She had made the decision and now she was going to stick by it. The idea of returning and staying in Wonderland was positively impossible and that was what made it so utterly delightful. Her parents were gone. Their passing came quickly, after a coach accident. Alice was sorrowful, dreadfully so. But with the threat of her overbearing Aunt looming over her, she had no other choice, she had to go home.
She stood before the looking glass, suitcase in hand. Alice had never travelled to Wonderland this way before, she had always seemed to fall into it one way or another. But this time, she wished to go on purpose, and to never return. She looked at her reflection and furrowed her brow. She had grown since her last visit to Wonderland. She was now a woman and possessed all of the features that came along with such a transition. She stared in awe as the reflective glass became liquid almost, becoming malleable before her very eyes. She reached out her hand, to touch the strange substance and found it sucking her in. She took a deep breath, steadying herself, before reaching out a booted foot and plunging into the unknown.
Hatter sat with the March Hare at tea in the early morning of a fine, mid year day. They had been having a splendid time, talking over affairs and joking as was usual of their time together. Suddenly, he felt a strange feeling come over him. He pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve and held it up to his face.
"Hatter, what is the matter?" The Hare asked, looking upon his friend in worry.
"It's just I-I I've come over all funny all of a sudden." He chuckled in a light manner, trying to cover the fact that he really did not feel like himself.
"Tea, tea is what shall sort it, and cake!" He blurted out after a moment. The Hare poured the Hatter some tea and sliced him a wedge of cake, before sitting back and watching his friend ponder in deep thought. Hatter could not quite describe what it was that he felt, but it was warm, no hot, hot in a kind of searing way. And he felt a longing, he was not sure for what, or whom, but it was an emotion that he had not felt for a very long time.
Alice marveled at the colours and the aromas of Wonderland. Everything was bright and alive, especially in comparison to London. She watched as butterflies swarmed past and marvelled at the distant crash of the shore. She had been away too long. She wandered along the cobbled pathway, glad that she had worn the clunky, yet dependable boots that her mother always hated. She was here now, and that was half of the battle. The other half was finding her way to friends, to begin her life afresh. The further she walked the closer she came to the shore that she had heard upon arriving. She was reassured by this, knowing that she may find at least one ally there.
The Mock Turtle was busy chopping onions for his soup. The sun was high in the sky and he huffed and puffed at himself as he felt his knife slip from his flipper, lubricated with perspiration. He became anxious as he heard a rustling come from the country path. He had not invited the March Hare around today and apart from his visits, the Mock Turtle was left alone, and that was the way he liked it.
Alice wandered further down the country road until she smelt the salt of the sea mixed with the sharp odour of freshly chopped onions. It took Alice a short while to realise what the chopping of onions meant. However, suddenly, her mind clicked and she thought to herself joyously: Of course, it is the Mock Turtle who lives by the sea! She had never tasted a soup quite like his in all of her time outside of Wonderland. She followed the scent, attempting to find her friend from so long ago. She walked for a long while until she came across him. His shell was more brown and worn than she had remembered and his skin was slightly more wrinkled, but Alice knew, that this was the Mock Turtle.
Turtle looked up when he saw the stranger approach him. He remained silent as he stared at her. She was a girl, he could tell that much. She was wearing a tweed dress, with a matching hat and he noticed that he could see her visible petticoat and felt himself blush.
"Hello Turtle, do you remember me?" The girl asked, her voice ringing out like the clearest bell in Wonderland, hung in the town square. The Mock Turtle felt himself come over with embarrassment as he looked up at this girl that he was positive he had never seen in all of his life.
"Turtle, it is me, Alice." She said to him slowly, worry and panic creeping to her face. The Turtle felt his face light up with realisation.
"Of course it is you, my dear! It has just been so long and you have grown so. Please, sit, I'm making a fresh batch of soup." He patted the log next to him.
Alice had been slightly worried when the Mock Turtle did not remember her, but she soon perked up as he engaged her in conversation.
"So, why have you returned, my dear? After so long." Alice wondered if she should tell the Turtle everything and have him judge her as he will. She decided that no, they were not quite well acquainted for such a gesture.
"I am here to live." She stated, her tone light and excited.
"Oh I am glad! You have been gone for too long." He assured her, before pouring her a bowl of soup.
"Do you know, I have never tasted a soup as flavourful as yours elsewhere in my travels." She complimented him, slurping the soup.
"You are kind, my dear. My soup is my pride and joy. One of the only things I have passed on to my children." Alice wondered where the Mock Turtle's wife was, where his children were. However, she found herself sinking into a kind of melancholy as she pondered on the idea.
"Now tell me, where are you headed? I am sure that you have not come to stay with me." He asked her. She wondered for a moment, where was she headed? But she knew, the minute that she pondered on this question she knew who she wished to see more than anyone.
"You wouldn't happen to know the whereabouts of the Hatter, would you?" She asked, in a small voice. The Turtle chuckled, knowing her answer before she had even said it.
"Of course, my Dear. Head into town, it is down the path you were on and ask someone there, they will be able to take you to the Hatter." Alice stood, picking up her things.
"Thank you, thank you very much." She thanked him, and promised him that she would be back, before heading off down the road that she had been walking on.
Her feet became tired and the sun had began to set by the time she saw a single soul. She knew Wonderland was a large, expansive place. But she did not remember the Mock Turtle living so far away from town. However, when she saw the strange creature, one that was so Wonderland-esque, it fled before she could ask it a single question.
Alice was beginning to lose hope. She had thought coming to Wonderland was a marvelous idea. But now, cold and alone, she wondered if she should have simply stayed in her own world and bitten her tongue with her Aunt. However, as soon as the thought had entered her mind, she placed herself, she was near the White Queen's castle. Alice could not believe her luck. However, she had not eaten nor drunk since she had been with the Mock Turtle so by the time she reached the castle, she collapsed, watching the darkened sky became darker still as her eyes fell closed.
It was a knight that found her.
"Your Majesty, there is a girl, fainted at the gates!" The guard huffed and puffed as he ran into the dining hall.
"A girl?" The White Queen asked. She wondered what girl could possibly be coming to see her, unless…
"Bring her in, at once!" She called to the man, watching him scurry away. She soon decided that she should have followed, so she began running elegantly down the halls. Surely it could not be Alice. She had been gone for years and when she left she had made it very clear that she would not be returning.
When they reached her, Mirana gasped audibly. It was her, Alice. However, she was not a girl anymore, she was a woman, from what the Queen could see. A young woman but a woman nonetheless.
"Quickly, quickly! Bring her in!" She cried, her mind racing a hundred miles a minute.
"Get the ladies to put her in the finest guest room!" She called as she ran along behind them. She simply could not believe it: Alice had returned to Wonderland.
Alice awoke to the soft haze of the morning sun. However, she was not still out on the street. Now, she laid in a plush room, with a comfortable bed, covered by a warm quilt. She couldn't understand it. The last thing she could remember was collapsing at the gates of the White Queen's castle. Alice soon realized where she was and felt a wave of embarrassment course through her.
She attempted to stand, however found this rather difficult. She was dressed in a white night dress and her hair had been brushed. She felt a little uncomfortable with the fact that she had been unconscious whilst this pampering had taken place. But she was grateful to be out of the cold nevertheless.
The Queen had been alerted to Alice's state and went to her right away. She was unsure why the girl had returned to Wonderland but she was glad that she had. She found Alice sat at the edge of her bed, looking down at her hands.
"Alice!" The Queen called to her. She watched as Alice's head snapped up and a faint smile graced her face.
"I must thank you for your kindness, for bringing me out of the cold." The Queen felt the same warm affection she had remembered for Alice and took her hands in her gloves.
"Of course. You are always welcome here." Mirana had arranged clothes for Alice, which she left for her to change into.
The weight of Alice's decision was bearing down on her now. She had left her home to return to this place that she was unsure if she belonged in. Where would she work? Where would she live? These were all things that Alice had not thought about before making the jump. And they were the same things that made her very distressed now. The dress she had been provided was tremendously similar to the dress she had worn the first time she was in Wonderland. It was sky blue, without the tight fitted corset she had been used to and a little shorter than she had been used to, grazing the backs of her calves. But, as she span, she felt very comfortable in the dress.
Alice was a vision when she met the Queen for breakfast. Her skin glowed and the journey from the day before did not show.
"So, Alice. Might I ask what brings you back to us in Wonderland?" The Queen asked over breakfast.
"My world was not so suited anymore." Alice replied simply. The Queen understood that the girl was not very comfortable with the subject, so she changed it rather quickly.
"Well, things have changed an awful lot since you have been gone." Alice was very happy to sit and listen to the Queen chatter on about how alliances had been created and treaties had been singed and the peace that had been restored in Wonderland.
Alice knew that she could not let the Queen dominate the conversation for much longer, so when she asked a question about her family, Alice replied:
"I became fascinated by science and intended to pursue a career in Biology. I was almost married, but it all fell through at the last minute and now I find myself here." She smiled, the marriage had been called off by her request but she did not want the Queen to know that.
"Oh everyone will be so excited to see you!" The Queen smiled. However, there was one person's reaction that Mirana was very unsure about indeed.
The Hatter heard the news over morning tea. The March Hare had scuffled in, breathing heavily.
"You shall never believe what I have just heard from one of the Queen's Guard." The Hatter pressed him to share his news.
"Alice has returned!" Everything stopped. Tarrant could not hear the March Hare's voice, he could not smell the aroma of his tea, everything simply stopped.
It took Tarrant a few moments to regain his consciousness and the first thing he felt was that strange longing sensation that he had felt the day before. But Alice could not be the subject of these affections, he hated Alice and vowed to never forgive her for the way she left.
"I am going to work." Tarrant stood abruptly and the March Hare let him go, knowing perhaps he shouldn't have told the Hatter so soon.
The Hatter remained in his shop for three days and three nights. The Hare now knew that he should not have told Tarrant so soon. He had gone into panic mode.
Alice, on the other hand, was rather content within her first few days back in Wonderland. She had tea with the Queen and greeted many of her old friends, including the Dodo, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee and even the Caterpillar Absolem had made an appearance to see if Alice's return had been fiction or fact. He found her very real and looking very well.
However, the one person that Alice longed to see was nowhere in sight. The Hatter had made no effort to see Alice and she had noticed. She did not worry until one evening, the March Hare joined Mirana and Alice for dinner and he stayed behind to speak to the Queen about "special business" as he called it. Alice could not help but think that this "business" was concerning Hatter and she wished to know what was wrong. So, although she knew she shouldn't, she eavesdropped on the March Hare and Mirana's conversation.
"He has not left the shop in days. I know I shouldn't have told him so soon!" The Hare's voice showed that he was in a great amount of distress.
"Do not blame yourself. We knew that he would not react kindly to Alice's return." Alice gasped and placed a hand over her mouth when she heard the Queen.
"He was heartbroken when she left. I suppose the wound simply hasn't healed." The Hare responded. Alice could not take this any longer. She had no idea that Hatter had such negative feelings towards her. She had a right mind to leave Wonderland all together. But no, she could not go back to the human world, there would be too many questions. Sleep, that was what would help this situation. So, Alice prepared herself for bed and forced herself into slumber.
The next morning, convinced that she would not think of the Hatter, Alice decided to go and pick berries. This had been an activity she had been highly recommended but had never had the time to do whilst in Wonderland. So now, as the sun rose, she dressed herself and collected her basket.
The berry fields were not far from the Queen's castle and Alice rather enjoyed the walk. However, once she reached the berry trail, she realised she should not have worn her white dress. The hem was already stained by mud and she was sure that the berries would stain the fabric. She would repay the Queen and make herself a new dress.
There was nobody on the berry trail so early and Alice found peace of mind in the solitude. She had been given very little alone time in the human world that her solitude now was a great luxury. She walked slowly, rustling for berries and placing those that she found in the basket. She found that her basket began to fill up soon enough and she smiled, feeling contented, even if she wore a stained dress.
The Hatter had attempted to work for days. He had locked himself in his shop and forced himself to be creative, to take his mind off of a certain young lady. However, forcing himself to be creative appeared to have the opposite effect on Hatter. He did not design a single hat while he forced himself into solitary confinement. Come on, Tarrant. You are the Royal Hatter! He kept telling himself time and time again. However it didn't matter how many times he flattered himself, he could not design a hat. He had woken early, in hopes of designing a hat. Tarrant even sat himself by the window, in hopes that inspiration would come. It did not. Wonderland seemed a very boring place to Hatter, that was until he saw her.
Her hair was loose and she carried a basket in her hands. Her white dress was stained blood red in the bodice and mud brown at the hem. She wandered, whimsically along the cobbled street. Her hand delving into the basket and placing a berry into her mouth.
"Alice." Her name tasted sweet, like tea cakes in his mouth. He had not seen her in so long and his memory had done her no justice. He couldn't help smiling as he watched her wander off, back towards the Queen's castle.
Hatter no longer understood how he felt. Perhaps he remembered the circumstances of her leaving wrongly. But he was sure that she had chosen her human life over her life with him in wonderland. But was there a life with him to begin with? Tarrant had always seen Alice as the subject of his affections, but she had never indicated any reciprocation. Perhaps she wasn't waiting for him, perhaps she was very happy with the company she kept now that she had returned to Wonderland, he dearly hoped not. You fool! One glimpse of her and you are smitten. You utter fool! Tarrant scorned himself. No matter what he felt, or what he thought he should feel, Hatter decided that his lock in should end and that he should meet with Alice on polite terms, it was the least she deserved.