"Somebody's head is going to roll for this!" hollered the Queen of Hearts from underneath the fabric, rage boiling in her voice.

At that moment, Alice knew she had to do something.  If she didn't act within that moment, she was as good as dead.  There was no talking the Queen down given her emotional state.  She was far too enraged to be reasoned with, so action had to be taken given the circumstances.

In order to make sense of any of this, a bit of context and some backtracking is in order.

From the moment she fell down the rabbit hole in her pursuit of the White Rabbit, Alice had ventured into a veritable Wonderland of sorts.  Over the span of the last few hours, Alice had come across numerous characters and creatures, several of which defied logic.  Among them were the White Rabbit, an eccentric Dodo Bird, a somewhat gullible lizard named Bill, a talking Doorknob, a rather odd pair of twins she met in the forest, an easily-panicked bird, a somewhat pompous Caterpillar, an entire garden full of talking flowers, a rather bonkers ‘Cheshire Cat,' a Mad Hatter along with his accomplice called the ‘March Hare,' and an easy-to-frighten DoorMouse.  So many of them were illogical and wacky to say the least, yet many of them were entertaining in one way or another from Alice's perspective.  However, her list of characters was yet to be completed, as she was about to meet perhaps the most dangerous person in Wonderland.

After making her way through the woods trying to find her way back home, Alice ended up coming into the domain of none other than the high-and-mighty "Queen of Hearts."  While engaging in a session of "painting the roses red," with a group of anthropomorphic man-size cards, Alice ended up coming into the presence of the Queen, who she found to have less than ideal characteristics one might expect from a monarch.

As it would turn out, the Queen had a rather fierce temper and was quick to lose her patience.  Her favorite phrase seemed to be "Off with their heads!" whenever someone brought forth her ire.  Young Alice believed that she would be at the mercy of the mad monarch when oddly enough, she was invited to a round of croquet with the Queen.  The game itself was rather odd to say the least, as in place of croquet mallets they used flamingoes, in place of croquet balls were rolled-up hedgehogs, and the cards in place of wickets.

After a few rounds of play, an unexpected visitor decided to make himself known exclusively to Alice alone.  Why none other than the Cheshire Cat decided to pop up out of nowhere and make the game a bit more exciting.  Deciding it would be "loads of fun" to make the Queen of Hearts really angry by having her trip over herself in the middle of her swing.  Sure enough, once Her Majesty ended up doing just that, she was fuming mad.

Quick to make accusations and deciding that Alice was the culprit without any verifiable proof, the Queen was ready to declare the young girl to be "off with her head," when oddly enough the King of Hearts decided to intervene.  While he was hesitant to go against his wife's wishes, the King decided to take momentary pity on Alice's plight and give her a chance to save herself.  He beseeched the Queen to consider a trial where Alice might defend herself to prove her innocence.  While Her Majesty was initially irritated at the idea of a trial, the King managed to convince her to preside over a "little trial" for the sake of fairness.  And so it was that a trial would be had and all parties involved were moved from the royal gardens to the courthouse.

Of course, given the circumstances that this was Wonderland where said events were taking place, things were far from rational or orderly.

Upon the start of the trial in which Alice's alleged crime of causing Her Majesty to "lose her temper" was read aloud before the judge (the King and Queen of Hearts) and jury (an assortment of anthropomorphic animals), Alice's sentence was about to be declared.  When Alice tried to inform the Queen that a verdict precedes a sentence in court, doing so ended up enraging the monarch even further.  That alone made Alice back down and let the Queen have her way.

When the Queen was about to once again declare that Alice be "off with her head," the King once more interjected and insisted that a few witnesses be brought forth so as to make the court proceedings more fair.  Once more, with reluctance, the Queen acquiesced and let it happen, but not without much irritability and hidden rage in her response.

Once again, since this was taking place in Wonderland, the witnesses called forth were nowhere near the scene of the incident, yet they were characters whom Alice was familiar with.

The first witness brought forth was the March Hare.  When asked what he knew of the incident between Alice and the Queen of Hearts, he simply replied with "nothing."

"Nothing whatever!?" inquired the Queen.

"NOTHING WHATEVER!" responded the March Hare.

"That's very important!" declared the Queen in response.  She then instructed the jury to write down those very words.  When Alice corrected Her Majesty by informing her that she meant "unimportant," the Queen responded by roaring "SILENCE!" as she rapidly banged the gavel.

The next witness brought forth was the Dormouse, residing (and sleeping) in the teapot that was more-or-less his home.  When the Queen asked him what he had to say about what occurred, he responded thusly before nodding off back to sleep:

"Twinkle twinkle, little bat; How I wonder where you're at."

"That's the most important piece of evidence we've heard yet." whispered the Queen to both the King and the jury, followed with the command to "WRITE THAT DOWN!"

"Twinkle twinkle...what next?" muttered Alice to herself as she witnessed the absurdity of all that was going on around her.  This was certainly a far cry from what would normally proceed in a court of law.  However, given where she was, it should not really come off as too much of a surprise as to what was occurring before her eyes.  This whole world was one of total nonsense, after all.

The next witness brought forth turned out to be the Mad Hatter.  As he presented himself to the court, the Queen ordered him to be "off with [his] hat," which he complied with accordingly.  The King of Hearts asked him his whereabouts when the incident occurred, and the Hatter responded that he was at home, drinking tea.  He then elaborated that today was his "unbirthday."

Upon hearing this, the King decided to strike up some good news to lift his wife's spirit.

"Why my dear, today is your unbirthday too!" he told the Queen.

"It is?" she asked, her face lighting up with joy.

"It is?" asked the Mad Hatter and March Hare as they shook each other's hands.

"It is?"  roared the entire courtroom as Alice stared wide-eyed and mouth wide open as she took in the absurdity of the whole situation.

Sure enough, the entire courtroom minus Alice was joining as one in song and festivities to celebrate the Queen's unbirthday.  All Alice could do to bear through the absurdity of it all was to bury her face in her hands and wait for the singing to come to an end.  

As the song neared its grand finale, the Mad Hatter presented a cake covered in several dozens of candles, somehow already lit as it were.  The Queen of Hearts let forth a great burst of breath onto the cake, snuffing out all the candles at once.  A moment later, the cake exploded like a firecracker, yet left no icing nor batter onto Her Majesty's face oddly enough.  In fact, the cake had somehow disappeared the very moment it exploded, being replaced with a neatly wrapped gift box for the Queen to open.

In the span of a heartbeat, the Queen ferociously tore at the box and the wrapping paper inside of it the way a small child would unwrap presents on Christmas or on their birthday celebrations.  There was such childlike wonder in her eyes as she eagerly tore through to find out what the prize was that lay within the package.

After overcoming both the wrapping paper and the stuffing paper within the box, the Queen had unearthed the contents that laid within.  It was a sort of over-the-top, mushroom-shaped decorative headpiece, colored a deep purple, with a set of pearls that formed a sort of smile at the ‘head' of the object.  At the very top of the headpiece was a miniature golden crown, similar to Her Majesty's own crown, resting neatly atop it in a somewhat comical fashion.  While perhaps a bit much in terms of taste, it was a nice enough looking object in and of itself.  It certainly amused and delighted the Queen enough as she handled it and placed it atop her own crown soon after.

As the song came to an end, the Queen of Hearts took in the adoration of her newly acquired decorative headpiece.  In that moment, she was the center of attention, which made her as giddy as a schoolgirl in the popular kids' clique.  She was always at her happiest whenever all eyes were on her.  Down below, Alice drummed her fingers against her cheek, just trying to "go with the flow" as it were and wait for all the over-the-top theatrics to come to an end.  Hopefully, with the Queen in a good mood, she might be able to finish this trial without losing her head.  As she glanced towards the monarch with mild curiosity, a visitor decided to make himself known once more.

The very moment the song came to an end, the Queen's decorative headpiece had inexplicably morphed from an inanimate object into a very live character.  The headpiece had been replaced with none other than the Cheshire Cat, who sat atop the Queen's crown, his wide toothy grin replacing the pearls that accommodated the headpiece previously.  The moment this change occurred, Alice could not help to point out what had just happened to the Queen.

"Oh!  Your Majesty!" declared Alice, joy lighting up in her face.

"Yes, my dear?"  responded the Queen, giggling as blissful ignorance consumed her while the Cheshire Cat waved to Alice from atop the monarch's crown.

"Look!  There he is now!"  said Alice, pointing towards the Queen's head.

"Huh?  Who!?"  asked Her Majesty, looking left and right, while the Cheshire Cat moved his head in the opposite direction relative to the Queen's head.

"The Cheshire Cat!"  declared Alice, pointing atop her own head to signal to the Queen of Hearts where he currently was.

"Cat!"  roared the Queen, reaching above her own head to nab him.

Unfortunately for the Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat was simply too quick and clever to be caught so easily.  The moment his location was confirmed, he had inexplicably vanished into thin air once more, as was his nature.  Also unfortunately for the Queen, her shouting of the word "cat" had alerted the Dormouse, who was deathly afraid of cats and reacted accordingly.  A second later, he had left his teapot and began scurrying back and forth across the shelf of the Queen's podium before running up Her Majesty's frontside and face, soon after jumping atop her head behind her.

Feeling the need to intervene, the Mad Hatter and March Hare were close in pursuit of the Dormouse, running up the Queen's frontside and jumping off of her head right behind the Dormouse in their hopes to catch him.  That ended up with the Queen of Hearts, the Dormouse, the Mad Hatter, and the March Hare all tangled up as they ended up knocking loose a banner behind the Queen's podium.  Once it tangled down towards the floor, it ended up wrapping Her Majesty and the others into one big bundle.  From there, things only got worse.

As the gang bounced around underneath the fabric, the Mad Hatter called for a dose of grape jam, which apparently helped calm down the Dormouse if a small dose of it was slathered across his nose, oddly enough.  His declaration was backed up by the King of Hearts, who at the moment was bouncing upon his wife's tushy while pounding it with his gavel.

"The jam!  The jam!  By order of the king!" decreed the King.

Trying to aid in the situation, Alice reached for a jar of said jam off of a nearby podium.  A moment later, the March Hare pulled out a spoon and thrust it deep into the jar, pulling out a large gob of grape jam and throwing it in the general direction of the Queen of Hearts.

"Let me have it!" hollered the Queen, poking her head out from underneath the banner.  Her command would soon enough be honored, just not in the way she was expecting.

The gob of jam splashed hard into the Queen's face, making a particularly loud slurping, squishing sound as it collided.  While that was going on, the Dormouse was rushing along the Queen's backside, with the King of Hearts right behind him, gavel in hand.  In his attempt to pacify the panicking rodent, the King attempted to give him one good wallop with his gavel if the Dormouse would just pause for one second.  As the Dormouse leapt off the Queen's head, the King made his attempt, missing the Dormouse by inches as he brought the hammer down atop his wife's head, making a particularly loud ringing sound like that of a church bell as he did so.

The King and the March Hare stood atop over the Queen of Hearts, who was still underneath the banner, having just been bashed atop her head after being slathered in grape jam seconds before.  Curious as to her reaction, they got their answer a moment later when Her Majesty's voice growled from underneath the fabric.

That brings us to the start of this chapter, dear reader.

Not wanting to be on the receiving end of the Queen's rage, the King of Hearts frantically handed the mallet to the March Hare.  The March Hare in turn handed it to the Mad Hatter, who soon after placed the item into Alice's right hand.  Temporarily dumbfounded, Alice soon after realized in one hand that she held the gavel and in the other hand she still held the jar of jam that was inadvertently used on Her Majesty in all of the commotion.  Given the circumstances, holding both items at that moment was practically a death sentence if the Queen spotted Alice right there and then.

As it so happens, that is just what occurred in that very moment.  Clawing her way out from the banner by tearing through with her fingers, with jam dripping from her face, the Queen spotted Alice holding both objects as she stared at the girl with murder in her eyes.

In a desperate attempt to save herself, Alice pitched both items and placed her hands into her apron pockets, with a sideways glance and a cute little smirk on her face to try and feign innocence.  It was all for naught however, as the Queen of Hearts spotted Alice holding both objects a second before she tossed them.

"A-haaa!"  hollered the Queen at that moment.

Realizing she needed to act fast and decisively, Alice brainstormed on something she could do to save herself.  Otherwise, she was guaranteed to be decapitated there and then, especially since the Queen of Hearts was most likely at her angriest at that very moment.  It was when she shoved her hands into her pockets that her salvation was presented to her.

"The mushroom!" whispered Alice to herself as she brought out the pieces of the plant in her hands.  She stared at them briefly, trying to discern which piece was which.  From what she could recall of her time with the hookah-smoking Caterpillar, the mushroom pieces would drastically alter her size.

"One side will make you grow taller...and the other side will make you grow shorter."  That was what he told her the moment he transformed into a butterfly and flew off.  Now she just needed to remember which piece was which.  It was time for an experimental case of trial and error.

Bringing the piece in her left hand to her mouth, Alice nibbled a small chunk of the mushroom to find out whether the piece would cause her to grow or shrink.  She got her answer a few seconds later as the world around her began to enlarge and tower over her.  Rapidly she dwindled further and further until she was perhaps an inch high at that.  Both pieces of mushroom, once small chunks that could fit in the palms of her hands, were now quite substantial in terms of size relative to Alice's new stature (or lack thereof).

Meanwhile, the Queen of Hearts was bellowing her favorite saying while Alice was shrinking.

"Off with her he-" yelled the Queen, before stopping in the middle of her declaration.  The young lady had inexplicably disappeared, which made Her Majesty all the more angry.

"What in the...where is she?!  Find her, you fools!" hollered the Queen.

"Yes, Your Majesty!  Right Away, my Queen!"  was the response from various guards throughout the courtroom, eager to please their master.  Some of them started making their way towards Alice's podium, given that was the girl's last known location before vanishing.

Back with Alice, now that she had figured out which piece was which, it was time to put her plan into action.  Given her current size or the size she was previously, she would be at the mercy of the Queen of Hearts and her army of playing-card-shaped guards.  But if she proved to be too big of a force to be trifled with, the tables would turn and she would no longer need to fear for her safety.  Eyeing the mushroom piece in her right hand, she began chomping into it and eating it as quickly as possible.  With the bravado that the young lady was consuming the mushroom, one might have figured she was training to win an eating competition.  She was finishing up the entire mushroom piece when large shadows loomed over her, which happened to belong to the guards which were peering over the podium and staring straight down at Alice.

"She's right here, Your Majesty!  We've found her!" declared one of the guards.

"Very good!  Now bring her here, right away!"  exclaimed the Queen, eager to see the young girl punished as soon as possible.

The guards reached out to snatch young Alice from within the podium she was hiding behind, eager to please their queen.  Sure enough, the young girl would be within their grasp.  At her current size, it would be mere child's play to arrest her, and then...wait a moment.  What was going on?  Was she getting...bigger?

"Well, what's taking so long?  Bring her here, immediately!" hollered the Queen, eager to see the young lady punished.  After so much waiting and so much drama, Her Majesty was only too eager to have the girl punished for angering her in the first place.

"Off with her hea-" the Queen was about to finish with the word "head" when all of a sudden she was cast in shadow within a split second.  Whereas she was looking far downwards towards Alice, she was now looking upwards and further upwards every second.  Where she was so sure of enacting her vengeance against the young girl, the Queen was now timid and only too eager to shut her mouth as Alice shot upwards towards the ceiling like a rocket.  The little girl had become quite the opposite in terms of size in the span of a few seconds.

Onwards and upwards went young Alice, towering before all that surrounded her.  The first time she ate the mushroom, she shot up in hiccup-like spurts as she ascended through the forest.  This time, however, she went upwards continuously with no interruptions.  She wondered if her head would end up colliding with the courtroom ceiling at this rate.  She got her answer soon enough as her head and shoulders did just that with a somewhat comical bumping sound.  Shutting her eyes instinctively from the impact, her arms automatically jerked upwards as she waited for the effects to wear off.  Her legs stood pressed together forming a mighty pillar as her feet occupied all the space within her podium.  Her dress had opened up somewhat like an umbrella, covering everything around and below her in shadow.  As she opened her eyes, Alice took in her new surroundings.  Looking straight ahead, she could see the flags and banners that hung along the courtroom walls, a good fifty feet or more above the ground from what Alice could discern.

As she blinked in bewilderment at the sudden change in stature, Alice could feel minor pinpricks down below around her lower legs, at just above the ankle.  She proceeded to press against the folds of her dress against her legs to get a better view of what was going on.  Lo and behold, there was a small group of card guards poking at her legs with their spears and lances, trying to harm her as much as possible.  While their efforts produced little more than minor physical irritants, the fact that they tried to attack a lone girl was what irked her more than anything.

"Oh pooh," declared Alice, "I'm not afraid of you."  She began descending by bending at both her knees and her waist, dropping straight down as she reached out with her right hand towards the guards.  Soon enough, they all gave up on their pitiful effort to harm the giant girl and began fleeing every which way they could.  Several of them ended up piling atop one another in perfect alignment, forming a small card stack in the process.  Perhaps they intended to initiate a form of "duck and cover" to somehow avoid being picked up by the colossal young lady.  If that was their intent, it was a foolhardy move, for doing so had quite the opposite effect.  Alice reached out with the greatest of ease and snachted the stack of cards that was oh so generously prepared for her before standing back up to her full height.

Holding five of the card guards in her right hand, she moved them with natural grace between her fingers as if she were opening a hand fan, looking straight at them from her heightened position.  The irony was not lost on her that the guards really were now card-sized from her newly enlarged position.

"Why, you're nothing but a pack of cards!" declared Alice as the guards opened their eyes, realizing they were no longer hunkered down flat against the floor.  In unison, they collectively gasped as they wondered what would become of them as they lingered in the giant girl's right hand.  They got their answer a moment later as they were tossed in one graceful motion as Alice flicked her wrist and spread her massive but delicate fingers outward.  The guards floated in the air briefly before beginning their slow wayward descent towards the ground, floating as they did so around the judge's podium below.

Recomposing herself after getting her point across on the new power dynamic within the courtroom, Alice took deep breath before bringing her hands together, fingers laced, across her waistline in a waiting position as she stood straight up (or as straight as she could, with her neck somewhat bent against the ceiling).  With a slight upward curving of her lips, Alice calmly smiled downward at the judge's podium, which stood no higher than her knees.  Her deep blue eyes looked down upon the King of Hearts as he started reading aloud from what was apparently the courtroom rulebook.  Apparently, he felt the need to restore order in the court.

"Rule 42," he started, "All persons more than a mile high must leave the court immediately!" he looked high up at Alice, wagging his index finger in an attempt to appear stern and commanding.  However, given the circumstances, it was a rather comical gesture.  Before Alice's growth spurt, the King was already small compared to the girl.  Now at her new size, it was like a mouse trying to order her what to do.  Still, the thought of being given commands even now irked the young lady somewhat.  The smile on her face had disappeared and was replaced with an annoyed looking scowl as she decided to respond in kind to the King's declaration.

"I am not a mile high!" retorted Alice, placing her arms against the sides of her waist, fists balled as she barked back from her towering position.  She soon enough regained her composure and once more brought her hands together in front of her waist, one hand gently splayed out over the other as she closed her eyes and took deep breaths once more.

"And I'm not leaving."  she declared in a lower volume and calmer tone of voice.

Down below, the Queen of Hearts reappeared after hiding during the sudden growth of the young lady.  Whereas minutes ago she was ready to have the girl's head removed from her body without a moment's hesitation, now she was more-or-less cowering in the shadow of this giantess that stood before her.  Nervously giggling as she fiddled with her crown in her hands, trying to bend it back into position after being flattened by the gavel earlier before, the Queen looked high up at the girl and tried to get her to go along with her husband's decree.

"Sorry," muttered the Queen in a more humbled tone of voice, "Rule 42 you know..."

Apparently, Alice did not see things the same way as the King and Queen of Hearts, and decided to give them a piece of her mind, now that she was no longer in danger.  Bending down once more at her knees and waist, she stretched out her arms and aimed towards their podium, gripping its sides with perfect grace.  She brought her face as up close as she could, her magnified beautiful features now taking up the vision of the monarchs that sat before her.  Even in her crouched position, she still towered over the pair sitting in their podium by several feet.

"And as for you..." declared Alice as she stared intently at the Queen of Hearts, her deep red lips puckering in a cute "O" shape as her eyes focused on her with sniper-like intensity, her eyebrows furrowing, and her shadow darkening around the King and Queen.  The Queen instinctively grabbed her husband and used him as a sort of human shield, holding him in front of her to protect her head and torso.  The gesture was comical to say the least, given that at Alice's current size, she could simply grab the both of them with one hand or stomp on them with one of her feet if she so desired.

Bringing herself up in a standing position once more, Alice decided to have some fun with the pair.  Yet again, she bent at both the waist and knees, holding fistfuls of her dress in each hand she lifted up her skirt.  She brought her head down in a mock show of respect, as she was initiating the act of curtsying, which was something the Queen was heavily insistent on when Alice first met her in the gardens.

"Your Majesty..." declared Alice, elongating the "a" in the word "majesty," as she bent and smiled at the King and Queen.  Even in her showing of fake deference, the young girl still towered over them, casting them in her shadow the entire time.  She began to stand straight up once more after finishing her curtsy, letting her arms rest at her side while her neck bent yet again as her head and shoulders made contact with the ceiling once more.

"Your Majesty, indeed..." said Alice, the annoyance in her voice becoming apparent.  She was ready to give the Queen a stern talking to, given what the girl had to go through in the midst of the trial and all the grief she had to endure when it was her very life on the line.

"Why you're not a queen!" declared Alice, who was now on a roll.  She proceeded to wag her finger at the monarch the way a parent would lecture and berate a small child whenever the child misbehaved.  Given the change in size and the new power dynamic between the two, it seemed only fitting.

"You're just a...a...a fat, pompous, bad-tempered old tyrant!" said Alice.  She really wanted to let the Queen have it and make her somewhat humbled in this very moment.  She was ready to add more on to the lecture when suddenly an old, familiar feeling returned in the pit of Alice's stomach.

"And furthermore...I...I think that...that...oh...oh goodness...what is...what is happening...to...me?" said Alice with sudden, deep breaths.  It seemed the mushroom had not fully run its course after all.

Before Alice could compose herself and continue in her rant against the Queen of Hearts, she found herself wincing hard as her head and shoulders suddenly pushed much harder than before into the ceiling.  Her neck was becoming far more strained than before, so she bent slightly at the knees and placed her hands flat against the ceiling in order to relieve pressure on her neck.  Down below, her feet were beginning to feel cramped where they stood in the podium, as they had filled it to capacity after her initial growth spurt.  Everywhere, her body ballooned and elongated more and more, growing well past fifty feet and showing no signs of slowing down, let alone stopping.

"Oh my goodness...why is this happening now?" muttered Alice aloud to herself.  She figured that she should be done growing at this point, but apparently the mushroom piece decided to be far more potent than before.  It was anyone's guess as to how far the young lady would end up growing to be after this growth spurt had run its course.

"Oh my fur and whiskers," hollered the White Rabbit as he watched the girl expand larger and larger, "everyone flee!  Run for your lives!"  He proceeded to blow his trumpet to make the statement official, though at this point, everyone in the courtroom was made plainly aware of what was occurring as the sixty foot tall girl continued to enlarge.

"This court is adjourned!" hollered the King of Hearts as he banged his gavel before making his way down and fleeing as quickly as his little legs could carry him.  The Queen of Hearts, meanwhile, had already bolted as quickly as she could, running in a sort of jogging motion away from the vicinity, given her heavyset build.  The numerous guards, jurors, and witnesses were scattering every which way and direction, several bumping into each other as they made their way to the nearest exit.  It was pure pandemonium at this point as Alice pushed past seventy feet tall, then eighty, then ninety, and then over a hundred feet in height.

As she increased in size, physical destruction ended up occurring in her immediate vicinity, as was inevitably going to be the case.  The first thing to go was the podium where she stood.  After pushing past seventy feet or so, the stand simply gave way and split apart at the mercy of Alice's growing feet and strong, but supple calf muscles.  Now with the freedom to readjust her footing, Alice widened her stance so that her feet were in line with her shoulders.  She bent further at the knees and waist to give herself space and relieve her head, shoulders, and neck the best she could.  Though with her ever-increasing stature, the act would only buy her a little bit of time, in the span of seconds at that.

At over a hundred feet in height, Alice had doubled her previous height from the first growth spurt.  With that being the circumstance, she was bent substantially at both her knees and her waist, as if she were bending over to pick something off the floor.  Her feet began making cracks and heavy indentations in the ground as she grew, so great was her weight that the floor was beginning to show signs of strain.  The same could be said for the ceiling, where Alice's head and hands were pressed up against.  The larger she grew, the more pressure that was placed against the wooden surface.

"Goodness, this is too much!" declared Alice at her growing predicament (pun intended).

"I simply must stop all of this growing!  I'm much too large as it is now!" said the ever-growing girl as she eclipsed over 150 feet in height.  By this point, the courtroom was finished in its evacuation and only the formerly accused girl (now found not guilty by reason of rapid unstoppable growth) remained within the chamber.

"I cannot grow much further...that is simply impossible, right?" said Alice to herself, hoping this growth spurt was nearing its end.  As if in response, her body rapidly kicked the growth into high gear to prove the young lady wrong.

Now at over 200 feet in height, Alice was forced to readjust her position from a crouched stance to kneeling on the floor.  In as much of a controlled descent as she could manage, she brought her knees forward as she crouched downward.  Her left knee ended up demolishing the stands where the jury sat not long ago, obliterating it in one foul swoop.  Meanwhile, her right knee completely crushed the judge's podium where the King and Queen of Hearts presided during the court hearing.  It only held up for a second at most before cracking and fragmenting into hundreds of freshly broken up pieces.

Now that she was on her knees, Alice shifted her hands from the ceiling to the floor to help further steady herself.  The 250 foot girl was propped up on all fours and looking around the courtroom from a bird's eye view.  It was surreal that her head was still pressed up against the ceiling, yet her hands were touching the ground below with no strain or effort whatsoever.

"Oh dear," said Alice with worry both plastered on her face and emanating within the tone of her voice, "how in goodness gracious am I going to get out of here now?"  It seemed her body would resolve her dilemma the one way it knew how: more growth.

In another instant, Alice's body surged upwards and outwards, ballooning the girl to over 300 feet in height.  At this point, the young lady's colossal body now weighs several thousands of tons, and proves this by making deep indentations in the courtroom floorboards.  Her hands and legs from knee to foot press into the ground by several feet, making pits deep enough for a tall man to fall into and disappear.  Up above, her head, shoulders, back, and hindquarters thrust mightily into the ceiling, causing cracks to form throughout it and bits of wood and plaster to rain down in response to the sudden upward shifting.  The entire roof begins to form one large crack that runs parallel to Alice's spine, which enlarges as the young girl does.

Now at over 350 in height, Alice begins to feel quite claustrophobic in her current situation.  Gently clenching her teeth and closing her eyes shut tight, she ponders at how much further her growth is going to proceed.  She was at least thankful that there was nobody else in the courtroom, as she didn't wish to cause any undue harm towards anybody.  Even the Queen of Hearts, as cruel as she was, was not someone Alice desired to torture or punish with outright cruelty, even if she desired the girl's decapitation not so long ago.  It simply wasn't in her nature to be malicious or sadistic; such behavior was not befitting someone who wished to be a proper lady.  Such action would be frowned upon, especially by her sister of all people.

As her body grew at over 400 feet in height, Alice felt more and more compressed in her current dwellings.  She figured that the mushroom should have run its course by now, but given that she was currently in Wonderland, she apparently needed to be reminded from time to time that this whole world was one of nonsense, where logic and rationality simply had no place in it.  For all she knew, the mushroom really might make her over a mile high when all was said and done.  At that size, everything around Alice would be practically microscopic compared to her.  The thought was as shocking as it was frightening to the young girl.  She didn't mind being big, but she didn't desire to be so big that she could no longer safely interact with the world around her.  Being such a size would end up with living a rather lonely and solitary life, as she would be simply too huge to come into contact with anyone or anything without creating severe physical destruction or bodily harm.

"Oh really, this was all well and good at first, but enough is enough!  Please, no more growing!" pleaded Alice as her body erupted with an even larger burst, now at over 500 feet in height.  At this point, she was hunkered down in a fetal position, more or less.  Her entire back from head to tushy was pressing mightily against the entire courtroom ceiling, knocking flags, banners, plaster, and chunks of wood paneling off as she grew.  Her hips and shoulders now pressed at opposite ends of the courtroom.  Everything below her was demolished into the smallest of pieces as her hands, feet, and legs plowed onward and outward in all directions.

In one final show, her body decided to give her one last growth spurt, one which would put all the previous spurts to shame.

Meanwhile, outside the courtroom, the Queen of Hearts and everyone else had long vacated the premises.  Standing outside in the gardens, the crowd turned back towards the large building they once occupied only moments ago.  Said building was now occupied by one very, very, very big girl, who appeared to keep getting bigger and bigger.  With hushed silence, the crowd stood with awe as the building began to bulge upward and outward, groaning loudly and mightily like some gargantuan beast.  Cracks began forming along the roof and walls while windows along the exterior shattered here and there.

"Oh dear," muttered the King of Hearts, "how...how big do you think she is right now?"

"She must be several hundred feet tall by now." whispered one card guard to his comrades.

"How much does she weigh is what I want to know." muttered another guard.

"She held a bunch of us up in the air like it was nothing before." stated yet another guard, "If she's as big as I'm guessing she is now, she could probably hold all of us in one hand with no effort."  He said this with a quiet alarm written on his face, as if he were in the presence of a god.

The Queen of Hearts, for her part, simply stared with wide eyes and mouth slightly open at the sight before her.  She was humbled enough after the girl's first growth spurt; when the girl continued to grow after that, it made Her Majesty all the more nervous.  If she was as big as the Queen was guessing, the girl could overtake her entire army with just the stomp of her foot.  She could overthrow her kingdom in just a few minutes.  The thought of such power in a child's hands was as frightening as it was infuriating from the monarch's perspective.

The White Rabbit stood there with wide eyes at the sight before him.  Unlike the others, he had witnessed something like this previously at his own home.  If this girl happened to be the same one who grew inside of his house, then it really was a case of deja vu from his perspective.  Of course, the White Rabbit's house was much, much smaller than the courtroom, and this girl was currently filling the building well beyond capacity.  As big as she was when she occupied his house back then, the girl was going to tower over that size several times over at this rate.

"Who knows," muttered another card guard to try and alleviate everyone's worries, "maybe she'll stop growing and stay stuck in the building.  At the very least she'll be trapped and we won't have to worry about her right away."

"You really think that is going to happen?" responded another guard, the skepticism in his voice all too apparent.

"I don't know," responded the first, "I mean, she can't grow forever now, can she?  Her growth has to come to a stop sooner or later, right?"

As if to respond to the suggestion right then and there, the courtroom loudly groaned and bellowed with a deep monstrous growl before finally exploding.

The roof, by this point bulging substantially outward, seemed to burst as if a bomb was detonated underneath it.  An ocean of golden blonde locks of hair with a black ribbon nestled within them rose from the roof, followed by beautiful feminine features.  Young vibrant skin, rosy cheeks, ruby red lips, cute button nose, deep baby blue eyes, well-rounded chin, thin feminine eyebrows.  An entire head larger than the White Rabbit's house ascended beyond the courtroom roof, shooting up like a rocket.

Followed by the head was a slender neck and broad yet feminine shoulders, connected to arms that were a mix of slim and muscled ending in long but slender fingers protruding from delicate feminine hands.  Below the neck was a rather generous bosom underneath (seemed the mushroom gave Alice another type of growth as well), a slimmed-down waistline along with prodigious hips and a humbly-enlarged rear end that made its presence abundantly clear, even underneath Alice's dress (now shrunken to a skirt that rested at mid thigh on her).  Below the waistline were strong thighs and calf muscles (both retaining feminine appeal while exuding strength and power), covered in snow white stockings that practically looked as if they were painted on.  

The girl's feet could not be seen, only because they were still within the confines of what remained of the courtroom.  Mind you, everything from the ankle up could be seen of the girl.  That meant the courthouse was no taller than Alice's ankle.  Whereas before she stood in the courtroom with her head and shoulders pressed against the ceiling just minutes ago, she was now so big, so colossal, so titanic that the entire building was no higher than the girl's ankle now.  She had to be well over a thousand feet tall by this point.  Given her size increase and the degree of beautification the final growth spurt had inflicted on her, she had the presence of an outright goddess before all who looked upon her.  She was as beautiful as she was powerful, and that was saying something.

"Ahhh...goodness, that's much better!" declared Alice, her lovely voice now magnified with the speaking power of several hundreds of megaphones.  She looked around from her newly enlarged position and stared wide eyed at all she saw before her.

Whereas she exhaled with relief upon being freed of the confines of the courthouse, she now had shock and alarm written all over her face.  Her newly acquired stature gave her a bird's eye view of all the land she could see around her for miles.  Whatever trees she saw in the forest were shorter than blades of grass to her now.  The tallest buildings in her vicinity (in this case the towers of the Queen of Hearts's castle) were no higher than her shins.  When she looked about her immediate vicinity, she could actually see clouds directly in front of her.  Alice had her head in the clouds, quite literally!

When she looked downwards around her, she eventually spotted everyone who was in the courtroom with her just a few minutes ago.  Before her second growth spurt, they were small compared to her, tiny even.  Now, saying they were tiny would be something of an understatement given her newly acquired size.  Compared to Alice, by her standards, nobody she saw was an inch tall; scratch that, nobody she saw was even half an inch tall compared to her, not even close.  Some of the tallest in the group might have been a quarter of an inch tall, a third of an inch at most, but those were the tallest among them.

Alice wagered that if she so desired, she could scoop up everyone from the courtroom into her hands and dump them all into the pockets of the apron that rested upon her skirt.  She figured there would be enough pocket space for everyone to fit comfortably.  Even if she had no pockets, she could most likely hold the entire group in both hands with room for everyone to lay comfortably.  She might even be able to hold all of them in one hand if they were packed together tightly, but that could risk bodily harm if she squeezed her fist too tight to try and contain all of them.

Of course, Alice had no intention of making a move to grab any of them, not even the Queen of Hearts, even if she might have deserved it for trying to have Alice beheaded earlier.  She was merely thinking of what she could do given her recent increase in overall size.  Such was her nature that she couldn't help but entertain hypothetical scenarios now and then.  She was a daydreamer, after all.

"Uhhh...h-hello." said Alice somewhat sheepishly as she waved downwards at the crowd far below.  It was a rather comical and ironic sight unfolding in that moment:  Here was a girl who had become an outright titan in the span of a few minutes who was now embarrassed and somewhat timid before the crowd who had her on trial not so long ago.  She planned on enlarging herself in order to save her life, but what came after that?  It was a spur-of-the-moment situation that required Alice to act quickly.  Now that she was no longer in danger, what was she to do now?  Where would she go?  Could she shrink back to her original size, or would she remain a giant for the rest of her life?  The questions went on and on in her mind, with very few answers to bring relief or closure.

"Umm...I suppose that the trial is now over, correct?" asked Alice as she stared down at the group which was covered in her shadow.  After some muttering amongst the crowd, there was a high-pitched squeaking coming from the King of Hearts, who was using his oversized crown as an impromptu megaphone to try and communicate with Alice.  However, Alice could not make out the words from her current height.

"I'm sorry, but I can't quite hear you.  One moment please." responded the gigantic girl.  She proceeded to lift her feet out from the rubble that was the courthouse and made her way over in just a few modest steps.  The very ground trembled with every footfall and everyone in the crowd lost their footing and fell down in a rather embarrassing fashion.  In just a few seconds, Alice had stopped right in front of the crowd, her colossal feet now visible along with the rest of her.  Her shoes had a new, shiny look to them and it appeared that her heels had somehow risen by a significant amount during her second growth spurt.  By Alice's standards, the heel had risen by a good two or three inches, but from the crowd's perspective, the heel was tens of feet above the ground.  Alice's ankles alone were around fifty feet tall, give or take a few feet.  Just another reminder of how massive she had become.

All of a sudden, the young girl descended downward, still standing on her feet.  She had compacted her body and placed her hands upon her knees to help balance herself.  While she may have lowered her overall height by about half, she still towered over the group by a few hundred feet nonetheless.  Some of the card guards and jurors ran about in a frenzy, afraid that she was going to fall forward and crush the whole lot of them.  Fortunately, while the young girl was massive, she was attentive and careful enough to not lose her footing or her balance as she crouched down as low as she could go.

Turning her head to the right, Alice gracefully took her left hand and ran her fingers through the long, flowing locks of luscious blonde hair on the left side of her scalp, revealing her ear to the group far below her.  She proceeded to lean down as far as she could, bringing her ear closer and closer towards the King of Hearts as she descended.  The closer he was to her ear, the easier it would be for her to hear him.  He was simply too small for Alice to make out what he was saying, the pitch in his voice was too high for her eardrums to register the words succinctly.  Using her right arm for support to balance herself as she knelt further down, Alice brought her ear less than a hundred feet away from the King.

From the perspective of those far beneath her, Alice's right arm was like a mountainous pillar descending from the heavens as it crashed into the ground far off to their left.  Those closest to it could make out the well-manicured fingernails and the dainty feminine fingers that laid flat across the earth.  Each finger could hold several persons on it at a time.  Her entire palm could hold at least half of the courtroom's occupants, if not the vast majority of them.  A moment ago, the young girl's hand could hold five or six of the card guards after her first growth spurt.  Now at her current size, she could probably hold all the guards put together, and they would probably weigh nothing from Alice's perspective.  Such a realization was as amazing as it was frightening to everyone on the ground below the titaness.

"Now then," continued Alice, her ear hovering over the King of Hearts and those near him, "what were you saying, good sir?"

From his perspective, the King could make out Alice's facial features quite clearly.  She was remarkably beautiful from what he saw.  Her face was something between a porcelain doll and a professional model.  Everything about her was practically flawless - her chin, her cheekbones, her nose, the shine of her long flowing hair, her slender neck, the color of her eyes, the color of her lips and how they instinctively pouted half the time when the girl talked.  It seemed the mushroom that she ate magnified her beauty as well as her size when she transformed.  He could tell as much from the swell of both her bosom and her posterior, as well as how her waistline shrunk somewhat and her legs transformed to be both thick and yet surprisingly long to make them have perfect proportionality.  It was like she had runway model legs now.  Her entire body seemed to mature by a few years, making her have the appearance of a girl now in her late teens or early twenties rather than someone who was in her early teenage years.

Speaking through his crown once more, the King responded.

"Yes!  The trial is over!  The court finds you not guilty!" he hollered.

"Oh good, very good," responded Alice, her breath knocking back several individuals as she spoke.  Upon witnessing this, Alice momentarily blushed as she stared awkwardly down upon the tiny crowd.  She brought a hand up to her mouth as she sheepishly followed up with her initial reply, lowering her speaking volume.

"Oh, I beg your pardon, everyone.  Sorry for that.  It would seem that it's taking a bit for me to adjust to my new size.  Again, I'm awfully sorry for everything, especially the courthouse...or uhh...what's left of it."  Alice glanced behind her, looking downward at the ruins where the mighty building once stood.  Alice wagered at her current size, if the building wasn't reduced to obliterated rubble, she could most likely carry it in her hands with the same ease as she would her cat, Dinah (back when she was her regular size before venturing down the rabbit hole).

"All water under the bridge, my dear!" hollered the King of Hearts in response.  The last thing he wanted to do was invoke the wrath of this all-mighty giantess who loomed over all of them.  Even if he decided to charge her for the destruction of the courthouse, what exactly could he or anyone in the kingdom do to punish her?  She was bigger than everyone else put together by several hundreds of times over.  Even if she was guilty of destroying the building, there was no feasible way to detain her, let alone carry out any act of physical punishment...certainly not when the girl towered more than a thousand feet above them all.

"Wouldn't you agree, my dear?" the King asked his wife, hoping she would agree.  The Queen came out of her momentary stupor of staring at this girl who had practically transformed into a goddess before their eyes.

"Uhh...yes, quite right...no hard feelings and all that!" hollered the Queen.  She figured if anyone were to give deferential treatment to this girl, it was her above all others, especially since she was hollering "Off with her head!" several times over during the last few minutes.

"Well, I'm happy we could resolve this without violence or any further unpleasantness." said Alice in response.  While she kept her voice reasonably low by her standards, the impact from her breath was still enough to push back against those far below her, especially the card guards given their physical form.

"Um...if it's no trouble, I think I'm going to take my leave then," said Alice, "I wouldn't want to impose any further, and I feel my presence may be a bit troublesome under these circumstances.  So, if you don't mind..."

Even now, the fact that this girl was asking if it would be alright for her to leave was as absurd as it was comical.  If she so desired, she could make herself the next Queen - heck, the next Empress - of all of Wonderland and there would be nothing anyone could do to stop her.  Her size alone was enough to make her the number one force of raw power before any and all who may oppose her.  If the girl wanted to leave, she could simply do so of her own accord and there would be nothing anyone could do to stop her, not even slow her down in the slightest.  Perhaps it was simply in her nature as a proper lady to ask politely, for to Alice, rudeness was simply not in her nature.

"Yes!  By all means, take your leave!" hollered the Queen of Hearts, only too happy to see the giant girl off and away from her kingdom.  She looked at all the others and gave them a look on her face reading ‘back me up!' and gestured with her arms to agree with her, should they no longer wish to be living in fear of the titaness kneeling before them.

Seconds later, everyone else was hooting and hollering in agreement with the Queen, yelling various forms of agreement with the monarch for Alice to take her leave.  While it was hard for the girl to make out everything they were saying, she could pick up on key words and phrases like "yes", "please go", and "leave" here and there.

"Alright then, I shall take my leave then.  Again, I'm terribly sorry about the courthouse back there.  I didn't expect to grow so much.  I mean, I know they say ‘Big things come in small packages,' but I wasn't planning on being this big after all."  Alice used her hands to gesture to her entire body, also accentuating her enlarged bosom and the slight swell of her rump, whether intentionally or not was anyone's guess.  Either way, it made the Queen of Hearts grumble somewhat at this girl flaunting her newly enhanced beauty, whether she meant to or not.

"Well then, it's been very nice spending time with all of you, odd as it was.  But I simply must be on my way now.  My sister and Dinah must be oh so worried over me and I need to get back home quite soon.  Goodbye then." said Alice with minor cheerfulness in her voice.  She stood up once more, towering high into the sky.  She spaced her legs apart somewhat, which made her appear as the Colossus of Rhodes standing before the gathered assembly, who at this point were more-or-less the size of ants from Alice's perspective.

Ironically enough, Alice decided to curtsy one last time as her final way of saying farewell, and ended up giving quite a show to those down below in the process.

Bringing her left leg behind her right, Alice bent one last time at the waist and pinched the sides of her dress in each hand.  After her second growth spurt, her dress had apparently shortened to become closer to a skirt, ending halfway up her thighs.  That meant there was less cloth to hike up, lest Alice felt like revealing her bloomers to the crowd below.  She proceeded to bend forward, her enhanced bosom hanging pendulously above the crowd in the process (and making several of the men below blush heavily, especially the King of Hearts).  Alice's golden blonde hair cascaded down her back and shoulders almost like a waterfall frozen in place.  Her lovely facial features were closer for everyone to marvel at.  She truly looked like a sort of goddess come to life after she enlarged, a being who was as mighty as she was lovely.

Finishing her curtsy, Alice ascended once more to her full standing height.  With a final wave of her hand, the young lady began her trek to return home after a day full of adventure in Wonderland.

"Goodbye now, everyone!" said the young girl, speaking at regular volume now that her head was much farther above than previously.  She proceeded to take her first step away from the castle and gardens.  Her foot, which was nearly 150 long and over 50 feet wide, landed several hundreds of yards away from the crowd.  Even so, the tremor her footfall created was quite substantial, enough to bring everyone to the ground as they lost their footing.  They stared up with awe as the young titaness proceeded to move her other leg, bringing her other foot high over their heads.  Some of the men tried to get as good a peak as they could underneath Alice's skirt, but the frilly folds of her dress obscured their vision well enough that it was a pointless gesture.

Another footfall made the land rumble as Alice made her next step.  While still quite loud, the impact was less intense for the crowd as it was further away from the first.  As the young girl proceeded to make her way and leave the premises, the footfalls began to die down in their intensity and volume.  Everyone could only watch in wonder at the way the girl carried herself, walking with one leg in front of the other like a sort of runway model.  Her calves and thighs were so tantalizingly defined with a mix of both power and feminine seductive charm, leading up to her skirt as it gave a teasing view for those below her, with her hips sashaying left and right as she walked while her flowing golden locks bounced and gently flowed from side to side.  In less than a minute, the giantess had disappeared far over the horizon, leaving the bewildered crowd staring in stunned silence as they watched her depart.

"Well, my dear," said the King of Hearts, regaining his composure as watched the girl finally depart, "that was quite the experience I must say."  The Queen could only nod in agreement as she mumbled something incoherent.  Soon enough, she regained her rough-and-tumble demeanor as she cajoled everyone around her.

"Well...don't just stand there, all of you!  We've got a lot of rebuilding to do!  Get to work, all of you!" hollered the monarch.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"  "Right away, My Queen!"  "Of course, Your Grace!"  These were the numerous replies from the various card guards as they ran every which way to appease their ladyship, lest they incur her wrath and be off with their heads.  As they began making their way towards what was left of the courthouse, many of them were thinking the same thing as they went off to work:

What a woman!

As Alice began her trek further and further away from the Queen of Hearts's castle, she took in the sights all around her.  For miles, the land appeared flat and green, almost as if it were a field of grass.  Of course, given Alice's rapid increase in size, the "grass" which she saw was actually forest trees, and mighty ones at that.  The tallest among them were no higher than her ankles.  Heck, most of them were only halfway up her ankles.  With every footfall, several dozens of trees were flattened and reduced to splinters and wood pulp.  Alice's shoes only left spots of forest spared wherever the arch of her feet landed, which from a regular sized person's perspective would be a good forty or fifty feet in the air, but from Alice's perspective only three or four inches.  The indentations her feet left were several yards deep, given that the girl now weighed something on the order of several thousands of tons.

Up above, Alice could see wisps of clouds all around her head.  While there were more distinct clouds far higher above the girl, the fact that she was so tall that her head was actually making contact with clouds was mind-boggling enough in and of itself.

"Goodness," said Alice, "I wonder how I'll get home, and what my dear sister will say when she sees me.  I imagine she'll have quite a bit to say.  Something like, ‘Alice, where on earth have you been?' or maybe ‘My goodness, dear sister, how you've grown!'  I'm sure she'll be surprised to say the least.  I just hope she won't be too cross with me.  After all, I didn't mean to run off for very long.  I just couldn't help myself when I saw the White Rabbit.  I mean who wouldn't be taken back by such a thing?"

As Alice continued thinking aloud to herself along her trek, a familiar character decided to have a little fun with her for one last time.  She became aware of this when she could hear a peculiar humming nearby, even though her head was high above the forest.

"〜And the mome raths outgrabe〜" sang the voice, with its usual chuckling demeanor

"Wait a moment...is that?  No, it couldn't be.  That's just not possible." said Alice.  She wondered as to whether or not she was hallucinating.  Sure enough, she could still hear the melody around her as she came to a stop.  Within a few seconds, that old familiar friend made himself known to her, materializing out of thin air in front of her and floating high above ground at Alice's eye level, defying gravity itself.

"Why hello there, my dear!  And how are you doing on this fine day?" said the visitor.

"The Cheshire Cat!" declared Alice with wide eyes at the sudden visitation.

"Why yes, that's me...last I checked anyway." he responded.

"What are you doing here, all of a sudden?" said Alice.

"Why, I thought I would say hello and goodbye one last time, that's all.  How did you like that little growth spurt?  I found it quite entertaining in more ways than one," the Cheshire Cat chuckled as he floated.

"Well," answered Alice, "it certainly helped get me out of that spot of bother well enough, though I wasn't expecting to become this large at the end of it.  And also, I didn't plan on any of this happening either."  Alice gestured to her bosom, buttocks, legs, and waist.  She was shocked enough that the mushroom decided to give her some type of beautification as well as enlargement this time around.

"Do you not like it?" inquired the Cheshire Cat.

"I wouldn't say that," responded Alice, "I just wasn't expecting it was all.  It will take a little getting used to, but I believe I shall manage fine enough in good time."

"I'm glad to hear it, my dear.  You're a lovely young woman, dear Alice, and I feel it only natural for the world to see you in all your splendor." The Cheshire Cat had that big, toothy grin plastered all over his face as he took in the sight before him.  While he was no larger than a fly before the giant girl, he didn't appear the least bit intimidated or worried at her presence.

"However, I am concerned as to how I'm going to get back home, and what my sister will say when she sees me.  Hopefully I don't give her or Dinah a fright." said Alice with worry written on her face and in the tone of her voice.

"Oh, no need to worry about that," responded the Cheshire Cat, "in fact I can help alleviate both those concerns right away."

"Really?" said Alice with incredulity in her voice, "I would be oh so grateful if you could help, Mr. Cheshire Cat.  I really do want to go home now."  Alice's eyebrows were furrowed in an upward slanting position, her blue eyes moistening with tears ready to spring forth.  Her facial expression was one of hidden sadness at being homesick and eager anticipation of returning as soon as possible.

"Think nothing of it, my dear girl.  I'll have you returned with a snap of my fingers and you'll be at home with your family once more.  Oh, and you won't need to worry about how they react either.  If anything, you'll be surprised to find out that your reaction will be the shocked one instead." The Cheshire Cat did so love talking in riddles and roundabout ways.

"What do you mean?" asked Alice, confusion written all over her lovely features.

"You'll know what I'm talking about when you return.  Now, as they say my dear, ‘so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!'  Hope to see you again sooner than later!"  And with that, the Cheshire cat snapped his finger, and a moment later vanished in a puff of pink and purple smoke.  Alice could hear his giddy laughter echoing off in the distance, with those parting words he loved to end with:  "and the mome raths outgrabe."

As Alice stood alone once more, she wondered just what the Cheshire Cat meant at the end of his explanation.  He always had a habit of leaving her confused at the end of their conversations, and this time was no different.  But how in good heavens would he return her home, and how would her sister not freak out at the sight of her?  She was bloody enormous!  She probably towered over Big Ben if she were to guess.  People would probably run for the hills screaming at the sight of her or faint on the spot.  How the Cheshire Cat would resolve that was beyond her understanding.  Then again, such was the nature of Wonderland: a world of total nonsense.

Suddenly, Alice began to feel light-headed.  Her vision was dimming and growing blurry rapidly, and her eyelids were feeling rather heavy.  Tiredness and fatigue crept up on the girl and she felt quite lethargic all of a sudden.

"Goodness," muttered Alice, "why do I feel so tired right now?  Did the Cheshire Cat have [long yawn] something to do with this?  I guess I need to lie down, at least for a moment."

And in that moment, Alice leaned forward, using her hands to brace herself as her palms made impact with the woods, obliterating several trees in the process where they landed.  Momentarily on all fours, Alice repositioned herself so that she was lying on her stomach, using her forearms as a makeshift pillow to rest her face against.  Hundreds of trees were destroyed in the process as her titanic form impacted against the earth.  Though to Alice, the physical contact was practically nonexistent from her perspective.  Compared to her current size, the forest trees were no more than blades of grass in both height and width.  The various oaks, pines, and other trees throughout the forest were obliterated, one and all before the slightest of movement from the young giantess.

"I suppose I'll just take a [yawn] little nap, and then see if I can make my way ba- [long yawn] back home." said Alice to herself, as her eyelids dropped further and further closed.  The Cheshire Cat must have something to do with her sudden drowsiness, but how did making Alice take a nap factor into getting her back home?  Perhaps it was best not to ponder for too long on such things, especially when one's mind was so fatigued as was the case with Alice.

"Hmmm...well then...goodnight Alice." muttered the girl to herself as sleep overtook her, resting peacefully in (or on) the forest.  The last word oddly enough seemed to echo in her ears on and on as she drifted off into slumber.

"Alice, Alice, Alice" the word played over and over again in Alice's head, with a sort of echo as they came.  Though oddly enough, they seemed to grow slightly louder with repetition.

"Hmmm..." muttered Alice in response to her name being called.

"Alice?  Alice?  Alice!" the voice called out, with more insistence in its tone.

Stirring awake, Alice jumped up with some alertness, getting her bearings.  She needed to get out of the forest and make her way back home as quickly as possible.  After all, who knows just how long she had napped the moment she dozed off!  Hopefully her sister and Dinah wouldn't fret with worry and-

"ALICE!" said the voice once more with more gusto.

Turning her head towards the voice, Alice was alarmed and surprised to see none other than her sister standing before her, wearing her deep blue dress and looking as radiant as ever.  She had opted to take off her bonnet and let her lovely dark brown hair rest naturally down her back and around her shoulders.  Much like Alice, her figure was quite refined: slim waist, generous bosom, swan-like neck, appealingly wide hips, elegant long legs, and doll-like facial features (especially her blue eyes and rosy red lips).  Just a few years older than Alice, she had the appearance of a woman who looked no older than twenty-five years in age, who carried herself with a sort of natural grace as was expected of a proper lady.

"Oh Margaret!" hollered Alice as she ran towards her sister, arms wide open.  Immediately, she collided against her older sibling in a tight embrace, pressing her bosom against her sister's while encircling her arms tightly around her torso.

"I'm so glad to see you once more!" said the young lady with tears of joy forming in her eyes.  She didn't know how, but apparently the Cheshire Cat made good on his promise to get her home.  She would have to thank him the next time they met, assuming they would ever meet again that is.  But in that moment, she was simply overjoyed to be back home with family after the long day she had in Wonderland.

"Good heavens, Alice!" responded her sister, "While I'm glad you're in a jovial mood, I'd appreciate a little warning before you decide to embrace me so eagerly, and with such force mind you." Margaret proceeded to place her arms on Alice's shoulders and try to gently pry away her younger sibling from the tight embrace she was initiating.

"Margaret, you'll never believe the day I've had," said Alice with wide eyes and newfound energy.  She was only too eager to get everything out.

"I pursued this White Rabbit down a rabbit hole, then I fell in afterwards down this strange hallway.  Oh, the Rabbit was dressed in fine clothes, and he carried a pocket watch, and he spoke like people do...something about being late for something.  Anyways, I followed the Rabbit into this great hallway with a talking doorknob, but I needed the key to get through, but he didn't reveal that until I already shrunk down after drinking from the bottle.  So then I tried a cake from this box, and the cake had the phrase ‘Eat Me' written on it.  And after I took a bite, I suddenly grew so large that I filled up the hallway and then I-"

"Alice!" interrupted Margaret, "What on Earth are you talking about?"  The older sibling felt the need to interject, otherwise Alice would just go on and on with this fantastical tale of hers.

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear sister," said Alice, collecting her thoughts and regaining her composure.  Now that she had stopped in her fast-paced recollection of events, she got her bearings and looked around.  Suddenly a thought came to her mind:

‘Did I shrink back down to normal size?'

It was a fair guess to make, given that Alice was looking slightly upwards at her sister.  If Alice was the size she was previously before her nap in the forest, then Margaret would be the size of a flea from her perspective.  Most likely Alice would struggle in hearing her sister unless she brought Margaret right to her ear.  Perhaps it was all a silly dream after all, just a fantastical adventure into a world of nonsense.

"Well now," began Margaret, "it's getting late in the day.  We should head back home for tea.  I'm sure Mother will be curious as to how the day went.  Please tell me you recall at least some of your history lessons.  Otherwise, Mother will be rather distraught.  It's simply not becoming of a princess to be forgetful of such things after all."  Alice's older sister started turning around and began walking away from Alice, intending for the girl to follow after her.

"Right then, I promise to try and focus more on my studies.  They just seem so boring and dull with the long words and lack of pictures and...wait a minute...princess?" said Alice in a befuddled state as she repeated her sister's words just moments ago.

"Yes indeed Alice," responded Margaret as she turned to face her sister, "a princess, you know...the progeny of royalty, the daughter of the monarch, etcetera etcetera."  Clearly, Margaret was somewhat irritated at her sister's lack of awareness.

"I'm...a princess?" said Alice with wide eyes and her mouth slightly ajar.

"Yes, dear sister," responded Margaret, "you and I are princesses, daughters of Her Majesty, the Queen of Great Britain.  Are you alright?  You seem rather shocked?  Is this some kind of game or trick you're trying to play, because I really don't have the time or energy for such things right now."

"We...are part of...the royal family?" muttered Alice, her voice barely above a whisper.

At this point, Margaret came forth and raised her right hand toward Alice's head, gently laying her palm across her younger sister's forehead.

"Are you well, Alice?  You seem a bit confused." said Margaret as she stared with concern at her sibling, her deep blue eyes looking into Alice's identical deep blue eyes.

"You don't appear to be running a fever," stated Margaret, "Are you dizzy at all?  Feel nauseated in any way?  Hearing strange sounds or feeling any soreness whatsoever?"

"N- no Margaret, I'm perfectly fine," responded Alice as she gently removed her sister's hand from her forehead, "I'm just a bit tired is all.  When we return home, I think I'll rest after tea if that is alright with you and mother."

Honestly, this was all a bit much to process from Alice's perspective.  Before she ventured off to chase the White Rabbit into Wonderland, her family was of modest means, perhaps upper middle class at best.  Now she awakens to find out that her family is now the royal family of Great Britain...that she herself is royalty!  Was she still in Wonderland, perhaps?  This revelation was rather earth-shattering in its own way.  She now had high authority throughout the land as a princess, her whole family did now!  How in the world did that happen?  Was this part of the Cheshire Cat's plan upon returning Alice to her home?  So many questions began building up in Alice's mind at the realization of all this new information.

"Alright then," said Margaret, "Even so, when we return home, I'm going to send for a physician to examine you, just to be sure it's nothing too serious.  Now come along, little sister."

Alice proceeded to follow Margaret home when she noticed something rather peculiar off in the distance.

Just a mile or so from where she stood, Alice could see the great city of London before her in all of it's splendor.  Looking around at the panoramic view, she could spot various landmarks here and there, including the clocktower known as Big Ben, Tower Bridge, the Palace of Westminster, and various other famed buildings throughout.  Though something seemed a bit...off.  Did the buildings...nay...did the whole city seem...smaller?

Alice began making her way closer to the city, enraptured by how the size of everything seemed out of place.  The design of everythings was quite like the city she knew so well, only more like a model than an actual city.  As she neared closer and closer to the city, she was shocked to find that several buildings were far below her in height.  She wagered that the top of her head seemed to be level with buildings that were around ten floors in height from what she could discern.  She would have made her way closer when suddenly her left wrist was grabbed hard, bringing her to a jerking stop.

"Goodness gracious, Alice!" said Margaret, "What's gotten into you?  You can't just wander off into the city like that on a whim?  What if you hurt someone?  You could step on them without even knowing it!  Not to mention the physical destruction you could cause if you're not careful.  Some city streets are much narrower than others, after all.  You really must be more cognizant of your surroundings."

Now pausing, Alice realized that her sister had valid points indeed.  Looking down far below, she noticed several people - human people - scurrying about trying to get out of the giantesses way.  Some were alarmed and panicked, others had scowls on their faces at the girl who could have unknowingly crushed them.  The sight of such little people staring up at the big girl made her feel sheepish and embarrassed.

"I'm terribly sorry," muttered Alice to the people below, her cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Honestly," continued Margaret, "you really need to be more mindful of your size relative to others.  Not everyone you meet will be over a hundred feet tall, you know." Margaret brought her hand to Alice's cheek to comfort her, taking a more measured tone of voice to help calm her after the close call.

"A...a hundred feet tall?" muttered Alice as she wiped the tears forming in her eyes.

"Yes, Alice," replied Margaret, "around that height.  Of course, you are a growing girl after all, so who knows how large you may end up by the time you are done maturing.  If you really want to be a princess who is beloved by the people, then you really need to be mindful of your size relative to the little people.  After all, why do you think we have our lessons far away out in large, open fields where nobody is likely to get hurt by us?"  Ever the tutor, Margaret felt the need to remind Alice of proper etiquette and common sense.

‘Now it was starting to make sense,' thought Alice to herself.

In this reality, Alice stayed a giantess, with the same proportions she had during her last growth spurt (bosom, buttocks, waist, etc.).  While she wasn't as gigantic as she was when she left the Queen of Hearts far behind, she was still of a big enough size to stand out easily in a crowd.  And apparently her sister was a giantess as well.  Perhaps her whole family was one of giants and giantesses.  They had authority in terms of size, so maybe that alone was grounds enough for them to rule as royalty.  She only hoped that power had not gone to their heads and that they were benevolent in how they governed.  If her sister was anything to go by, then Alice was optimistic about the rest of her family.

The fact that her sister was gigantic as well also explained the Cheshire Cat's reasoning.  No wonder Margaret didn't freak out at the sight of Alice.  Alice had not shrunk (well, not shrunk to her original size anyway), her family had simply grown to match her.  Was this some hidden power of the Cheshire Cat?  Did he alter Alice's home world in a way that she was now a gigantic princess?  Was she sent to an alternate reality by chance?  Once again the mind boggled with question after question pouring in.  In the midst of the flurry of thoughts spinning round and round in Alice's mind, something else just popped in.

"Wait, where's Dinah?" asked Alice in revelation.

"Oh, Dinah?" replied Margaret, who proceeded to reach into her apron pocket and delicately finger through until she got a hold of what she was after.  Lifting her hand up, she uncurled her fingers and revealed to Alice her feline companion, still with the same reddish-brown fur coat she had, along with her light blue eyes and pink ribbon tied around her neck.

"You always had that habit of wanting to bring her along, but I keep telling you it's safer if we leave her at home.  So I decided I would keep her safe and bring her out from time to time when you really wanted to see her."  Margaret proceeded to stretch her arm out and present Alice her pet cat for her to take hold of.

Alice took hold of Dinah as Margaret gently dumped her into the younger sibling's palm.  Alice looked with wonder at how small her cat now looked before her.  She weighed practically nothing and appeared less than an inch in length from Alice's perspective.  Yet even laying in her master's palm, the cat didn't appear the slightest bit afraid of Alice.  On the contrary, the feline stared up at the young girl with a friendly smile on her face, as if this was the most natural thing in the world to occur.

The gesture brought Alice momentary joy and calm.  While it would take a while to adjust to her pet - and the world around her - being far smaller than before, she felt that as long as she had Dinah and her family with her, she could make the best of this situation.

"Oh, Dinah...it's so good to see you once again." said Alice with tears of joy in her eyes.  She brought her hand closer and gently brushed the kitten against her cheek.  Dinah responded in kind by licking at her face, trying to lap up the tears that were streaming down her cheeks.  Her tiny paws tickled against Alice's skin, making the girl giggle in response somewhat.

"Well now, shall we be off then, Alice?" asked Margaret, beckoning her sister to follow.

"Yes, dear sister, let us take our leave now." responded Alice, holding Dinah secure in her hands, fingers curled upward to prevent the cat from falling.  She began following her older sister through open fields and distant farmlands, being careful to avoid stepping on anything or anyone in their path.  Like Margaret stated, if she wanted to be loved by the people and not feared or hated by them, then she would have to be as gentle a giantess as she could manage.  It would take some time getting used to a severely shrunken world, but Alice believed that in good time she would be able to manage well enough.

After a short walk lasting ten minutes or so, the pair of gigantic beauties neared a mansion, one that was built to their scale.  It was rather a shocker for Alice to see a building that accommodated her now-enlarged stature, yet in a way it also made sense.  If Alice's family was made up of giants who were now royalty, they would need a fitting place to call home.  The mansion certainly appeared grand enough, with pure white paint on the exterior, brimming with vibrant flower gardens in the front, Romanesque-style pillars along the front face of the building, silk curtains decorating the windows, a fanciful water fountain in the front yard, and golden frames on the windows.  It was truly marvelous to behold.  While Alice initially thought to be residing in a castle upon returning home, it appeared to be more practical for the royal family to reside in a mansion.  It was more modern and probably less demanding on the builders to construct a mansion over a castle, especially for a family of giants.

As Margaret made her way to the front door, she turned the doorknob and then beckoned to her sister.

"Well, Alice," she said, "are you coming in?"

Alice stood there, still taking it all in.  She was a giant.  She was royalty.  She had an enhanced figure.  She towered over so many other people now by a good hundred feet now.  Just a day or so back, she was an ordinary little girl accused of having her "head in the clouds." Now that term is closer to being literally true than before.  Was all of this the work of the Cheshire Cat?  He did seem to enjoy causing mischief in his own unique way, here and there.  Somehow, he returned Alice home as a giantess, but also made her family gigantic and royals at that!  What exactly was the extent of his power?  Was he some kind of god?  Perhaps if she should meet him again, she will ask such questions.

For now Alice had her life, or rather her new life - to live.  It was all so strange, but the young lady was determined to make the best of it.  As she crossed the threshold and followed her equally gigantic sister into their new home, she pondered what other wonders she would come across in this new life as a royal giantess.  With Dinah secured in her palm, she made her way inside the mansion, eager to see what life as a princess would be like, what her mother parents would be like as the King and Queen of Great Britain, and what other experiences she would have in this new, post-Wonderland world she finds herself in now.  She simply spoke aloud a phrase that she had muttered all too well on numerous occasions:

"Curiouser and curiouser."