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 11

A Father's Failure

Alice landed with a grunt on the moist ground. Already she missed the heat of Tarrant's body. Slowly rising to her feet she saw they were beside the rabbit hole. In the distance she could see Ascot Academy standing proudly. Alice felt herself grimace. How long had she been missing here? With all the commotion going on in Underland and her injuries it had to have been at least a week.

"You have been missing from this world for five days in this world's time." Absolem told her gently, easily guessing her thoughts.

"Only five days, I would have thought it longer. Then again Grams always did say time was fickle." She murmured, not caring if he was listening or not. With someone like Absolem, one never knew.

"I will ride on your shoulder once we get to your room you can set me down and pack." Came his drawled instructions.

"Sounds good to me. The sooner we get back the better." Alice chirped excitedly.

"Missing the Hatter already. Honestly you two are impossible. However you are both equally adorable in your affections. I hope you do realize that Mally will try to kill you once we return." Absolem teased.

"Ah but the key word is try. I won't lose to a mouse especially if it's over Tarrant." Alice declared hotly. The walk back was smooth and thankfully silent. Alice was focusing on not being seen so no questions would be asked, but fate was not on her side. As she started to jog over to the building she was hit by a car. It came around the corner; which was in her blind spot so quickly that she didn't even register the impact until she was on the ground blinking.

Now Alice knew she was accident prone but this was a bit much. She didn't just get hit by any car but her very own father's prized corvette. Its shiny black paint reflected anything on its surface. Standing slowly she cursed her bad luck. He was the last person she wanted to see, ever! Still the door opened and out stepped a man that Alice had become a stranger too.

Vincent Kingsleigh was a handsome man. He had the Kingsleigh blonde hair and blue eyes. His hair which was once shaggy and free was now a short business cut and his once playful eyes were as cold and calculating as a predator.

"A snake is what he is." Alice thought to herself. As he came to stand in front of her she tensed. Who knew how he would react to her not only disappearing, then showing up out of nowhere not to mention in what she was wearing.

"Alice, would you care to explain why I was called to be informed that you have been missing for the last five days? As well as to tell me why you are dressed in such a provocative manner?" His voice like his eyes was cold and clipped. It was clear to anyone that he was pissed.

"I got lost in the woods and hit my head. I was unaware that it's been five days. I am dressed like this because I was training." She lied.

"How did you get lost in the woods? You shouldn't have been in there in the first place and how did you hit your head?" Her "Father" questioned.

"I saw a rabbit and chased after it, I tripped in a hole of some sort and when I woke up I came running back to school." At least this was a half truth.

"Where you hit me with your damned car." She added silently.

Vincent wasn't pleased. Alice had always been a troublesome child after her mother's death. She was always embarrassing the Kingsleigh name. Still at least she was alright. When he had been told she had gone missing he felt his heart stop. He never realized just how much she meant to him until he thought she was gone.

On his way here he remembered every single thing he had done wrong and it broke his heart. He knew that he was a horrible father to her. That he really didn't even have to right to call himself such a thing. He also knew that Evelyn would hate him for all he had done to their child. And now with said child in front of him he had still managed to hurt her.

"I'll go to my room, change and then head to class now. Sorry to cause so much trouble for you father." Alice said calmly before she turned to walk away.

"No you will rest for today. I will talk to Mrs. Ascot and inform her of the situation. Your health is important." With that said he climbed back into his car and was gone.

"Well that went well." Alice mumbled.

"No offense Alice but your father is an ass." Absolem drawled casually. Her laughter filled the air as they continued to her room.

Reaching her room she unlocked the door and quietly stepped inside. One nice thing about Ascot Academy was that you lived in dorms but got your own suits. Quickly walking over to the windows and closing the curtains Alice let out a sigh. She had to pack fast and then get back to Underland but first she was going to change.

After choosing what she was going to wear Alice stepped into the bathroom. Once finished she went and grabbed one of the suit cases and started filling it with clothes. She had changed into her old faded blue jeans and a coral tank top. She grabbed her old runners and tugged them on.

Frankly Alice really did own a lot of stuff but she was a master packer. She knew exactly where to put everything from clothes to books. She made sure that she cleaned out the entire room. All her pictures and knick-knacks were placed into bags or trunks and after only a few hours everything was ready to go.

Just as Absolem was about to leave there was a knock on the door. Alice's heart stopped.

"Please don't be my father!" She frantically thought over and over. With a quick look at Absolem she went to the door and opened it a crack. There looking more than a little uncomfortable was Mei-Lin Cho.

Mei-Lin was a small girl, just a little smaller than Alice herself. She was a beautiful Asian with flawless skin, shiny black hair that when the sun light hit it just right look purple and blue. It reminded her of raven wings, but what got her attention was the fact that Mei had almost electric blue eyes that seemed to glow. Said girl gave an unsure smile which caused Alice to return it with a confident one.

Mei was very shy and got picked on a lot because of it. However Alice knew the truth, they picked on her because she was pretty although she doubted Mei realized it. Once when she was practicing she saw Mei getting picked on by Samatha, the most popular girl in the academy and intervened. From then on she was kind of like her guardian and the small girl became the closest thing to a friend she had.

"Mei come on in." she said softly. She knew that if she was skipping class something happened.

"Thank you Aly." She whispered. Aly was the nick-name that Mei and only Mei could call her.

"No problem." Was her casual reply. And it wasn't. Mei was the one person who believed in the stories of Wonderland just like her and just like her dreamed of a life there. That was probably why she never mentioned missing her to Tarrant, because she fully planned to see her again.

"Aly where were you?" Mei's question brought her back to reality. Quickly looking around the room she went to the door and locked it.

"You know the story of Wonderland as well as I do right Mei?" Seeing the girl nod she continued sitting across from the girl on her bed.

"Well that's where I was. I went there and it's in danger, the Red Queen has started another war and she needs to be stopped." Alice knew that Mei would believe her because she knew Alice wouldn't lie about this.

"Really Alice! So when are you going back? Is there anything I can do to help because all you have to do is ask!" Mei stated excitedly.

"Well I was kinda hoping you would say that. I'll be leaving to return tonight and wanted to know if you wanted to come?" the end turned into a question. She knew that Mei wasn't a fighter but she was one hell of a medic. She always tended to Alice whenever things got messy.

"Alice are you sure about this? She doesn't look like a fighter, and things will get dangerous." Absolem spoke up. He knew that this girl could be trusted with how Alice was speaking so openly with her but that's what worried him. If she was close to Alice then she would be targeted or worse killed.

"That may be true but she is a great medic and politician. She also knows some of the oldest and not to mention strongest battle strategies out there. So where it's true that she may not have much brawn she does have brains." Alice explained calmly.

"Um I hate to interrupt but I would love to go with you and help with whatever I can. Also I might not be good at hand to hand combat but I do have great skill with fire arms. I am a Cho after all." Mei huffed if she was going then she would not be a burden.

Alice let out a hearty laugh. Man she loved it when Mei lost her cool. It was rare but it was always worth it. She had a fiery spirit she just never let it out. Well unless she was called weak or it was suggested that she couldn't handle something, then she would stand up for herself.

"I see, well then I will take this to Alice's room and then come back for your things. That is after I speak with Mirana of course." Absolem drawled and then vanished.

"Doesn't he say good-bye?" Mei asked softly. This led to Alice laughing again sobering slightly she turned to face the raven haired girl.

"So why aren't you in class? Did something happen again?" It was a gentle question but the undertone said no lie would be tolerated.

"Samatha and her groupies cornered me this morning and did their usual teasing but then they demanded to be let into the dorm so they could get into your room. Samatha said that since you ran away she was going to take your stuff. I told her no, so she got her lackeys to push me into the pond. I couldn't go to class like that and I was humiliated so I hid in my room. I heard you get back and well you know the rest." She explained sadly.

Alice figured it was something like that. Mei was so shy and well just to forgiving for her own good. She never went to the teachers or the dorm head about the harassment. Nope she just took it all in stride and just said that karma will get them in the end. Secretly Alice hoped she was there to see it, that the both were.

Sighing she stood up and held her hand out to Mei. Said girl gratefully grabbed it and led them to her room. Mei's room was across from hers but now that she thought about it she had never been in it before. So once the door closed she looked around curiously. She saw all of Mei's sketching and painting supplies and smiled. The girl loved to design. Whether it was clothes or buildings, it didn't matter.

Watching as she brought out bags and trunks they began packing. For the first time Alice took in what she was wearing. A soft pink long sleeved boat neck shirt was paired with khaki skirt that went a little past her knees with cute brown boots. Her long hair hung down past her waist in soft layers, some with natural curl and others straight.

It amazed Alice how anyone could handle having that much hair. She never let her hair get to long; she preferred it short and out of the way. Realizing that she was starring she got back to work. There was light conversation flowing between the two. Alice told her about her adventure so far and everyone she had met.

She noticed that Mei seemed eager to meet Stayne and laughed when they both blushed like crazy when she mentioned what had transpired between her and the Hatter. Over all they were having a blast and timed seem to just fly by because before either girl knew it they were finished.

"Since Absolem isn't back yet and it's supper time lets go eat." Alice suggested.

"Sure besides classes are over so it's safe to go outside. What do you want to eat?" Mei asked although she already knew the answer.

"Pizza!" Alice exclaimed while at the same time Mei thought of the dough substance. Alice loved pizza and once a week they would go get some together. They weren't even study partners since Alice was a year older but that didn't stop them from being close. People were dormed together based on family statues. Even though Alice didn't act it she was still from a powerful family that was just like the Cho's in more ways than one.

From what Alice remembered the Cho family lost their Lady of the house to the birth of Mei. She had gotten sick and just wasn't strong enough to pull through. After the loss of his wife Mr. Cho, like Alice's father threw himself into his work. However unlike her father he never remarried. Instead he desperately watched over Mei to the point of putting her into a bar less prison.

She sighed. She figured too much attention is just as bad as none at all. Slowly they walked across the campus to the pizza place. Over the years businesses had opened up little shops on the campus for the students and everyone was grateful. She watched as people walked around them, for the most part they were ignored but occasionally a group would stop to stare and then break into whispers.

Personally she was used to it but she could tell that Mei-Lin wasn't and didn't know what to make of the sudden starring. Gently taking her hand Alice led her along and then into the restaurant; "A Little Slice of Heaven".

"Just ignore them Mei, they aren't worth stressing over." Alice bit out as they sat in a booth. She was kinda pissed at those people because now her little Mei looked like she had just been mugged or something.

"What were they whispering about anyways?" She asked gently. Alice shrugged she didn't know and really didn't care. She was used to this but clearly Mei wasn't.

"Who cares we won't be here tomorrow anyway right? So why should it matter. When they're in class bored out of their minds we will be on a crazy adventure to save Underland. Therefore you should just ignore them instead of letting it get to you." She explained hoping it would make her feel better.

"Yeah your right! We will be doing something much more important than learning about proper etiquette." Mei replied happily. Smiling at each other they went up, placed their order and paid. Everyone who worked there knew what they wanted to they simply asked if it was for inside or to go.

"I think we will get it to go this time thanks." Alice said politely. She was never rude to people who gave her food. Going back to their seats they picked up their conversation.

"So how long do you think we'll be gone?" Mei asked intently.

"Well I'm moving there permanently so that I can be with Tarrant but I can't say how long the fight will go on for, it could be months here." She admitted.

"Do you think I could stay there too? I don't think I could handle coming back to this place after being free." Mei stated without meeting her eyes.

"I'm sure Mirana wouldn't mind, besides maybe you'll fall in love with someone there." Alice teased. She smirked in satisfaction when the girl across from her blushed.

"Well, well, look at what we have here. A misfit and a freak." Came an obnoxious voice from her left.

"Samatha. Good to see you. How's life as a half blood been for yeah lately?" Alice said casually. Where she cared nothing about blood statues people like Samatha hated to be reminded that they were never going to be as powerful as the old families.

Alice could literally see her bristle at the comment. It almost made her smirk, almost. However she kept her mask of indifference in place and after a nod at Mei both girls stood and went to get there pizza.

"Where do you think you're going? Do you really think you can just say whatever you want and get away with it?!" Came the shrill scream of Samatha Gold. She was pretty but she was also petty. Gold ringlets, pale blue eyes, fake tan and designer clothes. That's all that made up her appearance. No personality at all.

"Yup." There was no hesitation, no extra words because it was true. She could get away with it and she would because come tomorrow she wouldn't be here. So it was with that thought in mind that she turned on her heel and walked away with a giggling Mei and a yummy smelling pizza.

After the pizza was done the girls just waited for Absolem in Alice's now empty room. Suddenly there was a "poof" and Absolem smiled in amusement when Alice fell of the bed in startled surprise. After she composed herself and properly introduced them to each other they led him to her room and set him on her belongings. After a quick see you soon from Mei and nod from Alice they watched him disappear once more this time with Mei's things.

"So you ready? We will have to be careful that no one sees us." Alice explained softly as they approached the gardens.

"As ready as I'll ever be. Are you sure you can find it again?" Mei asked softly.

"Yeah that won't be a problem I will always be able to find it. Now let's go before someone comes and sees us." With those final words they took off running into the woods, neither one aware of the two sets of eyes watching their every move.

"Well what do we do?" A young male voice asked his companion.

"What do you think? We follow them of course." A second male voice stated before getting up and giving chase.

~A.N.~

Ok I am so sorry for not updating sooner, I feel like such a bad authoress right now but I have had some serious writer's block, but fear not it is over. I had a really hard time with this chapter because it's kind of an important moment. Not only did I introduce a new character (loves to Mei!) but I also brought Alice's dad to her school, where we got to see how his mind handled her missing. I also brought in Samatha, and yes she will be a major person in this story. Then we have to two mystery guys at the end of this chapter! So I hope this was worth the wait and that you can forgive me! I won't wait almost 4 months before updating again I swear! Anyways please rate and review! *smiles and bows*