Chapter 3

Welcome Back to Wonderland, Alice!

The fall left Alice gasping for breath as she grabbed her chest, coughing and spitting out blood.

"We have to hurry." Hatter said picking up his hat and grabbing a bottle on the table.

"I remember this place… Don't tell me we have to drink that." Alice said looking at the bottle that said: Drink Me.

"You're with me so Bandersnacthers won't find us. Look drink this and when we get past that door eat this." Hatter said kicking the small door by his foot. He took a sip from the bottle before handing it to Alice while he shrank down to the size of a small mouse. Alice took a sip and dropped the bottle, coughing on the taste of the potion. She shrank down and hopped over the spilled potion before following Hatter out the door that would've been impossible to go through without the disgusting drink.

The grass soared above their heads as large colorful birds flew above them. Mushrooms towered over them in bright various colors making Alice awed in amazement.

"Alright eat this." Hatter said handing her a little piece of cake.

"Does it taste bad?" Alice asked popping it in her mouth. The cake tasted sweet and warm her stomach as she grew past the tall grass. Without the grass obscuring her view, she noticed the forest before them as the trees hung over the dirt path welcoming them.

"Alright now we just have to find Cheshire Cat and get to the White Queen." Hatter said looking at a sign near the front of the path. They walked through the forest and made bunches of turns confusing Alice before she noticed the familiar long red table filled with cups and treats.

"Hatter hurry up! You almost missed your own party!" A goofy looking brown rabbit said.

"Yes… And you brought the dear Alice as well." A cat said appearing on her shoulders.

"Cheshire good to see you." Alice said. "Can someone explain to me what's going on?" She tapped her foot impatiently.

"But Alice…-"

"We don't know what to do… It's all up to you!" A smaller brown mouse said jumping onto the table and up onto Hatter's shoulders.

"Why is it up to me?" Alice asked them.

"You choose your beloved! Sebastian the Prince of Hearts or Aaron the Prince of Clubs." Cheshire said twirling his finger in Alice's hair.

"So let me get this straight… Sebastian isn't good?" Alice asked.

"HEAVENS NO!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

"You are so lucky to have friends like us guide you." Cheshire said before floating in front of Alice. "Look whatever you do… never marry Sebastian. His mother is the Red Queen and she's beyond evil. Besides Sebastian is just as evil as her."

"What about Aaron?"

"Oh he's really nice!" The little mouse said taking a sip of tea.

"Remember that thing you saw when we fell down the hole?" Hatter asked her. Alice looked back into her memories and remembered her memory of falling. She remembered seeing familiar faces such as Hatter's and the two queens but a pair of red eyes and Charles' face made her shuddered.

"I remember falling and seeing visions of Charles-"

"That's Aaron." Hatter corrected her.

"So Charles is really Prince Aaron?"

"He had enough magic to send us both there to fetch you but we left him behind… He should be back at the castle by now."

"So Aaron really looks like Lord Charles?! With the white hair and-"

"Yes! Isn't he gorgeous?" The little mouse said sighing.

"Well… he's handsome," Alice blushed. Now she understood why he was so interested with her dreams. He's one of the princes of Wonderland!

"What else did you see?" The goofy rabbit asked.

"Well… there was another man but I couldn't see his face and they were both fighting with magic…"

"The other one is Sebastian…" Hatter said.

"Aaron must've held off Sebastian so Alice and Hatter could escape," The mouse said.

"Hatter… We finally got it," A fat little kid said handing Hatter a sack. His twin was silent as he shoved his brother aside and shook Alice's hand.

"I remember you two! Twiddle Dee and Dum!"

"Nice to know we're remembered," One of them sighed.

"Here throw this on. It'll keep Sebastian from finding us quicker," Hatter said throwing her a purple dress.

"How is this supposed to help?"

"Because… he knows you're wearing a blue dress."

"And have blond curly hair!"

"But…" Alice felt her hair pulled back in a bun. She looked over at Cheshire.

"I have a habit of messing with hairstyles. I'm always into the colors and whatnot," Cheshire said. He looked into her eyes and smiled as she felt her eyes burn for a few seconds. "The colors should stay until we get to the palace."

Alice stood behind a large oak tree getting dressed before Hatter burned her blue dress and the group took off deeper into the woods.

"How far is this castle?" Alice asked.

"Pretty far. I would say a day's journey?"

"So…" Alice said stepping over a branch.

"There are things you should know, Alice," Hatter said taking a small branch off his hat and flinging it into a small pond.

"Cheshire can you head over towards the White Queen's castle and send word to her that we'll be there tomorrow morning? If anything happens tell the Queen we will be at the village," The little mouse said sitting on Hatter's hat. Cheshire grinned and disappeared from view with a flick of his tail. The group headed into an abandoned little town where the ground was covered in dead trees and burnt down houses.

"What happened?" Alice asked feeling the bark of one of the dead trees.

"The Red Queen is what happened. After she took over she burnt down this place to scare us into following her orders," Hatter explained throwing aside burnt wood and kicking bricks from the path.

"Isn't this also the place wh-"

"Yeah… this is place where THAT happened," The mouse said cutting off one of the twins.

"What happened?" Alice asked.

"The curse was created… the thing that separates Aaron and Sebastian from being twins almost," Hatter said taking a seat on a log looking over the small town.

"Both boys are truly gifted with special powers. They're both sorcerers with natural born gifts. Aaron has the gift to revive someone who was once cursed and heal the wounded but Sebastian is far more powerful. His gifts were to mess with the mind and body and bring beauty into our world but it all changed on that one day," The mouse said.

"Oh she's about to tell a story!" A twin said sitting down in the dead grass. Alice and the brown rabbit took a spot on the other log as the mouse hopped up to the top of Hatter's hat and sat down.

"It was said that Sebastian was old enough to be married like Aaron but both boys were given the luck of being extremely handsome and smart so of course all the girls flock to them easily. The problem was girls chose Aaron because he was from the White Queen's family and actually cared for their passion towards him while Sebastian merely played with their hearts or ignored them completely. Rumors say Sebastian became jealous of Aaron and plotted to kill him for a while before deciding to curse him instead. The day his mother beat the White Queen was the day he headed over to this village where Aaron was hiding and they dueled. Sebastian won by controlling Aaron's mind and in the end he cursed the poor prince. The curse is that if a girl falls in love with Aaron they'll immediately be casted under a spell and jump from Widow's Cliff. Prince Aaron lost his beloved and vowed to never leave the castle in hopes of protecting the girls from the curse. Now Prince Sebastian knows about you from his mother and plans on taking you as his bride when in reality you were really supposed to be Aaron's."

"Me? Aaron's bride?" Alice asked looking at them. The thought annoyed her slightly. Couldn't she make the decision herself without her friends telling her who she has to pick?

"That's how the prophecy stated it. A girl with blond curls is the one to break the curse and set the prince free. He vowed that the girl to break the curse is the one he'll marry," Hatter said eyeing the church top where a small black bird was perched watching them.

"Sebastian is in love with me too?" Alice asked.

"From what Hatter and I heard… yes he is and nothing will stop him from getting what he wants," The mouse said.

Alice remembered the last time she was a part of a prophecy. She was the white knight set out to beat the Red Queen and her vicious dragon. She succeed as the prophecy stated but the feeling of her marriage set in stone already made her uncomfortable. Her friends, however, live her unlike her and know more about the princes then she which made the situation more painful. She noticed the bird sitting on the top of a badly burnt church and watched it stare back. A curious bird to be interested in a group of people talking.

"We should stay the night. A storm is approaching," Hatter said looking up at the clouds causing the mouse to almost fall to her death.

"But where will we stay?" The rabbit asked.

"The church stupid," Twiddle Dum said rolling his eyes before getting up from the grass and making his way into the church. The rest of the group except Hatter, Alice, and the mouse went inside the church chatting and laughing.

"Alice…" Hatter said grabbing Alice's hand, stopping her from walking. Alice turned and stared at her bright green eyed friend and the small mouse resting on his shoulder.

"If you ever get kidnapped DON'T drink anything Sebastian gives you," The mouse warned.

"Why?"

"Love potion, Alice. He finally found a way to create it and since he probably thinks we told you that he's bad he'll curse you to and if he gets you to say "I Do" then Aaron will die," Hatter said.

"Aaron will die?! What but how?" Alice gasped. A prince's life now rested in her hands and her heart raced as she thought of Prince Aaron's untimely death if Prince Sebastian did succeed in poisoning her.

"His fate is up to you. If by the full moon of winter on his nineteenth birthday that you did not break the curse he'll forever be cursed and die. It's a way to make sure Sebastian's plan will work entirely."

"That's just… horrible…" Alice said.

"So whatever you do… don't eat or drink anything he gives you. All it takes is one kiss and you'll never be the same again," The mouse said.

"… Do you think Sebastian can change?" Alice asked him.

"Well…-"

"No. That boy will never change since his heart was already seen as pure black," Hatter said interrupting the mouse.

"What do you mean by black heart?"Alice asked.

"Well… in Wonderland your heart is measured by how gold it is. You see if you do a good deed then your heart turns lighter. What Sebastian did to Aaron proved that his heart is pure black or evil, just like his mother's."

"Yeah but he's worse than the Red Queen. He'll kill you if you even sneeze on him," Hatter said and all three of them giggled.

"Poor White Rabbit. He must be seeing death everyday if he's working for him."

"So he really is working for Death himself," Alice said.

"Does he still use those darkness tentacles?" The mouse asked Hatter.

"What?" Alice asked.

"Prince Sebastian uses darkness tentacles or ropes sort of to scare us. They feed on blood and they hurt. Imagine the feeling of a nasty rug burn if they touch you. He normally uses them to kidnap people in general."

"They appear from his fingertips. Sometimes if you're lucky you can escape from them if light is around."

"Hey you three! The sky is getting darker and the twins found a little bit of food left! HURRY UP!" The goofy rabbit said. The three of them walked inside the church making fun of Sebastian before the church around them shook.

"The storm might get ugly," Hatter said before taking out a teapot from his coat.

(Palace of the White Queen)

The White Queen was sitting on her throne looking though her papers when guards burst in.

"What is the meaning of this?!" The White Queen said looking angrily at the disturbance they caused.

"Sorry madam but there is someone who brings you great news," A guard replied. The Queen got up from her throne, a smile planted on her face.

"Is it Cheshire? Please tell me it's him," The White Queen said. Prince Aaron appeared from another hallway rubbing his eyes. His white fur coat brushing his legs as his black boots clicked on the palace floors.

"She has arrived, my Queen," Cheshire said appearing on the Queen's shoulders giving a large smile.

"Alice is here? They arrived safely?" Aaron said rushing over to Cheshire and his mother.

"Safe and sound in the little burnt out village a few miles away," Cheshire cooed.

"Why didn't they come with you?" The Queen asked.

"Well… it's about to storm outside and it's hard to see where you're going in the rain-"

"MY QUEEN!" The captain of the guards said running into the throne room, slipping as he made his way towards her. "Sebastian… he's entered our kingdom and he knows where they are."

"So that means…"

"The storm is really his carriage," Aaron said looking out the window as rain hit the glass.

"BRING BACKUP AND HEAD TO THE BURNT VILLAGE. THEY'RE HIDING THERE! WHATEVER YOU DO DON'T LET THAT MONSTER TAKE ALICE!" The Queen shouted as guards from all over quickly scattered.

"I'm going with them," Aaron said pulling his sword out from its case on his side.

"I'll be going as well. Cheshire if you will please follow us," The Queen said before the three of them left the throne room and out into the night as a black bird watched them from a tree.

Alice was told to sleep in the loft of the church after dinner to hide from Sebastian if he found them. Her hair turned back to blond as Cheshire's hair color came off in the rain. She was cold as ever and she could hear mice in the shadows squeaking, looking for food. She looked in the mirror and noticed Cheshire changed her eyes from bright blue to soft brown but slowly the brown bleed away as specks of blue appeared with each blink. She let her hair fall past her shoulders as the curls replaced the once straighten ugly brown color. Her face was pale from the day's trip of constant stress and worrying. She hardly noticed the lightning outside fade or the candles near the window flicker.

"Once upon a time there was a girl with curly blonde hair who loved to dream," A voice said. Alice quickly turned and looked around. The room is quiet as the candlelight danced on the walls.

"Hatter?"

"The only problem was that she was incredibly lonely since no one was interested in hearing her stories except her father. Sadly her father passed away many years ago."

"This isn't funny. Show yourself," Alice said rubbing her arms to keep them warm. Why did it suddenly grow cold?

"So one day a lonely prince who pained for love saw the girl by herself and only wished that he was there to comfort the poor girl."

"Prince Aaron?" The stranger showed no appearance or shadow which made her shudder with fear. Alice backed into a corner, her eyes darting from side to side looking for the owner of the whispers.

"The boy, always called an outcast and black hearted monster sent the lonely girl down a rabbit hole into his world but alas the Mad Hatter who worked for the real black hearted prince tricked the girl by telling false stories about the lonely prince. The prince felt that he will never get to meet the beautiful girl but now he's finally here to rescue the captured flower from darkness."

Long black rope like things hissed as they approached Alice from all over. It was then a soft voice hummed a beautiful lullaby and two red eyes appeared from the dark. Alice fell backwards and pushed herself back from the eyes as they got closer revealing a handsome man in red, his skin pale like the moonlight.

"Prince Sebastian…" Alice breathed. He shooed off the rope things and smiled at her before holding his hand out.

"I'm here to rescue you, Alice. You're safe now," Sebastian said. Alice looked at his hand and then his face. He reached for her face and she pulled back.

"Don't touch me," Alice hissed. Sebastian backed up looking appalled.

"Alice... whatever they said is not true. Please let me explain," Sebastian whispered. He tried to reach out for her again and she slapped him again before letting out an ear piercing screech.

"HATTER HE'S HERE! HATTER HELP!" Alice screamed rushing down the stairs to the wooden door where Hatter was sleeping on the other side. Sebastian got up and felt his cheek burn from the slap.

"Get her! They told her lies! Kill the Mad Hatter and his friends!" Sebastian hissed before walking smoothly down the stairs and saw the wooden door smashed to bits. The ropes searched the church and began causing fires hoping to scope out anyone. Sebastian walked out of the burning building and reached into his pockets for his black gloves.

"Come on Alice!" Hatter said as the group ran towards the hills behind the village. The Mad Hatter could see the White Queen's army approach at the mouth of the hills as he waved his hands up.

"HATTER!" Cheshire cat shouted as he appeared in front of Hatter's face. Sebastian's ropes grabbed a hold of Hatter's ankles before pulling him to the ground and away from the group. The prince's eyes glared into the depths of the bright green ones of Hatter's.

"Still trying to make yourself look pure, Hatter? I'm not the only one with a dark heart, Mad Hatter," Sebastian hissed before tossing the tea server aside to his ropes.

"HATTER!" Alice screamed trying to grab his hand but a rope caught onto her and pulled her away as well. She felt a burning sensation on her wrist as a rope wrapped around her before grabbing a hold of her waist and shoving her to the ground towards Sebastian.

"NO!" The mouse said cutting the rope from Alice. Another rope took the place of the broken one and smacked the poor mouse against a rock knocking her out.

"Run!" Cheshire cat told the twins and the rabbit.

"Alice!" The White Queen wailed as her son ran ahead of the army and to the hills when Sebastian appeared into view holding Alice and Hatter with his ropes. Aaron stopped and drew out a ball of light from his hand and threw it at the prince of hearts. Sebastian ducked and snapped his fingers as a burning tree fell and smacked Aaron's chest, knocking him to the ground.

"You're weak, Aaron. You can tell your minions to spread rumors and lies about my family but your happy ending is vanishing into thin air. For what its worth thanks for handing over your best man and my future bride. I'll take good care of them," Sebastian said letting his ropes pull Hatter and Alice closer to him. The dark haired prince sneered as Hatter cried out in pain.

"Alice!" Aaron screamed as Sebastian vanished and the clouds above faded away leaving a starry night sky. Aaron fell to the ground screaming and wailing as tears fell from his face. His mother grabbed him and hugged him tightly crying as she tried to comfort her son. The bastard Sebastian broke her child's heart yet again and this time it was the final straw.