It just wasn't fair. Alice had actually liked her father's last girlfriend. She couldn't believe they had broken up. What had been wrong with Chloe? Why wasn't she enough? How come Father couldn't just decide already? Chloe had been the third girlfriend. And now, Alice had Maria to deal with.

Maria had only come by once so far. Actually, she had only come by for a few moments to pick up her spare house key, which she had dropped on the floor of the office. Father was the one to find it. That was how the two of them had met. However, the moment Alice had laid eyes on this woman, she had known she didn't like her.

Maria was too… grey. The woman wore a grey suite and prim high heels every day of her life, for Pete sake. Then, of course, there was the fact that she continually spoke to Alice as if she were a five year old. The only thing that wasn't completely grey about the woman was her odd, blood-red hair and widow's peak that gave her face a sort of heart-like quality. Only, in Alice's opinion, there was nothing nice about the woman.

Alice herself was quite different. Nearly every day, she wore a black leather jacket, skinny jeans, and combat boots. That was odd enough without mentioning her hair, which was raven-black with the tips died bright yellow.

Then, of course, there was her father, Ganymede M Hatter. His hair was a peculiar ginger color and he would not cut it too short. He wore a tattered old purple-ish blazer often.

The Hatter Manor was odd, too. The walls were clad in grey wall paper with the most odd, gothic-looking design. The floor was a faded, grey tinted, maroon carpet that had been worn down by many generations of feet. The manor had three floors and an attic, loads of peculiar paintings, a creepy old library, and a decrepit basement. The grounds were covered in half-dead looking gardens and winding paths, ending with a woods. No one was quite sure who exactly owned the woods, so it was, as one might say, "up for grabs."

And it was this house, containing these two people, that Maria would be visiting. Alice did not like it one bit.

"Alice," Ganymede said long-sufferingly, leaning up against the door. "What am I going to do with you?"

"I'm telling you, there's something wrong with that women," Alice said somewhat grudgingly, knowing what she'd fully well like to say. How come someone like her can like someone like you?

"Alice," Ganymede said again, this time more pleadingly.

"I know, I know. Give her a chance." Alice sighed, then stalked off to set the table, which had been adorned with a bright red table-cloth in an attempt to brighten up the room. In Alice's opinion, it just clashed horribly with the rusty-colored floor tiles of the dining room.

She reached up into the dark wooden cupboard and pulled out three ornate china plates, pausing for a moment by her favorite of the many paintings. This one depicted an open bucket of red paint sitting next to a bush of white roses, dripping the same paint as though someone had made an attempt to paint them.

Quickly, Alice set the table, and winced as the doorbell rang. Maria had arrived. Alice made to get the door, but Ganymede got there first. He shot her a warning look, muttered, "And can you call me 'Father' for tonight," then opened the door.

Maria instantly swept into the room in a way that Alice somehow found to be rude and awfully straight-forward. "Why, hello, Gany!" Maria said. Alice scowled at the shortening of her father's name. She, Alice, had always called him by his whole first name because she liked it so much.

Maria had been rushing down into the dining room with only a mere suggestion of the direction from Ganymede, but then, she stopped as if suddenly remembering she had forgotten something horribly important, and put on an expression of horror that Alice was sure was fake. "Oh, my dear Alice, I have forgotten to greet you. How dreadfully impolite of me."

Alice hated the way Maria's voice dripped sweetly, but sounded more like poisoned honey. "S'alright," Alice said, in a way that unfortunately sounded none too kind. Ganymede glared at her while Maria's back was turned.

Ganymede led everyone into the dining room and pulled out a chair politely for Maria. Maria sat down and primly folded her hands in her lap, waiting for a conversation to arise as Ganymede brought out dinner from the kitchen. When she saw that no conversation was coming, she cleared her throat and started one herself. "Alice, dear, how was school today?"

Alice didn't want to grace Maria with a proper situation and decided not to mention she did all her work on the computer just below the attic. "Fine," she said.

"Delightful, dear," Maria said. Alice was becoming quite fed up with the over usage of the word: "dear".

Soon, Alice was spared the awkward silence as Ganymede arrived from the kitchen with a platter of chicken, a bowl of mashed potatoes, and a bowl of corn which he carried precariously in the crook of one arm. Alice hopped up to take it from him before things took a turn for the disastrous.

Dinner began well, with little to no speech, which was just the way Alice liked it. But then, Maria had to talk. "So, Gany, dear, how's your week going?"

"Quite well, thank you," Ganymede said, serving himself a second helping of corn. He gave Alice a significant look that said: "Not a word."

The truth was, Ganymede had had a perfectly awful week. He had to work overtime twice already, and it was only Wednesday. That, and Chloe had shown up on Monday to grab a jacket she had forgotten. Ganymede had looked so upset… Alice had actually gone to do extra homework simply to remove herself from the situation.

As dinner dragged on, Alice found herself glancing at the roman-numeral clock hanging over the doorway. About now was the time Ganymede usually disappeared off to somewhere on the grounds for a half an hour or so. Alice wondered if he was getting restless and found, in one glance at him, that it was quite true. Ganymede fiddled with his fork and continuously glanced at the clock until finally, Alice could take it no more.

"Ga- I mean, Father, don't you have somewhere you ought to be just now?" Alice said.

Unexpectedly, Ganymede's face went red. He glanced up and gave her a mildly frantic look. "Why, of course not! We have a guest."

"I was just-"

"It was not your place."

Maria cleared her throat. "Where, exactly, does Alice think you ought to be?"

"I don't know," Ganymede said a tad too hastily. He wasn't used to dealing with this subject. Alice had asked about it once, but, other than that, he didn't often have to explain himself.

"Well, then where did Alice dearest get the idea that-"

"Could you refrain from calling me 'dear'?" All eyes turned to Alice. She suddenly felt that even the human occupants of certain paintings were also staring at her.

"Alice, that was rude," Ganymede said.

And suddenly, Alice was quite sure she no longer wished to be a part of this conversation. She excused herself and left for the grounds.

Alice couldn't quite believe her eyes. There was the most peculiar man standing in her garden. Trespassing. Alice had the distinct impression that this man ought not to be here.

There was something… Rabbity about him. His front teeth were larger than the rest. He wrung his hands in a nervous fashion. His hair was pure white, and the brightest thing about him was a vividly sea-blue waistcoat with a gold watch.

"Well you're not Hatter," he said simply.

"Actually, I am, depending on which one you mean," Alice said matter-of-factly.

The rabbity man harrumphed. "I have never seen you before. You are a very poor imposter."

"I am exactly who I appear to be, no such imposter. Are you looking for Ganymede?" Alice asked.

The rabbity man blinked confusedly. "How d'you know him?"

"He's my Father."

"Preposterous. Hatter has no children."

"Well, obviously, he does. I'm Alice Hatter, and I can go fetch Ganymede for you if you like. I'll need your name."

"Is he busy?" the rabbity man said, wringing his hands more furiously than ever.

"Yes, very. He is currently having dinner with… a friend," Alice said.

"Oh… well, now, we do have a situation. Someone has to attend the meeting in Hatter's place…" He brightened up, as though he had just had a magnificent thought. "You know, Hatter began attempting meetings when he was your age… you could…"

Alice glanced back at the house. So this was what Ganymede did during those half an hours. Attended meetings. Alice briefly wondered if she'd get in trouble for this… "I'll go for him."

"Excellent," the rabbity man said. "By the way, my name is McTwisp. Nivens McTwisp."

And with that, a dark whole opened up beneath them and seemingly swallowed them whole.