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[h1]YoshiSkittlez' Jefferson Madden and Vicier's Alice Liddell[/h1]
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Running a hand through his tangled mess of brown hair, Jefferson tried to get a good look at his surroundings, but all he could see was... white. Everything around him. White. There were no objects, no sky nor ground; it was as if he had been cast into an entirely new realm of Wonderland he had never had the misfortune of venturing to before; until now. Chewing on his lower lip, Jefferson began to walk forward, trying to remember what it was that he was doing here, why he was here, and how he had gotten here. With each footstep he took, a footprint was left behind, the striking green blades of grass in the shape and size of Jefferson's feet following him wherever he went. He only took notice after a while when he seemed to have circumnavigated the entire area, stumbling upon footprint-shaped spots of grass but upon looking behind him and at his own feet, he realized what had happened.

Stopping, he checked the bottom of each shoe, finding them both to be in superior condition, not giving any rhyme or reason as to why he was leaving footprints of grass wherever he stepped. Lifting his arm to scratch the back of his head, Jefferson winced, automatically feeling a raw sting at the brush of contact and that's when he remembered.

"Edric! You filthy cat! Now my head then first my hat?" Stopping himself quickly, realizing he was already slipping back into the Wonderland lore, he shook his head quickly. "I hope you get fleas!" He called out, though knew his friend wasn't anywhere near for him to hear. Standing amongst the semi-straight light of shoe-shaped grass spots, Jefferson stared straight ahead at the blank 'wall' of white. Pressing his lips together, Jefferson raised both hands, putting them together side by side and then made a grand sweeping motion in an arc, pulling his hands apart from one another. A cut-out was made in the shape of a rainbow, revealing what looked like the very top of a thatched roof and the most beautiful looking purple sky and pink clouds he had ever seen; almost like a memory of the afternoons spent during Weebjos week when the colors of their world became rather askew. Tilting his head to the side in curiosity, Jefferson then raised his right hand again, lining up his wrist with his elbow vertically and then with a swiveled motion, began to 'wipe' away the remaining space of white in front of him until he found... his home.

Tears pricked the corners of his eyes as he frantically wiped away any remaining white spots all around him, using both arms and on a quick occasion his foot to get in the tight little corner at the bottom. He was home. [i]His[/i] home. From Wonderland anyway. The home in which he had grown up with, inherited, bore Grace in, raised her-

"Alice..." The sudden thought hit him like a charging Bandersnatch. This wasn't home. This wasn't real. He was dreaming, and it was because he was looking for Alice. "Little Rabbit!" He called, this time putting purpose behind his words. With his head on a swivel, Jefferson's feet carried him over the small grassy hill and towards his home. If she wasn't here, then she had to be there. Or was it the other way around?

Narrowing her eyes slightly she stared at the scene that had unfolded around where she stood her mind working to make sure that each and every detail was correct... Perfect. She had to remember everything, if she didn't then what was the point of keeping her journals? Taking a deep breath she let her soft pink lips part from one another her hand extending out slowly to the ground just before where her feet were keeping her planted and upright her fingers curled ever so slightly as she thought about what she was doing, the corners of her lips turned up in a small smile as she slowly swung her arm down and around her body turning with the motion causing a black path to appear under her before continuing further away her hand flipping palm up as it became level with her stomach a loud rumbling causing the area around her to shake as buildings began to burst from what seemed like out of no where until she was completely surrounded by the place she had spent the last five years of her life; Storybrooke.

Lowering her hand she brought both of them close to her body resting them both upon her hips as she leant to the side a slight pout crossing over her features as she looked over the area the colors bright and swirling like those natural to wonderland, "Argh, I'm never going to be able to get this right... More blue? Red? No, more flowers! Wait, what?" Closing her eyes tightly she shook her head her long brown hair swishing back and forth against her back leaving a tingling sensation spreading through her body which caused her expression to change and a soft giggle to sound the young woman forgetting momentarily why she had come into the dreamworld in the first place, snapping back to reality or what she could only assume was reality she dropped her head back her back arching as she turned herself around her arms shooting out to grip tightly around her hair her eyes narrowed in slight anger as though it had offended her in some way, "No! Bad hair! No more distractions, your [i]such[/i] a bad influence on me-... Huh..?"

Separating her hair into two she pulled it open like a curtain her head sticking through the middle as the sound of her name being called floated over the non-existent breeze to where she was standing in the strange psychedelic version of Storybrooke her eyes searching around for the direction in which it had come from, dropping her hair she let it fall back behind her the area going back to it's normal terrain the wilds of Wonderland taking over as the buildings and roads once more sunk back into the ground her chest restricting as she let the voice of who ever it was summoning her to pull her to the area in which it wanted the girl stumbling slightly as she was brought to an abrupt stop her eyes falling upon a familiar house that she hadn't been to since she was just a young thing running around throwing teacups at her brothers head; the sweet memories filling her head causing her to smile at the times she missed or didn't miss, her heart just couldn't decide.

Lowering her gaze to her outfit for the day she brushed off the skirt of her dress her feet working to move her forward closing the gap between her and the house she had been called to though by who she was sure to find out soon enough or at least that's what she hoped would happen, tilting her head she brought her hands together behind her back a small skip in her step as she looked around her voice calling out ringing like a bell as she slowed her pace heading inside her body twirling around every so often causing her skirt to flair out, "Come out, come out where ever you are. Little Rabbit wants to play..!"

Stepping inside his home, everything was as he had remembered, right down to the small hole burnt into the rug from when he and Grace had a 'sleepover' in the main room of the home, complete with a tea party inside of a blanket fort with, of course, candles. One hand too eager to fetch the saucer of cream and the rug had caught fire. Thankfully, they were surrounded by blankets but in Jefferson's haste to put out the small fire, the tea service had gone everywhere, staining the sheets and carpet, but ultimately helping in putting the flame out. Chuckling to himself, he continued on through the room, his eyes happening upon another memory; one of a time when he was much younger, after he had inherited the house, but before Grace. 

He touched his fingers to the splintered wood on the open door jam that led into the kitchen. It could have been easily repaired, but it was the scars of his home such as these that made it that; a home. Edric had been giving Alice a hard time about boys at her school, his annoying little quirks making her reach wits end until finally she began throwing teacups at his head. The broken china was of little consequence; well worth the price of seeing Edric with his metaphorical (at the time) tail tucked between his legs and retreating to the safety of the kitchen.

Then he heard it, a voice just as sweet as his own Grace that pumped up his heart with an overwhelmingly sense of joy. Turning, he caught Alice's figure standing at the doorway of his home, looking just the same as she did before The Queen of Hearts had taken her away for her beheading. He stood still for a moment, mouth slightly agape, unsure what to do, unsure of what to believe. This was his dream, after all, she could be nothing more than an illusion, as was everything else around here. But Edric said- but then again, when had Edric ever been right?

"L-Little Rabbit?" He asked quietly, hesitating lest he had to go through losing her all over again.

"Hm..?" Tilting her head to the side she let her bright blue eyes flick about the room before finally they came to rest on the figure of one of the people she had believed that she would never have seen again a spring in her step as she quickly closed the gap between them her arms flying out wide as though she were gesturing to the room around them, "Dear, dear Hatter! So it was you who was calling to me." Swinging her arms around her palms made soft clapping sounds as they connected with each of his cheeks her small figure pushing up onto the balls of her feet as she leant up pressing her lips to the tip of his nose in the same greeting she had always given him, her own nose twitching from side to side in a cute fashion as she pulled herself away her back snapping to face him while she looked around the room they were in for the first time since she had entered a soft and gentle sigh escaping through her lips.

"I... hmm?" Forgetting his words for a brief moment as Alice leaned up to kiss the tip of his nose, he simply stared down at her, putting a hand to grasp lightly onto her upper arm for a quick second, squeezing a few times before letting her go and resting his arm back at his side. She certainly [i]felt[/i] real. And this was the most vivid and accurate representation of Alice he had ever had in his dreams (not that he dreamt about her very often), so why couldn't it be real?

"Why do you go away Hatter..?" Stepping forward she reached her hand out letting her fingers brush over the wall as her persona seemed to change slightly her expression softening as she let the memories once lost flow back to her mind, "So that you can come back... So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors... And the people there see you differently too."

Turning back around to face him her hair flying over one shoulder as she smiled sweetly her hands coming together in front of her pressing against the material that made up her dress and her eyes sparkling slightly as she looked him over, "Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. So tell me, dear Hatter, why have you called me to this place of our past?"

Watching her, Jefferson merely shrugged his shoulders, stuffing his hands into his trousers, for some reason feeling quite lost without his hat at this present moment. Rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, he figured the only way to get through this was to answer honestly and without hesitation and push past the thought that this could all just be in his head... in a matter of speaking.

"I... I don't know, Little Rabbit. Your brother hit me on the head with a rock so I could come and talk to you. He's looking for you, you know. We both are, and a few others that have come with us to help. We... I... I thought you were dead? Or are you dead? You've been dead for five years, yet you still remain in my head as though you are still here..."

Tilting her head at almost a complete right angle she pursed her lips together slightly letting his words float around in her mind for a few moments thinking of the best way in which to respond to him to assure him that she was indeed very much alive and peacefully sleeping in the one place she loved most in all of Wonderland, "People think dreams aren't real just because they aren't made of matter... Of particles..." Turning her head she lifted her hand up watching the motion as she seemed to grab at the thin air his hat appearing, growing in her fingers until she brought it in front of her holding it for him to see her expression soft though serious as she tried to explain it to him.

"Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes." Moving forward she once more lifted up onto the balls of her feet her arms reaching up until she placed the hat upon his head her smile widening as she lowered her gaze to match his, "I am very much alive. Just as much as you, and those around you Hatter. Everything you see around you is real, however if you do not believe my word, then there are other ways in which I can convince you of this."

His eyes brightened up considerably as she showed him his hat. Not just the old fake that replicated his hat exactly that was laying somewhere near his unconscious body, but [i]his[/i] hat. Reaching out, he gently took it from her, spinning it around in between his palms a few times before grabbing the brim of the hat and with practiced precision, placed it smartly on the top of his head.

"I want to believe you are here, and that this is all real, Little Rabbit, I really do. Nothing would make me happier save for Grace to learn that you are still alive, and that I haven't lost a dear friend of mine after all." He started, lifting up both hands now to place them on each of her shoulders. His back hunched over a bit, as he was significantly taller than she was, and he wanted to keep their eyes on a level field. "But dreams can also be illusions of what the heart desires most. I... I don't know how this whole, dream-world manipulation thing works, but if there is something I can take back with me, something of yours to prove to myself; to your brother, that you are indeed alive and well..."

Her eyes flashed slightly as she listened to what he had to say, about how he wanted to believe her, wanted to believe that she was still alive and well but how he just couldn't, not without some sort of proof. Turning her head slightly she let her eyes flick down to his hands as they came to a rest upon her shoulders the warm touch something she was used to though hadn't felt through the years that they had been separated from one another her lips pressing together as she turned her gaze back to meet his showing that she wasn't very impressed by needing to use methods she wasn't a fan of, "There are ways that I can prove to you that this is not just a dream... Though it isn't something that I really want to do... Not to you Hatter..."

Closing her eyes she huffed out a sigh pulling away from him as she turned letting her feet carry her through the room as she thought of a happy medium one that would give him the proof he desired though her mind couldn't find a way around doing the very thing that she didn't want to, groaning internally she lifted her hand up playing with the key she had hanging around her neck the cool black metal giving her an idea and showing her that the dreamworld was something that even she was still learning about with every day that passed them by, "How about this, I'll try and give you my key... No promises that you'll wake up with it though. But as insurance before you leave I will do something that will give you the proof your asking me for. In the meantime, there must have been some reason for gracing me with your presence, please, do tell."

Blinking, as he first looked down to the key her fingers were playing with and then back up to her eyes, Jefferson shifted his weight on his legs a bit awkwardly.

"We're... looking for you." He told her again. "Edric said that you were brought back here, that you've been living in a place called Storybrooke the last five years. He wants to take us back, you and me. The rest of the people from The Enchanted Forest are still there, trapped. If we are to return to our world, Wonderland [i]or[/i] The Enchanted Forest, then we can't do so without the rest of them." He explained a bit vaguely. Even he didn't know the extent of what Edric was planning, he didn't even have a sure way [i]back[/i] to Storybrooke as of right now. But despite his better judgement, he trusted Edric. "Where [i]are[/i] you, Little Rabbit? Does the Queen still have you captive?"

"I can't deny you the fact that what [i]he[/i] says to you is true. For the last five years of my life I, like the others you have been told about, have been trapped in Storybrooke. But unlike you, I have no intentions of going back there... Yes, I was brought through to Wonderland without much say in the matter, but if their intentions are to come back to their homes, then why must I go back there and leave mine?" Closing her eyes she lowered her head as her hands took hold of the longish chain that kept the key hanging around her neck the girl letting her eyes flick over it before she tossed it back to him so that he could take it with him... If it worked though was beyond her, "The simple fact is, that while you may trust [i]him[/i], I no longer do."

Crossing over the room to where the table was she pulled out one of the chairs one hand leaving the back of it to reach out her hand turning in a gentle manner with her fingers curling ever so slightly the action causing teapots, teacups, saucers, cookies and more to appear before her very eyes, "Trust is like a mirror, you can fix it if it's broken... But you can still see the crack in the reflection staring back at you..."

Moving around the chair she sat down reaching out to grab the teapot quickly busying herself by pouring them both a cup before she replaced it back down on the polished surface instead choosing to pick up the sugar bowl, "I am where I feel most safe, a place that I love. I don't need babysitters to come and find me, and even if you do, I won't change my mind on this Hatter. I will not go back."

Feeling somewhat deflated at her words, Jefferson caught the key necklace and draped it over his head, the chain large enough that he didn't have to bother with removing his hat first. He tucked the key underneath his button-up poet shirt and let the cool metal rest against his skin. He wasn't sure what had happened between Edric and Alice [i]this[/i] time, but from the way she was talking and very quick to snap each time he brought up his friend, he knew it had to be bad. And though it wasn't any of his business, he was still naturally curious, though that would have to wait for another time.

"I was imprisoned the last five years as well, though my prison consisted of only one room where I was tasked with creating hats the entire time after The Queen had removed my head. The Queen... her daughter Regina, the reigning Queen of The Enchanted Forest where Edric and I moved to shortly after your death, she... tricked me. She used Grace against me and made me use my hat to take her to Wonderland where she then left me there to the mercy of The Queen of Hearts. Regina... she still has Grace, Edric says that she is there in Storybrooke, and for that reason I will be going back with them. They came for me, Little Rabbit. Without them... without Edric, I would still be in that room in The Queen's castle making hats." 

Following her over to the table, he rested his palms on the back of one of the chairs, keeping his gaze on her as she prepared them both a cup of tea, though for the first time since he could remember, he wasn't much in the mood for a cup. 

"You don't have to come back with us, I get it. Returning to your prison for reasons that are not your own can be a bit... cryptic. But please, just tell me where you are. We want to make sure you are okay. [i]I[/i] want to make sure you are okay. And if this is all indeed real and you and I are [i]truly[/i] having this conversation, I'd rather it be face to face when I tell you how much I've missed you."

"Grace..." Her grip tightened on the sugar-bowl for a moment before she once more tried to push what he was saying to her out of her mind her hands working to put the sweet spoonfuls of sugar into the tea cups though she knew it was useless, he was one of the only ones that could ever get through to her and it seemed like five years past was not going to be able to change that fact anytime soon. Moving from her own cup to his she continued to scoop the sugar in repeating the motion over and over again though seeming not to even see what it was she was actually doing as it began to overpower the liquid before overflowing down onto the surface of the table, turning her head to look up at him her eyes once more became focused showing him that for the first time in minutes she was actually seeing what was in front of her the mere seconds of silence causing her to give in to him.

Tearing her eyes away from him put the sugar bowl back down on the table hesitating for a few moments until she lifted her hands up balling them into tight fists before she brought them down upon the table top the room around them beginning to change his house slowly disappearing as it was replaced with another from their childhood, "This is where I am. I am where I feel most safe. A place in which I love and cherish memories of happier times... I am home Hatter..."