*Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderland or any affiliates.

Hi :) I'm back again! Break ended and school began *sigh* but like omg we've hit 30 chapters! :O

Yes! New chapter! Um... any warnings... hm... not really, just you're gonna be in for a shocker ;)

Also, I dedicate this chapter to both Alan Rickman and Christopher Lee (to me, more importantly, Christopher Lee, but I love Alan Rickman too, just I knew Christopher Lee first)

Enjoy?

Alice jolted awake from her spot on the study floor, wide awake and confused about what had woken her. Then a loud crash in the corridor outside sounded.

First instinct was to roll her eyes at whatever it was that Mason had done now, but then she remembered the many guests that were in and out of her home nowadays and the many cabinets of fine china.

And as master of the house, she should go investigate. She pushed herself up then swung the door open. She expected to see strewn broken pieces of glass but-

She stopped short at a familiar leather cloak. He turned his head and she gasped – her father! Not a day older than last she saw him! She felt herself smile for he always wore that coat no matter the weather; he could not be parted from it.

But where was… he going?

She pushed passed whoever was unfortunate to stand in her way and ignored their disgruntled retort. She had to catch him. She couldn't live with herself if she let him get away from her again.

A hand grasping her wrist interrupted her.

"Alice, Alice, I've been looking for you," Mason smiled.

Her eyes tore away from her father, and she noticed Mason held rolled parchment and a quill. "Come, we must talk wedding plans! You know your mother has her requests and I do as well, but it's purely your choice, my dear. And your sister keeps begging me to invite her, but I know how you feel about her-"

She frowned and squirmed her way from his grip and rushed out the door, barely catching the glimpse of that cloak as her father disappeared down the busy lane. She took off.

She wanted to cry in frustration for she couldn't seem to run fast enough. He was fading away as the mist from the docks spread across the road. Desperate, she leaped onto a moving carriage. She ignored the annoyed look a man and woman gave her. She soon saw the bow of the Wonder and her heart skipped a beat.

Surely he was aboard! There was no other place that truly connected them.

She jumped onto the pavement. She could just make out Glasdon and the crew through the fog. She skirted around a large crowd of workers but slipped on the wet cobblestone, suddenly crashing into a stranger.

He turned around – a thunderous look on his face. "Watch it, you impudent girl!" he boomed.

Her breath caught in her throat and she half stumbled, half crawled backwards. His voice- She frantically took in his white hair, black suit, red poppy on his lapel, and purple tie. If ever the Jabberwocky lived and was turned human, she swore it was he.

Her imagination curled his features and suddenly she remembered the creature's forked tongue and beady eyes-

She scrambled to her feet and ran away.

She finally clambered onto the deck of the ship, and quickly scanned the scene for him.

At the helm!

She made for the stairs-

But Glasdon stepped in her way and she stopped.

Glasdon, her most trusted sailor and friend, stood there with his arms folded across his chest, his face void of emotion, and his eyes judgmental and angry. "So, this is what you've become."

She was taken aback. "What?" she asked.

His short laugh was bitter and disbelieving. "To think I admired you, Alice. You weren't like other sailors. You abided by your own rules."

Her brow carefully creased.

His eyes flicked down to her left hand. "And now you've chosen appearances over happiness." His mouth was in a straight line and his eyes were hard and cold. "I no longer respect you, Alice Kingsleigh, for you would sooner throw away your happiness than love who you truly want."

"Glasdon, I-" but she couldn't finish her sentence… for she did not know what to say. Had she chosen Mason out of obligation for her mother? Had her misery been noticeable if that was the case? Could Glasdon tell she was unhappy? Or had it been financial reasons that brought her and Mason together? How had Time taken it? She couldn't stop the helpless look that overcame her.

"A single white lie can ruin your life," he warned. "I'd choose wisely." He turned away.

But she didn't linger on his words much longer as the change in the wind reminded her of the true reason she was aboard the Wonder. She looked to the helm where her father had just been. She raced to meet him as he descended the stairs. "Father!"

But her voice died in the howling wind, and she watched him turn for the crow's nest. She followed, squinting high into the sky when he gripped the ropes and started to climb.

She followed without question – she had to know where he was leading her. Was he showing her how he had died? Had it been during a storm? Had the ropes torn? Did the winds prevent him from seeing? The sudden weight on her left ring finger felt ten times heavier than before, but she pushed the feeling aside and gripped the rope, pulling herself up onto the rails, one foot already in place. If her ending had been with Mason, then he would just have to live with her choices.

A firm grip on her forearm stopped her, but she couldn't let go. She wouldn't let go. Mason could whine and beg for her to get down, but she wouldn't. Not when her answers were so close. She tried to yank her arm from his grip.

"Not now, my love-" he carefully rumbled, his voice oddly deep and soothing.

The brutal wind whipped her hair into her face, and she looked up the rope ladder to the crow's nest where the black figure of her father still climbed. She had to know.

Her blood ran cold at the voice that started in her head – Margaret. Berating her once more.

"He spent all his life in that study of his, pouring over maps and books of the sea. And the Wonder, a ship he loved more than any of us, was his life."

"-come inside. You said so yourself, a storm is coming-"

"I see what you've become. I only pray you find what you have here before you take that risk like he did-"

"-You know I will not let you be up there alone, not in this weather-"

"He threw himself onto that ship, believing he could better our lives. But he had grown too greedy for power, and he thought he was invincible."

She shut her eyes against the pounding voice in her head, her grip going tighter and her knuckles turning white.

"-Aida is asking for you," he continued. Then his hand covered hers – long and warm fingers curling over her cold ones. "You know how she feels about thunder."

"He never came home."

Alice looked up at the crow's nest, squinting against the falling rain. She could no longer see her father's cloak. She let out a weak sigh and shook her head, shaking Margaret away. "Aida?" she asked. Her own voice sounded far off.

The hand over hers moved to her waist and its partner grasped her other side. She could hear the frown on his face when he answered. "Aida, our daughter."

Such a beautiful name for a little girl in a loveless marriage. She still couldn't look at him.

He pried her hands away from the ropes and she let him pull her from the rail, surprised he was stronger than he looked. She vaguely turned her head at the sound of nearby rustling and jumped slightly as her coat was placed over her shoulders. She felt him put his hand to her back – comforting.

But she could not accept any such feeling – the thought of Mason keeping up appearances bothered her. Her father had vanished again, and it seemed even in a dream, she did not get a happy ending.

"Mama!"

Alice involuntarily cringed. Though she knew she could simply wake up, it felt so real… like this was to be her fate in life, no matter what she chose…

The little girl barreled into her, clinging onto her for dear life.

She swallowed – bracing herself to see a fair blonde green-eyed little girl who looks just like Mason.

But her face fell slack and a breathy laugh escaped her as she took in the very familiar little girl. The girl with curly raven-black hair and bright blue eyes. She turned, finally wishing to see her husband. "Time?" she asked, never quite turning enough to see him.

His smile returned to his speech. "My yellow-haired girl." He kissed her temple and she allowed herself to turn and mold into his body, taking in his warmth. Had she really gotten her happy ending?

Her eyes opened and she was lying on the floor in her study.

She heaved out a great sigh and sat up, glancing out the window at the quiet street. The sun was still an hour from rising but it seemed sleep would not be returning to her, and she didn't really want it to.

She stood in the courtyard – the only place that could comfort her for it resembled Wonderland. Exotic plants, colorful flowers, overhanging trees, a bench in the midst – yes, a place she could sit and believe she was in some part of Wonderland.

The only place she could feel at home.

Wonderland.

A childhood dream turned reality that she was grateful truly existed. It was a place she could visit, see her friends, have such grand adventures with Hatter, create so many fond memories.

But now her chest ached as it held so many troubles for her now.

She was no longer a child and the day would come when she needed to grow up and leave Wonderland behind. But.. how can she rid herself of the very people who made her who she was? How could she lock her memories and throw away the key? How could she forget everything she's ever felt for beings in Wonderland?

In some ways, her sister was right – she needed to make a choice. But the choice was different than what Margaret implied. This was a choice she had been ignoring for so long because.. because she was Alice Kingsleigh and this was her life and nobody in the entire world would tell her what to do and how to live and whom to find happiness with!

No one!

She had been ignoring the choice because… she counted on her mother living forever.

Because she held the child-like mindset that her mother would never die. That she'd always be there, supporting Alice no matter how rash her daughter was.

There was no use in sugarcoating it – her mother would die before the year was out. And Alice would be seen as the daughter who refused to grant her dying mother's last wish. The fragmented relationship with Margaret would cease to exist and her credibility would be tainted and all of London would know what she had done. How she selfishly remained headstrong and stubborn and did not marry.

Just this once. The crafty and inconsiderate words Margaret had said floated through her mind. They echoed in the walls of her soul, taunting Alice to finally make her choice.

The choice that has sat in the back of her mind ever since returning from India. The choice that she had been avoiding. The choice that the author had planned out from the very beginning-

The choice between Time and Mason.

Alice's heart clenched for it wasn't as simple as that. It wasn't choosing between a man who she loved with all her heart and a man who she found ignorant and irritating. It was choosing between a man who could never meet her family and a man whom her mother knew and trusted.

She could say she found a man she so desperately loved, but Margaret would interject and demand to meet him. Mrs Kingsleigh would tiredly agree that would be best.

And if it were so, and Alice married Time… she wasn't immortal. She couldn't become immortal. She'd spend all her life with him – years upon years upon decades and decades. But when she finally left this world, her life spent with him would be a mere minute in his long and never-ending life. He even said so himself: that he would not bear to see her waste away for she was not meant to live forever.

But her heart yearned for him! Every fiber of her being craved him! How could she tell him? How could she cause heartbreak and anguish? How could she bring herself to admit that Princess Mirana was right? That the fire between them was not love but lust… a dangerous path to take when they weren't meant to be.

Just this once. Selling her life in exchange for a loveless marriage. Just this once.

For her mother and no one else, she'd accept what was expected of her. To see joy in her mother's eyes one last moment, she'd make the very un-Alice-like decision.

Everything is not a business transaction.

But indeed it was – she'd marry Mason purely for financial stability and to give her mother some peace of mind when she finally left this world. For her mother who she had taken for granted these past few years not to mention her entire life.

"The day Alice Kingsleigh grows up," she whispered to the flowers, "is the day she will never return to Wonderland." She brushed away a fallen tear. "Oh, I'm such an idiot." She buried her face in her hands and cried.

"Yes, that is true. You've always been such, Alice," came a deep voice. "But perhaps that is what – regrettably as it is – made you.. you."

Her head shot up and she spotted a blue butterfly perched on a lily. Surely she had not imagined it-

"Absolem?"

"Only you can write your future, as I have informed you countless of times. Maybe now you can get it through your bratty little head. It's up to you, Alice. Time can be rewritten, but of course you knew that…"

"Time can be rewritten?" she zeroed in. She desperately looked to the butterfly. "What does that mean?"

No answer.

"Absolem? Absolem?!"

But the butterfly flew off.

"Damn you," she muttered. "What good of help are you supposed to be if you leave everything a mystery?"

But she thought of what he said. Time can be rewritten, but even according to Time, no such thing was possible. And her little stint with the chronosphere could vouch for that.

Still, she ignored the faint flutter of hope Absolem's words gave her.

She heard a faint chatter of voices – someone had opened the patio door, probably in search of her. She huffed, irritated that Absolem just up and flew away. She heard footsteps nearing and she stood, glancing around the trees and plants in vain one last moment, hoping Absolem was near.

Even as a butterfly, he was vague. She harrumphed to herself, muttering under her breath about the once-caterpillar.

"Alice?" a careful voice drew her from her thoughts.

She turned and saw a familiar blond man. "Mason." She narrowed her eyes as the blue butterfly landed on the wall behind him. She pursed her lips and looked at said human. "Yes?"

"I have just spoken with Captain Haines," he began, reluctant and voice quiet. "He has a proposal for you."

She felt a weight settle in the pit of her stomach. Captain Haines was a prominent man in the Royal Navy. She feared his request, especially when leaving home was out of the question for her. "What does he say?"

"He wants to chart a new course to China. He said you did a wonderful job the last time, except it was such a shame your mother had sold the company while you were away, that profits were temporarily delayed until it was recovered."

She fought the urge to roll her eyes at the implication of Hamish.

"He said he wants your… spunk-y-ness back."

She sighed and shook her head. She knew Mason already knew her answer, but he had felt compelled to tell her, seeing how she was still Captain. She shrugged, "I know it is expected of me, to agree to sail with a well-known captain… but… I can't. Not with Mum, not with everything so uncertain." She glanced at Mason then at the flowers in the courtyard. She clicked her tongue and gave a weak chuckle. "Dare I say this is your bright opportunity, Mason."

He watched her face and he realized she held no mirth.

"As captain, you must be the one to go in my stead." Speaking this did not sting as much as she thought it would.

He offered a bit of a smile, trying to bring back some lightness to the conversation. "And leave you here? No, I will tell him you're declining the request. I'll tell him there is no other that can do the job as well as you – and well, there isn't."

She looked at him and he continued off her silence.

"I'm honored that you've finally come around to me, though I could tell it was a bit of a struggle."

The corner of her mouth quirked upward.

"I do not have your charm, your charisma. I cannot sail in your stead. I am afraid your crew does not approve of me."

She snorted with a strange amount of mirth, "As that is your own fault."

He gave a bit of a chuckle himself, "I admit that. I thought to be captain meant showing superiority over others, but sailing under you, I have learned that it's quite the opposite."

"Here's your chance. Go out and prove what you've learned."

"And have you preoccupied that I run aground?" he quirked. Then he quieted and offered a comforting smile, "Your thoughts must be with your mother. China can wait. Everything can wait. And you know, perhaps when she recovers you can go on adventures again."

Alice swallowed against the lump in her throat – the humor suddenly gone. "You don't have to give me false hope, Mason. I appreciate what your trying to do, but don't."

He took a step closer – his features bordering on helpless. "In the months I've known you, you're never one to lose hope. I don't see what makes this situation any different."

She turned her head away, biting her lip when he gently grasped her hand.

"Do not be so sure the worst will happen," he continued, his voice soft and comforting. "She'll be fine. It'll be alright."

She looked at him, at his eyes where true emotion sat, and nodded. "Thank you."

They turned at the timid knock from the doorway. The young nursemaid curtsied. "Miss Kingsleigh, your mother wishes to speak with you."

So this moment of peace between her and Mason had ended. She sighed and gently squeezed Mason's hand. She gave the girl a smile, "Thank you, Gemma."

Hi y'all, how was that? ^o^ I'm excited about things! Are you? I wouldn't blame you if you weren't ;)

The tale of the very un-Alice-like decision continues in the next chapter...

Thanks for reading!