A/N: It's been a while since my last update, and I know I didn't update as promised, but this is a nice long chapter for you all. Also, this story will almost definitely not be finished by the end of the month, but it will be over 50,000 words by then. Updates will be more sporadic now, because I have writers block for a particular up coming section, but once through that things should be smooth sailing. Also, insanity ensues in the following chapter, please fasten your seat belts and locate the emergency exits before continuing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderland (2010).

Chapter VII

~•~ Mirana ~•~

The White Queen awoke to see the first fingertips of dawn breaking over the horizon and through the window into her room in gentle rays of light. She imagined the sight of the sunrise outside was beyond words in beauty, but had little time to think of that as she realized she'd fallen asleep on her chair and Celia was no longer in her bed. Mirana panicked, unsure of where Celia was, until she saw the doors to her champion's room slightly ajar. Acting on a hunch, she stood and headed into the other room. Her heart momentarily slowed as her panicked state was wiped away upon seeing Celia lying in Alice's bed. Her heart picked up though, pounding in her chest as she took in the sight. The younger woman looked so well fit, laying there asleep on the bed, it was as if she was where she was meant to be. Mirana silently approached, still too stunned to speak even if she wanted to. Though she didn't want to speak, for fear of ruining the moment. Everything Raven had said to her was forgotten as she watched Celia sleep there. Looking so grand, and yet so small and innocent. Her reddish lips were gently parted, exposing the pale teeth within, and most certainly she was half smiling. Her small chest rose and fell, silently, neither too quickly nor too slowly. Mirana longed to kiss her, her hand itched to touch Celia's skin, and she settled for stroking the girl's cheek. Her pale hand reached out, and slid down the younger woman's cheek, savoring the silky feel of the girl's soft skin as it began by her temple and ran slowly down to her chin. Mirana's eyes were filled with longing as she removed her hand, she slowly fled from the room in a daze. Pausing once, as she heard Celia give out a slight gasp behind her. The queen returned to her own chambers, sat down at her desk, and fell asleep. Later to dismiss what had happened as a vivid dream of her longing and weary mind.

~o~ Alice/Celia ~o~

She awoke feeling refreshed and new. Sitting up, she stretched her back and looked around. Supposing that at some point in the night she'd woken and followed the whims of her subconscious mind, frankly, Celia was not surprised that she was in the room she was in. She was surprised, however, to find herself in the bed rather then sitting before the armor as she always was. Celia tried to remember what it was she'd dreamt of that night, of why she no longer felt chills going up her spine while siting in that room, and let out a large gasp as she fought for breath. It came back to her, nearly everything of her life in Underland returned to her as she remembered the second thing to wake her in the night. There was no pain to accost her memories return, and she soon figured out why. For earlier that night, after coming into the room she was resting in, Mirana had entered and she had stroked Celia's face as she once had before. Though the other time Mirana had stroked Celia's cheek she had more cupped it in her hand, the touch of the woman's soft hand upon her cheek had been tied to such powerful emotions. For when Mirana had cupped Celia's cheek in her hand, she'd looked at her with such sad and lonely eyes. The same silently begging eyes she'd looked at Celia with when they were going to war. And in that memory Mirana had been wearing a slight frown similar to the one she'd worn while they talked of what happened in Iracebeth's castle. There were other memories too, their were other faces, and most of the weave of her mind was restored to her in that moment of remembering what had happened earlier that night. There were still patches of it missing, things such as her name and much of her childhood, but Celia gained back much of herself. Realized and connected the pieces together as she solved the mystery which was her and Mirana's relationship. She'd remembered all the nights she'd spent of late during which she had not slept because her emotions for the queen were heavy upon her mind. She remembered how her mother had cried upon hearing that, of how her sister had been disappointed but coped, of how Lord Ascot had immediately supported her. Celia remembered everything about her and Mirana, and everything about her thoughts for Mirana, her dreams and wishes. Everything. Mirana was so key to her, she was the second half of Celia. She was half of the girl's mind, for everything was centered around the queen and her court and the people around her.
With so many memories rushing through her mind, the mere after-surge of the night's breaking point, Celia could not breathe for minutes. It was not pain which overwhelmed her, but rather emotion which took her and shook her so. When at last she was able to breathe, she quickly stood and stumbled back into Mirana's room. Wondering if she should tell the wonderful woman or not, content to let her sleep until a verdict was decided. After a while, though, it became clear that Celia's presence had the same effect over Mirana only opposite in that it made the queen restless rather than calmer. With a heavy heart, Celia retreated to the other room. Knowing full well that it was best for Mirana to get good sleep and wake on her own rather than suffer from bad sleep and be awoken by Celia's presence. Celia was content to sit before the armor as she had the days before, and was surprised at the memories stirred by the metal suit and sword. She remembered the day she picked up the sword, it seemed so tiny then, and she had been so tall. She remembered the shear exhilaration of riding the Bandersnatch, the way the wind had tasted so faintly of ash and war and so much of nature and life. The dull thrum of defeat which had resided all the ride through because of her inability to save those whom she so cared for. She remembered the first time she saw Mirana, and her breath caught in her chest. Mirana was as beautiful as ever, if not more so now then those few years before. There were good memories and bad memories, and she remembered all she could before being intruded upon by the still sleep deprived Mirana.
"Are you well?" The Queen asked Celia, standing behind her, speaking as she crossed her pale arms across her chest and drummed her fingers lightly as they itched to caress the girl and play with her hair: she was still confused as to who she loved.
"Very," Celia replied, looking up at her queen and wishing the woman would abandon the notion that touching Celia would always hurt her: though she knew Mirana did not know the binding glyph had been broken, "And you?"
"Tired," Mirana stated before breaking eye contact with Celia and looking at Alice's armor, without thinking her hand reached out and felt the dents in the breastplate, "And lonely."
"Whose armor is this?" Celia asked Mirana as she stood beside her queen, seeming a sharp contrast between light and dark, curious as to if Mirana would return to her her name.
"My champions'," Mirana replied absently her voice wavering lightly, her eyes lost in the past before she blinked and wiped away the welling tears as she did so.
"Where have they gone?" Celia asked as she watched the queen before her.
"Far away," Mirana said simply as she met Celia's gaze, "To a land where I cannot follow."
"Pity," Celia replied as she broke their stare and turned her attention to the armor, she ran her hand over it as Mirana had, "They're lucky to be alive, aren't they?"
"Yes," Mirana said, feeling horrid inside and confused on weather she should be happy Celia didn't seize upon touching Alice's armor, or sad, "They are indeed."
"I'm sorry," Celia said quickly, removing her hand and looking back at Mirana.
"For what?" Mirana asked, surprised.
"For sounding so insensitive," Celia replied quickly, gazing at Mirana while the queen looked back at the armor, tears fringed her eyes.
"I loved her," Mirana said quietly after many minutes, "But that is the past, she is gone."
"You sound like you've given up hope for her return," Celia stated, her eyes thick with concern: one must always have hope when dealing with love.
"I have not," Mirana replied coldly, her eyes locking with Celia's and causing her to step back, "I've given up the hope that she'll return in time for me to tell her of my love, show it to her, without a greater scandal added atop it."
"Such a scandal this shall make! My poor daughter! I knew you were reluctant to settle down, but to love a woman? What would your father say were he here now?"
Celia remembered her mother saying that, she remembered the words said before it and after it and how they were far more unpleasant then that. It hurt to remember it, it hurt because it had hurt when her mother had cried at her so and told her to go. When her mother looked at her with those disappointed, shocked and mildly angry eyes. Social upbringing had taught her to hate those whom loved their own gender, and though she strayed for her daughter, this time she could not hide her disgust. Celia looked back to Mirana, her eyes welling with tears.
"What scandal is greater then love?" Celia asked, curious as to what was going on, but greatly saddened by her own mother's biting words.
"Loving one when you're to be married to another," Mirana replied softly.
"But you aren't yet, are you?" Celia said, blinking away her own tears, while a few fell, "It's not too late is it? There's hope isn't there?"
"I'm not, but last night the court decided who I would marry if I do not proclaim my own lover by the end of the year, and I fear my champion will not return by then," Mirana replied, "She doesn't return often, she stays away for years, and there is no proof she'll still love me, or even have ever loved me."
"Your making excuses your majesty! Your smarter then any I've ever met, and kinder then most, you doubt she loves you! When in truth, even I can see, you doubt your own love! And you must not! It's painful to watch," Celia explained, her eyes soft and searching, "You doubt your love, and you wonder her fate if she returns too late. So you pretend to doubt her love to give yourself an excuse to forget her, so it will be easier when if returns too late."
"It's true," Mirana replied, holding Celia's gaze, she whispered, "And even I know it will never be easy. But I'm lost."
"We all are," Celia said, figuring it out, over much of her sadness from earlier.
The two women stood there, staring at one another, and glancing at the suit of armor. To Mirana it was the of symbol of her lost love, and Celia was her found. She had to thank Erika's ghost, for if the ghost had not saved the girl before her then she may never have figured things out so much as she had. To Celia, the armor was her fragmented past, and Mirana was her lifeline. Weather the two would come to grips and have a happy relationship given the situation was a matter of chance and fate, but it was clear that nothing need be said further for that time for their conversation had solved many things between them and opened their eyes. Though they were still reluctant to say what did need be said to break the elevated still between them and let blossom their love. Many minutes passed, too many for either to guess or know until the clock chimed and awoke both from their daydreaming stupor.
"We should both leave, lest the castle think either of us dead," Celia finally said, breaking the silence between her and her queen.
"Perhaps," Mirana replied, not bothering to point out that half the castle thought Celia still to be seizing from the blessed curses put upon her.
"It's time for morning tea as it is," Celia pointed out, reluctant to leave alone, reluctant to leave her queen.
"It is," Mirana stated, a smile coming to her lips, she locked wrists with Celia, careful not to touch the girl's skin with her own, "I would be grateful to have to you take it with me."
"The pleasure is mine," Celia replied, smiling brightly.

~0~ Empth & Raven ~0~

"What's this bottle for then?" Empth asked, picking up an unlabeled container from the counter of Raven's temporary work space.
"That would be Warsh butter-drops-good for erasing memories," Raven replied, taking the bottle, "Or so I'm told."
"You've never used it?" Empth asked, already knowing the answer was yes even if Raven wouldn't say it.
"Of course not," Raven lied, she'd used it so often in the past years that she'd grown an immunity to the mild substance, now she used much stronger things to achieve the same level of abandon: but nothing truly made one forget without damaging them beyond repair.
"Yes, you just take... Arotricle tears..." Empth trailed as she picked up another bottle, confusion clear in her mad eyes, "Why poison yourself slowly when the deadly nightshade is just in reach?"
"I'm not trying to poison myself, silly girl, what are you even doing here?" Raven asked.
"Wondering," Empth replied, cocking her head to the side and staring with her dark eyes, "Wondering, and hiding."
"Hiding from what, dare I ask?" Raven said, replacing the moved items back in their places and mixing up a potion at the same time.
"From Loraine," Empth replied, making Raven freeze.
"She's dead, and gone," Raven said slowly as she pulled her great wooden spoon from the mixture before her.
"So was I once, so was I," Empth replied, running her finger over the spoon and sticking it in her mouth, "Needs more Wishful thinking, if I may say so myself."
"But she is more dead then you ever were," Raven retorted, "And her body scattered to the wind if I recall."
"Listen to the wind, it does not lie," Empth said swiftly, her eyes hard and dark, "He's been collecting her up, stitching her back together with magics of the old," Her eyes flashed as she opened the container of Dreamer's Dust, "Feeding' 'er."
"Damn," Raven replied, her expression now one of horror.
"Beyond that," Empth said, whispering in Raven's ear as she added a heavy spoonful of Dreamer's Dust to the concoction before her, "I was young, but I still remember her... Damned be the wench, half-bad as 'er cousins Jabberwocky in life... worse in death," She hissed, her eyes dark and accented tongue heavy in her mouth, "Do you remember 'ow she died?"
"Yes," Raven replied, shocked too much to move, her hands frozen in place, her eyes unblinking, "She took herself. With Verde's potion."
"I know little about it, but are the main ingredients not Jabberwocky blood and Devil's pollen?" Empth asked, moving a way to search for the other ingredients needed for their potion.
"Yes," Raven replied, "If she is alive then there's only one thing which can kill her-but for him to bring her back!"
"He loved her did he not?" Empth retorted, tossing a handful of cricket guts into the potion before mixing it and holding out a spoonful to Raven, "See the truth and tell me from the point of one yet still sane. For I only see what my maddened mind tells me, and that's is fair little to what I know you can see."
Without hesitating, Raven drank the liquid on the spoon and her eyes widened ever more in shock. Her heart thudded to a stop as she was taken far from her body and time, and she saw the truth which the mad girl before her had been spewing out. The winds did not lie. Death was building on the horizon. Wastings had fallen.
"Summon Mirana," Raven gasped to Empth as she momentarily regained the ability to speak before falling to the floor beside the counter, seeing yet more of what had truly been happening, and what had happened: there was little doubt left in her mind that Empth-mad as she was-was gifted and telling the truths she knew.
Empth knew more then what to do, and grinned before leaving. She knew very little about potions except what she'd learned from Mirana, but that was enough to turn a sleep potion into a vision potion of good strength. With the new information proven true and their rouge proven dangerous, the need was now dire enough that they could risk changing the course of Mirana and Alice's relationship for the sake of the whole. After all, bringing back the demonized cousin of the royal family was no little threat. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Loraine made Iracebeth's cruelties seem as the kindest deeds and miracles imaginable. Her insanity made Thackery look like a functioning and fully sane person. And her hunger for power was too great to be comprehended. She would not rest, would not cease, until she had all of creation under her control and her control alone. Everything their rouge had done up to this point had been in preparation for raising his dead love and leader, and with their powers combined the two had taken control of Wastings to the west of Underland.

~o~ Alice/Celia ~o~

Mirana was called away from tea by the captain of the guards, it was something highly important and the queen left right away after a word with her hatter about watching Celia. So the girl sat there, across from Hatter. Observing him as he fooled around with his tea cup, his expression strange but his eyes bright. He held up his tea cup and peeked through it-Finding it the same one from yesterday, the one with the hole in the bottom. Both knew they knew each-other, but only Celia knew where from, and she was no about to give up her secrets to the Hatter as she so easily had to his sister.
"Have you any clue why a raven is like a writing desk?" Tarrant asked he as he leaned forward, peering into her eyes as if to read her soul and figure out who she really was.
"I haven't a clue," Celia replied with a grin on her face as she set down her tea.
"Neither have I," Tarrant replied with a mad laugh.

~•~ Mirana ~•~

It was horrible, she spent half an hour by Raven's side picking out the bits and pieces of the visions the woman had and they pointed toward disaster. War was coming again, a war the Oraculum failed to predict. The White Queen knew that the Oraculum was needed in order to help her find out what she needed to do to save Underland, and hold a court meeting on their plan of action. Despite the danger to Underland, Mirana did not want to invade Wastings without the guidance of Absolum, who would have to be found, and the Oraculum. Her generals would likely disagree, but for now, holding the line was the best they could do other than wait and hope. Mirana tried to put all her energy into thinking of what was to come, but could not get over the fact that Raven had hidden information from her. For now she knew that their rouge was Alhowl and that his intent could've been seen before now and catastrophe could've been avoided. However, Mirana was in some small way relieved, for the turn of events made it clear that Celia was no longer in danger of being hunted down for Alhowl's identity was already made known. Unfortunately, Mirana did not know the weaknesses of her enemy nor did she know of who he truly was in relation to Raven save that he had once been the witch's apprentice.
The queen left the room after instructing her guards to assist Raven in returning to her room to sleep off the effects of the potion, and asking that they look for Absolum around the castle. Sometimes the butterfly was there, other times he was not. Mirana herself, upon leaving the room, quickly headed for the throne room and asked Nivens to summon her generals and the court for an emergency session. When all were accounted for, minus Absolum and Tarrant, the doors were shut and the war meeting began.

~e~ Alhowl, Loraine & The Legion ~e~

"I'm hungry. Feed me!" Loraine stated loudly, her patched and stitched together body a horridly unpleasant sight to see.
Her skin was as pale as Mirana's, and laced with veins of black all across it, her lips were a pale and pouting blue. Her tongue was as dark as the night, her hair as red as fire, and eyes of the palest red. Here and there were large lines of stitching which held together the pieces of her body, but her mind could not be stitched and healed so and was in pieces. In drinking Verde's potion she'd killed herself, in returning to life she'd become a creature of nightmares and fever dreams. She hungered so for everything, and hungered ever more for flesh to suit her growing appetite. An appetite increased greatly by the need to heal and mend her still broken body. While outside she seemed normal in size, in truth, inside she was as empty as the universe was large. She grinned through sharpened teeth as a slave approached. A man whom her dear and devoted pawn had brought back to care for her in his absence.
"Slave. Feed me," She instructed, her long black tongue whipping about her mouth as she sat on the darkened throne of Wastings.
"B-But your supreme highness, there is no more food," The slave-man replied, bowing his head low as he stood before her.
"Very well," She said, thin eyebrows arching in disgust, "I'll just have you then."
And she did. Her long tongue grew and stretched, grabbing the little frogman and pulling him into demonic gullet where she promptly chewed and swallowed. He tasted good, very good indeed, she would have another...

~o~ Alice/Celia ~o~

Celia walked the garden again, having had an enjoyable morning speaking with Mirana and Tarrant. She was troubled still by her attraction to the queen but not so much as the day before, and was more troubled by the whispers of war she'd heard from the few servants she'd passed. She didn't want war, she so desperately wished for the rumors to be untrue-But they were true, and she knew. Celia knew they had to be true for why else would Mirana have been called away by the guard? Why else would the great and many doors to the throne-room be shut and guarded as they were? She wished it were untrue, and even though she knew it was true, she still wished it was not. For she feared she'd lose her queen, and friends, to war. Things happened when there was war, assassinations, uprisings... Things which made Celia fear for Mirana's well being. The garden's seeming serenity and silence calmed her though, and she wandered through it without any purpose other then to observe it's beauty and remember. Her hands brushed the velvety petals of white and red roses intermixed, a strange sight yet one which seemed so appropriate. The bright light of the afternoon sun fell across Celia and warmed her back, the wind played with her loose shirt (before she tucked it into her trousers) and her dark hair. She felt almost at peace there. Almost. Something about herself nagged at her though, dragging her on. She didn't seem quite right yet, and she supposed it was because she was still missing her true name and her true form. The transformation glyph, she supposed, would be even harder to break then the binding on her memories had been. She wasn't even sure how it could be broken, or if it could even be broken. She knew the answer was likely no, but that if it were yes by chance then Mirana would be key. She stopped and took in the area of the garden she was in. It was brightly lit, sun fell into the square. The very square she'd been in when she first met her friend Empth. The area was paved except for where the great tree stood. The square was formed by three large hedges of imposing size, upon some of which grew roses of deep pink. Before which grew the large crowds of red and white roses, they seemed to whisper around Celia but she paid them no mind. How could she when she didn't yet understand the language of nature? Under the light of the afternoon sun, the great tree in the center of the gardens seemed more beautiful then ever and more tranquil then anything else. While butterflies flittered about it, the great tree stood still and grand. Deciding it was the perfect place to sit and think, as Empth had, Celia headed over to it and sat down. She relaxed into the trunk of the tree, and closed her eyes, the few sounds which echoed throughout the gardens lulled her into a trance, and soon into sleep. She dreamt under the tree, feeling at one with herself and discovering more about herself as she dreamt of her past. It would not be long until she became herself in spirit and mind, fusing her past self and her current self to become the person she always had been, and always would be-In spirit alone, though, she was still trapped behind the mask of another.

~•~ Mirana ~•~

The meeting had concluded, her generals had agreed that defense was best for the time. Messengers were sent throughout Underland to warn the people of the danger, and the armies boomed behind them as they headed to their respective posts along the borders and key places within Underland. Still, the meeting had taken up much of the day and left the White Queen tired and anxious for later when she and her closest companions would meet in the library to look over the Oraculum. In the back of her mind, Mirana wondered where Celia was and what her guest was doing. She also wondered if Raven had yet slept off the effects of the potion Empth gave her. The queen smiled to herself, she knew Empth had brewed that potion. She'd taught Empth how before the younger girl died for the first time. Rounding a corner, she found Empth standing in the middle of the hall. Hatter's younger sister was staring at the ceiling, her eyes bright and inquisitive, but they seemed to be wandering and empty- As if Empth weren't there at the moment. It was likely Empth wasn't, she'd done this such as this as a child too and Mirana already knew that the girl before her would not respond if called. She was lost, lost in her own big world- The world within her mind. Mirana smiled to herself again and walked past her friend.
"Do you know why a raven is like a writing desk?" Someone said from behind Mirana.
The queen looked back, and found that Empth was the only one there and she was still dazed and lost- or so she seemed. Without responding, Mirana continued onward toward Marmoreal's library.
When she finally reached her destination, she entered and took a seat. Waiting for the others to arrive so she could see what was likely in store for this war. Without thinking, Mirana closed her eyes, and slumped slightly forward as she fell asleep. She was exhausted, and didn't wake until Nivens arrived and cleared his throat. Causing her to bolt up right and look around, momentarily startled by the rabbit's entrance. Both grateful and un that the rabbit had awoken her- grateful that she was now awake and able to look over the oraculum with her friends, who were no slowly arriving. Ungrateful and mildly irritated in that she was no longer sleeping when she so clearly needed her rest. The queen waited, standing and moving around as people came in, she tried to keep herself awake but found her eyes sticking shut at times. When at last everyone, except for the Tweedle-twins and Celia, was present and accounted for the doors were shut. The group gathered around the large conference table in the center of the library, back when Iracebeth had taken control the table and library was where Mirana and the generals met and so to would they do so again soon. Nivens unrolled the oraculum, and it stretched far down the table before being stopped by Mallymkun's foot. She and Nivens then worked together to roll the oraculum back to a point where only what they needed to see was viewable. While Absolum was not present, they were still able to understand much of what the slightly moving pictures were saying. They saw a tangle of blonde hair attached to a metal clad body, standing over the corpse of a dark haired woman. The Vorpal sword plunged deep within her chest. No one said a word, because none were sure of who's corpse they were seeing. The face of the person was blurred out, as if they did not have one, and their hair was covering the bits which weren't blurred. Had the oraculum been in color perhaps they would've been able to tell that the dead being before Alice was Loraine, and not Celia as a few feared. Mirana seemed hardest hit and shocked by it, and desperately hoped that it was Loraine and not Celia. She unraveled the Oraculum a bit further to show the points leading up to the death depicted in the picture and what happened just after. Before, it showed Iracebeth commanding troops: a horrible sight. After, it depicted Alice kneeling beside a bed with Iracebeth glaring at her from behind. Neither was pleasant looking, and neither gave the whole truth. Mirana moved to expand the view yet again, but her hand was intercepted by Tarrant. He held her with a stoney gaze as a loud voice boomed throughout the library.
"Enough!" Absolum exclaimed, having entered through the slightly ajar window on the upper floor, he landed before the group, "Do not step on me! What will pass, will pass: we cannot know all or risk changing things for the worse."
"But it cannot pass!" Mirana retorted as Tarrant released her fluttering hands, "It cannot!"
"Perhaps it will not, you may not know, silly girl," Absolum replied as Nivens and Mally rolled the Oraculum up again, "Time will tell us soon, but until then his lips are sealed."
With that Absolum took flight again, fluttering back out into the gardens to smell the roses and wait for Alice's return. Nivens soon left, and Mally was quick to climb up upon Tarrant's shoulder.
"Cheer up Mirana, at least Alice is going to return," The Dormouse said from where she was perched.
"Yes, who cares if she's a killer," Chess added as he floated above with a grin, "At least she kills for you."
"I will not stand to let her kill another human," Mirana said, her hands fluttering about nervously, before leaving the room alone.
She did not know what to think, what to do, even what to say. She was unsure of weather it was Celia being killed there or her cousin. Likewise, Mirana was also unsure of weather Iracebeth's presence was a good thing or not. As she walked past the spot where Empth was standing, she heard the girl talking to herself.
"Barely breathing, so tired and cold and hurt... She yet lives... Another... yet dies... Barely. She's barely breathing... Barely breathing... Barely... Breathing..." Empth muttered to herself in a broken pattern, repeating over and over again before falling down before Mirana, the queen, however tired she was, would not let her friend fall and caught Empth under the arms and hauled her back upright, "Sorry," Empth said, looking up at Mirana, "Got a bit too far away."
Mirana didn't mind, Empth was a childhood friend after all. As soon as the young girl was able to stand on her own, she did so, knowing full well how exhausted Mirana was.
"You should go to bed," Empth instructed, staring at Mirana, "The day's been long and hard."
With that, the strange girl left Mirana. The queen couldn't help but smile. Empth was good, a good person to spend even a moment chatting with. Though her relationship with Mirana was strictly friendly, and both were fine, neither could imagine each-other in that way nor did they want to. With Empth now far down the stretching hall, Mirana set off to find out where Celia had gone. Needless to say, Mirana wasn't thinking as clearly as she could've been but she did know she needed-or wanted-to find Celia before going to bed. If only to make sure the girl was alright, unfortunately, Mirana was unable to locate Celia in the castle and ended up falling asleep against a wall near her room.

~o~ Alice/Celia ~o~

She was heading back to the room next to Mirana's after waking to find the gardens lost to the dark. It had been difficult finding her way out of the hedge maze at night, but she'd managed. Celia yawned into her hand and rounded a corner to find someone slumped against the wall. She bolted awake, it was Mirana who was slumped against the wall. Her first thoughts were that Mirana was dead, thankfully though the woman was not dead and in fact merely passed out. Celia's breathing returned to normal, and she soon realized it would take time for her to find someone to help move the queen and that it was simply easier for her to move Mirana herself now that she could stand being touched. So Celia helped the limp body up, and wrapped one arm around Mirana's waist, while using the other to hold Mirana's arm around her neck. The queen's head lolled to the side, pressing against Celia's neck. The girl was certain Mirana could hear her heart beating, but didn't dwell on her thoughts long before starting down the hall. The trip was short, not as hard as Celia had expected and in fact quite the opposite. It was rather enjoyable, to be so close to Mirana regardless of the situation at hand. Inside the queen's chambers, Celia set the woman down. Gently setting the woman on the bed and tucking her in. As she did so the queen mumbled a few incomprehensible words, and her hand moved a little. Celia laughed and tucked her in, feeling the urge to kiss Mirana's forehead softly but resisting. The time was not yet right.
With Mirana tucked in and safe, Celia retired to the room next door and got into bed herself. Soon she was carried away, cradled in the arms of sweet sweet sleep and whispered to by queen Mab.