"Not yet," he groaned as the sun hit his eyes. He lifted his head to glance at the clock, and jumped up. He pulled on a pair of slacks,boots, a button up shirt, and topped it off with a brown leather jacket. The man looked in the mirror. He saw a man of little integrity. One who kissed ass for the house of cards, but secretly helped the resistance. Secretly. Like he was ashamed. He was a man who seemed to have it all. But in truth, David Hatter was not a happy man.

He walked out of the little apartment he had in the back of his tea shop and opened the door to let his only employee inside. They shared the normal niceties, "Beautiful weather, yeah?" and "Cup of tea?" before Hatter sauntered back to his grass carpeted flat. He grabbed his bottle of happiness and sat in his white leather chair and sighed. After he made himself a cup, he studied the bottle. Plain, clear glass held the purple liquid. Emotion. The Queen had been kidnapping oysters for years and stealing their emotions. It was best if you drank a few drops with your tea. Happiness is the one Hatter craved. It kept him going every day. 'Human happiness. What a thrill,' he thought.

"Well, business must carry on," he said to noone. But, instead of doing his work, he stared out the window and shuddered. No matter how many times he saw the Scarab, it still gave him the chills. He saw it now, flying low. It had fifteen or twenty crates dangling from its underside. A new batch of oysters, so he should get a shipment soon. 'Good thing,' he thought, looking at his nearly depleted supply of happiness.

He put on his headphones, and relaxed a little, listening to the sound of Ed Kowalczyk's voice. "Love will lead us, alright. love will lead us, she will lead us..." he sang, and drummed the table. Then Hatter smelled something. It smelled like a wet, mangy dead rat. "Ratty," He said aloud, swiving his chair around and removing the headphones all at once. "What do you want?" He asked. He didn't like Ratty in his shop. It caused his cutomers to leave.
"An oyster." Said Ratty. "Named Alice. I think she's..." He cut off. "Alice of Legend," he whispered.
Hatter laughed. "Sure sure," he guffawed. "Alice of legend."
"She wants help," replied Ratty.
Hatter considered this. He could care less about helping her, but he could certainly cut a deal if her turned her over to the house of cards. "Bring her here," he said, and put his hat on. He swiveled his chair back around, and got back to drinking his tea. He heard (and smelt) them enter a few moments later.
"Would you like a cup of tea?" He called, without turning around.