Put the Kettle On
Two weeks had passed since the Wonder had left British waters; Alice lies in her bunk, letting her thoughts drift with the sway of the ship. With no souvenirs from her last visit to Underland except the scratches on her arm, she could almost believe that it had all been a dream—if it hadn't been for the loneliness. She closes her eyes and rolls over with a sigh, the rocking of the ship almost reminds her of traveling by hat. She had been sorely tempted, more so than she let on at the time, to remain with Tarrant in Underland. To rebuild the world that in a way she considers her own.
"Hatter! You haven't heard a word I just said, have you?" Malyumkin chides sharply. When her rebuke is answered with a distracted grunt, she hops onto his hand and stabs him with a hat pin. He jumps, upsetting his now-cold tea. "She won't be back, you know," she informs him unsympathetically. "She'll have forgotten all about you by the time she woke up in her world, just like before."
With his usual speed of his mood swings, his head snaps up. His gloomy demeanor evaporates into manic cheerfulness. "Well, then! If she's not likely to come here, it seems I have no choice but to journey up to the Overlands."
"And drag her back?" the Dormouse suggests sarcastically. Ignoring her last comment, the Hatter stands and marches determinedly to seek audience with the White Queen.
Queen Mirana and her court are still very much involved with undoing Iracabeth's vile workings. Although it isn't an easy time, day by day all of Underland could see improvements. Prisoners, those lucky enough to escape with their heads intact, are released, iron-fisted laws are swept away and replaced with justice. As though Nature herself is celebrating the new administration, the death-choked pallor which had infested portions of Underland are restored to colorful brilliance.
Even the Queen's trees seemed happier.
"Tarrant Hightop," she welcomes him as he enters the alabaster throne room.
With a merry flourish, he takes off his hat and bows. "I have a favor to ask, Your Majesty."
"My dear Hatter, I am deeply in your debt. What is your wish? Speak it and it will be done."
Here, the Hatter falters, his gaze falls upon the Champion's armor which is once again displayed by the throne. His thoughts are consumed with the magnificent warrior who last wore it. Gold falling against the silver…
"You wish to go to the Overlands, do you not?" He nods, muttering assent. "You…seek someone there?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. If she'd-" he cuts himself off abruptly.
The Queen smiles and rises. With a deep nod and graceful sweep of her arm she glides to her apothecarium and beckons the Hatter to follow. Once inside, she places a vial in his hand. "You, too, fought for the freedom of Underland. It is only right that you should have a share in the spoils of victory."
"Will it bring me to Alice?"
"If that is your wish. Do you intend to remain with her?"
"Do I 'intend'?" he bursts out angrily, his eyes suddenly rimmed in darkest blue. "What use is intending? I don't know, I can't know!" He rages, yet even in his unstable mood he can almost hear Alice's voice, gently calling him back. "Sorry," he squeaks, "I'm fine."
"Here," the Queen intones, slipping another vial of the Jabberwock's blood into his coat pocket. "In case you wish to come back. Rabbit holes aren't as reliable as they once were."
"Thank you," he whispers, and downs it in one swallow. He sees the room darken and mist away. Next moment, he feels he is traveling at fantastic speeds towards a bright light, which bursts with color and sound.
Alice is awoken by a stirring sound in her room. Propping herself up on her elbow, she scans the room for the source. Suddenly, her entire face brightens, "Hatter!" Kneeling down on the floor, she picks up the 6-inch tall form of her old friend.
His first reaction is joyous as well. "So you didn't forget?" Then it dawns on him, "It seems it's my turn to be too small."
"I don't care, I'm so happy to see you. I've missed you; I tried to convince myself it was all another dream. But I guess I'd have to be half-mad to dream you up." She seems to genuinely not be concerned with their yawning height difference; she sits back down on her bed, holding him in her lap as though he's a doll.
"So," he gasps, overcome with excitement, "What happened after you disappeared….reappeared? After you went back, uh, woke up, I mean left-"
"Hatter!"
He checks himself, nods, "Thank you."
"It was rather odd; almost as if I hadn't been gone for any time at all. I was in a rabbit hole under a tree…the party was still going on. I went back…and declined Hamish's offer."
"What offer?"
"Marriage. I realized I didn't want to marry him; I have a life of my own. We wouldn't have gotten along at all. We had nothing in common and he doesn't even like me. It nearly killed his mother when I said no. Now someone else will have to tend to his digestion."
"He must be intolerably stupid not to appreciate you. You're magnificent."
Tarrant's unfettered flattery gets a shy smile out of her. "I never could understand why he wanted to marry me in the first place," Alice muses. "We'd only seen each other precious few times, I must've been promised to him even before I was born. It's so silly. Any time we spent five minutes together, he'd end up thinking I'm completely mad." Her smile grows broader along with her friend's. "Maybe he's right."
"Maybe," is all that he trusts himself to say.
"I'm so glad you came," Alice tells her miniature friend. "It's a shame we can never seem to be the same size, though."
"What difference does that make?" Tarrant asks.
With a rather suggestive look, she answers smoothly, "Well, how am I going to introduce you to my mother?" She strokes his wild red hair with a strangely longing expression. "You've got to be the best friend I've ever had." She's quiet for a moment, then poses, "Why did you come up here anyway? How did you find me?"
"The White Queen had a hand in it, she knew I wanted….to see you again."
"Me? You came all this way just to see me?"
Tarrant falters, looking crestfallen. "Oh…were you hoping for some other reason?"
Alice doesn't answer. She holds his hands with a pensive expression. If she had the choice, she would've gone back to him, too. She's amazed and touched that he'd feel the same way. During their time together in Underland, she had felt a strong connection with him. Strong enough to make her certain that she'd dreamed him up. What would be more natural for a young woman, about to be forced into a loveless marriage against her will, than to invent a more ideal mate in her head? And yet, even when she'd thought it was a dream, Alice had found within herself a deep wellspring of loyalty to the Hatter. "I just thought there was an emergency or something back in Underland. I guess I was a little worried."
"No, no, everything's fine."
"Good, glad to hear it."
Tarrant fidgets in her lap, "Of course, if anything should go wrong, I know where to find our Champion."
Alice laughs, "I just wish someone here could believe that I was ever anybody's Champion. I haven't even tried to tell my mother or Margaret about it. Maybe Aunt Imogene would believe me…Anyway, I think that will have to be our little secret." She hugs him tighter. "They've noticed, though. They can tell I'm different."
"Muchier," Tarrant supplies.
"Much muchier," she agrees. "Thank you."
The Hatter brushes it aside nervously, "For what?"
"Helping me find my muchness."
Up above them, a voice calls: "Miss Kingsleigh, please come up here at once!"
Alice and Tarrant exchange worried looks, wondering what to do about him, should he be discovered! She looks around her room for likely places, at a loss. "Hide," she tells him, not altogether helpfully before heading to the deck of the ship.
Once she's up there, she's glad she came. A school of porpoise are following alongside the Wonder, leaping elegantly in smooth arcs.
"The captain says it's a good omen," one of the deckhands tells her as she stares over the side of the ship.
After a few more minutes of watching their finned escorts, Alice enters the captain's cabin for a look at the map.
"Tomorrow we should reach Portugal; we can stop there and replenish our supplies, and from there lays the open sea."
She passes through the galley on her way back to her bunk, grabbing a snack for herself and the Hatter, she cautiously opens her door. Peering around curiously, she whispers, "It's all right, it's me. Where are you?" Straining her ears for some tiny noise, one that would tell her where her friend is hiding, she hears the sound of snipping. Shutting the door behind her, Alice continues looking over her room, but there's no sign of him anywhere. The faint snipping sound has stopped, giving her no clue as to his location. She looks under her bed, in her shoes, everywhere a very small person could readily hide. Finally, she opens the lid of her trunk There he is, peeking out from under her blue cloak. Alice smiles with a relieved sigh at the sight of him.
The minute Alice had left Tarrant started missing her. Now more than ever he knows that what he felt around her wasn't madness—at least not his usual brand. This feeling was much kinder, but strangely more painful. Here was his Champion, she who braved and tamed the Bandersnatch in order to save him from the Red Queen, the one for whom he'd traversed the dimensions to see once more. As he sits pondering over his fully-realized love for the girl, darkness creeps over him yet again. If you think she'd feel the same, you must truly be mad! No such superb creature could gaze as fondly at a half-witted teatime-obsessed, hat-making lunatic! Freak! You hardly deserve her friendship, let alone so much as dream of more! He seethes angrily, his thoughts consumed with self-hatred and frustration. Then, just as quickly, he changes…he remembers the times she's smiled at him—how he soared then! She'd actually hugged him, admitted temptation to stay with him. Nincompoop, just because she wanted to stay in Underland doesn't mean she necessarily wanted you to be part of the picture! But he is immune to his own bitterness now. Even if she won't be coming back with him, he wants to make her something to remember him by. Running his fingers down his suit thoughtfully, mentally taking stock of his instruments, he hits upon it. It might not be of any use to her, but some small…very small…token might be appreciated. He climbs up into Alice's trunk and burrows in. He is literally swimming in material. Seizing a likely-looking piece, he began to work.
Now they gaze at each other, both of them unaware of doing so. Since his arrival, Alice has been overwhelmed by these sudden fond feelings within herself. She is certain she hasn't worn a straight face since their reunion. I must be mad. Once again she reaches down and strokes his hair, trailing her finger down his face. She stops abruptly, as though just realizing what she's been doing.
"I'm sorry…" she begins, standing back up. Embarrassment burns in Alice's face and throat and she can no longer face him. If anyone had presumed to touch her that way, she certainly wouldn't have appreciated it…with perhaps one exception. Now she wouldn't be surprised if he never spoke to her again. Or wouldn't he? Since they met for the second time in Underland, they'd come to view and treat one another as someone equal to themselves…in many ways, as an extension of themselves. Perhaps he doesn't mind, she hopes, recognizing that she wouldn't mind if he did it to her. This isn't how it's done. So, what am I doing, then? Why do I want to? Years of stiff aristocratic upbringing are fighting against her newly-restored muchness, and it's becoming more apparent which the stronger force is.
Alice turns back, sees the Hatter's gloomy expression and squats near him again.
"Something wrong?" he ventures timidly.
"I…shouldn't have done that. It's just…I don't even know your real name," she whispers, flushing.
Relief brings the life back to his face; he then realizes she'd never called him anything except 'Hatter'. Not that it matters; he's answered to that title long enough. Besides, there's an endearing quality to the way Alice says it. Or is that my imagination?
"Tarrant, Tarrant Hightop."
"Tarrant," Alice repeats, smoothing his wild hair again with trembling fingers.
He then bends down into the trunk and holds out a miniature hat. It's made from a few snips of her own blue cloak, modeled after his own but made in a more feminine style. It's plumed with white feathers and pearled pins, wrapped in indigo ribbon with long sashes. "I know it's not quite your size…but I thought…that is I hoped you'd want something to remember me by. Before you let yourself think it was all a dream."
Carefully, Alice takes it in her hand. How she'd longed for a hat made by his hands! He is truly an expert in his craft. Strange that someone with such an unquiet mind would be able to create something of such beauty and grace. "Stay with me," she pleads shortly. Sensing his hesitation, she amends, "Or…if you can't…and I can see why that might be…have you got any pishsalver?"
Tarrant starts in surprise, "Why?"
"Because if I'm going to go back with you I want to be the right size," Alice answers with fierce determination. In the instant that he'd presented the hat to her, she knew where her future lies. As much as she wants to continue her father's work, she'd made sure his dream wasn't in vain. Charles Kingsleigh's friend and partner had finally seen the light and is willing to now carry on in his stead. And while a future of sailing the seas had its appeal, two weeks on the ocean told her that she belonged on dry land. Her family…she would leave them a letter, explaining…and perhaps someday she could come back again. Yes, someday, and I'll introduce them all… Near the trunk lies her writing-desk. In the best way she can, Alice writes out an explanation of events.
There's a long silence as both parties grasp what is happening. Again, the Hatter must ask, "Why?"
"Because I love you," she blurts out inelegantly, then looks furious with herself at such a hasty confession.
He's too flabbergasted to return it in kind, it's all he can do to gasp, "Alice!" But she knows what he means by it. It's unmistakable. Tears spring from her eyes and she tries hurriedly to wipe them away. "Careful," he tells her gently, "Remember what happened last time. Wouldn't want anyone to drown in a pool of tears." With a few sniffles, she stops. He gives her a tiny bottle. "Not too much, now."
Alice takes a swallow and soon feels the sensation of shrinking. The floor is coming up to meet her, and before she falls out of sight, the Hatter takes her hands and pulls her into the trunk with him. She lays sprawled on top of him, both of them blushing at their posture.
"Oh my!" she whispers, pulling at her tent-like underthings into something more modest. Again, there's the sound of snipping and rapid stitching. As Alice pulls herself into her new garment, she remarks, "The Queen should hire you as her dressmaker, too."
Watching her twirl before him, the Hatter replies, "I like it."
Now she picks up the hat he'd made for her and puts it on. She can't help feeling as though they're now betrothed.
Tarrant takes one of his larger thimbles, pours half of the Jabberwocky's blood into it, and hands it to her. Clinking the vial against it with a cheeky grin, he mutters "See you there."
"Fairfarren," she responds with a smile, linking arms with him as they drink together.
The world around them darkens and mists away…and a world of possibilities awaits.
