"Mr. Harcourt?!" Alice exclaimed from under him while rubbing her head. "Alice! I'm so delighted to have found you. I've been looking everywhere for you! Eh...are you crying?" He stated then noticed the awkward position they were in. "Mr. Harcourt, I think it'd be best if you'd please get off my daughter," Helen whispered to him. "Oh heavens! Do pardon me," he said and got up with the help of Mrs. Kingsleigh. He then extended a hand down to Alice which she gladly took. Then he embraced her in a tight hug. "James! How on earth did you get here?" she asked him. "Well, as I said I was looking for you. Nobody seemed to know where you or Mrs. Kinglseigh ran off to. I went back to the study and noticed it was locked but there was something glowing brightly inside. So I took the spare key you've given me once," James took the key out of his pocket and showed it to them, "I went in and realized it was your father's mirror. I became mesmerized by it and it lured me in. Then somehow I ended up here." Alice and Helen frowned at him in bewilderment. "It's never done that before," Alice said to her mother and went to check the looking glass. She placed her hand on it but realized it wouldn't go through. She placed her body against it but still nothing. "That's peculiar," she paused and asked herself, "how are we supposed to get home?" She turned around to face her mother and James, "We may be stuck here a while."
The trio began to walk back into the ballroom. 'Maybe the queen knows what's going on' Alice thought. "Come with us, James. We must consult the queen. She'll know what to do," she guided him back to the table next to the Hightopps. James looked out a large window as they made their way to the ballroom. "What are you ladies doing here anyway?...Where am I?" he asked them. "It's quite a long story but basically today is the White Queen's wedding day and we were very cordially invited and well this is-," Alice answered but James interjected, "Underland!" Alice looked at him oddly. "We're in Underland aren't we?" He asked her enthusiastically. "Wow, so you do listen to my stories," Alice said proudly. "I find them intriguing," he told her and smiled at her. "How fascinating!" James stated while looking around the castle. They reached their table and she noticed that Hatter had returned to his seat with his family. The Hightopps were laughing and chatting away but Alice could tell the Hatter wasn't as engulfed in their conversation. Mrs. Kingsleigh and James sat down as Alice told them, "I'll be right back," and walked towards Mirana. "Your majesty, I need you to come see something rather urgent," she said to the queen, earning herself a worried glance. Alice looked back at her table and saw Hatter walking over to Mrs. Kingsleigh and Mr. Harcourt, eyeing the young gentleman curiously. "Hello, I don't believe we've met." He said to James. Alice quickly paced over to the table and told him, "Hatter, this is Mr. James Harcourt...my fiancé." James looked up at Alice in surprise, "You are going to marry me?" He whispered to her. She tried to put on a smile and quietly said, "Yes." Mr. Harcourt took her hand and grinned widely at her. Mirana's jaw dropped at the word 'fiancé' and she bellowed out, "Fiancé?! Alice! You never told us you were getting married?" Alice responded, "I guess it's no longer a secret." The queen's eyes wandered in the direction of the Hatter but quickly shifted back to the blonde girl. She hesitated a bit but told Alice, "Congratulations!" Everyone else had heard the conversation as the queen blurted most of it out. Among the many happy faces of the guests in the room and the cheering for the champion, Alice's friends didn't seem to take it as happy news, especially Tarrant.
"Have the Tweedles shown up yet?" Alice asked Mirana as the group walked back to the mirror down the hall. Hatter, Mallymkun, and Bayard tagged along with them to see what this issue was. "No...in fact, half my court has also vanished. I wonder where everybody is running off to," the queen replied and frowned. "Hm, I'm sure they'll show up soon," was all Alice managed to get out. Alice thought about what William said to her back when they were dancing. Chills ran down her spine. How very convenient that he wasn't here at the moment. There was no doubt in her mind that the new king had some play in these disappearances. But what could she do about it? Her queen believed him to be the perfect person when it was obvious he wasn't. There were many things about Lord William that Alice had to figure out. For now, she had to resolve this problem. The group finally stood before the mirror.