Alice sat quietly by the fire sipping her tea. It took all her strength to keep quiet while Hatter and Charlie discussed her safety. March is after Hatter not me. I don't need to be kept safe. She wanted to scream her thoughts but thought better of it.

"We need to keep Lady Alice away from danger, I was sworn to protect her and I will not back down from my duties."

"So what are we supposed to do? I don't want Alice to get hurt but we can't just tell her to stay at camp and do nothing while we go find March."

"But that vile creature you two brought to camp could have done great harm to Lady Alice-"

"Vile creature? I don't like her much me self but she is still me sister." Hatter spat at the old man. Their conversation had been going in circles and neither one was any closer to getting their way then when they started and hour ago.

"That's it" Alice finally lost control of her tongue. "I can take care of myself! Either way I have been in the Casino without you two and I am fine."

"Yeah, me and Charlie risked our necks to get you out, but you did a fine job in getting in all by yourself." Alice shot an angry glance at Hatter.

"What the Harbinger is trying to say is you tend to find yourself in more trouble than you can handle Lady Alice."

"It doesn't matter. I'm going to be part of any plan to stop March whether you like it or not." Her words were final and she knew it. As much as the two men in front of her wanted to keep her safe they knew she would find a way into the action no matter what they did.

"So, what is the plan exactly?" She had heard them talking about something before she wandered to the fire and once they realized that she was there they had changed the subject to her safety.

Hatter and Charlie exchanged glances.

"The Harbinger's adversary is a tough one." Charlie's words were slow and full of sorrow. "I am afraid that I will be of no use against the Mads."

"Wonderlanders refer to March and Maddie as the Mads, short for Mad March and Mad Hatter." By Hatter's quick explanation Alice figured she looked as confused at the term as she felt.

"Then what are we going to do?"

"Me and you are going to break into March's mansion and find a way to stop him. Charlie is gonna stay here and if we don't come back or are heard from for a certain amount of time he's gonna get help."

"Wait, your plan is to get into his castle and wing it from there?" Hatter just smiled and nodded. She couldn't believe it; she always thought Hatter had a plan before jumping into things like this. She got the sinking feeling now however that he never had well thought out plans when facing danger.

The trio sat around the fire for a few more hours sharing stories and having fun. However soon Hatter and Alice knew it was time for them to go or else it would be too dark to travel.

"Be safe Lady Alice, you too Harbinger." Charlie gave Alice a hug and watched them as they walked away into the forest.

They sat side by side in the small boat, neither really knew what to expect when they reached their destination. Hatter tried to keep the conversation as light as possible and Alice was grateful for that.

The trip to the mansion was quicker than they expected and it was still daylight when it came into sight. Both wanting to wait until dark to try and enter its walls they decided to hide in the surrounds trees and watch the people who came and left the property.

Nothing really surprising happened until the sun got low enough in the sky for them to feel safe approaching the castle. Some one walked toward the gate and waited for a suite to let them in. Alice's jaw dropped when she recognized the thin blonde figure.

"What's wrong?" Hatter's hushed voice was close to her ear.

"That's the Duchess." She choked out the words trying to keep her voice low.

Hatter knew why she was so shocked. The Duchess had no place with Mach, especially because she was engaged to Jack Heart.

They watched as the Duchess entered the mansion. Curiosity took over as Alice slithered closer and closer to the dark walls of the building. They walked around the mansion looking for a way in. Alice was the one who saw the small window that lead to the basement that was open.

Hatter slid through the window first and helped Alice down. They were in some storage area and large boxes surrounded them. She moved to start looking for a way out but Hatter held her back.

"Just promise me no matter what you will keep yourself safe." His deep brown eyes looked pleadingly into her blue ones. She nodded reassuringly not wanting him to worry about her.

"Good." He smiled his Hatter smile and took her hand leading her toward a door. "Now let the fun begin."