Alice's plan to overthrow the Queen of Hearts is thwarted by a dashing pirate with a hook. Years later, after the curse is broken, they reunite once again.
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I stand alone on the balcony of the tree house after a lively reunion with Jefferson, McTwisp, and The March Hare. I'm quite happy staring out at the beautiful midnight sky in the cool air. Footsteps approaching from behind, presumably Jefferson's, considering he's the only other human around.
"Have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?" He asks with a mischievous smile. I grin up at him.
"I'll have to think more about it."
"You know what you have to do, right?" He asks gently, his mood switching to one more serious. I furrow my brows, looking away.
"Overthrow the Queen? How could I forget?"
I try to sound lighthearted but fail. I pause.
"Jefferson, why is it so important to you that I do this?" I ask quietly.
"Because the Queen needs to be-"
"Besides your sense of justice. This is personal for you." I interrupt. "There has to be more to this."
He sighs, hanging his head.
"I failed her." He starts. "I couldn't protect her, and then you showed up in Wonderland,"
He chuckles tearfully.
"You were a tiny girl, imagination always running wild. I don't think I've ever met anyone who believed as much as you."
"Believed in what?" I ask.
"Everything! People, places, things. Nothing was impossible so long as you were around."
I smile sadly. If only that were true.
"You lived here for an entire year. You got to know everyone, including the Queen. You even lived with her. Painted the roses in her garden red and everything. I think...she had a strange soft spot for you. At least, as soft as she was capable of being."
"No way!" I laugh incredulously.
"It's true. But you would venture out on your own adventures. That's how you met me. I was drowning in my sorrows, and you walked right up to me and told me the worst joke I've ever heard."
Why is a raven like a writing desk?
"It wasn't long before you were spending most of your days with me, much to the Queen's displeasure. We would have tea together every day, and you'd make me tell you a bedtime story every night before you'd return to the Queens castle. Not because you needed them to sleep, but because you wanted me to believe in myself again..." He trails off. "And when the Queen turned on you, I protected you from her. Until I couldn't."
A single tear falls down his cheek.
"How is that possible, Jefferson? I know you say I wouldn't remember because of the Queen, but...my parents."
