“Father!” a loud voice boomed through the throne room, “what is this nonsense I hear about-” the voice died and I turned my head to find a massive version of the child in the painting I had looked at of my parents and myself.

“Leon,” I whispered softly.

“Ezra?” he stuttered, running over and falling to his knees in front of me, his hands suddenly cradling my face as he studied me, “you’re alive?”

“I am,” I nodded quickly, a laugh escaping me, “Oh… oh do you… do you remember when Father caught us in the bramble trees? I was throwing brambles down to you and…”

“We ended up breaking so many that we were banned from the orchard?” he laughed as well, a tear rolling down his cheek, “of course I do. That was a week before you disappeared. Where in the world did you go?”

“I fell through a hole in the ground and landed in the Land of Reason with no memory of Nouvelle or anything. Well… I had dreams about here but I thought they were simply that. Dreams. I never realized it was real.”

“Papa, what’s a bramble?” Celeste popped into the conversation and it was at this moment that both Leon and Chevalier truly acknowledged that she was there.

“Oh it’s like an apple but it tastes like a strawberry,” I patted her head softly before wiping blood from my nose as it was still trickling.

“Did this child call you Papa?” Leon gasped.

“Oh yes. This is my daughter Celeste. Celeste, this is your… uncle Leon and grandfather Chevalier.”

“Hi,” Celeste giggled.

“Ez,” Chevalier grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and pinched my nose, “you told me you were with a family when you were away from us. Wouldn’t Celeste have called them her grandparents?”

“My wife,” I winced as he pinched a bit harder, trying to staunch the blood flow, “never allowed my family to meet Celeste. I doubt they know she exists. I doubt anyone will notice that we’ve disappeared. I was already planning to take Celeste and leave. My wife was hurting me. Physically.”

“You are a prince,” Leon huffed, “I taught you to defend yourself.”

“I am passive, Leon,” I glared at him, “I have no urge to fight and I would never hit a woman. That’s a crime and spousal abuse.”

“Do men and women not brawl in the Land of Reason?”

“No. Never.”

“How strange… Red can destroy me in a fight… I love that about her.”

“Yes well you’re odd,” Chevalier laughed, “you’ve always encouraged her to beat you. But… Ezra is gentle. He always was. That’s why it was decided he would ascend the throne. You also decided that you didn’t want to be king because you don’t get to hunt and fight from the throne.”

“I would be so bored,” Leon sat on his rear dramatically before smiling at Celeste, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Mhm you too,” Celeste nodded, going behind Leon to start playing with his shoulder-length waves, “can I do your hair?”

“Why is she touching me?”

“She touches people,” I shrugged, “she knows you’re family. She’s been far more open and accepting of everything than I have been.”

“Who told you Ezra was here?” Chevalier helped me to my feet and I stumbled for a moment, “Easy. I’ve got you.”

“It’s spreading through the village like wildfire. You couldn’t have hidden that the long-lost prince had returned with a new princess in tow.”

“Emperor Myran knew first,” I whispered, “he found me at Mads and Robin’s house. Robin hid us in the cellar and luckily Myran left but I am worried about what my appearance will cause him to do to Prince Zarian.”

“Where were you when you landed here?”

“I’m not sure. There were strange bushes filled with red roses and small puff ball creatures rolling in the grass.”

“Oh!” Leon beamed, “Oh you landed in the royal garden at Castle Serce. It’s under Myran’s control right now. You were lucky to escape without him realizing.”

“A small white rabbit told us which way to go,” I shrugged, “so I listened. Assumed I was dreaming. We followed the stream until a memory clicked on and I told Celeste to find the yellow smoke. She did and that’s how we found Robin and Mads. I recognized Mads immediately. Celeste keeps saying this is Wonderland.”

“What like that weird book grandma had?” Leon laughed and Celeste kicked him in the back, “Hey! Ow!”

“That’s my favorite!” Celeste huffed, puffing her cheeks out.

“I apologize,” Leon nodded, “truly. But yes I remember that book. Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland.”

“In that book, you have the Mad Hatter,” I sighed.

“Mads,” Celeste nodded.

“The Cheshire Cat.”

“Robin. He looks like him.”

“The March Hare.”

“Mr. Mads’ great great grandpa.”

“The Queen of Hearts.”

“Emperor Myran probably.”

“Alice.”

“That one is real.”

“And the White Rabbit. But everything else is nothing like this place.”

“Well it’s a children's book,” Leon shrugged, “written to tell the story of a place someone once experienced but couldn’t quite create a true narrative of. While it is true that there are portals to the Land of Reason, things are incredibly different. We have magic. They do not.”

“This is true. I’ll miss the internet and electricity,” I sighed softly, “but… I get to be home and that’s worth it to me.”

“I feel like if I ask what those are I’ll be confused so I won’t,” Leon ruffled my hair after getting to his feet, “Welcome home, little brother.”

“Thank you,” I smiled and hugged him tightly, “I want to remember more but it’s hard.”

“You’ll get there.”

Red returned a few moments later and handed me a small bottle, “Drink.”

“What is it?” I swirled the blue liquid, smiling at the way it flickered.

“It will heal any ailment you have right now.”

“Thank you,” I nodded, opening it and drinking it quickly as she went over to Leon, a gentle smile on her face.

“Ew,” Celeste gagged when Leon pinched Red on the chin and gently kissed her, “don’t do that it’s gross!”

“Oh,” Red laughed softly, patting Celeste gently on the top of the head, “Princess there will be a day that it doesn’t bother you. That you’ll find love too. There are so many adorable young boys and girls in the village. We don’t marry by class in Nouvelle. Well… except for…” she looked at me before clearing her throat, “but again it’s not a requirement that you marry Zarian. You’re married in the Land of Reason, aren’t you? You have a pact ring.”

“Pact…ring?” I looked at my hand and realized she was talking about my wedding band, “Oh my wedding ring. Yes. I have… oh.”

“What is it?” Leon smiled, holding Red around her waist.

“I… I’m free. From Cassandra. Being here means she… she can’t…”

“Smack Papa and throw bottles at us,” Celeste nodded, “Papa we’re safe now.”

“Safe… that… that’s why I fell through isn’t it? That’s what Mads told me. That I was wishing so deeply for us to be safe that the portal opened for Celeste and me. But how?”

“You’re deeply connected to the portals and barriers. More than any of us,” Chevalier smiled, “you are the only one who ever knew how to close them after the original Alice. You would find new ones and close them to keep everyone safe. They call to you. But how did you manage to fall through one? You should have noticed it.”

“I was chasing Lace… Zarian through a field. He took off running, his soft green dress billowing around him and I wanted so badly to catch up so I could hug him. I didn’t notice the tree root until it was too late and I tripped. Tumbled head over foot through a portal and that’s the last thing I truly remember until I was about 14 years old. I always assumed it was a dream. The beautiful boy in a dress who teased me constantly. I thought it was… I never knew…”

“Ez,” Leon came over quickly, “Ezra, your hands.”

Looking down, I noticed a soft red glow across my palms, “what in the world?”

“You’re allowing yourself to remember. Your power is starting to grow again. But I worry that with you gone so long your gifts will be different. You may no longer be able to bless those around you with gifts. It will have to be passed through blood if you cannot. Everyone in this land has magic in their blood. Some just need a bit more help to pull it forward, to make it usable. That’s what you were able to do. Where Zarian drains someone's magic if he wishes, you could increase it. We allowed the general population to believe you were blessing them. Instead, you simply heightened the gifts that they already had,” Chevalier rubbed my arm.

“They revered you. Like a God,” Red nodded, “but that’s not who you were. Who you are. You’re just a prince. A sweet and gentle man with the patience it takes to run Nouvelle when your father is ready to step down. Leon cannot.”

“Why can’t you? Besides what Father said about you wanting to fight and hunt, you can still do that as a king,” I looked at Leon who shrugged.

“The heir to the throne must be able to have children to continue the family line. I cannot. But you did,” he smiled at Celeste who hugged him around the leg and made him freeze, “I apologize. I’m not used to children.”

“Get used to it. Celeste is highly affectionate,” I smiled, “I want to find Zarian.”

“We can’t yet,” Red sighed, running a hand through her blood-toned hair, “Dominick and Dean reported that Emperor Myran has built a massive blockade of troops around Alanin and Secre. We assume that Zari is being held in Alanin but we can’t simply burst through with our own troops. We could be wrong. Until… you can hopefully scout his location there’s nothing we can do. We have to keep waiting. No one blames you. I just hope that they’re treating him well. He’s been trapped for 12 years. Four years to the day after you disappeared he was kidnapped in the middle of the night.”

“But how did someone get in?”

“The same way I can get into Castle Serce and Alanin with no one noticing me,” Red shrugged, “I was trained to be an assassin. I left Serce as soon as Myran killed my father. He was trying to force me into marrying him to solidify a pact between Alanin and Serce. But I refused and ran. Leon found me at the edge of the Dundarian Cliffs. Getting ready to toss myself into the sea. He saved my life. Brought me here to King Chevalier who offered me asylum and had me trained to fight. Then, as soon as Leon was appointed as Knight Captain, he made me his lieutenant. We fight every battle side by side. They happen more than I’d like to admit. We have our share of battle wounds. But we always come home to Peri. We promised her to always come home.”

“When can I meet Auntie Peri?” Celeste yawned softly.

“Oh I’m sure she’ll be here tomorrow,” Leon laughed, “she’s never far from us.”

“Mhm okay.”

“Is… Ez, is there a word in the Land of Reason for what our relationship is?” Red smiled.

“Polyamory,” I nodded, “the practice of engaging in a romantic relationship with multiple partners with the consent of all parties involved. It’s clear to me that the two of you love each other and the way you talk about Peri tells me that you love her as well.”

“Oh yes,” Leon sighed happily, “I adore her with my entire being. No different than I love Red. Even if she gets on my nerves.”

“I will take you to the training field right now and kick your ass,” Red glared up at Leon and he winked.

“Oh please do.”

“Stop it,” Chevalier sighed, sitting on his throne, “go on you two. It’s clear you’ve been apart too long and frankly as your father, Leon, I am uninterested in watching you make love eyes at your fiance.”

“Fine fine,” Leon hauled Red over his shoulder as she squealed loudly, “get some rest, Ez. Same with Celeste. We can have a council in the morning,” he kicked the throne room doors open and left with Red as I stood there in shock.

“You’ll have to excuse your brother,” Chevalier pinched the bridge of his nose, “he has next to no ability to control his emotions. Not only does he struggle with blood lust, his love for fighting giving him the nickname of the Devil's Lion, but he also lusts after Red and Peri to a disgusting degree. But they adore it so it’s something I deal with. They do truly love each other, the three of them.”

“Father?” I sat on a chair in the room and Celeste ran over, climbing into my lap and yawning loudly, “What happened to Mother?”

“Red told you she passed yes?”

“No. Robin did.”

“Ah. Of course. He was there. Your mother was always frail. A weak woman with a fragile constitution. Giving birth to you and your brother nearly killed her. We were grateful that she made it. She was thrilled to have two boys. Two men who could handle the kingdom so that we could retire to the coast when you were ready to take over. But she never made it. The older she got, the weaker she grew until she was coughing up blood and the apothecaries and doctors had no way to combat it. It was an illness that none of them had ever seen before. Her lungs had holes. That’s what they discovered after her death.”

“She was coughing up blood?” I whispered, thinking.

“Yes. So much blood.”

“That sounds like a disease from the Land of Reason. It’s highly infectious. Tuberculous. But how would she have gotten it here? Why did no one else pass from it? It should have wiped out everyone around her.”

“We are unsure still. Although… Myran first came from the Land of Reason. He met with us a few weeks before Clarissa became ill. I wonder if he somehow unknowingly brought it along. We can treat injuries and illnesses that are native to us. But anything else and there is not much we can do but make the person comfortable through tranquilization. Robin was at Clarissa’s side when she passed. He was tasked with bringing her food and things like that. She adored his attention, treated him like a son. He was there as she said goodbye. Ran to find me. His poor little heart was shattered and he cried for days. His parents couldn’t console him. We laid her to rest in the family cemetery near my mother.”

“I… wish I…”

“You wouldn’t have remembered her even if you had stayed here, Ezra,” he shook his head, a sad smile gracing his features, “you were too young. Leon doesn’t truly remember her either. So don’t blame yourself for not remembering. In the library on the third floor is an entire section of her journals. If you find yourself curious, please read them. She talks about you a lot. Her sweet pea.”

“That’s what Papa calls me!” Celeste closed her eyes, relaxing against my chest, “sweet pea,” soft snores started to escape her and I gently kissed the top of her head.

“She’s beautiful,” Chevalier smiled, “I am so glad you… managed to bring a princess back with you. I’m glad you get to be a father. I always knew you’d be a good one with how gentle you are. I can’t take credit for that. I am far more similar to Leon. But I have softened in my old age.”

“Father you’re only 52. You’re not old.”

“Ah you remember then,” he laughed, “no I suppose age-wise I’m not. But I feel like I have aged rapidly since losing your mother and then you. Now that you’re home, now that Celeste is here and we can find Zarian, I feel a new surge of energy. I’ll have a maid show you to your chamber. I need to have them make a room for Celeste. We never changed yours really. Other than a larger bed.”

“Thank you,” I nodded, getting to my feet, “It’s nice to be home.”

“I’m glad you came back,” he smiled, “welcome home.”