The promised Chapter 2. This is a fairly long chapter but it's important :)

M for swearing, to be safe etc.

I don't own anything more since the last chapter and also since there's a teeny tiny Wheel of Time reference; I don't own that either. Boo.

It never seemed to end.

On and on she fell, random bits of furniture hurled past as she was pulled away from her world to….what? She wondered. But Lena found that she did not care, anywhere was better than what she ran from. She was surprised at herself. Here she was falling and falling, maybe to her death and she yet she wasn't crying out in fear? She should care. She had her family to think about, her career, and the rest of her life. She scolded herself for being so weak and selfish, even amidst this apparently endless fall.

Lost in her thoughts, the landing came as a bit of a surprise…

"Oooph!" she cried out as the surface she landed on winded her. She was on her front and glanced down to realise she was lying on soft grass. She stood gingerly, aware that her ribs felt rather bruised, but she was otherwise unharmed. Amazing!

Once she was dusted down, she examined her surroundings. She was in a clearing again, only this time, the sun did not shine as it did before, rather, the sky seemed dull as though it were either dawn or dusk. Lena could not tell which, but it seemed strangely calm and reassuring. The trees lining the clearing were twisted evergreens rather than the mixture she saw back up the rabbit hole and the grasses were shorter but as she had previously noted; very, very soft. She looked up to the sky where she assumed she had fallen from, but there appeared to be no evidence of a hole or portal.

She looked around again and something in the centre of the clearing stirred. It appeared to be a man sitting cross-legged on the ground. He was dressed in an odd sort of way; a dark purple suit jacket and brown pinstripe trousers which looked much too short for him! They revealed that he had adorned odd, striped socks. A wide variety of coloured threads on spools crossed his torso like a sash and a large colourful cravat sat at his neck. However, as Lena noticed, the most distracting thing about him was his face; very pale skin with deep, soft-looking lips, startlingly bright green eyes set in sunken pink eye sockets and the brightest orange hair Lena had ever seen! It stood out at all angles, curled and almost as if he had been electrified! All of this was topped with, well, a top hat. A rather nice one Lena mentally noted. The entire get-up seemed ridiculous, but on him it worked.

'Cute. In an odd way.' She thought.

The cute man sat there. His eyes were wide with bewilderment and focused entirely on Lena like some frightened puppy. He seemed surprised. Well wouldn't one be surprised if a random person fell out of mid-air? Lena knew she would have been. His arms were raised in front of him, as if he'd been about to do something, but due to his unexpected guest he'd forgotten what.

"Err…Hi." Was all Lena could muster.

After another moment of surprise, the man seemed to snap out of it and a large cheerful grin, revealing gapped tea-stained teeth spread across his face.

"Hello!" he said in a soft voice and stood, then walked towards Lena. "Well, you're not Alice and I certainly wasn't expecting guests, but what a lovely surprise! What is your name my dear?" He said, looking her up and down, but not in a way that made Lena uncomfortable. She realised he had a slight lisp to his accent and a deep smooth undertone. She was immediately entranced.

"Lena Bruce." She said softly, a small smile creeping up on one side of her mouth, eyes focused on her new friend.

"Lena" repeated the man, seeming pleased. "It is an honour. My name is Tarrant Hightopp, or as most people call me 'the Mad Hatter'". Tarrant bowed slightly, removing his top hat briefly before placing it back onto his bright head of hair.

Lena frowned slightly but her smile didn't fade. "That doesn't sound very nice. Why would they call you that?"

"Because I'm mad"

"I…oh right, of course, the saying….'mad as a hatter'!"

"Yes, my dear. And a royal one at that!" Tarrant puffed out his chest slightly in pride. "But enough about me!" He lifted a ticking pocket watch up to his face. "Excellent! It's Brillig!" He turned and placed an arm behind Lena, without touching her, to suggest they begin walking. "Let us join Thackery and Mally. They'd love some new company to have tea with. Gets a bit dull nowadays." Tarrant frowned slightly at that last sentence.

They walked out of the clearing and soon came to very beaten windmill on the left and further to the right sat a long table, covered with once-white tablecloths (Lena could tell there were many tea stains on them)and an assortment of chairs. Cakes and scones dotted the table along with various sized teapots, teacups (most of them apparently broken) and the odd spoon or knife. At the table sat, or rather slumped, a lone hairy, tattered figure with its back to Lena and Tarrant. Before she could ask who and what this figure was, the Hatter shouted:

"Thackery! We have a guest!" The figure jumped to the sudden call of his name and spun round, nearly falling out of his chair. He was a hare wearing what looked like striped pyjamas and a blue jacket. His uneven eyes were frantic in their search for the location of the voice.

"Alice?" He said in a heavy brogue. His crooked ears twitching and tatted body shaking. He reminded Lena of a hyperactive child in a sweet shop on an energy drink.

"No, this young lady is called Lena and she is joining us for tea." Tarrant smiled and gestured to her a chair next to a larger green one at the top of the table, in which the Hatter promptly sat in. Lena sat in her suggested chair and turned just in time to duck at a flying tea-cup.

"Late fer tea!"

"Thackery please! Not at our new guest." scolded Tarrant. "…Where's Mally?"

"Sh' went off t' have a wee chat with McNivens!" The hare pointed to the woods.

"McTwisp, Thackery, not McNivens"

"Och aye, o' course!...spoon…" Thackery stared at the silver spoon in his hand, full tea-cup in the other hand all forgotten about and spilling onto the table. Lena suddenly realised that the hare bore an odd resemblance to the windmill behind her…coincidence?

She glanced at the Hatter. She saw him close his eyes and try with all his might to supress a sigh. He succeeded to a point. Lena giggled which got the attention of Tarrant. He smiled and offered her some tea. Lifting a cup to the teapot he held, Lena found that she was extremely thirsty and thankful for this tea in good company and a warm day. The cup was filled and she took a sip. Yes, she barely knew the odd man with the intriguing eyes and the mad hare that could talk of all things! But she felt oddly at peace here. Right at this moment; a very large contrast to how she was in her world just minutes before.

Suddenly, her eyes grew wide as it dawned on her: this was Wonderland! A tale she had adored as a child. Perhaps the fall had put her in shock for a time for it to only become clear now. But then, where was the girl who the story centred around?

"Mr Hightopp-" She began.

"Tarrant, please."

"-Tarrant. Might I ask, where is Alice?"

Tarrant's face grew dark instantly. And Lena suddenly regretted her question. He looked away from her and seemed to enter a world of his own. His eyes changed colour from green to amber and the skin around his eyelids darkened to nearly black. Lena could not help but stare with her mouth slightly agape. He looked ferocious.

'Terrifying'.

'..Deadly'.

'…Beautiful'. A sub-conscious last thought.

"Sh' will ne'er come back. Sh' left an' promised sh' would be back. Sh' NE'ER CAME BACK! TH' FRUMIOUS SHUKM-"

"Tarrant!" He had stood, Lena with him without realising it and her arm reached out but-not-quite-touching the Hatter. The Mad Hatter. Now she understood. She just didn't understand what had happened with Alice. Obviously she had caused great hurt in this weirdly, wonderful man, who was now returning to his previous eye colour of green and eyelid colour of pink and blue.

"Thank you." His voice sounded strangled, but the heavy brogue had settled now and his lisp was back. He shook his head. "I'm fine".

"Are you?"

He looked at Lena. They both still stood and for a few seconds just examined each other's eyes before Tarrant broke contact and sighed into his chair. Lena followed suit, not taking her eyes off him. She was afraid he might slip into another moment of insanity, but next time he might not snap out of it. She shuddered at the thought.

She could hear Thackery to her right clattering his teeth against a cup and muttering something like "Ooh, meow" in his thick Scottish accent.

Lena couldn't understand his outburst. Alice's name had been mentioned twice before this incident and he hadn't even flinched! He'd gone from happy to entirely crazy in seconds.

But whatever he had been feeling was gone. Now the man looked sad, even his eyes paled to pastel green. He held his cup in his hands and he glanced down at nothing in particular. Lena reached out her left hand to gently lay it on Tarrant's right. She saw his eyes shift to the area of contact. It may have been her imagination, but Lena was sure his eyes deepened in colour after this and so they sat in silence for a moment; Tarrant with the understanding that he was being offered a little comfort from a new friend and Lena with the understanding that it was best to not say anything for the time being.

After what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes, Tarrant spoke very quietly.

"Lena?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have any idea why a Raven is like a writing desk?" He still wasn't looking at her.

Lena opened her mouth to say she hadn't a clue, but before she could make a sound she heard voices coming from the surrounding trees and turned toward them.

"-So what does Mirana plan on doin' about this?"

"I don't know. It's extremely worrying"

A white rabbit in a dark blue waistcoat stepped out of the tree-line with a white dormouse. They seemed deeply concerned about something. Scared, even. Tarrant had also heard these voices and raised his head to the sounds.

"Mally! Nivens! You're just in time for tea!"

"LATE!" Came the madness of Thackery who had found yet another cup to throw at the new arrivals. They ducked in time but otherwise ignored the hare and instead focused their attention on Lena.

"Who…who is this, Tarrant?" inquired the white rabbit. The dormouse leapt onto a pile of books on a chair and then onto the table to get a better look at her.

"Yeah, oo is she, 'atter?"

"Oh this is Lena. There I was in the middle of my Calm Space and out from the sky she fell!" Tarrant said, giggling like a maniac.

"This wasn't foretold….oh dear." The white rabbit began hyperventilating.

"It migh' of. But if the Oraculum is playin' funny buggers we aint gonna know!" replied the dormouse.

Lena was getting rather confused. A lot was happening in so little time!

The hatter perked up.

"'Funny buggers'? What do you mean? What's happened with it, Nivens?"

The white rabbit-Nivens, looked uncomfortable.

"The Oraculum has shut itself up. We do not know how to open it again. Even Absolem is at a loss. It's turned black and anyone who goes near it begins to get a sense of Hopelessness."

The Hatter looked astounded. And scared too, like the others.

"That is dark magic at work, McTwisp." He said, as deadly serious as anyone could get and even his eyes turned an acid green. "I haven't heard of its' like in many, many years. Why didn't you come straight to me?"

"That's moy fault 'atter." Spoke up the dormouse, who Lena assumed must be Mally. "You were away at your Calm Space, so I didn' want to disturb you."

"Yes, that and Mallymkun was the sanest person here." Nivens glanced accusingly at Thackery who responded with the throwing of a sugar cube (perhaps he had ran out of cups) and the muttered words "Frumious, shukm-loving twat."

Lena's mouth dropped open.

Nivens continued. "Anyway, I think it best that we make haste to Marmoreal. The White Queen will need every bit of assistance to figure out what this could be. And perhaps find out if Lena was sent to us for a reason."

"Sent?" Lena had finally found her voice in all of this commotion. "I wasn't sent at all, curiosity simply got the better of me and I fell. Quite glad of it too, as I've already met some wonderful people." Lena smiled and turned her gaze to the Hatter, who returned the kind gesture and with a glint in his eye.

"Fate would say differently, Miss Lena. You might think it was all just happenstance, but this world weaves us into its pattern in ways we cannot begin to comprehend. You could very well be essential to our survival."

After Nivens finished his small speech, the party fell silent, almost as if they were allowing the enormity of the task ahead to sink in.

Tarrant seemed to find this silence too much to bear.

"Well, I agree we must journey to the White Castle. However, it is getting rather late. Better to begin anew on the morn!" He stood and offered a hand to Lena. "My dear, if you would be so kind as to help escort a mad old hatter home, I can offer you a place to stay tonight." Lena took his hand and rose from her seat. The Hatter then turned to the others. "I will see the rest of you at the White Castle. Fairfarren all!"

A/N: I will explain this 'Calm Space' in a later chapter.