Introduction: Here we go. Chapter 4 to 'The Chronicles of Wonderland'. I hope you all enjoy reading! Please Review if you do. [And if you don't.] :D
P.S.: I realize that the chapters are a bit short; therefore, the next chapter, shall probably be a bit longer.. However, please bear with me, as I cannot let a chapter go on too long and become boring or tangled. I hope it works out. :)

Disclaimer: As always, in great sadness, I admit that I do not own anything. All rights preserved.

Summary: Alice's return was exactly as she thought it'd be, boring and agitating: except for one thing.

Her home-coming party had been exactly as she imagined, and nothing as she liked. Lots of people, white lace on the tables, immense piles of food that was going to be thrown away in the evening for no one could ever eat it all, and the requirement to look her best, which was always a torture for Alice.

Her uncle was ecstatic, of course, as she explained the success of her mission to him. His wife merely glanced at her, enough for Alice to know that she did not approve of her new lifestyle as merchant. Her mother had been pleased to see her, and less pleased to discover what she wore. Her sister talked about nothing else than marriage, of course, which was horrible. The only funny moment of the party was when she noticed her brother-in-law getting cozy with yet another girl, and she was able to startle him and warn him so frightfully, that she thought he'd put cheating out of his mind for now. All she wanted, though, was to return to the rabbit hole and find Underland once again. Her heart ached for it, and her fidgeting grew worse by the minute as she was forced to exchange all these 'pleasantries'.

Alice was glad she had her uncle. He was the only one who understood her. Knowing the story of Wonderland very well, he had not a hard time at all believing it existed for real, nor a problem with keeping it a secret. All he wished, was that he would once visit it himself, which Alice sadly could not promise. She promised him, though, that she would try her best to find a way, to show him Underworld one day.

She even let him read Chessur's letter. She still grinned as she thought of the Queen's discomfort, when she would learn Chessur had left her a message, fully against her cautioning. The letter itself, though, nearly brought her to tears every time she read it.

"My dearest Alice. I hope this letter reaches you, and it will not confound you with fantasies. My hopes lie in the book you carry, and in your ability to read swiftly.

We all miss you terribly. I wish you all the happiness in the world, for I will only be happy with the best life you could lead, since you couldn't lead it with us. For the rest, most of us have continued their normal day-to-day business, though the Queen has ordered a beautiful sculpture of you be built and placed in the Palace Gardens, so that none may forget the Hero who was doomed to forget us. Don't blame yourself, dear. It's the magic of Underland, that forced any one of the Lands Above to forget everything when they leave, to evade invasion of the human kind and destruction of Wonderland. Even so, in your case, I wish the magic could have made an exception.

Myself, I cannot stop hoping you will one day find your way back to us, as you did before. I am probably the only one who still thinks about you daily, except of course the Hatter. I even went as far as to peek into your world once every day, through the rabbit hole, to hear any news of you. When I heard you were coming back, and a conversation between your aunt and uncle informed me that you remembered, I snuck in and hid this letter in one of his, hoping it would reach you.

The Hatter hasn't continued living on, I'm afraid. Along with you, his lust to live has left him. He only sleeps, or lies awake without doing anything, and thinks of you. He cannot live without you, dear Alice. Do I have to tell you he loves you, or did you find out yourself? I'd almost say dimwitted stupid girl, but then I'd sound like Absolem. I'm already leaving myself behind by writing a letter of this sort to you, so please let me be. I miss you. May we meet again soon.

With the Hatter's broken heart, which has been yours from the beginning, I send you all my love and hope, and that of the rest, too.

Fairfarren, Alice.. Chessur."

She had laughed, cried, shouted and thrashed when she read that letter for the first time. When finally Chessur's words had sunk in a bit, she just lay on the bed, crying, from happiness or sadness she did not know. If the Hatter loved her, he was truly mad. But he was truly mad, so it must be so, then! This revelation kindled her longing for Underworld to the point where she jumped off her bed, grabbed her book in her arms and her successfully hidden vial with Jabberwocky potion in her pocket, and ran out of the house, past her uncle who was flabbergasted.

"How could a flying cat have left a letter for Alice.. And I hadn't noticed it?" Alice heard him mumble, but she paid no attention to it. Her mind was only upon the Hatter, and she nearly flung herself towards him, towards the Rabbit Hole, only to be caught by the rest of her family.

Her mother, her sister, and her aunt were all appalled by her discontent behavior. They said she should be glad to be home, that she would never leave on such a journey again, for look at what it did to her! Alice did not hear half of the nonsense that was coming out of their mouths, only waiting for an opportunity to leave and find her home and her heart in the rabbit hole at last.

Though, when she finally saw a way to sneak off from her family, and was already beginning to hurry towards her rabbit hole; unfold the handkerchief that held the potion to take her home, wrapping her book with the letter tighter under her arm. And then her heart skipped a beat. For in her exact direction, she noticed her Underworld friends, all packed together, in her garden. With her sister walking towards them. With a cry, she began to hurry in their direction as well.

And suddenly, as easy as the wind, Absolem was beside her. While everyone panicked, he made everything alright. Instead of exchanging greetings, Alice whispered to him in a hurry.

"Tell everyone to keep their mouths shut! Animals are not supposed to talk in my world. Tell the Queen to take the lead and the rest to be silent!"

Absolem, who apparently was also not in his usual state, obeyed at once and departed with a murmured I missed you, stupid girl. Alice smiled to herself as she ran for dear life, ran to be quicker than her sister. She reached the party, and found to her utter relief that instead of excited greetings, they were all silent. Her sister, who had just started to ask the queen what they were doing here, shot a quizzical look at Alice.

"What are they?" she asked rudely enough. Alice bit back a snappy remark and shot a glance at Chessur, who had hidden himself behind the rest for the moment because he could fly, desperate to find an answer. She could not simply tell her sister these were the characters from her book, "The Chronicles of Wonderland", who had come to visit her and take her back to their home, Wonderland? The Cat stared back at her, winking and grinning his usual grin at her to mask his own fear. Alice stuttered and spluttered, and then suddenly she knew the right thing to say.

There, finit! Next chapter will be called 'Tea Party.' You know what [I] you want.. Review!

~Chirachi