A/N: Hi! So I just finished reading Heartless and I'm absolutely in love with it! Hatta's my favorite character, and I wanted to write more of a background for him, so this happened. Jest will be in later chapters too, for all ya Jest fans :)

Chapter 1

Hatta sighed as he kept walking through the woods, his cane in hand, and his plum top hat upon his head. It wasn't too long ago that his father had untimely commited suicide. And it was only just recently that Hatta decided that he in fact, did *not* want to meet the same end as his father. The young hatter, only 14 years of age, was determined not to go mad, so he came up with a solution- avoid Time. The only problem was that he wasn't sure how to do that. The only place he'd ever known was Hearts, so he had nowhere else to go.

Hatta had been traveling for a while now, and was beginning to give up hope that he would get anywhere, when he saw something in the distance. He squinted his eyes, but couldn't tell what it was from here. He smelled a hint of something sweet, like warm molasses and ginger biscuits.

He walked a bit further until he could finally see what it was. He was in a meadow, though it was strange. The world felt still- no breeze among the wildflowers, no birdsong chiming from the trees. And although he could have sworn it was noon, the sky was reddish gold, as if trapped between day and night.

In the middle of it all, Hatta spotted an ancient looking well. Hatta walked up to it, curious now. He looked down into the well. There was a rope attached to a bucket, and some strange syrupy substance. Hatta frowned, confused. "Is that.. Treacle?" he asked, talking to himself. He was very surprised though, when he got an answer.

"It is. This is the treacle well," came a small voice that sounded like it belonged to a little girl. In alarm, Hatta stepped back from the well.

"Wait, is someone down there? Hello? Do you need help, love?"

Hatta watched as two small hands appeared at the top of the well, followed by a child's gaunt face. She was ghostlike, not more than six years old, with white- silver hair and skin the color of milk. Her eyes stood out, being as black as coal and far too large for her face.

"It's not often we get company," was the girl's only reply. Hatta furrowed his eyebrows, very confused by now.

"We? There's more people down there?"

The girl nodded. "My sisters, Lacie and Elsie. We get lonely down here. Won't you come down and play with us?"

Hatta took off his hat and fiddled with the ribbon tied around it. Whoever this young girl was, she was fighting him a bit. This situation was very… Odd…

"I'm sorry love, I can't," he replied. "You said this was the treacle well?"

The young girl nodded. Hatta raised an eyebrow. He'd always thought the well was just a story and a myth. He certainly never thought it actually existed. He watched as the girl pulled herself onto the wall and sat there on her knees. She was wearing a white dress that was very filthy, which made sense considering she had just crawled out of a well.

"You found this well because you were desperate. That's how everyone finds it. But desperate of what?"

Hatta clenched his hat against his stomach. "I'm desperate not to meet the same fate as my father, and his father before him."

"And what is that?" the girl asked.

"Madness."

"Ah. Well my sisters and I could help you. We know many things."

Hatta raised his other eyebrow. "Do you now?"

She nodded. "We could help you get through the looking glass. You could go to Cress and hide from Time for a while."

Hatta tapped his chin. "Cress, eh?" The offer was a good one. He knew he couldn't stay in Hearts much longer if he was to avoid his fate after all… "Alright. Could you show me the way to the looking glass then, love?"

The girl nodded. "Yes, though my sisters and I are ill. We've been dying for a long time, and must ask for payment to sustain us."

Hatta put his hat back on his head. "I understand. What is the price you ask?"

The girl tilted her head slightly, her deep black eyes staring up at him as if she were in a trance. "Lacie wants a ribbon, smoothest one you've got. Elsie wants two buttons, shaped just like a dot. And I shall take your time, five minutes if I aught." The girl grinned, revealing that her two front teeth were missing.

Hatta gave a sigh of relief, glad she only asked of things he didn't really need. He untied the ribbon from his hat and took two buttons off his coat before he gave them to the ghostly girl.

"Five minutes you say?" he asked, taking out a pocket watch and turning the hand forward, five minutes.

Still grinning, the girl stood and went over to an ancient door. "Follow me," she said. Hatta sighed and followed her. She opened the door and as Hatta went in, he saw that there were stairs on the other side. Overgrown hedges pushed in on either side, making the stairway narrow. Hatta followed the girl down the stairs, wondering where they were going.

Once they reached the bottom, Hatta paused and glanced back, but the stairs were gone. He was staring at an empty wall of an enormous hedge, with no doors or exits. He turned again, wondering nervously what was going on, when he realised they were in the same forest glen with the same treacle well. But this time, the young girl was waiting with two other girls who looked nearly identical with her.

The three girls sat on the edge of the well, sipping from teacups. Hatta noticed though, how they were all wearing odd masks. An owl. Ar racoon. A fox. The masks were tied around their heads with ribbons, and only their dark, huge eyes could be seen through the masks.

"Hello again," he said, his shoulders suddenly going tense, though his tone was calm. This was definitely eerie. "Elsie and Lacie, is it?"

The girls did not move. They held their tea cups in one hand and their saucers in the other.

"We've been practicing," the Owl said.

"We've been drawing," said the Racoon.

"We've seen many things," said the Fox.

They sipped their tea in unison.

Hatta gulped. "I… I have given you five minutes of my time. Show me so I might be on my way."

The sisters were quiet for a while, before the Fox set down her teacup and stood. Her long hair clung to her calves as she stepped away from the well. She reached the wall of hedges and pushed her hands into the brush. Grabbed and pulled.

The leaves and vines fell away, revealing a wall of stone. It was covered in drawings. Some were faded and smeared, while others looked as if they had just been drawn. The fox stepped back and beckoned Hatta to approach.

Hatta stepped closer, looking at all of the drawings. There were several random things. A mouse. A leaf. A mirror. He felt faint though, when he saw a drawing. A drawing of… Him. Hatta paled. There he was in the drawing, drawn in fresh ink. He looked mad. His hair unkept, his smile wild and crazed, dark circles beneath his eyes.

Hatta turned away, looking very clearly shaken. "Why…" He took a deep breath. "Why would you show me this?"

The three girls looked at him curiously. "You're fated to go mad someday. You said it yourself, it's cursed your family for generations.

Hatta shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut. "No. No. I will not let that fate come to pass."

"Your future is written on stone, but not in it. It is a truth, but one of many."

Hatta didn't question them or say anything for a moment. That didn't exactly reassure him. As hard as he tried to avoid Time, he was certain one day he would go mad anyway.

"May I go now?" Hatta asked the sisters. He didn't want to stay here any longer. He tapped his fingers on his cane impatiently.

"Are you sure you wish to go?" the Racoon asked. Hatta nodded.

"Sorry, but yes. I must go," he replied.

The sisters sighed. "Very well," the Racoon replied. "You must go through a maze to reach the looking glass. We will draw you a map so you won't get lost."

Hatta gave a single nod and waited till they gave him a map, drawn in fresh ink.

"Thank you," he said.

"Farewell. Do come visit us again."

Hatta clutched his hat. "I'll try," he said, though wasn't sure he meant it. He looked at the Owl. "I never did get your name, love."

"Tillie," the girl replied.

"Hatta." Without looking back once, the young hatter turned around and entered the maze.

Tbc...