CHAPTER4

Alice's Room Early The Next Morning.

The sun was just creeping out from the darkness of night. Alice woke up to a loud tapping on her window. She got out of her bed and looked at her clothes, the same as they were yesterday. She walked to the window to see who was outside. "Dodge? What are you doing on a ladder tapping on my window? Wait, um, I need to go into the other room to change into something more presentable. You can come in."

She ran off into the other room, well it's more of an over sized walk in closet than a room. She put on her loose blue dress and thigh high striped socks and flats. She brushed her dark brown hair, her side bangs covering half of her right eye and put her black bow head band on. She walked out of the room and found Dodge flipping through the books she has to study. He looked up and saw her and smiled. "You look beautiful, Al. Rabbit asked me to help you study these books. So, I thought since you slept for so long you must be hungry. So, I have set up a picnic. We will study after we eat."

He found a messenger bag underneath her desk and put all her books into the bag. "Why do you carry around your sword even when you're only teaching me in the garden. And the garden is only inside the castle walls. There is no problem and it mist be a burden to carry around." Alice was eyeing the sword on his hip. "And why exactly did you bring a ladder? You could have been NORMAL and SANE and took the stairs."

Dodge led her down the ladder "Alice, since when has anyone been 'normal' or 'sane' here? We're all mad here. As for my sword, it is best to have an eye out. People know you are back. I can't- I mean WE can't risk losing you again. You are our only hope." He helped her down the ladder and they started to walk towards the garden.

"I haven't raced you in awhile...LAST ONE THERE LOSES THEIR HEAD!!" Alice ran off towards the garden, laughing.

"Alice! Not fair! You got a head start!" He laughed and sprinted towards her. She ran faster but he was much faster. He caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She gave a small yelp and giggled as they fell and rolled on the grass laughing as they landed by the picnic basket. Once he caught his breath he said, "Al, I am sure that I am so mad I have lost my head a long time ago."

They were laying a foot apart from eachother. The two turned on their sides to look at each other. "You seem fine to me. How could have you gone mad?" She smiled her bright smile, a strand of hair cover her face.

He moved towards her slightly and reached over to put the strand of haie behind her ear. He whispered, "Before you left, I realized I was mad. For falling in love with you. I went mad without you here. I am mad because I am madly in love with you." He cupped her cheek and chin in his fairly large hand and whispered even more quietly. "I am even more mad, for you being here next to me makes me quite insane."

His face inched towards hers. He looked at her lips. They were pursed together and he could see her cheeks turn as red as the roses around them. She closed her eyes as he did and he leaned in for their first kiss. It was innocent. He let his lips stay there for half a minute and let go slowly and sat up.

She sat up as well and looked around the garden and looked at the beautiful rose bushes around her. She noticed all the roses were red except for two single roses. One was half red and half white and the other fully white. She remembered that when they were little the garden only had white roses and they would paint roses red. Before she left, they had almost finished painting the flowers except one and a half the same exact roses she was looking at. "Dodge, the paint should have worn off the flowers a long time ago..." She looked at him. Her eyes filled with love, compassion and happiness. Alice gazed into his eyes, she saw sadness happiness and love. He smiled and looked at the white rose.

"Each year when all of the roses were white again, I repainted each rose. Since, roses here never die I know which roses remained white. I kept them white, hoping one day we will finish what we started. Painting these roses were our last moment together before you left. Each year as I repainted the roses, on each petal I would say one memory I had of you, why I missed and love you and dreams I had of you." He smiled and looked at her and laughed. "On the last petal, I made a wish. To have more roses, since I had ran out of petals."

She hit him in the stomach as he reached behind him for a tarty tart. "Well, how about tonight we sneak out and paint these horrid white roses! And paint the leaves blue and the branches purple!" She giggled at herself and reached for a tarty tart.

"Well, princess, that sounds like a lovely idea. Let's start reading one of your books." He pulled out a book from the bag (which he had taken off at some point). He read about half the book as she lay in a tree branch listening for awhile. Alice got distracted and started to sing.

"Cats and rabbits
Do reside in fancy little houses
And are dressed in shoes
And hats and trousers
In this world of my own..." She stopped, when she realized she was interupting Dodge's explanation about the Jabberwocky. He looked up at her oddly. "Oh, am I interupting?" She tried to make it seem as if she didn't know her singing was distracting him.

Dodge sighed and closed the book. He was a bit annoyed but what can he do? He was almost as bored as she was. "Alice, you won't learn anything if you don't pay attention. At least we got through two of these books, and you were able to summerize them both very well. Maybe this is a good time to take a break." He yawned and put his hands behind his head and sprawled on the grass. She soon fell asleep in the tree and he on the ground.

A few hours passed by and Dodge woke up. He looked at the clock tower and realized it was almost time for the ball he forgot about. "ALICE!" He shouted, they both had to get ready. She woke up and jumped making her fall out of the tree. Dodge, having such great reflexes, moved right away and caught Alice then putting her back on her feet.

"Dodge, you didn't have to shout! What is it that you want anyways?" Alice asked as she yawned.

"I sort of forgot to mention that tonight there is a ball. We are expected to be there, dressed in formal attire." You go to your room and get ready. I will bring you your books when I come to pick you up from your room. I mean if you don't mind me escorting you." He was blushing and looking down at his feet.

She giggled and nodded as she stood on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek (he was a whole head and a neck taller than she was). She ran off to the castle and Dodge picked up the books and the tray the tarty tarts were on. When he was done he headed off to his room to get ready for Alice's welcome home ball.

Late meal = dinner

the song Alice sang was from the original disney Alice in Wonderland.

the song in the second chapter was "Welcome to Mystery" by Plain White T's

R&R(:

I'm trying to make my chapters a little more longer. Please give me constructed criticism! :D