Chapter 1

She was falling. She spun around in the air as clocks, teapots and a bed shot passed her head. Lights flashed and strange shapes appeared in the shadows as she flew past. The hole seemed to go on forever.

Alice woke and sat up in her small bed, she smiled and sighed. The dream was no longer scary; in fact Alice sometimes wished it actually continued so that she could see her beloved friends again. She stood up and struggled into her dress. She pulled on her shoes and a raincoat and headed out of the small wooden door.

She stood on the wooden deck of the ship as it powered through the calm ocean. They had been sailing for four months and Alice had quite adapted to life on the sea. They were heading for China were she and business partner Lord Ascot hoped to make a brilliant business deal. She walked slowly along the deck looking into the murky water below; she had hoped to see the dolphins that had been following them for a few days. Unfortunately they had vanished, "curious, something must have happened" Alice said. She sat down at the bow of the boat and watched as the water was pushed out of the way, the sea was very calm and the water looked like dark rippled glass. The sun beat down on Alice's neck causing a warm but slightly uncomfortable feeling; she sighed and rested her head on her arms.

"Oh Dinah, I wish you were here with me" Alice whispered, "You would so enjoy it; there are just hundreds of mice to catch." Alice smiled at the memory of her little black cat; she wished she had a friend with her on the ship. During the day she had business meetings, Chinese, science and maths lessons and then she had time to herself where she would draw pictures of her friends and write of her adventures in Underland. She had a little room of her own, with a desk and a little comfortable bed. It was warm and cosy and kept her dry during storms.

"Alice" a voice called. Alice opened her eyes and looked around from her seat at the front of the boat. "Alice" the voice called again, "where are you?" Alice recognised the voice and stood up and brushed her dress down.

"I am here Sir" she replied, smiling as Lord Ascots cheerful face came up from the little stairs from the lower decks.

"Ah my dear, there you are, I was wondering if you were going to your Chinese lesson today?" He asked smiling, looking at his young business partner.

"Oh, I didn't realise the time." Alice gasped, she quickly looked in her pocket and frowned "I don't have my pocket watch with me. "Which is curious, I have never forgotten my watch before; I will go and get it and head down stairs right away." She jumped up and smiled at the kindly man, out here he had become her father and Alice respected him. She ran off and down the little stairs, opened her door, and walked into her room. She scanned the desk, under her pillow and on the floor; her watch was nowhere to be found, she scratched her head. "Very curious" Alice said, scanning the room for any sign of her watch. She decided to look for it later and went to her lesson.

An hour later, Alice was back in her room, turning every draw out and emptying clothes onto the floor. She sighed and shook her head, "maybe I left it on the deck overnight" Alice wondered out loud, she walked slowly looking at all the nook's and cranny's in the ship.

She walked towards the door at the end of the little corridor; she knocked politely and waited to be given permission to enter. "Come in" a distracted voice called, Alice entered a smiled at the hard working Lord Ascot, she walked forward and sat down on a little chair facing her friend.

"What can I do for you, my dear?" the kindly gentlemen asked, looking up from his paper work.

"I was wondering if you had seen my pocket watch, I seemed to have misplaced it and I would very much like to find it" Alice replied, fiddling with a strange instrument which was laying on the desk.

"Um… I haven't my dear I am terribly sorry, where did you last have it?" Lord Ascot replied, gently taking the gold instrument out of Alice's hands and placing it on the open chart in front of him.

"I don't remember" Alice said, "Which seems curious, I have a very good memory… oh well thank you for your time" Alice stood and headed for the door.

She headed back to the deck and began to search under bags, sacks and other materials lying around, she searched for well over an hour and all she managed to find was a pair of mice. Alice sat heavily back down on the front of the boat and wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed. The watch was well and truly lost, Alice wouldn't have minded but the watch didn't belong to her, it had been McTwisp's.

She remembered her final hours in Underland with fondness, after a wonderful performance of the Mad Hatters futterwacken; she had been presented with a number of gifts, one of which had been McTwisp's pocket watch. Alice brushed away a tear and shook her head, how would she tell McTwisp that she lost the watch? If she saw him again. No, she couldn't think like that, she would see them again. She would see them all after her adventures in China; she would return and tell them all about it.

She shut her eyes and imagined their smiling faces, greeting her as she returned, she saw herself drinking tea with the hatter, the hare and Mallymkun. She saw them walking around the gardens at Salazen Grum, painting the red roses white, but slowly her imagination began to fade and the world became black.

Alice's eyes snapped open and stared at the darkening world around her. She raised her hands to her eyes and looked up at where the sun should have been. A large cloud had blocked the sun; this would not have been unusual except that the shape of the cloud looked very familiar.

The cloud was shaped just like the queen of hearts head, and to add to the curiosity taking over Alice's mind, it was the only cloud in the sky.