Disclaimer: I do not own American McGee's Alice so don't sue me.

Wonderland woods hadn't changed...only it seemed slightly more plesant than on her previous visit. Still fearing the tyrany of the red queen the few creatures that existed in the forested area scattered at the approach of someone who was not of their own kind. Failing to recognize her as thier savior. She closed her eyes, she was being left out of the loop on this one and it was managing to make her rather angry that she was being done in such a matter. She didn't expect praise..but she also didn't expect to be feared. "So why am I here Cat?" She asked stopping on the trail, kicking at the few rocks on the path with her boots and frowning in agitation at the amount of dust they managed to kick up from doing so. She didn't look back to where the cat had previously been following as she did so but frowned...obviously it wasn't a summons for a casual visit or the creatures of wonderland would not have been running in such a manner.

"Because I summoned you." Called a voice that obviously did not belong to the cat, it was a female voice one with a rich accent strict, yet incredibly gentle sounding as well.

"That's not a very logical reason now is it?" She added in retort, at this there was a sharp chuckle and she grimaced.

"Obviously you forget where you are at the moment." The voice added the gentle voice was now laced with a amusement.

"Nothing is Logical here." They both stated this at the same time, one in a tone of mock amusement the other as simply revelation. Had it really been that long since her previous departure from this realm that she had almost forgotten that the concept of Logic was almost none existant here? That concept of anything reasonable was soon enough abandoned for something completely daft. She turned to look at the speaker finally, after longing to know whom this woman was and just where she had came from. Certainly there were others who resembled humans in appearance here, but she was almost certain that they would not be standing in the middle of the forest. More so because it would be unwise to try to tackle a place full of wild creatures who were generally very hostile to their kind than anything else.

The owner of the voice was a woman with long red hair, reaching down to her shoulder blades and curling up on the ends as the rest was rather curly itself this wouldn't have stood out, if Alice had known her previously. She had green eyes, the same color as her own and at the moment they held a glimmer of amusement, but also held a rather secretive side if Alice was any good at reading into such things. She was thin, her emaciated state made even more noticable by the fact that the woman was wearing a corset which was tightened to the limit one could go without breaking the ribs, proving the fact that the woman had absolutely no fat to her body what so ever. Her thin legs were shown off by the fact that...in a rather rebelious manner the woman was wearing a pair of pants, black ones made out of a rather comfortable looking material and a pair of boots to which these pants were tucked into the boots which came to about her knees. A white top covered the area the corset didn't on her top a small necklace baring the symbol of one of the playing cards, a spade hung around her neck. It had taken a while for Alice to note but it seemed that womans corset, which was almost painful to look at much less to imagine wearing, was also embrodiered with the same symbol and traces of gold.

Perhaps the red queen had been just as cruel to the members of her court as she had been to her guards, other servants, and to the unfortunate citizens of wonderland who just happened to fall under her juristiction? It certainly seemed so judging by the womans thin state. "So I remember." She spoke as her gaze never left the woman until the Cheshire cat somehow appeared beside her, it's grin still never leaving it's face though she hadn't expected such a thing anyway.
"Alice," It spoke bowing curtly to the woman in front of them and Alice gave the cat an all to curious glance as the woman stood up, she had previously been sitting down on one of the nearby mushrooms, to which time Alice noticed a rather ornate weapon resting at her side, it was a long sword, sheathed, a chain hung down from the hilt bearing the same emblem as both her necklace and her croset and a long string of beads wound it's way around the sheath which in turn was black. "I give you, Her royal Majesty, The Queen of Spades." Finished the cat making a bowing gesture to which Alice did not follow.

Had her eyes been able to light fires with the heat of her glare Alice would have surely burned down Wonderland's forest without even knowing it. "Your a Queen?" She asked crossing her arms and planting her feet a bit more firmly into the ground, as the cat made an almost frustrated motion with his paw to her. The woman nodded at this red hair flowing back slightly "The Queen of Spades." She restated "Or some know me as the black queen." She added in for the sake of being informative Alice was sure.

"I don't know you at all to be honest." Replied Alice drily as she took a few steps towards the woman, the dead leaves from the drees crunching rather loudly and unplesantly under her feet.

"I supose not." Replied the woman her voice still the same tone as it had been during her first statement "I'm afraid I'm not a very well known character...unlike the red queen I do not have much of a reputation." She replied with a faint smile as she turned on her heel to walk back towards her previous sitting place.

"I haven't had very good relationships with queens you know." Stated Alice coldly

"All the more reason for you to distrust me I supose." Replied the woman placing her foot on a nearby tree which seemed to be of a rather ungodly heigth. Alice nodded in agreement her features displaying her rather unplesant mood and seeming rather childish in doing so.

"Your Majesty if I may." The Cheshire cat chimed in as the woman placed her other foot on the tree to stand parallel to the ground placing her hands on her hips in a rather satisfied manner as she walked up the tree a few steps and then turned.

"You may Cat." She replied seeming almost playful as she walked along the tree as though she had done this sort of thing everyday, Alice simply stared on in amazement at the woman as the cat bowed to the woman once again before turning to alice.

"We have called you here for a reason Alice." He stated and Alice looked down at him thankful that unlike this eccentric woman the cat was not so eager to leave her out of the loop for very long.

"Please, do tell." Alice said promptly shifting her weight from one foot to another.

The cat nodded "Alice, wonderland is in danger again."

"It seems quite a fragile place does it not?" Questioned the Queen as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet an amused and almost childlike expression on the womans deathly pale face as she proceeded to walk stiffly a bit farther up the tree.

"But this time," The cat stated again adding to his explaination "There is a distinct possability of all out war...not just the queens tyrany."

"Though we don't have to worry about that anymore." Added the Queen once again, now hanging upside down from a branch just above Alices head and playing with her hair in amusement as she did so. "Much thanks to you on that part Miss Liddel." She added to which Alice frowned.

"Wonderland is divided into four sections now...ruled by a covenant of four. She is one of those." He gestured up to the woman who in turn bowed politely though it seemed rather difficult for one to be able to do such a thing while hanging upside down, especially one with such a great deal of hair to deal with as it attempted to fall into her face and could not do such a thing so instead only wound up getting tangled amoung itself to which the Queen frowned at in discontent.

"Four rulers, three of whom cannot keep from fighting for even five minutes when they come in contact." The woman added as she flipped herself right side up by leaping to the ground, for it was quite unplesant to try to untangle her hair when she could not properly reach it.

"And these rulers are?"

"You shall find out more of that later." Replied the cat with a frown as he surveyed the area. "We must first reach our own territory. Majest isn't even suposed to be here." He pointed out looking towards the woman who rocked back and forth in amusement.

"I only wanted to make a unique introduction." Replied the woman almost too innocently.

"Well you've certainly made it so..." Alice pointed out with a frown still not sounding convinced on wether the woman could even be trusted. "It's quite obvious that you are a citizen of the world at least." She added to which the woman seemed to beam with pride.

"Well then I'll be going on ahead, I trust you two have a bit of catching up to do." Said the Queen in amusement as she bowed in the same manner as previous attempts and vanished from Alices sight in much a way she was accustomed to seeing form the Cheshire cat instead.

"The queen certaintly is intresting..."Alice trailed off as they walked along the path the cat following with the same bemused grin on it's face. It was only then that she noticed the cat did not seem as malnourished as it previously had.

"Indeed." Replied the cat simply "But she is one to be trusted, for even when you were here the first time she had been working in the shadows and she knows quite a thing or two about wonderland that even I could not tell you beforehand." He said causing Alice to stop in her tracks and frown.

"So she is to be trusted then?"

"Yes."

"But what of these others?" The cat stopped and frowned at this "Not all are to be trusted...but not all to untrusted either is simply all I can say at the moment." Stated looking around as though he suspected something was listening to them. "We must get to the queens palace before we discuss anything of the sort." He added.

"Where does the queen live?" The cat paused and surveyed his surroundings. "A good ways away from here I'm quite afraid, in a castle beyond the looking glass." He added.

"A castle beyond the looking glass?" Alice asked sounding intrigued

"Yes, a rather beautiful place, thought a bit of a maze to find your way around in." He added to this.

"It must be quite beautiful...but tell me cat...How did this covenant..." She paused thoughtfully "Come to be?" She asked finding it to be the best way to phrase the question.

"When the red queen was destroyed wonderland was in shambles." The cat began his epic tale of wonderlands history for the past three years or so with this "We had no one to help us out, then those four appeared, we agreed that, we needed a ruler. And so, the people of wonderland decided that allowing them rule would be for the best. Now there are four rules governing four territories and everything is at peace." He frowned pausing a few moments, wether for dramatic effect or because he was thinking Alice was not sure but she waiting for him to break the unplesant silence as they continued on their way to the Queens castle.

"at least for now." He stated ominously.