[A/N: say whaaat?! Two posts in one week after being MIA forever?! It's a miracle! Okay, this is short once again, but the good thing is, you'll still be confused! Wait, woah, that's not good. Okay, the ACTUAL good thing is that you will be receiving some answers after this chapter. The next one should actually fill in and not make everyone baffled. With a heavy heart, it will be a painful chapter when I post it up. I figured I would give ya'll a chapter in advance before the heartache that will come. As always, constructive criticism and love are welcome and I hope you all enjoy!]

As my conscious began to surface once more, I let out a small groan. That was the weirdest dream ever, I thought to myself as I curled up beneath the blankets I was cocooned in. I was not thrilled to tell Sherlock about the vivid dream I had had, but I wanted to say something to someone and he was the only person I trusted. Hushed voices were in the distance and I cracked my eyes open to see who was with my fiancé. I wasn't in my room and Sherlock was not here.

"Oh no," I whined out before pulling the covers up over my head. "This can't be happening, this is a dream! Why am I still here?" I quietly ranted to myself before I poked my head back out of the blankets. Sebastian, the man that brought me here and another man I didn't know were looking right at me now that I had announced I was awake. I slowly sat myself up and the stranger took off with a short nod. "What is going on? Where am I?" I croaked out in as demanding of a voice as I could muster. Sebastian smirked as he sauntered over and sat at the edge of the bed.

"Well, Alyce. You got bit by a prowler about five days ago and have now just woken up. As for the where, you're in the Kingdom of Hearts darling," he said in a cocky manner. I rolled my eyes as I sat up more and looked at my left arm. It was completely healed and I couldn't help but gape at that.

"Wow," I breathed out while twisting my arm around to see if there was even scarring. Absolutely nothing. It looked as if I never even got attacked. "So, this isn't a dream?" I asked as I looked up. My head began to pound again and I couldn't help wincing and rubbing at where it hurt.

"Well, you might have been while you were under, but your sorry ass is awake now." The blonde retorted. "Also, if you ever decide not to bow to the king again, you may not be so lucky. He was nice this time, but I've seen heads roll for less than that." I gave a snort and ran my fingers through my messy, tangled hair.

"Good to know, if he wants me dead he would have killed me as soon as I walked in. I'm not terrified. Now what does a girl have to do to get clean around here? I need to get this dirt and grime off me." I twisted around and threw my legs off the bed, grimacing when I saw I was in a nightgown in sky blue now. Well at least I wasn't in dirty clothes, but I can safely say I'm not pleased to have my dagger missing.

"Bathroom is that set of double doors to the right. You can clean up there. After you're done, the closet is the door to your left. I'll be outside the room." Sebastian said in a relaxed tone before standing up and striding out of the bedroom. I quickly rushed off to the bathroom and used the loo to begin while taking in the gorgeous massive on suite. It was white marble tile and gray countertops. In the left corner was a massive claw foot tub and beside that was a rack with blood red towels draped over it. I quickly filled up the bath and began scrubbing myself clean with something that smelled like roses and dried off just as fast. I towel dried my hair and walked out to go to the closet, letting out a low whistle at the large walk in. It seemed that this world was still somewhat modern which was nice, but everything had a corset with it, not that I was going to complain. I pulled on a pair of undergarments then found some thick black tights, a skirt that flared out in black, a crimson off the shoulder blouse and a black underbust corset. I then pulled on a pair of black heels with white lining and a deep red bottom that looked like a sexy version of Mary Jane pumps. With a satisfied nod I went back to the bathroom to do my makeup and hair, opting for a cat eye with a soft smokey eyeshadow and put on red lipstick to make everything come together. I then quickly curled my hair and put everything away where I had found it, pleased that everything I needed was even there. I opened the door to the exit and smiled as I saw Sebastian.

"I am good to go. Take me to your leader," I snorted quietly at my own joke and happily followed Seb as he walked away in a brisk motion. He never spoke of how I wasn't terrified of Jim, and I preferred it that way. He didn't need to know how I personally knew the man outside of my dreams. At least… I think this is still a dream…

I walked quietly behind Sebastian, the click of my heels the only thing making any noise around us. Where was everyone anyway? It seriously seemed as if no one resided here other than that one man that took off in a hurry once I awoke. I pursed my lips and straightened my back up as we walked into a large dining area. The table itself was monstrous and made of what I assumed to be live oak. The chairs were all lined down the sides and huge with red cushioning, only one seat was drawn up at the front and was taken by none other than the king of hearts himself. I let out a small snort. What a drama king is more like it. James perked his head up as we made our entrance, once again Sebastian kneeled while I just stood still, staring right at him as if to dare him to try something with me. He gave me a lopsided grin that made my stomach do flip flops and stood up, clapping his hands together once.

"Thank you Sebby, you may leave. My sweet little Alyce and I have much to talk about." His voice was quiet and commanding, holding nothing but authority in tone. I glanced over to see Seb nod stiffly before briskly walking away, leaving me with the man I never thought I would see again. He seriously couldn't be more handsome with his black hair swept back perfectly and his dark eyes mischievously taking in my appearance. "My God you look ravishing. Remind me to keep your wardrobe supplied with reds, it looks glorious on you." As he spoke he walked toward me, swaying with a predators gait. The man himself was dressed in all black with a blood red tie which was the only thing of color on him. I took in a slow breath through my nose as he stopped right before me. He was so attractive to me and so far one of the few people here that was somewhat hospitable to me. He held out his hand and I gently placed my fingers against his cool skin. "How about we get you some food and talk?" He asked while leading me down by where he had been sitting previously. James pulled out one of the massive chairs for me and I quietly sat down, surprised that this man could even be a gentleman in my dreams when he's a notorious criminal no matter what scenery he was in. He once again took his seat at the head of the table and perched his elbows up so he could prop his head in his hands. In an instant someone came out and sat food right in front of me. Everything smelled so delicious; breakfast pies, toast with an odd looking jam slathered atop it, eggs mixed with potatoes and what looked to be bacon. Needless to say my stomach gurgled in excitement, having not ate anything since I got to this place, I couldn't help diving into the food. A satisfying moan escaped my lips to which Moriarty chuckled at. "Alright, Alyson, I need to hear everything that has happened so far. How did you get here? Where have you been?" I paused in the stuffing of my face and looked at him seriously.

"To be honest," I said after swallowing what I had been chewing up. "I don't know how I got here. I woke up on the ground in the middle of the night with a massive headache, then went into the woods to see if I could find anyone. Ran into… Well, I ran into several people, none of which were very kind for the most part… Then, I ran into that wolf thingy, uhm, a prowler is what Sebastian called it. After that we came here and well, that's about it. I'm still pretty positive this is a dream though." I voiced my opinion at the end as I took another bite of the eggs and potatoes while shrugging. James let out a loud laugh and shook his head.

"Sweetheart, you're in no dream. Wonderland is dangerous and you're damn lucky that Sebby found you before that little critter could gobble you right up." He chomped his teeth together like a dog snapping and gave me a wink. I rolled my eyes in return for his sassy remark and took a sip of something that tasted like a sickly sweet wine.

"So, tell me how this isn't a dream?" I asked in a serious manner. I was beginning to waver. Maybe I hadn't been right.

"Alyson, you've been missing for quite some time. Years in fact. Everyone in wonderland has been searching for you and out of the blue you just pop back up. What makes you think it's a dream?" He inquired of me back in that attractive Irish lilt that I had come to adore. My head began to ache once again as I attempted to think of why this didn't seem real. This was a fairy tale, it had to be. Yet, every time I tried to recall what had been going on before I appeared here my mind became foggy. I grimaced and shook my head.

"I-I don't know… I swear I was somewhere else before here, but I can't remember anything… Just hurting when I saw Sher- the mad hatter staring at me as if I were the enemy… It's driving me insane not knowing." I quietly whispered out while nudging the last of my food around on my plate with the fork. Why couldn't I remember anymore? James stood up and came to my side, placing one of his hands against my cheek so he could get a better look into my eyes.

"The reason the hatter looked at you that way is because to him, you are the enemy. We have a long history together, but you have one with him as well, before we even met in fact. There had been a war and you were fighting by my side. The problem is, as the battle ensued, you went missing. I've been sending patrols out for you ever since, but eventually it had to dwindle down with the thought that you may not be alive anymore. We can talk more on this subject later, right now, you need to come with me to the village. Many people have been hoping you would return."

It was an interesting thing to see, the notorious James Moriarty riding horseback, looking quite regal while my own mare trotted beside him. We had continued talking, mostly it was him recalling memories of a past that I couldn't for the life of me remember. It was as if everything about me from wherever I had been was just gone, sucked into an abyss of no return. The crappy part was whenever I tried to think about it, my stupid migraine would return in retaliation. We eventually came up to a clearing that had a rather decent sized village in it. Little homes crowded the area and as we made it to the center there was a plethora of shops with a massive fountain in the middle. Everyone had apparently been out, hustling and bustling about in everyday life and chatting happily to one another. It became eerily silent as we came to a halt, all eyes on the two of us. I could feel my heart hammering in my chest as I looked around at all of the foreign and somehow familiar faces. Then, before I could even open my mouth to speak, people began cheering and running up to both the king of hearts and I. That's when it dawned on me, maybe I was wrong. Maybe this isn't a dream and maybe I was right where I needed to be.