save_us_alice | Return To Wonderland

(Happens after Alice's trip to the Nexus post-breakup with Victor. Further reading can be done under the "return of the king" tag for both Alice and Victor.)

They’ve been delaying this for a while – they’d be the first to admit it. Both of them have been nervous about taking this step. But they need to see if they can settle this somehow. Victor really can’t live with the King of Hearts always in the back of his head, even if said King has stopped trying to hurt him. Victor misses the days when it was just his own thoughts inside of his mind – and he’s started having some rather frightening nightmares. Ones that involve burning castles and painful last kisses. . . . My death, the King had explained somberly. As you may have gathered, it was quite unpleasant.

Alice knows far too much about nightmares to let Victor suffer unnecessarily. So here they are, standing at the mirror in Victor’s room. “Are you ready?” Alice asks.

Victor swallows. “I don’t know,” he admits. “Part of me still feels that – we’re asking for trouble, doing this.” He shakes his head. “But this can’t go on. And if your friends there think this is the best way to get him out. . . .”

Alice nods. “Then let’s be off.” She places one hand through the mirror, then extends the other to Victor. He takes it, and together they step back through into Wonderland.

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Alice steps forward, looking between the two men. "Are you all right?" she asks, not entirely sure herself who the question is directed toward.

The King looks down at himself. He looks a little wobbly, but perfectly whole. He glances back, to see two reflections in the mirror -- his own and Victor's. A smile breaks out over his face. "I think I am."

"I know I am," Victor says, grinning himself as he feels the distinct relief of having his mind be his and his alone again. Although. . .there's a bit of an odd feeling at the very back of his skull. Like a faint -- tunnel? He pokes at it slightly, and somehow feels the King's presence. "Though we still seem to be connected."

"I feel it too," the King confirms. "Perhaps there's no way to fully separate each other." He smiles down at his hands. "I consider this more than adequate, however."

"Me too," Victor nods. A mental link with the King, he can stand. It doesn't feel particularly intrusive either, so that's a plus.

The Queen rushes forward and kisses her husband, wrapping him in her arms and tentacles. "My love, my love," she whispers, now indeed crying.

Alice finds herself smiling at the reunion. God, she never thought she'd smile at anything involving the Queen. However, there are a few things to get straight. "I'm not letting you return to Heart Palace," she interjects in a firm voice. "You're surely aware of the reasons why. You did horrible things to this world, and remorse itself won't fix that."

"I know," the Queen says, disentangling herself a bit from her husband. "I'm willing to stay here in the Tulgey Wood, if you wish. Just -- just please, let us stay together."

"Please Alice," the King adds softly. "I know I have no right to ask favors of you after what I nearly did to Victor, but. . .she's everything to me."

Alice looks between them. For a moment, a spiteful impulse whispers to say no, to separate them, to make the Queen truly pay for what she did (even if it might not have been entirely her fault).

Then she remembers her own heart breaking when she left Victor, and the agony of the days that followed. She can't inflict that on another, even the Queen. And besides, the King was always the best at keeping her in check. "I won't part you," she says. "But you're forbidden from leaving the Tulgey Wood. One step outside, one inkling either of you has started to go darkly mad again, and you'll be facing me and my Vorpal Blade."

"Under the circumstances, more than fair," the King says in relief. "Thank you, Alice." Turning to Victor, he adds, "And thank you. For letting me stay, for -- for not holding my hatred of you against me."

Victor half-smiles. "It's my own hatred of me," he says. "I can't exactly hold that against you."

The King nods, looking more serious. "You shouldn't hate yourself. Others will do that for you."

Victor bites back a laugh. The King has an odd way of comforting people. "Others already have."

"There you are then. Don't waste your hatred on yourself, Victor. There are far more deserving targets."

Victor nods. "I'll try to remember that."

"Don't try. Just remember it." The King turns to his wife. "Ready, my love?"

"Always, my dearest." She glances around. "Thank you," she whispers, in a way that suggests the words are strange to her, but also very heartfelt. Then both monarchs disappear back into the woods, hand in hand.

Alice lets out a deep sigh as they vanish. It feels like a weight has been lifted -- the King is out and about on his own, and she's settled the Queen before any more horror can take place. A very productive day indeed. And while she'll be keeping a close eye on those two, deep in her gut she honestly feels she has nothing to fear. The Queen is freed from feeding on her insanity, and she has her King. There's nothing to suggest another rampage is in the future. And even if there is -- this time, she has someone to stand by her side.

She goes and wraps Victor in a hug. "Want to go to the White Castle and see if they'll have us for tea?" she asks quietly.

"I would like that very much," Victor nods, hugging her back. He's as happy as he can be under the circumstances -- it appears everyone, even the King and Queen, have gotten a happy ending for now. Granted, he still needs to work on his own self-image, but there'll be time for that later. Right now, all he really wants is a cup of tea, and a chance to enjoy the silence in his head.

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