Title: Illusions & Destinies
Summary: With the events of Wild Cards & Gambits still fresh in their minds, Alice and her friends struggle to regain control of Wonderland from an increasingly violent Queen of Hearts. But the threat is worse than they know as Wonderland continues to destroy itself for mysterious reasons. All which seem to point back at Alice and Hatter.
Rating: R-M Rated for language, sex, violence...the norm.
Chapter Two: Wonderland Tea Party
"Merry unbirthday! Terribly unmerry if it best serves a purpose that rests in the month of May."
The manic and yet jovial feminine voice pulled Alice from her sleep under the shade of a twisted willow tree. She blinked up at the black shadows that the branches created, and for a moment felt cradled by the massive roots that protruded from the thick grass. Her body still languid and ready to go back to blissful sleep. Lifting her head enough so that she could take in her surroundings, Alice could only see some of the shadows before she felt dizzy and had to lie back down against the rough trunk.
Her hands smoothed down her body in reflex, feeling a bit of stiffness from her awkward position. Her fingers snagged on Abigail's necklace and she winced when the harsh chain rubbed on her skin. When her fingers moved and crinkled in a foreign fabric she managed to push herself up a bit to take a look. Alice opened her eyes to see that she was wearing a heavy blue pinafore and white under-dress and she could feel the itch of high wool stocks that ran from her thighs down to her feet encased in patent black heels. Something so far gone from what she'd ever wear that she gave a knowing nod.
"I must be dreaming again," she whispered. "Because I wouldn't wear this even on Halloween."
The idea that she was dreaming wasn't comforting at all. Looking back on how her dreams often went when it came to Wonderland, Alice found herself bracing for something to go horribly wrong. Ignoring a fogginess in her head that made her feel disorientated, she lifted herself up onto her elbows and squinted through the shadows. The dimly lit grotto provided a strange shelter of darkness despite the gently lit tree and grass, and nearby she could hear a faint twinkling sound like ceramic cups being moved around. Groaning, Alice rested a hand on her stomach and rubbed at the ache growing there but despite her gentle touch the pain was becoming sharper.
"Get up, Alice," she ordered herself and she reached out to grab at the roots bowed to either side of her. She could feel the slimy, cold moss under her fingers as she slid her hands along the roots and she dug her fingers into them, her arms shaking with effort. Her legs felt leaden from too long a sleep and with a groan she leaned back against the tree trunk.
"Least I'm standing," Alice said out loud to encourage herself but the numb sensation in her legs was slow to leave.
Suddenly, from under one of the tree roots, a small white rabbit hopped out from a tiny hole it had made. It snuffled among the small tulips that grew along the root edges, its ears twitching this way and that. It chewed on a flower for a few moments before it seemed to realize Alice was standing there. It froze mid-step, red-tinged eyes flicking up at her and Alice cocked her head on the side. The rabbit stared at her unblinkingly, as if considering something, and then darted out into the darkness.
Realizing she should know better than to follow a dream rabbit, Alice pushed herself away from the tree. She picked her way over and through the tree roots, intent on following the white rabbit. It seemed to be waiting for her just yards away and she sprinted to catch up with it. With a twitch of its tail, it leapt away again. The rabbit hopped frantically ahead of her, always just out of her reach and moving in a strange zigzag way. Not able to see clearly, Alice followed its pattern along the grass pathway and kept just behind it.
It may be her dream, but she'd didn't trust it at all.
She wasn't sure for how long she ran after the rabbit into the shadows, but the sudden appearance of a large, gold framed mirror had her stop mid-stride. It stood out awkwardly from the darkness, stretching from the ground to just a little over the top of her head. Alice stared at her pale reflection, unable to help but roll her eyes at how childish she looked. Glancing down at the rabbit, Alice waved a hand.
"Well, now what?" she asked.
With a squeak and wriggle, the rabbit bounced through the mirror and it shimmered as the rabbit disappeared through its silver surface. The shimmer grew so that the mirror looked like the surface of pond, ripples growing all over its surface. Tiny streams of silver and blue lights began to splash out from the surface and Alice stared in amazement as they wrapped themselves around her legs and arms. The lights felt shockingly warm and alive. She couldn't think to move out of the way and the translucent lights suddenly became solid and strong like shackles. She only managed a bit of a struggle before the shackles yanked her into the mirror's liquid surface.
Alice opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out as her feet found solid ground. Opening her eyes warily, she saw that she was in yet another empty grotto and this time there were no trees or shadows to hide her. It was still dim but there were hanging lanterns hovering all around, providing a blue and green tinge to the grotto. The lights seemed to be blinking in rhythm.
Turning her attention from them, Alice jumped in her place when she noticed that the once empty grotto was now occupied. She was standing at the end of a long, elegant tea table and the rabbit disappeared under the table without looking back at her. This new sight reminded Alice how treacherous her own fantasies could be and she wrapped her hands in her skirts. The heavy pinafore was scratchy against her palms but it gave her something to hold to hide her nervousness.
The table was set for at least twenty or more places; there were varied fine china tea sets in blues and greens, plates piled high with scones and crumpets, and large cakes with slices already cut out as if high tea had already begun. Teapots were whistling away to themselves; one actually grew a pair of ceramic legs to walk over and pour its contents into a tiny teacup. The teacup screamed as if burned and scuttled away to the other side of the table. The odd tea settings rearranged themselves into a new order and the twinkling sound was almost musical as they clattered around.
It was all beautifully decorated but as Alice began to walk alongside the table, she could see dust and cobwebs disturbing the pristine settings. Some of the food had black mould growing on its edges and one of the fruit dishes held rotting peaches with bugs crawling through them. What made the Victorian tea-setting seem even more morbid was when Alice noticed that the white linen table cloth was spotted with fresh blood at some place settings.
The sight made her stomach turn and she was almost ready to turn around to go when she heard soft singing.
"Will you walk a little faster... said a whiting to a snail. There's a porpoise close behind us and he's treading on my tail."
Alice looked up sharply and saw there there were now four people... or two people and two creatures, sitting at the opposite end of the table. She stared at the creatures first: a man with a ceramic rabbit head, sipping oddly at a tea cup though the tea dribbled down the front of his black suit, and a large mouse sound asleep inside a saucer. Resisting the urge to call out, Alice stared at Hatter next. His chin was resting on his arm as he leaned onto the table and he was spinning a butter-plate on the palm of his other hand, humming an inane little ditty as he did it. He was dressed in what he'd worn when she'd first come to Wonderland, though his face was gaunt and bruised, and the nostalgia that flooded Alice was almost bitter.
The singing had stopped again and Alice finally looked at the woman sitting at the head of the table to Hatter's right. Alice nearly forgot she was dreaming as she stared at the woman.
The green-eyed woman she'd been seeing time and time again was methodically fixing her narrow, felt-tip hat over one eye. She was humming the same song as Hatter, keeping perfect time and harmony with him, and she lifted up a small hand mirror to check her appearance. She clicked the mirror shut and arched her back, sitting as primly as possible. Dressed in a high-necked dove grey dress and with her pale skin only given colour by the deep grey circles under her eyes, she more resembled some Victorian porcelain doll than a human.
Which was making it more obvious to Alice that she likely wasn't one.
The woman's long fingers curled around the delicate china teacup in front of her and she lifted it to her lips. She paused before drinking and nodded to Alice.
"Sit, child. You look positively peaky and we can't have that. What man marries a waif, after all? A good cup of chiapia tea will take care of that. Fills the belly and eases the mind," she ordered before taking a sip of tea.
"I'm still dreaming," Alice reminded herself as she took a seat gingerly beside this version of the March Hare. The high-backed chair was painfully uncomfortable and she scooted forward as its arch pressed into her lower back. The large rabbit head turned toward her and Mad March leaned in, his chair creaking noisily.
He offered a candy dish filled with tiny turtles to her.
"Turtle-snap? They're ripe this time of year." His voice was tinny with its oddly Bronxian accent. All of the turtles in the dish looked up at her and immediately retreated back into their shells when she looked at them.
"No, thank you," Alice whispered, turning her attention to where Hatter was sitting across from her. He had lifted his head a bit, eyes going to hers but there was a glaze in them that made his own eyes look milky. "Hatter?"
The woman reached out and touched Alice's hand. "He can't hear you, you know." When Alice looked at her, she tapped her temple meaningfully. "He's all worn out and so needs to rebuild everything he's lost."
Alice blinked at her.
"Oh do forgive me for not rhyming, but I do feel I've lost the capability for it. Yet another thing that has changed that I don't like. Rhymes are fun," the woman explained and Alice huffed impatiently. "But back to the Hatter, of course!"
Mad March held out the candy dish to and she clapped her hands childishly, making a show of choosing. She popped one of the turtles into her mouth and crunched loudly, black shell pieces clinging to her lips. She took another swallow of tea before continuing. "His mind, for example, needs more than a little bit of care, and my oh my it certainly does need rebuilding. The Hatter family always was an odd riddle, when they lived long enough to become one."
"Oh I love a riddle!" Mad March exclaimed. "Why is a raven..."
The woman's head darted to the side sharply and her eyes glinted furiously at him. "I'm not talking to you, Albrecht."
The long-dead assassin looked down. "You never do anymore."
"Oh shut up," she answered. "Your purpose was over the minute you went completely off the deeper end. You're just here because for some reason Alice's mind remembered you."
Her attention went back to Alice, who was staring at Hatter. With a roll of her eyes, she banged her spoon against the rim of her tea cup. When Alice looked at her, she arched a brow and then scoffed rudely. "Love. The things it makes us do; creates life, causes death. Makes us forget madness of the mind in favour for agony of the heart. Rather masochistic, I think, to indulge in it as deeply as you have, Alice."
"Who are you?" Alice asked and the woman blinked before giving Hatter a nod.
"He knows me." She made it sound as if that was all that mattered.
Alice rolled her eyes. "He seems to know everyone somehow. I don't. Who... are you?"
"For all intensive purposes which suit little to my own purposes, you may call me Unda." The woman looked under the table and then picked up the white rabbit who was lying on her feet. She stroked at its head for a moment before she seemed to realize that Alice was staring at her. She met her gaze with her own startling emerald eyes and grinned. "Problem, my dear?"
The grin had an eerie similarity to the Cheshire Cat's and Alice pressed back in her seat. "Your name is familiar." Alice struggled to place it, the fogginess in her head making it tricky, but when she glanced at Hatter it became clear. "Hatter's mother mentioned that name... her mother's..."
Unda's gaze was unwavering with that awful grin still in place. "Did she now?"
"This is just too weird. You can't be Hatter's grandmother."
"Could be that. I could be just assuming a likeness for the sake of little better to do. I do get so bored and when I do, I tend to lie to make up a glorious story with absolutely no truth behind it." Unda waved her hands in the air and splattered tea as she did so. "It could all be so very tricky!"
Alice rolled her eyes. "This is just too much."
"Is it?" March twisted his head with a mechanical crunch. "You've not questioned a thing before."
"I've questioned it all the time," Alice pointed out. "I just don't say it loud enough for all of Wonderland to here."
"You don't question the fact that Hatter hid so much from you? That he's now madder than a box of frogs? That Wonderland is likely using..."
Making a small sound of discomfort, Unda leaned over the table and clicked a switch on the back of March's head. He shut down immediately with a whirr, head dropping into his chest, and Alice blinked again in shock before glancing over at Hatter. He'd removed his hat and was running the brim through his fingers to fix it, eyes not rising from what he was doing. There was a deep shudder through the small grotto then, one that caused the tea table to rattle, and Alice watched as several plates crashed to the grass floor.
Turning her head from side to side, the green-eyed woman gave the appearance of thinking something over. Then she clapped her hands together and leaned toward Alice. "So, as I was saying, this whole business is so very troubling."
"You weren't saying anything," Alice interrupted absentmindedly.
"Don't interrupt and don't nit-pick. It's rude." Unda poured a cup of tea and placed it gently in front of Alice. "You see, Alice, just because you are invited to a tea party, it does not make you a friend nor does it mean you are invited to all functions."
"What exactly does Wonderland being destroyed have to do with a tea party?" Alice asked.
"Everything! Jabberwock's teeth, you don't pay attention at all do you?" She threw her hands in the air and Alice narrowly dodged being struck. With a sudden groan of pain, Unda put a hand over her chest. Her face twisted into an ugly contortion, sudden black scratch marks appearing across her cheeks. "This hurts, Alice. It hurts so badly and I've no way to deal with such pain anymore."
Alice stared at her, concerned when she noticed that the other woman's hands clenching desperately at the pain.
"It has not stopped, Alice, and each day it gets worse... and the most recent of events makes me wish the pain would leave, but no matter what I do, it doesn't. In fact, it feels worse."
"What do you want me to do?" Alice asked and she saw Unda's hand go to curl around the handle of a teacup. The black marks faded from her cheeks in slow inky trails but the whites of her eyes became black instead, which made the green of them more startling.
"Everything needs to be risked or nothing, and I do repeat nothing, is worth fighting for." Unda lifted the tea cup to her lips and her eyes went over Alice's slim form in an almost condescending way. "As you should remember."
Alice felt a sudden cramp in her belly and she bent over, wrapping her arms around her sides at the ache. The cramp seemed to clench her entire belly and she wanted nothing more than to sink to the floor and cry. Groaning, she raised wide blue eyes up to Unda, to see that those green eyes were staring at her intently. Hatter's attention was on her as well but the blankness hadn't left his expression. Alice reached out and grabbed hold of the tablecloth, her knuckles going white as she kept a firm hold. She gritted her teeth as it continued and jumped when a gentle hand pressed against her stomach.
Her eyes darted up to stare at Unda's concerned face. "So you can imagine my dismay when you were further along than thought. And it just won't do," the older woman said softly, her fingers curling around Alice's stomach. "You've risked so much, Alice, and now you have to risk even more. Hardly fair but necessary. I'm sorry."
There was a faint glow of light in her hand. "And for you, I will turn back time just a bit. As favour to your lover. No father with a past such as his should learn of this too late."
Alice had to squint her eyes as Unda's face seemed to blur. "Who are you?"
"You'll figure it out eventually," was the encouraging answer and Alice frowned at the curious coolness in her stomach. As her surroundings grew dimmer and dimmer, Alice glanced over at Hatter and saw that he was once again spinning his hat around his fingers. The coolness had gone right to her toes and Alice shut her eyes at the dizzy sensation that followed it.
When Alice opened her eyes, she was once again lying against a sloping tree trunk with the hard bark pressing into her back. The sunlight streaming through the branches was warm but there was a cold breeze that made her press a bit deeper into the thick grass. The overcoat she was wearing was fine tweed, perhaps too fine since she could feel every cold draft through the fabric, and Alice dug her hands into her sleeves to get rid of the numb feeling. Overhead, the branches were swaying with the wind and Alice felt her eyelids start to droop again.
"Don't go falling asleep again, Alice. You scared me when you dropped off like that and then started talking in your sleep," Carol Hamilton admonished from where she was sitting in front of her daughter. She put the book she'd been reading on her knee and Alice glimpsed the title of "First Five Hundred Years of Rule". Carol caught her looking and gave her a dry smile. "It's a picture book, really. The Drawling Master just had a few books left over at this place. Boring otherwise but it tells of events in Wonderland."
Pushing herself up from her position against the tree, Alice swiped her hand over her face. The sunlight glinted off the brass and silver of the charm necklace she still wore, and she had to look away from the bright glow it created. Only a few hedges away was a tall townhouse, skeletal and rather shabby compared to most of the places she'd visited in Wonderland. The garden she was lying in was mostly wild and overgrown but she remembered it.
She had had a temporary lapse in memory, triggered by her odd dream, but she remembered this now.
The trip through the door had been very painful and it was all still blurry what had happened after she'd stepped through. She'd woken to a shabby bedroom that was part of the safe house, and had been poked and prodded by a kind though strict Abigail Drawling, who'd been intent on saving both Alice and her baby. She'd been drugged to keep calm and given some sort of drink that had made the ache in her body recede, though it had made her dream constantly. It was only today that Alice had managed to convince her worried mother that she wanted outside.
Only when she promised to explain everything about her condition did Carol actually allow it.
The house was at the very heart of the Far South Central Metropolis, in more rough area, and had been almost abandoned until the Drawling Master and Pidge had taken it over. Like most houses here, it wasn't built to be pretty with its twisted frame and mismatched shutters. Despite its narrow exterior, inside it was a large house and Alice had already learned as many of its rooms as she could.
She was learning to be a little more than cautious when it came to these places.
"Alice?" her mother reached out and squeezed her knee. "How are you feeling? You've only been out of the bedroom a few hours, I know, but you didn't touch any of the food we brought with us. Chesh ate most of it before he went back up the tree."
Alice put her hand on her stomach, suddenly realizing why she felt so dizzy. "Just haven't been hungry."
She glanced up and saw the grinning Cheshire Cat reclining on one of the branches.
Resting her hand back down on her own leg, Carol eyed her. "You had me worried, Alice."
"I'm... still a bit shaky about what happened, Mom. But I was scared too."
"You know where we are?" Carol insisted and Alice nodded, resisting the urge to give her mother an exasperated look. Her mother had been asking questions to test her memory constantly, worried about the concussion her daughter might have suffered. She'd noticed the cuts and bruises on Alice's face, a sign she'd been hit, and it was only because she was cautious about mentioning Hatter that she'd not demanded where they'd come from.
"It's just hazy, that's all." Alice bent over at the waist and stared at the ground, trying to ignore the way it seemed to be filtered by blue light.
"Lady Drawling said you were lucky. She knows only the very basics and I wasn't much help either. You were in serious trouble," Carol said and it came out more forcefully than she'd intended. Alice didn't look over but simply continued to rip blades of grass up between her fingers.
"I know." She could remember the painful inspection she'd undergone, which had involved a bit of intrusion that she could only just remember.
"Alice," Carol paused to take a deep breath and then reached out again. Her fingers slipped along Alice's stomach and her daughter jerked in reaction. Carol masked her hurt easily and assumed a firm look while withdrawing her hand. "You risked so much and you nearly lost your baby in the process."
"I know, Mom. I really, really don't need a reminder about that!" Furious with her mother's questions and with herself, Alice ripped out another chunk of grass and stood up. Her legs felt shaky from sitting so long and she leaned against the tree, letting her head fall back against its comforting strength.
Carol looked up at her. "Alice, I understand about Wonderland and how strange it is... at least I think I do. There's been enough for me to see in the past month to know that this place is never what it seems." She gave Alice's stomach a pointed look. "But you were showing heavily just a week ago and now you look almost as thin as ever."
Alice's head jerked and out of reflex she smoothed her hand down the dressing gown she wore. Her stomach was more softly rounded now, not protruding and not noticeable, and she prodded herself a bit. There was nothing she could feel; no movement, no fluttering like before. She felt a brief panic until she remembered Unda's soft touch and words about turning back time.
"I think it's just reversed," Alice muttered and caught her mother staring at her. She cleared her throat. "Lady Drawling said that it was just a scare."
Carol sighed. "I'm not sure my heart can stand more scares, Alice." She stood and dusted off her own skirt quickly. "I wish there was a way we could get home, safe and sound."
"Somehow it doesn't seem likely," Alice answered, looking up at the house again. "And even if there was..."
Her eyes scanned the house's exterior and she saw Hatter standing at one of the windows just a few stories above her. He was leaning out of the window, his arms braced on the ledge, and Alice stared. They hadn't spoken since their arrival here. In fact, no one had really talked to Hatter and no one knew what was going on in his mind. He had had a rudimentary form of healing done on the worst of his wounds but he kept to himself and seemed to be taking care of himself.
No one had really dared to ask him how he felt. They were all too worried about the answer they would get.
Any hopes for an instant reunion had been ruined for Alice the first day she'd wandered around the townhouse. They'd met in the hall, Alice supported by her mother's comforting hand and Hatter limping around with his chest bandaged, and it had been like staring at a stranger. He had stared at her, eyes lingering on the bruising on her cheek and the stitching above her own eye, and Alice had felt a bit freakish under his gaze. He had looked equally rough and though she'd been tempted to simply go to him, Hatter had just turned around and walked into the nearest room he'd just left. The flipping of a lock on the other side of the door had made his disappearance all the more final.
What had been more painful for Alice was that she'd been relieved by his decision to escape first. She'd longed to throw herself at him, to be comforted by him again, but something had held her back. She just wasn't sure why his avoidance made her feel relieved but there was no one she could talk to here to figure it out. Her mother had made her feelings clear about the problem of Hatter and Chesh was opinionated enough about Hatter for Alice not to trust him. With the Drawling Master making plans, Pidge disappearing for hours on end and Abigail making herself scarce, Alice began bottling everything up inside. It left only Charlie to talk to and the White Knight remained almost hopelessly optimistic.
One of us has to be, Alice thought to herself, and I feel worn out from keeping hope alive that this will all turn out okay.
"Even if there was a way out?" Carol prompted suddenly, twisting the book around in her hands. Alice couldn't tear her eyes away from Hatter, despite the distance between them.
"I don't think I could leave. Not now." Her hand patted her stomach. "Maybe we just need some time."
For the first time, Carol actually laughed though it was a morbid sound void of any humour. "That, I think, Alice, is something we don't have," she answered.
Hatter's head turn in her direction and his eyes locked with hers even over the distance. Alice knew her mother may be right. They were racing against unknown forces with unknown plans and to what end no one knew. She stared up at Hatter and wondered if everything she'd risked to bring Hatter back had been done so in vain.
In vain because the few times they'd seen each other, she had still not seen much of her Hatter there. The madness had been contained, redirected, but it had been there. Far more dominate than ever before and with more directness than she could remember him having. It left her to wonder if Hatter was hiding behind it or if the darkness she saw there was now more a part of who he was.
When he looked away from her to stare out over the decaying cityscape, Alice jerked her head and looked at her mother. She flashed a false, overly bright smile and tucked her hand into her mother's. "Come on. I'm sure we can find something to do here that won't get us both into a world of trouble."
As they exited the small garden to the kitchen, Alice glanced over her shoulder and saw that Hatter was watching them again. The look she could see on his face was so full of longing that she stumbled in surprise. Then it was gone and his expression was skilfully blank. Staring back at him, Alice began to wonder if what she'd just seen was real or not. Just what side of Hatter was real, what side was holding the most sway over him?
The knowledge that the man she knew was still in there made Alice grin and follow her mother back into the townhouse. For the first time in a few days, she felt like smiling. Carol looked over at her and gave her a questioning stare. Alice merely smiled and shook her head, knowing she couldn't explain the sudden hope that she felt. Hope that everything she had risked had not been for nothing.
Author's Note: Most of the tea party references stem from my own experience at parties (in terms of layout... not the eating of turtles). TTLG and AiW references abound in this one :-)