Tarrant had to put an end to this quickly. "Stop," he moaned as he hastily retracted from their deep kiss. He still held her face with his hands looking the girl straight in the eyes. A puzzled, breathless Alice stared back at him. The both of them were panting softly under their breath afraid of what to say next. Several questions ran through Alice's mind, one being 'What just happened?' and another being 'Why did he stop kissing me?' The Hatter wanted to continue kissing her. He scanned her face thinking how beautiful the blonde girl looked in this moonlight. How perfect their kiss was. How perfect she was in every aspect. His heart ached for this moment for many years yet he never found the courage to do what she did only minutes before, let alone come clean about his feelings. His mind, however, told him that confessing his feelings to her was a mistake. Tarrant's gaze fell as he said to her, "This is wrong." Alice wasn't very surprised at the statement considering that it was quite inappropriate for them to be doing something so intimate as kissing without courtship. Even so, she never really followed the rules of society. She knew there was something more to what he was saying - but what was it? He took his hands off her cheeks, got up and paced in front of Alice before mumbling, "Mr. Harcourt will be so angry. Coming between you two would be the last thing I want. I apologize, I shouldn't have said what I did." Alice had lost him at Harcourt. Muddled, she repeated almost to herself, "Mr. Harcourt?" How does Hatter know of this man from Upperland? The Hatter stopped pacing and took his seat, "Don't tell me you've already forgotten of your betrothed?!" The Hatter looked at Alice in an appalled manner and continued, "You've only been-" Alice thought of who could have spread such a rumour as she interjected, "How do you know about Mr. Harcourt?! And why are you calling him my betrothed?!...Wait," she paused from her small fit. Hatter looked at her with worried eyes. "My mother told you didn't she?" Alice asked him knowingly. "Yes," he answered, unsure of what she would do next. She tried to put the puzzle together in her head. How did she know that James proposed to her? Why did she lie to Hatter? Alice became frustrated. Then the obvious hit her. "I can't stay here," she simply said. Hatter soon understood. This wasn't her world and he knew she'd have to leave sooner or later. Engaged or not. They both had to accept that. She was going to leave after tonight anyway. They looked at each other knowingly. "Oh Hatter, I'm so sorry," Alice gave his hands a firm squeeze. She got up but stopped and turned around and told him, "Kiss me one last time." The Hatter obeyed but only lightly brushed his lips against hers. He wanted to respect this 'James Harcourt' but his emotions got the better of him, as they always do. He pulled away from her shortly after the kiss. Alice shot him a sad smile without making eye contact and walked away in frustration to find her mother. Tarrant watched her sadly as she went back into the castle.
"...And that's why he is the way he is," Mrs. Hightopp finished telling Mrs. Kingsleigh a story. "Excuse me, mother," Alice interrupted their conversation causing Helen to look at her daughter in a concerned way. "Is something the matter, my darling," her mother asked. "May I have a word with you out in the hallway?" Alice requested. "Pardon me, Tyva," Helen excused herself to Mrs. Hightopp. She followed her daughter to a quiet area in the hall. "How long did you know that James planned on proposing to me?" Alice asked her sternly. Mrs. Kingsleigh sighed and replied, "He spoke to me as soon as we got off the Wonder." She could tell that Alice was very upset. "And you didn't warn me before I went out to the dock and made a fool of the both of us?!...I...I didn't even know he had such feelings for me. The poor boy. I left him standing there...I didn't even get the chance to give him an answer," Alice's voice grew softer at her last sentence. Helen was shocked at her words, "You didn't say yes?!" Alice saw the look of disappointment across her mother's face and quietly said, "No, I didn't have time to respond as I saw Hatter and ended up chasing him. And, well, here we are." Helen flashed a sudden look of anger, "That man's holding you back, Alice." Tears were beginning to form in the blonde girl's eyes. She softly asked her mother, "Why did you tell him that I was engaged?" Mrs. Kingsleigh said, "I can see you two are quite fond of each other. I don't want to see you get hurt, dear," she paused and continued, "This is not your world. You know that. It's better that you forget about Tarrant and let go of this Wonderland of yours. This isn't your home." Alice knew it was the truth even if it tore her heart apart. 'Forget about the love of my life? Forget about all the wonderful people I've met here?' She became lost in her thoughts. 'I might never see them again after tonight.' Perhaps her mother had a point. Perhaps it was better to marry James and forget about everything in Underland. Perhaps it was time to finally settle down in life. A tear trickled down her cheek. Alice roughly said, "Let's go." Mrs. Kingsleigh grabbed her arm lightly and asked, "Don't you want to say goodbye to your friends?" Alice's mind flashed back to her first kiss with Hatter. She wiped the tear and stated, "I've said enough." They walked down the hall in search for the looking glass to take them back home. "Down there," Alice recognized it and pointed at it. She took a final glance around the hall and stepped into the looking glass but as soon as she came in contact with the mirror, she collided with something on the other side. Actually, no...it was a someone. The sudden impact made Alice shriek as she and this someone came crashing back down hard onto Mirana's white tiles. She shook her head and looked to see who landed on top of her. Alice and Mrs. Kingsleigh couldn't believe their eyes.