***

Lay didn’t know what to expect when he arrived at the Red Palace, but being flanked by a bunch of soldiers led by Luhan, was the last thing he had in mind. He was taken into a gigantic throne room which was decorated in lavish gold and red, of course. The floor shone like a golden mirror and it was the first time since he arrived in Wonderland that he could see his appearance. He was rather surprised to see that his hair was different, and looked to be blonde instead of its reddish brown. 

He wondered then where Jae would be. This place was so decadent he didn’t think it was a place Jae would voluntarily go to. Did they keep her prisoner? 

“Did you capture the White Queen, too?” he asked bluntly, looking at Luhan. Of course, he didn’t get an answer. “Please release her, whatever she did, I’m sure she’s innocent,” he then tried, and this made Luhan turn around. He was about to open his mouth to reply, when another, more commanding voice interrupted him. 

“What do you know of the White Queen?” 

Despite the fact that he was unable to transform into a wolf, Lay still growled when he finally looked upon the infamous Queen of Hearts, who sat on her throne in a revealing red dress, its color contrasting her green eyes. Miss Kumiho. 

Now, one would assume that she was the only one that caught his attention, but this was far from true. Two steps down from her throne, was a smaller, more modest seat, upon which Suho sat, a small child dressed like a panda at his feet. 

Suho? Tao?! Lay gaped as he realized that Suho was the King of Hearts and Tao was - his baby?

Lay rolled his hand over his face, shaking his head. Aiyah, this is not good…

“Answer the Queen when she speaks, stranger!” Luhan suddenly called, pushing Lay forward. When he refused to speak out of principle, it was Suho who became nervous in his stead. 

“He must truly be a stranger if he doesn’t know when to speak when asked. You shouldn’t get angry at him for that, dear,” he said, seeming surprisingly sympathetic. “He seems like a nice young man, don’t you think so, dear?” he asked Miss Kumiho, who scoffed at her husband. Lay shivered at the thought and felt nauseous. 

“Hm,” Miss Kumiho mused, appraising him coldly. She snapped her fingers. “Off with his head!” she demanded. 

Suho immediately rose from his chair, baby panda Tao looking up at his father while clinging onto his leg. “H-hold on, my love! On what account?” he asked. 

“Do I need a reason? I am Queen, am I not? He’s taking too long to answer! Off with his head!” she repeated, but Lay was surprised that Suho nervously objected. It seemed like the King of Hearts was a softie, in comparison to his Queen. 

“Now, now, dear, we can’t just chop off this young man’s head for a reason like that. Give him some time to explain what he’s doing here. Why, we don’t even know his name,” he stammered. 

“My name is Lay,” Lay then piped up, interceding. 

Baby panda Tao cooed at the response and started clapping his hands in mirth. Seeing Tao as a baby was strange enough, but Lay couldn’t help but find him very cute. “Alayce!” Baby Tao cooed while giggling. 

“Alayce?” the Queen sat up, suddenly looking interested. Lay made no attempt to correct her, though, since he’s been called by the wrong name the entire day anyway. 

“Oh, Alayce! Wonderful, marvelous!” Suho said, looking genuinely relieved and clasping his hands together. “What business have you in Underland, lad?”

Should he tell them what he was doing here? No one seemed to like the Queen of Hearts, maybe telling her would be a mis-

“He claims to be looking for the White Queen,” Luhan spoke up before Lay had a chance to make up an excuse. 

“The White Queen?!” The Red Queen piped up incredulously before she cackled. A dejected King of Hearts sunk back into his seat. 

“Oh dear,” he muttered under his breath. 

“Y-yes,” Lay conceded. “Please, I heard that she was here, and I’ve come all this way to find her. If you’re keeping her here against her will, then release her,” he still remained polite, though he couldn’t understand why the Red Queen was smirking so happily. 

“Do you enjoy playing games, Alayce?” she suddenly asked, and Lay frowned. 

“I-I suppose so,” he replied, fidgeting with his jacket. 

“Do you now?” she clapped her hands and rose from her throne to meet him. “How about we make a wager?” she proposed out of the blue, but Lay didn’t like the look in her eyes when she suggested it. “You were rightly informed. The White Queen is here, but she’s lost. Now, if you wish to find her, you may try and do so. She’s somewhere over there, you see,” the Queen had grabbed his arm and gently led him towards a balcony. Once Lay looked out over the land, he saw an impossible labyrinth as far as the eye could see. It was enough to cause a man’s spirit to break, but all he could think about was Jae. 

“She’s somewhere in there?” he asked breathlessly as the Queen nodded. 

“Hiding in one of these,” she whispered, holding out a colorful egg. “I will allow you to go look for her, but there are a few rules you must abide by, or I’ll have your head,” she purred into his ear. 

“What must I do?” Lay asked, eager to find Jae. 

“In the labyrinth you may encounter a horrible beast. You must defeat it first before looking for eggs,” she started explaining. “If the beast has been defeated, you may look for the egg containing your precious White Queen- however,” she emphasized, “you may only crack one egg. If you are wrong, you lose, and I’ll have your head.” 

“And if I win?” he mumbled as his mind was already trying to come up with a plan on how to effectively find the right egg. 

“You are free to leave,” the Queen replied simply. 

“With the White Queen,” Lay demanded, and the Queen scoffed, though she agreed. 

“Have we an accord, Alayce?” she asked, extending her hand. 

“This beast,” Lay asked, “what if he defeats me? Does it mean I’m not allowed to look for the eggs anymore?”

The Queen of Hearts laughed so loudly, it echoed throughout the throne room. “If my beast defeats you, Alayce, you won’t be able to look for the eggs because you’d be dead, of course. I’ve trained it specifically to chomp off the heads of brave fools like you,” she explained in such a casual manner it made Lay just a bit nervous. Regardless, he could feel Tokki Tuzi poking his cheek and urging him on. He decided that he came this far to find Jae, and she was still waiting for him. He had to give it a shot. 

“Alright,” he nodded, shaking the detestable woman’s hand. “Agreed.” 

The Queen of Hearts smirked so widely, Lay was briefly reminded of the Chenshire Cat. 

“You shouldn’t have agreed to strike an accord with her, tuo,” said Tokki Tuzi while Lay was making his way through the impossible labyrinth. “She would never wager so easily if she didn’t think she couldn’t win, tuo,” he added worriedly, clinging onto Lay’s neck as they walked through the thorny maze and high green hedges. It was impossible for Lay to look over them, and he had to admit that he was starting to doubt his decision to do this. His brothers wouldn’t have approved, but thinking about them made him feel more determined. He wanted to prove them wrong, still. He could take care of himself. He knew what he was doing. Sort of…

“Where do you think this beast of hers is roaming about?” Lay then asked out loud. “It’s taking a long time to reveal itself. I’d like to start looking for eggs instead of the beast. Jae-yah is still waiting for me,” he complained as he randomly walked around. 

“Aren’t you scared at all, tuo?” asked the white bunny, trembling slightly. Lay, having sensed the little creature’s anxiety, gently lifted him from his shoulder and held him warmly and securely in his arms instead. 

“Don’t worry, Tokki-nim. I’m sure this beast won’t be as bad as she says. Every creature has some good in them,” Lay nodded to himself, though he wasn’t sure at all. How was he supposed to defeat a beast to begin with? He had no weapons, he had no magic…Maybe this was a bad idea after all…

“Perhaps you could try and challenge it to a battle of futterwacken, Alayce,” a voice whispered, echoing around them. It nearly made Lay’s heart stop and he would have yelled in surprise, if the voice didn’t sound so familiar. 

“Hatter-nim?” he called in confusion. 

“Ah, yes! I recall you were rather brilliant at futterwacken, Alayce,” another familiar voice said, right beside his ear. Lay turned sharply around to see who had followed him, only to be surprised when he saw a bright grin floating in the air. Then, so very slowly, a pair of eyes accompanied the grin, followed by the rest of its head and body. 

“Alayce!” Chenshire Cat exclaimed, purring happily when he went to hug an astonished Lay. 

“Chenshire-nim? What are you-,” the words stilled from his mouth when they were surrounded by smoke and Lay found himself crushed in a group hug between himself, Chenshire Cat, Mad Hatter Sehun and mad March Hare Kai. Caterpillar D.O. stood nearby, watching in mild amusement while leaning on a sleeping Dormouse Xiumin. 

“Oh, what are all of you doing here?” asked Lay, pleasantly surprised to see these strange group of people gathered with him. 

“Well, we couldn’t leave you alone to face the gruesomest of all beasts, could we?” replied Sehun, adjusting the top hat on his head and clearing his throat. “Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!” he warned in an uncharacteristically deep voice. 

“We’re here to help you, Alayce,” Caterpillar D.O. clarified. “We thought the bloody Red Queen would try and do something like this. She likes to cheat, you see. So we thought it only fair if we helped you cheat as well. The White Queen still awaits you, and you won’t find her by aimlessly walking around.” 

“We’ll help you defeat the beast and find the eggs!” Chenshire Cat added cheerfully.

Lay would be lying if he said that he didn’t feel touched, but there was something that still didn’t sit right with him. “Thank you, everyone,” he started. “But, I wouldn’t want you to bring yourself in danger because of me. I made this decision, it’s my choice. I should bear responsibility. Besides, it’s my task to find the White Queen,” he explained gently. 

“You…You don’t want our help, Alayce?” Sehun asked, looking sad and concerned. 

“Do you even know what the Jabberwocky does?” Kai asked, twitching his eye.

“It chomps off heads,” Lay answered while nodding. “I know. That’s why I don’t want you risking your lives to help me,” he stated. 

“Oh, but we would be doing it purely for selfish reasons, I assure you!” said Chenshire with a grin. “You see, if you find the White Queen, the Red Queen’s reign of terror will end. And yes, Underland shall be Wonderland once more.”

“Hear, hear! Please, Alayce, allow us to help you,” Sehun bowed and the others followed suit. Lay smiled at the new friends he made and exchanged a look with Tokki Tuzi, who shrugged. 

“More insane idiots to use as cannon fodder, tuo,” he joked harshly, but it didn’t prevent Lay from chuckling. 

“Hao ba,” he stated. “Help me find this Jabberwocky-nim then!” 

The group stayed together as they walked through the impossible maze, but more people meant more eyes, and Lay hoped that anyone of them would spot this horrid beast soon. Instead, Kai had called out their attention to something far more interesting. 

“It looks like a teapot!” Kai cackled, pointing frantically at the beautiful, porcelain egg he found upon a pedestal. 

“Do you think the White Queen is in this one?” D.O. wondered, looking at Lay. 

“Ah- I don’t know,” the youth replied thoughtfully. “But I do know that we shouldn’t touch it. I was supposed to defeat the beast before looking for eggs. If I don’t abide by those rules, the Red Queen will have my head and we’ll never find the White Queen then,” he reminded them. 

“Well, if she’s allowed to cheat, then we should be too!” Sehun protested. “What harm is there if we take this egg with us and then crack it after we’ve killed the Jabberwocky?” 

At this, however, Lay startled. “Kill? Wait, no one said anything about killing anything! We’re only supposed to defeat the beast, not murder it!” he argued, feeling terrible at the prospect of possibly having to kill a living creature. Whether his magic worked in this world or not, he was still a healer by heart. He wouldn’t ever take a life- no exceptions. 

“I know I’m mad, so I’m the last to talk, but you, Alayce, are insane!” Kai said, pointing at Lay. 

“Indeed! How else did you think you could defeat a Jabberwocky?” Chenshire asked, but turned away dismissively to focus on the egg. “Let’s just take this one with us,” he said, reaching out his paw. 

“No, we shouldn’t touch it!” Lay forbade, but the moment Chenshire reached out towards it, a shadow cast over the group of companions, as though something massive blocked the sun. They all froze in place upon hearing, loud, heavy breathing. Lay didn’t need to turn around to know that the dreadful Jabberwocky was standing behind them and he was afraid to face the beast as he didn’t feel like he was prepared. How frightening its appearance must be! He could already see the beady, evil eyes, the large, elongated fangs, the massive wingspan and spiky tail. Lay gulped thinking about the enormous talons that could sweep over all of them in one strike, successfully separating their bodies from their heads. 

Of course, he was afraid, but the fear of never finding Jae back was greater, so he took a deep breath and turned around.

He was wrong. Nothing could’ve prepared him for what he saw before him. Lay puffed his cheeks as it was filled with suppressed laughter, the fear dying away as soon as he saw a very tall Kris in a dragon suit, flapping his arms up and down with a dry expression on his face. 

“Rawr,” he said soullessly which nearly broke Lay to burst out in laughter. He thought he had seen it all when D.O. appeared to him in a caterpillar costume, but this took the cake! Regardless, his companions had flinched and were genuinely frightened, as they hid behind Lay when he faced the Jabberwocky. 

“Are you-,” Lay took a deep breath to keep himself in control. “Are you Jabberwocky-nim?” he asked, holding a trembling Tokki Tuzi in his arms since the bunny was vibrating with fright. 

“Ayo, wassup,” the Jabberwocky greeted casually, jerking his chin up a bit. “So, I was on my lunch-break just now and that’s my food you’re holding,” he pointed out dryly at the porcelain egg. “I take it the Red Queen wants me to kill one of you?” he sighed when he noticed Lay’s frightened companions and rolled his eyes. “Thought so,” he took a deep breath. “I told her that she shouldn’t send anyone into the maze after tea time- everyone knows lunch comes after,” he complained as Lay did his best to keep a straight face. 

“So, uh…Do you mind if I kill you later? I’m kind of hungry, and killing people during lunch break isn’t really my style,” Jabberwocky Kris told Lay, who was absolutely stunned. 

“Oh, we don’t mind at all, Jabberwocky-nim,” Lay answered politely, watching the beast crack the porcelain egg and eating the whole thing in one bite. Perhaps that was the only thing that was remotely frightening about him. 

“We certainly didn’t mean to bother you while you’re on break,” Lay continued, looking at his companions who nodded in assent. “Tell me, are there more eggs like those in the maze?” he asked cleverly as Kris was still chewing. 

The beast nodded. “Oh yeah, filled with it. Eggs are delicious- sometimes a chicken comes out. I’ve collected a bunch of them. Why? Are you hungry?” 

“If we say no, are you going to eat us?” asked D.O.. 

Kris frowned deeply and shook his head in disgust. “Of course not! You seem like nice people, I don’t see why I should eat you. I doubt you taste very well, by the smell of you,” he added. 

“But, you work for the bloody Red Queen, do you not?” Chenshire asked. 

“Not during my break, I don’t,” he replied, patting Lay on the shoulder. “It’s this way, I’ll show you,” he offered amicably and Lay’s smile widened. 

“Thank you, that’s very kind of you,” he bowed. 

“I happen to be a very kind person, thank you,” Kris replied, shaking his dragon tail in content. “But people often see me and get scared so they do mean things, like throw stuff at me. I get mad then and well- they end up dead. So as long as you don’t make me angry or cry, you’ll be alright,” he shrugged casually. “Oh, and don’t eat my eggs without my permission,” he warned, glaring at Chenshire Cat and Mad Hatter Sehun in particular. 

Lay exchanged a look with his companions, whom all shrugged their shoulders and followed the dragon to his makeshift lair. 

“Welcome, welcome. Take a seat, make yourselves comfortable,” said Kris as he opened a cabinet filled with various eggs. “Would you like something to drink?” 

“Tea, please!” Lay’s friends answered, though the youth himself remained silent. He was far too busy at looking at the eggs. There were so many of them, and he remembered that the Queen told him specifically to choose only one. If he cracked the wrong egg, then he lost the game. He may have surprisingly easily escaped fighting the Jabberwocky, but she’d still have his head if he didn’t make the right choice. 

“So, the poem? Jaws biting, claws catching?” asked Sehun in the background. 

“Ah, exaggeration, have to uphold a reputation after all,” Kris replied before turning his attention towards Lay who was looking at each beautifully decorated egg. “You can have one, if you want. I don’t mind sharing,” Jabberwocky Kris said easily. 

“Thank you, Jabberwocky-nim, but I’m looking for a very special one. I don’t suppose you happen to know which of these eggs contain the White Queen?” he asked carefully, and another deep frown appeared on the creature’s face. 

“White Queen? Not that I know of…Maybe I accidentally ate her,” he shrugged, but the news startled Lay. The teen relaxed somewhat when Kris started laughing. “Your face! I was only joking. Sorry, I don’t know which of these eggs could contain the White Queen. I’m afraid you’ll have to find her yourself.” 

Lay returned to gazing at the eggs, Tokki Tuzi still in his arms. 

“What are you thinking about, tuo?” the bunny asked. 

“I don’t know which egg contains Jae-yah,” Lay replied solemnly, pinching his bottom lip before biting on it. “They all look so beautiful,” he sighed. 

“And pricy, tuo. Look! That one even has diamonds!” exclaimed the white bunny. “Maybe that’s the one?” Lay stared at the eggs, but he shook his head. “You don’t think that the White Queen would be in an egg as beautiful as that? Do you mean to insult her, tuo?” 

“Of course not!” Lay immediate replied. “I know she’s beautiful, but an extravagant-looking egg like that- I don’t know, it doesn’t seem to fit her. Jae-yah is beautiful, without her having to try. She doesn’t need all of these fancy things to appear more beautiful than she already is. That’s why none of these eggs seem right,” he tried to explain, but it made him feel uneasy, since there was a chance that the Red Queen may have hid her in one of the precious eggs after all, just to throw him off. 

Then again, he trusted his instincts more. It was telling him that Jae wouldn’t be inside of a golden egg which was decorated with gemstones. He needed more time, but he knew that there wasn’t much of that left. 

“Jabberwocky-nim,” he then stated, knowing what he had to do. “Can I take all of these eggs back to the Red Palace?” he requested, which had the creature stumped. 

“You want to take my precious eggs to that filthy place? I decline!” he immediately answered, but Lay pouted and kept his feet on the ground. 

“Please? I’ll return them as soon as possible, but I must do this fairly. I have to stand in front of the Queen of Hearts when I make my decision,” he pleaded.

“Why would you want to stand in front of the bloody Red Queen? Just crack all the eggs here, she won’t know!” Chenshire Cat objected, but Lay disapproved of the notion. 

“I can’t do that. I’ll face the Red Queen when I show her where the White Queen is,” he decided bravely. 

“What if you’re wrong and she chops off your head?” Sehun wondered, sipping from his tea. 

“Well, then I’ll won’t have to worry about losing my head anymore after that,” he simply shrugged. “Jabberwocky-nim, please?” he asked and gave a tiny smile when Jabberwocky Kris finally gave him his permission. 

A few moments later, Lay was back at the Red Palace, in the grand throne room, watching the Queen of Hearts look over his collection of eggs in disbelief. She squinted his eyes at him and tutted. “You cheated, didn’t you?” she immediately accused him. “You did, didn’t you? If so, then it’s off with your head!” 

“I didn’t cheat- not really,” Lay replied calmly. “I’m just lucky, that’s all.” 

“Oh? I thought you said your name was Alayce, not Lucky,” Suho questioned unwittingly, and even though it made Lay smile, it caused the Red Queen to roll her eyes. 

“Well then,” the Queen started. “Take your pick. One egg only. If you get it wrong, it’s off with your head, and goodbye White Queen,” she reminded him, her expression signaling absolute mirth. She wore a big, fancy crown, which had caught Lay’s attention. He looked at the eggs before him once more, but his attention was diverted to the crown the Red Queen wore. The jewels were impressive, to say the least, but it was the center, oval stone that caught his eye. Lay had anticipated that the Queen would lie to him and would try to deceive him. He wasn’t wrong. Sending him into the maze to fight her so-called beast and find the eggs had been a ruse. A plan to trick him. She would tell him that he was only allowed to pick the eggs on the table, but Lay had found the one stuck in her crown far more interesting. This was about finding lost things, after all, and he hadn’t found any of the eggs the Jabberwocky had given him. 

He doubted that he would’ve found any at all in the labyrinth, but Lay remembered that was exactly how he found his first egg during the hunt in the forest. The moment when he least expected it, that which was lost had a way of showing up. Sometimes they did so with the help of friends, and other times, it required a massive amount of luck, which Lay wasn’t short on at all. 

Smirking to himself, he hovered his hand over the eggs before slowly, but steadily, pointing at the Red Queen’s crown. 

King Suho and baby panda Tao looked at the crown in curiosity, as did Luhan, the Knave of Hearts. Lay’s friends weren’t there with him, but he knew that they were watching him as well, somewhere- since he could distinctly see swirls of smoke in the air. 

“Excuse you?” the Red Queen piped up, though she started to live up to her name as her face became a horrid red. “What do you think you’re doing, peasant?” 

“You told me to pick an egg. One where the White Queen may be hidden. I choose that one, embedded in your crown,” Lay replied. “It’s a peculiar one, since it doesn’t shine as brightly as the rest of the ornament. I personally think it’s beautiful, but out of place on top of your head.” 

“You can’t choose this one!” the Red Queen exclaimed, her voice pitched. “If you choose this one it’s off with your head!” she yelled. 

“Now, now, my dear, I don’t believe that’s fair. You did tell the boy to choose an egg. You can’t go bending or breaking the rules- we made them to begin with!” Suho commented and Lay knew that he had won when he saw the look of rage on the Queen of Hearts, especially when there was very little she could do when Suho went to grab the crown from her head, while Luhan held her in place. 

“No! No! You can’t do that, it’s not fair! I am your Queen! I will not stand for such blatant-,”

“Be quiet, dear,” Suho interrupted with a bright, slightly unnerving smile. He quickly gave the crown to Lay, accompanied by a wink and stepped back. Luhan was still holding onto the Red Queen to prevent her from running away or trying to Lay when he easily tugged the egg from the crown. 

“Don’t you break that egg,” the bloody Red Queen threatened. “Unless you wish to part from your head,” she hissed, but somehow, her threats had lost its power. Lay held the egg gently in his hands for a moment, only so he could appraise it a while longer. The egg was warm in his hand and sent pleasurable shivers throughout his body- the kind that made him feel reenergized. Lay knew only one person who could make him feel like that. 

“Don’t you dare open that egg!” the Red Queen squealed again, ready to throw a tantrum. Nothing fazed the young man at this point. Lay simply smirked and held out the egg in his hand, looking at the Queen. 

“Do you know why flowers weep when it rains?” he asked with a wide grin that would make Chenshire Cat proud. He arched his eyebrows playfully before he threw the egg onto the ground and the world bathed in a bright, white light. 

The last thing Lay saw was the Red Queen turning a darker shade of crimson as she screamed bloody murder at him opening the egg. After that, the light blinded him, so he closed his eyes tightly, though he could hear a strange poof before all went still. 

It took him some time to adjust when he opened his eyes, because he had never seen the world so vibrant before. Never seen the world so bright and bathing in beautiful light. The throne room had changed. The predominant red was gone, save for the body of the Red Queen which lay haplessly on the floor near Luhan’s feet, who covered it with his cape. Apparently the petulant Queen had screamed her head off. 

“You did it, tuo!” Tokki Tuzi said, jumping in his arms. “You made it in time, tuo!” he said happily. 

“I did?” Lay asked, as he was still getting used to the new surroundings. “What exactly happened?”

“You found the White Queen, of course,” Caterpillar D.O. came into sight once more, but Lay was astonished to see a pair of wings peeking out from behind his back. Even Sehun and Kai seemed different, their raggedy, crazed appearance from before looked far more controlled now. Sophisticated. Kai, especially, seemed a lot less mad. Xiumin, however, didn’t seem to have changed much as he was still sleeping, and neither had Chenshire Cat, who just appeared to be grinning wider. 

“We salute you, Alayce, old friend,” Sehun bowed, as the others followed suit. “It is good to see that the White Knight, after all this time, still doesn’t disappoint.” 

Lay was smiling throughout the whole ordeal, though he would be lying if he didn’t say that he was still confused by everything that had happened. Was it over now? Was he allowed to think about how crazy this whole experience has been?

“Alayce,” a gentle voice called him, and even though it wasn’t the name he hoped she would say, he responded nevertheless, sighing in relief when he saw a beautiful goddess in white approaching him. Her feet were bare so they made no sound on the silver floor. Her silken gown flowed like the wings of an angel in the air as she moved. A pure, white crystal crown graced her head, a beautiful jewel surrounding her ebony hair. So stately and beautiful was this vision, that he promptly fell on one knee to bow to her. 

“Jae-yah,” he called and quickly corrected himself. “I mean, Your Majesty,” he swallowed. Right. I forgot. This isn’t my world. The White Queen isn’t Jae-yah, though she looks so much like her… Lay’s relief was short-lived as he made the realization that this meant that Jae was still lost somewhere- he hadn’t found her at all! 

Startled, Lay got up again, letting out a soft, panicked gasp. He had to find her! There was no more time to waste!

“D-do forgive me, my Queen, but I just realized that I can’t stay here! I have to-to-,” Lay’s jaw dropped in awe as the White Queen moved forward to calm him down, simply by touching his cheek with her soft hand. 

“Do not fear,” she said, her voice a soft lullaby to his ears. “You’ve done very well, my White Knight. It must not have been easy. Thank you for releasing me, for finding me,” she said. “You still don’t have much time, I’m afraid,” she continued with a light chuckle. “The journey is over- for now.”

“O-over? No, you don’t understand, it can’t be over! I’m still looking for my friend- I thought she was you, but you are you and she’s obviously not you, because you’re not her and that is, of course, logical, but it means that my friend, the you who is not you, is still lost!” Lay explained, wondering why the White Queen and his new friends had started laughing. 

“It seems to me that you’ve been in Wonderland long enough, Alayce,” the White Queen smiled. 

“Yes, who would’ve thought you’d speak like a native so quickly! Bravo!” Sehun clapped under the amused laughter of the others. 

Lay shook his head, failing to see what was so amusing. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand, but I have to go,” he stated. 

“That, I fear, is very true,” the White Queen said with a nod as she caressed his cheek. “There’s still much you have to do, like finding out why flowers weep when it rains,” the White Queen mused with a smile. 

“This time do not take forever to come back to tell us once you’ve found the answer, Alayce,” Hatter Sehun reprimanded, though he smiled as well. 

“I’m- I’m leaving?” Lay asked, still a little lost himself. His new friends chuckled at this and bowed before him as a sign of greeting. Lay turned towards the White Queen in a panic, but felt all of that wash away the moment she cupped his face and placed a tender kiss on his forehead. 

“Thank you,” she whispered to him. “And remember us, Alayce.” 

Lay felt the world slip between his fingers at that moment, as the voice of the White Queen echoed somewhere in a very distant place. He was still vaguely aware of Tokki Tuzi staring at him. 

“We…haven’t changed your name yet,” Lay mumbled. Why am I so sleepy?

Don’t worry. You gave me that name. I’d like to keep it, tuo…

Alayce…

Remember us…

Alayce, Layce…

“Lay?” a soft voice called from the light. “Lay? Hey, wake up,” a gentle touch to his shoulder, shaking him. Lay blinked his eyes rapidly until his blurred vision sharpened. At first he wondered what an angel would be doing on earth to stare at him, until it clicked inside his brain that he was staring at Jae. She looked concerned as she reached out to touch his cheek. 

“Are you okay? Everyone was so worried for you!” she told him, quickly helping him up when he attempted to sit up. Jae got rid of the twigs and leaves in his hair, brushing the dirt off his shirt. Lay let her fuss over him as he took a second to appraise her, processing everything that had happened to him so far. He glanced around him and found himself still in the clearing he was before, but this time, when he turned around to look at the strange egg-tree, it had disappeared. 

Of course it had…typical…

“Jae-yah,” he then called, stopping her so he could look at her. “Is it really you?” he asked and Jae chuckled. 

“No, it’s the Easter Bunny,” she slapped him playfully on the shoulder. “Of course it’s me, silly!” 

Lay laughed in relief at this and quickly embraced her before she could do anything else. “Thank goodness, you’re safe!” he mumbled against the nape of her neck as he buried his face there, taking in her warmth, her jasmine scent. 

“Of course I’m safe- did you hit your head or something? Should I try and heal it?” she offered, but Lay shook his head, refusing to let go. 

“I looked everywhere for you,” he whispered and this made her chuckle again as she leaned deeper into his embrace. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry anyone,” she started explaining. “I got a little lost, I admit, but I found the safe zone eventually. Suho and Kris were still there so when they saw me, we contacted everyone to gather since I wasn’t lost after all.” Jae pulled away ever so gently, but Lay was still reluctant to let her go. “But when you didn’t show up, everyone got so concerned. We’ve been looking for you for over an hour. How did you even get to this place? Lay,” she breathed, “what happened?” 

Lay ran a hand through his hair, trying to find a way to explain. However, as he briefly let his eyes scan the area, his gaze falls upon an inanimate Tokki Tuzi nearby. He stared at the plushie a little longer and only smiled as he saw it wink at him one final time before it became no more than just a toy bunny rabbit. 

Lay scratched his head and started laughing, before making a flower grow near his hand and plucking it, so that he could put it behind Jae’s ear. “Jae-yah, do you know why flowers weep when it rains?” he asked, smiling at her while biting down on his bottom lip. 

Jae frowned at him, shaking her head. “Why flowers weep- I don’t know. That doesn’t make sense. Flowers like water, so they shouldn’t weep, right?” she indulged him, while worriedly scanning his head for injuries. Lay still laughed though. 

“Nope. Wrong,” he stated, leaning forward. “They weep because the rain tells them that you’re not there. They’re happy when the sun shines, because you bring light wherever you go, like a White Queen,” he smiled mostly to himself when Jae regarded him questioningly before ruffling his hair. 

“Okay then, I think someone fell harder on his noggin than initially thought,” she stated, getting up and helping him rise too. “Let’s get you back to the others, okay?”

“Nae,” he sang, grabbing Tokki Tuzi from the ground as well. “Did you find any eggs, Jae-yah?”

“Not really, I’m hopeless at finding things. Give me stuff to lose, now that I can do with ease.”

“Really? Me too!” 

Lay and Jae moved further and further away from the clearing. Neither of them could have known nor seen the grinning face of certain cat as he happily watched them walk together, side by side before disappearing as well.