Wonderland

Cricket Game

My spirit is sinking like a ship's been wrecked

Old history repeating trying to forget

Waves are crashing up against me now

Make it out of here some way, somehow

Despite all of their similarities, Felix and Alice were always at odds. Felix was the second-in-command and an enforcer, Alice was a free spirit. She didn't like listening to all of Felix's rules, she found so many of them to be obnoxious. She wasn't an idiot, though, she knew which ones to follow and how to stay on the line just so in order to not get on Pan's bad side. If anything their fearless leader enjoyed watching their verbal battles, but he knew something needed to change.

Alice was becoming so much more instrumental in the life of the Lost Boys. She tended to them, frolicked with them, danced around the fire and it made Pan's chest flicker with something. He needed them to be able to work together. He could see how they could bring about chaos so beautifully together. Alice was a raging wildfire and Felix was the storm beside her, to have both powerful beings agreeable at his side would be good for Pan. There would be no one like Aylen who could rise against him again.

And so he put a plan in place.

~**~

If there was one thing Alice loved, it was a party. And not those awful functions her governess called parties! It was a constant barrage of keep your back straight, Alice! A lady should be seen and not heard, Alice! Stop picking at your dress, Alice! If you sneak one more biscuit to the Rutherford's dog I'll drown you in the fountain, Alice! And there were certainly times Alice wished the old crone would finally cave in and drown her lest she heard one more story from Arthur Rutherford about his successful cricket match against John Croft! Everyone knew John Croft only played cricket because Anne thought he looked handsome while playing and didn't know a single thing about the game! It certainly wasn't a feat - not like watching the Red Queen use a dodo bird to take a swing at a hedgehog. Now that was cricket!

Now the party at Granny's diner wasn't as stuffy as those old garden parties, but it also wasn't as messy as a tea party back in Underland, nor as deadly as they could get in Neverland - someone was always dared to do something stupid and forgot to bring waterfall water. It resembled a get-together she had been to before the curse was lifted, but it also had a touch of what Alice believed was Enchanted Forest-esque. It was loud and jolly, the noise creating a lively buzz around the room. Nearly everyone in Storybrooke had filtered through at least once and Alice was pleased to see her raspberry and cream cupcakes were a rather big hit.

She held her glass of lemonade delicately in one hand, the other mindlessly stirring with the spring of mint leaves at the top. Her eyes flickered, watching and waiting. Alice wasn't public enemy No. 1, but she certainly wasn't sought out for a chat by any of the townspeople. She could almost smell their unease as they avoided the corner she had stationed herself at. Rumors had been flying all over town about what had happened, but Alice had found it was grossly exaggerated and nearly entirely false, Regina's good deed had gone ignored and Ruby was very obviously avoiding Alice.

No good deed, Alice snickered to herself, Oh the delicious irony.

"I just wanted to, uh, thank you all for joining us tonight," David spoke up, the chatter dying down to listen to the prince, " Mary Margaret and I – we have a saying... That we will always find each other. And, while I believe that with all my heart, I'd like you all to raise your glasses and join me when I say... Here's to not having to look for a while. To Mary Margaret and Emma!"