Dodgson snarled as he stared into the tiny handheld mirror and found that the clock had moved forward by a minute. Twisting his neck, he tried to view it from another angle, hoping it was just the way he was looking at it. But no, it was still the same.

"Blast it all," he muttered as he tossed the mirror onto his bed.

He paced his lavishly furnished tent, stroking his beard as he thought. How many years had it been? Nearly ten? Ten years since this ridiculous mark had appeared on his body. Honestly, he didn't mind tattoos, and he would be fine with this one.

If it would just stop moving.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, he picked up the mirror to examine the mark once again. Touching it gingerly, he recalled when it had first appeared. It was right after he killed Alice. He remembered that moment perfectly: bloodied knife in one hand, Alice's precious watch in the other, and her, dead at his feet.

And then...

He shook his head and rose to his feet, pacing the tent once more. It was impossible. Impossible! How had the watch just disappeared like that? Right from under his nose! Even down to this day, it haunted him. Had it been magic? Most likely. While he wasn't completely clear on the details, from the close eye he had kept on Alice before they were wed, he knew that her speed was so remarkable that it seemed to defy time. And then he began to notice that her macabre pocket watch always made an appearance during her mind-boggling performances in battle.

It didn't take long for him to gather that the timepiece had something to do with her amazing abilities.

Clenching his teeth, he picked up a pitcher that sat on his nightstand and poured himself some water. He took a long drink, trying to calm his nerves. As he drummed his fingers against the copper cup, his eyes strayed to the trunk at the foot of his bed. Placing the cup back on the nightstand, he moved to the trunk and threw it open. He retrieved a set of papers and brought them over to his writing desk, sitting down to peruse the information he knew so well.

Ever since the mark appeared, he had carefully documented every change it had gone through, as well as any events that had occurred simultaneously. But he didn't need to look at the records to remember when it had first moved. It had been the same day that little brat disappeared. It had only been a minute. A single minute.

But that one minute started a strange countdown that he still hadn't deciphered.

The clock was set at eleven when it first appeared. Over the years, the minutes had continued to tick by. At first, it happened relatively often. And while in some instances he was able to match the change with a significant event—like Alice's daughter disappearing—other progressions made no sense. Nothing out of the ordinary had triggered the changes.

And then it stopped. Stopped completely. For several years, nothing happened. Though relieved, he refused to drop his guard. This ridiculous mark was counting down to something, and he could only imagine it was not something to his benefit. Still, after years of inactivity, he couldn't help but be cautiously optimistic.

Until a few months ago.

After years of nothing, the clock came back to life. Minutes passed by at an alarming rate. Panic took over as he watched the minute hand move nearly every day. Midnight was fast approaching. What would happen when it struck? Was there any way he could stop it?

And now it had changed again. Four minutes to midnight. He had lost another minute.

Leaning back in his chair, he stared up at the ceiling of his tent. He had lost another minute, but something more had happened. There had been no significant events to go along with the recent activity over the last few months. The last notable event that had coincided with a loss of minutes had been the crowning of the new Queen of Hearts. But that had nothing to do with him, and he wouldn't have even known about it if a coronation announcement hadn't accidentally been delivered to his camp. He still wasn't sure how that had happened. But the delivery lizard was dead now, so it didn't matter.

However, there had been something strange about this last change. While he had been standing by the fire, wondering who he would get to replace Froggy now that the Swans had surely killed him for being a traitor, he saw a flash of gold out of the corner of his eye. No, not gold.

Blonde.

He brought the chair back down with a loud thud and gripped the sides of his desk.

Alice.

Froggy had told him Ina had found Alice's daughter. That she was in Hickory Dickory. That she was alive and well. But despite that inside information and their aggressive efforts, they had failed to capture her. Apparently she was as fast and clever as her mother.

Too much like her mother.

Swallowing hard, Dodgson returned to his bed and took up the mirror. As he gazed upon the clock, he wondered if a magical timepiece might be able to counteract whatever this strange mark was doing. Though he still wasn't completely certain about the specifics of what Alice's pocket watch did, he knew it somehow manipulated time. Perhaps with it in his possession, he could take control of this mark and whatever fate was attached to it.

Lowering the mirror, he gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. "I will find her. And I will kill her," he said softly to himself. "And then I will save myself from whatever fate this clock has in store for me, and I'll secure my place as the King of Thieves."

Yes, he liked that idea. Grinning down at his reflection, he gave a soft chuckle.

"Time will have no hold on me."