It felt like an eternity just travelling there. Everywhere Amalia glanced, there was some detail of her supersized journey. Mome Raths huddling together, around splattered colours in newly-formed clearings. Bark chunks and ripped leaves shattered, scattered, tossed, and torn, as if a mighty whirlwind had swept the forest. Flowers hanging loosely off trees: uprooted if they were lucky; otherwise, lying in the great empty masses of her footprints, immobile except for the wind fluttering through their petals. She could even make out some silhouettes of her full body amid the mighty, distant oaks - or the trenches where her backside had landed.

The princess did have magic. She could escape. But what good would it do, if this was all it'd lead to? She slumped over in the leathery hold of the Cra guard. "I... I really didn't mean this."

The guard turned her pointed nose up. "Does what you mean matter? It's mean, either way." She navigated around a puddle dug in by the massive heel.

From time to time, Amalia's tiny hand brushed by a limp vine, or wilting roots. A sense of foreboding terror coursed through their chlorophyll. Patches of flowers shivered back in terror at her presence, hiding behind each other. The princess looked down in shame. "The Sadidas should protect you - from Nox, from whatever's causing them trouble..." Her hands went to her face, trying to hide away from her own carnage.

The guard's steps remained even, her boots moving in a deliberate rhythm. "Is that why you were chasing that rabbit?"

"The Wabbit? Yeah..." The smaller woman brushed her knees together. Her hands sunk underneath her feet... And she wished they hadn't. Countless remains of plants had shrunken down with her, and remained glued to her thick soles. She tried rubbing their remains off, brushing them on the leathery gloves' fingers. But there was still more dirt; more filth; more traces of her royal rampage. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel them with every twitch of her toes.

Within a few more agonizing steps, eyes still shut to the world outside, Amalia felt a massive shadow overtake her. The guard slipped a sweet cookie into her mouth; and the familiar sensation of growth spread through her body. After all that time tiny, her body had never felt stronger; and never heavier, from her leafy leg guards to her fluttering eyelids. She hoped that she wouldn't be massive again.

Something even worse awaited her. She was at the podium of a dizzying courtroom, the wood seats spreading out in every direction. She could barely even see the distant curtains, closing around her like walls. Dozens of eyes peered at her. The Cra disappeared in lines of identical guards. The Dodo and that lizard sat with judgemental glares nearby.

On a podium much too high for his body, the Wabbit struggled with a flowing paper, with crimes written in cursive. "This woman... this woman is guilty of breaking-and-entering-and-growing, several counts of wanton destruction, harassment, putting woodland creatures on endangered species lists..."

Craning her neck up in front of her, Amalia saw a woman above. She could make out a crown, and arms resting on a throne - though she remained in the darkness, hard to make out clearly. The ominous onlooker declared: "Well? Off with her head! Chop the beast into firewood, already!"

"Wait!" The Sadida slammed at the wooden surface, finding her voice again. "Don't I get a chance to explain myself?"

The woman above loomed closer, long hair drifting over her face. "What? Questioning a queen's authority? That's against Rule 68, you know!"

Amalia quivered. She pointed a finger up to the Wabbit, and exclaimed: "But this creature was acting suspiciously! He had a clock, like Nox's, and he bounced around just like - just like Yugo!"

The fluffy guy stirred in his seat, yelping. "I... I didn't mean to do anything wrong..."

With a pompous huff, the shadowy queen crossed her arms. "Carrying a watch and jumping may be crimes in your realm, but not in Wonderland! Off with your head!"

"That's not the point!" Amalia scratched her head. "I've attended court hearings, they're nothing like this! Can't any of these witnesses that can change your mind?"

A few faces bustled in the stands. The Dodo trotted forward, his chest puffed out. "Why, I can say for sure, this monster nearly ate us all!"

That lizard shrugged. "Afraid I can't help, I only saw her back portions."

Still unconvinced, the Queen shifted in her seat. "Then, the vote is unanimous!"

In frustration, Amalia clenched her fists. "Not fair! Those two were poking all around me, not letting me get a word in edgewise... And that house totally ruined my outfit!" Poking at her leafy uniform, the princess found something rattling in the pockets. One final cookie, with that familiar "Eat Me" decorating the top.

With an eager grin, the Sadida scarfed the snack down - taking only a few bites.

Almost immediately, the woman began sprouting out on every side. Her expanding chest crashed against the podium, making it buckle. Soon after, her knees followed, peeking over it - to the courthouse's horror.

"M-Monster! Again!"

"Off, I said!"

"Is eating here even legal?"

Finally, the girl's feet, themselves, couldn't fit in the tiny space afforded by the brown stand. They burst out of the podium - her toes popping out from its splintered remains, one by one. A little kick sent the wood chunks flying out, and made the courthouse burst into a bustling panic. As Amalia's green hair hit the ceiling, making it crack, dozens of the card-wearing guards began rushing to her rising legs: scrambling on top of each other to jab at her. They launched an assault on her stumbling soles, dashing around to avoid her steps. Some of them stood on top of each other, managing to strike at her leg guards. Their spears' pokes and prods did little but irritate the princess. Her flesh only receded a little from each tip, absorbing their assault in full.

She picked up a huge clump of the soldiers, staring them down with her massive, brown eyes. "Tch! Like I'd be scared of you - you cards wouldn't even make good bookmarks!" A sweep of her mighty arm sent them scattering all among the room - which became smaller and smaller each second.

Soon, it was practically bursting with Amalia's presence. Nobody within could escape her immense form. The twitches of her fingers plowed through the stands, knocking the poor Wabbit to his feet. Even her breaths and heartbeat rocked the floor, which crumbled to dust beneath her slow footsteps forward. "And you - your 'majesty'! Treating a princess like this, I can't believe you! I bet you're behind all this

"Halt! You won't harm the Queen!" The tiny Cra called out - firing a rope arrow up at Amalia's bottom. Several other soldiers began pulling the princess back; or scaling her legs, trying to get to her mouth again. Unencumbered by the forest's shrouds, the gargantuan girl had no problem shaking them all off-balance, simply by lifting her knee in the air. They scattered around the floor as she stomped down to the ground, quaking at the shock waves from her simple action. A few of the minuscule beings kept clutching to the flying rope. She ripped the string off her like dental floss. Some of the guards landed atop her body, scattering on her chest, but she paid them no mind.

The courtroom's ceiling, once like a looming sky, now bumped against Amalia's scalp. She leaned over; but as the growth continued, her hair kept on bursting out through the top. The tiles flew out from her head's shaking - scattering to the guards below. Any of them still clinging to her were instantly knocked off by the rain of rubble. The whole gathering was left to stare up the princess' leafy skirt, stepping back to give her ample room.

Though from the roof above, there weren't any signs of Wonderland's blue clouds - just a starless, dark sky. Had it really been that long...?

With her growth finally over, Amalia leaned down, hands on her knees. She shouted to the queenly figure that once towered above her - cheeks going red. "You! You're the most thoughtless, mean-spirited, nasty, rotten..." Her booming voice shrank to a murmur as the Queen's features finally came into view, out of the shadows. "...M-m-mom?"

It was her. Right on the throne - stepping onto the princess' open palm - Queen Sheran Sharm of the Sadidas stood. The same feel of her skin, the same bob of her hair. Even in the shadow of her colossal daughter, she maintained a calm smile, and a slow step. "...I'm sorry, Amalia. You've pushed through so much for this."

Amalia sputtered. "B-b-but... You aren't... When I was still tiny, you looked so..." She gulped. The cracks around the courtroom, from the floor and ceiling, were starting to leak rays of light - exposing more of the small monarch's beautiful features. She wore the same dress Amalia remembered her in. "...This is a dream, right? Or... Another vision from Sadida?"

Surrounded by her daughter's gentle fingers, the woman looked up, her eyes half-closed. "My poor Amalia. The kingdom was too small for your attitude; but now, you're in the middle of a world that's too big for you. You'll have people who don't believe you... can you still keep following this road?"

The princess shut her eyes, dragging her heel. Her head bowed slightly. "I've hurt a lot of people. Some of them reminded me of my friends. Is that going to happen in the real world?"

Her mother sighed slowly, patting her hand. "People can hurt each other when they're close. Just keep aware of what you're doing."

The dream world began twisting around Amalia's eyes. The door that started it all, with the smirking doorknob, appeared before her. Through the keyhole could see a glimpse of the island she was on before; feel the crash of waves; and smell the salt of the currents.

Thinking over the events of her journey, the princess pointed to the Wabbit. "And him - that bouncing guy. If I'm dreaming... Does he represent Nox? Or Yugo? Or... someone else?"

With a hint of hesitation, the Queenly apparition sat down in her hand's trembling hold. "Maybe Nox isn't all that he seems. Or maybe, you're on this journey for some other reason than stopping him?..." She smirked. "You might be surprised at what you find. Knowing this, will you still continue?"

Amalia thought for a moment. She looked to her friends out on the island; then, her own form resting quietly with them. The woman nodded. She hugged her mother tightly, feeling her warm touch again. "Yes, mom. I'm ready. As a princess of the Sadidas... and a good friend... I'll keep adventuring!"

The walls around - no longer tall and ominous, no longer tight and constricting - began to shatter around her. Light poured in from every side, illuminating her body. The World of Twelve, the land familiar yet new to her, replaced the courthouse's podiums and decorations. And as Wonderland and its people faded from view, she could feel the energy floating from the Queen, as if she were still there...

- Awakening -

Slowly, the doorknob's features gave way to Ruel's face. "Wake up, lazyleaves! I've just exchanged loads of dragon hair to that weather wizard - we can't waste this clear sky any longer!"

Amalia stretched out, yawning as she woke up. Her arms reached out, fingers cutting through the calming ocean breeze. "Wow..." She breathed it in. From the looks of it, she'd been hugging her doll in her rest. "Good to be back, after all that..."

Sharing a bit of food with a crab, Percedal peeked up. "You go adventuring somewhere without us? No fair."

Yugo's portal popped up beside her - with both him and Az looking over her. "Hey, princesses need their beauty sleep, don't they?"

And behind her, Evangeline knelt; her body turned into a pillow for her princess. She breathed in relief as her friend rose. "You say that now, Yugo, but you were scared not that long ago. Thought Amalia was under another spell..." With a pat of the shoulder, she added: "...You are okay, right?"

Holding her bodyguard's hand, Amalia nodded; stretching her joints out more. "Well, there might've been some magic in there... Some adventuring, for sure. Sadida knows. I'll tell you all about it later."

She led the way to their old ship, smiling, rushing through the sand. "Right now, we've got an island to find! Oh, but - watch your step there!"

-Fin-