On the backs of their mounts, the two girls raced after Rabbit, keeping a steady pace with both him and each other. The Mines were near what was left of Salazen Grumm, which had already started to fall into ruin, even after only a few months of being abandoned. Neither of the Queens had ordered it destoryed, but merely let Wonderland do what it would to the Red Queen's castle. Alice and Alice had been to the castle only once, to aid the White Army in flushing any and all Card Guards from the grounds and interior. After that, it had been left alone by all of Wonderland.

However, the location of the Mines meant at least a day's journey, if they were lucky. Both were prepared for this, for Rabbit had told them when they first started out that he knew a few shortcuts that were sure to cut the length of the journey by at least a few hours. One of these shortcuts was through the Vale of Tears, one of the more beautiful parts of Wonderland. Here, the trees were vibrently colored in shades of green, with a few pink and blue colored patches standing out against the forest. Waterfalls streamed from above, and butterflies fluttered lazily in the breeze. Holding out a hand, Alice Kingsleigh allowed one to alight on her hand, only to find that they weren't natural butterflies, but made of metal nuts and bolts. Well...that was odd. But, then again, Alice was living in Wonderland now, and should be used to such weirdness.

"What are they?" she asked Alice Liddell, nudging the Bandersnatch to ride up alongside Gryphon. "I've never seen insects like this before in Wonderland."

Alice didn't reply, but Gryphon raised his head, speaking for the first time since they had set out. "They are merely butterflies. Have you not seen them in the Overland?"

"Not ones made from bolts and nuts," Alice Kingsleigh answered, watching another metal insect soar by. "And, isn't Absolem a butterfly?"

Gryphon chuckled. "The Vale of Tears is of Lady Liddell's Wonderland, Lady Kingsleigh. You have not encoutered the species here, seeing as it was never in Underland." he explained paitently.

Alice Kingsleigh nodded, then turned her attention to her companion. "Alice? Is everything alright?"

No response.

"Alice!"

"Hmm?" Alice Liddell blinked once, looking back to Alice Kingsleigh. "Oh..right. Yes, I'm fine."

"Are you?" The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"Hurry, hurry!" Rabbit called over his shoulder, making both girls jump. They had nearly forgotten the presence of their lapine friend. "Come, come! Do hurry! Oh dear, we're terribly late!"

"Late for what?" Alice Kingsleigh muttered under her breath, with a small roll of her eyes.

"Well, obviously, if we don't get there on time, Wonderland will be at great risk," Alice pointed out, giving Gryphon a small sign that she wished to go faster. The two followed after Rabbit, passing by toys, which appeared to be imbedded in the ground, where rocks and boulders should have been.

"How curious..." Alice Kingsleigh said, observering her surroundings. "Alice-"

"This land represents my ideal Wonderland," Alice Liddell explained, already guessing what Alice was about to ask. "The Wonderland of my childhood, before..." she faltered, obviously still uncomfortable talking about her past.

"Right," Alice Kingsleigh replied, taking the burden of finishing her thought off the brunette's shoulders. Of course, if the Vale were a representation of a perfect Wonderland, it would have staples of Alice Liddell's childhood, as well as a touch of her current age and state. Alice was reletively sane and happy in Wonderland, meaning that the Vale was a beautiful and safe place.

The two rode in silence, until finally, they arrived at the point where the Vale of Tears met the Tulgey Wood. It was here that an extremely unpleasent suprise met the girls, causing small gasps from the pair. Instead of being a whimsically twisted and green forest, the wood was horribly withered, with trees that were burnt shadows of their former selves, and ash blowing in sheets across the barren ground. Even Rabbit halted in his tracks, taking in the ruined woodland.

"Oh..." Alice Liddell slipped off of Gryphon's back, walking to stand in front of the path that wound its way through the entirity of the Tugley Wood.

"What happened here?" Alice Kingsleigh asked disbelievingly, as she walked to stand next to her friend.

A cough came from a nearby tree, and a grin suddenly appeared, followed by a pair of lamp-like eyes. Slowly, an emaciated body faded into view, and was quickly recognizable as the Cheshire Cat, grinning down at the two girls, in spite of the desolation around him.

"There's a distinct whiff of pepper on the wind," he purred, his tail swishing lazily back and forth. "Perhaps an old enemy is about."

"No, that's impossible," Alice Liddell shook her head, tearing her gaze from the barran wood. "That orgess couldn't have done anything on this grand a scale."

"Who?" Alice Kingsleigh look at her friend and the Cat with a confused expression. There had been nothing in Underland that had anything to do with pepper, and nothing that could cause destruction such as this. Well, expect perhaps the Jabberwocky, but that had been slain by Alice herself, not more than three month ago.

"The Dutchess, one of the Queen's court. However, for some reason or another, the Queen wanted her head. Then again, she wanted most everyone's head..." Alice Liddell explained. "She was merely a nuisance during my first trip, but in the second, she attempted to kill and consume me."

"And what does she have to do with pepper?"

"Her Cook was obsessed with it, and that obsession transferred to her, apparently," she took out the Pepper Grinder. "This was her weapon, or something similar."

Alice Kingsleigh examined it carefully. It appeared to be some sort of cannon, wooden with a crank on the end. She decided against trying it, not knowing how Alice's weapons would react to someone besides her wielding them.

"Ahem," Cat's voice interrupted the two girls, and they both turned to look at him. "The Dutchess is more powerful than she seems. When royalty is dethroned, the next in line is sure to take over, and perhaps regain the crown for themselves." His golden eyes shone like a pair of flames in the gloom of the destroyed forest.

"Why is the forest like this, Cat? What's happened?" Alice Kingsleigh asked, trying to get a straight answer from the emaciated beast.

"Seek and ye shall find, they say. But, they never say what you'll find." With that, Cat vanished into thin air, leaving behind only his grin, which slowly disappeared as well.

"No help at all," Alice Liddell muttered under her breath, getting back onto Gryphon's back. "Nasty, stupid, mangy..."

Alice Kingsleigh considered what that Cat had said. Perhaps there was some clue buried within its meaning. "Maybe we just need to look around a bit," she suggested, interrupting her friend's rather vivid, muttered description of just what she'd like to do with the Cheshire Cat if she ever got her hands on him.

"Oh...yes," Alice smoothed out her dress, regaining her composure. Clasping the Vorpal Blade in her hand, she looked around at the wasteland around them, and sighed. "First the Pale Realm, now this..."

"Alice, stop!" Alice Kingsleigh refused to have her friend succumb to her guilt again, especially with something that wasn't her fault. "Nothing here is happening because of you. It's the prophecy and this Dutchess person. And even if it was, you could do something about it. Now, where did Rabbit get too?"

For, indeed, the White Rabbit had vanished into the distance as the two girls had been conversing with Cat, leaving them quite alone among the ruins of the Tulgey Wood.