The Hatter stared blankly at the teapot. He missed Alice. Her eyes, her smile…it was all he ever wanted. Now she was gone, and there was nothing to do. Underland was merely a grey world without her by his side.
He sighed sadly. "You OK?" He heard the Rabbit's voice.
"Yes, Rabbit. I'm fine." He got up and walked to his house. Past the trees and bushes. Down the path. The path. When Alice was little, she'd cried, "Like the yellow brick road! Except it's a rainbow. I love rainbows," she'd said dreamily, and she'd skipped happily towards his house. He smiled at the memory. Suddenly, just for a minute, he though he saw a strand of wavy blonde hair appear. He blinked and it was gone.
The Hatter sighed again and opened the door. He went to his room and started crying. He put his head on his hands. "Alice!" he cried. "Alice, where are you? Come back!" he kept sobbing, sitting on his bed, feeling the soft cloth of his quilt.
"Hatter?" someone asked. He looked up towards the door. It sounded like…no. It couldn't be. "Alice?" he said. "Is that..is that you?"
"Hatter!" Alice burst through the door. The Hatter gasped as she ran to him and hugged him. "Don't cry please! I want to stay!" her wavy hair tickled his cheek.
"Alice! Oh you're back! Alice!" He gripped her hair and said, "I must be dreaming. I'm dreaming!" He stood up and looked at her. Alice laughed.
"You're not! I'm here! See?" Alice twirled. The Hatter took in her dress. Light blue, floaty, with sequins. She looked so pretty in that. She walked towards him. He gently touched her cheek. Then, he took her hands in his.
"Alice," he whispered. She giggled, her brown eyes scanned his hat.
"It's a very nice hat. You just need something. Hang on." She got out a drawing and said, "OK, so Deana wanted the flower there…"
"May I see?" The Hatter asked. Alice nodded. The Hatter took the sheet of paper and stared. It was the most beautiful hat he'd ever seen.
The material was deep black fabric. The sash on his hat was a light pink, and on the side, there was a white flower. White. "This is beautiful. How did you do this?" He asked. Alice shook her head.
"It isn't my drawing. It's my patient's drawing. She's called Deana Liddel. It was her 14th birthday today. She's mentally disturbed sadly, so I ask her to draw to keep out the visions."
"Visions?" The Hatter asked. "Why does she have visions?"
"No-one knows. She keeps talking about Wonderland. Not in public of course. In public she doesn't talk about it. Only when we're alone does she start talking about this world."
"That is…shocking." The Hatter seemed fascinated. "Where is she?"
"She's in the real world, up there. But I told her to go to a certain rabbit hole if she wants to find me." The Hatter nodded and walked to a spot.
"Alice…come over here." Alice did so. "I've got a surprise for you. Close your eyes."
She closed her eyes. The Hatter saw Alice's eyelashes touch her cheeks.
He felt himself blush a little as he leaned in. Alice wasn't expecting anything, maybe a gift or something. But as soon as the Hatter's lips touched hers, she was shocked and nearly fell back. But then she just kissed back. When the Hatter broke it, she opened her eyes and looked up. "Mistletoe," she whispered. The Hatter chuckled.
"Surprise." Alice giggled. Suddenly, the Rabbit burst into the room. His expression was worried. "Rabbit? Rabbit, what is it?"
"A girl. She fell into Wonderland. She climbed a tree and told us to stay away from her. She tried jumping off the tree into a venomous snake pit!" Alice gasped. "Deana."
The three ran as fast as they could towards the edge of the forest. The Mad Hare was holding a girl back. His eyes were no longer mad. He was focused on making sure this girl stayed alive. She had brown skin, deep brown eyes and black hair. It was her. "Deana! Don't jump!" Alice called.
"This person told me to or she'd kill you!"
"Quick! What did she look like?"
"She's over there, by the cave." The Cheshire Cat trotted towards her.
"The Red Queen."
"Hello Chess. I was just trying to get this girl out of the forest."
"By making her commit suicide?!" The Hatter shouted. "Who are you, some idiot with a big head who has only thoughts for herself?!"
"STOP!" Alice screamed. Everyone went quiet. "You're scaring her. You see, I've told the Hatter, but not the rest of you. This girl is mentally disturbed. The tunnel to her mind is closing by the second. Please. Just…be quiet." She turned to Deana. "It's OK. Just edge of the branch on that cat's back, OK?"
?" The girl nodded. She edged off the branch, and then jumped onto the Cheshire Cat's back. He went straight to Alice. The Mad Hare helped her down. Alice hugged her while she cried. "Deana. It's OK. Ssh. Ssh." The Dormouse glared at the red queen. "You don't do that again, all right?" She turned back to Deana, who had settled down. Deana turned to the mad Hatter. "Hello!"
"Hello!" The Hatter leant down to her height. "Are you OK?"
"Fine! Hey Cat!" Suddenly, she disappeared.
"W-what? Deana?" Alice asked. "Where are you?"
"Hey Alice! Look!" The group turned around and saw a cat. "I'm a cat! Great isn't it?"
"Like me." The Cheshire Cat smiled. Deana smiled back.
Then, she turned into a human again. "Can I live here? It would be great to be a Halfling-cat!"
"Of course you can dear," Alice said, smiling.
"You can have a bedroom next to Chess," the Rabbit suggested.
"Great idea! You know, I know you people. You're from my visions!" Deana jumped up and down. "Yay!"
"You actually say, 'Caloo! Callay!' but I'll accept 'Yay!'" said the Hatter. Everyone laughed.
Alice smiled and watched as Deana and the Cheshire Cat went off together, talking. "I hope he doesn't hurt her," said Alice. "He can be deceiving sometimes."
"Oh I can assure you Alice, Deana will be fine," said the Dormouse.
"Thank you." The Dormouse, the Rabbit and the Mad Hare went home. Alice and the Hatter went to his house.
"Are you OK? You know, after that event?"
"I'm fine. But I bet Deana's still having suicidal thoughts." Alice sighed. "She draws well though. She once drew a flower for me. She then coloured it…green." Green. The colour of the Hatter's eyes. Alice looked down so that he couldn't see her blush.
"All right then. Er…where will you sleep?"
"I don't know. Perhaps-" suddenly, there was a bang. It sounded like a gunshot. Alice ran to the Cheshire Cat's house and saw Deana dead on the floor, blade in her hand. The Cheshire Cat was nowhere to be seen. "No. No no no no no. Wake up!" Alice shook Deana. "Wake up! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" She screamed. She tried to get the pointy bit of the sword out of the girl's head. Then, she saw a gun. She grabbed it and got up. The Hatter came and saw the gun in Alice's hand. "No. Alice no! Step away from it." Alice shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "Please." Alice shook her head again. "Then I'll have to force you." He advanced on Alice. She backed away and was soon up against a wall. He forced the gun from Alice's hand, dropped it and kicked it away. "NO! NO!" Alice screamed. She tried to dive for the gun but The Hatter caught her by the waist. "Let me go!" The Hatter shook his head. This was bad. If Alice killed herself, Wonderland would fall into destruction, and the only good thing in his life would be lost. "I'm sorry for this," The Hatter whispered. Alice struggled as he put a cloth over her mouth and nose. Alice had no choice but to breathe the anaesthetic in. She fell asleep. The Hatter picked her up bridal style and carried her all the way to his house.
Alice regained consciousness. She groggily blinked and saw the Mad Hatter by her side, in a chair, looking at her. "So Sleeping Beauty's awake," the Hatter teased. She giggled. "You know I told you that there were no rules in my house?"
"Yes?"
"There is one now." Alice looked up in confusion. The Hatter got up and looked her in the eye. "Don't try to commit suicide when another person has died." Alice gasped. Is that what she'd done? Got a gun and put it to her head? Suddenly she remembered it all. The gun, the screaming, the Hatter grabbing her by the waist, and the gas. "You drugged me."
"I had no choice. You were about to kill yourself." Alice nodded. "She's been buried, by the way." Alice got up and went to the open door but the Hatter got there first, leaning against it. "Ah-ah-ah. No. You can only visit her on Saturdays."
"It is Saturday." The Hatter realized it was Saturday.
"It's Monday."
"No, it's Saturday," said Alice, frowning.
"You can go next week."
"I would like to go now."
"Well you can't."
"Why not?"
"Because the Queen said so."
"You're lying."
"Alice." The Hatter backed her up against a wall, and whispered in her ear, "Why would I lie?" He played with a strand of her hair as he said the sentence. Alice felt his breath on her cheek. She blushed. The Hatter pulled away, smirking. He'd always wanted to make Alice blush. "Oh. Blushing are we?"
"N-no." Alice blushed even more.
"Are you sure?" The Hatter said, grinning. "Let's see if I can make you really blush."
"What?" Alice didn't realize what the Hatter was doing until she felt his hands on her waist. "Hatter!" she giggled. He ran his hands up her sides. "S-stop!" Alice said. "Please!"
"Nope." He kept moving his fingers along her sides. They worked faster and faster. "Tee-hee! Hatter!"
"Tickle tickle!" The Hatter teased.
"Get off!" Alice tried escaping but the Hatter was stronger, wrapping her in an embrace. "Ha! Gotcha!" He tickled her harder, his fingers working into her stomach.
"No Hatter! Stop it!" Alice said. She kept giggling while the Hatter tickled her. After a while, she began to get comfortable. But it still tickled. A lot.
"I'll do whatever you want PLEASE LET ME GO!" Alice pleaded. The Hatter took pity on her and let her go. "That was fun," he said, smirking.
"Don't do that again." Alice tried to sound firm, but she let out a little giggle. The Hatter smiled. "You liked that."
"Be quiet."
"You did." The Hatter teasingly placed a hand on her stomach and wiggled his fingers. "Ticklish?" the Hatter whispered in her ear. "My my, we are learning about Wonderland aren't we?" Alice stared at him. He pulled his hand away and met her eyes. "There's going to be a ball tomorrow night. Will you accompany me?" Alice smiled.
"Of course."
That night when Alice was asleep, the Hatter finished making Alice's ball gown. It was light green, with dark green sequins across it. It was short-sleeved, and he had even made a little hat to go with it. She loved green, it was her favourite colour. He smiled at the thought that she would wake up and see the dress. He thought of her smile and grinned. He went to the guest room and draped the dress over the chair. He wrote a little message.
Dear Alice,
I have made you a dress that you can go to the ball in. There's a hat as well.
Love, Hatter xxx
The Hatter put it next to the hat which he placed on the chair. He stroked her hair. "Good night Alice," he whispered. Then, he left.
The next morning, Alice got up. She brushed her teeth and washed her face in the bathroom. Then, she went back to her room again and saw the dress and hat. "Oh my," she whispered. The dress was a light green, decorated with sequins. The little hat was very nice. It was the colour of the Hatter's eyes. Alice blushed at this, thankful that the Hatter wasn't there. She saw the message and blushed even more, because he'd written kisses at the end. Alice giggled and went to breakfast. The Hatter was there. "Did you like it?" he asked. He seemed nervous. "I loved it!" Alice kissed the Hatter on the cheek and then said, "You're blushing too!"
"It's more obvious on you, though, because you're very pretty." The Hatter was so charming sometimes. "And you've been blushing. That's cute." Alice smiled at this. She ate breakfast. Afterwards she asked, "What should we do?"
"I have no idea." The Hatter said, "But I do know you're still ticklish…" Alice gasped and ran to her room, but didn't get there in time. The Hatter was faster and tickled her. "Hey stop it!" Alice managed to say between giggles. Suddenly, the Hatter cupped her face in his hands. "Hatter?" Alice asked. He kissed her. She kissed back. He pushed her against the wall and kept kissing her. He broke away after half a minute, and smirked. "And I know you blush easily."
"So?"
"It's cute." The Hatter spun her around and caught her. "Hatter!"
"Please. Don't make me blush." He winked flirtatiously at her. Alice giggled.
"What should we do now?"
"Can you try the dress on?" he asked.
"The dress? Sure." Alice went to her room, closed the blinds and tried on the dress. It fitted her perfectly. She noted that the dress fitted her waist. She had feeling it came from the first time when the Hatter had placed his hands on her waist. The thought was creepy.
She came out of the room. The Hatter whispered, "You look beautiful." Alice blushed and looked away. She looked back to him and he pulled her close. He kissed her cheek. "You really are beautiful." She smiled. The Hatter let go. "I should change back. It's really nice though."
"Thank you."
"I should thank YOU for making this wonderful dress." She quickly kissed his cheek. She went to her room and got changed into a day dress. It was normal and very pretty.
She took the hat in her hand and whispered, "I love you Hatter."
The Hatter saw Alice come out again. "Hello Hatter."
"Hello Alice." Alice smiled and the Hatter slipped his arm underneath her elbow. They linked arms and walked to the White Queen's castle. The White Queen greeted them. "Hatter! Alice! You are always welcome in the courts!"
"Thank you Mirana," said Alice.
"You're welcome. Hatter…may I speak to you for a minute?" the Hatter nodded. The White Queen said, "Meet me there." When she wasn't looking, the Hatter kissed Alice's cheek. He waved to her. She waved back.
"Please Hatter. Sit down," said the Queen.
"Thank you Your Majesty." The Hatter sat down.
"Now. When Alice left, you went straight into depression. I respect that one must feel sad, but then the hallucinations of Alice started. One day you were walking with the Rabbit when suddenly you turned round. The Rabbit asked what was wrong and you said, 'Sorry. I just thought I saw Alice'. That is a sign of love sickness. So is the crying at night and the whispering of her name that the Dormouse heard often." The Hatter sighed. "So Hatter, please tell me…do you love Alice? Really and truly?"
"Yes your Majesty." The Hatter realized what question he'd just answered. He mentally kicked himself.
"You may go."
The Hatter left the room. Not sadly, though, because he was relieved that he had got that out. So in a way, he was his normal cheery self.
He and Alice walked back to his house. As soon as they were inside, Alice asked, "What did she discuss with you?"
"She asked me if I loved you," The Hatter said. "As a crush," he added. Alice blushed. "What did you say?"
"I said…uh…" the Hatter looked down, feeling heat rise up in his cheeks. "I said, 'Yes'."
"That's funny, because I love you too." The Hatter looked up. He could see Alice looking down at the floor, also blushing.
"It's OK." Alice looked up at the Hatter, still blushing. "After all, where would I be without you?" Alice smiled.
"Hatter, where would I be without you?" The Hatter leaned in and kissed Alice. Alice kissed back. He wrapped his arms around her waist and deepened the kiss. After a few seconds, he broke it. Then, he knelt down on one knee. Alice looked at him in confusion. He pulled out a ring. "Alice Kingsleigh, will you marry me?" Alice gasped.
"Yes!" she cried. She hugged him hard. The Hatter smiled and hugged her back. They pulled away and the Hatter slipped the ring onto Alice's finger.
"I love you Hatter," Alice said.
"I love you Alice." He kissed her and she smiled.
"But what do we do now?" Alice asked.
"You're still ticklish, correct?"
"Oh no…" The Hatter grabbed Alice before she could run away. "Let me go!"
"No." He tickled her and Alice giggled.
"Stop it please!"
"Nope."
"Can't you at least try to be a little less tickly?" Alice struggled in his arms.
"Oh. So we're very ticklish?"
"N-no…"
"Alice, you are a very good liar. But sometimes it doesn't work."
"What's your real name?" Alice asked, trying to get the Hatter to stop tickling her. It didn't work.
"Tarrant Hightopp." The Hatter kept tickling her.
"Please!"
"What did you say? I didn't hear you," said Hatter, smirking.
"I said p-please Hatter stop!"
"Hmm? What was that?" The Hatter worked his fingers harder and faster.
"I-I just let me go!" Alice said between giggles.
"Still can't hear you!"
"Please!" Alice was laughing now. Her voice was music to the Hatter's ears.
Oh the ball's in an hour." The Hatter stopped tickling her. "Did you enjoy that?"
"Yes." Alice put a hand over her mouth.
"Well well well." The Hatter went to his room to get changed. Alice got changed into her green dress and hat. She found some green shoes too. She was about to put them on when she stopped. These were Deana's. She couldn't wear them, not when her patient was dead. She came out of her room. The Hatter was waiting for her.
"Why aren't you wearing the shoes?"
"They were Deana's," Alice said quietly. Suddenly, they both heard the Cheshire Cat call, "Deana!"
"Chess!" They both looked at each other and rushed out.
"What were you doing, faking your own death?!" Cheshire was a little bit angry at Deana, but mostly relieved.
"I…I didn't mean to! I really thought I was dead! But then I escaped from the coffin. Didn't you see-" she turned and said, "Miss Alice?"
"Deana! I'm so happy you're alive!" Alice ran over to Deana and hugged her, lifting her off the ground.
"Miss Alice, you have a ring on! The Hatter proposed to you and you said yes!" Deana exclaimed.
"Are going to the ball?"
"Yes. Well maybe no. I can't find a dress or anything." The Hatter smiled.
"I've actually made one in your size, just in case you came alive." He rushed into his house, and came out holding a dress. It was purple, and had flowers on it. Deana hugged the Hatter. She went inside the house and got changed. She came out looking completely radiant.
"Who are you going with?"
"Ant."
"There's no-one called Ant here though," said the Hatter.
"I'm Ant," The Cheshire Cat said quietly. "I'm a Halfling-cat too. It was my secret, which I shared with Deana. Cheshire turned into a boy. He smiled. "This is me in human form."
The four all walked to the ball. Deana and Ant went to the side of the ballroom to dance. Alice and the Hatter walked into the middle.
"Princess Alice, will you dance with me?" Alice giggled and took the Hatter's hand. They started dancing.