During the days that Shiro secretly went to play with her elder sister, Hong was always busy practicing with her sword. She swung left and right, aiming for the log in front of her before placing her sword at her side. She crouched a bit and dashed before smashing the log in half.

Shiro was excited to see her strong older sister, although she wasn't too sure why Hong was not as feminine as her, she didn't mind it too much and clapped her hands.

"That was amazing sister!"

Hong had noticed her since she had arrived and secretly watched her, but she didn't want to break her concentration on the log. Her mentor told her to try to understand the enemy before finishing them off. She managed to do that, but got slightly distracted by her younger sister.

"Not that amazing. It took me about an hour to try to break the log," she took the towel that Mary-Ann held out and wiped her sweat.

"You've done much better than last time," Mary-Ann smiled.

"Really?!" Shiro's eyes glistened.

"Of course, Princess Shiro. Last time it took her almost three hours to understand how to break the wooden log."

Shiro seemed quite excited, but her older sister felt quite embarrassed. Hong had never received praise at anything so it felt strange to her. She took her younger sister by her hand and they walked to the Rose Garden where their mother often took care of the flowers. It wasn't forbidden for Hong to be there, but if she was caught there, her mother would immediately break the flowers that Hong had touched.

As they got to the Rose Garden, Hong stood in front of Shiro and Mary-Ann. Her eyes were focused on one part of the garden and she withdrew her sword.

"Who's there?"

A young girl with straight black hair came out from the trees near the garden, "I-I'm sorry. I got lost and had been wandering around for hours."

It was strange to find someone with black hair that wasn't a beast. Hong remembered seeing Mary-Ann's beast familiar, Ducere, but he exclaimed to her that he preferred to be called a non-human. It was quite suspicious of the young lady to appear out of nowhere, especially in an area with high security.

"My name is Alice," she spoke, "Where am I?"

"You're in Wonderland," Princess Hong replied.

I don't want to get too specific if she is from the Thorn Kingdom.  Hong thought to herself. She didn't want to risk her younger sister from getting attacked.

"Wonderland? Oh my!"

The girl named Alice shook her head, "I must have fallen and bumped my head or something."

"Why would you say that?" Mary-Ann questioned her.

"Because it seems like I have arrived in a different world."

"And..." Hong's suspicion grew stronger, "how did you come to that conclusion?"

"Ummm...," Alice pointed in the sky, "In my world, we don't have things like you."

Ducere allowed his head to appear, "My word...so she can see me."

Shiro shrieked and Mary-Ann comforted the young princess, "I apologize your majesty. This is my familiar, Ducere."

"Ducere," Mary-Ann's voice seemed a bit harsh, "I didn't tell you to come out. What are you doing here?"

"Well Mary-Ann, I sensed a unique presence that I have never felt before so I came to see you as I sensed it was nearby."

Mary-Ann scolded the cat-man for a bit before he vanished completely.

It is quite rare or more likely impossible for a human to see non-humans, but Princess Hong was wary of the new presence of this girl. Indeed, as Hong used her eyes, she could see that Alice was missing her core, which most people would lose if they had died or were murdered.

"Your 'Wonderland' is also different because in my world we have no castles and beings with animalistic ears," Alice tried to explain further.

Shiro didn't quite understand but felt that she was not a dangerous person and began to plead and beg Hong to allow them to play.

"Please sister! I want to play! She doesn't even carry a weapon like you."

After conversing with Alice, Hong eventually let her play with Shiro but with constant supervision. Mary-Ann started to get along with Alice after a couple of hours or so and Hong began to join them.

"So what world did you come from?" Hong asked.

"Hmm...I actually followed a rabbit down a hole and somehow found a series of doors. Your door was quite small, but I managed to find a way to fit and come in. My world doesn't have any beasts and there's no war there. Everyone is living peacefully for now."

...For now.  Hong thought about how it would have been better if life in Wonderland was peaceful and if her mother would come to accept her. She shook her head and tried not to think about it.

"How long has this world been in conflict?"

"Since I was born!" Shiro responded, "Sister sometimes goes out somewhere with father and they don't return until days later."

Shiro was still too young to realize that they were in war, much less understand the word conflict. Hong was surprised at her younger sister's ever growing vocabulary, but kept her mouth shut.Either that or she is ignorant about it since life here is much safer than on the grounds of the battlefield.

"I've been training with my father so I'm getting stronger," Hong patted her younger sister on the head.

After Alice and Shiro played for a while, Mary-Ann laid out the teacups for the princesses and their guest to have a quick break. They discovered some hidden treasures in the Rose Garden, like the keyhole near the fountain and talked about where it might lead to. Some of the flowers were beginning to sing some tunes, which shocked Alice since it wasn't normal in her world. After they sung for a bit, they went quiet and basked themselves in the sun.

"They're eating lunch!" Shiro exclaimed.

"Well I guess in my world they're always eating and sleeping then," Alice laughed.

"Your flowers don't sing?" Hong seemed confused.

"Yeah. They look the same but the only difference is that your flowers sing and in my world they don't."

Shiro wanted some snacks so Mary-Ann quickly went to the kitchen and returned with some light snacks. As the three munched away, Alice noticed that Hong had some major cuts and bruises on her body. They're from the battlegrounds, Hong sensed her questioning eyes without looking at her. The two didn't say anything and Hong wiped the crumbs off the young princess' face.

"You girls are really close," Alice said as she placed her teacup on the table.

"I rarely see Shiro so chances like these are precious to me," Hong replied with a poker face.

"So..." A deep voice came from behind Mary-Ann, "Who is this young lady and why is she having tea with my daughters?"

Hong and Shiro jumped. They quickly got off their chairs and Shiro curtsied while Hong saluted their father. Alice was confused until she noticed the man was wearing a crown. Mary-Ann gestured her to follow what she was doing and Alice put her head down and curtsied.

"My name is Alice," she responded, "I have come from a different world...your majesty."

She wasn't sure if she should have ended the conversation by somewhat mentioning the man, but thought it was safe to do so.

"Oh?" The man cocked an eyebrow, "A different world you say?"

End of Chapter 16........................................................................................................................