Chapter 25! No super long author's note up here, just read! Enjoy!

"Absoulm," Alice said, taking a step back from where the butterfly was fluttering quite closely towards her face. "You scared me."

"Not, intentionally as I'm sure you know." The Butterfly replied in its simple monotone. "We need to speak."

"Alright," Alice replied, and turned around, making sure no one would see if she slipped out for a moment or to from her own party.

After making sure the coast was clear, Alice walked towards the entrance of the ballroom, ducking out past the front doors and into the garden where twilight had just befallen after the sun went down. The butterfly followed along beside her effortlessly, and when he felt sure that no one would be able to hear and stopped along a stray branch of a hedge close to the gardens while Alice followed obediently.

"What do you need to speak to me about?" Alice asked, politely as also forcefully. It was cold out her in the garden, and her dress wasn't as warm as she would have liked.

"It's about the oraculm," Absoulm explained, and Alice nodded expectantly. "I fear something horrible is about to befall Underland."

"What do you mean?" Alice asked.

"A day or so ago." The Butterfly started. "When I was sitting in my mushroom patch, a saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Thinking it could be another pesky rocking horse fly, I turned and instead I saw that the oraculm was moving. It was as if it was asking to be unraveled and I did so." He shook his small head bitterly. "The things I saw Alice, they weren't pleasant."

"What did you see?" Alice asked, clasping her hands to her chest and leaning in closer.

"I saw a battle." Absoulm said. "It was bloody and dark. It wasn't meant for Underland to be apart of, but none the less it was."

"When?" Alice asked, she was full of questions for the small insect but she could only find herself asking simple ones. "Absoulm, when will this battle take place?"

"That," The Butterfly mused. "Is undetermined. But, never the less that battle will take place in Underland, and you Alice will lead out troops once again, with the Vopal sword in hand."

"We're fighting Stayne, aren't we?" Alice knew the answer and answered it for herself. "He's going to come back and finish what he'd started and try to take back the crown."

Absoulm gave Alice a solemn nod. "Which is why you'll need the vopal sword."

"But, why?" Alice asked. "I thought it was only needed to defeat the Jabberwocky, why would I need it again?"

"Because," He replied, as if he were talking to a child. "You're going to need to do the same thing again, stupid girl."

"I'm not stupid." Alice told him, angrily. "And Stayne isn't the Jabberwocky."

"Not fully," Absoulm agreed. "But part of it lives among him, too."

Alice gasped. "How is that possible?"

Absoulm shook his head at Alice, and she knew he wasn't going to answer her, so she asked him something else. "What happened after you saw what you did?"

"For fear another might see what I've seen, I've hidden the oraculm." He explained. "And instead put a blink piece of parchment in it's place."

"Then, where is the real one?" Alice asked, but again Absoulm shook his head at her.

"That, I can't tell you. But," He gave her a slow and warm smile. "I can tell you it is in safe hands. And I don't thin k it would be terribly wise if you shared this information to anyone but yourself."

"I understand, thank you, Absoulm." Alice said, and Absoulm nodded. Alice turned to go, but turned back after a second and leaned back down to the Butterfly. "Absoulm, why did you tell me this?"

"Because," Absoulm replied. "You may not be here for me to tell you later." And then he flew away, and after a second Alice couldn't tell him from apart form the dark.

. . .

"Well, there you are." Irisa called, sliding up next to Alice as she walked back inside form the garden. "Where have you been?"

"I went out to get some air," Alice said, ad it was honest, even though she didn't tell Irisa every detail.

"Sure, you did." Irisa said, completely unconvinced. "Anyway, Nicholas has been bugging for me to find you, because everyone's been dancing and he hasn't."

Everyone dancing wasn't absolutely true, though most of the guests were spinning on the dance floor. Some like the Tweedles, who were sneaking delicious looking pastries and sweets into their pockets, where standing along the edges of the floor.

"Where is he?" Alice asked, turning around to ask Irisa who had disappeared into the dance floor, spinning around with Hatter's arm around her waist. "That's helpful…"

"Isn't it though?" A voice asked, and Alice turned, seeing Nicholas grinning from ear to ear beside her. "Do I want to know where you've been hiding?"

"No," Alice answered, honestly. "No, you don't."

"Good," Nicholas grinned and took Alice's hand, pulling her towards the dance floor. "Because now I have someone who I can actually have a good conversation with that doesn't have fur or a pair of wings."

"And animals aren't the best to have conversations with?" Alice asked, as Nicholas grasped her hand and twirled her around in the crowd of dancers.

"Not unless they're all like Mally, who just wanted to find people to stick with her," He grinned. "Sword, Chess who disappears before we can even say a sentence to each other or the March hare who I'm sure thinks that this is the best tea party he's ever been too."

"So sorry I left you to endure that torture all on your own," Alice joked, spinning around and sticking out her tongue as Nicholas brought her close. "I was talking to Absoulm."

"Oh really?" Nicholas asked, raising an eye brow. "And what did our favorite blue insect have to say?"

Alice shrugged, unsure if telling Nicholas would go against Absoulm' warning. She told Nicholas everything; In fact that's how they were here dancing in the white queen's ball room.

"Alice," Nicholas repeated, an Alice blinked, shaking her head and looking up at Nicholas. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Alice replied, as Nicholas lifted her up and twirled her in the air, giving her a good view of everything in the ballroom. "Do you want to get something to drink?"

"Sure," Nicholas replied, twirling her over to the outer ring of the floor, but still dancing with Alice. "Any requests?"

Alice shrugged. "How about-"

"Alice?" Someone called, but the call wasn't playful or teasing. It was scared and a maybe shocked.

Both Alice and Nicholas turned to face who ever had called her name and saw that standing in the threshold of the castle, wearing a tattered and dirty dress with scared blue eyes were Margret and Lowell.

And dramatic stop! To any of you who thought that it could have been Margret and her husband, ha ha. I tricked you. Though, they're still in this chapter. Dun, dun, dun. My dramatic tendencies are close to Irisa's, but not completely there. So, are you excited yet? I am! Review, pretty please?