The Victorian Hatter...
Welcome to my first Alice in Wonderland (2010) fic. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I liked writing it and reviews are greatly appreciated :)
Disclaimer: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland strangely enough does not belong to the fan ficcer!
The Mad Hatter sat at the table in which he had a tea party every night with his friends the March Hare (Or Thackery as his mother had named him) and the Dormouse Mallymkun. They poured the tea and slurped from the cups as was customary in wonderland. The white Queen, having won the battle, had reinstated the mad hatter as her personal hat designer. He at the moment was in the middle of designing a rather wonderful hat for the garden party of flamingos. The ribbon would be of a bright colour to suit such an occasion. But alas the Hatter was not of a good mood.
"What's up hatter?" The Dormouse Mallymkun asked.
"Well east be east and west be west but still I bore of all this jest." Hatter said back.
"Teas be cakes and cakes be teas." Thackery mumbled. Both Hatter and his small companion ignored this and Mallymkun continued.
"Alice is gone Hatter." Mallymkun said. "And even if she was 'The Alice', she doesn't belong in Underland."
"Yes she frequently called it wonderland in her youth if I remember rightly." The Cheshire cat's voice came from thin air. He appeared in smoke and floated over by Hatter's great top hat. He asked cunningly. "Have you ever considered changing your hat?"
"No." Hatter replied incredulously and held onto his hat. "A man's hat is his legacy."
The Cheshire cat (or Chess as he was fondly known by his friends) grumbled and vanished. He reappeared on a seat next to the March Hare (Thackery) and began to look over the twisted cakes in wonderment. Hatter remained in his sulky mood and did not join in the festivities, and did not even crack a smile when the March Hare (Thackery) began throwing his plates at the Cheshire cat for stealing his sandwich. Of course the cat disappeared every time, and reappeared moments later.
The tea party finished with a round of 'un-happy birthday', joined in by all but the Hatter himself. Chess was the first to leave, excusing himself politely, before disappearing into thin air for a final time. The March Hare Thackery was next to leave and hopped off towards the castle to go sleep on the kitchen floor (though offered a room many a time by the White Queen he refused to sleep anywhere but by his beloved stove). The Dormouse Mallymkun hopped up onto the table and walked over to the Hatter.
"I'll be off then." Mallymkun said. "Will you be ok?"
"I be fine as day is night." He replied back.
"See you tomorrow Hatter." The Dormouse Mallymkun said. She then hopped off the table and called out with her last words. "It is the anniversary of the Frabjous day so be rested. Everyone is expecting to see your Fudderwack in its full glory."
The Mad Hatter slept restlessly that night, though that was not unusual for the mad man. He tossed, and turned then tossed again with memories of that day, the day before and many days previous to that. Days filled with hats, cakes, many unhappy birthdays and rare birthdays before and after that but none of these memories compared to the days in which he had spent with an Alice Kingsley, firstly when she was a young girl of nine and secondly a young woman of ten years senior to her first visit.
She was not a young woman of decorum, but a person of courage. She did not fight with such vigour as Mallymkun but instead worked with precision and mad tranquillity (though this indeed did not make sense to many). She had created such peace in the land after getting rid of the bloody red queen and her tyranny that Hatter thought to himself that truly she must stay to enjoy her winnings. But alas this was of no prevail as she left soon after with a promise of return.
Hatter waited patiently for a day and even remained of the same state for two but by the third day his patience had well and truly worn thin. He consumed and overwhelmed his sense of constant wanting with the cutting and sewing of ribbons and materials to make the most beautiful and well renowned hats in all of Underland. Though as day fell to night and yet another tea party drew to a close he began to ponder the whereabouts of the young woman.
The next day the strange, weird and wonderful inhabitants of Underland flocked to the palace of the White Queen for the promised celebrations. She did not disappoint and the roses were freshly painted with many shades of yellows and oranges. The flamingos sat at the helm of the garden with straightened necks which bowed down to every guest which passed. Hatter walked in accompanied by the Dormouse Mallymkun who looked upon the sight with so much pride that it leaked onto her face.
"Oh Hatter!" She called out with a point of one finger. "Your hat."
The Mad Hatter obliged to her exclamation and turned his head to face her small finger. The White Queen emerged from her doors with a graceful swoop of her left hand to the left and her right to the right. Upon her head was a white lace had with pink ribbons flowing from side to side. A white rose lay in the middle standing there with infinite glory. She let out a small happy sigh and went to greet her people. One of the more eager guests moved forward with such haste that he knocked over the Mad Hatter's Dormouse friend. Mallymkun did not take this sitting down and sprung immediately to her feet. She brandished her sword and swiped it along his ankle.
"Take that!" She shouted.
The crowd member yelped and held his foot. The Hatter wore a small smirk on his face as the man looked around for the perpetrator. Mallymkun stood by where his foot had been with a look of triumph and her sword still pointed at the man. He jumped around for a few minutes longer before looking down. His eyes focused on the small Dormouse.
"You!" He called out.
"Bring it on!" Mallymkun shouted.
"Time to go." The Mad Hatter said picking up his companion, putting her in his hat and began to run from the mad hopping man. He knocked over many of the crowd with his swinging arms, and the hopping man did likewise. Even the White Queen stopped her greeting of the people and turned to face the spectacle. She watched with a gentle smile of wonderment and maybe even of amusement, though she was far too demur to laugh.
The Mad Hatter spilled into the kitchen with Mallymkun in his hat and shut the door on the hopping man. He locked it with a flicker of his hand. A saucepan, of great depth and golden colour, came flying past his head and hit the door. The sound of a falling man ensured. The hatter turned to face his friend who was brandishing a ladle in his hands.
"Hatter what's be you so you come to my abode?" The March Hare shouted.
"An honourable fight which he did not let me finish!" Mallymkun shouted as she struggled in the ribbon.
"All in good time." The Mad Hatter said before fling Mallymkun out of his hat. She flew with much speed and landed on the table. She turned to the Hatter with a look of menacing malice and got out her sword. The March Hare with a gleefully mad smirk picked up a tea cup and flung it in her direction. It landed on top of her and she was soon trapped in her tea cup prison. Thackery let out a mad laugh.
"I'll get you." Mallymkun shouted from her new china surroundings. "I'll get you."
The Mad Hatter placed a wayward scone on the tea cup and took a seat. Thackery threw another tea cup in his direction. The Mad Hatter caught it with one hand with a crooked smile. He put it down and Thackery threw another and then another after that. He caught the first with his right hand and the second in his hat. He placed them all in a line and picked up the three spouted tea pot. He poured the tea sloppily and slammed the tea pot down afterwards.
One hopping man, a cup of tea and many moments later the Mad Hatter found himself in company with the White Queen and her court. Many of them wore his creations and not one of them had a bare head. It was quite a glorious sight. The oldest of the court sat in the corner dipping his watch into tea through hope of slowing down time and the very aging process which so crippled him.
"Ah Hatter my dear friend." The White Queen had greeted him. "Take a seat by me and rest your good feet."
As a loyal subject he bowed and took a seat next to the beautiful woman. He found the celebrations though trivial were much improved with the wine which flowed so freely for such an occasion. He even got merry enough to do such a marvellous Fudderwack that he received a standing ovation from not only the members of the court, but from the staff who sat upon the grand staircase.
He walked out of the court once the celebrations began to draw to a close and headed towards the sword which Alice had used one year prior to this day. Encased in glass and stood by a large painting of Alice battling the Jabberwocky it was truly a thing of glory. He stood over it and examined the blood stained thing with awe. A reflection of a single white rose blocked the Mad Hatter's otherwise perfect view.
"It is quite a sight." The White Queen said.
"Yes a sight it is." The Mad Hatter muttered. He then said with a substantial increase in volume. "A sight of betrayal as the girl whom had wielded it then abandoned those who had stood by her for the land above."
"Tarrant." The White Queen interrupted.
"I'm fine." The Mad Hatter said loudly before repeating more quietly. "I'm fine."
"To lie to a Monarch is an act of treason." The White Queen said with every elegance a lady should have. "You are lucky that it is against my vow to not harm any living creature. If it were my sister your hat would soon be missing your head."
The Mad Hatter remained silent and his face fell. He had nothing more to say which would contribute to the conversation. His eyes were sad but his face held a faint smile. The White Queen put a single delicate hand and turned him to face her. Like the loyal subject he allowed the lady to do so even though she put in insufficient energy to turn him unaided.
"But there is a way in which you could be reunited." She said.
"And how so would that be?" The Mad Hatter said before continuing loudly. "She chose her way and there she must stick through any morals that she still has..."
"Tarrant." She interrupted.
"Sorry." He apologized.
She reached into her long gaping sleeve and retrieved a vile filled with a mysterious liquid. She handed it to the Hatter who grasped it with amazement. He looked up at her with a look of wonder and both eyes wider than the dinner plates on which they had eaten the feast upon.
"Could it be?" He asked.
"I believed that it may come in use at such a situation." She said.
"And if I take this..." He said.
"If you indeed do drink the Jabberwocky blood it shall take you to Alice." She said with a faint smile. Just as he removed the stopper she said. "A word of caution Tarrant, once you take this you may remain over ground indefinitely."
"It is a chance my lady that I must take." The Mad Hatter said. He lifted the vile and toasted it to the queen. He said deeply. "To Alice."
"To Alice." She responded.
He drunk the blood and looked around. How strange was it that the room did nothing but just stand there. The Mad Hatter looked down at the vile. And then it happened...the room and the queen disintegrated into flying particles and he had the illusion of weightlessness. He felt himself being thrown onto a damp, cold and grass laden ground.
His hat had fallen a few meters of his head. The Mad Hatter reached forward to grab it. As he did so the sound of small footsteps came from behind him. A dark shadow formed over him and a gloved hand retrieved his hat. This was most unusual.
"What a novel way to say hello..." A female voice said. He looked up to see Alice, with her golden hair glistening in the sun, in a long flattering silk dress. She held his hat in her hands as she said. "But then again...who wants to be normal?"
There we go a chapter done, dusted and proof read by a magic machine!