• Alice started to tell the committee of the very first things she could remember. From meeting the smiling man in the Duchess' garden to sailing the sea in her little raft. She told them every boring detail.

    "He put me on the raft and shipped me off into the sea," Alice twiddled her thumbs in her lap as she tried to remember.

    "This 'smiling man,' is he real?" the woman with a notepad asked Alice, jotting down everything that had been said.

    "Why, yes! He's here with us right now," Alice looked around but she still could not see him. "Somewhere."

    The adults looked at each other as if to agree that this was awkward. Alice frowned and sat back in her chair.

    "Does the 'smiling man' have a name?" the leader asked, taking a sip of tea.

    "I... uh... he never really..." Alice looked down at the tiles of the floor, embarrassed she couldn't answer yet another question.

    "My name is Chester P. Cheshire," said a man from the doorway.

    Everyone turned to see a tall, dark man with a smile from ear to ear. He tipped his purple tophat and glared at the mayor through his spectacles.

    "I have come to propose an offer to your people, concerning my dear Alice," he leaned casually on his black cane.

    He wore a neatly pressed, purple tuxedo with a white cravat sticking out from his chest, elegant white gloves that he occasionally stroked the purple stone on his cane with. From his right ear, hung a purple stone wrapped in silver wire. Alice had always admired his lovely jewelry, especcially the brooch he wore. A purple stone set in silver on his cravat. He was dressed richly, it impressed the committee as they stared, mouths gaped open and eyes wide. They still couldn't believe that this man was real.

    "We'll hear you out, Mr. Cheshire," the mayor said, recovering from his shock faster than everyone else.

    "Great," Chester smiled and plopped down in a seat near Alice. "My offer: Allow Alice to live and work on your island for seven years and I will pay you full for any losses, expenses, etc. But, here's the catch. If Alice does not marry a prince before the seven years are up, you get nothing."

    "A full-blooded prince?"

    Chester nodded.

    "Why should we take up your offer?" the mayor asked him suspiciously.

    "Because if you don't, Alice is in an abandonment situation and I can report it to the government," Chester smiled mischievously from under his hat.

    "You're framing us," the mayor growled as he rose from his seat angrily.

    "Yes, exactly my plan. I won't deny it," Chester laughed and looked up at the mayor. "So will you accept? I'm a busy man and my offers are open for a limited time."

    "Can we discuss this matter alone?" the mayor asked Chester.

    "Of course," Chester grinned. He held his gloved hand out to Alice, "Come my dear."

    "Please, I didn't not know he would do this to you," Alice defended her part before she left with Chester.

    When the door closed shut, the mayor looked down at the table as he sat down. This had been a peaceful island until the girl showed up. Now that she and Chester have come around, the island was forced to allow Alice to stay and marry a prince or they would face child abandonment charges. What could they lose? If Alice didn't marry a prince, a full-blooded prince, they wouldn't be re-embursed for expenses. If she did marry a prince, they would get a possibly large amount of money. But would there be a catch if they took up the bargain after seven years? There was much to think about as a mayor, that's why he had his committee.

    "What say you, Arthur?" he asked him, tired of thinking by himself.

    "I think we really have no choice in the matter. We could contact nearby countries and lie about Alice's status but if we don't get her married, we lose money," Arthur breezed through a geography book.

    "Stephanie?" the mayor turned to his secretary.

    "We can't afford losing so much," the woman noted as she flipped through her notepad at last months income and expenses. "We could do it but I do not particularly like the situation."

    "Me neither," the mayor shook his head. He looked to both Eugene and Roberta. "What about you two?"

    Eugene looked across the table at his wife. She loved children and he knew she would love to have Alice around but this Cheshire, he didn't trust the guy. Alice gave him the impression that Mr. Cheshire was an evil man and had magical powers. What if they angered him?

    Eugene took a deep breath and turned to the mayor, "I think we should do it."

    "I agree, we're in a tight situation, I understand. But we can't just let the poor girl starve and go back out into the ocean," Roberta made a huge point. Deep inside, that's what they were all thinking. Not about the money but the girl.

    Eugene pushed back his chair and stood up at the table. Everyone looked up at him, waiting for him to speak. "Mayor, with all the children being born on this island now, don't tell me we can't finance another one. And it's not like we have to rebuild things a lot anyways. Usually it's out of people's own pockets, not the committee's. Please, if we accept the offer, my wife and I will gladly take Alice."

    Roberta looked up at her husband, surprised at his show of affection. He was ready for a child!

    Eugene quickly sat back down and waited. The mayor leaned back in his chair and stroked his beard thoughtfully.

    "What is the committee's vote? Those who think we should take up the offer, say 'Aye,'" the mayor said as he closed his eyes as if he had done this a billion times before.

    "Aye!" everyone agreed unanimously.

    "Then it is decided. Alice shall stay on this island for seven years and marry a prince. If we fail to do this, then oh well," the mayor forced a smile, receiving four more. "Let her in."

    Roberta happily got up and opened the door, allowing Chester and Alice back in. They had been standing idly on the sidewalk out of earshot. At least they weren't eavesdropping.

    "So what is your answer?" Chester asked mindfully as he stepped into the room.

    "We accept your offer," the mayor stood up from his chair.

    "Good, then you must sign the contract," Chester magically produced papers from the air and placed them in front of the mayor. He moved his hand over the table beside the papers, producing a feather pen in an ink bottle.

    "I have to sign a contract?" the mayor asked, stupified.

    "Legal matters," Chester grinned apologetically.

    "Alright," the mayor dipped the feather pen and raised it above the dotted line.

    Everyone in the room watched as the mayor signed his name carefully on the dotted line. Chester grinned as the ink turned from black to purple and bled through all the papers, putting copies of the signature on all of the other forms. In a blink of an eye, the papers, feather pen and ink bottle disappeared into thin air.

    "Thank you for your business, mayor. I hope you treat my Alice well and find her a decent prince to marry. I will be back in seven years on the second!" Chester checked his pocket watch and then turned to little Alice.

    Alice held out a slender, pale hand to Chester. This was the final goodbye for seven years.

    "I bid you farewell, my lady," Chester said, taking Alice's hand to his lips and kissing it lightly. "I hope you find a well-suited prince and prosper."

    She didn't know what he meant, Alice only smiled. "I hope you do well in whatever you do, Mr. Cheshire," she mumbled nervously, unsure of what to say.

    "Feed your head, Alice," Chester said to her as he walked out the door. His words seemed to echo with each step he took down the street until he disappeared magically.

    "Feed my head?" Alice repeated, confused.