Alice P.O.V

We all awoke early the next day, all completely sullen and serious. Maybe it was the atmosphere.

The plan was to apply for the adviser job, have Chess and Raven hang out in the inn for a while having an outside perspective. I would accompany Hatter and take whatever job I could find, preferably a kitchen job. I was a good cook, and if we got desperate I could always poison the queen's food.

After a quick breakfast that didn't deserve to be called a breakfast, Hatter and I were trudging out the door. Hatter was walking the dead man's walk and I wasn't much better. We were dragging our feet so much that it took longer than expected to reach the dusty rundown booth that Hatter assured me was the job applicants office.

Hatter took a deep breath, steeled his face and rapped on the flimsy glass three times. A sleeping emaciated green lizard in a thin jacket jolted awake and nearly toppled to the floor. So far I hadn't seen any animals in clothes, it was a strange sight. Once he regained his balance he slid open the glass.

"Y-yes?" He stuttered. I studied his expression carefully. He seem terrified at something, was it us? His eyes darted back and forth crazily and his forked tongue kept flicking out the tiniest bit. He was also twitching weirdly. What the heck?

Hatter took no notice of this and stated in a clear emotionless voice to the green lizard, "We are here to apply for the head royal adviser and a kitchen maids position in the palace."

The lizard looked completely taken aback. "You-you are?"

"Yes."

"The royal adviser to the Queen?" He emphasized incredulously.

He must have expected Hatter to deny it and say, 'no of course not, the other royal adviser' but instead he nodded stiffly. "Yes."

"Uh, names please?" He said flicking out his tongue once again. He quickly ripped off a slip of paper and held a pen poised at the ready.

"I am Hadley Madison and this is Allison Liddell." Hatter replied calmly.

"And she-she will be applying for the kitchen m-maid?" He twittered like a lost bird.

"Yes."

"Alright." He slid the slip of paper he had been writing on to us. "Give this to the g-guard at the gate. He-he will show you how to do your job and where to stay and such."

Hatter picked up the paper calmly and thanked the poor lizard. I trailed behind Hatter on the way to the gate slightly wary at the lizard's reaction to us. I wondered what the gate guard would do when he saw us walk up.

Despite my worries the gate guard didn't react strangely to us when we approached. Instead he reacted strangely when he read the note. His eyes widened slightly and he straightened up immediately. At least he didn't fall off a chair when he first saw us though.

He motioned us through the gate quickly and wordlessly. Hatter walked with precision and confidence. I tried to copy him a well as I could. Where had the old Hatter gone?

The guard led us to a dark room and sat us down on hard seats. I heard the click of a lock and tensed. I looked wildly at Hatter; he didn't look at me but instead gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. Maybe he wasn't all the way gone.

The guard sat down across from us. His stance indicated we were being interrogated. There was a steel table between us and his chair was higher than ours.

"You wish to apply for the head royal adviser?" He smirked.

"Yes." Hatter repeated patiently.

"Reeeally?" He clarified.

Hatter nodded.

"Do you have a death wish?" He chortled. Hatter didn't answer, so the man continued his mocking. "You obviously aren't dirt poor," he gestured at our clothes. Hatter was wearing a long coat with lots of pockets that was threaded nicely.

I was wearing a dress Chess had found for me. It was stained in several places but at least covered my ankles. It wasn't something I was used to wearing but Raven assured me it would be the proper attire for a well to do scullery maid. I still wasn't used to her being older and more experienced. "But yet you still want this job." His laugh brought me out of my internal thoughts.

"Maybe he just wants the job." I interrupted his ranting. Hatter gave me warning look but I ignored it.

"Missy, no one wants this job. You know how the last one died?" He said finally serious. But without waiting for my answer he plunged on. "He was too tall for the Queens liking."

That shut me up. "Fortunately for you, "He dipped his head at Hatter. "You're quite a bit shorter than he was."

Hatter remained silent and I didn't trust myself to speak again, so the guard continued with the interview.

"Do you have any experience with advising?"

Hatter nodded.

"Good, I won't ask where, that might get you killed." He mumbled to himself. Then he turned to me, "Do you have any experience as a scullery maid?"

Chess and Hatter and Raven had informed me on the duties of a scullery maid earlier. I knew how to do the basics, like peel potatoes and wash dishes. But the strange cuisines that were regularly served in Wonderland would be impossible for me to make without help.

Raven advised me to volunteer for dish duty whenever possible.

"Um, simple meals mostly. But I can do dishes and clean the kitchen." I said hopefully.

He nodded. "You'll do, we need people willing to clean."

Thank God for that, I thought sarcastically.

"Alright, I'll show you to your rooms. Missy," He pointed to me. I wrinkled my nose in annoyance. Missy was not my name, but I knew it probably was a bad idea to argue. "You'll stay near the kitchens with the other kitchen girls. They'll fill you in on other job stuff." He got to his feet motioning me to get up too.

I got up hesitantly glancing back at Hatter. He smiled reassuringly back at me. This was it. This was the separation part. Time to start the plan.

"You," He looked at Hatter. "Wait here. I'll be five minutes at most."

I followed the guard out the door. He led me through several corridors until finally he showed me the servant stairs. "This is how you are to travel through the castle. The passageways are easy enough to memorize. You're going to need to move quickly whenever serving the queen."

He didn't tell me why, but it was easy enough to guess.

He led me up the stairs and to the right. He opened a small wooden door and peeked inside. There were rows of neat cots. There was one night table next to each bed and one sheet and one comforter. Everything was immaculate, cheap and dirty, but immaculate.

"This is where you will sleep. The girls will fill you in on the rest of your duties. Quitting time is in a few hours, so I suggest you use this time to sleep. You should use this time to your advantage, you won't get it again."

He scratched the back of his head in thought. "Oh, by the way, my names Captain Grum."

I nodded.

"Good luck Missy." He said goodbye. And with that, he left. I sat on the farthest cot that had a small card on it saying, 'Spot open'. It was a creaky cot with a hard mattress; the covers were thin and badly made. There was a small box beneath the bed that I supposed would hold my belongings.

I don't know why, but I was exhausted. Maybe it was just emotional.

Everything we had done would all add up to this point. Everything Chess and Hatter had worked for would all depend on this. I wasn't a killer.

I know they expected me to kill the Queen. But I don't know if I could.

I sighed and lied down on the bed, scratch that, cot. I would sleep on it and mull things over in the morning. Uhg.

So looking forward to it.