AN: Saw the movie, absolutely loved it. And then the end came. And went. Since I was not fully pleased with how the movie ended, this shall be a continuation of the movie, right from the ending.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Alice in Wonderland 2010. Those rights belong to Lewis Carroll and Tim Burton. I also don't own the bit of poetry down there. The poet's name is given.

Stay, shadow of contentment too short-lived,

illusion of enchantment I most prize,

fair image for whom happily I die,

sweet fiction for whom painfully I live.

- Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

(translated by Margaret Sayers Peden)

Alice would dream often.

The nauseating rocking of the unsteady ship did nothing for her stomach, which seemed to be very empty as of late, but at night she would have the most colourful dreams. Until, that is, she would awake to find that the world had been turned upside-down and the spiced curry she had for dinner did not want to stay put. That was when she would become very well acquainted with the side of the ship.

But the dreams she had were, for lack of a better word, wonderful.

It was during one night, when her digestive system was unnaturally cooperative, that she found herself in Underland again. Not in the usual manner, but through her dreams. It had been two years since she had sailed off to China with the hope of returning with a business partner and the security that came with it. She had accomplished far more than she had first thought, and Lord Ascot went out of his way to thank her for all of her effort.

Now, on her way back to England, Alice found she was quite restless. She missed her family, but not as much as she missed that strange world below the rabbit hole. That longing made itself most aware during the hours she was fast asleep in her room on the ship, safely tucked away in the tiny bunk. There she would have visions involving a mad hare, a White Queen and a pair of bickering twins. She would wander through seemingly enchanted woods, and run from a rather nasty woman who wanted nothing more than to have her head cut off.

Those dreams would evaporate into a puff of smoke as soon as she woke, either from her churning stomach or by one of the cabin boys who insisted she get some breakfast. This particular night it was the former that awoke her from her slumber just as she reached a rather peculiar tea party. As she rolled onto her other side on the small bed, her stomach gave an unpleasant growl.

Shooting out of her covers, her legs becoming entangled in the sheets as she did so, Alice made a beeline for the door. Throwing it open she ran, albeit a tad lopsided, towards the stairs that led to the deck of the ship. She was bathed in moonlight as soon as she surfaced from below deck, and she scurried over to the side of the ship in record time.

When she was finished getting rid of her dinner, Alice leaned on the rail of the ship and let the salty tang of ocean air cool her face.

"I knew I shouldn't have had the oysters," she muttered to herself, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Raw shellfish doesn't agree with me."

She gazed out across the ocean that they had been traversing for months. Lord Ascot assured her that they would reach England any day now, but Alice had her doubts. Everything looked the same out here and it did nothing for her fragile hopes, which were in danger of snapping any moment.

The moon lit the water and Alice had to squint at the constant glittering mass of ocean. She stood there for a half hour, and that was enough time for her to notice something peculiar. There was a dark mass on the horizon that hadn't moved in the time that Alice had been staring at it. It rose rather majestically out of the ocean, and it looked eerily familiar…

Then it clicked. Solid mass on the horizon, not moving whatsoever…Alice grinned like an idiot as she spun around from her position at the side of the ship.

"Land ho!" She shouted, not caring how ridiculous she sounded. "I can see England!"

She turned back to happily laugh at the mass of earth on the horizon. Seeing solid ground for the first time in a fortnight made her giddy beyond belief. She ran to the prow of the boat, throwing herself as far forward as she could. Standing on the open deck of a ship in nothing but a nightdress should have had her trembling with cold. Instead she relished it, and as she heard the rest of the crew begin to assemble, Alice had thoughts only for that speck of land in front of her.

After two years she was finally returning home; to England…and to Underland.

AN: And there we go. Anyone who noticed the book reference thrown in there as an afterthought will receive my utmost praise.

Read and review, people! That's why they put that lovely little button down there.

:) fancyfarmer