Authors Note: So I take back what I said in the beginning of the story. I am going to have the queen in the story because she's been so fixed into the show that it conflicts with how I was originally going to create this story.
He staggers out of the maze on clumsy feet. He has the pins and needles feelings shooting up his spine but all he can think about is finding her. That and the fact that never has oxygen tasted as good as it does now. The old man with the kart finds him crazy (and he wouldn't be surprised if he isn't a little bonkers by now) but he's so desperate for water he doesn't care. That's when he runs into the path of Vermin and Earl, two ruffians from his thieving days in Wonderland. Will plays along that Alice "caught them by surprise" instead of the more likely scenario that they were hoping for an easy snatch and ended up getting their butts kicked by a little girl. But at least they are able to point him in the direction of said companion.
He hates the black forest. Why can't Alice take the easy road just once in her bloody life? It's another reason he both loves and hates her (but mostly loves, he could never truly hate Alice.) He comes into a clearing that reeks of poppies and…. happiness? If happiness even had a smell. (He would like to think it smells a lot like Alice's hair but quickly shakes that thought away.) Suddenly she pops up out of nowhere, like a daisy, and runs towards him with a smile on her face. It feels good having her in her arms but he can tell something is wrong. This is not his (never his, she's Cyrus's) Alice. He never realized the true unhappiness she went through after Cyrus left but seeing her now, without a worry in the world, is unnatural. He wants her to be happy, that's why he's helping her, but not like this. Not with some spell or poison bringing her fake happiness. Even in her clouded state though, she has the fighting tactics of a warrior. The only way to bring her around is to remind her of her dreams, of what real happiness looks like. So he tells her about his heart, hoping that maybe she'll see past this fog and realize that he cares for her the only way his empty chest knows how. But it takes memories of Cyrus to get her out of the bloody forest. (It's another reminder that he will never be enough for her.)
He's still there to pick up the pieces of her heart as she comes too. It hurts to see her in pain but it's even worse to know that she's never had the chance to be truly happy in the first place. If anyone deserves to be happy it's Alice. He tries to distract her by saying thank you. He really did not want to spend the rest of his days adorning the queen's lawn. But learning that Anastasia is the one that saved him is troubling. Alice looks so hopeful, like the thought of Anna and him together is the greatest idea in the world. (It only brings him grief because it already failed once and even with his heart back in place it would belong to Alice, only Alice.) But he knows that Alice just wants him to be happy too, it's one of her fatal flaws, and true happiness can only be felt with a heart. He sees the look in her eyes when she asks where it is. The thought of another adventure after they find Cyrus, by then he'll be long gone. It's already late for him and Anna he wants to explain to her but when her pendent starts glowing he realizes it's already too late for him and Alice as well.