AN: Hey loves, this is the new Alice story I've been working on for a while. I adore it and I hope you do as well!

12/09/08: As you've noticed (If you've read most of the chapters that is,) I've been slow on the updates. The reason is that I'm slowly reworking some of the already posted chapters, I've been struck with the dreaded writer's block and I've been down a few rabbit holes on the plot. So please hang on and when you see a note with the date on it (like the one you're reading now,) it means something in the chapter has been changed. So, enjoy!

Plot info: Over seven years have passed since Alice last saw wonderland. She's grown up enough to believe that all of it was just the insane wanderings of a childs' mind. Her mother has died. Her father is falling in love again. It's enough to drive Alice up a wall. But after returning from a party hosted by her father's company, Alice is surprised to see what is staring back at her through the mirror on her wall.

She soon finds herself dragged back into wonderland, asked to save the day, and become queen. All of this by people she doesn't know if she can trust. Then there's the amount of men who she may or may not be falling in love with, but a girl can't love more than one guy... can she?

Chapter 1

Alice would rather have sat through a host of terrible weekend lessons than sit through another minute of the boring party her father had dragged her to.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy going to parties, and the ones her father played host to were better than most, but it was the feeling of being crammed in a room with a bunch of people she didn't know that made this party a little annoying, and very dull.

The guests were all older than Alice, and all of them worked for her father, so they treated her like she was someone set apart from them. None of them wanted to risk a joke around her in case it upset her and made it's rounds back to her father's ears.

It was also a bit painful to hear people speak of her mother so soon after her death.

Even though it had been a year to the day that Alice's mother had passed away, it was still a painful topic for Alice to listen to. And the people who worked with her father weren't very subtle about it. They would walk up to her and ask her how she was doing, whether she was getting along well, eating right, and whether she liked the new boarding school that she'd spent the school year at.

Her mother had died of cancer, and cancer was a painful way to loose anyone.

Alice had had to watch as the cancer ate away at her mother's mind, the bright beautiful smile that Alice had come to expect had begun to fade into a lifeless version, given only rarely and never for more than a moment or two.

It had taken Alice hours and hours to see her mother give one of the old smiles, and never were they truly like the smiles of old.

The worst bit had come a week before her mother's death. Alice had arrived at the hospital and to her horror she realized that the woman she adored couldn't remember who she was. Alice had stood in the doorway, hearing her mother demand to know who she, Alice, was, and why she was standing there like that.

A year later and that memory haunted the teenager. Though it had been painful, Alice was grateful the day her mother died. It meant that she didn't have to see her suffer any more. Though the loss that Alice felt was something that could never be undone. Never fixed, and never forgotten.

People said that Alice's mother had been the type of person who just stuck in your memory. She'd been sweet, caring, and as kind as they came. Her bright smile lit up a room and she'd been very good with names. You could always count on being greeted by first name when you came in contact with her.

She and Alice looked very much alike in the way that they were both fair and blue eyed.

The party was being hosted to celebrate the merger of two companies, and to praise the employee who'd made it all happen.

Said woman was a pretty, dainty, thing with blond hair and green eyes. In some ways Lilly was very much like Alice's mother, and this was not lost on the teenager. She saw the way her father looked at the younger woman. Saw the way he carefully searched the room for any signs of his daughters before he took the slender hand in his own, his voice booming with laughter.

Alice had gotten over the anger that had come with the thoughts of her father dating. It was her older sister, Andrea that had helped Alice come to an understanding about it.

"Alice," she had said, "You can't live in the past. You can visit, we all do, but you simply cannot live there."

At the time, Alice hadn't known what her sister had meant by such a comment. As time passed and her sister moved away, Alice realized the truth. She'd been so caught up in her mother's memory that she was letting her own life slip right on by.

It was for that reason, and that reason alone, that Alice was standing near the wall, trying to smile, as if she were enjoying the party, even though her mind was a thousand miles away from the room she was standing in.

She didn't want to drag her father's good mood down, seeing as how he was so pleased with Lilly. But it was all rather bothersome. Why did he continue to drag her to these types of things? Knowing full well that she'd stopped enjoying them last year.

"Little Alice," A voice teased.

Alice flinched at the use of a very old nick name, one she'd gained between the ages of six and seven. She turned her head, her hand gripping the handle of her glass tightly, just in case she were tempted to throw it. "Ah, hello, Doctor Knight," she greeted, surprised to see the doctor who had treated her mother.

Doctor Knight was a handsome, aging man. He had black hair that was clipped to the nap of his neck. His skin was a milky white color, a color that Alice couldn't put into words. Perhaps it was the shade of a full moon, but that just sounded so dramatic. His eyes, well the only way to explain the color of them was to be very dramatic. His eyes were the color of a summer sunrise, a mix of colors that blended into the main color, a pure yellow gold. The eyes were his best feature, and when he smiled they were simply breath taking.

Alice didn't know when her crush on the man had begun, but it had continued for a while now. It was like she knew him. But he was one of those memories that just didn't shape up properly. She'd like to think that they'd known each other in another lifetime. But the truth was, he probably reminded her of a character from her mother's stories.

One of Alice's fondest memories of her mother was of the amazing stories she used to tell. Some of them were so far fetched that Alice would break into fits of giggles as she pictured someone acting in those ways.

But other stories were so real that Alice would almost taste the food, hear the sounds of the characters voices, and breath in the scent of a flower garden full of flowers that no human eye had ever seen in real life.

"How are you?" Doctor Knight asked. His voice was another thing about him that Alice enjoyed. It was pleasant, pleasing, and overall sounded amused with life, with everything around him. it always seemed like he thought life was some big joke. Alice loved his voice.

"I'm very well, and you?" Alice questioned. Keeping her voice to a tone her father would have been proud of. Alice had never mastered the speaking tones that the rest of her classmates used. A tone that was high class, but not snotty. Alice preferred to just talk, not caring how she sounded in the end. But that wouldn't gain her any brownie points with her father.

"I'm well." Doctor Knight answered. He looked at the glass in her hand and frowned, "Aren't you a little young?" there it was, that teasing tone.

Alice looked at the glass and wrinkled her nose. "It's apple juice," she admitted, "Father thought I'd enjoy the task of looking older than I am." She explained.

"And do you?" Doctor Knight questioned, "Enjoy acting older."

Alice frowned and cocked her head to the side, thinking about the question. "Yes," she finally admitted. "I do enjoy it. It's like a game, people trying to guess my age. But it can be tiresome." Admitting too it was strange.

Doctor Knight frowned, just a slight movement of his lips. "You enjoy fooling people?" he questioned.

Alice looked down at her shoes, she tapped one foot, and than the other. "I really don't know," she admitted. "I enjoy people thinking I'm someone else."

Doctor Knight nodded his head in understanding. "We all like to be someone other than who we are, its human nature." He reached out and touched Alice's shoulder. "It's almost time." He whispered.

Alice blinked up at him. The gold of his eyes glimmered strangely. It was almost as if he found everything to be a giant joke, but no one else would ever be able to get the joke.

"Time for what?" Alice questioned.

Doctor Knight's smile widened, "You'll know when the time is right," he said. He pulled his hand away from her shoulder and stood straight again. "Until next time, Alice." He turned and walked back into the crowd of people.

Alice frowned after him. Doctor Knight had always been a little strange; perhaps that was what she found so attractive about him. But there were times, like tonight, where she wished he would make some sense when he spoke.

She also had a creeping suspicion that his being here wasn't by accident. It would be just like her father to have Doctor Knight come to the party and see how Alice's mood was, and then report it back to her father.

Alice sighed loudly and looked down at her glass of apple juice. Was it odd that she liked to act older? What seventeen year old like to act her age? It wasn't that strange was it?

Alice sighed loudly and blew a strand of hair out of her face. She stepped away from the wall and started to make her way through the crowds of people.

Crowds were another of the things that Alice couldn't stand to be around. She always felt so out of it when she was in a group of people.

She passed through the crowd and made her way out onto the balcony. The cool night air felt icy on her bare shoulders. She watched her breath leave her mouth in puffs of white fluff. She walked over to the railing and leaned against it, the metal pressing against her arms.

She closed her eyes and smiled.

It was October, one of her favorite months. The air outside wasn't unbearably cold yet, although it did hold the promise of a white Christmas. Christmas felt so long off that Alice really hadn't thought much about it. Would this Christmas be any easier than last? Only time would tell.

"Alice, what are you doing?"

Alice turned and smiled at Anna, her older sister. "Just getting some air," she said.

"Air is free, you can get it inside as well," Anna teased. She, like Alice, had brown hair and blue eyes. She'd moved in with her long time boyfriend, so Alice hardly saw her these days. But of course she would be here to see their father.

"True," Alice said, smiling. "But I prefer 'Fresh' air."

Anna smiled and leaned against the railing. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back. "Seems a lot of work, this party I mean." She whispered, "if they're only friends that is."

Alice grinned, "I agree," she said. She lowered her head and stared down at the garden below, which was lit with Christmas lights. "Seems like a lot of work, for a friend."

Anna lowered her head and looked at Alice. "Does that bother you?" she asked.

"Why would it?" Alice questioned, lifting her head to look at her sister. "Dad is allowed to do as he pleases. He is an adult after all."

Anna nodded. "I think he worries about how you'll react to it," she admitted. "He thinks you'll hate him or something."

"I could never hate him,"

"I know that, but he doesn't."

Alice frowned and looked back at the garden. Was that really how her father felt? Like he was walking on eggshells around her? It had never been her intention to make him feel like he had to hold back on being happy.

"I want him to be happy," Alice whispered.

"You should tell him that. I don't think he knows."

Alice sighed and pushed away from the railing. "I guess I should," though she didn't want too.

"Oh, Alice, wait!"

Alice turned and looked at Anna, raising an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"I found this while empting out some boxes, I think dad put it in my box by mistake."

Alice blinked and reached out, taking the small, red leather, book from her sister's out stretched hand. "My journal?" she said, amazed to see it again.

Each year Alice had a custom journal made for her, and each journal was unique to the person Alice was during that year.

The front of this journal had a silver 'A' on the cover and underneath that was the year that the journal was written.

Alice traced the A with her finger, a small smile moved over her lip. She'd been ten when she'd last used this journal. It should have been in a chest at the end of her bed, along with all the other journals she'd used since she first learned how to write.

"Thank you," she finally said, looking at Anna. There were many things they didn't agree on, and many times they'd fought over stupid things. But any sister who'd go out of her way to return something so simple as a journal, written seven years ago, was pretty okay.

"It's nothing," Anna said, smiling brightly. "I just thought you'd find it amusing."

Alice nodded her head.

She said a quick goodbye to her sister before heading back inside. The night air had chilled her, so the air inside the room felt just right. She looked around the room, at the various faces of people she'd never met, and was pleased when she spotted her father.

"Hello, pet," Her father greeted when he spotted her.

Alice, still clinging to the journal, smiled at him. "The party turned out nice," she said. Feeling awkward. She and her father didn't normally share conversations, they didn't talk about each other's lives, all they did was live in the same house together.

"I like to think so," He said, smiling brighter.

Alice bit her lip, "I just… umm wanted to say that I think Ms. Lisa is very nice." She mumbled, stumbling over her words.

Her father looked surprised, "I'm… glade you think so." He said. There was something in his eyes, an unasked question.

"Is it alright if I head back to the house now?" Alice asked.

Surprise showed on her father's face. "I thought you were enjoying yourself?" he asked.

Alice could have kicked herself, of course it would seem like she wasn't enjoying herself if she asked to leave early. "It's not that," she said, laughing gently. "It's just that these shoes are killing me."

Her father looked down at her shoes. Which were silver high heels, embedded with red gems that matched her strapless dress. "Oh," he said.

Alice smiled. "So, you don't mind?" she asked.

He shook his head, "Not at all," he lead forward and gave her an awkward hug.

The father daughter act was more for the benefit of the guests who stood around them. Normally Alice would have simply walked away and not said much of anything to her father. But tonight she hugged him back, pretending to be the perfect daughter that everyone liked to imagine her to be.

Alice paid the Taxi driver and stepped onto the curve. She turned and looked up at the large brownstone building in front of her.

It was very typical for this part of town. It had been Alice's home since she'd been three years old, when her mother and father had seen fit to move away from their London town house.

Alice liked the building. It was hold and had a couple secret rooms. Rooms that had been boarded up for whatever reason.

She reached into her bag and drew out her house key. She put it into the lock and turned. The door opened into the entry hall.

If there were ever something that was a lasting memory of her mother it would have to be the entry hall. The hall floor was done up in red carpet. The wall was painted a rich caramel color, and the table beside the door was oak.

Alice smiled, slipped her shoes off, and walked into the main area of the house. There were days when she would arrive home and expect to hear her mother's laughter coming from the kitchen, the smell of something sweet cooking.

Alice headed up to her bedroom, which was on the third floor. She opened her bedroom door and turned the light on. Her room had been the same since she was ten. Cream colored walls, black bed sheets, and a random assortment of pictures tapped to the walls. The pictures documented Alice's change over the years. Some were hand drawn, others were printouts. Others still were movie posters, some childish, some adult. And there were, of course, a few pictures of her favorite bands and actors.

The room was the only place in the house that Alice could completely call her own. She'd picked the paint colors, though she wouldn't mind a change, and she'd picked out each piece of furniture. It was her space.

She walked over to the bed and dropped her back pack onto it. with a small sigh she turned and walked toward the bathroom door. She pushed it open and flipped the light switch on.

The room filled with a soft light. It was a plain bathroom with a standing shower, a sink, all of these had silver fixtures.

She stepped in front of her mirror and frowned at her appearance. She was naturally pale, something she'd gained form her mother. And her brown hair was done up in a mass of curls piled high on top of her head. Her blue eyes gazed out at the world with a tired bit of age to them.

She was dressed in a sleeveless red dress, it reached just pass her knees. It was all rather lovely, but bothersome as well.

Alice reached up and began to take the pins out of her hair. it took a while until all of the pins had been safely removed and she was able to shake her hair out. she reached behind her and snagged the zipper of the dress. She wiggled is down and slid out of the dress. She stripped out of her bra and underwear and walked over to the shower. She turned the water on and waited for it to reach the right temperature. When that was done she stepped into the hot spray, which relaxed her better than anything.

She leaned her head against the tiles and simply let herself stand under the spray for a while. After she felt boiled, she reached behind her and got a handful of shampoo. She worked it through her hair, until she was sure it would be enough to get the hair products out.

After using conditioner and scrubbing her body down she stepped out. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her wait.

She wasn't small, but she wasn't large. If she had to be something she'd say she was quite normal on the weight issue. Partly because she couldn't stand overly sweet foods, so it wasn't hard to not eat sweets.

She walked back into her room. She went over to her bed and sat down, mindful of her towel. She reached out and grabbed her bag. She unzipped it and pulled her journal out. it wasn't her style to reread journals, and the journals from the last couple years only served to depress her more than she already was.

This journal had been written the year before her mother had been diagnosed with cancer. It was the last peaceful, childish memory that Alice had.

She undid the clasp on the front and blinked back her surprise. The first page of the book had one carefully scrawled word on it.

WONDERLAND.

One word that brought back a life full of memories.

Alice grinned and flipped the page and began to read, thumbing through the words she'd written years ago.

Wonderland was a storybook world she'd dreamt up. And her mother had helped her make it complete. She'd listened to Alice's explanations of the characters, and added her own insight to it all. She'd also helped Alice deal with the many adventures…

Alice frowned. For a moment she'd almost thought that she'd lived out the adventures that were written in the book. She shook her head in amusement. Perhaps her childish brain had believed those things were real.

She paused over bit of character info. "The Queen of hearts." The name sent a chill down Alice's spine. She could almost see the woman's face, the carefully painted lips curled into a sneer.

"Alice, my dear, Alice,"

Alice slammed the book shut, breathing hard. She felt ill. She turned and got to her feet. She walked toward the dresser but stopped short.

Frowning she looked at her full length mirror. It looked normal, or as normal as a mirror could be when it was reflecting someone who wasn't there.

Alice continued to stare, confused, and afraid. Slowly, clutching her towel tightly, she stepped forward and peered into the mirror, not believing what she was seeing.

There was a man reflected in her mirror. But he wasn't a normal man, if anything he was the most brilliant looking man that she'd ever set eyes on. His eyes, which peered out from behind a mask, were the perfect mix of pink and red, with black lines inking out. his skin was a perfect white color, the same shade as Doctor Knights, liquid moonlight. His hair was also white, but that seemed to plain a word for it. If anything, it was if someone had caught moonbeams and strung them out into hair. the hair flowed down his back, clipped at the nap of his neck by a ruby embedded hair clip.
He was dressed in a simple red shirt, a black heart embedded over the left side of his chest. He wore black pants, which tucked into a pair of black boots. The boots had the same strange heart shape on the sides of them.

The most interesting thing about him was the mask. It was shaped like the face of a rabbit and covered his whole face.

Alice swallowed hard. She cocked her head to the side, breathing softly. She was afraid that if she blinked he'd vanish. There was also a part of her that was more afraid of what would happen if he 'didn't' vanish. And another worrisome thing was the fact that his name was on the tip of her tongue. But she must have been wrong. There was simply no conceivable way that this man was the same man she was thinking of.

But it had to be him.

"White," Alice whispered, "The White Rabbit." She breathed out his full name, afraid. But more afraid to keep it bottled up in side.

The man, White, or Rabbit to his friends, slowly cocked his head to the side. "Alice," he answered. His voice muffled by the mask. The voice was eerily soft, calm, and collected. Nothing bothered him.

"You're not real," Alice whispered. She took a step back from the mirror, still clutching her towel.

White's eyes seemed to crinkle. He was grinning. "Come now," he said, his voice housing his amusement. "Would you like it if I told you that you weren't real?"

Alice frowned. "But… you're a story!" she shouted. "Nothing but a story!"

"Don't shout. It isn't lady like."

Alice groaned. "Do you think I care about being lady like?" she demanded. "How are you… here… or not here… umm… what is going on?" she said, finally settling on the best question to ask.

White chuckled. "I've always been here," he laughed. "You just didn't see me."

Alice clutched her towel tighter, "Always?" she questioned.

White laughed loudly. "Of course, you would think of that." He said, shaking his head. "I don't spy." He added.

Alice flushed and looked down at the floor. "Why are you here now?" she asked.

"I need you,"

Alice's head snapped up, "Need me?" she questioned. Her cheeks darkened even more.

White was obviously smiling now. "Yes." He said. "Not just me. Wonderland needs you."

Alice cocked her head to the side. "It's real?" she questioned. "Wonderland is a real place then?"

White nodded. "It is. And you should very well know that." He reached out and placed his hand on the glass. "You created it after all."

The place where his hand touched began to ripple, and the ripples spread down the face of the mirror, shimmering strangely.

"I did, did I?" Alice muttered. "Strange how that slipped my mind. Think you'd remember, creating a whole world."

White chuckled again. "Wonderland is for children." He admitted. "It's normal for each child to forget their wonderland as they age and grow, only natural."

"If that's true, than why do you need me?"

"Because. Wonderland is dying. Not just your wonderland, but the world that plays host to each wonderland has become infected. It's dying, Alice."

Alice swallowed hard. "And what can I do?" she questioned.

White stepped back from the glass. He reached out, his hand out stretched. "Come with me."

Alice shivered. "I… This is insane." She whispered.

"It's pure madness," White laughed. "There has only been one adult to enter wonderland… and that went so well." A bitterness crept through his voice.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Alice, we don't have time for this!" White said, a frantic tone to his voice. "We can't delay or we'll be very late. We cannot afford to be late for this."

Alice looked at him for a moment. His hand was still outstretched. "I still don't believe this is happening." She admitted.

White smiled. "You don't have to believe me. But seeing is Believing." He added. He curled his fingers, gesturing her forward.

Alice swallowed again. She breathed through her nose. Suddenly, seeing the look in his eyes, she became very aware of the fact that she was in a towel. "Can I get dressed?" she asked.

White's shoulders shook with laughter. "Alice," he said. a note of warning to his voice. "We're late."

Alice groaned. "You're an ass," she stated. Stepping closer to the mirror. She hesitated before reaching out to touch the tip of her fingers to the glass. It rippled. The glass should have felt solid, for some strange reason she'd thought it would feel solid under her fingers, when in fact it felt almost like a very thick form of water. She pressed her finger tips against it and watched them sink it.

For a couple seconds she let herself wonder if someone had spiked her apple juice as some cruel joke. But the fact that she knew who White was sort of helped solidify the fact that this wasn't drug induced.

"Coming?" White teased, cocking his head to the side. He once again bent his fingers in a 'come along' gesture.

Alice glared. She pressed her hand fully against the glass, and whimpered when her fingers slipped through it. it was scary, watching her hand slid into what should have been solid glass.

White reached forward and took her hand.

His hand felt so solid and real. It was warm, and covered in deep calluses. This seemed odd because Alice clearly remembered that White was the scribe for Wonderland's main library. It was his job to write up the entire history of wonderland.

His fingers curled around her hand and gave a small tug.

Alice sighed and stepped forward, letting White pull her through the mirror. "It's an improvement," she muttered.

White smiled, "Over what?" he asked.

"Over a Rabbit hole."

White began laughing. "I seem to remember that you rather enjoyed that rabbit hole."

"As a child perhaps." Alice said. she stepped over the lip of the mirror, her foot sliding through the mirror.

Finally she stood fully on the other side of the glass, facing White. Her heart was in her throat. She turned her head and looked back at her room, which suddenly seemed so warm and welcoming. Well, anything would be more welcoming than standing in a long dark hallway with a masked man. It sounded like something out of a cheap romance novel.

"We're going to be late," White whispered, His fingers brushing against Alice's shoulder.

Alice turned back around and realized that White had stepped closer to her. He was totally invading her personal space and suddenly she'd rather have been back on the other side of the mirror. She made a face, "Personal space means nothing to you, does it."

White chuckled, "Come on," he said. he kept his grip on her hand and began to back away down the hallway.

Alice cast a final glance at her room before letting her self be dragged into the dark hallway.

They walked for a while before White finally let go of her hand.

Alice knew the only reason he did this was because he felt comfortable that she wasn't going to run back to her bedroom. Though secretly she wished she could.

They'd turned down a couple corridors, and there were a great many of those that they'd passed without turning down them. Alice sincerely doubted that she could find her way back to the mirror, and there was obviously no way that White was going to help her with that.

From what she remembered, White had always been the type of person to work toward a certain goal without caring whom he had to use to get it. It had bothered Alice when they'd first met… though it was strange to say that because those years felt like a dream, a nice daydream that wasn't a daydream at all. She didn't know how to feel toward him now, now that she was an adult.

White walked in front of her. His boots clipped loudly on the stone floor. His white hair seemed to be giving off it's own light, which was a strange comfort, like a candle shining out of the darkness, or maybe a Willow the wisp'.

The corridor was bleak. The walls and floor were made out of the same black colored stone. There was light coming from somewhere above, but it was so high up that Alice couldn't pinpoint what was giving it off.

"White," Alice called out. "What is this place?"

"It's part of the Twilight realms." White explained, not looking back. "It's the place where adults are able to dream. Adults loose their ability to travel to Wonderland when they grow up. This place connects to wonderland, but it's full of so many corridors that no adults would be able to find the one door that leads to wonderland."

Alice frowned at that. "So if I ever found my way to this place, and was aware of what it was, I wouldn't be able to find wonderland?"

"If anyone would find their way through these corridors it would be you." White teased. He chuckled and looked back at her. "Wonderland loves you."

Alice blinked, "I'm missing something, aren't I."

"You miss very little, that's always been your problem."

Alice grinned, it sounded like something her father would say about her. "Where are we going, if you don't mind me asking."

"Wonderland." White answered. "I told you."

"Will it take long?"

"Only as long as it takes."

Alice huffed, "Weren't you just complaining that we'd be late?"

"Yes, but that was to get you to hurry," White said. he reached into his pants pocket and drew out a lovely silver pocket watch, the top of the watch was embedded with the same heart design as the rest of him. he flipped it open and looked at the time. A frown moved over his lips. "Perhaps we will be late after all." He admitted.

Alice cocked her head to the side, "The design on your watch, what is it?" she asked.

"It's the queen's symbol." White answered stiffly. There was something underneath the icy tone that he'd taken, something very dark.

"The… Queen? Not the Queen of hearts…" Alice trailed off.

"No… That queen is long dead." White whispered. "This queen is very much alive… and perhaps she is a worse queen than Hearts would ever have dreamed of." He shook his head.

"A worse queen than Hearts… is that even possible?"

"Hearts was cruel, maybe insane, but she thought of what was best for Wonderland as a whole. This new queen… she only cares about her self. As long as she is happy, wonderland can burn to the ground around her." White sounded bitter.

Alice sighed loudly. "She sounds lovely."

White turned and looked at Alice, his eyes peered out from behind the mask. There was something in his eyes, an expression that was unnamable. "She is." He admitted. "She truly is."

Alice opened her mouth to say more when something happened. The ground under her feet began to shake. She stumbled, her hand pressed against the wall. "What's happening?" she shouted.

White turned, "She knows!" he snapped, "Damn it! I thought I could get you through here safely!" he rounded on Alice, fear danced in his eyes.

"White!" Alice yelled, "What is going on!"

"It's The Queen!" White shouted. He was yelling over the rumbling sound that was echoing around the corridor. "The pass is collapsing!"

Alice looked behind her and paled. The walls behind her were beginning to crumble away. "What do we do?" she demanded.

"The only thing I can do!" White snapped. He took something out of his pocket. It looked like an orb full of moonlight. He looked at Alice a moment. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I'm very sorry."

He grabbed Alice's hand and shoved the orb into it, he forced her hand to close tightly around it.

The orb shattered in her hand and the moonlight spilled and down to swirl around Alice's feet. The ground under her began to ripple, just like the mirror had, and Alice began to sink into it. "White!" she screamed.

White looked at Alice, his eyes were filled with something unspoken. "I'll send someone to find you!" he screamed, "Just… stay on the path!"

Alice wondered what he meant. But she didn't get a chance to ask. She sank into the floor, the strange sensation of falling through the thickness of it was annoying. And suddenly there was nothing. No floor, not thick water. Just thin air.

She was falling. She had a second to hope that there was something soft to land on before the blackness washed over her.