Chapter Nine: Alice meets the Prince
The next morning Alice woke up rested. The bed the white knight had given her was the most comfortable thing she had ever slept on. Alice sat up and to her surprise saw Peter standing by the window in his human form. She had not seen him as a human for a long time and he had changed. He was no longer a skinny 11 year old boy, but a handsome and muscular 18 year old man. Alice stared at him 'there is no way that is Peter' she thought, but he still had his rabbit ears and tail so it must be him. He had not notice her wake up he was lost deep in thought. Alice did not want to disturb him so she just lay back down on the comfy bed and stared at him. After a few minutes he noticed her gaze and walked over to her. He was not wearing a shirt and Alice could see all the scars he had across his back and chest. Alice gasped she had not realized just how bad his injuries were to leave so many scars. Peter noticed her staring and he chuckled. "Good morning sleepy head did you sleep well last night." Alice sighed she remembered that the human form of Peter was much nicer than his rabbit form. His voice had changed too it was no longer the innocent voice of a child but the voice of a man.
Alice found Peter some cloths in the closet in their room they fit him nicely. They walked down the stairs to the kitchen for some food everyone was there but the white knight who had gone out to catch some food for supper. They were all surprised to see Peter in his human form, none of them had seen him use it since he had been under the power of the red queen.
Alice and Peter joined their friends at the table and he was filled in on what he had missed while he was an injured rabbit. "So we are at the home of the white knight I remember hearing stories about him when I was little my nanny used to tell me all kinds of stories. Her favorite one to tell me was about the white queen and king. It was a story of love and sadness. My favorite of all her stories were the ones about the white knight. He was a great hero who protected wonderland. He was loyal to the royal family and stood up for all the animals of the kingdom. After I grew too old for a nanny I was told stories by the castle guards they always talked about the battles of the red and white knight. I loved those stories, but somehow I thought they weren't true just stories made up for my entertainment. Then when I was old enough to work the red queen made me her page, and the guards stopped telling me stories. I thought nothing of it for the red queen was the one who had taken me on when I was orphaned, I felt like I owed her. That was before I learned the truth about her." "You grew up in that castle Peter?" asked Alice in surprise, "You never told me that I just assumed that you were there as the queens prisoner. So if the red queen's castle was your home then why did they put you in the dungeon?" "For helping you I suppose and for sneaking out all the time and warning my friends about her plans. I guess she just got tired of me putting up a fight." Said peter everyone looked at him just as surprised as Alice. They had been his friend for so long that none of them had ever bothered to ask why he lived at the castle. Alice spoke again "so it is my fault you were beaten so badly. It is my fault you have all those scars" said Alice about to cry. "No it is not your fault" he said holding her close so she would stop crying "A lot of those scars are from before I met you and the rest were all my doing. It is not your fault Alice and don't you ever think that way again." Alice stopped crying but Peter still held her close. She was no longer hungry and went back up to her room. She had never thought about Peter's past before she had met him. It was kind of sad that he never knew his parents and that he had been abused by the red queen since he was a child, maybe that is why he is so nice to people when he is a human and so mean as a rabbit. Alice was so deep in thought that she did not notice Peter walk in. "Are you all right Alice, you seemed a little upset earlier is something wrong." "No, I'm okay now sorry for worrying you." Said Alice, Peter gave her a big smile and she blushed. He sat down on the bed next to her and they started talking.
Meanwhile downstairs the others were cleaning up from breakfast when the White Knight came home. He brought a huge deer home for dinner. The Mad Hatter and the March Hare helped him clean and prepare it for dinner while the dormouse went to the woods to fetch fire wood while Chess went to the well to fetch water. Everyone was so busy they did not notice the absence of Alice and Peter. They stayed up in there room and talked for about two hours when they smelled something delicious and walked down stairs to see what was cooking. They found Chess coming in from the back with water and the dormouse carrying logs and putting them by the fire place. The Hatter and Hare were still in the kitchen cooking and the white knight was out back roasting the deer on an open flame.
Alice decided she would help set the table and Peter helped as much as he could for he could still not lift anything heavy because he was still too weak. After the places were set and the fire was blazing in the fire place they sat down and waited for the food to finish cooking. Alice was thirsty so she poured herself some tea. When the food was finally ready the Hatter and Hare brought the food from the kitchen while Chess and the dormouse went out to help the Knight with the deer.
While the Hare was placing some bread on the table he accidentally spilled Alice's tea all over Peter. He went upstairs to change while Alice cleaned up the mess. It took Peter a long time to find another set of cloths that actually fit him, and by the time he came down the stairs the table was completely set and everyone was seated. He took his place next to Alice and everyone began eating. The food was delicious and everyone ate their fill. After supper everyone helped clean up. Alice and Peter washed the dished, Hatter and Hare cleared the table, Chess swept and the dormouse washed the table. They insisted that the do all the work because the white knight was old and he had so graciously allowed them to stay. After dinner was all cleaned up they went to bed, because it had been abnormally dark that evening and they were out of wood for the fire.
The next morning everyone got up and they had breakfast. They let the old knight sleep in because he had gotten up so early to go hunting the day before. They saved him some breakfast and decided to go and start on the daily choirs. The dormouse and hare went to fetch wood, the hatter fetched the water, Alice stayed inside and cleaned, and chess and Peter went fishing for that night's dinner. When the Knight finally got up and had his breakfast most of the choirs were already done. The only ones left to return were Chess and Peter with the fish. While they were waiting they decided to talk to the white knight about the white prince.
"So you want to know about the white Prince, well I am afraid I no longer know where he is. He was a baby when I last saw him. That was about 18 years ago; I still lived in the white queen's castle. After her death and the red queen was crowned. She did not know about the young prince's existence for all but the few who knew the white queen well were told that the baby had died. I continued to live there with the child for about a year. That is when the red knight came he bested me for the spot as the royal knight and I was sent from the castle. I had to leave the prince behind in the care of someone I trusted. For all I know the boy still lives at the castle." When the white knight had finished his story Alice got up and served them all tea. They sat and drank their tea all the while asking the white knight to tell them about all his adventures.
Chess and Peter arrived after fishing most of the day they had caught enough for dinner for the next two nights. They still had time before dinner and Alice remembered that Peter had never been properly introduced to the white knight. "White knight I would like to properly introduce you to Peter" Alice called into the next room for Peter he walked out and went over to where Alice was talking to the knight. "This is Peter" as Alice said this Peter came into view the white knights eyes grew wide and he could not speak. "Are you all right sir, do you need to sit down?" asked Peter he helped the old knight into a chair. He just stared at Peter never speaking a word. Upon hearing the commotion the others walked into the room to inquire what had happened. Alice did not know she was a little concerned for the old knight. He still had a hold of Peters arm and was staring at him. It kind of freaked Peter out but he was a kind person so he said nothing.
After about five minutes of silence the old knight finally spoke. "White hair, sparking blue eyes …" his voice trailed off and be came to soft to hear. After another few minutes of silence the old knight let go of Peters arm, stood and walked upstairs. He returned a few minutes later with a picture. It was of the white night holding a baby. "This is the prince you are looking for, here take a look." He set the large painting down on the table Alice gasped the baby had fluffy white ears and looked a lot like… but it couldn't be, how did we not know. Alice's mind raced with questions she looked from the painting to Peter and back again it was Peter she was sure. Everyone else gasped when she told them. Peter was silent he need time to think so when he got the opportunity he went up to his room.
After about an hour or so everyone had regained their composure and they began to discuss what to do. It had been their plan to ask the prince how to defeat the red queen but it was pretty obvious that this plan no longer worked. They were at a loss for what to do. While they were all arguing about what to do Alice slipped away and went upstairs to find Peter. He was in there room lying on his bed. He looked deep in thought he was turned away from her facing the window. "Are you okay?" Alice asked she walked in and closed the door she light the lamp next to her bed. Peter did not reply he just continued to stare out the window. Alice walked around so that she could see his face. Moonlight was streaming in through the window and illuminated his face. Alice could see he was crying. It broke her heart to see him in such pain he was her closest friend and she needed to comfort him.
Alice sat down on the bed beside him. She put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. He continued to cry silently but he turned to face her. "I'm sorry for crying I can't help it" he finally said, he wiped the tears from his eyes and continued "I often looked up at the stars when I was a child. I thought that stars were people we had lost; I would look up hoping to see my parents whom I had never known. I still look up at the stars in the hope that one day when I die I'll be a star too and I can see my parents. I know it's a childish hope, but now that I finally figured out who they were I thought I could find them." Alice gave him a smile "I don't think it's childish. When my father died I used to look out at the stars, I would pick the brightest one and I would talk to it like it was my father's way of looking down on me." Peter looked at Alice he had never asked about her family before or what her life was like in her world. He felt so ashamed having only talked about himself for the past few days.
"What is your family like Alice? You know all about me and my family, yet I know nothing of yours." Alice was glad that he was feeling better, she told him about her late father and his company, about how her mother was always concerned about Alice not wasting her life. She told him about her sister and her husband and how they were very happy together; she even talked about her cat Diana and how she loved to chase mice. Peter looked happy, he watched Alice as she talked about her world and everything in it. Peter really looked at Alice for the first time since she had returned. She had gotten so beautiful and had grown into a proper woman. A smile crept across his face; why had he not seen it before; he leaned over and kissed Alice.
Alice was surprised she was not expecting him to kiss her. "I'm sorry Alice I shouldn't have done that" said Peter a little embarrassed. "That's alright Peter I don't mind." She really did not mind, the kiss made her feel happy, she had not been this happy in a long time. She leaned over and kissed him back. It was Peters turn to look surprised. Alice pulled away and saw that Peter had a large grin across his face. Then they started giggling they looked at each other and the embraced in a hug. "Thank you Alice" Peter said when he finally stopped laughing "What for?" Alice asked, Peter replied "For showing me what it is to be loved." Alice blushed she did not know what to say instead she just snuggled in closer to him and kissed him again. They stayed in their room for the rest of the night everyone decided that it was time to go to bed.
Alice woke up the next morning still in Peters arms they had fallen asleep that way. Not wanting to wake him she gentle untangled herself from his arms. She had slept in her cloths and she really needed a bath. She found a spare dress in the wardrobe she laid it out on her bed and went to the wash room the she heated up some water and had a bath. She wrapped herself in a large towel and walked back into her room Peter was still asleep so Alice started to dress not bothering to get behind the privacy curtain. She put on her stockings and petticoat. Next she put on the dress it was a blue riding dress that came down to her knees with white ruffles along the bottom. Alice was having trouble getting the buttons done on the back of the dress when she felt a second pair of hands. They helped with the last of the buttons and Alice turned around to see Peter standing there. "Thank you Peter" she said not knowing how long he had been awake. Seeing the embarrassment on her face he said "I didn't see anything I was asleep, I woke up to see you struggling with your dress so I decided to make myself useful." Alice believed him, but she still blushed. He leaned over and gave her a kiss then grabbed his own cloths and went to the wash room for a bath. He returned thirty minutes later washed and full dressed. They were the first ones awake so Alice decided to get started on breakfast and Peter went to the well to fetch water. By the time he got back everyone was awake and breakfast was ready. They all ate thanking Alice for making it. After they were done eating the others insisted on cleaning up so Alice and Peter went for a walk. They walked hand in hand down to the lake. They felt peaceful and were able to forget about their troubles and just be with each other. They walked along for a while and then headed back to the house.
When they got back the cleaning was done and everyone was seated around the table for tea. Alice and Peter sat down at the table and listened in on the conversation that was going on. "We have to train for combat so we will be prepared when we fight the red queen" Said Chess who was sharpening his claws. "If we are the only ones fighting then we don't have a chance so what is the point" said the dormouse. "We need to start a revolt then, there are lots of wonderlanders that hate the queen" said the Hatter "How are we supposed to do that no one will stand up to against her they are too scared" said the Hare. "We need to get word out that Alice has returned they will follow the chosen one." Said Chess "Yes but Alice has never led an army before and not everyone knows of the prophesy" said the dormouse. "I'll lead the army I have battle experience. I learned from the guards at the castle when I was young. Not to mention I am their lost prince and the rightful heir to the throne" said Peter. Everyone stared at him they did not know what to say. No one could argue that if the people would not follow the chosen one than they would follow their prince. It was agreed that they would all start training and Chess would go around to the wonderlanders spreading the news. The date was set for two months from that day. That would give them plenty of time to train and organize their troops.
Authors Note: This chapter has a lot of small twists in it which I love. Sorry it is kinda long winded I got carried away. I hope you like it the next chapter is my favorite. Please for reading
