AN: Another chapter for you to chew on. It's shorter than most, but I thought it'd be a good present for you all. I'm working on the next chapter already, and I've gotten more work done today than I have in a while.

My nephew is home sick from school, poor baby, and I've had to stay with him. So I've been working on this story for a while. I also included a surprise for you. You would have learned it if you were reading my Livejournal, but oh well, you get it now! Lol

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Chapter Twelve

--

Alice walked in to the house and spotted Hare cooking something. He was always cooking. She walked over and peered over his shoulder. "Yummy," she said.

"White didn't stay long now did he?" Hare questioned, looking over his shoulder.

Alice shook her head, "I think he's going to do something that he should have done a long time ago." She smiled inwardly and started helping Hare with his latest cooking project.

When it was finished, it was a type of stew that was both rich and hearty, but also strangely light as well. It was a mix of fish and something else. Something Alice had realized in the months since she'd been in wonderland was this: You don't ask about what goes into the food, sometimes it was something that would make you sick just thinking about it.

At least this food tastes good, Alice thought, washing the bowl she had used.

The sound of the front door opening and closing echoed through the house. "Hello," Alice called, it was a habit.

"Hello,"

Alice turned, she stared at Edu. He was still wearing his black uniform, the cap tucked low over his face, one hand was in his pocket, the other hand was raised in greeting.

Alice stood there for a moment, wondering where Hare and Hatter had gone off to.

"They're around." Edu said, shrugging. "Might be a little busy with the Hatter's little friends, but oh well."

Alice cursed. "You just love causing trouble don't you?" she asked.

Edu smiled, in made his face come alive. "Oh, of course, it's my only delight in this piss poor life." he laughed darkly.

Alice smiled and shook her head. Without thinking she tightened her grip on the bowl, much like she had the cup at the party. With a glare, she chucked it at his head and ran.

Edu ducked and the bowl shattered in the place where his head had been, he stared after Alice, cursed, and took off after her.

--

Alice's throat felt tight. She forced her feet to move as quick as possible. Don't think, don't think, don't think. She chanted in her head as she ran. She wasn't going to think about the possibility of Edu catching her, or the possibility of what he'd do to her if he did catch her. but the thoughts came anyway.

She could hear the sound of Edu's footsteps just behind her. Even though she was an avid horror movie fan, she broke rule number one of surviving. She ran upstairs.

She stumbled on the top step, she caught the handrail, took a moment to get her bearings, and than started running again. She slammed the door of Hatter's bedroom, heart pounding in her throat, choking her. She grabbed the large wooden chest that was set next to the door, she pushed with all her might and managed to slide the chest in front of the door.

The sound of someone banging against it echoed loudly. Alice stared at it for the space of a heartbeat, and then she sprinted to the window. She pushed hard and the doors slid open. Her breathe caught in her throat as the icy air blew through the window. She breathed through the shock and sat on the edge of the window.

She looked down, the fall wasn't that bad. She tried telling herself this, but it didn't make her feet better. The sound of something slamming into the door was followed by the sound of something heavy sliding. Alice didn't wait to see what the sound was.

"Alice!"

She pushed off the ledge. There was a sickening moment of freefall. The moment when suddenly your heart is in your throat and you see your life flash before, echoing everything said and unsaid, every mistake that you've ever made and every chance you wanted to have in your life.

She hit the ground, feet first, with a solid thud. She stumbled forward and fell to her knees. She cursed as the pain radiated up her body. She shuddered, pushed herself back to her feet. When she didn't feel any extra pain, she felt relief. She started running, but it wasn't nowhere near as fast as she'd ran inside the house.

She made it into the woods and forced herself to go deeper. The woods boarded the land around Hatter's house. They were thick with trees spaced closely together. It was hard to get through the ivy and twig enclosed openings, and before too long Alice's hands and arms were sliced and bleeding.

She used her feet to kick through another area, her breathe was coming in harsh pants down. Puffing white in the cold air. She finally managed to get enough room to squeeze through. The twigs caught in her hair and scratched at her face.

She stumbled when she freed herself. She reached her hands out and caught hold of the closest thing to her. which was a human arm.

"Have off!"

Alice jerked backwards and would've fallen if the arm she'd just grabbed hadn't shot out and grabbed her around the waist. She was jerked upward and against a warm chest.

She opened her eyes and found herself staring into a pair of lime green eyes. She blinked a couple times and flushed to find herself so close to someone's face. she drew back, her cheeks red.

Bill cocked his head and gave one of his trademark grins. "Hello, Alice!" he greeted.

Alice stared at him for another second.

He wasn't handsome, or rather he wasn't the type of person she found handsome. His skin was leathery, like Mock's, but you could see the groves running over the surface of it, giving him a scaly look. His face was also made up of all hard lines, very male, with none of the softness that Hatter and Cheshire had, even White's face was softer looking than Bill's. His hair was silvery, clashing with his green, green eyes. They were almost like a day glow green.

Bill slowly let Alice step back from him, a flush had moved over his cheek when he realized how close their mouths had been to each other. "I-I'm sorry!" he flushed and fully let go of her, giving a little bow.

Alice stared at him for a moment, "M-my fault," she stuttered. "I wasn't… paying attention!" she bowed to him in return.

Bill looked up, and blushed even deeper. "W-what were you doing running through the woods?"

"Edu was chasing me!" Alice turned and looked over her shoulder, expecting to see said man standing there, ready to snag her and do heaven knew what to her. But there was no one there.

Bill reached out and laid his hand on her arm. "Alice?"

Alice turned and looked back at him, "I-I don't know where he went," she stuttered. "He was right there!" she buried her face against his chest.

Bill squeaked loudly and spread his arms wide, staring down at the top of Alice's head with a completely shocked expression on his face. "O-ok Alice, c-calm down." He pleaded.

Alice clung to his sheet, crying. "I-I was scared." She sobbed.

Bill slowly lowered his arms and wrapped them around her. "It's ok," he whispered. He laid his head on top of hers, "It's all better now, hush." He repeated this until Alice had stopped crying.

Alice stepped back from his, staring fixedly at her feet, "I'm sorry." She whispered, "I shouldn't have lost it like that."

"If I was being chased by psycho number two I'd be scared too," Bill teased. He reached his hand out and cupped her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "Are you alright now, Alice?"

Alice thought about this for a moment and nodded, "I-I'm better now," she smiled.

Bill flushed with pleasure. He chuckled and took her hand. "Where were you staying?" he asked.

"With Hatter and March… Edu said something had happened to them though…" Alice trailed off and looked over her shoulder.

"I can't take you back there until I get the all clear," Bill said gently, "Will you come and stay with me?"

Alice hesitated, finally she nodded her head once. "I-I trust you."

Bill beamed.

--

Bill's house was modest by any standard. It was a small one room home. A fireplace sat against one wall, close to the bed, a stove was against the other. There was a small desk and a dresser on the final wall.

Alice took it in and looked over at the tired eyes of someone she'd never really been friends with. Bill was White's friend, not her own. She noticed though that there was flowers on the window, and there was a sweet, female smell to the house.

"Who'd you marry?" she asked softly.

Bill turned and smiled, "Mary-Ann," he said.

Alice's eyes widened at the mention of White's maid. "Really?" she asked.

Bill chuckled, "Yes. She was thrilled." He looked out the window, a distant gaze in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked, stepping closer.

"I was just thinking… not everyone who comes to wonderland is so well off…" he looked at her, cocking his head to the side. "Sometimes it's not fair."

"Mary-Ann was… was from my world?" she asked.

"Yes." Bill answered. He walked over and sat down on the bed. "She came here years ago… half-dead when she stumbled into White's arms. He took her in and cared for her. It turns out that she had been abused in her old life… her father. He'd damn near killed her, she found her way to wonderland… but at the price of her old life, she could never set foot in the real world again or else she'd die. Dormouse has the same story, did he ever tell you that?"

Alice nodded, "He said that he'd been like me once…"

"I was the one that found him, in the bottom of a well of all things…" Bill's eyes grew distant. "His three sisters… they were all dead, they didn't survive the trip through the twilight, and Hatter… well I guess he felt bad for the boy, he took him in and somehow he ended up with the nickname Dormouse… his real name was Gabriel…" he smiled fondly.

"You all had different names didn't you?" Alice asked, sitting down on the rug near the fire.

"What?" Bill looked surprised.

"I mean… when you were little, you couldn't have had your nicknames, like White, and Hatter, they were children once, they must have had other names."

Bill looked thoughtful for a moment, "My name has always been Bill, but Lizard was added on after people noticed my skin problems." He reached up and rubbed his face. "Hatter's… I'd almost forgotten his name." He seemed amused for a moment, "Anshu," he whispered. "It means ray of sun, he was born hours after Time, who was born during the night."

"What are the others names?" Alice asked, sitting forward.

"Time's name is Nox,"

"That means night doesn't it?" Alice asked suddenly.

"I believe so…"

Alice started giggling, "Doctor Knight!" she shook her head in amusement, "The asshole was just screaming who he was."

Bill raised an eyebrow but went on. "Hare's name was Zane. White, when he was his former self was Cledwyn, yes I know about that. Cheshire's was Asher. Caterpillar's name was Calais. Mock's name is Rowan, and Gryphon was called Talon at one time."

"Asher…" Alice smiled and tested the name on her lips. "It means happy, right?"

Bill nodded, "Happy, cheerful, something like that." He smiled.

"The twins have always had their names?"

"They were named by the gnomes, and it's common for the gnomes to choose names that match, Tweedle is the matching part of it."

Alice froze, she lifted her head and looked at Bill, "Did you say they were raised by gnomes?"

"Yes."

"And they're twins…" she closed her eyes, "how old are they?"

"Alice, you know we don't keep track of time here." Bill started to stand up to go over and put some tea on.

Alice grabbed his pants leg, "Bill, this is important, think back, how old were they when I arrived."

"I guess they would have been… about nine or ten in your years, but we age faster so they looked older."

"When did they show up with the gnomes?"

"They were just babies."

"And when did Hearts completely loose it?"

"About eleven years before you arrived."

"So around the same time that Hearts lost it, the gnomes took in the twins?"

Bill cocked his head, "I guess so…" he shrugged.

"Did anyone know what caused Hearts to loose it?" Alice probed.

"Her babies, they died." Bill shrugged sadly. "That and Cledwyn choose to become White just after their death." He sighed sadly, "it was all of those things piled on top of each other that did it."

"I think…" Alice stood up, "I think I need to go and see Hatter, now." She whispered.

"Alice."

Alice snapped around and stared at the door. "Ch-Cheshire!" she cried, she ran forward and flung her arms around his neck.

Cheshire laughed and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "Thank god," he whispered. "I thought – I was sure that the twins would have gotten you!" he was crying.

Alice pushed back and stared at his tears. "Cheshire…"

"Alice, I couldn't have lived with myself if something happened and I left like an asshole." His lilac eyes were wet and shimmering.

Alice smoothed her hand against his face. "Cheshire…" she said his name softly, "Asher…" she teased.

Cheshire's widened and he looked over her shoulder at Bill, "Thanks a lot," he commented.

"Just doing my job, Cat."

Cheshire looked at Alice, "I haven't been Asher in a very long time, I prefer Cheshire. We all prefer the names we choose for ourselves." He laid his hand flat against her cheek and sighed. "I missed you." He added.

Alice smiled, she leaned up on her tippy toes and kissed his lips. "I know," she laughed.

--

Alice held Cheshire's arm as the orbed out of Bill's house and back to the gnome village. It had been improved since the last time she'd seen it. The houses were better pieced together.

The main house, which had belonged to White, was brightly lit, well put together, and filled to the brim with people doing this and that. Most of them were hurt.

Mock was sitting next to Hare, bandaging his arm. Hatter already had half of his face covered in bandages. He looked at Alice with his good eye and gave her a fleeting smile. "Good to see you can handle yourself." He whispered, voice hoarse.

Alice walked over and leaned forward to press a soft kiss to his lips. "What happened?" she asked when she pulled away and sat beside him.

"The winds showed up with some of my own clockwork monsters." Hatter shook his head. "I designed them to be the perfect fighters, heartless killing machines… I never thought I'd be the one to fight them." He sighed and touched his face.

"How bad is it?" Alice gingerly next to him.

"Bad enough…"

Alice felt her eyes beginning to water.

"Alice," Hare reached out with his free hand and touched her arm, "don't cry. We're alive, isn't that something to be happy about?" he cocked his head to the side and smiled.

"It is." Alice agreed. She smiled.

"What happened to you?" Hatter asked.

"Edu came in, I threw a bowl at him. Jumped out your bedroom window. Lost him in the woods and ran into Bill who took me to his house."

Hatter flinched at the name.

"What?"

"Alice, Bill hates me." He said simply.

"Why?"

"Mary-Ann was placed in the hospital, she was one of the first Clockworks I ever made." Pain made his face seem very old.

Alice closed her eyes. "H-he didn't say anything about that."

"He wouldn't." Hare said simply. "He wouldn't want anyone else to feel sad or hurt because something bad happened to him."

White walked over and sat down with a heavy sigh. He looked at Alice, "You can handle yourself, I'll give you that." He wasn't wearing his mask, and he was smiling.

Alice snorted, "I cried like a baby." She admitted.

"Alice, it takes guts to jump out a window," White said.

"He's right."

Alice's head snapped around and she stared at Hearts, "Did you two make up?" she teased.

Hearts sighed, "Yes. And you'll do well to call me by my given name." She said darkly.

Alice snorted, "Yes, Ms. Rose."

Rose smiled simply, she looked over at White and shook her head. "You like this brat?"

White smiled, "I'm fond of her," he admitted. He reached his hand up.

Rose reached down and took it, a look was shared between them. White's eyes sparkled with delight.

Alice smiled, she looked around the room and found Cheshire sitting near the window, staring outside with a look of horror on his face.

Alice pushed away from her place between Hare and Hatter and walked to the window. "What…" she stopped talk and felt her knees give out, she slumped to the floor beside Cheshire, her arms resting on his legs.

Cheshire reached down, "Alice, it's not over, you can't give up."

Alice closed her eyes and lowered her head onto his leg.

The snow was falling outside the window.

--

EN: There you have it, the surprise of a lifetime. They all have normal names! Oh, and I could smack you guys for not figuring out the twins secret a couple chapters ago. I was waiting for someone to say it and no one did. Sob. So, if you want a fun fact, google the names for all the meanings. They fit as closely to the characters as I could get, all but Cheshire, Cheshire's name is the name of my favorite vampire in the Anita Blake books, heh.

I also love, love, love, White's name. It's one of my personal favorites.

And yes, I couldn't leave out Bill the lizard and Mary-Ann. I'm smiling here, just grinning because I know the whole backstory for those two. I'll write it out and post it in Twisted Rose. To keep an eye on that! lol.

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Oh, and check out my LJ for some random fun facts about this story, and a very twisted Alice style story. Heh.