Alice stretched and yawned, rolling over onto her side. She was greeted by rays of sunlight streaming across her face, warm and welcoming as they filtered through the clear windows of her room. She could have laid there all day, content and happy as could be. Then she remembered she had to save Wonderland, again, and eventually find a way back home.

Swinging her feet over the edge of the bed and standing, she crossed toward the balcony doors and threw them open to let the warm breeze blow in as she changed into a long lavender dress – the back of it laced up like the corsets she never wore, but not nearly as tight. It was pretty, at least, so Alice had no objections. She pulled on a pair of flat white shoes and stepped out onto the balcony, humming slightly to herself.

"And she finally emerges!"

She looked down at the voice and laughed – Mallymkun and Thackery had set up a long table in the gardens, piled with plenty of assorted teapots, teacups, sugar bowls, spoons, and pastries, with chairs of every side. Mirana, Tarrant, Caroline, Nivens, and the Twins all sat in various places around the table, laughing as Thackery ordered them to 'move down' one seat for a clean cup, and attempting to avoid his violent throwing of cups.

"How late did I sleep?" She called.

"Time has no meaning!" The White Queen's voice drifted up, reminding Alice once more that time did not have meaning in Wonderland. She was going to have to remember that. "But it's still morning, if that's what you refer to."

"Come down and join the party Aunt Alice!" Caroline called with a giggle.

"I'll be there in a moment!"

Not daring to disobey her friends, she slipped out of her room and followed the stairs down, heading out into the gardens. She was surprised they were already involved in a party, as they had only broken out of prison yesterday, but she guessed there was no stopping Hatter and the March Hare from their tea, and involving everyone else around them in on the party.

"So is this what they would call the calm before the storm?" Alice asked Mirana quietly, sitting down between her and Hatter.

"Sorry?"

"This. Having fun before I have to go off and fight your sisters."

"Ah. I suppose you could say that. We've got to come up with a way to get into their castle – but getting there without being detected is the first problem. They have their guards all over Wonderland."

"No talking about that at this table!" Thackery nearly screamed, throwing a teacup at Alice. She ducked, laughing.

"Yes, sir." She gave a mock solute before grabbing an already filled cup of tea. Across the table, Caroline had chucked another empty cup in Thackery's general direction.

"Clean cup! Move down!" Hatter called and grabbed Alice, tugging her down another seat, making her drop her cup of tea that she'd just been about to take a sip of.

"Oh no! We're not going through this again! Last time this happened I never did get any tea." Alice said, settling onto the wooden stool that had been the next seat down. "Come to think of it, I've never had any tea at any of your parties – something has always come up!"

"Well then, you must try this tea! Miss. Caroline helped me make it." Hatter announced with a flourish, shoving a teacup toward her. She pretended to make a show of taking a large gulp – it was almost cold, but that was perfectly fine, as it tasted rather wonderful.

"Well, I must say this is the best tea I've ever tasted!"

Mirana laughed softly at Alice's display, sipping daintily on her own cup, full of class as always.

"Mister Hatter told me how you beat the evil jabberwocky, Aunt Alice! Tell me the full story, please?" Caroline asked suddenly, looking at Alice with wide eyes and a pleading look on her face, making it impossible to refuse. She sighed, nodding.

"There's not much to tell really. I just sort of killed it so the White Queen could have her crown back." Alice explained. Caroline blinked at her.

"But Mister Hatter said you cut its head off."

"I did."

"Sounds cool." She grinned. Alice shook her head – Caroline was not a normal child, if she thought decapitation was 'cool'.

"I hardly even knew what I was doing. I'd never handled a sword in my life – I was only hoping it wouldn't come down to me fighting the Red Queen with my bare hands. I wanted to throttle her. No offense." She added the last bit to the woman on her right. The White Queen shrugged.

"None taken. Although, I must say that having you schooled in a bit of self-defense might be a good idea." She glanced on Alice's other side.

"No problem!" Hatter grinned as big as Chessur, grabbing Alice and pulling her from her chair. He was always so forward and pushy with his actions. She found herself a little ways away in a clear spot, facing the Hatter. The others at the table were now watching them with interest.

"What exactly is it we're doing?"

"I'm going to teach you how to defend yourself." He said brightly. It was hard to believe that just the day before he'd looked like some sort of broken man that had been stuck in prison.

"Tarrant, no. I don't want you to hurt yourself. All those cuts -."

"I'll be quite fine, Alice. I won't be harmed by any cuts, nor if you even manage to punch me in the nose." He replied, and Alice looked appalled.

"I would never do such a thing!"

"If you want to defend yourself, you'll have to." He told her. "Now, I want you to try and attack me."

"Hatter -."

"Alice."

She glared at him for a long moment, but all he did was grin at her. She cast a wary glance at the onlookers from the table, letting out a sigh as she finally raised her hands, curled into fists. There was a long pause before she warily stepped closer toward him. He only stood there, watching her intently.

Shutting her eyes, she lunged at him, throwing a punch.

The next thing she knew, the breath had been knocked out of her, and Hatter had her pinned to the cobblestone path. She stared up at him, surprised. He rolled off her, extending a hand to help her up. She accepted, and he tugged her to her feet.

"You can't hurt me Alice. Now try again, and don't shut your eyes. Try to predict the best way to attack, based on how you know I'm going to try to defend myself." Hatter explained, and Alice nodded, before running at him again. This time he grabbed her hand as she had aimed for his chest, and gently shoved her away. It was enough of a push to send her stumbling back. She frowned.

"Try again."

Determined now, Alice silently shifted left, and then right, debating her next move. Going for the chest would result in her pushed back, and toward the face would put her on the ground. Chewing thoughtfully on her lower lip, a sudden smile came to her face. She stepped forward, prepared to hit him.

Her left arm came up, acting as though she were about to hit him. Like she had planned, he reacted too soon, and she was able to duck under his arm as it came up. Her fist contacted with his spine and he stumbled forward, whirling, turning to attack her again. She circled behind him, out of his line of sight and landed another – gentle – hit to his arm. Reacting, his arm came up and hit her in the temple. She winced, disoriented for a moment, but it gave him enough time to turn back around.

"You're doing better. Keep going." Hatter encouraged as he came toward her. This time he attacked first, and she sidestepped him, watching closely his every move. His leg shot out to try and trip her, but she turned, avoiding. His arms came around and grabbed her, pulling her thrashing form back against his body to restrain her. She stomped on his foot – a trick she had learned quite some time ago – and he let go.

Alice turned, only to be slammed to the ground. Hatter pinned her arms on either side of her head, leaning over her with a mad grin.

"Still too slow, Alice."

Thinking of another trick – this one learned from her sister – her knee came up, nailing Hatter in the groin. He rolled off her in pain as the ones at the table laughed, watching Alice get to her feet.

"I know more than what most give me credit for." She said, extending a hand to help him up. He took it and she pulled him to his feet. "Sorry."

"Don't worry." He said, voice several pitches higher. "I'm fine!"

She let out a laugh, pulling him into a tight hug. "You know I would never hurt you on purpose. Now come on, lets finish tea."

. . .

That night, the protection broke.

Alice was awakened by horrific screams in the middle of the night. Suddenly wide awake, she leapt from her bed and pressed against the door – footsteps sounded in the hall, and somewhere, she could hear Caroline screaming.

No. She couldn't let anything happen to her.

She'd just grabbed the handle when the door slammed open – Hatter and Mirana barged in, the door closing behind them. Alice rubbed her nose where the door had come back to hit her.

"What's going on?" She asked, shaking the traces of sleep from her voice.

"The forces of the Queen's. They've raided the castle, and took Caroline." The White Queen said – she was standing there in a sheer white nightgown, looking paler than ever, a worried look on her face. "I feared this would happen. They want to use her as some sort of bait to lure you to them. I just didn't know they'd come so soon – I can't even figure out how they knew she was here . . . ."

"The looking glasses." Hatter muttered, and Mirana looked sharply at him, as if asking why he would suggest such a thing.

"Then lets go. I'm not letting them take her." Alice started toward the door, but Hatter grabbed her, pulling her back, shaking his head.

"No."

"They have my niece!"

Mirana pressed a finger to her lips, signaling her to lower her voice before she spoke.

"We'll get your niece back, but right now we need to get somewhere safer than here. It's only a matter of time before they begin to search for us, and you." She muttered. "We'll have to be quick about it."

"The balcony?" Hatter suggested, keeping a firm grip on Alice to make sure she wasn't about to run off.

"It's the only way out."

"Not really." Mirana murmured. "If I can remember . . . ." She began to cast her gaze around the room, seemingly searching for something. As she continued to explain, Alice listened with interest, watching her begin to move furniture aside. "You see, this was my family's summer residence – the palace the Red Queen lived in was originally our home, and the one the Queen of Hearts sits in was our winter one. Because of wars or other dangers that often broke out, it was essential for each of them to have various tunnels and escapes from most of the rooms in case something happened and the royal family needed to escape."

As she finished, she pulled aside Alice's bed to reveal a trap door in the floor. She smiled triumphantly, pulling open the door – a long ladder extended down.

"I'll go first. Alice, you follow – Hatter, before you come down, pull the bed back over the top, so they won't find this." She instructed in her usual airy tone and Hatter nodded, extending a hand to help the White Queen down the latter. Mirana thanked him quietly, descending into the ground. Hatter offered his hand to Alice next, who followed suit in climbing down the ladder. It was a few seconds before she heard the sound of the bed being pulled back, and then the light from above disappeared, leaving them in total darkness. Alice took a deep breath to calm her shaking nerves, and continued to climb.

This was utterly ridiculous. She could have gotten Caroline, but Mirana and Hatter both insisted keeping her safe. She supposed it was the smart thing to do – they could go sneak into the other palace and get Caroline out, but Alice was worried what they would do to her in the meantime. And the whole reason they had her niece, was to get her to come to them. She wasn't sure it was wise to give them what they wanted, but it was the only option.

"Queen Mirana!"

The familiar voice echoed from below as Alice descended the last few rungs on the ladder. She was surprised to see Mirana standing with Mallymkun, Thackery, Nivens, and the Twins, all completely unharmed.

"Hello. Glad you all made it out safely. Took the tunnel from the garden, I'm guessing?"

"Thankfully Nivens here remembered about them when you told him." Mallymkun said.

"So where - -."

" - - do we go from here?" The twins asked.

"To get my niece." Alice said firmly, and Mirana sighed.

"To somewhere safe where we can come up with something to do there. Follow me, if you please." Even in the dark, the Queen seemed to radiate white, so they followed her outline in the dark. Hatter had taken Alice by the hand and she had only just noticed, so she let it be – he was obviously concerned about protecting her.

"I hope she's safe." Alice murmured. Hatter gave her hand a comforting squeeze in reassurance.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. She's brave."

"But she can't fight back against two Queens who are the most sadistic people I've ever met." Alice replied, looking up at Hatter's outline in the dark. Although she couldn't see his face, she could feel his gaze on her.

"They won't hurt her – not if they're trying to get you to come to them. They know you won't come unless she's alive."

"How do they know what I'll do? It's quite ridiculous they know all of this about me, and I've only heard stories." She muttered. It was true – apparently everyone knew more about her than she knew about them, which was frankly, just annoying.

"Well, there was another part -."

"We're here!" Mirana announced sharply, cutting across Hatter. Alice waited for him to continue, but he didn't. She frowned and turned her attention to the wall in front of them, surprised to find no trap door or ladder, but a large mirror that spanned the length of the wall. It seemed to radiate its own light, so she could see the glossy surface, and their outlines reflected in it.

"A mirror?" Alice asked aloud – no one else seemed confused by it.

"Tarrant, Alice has never traveled by a looking glass before – help her please." Mirana said and Hatter nodded.

"Travel by looking-glass?" She asked, turning toward Hatter. "What?"

"Looking glasses are very dangerous to travel by, but in situations they can be used. Looking glasses in Wonderland are linked together in pairs – like this one will lead to whatever safe place had been set up by the royal family. Others might link certain houses, or areas together for shorter travel – not many people use them anymore." He explained quickly – all the while, Mirana was standing so close to the mirror, that the words she was murmuring silently were making breath on the glass.

"What's she doing?"

"There are little incantations that are used to open them, and there's only a certain one that will open this one." He replied. "It's a very jarring ride, so I need you to hang on tightly, all right?"

Alice nodded, looking back toward the mirror – it seemed to be glowing brighter now, and Mirana had disappeared. She watched with interest as Mallymkun – clinging to Chessur's fur; he'd appeared from nowhere – jumped through the mirror, disappearing into the glass. The twins followed, each holding a wriggling Nivens or Thackery. Hatter stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Alice tightly, as if he were hugging her. She mirrored his actions, and they jumped.

She felt like she was falling, the Hatter being her only anchor. She looked around – wild colors swirled around them, making her dizzy and sick all at once. She could see the others floating through the same strange place up ahead, but turning her head to get a better look made her even sicker.

"Try not to look." She heart Hatter say and could only bury her face back into his chest, inhaling his scent. Oddly enough, he smelled faintly of peppermint and something else she couldn't place, but she decided she liked the smell, and would rather face it than the dizzying colors flying about them.

There was a bit of a bump and a jolt before she was suddenly standing back on solid ground. She pulled away and looked around – they were standing on the edge of a cliff – just the tips of the castle were visible in the distance. She realized the small cliffs were the ones that she had seen when first arriving to Wonderland – the pond she'd come through was just below her.

She turned away after a moment, cheeks turning red when she still realized she was clinging to Hatter. She took a step back before silently heading toward the White Queen, who was turned back toward the mirror, murmuring something else to its smooth surface.

"What now?"

The Queen looked at her.

"We need a plan."

"I vote we leave Alice out of that one. Last time I had to wear a dress." Chessur muttered, floating lazily across the air. Alice threw him a glare, but he only grinned.

"I just know we have to save my niece. If I can get rid of your sisters in the process, then great. Let's do it." She said firmly.

Mirana and Tarrant exchanged a look, one that Alice didn't miss. She frowned.

"There's something you're not telling me." She said aloud. "What is it you're not telling me?"

Mirana sighed softly. "Alice, it's a long story."

"Tell me." She insisted, folding her arms across her chest.

"Let's get to the oracle first, and he'll tell you. He's got something we need anyway." Hatter said, placing a hand on Alice's shoulder. She looked at him warily, but nodded.

"Let's go."