Christmas was a magical time in Underland, especially at Marmoreal. It was the only time of year that its halls were anything but white. There were wreaths, garlands, and banners hung throughout the corridors. The tree in the main entrance was absolutely divine. It was decorated with priceless and beautiful ornaments, some as old as Underland itself.

And looking around the Queen's chambers, Alice had to admit that Mirana had wonderful decorators. The once white room was covered in splotches of color, primarily red. There was a full-size tree, complete with presents. Alice chuckled to herself as she remembered the decorating fiasco the night before.

The decorators had just left and Alice and Iracebeth had just moved back into Mirana's room. The tree was magnificent, standing at seven feet tall, and was the softest shade of green possible for a tree. It wasn't long after that that Mirana came in with boxes upon boxes of tree trimmings. They had all taken part in decorating the tree. When Mirana, the tallest of them all, had finally gone as high as she could, it was decided that Alice would eat some Upelchulken and finish up.

But when she got to the top where the star was supposed to go, she felt a tug on her slightly-too-small-and-ripped dress. She looked down, and there were Iracebeth and Mirana, having a small shoving match.

"Alice," Iracebeth whined, "I want to put the star on top."

"No, I do!" Mirana countered.

"That's not fair, she got to put it on last time!"

Alice smiled. They were behaving like children. She supposed this must have been what Christmas was like years ago. Or a real Christmas, seeing as her mother always let her sister do everything.

"Why don't both of you put the star on top?" she suggested.

"No!" they shouted in unison.

"Only one of us can do it!" Iracebeth cried.

"It's been that way since we were little!" Mirana pouted.

"All right then, I'll do this as randomly as possible." She closed her eyes and pointed at the queens. "Eeny meeny miney moe. Catch a tiger by the toe."

The sisters looked at each other in confusion. All they had asked was to put the star on top. Had they driven Alice mad? What was a tiger anyway?

"If it hollers let it go. My mama told me to pick the very best one and you...are...it." She opened her eyes and saw her finger pointing at Iracebeth. "Okay Racey, you get to put the star on top."

The older sister stuck her tongue out at the younger. Then the Queen performed the most unqueenly gesture ever. She blew a raspberry at her big sister.

"Mirana!" Alice tried to sound stern, but failed as her giggles came through. "That wasn't nice! Apologize to your sister!"

"Uh-uh!"

"Mirana," Alice said in a warning tone.

The White Queen huffed. "I'm sorry I blew a raspberry at you, Iracebeth."

"That's better, thank you."

'That had been fun,' Alice mused as she settled in a chair to gaze at the tree. 'I felt like I was part of a real family for the first time in my life. Although, I really would have liked to put the star on myself.' The tree really was beautiful. Mirana had bewitched it so that at night it would glow.

The light was soft, and accented the ornaments. Alice wished the tree back home could look that beautiful.

"Thinking about something?" Iracebeth asked as she came out of the bathroom.

"Just looking at the tree and remembering last night."

The older woman blushed slightly.

"Sorry, sibling rivalry you know."

At this Alice sighed, and "Mommy Iracebeth" as Mirana had taken to calling her, sensed something was wrong. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just, my mother favors my sister over me. I never got to help decorate the tree as a child, and I never got to put the star on top."

"I can sympathize with you there, but did you enjoy last night?"

Alice smiled. Very much. For the first time in my life I felt like I was part of a real family. I hope that happens more often."

"Hope what happens more often?" Mirana asked, carrying in a tray full of hot chocolate.

Alice had been surprised to find that she switched to that at Christmas, but it didn't matter as she enjoyed it. Mirana took a seat on the other side of Alice and sat the tray down. The queens each took a cup, but Alice declined. Thinking of her past made her sad and unresponsive. Mirana glanced worriedly at her sister.

Normally, Alice had her cup before she could put the tray down. This was unlike her, and she was worried. She laid a dainty hand on Alice's forehead.

"What's wrong, Alice? Are you ill?"

"Hmm? No, just thinking and remembering."

"You sounded happy when I came in. Have I done something to make you upset?"

The Queen's hand slid to cradle Alice's cheek.

"No, you didn't. I was telling Racey how much I enjoyed last night. It felt like I was actually part of the family."

"Oh, but you are! You're my friend and Iracebeth's like your mother. Of course you're part of the family!"

The young blonde smiled, cheered up by Mirana's words. "Thank you, Mirana." She then reached out and took her own cup of hot chocolate.

Later, after Mirana (who was still using Alice's room) had retired, and Alice and Iracebeth were getting settled for the night, Iracebeth rolled over and faced Alice. In the dim light from the tree, she could just make out her features. She was almost asleep already, worn out by last minute preparations for the Christmas Ball. 'Ironic,' Iracebeth thought. 'The Ball is thrown in honor of the Queen and as a gift to her people. Mirana won't even be there this year.'

They had it all figured out. Mirana would wake up very early the next morning and drink one of her potions. It would give her all the symptoms of a cold for an hour or so, just long enough to be seen and be sent to bed. (She made sure to include a slight fever at Iracebeth's request.) She would remain there until the potion wore off, maybe longer depending upon the time.

She would then come and spend the day with Iracebeth and Alice. The Ball would go on as planned and one of the servants would announce that the Queen was unwell and unable to attend. It was perfect, and they truly believed it would work.

"Alice," Iracebeth whispered in the darkness. The girl opened her eyes. "Are you all right now? After the conversation from earlier, I mean."

"Yes, and I'm glad you both care so much."

"She's right, you know," the Red Queen whispered. "You are part of the family." She brushed a stray lock of Alice's hair behind her ear. "Like the daughter I never had."

Iracebeth would never admit this to anyone, especially Alice, but she was a great deal older than her sister. Nearly twenty years in fact. She was six when Mirana was born. That hadn't been so bad. But then Mirana became Queen.

She had frozen herself at twenty-six, but Iracebeth had waited until she was forty-four. So technically, she was almost twenty years older because she had continued to age while her sister had not. When Alice was younger she thought it odd and frequently asked about it. She never got an answer of course, because it embarrassed the former queen. Now that Alice was older, it wasn't as noticeable to her.

Not that it mattered, she had always treated Mirana like a friend, just as she'd always treated Iracebeth as a mother. The woman looked to her left and noticed that the girl was almost asleep. She started to hum a lullaby to lull her to sleep. Alice, even in her sleep-hazy state, was astounded at how beautiful the older woman's voice was, even while humming. As saw the girl fall asleep, she smiled softly.

'Fitting,' she thought, 'that I'm finally a mother.'

And she hoped with every fiber of her being that it would stay that way.