The horses burst out of the gates and sped away from the sounds of Black and White warfare. Both stallions, the horses had no saddles, only reins, and they had the build of race horses, the types of horses perfect for a quick getaway.

The horses galloped away, steadily putting distance between them and the Castle of Crims, where the Red Queen, Iracebeth, and her right hand Knight, Stayne, clashed with the forces of the White Queen, Mirana, Iracabeth's sister.

Unknown to both armies, the people they were warring over were steadily making their way back to the Hole. On the first horse, the brown stallion who was playing up slightly, was Alice Kingsleigh, Mirana's Champion who had slayed the Jabberwocky. Her blonde hair streaming behind her, and her blue eyes shut tightly, she had made her way to Crims to save her best friend.

In front of her on the horse was her best friend, Tarrant Hightopp, the Mad Hatter, who'd they's just rescued for The Red Queen. His battered top hat somehow remained on his head no matter what he was doing, even riding, it remained stationary.

On the black horse, her orange hair streaming behind her, little of the black hair dye remaining, was Tarrant Hightopp's little sister, Nirvana, who had been killed in a Jabberwocky attack, but had inexplicably woken up a week ago, alive and well. She shared the same eyes, hair and skin as her brother, but was less prone to mood swings, and more prone to violence.

And behind Nirvana, also on the black horse, was Tarrant's twin brother, Taylor, who Alice had only met the day before. Taylor, Alice mused, had all the same habits as Tarrant, but was less eccentric then his brother. Somehow, he was more normal then his brother. But that wasn't always a good thing, Alice corrected herself. Sometimes normal people were the most boring.

Alice was nearly going crazy trying to get the bickering family to co-operate. Most of Tarrant's family had disowned him, for reasons unknown to Alice, and Taylor and Nirvana were nearly always feuding, arguing and fighting over this. Although, Alice added to herself, they had worked together back in Crims.

Remembering Crims, Alice felt worried. Tarrant had turned on them, and attacked both Nirvana and Taylor, but had then rescued Alice and now they were on their way home.

What was more, Alice was clueless as to why he had done that.

Oh well, she thought. I guess I'll figure it out later.

The horses galloped on.