Meanwhile.

Alice wondered around the ship. She found very quickly that there is not a lot to do. She tried playing games with some of the crew on board but they did not want to play "Childish games" with her. They would much rather drink ale and get flat drunk.

So she spent most of her time writing riddles and silly rhymes in her Journal to Hatter. She made sure to avoid the deck when Afton was on duty. Thankfully where he slept was near the Captains room so he wouldn't dare mess with Alice when the Captain was around. Just the way Afton looked at her gave Alice chills. She wanted to knock his teeth out every time he whistled or gawked at her.

Who does he think he is she thought. She was a lady and of course Hatter would be very upset with him if he knew how bothersome he was being.

When they arrived to their first destination on Saturday morning Alice got to see the sights and sounds of a country she had never been. The music and the food were so different. She loved every second of it. However, she did not get to dilly dally as much as she would have liked. Ascot was trying to show her the ropes of the business. "Alice, are you paying attention?" "Alice, stop touching that and come over here." Is mostly all she heard from him. There was one thing in particular she really did not like. "We will have to stay here for at least two days. We must tie up some loose ends."

Two days or more to finish business deals, at that rate it would take them much longer to return home. That meant more time she would have to be away from Hatter.

Once Ascot told her that, Alice became more interested in her business training, in hopes that maybe she could help things move along more quickly. In only one day of soaking up all the information she could from Ascot, she was better at negotiation than Ascot himself.

"I might accidentally start calling you by your Fathers name now you are so much like him. You had those clients eating out of your hand Alice! I would have never expected they would sign the 5 year contract."

Alice had a smile peeking through her frown on the corner of her mouth. She was proud of herself and Ascot was too. He actually let her dilly dally as much as she liked the rest of the day. In the morning it was time to leave. One down, many more to go.

That evening the crew was quiet. Even the sea was quiet. Nevertheless Alice's mind was jumping all over the place. She noticed a guitar propped up on the ships railing.

"Whose guitar is this?" She yelled to the crew.

Afton walked over to her with a fiendish look in his eye. "It's mine." He licked his lips gleaming at her. A man came up from behind him, grabbed his shoulder, and spun him around to face him. "Get lost Afton." Afton threw his hands up in the air. "I'm just trying to have a little fun." He said as he walked back to his position on deck.

"Thank you, I was just about to bash him in the head with it." Alice handed the man his guitar.

He laughed at her quick wit. "Well, that's what I was trying to avoid. This is my pride and joy. It keeps me company out here, I'm Cameron by the way."

Alice had seen him before but never said hello. He seemed very quiet. "Nice to meet you Cameron, I'm Alice."

"Knew that already." As if to say, how could he not know who she was.

"Well then Cameron, do you play well?"

"I am not awful."

Alice was so bored she figured she had to liven things up a bit, or else she would go mad from boredom.

"Please play. I would love to hear!"

She grabbed one of the men on deck by the hand. "Come on, we're waiting!" She laughed.

The man who she was holding by the hand looked scared to death to be near her.

"Oh alright!" He began to play an upbeat song. The melody moved Alice's feet.

"You play so beautifully Cameron!" She shouted to him as he strummed wildly.

The man she was dancing with had about as much rhythm as a board. The rest of the crew brought lanterns around them in a large circle and joined in. Even the captain.

Alice was so amused by all the grown men dancing about like giddy children to the music, pot bellies, eye patches and all. The fact that alcohol was flowing through them might of had something to do with their giddiness. The lanterns made the dock glow a soft orange color, and the men's feet pounding against the wooden boards of the ship made such a beautiful rhythm against the backdrop of the sea. The only thing missing was Hatter's futterwacken.

Alice took a seat on a crate to take a rest. The wind was starting to blow hard but that wasn't enough to cool Alice down with all that dancing she did. Afton came up to her holding a cup in his hand. Evidently flat drunk like the rest of them. "Have a drink sweetheart." He hopped up on the crate beside her, and shoved the cup in her face. "No thank you. I'd rather not look like a fool."

"Ah come on you need to loosen up. I already told you."

"Just go away Afton."

"You just need a man like me to loosen you up. In all the right places." He got close to her face. His breath was warm against her neck and reeked of alcohol. It made her stomach turn. He put his hand on her shoulder and quickly pulled the sleeve of her dress down her arm. Alice turned and slapped his face as hard as she could. It left a red imprint on his disgusting face. Afton shook his head like a dog, shaking off the blow. "You'll pay for that sweetheart!" He shouted to her as she ran to her room. She wanted to throw him overboard.

None of the crew even noticed any of what had happened between the two of them. Alice knew there was no point in telling the captain about Afton's behavior now. He was too intoxicated to handle the situation properly. She decided it was best to wait till morning. She just went into her room and locked the door, she even propped a chair up against the door in case Afton were to try anything.

Alice curled up into bed and held her journal close to her. "Hatter I miss you." She whispered to herself. All she wanted at that moment was to be home in Underland, safe in his arms.

Hatter was having unexplained plain in his stomach, He knew it could only mean that Alice was getting close to danger.

Once all the men had quieted down Alice was able to finally go to sleep.

She was awakened abruptly by the sound of thunder and crashing lighting. She dressed and ran to the deck. The captain was passed out next to the wheel of the ship. The wind was blowing fiercely as lighting lit up the night sky.

She tried to wake the Captain. "Captain! Wake up already!" but it was no use. So she took the wheel of the ship and tried to steer them out of the storm, but it was already too late. They were already too far into it. The crew started waking up when the freezing rain started to pour. They jumped up and started scurrying around. The captain pushed Alice out of the way and grabbed the wheel. Alice tried to help the men on deck but the dock was too slippery on her bare feet. She crawled to the railing and held on tightly. Hail started coming down from the sky, so she hurried to her room. Once inside she cracked the door to her room and peeked out and watched the white balls of ice bounce around on the deck as the men covered their heads. "Secure your posts men!" The captain yelled. Ascot's ship was about an hour ahead of them. With no one steering the ship for hours, they had gone a little off course. So Ascot and the other boat would be no help to them now, they had no idea they were in distress. As far as Ascot knew the winds were not in their favor and Alice would just be late to their next destination.

Suddenly a blast of lighting struck the ships main sail. The men started screaming and running all over. Alice held on tightly to the doorframe as the ship started rocking roughly from the enormous waves crashing into them.

Flames were roaring down the sail and spreading onto the deck now.

With a loud Crash! A large piece of the ships sail crashed on the deck and fell onto the Captain. Alice rushed out of her room to the Captains side. He was trapped from the chest down. The hail had stopped but now pieces of the sail were falling and pummeling the men on deck. Blood curdling screams were coming from all over the deck. Alice used all her might to try to lift the wood off the Captain but it was no use. It didn't budge.

"Someone, anyone help me!" She called out but the men were too worried about saving their own skins they paid no attention. Cameron came running by, "Cameron please help me! I can't move it alone!"

Cameron paused for a brief second and shook his head at her. He was not going to waste time, he had been in a ship wreck before, it was every man for himself. Alice wastched him run to a door, pulled out the hinges and take it. He threw the door overboard and jumped. He was using the door as a flotation device. Alice looked back over to the Captain.

"Alice." He moaned. She could barely hear him through the screams and roaring flames.

"Yes Captain." She noticed blood coming from his lips.

"Leave. Me.." The flames were getting closer to Alice. The heat was now burning her face. "I won't leave you Captain." She held his hand tightly as his eyes closed slowly. He was gone.. Tears rolled down Alice's face that could be mistaken for drops of rain. Alice just sat there on the deck beside the Captain, soaken wet. Her long hair was flat against her head. Almost all the ship was now engulfed in flames. She almost gave up, just let the flames take her along with the ship, but Hatters voice was in her head telling her to 'get up'. So she mustered up her muchness and ran to her room. She remembered how Cameron took that door off the hinges. So she followed his lead and took her door off the hinges and dragged it to the railing of the ship. Bursts of flames were close at her back. She threw the door into the water, took a deep breath and leaped.

The water was so cold she started shaking instantly. The change from extreme heat to freezing cold shocked her body. She climbed onto the door and laid down watching as the ship began to sink into the water. Tears streamed down her face when she looked around the water and only half of the crew was in the water. The other half was still on the ship, burning. A great silence came over the sea as the ship disappeared into the water, the seas calmed and the rain stopped.

However that silence didn't last long. Cameron and Alice were the only ones with a flotation device. The other men got into a frenzy and Alice watched Cameron be thrown off his float by the crew. They came toward her now. She would have loved to paddle away from them but she did the smart thing and jumped into the water. She would let them fight over it and use up all their energy, while she floated on her back thinking of another way to survive.

She did backstrokes gently away from the men. She'd rather take her chances alone than stay with those dangerous buffoons. So, she just floated off into the water. The stars were starting to appear through the storm clouds. She wished on the first star she saw that she could see her Hatter one last time.

It felt like hours that she had been floating. Her skin was getting pruney and her ears were clogged with water. She tried to stay awake but the night was so exhausting she started drifting in and out of sleep. Her muscles were so weak and shaky. She knew it was only a matter of time before she drowned and was eaten by some sort of sea creature.

She said goodbye in her mind to the person she would want to die beside, her Hatter. A few more hours rolled by, and the sun was rising from the horizon. Alice closed her eyes for the last time...So she thought.

Alice's eyes fluttered open delicately. Her face was against cool wet sand. She sat up and spit. Her mouth tasted like pure salt. A voice came from behind her, a voice that made her cringe.

It was Afton, standing above her on the shore. Alice squinted her eyes and wiped the sand off her face. The sun had dried her dress and hair. Alices wild curls were tangled in knots.

"Where are we?" Her voice broke and she coughed up water from her lungs.

"A deserted island miles away from the ship. I followed you here. I figured that I had a better chance of surviving by following the 'visionary's' daughter. Thought that maybe you got some of his smarts. And wouldn't you know it, you led us here, all alone. Clever girl you are." He smiled a devil's smile.

Alice almost vomited all over him. She wished she could, but there was nothing in her hungry stomach.

"Now, I'm all rested. I found food in the greens of the island, so I've got my strength. I think it's time you make it up to me for that slap."

Will Hatter reach Alice in time? find out soon.