage of he would have already done so, and if he’d wanted her dead, he could have simply left her at the Red Queen’s camp. But he hadn’t done either, and for that, the Hatter was eternally grateful. The knave was taken aback. That wasn’t the reaction he’d been expecting. “She’s quite capable of taking care of herself, Hightopp. She didn’t need my protection…She needed you...and you tore her apart like an angry jubjub bird!” The Hatter bowed his head shamefully. “Ah jes wanted ‘er tah stay…” “Oh, yes! Brilliant idea, Hightopp! Yelling at her will certainly make her want to stay with you!” “Ah wanted ‘er tah know ‘ow I felt…when she left...” Revenge. He wanted revenge, Stayne thought. This time it was the knave who was silent. Revenge was something he knew all about, was something he was in the process of doing right now, was the reason he’d dragged Alice into the Red Queen’s camp where she’d been shot…He would be a hypocrite if he blamed the Hatter for that. Maybe revenge isn’t the answer. “She loves you, Tarrant.” The Hatter smiled sadly. “Not enough to stay.” “Then why don’t you go with her?” “Because…I love her.” His voice was barely a whisper, strained from the pain of trying to force back the tears he could feel pricking at the back of his eyelids. He closed his eyes, determined not to let the knave see his weakness. “And sometimes…” he swallowed, “…sometimes when you love someone, you have to let them go.” Stayne shook his head. No. He would NOT let Mirana go! Not when he’d gotten this far! “Hightopp, I will never understand what goes on in that mercury-poisoned brain of yours.” The corners of the Hatter’s lips lifted into a thin, sarcastic smile. “Well, then…I suppose that makes two of us.”

Mirana of Marmoreal was a wonderful queen. She was just and fair. She loved Underland, and she loved its citizens. She made wise, careful decisions, and she tried to listen to every side of the story before passing judgment. These were the qualities that made her a good queen as well as a good friend. Many a time she had been the proverbial shoulder to cry on, so it didn’t surprise her when Alice came to her with tears in her eyes and a question on her lips. “I don’t understand, Mirana…I thought he’d be happy to see me, but…he acted as though he wished I’d never even come back!” The queen looked up from the healing potion she was brewing, pausing to sniff the vile-looking concoction. She grimaced, then tossed in a few extra buttered fingers for good measure. “Alice, the Hatter is a very…sensitive man. He tends to overreact to things that upset him, and when the madness takes hold of him, he isn’t always aware of what he’s doing. He can’t help it, Alice. Please, don’t judge him too harshly.” “But why is he so angry with me?” “He’s hurting.” “I told him I was sorry. I told him that if I’d known how much he really wanted me to stay, I would have come back sooner. But I can’t change the past, Mirana.” “No, but you can change the future.” “What do you mean by that?” Alice had a nagging feeling she was about to be given some advice she really didn’t want to hear. “The last time he asked you to stay, you refused, and it quite literally broke his heart.” “But how can you literally – ” “He’s suffered severe chest pains ever since you left.” Alice was shocked. She had known he missed her, but she didn’t realize that she had been causing him physical pain…It had never occurred to her that Underland it might actually be possible to break someone’s heart… Mirana spoke again. “There is a part of him that belongs to you, Alice. When you left, you took that part of him with you. He was so…empty…without you. He stopped having tea with Mally and Thackery. He tried his hand at hatting again, but he just didn’t have the will to work – didn’t have any inspiration to create. It was as if he’d lost all interest in life…And the madness nearly consumed him. Once, he went into a rage and woke up with blood on his hands, not remembering what he’d done. Thank goodness, it was his own – he’d cut his hands on a vase he’d smashed – but it terrified him, Alice. He was so afraid he’d hurt someone, so frightened of his own mind, that he asked me lock him in the dungeons! Of course, I couldn’t do that to him…so I he put himself on house arrest. He asked that I send a guard to deliver food once every few weeks so that he wouldn’t have to venture out…Alice, he’s lived like that for the majority of the time you’ve been away, never going outside, rarely speaking with anyone…He needs you, Alice. Without you, he is only half the man he wishes to be. He lost you once, and it nearly killed him. Please, do not make him relive that pain.” “I…I had no idea…But what of my family? Should I just leave them to believe that I am dead?! There is no good choice for me to make! If I leave, then I will hurt the Hatter again…but if I stay, then I will hurt my family…Oh, this is all my fault! If only I’d waited to jump down that rabbit hole until after I’d seen my family, then I wouldn’t have such an obligation. I want to stay – I really do! – but I can’t! Not yet…Give me just a few days to go back and say goodbye – Just a few days, Mirana! That’s all I need!” In truth, Alice had been planning to stay in Underland when she returned…but she had been planning to do so after bidding her family farewell. Unfortunately, here curiosity had gotten the better of her once again, and when she’d followed the blue butterfly over to the rabbit hole, the temptation had just been too great. Now she had gone and mucked things up…again… “A few days in your time could be months in ours, Alice,” the queen reminded her gently. “I won’t prevent you from returning to your family, but please consider the Hatter’s feelings.” “Is there any way that I could get in touch with them from Underland?” “Of course! Once the curse on the looking-glass is broken and the Hatter is free, you could use the looking-glass to speak with your family.” Alice started to explain that looking-glass communication would probably be a worse idea than sending no message at all – Her poor mother would probably have a heart attack if she saw Alice appear in her mirror! – but decided against it, not wishing to embarrass the queen by pointing out her mistake. Instead, she asked another question that was on her mind. “So, how do we go about breaking the curse?” “Only the sorcerer who captured the Hatter in the looking-glass has the power to free him. We could attempt to convince him to release the Hatter, but it seems unlikely that he would willingly cooperate with us, and you cannot force a sorcerer to do anything that he or she does not wish to do.” “So, what else can be done? Surely there is more than one way to break the curse.” The queen was silent for a moment. She didn’t answer directly. “I have vowed not to harm any living thing, and I will not ask you to shed any more blood.” Alice was irritated. “But if that is the only way to free the Hatter, then – ” “No.” “Mirana, I slew the jabberwocky! I can do this!” “I have no doubt that you can, but slaying a jabberwocky and committing murder are very different things, Alice. I don’t want you to bear that burden, and neither would the Hatter. He would rather stay trapped in there for the rest of his life than see you branded with the same ruthlessness as my sister.” “Are there no other options?” Alice asked hopelessly. Mirana’s expression was serious. “The only other way to break the curse is to shatter the looking-glass.” Alice felt rather foolish. All the way back from the Outlands she had guarded that mirror with her life to prevent it from shattering. If all she had to do was break the glass, why, she’d march in there right now and smash it. Problem solved. It sounded too easy… “That’s it?” “It can only be broken with a weapon enchanted with the sorcerer’s powers…and Alice…there is something else you must be aware of. Breaking a looking-glass in Underland is not something to be taken lightly. The looking-glasses of Underland maintain a connection with Overland. If one is broken, then the connection between worlds is broken, as well…Not even the rabbit hole will work if the connection is severed.” “So…I would be trapped here?” “Unless you are the one to break the glass…The looking-glass knows you are not from Underland and would transport you back to your world before sealing off the connection.” “But then I could never come back…” Mirana nodded sadly. “I’m afraid so.” Alice sighed... She had yet another important decision to make that could change the future of Underland and her own future, as well. She could return to Overland, but Mirana needed her. The Hatter needed her. Underland needed her. And she would not – could not – abandon them. Not now. She would have to wait until after the ensuing battle to make her decision. And then? Then, she would have to choose. For whether she was in Overland or in Underland when it happened, the looking-glass would eventually have to be shattered. And when that happened, she would be stuck on one side of the rabbit hole forever. Alice hoped and prayed that when she had to make the decision, she would make the right one. She anxiously twisted a golden curl around her right index finger. “Mirana?”

The queen looked up from the boiling pot of eyeballs, buttered fingers, and who-knows-what- else. “Yes?” “Can…can someone…die…from a broken heart?” Mirana stopped stirring the pot and gave her champion an apologetic look. “Yes.”

Chapter 8: Little Lass in the Looking-Glass

Alice walked toward the guest bedroom, dreading having to face the Hatter after their recent argument, but it would have to be done sooner or later. She sighed and prepared to open the door but hesitated when she heard two voices coming from inside. She paused to listen. Since when did Stayne and the Hatter speak to each other civilly? “She loves you, Tarrant.” Alice blushed. How did the knave get that idea into his head? It was true, of course, but she’d never admitted it out loud, and Stayne didn’t have any right to be telling her secrets! She pressed her ear against the door. “Not enough to stay.” “Then why don’t you go with her?” “Because…I love her.” She could hear the pain in his voice. “And sometimes…sometimes when you love someone, you have to let them go.” Alice felt tears pricking at her own eyes. Did he really love her enough to let her go even when doing so would cause him not only psychological but physical pain? Even when he was – she hesitated to think the word – dying! If what Mirana had told her was true – and she assumed it was, as the White Queen was not one to lie – the Hatter had suffered more than any human ever deserved to over the past few years…And it’s all my fault! Alice wiped the tears from her eyes and slowly opened the door, acting as though she hadn’t heard any of the previous conversation. Two heads swiveled in her direction as the door creaked open. Alice nodded politely. “Oh, hello, Stayne. Hatter.” Stayne leapt up from the edge of the bed where he’d been sitting so quickly it was almost comical. “Alice! I was just informing the Hatter of how we came upon Iracebeth’s camp.” That wasn’t completely a lie, he rationalized. Alice smiled. “Well, it’s good to see that you two can stay in the same room for more than five minutes without strangling one another!” “Well, it’s not as though I could, what with Hightopp hiding behind the glass.” The Hatter decided to play along. “I am nae hiding, ye guddler’s scut! Ah tol’ ye iffn’ the glass wasnae there, Ah’d be kickin’ ye out tha’ door!” Alice laughed and shook her head. She would let them believe they had her fooled for the moment. “Well, I suppose some things never change.” She frowned, suddenly, then walked over to the mirror. “Hatter? Hatter, I need to tell you something. I know I’ve already said this, and I know you don’t want to hear it, but – ” The Hatter covered his ears. “Nae, Alice! Please! Please dinnae tell meh yeh’re leavin’. I cannae – ” “Hatter!” Her voice was firm but gentle. “I need you to hear what I have to say. Please.” The Hatter hesitated, slowly lowering his hands to his sides and looking down at her with eyes the saddest shade of sapphire she’d ever seen. It was enough to melt her heart. But she forced herself to continue, not caring that the knave was watching them with a mixture of interest and awkward discomfort. “Hatter, I know I’ve been terribly selfish…I know I’ve hurt you physically as well as emotionally, though I never intended to do either…and I know that saying I’m sorry will never be enough…but I am sorry. For everything. Can you ever forgive me?” The Hatter’s eyes were brimming with tears. “Oh, Alice, I’m the one who should be apologizing. I never should have gotten so angry, and I didn’t mean to yell at you, but I just missed you so much and it had been so long, Alice! So long! And – ” He had to choke back a sob, and Alice wanted desperately to give him a hug. But since she couldn’t, she did the next best thing. “Hatter,” she reached out a hand and stroked the glass near his cheek. “There’s something else you need to know…” She hesitated, taking a deep breath. “I’ve made my decision…I’m staying.” The Hatter was dumbstruck, unable to believe what he thought for certain he’d heard coming out of Alice’s mouth. He was afraid to voice the words in his head. Afraid to hear that he was mistaken. “You’re…staying?” “Yes, I’m staying in Underland…with you.” “But what about your family?” “I’ll find a way to contact them. Perhaps McTwisp or Absolem could deliver a letter for me.” Yes, her mother would worry about her. Yes, she would probably cry…but she wouldn’t die from grief. Alice hated the thought of leaving her family on such short notice – or without any notice! – but Mirana’s words kept echoing in her thoughts. He lost you once, and it nearly killed him. Please, do not make him relive that pain. And she wouldn’t. Alice had made up her mind. “I’m not leaving you, Hatter. Not ever again.” He closed his eyes to prevent the tears from spilling over. When he spoke his voice was thick with heartfelt emotion. “Thank ye, Alice,” he whispered. “Thank ye.”

Stayne had never been particularly fond of cats. They were nosy, curious little creatures that always seemed to be sticking their noses into places where they didn’t belong. They were tricky, fickle animals who pursued their own interests and had no respect for authority or privacy. They were fiercely independent and stubbornly lazy and just plain irritating! And, of course, there was one particular cat who had humiliated him at the Hatter’s supposed execution and who he especially disliked…But at the moment, he couldn’t have been happier to see the very cat in question. A swirl of blue-gray mist settled just above the looking-glass, slowly taking on a distinctly feline form. “Hello, everyone! I do hope I’m not interrupting anything…” Chess grinned down at the Hatter, knowing full well that he had been interrupting something quite important. “Ye ‘ave worse timin’ than mah ol’ pocket watch, cat!” Stayne had to disagree. It had been getting very…awkward…to watch the emotional exchange between Alice and the Hatter, and he was grateful for the distraction. “Chess!” Alice exclaimed. “Where have you been all this time? I was expecting to see you in the Tulgey Wood, but you never appeared.” The cat’s grin grew wider. “Cats are rather slothful, Love, but we do move around from time to time, you know! You can’t expect me to stay in the same place for ten years, now can you?” Alice chuckled. “No, I suppose I can’t.” “Ah, but I am very surprised to see you in Marmoreal. Were you not just in the Outlands?” “I was, but we rode the bandersnatch back, so we got here rather quickly.” “My dear, I’m afraid not even a bandersnatch could have gotten you here that fast. I daresay, unless you’ve developed evaporating skills, it would be near impossible – even by Underland’s standards. That is, unless of course, you have discovered how to be in two places at the same time.” Alice’s eyebrows furrowed. “What are you talking about? I’ve been here at the castle ever since mid-morning…” “Well…that is certainly…interesting…” “I’m afraid I’m not following you…” “Of course you’re not, silly girl. How could you be following me when I am not leading you anywhere?” Alice rolled her eyes. “I didn’t mean literally, I – ” “Then you should say what you mean.” Surprisingly, it was the Hatter who put an end to the nonsense. “OUT WITH IT, CHESS!” “Temper! Temper, Tarrant! You wouldn’t want to lose your head in front of Alice, now would you?” The Hatter flushed, and Alice sent him an apologetic look. “Chess, please,” Alice begged, “just tell us what’s going on.” “Well, if you must know, I just came from the Red Queen’s camp…There was a girl there who looked much like you, though I do believe her hair was cut a bit shorter than yours. I knew that you had returned to Underland, though I couldn’t imagine what you would be doing there with the Bloody Big Head. Quite honestly, I believed you might have taken up her side, so I kept my distance.” “Alice is nae a traitor! Ye urpish, slurkal, slackral, slithey scumbag! Ye – ” Suddenly, his eyes cleared, and the madness subsided. “Chess…did you say something about Alice’s hair?” The frazzled feline was cautious with his response. “Yes…I said I thought her hair looked shorter only moments ago when I saw…whoever that was in the Outlands.” The Hatter was beginning to understand. “The little lass in the looking-glass,” he whispered. He grinned. “Oh! Have I made a rhyme?” “Who?” Alice was thoroughly confused. “Before you returned, Alice, I thought I saw you in the mirror inside my house. You seemed a bit…different…but I thought I might be hallucinating or dreaming, so I didn’t think much of it. You said you were in the Outlands…That you had been captured by Stayne and the Red Queen and asked me to help, so naturally, I followed you. That’s how I became trapped inside the queen’s looking-glass.” Alice was dumbstruck. “So…there is someone on the Red Queen’s side who is pretending to be me?” “No,” Stayne spoke for the first time. “She is you. She’s your doppelganger.” “My what?” Chess was no longer smiling. “Evil twin, Love. She’s you…but…she isn’t.” Poor Alice looked as though she was entirely lost in the conversation – and no wonder, with that cat trying to interpret things! – so Stayne attempted to explain. “Alice, everyone here in Underland is connected to someone from Overland…They may be similar physically or similar in the way they behave, but they are also fundamentally different in some way. Do you understand so far?” “The Chattaway sisters,” Alice mused. Now Stayne was the one who looked confused. “I’m sorry, what was that?” “The Chattaway sisters are twins of my acquaintance in Overland. They reminded me of the Tweedles the way they were always finishing one another’s statements and such. I’d always thought the similarity was just my imagination.” “Ah, so you are familiar with some of the doppelgangers, then. Good.” “But the Chattaways aren’t evil, and neither are the Tweedles.” “There needn’t be a good twin and an evil twin, Alice, simply a dichotomy. For instance, the Chattaway sisters you spoke of are similar to the Tweedles in the way they behave but different physically in that they are female while the Tweedles are male.” “Then what leads you to believe that my doppelganger would be evil?” “Because you are Underland’s Champion. You symbolize the ultimate good for us…You are Underland’s protector.” “And she will be the ultimate evil…Underland’s destroyer.” Alice finished for him. “Who is she?” “She is a powerful sorceress.” All heads turned to the door. No one had noticed Mirana slip in quietly amid the conversation. “Her name is Alicia. She is my sister’s new champion.”

Chapter 9: Defeating the Darkness

Alice restlessly rolled over, pulling the sheets up to her chin and trying to force her racing mind to slow down to let her sleep. She winced suddenly, biting back a scream from the wave of pain that shot through her upper back. She’d been so frustrated, so worked up over the events of the day that she had forgotten to be mindful of her injured shoulder. Mirana’s healing potion had helped, but it was still quite sore. She rolled back onto her right side and stared at the portraits on the wall, their unblinking eyes staring blankly across the room. Alice shivered uncomfortably. She would never get to sleep with them looking at her like that. She sighed and carefully rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling and wishing for morning to arrive. Giving up on sleep, she decided to list the impossible things that had happened to her since arriving back in Underland. One, I ran into Stayne in the woods and he didn’t try to kill me. Well, he did brandish a dagger, but he had never used it. Alice decided not to think about what might have happened if she hadn’t fought back. Two, I rescued the Hatter from the Red Queen, and Stayne rescued me! That had certainly been a turn of events that, while not expected, had certainly been welcome. Three, the Hatter yelled at me. Alice frowned. He’d had a right to be upset, but she had hoped he’d be happier to see her. Their argument was not at all the greeting she had pictured in her mind. Four, I am staying in Underland. I will never see Mother or Margaret again. She didn’t know whether to cry or to laugh. The Hatter had forgiven her for leaving and she had forgiven him for his outburst, and she was overjoyed to know that she would be living in a world with a man who could love her for who she was…but she would miss her family, as well. Five, Stayne is in love with Mirana. Yes, Stayne had admitted to boyhood infatuation, but this was something different…Not the lust she had seen in his eye when he’d had her up against a wall in the Red Queen’s castle…Not the temporary flame of a burning passion that would die with the morning light…No, this was something different…Something real…Alice could never imagine the two together, but she had once heard someone say that opposites attract…and anything was possible in Underland. Six, I have an evil twin who is a sorceress working for the Red Queen. But that was all she knew. Mirana had sent everyone off to bed soon after her entrance, promising further information about Alicia in the morning. Alice sighed. How could she defeat someone who practically was her? And who had the powers of a sorceress, to boot! It bothered her to think that she and Alicia were somehow connected. Was the sorceress a manifestation of her dark side? Was there a part of her that was truly evil? It frightened her to think such things, and she wondered just what sort of horrible things she was capable of doing. She still didn’t fully grasp the concept of the – what was that word they had used? Doppelganger? – and it was difficult for her to wait patiently for Mirnana’s explanation. A garbled groan of pain jolted her from her thoughts. It was coming from the mirror, which had been turned around to give Alice privacy but still sat in the far right of the room. She panicked. What if Alicia is hurting him again? What if he’s having another bout of chest pains? His breaths were becoming heavier, and the moans grew louder. Then he was screaming, shouting incoherently, mumbling in some ancient Underlanian tongue she didn’t know. She threw off the covers and ran to the side of the mirror. “Hatter!” She jerked the mirror around so that it faced her…and noticed that his eyes were closed. He was dreaming. The Hatter continued to fight his imaginary opponent, sweat rolling down his brow, fists swinging at the air. “Hatter! HATTER, WAKE UP!” He woke with a start, surprised to see Alice staring at him with concern. He was confused at first, trying to remember where he was and why Alice was dressed in night clothes. Sometimes the madness and his frighteningly realistic dreams made it difficult for him to separate reality from his own hallucinations. Finally, he realized what had happened and looked down shamefully. “I’m sorry that I woke you Alice. I didn’t mean to. I-I tried to stay awake for as long as I could, but I must have fallen asleep…” “It’s alright. I haven’t been able to sleep, anyway.” She frowned. “Why were you trying to stay awake?” The Hatter looked rather embarrassed. “The nightmares…they frighten me. They come every night, and I’m afraid to go to sleep because I don’t want to live through them again.” Alice knew what it was like to suffer from nightmares…She had once been frightened of her own dreams of Underland, and though now she knew she had nothing to fear – well, except perhaps from the Bloody Big Head and Alicia – at the time, she had wanted nothing more than to bury herself beneath the covers, safe from the monsters that haunted her. She would run to her father’s study, fling herself in his arms, and he would hold her and rock her and tell her everything would be alright. But the Hatter, she realized, had never had anyone to share his dreams with… “Do you want to talk about it?” He shook his head sadly. Alice tried again. “My father used to tell me that the best way to get over a bad dream was to tell someone about it. Then you can face it together, and it doesn’t seem so scary anymore.” The Hatter sat silently for a moment, and Alice wondered whether he had heard her. He was staring off into the distance, as though he was searching for something lost deep within the ruins of his mind. Finally, he spoke but refused to meet her gaze. “They were takin’ yeh, Alice.” “Who?” “Ah dinnae ken, but they were takin’ ye away from meh. They ‘urt yeh.” He swallowed back the lump in his throat. “Ye were dyin’ in me arms an’ there was blood an’ there was nothin’ Ah could do tah save ye…” “It’s alright, Hatter,” she soothed. “It was just a dream. I’m right here, and I’m perfectly fine.” “I know, Alice…but it seemed so real…” “Is it always the same dream?” “No…Sometimes I dream about you leaving.” He glanced up briefly, afraid that just saying the words out loud might make her vanish. “And sometimes…Sometimes I dream about the Frabjous Day only in my dreams, the Jabberwocky wins…And…sometimes…it’s the Horvendush Day.” His cerulean eyes were bright with unshed tears. “I miss them, Alice. I miss my family.” Alice looked down. She missed her family, too, but she wouldn’t dare admit it. Not now. Now the Hatter needed her to be strong… But he had noticed the look of wistful longing in her eyes. “I never should have asked you to stay, Alice. Not that I don’t want you to stay – I certainly do! – but it’s just that I know how much I miss my family, and I shouldn’t have asked you to leave yours because I’m certain that you must miss them, too, and it was terribly slurvish of me to put my own wishes before yours, so if you don’t want to stay I’ll understand, but I really wish that you would stay but – ” “Hatter!” He shook his head to clear the madness. “Sorry,” he squeaked. “I’m fine.” Alice smiled. “I’m glad to hear it.” She glanced at the window and noticed that the black blanket of night was just beginning to fade to a charcoal gray. “It’s nearly morning,” she observed. “I’m sorry for keeping you up. You should get some rest.” “So should you.” The Hatter forcefully shook his head. “No, Alice! The nightmares! They’ll come back.” “What if I stay and watch you? Then I could wake you up whenever you start to dream.” “I wouldn’t want to ask that of you.” “You’re not asking. I’m offering. I don’t mind, really.” The Hatter smiled. “You always were a stubborn lass.” Alice chuckled. “I prefer the word ‘determined.’” “Well, then, you are a very determined lass.” His smile faded. “But I don’t want you to have to stay up alone, Alice….” “Well, if neither one of us is going to sleep, why don’t we stay up and watch the sunrise?” The Hatter clapped his hands. “Oh, what a splendid idea!” “My father said that the sunrise was always the first thing on his list of impossible things for the day. He believed it was impossible to describe the beauty of the sun when it first came over the horizon, impossible to capture in words or on canvas. He said only the angels in heaven know how to paint a sunrise.” “Your father sounds like a very sagansitute man, Alice.” She smiled. “He was.” “Was?” “He died several years ago in a carriage accident.” “Oh, I’m sorry, Alice. I didn’t realize – ” “It’s alright. I miss him, but I’ve learned to move on. Talking about him makes it feel as though he is still with me.” “Perhaps he is painting sunrises now.” Alice smiled at the thought. “Perhaps he is.” They sat in silence, then, watching as the sun’s golden fingers caressed the darkness of the night, staining the sky a mixture of violet and pink and orange. Every tree was a silhouette, a black paper cutout against a Chinese lantern. The clouds hung like spun sugar tinged pink in the dawn, and the flowers lifted their heads to drink in the light of the coming day. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Alice breathed. “Are Underland’s sunrises always this magnificent?” “No.” He looked into her eyes and offered a tentative smile. “They’re more beautiful when you’re here.”

Illosovic Stayne had always been a morning person. He loved the quiet hush before the hustle and bustle of the day, the way the dew hung from every leaf and blade of grass, making them sparkle like emeralds. He loved the way the sun kissed the earth, bringing warmth and light, reassuring everyone that the darkness would not last forever, that there was, indeed, light at the end of the tunnel. He loved to watch the sky fade from black to violet to a brilliant gold. He loved to hear the birds singing, announcing that the day was new and fresh, as yet unspoiled by bloodshed and hatred. He closed his eyes and took a deep, refreshing breath. He had missed his morning walks in the garden at Marmoreal. The air here was sweeter, purer than the air at Salazen Grum. There, the air was tinged with the stench of death and decay, the putrid aroma of rotting flesh and the metallic scent of blood. The Outlands reeked of dust and dirt, of hopelessness and misplaced dreams. Here, the air was different. The perfume of cherry blossoms and roses wafted in on the gentle morning breeze, bringing with it a flood of memories. Knowing that the guards would most likely not allow him out of the castle, Stayne had slipped out to the garden by way of a back door intended for the gardener. He and Mirana had discovered it when they were children and had vowed never to tell another soul of their “secret passage.” Of course, it wasn’t really much of a secret, but when you’re not yet ten years old, the world is your playground, and everything is magical. Still, it had been a good way for him to escape from his duties and for Mirana to get away from all the public fuss over being the crown princess. Often times, when they were bored or tired or just needed to get away from the crowd, they would take the secret passage out to the garden and stroll among the flowers, playing hide-and-go-seek or taking a nap beneath the willows along the edge of the stream. They would disappear for hours, and no one could ever quite figure out how they had gotten outside past the guards. And their antics would have continued, had Iracebeth not found out about the door and blabbed to the king and queen. After that, they couldn’t escape quite so readily. He remembered putting a good dose of pisshalver in the red-haired princess’ tea that afternoon. He smirked at the memory. She had been furious. He paused to look around. Over there, by the cherry trees was where he and a much younger Iracebeth had gotten into a fist-fight. Well, he had been the one to use his fists…she mostly just clawed and bit and scratched…and poked him in the eye with the gardener’s pruning shears…He lifted his hand to the patch over his left eye, lifting it slowly and running his fingers over where his eye should have been. It was ironic, really. Everyone who didn’t know him personally always assumed that he’d lost the eye in some grand battle or duel when, in truth, he had lost it to an angry princess with a pointy garden tool. But it had been worth it. The fight had started when he’d found Iracebeth yelling at Mirana for some petty reason, accusing her of “stealing” something that actually belong to both of them but which the young Red Queen had thought should rightfully belong to her since she “was the eldest.” Mirana, always the meek and mild one, had been near tears. She hated fighting with her sister. And that was when Stayne had stepped in. Of course, the king and queen had been furious when they discovered their eldest daughter black and blue with bruises, but considering the loss of his eye, they relented from any punishment they might have doled out, believing that his pain was more than enough to teach him a lesson that actions have consequences. Had they known the whole story, they might have punished Iracebeth, as well, but she rarely told the truth without bending it, and he had taken the blame without complaining because the look of adoration in Mirana’s eyes was more than enough compensation. In a way, he supposed, he could claim that he lost the eye defending the future queen’s honor. Just ahead was the fountain. One day, back before Iracebeth had discovered their escape route to the garden, he had playfully pushed Mirana in, knowing that it would ruin her dress and muss up her hair but enjoying the look on her face when she surfaced, sputtering and dripping wet. He had expected her to be furious, but the angry look on her face had quickly turned into a mischievous smirk, and before long, he had joined her in the fountain in a war of splashing and dunking and laughing. When they finally snuck back inside the castle, sodden clothes clinging to their skin and dripping hair plastered against their faces, they’d had a lot of explaining to do. But like Mirana, the king and queen were gracious monarchs and simply laughed at the thought of their perfect little princess initiating a splash war. He sighed. Not many people knew that side of Mirana. Not many people knew that she could be playful and sneaky. Not many people knew that she liked to read books about adventure and romance or that she hated the pet name “Mira” and disliked squimberries. Not many people knew that her favorite color wasn’t actually white – it was purple, but she’d taken on the position of White Queen and had been somewhat limited in her choice of décor. Not many people knew that she loved to go swimming – though the fountain wasn’t her ideal choice – and had once swum naked in the river that ran through the forest behind the castle. He had accidentally caught her in the act while out chasing a stag on his horse. It had been rather awkward, and at the time, he’d respectfully averted his eyes, though he later wished he’d gotten a better look. They never spoke of the incident again, and to his knowledge, she’d never gone skinny-dipping again, either. He missed knowing that side of her. Now she regarded him with a curt nod and a suspicious tone. She was respectful, but she acted indifferent and detached. And with good reason, he supposed. After all, he had broken her trust before, and he had given her little reason believe that he was not the same man who had stolen her crown and sent her to exile. Indeed, just days ago he had been planning her demise. An unfamiliar wave of guilt washed over him. How could he have ever considered such a thing? True, she had banished him to the Outlands with Iracebeth, but he had he not done worse to her? Once, he had defended her honor. Once, he had been her best friend. And he had turned his back on her in the name of power and wealth and authority and become the enemy she didn’t want to fight. In that respect, he was no better than Iracebeth. The thought nearly made him sick. He continued walking and noticed that some of the roses had been pruned, their lovely blooms lying prostrate on the ground. Mirana hated cutting back the flowers, even though these weren’t the sentient ones that spoke. She knew it pained them, but it had to be done to keep the flowers healthy, so she let the gardener prune them seasonally. Nothing truly worth having ever comes without pain. They were perfect flowers, each a creamy shade of white tinged with the slightest hue of pink along the edges. It was a pity that so many of them would wither and die without ever bringing joy to the castle in the gleaming marble vases that adorned the halls and the great throne room. He stopped short, nearly stepping on a rose that suddenly caught his eye. It was a black rose. It seemed out of place amidst the others, an ugly duckling lost in a sea of white, an outsider that did not belong, a stain that marred the purity of fresh-fallen snow. He chuckled darkly at the irony of his name. Stayne…What a clever play on words to describe his position in life! He was a blemish on society, a tarnish on their gilded world of joy and trust and hope. He’d had the opportunity to be a part of it, and he’d turned it down. He knelt down and carefully picked it up to examine it more closely. It was a handsome flower, though somewhat beaten and bruised. It was missing a few petals, and the leaves had been chewed up by some insect that Mirana refused to have exterminated from her garden. It was a little wilted, a little crushed. It had been cut down and stepped on and cast aside, but it was still clinging to life. It still smelled of perfume. Its velvety black petals tinged with purple at the tips still held the pride of what must have once been a suave beauty beyond compare. Its thorns still stood at attention, ready to defend the flower against enemy forces, though they knew they were fighting a losing battle. For the first time in years, Stayne felt the corners of his lips lift into a true smile. He stood slowly, watching as night gave way to dawn, the sun spilling its liquid gold over the fields and forests, defeating the darkness in its wake. Today was a new day, a new start. Alice had been right, he realized. He could steal Mirana’s crown, but he couldn’t steal her heart. He wanted to earn that right, wanted her to want him, not so he could take the crown but so that he could have the privilege of loving the woman who loved Underland more than she loved herself, whose heart extended to even the foulest of creatures. He would fight for that love, and he would fight for his queen. When the trumpets of battle sounded, he would take up his sword and again fight for her honor. He would stand up beside Alice, the one who had believed in him, who had given him her trust. He would help her fight for the Hatter, who loved her more than life itself and had shown Stayne just how powerful a force that love can be. If he died, he would die with honor. If he survived, he would offer the queen his undying loyalty and love…and if she rejected him, he would have to let her go…Because that’s what love is about, putting someone else’s happiness above your own. He shook his head, still smiling. Perhaps the Hatter wasn’t quite as mad as he’d once thought. He tucked the rose inside his tunic and walked back inside.

Chapter Ten: Excalibur

Alice sighed and rubbed her temples, opening yet another book from the royal library. “Mirana, are you certain that the sorceress is called Alicia? None of these books mention anyone by that name.” Stayne, Mirana, and Alice had practically turned the library upside down looking for books about the infamous sorceress, but they had been poring over the literature for hours and had come up empty. Alice was becoming frustrated. She’d expected a simple lecture about the sorceress from Mirana, not half a day’s worth of research. Mirana took another book off the shelf. “Alicia has gone by many names throughout the history of Underland.” “If you know so much about her, why not just tell me?” The queen looked up from her book, her dark eyes somber. “Because I don’t want anything to go wrong. Alicia is very powerful. I do not know all of her weakness, nor all of her abilities.” “Well I don’t know anything about her, so any information that you can provide would be beneficial….Please, Mirana. Tell me what you know.” Mirana sighed. “Very well. I shall tell you what I know, but you cannot breathe a word of this to anyone. None of this information can ever leave this room.” She looked from Alice to Stayne to the mirror beside the table where the Hatter stood, watching from a distance. Alice nodded. “I understand.” The Hatter and the knave nodded in agreement. “Long ago, before Underland had a king or queen, when travel to and from Overland was still common, there was an Underlanian child born with magical powers. His mother was human, but his father was rumored to be an evil spirit who intended for his son to use his powers against all humanity and gain control of both the Under and Over Worlds. But the child was baptized at an early age and dedicated his life to God, promising to use his powers only for good. His name was Merlin.” Alice was flabbergasted. “Merlin? Merlin the wizard?” Mirana smiled. “The very one.” “I thought he was only a legend.” “A legend? No, no! He was quite real.” The queen picked up a book entitled A Comprehensive History of Underland’s Royal Monarchs and quickly skimmed through the first few pages. “Ah, here we are!” She held up the book so that Alice could see the page and pointed to the drawing in the upper right-hand corner. Alice moved in closer to get a better look. A young man with shoulder-length hair, a chiseled, handsome face, and a kind but determined gleam in his eyes stared back at her from the crisp yellowed pages. “Why, he doesn’t look at all like I’d pictured him. He’s so…young.” Stayne spoke up. “Underlanians don’t grow old, Alice. We simply reach a certain age and…stop…Time keeps ticking, but we do not continue aging.” “Ah, yes, but Time can be a rather fickle fellow,” the Hatter interjected. “Don’t care for him much, myself.” The knave frowned. “I daresay he doesn’t care very much for you, either, Hightopp, what with you killing him at the Red Queen’s concert.” “Yes, yes, but I was only accused of killing Time. How one spends his Time may seem a waste to one but not the other. And really, I do happen to be quite fond of, ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bat.’ How was I to know that she didn’t favor it?” Alice was completely lost in the conversation, so she decided to change the subject. She was eager to hear more. “So if Merlin couldn’t grow old, then why is it that in Overland our paintings of Merlin are all of an old man?” “Underlanians do not grow old,” the queen explained, “as long as they remain in Underland. But Merlin was destined for greatness in your world, not this one. He died an old man in Overland.” Alice ventured another question. “Mirana, why is Merlin in book about the history of Underland’s kings and queens?” Mirana smiled. “Merlin was the forefather of the royal family.” The champion’s jaw dropped. “You’re related to Merlin?” “Distantly, but yes. It is why, under normal circumstances, I have the power to open and close the looking-glasses and why I can create potions that will make you shrink or grow. There are a few other things I can do, as well, but over the years as the royal family married other nobles, the magic has become dulled. My powers are very limited and weak, and should I choose to use them for evil, I would lose them.” “Is that why you made your vow not to harm any living creature?” “In part, yes. It is also why my sister does not possess the same powers that I do. She lost them at an early age, and it was then that my parents decided that I should become the heir to the throne.” “So where does Alicia fit in with all of this?” The queen frowned. “Many people know of Merlin, but few people know that he had a sister. As an original, she had the choice between using her powers for good or for evil without the chance of losing them. She chose the path of darkness, and she nearly destroyed Underland. As punishment, Merlin bound her powers in a sword and trapped her in the space between Underland and Overland. Independent of Alicia, the powers locked within the sword could be used for good, and indeed they were, by a king of Overland who was known as Arthur. He called the sword, ‘Excalibur.’” “Excalibur,” Alice whispered. “The Sword in the Stone…” “Yes. Unfortunately, Merlin’s sister was very deceptive, and she tricked Arthur into returning the sword to its supposed rightful owner.” “The Lady of the Lake?” “Indeed. The depths of the watery world of Overland are the boundary between the two worlds. Alicia, trapped in the inbetween, was able to raise her hand above the surface and caught the sword, but Merlin had placed an enchantment on the sword that prevented her from freeing herself. After that, the sword’s whereabouts were lost in the pages of history. My sister must have found it in the Outlands after she and Stayne parted ways and used it to free the sorceress from her watery prison.” “So we need Excalibur to break the glass?” “Yes, but we must hurry. Now that she has been reunited with the sword and freed from her prison, her powers will gradually return to her. Once they have all been returned, the sword will be useless, and as long as she has not regained her full strength she is still vulnerable. Once she has all of her powers again, I fear it may be impossible to stop her.” Alice hesitated. “Mirana, if Alicia is as evil and as powerful as you say, even if I can retrieve the sword, I doubt she will give up easily. From what you’ve told me, it sounds as though she could take out an entire army with just a fraction of her powers. Generally, I am opposed to killing, but we may not have a choice.” Stayne interrupted before Mirana had a chance to speak. “We don’t,” he whispered gravely. “Alice you cannot kill the sorceress.” Alice placed her hands on her hips and glared at the knave. “Are you telling me that I am to face the sister of one of the most powerful wizards of all time and I cannot even defend myself?” “I’m afraid so. Look here.” He pointed to the book in front of him that he had been skimming during Mirana’s speech. Alice leaned over the book and read aloud from the section entitled “The Doppelganger.” “At some point in their life, every Underlanian will have a counterpart in Overland. The doppelganger may either be physically or mentally similar to their counterpart, but never both. For instance, if the two are similar in physical characteristics, then their personalities will be the opposite of one another. Doppelgangers of both worlds rarely come into contact with one another, but it has occasionally been known to happen. This can be extremely dangerous for one or both parties, as the doppelgangers are fundamentally linked to each other. If both parties are ever in Overland or Underland at the same time, then the connection will become stronger, and what befalls one will befall the other.” Alice looked up from the book, feeling suddenly unsteady on her feet. “I cannot kill Alicia… without killing myself.” The Hatter’s eyes grew dark. “Nae! I willnae ‘ave it! I willnae ‘ave ye die fer sins ye dinnae commit! They cannae take ye from meh, Alice! THEY CANNAE– ” Mirana, Alice, and Stayne simultaneously attempted to calm him before the madness completely took over. “HATTER!” The fire in his eyes slowly cooled. He looked down, rather ashamed of his outburst. “Sorry,” he choked. “I’m fine.” He looked over to Alice, his eyes tinged yellow with worry. “Alice, please, don’t do this. Don’t fight her. I’ll stay in the looking-glass. I don’t mind, really, just please don’t – ” “Hatter, I have to fight. I am the queen’s champion – Underland’s Champion. Underland needs me, and I cannot stand aside and watch it fall to ruin.” “Ah need ye, too, Alice,” he whispered. Alice knelt beside the mirror. “I know. And I promise I’ll never leave you, but right now I need you to support me in my duty as Champion. Can you do that for me?” He nodded slowly. “Good. Besides, if we are connected, then she cannot harm me either, right?” “Alicia is a sorceress, Alice,” Mirana gently reminded her. “Her powers may be strong enough to keep her alive even if something were to happen to you. She would likely be weakened, but not killed.” Alice threw up her hands. “Then how am I to fight back?! How are we to win?!” Mirana frowned sorrowfully. “I don’t know that we can.”

Mirana shook her head sadly as she replaced the books on their proper shelves. They had spent the vast majority of the day searching desperately for more information about the sorceress, hoping to find a weakness and had found none. They had scanned nearly every book in the library for articles on doppelgangers, but ultimately, the authors all agreed that to kill one’s doppelganger would be fatal. They had scoured the library for books on Excalibur and had found only a few bits and pieces of information regarding the sword’s alleged powers, though none of that really mattered, since Alicia was already beginning to reclaim them. Stayne handed her another book. Alice had already turned in for the night, dragging the Hatter’s mirror along with her upon his request, leaving the knave and the queen alone. They worked in silence for awhile before Stayne made an attempt at conversation. “You never told me you were a direct descendent of Merlin.” “You knew of the magic of the royal family.” “Only vaguely.” “And for good reason. It is a heavily guarded family secret.” “I should think that you would be proud to name him in your lineage. Would that I had a lineage to name.” Mirana’s cool façade faltered momentarily. “I am, indeed, but not everyone has the same feelings about magic, and I do not wish to be associated with the likes of Alicia.” “That is certainly understandable.” Stayne wondered whether she would ever consider being associated with the likes of him. He slipped another book onto the shelf and went to retrieve another armful from the table. It was a difficult task to complete with only one hand, but he was managing. “I’m worried about tomorrow,” Mirana admitted. “Alice has had no training for fighting against magic. She only knows how to bear a sword, and she cannot even use that against Alicia without harming herself in the process. I shouldn’t ask her to fight. I should face Alicia myself.” “Alice also had no practice fighting a jabberwocky, but she did quite well in dispatching of it. Do not underestimate her abilities.” “It is not her abilities that concern me, it is Alicia’s. I don’t know what to expect from her. I don’t know how we can defeat her.” “Alice will find a way. She always does.” Mirana shook her head. “If she dies in that battle, the Hatter will never forgive me, and I will never forgive myself. She should not have to fight in a war that isn’t her own. There must be some way to end this peacefully…” Stayne sighed. “Iracebeth is not a peaceful woman. She will not throw down her weapon simply because you do not wish to fight, and she will not stop until one of you is dead.” “I wish it didn’t have to be this way.” The knave wasn’t sure how to respond to that, and the uncomfortable silence once again filled the room. He placed the last book on the shelf, accidentally brushing her hand for the second time that week. This time she did not jerk away. He curled his fingers gently around her own and slowly brought her hand to his lips. He placed a soft kiss on the back of her knuckles before releasing his grasp. “Good night, Your Majesty.” Then he turned and headed for the door.

Mirana stared after him for what seemed like hours. She stood there, hand poised in the same position as when he had kissed it, and she wondered whether he might not have some magic of his own, for she was certain she had felt sparks fly from her trembling fingertips and travel up her arm. Finally, as if coming out of a trance, she lifted her skirts and glided over to the doorway. She looked up and down the corridor, but they were entirely empty. She took the right passageway and tiptoed down the hall, careful not to wake her guests. Coming upon a grand white marble staircase, she began to ascend but paused when something caught her eye. Propped up against the top of the banister was an envelope. Curious, she opened it. Go look in the throne room. The words were sloppy but legible, as if they had been written by a child…or by someone who wasn’t using his dominant hand. Forgetting all about royal manners and her sleeping guests, Mirana picked up her skirts and ran back down the corridor, past the library, and down the next hall to the throne room. And then she stopped dead in her tracks, breath caught in her throat. There were roses. Hundreds and hundreds of roses. Roses in vases. Roses in bundles. Roses woven together in long strands that were draped from the ceiling and wrapped around the pillars supporting the roof, a fragrant sea of white that blanketed the room. And there, sitting on the throne itself was a large, ornate glass vase filled with white roses and a single, black rose right in the center. Mirana didn’t have to guess who was behind this, though she supposed he must have had some help. Carefully, she plucked the black rose from the center of the arrangement. It was a plain little thing. It was an outcast among outcasts, a throwaway that had been pruned out of hatred rather than love. While the other flowers were cut so that they might grow back more beautifully, this one had been cut to the quick, so that it might not grow back at all. It was broken and bruised and missing a few petals, but it was stubborn and proud. It was strange and different, yet it was, in its own way, beautiful. It was black, the color of death and mourning and darkness. And yet, what is death but the pathway to another life? Without mourning, could one truly understand happiness? And without the darkness, you could never see the beauty of the stars. She gently caressed the velvety petals between her fingertips. Violet, she noticed. They were tinged with violet. Her favorite color.

Chapter Eleven: The Price of Freedom

The day of the battle dawned cool and gray. Dark thunderheads hung ominously over Marmoreal, bellowing out an occasional angry rumble that shook the castle walls. Stayne stared up at the sky. “I don’t like the looks of this.” Alice smirked. “Afraid of getting wet?” The grave look in his eye told her he was serious. “I don’t think this storm is entirely natural.” “You believe that Alicia is controlling the weather?” A bolt of lightning struck dangerously close by, and Mirana’s horse spooked, rearing and snorting. Luckily, the queen had not yet mounted. She gently stroked the white mare’s face to calm her. Stayne looked rather irritated. If Mirana had been on the horse…. “Does that answer your question?” Alice frowned. If the sorceress was powerful enough to control the weather, what else could she do? A familiar Outlandish brogue interrupted her thoughts. “It’s nae too late, Alice. Ye can still turn back. Please, dinnae fight ‘er.” Though he would be utterly useless in the fight, the mirror-entombed Hatter had insisted on coming along, so Mirana had ordered two of her strongest guards to carry the looking-glass all the way to the checkerboard battlefield beside the Crimson Sea. Alice turned back to face him. “Hatter, the last time I was here and I told you I didn’t slay, you said I’d lost my muchness. You wanted me to fight. You believed in me when no one else did. But now that I am to face Alicia you seem to have lost your muchness. You once told me that a thing was only impossible if I believed it to be so. I believe that I can defeat Alicia, but I need you to have some faith in me, too.” The Hatter hung his head. “I jes dinnae want tae see yeh ‘urt.” She walked closer to the mirror. “Everything will be fine, Hatter.” He still refused to look up. “Ye promise?” “I promise.” She offered him a quick smile, then lifted herself up on the bandersnatch, nodding to Mirana to signal that she was ready to go. As they headed for the battlefield, Alice tried to quell the anxious butterflies in her stomach. She desperately hoped that she would be able to keep her promise.

The battlefield was just as Alice remembered it. But this time there was no jabberwocky. And this time, there was no magical sword to defend her. This time, it was just an ordinary sword wielded by an a rather unordinary young woman against a powerful sorceress and the legendary Excalibur. Alice and Mirana dismounted, and the Red Queen stepped forward. “Miwana,” she acknowledged. “Iracebeth.” “I see you still haven’t come to see things my way, little sister. It’s a shame Alice is going to lose her head because of your stubborn pride.” “It is not my stubborn pride but your jealously and ruthlessness that perpetuates out enmity. I have been patient with you, and I have been kind to you, but no more! This war has lasted far too long and cost far too many lives. Today it ends.” “Yes, it does. And it will end with the crown on my head.” Stayne interrupted. “I’m surprised your head doesn’t have its own moon. It is large enough, and you always did seem to think that the world revolved around you.” Iracebeth’s face turned as red as a tomato. She glared at the knave and spoke through clenched teeth. “So, you’ve come to the rescue of my baby sister again, have you? I should have known you fancied her. Was it those pretty little eyes of hers that did you in?” Stayne growled. “Perhaps more people would fancy you if you actually acted like you cared about someone other than yourself!” The Red Queen smirked. “She’s made you soft, Stayne. I would have expected better from you. CHAMPION!” A deafening roll of thunder rumbled over the valley, and the wind picked up, swirling the purple clouds into a vortex. An enormous jolt of lightning ripped open the sky and scorched the earth with a hot, blinding light. And there, standing where the lightning had struck, was a woman who could only be Alicia. Alice stood mesmerized. It was like looking into a mirror – an incredibly warped mirror that reflected an alternate reality – for standing right in front of her was the reflection of her darkest fantasies. Her skin was as pale and flawless as porcelain. Her hair fell to just below her shoulders in golden ringlets that shone like burnished bronze, giving her a deceptively angelic aura, but her eyes were black with the malice and hatred of a thousand years bound between worlds. Her lips and fingernails were a deep red – the color of blood, of rage. While Alice wore armor, she wore an elegant black dress. The neck was a low-cut “V,” the tip of which rested perfectly between her breasts and was accented with a large ruby studded with diamonds. The sleeves were long and flared at the cuffs, accented on the inside with scarlet fabric that accented her nails. It laced in the back with a tight red and black corset and ended just above the ground in jagged strips of alternate coloration. From a sash of silver across her chest hung a gleaming sword, its hilt a pair of intertwined dragons with ruby eyes – Excalibur. She truly was a child of the Fay. The decidedly not-Alice directed her gaze at the White Queen’s champion. “You must be Alice.” She smiled wickedly, exposing perfectly white teeth that seemed unnaturally sharp. “My brother always believed that everyone has a good side, and I suppose he was right. But not to worry, I can easily get rid of you.” Alice bravely stepped forward, sword drawn and ready for an attack. “Don’t count on it.” The sorceress laughed. “Oh, so its swords you want to play with, then? I could destroy you with a single wave of the hand, but let us make things…interesting…” She drew her own weapon. “Very well. I shall play your game…but I make the rules.” Their swords met with a clang, sending a shower of sparks to the ground. Alice steeled her nerves and began counting impossible things in her mind. One, Merlin is the ancestor of Underland’s royal family. Clang! Alice blocked an attack and retaliated with a strike of her own. Two, King Arthur was a real person. Swoosh! Alice felt the wind off Excalibur as it sliced the air just above her head. Three, Excalibur exists. There was a stinging sensation in her right arm. The sword had sliced clean through her chain mail. She noticed a bloodied rip in Alicia’s sleeve in the same position, but the cut healed in a matter of seconds, closing over the wound and smoothing out the fabric as though nothing had happened. Alice grit her teeth against the pain and gripped her sword tighter. Four, I am fighting the embodiment of evil, and she looks just like me! Her arm was getting weaker, and Alicia was taking advantage of the situation. “Hmm…I thought you could handle yourself, Alice. I’m rather disappointed with your fighting skills. Perhaps I should try a different weapon…” A sudden burst of white-hot electricity shot from the sorceress’ fingertips directly at Alice, who threw up her shield just in time. Five, I am going to save Underland again. Another blast of lightning knocked Alice to the ground. She slammed into the ground with a sickening crunch, the air in her lungs whooshing out with a hiss. But Alice forced herself up from the ground faced her opponent, a defiant determination shining in her eyes. Six, I can defeat Alicia. “FOOL!” The sorceress hurled another bolt of searing heat at the White Queen’s Champion, who ducked then slammed her sword down hard against Excalibur. “You can’t defeat me! I AM YOU!” “You’re wrong, Alicia. I know who I am. And I am certainly NOT a power-crazed, pompous old WITCH!” “Why you…” The sorceress’ eyes glowed red with the fires of Hades. Summoning all her strength, she sent a bolt of lightning from the sky, striking Alice to the ground, momentarily unconscious. “I warned you, Alice,” she hissed. Alice slowly raised her head, trying to stop the sickening swirl of the elements around her. She made an attempt to stand but found that she could not move. Alicia walked toward her, one hand holding up an invisible force that kept the champion pinned to the ground, the other hand holding Excalibur raised high above her head. Alice stared confidently into the eyes of her opponent, knowing that the last thing she ever saw would be her own face twisted into an evil grin of triumph and the silvery gleam of the legendary sword.

“Is that all you know how to do, Miwana?” Iracebeth taunted, pointing the tip of her sword at the knave. “Hide behind someone and wait for them to save you? You’ve been doing this your entire life! You’re always hiding behind Mother’s skirts or Stayne’s fists or Alice’s blade. When will you learn to grow up and fight for yourself?! Your vows weren’t made out of the goodness of your heart, they were made because you were afraid. Afraid of losing your powers and losing the cwown like me! You don’t care about others. You’re just as selfish as I am!...Or is that you’re just afraid you’ll lose?” Stayne stepped forward, drawing his sword. He’d had enough of her endless chatter. He was just about to attack when – “NO!” Stayne felt a gentle hand on his arm, and he lowered his weapon. He looked down to see Mirana staring up at him. Her eyes were filled with a warmth he hadn’t seen in years. “She’s right,” the White Queen whispered. “This is a war between sisters. I will not allow any more lives to be lost at my expense. If anyone is to fight her, it should be me.” Iracebeth’s eyes widened momentarily. Then a sadistic smile spread across her face. “You want to fight, little sister? I’ll give you a fight. But know that if we duel, it will be to the death.” Mirana’s lips were a drawn in a tight line. She took a deep breath. “Iracebeth, you are my sister, and I love you. I always have, and I always will. But I do not love what you have become. I don’t want to fight you, but if I have to, I will. I’m giving you one last chance. Lay down your weapon, call off your soldiers and your champion. Come home to the palace at Marmoreal and let us live as family again.” “Never!” she hissed. Mirana’s eyes hardened. “Then you leave me with no other choice.” And then Mirana did something that surprised both Stayne and Iracebeth. From the folds of her dress she drew a sword. She had come prepared for this, had seen it foretold in the Oraculum that the only way to end her sister’s antics was to put a stop to them herself. And though she hated the thought of it, she knew it was true. She could take one life today or risk her sister taking thousands in the future. With a heavy heart, Mirana had made her decision. There was no turning back now.

For a man with only one hand and one eye, Stayne was a surprisingly good fighter. Though still somewhat sloppy in his writing, he had trained his left arm to be as strong as his right, and when it came to handling a sword, he was just as good as any man with both hands. While Alice had been keeping the sorceress at bay, all hell had broken loose on the surrounding battlefield. Mirana’s white chess guards and the former red card soldiers were grappling with minotaurs and centaurs. Fauns riding unicorns charged into the fray, and a few lone dragons – though none as terrifyingly huge as the jabberwocky – spewed hot orange flames. Stayne could hear the soldiers’ screams as they were burned alive and shuddered at the memory of the Horvendush Day, wondering if the sounds were enough to drive the Hatter past the edge of his remaining sanity. Griffons and phoenixes dropped huge boulders from the sky. Stayne disposed of yet another one of the vigilante soldiers and leapt to the side, just as another boulder came hurdling down from above, leaving a small crater right where he’d been standing only moments ago. His sword crossed with a minotaur’s blade, the sound of steel on steel amid a chorus of screams and explosions and the rumbling of the thunder overhead. This was the sound of war. This was the song of death. He blocked a strong blow from above, and took advantage of the creature’s weakness, kicking him squarely in the chest. The minotaur stumbled backwards, and Stayne delivered his own blow, bringing his weapon down hard on his opponent’s blade and knocking it from his grasp. The advantage to using his left hand was that his opponents never knew what to expect. He paused, thinking of Mirana, and offered the creature the chance to regain his dignity, using the tip of his blade to flip the fallen sword into the minotaur’s grasp. But the bull-man was stubborn, slashing out at Stayne’s side, though barely grazing his armor. With a quick flick of the wrist, the knave drove his sword home. He put a foot on top of the dead animal’s chest and jerked is weapon free. He shook his head. After today there would be no more killing. A scream of horror drew his attention. For a moment, he couldn’t tell where it was coming from, but then he saw the terror on the Hatter’s face, and then he knew. Alice was in trouble.

Mirana hadn’t handled a sword in ages, but from the way she was fighting, one would think she’d been practicing her entire life, like she was born to be a warrior. Slender and agile, she moved with the grace and ferocity of a lioness on the prowl. She was light on her feet and quick to recover, taking her sister’s blows in stride, darting in and out like a hummingbird, twirling like a ballerina, spinning just out of reach of the blade. She had no armor, no training, and no form of magic that could be used in self defense, lest she risk losing all her powers. One wrong move would cost her the crown and her life. She was pushing her sister back, driving her up against the ruins of the old castle overlooking the Crimson Sea. Iracebeth saw her chance at escape and, turning, ran up the crumbling castle steps before she could be backed against the wall. Mirana gave chase.

Just as Alicia prepared to deliver the killing blow, Stayne’s sword came in from the side, slamming into her blade. It wasn’t enough to knock it out of her grasp, but it was enough to distract her…and that was all that Alice needed. The moment the force field came up, Alice was on her feet, swinging her blade up to meet Excalibur. The sorceress was furious, fighting with all the rage of a hurricane. Bolts of lightning were hurled from the sky like well-aimed spears, but Alice dodged them all. She would not make that mistake again. Stayne took advantage of Alicia’s distraction and, coming from behind, kicked her legs out from under her and pinned her to the ground. Alice snatched the fallen Excalibur from the ground and aimed it at Alicia’s throat. The sorceress smirked. “You won’t do it.” “You don’t know what I’m capable of.” If this was the only way to save Underland, the only way to end the war between Red and White, she would do it. She had looked death in the eyes, and she was not afraid. Stayne looked worriedly over at Tarrant, who was shouting all sorts of Outlandish profanities at the woman who dared to harm his Alice. He knew it would break the Hatter if she followed through with her threat, but he also knew that Alice was a stubborn girl who would do whatever she pleased once she had made up her mind. He tried anyway. “Alice, don’t.” A flash of lightning lit up the sky, illuminating the silhouettes of the two queens on the ruins of the old tower. Mirana was fighting hard, but she wouldn’t last long. Stayne glanced from Alice to Mirana, then back. Alice nodded. “Go to her. I’ll deal with Alicia.”

Stayne had never run so fast in his entire life. He raced through the crowd like a madman, knocking aside anyone who dared get in his way.

High above the melee of the battlefield, the two queens fought. Mirana was panting hard, restricted by her corset and trying to avoid tripping over her flowing skirts, she was beginning to fall back. But she still had the upper hand, and when Iracebeth made a rather poorly aimed attack, she saw an opening. She prepared to deliver the final blow…and then she faltered. “You see, Miwana?” the Red Queen, smirked. “That is why I would make a better queen that you.” She paused, leaning in close to whisper the final words. “I never hesitate.” And with that, she drove the blade home.

A high-pitched scream echoed over the battlefield. Stayne sprinted up the stairs, taking two or three steps at a time. He reached the top of the winding staircase just in time to see Mirana doubled over in pain, clutching her side. Iracebeth raised her blood-drenched sword high. “OFF WITH YOUR – ” “NO!” He slammed into the Red Queen with the force of a freight train, shoving her to the side. Stumbling backwards, she lost her footing and went tumbling over the side. There was blood-curdling scream and a splash as her body hit the rocky waves below, staining the water red as she was swallowed up by the sea. The Bloody Red Queen was no more.

Mirana collapsed in a heap, holding her stomach and gasping for breath. Stayne rushed to her side, slicing open her corset down the back so that she could get more air in her lungs, but she was still spluttering, wheezing. The knave offered her his handkerchief. When she put it to her mouth to cover her coughs, it came away red. “Mirana,” he whispered. It was the first time he’d used her given name in many years. And he could feel an unfamiliar sting at the back of his eye. He’d never understood why the Hatter was so emotional. Now he knew. Was this what it felt like to lose someone you loved? A single tear escaped, snaking its way down the channel of scars that he’d collected over the years. He felt a hand brush against his cheek. “Such a beautiful face was not meant for tears,” the queen whispered. She gasped for another breath. “Blue…has always been Alice’s color…It doesn’t suit you.” “My face is far from beautiful, Mirana.” “You have always…been beautiful…to me…” And then he did something he’d been wanting to do for years. Wrapping his right arm behind her shoulders to steady her, he ran the fingers of his left hand – his only hand – through the tendrils of her snow-white hair, and he kissed her. It was soft and gentle, yet fiercely passionate. He could taste the metallic tang of the blood on her lips, mingled with the salt of his own tears. When they finally broke away, Mirana was slipping into unconsciousness, but there was the ghost of smile on her lips.

Alice and the sorceress circled one another like cats moving in for a kill. With her own sword in her left hand and Excalibur in her right, Underland’s Champion was a force to be reckoned with. But so was an angry sorceress. And now Alice had no shield to block any forthcoming attacks. “Go ahead, Alice,” the woman taunted. “Kill me.” Alice considered the possible outcomes. What if she’s trying to trick you? You saw how quickly she healed. “If I kill you, how do I know you’ll stay dead?” “You don’t.” The sorceress absentmindedly admired her nails. “You’re a brave girl, Alice. No mortal has ever dared to defy me as you have done. You have potential. Come with me, Alice,” she beckoned. “I can give you powers beyond your wildest dreams…” “I have no interest in your powers.” “Really? Well, then, what is it you desire?” “I desire to see a free Underland ruled by a righteous and just queen.” The mistress of darkness chuckled darkly. “Oh, Alice, you’re such a stubborn little girl. Unfortunately, I don’t take ‘no’ for an answer.” In the blink of an eye, she disappeared. Alice swiveled left, then right, swords raised high in expectance of a surprise attack. And then she heard the Hatter screaming. Alice spun on her heels to face the looking-glass and was surprised to find not one, but two figures inside. The Hatter was on his knees, hands covering his ears as Alicia stood over him, a hand on either side of his head with hot white electricity flowing from her fingertips. Alice was livid. “What are you doing to him?! STOP IT!!” “I told you to come with me, Alice. You made a bad choice. And now someone must suffer the consequences. Of course, if you change your mind…” “Nae, Alice!” The Hatter was struggling to ignore the intense pain coursing through his brain. “Dinnae listen tah ‘er! Ah’m nae worth it – Aaarrggh!” The electricity surged, and the Hatter screamed again. “I WILL NEVER JOIN WITH THE LIKES OF YOU!!!” And there was a gleam in her eyes and the flash of a sword and Excalibur, the legendary blade of old, came down hard upon the surface of the looking- glass, which rippled like the surface of a pond as the tip of the blade lodged deep within the sorceress’ chest. Alice had aimed for the heart, and Excalibur struck true. The screams of the Hatter were joined by the shrieks of the sorceress as she was engulfed in the flames of eternal damnation. The glass shivered, then shattered, blasting bits of shrapnel across the open field. The Hatter stumbled forward, still cradling his throbbing head, and stepped out of the frame. He fell to his knees, waiting for the aching and dizziness to pass, blood pounding against the inside of his skull with every beat of his heart. He took a moment to catch his breath, trying desperately not to wretch in front of Alice. ALICE! He moved to stand up, forcing back a wave of nausea and steadying his wobbly legs. And then he saw her, lying a pool of her own blood. There was a gaping hole in the armor to the right of her chest, and she was struggling to breathe. He ran to her and knelt by her side. “Oh, Alice,” he whispered. It was a broken, hopeless plea. “Alice, why? Why did ye do tha’?” “B…because…I…l-love you,” she tried to smile despite the pain, but that stubborn glow of determination, of muchness, was fading from her eyes. He felt the tears pooling in his eyes again. He grasped her hand tightly, willing her to hold on, willing her to live. “Alice, no! Please, no! Ye promised it would be alrigh’! Ye promised ye would stay!” “Forgive me,” she whispered. “Dinnae leave meh, Alice! Please, dinnae leave meh!” But he could already feel her body growing cold, and the magic of the looking-glass was slowly seeping in. She was fading fast, giving into Overland’s siren call. Soon she would disappear all together. “I o-once…I once heard someone say… that if you love something…you have to…have to let it go…D-do you love me, Hatter?” He could no longer control the tears that were freely slipping down his cheeks. He knew what she was really asking. She was asking for him to move on after she was gone, asking him to be happy. He couldn’t make that promise, but neither could he deny her his love. He swallowed thickly, running his cracked and bleeding mercury-stained fingers through her golden curls, tracing her soft cheek with one of his rough fingers. “Always, mah Alice.” She smiled. “I’ll…I’ll paint a sunrise…just for you…” He choked back a sob. This was too much! It was like Horvendush Day all over again, like his worst nightmares coming to life. He wanted Alice to grab him by the shoulders and shake him awake. He wanted her to hold him and tell him it had all been just a bad dream. He wanted to cry into her arms and sit by the window and watch the sunrise with her. But right now he had to be the strong one. Right now he was the one who needed to hold onto her and tell her everything would be alright even when he knew it wouldn’t. “I’ll be watching,” he sniffed. He leaned in close, his lips hovering over hers. A tear rolled down his cheek and splattered onto her own. Her face was calm now, at peace. He could feel the slightest whisper of a breath. She was still alive…barely. He gently pressed his lips to hers. “Fairfarren, Alice.” And for the second time in his life, Tarrant Hightopp watched the woman he loved vanish before his eyes.

Chapter Twelve: Make Your Own Path

Alice awoke to the sound of hushed voices, whispers of comforting words mingled with those strained with grief. The voices were vaguely familiar, as if she’d once heard them in a dream, but her head was spinning and her chest was aching, and they all blurred together. “…afraid she might not make it…” “…spends three years in China and nearly gets herself killed here in London…” “Oh, my Alice!” “…sure she’ll be fine, Helen…” Helen? Alice’s eyes fluttered open. “Mother?” There was the scuffle of footsteps in the hall, then a flurry of people entered the room. Alice recognized them all. On the far left was Lord Ascot, wearing a smartly starched suit and a grave look on his face. Beside him was his carrot-topped, snobbish son, Hamish, who looked genuinely worried, followed by her sister, Margaret, who appeared as though she’d been crying. And on the far right was… “Mother?” she asked again. Helen Kingsleigh had never been so relieved, so happy, to hear that word coming from her daughter’s mouth. “Oh, Alice! You’re alright!” She gently wrapped her arms around her daughter’s shoulders and gave her a soft hug. When she pulled away, there were tears streaming down her face. “It’s alright, Mother. I’m home.” Alice smiled for a moment, then frowned. Yes, she was home, but now she could never go back to Underland. Her last memory of the place was the Hatter’s sad cerulean eyes. And then it occurred to her that she had absolutely no idea how she had ended up in her bed. “Mother, what happened?” Helen exchanged a worried glance with Lord Ascot. “You don’t know?” “I don’t remember much…The last thing I remember was going to Lord Ascot’s estate after getting off the ship. The guard let me in, and I went to take a quick look around the gardens. Nothing else,” she lied. Well, it was the last thing she remembered from Overland. Had it only been a few days ago that she jumped down the rabbit hole? How long had it been in Overland time? Helen met her daughter’s dark eyes with her own sad, blue ones…They reminded Alice of another set of eyes… “We found you here, lying on the floor of your room beside the looking-glass. You were…badly injured…It was quite lucky you were stabbed on right side rather than the left or the wound might have punctured your heart! We assumed that you had stumbled upon ruffians on the way here, but if you went to Lord Ascot’s then…” Wait, the right side? I hit Alicia in the heart in the looking-glass. The looking-glass! Of course! Everything is backwards in a looking-glass, so when I hit her on the left side, the wound showed up on my right! “I never saw her.” Lord Ascot shook his head. “Alice, are you certain you dropped by?” Alice frowned. “Perhaps I was planning to stop by and never actually made it there. My thoughts are so jumbled that I’m not certain about much of anything at the moment.” That was a lie, too. Alice was very certain about one thing. She would find a way to get back to Underland. “Yes, I suppose that must have been it,” Lord Ascot commented. Alice shook her head. Always so logical. Lord Ascot was a wonderful man – a sort of second father to her – but he had the imagination of a turnip. “Oh, Alice, it’s so wonderful to have you back!” Helen gushed. “You simply must tell us about all of your adventures when you’re feeling up to it.” “Of course, Mother.” Helen kissed her daughter on the forehead. “But for now, get some rest.” She smiled. “Welcome home, Alice.” As the crowd dispersed, Alice felt her heart sink. She didn’t have the heart to tell her mother that she wouldn’t be staying for long. Should I stay here? Can I even get back Underland? But she didn’t have the energy to argue with herself for very long. Soon her eyelids grew heavy, and she drifted off into a deep sleep, dreaming of Underland and a Hatter with the bluest eyes she’d ever seen.

Afternoon tea at the Ascots’ residence was not one of Alice’s favorite pastimes. Of course, being that this was the first time she’d been able to have tea with her family and friends – acquaintances? – since her return from China and everyone was expecting tales of grand adventure on the high sea and far-away lands, she didn’t really have much of a choice. Alice indulged them. She had plenty of tales about fearsome pirates and stormy seas and a land rich in tea and spices and silk. She told them about the day they had nearly run aground on a shallow reef, about learning to live off of dried pork and hard biscuits and rum – the water was nearly always too filthy to drink – supplemented with the occasional meat from the turtles they found on stopover islands and the occasional bugs they found in the biscuits after they’d already been half-way eaten. She had to try hard to keep from laughing at Lady Ascot’s face when she’d mentioned the bugs. She told them about the magnificent birds with tail feathers that would be the envy of any milliner in London – or Underland, for that matter, though she didn’t say so out loud – and the strange creatures that looked like they were from another world. Alice sighed. If only they knew there was another world right below their feet! She wanted to tell them of Underland – of the strange and wonderful teas that the Hatter could concoct, of animals that spoke and dressed and acted like humans, of sorceresses and Merlin and a royal family feud that sounded as though it had been stolen from the script of one of Shakespeare’s plays. She wanted to tell them of a knave who’d had a change of heart and a Queen of Hearts who seemed to have no soul, of bandersnatches and jabberwockies and hatpin-bearing mice, of a royal Hatter who’d lost his clan and stolen her heart. But they would never understand. So Alice smiled and laughed and told proper stories (well, mostly proper!) and had proper tea. There were no interruptions. No flying tea-cups aimed at her head. No dormice asleep in the teapot. No cats without a smile or smiles without a cat. And no Mad Hatter. All in all, it was rather dull, and although Alice dearly loved her mother and sister and thought highly of Lord Ascot, she needed Underland. She belonged in Underland. And somehow, some way, she would find her way back.

“Mother?” Alice walked into the sitting room where her mother was reading over some of her father’s old travel logs. She put down the book, and glanced up. “Oh! Come in, Alice. I was just looking over some of your father’s old notes, and I think I’ve found some more of his mad ideas for potential trading ventures. Perhaps you should have a look. I don’t have much of a head for business, but Lord Ascot certainly believes that you do!” She took her daughter by the hands. “Alice, I know I’ve been rather harsh on you in the past for your wild imagination and your odd thoughts about certain aspects of society, but I want you to know that I am very proud of you. Charles would be, too.” Alice bit her lip. She had come to tell her mother good-bye, but now she wasn’t so certain that she could do it. But then she thought of the Hatter – the way he spoke with an innocent lisp or a rough brogue, depending on his mood; the way his eyes changed colors when he was sad or happy or angry; the way he laughed at nonsense and made up nonsense jokes (Why is a raven like a writing desk?); the way he showed the gap in his teeth when he smiled – and she realized that she didn’t want to live in a world where he didn’t exist. “Mother, may I ask you a question?” “Yes, of course! What is it, Alice?” “I…well…While I was away, I met someone…someone very special…” Helen smiled knowingly. “Was this ‘someone,” by any chance, a hatter?” Alice gasped. “How did you…” “While you were unconscious you rambled quite a bit. Some of it was utter nonsense, of course – a smiling cat! Now, really, could you imagine such a thing?! – but you kept saying something about a hatter…” Alice blushed. She hadn’t realized she had been talking in her sleep! “Er…well…yes. Yes, he is a hatter. A royal hatter, in fact!” “A royal hatter? Which country’s monarch does he serve?” “Oh, just a small country…You’ve probably never heard of it.” “And…how exactly did you meet?” Alice racked her brain for some plausible explanation. “I met him on one of the stopover islands on the way to China. He was collecting feathers for his hats.” Helen continued to pry. “Tell me more about this mysterious milliner. What are his interests? His hobbies?” “Well, he loves tea. He has even developed a few special creations of his own design, and I must say, they are quite marvelous. He likes animals, though he isn’t too fond of cats. And he makes the most beautiful clothing, Mother! Once, he even made me a dress!” Helen seemed to approve so far. “And what of his family?” This was the question Alice had been dreading. “He…has no family…They died in a fire several years ago. He is the last one of his clan.” “Oh.” Alice was silent for a moment, allowing her mother to take in everything she had just said, but soon the quiet became unbearable, and she had to speak what was on her mind. “I love him, Mother. I want to go to his country...to stay there…” “Has he proposed?” “Not yet, but – ” “And what if he never does? Then what will you do with yourself.” “Mother, he would give his life for me. He has proven that more than once. He is the right man for me.” Helen regarded her daughter with a mixture of hurt and pride. “And I suppose that you will be going to stay with him regardless of what I say?” Alice felt guilty admitting it, but she knew her mother was right. “Yes, I suppose I will…but I would rather go with your blessing.” Helen’s eyes were brimming with tears. “Alice, you have always made good decisions – even when it they weren’t necessarily the ones that I would make. I trust that you know what you are doing, and I hope that, wherever you go in life, you will be happy.” Alice felt her own eyes sting and wrapped her arms around her mother. “Thank you, Mother.”

After saying good-bye to her mother and sister and testing the looking-glass in her room to see whether it still worked – which it didn’t – Alice headed over to the Ascot manor to bid her mentor adieu and search for another entrance to Underland, but after hours of searching, she still hadn’t found any evidence of another portal. Giving up, she headed for the rabbit hole, having saved it for last because, though she knew it was a slim chance, she still held some hope that it hadn’t been destroyed with the shattering of the looking-glass. Seeing the gnarled old tree that marked the entrance, Alice began running. This was it! She was going back! But when she got closer, she stopped. This was not the rabbit hole. It was the right size, the right shape, but it wasn’t her way to Underland. Alice knelt down and carefully placed a hand inside. She could feel the soil in the bottom, warm and wet between her fingers. And it was enough to make her cry. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen! I wanted to see Margaret and Mother again, but I don’t want to stay here forever! “Nothing is ever accomplished with tears.” Alice looked up to see a very familiar blue butterfly sitting on her shoulder. She brightened. “Absolem?” “Who else, stupid girl?” “But how did you get here? I thought all the portals to Underland were closed.” “I was here above when the looking-glass shattered, and now I am stuck – no thanks to you.” Alice knew she should have been irritated with him, but quite frankly, she was so glad to see an Underlanian friend that she didn’t care. “But how do we get back if all the paths to Underland are cut off? There must be some way to get there!” “There isn’t,” the butterfly answered flatly. “But I promised the Hatter I wouldn’t leave him. I promised him things would be alright. He has to know that I’m alive!” “I said there isn’t a way there, stupid girl. I never said you couldn’t go back.” “But if all paths are cut off then – ” “Then make your own path.” “But that’s impossible!” The butterfly smirked. “That’s never stopped you before.” Then he lifted his wings and took off. “Absolem, wait! What’s that supposed to mean? Absolem!” But the butterfly was already gone, fluttering away in the breeze. “You’ll find a way, Alice!” he called back. “You always do.” Alice sighed. “Were you just talking to that butterfly?” Alice wondered how long Hamish had been standing there. She stood and smoothed her dirty skirts. “For your information, that butterfly happens to be a friend of mine.” Hamish rolled his eyes. “I don’t think I even want to know.” Alice smiled. “If I told you, you’d think I was half-mad.” Hamish snorted. “I already think you’re half-mad.” Then his face softened. “Father told me that you’re leaving. I wanted to come say good-bye and let you know that I wish you well.” Alice was taken aback. She and Hamish had grown up together, but she’d never seen him as much of a friend. It was strange that he should act so kind to her, especially after she’d left him in the gazebo…Perhaps he really did care for her… “Oh, well…Thank you, Hamish. I wish you the best, as well.” “Just answer me one question, will you, Alice? What is it that this…hatter…” he spoke the name with disgust, as if it was beneath him, “of yours has that makes him the right man for you but not me?” “It’s nothing personal, Hamish, it’s just…Well…You’re just not mad enough for me.” Hamish actually smiled. “Yes, and I suppose you’re just not sane enough for me…Well, then, I wish you the best with this…madman…of yours.” Alice smiled. “Thank you, Hamish. There are plenty of perfectly sane women out there who I’m certain would love to make your acquaintance. You’ll find the right one someday.” “Yes,” he said sadly, “I suppose there are plenty of sane women.” But there is only one crazy Alice in the world. “Would you like me to escort you down to the docks?” “Oh, that’s very kind of you, but…I’m not actually going to the docks. You see, I’m not entirely sure where I’m going.” “Not entirely sure where you’re – ” He shook his head. “Never mind. Good-bye, Alice.” “Fairfarren, Hamish.” And with that, she turned to leave, wearing a smug smile on her face and leaving an entirely confused Hamish to puzzle out whether she had just cursed him or wished him well.

Alice sat by a pond in one of the city’s smaller parks, dangling her feet in the edge and watching the small fish come up to investigate her bare toes. She had been walking for quite some time, and when she’d seen the pond, she had decided to stop for a short rest. Suddenly, she sat straight up, startled by her reflection…or rather, lack thereof. There, in the water, was only half an Alice! One side of her showed up perfectly – one leg, one arm, one ear, one eye – but the other half was simply…missing. She noticed Absolem fluttering nearby and invited him to light on her finger. She frowned. “Why do I only have half of a reflection?” “Because, stupid girl, you are missing your other half.” “Alicia? My…dark side…is missing?” “No, stupid girl, not Alicia! Think! Who else are you connected to in Underland?” And suddenly, Mirana’s words came back to her. He needs you, Alice. Without you, he is only half the man he would like to be. “The Hatter…” she whispered. “The Hatter is my other half!” [1] “Well, it certainly took you long enough to figure that one out!” “Absolem!” she scolded. “But I still don’t understand how I’m supposed to get back to Underland.” “Take a look around you, child. What do you see?” “Um…a bench?” “Try again.” “And…trees?” “Not even close.” “And…Oh, Absolem, why can’t you just tell me?! I swear, if the Hatter doesn’t get to see me because you wouldn’t let me back into Underland, I’m going throw you into the pond and – It’s the pond, isn’t it? It’s like a giant looking-glass…and Mirana did say something about water connecting the worlds…” “So what are you waiting for?” Alice smiled. “Thank you, Absolem. But how will you get back? Won’t your wings get wet?” Absolem shook his head. “This is your entrance to Underland, Alice, not mine. I have to make my own path, just as you have made yours…Besides,” he smirked, “I thought you were going to throw me in…” Alice laughed as he fluttered off her finger and into the sky. “Fairfarren, Absolem! Good luck!” “And to you, Champion Alice!” Alice looked back down at the water, now a thin film between one realm and another. Within its depths she could see the great castle at Marmoreal. The cherry trees were all in bloom, and the late afternoon sun was shining brightly. Alice took a breath of air, then took a running leap into the pond, plunging headfirst into the water. She was going home.

[1] Okay, so I stole this idea from The Lion King Two, but it just fit in the story so nicely that I had to put it in!

Chapter Thirteen: A New Beginning

When she broke the surface, Alice took in a deep breath of the fresh Underlanian air and was surprised to find that she didn’t need to tread water. She could stand up! And when she realized just exactly where she was, she laughed. Somehow she had ended up in the queen’s fountain! What would Mirana think when – MIRANA! Did we win the battle? Did she survive? Alice quickly stepped out of the fountain and ran up to the castle doors where the guards promptly let her in. Though they didn’t understand how she had survived, she was most certainly the Alice. Alice practically ran down the wide marble halls, but when she reached the throne room, she was in for a big surprise – for there, where once there had sat an empty throne reserved for the future White King, was the knave! Alice had never imagined she would be this happy to see her former enemy. “Stayne?!” He looked up from the parchment he’d been reading. “Alice?!” In a moment, he was on the walkway in front of her. “Alice, where have you been all this time? We thought you were dead!” “It’s a…bit of a long story, actually. I’ll explain later.” She looked around worriedly. “Where is Mirana?” “Right here.” Alice looked up to see a very pregnant Mirana descending the stairs from the upper floor of the castle. Stayne rushed to her side, wrapping his good arm around her. “Careful now, love.” “Really, Stayne, I can manage. You’d think I was a porcelain doll the way you treat me.” He kissed her gently on the cheek. “You are.” When the queen finally made it to bottom of the steps, she was clearly a bit out of breath, but overjoyed to see her champion again. “Welcome back to Underland, Alice.” Alice smiled. “Thank you, Mirana, but if you’re with child then…” She turned to Stayne. “That means that you are…” The former knave gave a mock-bow. “Underland’s new White King, at your service.” He grinned, looking down at his dark attire. “Rather ironic, isn’t it?” Alice laughed. “Yes, indeed. I’m very happy for the both of you.” Suddenly, she frowned. The last time she had been in Underland, Mirana had certainly not been pregnant. Alice didn’t know much about how Time worked in Underland, but she felt fairly certain that even in Underland women didn’t simply become heavy with child overnight. “Mirana…exactly how long have I been away from Underland?” Mirana frowned. “It’s been over a year, Alice.” Alice looked horror-stricken. An entire year! It had only been less than two months in Overland! “How is the Hatter?” This time it was Stayne who answered. “The Hatter is…surviving…Your absence has been very difficult for him.” Alice looked down guiltily. “I didn’t know I had been away for so long…Is he here? May I see him?” “He is, indeed,” Mirana answered. “His workroom is in the old guest bedroom where you spent the night when you were last here. Do you think you can find it?” “Yes, I believe I can. Thank you, Mirana.” Alice turned to leave. “Alice, wait!” Stayne gave her a sympathetic look. “The Hatter may not be as you remember him. After you left, he poured all of his efforts into his trade in attempt to keep himself busy and keep from going mad…er…But I’m afraid with all the time he’s spent working around the mercury, he hasn’t been very successful. Be careful.” Alice became a bit defensive. “The Hatter would never hurt me!” “Not if he knows it’s truly you, but you know how his mind likes to play tricks on him…” Alice would have to be mindful of that. She nodded her appreciation, gave the king and queen her best wishes for their little one, and took off running for the workshop.

Alice rapped gently on the door, anxious to see the Hatter but keeping in mind what the knave – no, the White King! – had said. She could barely hear the response. “Come in,” a voice whispered. Alice twisted the knob and slowly creaked open the door. The room was dark, save for what light filtered in through thick white curtains. Fabrics littered the floor and the shelves along the wall. The nightstand, which had been turned into a makeshift desk, was covered in jewels and sequins and feathers with a pair of scissors and several hatpins off to the side. And there were hats EVERYWHERE! Large hats, small hats, ladies’ hats, men’s hats, top hats, bowler hats, hats, Hats, HATS! He had certainly been quite busy since she’d left. She wondered how he’d even had time to leave the room, and with a start, she realized that he probably hadn’t. And then she saw him. Though she couldn’t make out many details in the dim light, she could see that his hands were raw and chaffed from working. His hair had grown somewhat longer and shaggier, unkempt and unruly as always. And his eyes. His eyes were a dull shade of blue that bordered on black. He was huddled over by the window, the same window where they’d once watched a sunrise together. “Oh, Hatter,” she whispered. His eyes suddenly became angry, glowing a terrifying red. “Ge’ out o’ me workshop!” Alice didn’t budge. “GE’ OUT, NAUW!!!” “Hatter?” She took a step toward him. “Ah tol’ ye tah leave meh ALONE!” But Alice stood her ground. “Please,” he begged, “jes stop tormentin’ me an’ let me move on. Ah thought tha’s what ye wanted, Alice, so why are ye still ‘ere?” “I did want that, but Hatter I’m not dea – ” “Yes, ye are! Ah ken ye’re jes tryin’ tah make meh feel better, Alice, but Ah was there! Ah was ‘oldin’ ye when ye died!” “Hatter – ” He had turned his back to her and was staring out the window again. “Ah’ve been watchin’ ev’ry sunrise since ye left, Alice.” His voice was shaking, and she knew he wouldn’t hold up much longer. “An’ Ah’ve been wonderin’ which one o’ ‘em was fer me…” He sucked in a breath of air, trying to steady his voice. “Ah’m sorry, Alice…Ah’ve failed ye…Ah’ve tried and tried tah let ye go, but I cannae! I cannae because…because…” He felt two gentle hands squeezing his shoulders. “Because I’m you’re other half.” The Hatter froze. If this was a hallucination, it was certainly the most realistic one he’d ever experienced! He wanted to believe it, wanted to know that she was there, but he was afraid to turn around, afraid that she would disappear before his very eyes as she’d done before. “Hatter, look at me.” She brushed his cheek with her right and turned his head so that he was facing her. Then she cradled his face between her two palms and looked deep into his eyes, still blue but a brighter, happier shade. “I’m here, Hatter. And I’m real.” And then he was crushing her against his chest, holding her like she was his lifeline and he would never let go. “Oh, Alice,” he sobbed, stroking her hair “mah Alice! Ye’re ‘ome!” “Yes, Hatter, I’m home.” They sat there for hours, with Alice holding him and the Hatter gently stroking her soft curls, sobbing with grief and joy and relief that she was alive and in his arms and back to stay. By the time the Hatter’s tears finally subsided, it was late, and they decided to stay up instead to watch the sunrise. “Alice?” “Yes, Hatter?” He had finally released his grip on her shoulders, but their hands were still intertwined. “What’s the last thing you remember about that day before you – ” He couldn’t bring himself to say the word. No! Alice was NOT dead! He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. “Before you left.” Alice smiled. “I remember telling you about the sunrise…and then you looked so sad…I don’t remember what happened after that. Why? Did something important happen?” “Oh, no reason! No, no, nothing happened at all!” His voice was a little too high pitched, a little too excited for it to be “nothing.” “That is to say, not that you’re not important – because you certainly are and I’m very glad to have you back, Alice – Oh, I do hope you will stay! After all, now I’m not trapped in a looking-glass and you’re your right-proper-Alice-size! Not that you’re not lovely when you’re a different size, it’s just that it’s very nice to have you at this size because you’re not too tall or too small and – ” “Hatter!” He cleared his throat and shook his head. “Sorry,” whispered hoarsely. “I’m fine.” Alice smiled, standing to open the curtains as the first light of dawn broke over the horizon, never letting go of his hand but pulling him up along with her. She looked back at him with a puzzled expression on her face. “Too tall or too small for what, Hatter?” Tarrant ran a chaffed hand along her smooth cheek, then tilted her head so that she was looking up at him. He leaned in close so that Alice could feel his warm breath against her skin, lips lingering just a barely above her own. “Fer this.” And he kissed her with all the passion, all the love, that had been spilling from his broken heart. And as the sun came over the horizon, their silhouettes merged as one against the bright morning sky, and they promised each other a lifetime of sunrises until their final sunset. And when that day came, they would both paint the sunrise together.