“YOU WERE MARRIED?”

Mary Ann felt her entire body stiffen and cursed that she had ever opened her damn mouth to the caterpillar.

“It was a long time ago, Alice,” Mary Ann didn’t meet her friend’s eyes as she answered hoping that perhaps it would go away.

Alice waited for a moment knowing how much Mary Ann hated the silence and sure enough the other woman broke after a few tense moments. Mary Ann heaved a big sigh and pushed the maps into Jolly’s hands with instructions for him to take over the wheel.

“Come out here for a moment, would you?” Mary Ann motioned for Alice to join her out on the deck of the airship. With the wind whipping by them it seemed the safest place to talk where their conversation wouldn’t be overheard.

“I didn’t mean to pry,” Alice made a face, “Actually I completely meant to pry. Mary Ann, how could I know you for all of these years and not know that you were married? Goodness, Harry never said anything to me either. I feel totally thrown off base.”

Mary Ann made a face, “Harry didn’t approve of my relationship. I didn’t hide my marriage from you Alice. But I never made the effort of telling you about it either. Some things are just hard to talk about.”

Alice placed her hand on the freckled arm of her friend, “Mary Ann, if you really don’t want to tell me you don’t have to.”

“I know,” Mary Ann offered a ghost of a smile, “But I want to. I should have a long time ago. I was young, and Bill was working for Harry underneath the Red Queen. We married right before Harry got Jay captured and I didn’t know you then, not well anyway. Bill and I fell in love, but Harry was angry and wouldn’t listen to reason. He was furious that I could love a common man.”

Alice shook her head, “But Harry is your brother, Mary Ann. Surely, he got over it?”

Mary Ann shrugged and looked out over the horizon, “Harry was different then—more self-important in a lot of ways. I think he loved the idea of being important more than he should have. He was always so proud to work for the Red Queen. I think that the power she wielded drew him in. I love my brother, Alice. But I am not blind to his faults.”

Alice felt the sadness radiating from Mary Ann and wished that there was something that she could do. Harry had made mistakes in the past, some of them apparently were grave. Alice had a bad feeling about Harry’s part in Mary Ann’s short marriage.

“Bill and I eloped, we ran away to the White Court and were married. Shortly after we set up house, Harry had snuck off and lured the Jabberwocky into captivity. The Red Queen was overjoyed, and Harry felt like he was king of the world. There wasn’t as much known about Jay and his brother at the time. The Red Queen didn’t like the thought of the Jabberwocky having more power than the crown. The main objective was to make the Jabberwocky serve the Red Queen. That way she could defeat her sister the White Queen and rule all of Wonderland.”

“And Harry was a part of that?” Alice asked softly.

Mary Ann nodded, “Bill and I had been together for a few weeks when Harry placed Bill as the guard for the Jay. I think that Harry wanted to show me that he was better than my husband and that he could order Bill to do anything that he wanted to. The Jabberwocky hadn’t taken well to captivity. He wasn’t as malleable as they had hopes and was starting to show signs of madness.”

Alice felt sick inside. She had heard terrible stories about how deadly the Jabberwocky could be in a full rage.

“Bill must have been careless, perhaps rushing back to me,” Mary Ann continued, lost in the memories now. “He forgot to lock one of the enclosures. There were several between Jay and the main gates. Bill remembered before he left the prison and went back to check the lock on the inside door. A ball of fire hit Bill before he could latch the final gate.”

Alice drew a harsh breath, “Jay killed him?”

A million things were running through her mind and none of them good. How could this have happened? Why didn’t she know? Why did Harry get her involved in all of this?

Mary Ann swallowed and turned to look at Alice, “No.”

“But you just said?” Alice broke off confused.

“I do not think that Jay had control of the beast at that point. I don’t even know if he remembers what happened. But even if he had, Jay was fighting for his life and his freedom, I cannot fault him for that. I wanted to. Fuck, I wanted to hate him as much as I hated Harry at the time.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Alice responded hoarsely.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Mary Ann wiped a tear from her eyes and leaned against the railing. “I think that was the turning point for Harry. I was heartbroken and refused to speak with him. I told him that he was just as responsible for Bill’s death as the Jabberwocky was. If Harry hadn’t been serving that evil queen, he never would have imprisoned the Jabberwocky in the first place. How do you blame an innocent animal that was imprisoned who lashed out? I was angry at Harry. Hell, I was angry at Bill. And yes, for a time I was angry at the Jabberwocky.”

Alice wrapped an arm around her friend and Mary Ann placed her head on Alice’s shoulder. For a moment the two women were silent with their thoughts. They made a lovely picture, one a bit taller with bright red hair and the short curvy dark-haired Alice with her arm wrapped around Mary Ann.

“I awoke on morning and told Harry that the only way I would forgive him is if he freed the Jabberwocky and stopped working for the Red Queen,” Mary Ann tilted her head, “And he came and found you to help him.”

“Does Jay know?” Alice asked, dreading the answer. “Does he know that he owes his life to you?”

Mary Ann shrugged, “He doesn’t owe me any more than he owes you or Harry. We all played different parts of Jay’s rescue. I had to learn to let my anger for him go. That was a large part why I didn’t go with you and Harry on the mission. I wasn’t ready to face him yet.”

Alice felt horrible, knowing that she had brought the very man that had killed Mary Ann’s husband onto the airship.

Mary Ann seemed to sense Alice’s dismay, “Don’t Alice, please don’t feel bad for anything that happened. I am not angry with Jay any longer. Harry told me that Jay has spent the last ten years learning to control the beast. Jay didn’t know who it was that he killed that night, but he knew that he had to learn to master the madness before it mastered him. I knew all of this before I accepted this mission.”

“How can you stand there so calmly then?” Alice felt her heart clenching, “I want to kill your brother, and I am not sure how I feel about Jay’s involvement in all of this.”

“Before you judge him too harshly you should know that one of the biggest reasons Jay stayed away from you after the rescue ten years ago was because he thought the madness would return and that he would hurt you. Harry said that Jay had him lock him up on that island of theirs for weeks, months even, just so Jay could learn how to control himself when he was Jabberwocky in captivity.”

Alice shook from all the things that she had learned. What Mary Ann had told her made sense. Alice couldn’t understand why he had kept away from her all those years. But if Jay thought that he was protecting her, he would do anything. Even if that meant protecting Alice from himself.

She felt angry and hurt for Mary Ann. Her heart ached for everything that Jay had endured on her behalf. Alice wanted to scream into the night, hit something until it bled, and then cry until there wasn’t another tear inside of her body.

It was Mary Ann’s turn to comfort her friend, “Go to him, Alice. Ask Jay if it is the truth. He will tell you. I know that you have grown close these past weeks. But from what Harry has said to me Jay has always had feelings for you. In fact, he refused to even take on this mission unless you were a part of it.”

Alice hugged Mary Ann close and whispered in her ear, “You are the bravest woman I have ever known. Thank you for being a friend to not only me but thank you for saving Jay. I know that he wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you.”

Mary Ann squeezed her back, “Go now my friend, and see if he still holds your heart.” Alice pulled back in surprise and Mary Ann laughed at her expression, “I may be a bit flighty, but I can see when two people are falling in love.”

“Who said anything about love?” Alice demanded, but deep in her heart she knew that Mary Ann was right.