Having gotten to her room, Alice read a book, wrote a letter than she was never going to send, and then just plain sat about twiddling her thumbs. Not used to being confined to such a small space, she quickly grew bored and decided to visit Tarrant as he was the only one that she could talk to, and holy heck were there a lot of matters to discuss.
She hadn't got very far before she turned the corner and quite literally ran into Mirana. Stumbling backwards from the force of the collision, she righted herself just in time to hear her say, "Weren't you instructed to remain in your room?"
"Well, technically yes," Alice mumbled, "but –" Of course, caught by Mirana's gaze, as always Alice found that she couldn't possibly lie. "I was bored," she shrugged her shoulders sheepishly.
"Yes," Mirana answered merrily, "the truth be told, I was as well."
Startled by the unexpected answer, Alice gazed a little more suspiciously but when she couldn't tell after a thorough examination, she conceded to voicing her question, "Which one are you?"
"Which one am – oh, I see," she grinned mischievously, "I am Mirana. Would you like to call me by another name? Though I must confess my given name is one I've held for quite a number of years, so if you pick another, I'm not sure that I'll remember to respond."
"N-no, that's alright," Alice stammered self-consciously, as ever blinded by the dazzling smile. "Um, I suppose –" before she had the chance to finish, they both heard footsteps and the sound of Mirana's voice.
"Damnation." Grimacing in annoyance, Mirana's gaze frantically sought out a place to hide.
"Come on," Alice whispered, grabbing Mirana's hand instinctively. "Quickly. I am in enough trouble as it is." Pulling her along, they barely made it to her room and shut the door behind them before the sound of the voices grew a little louder, Mirana eventually walking past.
As the voices faded into the distance, Alice laughed, "That was close," her breath still choppy from the rush of the near miss. As Mirana's laughter joined her own, Alice's faded slowly as she realised that she was still holding Mirana's hand. Again, conflicting feelings rose up within her – she liked Mirana, not this one, but this one was exactly like the other…and blast it, really…how was her body supposed to tell the difference, if even her mind didn't know?
Perhaps if there was an obstacle between us. Letting go of Mirana's hand, Alice moved to sit behind her writing desk. "Tell me, where you come from…I mean, you do come from somewhere, don't you? Do you have an, um, a…?" She wracked her brain trying to think of a suitable word.
"A companion?" Mirana's eyes twinkled again. "No, as it happens I do not." Leisurely, most boldly sweeping Alice up and down with her gaze, she made her interest crystal clear by following up with, "But then, of course, in my version of Underland there is no…you."
"T-there isn't?" Momentarily distracted, Alice pondered the notion of that thought. How strange that there was a place where she hadn't fallen down the rabbit hole. Maybe I married Hamish. Instantly shuddering at the mental mage such a thought produced, she felt a moment's pity for her other self then suddenly paled at the next realisation – I might have never met Mirana. The shiver that trickled down her spine brought with it a terrible melancholy – a feeling she couldn't shake even as she conjured happy memories of Cheshire, Hatter, Mallymkun, the Tweedles, Frabjous Day – the Jabberwocky's defeat.
"Is it very forward of me to tell you that I find you terribly…appealing?" Lost as she had been in her own distress, Alice had failed to notice Mirana gliding closer, the queen now standing right in front of her chair.
"I-I, well, I-I, uh," Alice blushed and stuttered, as the hem of Mirana's dress tangled with her own, unsure of what to say. This may have been a long-held fantasy, the subject of many a pleasant musing, but now that the moment was here (albeit with the wrong Mirana) – everything just seemed like a crazy weird dream. "I think –"
"Don't think." The touch of a delicate manicured finger stilled her lips. "What is the harm, Alice?" Up close, Mirana's dark eyes flashed blatant desire, her lips hovering mere millimetres from Alice's. "Just. One. Kiss."
Frustration, dejection, and anger overwhelmed Alice momentarily – she'd never have the real thing no matter how she wished it to be so. Mirana could not have made her feelings more clear so this Mirana was right, what exactly was the harm in pursuing this? If this was all she'd ever have – one kiss, one taste, one touch – what did it matter who would give it? Her Mirana, another – weren't they essentially the same person, after all? At least this way she'd have a memory, something to cherish when this whole mess was cleared up, these other Miranas gone.
"Um, I've sort of never really done this," her gaze lowered to stare at her lap.
"All the better," Mirana's lips widened into a smile. "It would be an honour to be your first." Tilting Alice's chin upward with her finger, she closed the short distance between them, her mouth confidently settling on Alice's own.
The kiss wasn't what Alice had imagined it would be, not worse, just…not exactly what she'd thought. It wasn't so much that Mirana's lips dominated as that she was just so absolutely sure of herself. Almost immediately her tongue probed at the seam of Alice's lips, Alice tentatively granting it entrance. This time a rather pleasant shiver coursed through her instead of the earlier despondent chill. Maybe this was not so bad, really quite…nice. Just not…how it would be with Mirana, her mind offered up a sentence, Alice instinctively knowing that this was the elusive explanation that she'd sought. Planting her hand on Mirana's chest to gently separate them, she didn't quite get a chance to complete the action before the swing of the chamber door and an all too familiar voice interrupted her, "Alice, I don't know what you take me for if you think I am unable to tell –"
As they hastily and guiltily sprung apart, Alice's gaze was immediately drawn to Mirana who stood with her hand still clutching the handle of the door. Her face seemed to almost literally drain of its already pallid colour as she took in the scene in front of her. "I-I apologise," her murmur was stiff, "I didn't realise you had company. I thought –"
"Mirana ," no no no, Alice's heart screamed, as her mind raced through every scenario of to make this right. Settling for simply conveying her feelings with a gaze, she desperately tried to catch Mirana's with her own. But to her disappointment, Mirana's quickly flitted to the woman standing at Alice's side, her lips twisting into a bitter smile before she gave a cursory nod. Then jerkily spinning around, she quietly shut the door; leaving them alone without speaking another word.
Now I know I said this story was not constructed with a moral or a lesson, but if you gather but one thing from this tale – it's that all of us should really remember how to knock. Something Mirana has learned the hard way, I'm afraid, so let us softly tread along beside her – undoubtedly, she isn't in the best of spirits, and will probably appreciate our company after that.