"Every morning I put it on -
I walk outside and I am gone.
And I don't seem to mind anymore.
I can't think what it was like
before I wore it all the time."
-Blue Man Group

"That can't be me!" cried Fred. "You've gotten me mixed up with someone else!"

"Don' tell me it s'not you'!" shouted Tarrant. "I think I'd know m' own brether!"

Alice gasped, "You mean...he's your brother?"

Tarrant closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Aye," he said more calmly. "Even if ye do blether like an Uplander and look like y've been livin' with th' bridge trolls." The Hatter helped Fred up from the ground. "And since I'd dearly love t' know what the Bloody Hell happened, we'll be vistin' Marmoreal. Mirana should be able t' help him find his memory again."

"Do I have any say in this?" asked Fred, indignant. "Has it occurred to any of you that maybe I don't want to remember?"

Tarrant's eyes swirled with amber, threatening to overtake the green. He gestured to the long mounds behind them. His voice was deadly quiet. "Do y'know what these are?" Fred shook his head and he continued, louder. "These'r our parents, our brothers, sisters, cousins, friends... Every man, woman, and child from that ever lived from Witzend an' Iplam! For more than fifteen years, I've thought I was th' last one alive – until today. So ya' go on, Freddie...You go on and tell 'em ya' don't want t' remember, but if ya' do, ya' might as well be rottin' under that dirt along with 'em!"

Fred gave him a long look. "What happened?" he asked softly.

Tarrant shook his head, "That's not for me t' be tellin'...I don't know your side of th' story." He turned back to the road. "We should start now. It's early enough t' make Marmoreal by evenin'."

Fred went to Lizzie who was still looking at the headstone. He nudged her gently. "Hey," he said gently, "I guess we'd better go."

She looked up at him. "So that's you, huh?"

He put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her while leading her away from it. "I don't know, but I guess we're going to find out – one way or another."

Together they followed Tarrant and Alice back to the woods.

The road from the Tulgey Wood into Marmoreal passed back by the windmill house and so the hare, whose name turned out to be Thackery, and Mally, the dormouse, joined them for the journey. As they cleared the woods, other roads merged with their main one, and soon they were joined by other travelers. Those carrying wagon loads of supplies crowded the road until they were obliged to separate their small group to make way. Tarrant motioned for Fred to join him up ahead while Alice remained further back with Lizzie. Lizzie took advantage of the opportunity to ask about where they were.

"Am I correct in thinking that this is Wonderland?" she asked.

"Wonderland!" Alice exclaimed happily. "You must have read the book, yes?"

Lizzie looked at her, dumbfounded. "Y...yes, but, how is that possible? That book was written over a century ago! How can you possibly still be alive...and young?"

Alice sighed, "Time is funny that way, sometimes it seems to forget us completely here. Before I returned for the last time, I wrote down what had happened to me on my first two visits here and had them sent to a family friend who eventually published them. Nivens, the white rabbit in the stories, found a copy for me on one of his trips above."

"So...the Hatter.."

"Tarrant!"

"The disappearing cat..."

"Chess! You've met him?"

"Well, yes, in the woods. He brought us to the tea party and then disappeared."

"Figures, rotten cat!"

"So, it's all true... Not a story at all!"

"Well, for the most part. The pictures in the book didn't seem to do much justice, but what could one expect from someone who's never actually been there?"

"But, the stories don't mention you staying or coming back, and in both stories you're just a child."

"No," explained Alice. "I didn't write anything about my third visit - two years ago by Underland years, thirteen years after I came the first time."

Alice then proceeded to tell Lizzie about her third visit to Underland, about the Red Queen and the Jabberwocky. When her story ended, Lizzie was confused.

"So, you left again? But obviously you returned."

"I was gone for almost six months above, to settle my father's estate and make sure my mother was provided for. Every day I spent away from Underland felt twice as long as normal. It took me leaving to realize that this was my home. And Tarrant...he believed in me from the very beginning. After the Red Queen took control of Underland, the Oraculum showed me returning to slay the Jabberwocky. All those years, he waited for me to return. All my life, he has been my constant – the one who has always been there for me." she said. "But enough about me! Chess is forever complaining about how I go on and on. What about you? Tell me your story."

Alice listened while Lizzie talked about her childhood, and her mother, and about Fred. She told her about loosing him when she was seven, how he had returned, and about everything that had happened to them since then. In the end, Alice found herself wondering if their stories were really so different, after all.

So far, today was winning the race for the worst day Fred could remember, save for maybe the day he was shut up in that damn jack-in-the-box. He walked along with Tarrant, without speaking, trying in vain to forget the things he had told him in the graveyard. His mind kept replaying the images of those long, silent, mounds of earth, and unlike the ones that would have told him what had happened, those memories had apparently decided to stick around. He would have gladly been rid of those as well, but he knew that the opportunity for escaping again had already passed him by. As they crested the last hill leading to Marmoreal, he wished that Lizzie wasn't so far back. She was talking to Alice, though, so he let her be.

At last Marmoreal with its gleaming sliver parapets stood before them. They passed through the walls into the outer court and were greeted with the magnificence of Marmoreal in spring. The courtyard was filled with apple trees, all in full bloom. The last dying rays of evening sunlight streamed through the boughs casting the ground into a maze of light and dark shadows. A breeze caught the loose petals and brought them swirling to the ground like snowflakes, blanketing it in a sea of white and pink.

Lizzie caught up with Fred and took his arm. "Remember when I was little, how we used to wish it would snow in the summer?"

Fred grinned at her. "I seem to remember packing your mother's freezer full of snow to save it 'till it was warm outside."

She snickered, "I forgot about that! We packed it so full that it jammed up the ice maker and flooded the whole kitchen."

He smiled slightly, a far away look in his eyes. "Life was a lot simpler then."

Tarrant stopped before they entered the main keep and gave Fred a disapproving once over. "We'd best not be usin' the main entrance. Wouldn't want anything t' mar your sterlin' reputation, Freddie," he said, rolling his eyes. "Though in your present state I'm not sure anyone would be knowin' y' anyhow."

"Do you have a problem with how I look?" asked Fred.

"I'm more surprised you don't." he answered. Tarrant led them from the main path through the inner gates to another entrance on the other side of the castle. "I'm sure Chess has already informed Mirana of our arrival."

No sooner had he mentioned the cat than he appeared, swimming beside them. "You called?" he purred. "The White Queen is waiting for you in the kitchen. She thought it might be a bit less...populated than the Great Hall."

Chess led them through a maze of passageways deeper into the heart of the castle. Fred found himself battling a bad case of nerves. His legs felt like Jell-o, his hands were sweaty, and he was sure his heart could be heard pounding from several feet away. He thought that this must be what the condemned felt like as they were led to their executioner. As if sensing his unease, Lizzie took his hand. Though comforting, he noticed her hand was just as clammy as his.

Finally they entered a large area, set up as a kitchen. Here Tarrant, Alice, and Mally took their leave of them; Alice promising to find Lizzie the next day, while Thackery followed them into the room. In the center was a long table, and near one end was an old-fashioned wood-burning cook stove. Towards the other side of the room was another table laid out with objects reminiscent of a high school chemistry lab. It was from around this table that the sole person in the room approached them. Her hair was as white as the winter snow. Her lips, colored a dark burgundy, contrasted strikingly with her fair, almost translucent skin. Her dress, also white, shimmered with silver threads, and upon her head sat a crown. Lizzie felt subconsciously homely just looking at her. She was surprised when the woman addressed her first.

"You must be Lizzie," she said, smiling kindly. "Welcome to Underland. I'm sorry your visit has been so...unsettling so far."

"Thank you, your majesty."

"Please, call me Mirana. Any friend of Freddie is a friend of mine."

At this, Mirana turned to Fred. She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath before looking up at him. To his (and Lizzie's) dismay, Mirana placed a hand gently against his cheek and shook her head slightly, as in disbelief. "Freddie...," she whispered. "I can't tell you how many hearts you broke when we thought you were dead. It's good to see you. I will need time to devise a remedy for your memory problem, so I'm afraid you'll have to be in the dark, so to speak, for a bit longer."

"I don't have a problem with that," he said, relieved. He was more than a little confused as to why he would be such close friends with a queen.

"No...I didn't suppose you would," she answered. "Thackery! I believe the bread is ready. I'm sorry, I'm sure you two must be famished, but today is a rest day for the cooks so there isn't much around. There is cheese and fresh bilberry jam for the bread, though. When you're finished, the footmen will see you to your rooms. You should find everything you need there, but if not, please don't hesitate to ask. I must take my leave now, I'm sure everyone is wondering where I've disappeared to." She bid them both a good night's sleep and disappeared out the door.

When she had gone, Lizzie and Fred found themselves alone with the footmen, which happened to be fish (scooting along upright on their tails), and Thackery who at the moment seemed obsessed with balancing a tea pot on his head.

"Hungry?" asked Fred.

"Starving!" replied Lizzie.

They ate in silence for the most part, enjoying the simple meal. Lizzie was halfway through her second slice of bread and jam when the irony of the situation struck her.

"Fred..."

"Mmph?" he said, with his mouth full.

"Do you realize this is the first time we've ever eaten an actual meal together?"

"I've eaten with you before."

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "I don't mean stealing my Cheeto's when I was six," she said. "I mean actually supposed to be together, eating, at the same table."

Fred smiled at her, "Nice, isn't it?"

When they had finished, they followed the fish around the corner and up a flight of stairs (which the fish hopped up on their tails) where they entered a wide hall with doors on either side.

"M'lady," said one fish, addressing Lizzie, "if you would follow me. Sir, Shaguar will show you to your room."

Fred turned to Lizzie. "Well, I guess this is the end of the line..."

"Seems strangely familiar," she said, smirking up at him.

"Don't worry," he teased. "This time I won't make you kiss me good-bye."

Lizzie grinned and bid him good-night, and they went their separate ways for the first time in over three days.

The feeling of being alone, in his own room, safe, and mortal all at the same time was something Fred's truncated memory had no experience with. He looked around the room. It was comfortably furnished with a dresser, a bench with cushions, a tall bed that looked indubitably cozy, and a basin with soap, water, and other necessities. Fred had no idea what he should do. Tarrant's comments about his appearance came back to him and he decided the first thing he would not do would be to look in that mirror hanging over the basin. When they were traveling from the Tulgey Wood, he had been confused by a dark shape that seemed to follow him until he realized at last that he was seeing his shadow. In Lizzie's world, he had no shadow, no reflection. His clothes did not get dirty, his hair did not grow, nature didn't call. Now he felt grimy, tired, and sure that if he looked into that mirror, something freakish would look back at him.

He glanced down at himself. The clothes he was wearing were the only one's he'd ever remembered having. How long had he been dressed like this? Suddenly, the urge to get rid of them was overpowering. He ripped open the drawers until he found a clean change of clothes. Self-consciously he slid the bolt through on the door before stripping his old ones off and putting on the simple white button-up shirt and the brown pants he'd found in the dresser. He kicked the other clothes under the bed, not wishing to see them again, and unwilling to pick them up. He blew out the lamp and crawled up onto the bed where he collapsed immediately into a fitful sleep which would be broken twice by nightmares he wouldn't remember.