Fanfic for English 102: Taking Back Wonderland
Jefferson sat in the tower, throwing fabric around in a frenzy. "Why won't it work?" He screamed, throwing another defective hat across the room and stabbing his hatting shears into his work table. Jefferson let his head slam down into the table, a resounding thud echoing through the room. He let out a shaky sigh and picked up another piece of fabric, determined to make the magic work so he could go home to his daughter.
Kat felt Grace slip her little hand into hers. Kat looked down at the girl and smiled as they continued down the road towards Kat's house. Grace looked up at Kat, her brown eyes meeting Kat's bluish green ones.
"When do you think that Papa will be back, Kat?" She asked. Kat sighed and offered her a small silence.
"I wish that I knew, sweetheart,"
Grace sighed as she spotted Kat's house up the road. She glanced at Kat before grinning mischievously and taking off, dashing off up the road. Kat shook her head and laughed, taking off after her, passing the young girl and reaching the door first.
"No fair," Grace teased, out of breath. Kat tilted her head to the side and smirked.
"Oh really? Who was the little girl who took a head start?" Kat asked.
"But you have such long legs that I had to take a head start," Grace reasoned.
"Ah, I see," Kat nodded, opening the door and the pair entered the house.
Kat waited until she knew that Grace was asleep before she slipped out of the house. She asked the neighbors to keep an eye on Grace before heading into the darkness of the woods, formulating her plan as she went. The cool air was relaxing to her, and she often took walks at night while Grace was sleeping.
Kat made her way to the Queen of Hearts' castle, slightly concerned that Cora might have moved Jefferson from the castle. But, after a year, she was hoping that Cora thought that no one was coming for him. Guilt creeped its way into her chest, gripping her heart and squeezing hard. Kat had attempted to save Jefferson before, but her attempts were always stopped by Cora's demented hedge maze. Get too close, and that evil thing would eat you alive. It ate Alice when she tried to get through, so she wasn't taking any chances.
Kat spotted the maze in the distance, and she couldn't stop the shiver from running down her spine. She hated that damn maze. Kat wished that she knew where they were keeping him, that way she could just portal jump in, grab him, and jump out. Simple, easy, and efficient, just the way she liked it. But, of course, life could never just be that easy. She didn't know what the room looked like, so it wouldn't work.
Kat took a deep breath and stepped into the maze, the moonlight illuminating the leafy dark green walls, making them almost glow with a silvery light. She eyed the walls warily, staying towards the middle of the pathway. Kat eventually made it to the last of the maze, luckily, with no life-or-death encounters.
She looked up at Cora's castle, sighing as she tried to determine where Jefferson would be. Kat's gaze flicked over to the right, and she noticed a bright piece of fabric hanging on the inside. She smirked, silently thanking him for the sign.
Kat then began to look for servant's entrance, slowly making her way around the castle, staying close to the walls and hoping that she wouldn't be caught by any patrolling guards. She took the pack that she was carrying and pulled out what Jefferson teasingly referred to as cat claws. Kat pulled on the gloves, the "claws" sticking out well past her fingertips.
She dug the claws into the wall under Jefferson's window, pulling herself up, groaning against the strain on her slim arms. She continued this cycle, arms burning, chest heaving, heart pounding.
Jefferson heard the scraping through the walls. At first, he thought that he was just being paranoid. But it was getting closer. He slowly got up from his bench, putting down the pieces of fabric that he was currently attempting to turn into a hat and made his way to the window. Jefferson moved the piece of fabric away from the window, leaning over the edge of the sill and looking down to see a claw embed itself into the wall. Right below his face.
Jefferson jumped back, tripping over a role of fabric and landing on his rear. A woman in black leapt into the room through the window, hood drawn up to hide her face.
"What do you want?" Jefferson asked, standing to his feet and grabbing his hatting sheers off of the bench, arming himself.
The woman laughed lightly, pulling down the hood to reveal silvery blonde hair, big blue green eyes, and a wide grin. Jefferson immediately felt the tension melt from his body, sighing in relief.
"Kat," He said simply, walking over to her and pulling her into his arms, hugging her tightly.
"Put down the sheers and let's get the hell of here. The longer I stay here, the more weirded out I get," Kat said, grabbing Jefferson's hand, interlocking their fingers.
"Please," Jefferson agreed.
Kat closed her eyes and focused on her house and Grace, picturing the main room in her mind. Kat felt the room begin to pin, and wind whipped around them. Until she felt her feet touch solid ground, she didn't open her eyes or loosen her grip on Jefferson's hand. Kat groaned in relief, immediately sitting down in a chair as a wave of dizziness hit her. Jefferson knelt down next to her, his blue eyes filled with concern.
"Are you okay?" He asked, resting a hand on her shoulder. Kat nodded slowly, beginning to feel normal again.
"I'm fine. It's getting late. Go get some sleep, I'll keep an eye on things," Kat said, offering a small smile. Jefferson looked at her for a moment before smiling back.
"If you're sure," He said, leaving the room and disappearing into the dark hallway.
Kat looked over at the fire, watching as it began to die down. She finally let all of the tension and anxiousness go, relieved that getting the hatter out was so easy. It also unnerved her, but she decided to let it pass and just be happy that he was home.
Jefferson padded back into the room, joining her on the small sofa in front of her, dressed in his pajamas and hair a scraggly mess at his shoulders.
"Did that seem too easy to you?" Kat asked, curling herself in to his arms and looking up at him.
Jefferson shrugged, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on top of hers.
"She's old and goes to bed early. I don't think that you have to worry about it," Jefferson replied, sarcasm lacing his tone.
Kat let out a scoff before bursting into a fit of laughter, burying her face in Jefferson's shoulder. Jefferson smirked and turned his gaze back to the fire.
"When did she go to bed, four?" Kat teased, looking up and noticing the scar that wrapped around Jefferson's neck.
"Something like that," Jefferson agreed.
"Looks like she had luck with the whole 'off with their head' thing, huh?" Kat asked, raising an eyebrow. Jefferson snickered, rolling his blue eyes.
"Yeah, that really ended well for her," Jefferson replied.