I slept a sleepless night that night. Images swirling inside my minds eye. Bright colors and dark ones mixed in a muddy mix. There was bright yellow that slowly turned to a disgusting puke green, then a dark purple. My dreams were disoriented, almost demonic like. Did I say dreams? Silly me. I meant nightmares.

Dark swirls of ink staining and blotching my mind. Daemons of horror tormented me. These little intruders of the realm of dreams. They were the opposite, screeching night to the dreamy day. I tossed and turned, hoping to rid myself of these horrors. If only if I could awake, If only my body wasn't being disobedient. I could be free of this horror. Instead, I could not waken, for sleep kept me to her bosom in an loving embrace.

The past events flew into my mind as pieces and chunks began to become clear. I was thrown onto the ground hard. Dizzy for a momeant, I got up and looked around. It all seemed so familiar to me now. I felt a cold wind bite and claw at me as I wrapped my arms around myself. I let out a small gasp as I looked down and realized that I my normal sized body was completely unclothed.

" This is only a dream", I whispered as I took a step forward. Fog hung around my feet as I continued forward. It felt heavy and sticky around my bare ankles. As I broke through the fog, I was greeted by red. I was back to the place where they took my Mad away from me. But, something was different than before. As I stepped forward to the lake, I felt something sticky on my feet. I quickly stopped to see what kind of substance could be.

I let out a gasp as I saw that my feet were submerged within blood. I looked out onto the lake and was greeted by the same sight. Blood. Everywhere. The water was blood. It looked like the richest and most tasteful red wine that the world could offer.

But, I knew what Its true nature was. As I gawked at this horror, movement across the lake caught my attention. I slowly looked up and was greeted by The Red Men. They were clad in tarnished, metallic rubies. But, something seemed off about them. It seemed as if they were hiding something.

" Or someone", a voice in the back of my head nagged. I shook my head quickly as I looked for a place to hid my nakedness. There was no place to be found. Everywhere I turned was nothing but flatness. I gulped in air as I felt bumps appear upon my skin. I tightened my arms and my chest as I felt it become more sensitive. I gave out a frighten cry as I saw something move within the shadows.

Stepping forth was a steed made of pure night. Upon this magnificent and frightening beast was its rider. The rider looked like to be a man. I couldn't quiet see his face. All I could see was a red heart. I could tell this man was of great power and height. He didn't notice me for some odd reason. As he slowly trotted over to the Red Men, I noticed a familiar emerald hat.....then, it hit me.

" Oh, Lord no!", I silently prayed as the Red Men separated giving up their secret. There, in the middle, was Mad. His hands were cuffed in gruesome looking handcuffs made of iron and spikes. They bit into his hands like unforgiving teeth. Blood tricked down from were the spikes held his hands. His whole features were ragged and tarnished. " Mad!," I screamed as I ran into the red lake.

Fear and loyalty compelled me to do this odd thing. Nothing else really matter to me except to free Mad. My foot was devoured in the lake as I took a step in it. But, instead of just resting there, the blood water began to pull me down, down into its grasps. I gave a small cry as I began to wrestle my way out of it; but it seemed like the more I pulled, the more it tried to bring me under.

I looked up with fear in my eyes as Mad looked my way. His once vibrant, ebullient eyes were now dull and lifeless green orbs of their former selves. His face was covered with ugly bruised that painted his face like war paint. but what got to me the most was his smile. His smile? No, it wasn't is smile. It was someone Else's smile placed upon his face. His lips were sown into a beaming, bright smile.

The black thread looked so out of place in this pale complexion. The weave was sloppy and ill woven. His eyes found mine and instantly, grief and sadness filled them. What tore my heart apart was not of his fake smile, or the state he was in, but the pitiful small wave he gave me as tears began to softly float down his cheeks.

As I tried to reach him, the lake pulled me further in until i was at my waist in the blood water. I screamed, I screamed and I fought. But, I could not escape. " Mad, help me!", I screamed as I reached for him.

I watched, helpless as the dark rider came up to mad and drew his sword. I knew what was about to happen. " You made me lose my eye", the man said as he slowed raised his sword above the air.

The Red Men roughly held Mad by his shoulders as they pushed him upon his knees. All the while Mad never tore his gaze away from me, nor did he ever stop his little wave. The dark man swiftly brought his blade down up the soft skin of Mad's neck.

It a swift motion, it was all over. There was silenced for a moment. Nothing dared to make a nose. The only thing I could hear was the soft thud as Mad's body fell to the ground, headless. The man then turned his gaze toward me.

But, it was as if he was looking through me, not at me. I sobbed as I tried to escape the water, but, the water would not let me go. I was breast deep in the water. I was silenced as I saw Mad's head land with a sickening thud in front of me. His eyes were closed as that creepy smile remained upon his face. " Mad", I whispered as I tried to reach his head with my hand. Suddenly, his eyes swiftly opened and looked at me.

" Alice, it's only fair", he began in a voice that wasn't his own. " I made him loose his eye, so I loose my head!", he finished as he began to laugh. Before I could scream I was begin pulled deeper into the lake.

I looked at him before I was pulled completely in. "How is a raven like a writing desk?", he asked as a loud raven cawed up from above us. The red liquid filled my senses as I was submerged in it. Everything was red. The water, the blood, everything.

I screamed as I was jerked awake. sweat glistened my body like a mist as my clothing clung to me like a second skin. I didn't know who I was, or where I was. I looked around for a moment before everything came rushing back to me.

I was underneath his hat. Cold. And alone. The dream came back to me as my body began to curl in on itself. Nothing made sense to me. What did it mean? Why did I have it? These thoughts filled my mind as I hugged my body for comfort and sobbed.

The dream felt so real to me. The elements. To the rusty, iron smell of the lake, to the gruesome, wet sound of the sword slicing threw Mad's skin. I could still feel the blood on my flesh. It feel its slickness coating my skin, a awful reminder.

I laid there for minutes, as my body began to recuperate. Alone. Alone and lost. Such a deadly combination those two things could be. I didn't know where to go or who to turn to. My only companions where a mentally unstable rabbit, a small mouse, and my dear Mad. But, he was gone now, gone and taken to the land of Red. I just laid there as the small grass cherished my face in a loving manner. What was I going to do? I silently laid there, tiered and exhausted, until a graceless and restless sleep fell upon me.

STAYNE

We were hot on the mutts trail. Weather he realized it or not that we were following him didn't matter. At some moments it seemed as if he was purposely trying to loose us as he took small rabbit trials and took paths that were tightly compacted together with the dead and gnarled arms of dead trees.

I decided to hold back and follow him from a distance. He stopped at one point as he looked around with his ears perked. I slowed my breathing down to that of a dead mans. After a moment of listening, he brought his snout down to the ground and began his hunt once more. I stayed far back until his was just barly in my line of sight before I took off after him again. Electricity filled every vain in my body. I could feel it.

I was so close to my prize. I remembered all night as I followed Bayard. The cold scratching and biting my skin and the dark shadowing my path. I did run into trouble on my way. That doesn't matter now. I pushed the problems out of my head as I came into view of the Hatter's hat.

Bayard was sitting and talking to the air I realized as I began to slowly come up closer. The dogs head suddenly snapped in my direction and fear flooded his droopy face. " Stayne!", he whimpered as he moved closer to the hat.

" No luck yet on finding Alice", he said as he slowly came up to me with his head lowered. I jumped off my horse and began to walk to the hat. " Who were you talking to?", I asked in a slow tone as I began to reach for the hat. " Don't touch that! ", he barked as he ran over and bit my hand. I let out a growl and I kicked him roughly in the side. He let out a yell as he skidded away from me.

" Do not tell me what to do!", I barked as I snatched up the hat. There was nothing. I turned to see just in time as the dog masked his look of surprise. " What are you hiding?", I asked as I threw the hat back onto the ground. All was quiet until I hear a small oomph.

I slowly turned back to the hat as Bayyard began to bark none stop. " Be quiet or I will have your pups as my supper!", I yelled at him. Almost immediately he silenced. I slowly and quietly picked up the hat again. What I saw was a shock to me. There, dangling in the inside brim of the hat, was a small girl no bigger then my pinkie finger.

ALICE

I woke up again to the sound of heavy breathing. It only seemed like hours had passed since I had that dream. I was more energized now. More alerted as I darted up from my small place where i slept.

" What was that?", I asked myself as I quieted my breathing. I could hear this faint sound. It almost sounded as if...sniffing....And at that a big black nose poked itself underneath the hat. It took in big inhales as it breathed in its surroundings.

I took a few steps back, looking and calculating anyway of escape. Well, I didn't really have to worry about that anymore as the nose flipped over the hat. The sun bared down on me as I tired and cover my eyes from its harsh glare.

There, right in front of me, was a hug beast. It took my eyes a moment to readjust before I realized that the beast was really a dog. Now, this wasn't just some cute little puppy. This was a dog of age and experience.

His face drooped with the baggage of time and hard times. His body however did not show the same thing. His body was lean and muscular like a pup in his prime. He just stared at me with his all knowing eyes for a moment before he let out a little growl. I stepped back a bit and looked around me. There was no where where I could run. " Are you the one they call Alice?", he asked in a deep tone.

I was silenced for a moment as I decided what to say. " No, I'm sorry. My name is....Ummm, for Umbridge". He bared his fangs at me as he took a step closer. " Don't you lie to me! You have her sent all over you!", he growled as he lowered his snout at me.

I bat his nose away from me. " So what if I am? How could you let them take Mad away like that! How do you even know im the real Alice! Who really is Alice!" He just looked at me for a moment before sitting.

" Hatter wouldn't give himself up for someone he didn't care about. He cared tenderly for her. Treated her like a princess", he finished off as he just looked at me with his old eyes. Silenced filled the air for a moment.

" You are Alice", he started again. " And if so, then we must get you to the white queen quickly. I stood my ground, not moving a muscle. I was tiered. Tiered of people telling me what to do. Where to go.

This was my dream! And I will do what I want in it! " This is my dream. I'm tiered of being pushed about. I control my destiny. Me. No one else!", I bellowed out loud. But, before I could say anything more, Mad's hat was on top of me again. A angry yell clawed its way into my throat and began to peel open my lips before I hear another voice. " Who were you talking to?", a deep, seductive man's voice said as I felt his foot steps come over my way.

Everything was so muffled by the hat. A loud and ferocious growl followed by a whimper filed the air. I don't know what it was, but something told me to act fast. I hastenly climbed onto the inner brim of Mad's hat and plastered myself against it right as the hat was picked up.

I didn't get a view of the man's face, but I knew it was the same man from the tea party. "Stayne", I thought. Just then the hat was viciously thrown to the ground. A loud oomph escaped my lips as I was thrown to the ground. An icy fear flooded my being, freezing my heart as I quickly scampered up and tried to get to the brim of the hat again. everyone must've heard me. But, right before I could get back to my hiding spot, the hat was lifted to the ground, and leaving me exposed.

SORRY ITS BEEN TO LONG SICK WITH THE FLU!