A/N: Includes an AU ending to the movie to tie in with this fiction. Also includes bits and pieces from other Alice in Wonderland adaptations. I hope you guys enjoy! This story is for the diehard fans who wanted Alice's & Hatter's adventures to go on forever! All constructive criticism is welcome, but flamers will be fed to the Jabberwock.
Disclaimer: I do not own Alice, but I imagine it would be nice too!
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
Excerpt from Lewis Caroll's "The Jabberwocky"
Prologue:
Hatter could feel his eyes burning as Alice turned away. No – he mustn't cry. She didn't belong in his world, as much as he had come to care for her. She deserved to go home and be happy. He felt a hand grip his shoulder as he watched Alice step up to the glass. Hatter saw her hesitate. Please don't turn around Alice...just go home and forget about me! His prayed, desperately hoping she wouldn't look back and see the tears in his eyes.
"I know this is hard for you," Charlie whispered softly. "I know that you feel for her..."
Hatter remained silent, his jaw tight, as she stepped through the shimmering glass.
"It doesn't matter Charlie," he replied softly as the quicksilver sheen swallowed her. "I'm a rogue, a scoundrel. She...she's too good for me,"
The old Knight turned the young man to face him. "Aye, young man, you are not wrong. However, in the past weeks you have shown much courage and integrity. You have saved that girls life countless times and your determination to rid our home of evil has more than redeemed you in my eyes. You would have been a worthy suitor for young Alice, and I believe she thought so too. Now—"
Charlie stopped abruptly, his eyes glazing over.
Hatter frowned. Sure the old bugger was as mad as a box of frogs, but in the short time that Hatter had known the knight, the man had surprised him more than once with freakishly accurate precognitive abilities.
"Charlie? Charlie, wha' is it?" Hatter urged, gripping his friends wrists.
"Oh dear...ooooh dear," Charlie murmured, emerging from his momentary stupor.
Hatter's heart leapt into his throat. "That 'Oh dear' did not sound good. Charlie, what's going on? What did you see?"
Charlie shook his head. "Oh dear boy, I am so sorry,"
His breath hitched. "Charlie? Alice, she made it home, right?" he asked shrilly.
The old knight peered down at him with sad eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by a wailing alarm. Hatter turned to see smoke billowing from the Looking Glass. Sparks buzzed around its edges, dazzling him with its strobing effect. He rushed forward, panic rising in his chest. "Jack!" he cried to the new King, who stood before the Glass with a look of fear in his usually calm eyes.
"Jack! What the hell is going on?"
The monarch did not look at him when he responded. "The Looking Glass is malfunctioning!" He cried, directing his new subjects to stand back from the deadly bolts of electricity, dancing around the device.
"We have to get in there! Alice!" Hatter began to run for the Glass, but Jack Heart gripped the collar of his jacket and pulled him back.
"Stop! You blithering idiot! You will get yourself killed! We wait until the chaos dies down and then we inspect the damage...and see what has become of Alice,"
So they waited, for what seemed like many hours, watching the smoke and fire and sparks dancing around the Looking Glass, filling the hall with an acrid, burning stench. Hatter's eyes watered as he waited, impatient, angry and afraid.
Then the Glass went black – its swirling sheen, gone. A huge crack marred the face of the Looking Glass as the smoke cleared, and Hatter swore.
He and Jack raced forward, joined by Charlie.
"The control panel is fried," Jack stated as he reached the charred machine. "And the stone itself has been damaged."
"Did she make it? Is there any way at all to tell?" Hatter demanded.
Jack's jaw twitched. "I don't know, Hatter. We may never know..."
"I know," came a sad voice from behind. "My boy, I saw it with my inner eye. I'm afraid she did not make it back home safely. In fact – she never made it home at all..."
Hatter's dark eyes widened and he felt his throat tighten.
"Charlie, you'd better not be messing with me," he warned his voice thick with emotion.
"No, I would not jest about something so tragic. Alice is trapped. Stuck in the void between our world and hers."
Colour. An endless swirl of rainbow mixed with quicksilver, and Alice was falling. It was taking too long. She should have been back by now. Tumbling end over end she could see the light at the end of the tunnel, yet she was no closer than she was...how long had it been?
"Hatter!" She screamed frantically, her heart racing. God, she should have stayed. No, she never should have chased that stupid man in the first place!
Please don't let me be stuck in here, she prayed silently as she stopped herself from tumbling. If she was stuck in this vortex for eternity, she didn't want to be car sick.
She peered toward the light, but it was slowly fading, a wash of blackness was creeping up the vortex.
"God no," she whispered, as it washed over her, like a thousand frozen needles.
"Hatter!" she cried again, her panic rising. She could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage, like a bird desperate to break free from a cage. "Hatter! HATTER!"
A sob escaped her cracked lips as she spiralled further and further into the blackness, her hope for survival slowly being replaced by insurmountable terror.
A scream tore from her lips as she approached a window of light at great speed. She had not noticed it before in the blackness, but now that she could see it, rushing closer and closer, her fear of a painful death skyrocketed. She was going to hit it, whatever it was. And it was going to hurt.
The scream reverberated around the chamber and Hatter turned, once again to face the black Glass.
"Hatter –atter –atter- atter," the terrified cry echoed in his ears. "Oh god, ALICE!" He shouted, bounding up to the platform which held the broken Looking Glass. He placed his hands against the cool surface and peered into the abyss. "Dear boy, this will be painful," Charlie murmured, stepping up onto the podium to stand by his side. "For both of you,"
As the knight spoke, Hatter spied a speck in the distance, speeding closer and closer towards them.
"That's...oh no, that's Alice," Jack gasped. "And she's coming fast...everybody move aside!"
He grabbed Hatter's arm and tried to pull him away. "Come on! This could go one of two ways! At the speed she is going, she will either hit the glass and come smashing through back into our world or..." He hesitated.
"Or what!" Hatter demanded.
"Or, the glass will not break, and the impact will kill her instantly. Either way, where you are standing is not safe either for your body or your mind, whatever the outcome. Now MOVE!"
Hatter shook his head; a tear escaping and sliding down is cut cheek. "I will not leave," he growled, standing his ground, his eyes never leaving Alice as she came closer and closer. "I urge you to move, Hatter! NOW!"
There was an almighty crash as the Glass exploded outwards and Hatter was knocked into the air.
He felt weightless as he sailed, almost in slow motion through the air, but the drop happened much, much faster.
He landed on his back, quite a distance away from the shattered Looking Glass, and watched, wide eyed as Alice crashed heavily onto her side, rolling several feet before coming to a complete stop.
"Alice!" Hatter cried, scrambling to his feet, ignoring the shards of glass biting into his hands.
His heart was pounding in his chest as he rushed to the figure, lying still and limp in the mess that was once the Looking Glass. Several deep cuts marred her legs and arms, and a bloody gash above her eye was stark against her pale skin. Hatter dropped to his knees, lifted her off the floor and held her close. She was still breathing. "Thank God for small mercies," Charlie murmured as he crouched by the boy.
Jack dashed over at speed, skidding in the glass. "Come with me, we need to tend to those wounds," Jack said desperately.
Hatter looked up at him with rage swirling in his dark eyes. "No. Charlie and I will take care of it. She wouldn't be here in the first place if it wasn't for you, Heart,"
If Jack was pained by this comment, he didn't show it. "Are you really going to risk her life by being so stubborn?" Jack asked darkly.
"I believe that the skills I possess will be more than enough to save her life, young man," Charlie interjected, climbing stiffly to his feet. "We will take her back to the realm of the knights and I will heal her there. It will be better for her soul, being with people who did not mislead or betray her, whatever your reasons where. Our horses please. On the double,"
Jack Heart hesitated, but nodded. 'Very well. If you believe that the path you choose will better serve her health, so be it. Your steeds have been tended to and they await you outside. Hatter...don't let her die, or I will never forgive you,"
Hatter nodded. "And I would never forgive myself," he replied, rising with Alice in his arms.
The young man turned to Charlie. "Let's go old friend."
All she could remember was sharp searing pain as she crashed through the glass, that and the fleeting glance of Hatters terrified face as the force of her collision lifted them both into the air and tossed them back to earth like ragdolls. Once she hit the ground, she was slammed into a deep unconsciousness, a dark cocoon to keep her safe from the agony she was experiencing, but now, as the last cobwebs of sleep were clearing, she soon became aware of the pain once more.
An animal cry escaped her cracked lips as she awoke; a burning sensation enveloped her and threatened to overwhelm her once more.
As she shot upright, her eyes flying open, a gentle hand pushed at her shoulder, encouraging her to lie back.
"Come now young Alice, save your strength...I'm afraid the worst has yet to come," came Charlie's voice from above
"Ch-Charlie?" Alice stammered weakly, peering up at the old man. "What happened?"
He shook his head. "Do not think of it now Alice, you must concentrate on healing. Your ordeal is not yet over; many of your wounds are quite serious and require stitches. Young Hatter and I were hoping you would remain unconscious for that, but we can't always get what we want, can we?" Charlie smiled and smoothed her hair back in a fatherly manner.
There was a rustle in the bushes and Charlie smiled. "Ah, speak of the devil,"
Hatter emerged from the darkness, a bundle of plants in his arms, looking rather tired and morose.
"Charlie, I found everything on your list and-"
Hatter looked over to the old wire frame bed under the tree and grinned.
"Alice!" he cried, dropping the various herbs and flowers and rushing over. He dropped down beside the bed and wrapped his arms gently around her slight frame. "Thank Heavens you're alright," he whispered, breathing in her scent. "You scared me half to death!"
He pulled back into a crouch, taking in the bewildered look upon her elvish features, her wide blue eyes, scared and pained.
"Hatter? D-did I hurt you when I..."
The young man smiled and patted her bruised hand gingerly. "Nah, of course not. More worried about you to think about it really. How are you feeling?"
She closed her eyes briefly and sunk back into the pillows. "Hot," she replied softly.
Hatter touched the back of his hand to Alice's forehead and winced.
"Charlie, she's got a fever," he said in a worried tone.
The old man patted his arm soothingly. "Be calm, I have a special brew that will break it. But first we must clean and stitch her wounds."
The young man bit his lip, and nodded. "What do you need me to do?"
Charlie handed him a clean cloth and a vial of clear liquid. "Just a small amount on the cloth – too much will send her pain receptors into overdrive. There's a good boy. I will prepare the sutures."
The knight stepped away, leaving the two alone.
"Hold on Alice. We'll fix you right up," Hatter murmured softly, scattering a few drops of the pungent smelling liquid onto the rag. He dabbed it gently against the gash on her shoulder and she winced, squeezing her eyes shut.
He hesitated upon seeing her pain, but knew that if the wounds were not disinfected, infection would spread.
Several quiet moments passed before Charlie returned, with a small bone needle and some caterpillar silk.
"Hatter, I will need you to hold her. This will cause great pain," he said regretfully, holding the needle in the hot flames of the fire.
He threaded the fine silk into the eye of the needle and reached for the wound on her shoulder, pinching the flaps of skin together.
She cried out, her back arching as the seal of coagulated blood broke, staining her blue dress with crimson streaks. Hatter gripped her hard, blinking the tears from his eyes and he watched, sickened, as Charlie drove the needle through her skin.
Her cry this time was long and keening, like a wounded animal, and her breaths came in harsh gasps.
"Shh, Alice, it'll be over soon," Hatter muttered quietly to her, hoping he wasn't wrong.
Charlie stopped for a moment, his grey eyes meeting Hatter's.
"She is about to lose consciousness," he said solemnly.
Hatter looked down and saw her lids fluttering – her long, black lashes kissing her pale skin.
"Sleep," He soothed, stroking her hair, as she sighed and became limp. He returned his gaze to Charlie, who had finished sewing the first wound, and moved to the other, his tight, neat stitches holding the bruised and tattered skin together.
"Will she be alright Charlie?" He asked, watching the man intently.
He nodded. "Of course young man – she is strong willed and stubborn. It would take a lot to break this woman,"
Hatter nodded, knowing that the man was right.
It took several hours to properly clean and dress the remainder of Alice's wounds. Midnight came and went, and by the time they had finished, Hatter was exhausted.
With Charlie finally snoozing in his hammock, Hatter tucked the thin sheets around Alice and settled down by the bed. He had vowed to stay awake so he could keep an eye on Alice, but before he knew it, exhaustion overtook him, and he fell asleep with his hat on.
Read and Review! You're feedback inspires me!