Doom, doom, doom. He could still hear it. That noise. That accursed drumming. The drumming that had spelled Wonderland's ruin.

Angry with himself, he shook his head. The rest of the rebels were quietly celebrating Faith's coming, but they hadn't seen her. He heard Caterpillar's strange half-slither half-walk from behind him and turned around.

"Well?" Caterpillar asked.

"We're doomed," he said softly. "No, let them all celebrate. God knows they need it. But they haven't seen her."

"Is she dead already?"

"No, but almost as good as."

"What did you see?" Caterpillar asked.

"I see a pathetic, petrified little thing that wouldn't know the difference between a blade and a cutlery knife. She is a coward, and is ever thinking of herself. She won't think about us, or about Wonderland. She found the Mayor's house and the surprise that's inside it and turned tail and ran. Rabbit had to lead her away after she got outside- she could barely stand on her own."

"Not the best thing to see on your first trip back," Caterpillar said, choosing to ignore the last part, although the light at the end of the tunnel grew significantly dimmer.

"Generally not. Would there be anyone else that could do it?"

"You know the answer as well as I do, Cheshire," Caterpillar reprimanded. Cat hung his head even lower, and his ears drooped.

"Is there even a point? To hope, I mean. Why do we even try? This has happened before... Does that mean that if she does the impossible and saves everyone, that it will just happen some other generation?"

"You're letting your doubts surface, Cheshire. Let me show you something."

He led Cat to a hill that ended in a cliff and pointed downwards at the rest of them. Torches illuminated them, and Cat could clearly see a few positively weeping for joy.

"Look at them, Cheshire. They regard you as their leader, and you have kept what hope they have alive. If it weren't for you, they would be no better than the Mad Children. Don't you see that if you told them everything that they would lose everything?"

"But they have nothing," Cat said dejectedly. "There's nothing to take away."

"Haven't you been listening?" at Cat's distraction, he sighed. "I see that age does not necessarily equal wisdom."

Cat glared at him disapprovingly. "And you are the prime example of why some animals eat their young."

"They may have nothing but the clothes on their back, and granted, a few don't even have that, but what all of them share is hope. Hope is what keeps this miserable band alive."

"It is long since we had much of it... but I suppose that for all of her spinelessness I must place all of my trust in her," he said thoughtfully. A new thought seemed to dawn on him, and he straightened out his spine best he could. "I will guide her. I may not be with her all of the time, but I won't survive sitting around waiting."

"You're talking like a sane person," Caterpillar smiled.

"No, I'm not. She won't learn anything if I do."

"Then go, and I will talk to Rabbit about doing the forest."

With that, Cat bounded off, quickly fading into the horizon, blending perfectly with the night sky.

After that room, there was no way that Faith was going to explore the manor any more, and within short order, she was facing the tunnel once more. But once there, she stopped. At her chest, she clutched the pendant that Jeremy had given her. Lost in thought, she turned away from the road to stare at the pendant in her hand, and wondered what she would be doing once she took that first step. The wind rustled through her sweater, blew gently through her hair, moving to the village.

I wonder if there's a sign in that wind, she thought, looking behind her. There was nothing behind her... but not much in front, either. Fa-i-th... Jeremy. Was Jeremy in front of her? Was Cat? Or was there nothing but what lay in the wake of the Queen? The Queen. She's so different than any problem I've ever faced. I've never had to fight to solve problems before. But I have to now. I wish I could tell someone how scared I am. Reynald. That bastard. God, I wish that he was one of the people in the manor. I wish he was that little boy.... Jeremy. What does he think? Does he forgive me? Halden. He's sweet... but he can't help me now. JEREMY.

Doom, doom, doom. She could hear it so clearly from what Cat had said to her. She could see the army, running through the hordes of frightened women and children, stabbing this way and that, not caring who they hit until no one remained but them. She saw Jeremy's terrified face before her, rarely seen tears clouding his eyes, his blond hair dark from the smoke and soot. Doom, doom, doom. It pounded inside her head, engulfing her senses, until she was almost lost in the pounding.

"Ye there! Blimey! 'oo are ye??" the voice came from very close, almost beside her. Startled, she whirled around, and found herself staring at a bent old woman with a craggy, weathered face, pushing a wheelbarrow laden with wood and nails.

"Me? I- what are you doing?"

"'Elpin'. 'elpin' ta rebuild Alice's Village." A cloudy brown eye stared at her; a dusty, brownish eye patch covered the other.

"Then... it's true."

"Wotcher mean, 'it were true?' It's been d'stroyed for six and an 'alf years."

Faith saw a certain bitterness in the woman. "Why have you waited so long? Was it the Queen?"

"Yes, init? That bloody Queen destroyed us village. But they say that us saviour is comin'. Some are afraid that she'll fail. I say if she fails, ffen she were wot I fought that she were in the first place: a coward and a weaklin'."

"What was her name?"

"Faiff. They say she's Alice's 'progeny'. Codswallop, if'n ye ask me. By the chuffin' way, 'oo are ye?"

"I'm Mara."

"Pleased ta meets ye, init? I'm Morag, the tahn's former medicine lass."

"I'm from up north... I'm not a native."

"Well I can tell that by the bleedin' way ye dress an' speak. Come on, right, it's likely ta rain soon, and it's better not ta be caught in the bleedin' rain nowadays."

So Faith followed the woman to the village, and she learned that the townspeople were all eagerly awaiting her arrival. She was rather downcast at this, knowing that for all their hope, there was probably even more doubt, and hung her head in shame. As they passed through the gates, the sudden feel and smell of death were overwhelming. She shook her head rapidly and gasped for breath. The old woman grasped her by the arm to steady her.

"Yeah, not many of us are used ta that smell yet. It's the bloomin' smell of deaff, and it ain't pretty. But it's wot there is."

Faith nodded numbly. Why was all of this happening? She could hear the screaming, crying voices. See the pointless, brutal destruction. Smell the death. She couldn't escape it.

Once again she was startled out of her reverie by Cat appearing. He watched the woman warily from the corner of his eye. "Thank you for showing her to the village, Morag. She's my charge, so it won't be necessary to look after her anymore."

"Well then, right, go on. But 'ere, Mara."

The woman pushed a small sack into her hand, bound by a leather cord that fit around Faith's neck. "These are 'erbs that will treat wounds. I don't know why, right, but sumfink in me gut tells me that ye'll need it. The green ones are for eatin', the red for bindin' the wound. The black ones will keep poison from spreadin' frough yer system."

Faith smiled at her. "Thank you," she whispered.

Morag merely nodded and resumed plodding through the mud to the site. She was gone in a few moments, lost in the crowd.

Cat turned to her, and arching a quizzical eyebrow, asked, "Mara?"

"Every one of the rebels is eagerly waiting for me. But that's not the case with everyone. There are those that think that I'm just a myth or a legend. There are even those who hate me for waiting so long." She sighed and slumped down into a sitting position against a wooden beam. "I have to protect myself. Everyone knows about Faith. They don't know about Mara."

Cat stared at her for a long while, and finally nodded. "Good. Jill isn't Jill anymore, and Jack isn't in the picture."

"Cheshire!"

"Yes?"

"Oh, never mind."

"Picky picky."

Faith turned to him, and he grinned at her, very widely. "Shall we walk?" he asked. She nodded. As they walked, he described a little of what was going on in the outer world to her. Reynald was completely furious and had placed a warrant for her arrest, stating that a dangerous mental patient was on the loose. Her home was being rebuilt, and was awaiting an owner. There were many prospective buyers. He said nothing about Halden. "Also," he said, "You are to follow Rabbit through his door... the only problem is that you are much too big,. There is an elder that you must find, he will know what to do," he said, making a large space with his paws and bringing them down to about three inches high.

"Why do I need to go through the door?"

"Curious little thing, aren't we? Ah, your stop is coming soon."

Finally, when they had reached an even worse part of town, where reconstruction had not yet begun, he faced her.

"I leave now. But if you ever need me, call kitty and kitty will come." With that, he vanished, and Faith had never felt so alone in her life.

Awkwardly, she walked on, until she found a crude, hand-written sign.

"Welcome to Dementia"

Past the gate, there were only tunnels. Two of them, with two strange-looking guards standing at attention in front of them. They were green and looked suspiciously like geckos. She walked up to them, but they barred the way to both entrances.

"Excuse me... what are these?" she asked. They gave her queer looks, and pointed to the sign. She turned to see if there was writing on the back.

"You can ask us a question, but one of us will always tell the truth, but one will always lie. We will only tell you the truth - both of us - when you aren't asking about the doors."

"So basically, ask us a question, yes or no, and we'll give you an answer. Don't matter what you ask, if it's about the doors, you'll get either a lie or the truth. One leads to death, the other to Dementia."

Faith moaned in hopelessness. She hadn't come far at all, and already she was stuck. She knew that Cat didn't trust in her, and knew that if she asked for his help then, he would never even begin. "Give me a little time," she said quietly, and sat down.

"Sure. By the way, who are you?" the first one asked.

"I'm Mara. Who are you?"

"We're the guardians of the gates."

"Is that all?" she asked. Then, worried that they would take it the wrong way, she continued hurriedly, "I mean, do you have names that you use?"

"Nah, too confusing. Everyone expects us to rhyme."

"I see," and all was quiet. After a little while, she stood.

"Alright, answer me this. You, on the left."

The lizard waited for the question expectantly.

"Would he tell me that this door leads to Dementia?"

He paused a moment, letting the question register. "Yes," he finally replied.

Faith paused, thinking. "Then the other door leads to Dementia, and this one leads to death."

"And how would you know that?" the first one asked.

"Well, if you were lying, then he would really mean 'no' and be telling the truth. But if you told the truth, he would be lying and still mean 'no.'"

The lizards stared back and forth at each other, then at her, then back at the other, evidently confused. They whispered amongst themselves, and she caught the phrase "Is that right?"

"Yeah, I think so," the other whispered. "I didn't die when I went through."

They straightened up, and the right guard calmly stepped aside, letting her pass. She went through, entering the darkness.

Faith found herself in a long, dark tunnel. The walls were muddy grey well-worn stones, with a few years' worth of mucous coating on them. They were disgusting to look at and even worse to touch. She found this out when she brushed her shoulder on one while avoiding a rat.

As she neared the end of the tunnel, she became more and more uneasy, for reasons that she didn't know. There was something there, an elusive presence, watching but not yet seeing. She walked a little faster, hoping to outrun the feeling.

She heard thumping behind her, and voices.

"Say, it's been a spell o' we foun' enny rebels t'sharpen our spears on, eh?"

"Damn straight it's been. Now we're s'pposed to be on the lookout for this person called Faith. Rumoured to be Alice's heir."

"Ha, if we find her, you know 's good as I do that we're to call the hearts, the General, or the Duke."

"What hearts? The Duke, the General. Ha, ha, ha. You know's well's me that there ain't none of 'em 'ere."

Terrified, Faith backed into an alcove that sheltered her from view, at least for a moment. Two of those strange card men sauntered into view. Their suit was clubs. As they passed further, she backed up further until she felt a wall at her back. She pressed tightly against it, holding in her revulsion, watching to see what they did. She was extremely discomfited when they stopped to have a conversation.

"Ay, what did you think of that competition yesterday?"

"Bloody brilliant that was. He just rolled himself up and went right between that great beasts' legs!"

"Yeah. I loved that part where he had 'is spear right down that thing's throat!"

"Yup, an' he was right there with it, too."

"Brilliant. They even found 'is 'ead too, at least in the end."

They passed her by. Once they were gone, she dared step out. She watched their retreating forms, and started to follow, if anything to see where they were headed. She tried to listen to what they were saying and follow without being heard at the same time.

She was mostly successful, though she couldn't always hear them. Then they leaned against a wall to talk again. Alarmed, she ducked behind a square brick pillar, which was also covered with that goo. Stifling her disgust, she listened.

"So, what d'you think 'bout this whole 'Faith' thing?" the first one asked.

"I dunno. It's a little early, for tha'."

"I doubt tha' it's much to worry for."

"Yeah, but the Queen seem'd awful worried 'bout it,"

"You don't even know the Queen!"

"Yeah, but I gots me sources, there in the palace. D'you honestly think tha' I'd let an'thing go on under my nose?"

"Eh, just th' things tha' you should keep yer nose out of," the first one said seriously.