"Somebody help me through this nightmare

I can't control myself

Somebody wake me from this nightmare

I can't escape this hell"

Chapter 4

"You go to great lengths to keep these things a secret… May I ask why?" Hamish asked shyly. Lately he had been getting that way around the White Queen. The pair had just departed from the festivities, though the party was still in full swing. Currently, they taking a detour though the gardens on their way back towards the castle.

Mirana sighed. "There are people here in Underland who are not as… understanding as you and I. They would embrace – and take full advantage of – the idea of free labor. That is something that I cannot allow my beloved land to fall into." The redhead nodded.

The queen sighed once more. "I really do despise going to these 'special sales', as one captain once referred to it as. It always causes me so much stress to see all the people in such horrible condition. I know I can help them, but it's when I think about all the others that I couldn't help that I get upset." She sniffled in a very human and down-to-earth manner, and Hamish felt his heart go out her. Tentatively, he wrapped a comforting arm around the distraught Queen.

"But just think of those whom you have helped. You've given them a new lease on life; completely changed them for the better." He smiled softly at her, and she returned it slowly. "Now, um, you never did tell me why we were going back to the castle." He gazed up at the darkening sky, his arms still around Mirana's shoulders as they walked.

"I plan to go to the ship early tomorrow morning, so that I am missed very little. I was wondering… if you'd like to accompany me…?" Now it was her turn to be shy, as she gazed up at him – for he was several inches taller than her – with wide eyes. Hamish stared back into her eyes, thinking how he could never say no to them. He caught himself before he could go any further with those thoughts however. He loved Alice, and there was no changing that.

"I would be honored, Your Majesty," he smiled at her. She seemed quite relieved at his answer, and smiled shyly again. "I-I assume there will be others there, as well?" he stuttered slightly, trying to keep from getting distracted.

Mirana seemed to shake her head slightly, before returning her eyes to the path ahead. "Yes, there will be several knights present. McTwisp and Tarrant usually accompany me, as well." She sighed.

"Speaking of Tarrant, I noticed he wasn't at the, eh, memorial. Do you think he's alright?" Hamish asked, sensing her worry for their friend.

"One never knows with the Hatter. As you've figured out, no doubt, he wears his emotions on his sleeve. Things affect him differently than the rest of us…" she gazed off at the flowers they passed, and the pair continued their journey in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Soon they arrived at the palace doors. Hamish realized that he still had his arm around Mirana, and he quickly withdrew it before the knights standing guard noticed – or at least that's what he told himself. He blushed profusely and turned his head, and, if he had looked, he would have seen the White Queen do the same. When they approached the entrance, the two chess pieces bowed and opened the doors for them. Mirana nodded regally at them both, and gave a small smile.

Once they were inside, several of the remaining servants stood at attention in the main hall where the two had found themselves. Mirana gave Hamish a smile and curtsied, much to his surprise. "I will leave you to your chambers, Mr. Ascott. Sleep well, for I have the feeling that tomorrow will be quite an adventure." Her eyes twinkled as she smiled slightly wider.

Hamish bowed in response, took her hand, and kissed it – much to both parties' surprise. "I bid you good evening, Your Majesty." He smiled at her, as a light blush spread across her pale cheeks.

As he walked down the hall and thought about the day's events, however, he couldn't help but wish that Alice were here.

The next morning, Hamish woke and quickly dressed, intending to go talk with the Queen about the day's plans. As soon as he stepped out into the hall, he nearly ran into the one person he was least expecting to see. "Tarrant? What are you doing here?" he asked, confused. He noticed that the color of the Hatter's eyes was a soft blue, before the eccentric man pulled the brim of his ever-present hat a little lower, covering them.

"I just wanted to tell you that your speech last night was… very moving," he said softly, turning to leave. "You must have known Alice very well to write about her like that." Before the other redhead could say anything in response, however, he disappeared down the hall. Both confused and touched by what had just happened, Hamish continued on his way.

He found the Queen and the White Rabbit sitting in the dining hall, having a private breakfast. Though it was still quite early, they looked to be just finishing up. When Mirana spotted him, she smiled. "Good morning, Hamish. I'm so glad you could join us, though I'm afraid we're about done."He gestured towards the other seat next to her, and he happily sat down.

"No worries, your majesty," he replied, returning the smile. "I simply came to ask about this morning's plans." A cup of tea was placed in from of him hastily by one of the servants, and he took a sip.

"Excellent," she replied. "It is not complicated in the least, though." She gestured towards McTwisp, who was still silent and watching Hamish. "We will depart by carriage very soon, and meet the captain of the Ifreann – that's the name of the ship. I've heard that he is a very agreeable man, so we should have few problems. I will, as expected, purchase all of those for sale. Several knights will be waiting with carriages for them, as well, and when we arrive they will be given a second chance at life."

"If they are from my world, though, shouldn't they be returned?" Hamish asked, taking another sip from his teacup.

The Queen sighed. "In theory, yes, they should. It is nearly impossible to transport that many people back, though, and if we were to do it by ship – as the captains do – we would arouse too much suspicion. There is a high chance that the transports would also be captures once more, as well." Hamish nodded.

"Yes, well," he paused, thinking of what to say next. "Didn't you mention that Tarrant usually joined you?"

Mirana nodded, "Yes, he will be meeting us at the docks. He said that he had… some things to work out beforehand." Neither mentioned anything more on the subject. They continued to sit in silence while Hamish finished his tea. Soon however, the atmosphere became slightly uncomfortable. As if right on cue, a white knight appeared behind the Queen, and whispered something to her. She sighed, but tried to maintain her happy manner. She thanked him, and turned to the other two present, who were giving her confused looks. "The carriage is ready; is everyone set to depart?" she asked, her smile strained.

Hamish nodded and rose, pulling the Mirana's chair out for her. She gave him a small, genuine smile, before they headed out towards their awaiting ride.

When they arrived at the edge of the sea, where the docks and ship were waiting, Hamish nearly gasped. From what he could tell from between the trees, the water was a startling shade of – no, not blue, nor green, not even brown – purple. It was the strangest sight, and the redhead found himself gazing out the carriage window, straining to see another glimpse of it. He snapped back to semi-reality when they jolted to a stop, however.

McTwisp exited first, seemingly in a hurry of some kind as he practically leaped onto the ground and nearly fainted. Apparently, he wasn't a fan of riding in such vehicles. Hamish was next, and he helped Mirana step out. "Thank you," she said, giving him another small smile, before she turned to the horses who had been pulling them. "And thank you, Nasterson, as well."

The one closest to her – obviously the leader, named Nasterson – bowed its head respectfully. "Our pleasure, my Queen; shall we wait for your return?"

"That would be lovely." With that, they turned towards the direction of the sea, the White Rabbit leading the way. Hamish offered Mirana his arm, which she took, and the foursome set off towards the docks.

The water, indeed was the suspected unusual shade. "The water is purple!" Hamish exclaimed when they finally broke through the trees lining the little path onto the beach. Mirana nearly laughed at his excitement.

"What color were you expecting it to be?" she asked, amused.

"Blue," he replied mesmerized by the beautiful picture before him. When he looked at the ground, however, he let out another exclamation of surprise. "And the sand is green!"

"A blue ocean, really? Is that what they're like in the Aboveland? And what were you expecting the sand to be… tan?" she smiled at him.

The redhead continued to gape at the scene. "Yes, actually; the sand is tan and the sea is blue… This is absolutely beautiful…" He added the last part softly, intending to mean the beach, though his gaze wandered to the woman next to him as he said it. She promptly blushed and looked away.

Her expression became suddenly excited. "Ah, yes, there they are!" she gently tugged Hamish to the right, and he finally laid eyes on the docks and the Ifreann. The ship itself looked normal enough, though Hamish had been expecting something as strange and peculiar as everything else in the land.

As they approached, they saw that Tarrant had beaten them here; neither bothered to ask how, though. The Hatter was currently conversing with a small, stout man, who grinned widely when he noticed them approaching. He had a round face and pink cheeks, and his hair was a greasy brown. "Your Majesty," he gave a sweeping bow, before taking the Queen's hand and kissing it. For some reason, this made Hamish uneasy. "Thank you for coming to my humble ship. It is no more worthy to be in your presence than I." He gave another bow, and Mirana gave a strained smile.

"I assume you are Captain Ghleo?" she asked, glancing toward the Hatter, who was now standing next to her. He seemed back to his old, jovial self, as if last night hadn't happened at all. Hamish silently admired the man for being able to calm himself when it came time.

"Indeed I am, your majesty, and this is the Ifreann." He gave a sweeping motion towards the beautiful piece of artisanship before them, and Hamish found himself thinking that Alice would have loved to see such a sight. "Shall I call out the merchandise for you to browse?" Mirana nodded regally, and Ghleo turned and gave a signal to two men that Hamish just noticed were standing at the end of the board going up into the ship. They nodded and retreated onto the deck, out of sight.

After a few moments, one of the big, burly men reappeared, followed by a line of weak and dirty men and woman. Hamish was astounded at the sight, and even more so when he realized that these weren't all English prisoners, either. From what he could see there were people from almost every nationality and walk of life, all brought together under the same horribly disturbing circumstances. The other bouncer-like man brought up the rear of the line.

As they watched, the line of people for sale formed a row in front of the group, each of the large men maintaining their positions at the left and right ends. Ghleo grinned almost evilly as he watched. "They are all every well behaved," he told the Queen. "I would only offer the best for royalty." With another nod, the Queen gestured toward Tarrant, who began walking along the row to the left, pretending to inspect each person he passed. Mirana did the same in the right direction, followed by the captain. Hamish, at a loss of what to do, stayed with McTwisp in the same spot.

As Mirana walked, she gave a small – almost secretive – smile to each person she passed. Most had their heads down, but the few that saw caught on and quickly lowered their head to keep from smiling. Meanwhile, the short man was chattering away about the quality and obedience of his slaves. It was all the Queen could do not to throw up right then, the way that the selfish man was going on about them as if they were livestock. As she reached the end of the row, a little sob caught her attention. Mirana paused in front of a brown-haired woman – one of the few who would look the Queen in the eye. The woman looked to be strong and defiant, and she wore a simple dirty-red dress; most definitely not the source of the sound.

The captain noticed that the Queen was no longer following, and scowled at the woman. "There's nothing special about that one, if you'd excuse my forwardness, Your Majesty. I do feel that Teresa would be a much better choice for someone of your standing. She is—" Mirana cut him off with a wave of her hand, and she soon heard a sniffle from the woman's direction. This time, though, the Queen was sure it wasn't her. Carefully, she peered around the brunette – who was now glaring daggers at her – and what she saw made her heart clench.

Cowering behind the woman, a little girl clutched to her skirts for dear life. The child could not have been a day over six years old, and she looked thoroughly scared. "Hush, Mia," the woman said, placing a hand protectively on the girl's back.

Mirana smiled at the woman, who still stared at her, distrusting, and knelt down to the little girl's level. "What ever is the matter, Miss Mia?" she asked gently. The little girl peeked out from around the woman's skirts to look at the Queen with wide eyes. Mirana now saw that they were a startling lime – a color that rivaled even Tarrant's – and that she had orange hair that fell past her shoulders in messy ringlets. She was unbearably thin, and was currently trying not to cry.

Mia sniffled a little more, and said, "Mummy," she said quietly, burying herself again in the woman's skirts.

"Don't worry," she replied in the same gentle tone. "You and your mum will be coming home with me soon, and things will be better." She stood and looked the other woman in the eye. "I promise."

The slave woman opened her mouth to respond. There was another tiny sob, however, and Mia spoke up instead, "No it won't." She sniffled.

Upon hearing this, Ghleo advanced toward the little group, almost threateningly. "That is no way to talk to a Queen. I'll only ask once more, Andrea; control that brat." His voice was low and menacing, but the woman – Andrea – didn't flinch or take her eyes off Mirana.

She simply pulled the little redhead closer and said, "Shh, Mia; now is not the time." Mirana now noticed that she had an accent similar to that of the people who lived in the Outlands.

The Queen peered around at the little girl once more, who now had started crying again. "I promise it will, and when I make a promise, I keep it," Mirana said sweetly.

"But you said you'd take my mummy, but you won't." Mia replied, peeping out towards her.

"I will, though." She motioned toward Andrea, "You will both come home with me to the palace."

Mia gave her a strange look. "That's not mummy, that's Aunt Rea." Now it was Mirana's turn to be confused. She stood upright once more and turned to the brunette woman.

"You are not her mother? Then where is she?" By now, the Hatter had made his way back across the row. Upon seeing the exchange, he stopped by the Queen. Ghleo tried to break into the conversation, though.

"Her mother died several months ago. The poor child is delusional in thinking that she is still here some—" He said sharply, almost panicking.

Mirana held up a hand to silence him. "Why isn't she here?" she asked Andrea.

The brunette woman squared her shoulders, but anyone could see the sudden uneasiness in her eyes. "Her mother is—" she was cut off when an inhuman screech, followed by a terrible crash, resonated through the air.

At the sound, both Andrea and Ghleo went very pale, and the other slaves began shifting uncomfortably and giving one another uneasy looks. Tarrant took a step forward, ready to board the ship and investigate. "No, wait—" Ghleo suddenly exclaimed, but Andrea cut him off.

She gave a curt bow to the Queen, and said "Excuse me, Yer Majesty," she quickly whispered something to Mia, before she nearly took off running towards the ship. The little girl merely stood there, watching the woman with wide eyes.

Ghleo started to call her back, but another crash sounded through the air, instead. Mirana, who was watching the whole scene, suddenly snapped out of her stupor. "Tarrant!" she said, worry evident in her voice. Immediately, the Hatter nodded and raced after the brunette, who was just boarding the ship. She turned toward the captain, who now looked increasingly nervous. "Captain Ghleo, what is going on?"

As she raced through across the deck and down into the hull of the Ifreann, Andrea cursed under her breath. Soon, she heard footsteps following her, but she paid them no mind. She just had to get there before—Another scream ripped though the air, and the feral sound sent shivers up her spine. Instead of faltering, however, she only pushed to go faster.

The Hatter wasn't far behind, but he was catching up fast. Rather abruptly, Andrea skidded to a halt outside one of the many doors that they were passing in the halls, and tried the knob. It was locked, so the woman kicked it open with such force that he wouldn't have thought she possessed. Immediately, she raced in. He reached the door seconds after she entered, but what he saw made him stop dead in his tracks.

The room appeared to be the captain's quarters, with a bed up against one wall, and a desk at the foot. It was strewn with maps and various navigation instruments, and there was a lamp sitting on it. In another corner, there looked to be a small table and chairs, though one of the chairs was missing, having been smashed into several pieces that were now scattered about the room. It wasn't the room's décor that caught him off guard, though. It was what he saw happening in the room.

Two people looked to be engaged in a fight against one of the walls. One was a tall man with greasy black hair, much like Ghleo's. He was currently backed up against the wall, his eyes wide with fear, as he was being pinned down by the other person. This other person wore a tattered blue dress, and had long, matted, dirty, blonde hair. Even without being able to see her face, he knew who it was.

"Alice, no!" Andrea yelled, immediately grabbing her by the arms and pinning them behind her back. The Champion let out a low, almost animalistic growl as she struggled to break free from her grip. Something clattered to the floor, and the Hatter now saw that Alice had been holding a blade to the man's neck.

"Alice…?" he whispered, unsure. She sure wasn't acting like the Alice he knew. Instead of responding, however, she lunged again at the man who was now slumped on the floor. It took all of Andrea's strength to keep her restrained, but both ended up on the floor in her efforts.

"Don't just stand there, grab 'im!" She yelled to the Hatter, her voice full of panic.

"But—"

"Do it!" she yelled again. Tarrant now noticed that the man was trying to crawl away, and he kept shooting fearful glances back at the blonde woman on the floor. Still in a kind of daze, he roughly grabbed the man and hauled him up. Around this time, Hamish came running up behind him, having heard the commotion.

"What is—Oh my God!" He exclaimed as he entered the room and laid eyes on the feral Alice. She had stopped struggling against Andrea's grip, and the brunette slowly released her. Everything was very still and quiet for what seemed like hours, before the man whom the Hatter still had a grip on spoke up.

"She's insane! She attacked me with no reason, and tried to kill me! She's completely lost her mind!" he said, eyes wide and a panicked expression on his face. Immediately, Andrea was in front of him, having left Alice's body curled on the floor.

"Ye've been givin' it to 'er again, 'aven't ye?" She yelled in his face, her voice filled with venom. She grabbed the collar of his shirt when he didn't answer immediately.

"Did you not see what she just tried to do?" he replied, attempting to look strong, but clearly shaken.

"Yer the only reason she's like that!" Andrea yelled back, her voice getting even louder. Suddenly, something moving caught Hamish's attention, as he had been watching Andrea and the man. It was Alice, slowly coming back to the world. He panicked for a second, wondering if she was going to attack them as she had this man.

However, she only stirred and let out a weak, "Andrea…?" Immediately, the brunette dropped the man and rushed to her side. Before anyone could say anything, however, Alice raised her head for the first time and looked about the room, which was a complete wreck. She let out a sharp gasp. "I did it again." She said quietly, her expression full of shock and remorse. Andrea helped her sit up, and tried to comfort her.

"It's not yer fault, love. 'E's been givin' it to ye again, and whatever 'appened in 'ere set ye off. It can't be 'elped." She soothed quietly, as the others in the room watched, astounded. Alice, however, seemed to just notice them. She let out a small, frightened yelp, and immediately back up against the wall.

"Alice…?" Hatter whispered, forgetting for a moment that he still held the man. Hamish started to take a step forward, as well, but both were stopped with a glare from Andrea. Alice looked back and forth between the two redheaded men, her eyes wide with fear.

"What did I do, now…?" she asked softly, never taking her eyes off those in front of her. Suddenly, she let out a minor hiss, and quickly looked at her hand. There was a large cut across her palm, and it began bleeding quite profusely. She looked down at the ground where her hand had been, and saw that, in her haste to back up, she had made her way over to the knife. Her eyes widened even further when she laid eyes on the weapon, and immediately, she turned to Andrea. "What did I do?" she repeated. Her eyes began welling up with tears, and her face was a mix of fear, worry, and shame.

In response, the brunette turned to the three who were still standing near the door. "It'd be best if ye left, and took that devil with ye. Don't listen to a word 'e says." She ordered, before turning back to the blonde. Before anyone else could move, however, a little orange blur buzzed past the three standing at the door, and immediately Mia threw herself into Alice's arms.

"Mummy!" she cried, burying her little tear-stained face in Alice's hair. Mirana came up close behind her, clearly winded, followed by Ghleo and a white guard.

"She took off running, and—What happened here?" The Queen exclaimed when she took a look around the destroyed room and those in it. As all these new people came flooding into the tiny room, Alice clutched Mia closer and backed up closer to the wall, clearly scared.

As calmly as she could without exploding, Andrea said, "Please, Yer Majesty, please get everyone out." Mirana took one look at Alice, and she nodded, before ushering all the others out of the room. There would be time for explanations later.

AN: *Grins* Who totally didn't see that coming? *no one raises hand* FINE. So maybe I'm not the best at surprises, but at least it has finally been made known that ALICE ISN'T DEAD. Now y'all can't kill me! Yay! XD I've already started on the next chapter, but, since finals start next week (GAH! NOO!), I probably won't get a lot of time to write, seeing as I'll be smashing my head against my textbooks, trying to absorb the information. (Yeah, anyone can study. It takes skill to add violence in and still pass. BAM.)

Also, I'd like to give a big round of applause to my Beta, Audrey33. WUFF!