It was easy to be unnoticed in that crowd. Hatter smiled to herself, sometimes, the fact that the citizens of Wonderland didn't recognize her without her hat, could come in handy. She had wanted to see Wonderlands reaction to The Queen Of Hearts's reign coming to an end, and one of her followers was giving a speech on that subject. It was risky for her to be there, for she wasn't sure what would happen if she was discovered, but at the moment she didn't care.
The deal that she had made with the speech giver was that her name was never to be mentioned. The speech was to be about the idea of a rebellion, not about the underground one that was slowly becoming more and more powerful. It was being held in a fairly large town that was far away for The Palace. Hatter hadn't told anyone that she would be there.
She had to admit that it was a little enjoyable to blend in for once. She wasn't The Mad Hatter, she was just another passerby, someone easy to forget. She wanted to be someone that everyone knew, someone that no one forgot, but she didn't mind the break.
"Working undercover, Hatter?" She nearly jumped when she heard the whispered voice behind her. She wheedled around to see Jack, The White Knight smirking at her. She glared at him, then looked around quickly, but no one seemed to be paying attention to them.
"How did you recognize me?" She asked in a hushed voice.
"I never forget a face", Jack said with a wink that made Hatter roll her eyes.
"What do you want?" She asked irritably.
"Nothing", he said with a shrug. "I just want to point out that you're not as cleverly disguised as you think you are."
"What are you even doing here? I know that people like you aren't supporters of the rebellion."
"I wanted to see what this was like, I had some free time. Maybe I might learn something. Why are you here? I mean, why are you here in disguise?"
"Why should I tell you?" She didn't want to give him any information. He may not necessarily be her enemy, but he wasn't on here side.
"Because I seem to be the only one here who knows who you are, and I think you want to keep it that way." He said with a grin. Hatter signed before answering.
"I wanted to see the publics reaction to all of this." She answered simply.
"And you couldn't send out spies for that?"
"This seemed neater, and one can only really trust themselves."
"I'm sure you don't really believe that."
"You're right, but I wish I did believe it." The melancholy in her voice seemed to surprise Jack.
"Why? A life that is spent fearing that others will betray you is not a happy one." Hatter smirked at that, although she knew what he meant.
"What would you know about betrayal?" She asked, not rudely, but with actual curiosity.
"Probably nothing, unlike you." Hatter raised an eyebrow and Jack added: "It's what you're doing to The Queen, right?"
"Yes, but don't act like it's such a bad thing."
"We're all entitled to our own opinions-"
"Just some are better than others", she snapped, which, to her surprise, caused him to laugh instead of look offended.
"Are you always like this or are you doing trying to get on my nerves, because, if you are, you're doing a horrible job."
"If I was trying to get on your nerves, you would have stormed out of here a long time ago." Hatter said with false sweetness. Jack looked like he was about to say something in response, but their conversation was interrupted by shouts quickly approaching.
After a short moment of confusion, the everyone in the crowd began to run in different directions. They all seemed to realize what was happening at the same time, someone had tipped The Queen of about the gathering, and now her soldiers had come to round up everyone who was a part of it. All who were caught would certainly be executed.
Jack glanced at Hatter, and she didn't make an effort to hide the fear in her eyes. For about three seconds, he looked lost in thought, then he grabbed hold of Hatter's arm and took off in to a run. Pushing past others, Hatter followed Jack, but didn't know how he could tell where he was going.
In a few short minutes, they were out of the jumble of panicking people. Jack, still running at full speed, led Hatter to a part of the town that she was unfamiliar with. When it seemed that neither of them could continue to run any longer, they both slowed to a stopped, panting heavily.
"Where are we?" Hatter asked, they had stopped in a narrow alleyway between two tall buildings.
"My (k)night school's near here." Jack answered, still a little out of breath.
"Thank you for getting me out of there." Those words felt almost foreign to Hatter, but she meant them.
"Were you impressed by my quick thinking?" Jack asked in mock-arrogance.
"I wish I could say no, but I owe you my life." Hatter said, sincerely. "Why did you help me?"
"I'm a knight", Jack stated simply, as if it answered the question.
"But I'm not a damsel in distress."
"Well actually you were-" Hatter raised a hand to silence Jack, as she continued speaking.
"It's my fault that even happened. I knew it was risky, but I never fully considered being found out. There were actual innocent people in danger there, why save me?"
"I wasn't about to just abandon you. I'm not that kind of person."
"I know", Hatter's voice came out as a whisper. "Thank you."
"You already said that", Jack said with a grin. His eyes met Hatter's and a meek smile began to form on her lips. She felt as if those eyes could see right into her soul, but she didn't seem to mind. Her hand found his and, for a moment, she let herself forget who she was.
Now that she had let her guard down, it was easy to loose herself when she was looking at Jack. Looking at him made her feel so perfect, and yet so imperfect. A single moment with this man, who she hardly knew, could make her forget a life time of pain. But it could also remind her that her wasn't hers, and probably never would be.
Hatter took a step backward away from him, awaking from her daze. "I think I need to go", she murmured. She turned, about to run out into the streets, but Jack caught her arm.
"You don't know the way", he said, turning her around.
"Oh, yeah", she mumbled, feeling like such an idiot.
"Where are you headed?"
"Upper side of town..."
"Ok", she was sure that Jack would ask her to be more specific, but he didn't. "I'll walk with you." He said, taking her arm and leading her out onto the street. His grin had returned, but Hatter felt a scarlet blush burning on her cheeks. "Well you suddenly got very quiet, was it something I said?"
"No." Her voice came out much harsher than she had intended it to.
"You know, it's ok that you were frightened back there." Jack said in a comforting tone, that, coming from anyone else, would have aggravated Hatter.
"I wasn't..." Jack shot Hatter a knowing glance that made her stop trying to defend herself.
The walked in silence for a moment, neither of them knowing what to say next.
"Is it weird that I feel as if I know you from somewhere else?" Jack asked.
"We've seen each other before-"
"No. I feel like I really know you, not just from chance encounters." He sounded like a misty-eyed fool, and Hatter wished she could say that she had no idea what he was talking about.
"I don't know." She said after a short hesitation.
"Do you think we could get to know each other?" He asked innocently.
"We live different lives", Hatter managed to say, he voice felt weaker than it was before.
"I don't care, would you want to know me?" She didn't want to admit the fact that her heart began to flutter as he spoke those words.
"Yes", she said, openly smiling for the first time. "Yes, I would. I mean, I do."
"Good, 'cause I want to know you." Jack turned his head to look into her eyes. He gave a small chuckle before adding: "Do you mind telling me where in the 'upper side of town' we're headed?"