AN: *Sobs uncontrollably* Oh God you guys, this is it. This is the end! I never imagined I would actually finish this thing! I mean, I knew I always wanted to, but in the beginning, I honestly had no idea where this story was going to go. I had this ending in mind since chapter two, but most of the middle was a complete mystery to me, so it's great that it all worked out famously in the end.

Hopefully you guys will enjoy the finale. It turned out much longer than I expected.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians or Alice: Madness Returns.

I believe in the lost possibilities you can see
And I believe that the darkness reminds us where light can be
I know that your heart is still beating, beating darling
I believe that you fell so you can land next to me

I believe ~ Christina Perri

Because of the delays brought on by the Dollmaker's siege, North's annual Christmas Eve party had to be cancelled.

North has held a Christmas party every year for centuries, as far back as before becoming a guardian. It was the highlight of the winter season for every spirit, regardless if they actually celebrated the yuletide holiday. The Russian always threw the biggest, most extravagant parties in the spirit community. There was music and dancing, gifts and great company, free food and copious amounts of alcohol. The community was both disappointed and shocked to receive the announcements of the cancellation, some even going as far as to show up at Santoff Claussen to express their concern, or in some cases, contempt.

As much as it pained the Christmas spirit, it had to be done. The delays had taken up too much time. No matter how hard they worked, the yetis simply couldn't reach their toy quota and set up such a big party all at the same time. North was the most broken up about the cancellation than anybody, being the traditionalist that he was. He didn't like disappointing people, especially during his holiday season.

However, to make up for the cancellation, they changed the Christmas party to a New Years party and doubled the event by also making it Alice's guardianship party.

New Years was usually celebrated quietly by the guardians, consisting of a beautifully set dinner party and quality time spent as a group, enjoying each others company until the midnight countdown where they would warmly welcome the new year with bright smiles and a joyful toast. North has held New Years parties before, on special occasions if something else worth celebrating came up, but that wasn't often. He allowed the holiday to be one of relaxation for both him, and his workers. A well-earned gift for everybody after pulling off yet another successful Christmas.

Alice becoming a guardian was certainly a special enough occasion to warrant a party. She protested, of course, but then again, so did all the new guardians before her, and she was no more likely to be listened to than they were. Jack felt really sorry for her this time, because unlike the other guardianship parties Santoff Claussen has held in the past, Alice's turned out be the biggest, by far. Granted, Jack wouldn't really know since he had only ever attended his own guardianship party, but Tooth said as much. The ballroom was absolutely packed with spirits, almost to the point of being overcrowded. It was almost unbelievable how much attention Alice was getting.

When Jack had been christened as the fifth guardian, North also threw a party in his honor. It took place not long after Easter and the big guy did everything he could to make it an event the entire spirit world would remember for centuries to come. He had set the bar a little too high in Jack's opinion, but the party turned out great, all things considered, and he actually had a really good time despite feeling a bit uncomfortable by the idea of having a giant party dedicated to just him, Jack Frost. His party was nowhere near as big as Alice's, though. Not nearly as many spirits showed up and even less spoke to him beyond a polite congratulations (not that he was too brokenhearted about it, mind you).

It was understandable. Yes, Jack had helped defeat Pitch Black, helped the guardians save the children, and became the new guardian almost all in one day, and that was always a cause to celebrate in the spirit community, but throughout his long life, Jack had already encountered nearly all the attending spirits beforehand. They already knew who he was and what his job as a seasonal spirit was. In the grand scheme of things, nothing had really changed when he became a guardian, not for anyone outside the guardian fold. To them, he had just been given a flashy new title and entourage - albeit a very important title and a very powerful entourage. Underneath it all, he was still the same old Jack Frost, shepherd of winter and notorious trickster. Which was exactly how he liked it, thank you very much.

Alice, on the other hand, was a completely different story.

Alice was like a shiny new toy.

Three months ago, nobody except the Easter Bunny knew her. They knew of her, obviously. Through gossip, old London fables, and Carroll's books (those of them who actually bothered to read them), but nobody knew her personally.

In a realm where nearly everyone had an immortal life span, repetitiveness could be absolute torture. Centuries could go by on the mortal plane where the entire world could shift and change, millions of mortal lives could be altered drastically in a single moment's notice, but on the spirit plane? Things could go a good five hundred years, easily, without there being a single, significant change in the community. So needless to say, new spirits were always a big deal because they meant something new, a fresh face - the new kid in school.

However, since Alice retreated into her Wonderland soon after becoming a spirit, nobody really had the chance to interact with her. With the exception of the Easter Bunny, of course, but he wasn't known to be much of a gossip, so there was never much point in trying to goad him into spilling something interesting about her.

The fact that she was still a relatively new spirit was more than enough to guarantee a decent crowd at her party, but if Alice's reclusive nature somehow wasn't enough to book a full house, the mystery surrounding her Wonderland, and the true extent of just how powerful the young woman was (something that Jack doubted even Alice knew), was definitely enough to entice them into attending a formal gathering at Santoff Claussen. If only to just sneak a peek at the mysterious, dark-haired beauty before stuffing their pockets with popcorn shrimp and returning to their domains.

It certainly made a bigger impact when North had spent weeks boastfully talking the woman up with tales of her "subconscious face-off with the king of nightmares!" and her "epic triumph over the monstrous Dollmaker!" to anybody who would listen. That was just icing on the proverbial cake. North's New Years party had a gripping headline, "Alice Liddell", and it went beyond the desired effect. Everybody wanted to meet her and everybody wanted to talk to her.

The party had started almost three hours ago and Jack had yet to see the guest of honor.

He roamed the bright ballroom floor, cladded in a light blue dress shirt and a black suit jacket with a lazily knotted tie hanging around his neck that North forced him to wear. The Russian had taken one look at him when he arrived in the ballroom to help put up last-minute decorations and immediately threw him out of the room, literally. He picked up the scrawny teen with his big, tattooed arms and tossed him to Phil the yeti, who then carried a displeased Jack Frost to his guest room under the orders from his boss to find the winter spirit more suitable attire for the party. After an hour of squirming and yelling, in both English and Yetish, he agreed to wear the jacket and tie ensemble. Not being able to resist keeping his own touch to his laid back fashion sense, both layers hung untucked over his brown trousers and his feet were as bare as ever. The grumpy yeti put up a good fight to get him into presentable footwear, but Jack had his limits.

Baby Tooth hovered around his head as he surveyed the ballroom, enjoying a small piece of chocolate muffin Jack had broken off for her when they passed by the food tables. She chirped happily between bites as the sweet taste of milk chocolate melted on her tongue. Mother Tooth didn't usually allow her and her sisters to eat sugary snacks because sugar caused cavities and made mini fairies more hyperactive than they already were. Tooth liked to play up the misconception that Baby Teeth went crazy whenever they ate sugar, but everybody knew it was really Tooth herself that couldn't handle her sugar. She could be worse than North's elves if given the chance, a weakness that she was deeply embarrassed of. So to avoid temptation, Tooth forbid any fairies from eating sugar. Baby Tooth savored the times when Jack would feed her something sweet to eat if he knows he can get away with it.

For the first half of the party, the Sandman floated next to Jack as he walked around the ballroom, wearing a snazzy tuxedo made out of dreamsand. They kept each other company for most of the evening, but the golden spirit eventually lagged behind when they passed the buffet tables. Without so much as a wave goodbye, he floated off to hover around the cluster of tables, eyeing the bountiful selection with glee and greedy little hands.

North was all over the place, as he usually was during his parties. When the party started, he was by the front doors of the ballroom in his perfectly tailored, black and red tuxedo with gold accents, bowing respectfully and greeting his guests with flourished enthusiasm, welcoming them all just as warmly as he would members of his family. Twenty minutes later, Jack spotted him near the front of the ballroom, directing the yetis as they set up the entertainment for the night. Then, he would be by the refreshments, chatting up Cupid and the Groundhog over a cup of eggnog, which would then be followed by a quick trip to the little spirit's room before getting back on the dance floor to try and coax some of the stiffer spirits into starting a conga line.

The last time Jack saw the Russian he was standing by the moon-shaped ice sculpture near the center of the ballroom, where the elves climbed the crystal chandeliers with the food they had stolen from the buffet tables. The winter spirit caught a glimpse of the man standing near the base of sculpture with one hand planted firmly on his hip and the other turned upwards, pointing a thick finger at the mischievous creatures swinging back and forth above his head with frosted cookies and bread rolls hanging from their mouths. He had a stern look on his seasoned face, with his salt-and-pepper eyebrows knotted and his mouth twisted into a tight frown.

As for their team mascot, Jack hadn't seen Bunnymund since the party started. He suspected he was with Alice, or at least in close proximity of her, standing nearby with crossed arms and a hardened expression as he waited to step in just in case one of the spirits crowded around Alice decided to get too close for his liking. The pooka was never much for parties, only attending North's because they were close friends and he would do anything that the Christmas spirit asked of him (within reason, of course), but obviously he had more of a reason to stick around this party than he did any other.

Tooth chatted adamantly with a group of female spirits, most of which Jack was able to recognize. She hovered inches above the ground, laughing and smiling along with her companions as they held glasses of champagne. The pretty jewelry that she had chosen to wear that evening, sparkled beautifully in the light of ballroom, highlighting the many colorful hues in her feathers. It was nice to see Toothiana finally smiling again. Second to only Alice, Bunny's kidnapping had devastated her the most out of all the guardians, especially since she had been the one to witness it. When they brought the pooka back to the pole, there was hardly ever a time where Tooth wasn't by his side, acting as his diligent nurse. So it was a relief to see her being her old, cheerful self, talking and laughing with friends without a care in the world.

It was rare that the fairy queen got to converse with her fellow gender without there being some higher conflict calling them all together. With both her hectic job as the Tooth Fairy and the fact that female spirits tended to be scarce in their world, it was hard to schedule proper bonding time with the girls. She had her baby teeth to keep her company, of course, but on a lot of levels, that was basically just Tooth interacting with herself - the mini fairies only being direct, smaller extensions of their "mother".

Jack supposed it must feel nice to be among one's own demographic every once in a while, especially since the male to female ratio in the spirit community leaned almost heavily in favor of the males. Granted, Tooth now had Alice to bond with, but there wasn't going to be any quality time between them tonight. Not while the dark-haired spirit was being bombarded by every nosy spirit with a lack of personal space and a functioning mouth.

And if that wasn't unfortunate enough for the fairy queen, on more than one occasion, Jack spotted the bony, black and grey figure of the Cheshire Cat. He was lurking about the ballroom, watching the party guests without their knowledge and disappearing into thin air whenever they sensed his piercing gaze on the back of their heads and turned to look behind them. It would be a little early to say that the Cheshire Cat's presence was now commonplace in Santoff Claussen since Jack doubted North was even aware of the creature prowling around his domain half of the time, but the Wonderlander made it a habit of following Alice whenever she left Wonderland, mainly because he enjoyed being the only one of her creations allowed to leave (not that he would sought Alice's permission otherwise).

Cheshire's presence was unfortunate for Tooth because the grinning feline had apparently developed a strange fascination with following her around. Not her "appetizing" mini fairies. Just her - much to the fairy queen's horror.

She tried to get him to leave her alone many, many times because, quite frankly, he was very disturbing and nobody wanted him around. She got desperate enough to threaten him with both a sword, and a spray bottle, but he never stayed away for long. Alice suspected he enjoyed making cat and canary puns and fancied making her uncomfortable, but who really knew with that demented bag of bones?

After another twenty minutes of wandering aimlessly, trying to find a break in the crowd he could maybe slip through and see if Alice was still alive and not trampled on by North's party guests, Jack was spared the effort when he spotted her standing towards the back of the ballroom near the pyramid of champagne glasses, surprisingly alone.

Seizing the opportunity, Jack squared his shoulders and made his way towards her with a slight skip in his step. As he drew closer, his eyes eagerly took in how pretty she looked that evening.

She had a gold poinsettia in her dark hair, pinned to the side of the elegant up-do it was styled in that left a few strands hanging against her forehead. The flower went nicely with the dark red color of her party dress and the green of her eyes. The dress had thin straps and stopped a few inches above her knees with a satin ribbon wrapped around her waist and tied into a bow against the small of her back. It was more modern than her usual dresses and Jack suspected North had one of his tailor yetis make it for her. The only thing that threw off the North Pole color scheme of her outfit were the black flats she wore on her small feet, but since her cream-colored legs were completely bare of her usual striped stockings and boots, Jack barely took notice. She had gorgeous legs. He had to look away before she caught him staring.

Her silver omega necklace hung around her neck, gleaming in the light of the ballroom as she held a glass of white champagne against her lips, titling her head back slightly and sipping the bubbly beverage. She didn't move or lower her glass when he came to stand next to her, but he saw her eyes flicker to the side, glancing at him briefly before looking forward again.

"Some turn-out, huh?"

"I've seen dead carcasses with less buzzards flocking around them," She replied dryly as she lowered her glass.

Jack snickered as he turned to watch the dancing spirits in front of them. Spirits of all shapes, sizes, races, and species, twirled along the ballroom floor, moving in perfect time with the small orchestra of yetis. The workshop workers played their instruments in surprising harmony for such large, burly creatures, pulling off impressive pieces of classical music that Jack didn't think they were capable of. It made him wonder just how they spent their toy-making downtime.

Alice stood silently next to him, watching the dancing couples enjoy themselves. Her eyes followed the hypnotic motion of the females' dresses, flaring out every time their partners spun them on queue with the music. It was clear that everybody was enjoying themselves that evening, even if there was less elbow space than usual. North had once again pulled off another successful soiree.

Able to observe the merry festivities without being harassed by cumbersome spirits, the young woman was relieved to have finally gotten a moment to herself, covertly slipping towards the back of the ballroom and away from the fray of partygoers the first chance she got. Regardless of how beautiful and extravagant the decorations and guests were, Alice wasn't feeling comfortable with all the attention. The spirits, though friendly and polite, were too keen on asking her an endless amount of questions, most of which revolved around her Wonderland. Asking how she built it, how long did it take, what kind of creatures resided there, could she create anything right now, and more importantly, when was she going to let people inside? (Possibly the easiest question out of the entire lot. Never.)

If given the chance, the questions would probably go on all night unless she found some reason to excuse herself.

Thankfully though, after noticing her little predicament, North swooped in like the spectacular force of nature that he was and instantly drew the crowd's attention towards him. He started in with one of his adventurous stories, speaking passionately with his booming voice and waving arms, all the while gesturing sharply behind his back for Alice to make her escape. She found herself wishing she had her ability to shrink in the real world. Slipping through the legs of the party guests without being noticed was a tighter fit than squeezing through the smallest Wonderland keyhole.

It was all a bit overwhelming, and despite outward appearances, when she spotted the familiar puff of white hair coming towards her in her peripheral vision, she felt a sense of ease and calmness that she hadn't felt since before the party started. Since before the whole blasted day, even.

After her guardian ceremony, Alice lingered about Santoff Claussen, pitching in whenever she had the opportunity. She still felt bad about causing all the delays even though North told her repeatedly not to worry about it, so she did what she could to help out. Other than that, she squeezed in a few trips to Wonderland to check in on things. The last few months have been rather uneventful for her.

For Jack, he had been very busy. So busy, Alice hadn't actually seen him since before North's Thanksgiving dinner. She hadn't realized what exactly Jack's job as a seasonal spirit entailed until winter finally rolled around and the ice spirit disembarked on his journey around the world to shepherd his season. He told her before leaving that he would be busy with his snow and blizzards and that she probably wouldn't see him for a while, but at the time she hadn't really taken him seriously, mainly because he told her in that devil-may-care attitude of his. She was proven wrong, obviously, when a few weeks went by and she hadn't seen a single glimpse of him around North's workshop.

Not that she would ever admit it out loud, but the usually hectic and lively atmosphere of the workshop didn't seem quite as...luminous as she had come to known it while Jack was away.

The yetis still hammered away at their stations, the air still smelled sweetly of peppermint and wet craft paint, the elves still followed her around with cookies and gifts in their hands, and the whirling sound of churning machinery still filled her ears. However, despite the North Pole being the most wondrous place on the Northern hemisphere, it just seemed like any other ordinary factory when there wasn't a young, impish spirit causing trouble, jumping along the workshop table tops like a game of hopscotch, test driving the latest toys and filling the air with carefree laughter more uplifting than the tiny pieces of gold and silver confetti that rained down from above.

Alice would've found the absence somewhat upsetting, and even a little frustrating, if it wasn't for all the volunteer work she took on to distract herself from the possibility that she might be missing someone for the first time ever, who wasn't Bunny or her family. Still though, more than once, she felt her fingers twitch ever-so-slightly whenever she went into North's office and saw the shelf where he kept his snowglobes. Never one to admit feeling anything sentimental, even within the privacy of her own head, Alice would push away the ridiculous idea of perhaps traveling to the town of Burgess, Jack's soft spot, and seeing if she could catch a glimpse of the winter spirit in the sky, dancing in the blowing winds and among the snowflakes.

Unwelcomed thoughts of the winter spirit plagued her mind throughout the season, some of which weren't all that flattering the more he invaded her mind. It went well into Christmas, making her absentminded in the workshop and even a bit clumsy. She had ruined perfectly good dollhouses by painting the roofs the wrong color and stuck her thumb with a sewing needle more than enough times to teach her a lesson before the yetis got too frustrated with her and North reassigned her to gift wrapping with Bunny and the Sandman. Bunny, of course, noticed what was going on, but one pointed glare had the pooka thinking twice about commenting. He did, however, smirked behind a paw when he thought she wasn't looking.

It was all more than a little bothersome, and it had Alice slowly stewing in anger for weeks. It had gotten to the point where she wanted to snap at the winter spirit for being so annoying, and he wasn't even there!

Even now, thinking back on it, Alice felt her grip around her champagne glass tighten for no real reason while Jack stood next to her, completely oblivious to her souring expression. They must've looked quite the pair, standing side by side with him bobbing his head gently to the music and tapping his foot while she stood rigid with a frown, one hand on her hip and ready to start tapping her own foot in irritation.

It wasn't so much as Jack himself that grated her nerves, but the fact that he hadn't been gone very long and she had still noticed the gap he left behind. It irked her that it had irked her in the first place when it really shouldn't have. She was really her own fault, though. She was so emotionally stunted that she couldn't admit it to herself that she had missed Jack while he was away, so it left her running around in circles in her own bloody head.

"You okay?" He asked suddenly, pulling Alice from her thoughts. He had finally noticed her pinched up expression and worried that something was wrong.

To avoid picking a pointless fight as a way of emotional self-defense, she just gave him a tight-lipped smile and nodded her head dismissively.

Jack gave her a funny look, not buying it for a second, but to avoid the fight he knew Alice would pick as a way of friendly communication, he decided not to pry. He looked back towards the dance floor and felt his stomach bubble nervously when an idea popped into his head. He glanced up at Baby Tooth, who quirked her head to the side curiously when he started gnawing on his bottom lip. He mulled over the idea for a few more seconds before throwing caution to the wind and turning towards Alice again.

"Dance with me?"

She blinked at him as he looked at her through his snow-white bangs. "Pardon?"

"Do you want to dance with me?" He asked again before he could chicken out.

Her green gaze flickered towards the dance floor, her pupils widening in something akin to apprehension before she looked back at him. Dancing? Good lord, when was the last time she did that?

"I haven't danced since I was a child," She replied out loud.

It wasn't a "yes" and it wasn't a "no", but the fact that she hadn't flat out rejected him, like she probably would've done a few months ago, really meant something between them and Jack felt his stomach unwind a little. He smiled coyly at her.

"Come on, it's like riding a bicycle. You never really forget."

"I've never ridden a bicycle before."

"Well that's a relief. Neither have I."

She let out a huff. "I'm being serious. I'll step on your toes."

"So am I," He insisted, unconvincingly. "And I'm a big boy. I can handle it."

"I'm not so sure," She argued. "You're bare footed and I'm wearing shoes. That raises the ante a notch."

"Then I'll ask North for some shoes," He argued right back as he prodded his staff up against a nearby pillar and held his free hand out to her.

Baby Tooth stared at Jack bug-eyed and shocked, her jaw dropping open at her friend's words.

Did her tiny ears deceive her? First, Jack puts on a scratchy dress shirt and jacket to attend some stuffy party that was unwanted by most of its attendees, including the guest of honor. Then, he lets his guard down enough to set aside his beloved staff, which was definitely a very uncharacteristic move for the ice spirit. And now, he's offering to subject himself to the torture of footwear just so the dark-haired harpy could insult his dancing skills? If that wasn't a true testament to how much things had changed, Baby Tooth didn't know what was.

"Well aren't you the gentleman tonight," Alice smirked.

Feeling brave, Jack snatched up one of Alice's hands and placed a chaste, cold kiss on her knuckles and bowed gentlemanly in a melodramatic fashion. The smirk fell right off her face as a harsh chill that had nothing to do with the coldness of his skin ran down her spine. She tried to muster up a glare to chastise him for his forwardness, but Jack only gripped her hand tighter and gave her that off-kilter smirk of his.

"I have my moments."

Alice barely had time to place her champagne glass back on the table behind her before Jack pulled her towards the dance floor. He weaved effortlessly between the spirits already on the floor while Alice struggled not to stumble behind him. He guided them right to the center of the floor and gracefully turned on his heel to face her just as the yeti band began to play a new song. The winter spirit held up his hands, silently prompting Alice to step closer. She spared him an uncertain look as she moved to place one hand in his and the other on his shoulder. She expected to feel his cool palm on her hip, through the material of her dress, but was startled when he wrapped his whole arm around her waist instead and pulled her body into his until there was barely an inch between them.

The song was slow and melodic with an easy rhythm to follow, perfect for someone as out of practice as Alice. Her nose twisted up in mild contempt as Jack did most of the leading. She had to remind herself that was how dancing was supposed to be, male leading female, but the notion still bothered her anyways. More than once she caught herself looking down at her feet, trying to fall in step with Jack. She tried to remember how she was supposed to move. When she was young, Nanny had taught her and Lizzie how to dance, but just like with the piano, Alice was an absolute mess at it. She was always tripping over the skirt of her dresses and stepping on her partner's feet.

She stepped on Jack's foot, but only once. He had seen the misstep coming and moved his foot so she only got the very tips of his toes. He corrected the both of them without missing a beat before looking at Alice's face to see a look of pure frustration building there.

"Would you just relax?" Jack laughed, feeling the dark-haired spirit tighten her grip on him when he moved to turn them in time with the crowd. "We're not auditioning for the Russian ballet here."

It was funny watching Alice struggle so hard with something, especially since there was hardly ever a time where she looked completely out of her depth, but she wasn't looking at him, and he wanted her to look at him. He wanted her eyes on his, not the floor. He wanted to know what she was thinking and the eyes tended to be more honest, where as the mouth could be crude, blunt, and annoyingly inarticulate. Jack had come to learn that Alice's emerald eyes were the most expressive part of her and they rarely lied.

"Here," He finally said. "Just listen to me, for once in your life."

He started counting their steps in the classic "one-two-three-one-two-three" pattern that his mother had used to teach him so he could find a sense of balance, back when he first became a gangling teenager, still growing into his long, bony limbs. He smiled at the memory, thinking back on a time where there was almost no grace in his movements, where he would stumble around like a newborn deer when he hit his first growth spurt at the age of thirteen. His mother told him dancing would teach him good posture and steady footing. She also said, teasingly, that the skill might someday ensnare a pretty partner for him to dip and twirl, but still being the immature kid ("girls are gross, Ma!") that he was at the time, he only laughed at the silly idea.

Alice shifted closer to him and Jack smiled to himself.

Mother always knows best, doesn't she?

No longer feeling the need to stare at her feet, but unable to look the ice spirit in the eye, Alice opted to resting her forehead against his shoulder. The silver frost that had accumulated along his jacket melted under the heat of her skin, dampening her forehead. She could smell the fresh material of his newly tailored shirt and jacket, with a hint of peppermint and yeti fur, but underneath she could still pick up the scent of snow and pines trees, of roaring winds and crisp, frost-covered mornings.

There were whisperings in the crowd around them, gossip already spreading like wildfire as spirits nearby finally caught sight of Jack and Alice dancing together, locked in a rather close embrace.

"I think everyone is looking at us," Alice mumbled against his shoulder. She didn't raise her head to find out, too embarrassed at what she might find. She could feel eyes on her skin, watching closely as their owners tried to pick apart the interesting sight before them.

"Let them. I don't care," Jack replied, tapping his fingers against her side in sync with their steps.

She bit back a frustrated noise. He wanted her to relax and enjoy their dance, but that was difficult for her to do. Admittedly, after so many years of always living on her toes, always on high alert and ready for a fight, sometimes the distinction between friend and enemy tended to blur in Alice's eyes and she lashed out at the wrong people, but that was a deep-seeded habit of hers that she doubted she'll ever be able to break. However, in spirit of the season, she did her best to block everything out, closing her eyes tightly and keeping her head on Jack's shoulder. She could almost hear the thoughts of the spirits around them, wondering what exactly was happening and if the Man in the Moon allowed teammate involvement in the guardian fold.

Jack ignored them.

They didn't understand what was going on. They weren't there when all this started, when Alice was chosen as the new guardian, when Jack and her first met, how nasty she was to him and how ignorant he was to her, how Pitch invaded her mind like the parasite he was and stole a dark part of her she didn't want anybody knowing about. They weren't there to help when Pitch attacked the North Pole. They weren't there to witness Alice's fight with Bunny, or his kidnapping. They didn't help rescue him and they sure as hell didn't go up against the Dollmaker.

Let them talk. As far as Jack was concerned, they were just empty space. People would talk regardless because they weren't good for anything else, so there wasn't any point in worrying about it. The song would be coming to an end soon and he wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

Alice would surely pull away once it was over and re-establish the wall she built around herself, which was just as well, considering they wouldn't have time to squeeze in another dance. Even though Christmas was over, North had a few more gifts to give Alice before the midnight countdown and it had been Jack's job to distract her while the others got everything ready.

When the song eventually ended, he pulled away as the last notes faded off. He took a step back from Alice and watched as their hands slipped apart and she slowly opened her eyes again. He smiled brightly at her before reaching out and grabbing her hand again.

"Come on, I want to show you something."

She gave him a dubious look, but allowed him the benefit of the doubt as he pulled her back through the crowd. He made for the ballroom doors, still pulling Alice while picking up his crooked staff along the way and motioning for Baby Tooth to follow them. When they were finally out of the ballroom and away from prying eyes, Alice picked up speed to fall in step with Jack so he wasn't dragging her anymore, but she allowed him to keep a guiding hand on hers, letting him take her to whatever it was he wanted to show her.

She raised an eyebrow when she realized he was leading her towards the workshop.

The factory was dark, all the lights having been shut off when the yetis finally finished with their clean up from Christmas and closed up shop for the remainder of the year, leaving only sporadically placed candles and the lights on the Globe to illuminate the area in a peaceful, dim glow. The silence was heaven on Alice's ears as Jack continued to pull her through the workshop. The black flats she wore that evening hardly made any noise against the stone floor, even with the vast emptiness of the workshop.

Jack moved towards the nearest workshop elevator, immediately pulling the launch lever when Alice stepped inside the spherical mechanism. Steam burst out from underneath the elevator as it gave a lurch upwards.

"What is all this?" Alice finally asked.

He gave her a fake, scolding look and wagged a finger at her. "I can't tell you, North's orders. It's a surprise."

"I don't like surprises," She protested, crossing her arms under her chest.

That earned her an eye roll as Jack moved to stand behind her. "Don't worry. You'll like this one."

Alice jumped when cool hands suddenly slipped past her ears and moved to cover her eyes, causing her to let out an exasperated sigh when she realized what he was doing.

"Is this really necessary?"

"I just told you it was a surprise, didn't I?" He replied, trying to cover Alice's eyes while holding his staff at the same time. She let out a displeased sound when the aged wood knocked against her temple. The winter spirit flinched and pulled a sheepish smile that Alice couldn't see, but knew was there. "Sorry. Didn't think this through. I probably should've brought a blindfold or something."

When the elevator came to a stop, Jack nodded to Baby Tooth, giving her the signal to fly ahead. The mini fairy straightened her back in a soldier-like manner, ready to carry out the winter spirit's order with a tiny salute.

It was quite an effort to lead Alice around with her eyes covered, even when there weren't any elves to trip over or yetis to run into. They stumbled a few times, Jack accidentally stepping on the back of Alice's shoes and Alice "accidentally" elbowing him in the ribs as they navigated the workshop. Jack could barely stifle a relieved sigh when they finally reached their destination.

"Okay, here we are," He said, the excitement evident in his tone.

He hesitated a moment before throwing off his hands and quickly jumping forward to join his friends just as Alice opened her eyes and they all yelled -

"Surprise!"

She was standing near the control panel for the Globe of Belief, facing the main fireplace where all the guardians stood with blinding smiles on their faces and their hands raised in the air, their bodies striking somewhat silly poses and standing frozen that way like a candid photograph. Yetis stood on either side of them, holding burning sparklers in their hands and each holding up one end of a white banner that said "Congratulations Alice!" in pretty red calligraphy and glitter. Lots of glitter.

"There she is," North laughed after the noisemakers the elves were using died down. "Guest of honor! We thought we'd never get you to ourselves!"

"What is this suppose to be?" Alice asked, looking around the room again.

They had thrown up handfuls of confetti when they shouted and it was now littering the floor like snow. North walked towards her with his arms held out in front of him, gesturing widely to the guardians and the last-minute party decorations they had set up.

"This is your real guardianship party!"

"Hasn't there been enough of celebration already?" She asked dryly as she picked a few pieces of confetti from her hair.

"Not for a show-off like North," Bunny spoke up, squeezing through two yetis and stepping forward. "He'd throw a party every bloody day if he could."

North pulled a sour expression and held up a finger to argue the pooka's claim, but after a second thought, he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded in agreement. "I would be offend by dis if it wasn't so true."

"There were just a few things we wanted to give you tonight. Welcoming presents," Tooth explained as she hovered over to join them. "We know this might all be a little too much for you, especially since North insisted on throwing you that little "shindig" in the ballroom..."

"Was decoy, Toothie. Decoy."

"But it'll be the absolute last of it," Jack finished, holding up the Boy Scout's finger salute. "We swear."

Before the woman could protest, the spirits scrambled to grab their gifts stacked by the fireplace. Alice let out an indignant sound when she was pushed towards the center of the area by a yeti, making her, literally, the center of attention. When everybody was ready, North gave a little bow, gesturing to the guardians again. "From us, to you, our newest member of the guardians."

Rolling his eyes at North's theatrics, Bunny stepped forward and presented his gift first. He held out a colorful basket with Easter eggs nestled inside it. Upon leaning closer, Alice realized that they looked exactly like the ones Bunny had given her the very first time they had met; powder blue base color with intricate, clover green designs that matched the exact shade of her eyes. It was more sentimental than anything she expected from him and she told him as much with a warm smile that said she knew exactly what he was going for with his gift.

The pooka almost let out a relieved huff. He had been a little worried she wouldn't get the meaning behind it. Not that he was striving for anything, but he didn't get a chance to see what the others got Alice and the competitive side of him didn't want to be the one who gave her the lamest gift, especially since he was the closest to her. If she hadn't gotten the meaning, then that would've left him with just a predictable Easter Bunny gift basket of eggs and a book that North would've surely poked fun at. Which reminded him...

"Here, there's something else in there," He said, letting her grab the handle of the basket as he reached in and moved aside some of the green wrapping paper he had stuffed inside it, revealing one more gift.

Alice reached in and pulled the book out, her eyes quickly scanning the worn, red cover.

'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland', first edition.

She looked up at him. "Are you trying to be cute?"

He shrugged his shoulders, paying no attention to the quiet "aww" he heard from Tooth when she hovered a few inches higher in the air to sneak a peek at the book's cover. "Figured in light of everythin' that's happened, you'd might want to finally give it a read."

"Thank you, Bunny," She smiled, putting the book back in the basket and placing the basket on the floor behind her.

Sandy came up next, proudly holding a ceramic gardening pot in his hands and presenting Alice with a strange-looking plant that she had never seen before. It was green, obviously, with a weird bulb that opened up like a mouth with needle teeth. She looked at the plant with confusion, blinking owlishly as she studied the curious plant.

"What is it?" She finally had to ask.

All the guardians exchanged funny looks, except for the Sandman, who still stood proudly in front of Alice.

"It's a Venus Flytrap," Bunny answered, shaking his head at the short spirit. "Ever the strange one, Sandman."

"Venus Flytrap?" Alice echoed.

"It's a plant that eats things," Jack offered up. "See its mouth, with the little spikey things? You can put flies and beetles and other bugs in there and it'll close up and digest it. It's kinda neat. Jamie's friend Monty grew one for a science fair project. He let me feed it ants."

"Are they supposed to be that big?" Tooth asked, hovering down to get a better look at the carnivorous plant. It did seem a little larger than average. The fairy reached out and poked one of its trigger hairs with the tip of her fingernail. It closed immediately in response, causing Alice to make a fascinated noise. The Sandman's grin grew larger, feeling triumphant at her response.

When they first agreed to give Alice her gifts on New Years, Sandy knew the others had multiple advantages over him. Tooth said it wasn't a contest, but the males became competitive anyways, unable to help themselves. They all had the means of creating their own gifts while the Sandman only had his dreamsand to work with; a wonderful, magical substance to have control over, but not very tangible in the long run. True, he could give her fantastic dreams, but this was a special occasion and he wanted to think outside the box. He wanted to give Alice something she could enjoy for a long time. Something that would truly grab her attention, and Alice's tastes tended to gravitate towards the bizarre. So while the others sought out the "best" gift, the Sandman opted for the strangest. He pilfered the plant off an exotic pets vendor in Florida when the sunburned man wasn't looking, leaving behind a hastily written apology note sprinkled with dreamsand.

"Points for creativity, Mansnoozie," Jack laughed, giving the gold spirit a thumbs up.

"Thank you, Sandy," Alice nodded at him gratefully, patting him softly on the head before watching him float back to the group.

"I'll go next," Tooth announced, lowering herself down so she was more leveled with Alice.

The fairy held out Alice's tooth box without preamble. Her feathers twitched nervously as her amethyst eyes flickered between Alice and the gold case. The dark-haired spirit looked at it curiously, taking in its patterned surface design and the tiny picture on the end of a little girl that looked much like herself, with dark hair and a pair of green eyes a little too big for her face.

"I wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to give you this, but I thought that I should make sure you knew about it, just in case Bunny didn't tell you. I made the mistake of assuming once before and it really hurt when I realized what it had done," She spared a glance towards Jack, conveying in one, woeful look the regret she still felt for unintentionally leaving the ice spirit in the dark. "It's your tooth box. Inside it are all your baby teeth...Well, no. Not all of them..." She trailed off, feeling the empty weight of the missing teeth against the palm of her hand "-the ones we were able to collect. It was a little hard with you. You weren't always- I mean, my fairies couldn't- That place was- I didn't realize until...Oh, I'm just making a mess of this, aren't I?"

Alice stepped forward, resting her hand on top of the other woman's and effectively cutting off the fairy's awkward stammering. "I understand."

She gently pried the box from Tooth's hand, making sure to handle it carefully as the sound of her baby teeth rattled around inside of it.

"Anyways," Tooth continued, shaking her head of ill thoughts. "They hold your most precious childhood memories inside of them. It's always nice to look back on good memories and remember why you love them, and I promise, they're only the good ones."

"Thank you," Alice replied, leaning down to put the tooth box in the basket Bunny gave her, right next to her new book. She didn't quite understand the concept of the box, or how teeth could hold memories inside of them, but she would further explore the gift later, in her room where she would have more privacy.

"Oh! And this too," Tooth added, taking a small bag that her mini fairies held up for her. It was blue with a pearly white smile etched into the side. When Alice opened it, her senses were immediately filled by the scent of spearmint.

"It's just a little goodie bag I put together to help with your dental health regimen," Tooth explained as Alice reached into the bag and began leafing through its contents. "There's a tube of extra strength toothpaste, guaranteed to last up to eight hours. A bottle of my favorite brand of mouthwash. It really gets in deep and gets rid of plaque without stripping away any enamel. There's also a thing of floss in there. I wasn't sure what your flossing habits were like, so I put in a brand of floss with an extra coating of wax on it. It glides between the teeth better and it'll help with sensitive gums, less cutting and bleeding. I also added in a regular, manual toothbrush in there. I'm a bit old fashioned. I don't buy into that electric toothbrush nonsense. Any toothbrush will do if you use it the right way, which is vertical strokes alternating with small circles. You'll want to make sure you get everywhere, especially behind your wisdom teeth - assuming you still have them. A real problem in the Victorian era with its dental care was that-"

"Thank you, Tooth," North cut in, interrupting his friend before she could go off into a lecture. "Is very nice gift."

She held up her hands in surrender. "Alright, alright, I'm done."

"Good. We are on very tight schedule. Countdown and fireworks will be starting soon," North chided, pointing to an imaginary watch on his wrist. When Alice set aside her newest gifts, he looked towards Jack expectantly. "Jack? Would you like to go next?"

The white-haired teen sucked in air through his teeth in a faux regret while moving to lean against his staff with an air of cocky nonchalance. "Yeah, about that. I've been really busy lately, you know, with Winter and all, so I didn't have time to raid the local mall. But in a way, my presence is my present, which is the greatest gift I could give someone. And you don't even have to unwrap me...well, not unless you want to," He replied, giving Alice a flirtatious wink. When she let out a derisive snort and rolled her eyes, he snickered at his own wit, earning him a slap on the back of the head from Bunny. "Ow! I was just kidding!"

"Then get on with it! We don't have all night! North's still gotta give her his bloody gifts and we all know that's going to take forever!"

Ignoring North's offended pout, Jack pushed by Bunny, nearly knocking shoulders with the pooka, while mumbling under his breath. He walked up to Alice and shoved his hand into his hoodie pocket.

"It's not much," He warned her, rooting around for his gift. "I wasn't lying when I said I was really busy. I thought I'd have more time to think of something good, but...here."

His eyes dropped down to his feet somewhat sheepishly as he finally pulled his hand out of his pocket and held out his gift to Alice.

It was Elizabeth's bedroom key, laying across the width of Jack's palm. She looked down at it almost vacantly, wondering how she could've forgotten it was in Jack's possession. It looked the same as it always did, tarnished and well-used, but it was now hanging from a blue ribbon, wide enough to fit around her wrist, like a bracelet. There was also now an intricate snowflake charm hanging from it, cool to the touch and glowing softly with a center of blue that could only be seen within the heart of an iceberg. Alice pulled the snowflake between her thumb and pointer finger, examining it with the pads of her fingertips and quickly realizing the snowflake was made of real ice.

She looked back up at Jack, who shrugged his shoulders at the unspoken question in her eyes.

"Bunny told me whose key this was and I figured you would be missing it by now," He explained, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "I added the charm for you. I worked it over a few times with my ice and used a lot of my power to make sure it would never melt. It's supposed to be a reminder, just in case you start thinking about locking yourself away again. You can look at it and know that I- er, I mean, we...are back in the real world. Waiting for you to come back."

Alice looked at the key again, slowly flexing her fingers inwards to curl around it and the snowflake hanging from it glowed a little bit brighter in response. Her mind drifted off into the empty spaces in her psyche, picking apart the innocent gesture and involuntarily finding a deep meaning behind it. One of the last shreds of evidence she had left of her sister, one of the few portal keys to Wonderland, and a small, frozen totem created with the same magic and heart that made up the winter spirit standing in front of her - all rolled into one. There was something utterly surreal about it.

Jack watched her with bated breath. Apprehensive, he wondered if she was going to get mad at him for taking liberties with such an important relic. He couldn't help himself. The key just looked so lonesome whenever he pulled it out of his pocket and looked down at it. It was a solitary object, with the power to unlock a beautiful world of wonder and the power to make imaginations come to life. But it was also cursed with a dark origin; once a possession of her beloved sister, Elizabeth - stolen by the monster who killed her.

Though it was Lizzie's, Jack saw it as a small piece of Alice; solid and hard to bend, but alone. So in a fit of childish thinking that gave inanimate objects feelings, he tied the key to one of his snowflakes with a ribbon, giving that little piece of Alice a little piece of him, to keep it company.

"Thank you, Jack," She eventually said in a quiet voice, still gazing down at the key.

His eyes flickered between her face and the key, his anxiousness lingering for just a bit longer before dissipating. "You're welcome, Alice."

She stood there frozen, staring for almost a whole minute until she finally blinked out of her trance and her eyes moved to meet his. She gave him a warm smile and thanked him again, moving to tuck the key into the pocket of her apron out of habit and nearly dropping it on the floor. She cursed at herself when she remembered she wasn't wearing her apron and immediately reached out to reclaim her grip on the key.

Out of reflex, Jack shot out a hand to catch the key as well, both spirits reaching for the key at the same time, knocking fingers and knuckles.

"Whoa, careful!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't-"

Their hands fumbled together, trying to get a firm hold on the key while also trying to avoid getting their fingers tangled together until Alice finally got the key under control.

"You got it?" Jack asked as he pulled his hand back.

"Yes, I believe so. I'm sorry," She apologized. "You gave me a nice present and I go and almost break it less than five minutes of you giving it to me."

He shrugged one of his shoulders and waved off the apology. "It's okay. I could just make you another. It's no big deal."

"Really?"

"Yeah," He nodded. "For you, I would make hundreds of snowflakes...if- if that's what you wanted, I mean. Friends help friends, after all."

Alice smiled at him again, letting out a puff of air that sounded suspiciously like a laugh before taking the key and tucking it behind the ribbon tied around the waist of her dress. "A handsome offer, but I'm certain just the one will do."

"Good," He said, leaning in towards her with a hand cupped around one side of his mouth as if to tell her a secret. "Between you and me, that was my best one."

"Oh really?" She gave him a dubious look. "Out of thousands of snowflakes?"

"Billions," He corrected. "And yeah. The best one, just for you, milady."

In the background, Tooth let out another quiet "aww" at the scene while Bunny rolled his eyes and mumbled out an "oh brother". Jack ignored them both, giving Alice one last smile before looking towards North, letting him know with a nod that he was done.

"Okay, okay! 'Nough of the sappy stuff!" The Russian spoke up, reasserting himself in the conversation. "Time for my present! It's the best one!"

"North! It's not a contest!" Tooth whined.

"Bah! Life's a contest!" He rebuffed, giving her a dismissive wave before reaching into his pants pocket. "Poymat." He pulled out something small and tossed it to Alice, who caught it effortlessly.

She looked down at the small, wooden doll, resting perfectly in the palm of her hand. It was a tiny Alice holding her Vorpal Blade, with big, green eyes that bore into hers and coy smirk painted on her face. She rolled the matryoshka doll between her fingers as she cocked one of her eyebrows again in amused curiosity. She glanced up at North, hoping to get some sort of explanation for the strange gift, but the Russian only gave her a playful wink.

Alice wasn't much for dolls, and for good reason, but she had a feeling that she should make an exception this time.

"Ah! But that is not all!" He said with excitement. "Look, look, look."

Practically hopping from foot to foot like a child who really needed a restroom break, North moved around Alice and gestured to a white cloth on the floor behind her that she hadn't noticed until then. He kneeled down and grabbed one of the cloth's corners.

"And last but not least!" He pulled the cover off the ground in one, swift motion. "Ta-da!"

The cloth gave way to reveal the (previously) five-pointed star that made up the moon crystal pedestal that MiM shined on when choosing new guardians. It had been torn up and re-worked to incorporate a new point, a little slot with a small image of Alice engraved into it to match the other points, now making it a six-pointed star. It glowed stunningly under the dim lighting of the workshop, the star having been freshly polished before being put back in the ground.

"Oh wow," Tooth gushed, hovering over to get a closer look. "That looks amazing! When did you find the time to do this, North?"

The Russian laughed and wagged a finger. "Magician never reveals secrets, Toothie."

"Show-off," Bunny snorted.

Alice crouched down to run her fingers along the new point, admiring the craftsmanship before standing up straight again and nodding to North.

"Thank you. It's beautiful," She turned to address the other guardians. "All of your gifts were."

North gave her another smile before glancing at a nearby wall clock, jumping in surprise when he realized he lost track of time and it was now one minute to midnight.

"Moi deti! It's almost midnight!" He leaped into action, snapping his fingers and calling out. "Quick, bring out champagne! We must do countdown!"

The yetis burst into a flash panic, scattering from their group to look for the platter of champagne glasses North requested on standby for the countdown. Phil found it first, quickly picking up the platter and rushing it over to his boss as carefully as he could without knocking over any of the glasses. When he reached the spirits, North rushed his friends into each taking a glass.

"Quickly! Quickly! Thirty seconds!"

Once everybody had a glass and the clock reached the fifty second mark, they gathered around in a circle and began to count down to midnight while holding their glasses in the air.

"Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five...four...three...two...one...Happy New Year!"

Another confetti storm erupted around them as the clock hit midnight. Yetis raised their arms in the air with newly lit sparklers and howled in celebration while the elves went crazy with their noisemakers. The guardians cheered and clinked their glasses together in a toast before taking a drink of champagne to welcome the new year.

Almost immediately, a loud bang sounded outside the complex and an explosion of red light burst through the stained glass windows behind the main fireplace. More bangs followed close behind, cracking loudly in the air and fizzing like pop rocks.

"Fireworks!" North announced happily, practically chucking his empty glass away and running over to the closest set of balcony doors with a noticeable skip in his step. He threw them open with unrestrained glee, letting in the light and subtle smell of smoke from outside. He waved for his friends to follow. "Come! My yetis have put together a spectacular show this year!"

With not quite as much enthusiasm, the other guardians piled out on to one of Santoff Claussen's many balconies and joined North by the railing, all turning their heads up towards the star-filled sky above them. Bursts of lights continued to pop in the heavens, illuminating the complex below in reds, blues, greens, and yellows, creating a magnificent show for them.

Alice had never really seen a fireworks show before. Not one this close, at least. There used to be firework stands in the oriental market back in London, but they were only ever shot off during the Chinese New Year celebration, which Alice never had much cause, or spending money, to attend the festival. She could hear the show from her room in Houndsditch, though. She would open up her window and sit by the cill, listening silently to the clap and boom of each firework going off for as long as she could before one of the orphans would knock on her door and claim fear of the loud noises coming from outside, asking for a story to help them fall back asleep.

Remembering those times was always bittersweet. Bitter in the sense that during the time, she wondered with bleak hopelessness if this was all there was to life. If this was all she had to look forward to; a grueling job as a maid and nanny to a mismatched lot of unwanted, traumatized orphans, living in the piss poor side of London, no loved ones to call her own, potential marriage proposals from seedy men on the horizon, with a lovely job offer as a prostitute on standby, and many high buildings to jump from should she finally get sick of it all? Bitter indeed. But sweet in the sense that it was all hindsight now. By some miracle, she had come out the other end of that life in one piece and now there was nothing but adventure and endless possibilities in her future.

Alice watched the fireworks with new eyes, a new perspective. When she felt a cold hand gently place itself on top of hers where it rested on the stone railing of the balcony, Alice didn't turn away from the dazzling display to look at the figure standing next to her, already knowing who it was. The chilled haze his skin gave off and the thin coating of frost that curled its way up the back of her hand, caused that sense of comfort to pass through her body and relax her in a way she never thought it would.

In response, she turned her hand over to meld her fingers together with her companion's as she and Jack continued to look up at the fireworks show with the moon shining brightly and the arctic tundra of the North pole in the background. The coldness of the snowy terrain didn't seem to affect to Alice at all as she stood outside, her arms and legs unprotected. She was too memorized by the beautiful night to take any notice.

There was a slight shift next to her and she went rigid in shock when she suddenly felt the sensation of cold lips on the apple of her cheek for the briefest of moments before quickly retreating. She stood there stunned with a small patch of frost coating her cheek. The heat of the blush that blossomed beneath it quickly caused the frost to melt, dripping down her cheek and running along the underside of her chin like teardrops.

She dug her nails into the flesh of the winter spirit's hand in a half-hearted warning, but did nothing to pull away, choosing to ignore the quiet snicker that she heard just before another firework exploded in the sky, bathing them in a blue glow.

'Cheeky bastard.'

Alice still had her doubts about the Man in the Moon, and the supposed hand he had in her spiritual creation, something that would probably never change, but her doubts about her role as the sixth member of Bunny's beloved team, and the Guardian of Imagination (a title that was swiftly starting to grow on her) had been long-since abandoned.

And in the wake of the Dollmaker's permanent demise and the guardian's victory over Pitch Black (most likely only temporary but still a cause to celebrate), paired with new friends, a new family, and the tightly curled hand wrapped around her own - it was nearly impossible for her not to smile, if only just a slight quirk of the side of her mouth.

She found it funny to think about now - that she once believed the day she would be forced out of her Wonderland, the day she dreaded more than an untimely meeting with the undertaker, would be the end of her life. The end of her.

Only now did she realize that she was wrong.

This wasn't the first time Alice looked ahead at her burgeoning future with mounting uncertainty, but it was the first time, in a very long time, that she looked ahead with unbridled anticipation.

Good or bad, Alice Liddell was ready for whatever came her way.

~O~

I believe that tomorrow is stronger than yesterday
And I believe that your head is the only thing in your way
I wish that you could see your scars turnin to beauty
I believe that today it's okay to be not okay

Hold on, hold on

'Cause I have been where you are before
And I have felt the pain of losing who you are
And I have died so many times, but I am still alive

This is not the end of me, this is the beginning

AN: And there you have it. The final chapter of Winter Wonderland! It's been such a fantastic ride, you guys! You all have been so great, sticking with me for almost three years and giving me your endless support. This would've never happened if it wasn't for you guys! If I didn't know you were all out there, waiting to read a new chapter each month, then I probably would've abandoned this story within the first year. SO glad I didn't though!

As for the song Jack and Alice are dancing to in the chapter, I thought it would be appropriate to imagine it as the piano and string version of "Still Dream", like in the Rise of the Guardians movie. Of course, I can't stop you from slotting in your own song, but just in case you wondering what I thought it should be.

Oh, and humanoid Cheshire Cat and Tooth Fairy? Yeah, I starting to ship it. God help me.

On my FanFiction profile, there's a link to a post on my Tumblr blog that lists the upcoming ROTG/AMR projects I have planned. Like I said, even though Winter Wonderland is finally done, I still plan to write for the crossover. It's still a pretty small crossover with little input going in regularly, so someone has to keep this ship afloat! I'll always post an alert of a new story or update on my Tumblr, so I recommended you either follow my blog directly through an account, or bookmark the page and check it frequently. Or you could just check the ROTG/AMR crossover section every now and again, or put me on your Author Alerts list. Either way, make sure you stay connected! I would love to see you all again on my other projects!

Till next time!

~Scorpiofreak~