Chapter 1

Hatter pushed open the Tea Shop's door. He sighed. Worst than he had imagined. They hadn't left a single thing on its place. Not that he cared that much. He would have to start from scratch again since, with Jack of Hearts in the power, there would be no more "tea" to sell.

He tried the light, but it wasn't working. Kicking something he couldn't identify out of his way, he headed for the inner part of his shop. He reached his chambers to found them destroyed too. This was getting ridiculous. There was no way they had any need to destroy everything in there. Nobody was even here when they came! Another sigh. He looked around to confirm that they had truly taken all his teas with them. Hatter suddenly realised he was standing right where Alice had when they first met. His heart pumped a little. He ignored it. Hatter was rather good at ignoring his heart.

Not that recently he had been able to do it. Alice just had that effect on him. He went along with her, he made sure she was OK until the last minute, but he had to let her go. It was better for her. She could find someone better than him. He took his hat. She deserved someone better than him. Jacket was out too. Nothing he could really do about it now, since the ring was no longer at the Mirror. He unbottoned his shirt. There was bruises of the shocks here and there and some other marks made by the Suit's fists. Not that he would ever do anything like running after her. He was not that kind of guy.

To be honest, Hatter was not the kind of guy that broke into the Castle to rescue people and certainly not one to fight alongside the rebels without regard for his own safety and yet he had done all that. He sat on his chair, forgetting momentarily how much he needed a shower. Alice, he concluded, it had probably been Alice's fault. He leaned his back on the chair. The cold felt good against his skin, despite hurting a little to let the bruises touch anything. So, Alice... How long would that empty feeling last, he wondered before falling to a heavy sleep.

Hatter woke up suddenly. He was sure he hadn't slept much. There is still time, he thought, there had to be time left. He rose and grabbed his clothes. Not time for changing and specially no time for a shower. He ran out of the tea shop and ran more and more. He was panting and really tired but he couldn't stop. A quick stop to catch his breath. More running. There had to be time left, there had to be. He was so stupid, why hadn't he gone when he first saw her leave?

Charlie had stared at him. Hard. Hatter remembered clearly how her hug felt. If he closed his eyes he could even actually feel it. She had let go because of some bloody portal tech and turned away from him. He tried saying something, but couldn't quite articulate it. A final look and Alice was gone. Hatter had stared into the Mirror for a while. She couldn't really have been gone, right? He was waiting for her to come out again, but she didn't. He knew she wouldn't. Alice had her life on the other side of the Mirror and she had wanted to go back all the time. The only reason she ever stayed was because of Jack. No more Jack, no more Wonderland for her.

When he looked away from the mirror, he noticed the stare Charlie was giving him. It probably meant: "What, on Wonderland, are still doing here, you blabbering idiot? Go on, chase her, go on!". Hatter looked away and turned his back to the portal. He heard the clankering metal follow him.

-What, Charlie? - Hatter said, rolling his eyes.

-Nothing, nothing really. - Charlie was horrible at faking to be uninterested. - Just wondering... What are you going to do now?

Hatter froze. What was he going to do?

-I don't know, Charlie. - He said with a bit of exasperation – Do you?

-Well, of course! - Hatter couldn't help raising his eyebrowns in surprise. - I shall offer my services to our majestuous king until the day the greater forces of this universe decide I'm no longer needed here.

-Really? - Hatter smiled – And has he accepted you services?

Charlie shifted uncomfortably.

-W-well, that's a matter of technicality, really. - He cleared his throat.

-Good luck there, then.

-Wait! What about you, herald?

-Me? - He smiled like he had done when Alice asked him this question before. - I'll be fine.

He lied. Just like he had done to Alice before.

There had to be time left. He reached the docks sweating hard and jumped into the nearest boat. No time to actually acquire one legally either. On the second try the engine started and his heart jumped with joy. It only lasted a second, though. The bloody thing was far from fast enough. Hatter vaguely considered the possibility of just jumping into the water and swimming. He discarded it quickly, he still hadn't reached that level of stupidity. He didn't know how the Mirror worked and had no idea how long the passage would last without the ring powering it. Hatter sighed, willing the boat to move faster.

When the boat finally reached the shore, Hatter wasn't sure how long it had took. It felt to him like days, though he had to admit he was biased and probably not being fair to the boat. He ran towards the entrance and it was only when he saw the guard standing in front of the door that he realised how poorly he had planned this out. The guard made a movement that meant: "Stop right there or will make a hole in you in the name of my king.". So, you know, Hatter stopped.

-All right, - he said. No time for this either. - I really need to get through that mirror. And yes, I know you probably can't let me do this, but I can promise you it's fine. It's not like I'm coming back, so, you know, no risk of any oysters or anything that should be considered a bad thing to our mighty king's new... hmm... Reign.

-Hatter, hein? - The guard smiled. Not something Hatter had antecipated. - Sure, go on in.

-Wait... What?

-Yes. - The guard moved away from the door. - Go on in. Your Highness told us you would probably show up here and that we should let you pass.

-Wait... Jack did... What?

-You should probably get going now. You wouldn't want to miss her, right?

-R-right! Right! - No time to figure out what ever had crossed Jack's mind to help him like that either. He had to get to Alice. - Thank you! Thank you!

Hatter went on. Running again. His body was exhausted and asking for mercy, but he blatantly ignored it. He was almost there. When he reached the room instead of feeling relief, panic flooded him. How had he decided to come here again? When he went to sleep he was pretty damn sure he was about to spend his entire life in Wonderland. Probably missing Alice, but whatever. He cursed the stupid dream he had. Walking slowly to the Mirror, not entirely sure if it being closed was more dreadful than it being opened, he reached his hand out and touched the surface of the glass.

It was opened. The Mirror shifted around his hand and he couldn't help smiling. His doubts were gone again. He was going to meet Alice.