Alice and What Came After: Between the Glass

Disclaimer: Elements from SyFy's Alice belong to SyFy and Nick Willing. Other bits belong to Lewis Carroll. Rex, Sid, Nancy, anomalies, Helen and other Primeval bits belong to ITV/Impossible Pictures. I'm only responsible for Sarah, Connor, Damon, and Chase.

Chapter Eight: The Kingdom of the Knights

The only sound in this part of Wonderland came from the animals. The kingdom of the knights had long ago fallen into ruin. No one came near this part of Wonderland anymore. Not since Alice of Legend died and the White Knight disappeared into the woods, presumably dead.

Only he haunted these quiet woods. He slept in an old wrought iron bed, using blankets he'd found, made, and bought. Most of his food came from the forest as well. He used fires to stay warm on chilly winter nights.

His plan was to rebuild the kingdom. He did it bit-by-bit over his fifteen year banishment. Within five years he had an enclosed bedroom and a fire pit inside. It kept the rain and wind out. Finding proper building materials and learning how to use said materials took a bit of time. His first attempt at an enclosure failed miserably when it faced the first rainfall. It collapsed on top of him during the storm.

After that, he learned from his mistakes. It took time, but now he was able to build a solid home. It was his home away from home—a safe place to put his head down at night—and just far enough away from other people that he could chose when he wanted to see people and when he wanted to be left alone.

Kyle Heart lay wide awake one night in his room around the time the Hatter family was split up. The ruined castle had slowly turned into a miniature remodel. He had a kitchen area, a living area, and a dining area. There was even a designated bathroom and his bedroom. He planned to expand to a second level in the spring.

He couldn't shake a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

He had spent fifteen years hiding in the forest from his half-brothers and their minions. He left food out for the Jabberwock, using the creature as a guard dog of sorts. The old creature didn't seem to mind.

Kyle had not heard from or seen his twin sister since at least ten years ago. They were in their thirties now, if Jessica was still alive.

Of course, the rumors that he heard when he left his hiding place all said that his twin was dead. Deep inside, he knew she was alive. He just knew.

As Damon's rule expanded, Kyle both heard and saw his half-brother's work firsthand. He heard stories of the Suits wiping out entire villages. He saw the bodies of well-known Resistance fighters displayed as a warning to those seeking to end Damon Heart's rule. He heard the rumors of torture that befell those who angered the new king.

He also heard the whispers of rebellion.

By the time Kyle had been banished for fifteen years, he had begun to spend more time listening to the rumors and planning how best to bring down his half-brother. While he no longer had a valid claim to the throne, Kyle could only hope that Chase hadn't changed during the past decade and a half. If Chase could take the throne, Wonderland might be able to recover.

His mother had brought down the Hearts before. Surely he could do the same.

*~*~*~*~*~*

After a long conversation, Chase managed to convince Alice to stay in the tea shop overnight. They had no idea what horrors lay ahead of them and where they could next find safety.

In the end, Alice slept curled up on a stained couch, wrapped in a blanket and one of her husband's coats. Chase kept watch from a chair.

Sarah… please be safe. Please…

Knowing the Hatters' daughter, wherever she was, Sarah was mostly likely wrecking havoc. He could only pray that she was in Wonderland and not stuck somewhere in between, hovering, for the rest of her life.

Chase closed his eyes, allowing a memory of Sarah to soothe his nerves.

It was summer in New York. Sarah wore a sundress and flat shoes. Knowing her, she probably wore shorts underneath her dress. No matter what, she wasn't as girly as she could be. She rarely wore make-up. He kind of liked her natural look. It suited her.

They lay underneath a tree in Central Park. She curled up next to him, her body resting on his.

"Do you miss Wonderland?" she asked.

"A bit."

"Why don't you go back? You don't have to stay here, ya know."

"Because my life is here now. I don't want to rule Wonderland. I don't want that kind of pressure. Not to mention that everyone would always tip-toe around me, thinking I might be like my grandmother or my brother. That's not a life."

"You want to work in the tea shop the rest of your life?"

He looked down at her. "Not exactly. One day I want to marry you."

Sarah sat up, turning around to face him. "You do? Why?"

"Ever since you basically dropped into my life, I knew I wanted you in my life. You're brave and smart… and you're beautiful."

"But why me?"

"Why not?" he challenged.

That seemed to satisfy her curiosity. She shifted, lying against him once more.

"What if I wanted to live in Wonderland?"

"Then we'd live in Wonderland."

Sarah nodded, her head rubbing against his chest. She fell asleep like that, content as a cat, underneath the shade of a tree.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Sarah woke up in plastic flex-cuffs. She groaned; shifting in the chair she'd been strapped to. Her wrists were hooked together, her arms wound through the back of the chair. There was another plastic strap hooking her wrists to the chair.

"Look who's finally awake…" a female voice called.

She blinked her eyes as Helen's face came into view.

"What did you do?" Sarah demanded, her head throbbing.

"To you? Nothing."

"Where's Connor?"

"I don't know. Wherever he went, he's probably bawling like the little child he is."

"What did you do?"

Helen smiled at the young woman. "I killed his precious wife and one of his friends. I would have killed the other two, but I missed. Not that it matters, since I know he'll do what I ask now."

"Why would he?"

"Because he cares about you. More importantly, he cares about his little baby girl. And you are going to help me get her."

"Never."

A gun barrel touched her sore head. Sarah flinched. "Never say 'never', you stupid, stupid girl. You can do more than you give yourself credit. You see, not even the high-and-mighty Jenny Lewis will resist handing over little Sarah when she sees you. If you try to run, I'll kill her. Simple as that."

"But you'll still kill me."

"Perhaps. It depends on how much Connor cooperates."

Sarah closed her eyes, willing her brother's lookalike to ignore Helen. To fight to fix things, not fight to save her. Not at this point. Not when his friends were dying all around him.

"Don't worry… we'll give him a chance. I'm not just going to kill you when he says 'no'."

Helen's words were anything but reassuring.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Connor sat in silence during the car ride. He alternated looking out the windows of the truck and staring at the empty seat beside him. The seat stained with Sarah's blood.

In the front seat, Danny's mobile rang.

He answered it with one hand, the other holding the truck steady on the road. "Quinn speaking."

"Put Connor on the phone."

His jaw tightened. "No. Haven't you done enough today?"

Helen laughed on the other end. "I haven't even started. Tell Connor if he wants to see his daughter again, or little lost Sarah Hatter, he'll solve a problem for me."

"What kind of problem?" Danny asked, trying not to look in the mirror at his friend.

"With an anomaly."

"He won't do it."

"Too bad. I guess I will start the older one first…"

Danny heard a slight scuffle on the other end. Then a hiss of pain—not quite a cry—from a female. "Let go of me!" Sarah called.

There was a sound of flesh hitting flesh. "Tell Connor to call me. He's got, perhaps, two hours before this one is Predator bait."

The phone clicked dead in Danny's hand.

Becker looked over at him. "Helen?" he asked softly.

Danny nodded. "Yeah. Wants to talk to 'im."

"No. No way."

"She's got Sarah. Both Sarahs."

"You're joking."

"I wish." Danny glanced in the mirror at their listless companion. "Telling him isn't going to go well. Not after Abby…"

"He has a right to know."

"Helen could be lying."

"If she's not…" Becker warned.

"Then we'll deal with it later. Right now… he doesn't need the stress."

Becker eyed his colleague, then looked at the silent man in the backseat. "Fine. We give it a few hours. Then I'm telling him."

Danny shrugged.

Author's Notes:

Not too sure about this chapter. Anyways, I'm outta town till next week and I have limited net access. So it'd really mean a lot to me to see lots of reviews waiting for me when I log on. Please, let me know what you think! :)