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Alice entered the Ascot greenhouse. She sighed as she sat down, then pulled out her father's pocket watch.
“Sign over the Wonder to become a clerk... and just give up on the impossible?” she said to herself. She shook her head fiercely. The thought was unbearable.
A flicker of movement caught her eye as a blue butterfly landed on a nearby orchid. As she turned to gaze at it, it lifted off and flew closer. Shimmering in the moonlight, the butterfly's wings flapped open and closed several times, as if it was trying to send her a message.
What a curious creature , Alice thought. She'd never seen a butterfly behave this way. Its gorgeous, bright blue hue reminded her of Absolem's coloring. In fact, the last time she'd spoken to him, back in Underland, he'd been building a chrysalis, so it was possible this was him. It definitely wasn't impossible, anyway.
“Absolem?” she asked tentatively.
With a flutter, the insect launched into the air and hovered in front of her face, as if in confirmation, before swooping toward the greenhouse exit. Alice got to her feet and followed it. If it was Absolem, perhaps he was trying to lead her back to Underland. But instead of heading for the woods and the rabbit hole, the butterfly flew steadily toward the mansion.
Wading across the grass, Alice let the butterfly lead her up to the mansion's wide stone steps and back through the open patio doors. Now she was almost positive it was Absolem and that he needed her to follow him. Why else would a butterfly brave the noise and lights of a party?
Scanning the room carefully, she noticed a bright spot of blue on the chandelier above the dining room table. Alice hurried over and, heedless of propriety, climbed up onto first a chair and then the table itself. What could Absolem want? It must be important for him to have left Underland. She had almost reached the crystal chandelier when her mother rushed over.
“Alice! Get down from there,” Helen ordered in a hushed voice.
Perhaps startled by Helen's movement, the butterfly fluttered farther down the table toward the only person who hadn't noticed Alice.
Hamish was busy holding court with the board at the far end of the table. While he didn't see Alice, the butterfly's bright blue wings caught his eye.
“Bloody moths,” Hamish complained. He slammed his hand down on the table to smash the insect flat.
“Absolem! No!” Alice shouted. Without thinking, she launched herself off the table onto Hamish, and they both tumbled to the ground.
“Help! Assault! Police! Mother!” Hamish shrieked as Alice's fists pummeled him.
A pair of footmen managed to pull Alice off Hamish. Alice saw a flutter of blue near the grand staircase.
Keeping her gaze fixed on the footmen and the stairway beyond, Alice ran her hands over the table behind her. With a surge of hope, she felt a salt and pepper shaker set. She grabbed a shaker in each hand and flung them forward, coating the footmen in the spices. The men doubled over, sneezing fiercely. Alice ducked past them and bounded up the stairs, calling for Absolem to wait for her.
Alice rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, but the butterfly had disappeared. She dashed down the hallway, but at the sound of men thumping up the stairs behind her, she ducked into the nearest room and locked the door.
It was a parlor, but clearly one that hadn't been used in a long while. A cluttered desk sat to the side; a chess set on a table was covered in dust; and the woven rugs let off a moldering smell.
Dominating one wall were two oil portraits and a giant antique mirror, which hung above a fireplace. The immense white marble mantelpiece was inlaid with green stone. On top, the exposed silver cogs of a clock ticked under a bell-shaped glass.
A movement in the mirror caught her eye. The blue butterfly flitted toward her.
As Alice twisted to watch the butterfly, she noticed that something was happening to the mirror above the fireplace. Before her eyes, the glass began to fog up and evaporate into a glowing silvery mist.
Absolem flew toward it, and instead of slamming against the surface, he made his way straight into the swirling looking glass.
“Curious,” she whispered to herself. Nearing the fireplace, she reached toward the mirror.
The glass felt like a cool pond of water, her fingers passing through it with no resistance. When she pulled her hand back, she was surprised to find it was dry. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through the looking glass just as a key jingled in the lock behind her.
A ripple of coolness broke over Alice's skin as she passed through the mirror, but no droplets of water or mist clung to her. She emerged on the other side, where the room was much larger than she'd anticipated—a giant replica of the parlor she had just left—and where she was the size of a large insect. She was standing on the marble mantelpiece, her head reaching only halfway up the clock. The walls and ceiling—not to mention the floor—seemed impossibly far away.
“Curiouser and curiouser,” she said, a bolt of déjà vu flowing through her as the words left her mouth. Only Underland made her feel this excited and disoriented at the same time.
“Hello again, Alice!” chimed a voice.
Alice turned to discover the clock on that side of the mirror featured an old man's face.
“You shouldn't be here,” the lady in the oil painting whined. “You're too old for this nonsense!”
“Oh, hush,” countered the man in the painting opposite her. “One is never too old!”
Ignoring the woman, Alice smiled gratefully at the two gentlemen. She gathered a deep breath and stepped off the mantelpiece, then plummeted to the cushioned bench surrounding the fireplace. Her feet sank into the soft cloth as she made her way toward the distant chess table.
The butterfly landed on the floor beside her. His blue wings shimmered, but his face held its usual disapproving frown. “Clumsy as always, and twice as dim,” he drawled. “I thought you'd never get the idea.”
“Oh, Absolem,” Alice cried happily. “It is you!” She flung her arms around him, and the Butterfly's face softened even as he wriggled away.
“You've been gone too long, Alice. Friends cannot be neglected,” he said.
“Why? What has happened?” asked Alice in alarm.
Absolem lifted off into the air. “All will become clear in the fullness of time. For now, hurry, follow that passage.” His antennae waved toward the far door.
Shaking her head at his vagueness, she started across the room. Clearly Absolem's metamorphosis into a butterfly had not made him more forthright. As she reached the door, Alice felt her luck turn. The door was just her size. As she opened it, she heard Absolem's voice, and she turned to look over her shoulder.
“Do mind your step,” Absolem called out as Alice stepped through the doorway... and straight into thin air.