Chapter 10

Alice woke up to a very loud and panicked voice.

"Oh dear Lord, Alice! We thought you were getting ready!"

Alice shot up in bed, seeing Karen already dressed and fussing about the room. Karen saw that Alice was awake, and practically pulled her out of the bed. "Come on, Alice! You cant be late for your own wedding!" She pulled Alice to the vanity and sat her down and began brushing her hair. "Oh, your mother will send me packing if she knew I let you sleep in this late!"

Alice glanced at the time through the reflection; she had slept in over two hours. Still, she could not find it within herself to panic. She was still depressed over how the one-sided conversation with Absolem went last night, and hadn't the will to even get dressed for the day, let alone get up from bed.

Karen finished brushing the tangles out of Alice's hair and helped Alice out of her nightgown and into the wedding dress. Alice slid on her shoes and let Karen pull her out of the house and into a waiting carriage.

Alice numbly saw that it was a cloudy day out, with the very likely chance of rain. It more or less depicted what Alice was feeling right now. Depressed and on the verge of a downpour. She and Karen sat in the carriage in silence for a moment before the older woman suddenly began rummaging in her handbag.

"Forgive me for my vagueness," she apologized, pulling out a small box. She handed it to Alice. "Absolem gave this to me three days ago to give to you for today, but you and I have been so busy, I hadn't the time to give it to you."

Alice took the box from Karen and opened it.

Inside was a silver necklace with a dangling gem in the center, a dazzling, vibrant purple color. It was beautiful. Alice fingered the necklace for a moment before taking it out of the box and latching it around her neck along with her Chinese charm necklace.

"It really is a thing of beauty," Karen said. "I'm terribly sorry for not getting it to you sooner."

"It's alright, Karen," Alice said, her fingertips touching the jewel on Absolem's necklace. "I have it. That's all that matters."

Karen opened her mouth to comment on Alice's less-than-happy demeanor, but changed her mind and sat back to simply observe the melancholy bride-to-be. If she didn't know any better, she would say that Alice looked…

…Heartbroken.

When the carriage pulled up to the church, Karen led Alice into the side entrance and into the back, where Helen, Margaret, and the bridesmaids were already dressed and fretting over the late bride. All of them rushed forward when Alice walked in and gaggled over her.

"Where have you been!" Helen cried, pulling Alice away from everyone to straighten up her dress and hair. "Absolem was here hours ago, Alice! My goodness, you look like a common girl, rather than a bride! I told you we should have bought a white gown, now what will people think when they see you…?"

Alice toned out her mother's ranting and turned away from her. "Mother," she said softly. "I need a moment. Please."

Everyone went quiet as Alice stood by herself in a corner, smoothing out her hair and straightening her jewelry. Margaret walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "…Can I have a word alone with Alice, everyone?" she asked the other women. They all nodded and left to the front doors to line up for the procession. When the room was empty, Margaret held Alice's face in her hands and forced Alice to look her in the eye. "Alice," she said softly. "Something's wrong. What is it?"

Alice felt her eyes water, but she quelled it down. She shifted her eyes to the side. "…It's nothing, Margaret," she replied softly, putting her hands over her sister's. Margaret frowned.

"Alice…is it Absolem?" she asked. Alice paled. "…Alice, did he do anything to hurt you, because if he did, I swear…!"

"It's not Absolem, Margaret!" Alice cried, backing up. "Don't dare think that! He's been nothing but kind and patient with me! It's me, Margaret! It…!" She took a few deep breaths. "…It's me."

Margaret led Alice to a chair and sat her down, holding Alice's hands in her own. "Alice," she said softly. "Tell me."

Alice looked at her sister with deeply saddened eyes. "…I cant, Margaret," she replied softly. "…It's nothing for you to try to fix. This is my situation, and I have to deal with it." She stood up and headed for the church doors, holding her hand out to her sister. "…At least be there with me?"

Margaret stood up and squeezed her sister's hand. "Always," she whispered. They both walked to the front, where the procession was still getting ready. Helen fussed over Alice for a moment more handing her the white and yellow rose bouquet.

"It's time!" someone whispered. Everyone got in line and the doors opened into the church.

Absolem stood at the front of the alter, waiting for the beginning of the wedding.

At first thought that morning, he wanted to go back to Underland with what was left of his power in this world, but that last bit of himself that wasn't mad at Alice made him stay. He had gone ahead with Mrs. Kingsleigh to the church early, and had been waiting there for nearly two hours.

As he looked around, now, he knew that this was far from the wedding Alice had always wanted. There wasn't enough color in the flowers or the atmosphere; the guests were dressed too formally in drab colors. It wasn't bright and cheerful. In Absolem's opinion, this looked more like an Underland funeral than a wedding.

As the guests were seated, all of them were looking his way and whispering amongst themselves, but Absolem could hear them. They were commenting on his appearance. They argued over his class and his social status. They debated on whether or not he was marrying Alice for her wealth. Typical shallow gossip that made Absolem want to vomit where he stood. But he stood in his designated spot and endured it until the doors opened.

Out first came the three bridesmaids; Faith, Fiona, and Veronica. They were dressed in lovely blue dresses that put a spark of color into the room. The twins fought to keep straight faces, but Veronica made eye contact with Absolem and gave him a reassuring smile.

Next came Margaret. The elder sister was also dressed in blue, but it was more of a mature grey-blue rather than the true blue the bridesmaids were wearing. She too made eye-contact with Absolem, and he could sense something akin to accusation from her. Whatever for, he didn't know.

And then everyone stood up when Alice stepped into the doorway with her mother.

The first thing Absolem thought was that Alice looked ethereal.

He had never seen the dress she had chosen, and he thought that it was nothing less than perfect for her. The thin, airy material floated as she walked, giving him the impression of Queen Mirana, in a sense. Her hair was loose and flowing behind her as though a gentle breeze was blowing in her direction. She was wearing not only her Chinese charm necklace, but also the necklace he had given Karen to give to Alice. The overall effect was magnificent.

Such was not really the impression of the guests; just as Alice had mentioned to him, he couldn't help but overhear their thoughts on her choice of color for the dress and whether or not it 'meant something'. He inwardly scoffed; shallow, narrow-minded ingrates, he thought. He finally focused on Alice's face and paused.

Alice was not smiling. She wasn't even forcing a smile. She had a melancholy expression on her face that did not suit her or this situation at all. Her eyes were downcast on her bouquet, which was grasped tightly in her hands. Alice finally made it to the front, and Helen gave Alice to Absolem before sitting down in the front row.

After Alice was in place, the priest began to speak, but Absolem wasn't paying attention. He was too focused on Alice at the moment. The more the priest spoke, the more tense Alice seemed to become. He could sense something akin to panic rolling off of her right now. He glanced at the priest, who was too busy reading from a book to notice anything amiss with Alice.

Meanwhile, Alice was visibly shaking; the roses in her hands were trembling so hard a petal or two fell off and to the floor. She was completely unfocused to everything that was going on. Except when…

"…If for any reason someone does not believe these two should be married, speak now, or forever hold your piece."

No one spoke.

Alice suddenly went stock still…and the bouquet fell from her hands.

The room was dead quiet. After a moment, some people began whispering. Alice lowered her hands to her side and then turned to Absolem.

"…I cant do this," she said so softly, no one but Absolem could hear.

"Beg pardon?" the priest asked. Alice didn't look at him; her eyes were too trained on Absolem.

"…I…I cant…I cant…!" She suddenly grabbed Absolem's arm, turned, and ran toward the doors of the church with a speed Absolem didn't know Alice possessed. The church doors were flung open with a mere push of Alice's arm, and they ran into the freshly-pouring rain, ignoring the cries of the guests and the attempts to catch up to them.

Absolem could only hold on as Alice ran. She ran past the church, past the cemetery behind the church, and into the woods behind the cemetery. She didn't stop for anything, and her grip on Absolem's arm didn't let up. They both ran for what seemed like hours before Alice finally stopped next to a stream and almost collapsed, sobbing and gasping for breath.

Absolem held her up, a little winded himself. "Alice, what in Marmoreal are—?"

"I'M SORRY!" Alice shouted, sobbing so hard he could actually see her tears through the rain. "Absolem, I'm so SORRY!" She buried her face in his shoulder, clutching his jacket tightly in her hands. "I'm sorry for everything! I'm sorry for dragging you into this! I'm sorry for taking advantage of you! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

The butterfly was shocked for only a moment, but he wrapped his arms around the sobbing, shaking girl and hugged her tightly. Alice only sobbed harder.

"…You're right, Ab-Absolem…!" she stuttered. "I'm a selfish…stupid…stupid girl…! You're right about…everything…!" Her knees went weak. "…Everything…!"

"Easy," Absolem said, keeping her upright. "Take a few deep breaths, Alice…just breathe…"

Alice took his advice and took some deep breaths, and her sobbing reduced into soft crying. Absolem kept his hold firm but gentle around her, and stroked her damp hair comfortingly. After a moment, he drew back so he could look her in the eye. "Alice," he said softly, "it's…alright…"

"No, it's not…" Alice replied, her dark brown eyes now looking dark gray. "I messed up, Absolem…I completely wrecked our friendship…!" She wiped at her eyes. "I understand if you don't forgive me, what with last night…"

"Last night?" Absolem asked, narrowing his eyes. Alice nodded, fresh tears surfacing.

"…I couldn't sleep, after that fight," she said, lowering her eyes. "I was so guilty about what I said to you…I tried apologizing to you late last night, but…I completely understand that you…"

Absolem heaved a sigh and hugged her again. "…Stupid girl…" he murmured to himself in the affectionate tone Alice thought she would never hear again. "…Alice, after our fight, I transported myself straight to my room. I was so exhausted that I fell asleep just minutes after leaving you under the gazebo. I didn't wake up until this morning, when your mother took me to the church. If you were in my room, I didn't realize it." He ran a hand comfortingly up and down her back. "You really came to apologize?"

Alice nodded. "I was so guilty," she replied. "I think I cried myself to sleep. And today…I just couldn't let the wedding happen. Not after what was said last night. I couldn't do it, I just couldn't…!" She squeezed Absolem hard. "…I just want us to go home, Absolem. I just want to go home…!"

Absolem hugged her back. "…I want to go home, too, Alice," he said. "…However, what with my limited abilities here and the power it takes to sustain this form…I have just enough power to send myself home." He felt Alice tense in his arms and sighed, shaking his head. "…Stupid girl, you think I didn't things through?" He pulled Alice back and pressed his fingertip to the tip of her nose, a gesture Alice remembered when he was a butterfly; when she made a foolish assumption, he would land on the tip of her nose and tap it. "Unlike a stupid girl I shall neglect to mention, I tend to think a few steps ahead."

As he spoke, he brought one hand down to her chest and held the jewel of her new necklace in his palm for a moment. "Alice, take a good look at this jewel. What does the color remind you of?"

Alice looked down at it and racked her brain for a moment. Vibrant purple. Seemed to glow slightly. What could it be…? Oh. Wait.

"…Jabberwocky blood?" Alice breathed. Absolem rolled his eyes.

"Jabberwocky blood," he confirmed. "The very last bit Mirana possessed. I carried a bit of it with me for four years, just in case you decided to cut your trip short and wanted to return home." He reached behind her neck to unlatch the necklace and then took her hand to put the necklace in it. "I thought that even if we were married today, you could use it to go home after everything was said and done."

Alice gaped at the Jabberwocky blood encased in the jewel, feeling both a clenching and a swelling in her heart. She prodded the jewel casing with her fingertip. "…How do I get to it?" she asked him.

"This is not really a jewel," Absolem explained. "In Underland, these are children's novelty candies. The casing holds a sweet substance of various flavors, and cannot be broken if dropped or stepped on. A Bandersnatch's jaws cannot break this. It can only be penetrated by one thing."

"What's that?" Alice asked. Absolem gave her his superior smirk he usually wore when she was about to earn a 'stupid girl'.

"Saliva."

Alice blinked, then looked down at the jewel—candy—in her palm. "…So, I just…" She gestured to her lips. Absolem nodded.

"It's just enough for one wish," he replied. "Be sure it's what you want."

Alice clenched the necklace in her hand and hugged Absolem tightly. "…You've always looked out for me, haven't you?" she murmured. Absolem hugged her back.

"Stupid girl," he replied. "Of course I have." Alice pulled away, then pulled the candy off of the rest of the necklace and put it to her lips.

"Thank you, Absolem." She stuck the candy in her mouth, and immediately tasted a sugary sweetness on her tongue. After a moment, the sweetness faded, and the liquid bitterness of the Jabberwocky blood flooded her mouth. She immediately swallowed it, thinking of one thing and one thing only…

"When you get home," Absolem said, stroking her hair, "you'll get the wedding you always dreamed of. The Oraculum has foretold it."

Alice let out a happy laugh and hugged Absolem as the two of them faded away from Otherland, leaving an echo of the wish behind…

"…I wish for us to return home forever…"

The epilogue is next! Stay tuned!