-Introduction-

After the battle had ended and the jabberwocky had been slain, Alice Kingsleigh, daughter of the ever so brilliant Charles Kingsleigh, was given the opportunity to go back to the land above.

With the bottle clasped inside her hand, she opened the lid with deep concentration. 'Would everything be worth it?' Turning her eyes upwards, she can see the various creatures lurking about, cleaning up the mess that had happened in the battlefield. She tried to open her mouth to attempt to raise the lid close to her bottom lip, but she found no willpower to do so. Wonderland, or what it is really called, Underland, has crept up inside a very special place inside her heart, tugging through the empty spaces where she wished her home could've given her.

"You could stay" a brogue voice came tickling the space between her neck and shoulder, making her shiver inwardly as she find her knees feeling wobbly. She turned around to make interaction with the mad man, inching her eyes upward to stare at the expressive pair of green eyes that she has been familiar of.

"What an idea. A crazy and brilliant idea, Tarrant" she tasted the name that rolled from her tongue, feeling the hummingbirds flying wildly inside the chambers of her stomach. She haven't addressed him by his given name before, but she had cursed herself that she did not done it sooner.

The man who was two inch taller than her grinned, with his green eyes changed into a lighter shade. She clutched the bottle tighter and held it against the skin that was securing her heart underneath. 'How could she say no to this hopeful feature?How could she say no to the man who makes her feel- well.. She doesn't know what she feels. But it was surely something of importance. "You know I have to Tarrant. What of my mother? My sister? They might be losing their heads because of me" she chocked back a sob and tried to blink away the tears from prickling.

"They cannot possibly lose their heads, who could be cold enough to lay an axe to yer maman and sibling? I bet yer meh sweet, if semwern wou' hurt yer, and yer beloved wee fam'ly, I shall lay meh hands on 'te-"

"Tarrant" despite the overlapping emotions underneath, she mustered to giggle with his silliness and for taking her figure of speech too seriously. With that notion, she felt her heart throb with ache, knowing how much she would miss the milliner the most. She would miss his eyes, or his bushy eyebrows. She would miss his lack of sanity, the way a scottish accent would seem to appear whenever he would feel such intimate levels of his emotions. She would miss his eyes and the way they change colors. She would miss him. Everything about him. a whole lot more than she would ever admit.

"Thank you, I'm fine" he whispered, his eyes changing into his deep green once more, the same one that he wore a while ago when he was sad and gloomy.

"I've been considering words that begin with letter L. Those such as longing, light, and-" Tarrant leaned close to her ear, his eyes closed with concentration as his voice went husky and deep. "-love" Alice sighed hoarsely. Her eyebrows furrowed against each other as the pain fell freely from her eyes.

Oh dear. Even Alice, who's been oblivious of things such as this, knows that this is a confession. And with that, she knows she couldn't leave him. Would she be willing enough to leave this slightly healing man all alone all over again?. Was she really martyr that she could leave these feelings in this beloved land and cope with a broken heart?.

She enveloped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly as if she is not ready to let go. His tailored suit smelled like new cloth, husk and Tarrant. Everything that she has found herself memorizing and craving each single day. "Give me a week to sort everything with you, Tarrant. Just you and me"

She knows that she should make the best of her given day. And with that she started it with her tiptoes, and her lips against his.

That night after the battle, Alice decided to settle down temporarily into Tarrant's residence in the queen's castle. They drank tea and shared a French toast as if they were only enjoying a tea party like the one he had held before the battle.

They talked about the famous landmarks back above (on which they both agreed they could not compare to the beauties in Underland), then to the traditions (they both laughed at some of them) and finally, her sudden fixed marriage.

"D'you lerv' 'im?" He asked, hesitance visible in his worried pair of yellow eyes.

"That man is dreadfully dull"

When it was bed time, she laid next to him, both staring at the pale ceiling above. She thought of marriage and how she was certain she will never feel enamored with another man other than the mad one next to her "Would you make love to me?" She let the question slide from her tongue, her emotions had gotten the best of her.

And she wishes he would.

"Alice"

"Before I go, I wanted it to be our parting gift. I wanted everybody to know that you will, and would always be the one who is right for me. I wanted to vow my everything to you. My innocence. My surrender. Well, of course, if you do not want to-"

"Alice. My Alice. My proper sized Alice. I want teh' make it right. Yeh see, I lerv yeh, lass" he took her hand and placed it directly to his heart. She gasped as she felt it beat erratically against her palm.

"Marry me then, Tarrant. Make me wholly yours and you to me" she leaned closer to him, her eyes pleading while searching for his. Tarrant closed the gap between them and captured her lips to his. "I know I would love you. Along the path of our separation, I will always think of you, long for your touch and your gentleness. I know, Tarrant, nobody would ever make me feel the way you do"

"My Alice, I have already submitted myself to you"

There was a tingly sensation around her fourth finger, and she glanced at it, bewildered. On her pale finger secures a faint golden color that has a shape of a ring. She turned to him then, peeking at his own finger and saw the same magic to his own.

"What is this?"

"It is a sign of commitment Alice. On the day of our wedding, it will glow and shape as the ring that we desire, securing our future as husband and wife" he recited almost as if it was his favorite sonnet. He smiled almost lost in thoughts, staring dreamily at the ceiling above and repeating 'My Alice' over and over again like a prayer. She grinned at the idea. Liking the absurdness of if all.

They were the Bestest of friends. The mad and the odd one. The Alice and the Hatter. Alice and Tarrant. Tarrant and Alice. Husband and wife.

"Forever?" She asked

"Yes" and he replied.

The night was filled with promises of the future together, whilst taking pleasure of each other's skin. With the moonlight guiding them underneath with shadow's lit, they took pleasure of memorizing each drop and curve of the other's body, moving in synch as the want and need combined altogether.

At their first joining, they stared curiously at each other, the muffled gasps and deep screams were nothing compared to the realization of green eyes meeting brown ones. The trust, the love, the friendship poured oozily from their irises, meeting halfway through pleasure and passion.

The morning after was celebrated with a reenactment of the night's event, only that there were soft giggling and playful banters could be heard underneath the quilt.

Alice looked at Tarrant's eyes, frowning in realization of the possibilities that could happen. At what could ever happen of their blurry future. At what could happen to Tarrant if she would continue making him fall. At what could happen if she could possibly be fully inlove with-. Tarrant saw the fear in her eyes, and he took her hand then-something that she found him making a habit of, kissing her knuckles one by one as she smiled tearfully in return.

How could she be so selfish? Well, after the battle, she was destined to be selfish... But would she actually prefer being selfish of her own feelings but making Tarrant's suffer? Would she prefer hurting him more than he would bargain of, just because she can't make a choice?.

"Tarrant, why is a raven like a writing desk?"

The mad man in question blinked, his bushy eyebrows raised with a heavy line appearing on his too pale forehead.

"I haven't the slightest idea, my wee Alice"

"Yet, some things are better off unexplained" she mustered. Her answer having a deeper meaning than just one.

"There is always a reason behind everything, lass. But I strongly believe there is a reason for not telling. And it is always a good one"

With a nod, she silently hoped it was true and that he would forgive her.

For the sake of them both.

The clock churned at twelve o clock and she immediately awoke with sad eyes. 'How could she possibly leave the warmth of the body laying next to her? Could she really sacrifice all of these and go back to lonely nights and surviving alone?'

She leaned over Tarrant's pale face, staring at his porcelain skin and his pair of closed wild eyes. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps. The creases and worries temporarily gone from his ever so expressive face.

"Fairfarren Tarrant" she whispered lightly; the madman has the tendency of waking up to even the lightest of noise. She laid a lingering kiss on the tip of his nose, then to his lips.

She stood up as light as she could, her eyes glued to the peaceful form upon the bed.

"Someday.." She reached for the bottle inside her pocket. The bottle seemed to boil with irritation with how long she had made it wait. When the bottle was opened and was leveled to her eyes, she finally laid it to her bottom lip.

If only...

"I'll come back" she tipped the bottle and the blood poured swiftly to her throat.

If she could...

She gulped the burning liquid for it to finally rest into the cage of her stomach. Her vision got blurry and the room seemed to produce fogs out of nowhere.

"Hopefully" Tarrant's sleeping form was swallowed by the thick fog, and was replaced with a dark setting. Alice gasped as the wind enveloped her within and then, she felt like she was being pulled up. Being forced and sucked in by an invisible force. Yet, she did not felt alarmed, she already felt it, but only with the sensation of falling. It was just like that, yet it was only being pulled instead of being pushed.

She landed with a soft thud against the earth of Aboveland. With a sigh, she stood up and came back to the sudden proposal that she would surely decline.

I'm not entirely sure if I could finish this story. I'm not even sure if I should post this like.. Right now!. But this idea (been inspired with a bunch of stories I have read between these two) seemed to bug me for some time now, and I have to work out this writer's block for my other story so this has been my release! Btw, I must warn you guys, I'm actually prone of not completing things whenever they are on the verge of being finished, yup I suck. And these school stuffs will eventually hinder my writing updates. So an early apology is a must!.

I'm sorry for the grammatical errors! (Especially when I'm using my phone to update ugh) I'm prone of not reading my stuff before updating a chapter.

Also sorry for the oocness of the characters! I'm new with writing in the Alice In Wonderland thread.. So we'll work on it.

reviews are welcome. But please no bashing, I'm delicate. :(

fairfarren dearies!