Alice sat on a quaint little bed, labeled as hers as well as this room. The bed, brocaded with hearts, was comfortable, and the diamond shaped pillows the same, but all that they did was bring a wave of homesickness onto her soul. How was her mom? Grandma/ Were they wondering where she went? What happened?

She wished desperately to find herself home, but…

She was stuck here in Wonderland…

Or more like Nightmareland now…

Standing with a groan, Alice glanced out the window at the harbor, where wide-sailed galleons and slick clipper ships were moored hand in hand with dingys and junks.

Frankly beautiful.

The sun had come out, transforming a gray sky to a brilliant blue, speckled with fluffs of cloud and seabirds. Smiling, Alice let her worries slip away and opened the window, allowing the sharp tang of salt to infiltrate the room. Lovely…

March's ears were all the way back, quivering with annoyance as he glared out through the bars. At least these rebels had let them keep their armor! Well… for now. Glancing back, the hare's raspy voice rang out, "Hats? What are you doing?"
Hatter straightened up from a crouched position, turning and mumbling, "Umm… nuthin."

Grinning, March noticed a tail disappearing into his comrade's mouth, "You hungry?"

Hatter swallowed the mouse and spat venomously as soon as his mouthful had cleared his esophagus, "Yes! I am bliddy hungry!"

"Think we could lure the jailer in here? He's right down the hall. Not a card."

Licking his lips in thought, Hatter eyed another small mouse scrabbling under the cot, "Well… seeing our trial's tomorrow, I think we better not."

March glanced at the rodent, knowing what Hatter was thinking, "So… going to eat mice all night?"

"Wait a minute…" Crouching, Hatter crept towards the mouse. Waiting for an opportune moment, he lunged, snatching it up with a grin. He held it up by its tail, inspecting it for sickness. While his eye switched colors rapidly, he sighed, "I guess I am…" He gazed at the writhing mouse, shrugged, and gulped it down. Silent and still, he let a disappointed sigh escape him.

March watched him closely, "You thinking of Alice?"

Jerking towards his partner, Hatter inadvertently reached for his own neck, "W-what are you talking about?"

"You know what I mean, Hats! That little portrait of yours? Can't tell much from the picture, but Alice is a lot like her. Looks the same, kind of thinks the same…. Too alike, if you ask me…" March grinned slyly, "Is that what you're thinking, Hats? Thinking of having a love for Alice?"

Hatter tore off his helmet pieces, blinking furiously, "Look at my face, March! Are you saying that I love Alice?"

"Well, well, I've gotten a bit fond of her myself, I must confess."

"But what are you implicating? That-" Hatter narrowed his eyes as he trailed off.

March turned away, leaving Hatter to muse in sullen thought, and noticed Hubble by the cell door. Smirking, he bowed mockingly, "And what do we owe this pleasure?"

"Just checking up on you." Reaching for a small bag by the cell door which held the prisoners' effects, Hubble ran a hand through his hair, "I'm not going to find any gross things in here, am I?"

"No."

Hubble started to rifle through the bag and pulled out a long gold pocket-watch. Inspecting it, he pushed it back in and quickly regarded Hatter's knife, some small red pills, a small length of cord, and a thin pocket book. He flipped open the book and scanned a long list of meaningless jot downs, such as 'seven ♦', 'eight ♥', 'd 9', 'd 3', 'girl', and so on. "What's this?"

March sniffed, "What's it look like?"

Hubble turned the page and stiffened. A whole page was scribbled with details, locations, items of the Jack of Spades, who had been assassinated but a few months ago. A small sketch of the prince was in the corner, and across the top, in spidery handwriting, stated the word 'Eliminated'. Quickly , he flipped the pages, passing other assassination details and lists to the last few pages.

He scanned it and sickly realized what it was…

The lists were everyday people and animals they had killed and probably eaten. The full page reports were people Jabberwocky had told them to assassinate. Holding it up, he growled, "Whose is this?"

March rose a hand, "Mine."

"You know… we could use this as evidence against you."

"Fine. Red ink's Hats. Black ink's mine. Can you just return to me later? I have to write down that Hat's eating the mice."

Hatter coughed, hooking his visor back on and wrapping his head slowly, "So… what about the trial?"

"Seven tomorrow morning. Both governors agreed."

"So…" March murmured, "How are old Lion and Miss Unicorn doing?"

Glaring at the two, Hubble shook his head and stomped away.

Cheshire paced in front of two heavy ebony doors the next morning, his grin tilted to a grim smile. Where were those two? The guards had gone to prepare them twenty minutes ago?

The Governors Lyona and Chesapeake watched him quietly, dressed in black judges cloaks. Sniffing, Chesapeake tossed her head, her singular ivory horn flashing in the light from the late morning sun, "Calm down, Cheshire! They'll be here!"

Cheshire paused and glanced at the scrolls Lyona held in her hands, "What are those?"

"March had a killing-book. He's listed everything. When I was transferring the names to this," Lyona held up the scrolls, "All I had to do is look for an ink change, as Hubble said. But… March was meticulous. He listed the word 'bird' twenty times instead of just writing '22 birds'. He even listed their colors!"

Smirking, Chesapeake crossed her arms, "Of course, we just listed the people. Still quite a long list."

"How much?"

Lyona frowned, "Hatter's list has over thirty. March has about seventeen. But March's eaten a lot more, mostly-"

"Animals?" At the governor's nod, Cheshire sighed and resumed his pacing.

Minutes passed, and, finally, five guards staggered up with a very sullen well-dressed March and Hatter between them. March glared up, and Cheshire saw his eyes for the first time since the Executions, for the guards had taken his helmet off. They were very pale, almost translucent. The pupil itself was a cloudy gray.

Ears laid back, March spat, "Why do we have to dress up? You could have let me keep my bliddy armor!"

Lyona and Chesapeake regarded March's furious gray-furred face and his trembling pink nose, faces free of emotion. Finally, Lyona coughed, "Well, blue suits you."

March glanced down at his dark sapphire long-sleeved shirt and black pants, ears perking, "Really?"

Scowling, Chesapeake glanced at Hatter, who wore a similar clean white shirt and brown pants. She noted Hatter's morose frown and Jabberwock eye with a fidget. Turning to the guards, she inquired sharply, "What took you so long?"

The guard who held a glaive saluted and said, "Well, ma'am, Hatter put on his clothes without a qualm, but March… refused."

"So they forced-dressed me." March added, "And I gave one of you a black eye." He looked around at the guards surrounding him and Hatter.

Cheshire couldn't tell with the helmets the guards wore. Sighing, he nodded, "Get them in there. The trial's about to begin."

The courtroom, a grand hall tiled with beautiful parquet, was abuzz with murmurs ass Hatter and March were marched in. The general public's benches were crowded full, and Cheshire could see people were peering through the windows, curious.

Cheshire felt someone scoot close to him on the private bench and glanced at Hubble, dressed in a nice formal suit, "You're a bit late."

Gazing as the two defendants took a seat at a table, Hubble shrugged, "I went to get Alice, but she's asleep still. And I didn't want to wake her."

"Good thing. I really think-"

At the head of the room, behind the judges' dais, Lyona and Chesapeake stood. The room fell silent, expectant. Chesapeake glanced about, appraising the crowd and the defendants, and began, "Free People of Wonderland! Why are we here today?"

A deafening chorus erupted from the people, "To try the persecutors of the Free!"

"And what right do we have to do that?" Lyona's voice rumbled through the room, an impeding hurricane of resonating noise.

The chorus grew louder, the people shouting their answer now, "We have endured their torments!"
March clapped his hands over his ears and groaned, "What did they do? Rehearse the whole bloody thing?"
Silent, Hatter gazed at the two governors and then muttered under his breath, voice lost in the cheers.

Lyona held up a hand, "Let the trial commence!"

Eyes glinting like a diamond ocean, Chesapeake motioned to an ace by her, "Read the allegations against the March Hare."

The ace stepped forward, unrolling a parchment, coughed, and began to read loudly, "The Free People of Wonderland hereby charge March Hasen Hare with treason to the Heart Crown, criminal conduct, kidnapping, assault, robbery, home invasion, desecration of the dead, and murder." Pausing, the ace then continued, "The defendant is charged for the following murders: The Jack of Spades, the Black Sheep…" The list continued.

March listened in rapt attention, ears quivering at each name. After three minutes of naming victims, the ace stopped, bowed, and backed away. Chesapeake stood and shouted, "How do the people judge?"

"Guilty!"

Turning her gaze to March, the unicorn whickered, "And what does the defendant plead?"

March shrugged nonchalantly, "Can't say I'm innocent."

Silence, then Chesapeake narrowed her eyes, "You think this is a joke, rabbit?"

White, who was stationed behind Cheshire, groaned, "Here it comes…"

Visibly stiffening, March slowly turned his head to glare at Chesapeake, "I am not a rabbit!"

Chesapeake sneered, "Oh, did I offend you, bunny?"

Nervous laughter came from the mob. Hatter just yawned, trying to fight a sudden wave of exhaustion. But March….

March was furious.

Leaping up, March howled, "Take it back!" He lunged forward at the judges.

Instantly, he was tackled by three guards and wrestled, yelling and struggling, back into his seat. Chesapeake scowled, "I'm finished." She sat down.

Lyona motioned to the ace at her side, "It's your turn."

Watching March with wide eyes, the ace swallowed and stepped forward. He took a deep breath then started, "The Free People of Wonderland hereby charge Mad Hatter Krank with treason, criminal actions, kidnapping, assault, thieving, breaking and entering, degradation of corpses, and murder…"

Hatter was having a difficult time staying awake, and March had found his little notebook somewhere on the desk and was scribbling harshly into it with a small pen.

The ace wetted his dry lips and started listing the deaths.

Halfway through, there was a THUNK and the ace stopped, gazing with wonder at Hatter, who was sound asleep with his head on the table. Chesapeake leaned over her desk, peering closely at the sleeping man. "Did he fall asleep?" she asked incredulously.

March paused, glancing up from his notes, and turned to look at his comrade, "So he did." Growling, he grabbed Hatter by the hair and lifted his head up. "Hatter?" he cooed in a sing-song voice, "Hatter? Time to wake up."

Hatter didn't respond, breathing softly.

Sighing, March turned to more violent 'persuasion'. He slammed Hatter's head down, snarling, "Don't fall asleep now, you moron!"

Hatter jerked awake and up, clapping his hands over his nose with a yelp, "Wha?" Cursing, he glared at March, "You didn't have to do that!"