Thank you so much for the reviews! And I'm sorry to make Helen the bad guy but I was in need of an antagonist... ^^'

Chapter 3: Remembrance

She opened the box carefully and reached for its content…

The first thing she felt was the softness and tenderness of the gift. She let her fingers run through the smooth fabric. Silk. She knew it instantly but it was different from the silk this other man had given her. It was not the finest silk but it had been very well treated although she felt a few damages which had been vamped up and a few loose fibers. Finally she fully removed the cover from the box and took a look.

The salmon-colored silk was neatly folded but it was wrinkled up like it had been in use until it was laid into the box.

Alice could feel her mother and Lowell sniff at the look of the gift but Alice did not care. She knew that this gift was something special. She slowly took the silk out of the box and could finally determine what it was. It was a long scarf with salmon-colored embroideries on each end…flowers. Alice looked at it slightly confused because somehow it seemed quite familiar but she could not say where she had seen it before. Carefully she took a smell at the scarf and myriads of scents reached her nose. She could smell the fresh and damp air of the forest with its big trees and trunks covered in moss. It was accompanied by the smell of wet earth and rain. When closing her eyes Alice was there standing and enjoying in this world the scarf described through its smells. A small singing bird was flying towards her and she reached out… But suddenly the trees around her caught fire and she could distinguish another smell…the smell of fire, smoke, ashes and burnt flesh…

She opened her eyes in shock and was back in the living room in her mother's house sitting between her and her brother-in-law clasping the scarf in her hands. Lowell already wanted to take it when she vehemently shook her head. 'Hold on tightly!' A voice in her head said and so she did for the rest of the evening.

After the last gift was unpacked Alice rose to leave the scarf still in her hands. She did not even know what the rest presents had been. She had not paid that much attention anymore after that very special gift she still carried with her. She could dimly remember that she had chosen two men to meet again to satisfy her mother so that she could leave without any discussion. One had given her a ship in a bottle which looked very much like her one ship which showed at least that there might eventually be some interest in her. The other man had written a poem for her which proved that he might be just a little creative. However they only served as alibis. She did not plan to marry any man so soon, especially none of these smug idiots.

When she closed the door of her rooms she felt the tiredness overwhelming her. Without caring for her dress she slumped on her bed on looked at the ceiling. She did not even notice falling asleep.

It was dark around her so that she could not see anything but she could hear voices in the dark. "She is not the right Alice!" "Not entirely!" "You brought the wrong Alice!" "She is absolutely Alice! I knew her anywhere!" – "You have lost your muchness!" There was it again. Muchness! What was it about? It was no proper English word. - "Hold on tightly!" – "I think I have gone mad!" She felt sorry for the being who said this. She felt sorry from the bottom of her heart. "I fear so. But I have to tell you something. That is what characterizes the best!" Could that be? This had been her own voice saying what her father had told her years ago when she had been a little child. - "How come you are either too small or too big when we meet?" She could nearly feel the softness which she heard in the voice. And she suddenly knew that the words had been directed to her. – "No, you cannot use the Vorpal Sword on other things! You have to bring it to the White Queen." Somehow she could feel the desperation rising within her. Although she could not see anything she knew that she did not want to leave whoever it was even though she had no idea what he was talking about. She simply did not want to leave his side. – "I would have regretted it to not see you again now that you are yourself." Her heart began to beat really fast. – "You still believe it is just a dream, do you not?" A dream? – "That would mean that I am not real!" No, he sounded so real he had to be real. The way his voice made her shiver with anticipation. This could not simply be a dream. There was more to it, there had to be more to it. She wanted to say it, she wanted to tell him that she did not think that he was just a dream but that he was so much more to her. But she could not open her mouth. - "You do not have to leave!" I do not want to! Why should she leave when there was nothing out there for her? Even though it was dark in here wherever it was she felt at ease. It felt like coming home from a long journey. This was the feeling she had missed when she had come home from China and when she had entered her mother's house. How could a simple voice provide this feeling her own family could not? "I have to leave!" It was her again but what was she saying? Of course she could stay who was telling her otherwise? It was her decision to stay where she longed to be! And she could feel it very clearly. It was here she wanted to stay, with this soft voice accompanying her through the darkest dark without fear. She was not afraid because she knew he was there at her side, always. – "You will forget me!" No! She would not! How could she forget him? Him! He, who had always believed in her abilities, in her muchness, who had encouraged her, who had supported her. He, who would have given his life in order to save hers. – "Farewell Alice!"

Alice opened her eyes. It took a few minutes till she knew where she was. She must have fallen asleep right after slumping on her bed because she still wore her dress.

Suddenly she felt the softness of the silk scarf in her hand… and then she knew it! He had been right. She had forgotten him even though she had tried not to. She had forgotten one of the most important persons in her life. But he had given her a second change by giving her the silk scarf he normally wore around his favorite hat. The silk scarf she had had to hold on tightly. And now she would hold on tightly on this second change he had given her on her Soon-to-be-engaged-party.

She stormed out of her room taking the scarf with her.

How could I have forgotten my most dearest Hatter?