I don't own Alice in Wonderland.

My entire body was shaking and tense like a drawn bowstring. I stared, wide-eyed into my father's pitiless gaze, waiting for my death.

But it never did.

There was a loud shout from the doorway behind him and a lamp was smashed over his head. I looked up and met Charles' large blue eyes, filled with worry and fear.

I didn't have the time to thank him as my father rose to his feet and stabbed at Charles. Before he could land a blow, however, Quinn appeared from thin air and jumped onto my father's back. The two began thrashing about wildly on the ground, fighting for control of the spear.

Vincent grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the room roughly. "Don't just stand there, stupid girl! You need to actually stay alive!" He pulled me down the hall we had just walked down. A few of the tapestries were torn off the walls and strewn about. I could hardly focus on anything. I was dizzy and my vision blurred in and out at strange intervals. My mind was racing a mile a minute and I could feel my legs strain painfully to keep up with the speed at which Vincent was running. The only thing I could hear was my heart pounding in my ears.

'What about Charles?' I thought, glancing back at the door that we were quickly leaving behind. 'Quinn's there with him, but if Charles got hurt, I'd never forgive myself!'

Vincent tugged me along, urging me to move faster as we turned down another narrow hall, which looked thoroughly unfamiliar. This was not the hall we had used to get here. Vincent cursed under his breath and we doubled back, taking another hall which we hoped was the right one.

It wasn't. We turned and Vincent cursed more things with more complicated words. We tried another hall and it led only to a door at the end. Vincent threw it open only to reveal a smaller door. Then an even smaller one behind that. We continued trying the doors until the door was the height of my knees.

Vincent growled. "And damn this advanced architecture!" He tugged open the door and shoved me towards it.

I scowled at him. "what are you doing? We won't fit through that!"

He sent me an icy glare. "would you just hush and trust someone for once?" he shoved me again and I stumbled. I fell down and, somehow, crawled through the tiny door.

On the other side was the second floor landing of the grand staircase. Vincent followed behind me and slammed the now normal-sized door angrily.

He opened his mouth to, no doubt, curse some more but was interrupted by a loud roar of triumph. Another man dressed like a card came charging at me from around the corner. His clothes were patterned with black clubs and the number eight. He held a small silvery dagger aloft and swung down at me. I dodged to the side. He narrowly missed and I heard Vincent swear loudly once again. I watched as he flicked his wrists and the bandages all over his body unraveled, revealing the same spiraling scars that he had on his legs. The swirling smokey scars peeled off, forming real smoke billowing around him in the air. It shot towards the card-man suddenly and jammed itself down his throat, clogging the airway. The card coughed and hacked violently until no air could reach his lungs and he just clawed at his throat. His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell lifeless to the floor.

Everything went silent. Terrifyingly so. Then, the sound of heavy boots clanking on the hard floor echoed down the hallway. I looked over and saw a tall man with long black hair tied up on his head in a bun. He wore a light raiment of shiny silver armor, patterned with spades. Silver armored boots rose up to his knees and silver shoulder plates sat in their place. Four pale scars decorated his face, two through his left eye, one across his cheekbone and one splitting his lip.

Vincent froze and fixed his gaze on the man. His hair suddenly blazed bright red and his hands clenched into fists. "You."

The man waved a gloved hand dismissively. "I'm only here to give a little greeting to the princess." he retrieved a long, thin throwing knife from his sleeve and threw it skillfully. It whirled through the air, too fast to avoid, slicing open my shoulder and spilling bright crimson blood across the mirror floor.

My eyes widened as a massive surge of agony shot through my system. I wobbled unsteadily on my feet, trying my best to stay standing against the waves of pain. He hadn't hit anything vital, yet it hurt worse than anything I had ever felt. I had been cut, tossed around and beat up but this…this burned! Like acid was racing it's way through my veins. My vision blurred drastically and became clear once more.

The man turned away from us and sank down through the mirror-floor with a haunting laugh and a taunting call of, "Welcome to Wonderland, Princess!"

My vision blurred once again and faded. The last thing I saw was the ground rushing up to meet me as I fell.

I felt someone's arms catch me and lift me up into the air. "Don't worry. Everything will be alright." It was Theodore's voice. I wanted to struggle and snap that I wasn't worrying but I found that I couldn't move. There was a crash from down the hall and Quinn joined the party as well as someone panting breathlessly who was obviously Charles. Quinn was laughing wildly and I heard someone sigh in annoyance.

"Are there any more, Theodore?" Quinn rhymed excitedly.

"No." Theodore growled. "They're dead. All of them. Too bad. Now, we have to leave, you twisted little killing machine."

I heard Quinn give an unhappy mew and then I slipped into unconsciousness.

"Drink."

My eyes opened to Vincent kneeling in front of me, holding a small crystal bottle to my lips. A purplish liquid swirled within it's confines.

"Drink." He ordered again. "It's an antidote."

"Antidote...?" he asked groggily.

He sighed and frowned at me. "are you truly so dense that you can't tell when you've been poisoned, you great useless thing? Now, drink it."

I did as I was told, taking a swig from the bottle. I coughed and spluttered after I tasted the bitter concoction that was running down my throat. The texture was slimy, a bit like the sort of instant spinach that my father used to make for a last minute dinner.

"Wh-what the hell is that?" I asked frantically.

"You don't need to know." His lips twitched into a smirk and he put the bottle away into one of his pockets.

I glanced around curiously, trying to get an idea of my location. We seemed to be back in the forest where Vincent's home was located, however, things seemed oddly different. The trees around us were wilting, crimson leaves darkening and falling to the ground and pale, white bark now as gray as smoke. The grass around us came in uneven patches of snowy white instead of the thick blue coat that had curled around my toes. In the distance, I saw black smoke rising into the sky and the sorrowful sound of birds calling to one another permeated my ears.

Everything seemed so dead.

I looked to Vincent questioningly and he gave me a pained look of what might have been guilt. "My home...the tree it was based in...It was the very heart of the Tulgey Wood. I lived there to protect it, for if anything were to happen to that tree, death would spread through the very veins of the forest." He looked away. "Those cards burned it down...Everything is dying...and I couldn't stop it."

I bit my lower lip and looked down at my feet. 'if it weren't for me, then we would never have gone to see Vincent...I could have prevented this...' I shook my head sadly. 'but there's no going back now...'

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up. Charles was standing beside me, giving me a worried look. "A-Alice? Do you feel alright?"

I smiled sadly and nodded. "What about you? You aren't hurt, are you?"

He shook his head. "I-I'm r-r-right as r-rain, I promise." He seemed to hesitate a bit before wrapping me in a warm embrace.

I smiled softly and hugged him back. There was something about hugging Charles that was absolutely wonderful. It was warm and sweet and just so...Charles!

We parted after a few moments and I glanced to the side where I saw Theodore and Quinn sitting beside a fire. The blaze burned eerily black and sparks of cobalt blue occasionally shot up from it.

Quinn's face and skin was splattered with dark red blood. A bit of his own blood trickled from his mouth from a split lip and he was cut and scraped in a few places but there was nothing that seemed too serious. Theodore seemed completely untouched other than a couple burns on his sleeves and some ash on his face. He seemed rather upset by this, however, and demanded that the go to his home to retrieve a new shirt and gloves. Vincent raised an eyebrow and promptly denied him.

My eyes focused again on Quinn, who seemed to be the worst off of our little group. I wanted to ask if he was alright but there was only one thing on my mind just then.

"Quinn...did you kill him? The Ace of Hearts…?"

Quinn looked up. "I didn't." He pouted like a child denied ice cream. "I got a good few of the other cards but he gave me the slip as quick as he could. Slimy bastard."

I frowned slightly. "Do you know who he is?"

He shook his head, sending his black locks into disarray. "Some card? What are you getting at, Dollface?"

I tried to glare but I couldn't seem to find the rage within myself. "He's...He's my father."

Quinn stared at me, eyes full of a curiosity that I was personally familiar with. "Was he...? That means Queenie had a little affair, hm? Well that's just delicious!"

"Are you really thinking about gossip right now, Cat?" Theodore frowned at him.

Quinn laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry, Bunny. Imagine, me, gossiping! Incorrigible!"

"The princess lost her father, more or less! Now is not the time for jokes."

I let out a sigh and shook my head sadly. "It doesn't matter...I could probably go for a joke or two right now. He was trying to kill me after all… so I guess he just doesn't love me like I thought he used to…"

"He was a fool not to love you, Princess." Theodore's voice was barely above a whisper but I caught it. He was always so intent on protecting me...I was never one to trust easily, but...Theodore was slowly becoming the brother I never had. It was nice...to still have people who cared.

I walked over to Theodore and hugged him quickly before pulling away. "Thank you...for what you said."

I went to Quinn and did the same, not even caring about the blood that now stained my nice yellow sundress. "And you too. For trying to make me feel better." A small smile quirked its way onto my face.

"Vincent...Come here." I held out my arms.

"Not on your life." He snapped.

"Vincent. Get your ass over here." I repeated.

He sighed and walked over, a look of pure hatred on his face. He hugged me for a split second then moved to the other side of the fire. "Now go to bed. We need to make an early start in the morning."

He leaned against a tree and un-braided his hair. I noticed that it was incredibly long for a boy's hair. Well, it would be if this were the normal world. It fell a bit passed his hips. I had always wanted hair like that, but mine was always kept short. My school didn't allow hair to fall past the shoulders and any hair that did was to be tied up. It was a safety hazard or something. People could pull it in fights or it could get caught on something.

Charles came over and took my hand. We sat down together, leaning back against another tree. He shut his eyes and feel asleep almost immediately. I yawned and rested my head on his shoulder. It was surprisingly comfortable despite him being so skinny and boney. Quinn lay down, head on my lap, and fell asleep instantly. I giggled quietly and played with his ears. Theodore smiled. "Consider yourself honored, Princess. In all these years, I have never seen Quinn do something like that. He must have taken a liking to you."

I smiled over at him. He was leaning up against the tree beside me. He had taken his glasses off and the dark fire gave his red eyes an odd effect. "Princess-"

"Please, Theodore, call me Alice. I'm not your ruler."

"Then...Alice...?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" I tilted my head to the side. I wondered what had made him so nervous.

"Do you…hate me…? For bringing you here? I ruined your life by revealing all of these secrets…"

I blinked. His ears were drooping and his eyes were soft and sad. I wanted to tell him it was okay. That I forgave him. But what I said was, "I wouldn't want my life ruined any other way."

"Good night...Theo." I said with a smile.

He tensed up at the nickname and stared at me in confusion.

"It's a nickname. It seems so official, calling you 'Theodore' all the time."

Theo laughed slightly and shook his head, pouring water on the fire to put it out. "Good night… Princess."

(Charles)

My eyes opened slowly, showing the world around me. I nearly forgot where I was until I looked down to my left and saw a familiar head of black hair resting on my shoulder.

She looked so peaceful now. Nothing like the hurricane of a woman she was when she was awake. I had never met anyone like her in that tiny little town where I had lived all my life. She was intense and strong and confrontational. It made my head spin and for once, I didn't mean that in a bad way.

I smiled to myself. She was incredible...

I reached into my pocket and retrieved my notebook and pen. I did my best not to jostle her too much. I didn't want to wake her in the dead of night. Luckily for me, the two of Wonderland's moons lit the area quite well. I didn't have much to write just then, anyway. Just an idea. Something that had just struck me.

'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'

I heard a soft rustling noise from my left. Quinn, the cat-man who I had watched kill about 6 people, sat up and gave me a sleep-clouded, blurry-eyed glare.

"That scratching noise you're making. Stop it." His voice was raspy from sleep and came out with a thick accent that I hadn't noticed before. I figured he must have been hiding it. It sounded almost Irish but with a bit of a twist.

'Scratching noise? Oh, he must mean my writing...' I closed my notebook, stowing the pen in the spiral binding. "Sorry about that! I won't do it again."

"Good." That frightening grin made it's way to his face. "Now, what did you write, hmmm?"

I panicked. "N-Nothing! J-just a title!"

"A title?" He looked at me curiously. "For a book? Let me see!" without waiting for permission, he snatched the notebook and flipped through a few pages until he found it. He laughed.

"Oh, I see!" He smirked, snapping the book closed and handing it back. "You, kid, are absolutely besotted."

"I-I-I-I am not!" I couldn't control my stutter any longer as my face heated up with embarrassment.

"Uh-huh, you just keep telling yourself that." he smirked and lay back down. "Only, you know that I'm right."

As he returned to sleep and I closed my eyes to do the same, I felt absolutely terrible. Not only was I being teased like I used to be back in my world, the worst part was that he was right.

'Besotted.'

AN:

It got pretty goddamn sappy there, but don't worry, gore lovers, there will be blood.

I was listening to 'As Long As You're Mine' from Wicked while I was writing this.

Much Love,

Evan