Prologue –

Fairfarren, Alice…Hello Outlands

Tarrant

"Will this take me home?" Alice stared at the vial of Jabberwocky blood, the purple liquid glistening in the sunlight.

"Don't tell her…" I secretly pleaded to everyone in the clearing, "Don't let her leave…not again."

"If that is what you wish." Mirana just HAD to say something.

She was about to put the bottle to her lips when I laid my hand on hers. Alice smiled up at me shyly.

"You could stay, you know…" I gazed at her intently, hoping she would accept my offer.

Her grin widened, almost as big as Chessur's, "What an idea! A crazy, mad, wonderful idea!" Alice beamed.

"Yes! C'mon Alice! Say you will…say you will!"

Her happy expression soon began to fade, "But, I can't… There are so many things I must do. So many questions to answer. Don't fret though; I'll be back again before you know it!" she tried to reassure me, but I wasn't thoroughly convinced; she had said that last time she was here, and look how long it took her to make good on that! She grasped my other hand, "I promise."

"You won't remember me…It'll be just like when you came back this time." I didn't say the last part out loud; I knew I would break down right in front of her if I did. It pained my heart to think that even if I told her what I was so desperately trying to get across to her now, she would've forgotten it before she even got out of the Portal from here to Overland.

"How could I forget you?" she paused, then added, "Hatter? Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

I shrugged and truthfully replied, "I haven't the slightest idea." We both smiled. Leaning in, I wrapped my arms around her tightly, taking all of her in for one last time; she did the same, "Fairfarren, Alice." I considered kissing her goodbye, but I decided against it.

She stepped back and, still holding my hand, she took a sip of the blood, "Fairfarren, Tarrant." As the words where coming out, she was slowly evaporating back into her world. Her hand never left mine until she was gone completely, and I was left alone with all those people standing around me, wishing her farewell while I was wishing she was still here with me.

"Oh Alice, please hurry back…" I knew she couldn't hear me, nonetheless, I hoped that some way, somehow, she would…

Tarrant

We all stood in a long, awkward silence; Red Cards, White Chessmen, everyone else, staring at the place where our champion once was. Now, there was nothing but a cloud of smoke, a pale remnant of the beautiful heroine. The sun finally broke free of the thick black clouds that had hung over this end of Underland for what seemed like a hundred years, and a shaft of light shot down onto the very spot where she'd been standing. The light reflected off the particles in the mist in front of me, causing her lovely face to briefly become visible once more. I knew it was all an illusion; she wasn't really there, she was gone. Long gone.

Mally was ultimately the one to end the hush that had fallen over the thousands huddled together. Her tiny body was worn with exhaustion from the battle, I could tell by the weary look in her eyes and how faintly she tugged on the hem of my pants, "Hatter? Are you alright?" her squeaky voice was barely audible, even as quiet as it was.

I didn't even look down to answer her, "Yes, I'm fine…" the tears were slowly beginning to creep out, so anxious to destroy the façade I was attempting to create.

"Are you?" she argued. I should've known better than to try and fool her, she could see right through the false smile and the faded green gaze that her brown eyes bore into. My sagging, darkened clothing seemed to be blowing my cover as well.

"Please Tarrant, don't be so disheartened. Alice said she was coming back, didn't she? I know her as well as you; she's a girl of her word, she won't break a promise, especially one made to you." the White Queen chimed in, "She really cares for you…"

My now scarlet red glower had to be averted away from her, for fear my temper might explode any minute, "I know that. You don't have to tell me." Losing what little is left of my sanity in the presence of a member of our monarchy was not on my to-do list, so kept my mouth shut and nodded in agreement, "Mirana is a royal for sure… a royal pain in the…"

My train of thought was interrupted by Chessur appearing behind me with a stretched-out frown of sympathy on his face. The immense feline placed a "comforting" paw on my shoulder, "Hatter, I know how you must feel about this…" he began, but I cut him off mid-sentence; enough was enough!

"How dare you tell me such lies!? You sorry, guddler's scuttish pilgar slunking excuse for a cat!" I finally flew off the handle; I couldn't take it anymore, "You have no earthly idea how I feel Chessur! Not in the slightest! You've never felt the same way I feel about Alice for anyone!"

He shrunk away from me, hiding his cowardly form behind the White Queen, whose eyes were as wide as field we stood on. She stared at me in disbelief, "Tarrant Hightopp!"

"Yes, your Majesty?" I mockingly addressed her. I bowed low and plastered another insincere grin on my face.

"I'm surprised at you!" Mirana's mouth stood agape, her fists clenched and unclenched at her side as she spoke, "What has come over you?"

"Goodness, I don't rightly know! Could it possibly be that the one girl that I would give the very worldfor has just left without even knowingit?" I choked another sob back. My breath became more rapid as time passed, a few whimpers escaping here and there; my whole body shook with anger and sadness at the same time, "Could that, perchance, be what has come over me?"

Her sharp glare softened, "She knows that you care about her, and she has the same fondness for you. If it hadn't been for that, most of us wouldn't be standing here right now. She only fought the Jabberwocky because she knew that you believed in her when no one else did, when she didn't even believe in herself. All that mattered to her when she escaped my sister's castle was how you were getting out and if you were safe." the White Queen informed me, "You're the only one she really said goodbye to…"

Unable to form a retort, I turned away from the prying eyes of those around me and faced the castle ruins where Alice had slain the Jabberwock. A single tear slid down, the wind carrying it toward the steps she had ascended to fight the fearsome creature until it crashed against the stones. Mirana soon gave up on talking to me, and lead the others home to Marmoreal in a motley assortment of Red and White soldiers, animals, and one very sad Hatter lagging behind the rest.

Ilosovic

The Outlands' steel gates slammed shut behind us, bringing me back to the stark coldness of reality. There was no way out…no way back home….nothing to make everything the way it was supposed to be.

I'm not even supposed to be here! Iracebeth is. Not me. Not the son of the heroic and legendary White Knight, Alexander Stayne. I, Ilosovic Stayne that is, am in the complete opposite of where I should be.

If I'd had the brains of a borogrove, maybe I would've left the former Red Queen's castle when the Hatter made his escape. That would've gotten me out safely; with a distracting mass of people stampeding through the gates, no one would notice I was gone until it was too late.

But NO… I was too big a coward! Like an idiot, I had stared after them as they paraded to the White Queen's palace to prepare for the Frabjous Day.

Since that didn't work, I still could've made an exit the morning of the battle. Making it in time to join Mirana's army was out of the question though; I would've had to follow them to the valley. The apologies to Alice and the others would have to be short and hurried, and I'm sure she wouldn't accept one from me without an explanation that I hadn't the time for. Things like that would have to wait until after the fight, provided that we both survived.

I mean, I knew Alice was going to make it; there was no doubt in my mind that she'd win. It was myself that I was concerned about dying or getting severely injured. There was no telling if the White Queen's soldiers would see me as friend or foe, and whether or not they'd fight with me or against me. Tarrant was still on my side of course, (despite all evidence to the contrary) but the other U.U.R members didn't seem to be there for me.

Especially not Alice.

She didn't even remember me from the last time she was here! It was almost like she was … afraid of me…we used to be great friends when we were children. But that was before she left for almost ten years… Before she vanished for over a decade without a trace and left the rest of us to fight on our own, even though that wasn't her fault.

While I was in the midst of moping about what-ifs and would've-could've-should've moments, Iracebeth continued her chorus of "YOU TRIED TO KILL ME! YOU TRIED TO KILL ME, STAYNE!" right in my ear. I'm pretty sure the people in the farthest end of Nidaria (that would be the northernmost country in Underland, in case you didn't know) could hear her quite plainly, as loud as she was shrieking. I paid her no mind, which only made her scream louder. Maybe I'll get lucky and she'll go hoarse before the week is out… Of course, I've never been known for being lucky.

I sighed and rolled my eye at her, "Oh would you just shut up already?! Good heavens Iracebeth, I KNOW I tried to kill you! I did it on purpose."

"How am I supposed to get over something like that?!"

"Hmm, I dunno, I guess just like I'M supposed to get over the fact that you KIDNAPPED ME?"

"Oh really Ilosovic, you're still harping on that twenty-something years later? Honestly, you'd think you could come up with a better point to argue-"

"A BETTER POINT TO ARGUE?! You stole most of my life from me, you daft fool!"

Her beady eyes narrowed, "At least you had one Stayne. In case you'd forgotten, I was forced to get married at just fourteen-"

I snorted, jerking the chain that bound us together spitefully, "Don't make me laugh! You ran off with the Red King and you know it! Don't even try to deny it!" Anyone in Underland, whether they were alive at the time or not, could tell you that Iracebeth had eloped with the man that she ended up married to for maybe three years, four at the most, before having his head chopped off in a fit of jealous rage. She had been under the suspicion that he was planning to leave her for Mirana, which everybody in the castle knew wasn't true, and after finding "evidence" of his betrayal, she ordered her former Knave of Hearts – whose name I shall not speak lest my own anger get the better of me – to kill her innocent husband. Afterwards, she kicked him out and dragged me in, kicking and screaming. Literally, "Thank Heavens you didn't manage to coerce me into marrying you…who knows where I'd be now!" how I'd avoided matrimony with this lunatic for as long as I have is still beyond me, but I don't think I've ever been more grateful in my entire existence. On the other hand, ANYWHERE would be better than here.

She gave me a mockingly flirtatious glance, "You know… I can still change that…"

"Keep dreaming…I'd chew my own arm off first…"

"We'll see who's dreaming when you go to sleep tonight…"

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

"Take it whichever way you please."

"A threat it is then!"

"See?!" she threw her arms into the air, "We already sound like an old married couple, we might as well get it over with!" while she did have a point, I still wasn't buying it.

"Oh really!?" I shot back, "Who's going to witness it? I don't see a priest around here anywhere, do you? You can't possibly be thinking of having a wedding with the two of us looking this rough…" I pointedly noted her disheveled hair and the dirt already collecting on her skin. We hadn't been out her for an hour and already the harsh conditions were taking their toll on us.

Iracebeth sniffled, turning away from me, "Whatever, it's not like you'd marry me, even if we had all those things and I did look pretty…"

"Did it really take you this long to realize that? After everything you've done?"

"No, I knew that no one else would want me after what happened that night, but I always…hoped…that I was wrong…about you at least…" she sighed, laying her head on her knees, "So much for hope…"

I felt almost sorry for her…life had never been kind to this woman; her parents hated her and denied her the throne, everyone outside of Marmoreal made fun of her for being different from them, and she had made herself one of the most hated rulers in Underland history. She'd never known love, except for the Red King, and that was extremely short-lived…

Despite all our differences, we do have something in common…we've both lost the one person we loved most. She had taken her own heart and stabbed it, and then did the same to mine.

I'll never forget the Horunvendush Day Massacre…the day that I lost Luna Hightopp. She was killed in the blaze that engulfed the village in Witzend and wiped out their entire family except for the Hatter…and I never got to tell her goodbye. We'd been apart for nearly six years solid, and just when I had started to think we'd get to be together again, she was taken from me forever.

She left me utterly alone in this world; I have nothing left of her but painful memories and a silver locket of hers that I found in the wreckage of the fire. I had a feeling we were going to lose the battle with Mirana's army, so I smuggled the necklace out of the castle under my armor so that I'd have some relic of my lost life to hold onto, should I have had to flee or get banished. With my free hand, I reached into the collar of the chest plate and grabbed the chain, pulling the heart-shaped pendant over my head.

The black stone in the middle of its lid glimmered in the slowly fading sunlight, the silver shined like new. I opened the locket to reveal the tiny clock hidden inside, still ticking away even though its owner can no longer enjoy the precious minutes passing by without her. The engraving on the lid drew my attention only for a few, brief moments, my childhood nickname flashing across my eyes;

'Loci

Iracebeth turned from her sulking when the sun reflected light from the clock face into the corner of her eye, "You…you kept that all this time?" she whimpered.

Shooting daggers out of the one eye I could see her with, I replied "Well, Luna wasn't going to need it anymore, thanks to you and your Jabberbabywocky." I snarled with so much malice I could taste it.

She recoiled from me as far as she could, tears welling up in her eyes, "I…I'm sorry. I didn't realize that-"

"Of course you didn't! You were too busy trying to force yourself on me! All you ever think of is yourself!" suddenly a floodgate burst inside me, releasing years of pent-up anger and resentment, "You're nothing but a spoiled brat who goes on a killing spree if she doesn't get her way! Well, I hate to burst your bubble, your highness, but it's not going to work out here!"

Between crocodile tears and her voice catching at every other word, she managed to retort, "You…you wouldn't be…s-saying this i-if we…were back at the c-castle!" Tears were streaming down her face by now, mixing with the sweat brought on by the heat of the unforgiving sun, and erasing all the makeup from her skin. Her face was fading to its original color, with bits and pieces of red here and there where her hair was plastered to her forehead.

Some queen she was…

"Of course not, because I'd be worried that you'd have me executed. I can say whatever I bloody well please out here! It's not like you'd be able to kill me yourself, you'd need one of your other goons to do it for you. It takes a coward to kill somebody in cold blood in the first place, but ordering someone else to do it instead is even lower."

I knew I'd hit home when she suddenly stopped sobbing and glowered up at me, "You…you don't understand. Benjamin…he was-"

"Your poor husband was the best thing that ever happened to you, and you went and had him killed! Over something that fool Thorne told you! He was lying to you." rising to my feet, I snatched Iracebeth up by the arm and pulled her toward me until we were face-to-face, "Every bit of this is your fault."

"L-let me go Stayne!"

"No." I barked, staring her down mercilessly. Almost all the rage in me left, however, when I saw her usual haughty and ruthless expression fade into fear and trembling. Although she very well deserved to be put in her place, I didn't feel right after seeing her like that. The only other time I'd ever seen that look on her face was when her parents were still around, and I very much wanted to forget any time that they'd instilled terror in every child in the castle.

I didn't know what I had planned to do with her when I grabbed her, but whatever it was quickly left my thoughts, and I released her end of the shackles. She stumbled backwards a bit, clutching her arm tightly. With one final glance down at her, I turned and began striding off into the vast desert, not too sure of where I was heading and not rightly caring either.

"Wh-…where are you going?" she gathered up her dress and trotted after me, struggling to keep up with her much shorter legs and poor taste in traveling attire. It wouldn't be too much longer now before those high-heeled shoes of hers come off…

"My father told me of a people that live out here in these sands; he said that they were peaceful nomads, willing to help anyone in a spot of trouble. I intend to find said people and get these blasted shackles off so I can find my way out of here. Or die trying."

"But what about me? You wouldn't leaveme out here alone, would you?"

"Try my patience anymore and I just might."

She was relatively quiet for the rest of the day as we trekked over the sand dunes, only whining once or twice about the heat or not having anything to eat or drink. I often had to pick her up off the ground because she'd tripped over the now torn hem of her dress, or because she'd collapsed in a sobbing heap. It took several tries, but I finally got the message through to her that crying wasn't going to solve anything, and she needed to dry up the waterworks if she wanted to get out of here.

By the time the sun began to set, Iracebeth's much slower pace was lagging so much that we might as well have been walking backwards, "Ilosovic, can't we stop for tonight? My feet can't take anymore walking…" at one point when we'd stopped, she'd grown tired of her dress entangling her feet and had ripped the fabric off from the knee down. Most of it was wrapped around the soles of her feet, in place of her now discarded shoes. All of her hair was unpinned and falling around her shoulders in red waves. She'd wiped every drop of makeup off her face, leaving streaks of blue, red and black on her cheeks and the back of her hand.

"Might as well, I don't really fancy traveling at night with no weapons." After my foolish attempt on her life, I'd lost my dagger to the point of Tarrant Hightopp's well-placed hatpin, "There's a cave over there we can use for shelter. In the morning, we'll keep going."

She peeked around me hopefully, "Maybe there's something in there we can use to get these cuffs off." Now she was pulling me towards our potential abode. Both of us were praying that we would soon be free of each other, in one sense at least.

The mouth of the cave gaped open, the dying light not penetrating very deep inside it. I was wary of going in, since we couldn't see that far beyond the opening, but we didn't have any other options present, "Get behind me. You won't last three seconds if something pops out of there."

No sooner had the words come out of my mouth, than a dark woman draped in beads and flowing cloth stepped from the shadows, followed by a hulking man in a brilliant robe. Iracebeth stopped short, but I managed to fall all over myself and tried to reach for my nonexistent sword. For this, I received a scornful grin from my fellow prisoner.

"Dere is no need to fea' us. We will not hahm you, if you do not hahm us." She had grey eyes and short, dark brown hair that was braided into tiny strands. Her bronze skin was covered in a web of black swirling lines, and the crown that perched atop her head seemed to meld with them. The man beside her was bald with golden eyes, the same lines winding around his body and a matching crown.

"We 'ave been expecting you. You ah a bit early, actually." The man spoke with a deep rumbling voice, but despite his broad stature and bass tone, he didn't give off a very threatening air.

While I was still tongue-tied, Iracebeth timidly asked, "W-who are you? How did you know we were coming?"

The woman smiled, "I am Allura, Witch Queen of de Outlanders. Dis is my brodah Danzia, de Shaman King. We ah practiced in de magic arts, so it is not difficult for us to see t'ings dat 'ave yet to 'appen…much like de Oraculum's guardian, Absolem." I now realized that she was putting some of her weight on a wooden cane, with beads and ribbons decorating its length. A large white stone was tied to the handle, giving off a faint glow in the approaching moonlight.

"We 'ave prepared dis cave fo' one of you, but de otha must return to dere home." Danzia gazed thoughtfully at the two of us, as if he didn't know which of us would be staying here and which wouldn't, "Fo' only one of you 'as a home to return to…"

Iracebeth spoke again, "Who is to stay here? Who's going home?" she looked like she expected to be the one who'd get to go back to a more comfortable lifestyle.

Allura came forward, her bare feet sinking into the grey sand, and held out her free hand to her, "You, Red Queen, will be staying in dis cave. Dere is plenty o' food and wader inside, and whateva else you may need." She then turned to me, still sitting on the ground, "As fo' you, Knave of 'earts, come de morning, you must go ahn home. To Marmoreal, wheah you belong."

I was dumbstruck, not only by where she thought 'home' was, but by the fact that our bindings had completely vanished, "Marmoreal probably isn't the best idea. Mirana banished me here and seeing as how she's the Queen-"

"We 'ave already spoken with 'er…she knows you ah comin'. She knows dat you were a spy fo' de resistance…"

The Red Queen spun around in disbelief, "You?! You were the spy in the castle?!"

"Don't sound so surprised."

"You…I can't believe you would betray me like that!" that was a ludicrous accusation if I'd ever heard one. She had to be joking!

"Well you'd better believe it. I had no reason to be loyal to you behind your back…and it should've been evident the first time I tried to escape." dusting myself off, I finally rose to my feet.

"That was years ago! I never thought you'd have kept working for my wretched sister all this time!" she shrieked, "How did you get information to her? You rarely ever left the castle!"

"I wasn't the only spy in your palace. You really should've been more careful when you chose your courtiers and guards."

Her jaw dropped in horror, no sound escaping except for indignant gasps and snarls. As though she thought I would come running after her, begging for forgiveness, she spun around and flounced into the cave with a final, "Hmph!"

The remaining three of us just stood and watched, shaking our heads. This woman was really something else…

"You 'ad betta get some rest…you 'ave a long journey ahead o' you. Try not to venture to fa' back in de cave though, it don' look like she wants yo' company so much anymore." Allura warned me, taking her brother by the arm and walking away from the cavern, "Be cautious of de company you choose to keep in de future…dere is a great evil approaching, and it will come from a place close by yo' 'eart…" before I could ask her what she meant, the two of them vanished in a puff of pure white smoke.

Despite her last remark leaving an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, I strode inside the hollowed-out rock and found a somewhat comfortable place near the entrance. With my cape as a blanket and a large stone as a pillow, I fell into a fitful sleep to the sound of Iracebeth muttering and blubbering about the mess she'd gotten us into.

I remember dreaming something strange that night, something that, at the time, I'd chalked up to the paranoia caused by the Witch Queen's prophecy…but I now know was a bad omen of things to come.

Ten porcelain dolls lay shattered and scattered about on a cold, bleak floor. They were all different sizes; half were girls, half were boys, all were wearing white, and the only color in the picture was their eyes. In an odd way, it appeared that the larger dolls were on top of some of the smaller ones, as if they were shielding them from something. There was an eleventh doll; she wore a long black dress, had straight black hair, and had not a scratch on her. She sat in the middle of the others, her crimson eyes staring into mine with a cruel smile on her tiny red lips, "Hello Daddy…have you come to play?"