Um...I don't really have much to say about this one, so...yeah. Read, enjoy, review, all that good stuff. :)
I OWN NOTHING (except Kyla) AND DENY EVERYTHING! (And that includes Ada, I merely borrowed her from my favorite author's re-imagining of the Alice story, and he borrowed her from Lewis Carroll in order to expand on her and create his re-imagining of the story.)
Alice was rather miserable at the moment.
Shortly after returning from Underland, the blonde had discovered that she was with child, and had known immediately who the father was; she had recalled all too clearly the night before the Frabjous Day when she had still believed everything was a dream and had, after telling the Hatter that she would miss him when she woke up, responded eagerly to the kiss he gave her and given absolutely no protest when things progressed beyond mere kissing as he had guided her off the balcony and into the rooms that were set aside for his stays at Marmoreal.
However, when Helen found out about her younger daughter's "condition," as she called it, she had been none too pleased and demanded to know whose child Alice was carrying. Alice, however, had flatly refused to divulge any information about her child's father, and she still continued to do so, despite repeated questioning on the subject, much to the ever-increasing frustration of her mother.
It had been a little less than a month ago now that Alice had first realized that she was going to be bringing a child into the world, and Helen, determined to keep as much shame as possible from coming to the family, had arranged a marriage for her daughter, much to Alice's extreme displeasure.
So here she was, not even visibly pregnant yet, about to marry a man that she did not love and had absolutely no desire to spend the rest of her life with, and all the while, her mind and heart were both filled with thoughts of her child's wonderfully mad father, who was a world away and hadn't an inkling of anything that was going on, which was exactly why Alice's best friend Ada, the only person who knew the truth and believed it, had rushed off in search of the nearest rabbit hole.
"Alice," a voice said, snapping the blonde from her thoughts, "it's almost time. Are you ready?"
She stared at her older sister somewhat blankly.
No, she wanted to say, I'm not, and I never will be. I don't love this Lord Harmour, and how can I possibly be expected to marry a man that I don't love, especially when there's another man who I already do love and need to get back to as soon as I can manage it? Please, Margaret, don't make me do this. Help me look for a rabbit hole so I can go to Tarrant and tell him everything, so I can be with the father of my child.
But she didn't. She couldn't. She could only pray that Ada would find her way to Tarrant before it was too late, and in the meantime, do what was expected of her, if only for appearance's sake.
"I suppose," she said.
Because their father was dead, Alice had no one to walk her down the aisle as Margaret had when she and Lowell had gotten married, but she didn't much care. After all, this was not, in her mind, her true wedding. Her true wedding would be to the man she loved, if indeed he loved her back and would have her in such a way, but she was quite confident that he would, if nothing else, come for her when Ada explained the situation to him.
She took her bouquet and allowed Margaret to lead her to where she needed to be, then watched as her sister left to go to her place.
A knot formed in the pit of her stomach as the music began.
Alice went around the corner of the hedge and started down the aisle towards the altar, keeping her face a stoic mask and her head lowered the entire time as she fought back hot, bitter tears.
Lord Harmour was doing the Kingsley family a service, or so Helen said. He hadn't cringed away from the match upon learning that Alice was with child and that it was out of wedlock with an unknown man, and he was, after all, from a fairly well-known and influential line. It would be good for the Kingsleys to be associated with his family in such a way.
However, Alice had decided that it was not, in fact, good for her personally.
That was not to say that she did not like Lord Harmour, however. Quite the opposite, in fact. She liked him quite a lot. He was rather easy on the eyes, and he had a friendly personality, and was quite easy to get along with. It was just that, like Hamish Ascot, Benjamin Harmour was Not the Right Man for Alice.
As Alice reached the altar, she glanced at the empty seat where Ada was supposed to be sitting.
Oh, please hurry, Ada! she thought.
She handed her bouquet to Margaret, who smiled encouragingly at her, then turned and allowed Lord Harmour to take her by the hands.
"Dearly beloved," the priest began, "we gather here today to witness the joining of Lord Benjamin Harmour and Miss Alice Kingsley into the bonds of holy matrimony. If there is anyone here who has reasons why these two individuals should not be wed, let these persons speak now, or forever hold their peace."
"I might have a reason or two," a voice said.
There was a collective gasp, followed by a murmur as everyone turned, shocked to see Ada Boyce making her way down the aisle that Alice had walked just moments ago. Alice smiled as Lord Harmour let go of her hands out of surprise.
"Ada Catherine Boyce!" Mrs. Boyce cried. "You come and sit down right now, young lady, and stop this nonsense at once!"
Ada pointedly ignored her mother, instead choosing to smile at Alice before directing her attention to Helen.
"Mrs. Kingsley," she said, "I believe I may have an answer as to your question about the father of your grandchild."
Since Alice's pregnancy was not yet common knowledge (and Helen had hoped to keep it that way until after her daughter's wedding), there was another gasp and more murmurings, and Helen turned quite crimson in the face, nobody noticing as tears of happiness began making their way down Alice's face.
"His name is Tarrant Hightopp," Ada continued, "and I've brought him with me today if you'd care to meet him."
And then, from around the very hedge that Alice had come from behind earlier, there emerged a man with look about him unlike anything anyone had ever seen before.
"Hatta!" Alice shrieked, and before anyone knew what was happening, she had thrown her veil back from where it rested over her face and lifted her skirts and was racing headfirst back down the aisle, throwing herself into his welcoming arms, the two of them embracing tightly and not even noticing as his top hat fell off his head and onto the ground.
Alice sobbed quite loudly.
"I'm so glad to see you!" she cried. "You have no idea how unhappy I've been since coming back! Of all the things I've ever seen in my life, you standing here is by far the absolute best one!"
"Shh..." the man said soothingly, gently stroking the back of Alice's head. "It's alright. We're together now, and that's what matters. And you know, it's quite a good thing your friend found me when she did, otherwise, well, who knows what might have happened? Well, I mean, that's actually quite obvious, I suppose, you would have gotten married and been terribly unhappy, and that wouldn't have been good at all, and then someone would've eventually had to come searching for you to bring you back, and—"
"Hatta!" Alice interrupted.
"...Thank you," he said. "I'm fine."
He frowned when he noticed the tears on her face.
"Why on earth are you crying?" he asked gently.
"Because," Alice said, "I'm happy to see you. And..."
She trailed off, biting her lower lip.
"And what?" he prompted.
She met his eyes for a brief second before she suddenly took him by surprise and kissed him unashamedly, much to the shock and scandalization of everyone present, the single exception being Ada, who merely smiled as she looked on.
"I love you, Tarrant," Alice said quietly when they pulled apart.
He gazed at her for a moment, then allowed himself a smile.
"I love you, too," he replied.
He then leaned in a bit closer to whisper in her ear.
"Is it true?" he asked. "Are you really carrying my child?"
"Yes," Alice said quietly, "it's true. You're not upset, are you?"
"Upset? Alice, I promise, I am absolutely no such thing. Quite the opposite, in fact."
"Alice Marie Kingsley," Helen said as she stood up and began making her way forward. "What on earth is going on here?"
"He's not a what," Alice replied defiantly, turning to face her mother, "he's a who, and his name is Tarrant. You wanted to know who the father is, didn't you? Well, here he is. Ada went and brought him back for me so that I wouldn't have to do...this."
She made a gesture to indicate the whole wedding ceremony and everything while Tarrant bent over to retrieve his hat from where it had fallen, placing it back on his head.
"Alice—"
"You remember when I told Hamish that he's Not the Right Man for me? Well, Lord Harmour isn't the Right Man, either."
She took hold of Tarrant's hand, holding it between both of hers as she smiled at him.
"This man here," she said. "He's the Right Man for me. He always has been. And...And I made a promise to him that I have to keep. That I'd come back. I haven't kept that promise. Not yet. But...Tarrant, if...if you still want me to, then I'll keep that promise right now and go back with you."
"Of course I still want you to," Tarrant said. "Do you really mean that, though?"
"With all my heart," Alice replied.
"And you'll stay this time?" he asked.
"I'll never leave again for as long as I live. I swear it," she said solemnly.
"But where are you going?" Helen demanded.
Alice and Tarrant were smiling at each other, and neither of them looked away from the other as Alice replied, "Home."
Tarrant's smile widened, and he watched along with everyone else as Alice took her veil off and let her curls down out of their updo, shaking them out. She dropped the veil carelessly on the ground, then held her hand out to Tarrant, who gladly took it in his own.
"We'll go by Looking-Glass," he said.
"I know exactly where to find one," she replied.
"Then let's be on our way, shall we?"
"Yes, please, before I lose my muchness again."
Upon their return to Underland, Alice and Tarrant were married quite quickly, and months later, Alice gave birth to a beautiful baby girl that looked just like her father, who they named Kyla Paisley, after two of Tarrant's cousins, and Mirana was named as the baby's godmother.
And the Champion and the Hatter were very happy together indeed.