When Mad was finally awake, the sun had been up a long time. He sat up and put on his hat, then tugged on his boots, thinking about Killian and his mission to kill the Queen.

Mad pinched the bridge of his nose and shrugged gingerly into his shoulder holster, checking his guns before shoving them in place. He was still recovering and was tired and sore, in spite of the hours of sleep.

"Are you awake yet?" Alice's voice came from the front of the tent. Mad squinted when the sun shone right into his eyes, momentarily blinding him.

He waited for his eyes to adjust and nodded, standing up, stretching and rolling the kinks out of his shoulders. Alice stood in front of him, arms crossed. "I'm coming with you."

"I know," Mad answered.

Alice continued, "I need to go. I know you don't believe in that prophecy but I do. I'm going Madison Hatter and you can't stop me." Then, she stopped, frowning. "Wait. What did you say?"

Mad laughed and tugged at her braid as he walked past. "I said, hurry up. Now I'm waiting on you."

He stepped into the cooling early evening air and frowned. He hadn't realized he'd slept for so long. He wasn't surprised when he found Killian sitting cross-legged on the ground, cleaning a rifle. Mad crouched down and warmed his hands over the fire, yawning.

Alice stood across from him and Mad finally noticed the revolver on her hip. "We're going to the Dark Forest first."

"For Maris?" Mad asked, raising an eyebrow at Killian.

Killian just scowled and said, "You try arguing with her once. I already told her it was a bad idea. Maybe she'll believe you."

Mad glanced up, tipping his hat back a little to find Alice glaring at him, her hands on her hips. He shook his head at Killian. "No thanks."

"Then I guess we're going to the Dark Forest." Killian stood up, slipping the rifle into a sheath on his back. Alice smiled brightly at him and Killian tried to fight down an answering smile. Mad sighed and rolled his eyes.

He looked up when Dinah and Chesh joined them. Dinah looked at Killian and said, "They're waiting for you."

Killian blanched but nodded and followed Chesh into the camp.

Mad stood up and looked at Alice. "Who's waiting for him?"

Alice's eyes followed Killian and were tight with worry. She tried to smile and said, "His people."

She grabbed Mad's hand and pulled him with her, following the path Cheshire and Killian had taken.

"How's Adira?" Mad asked quietly as they skirted around the crowd forming in the center of the camp.

Alice's fingers tightened on his and she looked over her shoulder at him. "She's sleeping mostly. Healer Sieben says that's normal but Adira's having to stay with her so that Sieben can keep an eye on her."

Mad nodded, relieved. This was going to be hard on Killian anyway. The last thing he needed was to be distracted worrying about Adira. Distractions would get him killed.

Alice paused just at the edge of the crowd, watching as Killian walked up a small incline until he was head and shoulders above everyone else.

He stood with his hands on his hips, looking at the ground thoughtfully for a moment. The crowd stood with bated breath, waiting for their King to speak. Killian looked up, his eyes scanning over the crowd before finally lighting on Alice.

Killian took a deep breath and said, "I'm not asking you to go to war. I can't."

He paused, waiting for the murmurs to die.

"I say that and you think me weak. This is not the case. But the memory of Kings is longer than the memory of their people." Killian looked down again, his black hair gleaming in the southern sunlight.

Alice threaded her fingers more firmly through Mad's, leaning against his shoulder. Mad looked at her to find her staring up at Killian, eyes shining, lips parted slightly.

Mad supposed he knew why she was looking at him that way. He cut quite a dashing figure, his black clothes making him look serious and regal in the evening light.

Killian continued then, his voice a little louder. "I can't ask you to go to war for me. But I can go to war for you. I can ask you to go to war for yourselves."

There was a surprised silence. This was unprecedented in Wonderland as far as Mad knew. Generally, the understanding was the Deck followed their King or Queen without question. A monarch was due blind, unquestioning loyalty. They didn't give their people choices and they didn't ask for anything.

Killian stood a little taller. "You deserve more than this. More than what we have here. We deserve to not live in fear for our lives every single day."

"So, we finally fight the Hearts?" someone yelled and Mad felt as Alice bristled on Killian's behalf at the question. Looking around, he saw that it was the one armed man he'd seen his first day among the Spades.

Killian looked at the man steadily, then said, "Yes. We do." He paused again, looking around. "We. The Spades. Once, we ruled over Wonderland. Under my father's reign, Wonderland was a peaceful place."

Killian's eyes found Mad then, who nodded at him.

"With my father as High King, the other Decks were peaceful. Friendly even. Until the Hearts got greedy and took what did not belong to them. Now we live in a world that is upside down and sideways." His voice rose, echoing off the hills when he said, "Now, we live in a world where Aces run loose from their leashes, killing as they please and a Queen takes heads as easily as she takes afternoon tea."

His voice dropped to a lower, more compelling cadence, that still carried easily over the crowd. "We have the chance to change that. My father used to tell me stories when I was a child. Folktales we all know. His favorite, the one he told me over and over again, was The Lost Traveler."

Killian waited again when there was a rush of murmurs. With a smile, he said, "If you'll bear with me, I'd like to tell it to you." Killian's eyes were only on Alice when he said this.

Mad saw Alice nod from the corner of his eye and Killian took another deep breath. Still in that cadence that rolled softly as waves over the people, Killian began:

"Long ago, when the land was not divided by the Decks, a man walked through a forest, traveling to a far away village.

"He traveled, for in this village, was said to be the most beautiful of fountains. The man wanted to see this fountain very much, for he was a great lover of beautiful things.

"So the man had set out on this journey, convinced that he could never be happy until he saw this fountain." Killian smiled a little ruefully and said, "I always thought it was stupid to travel so far for a fountain. When I would say anything about it though, my father would just laugh and tell me to listen."

Killian sighed a little wistfully, then picked up the story again. "At first, the going was easy, and the man was sure that he would see the fountain within two day's time. He traveled through the forest at a great pace until, suddenly, he came upon a fork in the road.

"Now, the man was not familiar with this country and despaired, for there were no signs telling him which way to go. So the man sat, content to wait for another traveler to come along, and direct him on his way.

"He waited for hours, patient in the pursuit of his desire until, eventually, another traveler came along. Much to his surprise, as the other traveler grew nearer, the man saw it was a Gryphon. 'My good Gryphon,' the man said, standing and stretching his stiff legs. 'Would you be so kind as to advise me on which way to take?'

"The Gryphon paused in his own travels and peered down at the man, the feathers of his wings ruffling in alarm as the man asked the Gryphon to make such a very important decision for him. The Gryphon couldn't understand why the man would let another make any decision for him, much less one telling him where to go.

"The Gryphon sat then and seemed to deliberate with what the man thought was an unnecessary seriousness."

Killian paused again and looked across the camp. Turning, Mad saw Healer Sieben walking toward the crowd with Adira at her side. They stopped when they drew even with Mad and Alice. Adira, pale as she was, rose up on her toes, trying to see Killian beyond the gathered people.

Mad released Alice's hand and picked Adira up, setting the girl's slight weight on his shoulders. Killian's smile was a tad unsteady, but his voice was strong as he continued the story.

"Eventually, the man tired of waiting and said, rather crossly, 'If you don't know the way, then be on your own and leave me to mine.'

"The Gryphon's feathers ruffled again for it was not a good idea to insult a Gryphon, for they are proud, noble creatures. Rather gruffly, the Gryphon said, 'Foolish man. You have not told me where it is you are trying to get.'

"The man flushed in embarrassment before telling the Gryphon of the fountain and his desire to see it. The Gryphon nodded, for he knew of this fountain and had seen it for himself. The Gryphon, however, was a wild and grand creature who liked wild and grand things more than the tame loveliness of the fountain.

"This was why the Gryphon was headed toward the sea, for nothing was more wild or grand than the sea. The Gryphon had the thought that if the man wanted to see something beautiful, the Gryphon would take him to the sea.

"Though proud, no creature as noble as a Gryphon is petty. So, despite, the man's previous insult, the Gryphon said, 'The path on the right will take you to the fountain. The path on the left will take you to the sea,'

"But the man interrupted. Scathingly, he said, 'I did not ask about the sea.'

"The Gryphon then sprang to his feet. One insult would pass, two would not. But the Gryphon was a civilized creature, with much better manners than the man. However, he was not above revenge of a sort.

"So, he decided to deprive the man of the sea's wild beauty. Calmly, the Gryphon said, 'But of course. Silly me. Go right my good man and you will see what it is you think you wish to see.'

"The man was already hurrying down the path and did not bother to try and understand what the Gryphon had said.

"The man eventually found the town, then the fountain. Indeed it was lovely, the clean marble carved in graceful lines that swept up and dove down, ending in foamy bubbles, the carving so delicate the man thought the bubbles would fly away.

"The water was crystal clear and sparkled delicately in the sun. The man stood and looked at the carved waves, though he did not know they were supposed to be waves, and thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Meanwhile, the Gryphon had reached the sea and flew above the clear blue water. He swept up and dove down, playing with the waves as they crashed against the beach. He thought of the man looking only at a poor imitation of the sea's majesty and laughed at the narrow minded fool, so bent on one thing, he missed something much more wonderful.

Killian stopped then and took a final breath. "For most children, the story ended there, but not for me. After every telling, my father would look at me with the Gryphon's same seriousness and ask if I was the traveler or the Gryphon. Always, I would answer the Gryphon, for I wanted to be as noble and strong as that great beast and always found the traveler rather foolish."

Killian looked at Adira, then Alice and smiled. "Now I know my father was asking if I would be blind as the traveler, missing something greater, because he was so bent on one thing, or if I would be free as the Gryphon and find something more. He wanted to know that I would never be content to sit and wait for someone to tell me which way to go."

Killian looked around, gaze hardening. "I know you think there is only one path before you and that path is war. But I encourage you to consider another path. The one that I myself am taking." Killian permitted a brief grin. "With a few friends."

Mad smirked, then looked up when Adira patted his head. Seriously, she asked, "Are you a Gryphon too?"

Mad opened his mouth in amusement, but stopped when Alice answered for him, "Mad's the greatest Gryphon of all. And he and Killian will bring you to the sea Adira."

Mad smiled and shook his head, but looked back over when Killian spoke again. "Many of you think I am too weak. That I don't have what it takes to follow in my father's footsteps. Though, you will follow me anyway, because I am King, regardless of whether or not it will lead you to ruin."

Killian's voice rose slightly. "But know this, to be King, is to serve the people. Not the other way around. So when I ask for your help, know I ask only for what you will give freely. This is no order. This is a request."

There was a long, heavy silence and Mad held his breath. Killian had just broken every single tradition ever held by the Deck rulers and was now at the mercy of the people.

Finally, a voice rose up. The same old man who'd asked of war said, "What would you have us do my King?"

Killian's smile was as powerful as the sun and, looking down, Mad saw that Alice wore a mirroring smile. "Listen to my plan," Killian said simply.

The old man nodded slowly. "I don't know what, other than war, you think will overthrow the Queen. But listen I will."

Then, the man knelt. After a moment's hesitation, the rest followed, even the Clubs and Diamonds scattered thinly through the crowd and Mad knew he was witnessing something important. People from other Decks did not bow to a monarch other than their own. It was looked on as a betrayal. Like choosing an enemy over family.

The fact that Killian had provoked this response not only from his own people, but the other Decks as well, spoke volumes about his character and leadership.

Killian looked all around, his chest heaving with some suppressed emotion, as he came to the same conclusion that Mad had.

When Killian looked at him, Mad nodded his head before winking at him. Mad might respect Killian, but he would never bow, to anyone. It went against the grain of how he was raised.

Killian shook his head, smiling at him. After another moment, Killian called, "We've work to do."