Finally! -(pun intended) So I was wracking my brain this holiday vacation trying to think of some kind of Halice fic to write because it had to be done. My new favorite paring and current obsession, yes, a fic defiantly needed to be made. It wasn't until yesterday (The next to last day of holiday break) that I fell asleep and dreamt most of this! so I thank you dream gods for giving me inspiration!!
however the reason could have also been that I was tired Hatter was the first person I wanted next to me to fall asleep with, creating the story your about to read..........yeah, that's a good possibility. Eaither way enjoy!!!!
Disclaimer: Anything you see that is familiar ie: settings, dialog, characters ect. doesn't belong to me, anything you see that is unfamiliar is all mine!!
Alice had never actually ridden a horse before, she pretended she had and managed to climb up somewhat gracefully but she wrapped her arms around Hatters waist right away, making sure she'd stay on. He didn't say anything to her so she left them there as they rode to Charlie's Kingdom. Alice kept her eyes straight ahead, not making much conversation with Hatter, just the occasional side comment about the scenery. She let out a small sigh hoping they'd reach their destination soon, she turned her head to yawn but Hatter caught sight of her.
"You can rest if you want." He said. "I don't mind."
She glanced at him for a second and was just about to lay her head against his back when Charlie stopped in front of them, welcoming them to the Kingdom of the Knights.
They were walking from here and Alice could feel a pain in her feet before she even hopped down off the horse. Had she known she was going to go on a wild adventure in Wonderland she probably would have worn more sensible shoes, heals weren't the best when running away from Suits and giant forest creatures.
Hatter got off the horse first and offered his hand which she took; he helped her down slowly, catching her in his arms when she slipped the rest of the way down.
"Thank you." She said looking up at his face which seemed awfully close to her own.
"No problem." He answered giving her a lopsided smile and pulling away from her.
Charlie helped guide them the rest of the way and eventually they made it to his 'home'.
The place wasn't that bad actually. There was a small pit for a fire and logs around it to sit on, what seemed to be a barn off in the corner and plenty of trees shading the area. Charlie showed them where to find water to drink and then told them he had to go collect supper. Hatter offered to join but he declined, calming it'd be easier if he went on his own but he gave suspicious looks to both Alice and Hatter that made Alice wonder what he was thinking.
"I'll be back in a matter of minutes." He said giving Hatter a swift pat on the back and then he was off again.
Alice sat down on one of the logs near the fire pit and rested her head in her hands, closing her eyes slowly.
Hatter could tell she was tired, he was sure it was a rough day for her, being pulled into a strange new land, dealing with a semi-crazy resistance leader with a gun, being chased by suits and a jabberwocky. He glanced around trying to find something that resembled a bed but could find nothing, instead he saw a large tree covered in moss and leaves, he shrugged his shoulders, it'd do for now. He walked over and sat down with his back against the trunk then cleared his throat trying to get Alice's attention. She woke out of her sleep and turned her head to look at him. He motioned for her to come over but she gave him a questioning look.
"Listen I know you're tired and I might not be the best pillow but I am all you've got at the moment." He said matter-of-factly. Alice sighed, he was right, she was exhausted, she just wanted to rest for a while, at least till Charlie got back with whatever supper was. She stood up slowly and made her way to Hatter. She sat down next to him and leaned her head back against the bark of the tree. Hatter sighed.
"Alice." He said, she looked at him.
"The whole point of me being here is so you can rest your head on me, not the tree." She could see his cheeks turn the slightest shade of pink.
"You sure?" She asked. He didn't say anything, just wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close. She let herself relax; she rested her head on Hatters chest, his heart beating softly in her ear, and wrapped an arm loosely around his waist. She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.
She thought of many different things as she drifted to sleep. How Jack could have possibly gotten mixed up with these Wonderland people? Why the Queen had to kidnap 'oysters'? Was she ever going to get out of here? Would Hatter really help her? Her brain re-directed her thoughts.
Hatter
Hatter was warm, at least she thought he was, she could feel almost what she thought to be some kind of warmth coming from him, but maybe she was dreaming. He smelt good though, she knew that for sure. Like spiced tea, soft leather, and something that she couldn't quite name but she liked it. His heart beat steadily in her ear and she thought she might have nuzzled down into Hatters embrace a bit further but she was tired and wasn't exactly sure of anything, except the fact that this was as comfortable as she'd felt in a long time, she liked that too.
It was dark when she woke to the smell of cooking meat. She opened her eyes and glanced around quickly realizing that Hatter still had his arms wrapped around her, the next thing she noticed was that her arms were in fact wrapped around him as well, she smiled a bit. She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes with a hand that was previously resting on Hatters waist.
" You Alright?" He said in a deeper voice than usual, he cleared his throat and smiled at her. She nodded.
"Great."
"Dinner is just about ready you two!" Charlie called to them over the fire.
"We should, um." Hatter was trying to find the right words but she knew what he meant.
"Right." She said. She inhaled quickly taking in his scent one last time and then scooted a few inches away from him. He stood as she dusted her dress and tights off then he helped her to her feet as well.
"Sleep okay?" He asked. She gave a quick smile.
"Yeah, thanks." He only nodded.
Dinner was delicious and Charlie seemed especially proud when Alice told him so. He saw Hatter glance at Alice and made a quick excuse to leave, letting them talk.
"What I wanna know is how were gonna cut a deal with the White Rabbit." Alice said in a low voice. Hatter winced and stood up.
"I did say it was a long shot, but as long as you've got that ring, you've got a chance." He said standing behind the fire.
"You?" Alice questioned. "What happened to we?" Hatter sighed.
"I can't leave Alice, Wonderland is my home, I can't just abandon it despite what I said." She could tell he was sincere.
"I have to stay and fight." He said with a nod. Alice was confused.
"What?" why would he want to stay after all the horrible things he'd been through.
"Seein all this, look, this great kingdom and what's become of it. It's a wakeup call to be honest." She still didn't understand.
"My people, I mean, the hundreds of refugees that are all hiding underground, there all counting on me."
"But didn't that Dodo guy say he was gonna have you hunted down and killed?" She asked, hoping that would wake him up.
"Yeah." He said. "But I figure if I turn up with the ring, he might forgive me." He was trying to be honest, let her know right away what he was planning on doing but he could tell she wasn't happy and he suddenly wished he hadn't said that.
"So that's what this was about?" She asked disappointment in her voice. The only thing he knew to do was to try and make it better.
"Don't worry; I'll get you home safe and sound first."
"And Jack?" She asked. He let out a frustrated sigh, he'd never even met the guy and he was already sick of hearing about him.
"You have to forget about Jack, we'll never get him out of the casino alive and trying is only gonna set off alarm bells, it'll make your escape impossible." He was trying to look out for her best interests but he could tell she didn't want to hear it.
"Okay, so you were just leading me on back there." She said throwing a log into the fire and sitting down next to it. He let out another frustrated sigh.
"Just believe me it'll be suicide." He was trying to make her understand. She wouldn't answer him, wouldn't even look at him. He felt a pang of guilt go through him, he hadn't meant to upset her, he only wanted to tell her the truth, he wanted her to trust him. Then he thought for a second, why did he want her to trust him so badly? The only answer he could come up with was that he cared for her. He stared at her, the light of the fire dancing beautifully across her face.
"Jack's a lucky guy." He said, more to himself than to her but she caught it.
"What?"
"Nothing, look it's late and we all need our, rest. We can argue about this tomorrow yeah?" He tried to adopt a more cheerful tone to his voice but she still wouldn't look at him, he sighed and turned away, brushing his hat off his head.
"Alice." Charlie said coming back to the camp sight and brushing past Hatter.
"Your bed is this way." He said, motioning for her to follow. She got up and followed him, not so much as glancing at Hatter and she walked past. He sighed and rolled his eyes, he didn't understand why she didn't get it, there was no helping Jack.
Hatter followed them into the barn where Charlie had cleared off a small bed for Alice, the frame was rusted and the mattress flat but it was a bed.
"Thank you Charlie." She said, laying down on the bed and turning away from the two men.
"You were right to tell her." Charlie whispered to Hatter when they were far enough away that Alice wouldn't hear.
"I know that, but." Hatter motioned to Alice.
"She'll understand soon enough, and then she'll thank you for telling her ahead of time."
"I hope you right Charlie." Hatter said. Charlie smiled and gave him a pat on the back.
"It'll all work out."
"Thanks." Hatter said smiling.
"Now, to find you a place to rest." Charlie mumbled.
"No, its fine Charlie, I'll…I'll sleep here, I wanna make sure she's okay." Hatter said motioning to a small patch of grass where the gate was that lead into the barn.
"Are you sure?" Hatter nodded.
"Have a good sleep then." Charlie said moving to his own bed; a hammock strung between two trees.
"You too Charlie." Hatter said getting as comfortable as he could and dozing off.
Alice woke up late into the night, she found she couldn't fall asleep in the bed as well as she could when she was resting with Hatter but she tried to brush that thought away. She stood up and wrapped the purple velvet coat tighter around her, it had gotten colder.
She walked a few steps then saw Hatter resting against the gate of the barn, his hat sitting on his knee. She gave a small smile at how peaceful he looked. He just didn't understand that she needed to help Jack, she had to.
She knew now that she was going to have to go it alone. Hatter refused to take her to the casino and as much as she liked Charlie he would probably only slow them down, and she needed to get there now. That's when she remembered the suits that followed them; she didn't know if she'd be able to find them in the immense forest but they were sure to find her, all she had to do was wander around for a while.
She sighed and shrugged the purple coat off her shoulders, it was Hatters after all and if she never saw him after this she wanted to at least give him his coat back. She hung it on one of the rungs of a ladder. Now she had to figure out what to do with the ring. She glanced around the camp looking for somewhere to hide it, that's when the throne caught her eye. She slowly walked over to it pulling the ring off her finger.
"Where it belongs." She whispered as she slipped it on to the red king's skeleton finger. Then she took one last look at the camp sight and one last glance to where Hatter lay asleep, she smiled sadly then turned on her heal and quietly left.
Alright so I feel accomplished my first Halice fic!!!! as it stands now this is just a oneshot drabble kind of thing but if it gets enough love I'd be more than happy to turn it into something with a little substance to it. So let me know how you feel, thanks!!!!
~Tara~
