Bracing herself for the pain of the fall, Alice was surprised to have landed on a pile of cushions. A moment later, someone grabbed her arm. Just as she was pulling away, she recognized the voice that spoke to her.
"Just Plain Alice! I am honored to be graced by your presence again," Charlie exclaimed as he bowed before her. Alice's eyes lit up as he pulled her in for a hug.
"Charlie! It's great to see you again," Alice beamed.
"We were beginning to think you wouldn't visit us again," Charlie explained, "After all, it has been eighteen years."
Alice giggled.
"Charlie, it's only been three months in my world...Wait, we? Who else has been waiting for my return?"
"Why the King of Hearts of course. He has been anxious to know why your harbinger has returned," Charlie explained. Alice tried to hold back her tears but she started to cry so hard, she shook violently from the heartbreak and guilt. Charlie pulled Alice into a comforting hug and tried to calm her down.
"Now, now it'll be alright, Just Plain Alice. Come with me to see the King and you can explain everything," Charlie muttered. Alice allowed Charlie to lead her to the two horses they would take to the palace.
"I cannot believe it's been eighteen years, though you certainly don't look eighteen years older than the last time you departed Wonderland," Charlie remarked. Alice couldn't help but smile at Charlie's misunderstanding of the time differences. After an hour of riding through the Tulgey Woods, Alice wondered where the new palace was located.
"Charlie? Where exactly is the palace?" Alice asked.
"Remember where we had camped during your first visit? Well, the White Kingdom has been rebuilt and restored to its former glory," Charlie replied, glowing with pride. Alice remembered what fun she did have camping outside the White Kingdom with Hatter and Charlie. And she sure did miss eating Charlie's barbecued borogrove.
"So, were you expecting me to come through the looking glass? That is why you were there right?" Alice inquired.
"Yes and no. I did expect you to come for your harbinger, but I was there because King Jack assigned me to be the Guardian of the Looking Glass," Charlie stated proudly. Alice took in the atmosphere as they approached the kingdom. She noticed the old campsite was still in tact and a wave of nostalgia washed over her. Once they entered the White Kingdom, Alice marveled at the exquisite beauty of the architecture.
Every building was shaped like large, white chess pieces carved out of the prettiest marble Alice has ever seen. The courtyard garden was filled with a variety of flowers and a gorgeous river rock fountain brought it all together. Alice smirked as she noticed the red and white roses. The horses stopped in front of the main doors of the palace. Charlie helped Alice down and they walked into the throne room.
"Alice, dear, welcome to our home. Darling, look, our Alice of Legend has arrived," said the Duchess.
"Just Alice, please Duchess," Alice pleaded.
"Nonsense," said Jack, "you are quite legendary. You did overthrow my wretched mother after all. I hate to have to cut to the chase," Jack laughed at the pun of his former last name, "but I must know why Hatter returned without you."
Alice explained everything as calmly as she could to Jack, Duchess and Charlie. As soon as she finished talking, Jack assigned Charlie to help her find Hatter.
"Good luck, Alice," Jack added.
"Thank you again for your help, Jack. And though it's a few years late, congratulations on your marriage," Alice stated. Jack nodded as Charlie led Alice to the courtyard. It was already beginning to get dark and Alice thought it to be wise if they camped tonight. Once Charlie and Alice arrived at the old campsite, Alice offered to go find some firewood.
"Yes, go find some wood for the fire and I shall catch some borogrove with my new invention," Charlie excitedly announced.
After wandering through the woods for for a short while, Alice found some wood to put on the fire. Unfortunately, she was too quick to approach it which resulted in her snapping branches under her feet. Before she knew it, the Jabberwock awoke and started to chase after her. Alice made a run for it, stumbling every now and then.
She had no idea where she was going, as she was only concerned with surviving. Her heart raced with adrenaline as the Jabberwock gained on her. She prayed she'd find Charlie's old trap soon. Alice stopped running when she heard a loud thump. She turned around to see the Jabberwock knocked out cold.
"Now don't tell me you've become bloody suicidal," Hatter exclaimed.
"HATTER!" Alice rejoiced as she ran to hug him. Hatter abruptly turned away, giving her the cold shoulder.
"Alice," Hatter snapped, "what in the world are you doing here?" Alice was taken aback by his tone of voice.
"What in the world, you ask. I'm here because you aren't in my world anymore. I came here to find you and -"
"And what? Convince me to go back where I'm obviously not wanted!? You're the one who told me to go back to Wonderland," Hatter shouted.
"Hatter, I didn't mean it. I know it's no excuse but it's true," Alice insisted while becoming frustrated. Little did they know, Charlie heard the whole argument and decided to step in.
"Will you two stop acting like children!? And you nugface," Charlie ranted to Hatter, "Just Plain Alice came all this way to find you and you won't even hear her out. Now I suggest you stay at the camp tonight and really try to work things out. For what is a Hatter without his Alice?"
Alice and Hatter became dumbfounded at Charlie's wisdom.
The trio arrived at camp with firewood in their hands. Charlie cooked the borogrove and everyone ate their fill of the delicacy.
"Look, it's been a long day so maybe we should just talk in the morning, yea?" Hatter muttered to Alice.
"Yea, sounds good," Alice replied. As the three of them drifted to sleep, their thoughts stopped racing. Little did Alice and Hatter know, they dreamed about each other that night. Both of them slept peacefully with a smile on their faces, happy to be reunited.
Authors Note: I want to thank my lovely reviewers and followers! I hope y'all enjoyed chapter 2! There will be another chapter to come, so stay tuned!
Additionally, I have uploaded a playlist on 8tracks of songs that inspired me and really go with the events in the story. My username on 8tracks is SimplyShelbs16xoxo and you can find it on my profile.