"Alice! Alice, where are you?!" Cheshire ran through the trees in the direction he had seen the queen run. "Alice!" he called.

Rab and the others followed after him, but he quickly lost them as he ran. He had nearly single-handedly fought off the soldiers that had tried to stop him and had taken off into the woods when one of them admitted where Alice and the red queen had gone. However, he had yet to find them.

Cheshire was still calling Alice's name when he heard a loud bang. Confused by the noise, he stopped in his tracks and listened. A couple of moments passed and there was another bang. Cheshire started running its direction. He rounded a bend and suddenly his eyes landed on the queen. She lay face-down in the grass, body still and lifeless. He ran towards her before he came to a sudden halt when he saw his whole world completely fall apart.

"Alice!" he nearly screamed as he ran up to the limp form suspended from the tree. Cheshire held Alice's face in his hands, tears pulling at his eyes. "Oh, no... No, no, no..." he moved a strand of hair out of Alice's face. "Alice... Baby, don't do this... Open your eyes... please..."

Alice didn't move and he put their foreheads together as he began to sob. "I'm so sorry...! I was too late...!" Refusing to leave him like that, Cheshire gently pull the sword out and held Alice in his arms. "Forgive me..." he said. 

Cheshire put his ear to Alice's chest, trying to listen for a heartbeat. However, through the whistling of the trees and his own cries, he couldn't hear anything. He lifted Alice's face towards his own and kissed him softly yet desperately.

He didn't care that Alice's blood was staining his clothes. He didn't care that the queen was lying on the grass behind them. He didn't even care that the guards may find him and kill him while his defenses were down. All Cheshire could do was cry as he hugged his world to his chest, begging whatever god was out there to not take him away.

Hours passed it seemed. Cheshire whispered his name and combed his hair with deft fingers. He wanted him to wake up and hug Chesh back. He wanted him to let Cheshire tease him while he secretly smiled behind his back. Cheshire wanted Alice to walk with him to that tree they loved so much and sit there to watch the sunrise. Cheshire wanted him to live...

Eventually, everyone caught up to where Cheshire had found Alice, and Rab hurried over. "Alice! Oh, God, is he dead?" he asked.

Cheshire growled and slapped his hand away when Rab reached forward. "Don't touch him," he hissed.

Rab frowned. "Chesh, nothing will come from you hoarding him. Let me take a look," he said.

Though Cheshire was still reluctant, he let Rab pulled Alice from his arms. Rab pulled Alice's shirt up, revealing the wound going all the way through Alice's body. It was a nasty cut, blood was everywhere. Rab put a hand to Alice's neck and felt for a pulse. Then he brought his eyes up to Cheshire's. "I'm sorry..." he said quietly.

Cheshire stared down at the pale face that had been so full of life only hours before. Alice... he had won, but at the cost of his own life. Anger twisted Cheshire's face and he couldn't hold in the soft sigh that pushed through his throat. Chesh pulled him away from Rab and kissed his forehead roughly. "It can't be... No... Alice..." he murmured.

Suddenly, Hatter stepped forward. "Cheshire-... I know this is difficult, but may I try something?"

Cheshire didn't respond and Hatter took that as a yes. He pulled his hat off and knelt down, pulling a teacup out of his hat. Chesh watched half-heartedly. He couldn't see the harm in the Hatter trying something; it couldn't harm Alice anymore anyways. 

The Hatter pulled a few more things out of his hat and started mixing them in the teacup. The mixture turned green, then brown, then a pinkish color that looked a bit like roses. Finally, it glowed a light gold. It was pretty. Hatter gave Cheshire a serious look. "This is not magic. I can't promise that it'll bring Alice back," he said.

Cheshire took the teacup when Hatter offered it. "I understand," he said. "Thank you."

Hatter nodded. "Pour it over the wound," he instructed.

Cheshire did as he said and poured the liquid over Alice's stomach. The wound fizzled like soap washing away a stain and immediately the injury began healing. The skin closed and the blood washed away until all that remained was a small pink scar which also disappeared in matter of seconds. 

Once the medicine had run its course, Cheshire set the cup aside. He wiped the sweat and dirt from Alice's brow. "Baby...?" he whispered. The blank look on Alice's face didn't change and Chesh rubbed his cheeks with his thumbs. "Alice... Come back to me..." he begged.

Rab leaned forward and pressed two fingers to his neck again. His eyebrows drew together and he look up, shaking his head. "I'm so sorry, Cheshire."

The cat let out a shuddered sob and pulled Alice's body to his chest. "No... Not you... Alice... Anyone but you..."

Trying to regain his composure, Cheshire pulled away, leaving Alice's body on the ground. He couldn't look at him anymore and walked a few feet away to lean on a tree. He slid to the ground and I covered his face in despair. Cheshire thought he had had nothing to lose before. Nothing in the world had mattered to him until Alice came into his life. However, as he sat there, Cheshire realize he had everything to lose... and he had just lost it.

*******

Jabberwocky watched the scene below with indifference. Cheshire was holding Alice while he cried, his sobs being quite noisy and obnoxious. Jabberwocky did wish he would stop. The rabbit also seemed quite distressed. His ears flopped over like a baby after getting scolded. The dragon almost wondered if he'd burst into tears as well. Lot of good it would do. A dead person was a dead person, and crying only annoyed those who couldn't care less. 

That strange weapon Alice had used was the only thing that had aroused his interest. However, now that he saw what it was, he had had his fill. Nothing more to see. Jabberwocky began to crawl through the branches, bored with the previous excitement. However, as he was about to leave, the odd, hat obsessed man, who frankly gave Jabberwocky the chills, caught his eye. He stared directly into the tree, Jabberwocky knew he saw him and he didn't like the small look of curiosity in his green eyes. The Hatter turned to the others. "Cheshire-... I know this is difficult, but may I try something?"

Jabberwocky leaned down through the branches again, lowering himself down with his tail so he could hang five or six feet above their heads. The hat man pulled some things from his hat and then gave them to Cheshire. The Jabberwocky's eyes darkened. How had he come across such rare treats? Jabberwocky hardly ever managed to get enough for a half-batch of such powerful medicine. However, it appeared that the hat man had quite a bit tucked away in that little hat of his.

Jabberwocky watched his brother pour the medicine over Alice's wounds and wait for it to take effect. The wound healed instantly, as Jabberwocky knew it would, but Alice remained statuesque. His chest still refused to rise and fall with breath. The dragon already knew this would happen. No medicine in the world could bring a person back to life. For as much rare medicine as the Hatter had, he should know that. 

However.

He knew it would drain him. It could take days to regain his energy if he did at all. That hat man was playing a dangerous game, but he knew that. Jabberwocky almost felt like ignoring his silent request out of spite. He very much disliked being used. But as he watched the very life drain away from his own brother, Jabberwocky knew he couldn't just abandon this. As he had informed Alice before, Jabberwocky hadn't been able to be there for Cheshire when he was young. Maybe this would make up for it.

Carefully, Jabberwocky pulled a small pouch from around his waist, taking out some ground leaves he had been storing for a different occasion. Looking down at the group, he took a deep breath and blew the leaves from his palm. A faint blue glow followed them as they as they drifted through the air. Eventually, they began landing here and there around Alice's body. The effects were immediate and Jabberwocky felt his arms weaken. He moved to crouch on a branch as he struggled to hold his body up by his tail. Once again, he blew his essence over Alice. However, when there was still no change to the boy, Jabberwocky put the pouch back.

As Jabberwocky stared down at Alice, the wind blew through the trees, rustling his clothes lightly. Jabberwocky turned his gaze to the tree he was hiding in. He placed a hand on its trunk. "I apologize, friend. I am only in need of a little," he promised in a whisper.

As if to answer kindly, the tree's branches swayed him from side to side, and the breeze cooled his neck. Jabberwocky smiled and closed his eyes. Concentrating, the dragon mixed the tree's energy and his own. It blended together in his mind and he felt regenerated almost immediately. Jabberwocky opened his eyes and looked down on the group again. One last attempt should do it.

Jabberwocky sprinkled a small amount of fresh tree leaves down on Alice. It was almost instant. The next second Alice was coughing and everyone gasped. Jabberwocky sat back. That feeling never got old. As he pulled himself away from the group, the Jabberwocky glanced back at his brother. He was hugging Alice's weary body with a pained yet happy expression. With that he could knew he had made the right decision. He'd talk to the Hatter later. The man owed him now, and he expected nothing less than his full demand in payment.

*******

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