Prof. Archimedes Q. Porter was a lively and exuberant man. Short in stature. Not much taller than Alice herself. He was somewhere in his mid forties. His brown hair only just starting to go grey.

Lizzie introduced the two of them. After complimenting Dinah (who took a liking to him immediately) the Prof. led them through the house and into the back garden. Along the way they passed a multitude of fascinating artifacts. Strange fossils and colorful insects in glass cases. Framed along the walls were an array of impressive sketches depicting exotic locations and animals. On the mantle piece Alice noticed a photograph of the Porters and her father. More prominent than anything else however were the several cats lounging or playing here and there. They were rather unusual cats. Slightly larger than Alice was used to seeing, and with oddly elongated snouts.

"Ah, don't mind the genets." Assured the Prof. in a jovial tone. "They're adequately tame."

Remembering her two recent "daydreams", Alice thought... If any of these animals dare to grin at me, I may very well scream.

In the back garden, Jane was making corrections to the table set up. Her father could tell you the distinction between an alligator and a crocodile but he could never quite remember the 'proper' arrangement of tea wear.

As Jane was adjusting the utensils, a sensation of odd haziness washed over her head. Tired? Faint? No. This was an altogether different feeling. A singular, inexplicable phrase emerged from her thoughts...

"Clean cup."

Then came another...

"Move down."

Surrealism. That was the feeling. She heard approaching footsteps and looked up from the table to find that the guests had arrived. That feeling of surrealism faded just as swiftly as it had appeared and her attention was drawn immediately to the blonde girl in the blue dress who was cradling a kitten in her arms.

After a standard exchange of introductions, during which Jane remembered that she had actually met Elizabeth Liddell several months back, the group finaly took their seats at the table for tea. Lizzie and the Prof. wasted no time starting their own discussion. Something about struggling to fund an expedition and not having enough new scientific material for 'Liddell House' to publish. Alice of course found it dreadfully boring. Fortunately, this first meeting with Jane would be more interesting, albeit a little awkward at first. Lizzie wasn't exaggerating when she described her as timid. The small brunette in the yellow dress had a rather rigid composure. Shoulders raised slightly from apparent nervousness. She focused on sipping her tea, looking unsure of how to initiate a conversation. Alice saved her the trouble.

"Your cup appears to be chipped." She pointed out.

"Oh-y-yes. This one has always been that way. Our whole tea set is quite old. Passed down from our ancestors in France."

Under the table, Dinah was eyeballing Jane's foot which was taping restlessly.

"Lizzie told me you like to draw. Were those your sketches in the house?" Inquired Alice.

"They are. I mean some of them are mine." And the rest were my mother's, she would have clarified, but did not.

"They're beautiful."

"Th-thank yo-" A fit of little giggles interrupted her reply.

"Your kitten is pouncing on my foot!" She explained, smiling down at the bouncing fuzzball. "What's her name?"

Jane's shoulders were noticeably relaxing, and her voice became more comfortable. Most assuredly a lover of animals, Alice thought.

"Dinah. She's not hurting you is she?"

"Not at all. She's a little darling. Our genets are far wilder. They-" As Jane bent down to pet Dinah, all sound in the environment snuffed out like a candle in a gust. Alice was startled by it. A wall of silence filling her head.

It looked like Jane was still talking. So too were the adults. Alice's vision started to blur. She shut her eyes, resolving not to panic. The deprivation of the senses felt almost claustrophobic. Then came the sound of familiar voices.

"Why Alice! Where on earth did you emerge from?" Asked the Hatter in stunned surprise. Alice opened her eyes to find herself at the wrong tea table.

"Indeed Miss Alice." The Hare interjected. "It is doubly rude of you to appear out of nothing unannounced, unexpected and STILL uninvited!"

"Well have some tea then". Offered the Hatter. "It's just as well isn't it?"

"Very, very rude-have tea." The Dormouse chimed in before descending, drowsily back into his tea-pot.

The return of her senses should have been a relief, but being back in Wonderland was a great shock.

"No! This isn't- I can't be here again! Am I asleep again?!" Alice asked in a frantic voice.

"Well my dear, if sleeping is what you're doing then you're going about it all too noisily". Replied the Hare as he poured a cup full of tinier cups into one very large cup, making loud clinking sounds as he did so.

"Try humming instead of speaking."

"Or walking instead of sleeping... but at any rate, have tea."

"No. This isn't right. I mustn't be here." Alice held her head and shut her eyes again. Trying hard to concentrate.

She focused on imagining Jane across the table, instead of the Hatter. She recalled every detail of Jane that she could. Face, hair, voice, dress. The silence came back in a wave and receded once more. She opened her eyes to see Jane looking at her with a concerned face.

"Alice. Is everything all right?" She whispered, leaning forward.

Alice looked over at her sister and the Prof. They were still engaged in their boring conversation. They hadn't noticed.

"Are you having a headache?"

"Um. No. Thank you but I'm quite alright."

"It doesn't seem like it."

"I just had..." Alice debated in her mind if she should tell Jane of her 'daydreams'. If she was mad, then perhaps she'd best keep them secret, but the look on Jane's face was so surprisingly comforting. She could see sharp focus in those green eyes. Determined understanding. This girl was already analyzing her. Trying to solve what was wrong. She looked intense, but not anxious like earlier. Alice exhaled.

"I had a very strange dream today. It's been bothering me a little. That's all."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

After tea, Jane led Alice into the library, while Lizzie and Prof. Porter continued their dialogue in the parlor. The library was rather humble. A cozy room with two floor to ceiling bookshelves on opposite walls, a rectangular table in the center and one wide window from which poured the calming late afternoon daylight. On the table was one of Jane's sketch books. The two sat on either side and Jane asked Alice to recount the beginning of her dream. With Dinah perched on her shoulder, Alice started explaining how she and her sister were sitting under a tree near the banks of the Isis. How she wandered off and spotted the White Rabbit.

"What did this rabbit look like exactly?"

Jane took her sketchbook and pencil and illustrated as Alice recited his appearance. His pocket watch, waistcoat, spectacles and so on.

"How did you feel when you saw him?"

"Curious". Alice answered. "I wanted to know what he was late for."

"Did you ever find out?"

Alice paused.

"I'm not certain I did, now that I think on it. I suppose a game of croquet". She shrugged.

As Jane was finishing the drawing, Alice noted the various books littering the table. Some scientific works like 'The Voyage of the Beagle' and an encyclopedia of African wildlife. There were also works of fiction like 'The Jungle Book', 'The Moonstone', a collection of poems and stories by Edgar Allan Poe (read often, judging by it's condition) and a penny dreadful with a cover depicting a sinister figure running along a rooftop.

Alice looked over at Jane. Her face was squarely focused on her sketching. Hindered only by the long brown locks of hair that kept falling in front of her face.

Alice stood and ventured round the table to Jane.

"Here, I can help that if you like". She fished a hair tie out from her pocket and gently pulled Jane's hair back into a loose ponytail.

"O-oh. Thank you. Yes, that helps." Just a touch of that timidness crept back into her voice.

Sitting beside her Alice watched the final details come together on the page.

"There! How's this then Miss Alice? Is this your... temporally challenged rabbit?"

The rendering was so uncannily accurate that Alice couldn't help but be taken aback by it.

"Jane, that is... Startlingly perfect."

"Were there many more of these characters in your dream?"

"Very many."

Alice continued to review her adventures in Wonderland while answering Jane's questions about the inhabitants. Jane started jotting down these accounts, explaining that recollection of dreams can be difficult if you wait too long to record them. Though Alice refrained from mentioning any of her 'daydreams', it was never the less a relief getting the majority of her experiences out of her head and onto a page.

"You should fetch me next time you spot the rabbit". Jane jested. "Then we could explore this "Wonderland" together."

Alice smiled. Looking into her eyes, Jane noticed they were a familiar shade of butterfly blue.

"I think I've had enough of that place for now, but I would certainly enjoy your company next time."

Okay this ended up being a longer one. Guess that's what happens when I take so long writing it. I only took one historical liberty in this chapter that I'm aware of. 'The Jungle Book' wasn't published until the 1890's, however I felt pretty justified with that one, considering the fact that Disney's Tarzan actually got that detail wrong first. On the flipside, I believe 'The Moonstone' was published squarely in 1868 so... hooray for occasional accuracy! The main adventure will start in the next chapter. I'll try to get that one out quicker. Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading :)