Alice stood with her back to the man she knew she loved as she said fare well. She couldn't watch Dormouse go. Alice knew he had to go. It was inevitable. She was a married woman, no, a Queen. Such a scandal of a forbidden love could not be spread. It was too dangerous. The nation was already weak from the turmoil that passed after the passing of the old Queen, and could not stand up to another upstart. Cheshire had banished Dormouse after hearing of the affair, and had yelled at Alice for almost destroying the nation again. She had cried and pleaded, but Cheshire heard no word of it. He was a spiteful little man who enjoyed watching suffering and gaining money. He was also the rightful heir to the throne and was not denied anything, even the much younger Alice. Many nights, after the little man had fallen asleep, Alice would cry. He didn't care at all about her.
Alice had once loved the man she married. He was kind, or so it seemed. Cheshire could always be charismatic when he felt the need. Even without the charisma, he would have married Alice. She would not go home, and if she had said no to his proposal he could and would have her killed. Either way, it ended poorly. Though Alice knew Cheshire was about fifteen years older than her, it didn't seem like such a bad deal. Marry a kindly king, help rule a kingdom. Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way, and Alice was abused. Never physically, mind you, but often battered emotionally and mentally. She was a woman, and a smart one at that. Women were better off dumb to the King. The last Queen was smart, and look what happened there.
Not everyone agreed with the King, though. Dormouse loved the Queen, and thought that she would be an excellent monarch. She mastered kindness, mercy, and grace. True, she was easily bored, but she was young yet. A patience and more ways to fend off boredom came with age. That everyone knew. Besides all that, the Dormouse was just a little older than her, three years. He was 19 when she had emerged into his life. Beautiful and lost, she had shown up at the Tea Party at Hatter's. Hatter had thrown a tea party everyday at noon. The guests were always different, and it was always an honor to be invited. They ended when Cheshire's reign began. Cheshire was afraid of violent uprisings being planned against him. While the old Queen was in reign, he gladly attended the tea parties where such things were covertly planned. Knowing of those plannings going forth during his reign, though, was not going to happen. What if the party-goers had another plan succeed, but instead against the old Queen, against him? It was great getting the old Queen out, but he was not going to use the people he played pull the fleece over his eyes.