AN: Hey guys! I'm back. My absence was mostly due my new job, my first one actually. I'm going back to school on monday, so goodbye work and hello school. Hopefully that'll give more time to write.

Thank you for your pantience. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

She knew she was sleeping.

The realization came in a trivial moment.

It transformed her dream into an illusion.

She knew there was no need to worry.

She'd wake up soon.

Eventually.

She would-

Alice…

The dream shattered, but the remnants were filled with his voice.

Alice…

"Alice?"

"ALICE!"

She opened her eyes and gasped.

Bim was kneeling in front of her. He held the Second in one hand and poked Alice's forehead with the other.

"At last! For someone so slim, you truly are a heavy sleeper." Bim mockingly observed.

Alice growled and slapped his hand away from her.

"Upperlanders sure are lazy, or is it just you?" He laughed. "For a second there, I thought you'd never wake up. You almost made me worry, and I when I say almost, I mean that I wasn't worried at all."

"Oh, really? That explains why you wanted to throw a bucket of ice-cold water to her face the first time she didn't answer." Time sneered as he pulled the train's breaks. The machine exhaled a scentless cloud of smoke and its wheels creaked against the rails.

Once he made sure all the controls were in order, Time went back to Bim and Alice.

"Was is it really necessary for Alice to know that? No, it wasn't, so why waste yourself by saying it?" Bim growled. "I guess Time is not as wise as they say."

"Again with this they. I don't care about what they say! And trust me, young loon, you have no right to complain about me being wasted in telling useless information." Time leaned against the wall and folded his arms. "Especially after considering that seems to be your only talent."

"You're just jealous because you are a horrible story teller. Shukm, you put us all to sleep, remember?"

"I did not."

"Then what did it?"

"The tiredness."

"What?" Bim exclaimed, a vein in his forehead pulsated at an alarming speed. When it seemed as if he was ready to tackle Time, he scratched his chin and nodded calmly. "Well, that's actually a very good point. You win this round, Time."

"To defeat a fool is a hollow victory." Sighed Time.

"I heard him." Alice intervened before Bim had the chance to proceed with their charade. They looked at her with equal confusion. "Tarrant… he was calling for me. In my dream, I… I heard him."

"Nonsense." Time buffed. "You heard only the voice of his little doppelganger over here. He repeated your name so many times that my head almost explodes."

"It's a shame it didn't." Bim replied.

"It was Tarrant." Alice insisted adamantly. "I know it."

There was a moment when Time wavered, but his skepticism was no less stubborn than Alice's conviction.

Bim listened to Alice with gullible interest, and seemed to believe all that she said.

She smiled and felt a twinge of gratefulness for the lad.

"So if one goes Underground, you reach Alice's dreams?" He mused with his eyes lost into the distance. "Hm, it seems logical if you think about it. So that's where my uncle's been all this time. Is your head really that interesting, Alice? If it is, I should pay visit to it too!"

"I'd rather keep my head tourist-free, thank you kindly." Stated Alice. "Besides, Tarrant's not there. I've been hearing his voice in my dreams lately, just after the whole Chronosphere… incident happened."

Time scoffed.

"Incident? What a curious way to call it." He said with bitterness. "And very convenient too."

"In- in any case." Alice stuttered. Her ears were red and burning. "I may hear Tarrant, but I never manage to reach him, or see him. Not clearly, at least. He fades away in the last second, just before we can find each other. This time it was the same."

Bim grunted as he processed the information. He put the Second on his head and folded his arms. He remained quiet long enough to allow Time to speak without interruptions.

"It sounds to me that you and the Hatter need the same thing." Time looked at Alice. His stern eyes matched perfectly with the rigidness his voice.

"What is it?" She asked, moved not only by curiosity, but also by the faint hope that Time could have an answer.

He was Father Time, after all. The two symbols of wisdom mashed together in one entity. His words, while not always worthy of being followed, were at least always worthy of being listened.

"You both need to move on."

The words broke Alice's thoughts like a stone shatters a window.

She frowned.

What she had previously considered to be solemnity now sounded like condescendence. In many ways, Time's voice reminded her of her mother's. Helen would use the same tone whenever she scolded Alice for her irreverent ideals and vulgar behavior, as she had once referred to her conduct.

The memory of her mother was no free of sadness, but it didn't appease Alice.

"And how would you know?" She grunted.

"I've told you, girl." Time didn't react to her gall. "It was the Hatter's longing for you that caused all this trouble. And from what you've just said, your longing for him is also to blame."

"Me?" Alice stood up and faced Time. "How dare you accuse me when I barely know what happened?"

"Because whether you know or not, it still happened. That cannot be changed."

"I wasn't even here!"

"Wrong. You were. Not in body, but in essence." Time stated. "Just as he plagued your dreams, you plagued his. He told me of how he did little else other than sleeping after you left. It was because of those ill encounters that he grew desperate enough to seek my help, while you became so fond of them that you couldn't accept the fact you were never going to see him again. You left the door open, and he kept peeping to the other side. Had you closed it, the Hatter would have had no choice but to accept his place here; and had he stopped lurking nearby, you would have forgotten and enjoyed your own land in peace. But neither did, and these are the consequences."

Alice's mouth was dry. She was too upset to look more closely at Time's words and discover whatever truth they could hold.

She sensed something else.

There was something off in his reasoning, and she wasn't going to let it go unnoticed by Time.

"What about you, then?" Alice said sharply. "You could have denied Tarrant your help. You could have stayed out of this, couldn't you? But you didn't, Time. So if you say Tarrant and I are to blame, don't forget that you are as well."

A blue spark Traveled from Time's eyes down to his neck like a tiny thunder.

The Second started to whimper like a pup.

"How dare you." He didn't raise his voice. Alice heard how the ticking of his clock-heart became irregular and louder, as if the hands moved with the blows of a hammer. "Thankless child. Once again, I meet only with ungratefulness. Mortals are always the same. Off with you, then. Get off my train and never return."

"I'm not leaving."

"You are."

"No."

"You cannot contradict Time!"

"ENOUGH!" Bim put himself between them and forced them apart. The Second trembled between his feet.

Alice and Time hit the walls in unison. They both had the same awed expression.

Bim glared at them, first at Alice, then at Time.

"You are both right, but you are also wrong." His voice broke midsentence in a manner that would have been comical in any other situation. "So what if you are all to blame, or if none of you are? What does it matter? Alice is here, Time is here, I'm here, but my uncle isn't! Isn't that what should we be worrying about? It'd better be, or else I'm the one who's leaving. Shukm, if I'd wanted to hear this sort of stupid debates, I would have stayed in Witzend!"

"Bim." Alice said calmly.

"No, Bim nothing." He exclaimed. He looked at Time again, who was still trapped between surprise and indignation. "Let's tell her everything now. I'll help you if I must, but if either of you start with those accusations again, I'm leaving. For good. I promise."

Bim bit his lip and stomp the ground with his feet. He acted with the same maturity of a kindergartner, but Alice couldn't reprehend him, not when she had just acted the same way.

Time must have shared her thoughts, and when he talked again, it was as if the argument had been put in an indefinite hiatus.

By the look he gave her, Alice knew Time would gladly continue that argument later.

She would be ready by then, but as for that moment, she would accept the truce and listen to what they had to say.

If not for Time, she would do it for Tarrant and Bim.

"Then, they found me." Said Time out of a sudden with a monotonous voice. It took Alice a moment to recapitulate where the story had left off. "None of the fools recognized me under my improvised but brilliant disguise. The meatball, the Bandersnatch and this young fool fell for it right away, but it took more effort to trick the rat, the dog and the rabbit. Luckily, the overgrown salad played her role well, and they felt more at ease once she agreed to all I said."

"Mally never believed it completely." Bim added. "She's always skeptical, I tell you. She whispered in my ear not to let my guard down, but I was too impressed by the ridiculous new stranger to listen to her. He was the most interesting thing I had seen in years, and I wasn't going to let her caution ruin the fun for me."

"One would think Time is more intriguing that a random man covered in red creepers." Alice observed. Time almost seemed to agree with her, but his pride was too wounded to express the sentiment, and Alice too angry to accept it.

"I guess you can say Time gets old real fast." Bim grinned. "Especially after you see him tea party after tea party."

"I exist to keep myself and space in order, not to be your clown."

"That's debatable." Bim sighed. "Take it as a compliment, Time. I think your acting skills are amusing, to say the least. You should have seen him play the mute fool, Alice. Funniest thing you'd have seen in your life."

"Mute?" Alice inquired.

"It was out of necessity." Intervened Time in an attempt to restore his image. "My face was hidden, and my clothes concealed by the creepers. But not even the stupidiest of that group would have failed to recognize my voice, no matter how much I tried to distort it. The stakes were too high to attempt it."

"You bet they were. And Time's voice is one of a kind." Bim said. "So instead of talking, do you know what he did, Alice? He danced! I thought the Futterwacken was silly, but Time's moves were on a whole new level. It seemed as if a tadpole had sneaked inside his pants and had gotten lost up north."

Bim laughed until his cheeks blazed. Time's face gained color too, and Alice wasn't sure if it was out of shame or anger.

She had to bit her lip to avoid clacking alongside Bim.

"Dancing is a good way to express oneself." Said Alice in an attempt to keep her laughter in check. "Drawing or signs could have done the job a little easier, though…"

"Don't be silly, child." Scoffed Time. "Your lack of knowledge of Underland's history baffles me. See, it wasn't always that the animals from Underland could talk, and in those days, Underlandians communicated with them by dancing. I can't say I regret that the spoken tongue prevailed, to be honest. My dancing moves can be too much for the mortal eye to appreciate."

"I wish I could see how everyone danced like fools in those days." Said Bim with his eyes filled with tears of laughter. "The past is such a funny thing. Is it the same in Upperland, Alice?"

"Of course n— "Alice bit her tongue. The memories of the dance she had shared with Hamish years ago in their failed courting attempt came to her mind. He had moved with the grace of conceited peacock with wo left feet. "Actually, it is very similar. You could say I danced with an animal not long ago."

"And how was it?"

"Dreadful."

"Are you sure you weren't dancing with Time?"

"Again, you fail to see the purpose behind my actions." Time complained. "Communicative dancing is not supposed to be graceful as much as it's meant to be practical. If the message comes across, then it doesn't matter how the messenger looks while delivering it."

"Right. Whatever you say." Bim rolled his eyes.

"It's a lost art in Underland. Not many people understand it outside the members of the royal family. I was lucky the green woman did." Time continued. "She translated the story about my new identity to the fools. I was Time no more, but just an old inventor who had gotten lost in the Castle of Eternity by accident long ago, and had just managed to find my way out after many years of wandering around those endless halls."

"I didn't cry when I heard his story for the first time. "Bim interrupted suddenly with a scream. "Alright, I did, but I only shed a single tear."

"As I was saying." Time pushed his head down and forced him to sit down. "My name had been lost to me, as well of who I had been before my tragic fate. All that I remember was my trade, and the many tricks I had learned after spending millenniums trapped inside the castle. Once out, the fruit people had given me shelter and allowed me to live as one of their own, but Underland was not the place I remembered, and everyone I had once known was gone. Resenting my whole experience and regretting my misspent life, I decided to destroy the last memento of my grief: the grandfather clock."

"You really pour youy heart and soul into your background, didn't you?" Alice observed. "It almost sounds like the plot of one of the novels my sister is so fond of… Bim, are you crying?"

"I can't help it." He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. "Time's story gets me every time. Poor non -existing inventor…"

"Naïve fool." Time nodded his head. "If only everyone in that group had been as gullible as him, they wouldn't have questioned my tale when I told them that the whole explosion and flash in the sky had been the result of the stored energy dwelling inside the clock. An energy that had exploded free when I finally destroyed it after many failed attempts."

"I told you, it was Mally who didn't buy it. And she made Bayard and Mc Twisp doubt you." Said Bim. "When they sent Mc Twisp to get the White Queen, I tried to stop them. I didn't want them to imprision this eccentric sod! He was too much fun. I spoke against it, but Mally convinced me otherwise with violence…. I mean, physical rhetoric. I don't think I have feeling in my earlobes anymore."

"And did your chatty dances fooled Mirana too? I don't I believe it."

"You are partly correct, kindergartner. It took all of the green leader's support for the Queen to trusts my charade. It was a challenge, but I must say that after so many days of having no other company than the Hatter and the fruit people, it was refreshing to deal with someone with some brains in her head. Yet, I still think the White Queen decided to believe my story not out of trust, but only out of convenience. What a lovely bunch that royal family is…"

"With all your respect, Time… but I doubt Mirana, or anyone for that matter, could be too interested in an old loon freshly out of a grandfather clock. "said Alice.

"I was." Reminded Bim. "Were I king, I would have made him the royal fool immediately."

"Mirana doesn't seem like the monarch interested in that, Bim." Alice said after a faint giggle.

"And if she was, she'd already have the Hightopp clan to fulfill that role." Time retorted. "Fortunately, my comedic charm was the least of her concerns. She seemed much more interested in making sure the remnants of the grandfather clock were collected and sent to the Witzend castle at once. As a proof of amiability (or cowardice, I'm sure), the fruit people offered to help her by using the Kalamazoo to search for pieces that could have landed away from the castle. I still remember the cunning look in the Queen's eyes when she saw my marvelous creation, and I didn't expect anything less."

"Kalamazoo?"

"Yes, child. It's a cart I made for the fruit people when I was helping the Hatter build The Wonder." Time explained. "That's the name he gave to the machine, though I'm still convinced Axis Y was a better name."

Alice swallowed. Hearing the name of her father's ships now given by Tarrant to the representation of all of his attempts to reach her made her smile.

It didn't go unnoticed by Time.

He cleared his throat before continuing.

"The Queen couldn't hide the admiration she felt for my machine. She demanded kindly ,but not meekly, for the name of its creator. The multitude of green people mumbled like fishes with hooks stuck on their throats, their stupidity multiplied by their numbers, as if they were a mindless mob. Confused and not knowing what they should say, they all looked to their informal leader for an answer. She was so nervous that she almost spoils and rots at the spot. She gave me a quick glance of fear, and when the Queen asked again, she lifted her arm and pointed at me, earning me the attention of everyone."

"Mally whispered in my ear how she knew there was something wrong with the new stranger." Bim added. "Bayard and Mc Twisp agreed, but they seemed more interested in finding out more about him first. The Tweedle was wondering where Chess had gone to, and that was the only question that truly mattered, if you ask me."

"In that moment, I too envied the cat's vanishing abilities." Time said. "I almost wished the earth would swallow me too, as it had swallowed the Hatter and The Wonder. I'm not used to the burden of so many eyes fixed on me at once, not anymore. I felt as if the clock in my chest rusted with uncertainty when the White Queen approached me and asked if what they said was true, and if it was, how had I done it. I danced an explanation to her again, emphasizing the part of how I had learned many building tricks after wandering in the castle of Eternity for so long. Maybe she thought I was talking nonsense the first time I told her, but now that she could prove I could be useful, suddenly I was truly worthy of her attention. Monarchs."

"Send him to Wiztend." Bim spoke with a high and over the top voice that sounded more like a chipmunk than a woman's. "Make sure he feels at home in the castle, and give him new clothes and all the food he requires. Attend to his needs, for it is the first time after so many years that Underland has a Royal Inventor. Tis' a day that will blah blah blah, I don't remember all she said, but I do remember how shocked were Mally and the others. They almost seemed against it, but I was happy. The fact that the dancing loon was soon to be my neighbor of sorts was too good to be true. I hugged the Bandersnatch by the neck and asked him if he could believe my good luck, and it answer by growling and spitting in my face. I assumed that it meant he was happy too."

"Why Witzend of all places? Did something happen to the Marmoreal castle?" Alice asked with concern.

"Nah. It's just that Witzend's castle is where the two Queens rule together now, or at least they try… and fail." Bim shrugged. "Or something like that, I don't really know. Politics are boring."

"So the queens are in peace?" Alice asked, dreading the answer after Time and Bim gave each other a stressed look.

"No one can ever be at peace with the Bloody Big Head." Bim said at last. "Not even her own sister. They act as if everything was fine, but it isn't. Then again, I can't do anything about it, so I don't worry or care too much."

"I see." Alice muttered.

She had believed that things would work out fine between Mirana and Iracebeth, but now she wondered if that was just a lie she had repeated to herself in order to not to worry about their fate.

Now that she could think about it in retrospect, she saw herself as a selfish and uncaring. She regretted her attitude, but Bim was right.

In her own world, what could she have possibly done for Underland? Her worrying about it would have changed nothing.

She had play a role in the sisters' reconciliation, but she couldn't control what happened beyond it, or how it would affect Underland.

If Iracebeth had really become a threat again, Mirana would have summoned her.

Since she hadn't, Alice concluded that maybe not everything was as broken between the royal sisters as the Underlandians thought.

Maybe fear and gossip was just their natural reaction to the redemption of a fallen tyrant.

It was understandable, and very possible.

In Upperland people also tended to overreact when confronted with that kind of news, especially if the Queen was at the core of the scandal.

Alice hoped so, though how much she believed it to be true was something she couldn't say for sure.

"Iracebeth, she's…" Time swallowed and looked away. "She's not an easy person to be around. In the castle, she would have seen through me eventually. She's the only person I could never fool. She knows me, not too well, but more than any other mortal ever has."

"How did you avoid her in the castle?" Asked Alice softly.

"I didn't." Answered Time. "I was never in the castle, child. The Bandersnatch rode me to Witzend with the coterie as my patrol, but they never managed to take me to the castle. The Queen would meet with us there later, but she first wanted to talk with the leader of the green folk. Knowing that it could take long, I slowed us down with every excuse I came up with: I was getting dizzy, I was about to pass out, my little borogove, though unconscious, couldn't stand so much speed and would have nightmares."

"The excuses meant nothing to us. We couldn't understand his dances, and he could barely dance while riding the Bandersnatch." Bim laughed. "We did stop whenever he began to splash like a fish out of water, if only to calm him down. Longest travel ever."

"My plan worked, obviously, and we reached Witzend at the same time the Queen did. It didn't take a translator for her to understand my dance of how scared I was of castles. A natural consequence of wasting most of my life trapped in one." Time said. "Reluctantly, she deemed it wiser for me to stay away from it, if it distressed me so much, and agreed to give me another place to stay. But there was a catch: I had to agree to remain in Witzend at all times. "

"I offered him to stay at our family's home, but he rejected my invitation, the rude sod."

"The last thing I wanted at the moment was to be close to the hatter's kin. I´d had enough of their red-haired lunacy." Time said in his defense. "Besides, I wasn't some slacker looking for a resort to spend my vacations! I was trapped outside my realm and longed to go back to my own castle, back to Wilkins, my Seconds and the Grand Clock! I needed a way back, and knew that it was in the same place I had to avoid at all costs."

"Mirana's grandfather clock."

"Precisely."

"But it isn't in Witzend, it's in Marmoreal. That's where I first entered it, I remember it well."

"After the queens made peace, Mirana decided to move it to Witzend again, as a symbol of union and trusts between them." Bim spat with sudden disdain. "That's a load of shukm. I think she simply wanted to keep it well guarded so that the Bloody Big Head wouldn't have any funny ideas and try to visit Time again. We all know how well it turns out when those two meet."

"Bim." Said Alice with a frown.

"Leave him, child." Time ordered. "For once, he has the right to throw a jab. But don't make a habit out of it, lad. I will not take it kindly."

"Isn't that shocking." Bim retorted with bitterness.

Alice sensed the role of the pacifist would soon fall unto her shoulders.

It would be easier to appease Bim than Time.

She had noticed how Bim's mood worsened every time the conversation centered on the Queens.

Maybe she could still turn things around.

"Was your new lodging in Witzend of your liking, Time?" Alice commented with forced spontaneity. It sounded as false as Lady Ascot's laugh whenever an important Lord told an awful joke.

That cheerful thought made her cringe.

"Now it's me, " she said to herself as the silent tension between Bim and time grew, "who wishes earth would swallow me."

"I'm pretty sure Tarrant wishes that too." Said a voice followed by a purr. "He longed so much to see you, but now that you're here, he is gone. It is as ironic as it is tragic, wouldn't you agree, Alice?"

Alice looked up and noticed the ominous smoke floating above her , like a cloud heralding a storm. It shaped shifted, and when Alice blinked, the cat's head and tail had acquired form.

"Chessur!" She greeted happily, and Bim imitated her with no less enthusiasm.

The cat floated down until it was just inches away from touching Alice's nose with his.

His eternal grin was widened to its limits.

"Glad to see you made it here in one piece, Alice. I was worried that the chaos of your summoning would follow you on your way down. Not that Underland is free of its own problems." He breathed a sarcastic chuckle. "Has it ever?"

He winked an eye before Bim grabbed his head and began to ruffle it.

"Chess, teach me how to vanish. Come on, it's not as if you have something better to do." Bim said. His knuckles revolted Chess' fur into a mass of knots.

"Not this again." Complained Chess before vanishing and repairing away from Bim, only for him to chase after the cat without a truce, the Second following them close by.

"Great, another meddler. Because I haven't had enough for one day." Time said while he watched along with Alice the disaster the other three caused in the wagon.

The chase stopped as abruptly as it had begun when Chessur materialized only his head in front of Time.

"I think I like your mute persona better. "He said to Time without regard. "You better get into character soon, Time. You see, I came here not because I wanted. I'm not crazy enough to do that. I bring you a message from the White Queen, and for Bim too."

"What does she want?" Time sounded tired.

Bim mumbled something and pouted just like a child when play time is over.

"I didn't ask her. She needs you back at Witzend, that's all I know. Goodbye." Before disappearing, Chess looked at Alice. "Perhaps we'll meet again in Witzend, Alice. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone of your presence here... for now. Farewell."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Alice asked. She reached a hand towards the cat, but it went through a fading smoke that transformed into nothingness. She turned around and glared at the other two. "Mirana knows I'm here? Because something tells me my presence is not planned."

"When has it been, child?" Time went back to the controls and started the train. He was already wearing his heavy hat that covered most of his face. "Do you want to save the Hatter?"

The question took Alice by surprise, but the answer required little thought.

"Yes."

"Then what the queens want or know is irrelevant." Time stated neutrally.

Alice nodded, but Time didn't see her.

He then became so immersed in conducting the train that Alice felt no desire to distract him.

"He likes it, you know."

"Huh?"

"His lodging at Witzend." Informed Bim with the Second sitting on his shoulder.

Alice was surprised Bim remembered her question.

"You'll have to hide there for a while, just until Time and I are free to join you again. Don't worry, once we get to Witzend, I'll take you there without no one noticing. At least no one important."

"It's alright, Bim. Maybe I can find my way around if you tell me where it is. I know Witzend streets well enough." Assured Alice.

Bim scratched his chin and shrugged.

"If you say so. I'm not that good at stealth anyways. It's a shop."

"That's a little too vague, Bim."

"Mmm, how can I describe it to you. It's a bit old, with a door adorned with a multicolored glass. It's near King Oberon's statue. Inside, its walls are furnished with clocks, and I think there's a looking glass up the chimney. Alice, are you following?"

"Yes. I think I know that place, I've been there before."

"Really? Well, that makes things way more easy. But just to be sure, take the Second with you. You can tail him if you get lost. Just try not to follow him too closely; he attracts a lot of attention from the folk back home. They think it's cute, and I think they are dumb. "

Bim laughed and ruffled the Second's feathers.

Alice spend the rest of the travel watching them in silence, with her thoughts constantly wandering towards Tarrant .

She didn't know how, but she'd find him.

And if that meant concealing her actions to Mirana and Underland itself…

Well, perhaps Time was right.

What they wanted or didn't know was not her priority, not until Tarrant was safe.

The train's whistle went off, and from the distance, Witzend became visible.

Alice peeked out from one of the wagon's window and gazed at it as the wind blew through her hair.

She realized there was no going back.

That was the only road ahead of her now.

If she was allowed to be honest , she wouldn't have preferred it any other way.

"Your Majesty—"

"I know, Mister Hightopp." Mirana put a hand on the man's shoulder. He had aged years in the last months. "Don't worry, I've called for Bim to come back at once. You know how fond he is of his job at the train. "

Zanik rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"He's gone for days, and doesn't even let us know how he's doing." He complained under his breath. "Is he well? Does he need anything? Nothing, not a single word from him."

"At his age, it's only natural to be a bit selfish."

"I know I'm the one who begged you to employ him. I thought that if you allowed him to be part of the Coterie, or let him work at the train, it would clear his mind off what happened to our family. But seeing how easily he distances himself from us, I think I made a wrong choice. He needs to be at home, with the family he has left."

"Mister Hightopp."

"First Tarrant runs away, and then Poomally disappears." He said with a broken voice . "I can't lose the lad too."

He wiped the tears escaping from his eyes. Mirana felt them as if they were their own.

"You won't." She said, holding his hand gently. Zanik swallowed his tears and quickly regained his sober expression. Mirana could see beyond his serious façade, but knew it was better to pretend she didn't. Zanik Hightopp, in pain or not, was a prideful man. "I'll see he returns home as soon as he arrives, I promise."

"Of course." Said Zanik in a whisper. "Thank you, your Majesty. I know my family has caused you much trouble through the years, but— "

"Enough. I will not accept apologies from the kin of the man that saved my life." Ordered Mirana. "At ease, Mister Hightopp, and don't lose hope. Bim will be alright, and my Coterie is still looking for Tarrant. We will find him, I promise."

Zanik nodded, but despair lingered in his face. Mirana knew that no amount of promises would bring comfort to the man, and decided it was best to dismiss him.

He complied silently and vowed before her.

She watched him walk heavily towards the entrance, and saw merely the shadow of the man he had been.

He stopped at the entrance and turned around.

"It's nearly ready, your Majesty." He announced without emotion. "Your sister's crown. I just must finish the final details."

"Excellent. Thank you." Mirana said with a small bow of her head. "Iracebeth will be pleased when she hears the good news."

The Queen noticed the phantom of hate in Zanik's eyes before it was concealed by formal stoicism.

"Yes." He answered. "I'm sure she will."

With that, he left.

Mirana stared at the entrance for a moment before returning to her duties. She approached the wall where the map of Underland hung, surrounded by a golden frame. It was adorned with small drawings of the Unicorn and the Lion fighting, each representing a different encounter.

It was one of the first creations of the Royal Inventor, but far from his most impressive.

She still couldn't believe that a man so skillful had remained away from Underland for so long. What a waste of potential, but at last she could make use of his talents to continue improving the life of her people.

Mirana joined her hands behind her back and inspected once more the new route she had planned for the train. She couldn't wait to tell the Royal Inventor about it.

Hopefully he'd agree without many complaints. She appreciated communicative dancing as an art, but was far from being fond of it as a way to express her ideas.

"Might was well practice." She sighed.

Though bothersome, she knew it was a small fee to pay in exchange for the Inventor's building abilities.

With dignified resignation, she danced, remembering her father's lessons and her mother's advice.

From an upper corner, Chess watched her in silence.

Below him, a pair of dark eyes were fixed on the dancing queen.

Their owner, clad in red, stomped away from the scene, with a Tweedle clumsily following her lead.