All Characters belong to the amazing artists and writers of When Curiosity Met Insanity -

The unpleasant feeling that pooled in the base of Alice's stomach would not go away. She looked out at the landscape as the coach moved past, looking for any distraction. After purchasing that dress her mother insisted on her having, it was time to go meet her future husband. She just wished with all her heart that she could have snuck out that brilliant orange coat she found. If Wonderland was beyond her reach, it could have comforted her, at least a little bit.

"I bet it smelled of leather and tea leaves…" She sighed.

Her mother smacked her shoulder lightly with her fan. "We will have none of that, Alice. Do you understand me?"

Alice sat up straight and prudently remained silent. The blistering lecture about her "illness" never seeing the light of day still rang in her ears. She had the most wonderful daydream about drooling on herself like an invalid in front of her future mother-in-law.

And she was tempted to do it, too.

She was losing hope by the minute and already the world was turning cold and uninviting. She didn't understand why she suddenly left Wonderland, no matter how hard she wracked her brain. According to her parents, she never left at all. How could such a long time in another place be only a dream?

But this, just like that 'dream,' was so real. When she pinched herself, it hurt. When she accidently bumped her head on the interior of the carriage during a bump in the road, the pain in her head was real. She was having trouble sorting it all out.

If Wonderland was a dream though…

Reginald's grin as he held a poorly concealed bouquet behind his back.

If this is the real world…

Reginald's eyes, blue with the reflection of the firefly on his sleeve.

Then why…

"Hey, Give it back…." He whispered,

…does this hurt feel so real right now?

"My breath..."

"Dry your tears at once, Alice." Her mother snapped. "You are being absolutely ridiculous."

Alice hastily dashed her hand across her face, wiping off those traitorous tears.

"We are nearly there." Her mother said with a hint of relief.

She looked out the window and stared bleakly at the oversized lawn, leading to the immense mansion in the distance.

A short time later, they were seated at a table at a sprawling garden. Smiling at the roses, Alice bit back the urge to ask if they were painted. Her hosts were seated across from her, asking inane questions that required nothing but a yes or no, allowing her to daydream as she wished.

A servant arrived and poured the tea.

His voice echoed in her head: "CLEAN CUP—"

"Ahem, Miss Liddell," Sir Brandon's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Her mother nudged her foot beneath the table. "He was complementing your dress, girl." She hissed under her breath.

"Ah!" Alice started. "Thank you, Sir Brandon. My apologies."

The gentleman harrumphed and muttered something to his wife. Her forbidding frown deepened on her face. "I see you have a tendency to daydream, my dear?" She said coldly. "That simply won't do."

Her mother kicked her ankle beneath the table.

"Oh no, Ma'am, I was just… distracted by the beauty of this estate. Pray tell, how do you keep it all so pristine?" She simpered. Ugh.

Sir Brandon's toneless voice could stop a Bandersnatch in its tracks and have it snoring in seconds.

Alice looked down at her teacup as he continued to drone. The lime green fire's reflection was certainly interesting. Not as interesting of a green as a certain hat though…

Wait, what?

Nothing but her normal reflection, distorted by the movement of the tea. She was seeing things.

How lovely. She really was going mad.

"Yes, and we have hundreds of gardeners on staff," Sir Brandon continued. "Ah! Here's my boy right now." Alice turned to look with a resigned sigh.

With a breathless gasp, she shrank back at the thin, stubbled face glaring at her from beneath a hood.

"Alice, what…?" cried her mother, dismayed by her reaction. "I do apologize, she hasn't been feeling well." She said apologetically to their hosts.

"YOU!" Alice shrieked. "Let me out of here, this instant!"

"I say," said a shocked Sir Brandon, "What the devil has gotten into you?"

Alice shot up from her seat and faced the hooded young man, chained hands clenched to her sides and fury pouring from her eyes. "I demand you LET ME OUT!"

"Alice, NO!" her mother cried, pulling at her sleeve.

"I SAID, LET. ME. OUT!"

An explosion of green fire shot across the Victorian room as Reginald fell back from the hearth. The chair in his hands was broken, and he sat, watching in horrified fascination as the cracks spider-webbed across the large mirror up above the mantle.

"Reginald!" Alice screamed from the case. The cloth that covered it had fallen from the tremors that rocked the room.

He was up and running before she could blink. The chair smashed against the glass and cracked it.

"Turn your head, Cricket!" He cried. The chair shattered the glass and she fell forward, stopped suddenly by the chains attached to her wrists.

"Oh, Cricket, I found you! I'm sorry, but I couldn't wait for you to come to me like Ears said to." He gasped. He clasped her face with both hands.

"Reginald, what's going on?" She yelled over the loud groaning of the room as the walls warped and split.

"I broke the Looking Glass," He bellowed over the din, "You're safe now!"

A painfully loud cackle filled the room, drowning out the rumbling and moaning of the collapsing walls.

"YOU MAD, STUPID IDIOT!" The voice roared. "YOU ACTUALLY DID IT!" The laughter once again rose to an earsplitting pitch.

Hatter pulled at the chains and frantically looked around for something to free his Alice. He spotted a button by the side of her chamber labeled 'release' and mashed it with a fist. The chains fell out of the back of the chamber and the shackles around her ankles sprang open, dropping her into his arms.

"Lets get you out of here, Alice," He said, eyes wide and frightened above his grin. "Its time we went home."

"NOT SO FAST!" the voice cried gleefully, "SHES GOING HOME, BUT NOT WITH YOU, OLD MAN!"

The young man rose from the green flames, doubled over with maniacal laughter.

Behind him, the mirror was falling apart, shards sprinkling down into the roaring flames below. The room began to tilt towards the mirror, a wind pulling everything towards the void exposed by the cracks. Reginald leaned against the pull, charging towards the open door at the opposite end, Alice clasped tightly to his chest.

"Reginald," Alice cried, "Its pulling me!"

"No!" He snarled, "It can't have you!"

"BACK HOME WITH YOU, YOU MISERABLE WRETCH! BACK WHERE YOU BELONG!"

A table collided with the Hatter's legs, knocking him down. Alice slipped from his grasp and slid towards the fireplace, clawing and shrieking.

"ALICE!" He screamed, reaching out as far as he could.

"REGINALD!" Alice wailed. The flames erupted from the fireplace and surrounded her like a lime green halo. She reached out her hand to him in terror.

Their fingertips touched for a moment before she was pulled out of his reach and into the broken mirror, disappearing from his sight.

...

The Hatter woke to a purple-pink mist retreating from his eyes. He was lying on the ground, beneath a clear night sky. The sounds of the late evening rose from the surroundings. In the east, a green glow faded. Approaching footsteps brought the face of Ears into view.

"Reg!" said Ears, breathless with worry. "Where's Alice?"

"Alice…." He weakly whispered. "Come back…"

"Reginald? REG!"

He fell back into the darkness.

….