Seriously, I need to give some shout outs to Night-Alice, ireadallthetime11, and onecelestialbeing. They've Reviewed basically every single chapter of this story and help keep me writing. Now I will shut up about Reviews and let you read. Gallantly.

Disclaimer: "I do own parts of Alice in Wonderland!" "THAT IS A LIE." "I know. . ."

Inspirational Song: "Everywhere I Go" - Hollywood Undead

. . . . .

Chessur had never seen the White Queen so angry. He could feel himself shrink a little more and more with each tap her fingers made against the armrest of her throne. And for all he knew, he literally was. Chessur sat at the bottom of the steps leading up to Her Majesty, the two of them completely alone. She'd dismissed all her White Courtiers earlier when he was sure Alice and Hatter were Above and had revealed himself. Chessur's ears quivered at her barely controlled glare. His only comfort was the thought of the Queen and her vows. Of course, if ever broken, those could be renewed. Chess shrunk a bit more.

"Chessur. . . " Mirana began. Chessur's whole form clenched in preparation. "You disobeyed my orders."

He looked down towards the ground. "I'm afraid I did."

She steeled her gaze. "My one question is this: Why?"

Chessur took a leap of faith in his Queen and met her eyes with his cautious ones. "Your Majesty. . . " he said kindly. "I had been persuaded, you see. Tarrant can be a very convincing fellow at times."

She let out a large breath. He could tell she was attempting to calm herself. He prayed it worked. "Tarrant?" she asked through clenched teeth and closed eyes.

Chessur did his form of a nod. "I do still repay him, you know. For the. . . the Horunvendush Day."

Mirana looked up at him, her expression much clearer. "Oh," she said. "Oh. I didn't realize it was this again."

His brow furrowed. And he did not like being the confused one. "Your Majesty?"

"Chessur," she sighed. "How many times has the Hatter guilted you into acting according to his plans now?"

He leaned back in surprise. "I can't say I know what you mean."

"I think you do." She leaned forward in her throne, her pale hair swinging in front of her shoulders. "My sweet Cheshire."

He blinked at her.

"The Horunvendush Day was so long ago. I hate to believe that you still scrutinize yourself for it?" She gazed at him encouragingly.

Chessur looked back down again. "I did wrong. I have my debts I must repay," he said solidly.

Mirana sighed wearily. "You have, Chess, so many times! Unless you are repeatedly living a double life of destruction, hasn't that debt been paid back by now?"

He remained quiet and studied the tile floor. It was awfully shiny.

"Did you or did you not fight with me on the Frabjous Day?" she asked him in a demanding tone.

Chessur flicked an invisible piece of lint off his coat. "I did," he said simply.

"Did you or did you not locate Hamish Ascot for me, without any command of me or companion?"

Chessur glanced at her for a split second before quickly looking away. He had done that. "I did."

"And I believe you restored my Champion's confidence when she was at her most troublesome time, as well."

"Yes," he said, getting frustratingly impatient now. "I did."

"You also restored our said Hatter back to full health after battle, which was surely a personal favor to him, I'm sure!" she exclaimed.

"I did!" he said loudly, looking at her. "I did many things for my friends!"

"Then you must learn to stop living in the past and focus on the present! And that in the present, you are a very brave, kind, and noble cat!"

"A cat with debts!" he countered.

"And friends do not share debts," she said with a cold air of formality. She stood and flew down the few steps that led to him, kneeling down to his eye level. He hovered directly in front of her flawless face and did not back down. "Chessur. You have shown me that you are strong, daring, and loyal in the time that I've known you. Listen to me now. We all make mistakes."

"Some are larger than others," he said mildly.

"And some are smaller, yes, but all do make them. Even myself." She placed her hand upon her chest, indicating that she had indeed meant herself.

Her dark eyes shone like the moon in the night sky, her hair laying gently down her back. Her dress was large and elegant, not a wrinkle to betray the image of perfection. Her skin glowed without any aid from light. She smiled affectionately at him.

Chessur gazed at her, unimpressed at her testimonial. "Somehow, I cannot picture that."

Her smile turned wistful and her eyes faraway. "Oh, yes. I have made many mistakes over the years. You do not think Iracabeth turned as vile as she was without any help?"

Chessur gulped at her remote stature. "Pardon?" he said quietly.

"We did come from the same gene pool, you know. Apples never fall too far from one another. And even then, they drew from the same tree."

Chessur watched her, confused and frightened. Her eyes grew hungry and her skin somehow paled a bit more, the healthful glow vanished. Worried, he flew forward and lightly placed a paw on her arm. The cold feel of its form woke her up, causing her to shake her head slightly and wince. She looked at him with widened eyes. He vaguely wondered if perhaps she needed more of the Calming Potion, but Mirana had smiled at him then and stood up.

"Like I said, everyone makes mistakes, please forgive yourself for yours, and we'd all be utterly grateful." She whirled around and sat herself back in her throne. Chessur stared at the bluntness of this statement.

Believing this was the sudden end to their meeting, he turned his body around to leave. The Queen's voice rung out unexpectedly and his ear perked to the side to listen. "When you agreed to play part in Tarrant's plans, did you by any chance consider the outcome of what could happen?"

"Your Majesty, I have the upmost confidence when it comes to Tarrant cornering Stayne and the lengths as to protecting Alice. He will let nothing stop him," he said confidently, still facing the door.

He heard Mirana sigh. "That's exactly what I'm worried about."

He tried to ignore the weary tone of her voice and swirled a few more feet forward before he was interrupted just once more. "And Chessur?"

He turned around to face her. A sly smile was slowly forming across her face, a witty look in her eyes. "How was the kiss?"

If cats could blush. . .

. . . . .

Insanity: Chessur has confidence issues.

Rachel: Yet he hides them well.

Insanity: You have an answer for everything, don't you?

Rachel: Even if it's not correct!