Ana's Tweedle's devotion to her despite his brother's betrayal inspired this.
Music: for some reason, I was listening to No Angels by Bastille while writing this, and it works well though there is a disconnect between the lyrics and this fic. I recommend listening to Oblivion by Bastille.
EDIT: Thank you to those of you who corrected my mistake. I don't remember ever hearing which Tweedle was which, so I made a decision...and was wrong. I fixed it! Thanks again!
Tweedle Dum hated his brother. In fact the only reason he stuck with Tweedle Dee was there was no market for a single Tweedle—they come in pairs. So, when they were hired to be palace servants, Tweedle Dum felt as if all his suffering had paid off.
"What are your names?" the Queen, or the soon-to-be Queen, asked. Tweedle Dum was confused—servants don't have names, he explained, they are servants. He was flattered though (curious, really) at the fact that she wanted to know their names.
Tweedle Dee never saw it, but Tweedle Dum thought the Queen was the most beautiful, intelligent creature to ever grace the palace with her presence. He'd do anything to see her smile, hear her laugh (she brightened his entire day). The king (he was a fool, but Tweedle Dee would never say that; he liked his head where it was) didn't see it and ignored her. It made her dim a little, and Tweedle Dum went to ridiculous lengths to make her smile again when the king had sneaked one of his companions into the castle or told her how "positively useless you are today" (once, he forced Tweedle Dee to help him gather all the red roses they could find and made the petals rain down on her when she entered her room. It was the first and last time she ever hugged him, and he treasured the memory, recalling it when she yelled at them or sent them on some impossible task). Even if she didn't appreciate a single thing he did, it comforted Tweedle Dum to know that his Queen was happy.
(So yes, he knew that the Queen of Hearts had convinced the Queen to kill the king and no, Tweedle Dum did not feel an ounce of remorse or grief as he and his brother dragged the former ruler's body out of her bed. He was glad, and she was happy.)
Upon his brother's treachery, Tweedle Dum did not have to think twice about telling the Queen what the idiot had done (Mother named him Dum, but had to be a mix up). He had dedicated his life to her; not king, country, or blood, but to his queen. It was for his Queen that he labored and sacrificed—it was for his queen that he was now trying to sneak food into the prisons. Tweedle Dum was hardly a subtle creature; the queen loved flamboyance and over the years he had striven to embody that. Now, he was attempting to make his footsteps lighter, his movement inconspicuous. The guards barely paid him mind, and it was all he could do not to skip gleefully to her cell.
The sight of her destroyed all joy.
Broken.
The Queen looked so broken, her dress torn and dirty, her makeup smudged, her hair a mess. And her eyes—eyes that always sparkled with intelligence and wit lay dim and hopeless in her head. She stared at him blankly as he rambled on.
"Why are you doing this?"
Even her voice was broken.
"Why are you helping me?"
"Because you are my queen," he replied. Because I am your Tweedle, he thought. Because I love you.
It took all his strength to leave her.
Tweedle Dum made his way to Alice and Cyrus as quickly as he could, and though he was disappointed that they were set on disobeying the Queen's (possibly last) command, he was happy they were going to the palace. Because if there was anyone who could save the Queen, it was these two, how had defied Jafar time and time again.
"Why are you working with the Queen, Tweedle?" Alice asked as they traveled. "Jafar has taken control of wonderland."
"She is my queen," he answered simply.
"She was everyone's queen. Everyone was willing to leave her to die, everyone but you," Cyrus entered the conversation. Tweedle Dum didn't comment, and he didn't need to.
"You love her," Alice realized. "Oh, you poor thing."
"I just want her to be happy," Tweedle Dum said in a voice much smaller than he intended. "I'm her Tweedle."
Reviews, darlings?