Alice kept walking, aware that her lack of a good night's sleep was finally catching up to her. Julius walked ahead of her, continuously looking over his shoulder. "Are you okay? Maybe you need to lie down for a moment…"

Alice simply shook her head, and kept putting one foot in front of the other. The night wore on, until the first rays of sunlight were appearing through the painterly trees. Finally, she was unable to resist any longer, and Alice collapsed.

She had no concept of time. Was she asleep for a minute? An hour? And yet, her head was full of confused dreams full of vague images. The only shapes she could make out, however, were Julius and Pete. She wondered to herself whatever had happened to that vicious bear, who had terrorized her and her cat so long ago. Her unconscious musings were interrupted, however, by soft voices talking over her.

"Poor dear! Passed out with exhaustion, you say?" came a soft, grandmotherly voice.

"Yes, Ma'am," said Julius. "She hasn't really slept much, and I asked her if she needed a rest, but…"

Alice stirred and opened her eyes, and took in the surprising scene around her. Gone were the lush Cartoonland forests. She was laid in a gorgeous bed, decked out with the most luxurious blankets that money could buy. She was surrounded by stone walls, hung with lovely, Medieval tapestries.

Julius sat by her side on the edge of the bed, and three short women surrounded them. They all wore nearly identical period outfits: one in red, one in blue, and one in red. However, there was something odd about them. Attached to their shoulder blades were tiny, transparent wings.

"Why, good morning, dear," said the matronly woman in red. "You're safe. You had quite a nice rest, and we've been taking care of you."

The thinnest woman, in the green, giggled breezily, waving her wand to conjure up a plate of appetizing pastries. "I made breakfast!"

"Where were you heading to?" asked the shortest, and youngest, clad in blue.

"I was on my way to a castle," said Alice drowsily, taking the scones from the woman in green. "I was sent by Cinderella's fairy godmother. I don't know where the castle is, but I'm supposed to ask for someone named Flora when I get there…"

The women laughed. "Why, I'm Flora," said the woman in red. "These are my associates, Fauna and Merryweather," she said, introducing the ones in green and blue, respectively. "You're in the castle of Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora."

"We're the princess' fairy godmothers!" chirped Fauna happily.

"And who are you?" asked Merryweather.

"I'm Alice. Is Princess Aurora one of Cartoonland's princesses? You know… the ones with the gems?"

The three fairies gasped. "So…" said Flora, her voice darkening. "You're the one. The one who's supposed to save us from this darkness we've been sensing."

Alice nodded. "Yes. I've already been to see Snow White and Cinderella. Is Aurora one of the three princesses around here?"

Fauna nodded. "You're so young, though, Dear!"

"Why, when Aurora was your age," said Merryweather, "she didn't know there was such a thing as evil! She skipped around the forest, innocent as a babe…"

"And you've been set to stop this whole thing by yourself…" Finished Flora, frowning slightly.

Merryweather scowled. "It's just wrong, is what it is! Why, I don't know what they were thinking, sending a little girl! We have plenty of capable people right here in Cartoonland. Besides, we've all gotten out of scrapes before! The…"

"Merryweather, hush!" said Flora, waving her arms madly. "You mustn't say another word. It is not for us to question their judgment. Besides, we can help her the same way we helped the prince."

Alice frowned. "Help me? What do you mean?"

Flora glanced around, as if making sure there was no chance of being overheard. She leaned in conspiratorially, whispering, "Now, we don't know what's going on in Cartoonland right now, but… it certainly smells familiar…"

Fauna nodded. "We've seen mass chaos before, Dear, and it's usually the same person causing it. Of course, we're not entirely sure this time, but…"

Merryweather sneered, "Oh, not sure, my petticoat! Of course we're sure! It's always her, isn't it? It has to be…"

In unison, the fairies spat, as if it was a horrible swear word, "Maleficent."

Alice's eyes widened. "I've heard that name before! She's having a tea party, or something…."

Flora nodded. "Yes, she has them from time to time. She invites all of the most horrible, evil people in Cartoonland, and they gossip about all sorts of terrible things. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if she were coordinating this whole thing!"

Alice replied, "Has she ever gotten people from my world to work for her before?"

Flora frowned. "No. That's the part that doesn't make sense. But she's the only person I can think of who would do something so evil."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and a young man called, "Aurora? Aurora, are you in there?"

"No, Phillip," called Flora, "But you may come in, if you like!"

The door opened, and a handsome prince strode into the room, a red cap perched on his perfectly groomed, light-brown hair. "I've been looking for Aurora everywhere. Maybe she's gone wandering around the gardens again." The prince sighed. "Oh, hello. Who are you?"

"I'm Alice. Are you married to the princess?"

"Yes…"

"I have to speak with her, it's urgent. Can I help you look for her?"

The prince shrugged. "Sure."

Alice bade goodbye to the three fairies, and followed Prince Phillip out of the castle.

"I'll check the surrounding forests, you check the grounds, alright, Alice?"

Alice nodded, and the Prince dashed off into a copse of trees.

She wandered around for at least an hour, through gorgeous courtyards and lovely orchards, until at last she came to an out-of-the-way rose garden.

There, on the bench, sat a young woman, her blonde hair flowing all around her. She sat on a stone bench, her fabulous pink gown trailing in the dirt. She didn't really seem to mind, and stared at a chipmunk scurrying about on the grass, humming softly to herself.

"Umm… excuse me," said Alice nervously. She wasn't sure how to address the princess. Maybe this was some sort of meditation, and she certainly didn't want to disturb her. "Princess Aurora?"

Suddenly, the princess looked up. "Hmmm? Oh, hello! I'm terribly sorry. I was just daydreaming…. You see, it's quite nice…"

"Oh. Umm… okay. Look, Princess Aurora, I am trying to save Cartoonland, and I need to collect the eight gems of the princesses…"

Aurora gasped. "Oh! Say no more, I'll go fetch mine for you, if you need it!"

Alice blinked. "Aren't I… umm… supposed to earn them or something?"

Aurora returned Alice's confused look. "Oh. Well, maybe. I usually let my fairy godmothers handle these kinds of things for me…. They're so good at royal things. And besides, I have Phillip. Why, I barely have to worry about anything!" The princess laughed good-naturedly, and began to hum a lovely tune to herself.

Suddenly, Phillip ran into the garden, gasping. "Oh, thank goodness you're here! Aurora, my father wants us to attend a royal banquet in your father's honor, and I needed to let you know, so that we could get all of our affairs in order for the journey."

Aurora laughed, "Oh Phillip, the fairies will take care of that! Come and dance with me!"

Alice cleared her throat. "So… what shall I do, then?"

Aurora blinked. "Well, I'm fairly certain that I left my gem in Flora's care. If you're interested, I'm sure that you can earn it from her!"

Alice sighed. "Right… Okay. Goodbye then…" She walked back towards the castle, leaving Phillip to deal with his carefree princess.

The fairies were already waiting by the castle gates. "I knew that Aurora would send you back to us," admitted Flora. "But you still had to talk to her. It's tradition. Besides, we needed time to discuss…"

"Discuss what?" asked Alice.

Merryweather sighed. "We've been thinking… This is a big job, but if you have to do it…"

"We'll protect you," Fauna smiled. "Aurora needs us, but she'll be away with Phillip for the next week or so, so she'll be fine."

"We'll come with you," said Flora, "Until you've done what you have to do next, and then we will reward you with the gem."

"What must I do next?" asked Alice, already expecting the answer.

Merryweather frowned. "We have to go have a little chat with Maleficent."