Alice reached out a finger and delicately stroked the gilt frame of the mirror. It was an old piece, if the dark spots on its silvery visage were accurate. Time had been kind to the frame though. It was truly a work of art, patterned with suns, moons, and stars. She wondered at how the frame could be in such good condition in comparison with the mirror itself.

"It was made by Time himself." Alice shifted her gaze in the mirror to see Tarrant approach her. She smiled sadly at his reflection. He was wearing the stiff, drab clothes of Above. Her quick sketches had been hastily sewn by Brenda and looked exactly as she remembered. She sent up a silent prayer that men's fashion had not changed as quickly as women's had since she'd left.

"Did he now? Why would he let such a fine creation become so sullied?" She gestured to the age spots on the surface. Tarrant shrugged and dropped his carpet bag alongside her valise.

"Good and evil have gone to and fro from this mirror. Everyone leaves their own marks. I suspect that those are from the Bloody Big Head. She really was a blight on everything."

Alice reached out and squeezed his hand in silent comfort. Tarrant didn't look at her but drew her closer to his side, his frown deepening. Alice glanced at the mirror again, curious as to what could make him look so troubled.

"People will look at us funny Above, won't they?" Alice looked up at him and then back at the mirror. They were quite a sight she supposed, what with his white skin and wild orange hair in comparison with her nearly translucent skin and unnaturally bright eyes. She smiled at the image and stood on her tip toes to place a kiss to his warm cheek.

"Let them look." He peered down at her cautiously. "Let them look and be jealous of our happiness. We have each other and nothing else matters."

Tarrant sighed and let out a small smile.

"Thank you my Alice." She beamed up at him and turned upon hearing Mirana enter the room. The White Queen glided toward them, a warm smile on her face. In her hands she held a cup full of bright gold liquid and two vials of a similar, silvery substance.

"Your way forward," She raised the cup as though toasting them, "and your way back!" She handed the two vials to Tarrant who put them in the breast pocket of his coat.

"So what must we do?" Alice eyed the potion warily. Mirana giggled at her and Tarrant bit back a smile.

His silly Alice, as if Mirana's potions would ever harm them!

Mirana quieted quickly enough and turned a serious face toward Alice.

"First, before all things, I need you to see the mirror that will connect to this one. Can you see it?"

Alice nodded, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Very good, keep that image in your mind. Tarrant hand her the valise please and take your own bag as well. Good, now take each other's hands. "

They did as she asked, Alice keeping her eyes shut tight and Tarrant only now beginning to look slightly apprehensive.

"Stepping through the mirror may feel a bit … odd. Whatever you do, do not step back as you step through! You may get yourself stuck between planes and that would be simply …"

"Awful? Horrendous? Discombobulating?" Tarrant finished for her. Mirana nodded.

"Yes precisely, discombobulating."

Alice snorted.

"Let's get on with it then." Mirana nodded even though Alice could not see it. She stepped forward quickly and threw the cup of potion at the mirror. Tarrant watched as the mirror glimmered for several seconds.

He thought his eyes might be deceiving him that beyond the mirror was a room full of boxes and wood paneling.

"Well there you are! Off you go!" Mirana beamed at them. Tarrant blinked once and swallowed. Gripping Alice's small hand a bit more firmly, he led them toward the silvery surface and then through it.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Stepping through the mirror was the oddest sensation Alice had ever experienced.

It was like stepping through a cool mist and then being dunked in ice cold water, only to be set out in the blazing summer sun.

All in all, not her favorite mode of travel.

She knew they had made it to the other side when her feet felt solid wood beneath her soles and Tarrant had released a pent up sigh.

She slowly opened her eyes. The room was dimly lit and full of cobwebs, just as she remembered it. The crates and boxes were piled to the ceiling. Dust swirled in the air around them, every now and then catching the light and sparkling.

"Alice, forgive me, but where exactly are we?" Her husband lisped.

"This is the company storage room at the London docks. I thought it would be best for us to come here since we're supposed to be traveling anyway."

Tarrant nodded enthusiastically and almost sent his hat flying.

"Yes, yes, showing up in your mother's dressing room would be highly rude of us!"

Alice snickered and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Precisely." She reaffirmed her grip on his hand and led them out into the grey London morning.

London was just as she remembered it. Grey, dull, bustling, grey, and slightly damp. Tarrant immediately started to cough and wheeze when the first breeze brought the smell of Thames and coal burning fire places.

She patted her husband sympathetically on the back all the while looking for a hack to hire. When a relatively decent one pulled up in front of them she waved it down and deposited her husband and their things inside. She gave the driver her mother's address and slipped him a few pound notes.

Once she was safely settled across from Tarrant, she gave a sharp rap on the carriage roof. They took off at a brisk pace, the streets being clear still in the early morning light. Alice had to pull Tarrant back into the carriage several when he leaned too far out the window.

The worst had been along Piccadilly Circus.

"Tarrant, I must insist that you remain in your seat!" Alice shouted. Tarrant simply bounced across from her, grinning madly.

"But Alice my love! Just look at the velvets!" He gestured wildly out the window. Alice rolled her eyes and patted his knee.

Before she knew it they were pulling up outside her mother's townhouse. As they exited the carriage, Alice heard the church clock chime nine times. It was early yet, but knowing Helen Kingsleigh, the household was already up and running at full speed.

"Hold a moment Tarrant." She called out to her husband as he started bounding up the front steps. He paused mid stride and watched her expectantly.

Alice paced down to the street corner toward a young, freckled boy with a stack of newspapers.

"You lad, how much for this morning's print?" She asked nodding to the stack.

"Five pence miss – err, ma'am!" He squeaked. After a quick exchange of money and a flurry of papers, Alice was sauntering back towards the house.

"Alice? What in the name of Fate are you reading?" Tarrant finally asked after watching her bright head disappear behind the folds for several minutes. While he had always counted himself a lucky man to be married to such an intelligent and curious woman like his Alice, this disappearing act was rather worrisome.

"Six months." Came her mutter from behind the pages.

"Pardon?" Tarrant asked worriedly. Alice snapped the paper shut to glare at the cloudy sky. While he would agree that it wasn't the most pleasant color, it didn't deserve so harsh a scowl.

"It's been six months here in Above since I left home. And it's been six months in Underland as well!"

"And this is a problem because?" He tilted his head to the side, trying to follow her logic.

"When I went down the rabbit hole three years ago, seemingly only a couple of hours had passed here while several days had passed in Underland! Yet when I came back, three years had passed in both worlds and now six months have passed equally again! Why for bread and butterflies' sakes would that be?" She huffed.

Tarrant shrugged and put an arm around her shoulders. He squeezed her to his side and kissed the top of her blonde curls.

"I know not lass. Best ask the Queen next time we see her." Alice sighed and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Yes your right." She turned her attention back to the front door and squared her shoulders. "Ready?" She asked him quietly.

"As I'll ever be." He replied lightly. Shooting him a teasing smile, she clutched his arm in one hand and her valise in the other. They marched up to the heavy oak door she remembered so well from her childhood. Tarrant shot her one more gap-toothed smile and knocked smartly on the wood. Alice took a deep breath, preparing herself with whatever Fate was going to deal them next.