Me: Okay, so I KNOW that about 60% of the now steadily popping Alice in Wonderland stories are about the topic I'll write about, but I just can't help it.

Apps: It's not hers. What a surprise.

Me: Maybe I should mention that I'm German, so... you might flame (I want you to!), but don't judge me for my knowledge of the English language.

Invy: Enjoy!

He heard her promise, he watched her smile, he saw the armor falling to the ground in front of him as she vanished into thin air.

Then he let the tears fall.

------

Two years in China might change somebody.

Alice had grown fond of the Chinese language, loving the feeling it left in your ears although you didn't understand one word of it. She liked the Chinese's way, their smiles and kindness and she had felt a little twinge of sadness as the Wonder hadleft the port for the long journey back to England, but right now, upon approaching the Ascot's manor where she would stay for the night, Alice was glad to be back. She was impatient to talk to Lord Ascot (Sr.) again and tell him about her latest successes, the ones she hadn't been able to write letters about before her departure.

But something else had been sweeping over her mind like water through a fountain in the last months.

Being at the Ascot's manor meant being near the garden, near the maze, near the tree and ... near the rabbit hole.

Unlike the Hatter had feared, Alice had forgotten nothing about Under- no, Wonderland, and she was dying to see it again, there was just one problem that Alice had kept fighting with for a long time now.

Yes, she had promised to return back to Wonderland and she desired to do so, but what if she would do? She may have a wonderful time with all her friends, but she would have to leave against at some point, leaving them all behind again, for the third time, and that she was afraid of. It had pained her heart to leave Wonderland the last time, so it would do it again.

No, she wouldn't, couldn't, go.

That night, dreams of Wonderland followed her like her own shadow.

------

He slowly sneaked through the manor.

Absolem had spread the word that Alice was currently in London again, even at the manor that led the way to their world and someone finally had to take action, even it it was him, the unlikeliest to help the Hatter. The Hatter had moved to the white castle, just like everyone else did, he was hatting again and still held his tea parties with his friends, very delighted that the White Queen had agreed to move their trusty tea table to the castle.

But it was depressing just to look at him. He had tried to cover his sadness up with cheery laughs and unanswerable riddles, but everyone, particularly the one creeping around the normal world right now, had been able to see through this mask, had caught the sighs and sniffles that escaped the red-haired man ever so often.

Missing the halfway sane conversations he had been able to hold with the Hatter before Alice had broke his friend's heart, he had decided to jump over his manner for once and risk a visit to Alice's world, to get her back to the Hatter and to get the Hatter happy again.

The morning sun was stretching itself about a blue (though not as blue as in Wonderland) sky as he reached the room he was certain Alice was staying in.

He carefully got onto the bed and saw at the sleeping human that was indeed Alice. Satisfied that he had found her upon the first try, he reached out to touch a shoulder that was covered by a pale blue nightgown. Alice stirred but didn't open her eyes and he reached out again, this time touching her cheek.

This action succeeded in waking the girl and she slowly rolled around, sleepily opened her eyes to saw another pair staring right back at her.

"Wah!" with a surprised roll away from the creature she also rolled from the bed, colliding with the floor with a loud THUMP. The animal shortly feared that Alice had lost her memories of Wonderland once again and couldn't remember him, but his fears were quickly subdued when a shock of blond hair looked over the edge of the bed once again and Alice gave him a bright smile.

"Chessur! What are you doing here, how did you get here, how IS everyone, how is Mallymkun and McTwisp, Thackery, the Tweedles and... the Hatter?" she asked in a hurried fashion, noticing the slight drop of the Cheshire Cat's trademark grin upon questioning about the Hatter's well-being. "He is alright, is he not?" she asked with a little twinge somewhere deep in her stomach.

"Don't you worry, dear Alice, he's quite alright. Well... physically spoken."

Alice's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Tarrant has been incredibly depressed since you left. He's hardly enjoying himself at his tea parties, hatting gives him only the littlest comfort and he sighs all the time, hoping that we will not notice. He misses you, terribly. You have to come back, Alice, for his sake." the grin never left the tabby's face, but it wasn't one of joy or happiness.

Alice felt the guilt build up inside of her as she spoke her next sentence. "I am afraid that I can not return to Wonderland."

It was the cat's turn to look at her in slight confusion, his head lying askew. "Why so?"

"I just... can't."

"Why so?"

"Because."

"Because what?"

"Because ...because."

"Because because?"

"Because if I return, I'll have a wonderful time but then I'll leave and come back depressed all over again!"

"Why won't you just stay in Wonderland?"

"I can't. I have things to do up here, business to be taken care of."

"That is what you said last time, when you were just about to leave Wonderland. You had 'questions to answer', 'things to do'. Two years, Alice. I think you had enough time to order your life."

Alice pondered over his words. She couldn't go, her fathers business had to be lead. But wasn't Lord Ascot already doing so? Of course he did, but she was his apprentice, the one who build up the link to China!

Something clicked.

Yes, she had build the link. 'Had build' being the keywords. She had taken the exercise to give a steady ground line for Lord Ascot, a point where he could easily pick up and not fall back, she had done it. Although she could probably help with many more things, the grounds were placed. The time had come to give everything into the capable hands of one she could trust and return to the place her heart had been all the time.

"I have to go! I think I almost lost my muchness!" she cried out, jumping up from the ground she had still been sitting on.

"Now that is what I had longed to hear."

"I'll just have to leave some words here." she said to her furry friend, then quickly searched for paper, feather, ink and sat down at the small writing desk, scribbling down words that explained why she had to leave and wouldn't come back, that she fully trusted Lord Ascot with the company and made clear to her mother that she shouldn't worry. She knew that both of them, as well as Margaret, would understand. As she was about to lay the feather down again, her eyes fell upon it. Quickly putting it in the ink once again, she wrote one last sentence with a small smile:

P.S.: I think I may have just found an answer to the question why a raven is like a writing desk. (1)

She had pestered all of them with the riddle more than once and was certain that they would take the hint of the joke.

She stood up from the desk and faced the animal that lay lazily in her bedclothes, waiting for her to be ready.

"Chessur? Could you... well, cover your eyes or something similar, I wish to change." she said, indicating to the nightgown she was still wearing. The cat shot her his trademark toothy grin, but turned around to face the pillow nonetheless. While she quickly changed into one of her favorite blue dresses, the tabby played with a fold in her bedclothes.

"Alright! We may leave."

They decided to leave the room through her window since Alice didn't want to be caught and questioned for what reasons exactly she wanted to go out at this early hour, without any breakfast at all. With the help of the Cheshire Cat, Alice quickly found her way through the maze of trees to the right one, the one with the rabbit hole. She draped one hand over his bark as she walked around him to the entry that lead her to her Wonderland.

She looked at the floating cat beside her and smiled.

"I've never went down there before. How is the fall?"

"It is rather long and barely lit, full of things that seem to crash into you but then take another way just a second before they touch you."

"Sounds like fun. Shall we?"

She nodded, took one last view at the sky and jumped.

Me: I think I wrote Chessur pretty OOC.... and I'm not sure if I should continue or not. I rather like this as an end... btw, it kind of is A/H (I love the idea of this pairing) and if I would continue it would surely become obvious.... Shall I continue?

Invy: Leave a review!

Apps: To the (1) thing: Pia is well aware that the question has been answered by Carroll with 'Because Poe wrote on both', but her answer is another possible, though probably not fully correct answer.

littlebixuit