Disclaimer: For witty disclaimers, please visit Alicia Blade – she's written my favorite Sailor Moon fanfics. I don't own anything except this ultra-soft pink T-shirt. And the epic blue dress in my closet – it'll be an Alice cosplay eventually.

A Brief Author's Note: This Baby Grand, tenth and last in the LJ community 10_prompts, is dedicated to my brother Jareth. When seeing "Alice" for the first time, I cried when she said goodbye to the Hatter… Ended up in a text conversation with said brother, quite soggy, and he said to me the words that became the last line of this ficlet.

10 - Eternal

It was the silliest thing, really, how she had acquired the tiny mark. She and Tarrant had been fooling around and those knickers and that camisole had been in quite poor condition anyway… He had surprised her! Certainly if she'd known him to be planning something, she would have worn more attractive under-things. She hadn't expected he'd reach for the ever-present scissors! When he'd gone to remove the camisole, she'd frozen, completely shocked. The plain cotton fell in shreds, causing her jaw to drop at his boldness. As his mouth turned its attention to her chest, he managed to nick her hip as he meant to cut her knickers away. He had, of course, apologized profusely and kissed the small nick – barely deep enough to bleed – until getting distracted by the delicious wetness between her thighs.

The rest, as they said, was history.

Alice had picked at it for weeks. The scab kept forming and every time she bathed, she picked it off. She didn't really know why – that was just what one did with scabs. Perhaps, subconsciously, she enjoyed his continued attention as, every time he saw the small mark, he kissed it as though it were fresh. She had assured him that it didn't even hurt the first time and it certainly didn't now, but when did he listen? Either way, the scab continued to form and each time, got picked away.

Of course, then said scab stopped coming back. Alice noticed the small, smooth pink mark on her hip as she removed her knickers before stepping into the bath. Deep in not-thinking, she traced the small imperfection with careful fingertips. The small scab had become a permanent scar.

Curiouser and curiouser, she thought. Even the slices left in her arm by the Bandersnatch had long since faded away. It seemed things in Wonderland went one of two ways – incredibly fleeting or incredibly permanent. Alice's brow furrowed as an extremely unpleasant thought crossed her mind: which way would this relationship between she and Tarrant go?

Now that she really thought about it, she might have made a horrid choice in staying here! She stepped carefully into the bath and sank into the hot water, watching it steam. Her stomach churned – he could descend fully into his madness TOMORROW and never return! Though she assured him she had long discounted the possibility, she might indeed wake up to find that Wonderland had only been a dream! If that happened, maybe, as he had said before she left for China, she wouldn't remember him! What would happen to them, to him, if she never returned?

Queen Mirana seemed to be one of those permanent structures in Underland. Perhaps she would know how to answer this question? But no, Alice thought, it wouldn't do to bother the good Queen with the insecurities of a young woman. She sank deeper into the water, up to her chin, just as she had done as a small child. The hot water comforted her, smelling lightly of white roses and whatever it was that Tarrant bathed with – she had never been able to place the scent, slightly piney and smoky, but not. For a moment, she found herself able to simply close her eyes and forget her thoughts.

She did not notice the eerie green cat's eyes blinking curiously at her from the mirror in her bathing-chamber. Privately, the Cheshire Cat figured it better for all involved that she remained oblivious, particularly of how many times he had visited this spot, conveniently during her baths. The green orbs rolled back, the evaporating Cat re-vaporating himself into Queen Mirana's kitchen. Once there, after dodging a barrage of silverware, he found the good Queen bustling about her apothecary. Chessur rolled carefully through the air, still avoiding flying spoons, coming to hover beside Mirana's left shoulder.

"Good day, Sir Chessur," she greeted in that ethereal voice – the Cat couldn't help but purr in return. "What concerns my beloved Cheshire Cat?"

True, the occasion was rare that Chessur took much notice of anything but something he personally wanted – it wasn't a flaw, just how Cats were.

"It concerns Alice… rrrowr… dear Queen," he rumbled, pausing to purr and roll his head to the side as she scratched him behind one ear. "I seem to have overheard something that… mrowr… concerns our Champion verrrry deeply."

A knowing expression lit upon the White visage and she frowned briefly.

"I trust you have not been peeping on her in the bath… again?" she chided him. Chuckling, the Cat shrugged his fuzzy shoulders and swished his tail. Mirana mentally rolled her eyes at his version of an innocent grin. "I should have known. Nevertheless, what concerns our Champion?"

She watched as Chessur floated directly above her work-table, his body right side up and his head upside down, the only way he reasonably could frown.

"She doubts again, Majesty," he told her. "Has been talking to herself in the bath – but I didn't just say that! – talking about these doubts."

Mirana graciously ignored the context of the statement.

"And what are these doubts, good Chessur?" she inquired with the patience of a saint.

"Perrrrrmanence, yourrr Majesty," he replied. "She seems to think she's dreaming again… Most of it concerns our dearrrrr Hatter."

The White Queen nodded, continuing to mix ingredients – the forming solution smelled a bit like baking scones with a touch of cranberry sauce.

"If you can find a tactful way to do so, please relay this information, Chessur," she instructed the Cat, watching him idly dip his tail in a bowl of powdered sugar, then transfer the sweetness to his mouth. "No matter what happens, she will be irresistibly drawn here. Yes, she may be called away again – that is always a possibility, and a sad one at that. It will be particularly hard on Sir Hightopp to come to terms with this."

The Cheshire Cat nodded.

"But Alice's adventures in Underland are an eternal institution," Mirana continued. "They'll be together forever."