Chapter 25
Time to Decide, Alice
(Lyrics from Every Breaking Wave by U2 (Songs of Innocence)
Every breaking wave on the shore
Tells the next one there'll be one more…
"Father?" Alice asked. Her father stood before her, the White Rabbit stood on his hind legs and bowed before Alice.
"Wonderland is not part of your dreams, Alice. It is something even more than that. Wonderland is a world that you and I both share; a place where our sanity is shattered and we can be the person we were chosen to be," Father replied. Alice grabbed his hand and she appeared before a window that overlooked Wonderland on one side and the other her own house with her mother sitting in a chair near the window. "This is the Looking Glass. It is the dimension between your own world and Wonderland. You can choose to stay here or go back home, at a price."
"What price?" Alice asked.
"If you choose to stay in Wonderland, you can never see your mother or anyone beyond that window ever again." Father wiped away Wonderland and showed in the Looking Glass everyone Alice ever loved was appearing and vanishing behind the glass. "But… if you want to go back… then Wonderland will never open its gates to you ever again."
Alice stood in front of the glass crying. She couldn't choose between the two different worlds. One contained the family she loved and the other the man she truly loved. The White Rabbit placed a paw on her leg. Alice wiped away her tears and looked down at him.
"It's okay to let us go, Alice."
Like every fallen leaf on the breeze
Winter wouldn't leave it alone, alone
"How can I choose between two homes I love too much to give up?" Alice cried. Her father grabbed her face and wiped away her tears.
"I left behind a family I loved deeply in order to stay here. This was the hardest decision I ever made, Alice," Father replied.
"If you stay here you can marry Sebastian and lead Wonderland into the next generation!" The White Rabbit chip in happily.
"Why am I allowed to decide?" Alice asked her father.
"Because Hatter let me decide when I was here. You were far too young the last two times to decide and Hatter would only persuade you to stay which is I am here giving you the option. It is all up to you Alice," Father replied.
If you go
If you go your way and I go mine
Are we so
Are we so helpless against the tide?
Baby, every dog on the street
Knows that we're in love with defeat
Are we ready to be swept off our feet
And stop chasing every breaking wave?
"I want to stay here… I want to be with Sebastian, Aaron, Hatter, and especially you father!" Alice shouted. The Looking Glass shattered and Alice covered her eyes as a bright white light blinded her. Her ears started to ring horribly and father placed a hand on her shoulder.
"If that is what you wish, then so shall you stay," Father said. His voice echoed through her ears and she felt herself flying up… up through the rabbit hole and suddenly falling. Voices screamed through her head and Alice covered her ears and started screaming as her body fell through darkness.
"STOP IT! STOP!" Alice screamed. She landed with a thud and she passed out.
Every sailor knows that the sea
Is a friend made enemy
Every shipwrecked soul knows what it is
To live without intimacy
Alice woke up to birds chirping outside the window. She felt a cloth on her forehead and lifted it up. She had a nasty bump on her forehead that stung when she touched it. Alice pulled herself up and looked around. Was she back at the White Queen's palace?
"Sebastian? Hatter? Father?" Alice called out. A second later the door opened and Alice's mother walked in. Her eyes looked red and spotty.
"ALICE! Oh dear are you alright? Dominic found you near a large rabbit hole, you must've fell in it because you twisted your ankle and bumped your head on the tree trunk!" Her mother replied.
"… What? But…" Alice whispered. The next moment a man with mousy brown hair and a tan face popped his head in and smiled at her.
"Don't worry we got rid of the rabbit hole. It must've been abandoned," The man replied.
"Thank you, Dominic. Alice your fiancé was petrified when he found you!"
"I really was, actually. Thank God you're okay though and still looking beautiful."
"Mother… can we have a word alone, please?" Alice gave a dark look at Dominic. Dominic left without another word and Alice's mother sat on Alice's bed. "Who is that man?"
"That is your fiancé, Alice! Did you lose your memory too?! He proposed last night at the party and you agreed! My goodness Alice!"
"I thought… I thought I was meeting Aaron…"
"Who is Aaron?" Her mother replied. Alice grabbed the covers tightly. "Now you will be married in a month and we need to prepare you for the tonight's activities! Dominic set up a beautiful engagement party for you and invited all of your friends even that awful cousin of yours." Her mother talked on and Alice looked out the window. Her father lied to her… She picked Wonderland and he sent her back home without even letting her say goodbye to Sebastian…
"Mother?"
"Yes, Alice?"
"How did Father die? You never told me…" Alice asked. Her mother stared at her long and hard.
"He… he drank poison by accident while on a trip. Someone had it out for him I believe."
Alice looked at her confused. That was funny… Father looked fine in Wonderland… She looked over on the nightstand and saw a small blue vile the size of her thumb.
"What is this?" Alice asked her mother. She picked up the vile and turned it over in her hand.
"Dominic's family doctor came to visit and said this will help your muscles relax so you will be able to dance tonight," Her mother replied. "He was such a silly man. The doctor had bright orange hair and a funny looking hat!" Alice froze. She almost dropped the vile into her lap but her mother took it and set it down on the nightstand. "I'll let you rest for a little bit longer but your dress is in the closet and I'll send up a few maids to help you in a few hours. Do not walk around until you take that medicine, you hear?" Her mother stood up and kissed Alice's cheek.
"Mother?"
"Yes?"
"… I love you," Alice replied. Her mother smiled and tucked one of Alice's curls behind her ear.
"I love you too, Alice," Her mother said. She walked out and closed the bedroom door leaving Alice alone. Alice picked up the vile again.
"You gave me the chance to say goodbye to my mother…" Alice whispered. She looked up and saw the closet door was slightly open. She pushed off the covers and slowly made her way to the closet, her left ankle in terrible pain from the rabbit hole accident. She opened the door and saw the dress that her mother picked out for her.
I thought I heard the captain's voice
But it's hard to listen while you preach
Like every broken wave on the shore
This is as far as I could reach
The dress was a beautiful crème colored dress with a gold trim and sparkles across the bottom back half of the gown. The chest area was wrapped in gold sparkles with the bottom half covered in the beautiful crème color. Alice noticed gold heels and a beautiful tiara made of gold with pearls lining the front. Alice closed the door and sat back down on the bed, the vile in her hand. Her father gave her one last chance to make a decision… She stared at the bottle and twisted the cork breaking the wax seal.
If you go your way and I go mine
Are we so
Are we so helpless against the tide?
Baby, every dog on the street
Knows that we're in love with defeat
Are we ready to be swept off our feet
And stop chasing every breaking wave?
Alice could hear the sound of breaking glass and screams before the blinding white light swallowed up everything leaving her breathless. She opened her eyes to Hatter staring at her.
"Welcome back to Wonderland, Alice," Hatter replied.
Alice stood in front of the mirror next to Hatter wearing the gown that her mother picked out. She twirled in it before Hatter placed the tiara on her head with the veil trailing down her back and becoming a part of the train.
"You look stunning," Hatter replied. Alice looked at him and smiled. When Alice turned her back to him he frowned and felt the vile in his pocket as she opened the door and walked out into the hallway. Alice turned to look at him.
"Coming?"
"In a second, I have to get the rose on my jacket," Hatter replied. Alice waved and left him in the room. Alice's father stood up, his white and gold tux gleaming in the light.
"We had to, she wouldn't have been able to deal with the pain of leaving her mother," Her father replied.
"Erasing her memory of everything that happened in her other life?" Hatter asked and threw the teacup that contained the memory serum that Alice drank to forget her mother and everyone she knew back home.
"I was able to live with my decision. Alice is much too weak to keep those memories," Her father said as he looked into the mirror and saw his wife clutching Alice's body and crying.
"Do you think she knew what would happen when she drank the potion?" Hatter asked him.
"She knew the moment her mother told her what happened to me." The mirror returned to normal and Alice's father opened his pocket watch. "We'll be late to the wedding if we don't hurry up."
The sea knows where all the rocks
Are drowning is an ocean
You know where my heart is
The same place that yours has been
We know that we fear the wind
And it's all we have before we begin
Before we begin
"Is there anyone here who thinks these two should not be wed?" The Priest said as Alice stood next to Sebastian inside the decorated arch covered in gold flowers. Aaron tried raising his hand and Sebastian's mother slapped his hand with her umbrella. Hatter stood beside Sebastian as the best man while Mary Beth and Godrella stood as the maid of honor and bridesmaid. The priest then lifted a golden goblet and asked Alice and Sebastian to drink out of it while he spoke in a language that was unknown to both.
"Today we gather Alice Kingston and Prince Sebastian of the Red King in matrimony. Let us celebrate by hearing the vows made by both."
Sebastian turned and took out a piece of parchment from his pocket. "Many of you know me as the asshole prince who tried killing every girl that was after Aaron instead of me. However, I decided to go beyond the realm of Wonderland and try kidnapping Alice as a wife instead. It worked… until she ran away after I poisoned her at our engagement ball…" The crowd laughed. "I fell into a pretty bad depression until Aaron told me to grow a pair and come see Alice because he wasn't her type. I mean… how can he if she's into bad boys?" Sebastian winked and Mary Beth wolf whistled. "The thing is, I never met someone like Alice. She has a heart of pure gold that can't be tainted and I love her more than ever to know that someone like her is a part of my life. We are not bonded just by a blessing, we're bonded by fate and love when darkness was close to ripping us apart. I can't be happier to have Alice by my side to rule half of Wonderland knowing that the people will have a kick ass Queen with the famous blond curls!" Sebastian finished and everyone clapped before Alice looked at the crowd.
"I… I don't really remember my prior visits here but this adventure is the most screwed up. Not only did I fall down the rabbit hole again, but Hatter pushed me this time." Hatter clapped as everyone laughed. "Then to make things worse, I get kidnapped by a man who thinks he's a god and had elves sing an entrance song for him. Like that was going to win me over." The elves shouted and laughed as Godfred and Godrella laughed. "Sebastian gave me a necklace that I had to sacrifice in order to defeat Ragnarok. It contained fire and ice melted together to become one with each other, something that true love can perform. Well, we defeated Ragnarok and here we are standing under an arch with all of you watching us become one. I'm really bad with speeches actually… Um… someone once told me that the true side of someone can only be revealed by the one they love most. I guess I won that role with Sebastian because I learned that even men who have gone completely dark… can become a white knight in order to save someone they love. I was never someone to believe in true love but Sebastian and Aaron showed me that true love really does exist and when I saw the White Queen and Hatter together, then I knew that I myself have found it with Sebastian… and… I can't believe that it happened to me of all people! I was finally able to meet someone I can share my fears and dreams with and he won't judge me or laugh at me. He'll sit and listen and when it's all over he'll smile and sweep me off my feet all over again. I love you Sebastian." The audience cheered and stood up as Alice walked back and let Sebastian put the silver wedding band on her finger. She placed his wedding band on his finger and before the priest could say anything she kissed him.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife!" The priest shouted over the cheers from the audience. Alice and Sebastian walked down the aisle as the crowd threw gold roses into the air. The White Queen walked up to Hatter and kissed his cheek.
"You did the right thing, sweetie. Look at her, she's happy with Sebastian now," The White Queen said. Her sister stood next to her with her gold umbrella blocking the sunlight from hitting her.
"My daughter-in-law is about to become Queen of Wonderland one day. She'll have a family, grow old with my son and live the life she wanted," The Red Queen said.
"That's the problem… you never grow old in Wonderland. She'll be young forever…" Hatter replied. The White Queen lowered her head as Alice and Sebastian stepped into a carriage decorated in gold. "She made the biggest sacrifice in order to stay here."
"What was that?" The Red Queen asked.
If you go
If you go your way and I go mine
Are we so
Are we so helpless against the tide?
Baby, every dog on the street
Knows that we're in love with defeat
Are we ready to be swept off our feet
And stop chasing every breaking wave?
"Her life. She poisoned herself to stay in Wonderland. You see… behind the Looking Glass is heaven itself. A place where you can live in happiness without ever growing old. I poisoned myself to stay here and now my daughter has done the same in order to stay with Sebastian. Wonderland was just a dream at one point until the Looking Glass revealed Sebastian to her, something she desired most and with that she ended her life to enter heaven. Wonderland really is heaven," Alice's father explained. The Red Queen gasped and dropped her umbrella as she watched Alice and Sebastian pull away and towards the celebration ball at the Red Queen's palace.
"She's happier now and will never know the sacrifice she committed in order to stay with him. He will never know either," The White Queen said to her sister. "Don't you ever tell your son what she did, understood?"
"I don't understand… why would she do this?" The Red Queen asked. The sun began to set as Cheshire appeared on Hatter's shoulders. Alice and Sebastian's carriage entered the forest and vanished behind the trees as other carriages followed behind them.
"Because we're all mad here…" Cheshire replied.