Author's Note

And here it is, as promised, the sequel of "Where it all began"! I hope that everyone will enjoy this story as it progresses and find that the maddest of ideas can have wonderful outcomes! Now, as for the poll, it's still going and will likely keep on going for quite some time, so here are the ratings so far:

Charles/Mirana = 5

Charles/Helen = 1

Charles dead = 1

Disclaimer: Do I look like I own anything? No? Well then let's move on, thank you.

Chapter 1

Mirana was sitting at her desk in her room. Her head resting on her hand as she looked at a small locket that she twirled between her fingers. She sighed. She remembered it all like it was yesterday. It had been an accident.

She was drugged during a dinner party and so was he. One thing led to another and well . . . He left Underland, while she had remained here. Nine months passed and she had given birth to a little girl, but Mirana knew if she kept her daughter, Iracebeth would have stopped at nothing until the child was killed.

So she did what any loving mother would do, she gave up her little baby, but not just like that. Underland can be a dangerous place after all . . . no. She took her to the Overland . . . to her father.

It was the only way Mirana knew how to keep her precious daughter out of the clutches of her sister who at the time had started to grow mad with power, completely destroying any reminder o the sweet girl she had once been so many years ago.

Of course the White Queen made sure that the child would be able to find her way back to Underland, but she always knew that her daughter would return to Overland – to London. Although she always wished that the young girl could just stay here in Underland with her.

She has been to Underland twice now and Mirana had asked Absalom once, in a dispread time, if her daughter would ever live in Underland and one day perhaps learn the truth. Of course he never gave her a straight answer, but what else could she expect from someone that lives in Underland?

She only longed to have her daughter at her side and now that Alice had fulfilled the prophecy and raced against Time, perhaps – at long last – she had a chance with her daughter . . . perhaps.

And in Overland, Alice had just returned from a two month journey and couldn't wait to get back home and enjoy time with her mother and sister. The two Kingsleigh women had returned from sea seven month ago (before Alice left again) – just in time for the birth of Margaret's second son.

Alice longed to return to Underland. She had promised Tarrant on her second visit that she would return and she did. Now though, after Time had asked of her not to return, she wasn't sure if she ever could.

Even so, she couldn't help but feel that something terribly important will happen today. Pushing that felling to the back of her mind, she entered their old mansion, still feeling pride swell in her chest at the memory of her mother buying it back after their last journey.

"Mother, Margaret? I'm home!" Alice announced after closing the door behind her. Two sets of footsteps could be heard coming from the stairs before her mother and sister yelled her name in unison. "Alice!" Both women were more than happy to have the youngest female member of the family with them again.

"So? How was the journey? Were you successful?" "Slow down mother, I can barely understand you." Alice said with a chuckle. "Oh, sorry, I'm just so happy to have you back." Helen said as she hugged her daughter. "Mother, you saw me two months ago." Alice laughed.

"I know, but it was just so strange without you here. I've become so used to the two of us sailing about on the Wonder it was hard to adjust to you not being a door away." Helen said sheepishly. "You didn't have bad dreams again, did you, Sister?" Margret asked with concern visible on her face.

When Alice had returned to London, she had suffered tremendously from the dreaded things. Of course she wasn't about to tell Margaret that they were about her friends in Underland, though. Besides, they'd stopped within a week of her journey. Not that it had been a very long trip, mind you.

"Only a few nights, but they've mostly stopped. I suppose Time can be rather tricky." Alice said slightly sad at the thought of her friends, but still smiling all the same. Helen slightly frowned, worried about the slight sadness in her daughter's eyes, while Margret was happy for her sister. It hardly took long before they fell into their comfortable routine.

Soon night fell and Margret left for her and Lowell's home, thus leaving Alice alone with their mother, allowing the two of them some quality time to spend together. Alice was walking down the halls of the mansion when she spotted her mother in her father's old office.

Nothing had changed. Everything was left where it was when her father died. Not even the old owners of their home had laid a finger upon the study. Not that they really used the mansion, anyway.

Helen sat at the desk, looking down at a white blanket in her hands. She let out a soft sigh as she was swept away by her thoughts and memories. Alice watched her mother, but couldn't help but stare at the small blanket.

The whiteness of it, reminding her of Underland and the White Queen and Tarrant with his exotic tea parties and all of her other friends . . . she dearly hopes to return again. "Is everything all right, Mother?" Alice asked walking up to the desk.

Helen snapped out of her trance and looked at her daughter with a smile. "Yes, just going through some things." She said, but Alice could tell that there was more to this story. "Was that Margret's?" Alice asked motioning to the blanket.

Helen looked down and once more let out a small sigh. "Actually, it was yours. It used to be your favourite when you were a baby." Helen said with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Then why have I never seen it before?" Alice wondered, taking a seat across from her mother.

"I suppose . . . I didn't want you too." Helen said with another sigh. Alice looked confused at this and a feeling of dread burned within her, "Why not?" Alice asked carefully. "Because it was a constant reminder of your father's betr- . . . it opened old wounds." Helen said fixing her slip of the tongue.

"Why? What did father do? Mother, please. Tell me." Alice said her eyes begging Helen. "Alice . . ." Helen took a deep breath, "I know about Underland." She said not making any direct eye contact as she waited for her daughter's reaction.

"Y-you know . . . How?" Alice asked, wide eyed, "Your father. Charles had returned one day from a journey and told me of all the magnificent things he had found in a place called Underland. Of course I didn't believe him at first, but then . . ."

Helen stopped, trailing off without completing her sentence, "But, what? What happened to make you believe him?" Alice asked, curiosity taking over. "You did." Helen said plainly as though she expected Alice to understand with just those two words.

"What? What do you mean?" Alice asked confused and Helen sighed deeply. Something she seemed to be doing a lot tonight. "A few months after your father told me of Underland, I took Margaret to Imogene because your father and Lord Ascot were discussing a trade plan. I arrived home just as they left and Charles and I put Margaret to bed.

He greeted me goodnight and told me that he'd only be a moment – needing to fetch something in his study . . . but after a few minutes passed and he had not returned, I became worried and came down, looking for him. I was surprised to find the door closed. I couldn't make out what was going on, but he wasn't alone . . .

Through the door, I could hear him talking to someone – a woman. I tried to hear what she was saying, but her voice was too low for me to make out much. I'll never forget your father's conversation with her though . . . he had spoken to her with so much love in his voice . . . it unnerved me.

-Flashback-

Helen could barely hear through the thick oak door, but suddenly Charles' voice reached her ears, "She's . . . she's perfect." 'Who is perfect?' was Helen's first thought as she leaned closer, her hand lingering on the knob of the door, something preventing her from deciding to turn it.

"She is . . ." The female voice said happily, yet Helen could hear sadness as well. "What did you name her?" Charles asked and Helen's breath caught in her throat. 'What? Named, who?' "I didn't name her . . . I didn't what to make this any harder than it already would be."

The woman replied in a voice that Helen strained to hear. What are they talking about? "Would it be all right if . . . I named her?" Charles asked hesitantly and Helen buried herself in the side of the door, trying to figure out what they were talking about. "You are her father . . . it is your right."

Helen thought her heart had stopped. She fell away from the door, staring at the wooden slab in horror. 'Father?' Charles had betrayed her? He had an affair with another? She wasn't sure for how long she stood there unable to move, tears burning her eyes.

True, their marriage had been arranged, but they did their best to make it work. They had started to appreciate the other and soon had fallen in love, but she had never imagined . . . how could he? The dong of a clock shook her back to reality, but the feeling of betrayal lingered still.

Helen wasn't sure why, but she glared at the door and then turned away. As she started walking up the stairs, she stopped, tears blurring her vision and before she realised what she was doing, she turned around and stormed right back to his study, a fierce desire to chew out his mistress burning in her chest.

-End of Flashback-

". . . And with that I rushed over and threw open the door, but she was gone. Charles was alone in the room with naught but you in his arms. He turned to me and said you are his and though he is ashamed of his affair, he does not regret it. I felt betrayed by what he had done, but seeing you, it was hard to remain angered . . . and when I held you for the first time . . ." Helen shook her head.

"I never found out who she was. Charles never spoke of her to me unless I demanded he do so, but even then, he'd never given a name. Deep down, I knew that someday you'd find your way back to Underland and then you'd find your mother and you'd never want to leave.

I wanted to tell you sooner, but it hurt too much. You had become my daughter and I didn't want to lose you. Not after all the pain and heartache . . . This," Helen said slowly, handing Alice the blanket, "Is all evidence I've ever had of your birth mother." Alice took the blanket slowly, looking at the initials in the corner, but for the most part, she couldn't speak.

She was dumbfounded. "Father . . . had an affair . . . with an Underlandian?" Alice asked shocked that most of her life had been a lie, but then again she always did manage to end up in Underland when she needed help in one way or another . . . but then again, at the time of her arrival so did Underland.

The blanket, she realised, had silver engraving near one side and she carefully took it. "M. of Marmoreal," Alice read out loud and immediately thought of the White Queen. White and silver are the royal colours of Marmoreal and the only person she knows of Marmoreal is Mirana . . . whose name happens to start with an "M".

She shook her head clear of that train of thought, reminding herself that the woman is queen for Underland's sake. But . . . then a few memories came racing back . . . of when she was a child . . . of when she became the White Queen's Champion . . . of her race against Time . . .

Alice didn't know whether or not it proved anything, but she suddenly felt used. Mirana hadn't exactly outright demanded of Alice to be her champion, but she was insistent. Not as much as Absalom or Tarrant, but . . .

And the way she had caressed her cheek after Alice's defeat of the Jabberwocky . . . Alice had put it down to Mirana being happy that Alice remembered their time spent together during Alice's first visit – there was much to talk about before the battle after all.

Still . . . now Alice's wasn't so sure . . . had there been more to it? Had that been a sign Alice should have seen? She was aware that the queen had a champion before her – she had asked Tarrant. But . . . when he had said it was some Charles-fellow, she hadn't really thought . . .

Is it possible that . . . that her father had been the White Queen's Champion? Is Mirana her mother? Many thoughts swirled through her mind and she could barely keep up with half them. Even her emotions seemed confused and befuddled. She wasn't sure how to feel.

"Alice?" Suddenly Helen pulled her out of her thoughts and Alice looked at the woman who had raised her – the woman she had believed to be her mother for the last 22 years. "I have to return to Underland. I have to get answers.

I don't know how or even if I'll be able to, but I have to know." Alice said to Helen who looked equally as determined. "I want to go with you." Helen said with a determined gleam in her eyes and Alice was momentarily taken aback. Helen took pity on her stepdaughter and decided to explain.

"Charles and my marriage might have been arranged, but we managed to make it work. I want to see the face of the woman that threatened to break us apart – I want to know if it had all been a game to her." Alice slowly nodded, her determined expression returning once again.

"I'm not so sure that we should go through the rabbit hole . . . both times I did, I ended up either being too small or too tall when finally arriving in Underland. The only other way that I know of though, is through the Looking Glass that used to hang in Lord Ascot's Study . . . we'll have to buy it from Hamish, I suppose, but . . . I'm not sure if it will work."

"Well, it seems that we'll just have to buy it from them and find out." Helen said with confidence, but her smile was slightly strained, making it clear that she wasn't any surer about this than Alice is.

The easy part of their plan was coming up with an excuse for their 'trip over land'. Alice and Helen had greeted Margaret early-ish, going under the guise of preparing for an adventure through England and Wales.

The hard part was getting to the Looking Glass that would or would not, take them to Underland. Apparently, Hamish had sold most of his father's possessions to be able to remain in business after Kingsleigh and Kingsleigh nearly destroyed his company the previous year.

But fortunately he had given the Looking Glass to his mother . . . and unfortunately, the dreaded old woman had put up quite a fight over it . . . eventually though, they were able to claim it and return it to the Kingsleigh Mansion. Now, they just had to pray that this works.

"So you just walk right through?" Helen asked a little nervously as she stared at the glass reflecting their silhouettes. The Looking Glass is as tall as Alice and twice as wide – exactly as she remembers it. For once, she was thankful to have her long hair again. No doubt she'd receive odd looks from her Underlandian friends if she showed up looking like a boy, yet claiming to be The Alice.

"Well, yes, but you need to keep in mind where you want to end up. The first time I did this, I just thought of Underland and fell from the sky, but when I focused on a specific place where I wished to be, like Lord Ascot's Study, I ended up there." Alice said, looking at her moth- stepmother's reflection.

Helen looked a little faint. "Oh, is that all?" "Pretty much," Alice answered half-heartedly. Helen stared blankly at Alice's reflection for a moment, silently telling her that she isn't amused. Alice just smiled. "So . . . should I see if it works?"

A-a-a-a-and, that's it for this chapter. I hope I left you hungry enough for more, to leave a review. I love those, they just raise your spirit up. Anyway, remember to vote, review, favorite, follow, whatever you want!

Until next time –

Lyrical-Light