"Honey, we're home," Alice sang out as she and Ace burst into the dining room of the Castle.

Hatta, who was sitting at the table with a pile of documents before him, raised his eyebrows. "Back so soon?"

Alice approached him and glanced at the papers, seeing that they were propositions for a new shoe store that one of the residents wanted to open. "Glad to see you didn't burn the kingdom down in my absence."

"Fire is so overrated. It would be far more interesting to drown it in tea."

Alice looked about the empty room and pursed her lips. "Where are the others?"

Shrugging, Hatta leaned back in his chair. "Mary Ann spends most of her time in the kitchen, and Haigha often shadows her in hopes of sneaking a treat or two. Raven has been keeping order within the castle and throughout the kingdom."

Alice narrowed her eyes, and Hatta rolled his.

"Not by axe," he reassured her.

Straightening her skirt, Alice gave a firm nod. "Very good. And you? How have you been occupying yourself?"

"Oh, the usual. Selling hats, serving tea, and occasionally I deign to grace those here with my presence."

Alice gave him a scowl that quickly turned into a smile. "I've missed you, Hatta. Thank you for watching after things while I was gone."

Scoffing, Hatta turned his face away, but Alice was certain she caught the shadow of a smile playing on his lips. "And what of you?" His gaze slid past her and settled on Ace. "How was the wedding?"

Smiling guiltily, Alice rocked back on her heels. "You got my note, I take it?"

"Indeed. Not very subtle, are you?"

"Subtlety is not my forte."

"You don't say? Not that I was all that surprised. I didn't think it would be long before you two eloped, seeing as you couldn't keep your hands off each other. Does this mean that Hearts now has a new King?"

Ace laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "I did not even consider that."

"I guess technically yes," Alice said.

"Although, I would also like to continue as the captain of the guard." He glanced down at Alice. "If that's possible."

She beamed up at him. "I believe that can be arranged."

Hatta gagged and brought his chair back onto four legs with a dull thump. "You two are nauseating."

Leaning against his shoulder, Alice bopped his top hat so that the brim went over his eyes. "See, I knew you missed us, Hatta."

"Actually, your timing is impeccable," he said as he readjusted his hat. "There's someone in the Court seeking an audience with the Queen."

Heaving a sigh, Alice turned to Ace and shrugged. "Guess it's right back to work, huh?"

Smiling, Ace leaned down to give her a quick kiss, and as he did, Tart climbed out of Alice's pocket and onto his shoulder. "I'll bring our bags in and go find the others. But if you need any assistance, come find me."

"Thank you."

Flashing her one last smile, Ace left the room, and Alice turned to Hatta who was feigning illness at their exchange. She laughed and elbowed him in the side before leaving for the Court.

The large, carved doors didn't seem quite as intimidating as they had when she had first approached them. Someone had torn off the axes and replaced them with wooden roses that had been painted white. She stumbled slightly when she caught sight of them. The memory of Pierrot—Jest—resurfaced. He had given her a white rose when they first met. It may have even still been somewhere in her smol. Her heart ached thinking about what had become of her friend, but she forced a smile and pulled open the doors. Saddened as she may have been about no longer have him in her life, she wouldn't give up her memories of him for anything.

She never wanted to lose another memory ever again.

The Court was still the same. The empty jury stand, the tall ceilings, and the long red carpet that led to the dais. And upon that dais sat an elaborate throne of velvet and gold. She slowly made her way towards it, remembering the events that had taken place in this very room. Her trial. Mr. Ferret's execution. The confrontation with the Queen. Pierrot's transformation into Jest.

And his disappearance.

She paused in front of the throne and gently laid a hand on one of the golden armrests. It felt wrong to be there. Not just because she felt unqualified to be a queen, but also because this was the last place she had seen her friend. Had he died? Faded into nonexistence? Or maybe he was back at the well. Wherever he was, she hoped he was happy.

"Please let him be happy," she said softly.

"Your Majesty."

Alice turned and found a man bowing to her. He was wearing a nobleman's clothing, but there was something very familiar about him. Dark curls obscured his face, but as he stood up, she caught a glimpse of a dimpled smile and eyes as yellow as lemons.

Eyes that normally held such sadness behind them but that were now filled with nothing but joy and warmth.

Gasping, Alice brought a hand to her mouth, her own eyes filling with tears. "Pierrot," she whispered.

His smile grew at the mention of the name.

Alice gave her head a quick shake. "I mean, Jest."

Slowly walking towards her, he tilted his head and chuckled softly. "You are more than welcomed to call me Pierrot."

Now standing only inches away from her, Alice saw that some of that former sadness had returned to his eyes. But it wasn't the type of sadness filled with woe and pain. It was nostalgic and slightly regretful.

"Hello, Alice," he said.

Unable to contain herself any longer, Alice threw her arms around him and squeezed him tight as the tears streamed down her face. "I missed you so much."

He held her close and let out a deep sigh. "I missed you, too, Alice."

After a moment of crying and hugging, Alice pulled away and wiped her damp cheeks. "How can you be here? You gave up all of your time. You and the Queen both. How can you still be here? It's—"

Jest pulled out a red handkerchief and handed it to her with a smile. "Impossible?"

Laughing softly, Alice accepted it and dabbed at her eyes.

"I'm not really sure what happened," he went on. "I was certain that our time here was over. But then suddenly we woke up and found ourselves back in Hearts. I don't know if Time suddenly had a change of heart or what. Maybe he's a hopeless romantic who wanted to give us another chance."

Alice rolled her eyes. "I think he's more sentimental than he lets on." She paused and thought back to what Jest had just said. "'Us'? Did you say 'us'?"

Jest's smile grew, deepening the dimples in the corners of his mouth. "There is someone I'd like you to meet."

As if on cue, the Court doors opened, and a woman slipped inside. She, too, looked very familiar. Her dark hair was tied into a loose knot at the nape of neck, and her simple, yellow gown swished against the carpet as she made her way to them.

"Your Majesty," she said with a smile, dipping into a curtsey.

"Cath?" Alice said, amazed at what she was seeing.

"Alice Liddell, I would like you to meet Catherine Pinkerton," Jest said, holding his hand out towards the beautiful woman standing beside him. He looked back at Alice. "As I'm sure your realize, you have met before. However, I thought a re-introduction was called for considering the circumstances of your last meeting."

This was the Queen. Or rather, the former Queen. Catherine Pinkerton, the girl who had fallen in love with a court jester and had given up her heart to take vengeance on the man who had killed him. But she looked so different from the Queen Alice had known. Her eyes were no longer filled with hatred and bitterness but rather warmth and humor. She looked like a completely different person. Born anew.

Could it really be possible?

"It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty," Cath said, still crouched in a curtsey.

Alice shook her head and pulled herself out of her daze. "Please, Alice will do just fine."

Cath smiled and rose to her feet. "Alice, then."

Looking between the two of them, Alice couldn't help but gawk. "I still can't believe you're here."

Jest and Cath exchanged a look. "Neither can we," Cath admitted. "But I'm glad we are. I wanted to apologize to you."

"Apologize?"

"For my past actions as the Queen. For arresting you and hunting down you and your friends." She swallowed hard. "For what I did to you guardian."

The memory of Mr. Ferret being beheaded caused a thick knot to form in Alice's throat, but she tried to ignore it. "You remember all that?"

Cath nodded. "I remember every heartless thing I did. And I don't think I can ever repent for my sins."

Jest took hold of her hand and squeezed it gently. They shared another look filled with so much love and tenderness that Alice almost cried.

"I don't hold it against you. I had as much a hand in Mr. Ferret's fate as you did. Wallowing won't fix it, though. We can only move on and try not to repeat the mistake." Alice winced as soon as she said it, recalling how her lies had nearly lost her Ace. "Or at least do the best we can."

"Thank you," Cath said with a smile. "I can tell you must be a very kind queen."

"I'm really not much of a queen at all." Alice brightened up. "Are you possibly here to take back the throne?"

"No," Cath said immediately, eliciting a chuckle from Jest. "I never wanted to be the Queen in the first place."

Alice sighed. "Yes, neither did I. But it turns out royalty runs in my blood."

Cocking his head to the side, Jest furrowed his brow. "Does it?"

"It's a long story."

"You know what goes great with long stories?" Cath said, linking her arm with Jest's and smiling up at him. "Lemon tarts."

"Lemon tarts sound wonderful," Alice said. "And I think a nice homecoming celebration amongst friends is in order."

"Or perhaps a wedding celebration?" Jest suggested, eyeing Alice's wedding ring.

She smiled and clasped her hand against her chest.

"Ace?" Jest asked, a sly smile on his face.

"Who else?"

His smile grew and he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I couldn't be happier for you."

"Nor I you. Are you two planning on staying here in Hearts?"

Cath and Jest shared a glance. "Well, we're not too sure how the people of Hearts will react to us returning," Cath said. "Especially after all I did as Queen."

"We just wanted to see you before we left," Jest said.

"Well," Alice said, jumping off of the dais and heading towards the doors, "you might want to consider Hickory Dickory. I hear it's lovely this time of year, and I happen to have a few connections. Just be sure to check your bed for oysters and watch out for weasel holes."

They followed after her. "All right, now you must tell me what you've been up to," Jest said.

Alice stopped and turned to face them. Her heart swelled at seeing them standing side by side, their expressions filled with nothing but joy and love. She closed her eyes for a moment and silently thanked Time for his kindness.

"There's no rush," she said, opening her eyes once more. "For once, Time is, in fact, on our side."

----------

As I promised, a happy ending that gives a little more closure than Impossible did. Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the continuation of Alice and Ace's story.

Now, as I was writing this, I became very interested in the relationship between Time and Alice's mother. So I decided to write their story:

This will be the last installment of this series. It'll be short, but it will tie up the rest of the loose ends. So if you're interested in finding out about Time, take a gander at Unrequited:
https://www.wattpad.com/story/137000193-unrequited-prequel-to-impossible-and-infamous

Thank you so much to all my readers!