I do NOT own Alice in Wonderland, only this story and my original characters.

This story is rated M, for violence, language and sexual themes.

Chapter 8

Champion to Champion

Alice slowly awoke feeling refreshed. Looking out the balcony doors she saw the moon was high in the sky telling her that it was very late. Still she felt restless so she got out of bed, dressed and headed out to the gardens. When she got to the spot where she had hugged Tarrant earlier she smiled.

Looking around Alice saw some of the plants were glowing. It was breath taking and they had seemed to have formed a path. Taking a deep refreshing breath she headed down the path. Soon it widened into a small courtyard and there in the middle of it was a statue of the Champion; Alice Kingsleigh.

Slowly she approached the statue. It was magnificent. It truly looked just like her great-grandmother. Suddenly what Mallymkun said came back full force. She was right; Alice looked nothing like her great-grandma. Where G.G. had stunning blue eyes and ringlets of gold with porcelain skin, she had the opposite.

Her hair was short and a blend of black, brown and red. Her eyes were rich pools of chocolate but turned black when she got angry. Finally her skin was a light tan, almost a soft mocha. It's what made her stand out the most. Gently she touched the statue. She looked so strong and confident.

"She wasn't always strong and confident you know." The voice startled Alice causing her to jump.

Quickly looking around her eyes settled on a string of smoke. Turning her head to follow it she was met with the sight of a blue caterpillar.

"You must be Absolem." Alice stated quietly.

"Of course I am you stupid girl." He drawled out, releasing a breath of smoke.

"What do you mean; "She wasn't always strong and confident?" Alice inquired.

"I mean exactly what I said." Came the same drawled reply. She felt a little taken aback. The woman she knew was always strong and confident. Even in her death she showed no fear, just understanding and acceptance.

"At one point Alice lost all of her muchness." Absolem's words startled her.

"Really? How do you think she lost it?" Her voice was quiet but still carried quite well across the small space.

"How should I know? I am not her and I am not you. You are not her either. You are you, she is her and I am me." Absolem explained.

"Ok remind me to never ask you for life guidance." Alice bit out.

"If you want maybe you should talk to her, she once said that saying your fears out loud helps to overcome them." With that he disappeared.

For a while she just stood there wondering if she really just got scolded by a worm with legs. Make that an old mean blue worm with legs. Heaving a heavy sigh she returned her focus to the statue.

"Say your fears out loud huh? Well here goes nothing." Quickly glancing around Alice saw that she was alone, or so it appeared. Alice sat on the ground and tried to figure out just what to say to a statue. Deciding to talk to it like she would the person it represented she just let go.

"What am I supposed to be doing here? I mean I know that I have to help everyone but what if I fail. I don't think I can do this alone. I'm not sure of anything right now. I mean Absolem's right, I'm not you. Nowhere close. And if someone like you could lose your muchness than how to I make sure I don't as well. I need help, there's just no way I can do this by myself. I don't know how to ask for help. I never have. I want to be strong and protect the place you loved so much, but I'm scared and confused." By now she had her head on her knees and her arms wrapped around her legs.

Alice knew she looked either stupid or like she was crying but she didn't care. She wasn't afraid or ashamed to admit what she felt; for the most part she was very open about it. Now however she was scared that everyone expected her to be like her great-grandmother and she was scared to let them down. All her life she had disappointed the people she cared about, she didn't want to do it again.

"You are you, she is her and I am me." She softly whispered to herself. That was right. Her name was Alice Kingsleigh; she was nineteen years old and the daughter of Evelyn Cortez. She was the heir to the Kingsleigh estate and she was going to save Underland. Smiling slightly she felt better. She would only truly fail if she tried to be someone she wasn't.

Slowly standing up Alice dusted herself off. She was debating on going back to the castle when she noticed the sun rising. It painted the sky with purples, reds, pinks, and gold's. She felt herself gasp at the beauty before her. Soon shadows were being cast in different directions. As the sun kissed her skin she felt herself being warmed, and her doubts melting away like the darkness in the sky.

The morning chill was now being replaced by another summer day. She had no idea what she would do today, since she wasn't really used to not having classes.

"Perhaps I should practice; it would be nice to get a good stretch in before the day started." Alice thought to herself. Her poor abused muscles were not going to like it but it had to be done. Besides with how things were looking it seemed that war would be inevitable.

So with a slight bounce in her step Alice headed to a bigger courtyard and slowly started her stretches. She loved exercising first thing in the morning. Making sure her body was well warmed up she started with some simple punches. This was soon followed with simple kicks and then some combos. Soon she was doing flips and using evasive maneuvers. All in all she was having a blast, though she wished she had a sparring partner.

As she wrapped up a dodge combo nicely, Alice felt her stomach growl. Looking at the sun she guessed it was around eleven a.m. Slowly calming her breathing and relaxing her muscles she headed for the kitchen for an early lunch. As she walked through the door she was met with the sight of Tarrant talking excitedly to Thackery and Mally. Chess was sitting with them grinning and drinking his tea and eating a biscuit.

Walking over to the table she poured herself a cup of tea and added her milk and sugar.

"Alice would you like a biscuit?" Chess asked kindly.

"Why yes please, and thank you." She responded softly, still smiling from her work out.

"So what did you do this morning Alice?" Tarrant asked excitedly.

"Worked out, I love my morning practices, though I couldn't spar since no one was up yet." She explained.

"Well how long have you been sparring?" Mally asked in a frosty tone.

"Since sun-up. I couldn't sleep so I went out to the gardens until the sun rose then I exercised." Alice explained calmly. She really didn't know what the mouse had against her but it was seriously starting to get on her nerves.

"Oh I also met Absolem." She said before taking a bit out of her biscuit and then a sip of her tea.

"Really now, where did you meet him? I didn't even know he was back yet." Tarrant asked happily. Swallowing Alice told them of how she wondered down the lit trail, met Absolem, and how she spent the time after he left thinking about her life and how much she wanted to help everyone.

"Well I must say that I'm happy your on our side Alice. With all that determination we are bound to win." Chess said smiling gently.

"I hope so. I want to keep this place safe and restore it to its previous wonder." She said earnestly.

"We know Alice and we are grateful for that, but it may take a long time to restore Underland to its former glory. Are you really ok with staying that long?" Chess asked softly. He didn't want Alice to change her mind and leave. She was his friend and he already loved her like a sister.

"Well I have been meaning to talk to the White Queen about staying here forever after we defeat the Red Queen. I figured another pair of hands would be of some help when it came to the repairs. However I haven't met her yet." She said with a shrug. She knew that Chess and Thackery both knew this already, so why bring it up. Then she remembered who else was there.

Looking around she saw that Mally looked ready to kill something, most likely Alice herself. Tarrant however looked very, very happy. He was grinning ear to ear, the small gap in his teeth more and more pronounced. His vibrant green eyes were almost glowing and it looked like he was shaking.

"You mean you want to stay here? Here as in the castle or here as in Underland in general?" Tarrant asked in an excited tone.

"Well I would stay here at the castle until the grounds here were repaired then I would travel Underland, helping whoever needed it, maybe writing the story of how I came to be here and the life I live. After all one never knows where life will take them." She stated softly.

"Wise words Alice. Some would say such wisdom comes with age, but just how old are you?" Chess asked curiously. Blushing from the compliment she smiled.

"I'm nineteen; in fact I'll be twenty in three months Otherworld time." She stated happily.

"Wow, so you're almost the same age as Alice the first when she became the champion." Tarrant stated in awe.

"What can I say it must be an Alice thing. We slay mutant zombies too you know." She stated. At their shocked and confused faces she burst out laughing.

"The last part was a joke. You see there is a movie about zombies and the woman who kills them is named Alice." She continued to look at their confused faces.

"Never mind." Alice sighed.

"You're an odd girl Alice, but I like it." Chess said with a playful smile.

"Ha ha, well then thank you Chessur, I'll take my oddness as a compliment." She shot back just as playfully.

"That reminds me, Tarrant did you find any inspiration for your hats the other day?" Alice questioned curiously.

"Oh yes, especially after our talk. It helped me greatly you know. Now I have tons upon tons of ideas for my dear lovely hates." Tarrant exclaimed.

"And just when did you two talk about hats?" Mally demanded.

"Oh Tarrant joined me in the gardens yesterday where we got to know one another a little better." Alice stated with a smug little smirk.

The little mouse looked like she was going to explode; which Alice slightly hoped she would.

"Hatter, why didn't you tell me you needed inspiration?! I would have gone with you!" Mally looked like the Hatter had sicked Chessur on her or something. It truly pissed her off. Tarrant's eyes were turning blue and filling with guilt and he hadn't even done anything wrong.

"Mally calm down. Can't you see you're upsetting Tarrant?" Chess hissed at her.

"Don't bother Chessur, can't you see she's too busy being horrible to Tarrant to listen?" Alice bit out angrily.

"What did you just say about me?!" Mally screamed.

Everyone looked shocked at Alice's outburst but she didn't care, she just continued to glare at the dormouse before continuing.

"You know what Mally you're a rat of a friend. How dare you treat Tarrant like that! You don't own him, you're not his master! If he wants to go looking for inspiration then so be it. You have no right to treat him like that! No right at all!" She screamed.

With her final outburst Alice turned on her heel and left the group to go blow off some steam. And hit something. She knew Mally was jealous but it wasn't Tarrant's fault.

"Stupid mouse, should have just told me off instead of ripping into the poor Hatter. He doesn't even realize it's him we're fighting over." Alice thought to herself.

"I wonder what Absolem would have to say about all of that?" She whispered quietly.

"I think it was a childish display, then again most Alice's are just that." Came the board drawl of Absolem's voice.

"Do you have to do that, that popping out of nowhere thing?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" She scolded. He however just continued to look smug.

"It is hardly my fault that you're scared easily." The blue caterpillar stated simply.

"Yeah, well where I'm from pretty caterpillars should be seen not heard." Alice said with a slight glare.

"Yes but we are not where you're from and don't forget you asked what I would have to say. I simply told you." Again even though his voice was dull his face was smug.

"Whatever. I stand by what I said. I pulled her chain, she should have taken it out on me not Tarrant. He did absolutely nothing wrong. She had no right or reason, I mean why would she be so mad about something so small? It's not like I seduced him back to my chambers, I mean come on!" Alice ranted.

"Mally has loved the Hatter for a very long time, as have you. When you came here she recognized you as a threat, which you certainly are. Tarrant has always been the center of Mally's world but when you were found he couldn't stop asking about you. You have taken her world and completely flipped it around and upside down." Absolem stated somewhat sadly.

"So you're saying she's like this with everyone?" She questioned.

"Yes, but it is worse with you, since you're obvious in your affection to Hatter." He drawled.

"Well why wouldn't I be? I'm not embarrassed by the fact that I love him, I'm just not overly confident when it comes to guys. I mean it's not like I've had any experience." Alice admitted.

She never dated anyone before. She had been asked out but they never appealed to her. She always compared them to the Mad Hatter from her great-grandma's stories and she always ended up turning the poor boys away. It wasn't like she was cruel about it. She always thanked them for their affections and turned them down gently.

Only two of them were brave enough to pursue her after the first rejection. Eventually they turned it into some kind of competition. Then there was Duncan. He was a nice guy who respected that Alice liked her space. So when his twin brother; Kyle and his best friend; Tristen were giving her a headache he would take them off her hands for a while.

"You're daydreaming again." Absolem stated, interrupting her thoughts.

"No I wasn't. I was just thinking about my lack of guy experience." Alice bit out.

"Fear not, I'm sure Tarrant will find it endearing that you have no idea on what you're doing." He said gently.

"Or he'll think I'm a loser who can't get a date to save her life, or a freak." She muttered.

"Well why haven't you ever dated?" The caterpillar asked.

"What's this? Alice I find it hard to believe a boy has never asked for your company before." Chessur's voice chimed in, scaring Alice out of her wits.

"Well it's not that I wasn't asked out because I was, quite often actually. It's just none of them could compare with Tarrant. When I first heard of him I couldn't think of a better man, and now that I've met him no other guy can compare." She said with a dreamy smile.

Chessur just grinned at Absolem; who looked most pleased with her answer.

"You must truly love him to be able to look at another man and not want them at all." Absolem stated with a small smile on his face.

"Of course I do. He is perfect in my eyes. He's creative, funny, loyal, caring, understanding, handsome and of course mad." She said happily.

"You love that he's mad?" Chess asked somewhat confused.

"I sure do. The mind is always better when it's not all there because in its place impossible things can be born and made into reality." Alice said gently.

"Yes but don't forget that being mad has its negative effects as well. Hatter hides it well but if he were to ever lose control he could seriously hurt you." Absolem said solemnly.

"And when he came back I would be there to hold him. Everyone loses control, everyone has limits that when pushed result in horrible things but it's the choices they make when they calm down that tell you what kind of person they are." She whispered softly but confidently. Absently she touched her face and remembered when her father had slapped her when she was younger. She now knew what kind of man he was.

"You truly are her descendant, there's no doubt about that. For only an Alice could have such a heart as yours." Absolem stated.

"And what kind of heart is that?" Alice asked curiously.

"The heart of a champion." And with that he was gone.

"Does he ever say good-bye?" Alice said while looking at Chessur. Soon both broke out laughing.

"Alice I hope I'm not over stepping but why did you touch your face when you finished saying how it was actions that made people?" Chess asked nervously.

"It's not over stepping anything Chess." Alice said gently.

"When I was younger, after my mom died but before I live with grams I told my dad that I didn't want a new mom. He got angry because I said it right in front of her. She started crying and saying that she just wanted us to be a family. In the moment he got caught up in his anger and slapped me saying I was lucky that I had someone who wanted to love me." She said gently running fingers over the place he had slapped her.

"Shortly after I was sent to live with my great-grandmother. I was deemed as an ungrateful wild child." When she finished she let out a sad sigh.

"How dare he hurt you! What kind of man slaps a woman much less a child!" Chessur exclaimed furiously. Gently grabbing his face Alice looked into his deep angry eyes.

"Chess it's over, he never touched me again after that." She said softly.

"Alice that does not make it ok!" He exclaimed.

"I'm not saying it's ok, it will never be ok but it's over. I'm not going to let it ruin my life. He's a horrible father, the Otherworld is full of them, bad mothers too. However I'm here now, with you and everyone else so why should I let it bother me?" When she finished Chess had calmed down a little.

"Well I still want to use him as a scratching post but if you're ok then I'll leave it be, but the second you're out of sight you can bet I'm going to destroy something. A pillow perhaps." Chess ranted, the anger rushing back to his eyes.

"Perhaps we should ask Tarrant to make us something to help us vent. I could use a punching bag and you could use a scratching post. A big one." Alice laughed.

"Absolem was right Alice, you do have the heart of a champion." Chess said in slight awe. Here was a girl who had had some terrible things happen to her and yet she could still laugh so freely, so lightly.

"Maybe I do but I'll tell you a secret Chess." Alice said playfully.

"I get my strength from my friends. If I was all alone I wouldn't be as strong as I am. After all united we stand and divided we fall." She said happily. Chessur starred at her for a second before smiling right back at her. Together they went in search of Tarrant to ask about their special orders.

~A.N.~

First Alice and Mally fight! Had so much fun writing that haha. The line "United we stand and divided we fall" is from the movie "Quest for Camelot". Also I warn you I really don't care for Mally I never really have so there will be bashing ahead! Please rate and review! *Smile and bows*