Bill sat in a rather comfortable chair that was made of interwoven leaves with his injured leg held out in front of him on a footstool of something that resembled a blackberry bush, but with far less prickles. The magic of Wonderland seemed to be doing marvels for his leg, but it was nothing like it used to be. If someone was injured then they'd be right as rain in a few minutes (which was how the Queen was able to order so many executions with no drop in employment rate for her staff, or raise in the amount of life insurance paid out). Now however, even an anvil dropped on one's head took weeks to fully recover from. Bill scowled at his leg, cursing at it for its slow rate of cellular mitosis. Beside him, Mrs. Shire was lazily drifting in and out of view, sometimes returning with some sort of fish held tightly in her paws before disappearing again and having the fish fall down and land in her mouth – which was all that re-appeared.
Alice had been sleeping soundly since the tea was given to her, with only small shivers coursing down her body at times. Bills eyes travelled along the girls delicate body, from the tips of her feet, along her rather long legs, to her arms and hands. One hand – he grudgingly noticed – was clasped firmly within Nigel's own. Ever since he was coaxed down from the ceiling with a full pot of Earl Grey, he had been glued to Alice's side. His eyes never left her while he asked Gryffin to check how she was doing. It was the most focused that he had ever been.
Bill allowed himself a small smile. As marvellous as Alice was, there was not a snowballs chance in hell that she would ever fall for the likes of Nigel Tickwall the Extremely Flammable. She'd much prefer someone that was charming, handsome and relatively sane and... A lizard who was unable to retain his true form because of lack of Imagination. The smile slid off his face like sap from a tree.
An elegant hand was pressed lightly onto Bills shoulder. He jolted slightly and looked up and backwards into the Queens motherly face. "I was only... I mean I just wanted to know... You see she seemed to be..."
The Queen smiled. "Don't try and worm your way out of matters of the Heart with me, young man."
Fire rushed through Bills body as he blushed as brightly as the Queens dress.
"There is nothing to be ashamed off, my dear. The Heart is its own master." She squeezed his shoulder firmly.
Bill blew a strand of dark hair out of his eyes. "I know, but, her and Nigel have such history with each other. Tea parties, daring rescues and the like. All I've managed to do is make myself a nuisance and get stabbed once or twice."
A chuckle erupted from the Queens lips and she removed her hand from Bills shoulder to place it over her mouth. "Nigel and Alice? Please, darling, he's insane."
The hopeful glint in Bills eyes sparkled back to life instantly.
Nigel gasped from the bed. "She's awake! Alice, can you hear me? ... Does anyone else have a sense of Déjà Vu? Or is it just me?"
The Queen and Bill hurried over to the bed and peered over Nigel's shoulder to watch the girl awaken.
Alice's eyes fluttered open and immediately began searching the faces crowded over her, frowning when she saw Gryffin, smiling when she saw the Queen and Bill and beaming as she came to Nigel. "Hi." She whispered.
Nigel squeezed her hand. "Hi." He whispered back.
Bill stood quickly and made a noise that sounded like "I'll get some more tea." Before hobbling off, completely unnoticed by anyone but the Queen.
From across the room, the Tweedles stared at each other in intense concentration. Their faces were only centimetres apart as they looked deeply in to each other's eyes. A vein in Tweedle Dums head twitched slightly. "I see... A silver cross with the number 7 at the top and the letter A at the bottom."
Tweedle Dee sighed and slumped back in his chair. "Nope, nope, nope and nope. It was a purple triangle with a 9 at the top point at an H in the centre.
His twin mirrored him with the same air of defeat. "Well that settles it then, I suppose. Shall I pay you now or later?"
"Pay me later." Said Dee with a wave of his hand. "I don't mind adding it to you debt." He pulled out a scroll of paper and unfurled it, scribbling a small something down the bottom. "What about our other wager, eh? Reckon the lass is as coo-coo as she was before the tea?"
Dum shrugged and stood up. "Shall we find out?"
"Gladly."
Alice blinked sleepily and stretched, making sure not to loosen her grip on Nigel's calloused hand nor remove her eyes from his. "So, did you miss me?"
Nigel laughed. "Of course I did, silly."
"How much?"
Nigel placed a finger to his chin in contemplation and furrowed his brow.
Alice giggled at him. "Did you miss me more than what you'd miss a plate of butter?"
A shocked Nigel gasped at her. "Butter is no laughing matter, my dear. Especially the absence there-of. But if it counts, I missed you much more than I would a plate of butter." He added in a low voice.
The Twins stood a few meters away as the two stared at each other and spoke in whispers. "Yep." Sighed Dum. "Definitely insane. You win again."
Dee smiled smugly. "I always do."