"You know, little girl, you remind me of some one we've read about. You have such nice hair, I think it would look sort of golden if you washed it. What's your name?" Alice asked sitting down next to a hungry looking ten year old.

"You don't need to know. Tell me who you are first." The girl answered defiantly.

Alice smiled," I'm Alice, and you're hungry. Let me see...here have a scone."

The girl stared at the pastry Alice was holding for a moment before grabbing it and attempting to stuff all of it in her mouth.

"Great wonderland girl, you're going to choke. When was he last time you ate?" Alice asked genuinely concerned.

The girl shrugged thinking about the question while she chewed," Couple of days I think. My name's Lizzie, can I have another cake?"

Alice chuckled, "Lizzie, sweety, you haven't finished the first one. Why don't you come with me to my house and you can have all the scones you want?"

Lizzie thought about it for minute, still eating the scone. She really had no idea how she would get her next meal otherwise. And if she did get another one, chances where a bigger or smarter kid would take it from her. Lizzie nodded and Alice smiled. Hatter was right, these children were desperate. The type of hungry Alice hadn't known for years, when there really was just Alice. Before there was Hatter and after she had ran away. No one to talk to or care about, not to mention no food either. Alice thought, but that was then and this is now. And now there was Hatter and so far seven sweet children to share tea with. Hatter liked the kids too at least Alice thought so, Hatter wasn't talking much.

'Would you like me to talk?' Hatter whispered in Alice's ear

Later ,not now, Besides you can do whatever in wonderland you want to do tomorrow, Alice thought.

'I could do whatever I want today you know...'

Alice shook her head, trying to clear away the voice. She started walking back to her tailor shop pulling her wagon full of hats behind her. Hatter wouldn't dare trying to push her out of her own body. Not that he could, it was a matter of will power and how attached someone is to living. And Alice was very attatched. What if the Hatter could do such a thing, not that he would of course, but what would happen to her if he did? He certainly couldn't keep it up forever if her own mentality was fighting his, unless he decided to go and get meds to supress her mentality. She shuddered, and decided to stop think about it. No use dwelling on what scares you and wouldn't happen anyway. The Hatter however was very fond of the subject. He had been turning it around for sometime without telling Alice. The girl was so full of herself, she really expected that she could keep her own mind properly when if he wasn't around she couldn't even remember her own name. She didn't even realize all of what she had done, or rather what he had done. She hadn't known why she was in court, or even that the sweet rabbit had been around the house for two years. Hatter had simply insisted that he deal with the court, and alice didn't know how to exist properly in her subconscious. And the silly girl really thought that she could hold her own against him. Enough of that for now though, might as well figure out what he was going to do tomorrow. The foremost thing on mind was the rabbit, Alice's Little March. This could be fun, absolutely frabjous.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

Ellda was done sitting around in the hospital. She pushed herself off of the starchy white sheets and felt around on the floor for the pair of sneakers her mother had insisted on bringing, along with a...white dress. Ellda sighed, her mother was really not going to get over that she was sixteen. I don't look all that young, she thought running her hands over the burned corner of her face by her eyes. They had to cut out one of her eyes it had been so burned. The dress was better than the hospitals one however, so she slipped it on and stuffed a sheet of newspaper in one of her shoes. Ellda shifted her foot around, usually she like her shoes a bit larger so the one wouldn't be so tight. She supposed it was the thought that counted however. Ellda walked over to the door and as she was looking for the handle, it opened knocking her over.

"Erin, god damn. You coulda broke my nose. Was that necessary?"

"I feel like I should tell you the truth and say no, but I'm going to say yes." Dodge answered, "You're senses are really off."

"Well no duh. I burned half of my face trying to save a smart aleck brother." Ellda snapped, " Let's go before mom finds out we're leaving."

"Why are we leaving?"

" I have a question, do the meds still work?"

"What? What do you mean-"

"Do the painkillers, kill pain?"Ellda asked slowly as though speaking to some one very young.

"Well...no, not, not really."

"Not really or not at all?"

"The second one.

"Right, I've been told it's a type of OCD. Possibly something to do with genetics. I used to be able to take very very long showers and it would go away. But you only do that so many times before you start bleeding. Currently we don't need that, but we should have a certain amount of soap on hand any ways. I don't like OCD meds, they make me really depressed and then I need more medication and that makes me sick and that's another medication I'd have to take. To many people are medicated anyway. Simple solution to a complicated problem, hurt people and it goes away." Ellda finished standing up and walking out the door.

"Wait, what? Did you just say that-" Dodge asked as he started to follow her

"There's a glass eye on the bedside table, bring it with you please." Ellda called from the hallway.

"Hmm? Oh sure, but really hurting people?" Dodge continued after grabbing the eyeball and running after her.

"Do you have an issue with my lifestyle? Or are you mad because I wanted you to carry my eye?"

"No, but this is very sudden. I have OCD and...things, issues in my head or whatever. Are you sure?"

"I should be, where's Colorful?"

"Lobby talking to mom. You said something about soap?"

"I will explain everything, are we on the first floor? If so help me find a window, and not in the lobby. Have you still got my eye?" Ellda asked turning down a random hallway.

"Yes, there's a window about twenty five feet forward to you left, and yes."

Ellda found the window and waited for Dodge to catch up. She turned around abruptly and grabbed Dodge's shoulders.

"Oh lovely, you're not wearing one of those horid hospital gowns." She said simply before pushing him back a few feet.

"What are you doing? There are people coming and...You just threw a chair through the window."

"You got a better idea? Let's go!" Ellda said climbing through the window and ripping her dress in the proccess

Dodge sighed but followed her through the window muttering, "Mom is going to kill us."