Chapter 1: Arrival and Departure

Absence diminishes small loves and increases great ones,
as the wind blows out the candle and blows up the bonfire.

~François de La Rouchefoucauld

Casiphia, always slow to awaken, didn't realize at first that her arm was lying on the down comforter rather than across the body of Ilosovic Stayne. This was not unusual, as he was habitually an earlier riser than she, but as she sat up and looked around the room, she could feel an odd sort of electricity in the air, and surely that was more than the normal number of footsteps and voices passing by the suite's outer door.

She slipped out of bed and wrapped herself in a dressing gown, then threw open a window to let in the fresh spring air and sat to begin plaiting her brown hair into a more respectable braid than the halo of unruliness she had awakened with. But no sooner had she started this process than she heard the outer door of the suite complaining as it was thrown open, and Stayne stalked into the bedroom, one hand raking his black curls into disarray.

With no prelude he said, "Good, you're awake."

"What on earth?" Casiphia said, bemused.

"Something is happening," he said. "I don't know if it's something good or bad, but it's got the castle in an uproar, and I think we had best hie ourselves downstairs and determine what it is, in case we need to be prepared for another upheaval."

Wordlessly, Casiphia handed him the hairbrush.

"That bad?" he said with a quirk of a smile at one corner of his mouth.

As soon as he restored his hair to order and Casiphia had dressed herself hastily in a simple gown, they made their way down the wide marble corridor of the courtiers' wing, where they were startled by the sight of Tarrant Hightopp cavorting down the hall. As he reached the couple, he seized Casiphia's hands and spun her around in an impromptu dance, and then threw his arms around Stayne in a tremendous bear hug. They stared after him, gobsmacked, as he capered on his way.

"You two are better friends than I realized," Casiphia said.

"Better than I realized myself," Stayne said. "What in the name of the Oraculum could have brought that on?"

Casiphia's jaw dropped. "Do you think—?"

"Think—oh, you think Alice is back? Almost a year to the day after Frabjous Day, that would be appropriate."

"When better?" Casiphia said. "Oh—this is splendid for Mirana—but what about you?"

Stayne sagged against the wall. "I truly have no hard feelings for her, aside from her killing the Jabberwock when I would have liked to have done so to punish it for taking my eye. But convincing Alice of that fact, when I so utterly botched my attempt to find out if she was someone who could be recruited for the resistance, will no doubt be another matter altogether."

"I will do what I can to show her that you are one of us now," Casiphia said. "Which you are. Don't protest. And surely the fact that Mirana trusts you to be part of her household will help convince her."

"I wish you luck of it. Alice saw the worst side of me and I know it's going to be a challenge for her to overcome the image of a bloodthirsty traitor who cared nothing for the well-being of Underland."

Casiphia tilted her head up to fix Ilosovic's blue gaze with her own gray one. "From all that I've seen, Alice Kingsley is a practical and reasonable young woman. If Mirana and the court and even Tarrant can accept your presence here, then I am certain Alice will be able to as well."

Ilosovic took advantage of her proximity to bestow a quick kiss upon Casiphia's lips. "My love, your unwavering faith in me is treasured and probably more than I deserve. And for that I thank you."

"I will always be at your side. Armed, if need be," Casiphia said, giving him a brief hug around his waist. He dropped his cheek on top of her head, and they held each other for a moment, before they set off to discover what all the commotion was about.

Indeed Alice had returned to Underland, appearing early that morning exiting the forest after arriving via rabbit hole, walking undefended and unthreatened up to the White Castle, where guards immediately let down the drawbridge and greeted her without hesitation.

Now Alice and Mirana were meandering through the castle gardens, excitedly telling each other of the happenings of the past year. Servants were all but skipping through the hallways as they prepared a suite for the Champion's stay, and rumors were rampant of feasts and balls to welcome her.

Judging by the scraps of ribbon and silk petals leading down one hallway, the Hatter was frantically toiling in his workshop to create some perfect finery for the woman for whose return he had been hoping for the past year. Whether or not this woman was completely aware of the effect she had on him was yet to be determined, but it seemed that this wouldn't be a secret from her for long.

Stayne, however, was reluctant to be part of the merrymaking.

"I don't think I should be here while Alice is settling in," he told Casiphia as they returned to their quarters. "She doesn't want to see me and I would avoid that awkwardness as long as I can. And since I'm supposed to be the administrator of the Red Castle, this seems as good a time as any to pay it a visit."

"Then I will come with you," Casiphia said.

"Oh, love. You mustn't. Mirana needs you to fulfill your role as her lady-in-waiting, and Alice will be far more likely to accept you if she becomes acquainted with you as a courtier, rather than as my consort. Trust me, making an enemy of that one does not tend to advance one's position."

Casiphia couldn't argue the point, much as she wished to. "I will count the moments till you return. And although that is merely an expression," she added glumly, "I just may."