I carried my bag in both hands as I walked slowly behind Rab. I was staring at the ground, examining the leaves as they crunched under my feet. The woods around us were filled with all sorts of sounds as different animals ran through the trees and called out to others of their kind, but Rab and myself didn't say much at all. There was really much to say, to be honest. I wasn't exactly upset, but I did feel guilty about leaving so suddenly. I didn't tell Chesh what I had planned until once it was put in motion. He was probably mad with me, and Rab. I wished there had been another way, but if there had been, I hadn't been able to think of it.

"Alice, if you're worried, you can always go back," Rab spoke suddenly.

I looked up at him as he watched me closely. I frowned and turned away. "No... I have to do this. It's better for both of us if I do," I said.

Rab looked like he didn't quite believe that I believed that, but he smiled encouragingly. "If you're sure," he said. "But I'll have you know, Chesh isn't used to being at the bottom of an argument. He's probably going to try something."

I smiled too, knowing he was right. "I know, but that's what I'm counting on. If he wants to keep our friendship, then he's going to have to try harder," I said.

Rab chuckled. "Don't say that in front of him. It'll break his heart," he said.

"How so?" I asked.

"That's something he has to tell you, not me," Rab said, winking.

We hurried back to Rab's place and Rab showed me to my new room. "I hope it's not too small. I prefer smaller places, so most of my house has smaller rooms," Rab explained.

"This is perfect. My room back home was pretty small too, so I'm used to it," I said.

Rab looked delighted. "You can unpack while I get dinner ready," he said. I nodded and he left the room. As soon as the door was closed, I let out a sigh and plopped down on my new bed. I looked over at my bag that sat next to me, closed and full of the few belongings I owned here in Wonderland. I wondered if I should unpack at all, but then I shook my head and stood up, pulling things out of my bag and putting them in drawers. Cheshire was a stubborn ass. He'd die before admitting he was wrong which meant I'd probably be here for a while.

It took me about fifteen minutes to unpack and put away all my clothes. Then I sat down on the bed to relax for a moment, dropping back to stare at the ceiling. The house smelled like sweet things. It was definitely a change from the usual damp-dirt-smelling cave Cheshire lived in, but I scrunched my nose at the smell. It was too sweet. Almost sickeningly so. Finding distaste in the scent, I put my arm over my nose and inhaled. My clothes still smelled of Chesh's home. I closed my eyes and breathed in the smell with a sigh.

"Homesick?"

I looked up quickly and stared at Rab. I flushed, embarrassed. "A little. It's not like I haven't felt it before..." I said.

He came and sat next to me. "It's okay. It's not unusual. If you want, you can drop by while Chesh isn't around," he offered.

"How? Cheshire always locks the door when he leaves," I said.

Rab looked mischievous. "I have a spare key," he said. I gave him a funny look and he shrugged. "It's a long, boring story. You wouldn't want to hear it."

I felt a little disturbed by the fact that he had a key. I didn't know why it bothered me, but I didn't like it. However, I decided to ignore it in appreciation towards his offer, "If you don't mind me using your key," I said a little awkwardly.

"You can keep it. I don't need it anymore," Rab said. He left the room and came back with a little golden key. There was a line about a finger thick across the handle, almost like someone had melted it on something. There must have been an inscription based on the single remaining letter: F. I frowned at the melted handle. "Long, boring story...?" I asked.

Rab seemed to look fondly at the key for a moment before he stood up, ignoring my question. "Dinner isn't done yet, so if you want to run over there now, you can. I'm pretty sure Chesh has left the house to go throw a tantrum somewhere in the forest," he said.

I watched him leave the room to attend to the food before I stood up and slipped on my jacket. After letting Rab know I was leaving, stepped out of the house. The sun was already going down and the trees were getting dark. I shivered as a cold rush of wind blew past me, chilling me through my clothes and skin. I rubbed my arms to keep myself warm as I started towards Cheshire's house. As I got closer, I slowed. There were no lights on in the windows, but I could see Cheshire pacing outside the house.

For several minutes, I just watched. He looked angry, but every few seconds he would stopped and hold his head like he was about to scream, or cry, or burst. I almost went to him, but I stopped myself before I could. He needed to come to me, not me go to him.

With an inward sigh, I glance back towards Rab's place. I should head back. I couldn't go into the house with Cheshire right there anyways, so there was no point in me standing there to watch him. I took one last look at Cheshire before I hurried back through the trees.

"That didn't take very long?" Rab called from the kitchen as I entered the house. "Did you have second thoughts?"

"No," I said. "Cheshire was still home. I'll try again some other time."

Rab considered this as I walked through the living room. "Dinner is about done, so why don't you take a seat?" Rab said as he brought out two pots of something.

He set them on the table as I sat down. "What's that?" I asked.

"Vegetable soup," Rab said. "I'm a vegetarian, so I don't eat meat, but I made a separate pot with some beef in it if you wanted it."

I shrugged. "Thanks, but you didn't have to go so far for me. You're already taking me in, so I'm already thankful to you," I said.

Rab smiled at me, expression warm. "You're really a good kid, you know?" he said. "I understand why Cheshire took such a liking to you."

I looked down. I didn't feel like a good kid. "I've just been taught manners by my mom. She was always very proper, so I learned to follow her example," I said.

Chuckling, Rab spooned me out some soup. "Yes, she was..." he said.

I smiled at the thought of my mother for a second. Then my smile faded and I looked away. I missed her. I never knew I could miss my mom as much as I did just then. My eyes burned as they begged to release tears that I refuse to let fall and I cleared my throat, trying to get rid of the knot.

Rab noticed my expression and frowned, halfway through filling his own bowl. "Are you alright?" he asked.

I wiped at my eyes in an attempt to keep my emotions in check. "Yeah. I'm sorry. You went through the trouble of making me this nice dinner, but I'm suddenly not very hungry. I'm going to take a walk," I said as I stood. I grabbed my jacked off the back of my chair. "Don't wait up for me. I'll probably spend most of the night outside."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Rab asked.

I didn't have the courage to answer as I left the house and started running. I ran deep into the woods, past the trees, a steam, and a meadow of talking flowers. I didn't stop until my legs started to give out on me, and I suddenly tripped and fell face-first into the dirt, my knee hitting a rock too hard. I winced in pain, hissing a swear under my breath.

Wised-up, I sat up slowly and rolled over, holding my knee. My pants had a hole in them where the rock had torn the fabric open, and the blood from my scrape was now dripping down my skin. I sighed and rested my forehead on my uninjured knee, forcing myself to breathe. Getting all teary-eyed over my mother was a waste of time. I couldn't go back until I did what the people Wonderland needed me to do. I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes, trying to calm down. I was okay, I was okay. I just needed to breathe.

Suddenly, there was a snap of a twig and an unfamiliar voice spoke from the darkness of the trees, "Is that the famous Alice that everyone keeps talking about?"

Startled, I scrambled to my feet and looked around. "Who's there?" I asked. The voice chuckled. I spun in a circle as the sound filled the trees all around me, taunting me. "Hello?"

"Poor Alice. All alone in the middle of a black forest, crying his sweet, little blue eyes out." They laughed again like it was more amusing than it really was.

"What do you want?" I asked warily. They obviously wouldn't tell me who they were, but maybe they'd tell me their motive.

There was a rustle above me. "To watch," they said. "I'm not really a man of action. I watch everything from a distance." A second rustle came from behind me and I whipped around. I could faintly make out a dark figure high up in the branches of a tree. The figure looked down at me and its eyes narrowed like a cat's, the pupils going to slits. "You should be careful who your friends are. They can use you if you don't look out for yourself," the stranger warned.

I was about to ask him what he meant when they moved swiftly through the trees and disappeared into the night. I tried to see where they went, but they were already gone. I stepped back, away from where they had gone. "Be careful who my friends are...?" I asked aloud.

*******

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