Disclaimer: I don't own either the rights to the various Alice in Wonderland books or movies, especially not the 2010 version.
"All this talk of blood and slaying has put me off my tea." Chessur murmured to himself, absentmindedly swishing his tea around in his cup before putting it back on the table. The happy chaos at the table, no peace in Underland and definitely never at Tarrant's little tea parties, was shattered by the man himself.
"The entire world is falling to ruin and poor Chessur's off his tea." Tarrant hissed venomously. Chessur could feel mauve taint his vision as his anger rose. A surreptitious check of his reflection in his tea showed that his anger was undetectable, for now, and Underland's resident lunatics still had no idea how close he was to joining them. He smiled quietly to himself. If they thought his grin was mad, and he knew they did. The Flowers really had no idea how many times he had sat in the middle of their clearing, listening to the gossip, and how many times he has simply turned invisible and not completely disappeared.
It really was all too easy to fool most of the Underlanders, which would be worrying if Iracebeth was more inclined towards subtlety then bloodshed. That Knave of hers would bear watching though. He was far too sneaky for Chessur's liking, and Absolem had already told him to watch the dark one. As if he needed telling.
"What happened that day was not my fault." He countered, as he examined his paw for signs of mauve, or worse, royal purple. He dipped his paw into the tea in the hope that any hallucinations would wash off but either he was seeing true for once or they were intent on staying. Thackery's low murmur cut through his thoughts and he watched warily as Tarrant got up from his seat.
"You ran out on them to save your own skin, you –" Tarrant shouted at Chessur, his Outlandish accent more obvious with every word. Chessur tuned out, trying to guess when Nivens would grow tired of being the sole organiser of Underland and ask Chessur to bring someone down from Overland. Of course the Alice's fiancée, Lord Ascot . . . well, he would do nicely. It also had the added bonus of rubbing the Alice's decision to leave in her face. Of course she hadn't made that decision yet, but who cares about those little things.
"Hatter!" Mallymkun shout cut through his daze. He glanced irritably at her before focusing in on Tarrant, who was standing just in front of him.
"I'm fine." He croaked out, turning back to his seat.
"What's wrong with you, Tarrant? You used to be the life of the party. You could to do the best Futterwacken in all of Witzend." He checked his reflection again before drinking his tea, ignoring the explanations the other gave her.
Of course the Alice would have to be told. What on Earth was Charles thinking? Alice's experience could not be dismissed as a dream, the memories and feelings would not be forgotten, merely put aside for some years. Of course, it's not like Charles stuck around. He hived off to explore as soon as he could and disappeared. Although, he was not thinking rationally at the time. Any contact with Underland drives a person to constant exploration, to see if they can find it again or something in Overland that would compare. They would not find anything, but soon enough their thoughts were consumed and they left everything dear to them behind. The Kingsleigh family would never know that Charles had been eaten or that his last memory was of blue-green eyes with slit pupils and a wide grin full of sharp teeth.
Thackery tugged on his ears in distress and moaned deep in his throat in distress. Chessur turned around to see a most unwelcome visitor to their tea party. The Knave of Hearts and his merry card soldiers walked up the path.
"Goodbye." He murmured and disappeared to Absolem's clearing. The Knave would completely blow the lid on his anger and more than likely, he would never be allowed to go anywhere with the whispers following him. He didn't need his prey to know just what he was capable of before he told them. The mad dash and the complete absence of logic in his prey excited him. It was always so much better when they forgot he had evaporation skills and even better when they begged for mercy.
"I've always admired that hat." Chessur said, twining around the bars of Tarrant's cell. The Hatter looked up, haloed by the light coming from the window.
"Hello, Chess." He said tremulously, staring at the Cat. Chessur could feel the bloodhounds' disapproving stares. The animals knew more of the secret side of Chessur than he would like, having caught glances and heard hints where the more human Underlanders could not, except Absolem of course. He knew everything about Chessur and Chessur knew everything about Absolem. They were the oldest creatures in Underland and neither knew which had come first, although everyone else assumed that Absolem was so much older than Chessur.
"Since you won't be needing it anymore." He evaporated through the bars and appeared curled around it, kneading it with his front paws, his grin second nature by now. "Would you consider bequeathing it to me?" His grin widened at the thought of Tarrant dead. That man was forever destined to be Time's plaything and that his Time would end. Well, he always had admired Iracebeth's bravery, even if everything else about the Bloody Big Head was repugnant in every way. Really, he didn't know how her Knave managed to disguise his revulsion for her as love. Although, they did say there was a thin line between love and hate, similar passions and all that tosh.
"How dare you." The Hatter cried indignantly, taking the hat out of Chessur's reach. He twirled in mid-air, his grin upside down but still recognisable. Really, the Alice was right when she said she had never seen a cat without a grin all those years ago. Of course, Chessur had then made that special effort to make all cats in the Alice's path smile that much wider. Tarrant said something about a formal execution and Chessur smiled more. The idea of anything in Iracebeth's court being formal was laughable, and Chessur planned to turn it into a show no one would forget, even if they might want to. Besides, he had been advised by Absolem to make sure Tarrant wouldn't die tomorrow so that the Alice might stay. Stupid girl. Chessur would bet his life that she didn't even know what effort both he and Absolem had put into their plans to keep her happy.
"It's a pity about all this." He circled Tarrant's shoulders, musing about how much would be lost if he revealed all this to the Alice, despite how amazing it would be if he could guilt her into doing his bidding for years if she knew. But no, she would never trust any of them again and Chessur wouldn't let Underland be ruined because a human chit would get offended over all the wrong things. "I was looking forward to seeing you Futterwacken." He continued, floating away from Tarrant.
"I was rather good at it, was I not." Tarrant smiled proudly. Chessur smirked. Considering he had taught the dance to Tarrant, he had better be good at it. Although, Tarrant didn't know that he had taught others, that he had killed others for messing up when dancing in public. He would never know until he messed up, of course.
"I really do like that hat." He said slowly. Tarrant shielded it with his body, his green eyes suspicious. Chessur nearly fell out of the air, he was laughing so hard in the inside. Tarrant was right to be suspicious but, as usual, he would be misdirected by Chessur's next reply.
"I would be sure to wear it on the finest of occasions." He said, blinking longingly at the top hat in Tarrant's arms, making sure to imply a secret plan. Really, the hatter was so stupid and set in his ways he had no imagination anymore. Dare he say, Tarrant was getting boring and Chessur didn't like boring things. It was such a pity Absolem had forbidden Chessur from killing him. Maybe, being dead would loosen him up a bit. Hmmm, it was a worthwhile thought to consider later.
The next day dawned bright and clear, or as close as it could get in Salazen Grum. Chessur shuffled out into the sunlight, sneering at the Knave as he went past. A flash of white caught his eye, and he stared as Nivens popped out of the crowd. He really hoped that Nivens was here to see him and that the bloodhounds had passed on his message. Otherwise, there was going to be hell to pay. Nivens was the one other person in Underland that Chessur considered worthy of his time, and Chessur would be damned if the infernal rabbit actually dared to think he would let Tarrant die by anything other than him. Nivens gave him a long slow nod, and Chessur smiled slightly. Underland was safe, for now. He silently cursed as Stayne gave him a long look full of suspicion before glancing up at Iracebeth. No matter, he would just have to kill Stayne if he figured it out. Although, it was hard to tell if Stayne was being clever, or just paranoid.
He kneeled on the smooth flagstones and stiffened as the executioner reached for his hat. He would not let that thing touch the hat, especially when it had taken this long to get it off Tarrant in the first place.
"I'd like to keep it on." He said in Tarrant's voice. Besides, Tarrant was a Hatter by trade and it was customary for Underlandian tradesmen to die with an article of their trade. Besides, it's not like that thing could even kill him. It dared call itself an executioner? He sneered incredulously at the thought. Although, the Red Queen's employees never were competent, except for Nivens of course.
"Suit yerself." The executioner mumbled. "As long as I could get a' yer neck." He felt the chill of cold steel as the executioner positioned the axe over his neck and then raised it. He longed to shout at the executioner but it would not do for his plan to have anything less than perfect timing.
"I'm right behind you." Mallymkun said reassuringly. Chessur's grin widened and he started to laugh silently. Fine tremors shook his body and he hoped it wouldn't affect the excutioner's job. What did Mally think she was doing? It's not like she could do anything. She got the Bandersnatch's eye with luck, not skill. Ah, her little crush on the hatter. The only reasons he didn't notice was of his Madness and his love for the Alice. Mally must know but then love made fools of them all. Not that he had experience in that arena.
"Off with his head." Iracebeth ordered and his grin widened. He heard Nivens and his smile dimmed. He wished he could have spared Nivens this experience but it would have been far too obvious if the Ren Queen's page hadn't gone to an execution and there would have been questions later. Especially because of his noted companionship with the Hatter. Although, it was possible that Chessur was the only person who knew that Nivens didn't like the Hatter simply because he didn't like Chessur. It was nice to have such a firm friend. He glanced over at the Tweedles and smiled widely once more. They each stopped each other from looking too much. He didn't know why people hadn't realised that they were, for all intents and purposes, one person. That's why other thought they were slow. They had to share knowledge between each other and then collate it for a conversation with others.
He felt the executioner raise the axe and heard the air whistle as it hurtled towards his neck. He counted down silently in his head before turning invisible and intangible. At the right moment, if his audience's gasps were anything to go by. From there, it was a simple matter to make the hat float and tumble on the various air currents in the courtyard and make it hang there for a moment. Iracebeth's shock made him grin as he appeared and greeted the court. Nivens' surprised relief made him smile even wider as he surveyed the people behind him.
Mally stared up at him, surprised relief much like Nivens, shining in her dark eyes. Although, it was different because Nivens was relieved his plan had worked and Mally was relieved the Hatter was still alive. He turned invisible as the Hatter roused Iracebeth's fury. He giggled beside her ear and was pleased with her flinch.
"Down with the Bloody Big Head." He whispered in her ear in time with the Court. "I'm especially proud it took off like that. Imagine, my little saying, a signature of the Underland Revolution." His invisible eyes never leaving the celebrating Court below. "Look at you, Iracebeth of Crims. You're all alone." He laughed darkly behind her.
"Release the Jub-Jub bird!" She screamed in defiance. "See." She whispered smugly. "I still have my pets." He smiled pitying at her.
"No, you really don't. Not even the Knave anymore." He whispered before melting away into thin air as the Knave came up behind her. He considered the Iracebeth who stood in front of him, her belief in the world of false words she had inhabited shattered and laughed. Who had known he and Tarrant worked this well together?
I'm going to leave it here for now but I do have something in mind to follow. I need your opinion, dear readers. Should I write a slightly AU chapter of the final battle? It will again focus on Chessur and you will get to see what happened when he loses his control or should I just leave this story where it is.