Soon, the hatter had finished and the eve of the ball was upon them. Stayne's personal favourite had been deemed acceptable by the Queen, and everyone did look rather good. The Hatter wore his usual hat with a beautiful suit Stayne had never seen before. He wondered if he had made it. He didn't dance or talk to anyone, but the Queen had forced him to attend. He looked rather bored.

"Stayne," the Queen summoned him. "You must practise your dancing whilst I mingle. You are such a terrible dancer."

"Yes," he managed through gritted teeth. On well, it wasn't so bad.

"No," she boomed suddenly, seeing his eye fall on the ladies. "Not them," she hissed.

He murmured acquiescence as she looked all around the room. Their eyes landed on the Hatter at the same time, sitting alone on the steps and fiddling with a handkerchief.

"Him."

The Hatter looked up, startled, eyes darting between her and the Knave. He seemed to work out what was going on.

Stayne fought to keep a neutral expression as he kissed the Queen's hand obediently. He kept it as he strode towards the Hatter, ignoring his wide eyed look as he hauled him to his feet and pulled him into the dancers. They reached for each other's waists at the same time, and the Knave glared. Submitting, the Hatter meekly moved his hand to Stayne's shoulder. Stayne took hold of one of those smooth, smooth hands, and led him in a waltz.

The Hatter relaxed into his previous dreamy state, and stared at something over Stayne's shoulder while they danced, seemingly miles away. At first, it tempted Stayne to shake him, but he got used to it. He didn't like this public gesture with the Hatter, just in case it hinted to what he was thinking about him in private. The few times he caught the Queens's eye, her responding glare told him he needn't even think about stopping.

"How long do these things normally go on for?" The Hatter murmured. It was unclear whether he meant this particular dance or the ball itself.

"It depends. Until she's tired."

"Oh," he looked disappointed.

It irritated him. "That scary, am I?" He hadn't expected anger in response.

The Hatter's eyes flashed with it. Not mercury poisoned anger, but anger all the same. "You're not scary." Their step slowed. He muttered something else that Stayne didn't catch and didn't care to ask him to repeat, and looked quietly furious afterwards. His eyes or accent hadn't turned, the usual warning signs, but the change in character was still unnerving. Stayne tried to ignore it.

When he was calm, The Hatter was quite a nice dancer, in that dreamy, absent way of his, light on his feet and under Stayne's hand as if he wasn't really thinking about it. It was grating to have him this close and yet strictly off bounds. He wished he'd been able to finish his glass of wine. His trousers were getting uncomfortably tight. He couldn't help it.รด The queen had put him in this position, and he hadn't been close to someone he was attracted to for so long. And he may be a man, but he was as soft and sweet and vulnerable as a girl.

The Hatter broke away suddenly, interrupting his thoughts, saying something about the bathroom. His voice was soft and calm again. Stayne watched him leave, almost relieved. He wondered if he'd been holding him too tight, or looking at him strangely. No matter. At least he could finally have some more wine.

He polished off a glass and was well into a second when the Hatter returned. He offered him and glass, and he shook his head. The Queen looked over at them then, and Stayne downed his glass rather quickly and led the Hatter back through the dancers. He was still hard and uncomfortable.

"Have you ever considered," the Hatter said suddenly. "Spiking her drink with some sort of draught? Not to kill her," he added hastily. "Just to, you know, tire her out."

"No," he said. "It would be difficult. You don't know who you can trust here." Still. The idea put a smile on his face. Perhaps it was the wine.

The Hatter looked from the faces around them. He opened his mouth to speak, when the Queens voice overrode him.

"Stayne."

He turned, and found her standing there expectantly. He let go of the Hatter reluctantly, and took her hand.

The evenings end finally rolled around, and before the Queen could realise it, Stayne left her side and escorted the Hatter to his room. The murmuring and clinking glasses grew fainter as they mounted the stairs.

He no longer looked annoyed. They stood in silence for a moment.

"I'm not curtsying," he warned, in so serious a tone that it was almost funny.

The knave smiled thinly, and the Hatter was smirking, not grinning or smiling in his usual hapless way but smirking, as if he knew what it all meant. Stayne growled in his throat, kicked the door shut and pushed the Hatter against it. He held him by his shoulders and kissed him, and the Hatter accepted his mouth with his tongue, hands coming up to clutch at the front of his clothes. They broke apart for air, and the Hatter looked almost fearful. It excited the knave almost painfully. Their lips met again, the Hatter mewling into his mouth and sucking on his tongue gently. Stayne pressed his forehead to the Hatter's with his eye closed, and just breathed. His hand slid from the Hatters hair to caress his cheekbone with his thumb.

"I must go."

He felt him nod. There was nothing more to say. He lifted the Hatters hand to his lips and kissed it before leaving him.

He had taken to wandering at night, finding a new view here that he'd never remarked upon before and a reading nook there, until sleep would come. He was occupied thus one night, and stumbled upon the Hatter similarly engaged.

"What are you doing?" He said at once, alarmed. Perhaps this was the escape he had been anticipating, though he had to admit it didn't seem likely; the Hatter was barefoot. He looked plaintive.

"I'm hungry."

He didn't complain when Stayne followed him to the kitchen, making sure of his intentions. He stopped before the pantry without turning back, and asked Stayne timidly, "what can I have?"

"Whatever you like," he said, leaning against the wall. They had enough of everything to last months.

The Hatter sat on the counter and ate in silence, absent mindedly offering the knave a cookie. Stayne stared at the floor meditatively, to keep himself from watching the Hatter eat. -

Things went on as they had been, still seeing him at meal times and accompanying g him on walks.

It wasn't often that Stayne was presented with an opportunity to satisfy his urges. A fumble in the wine cellar, the woods, with a discreet subject was all he could really get. He tended to develop attachments quickly and with intensity, putting everything he had left into it and then breaking off just as quickly, satisfied in brief.

He supposed this infatuation was the same, except that the Hatter wasn't some silly slut. He was deviously clever, sharp, dangerous, fascinating, delicious, the queens new plaything, vulnerable, and of course, quite, quite mad. He was the least likely to have chosen, and the Knave wanted him like burning.

He took the Hatter for walks, for fresh air, and although they wouldn't talk, the knave had come to look forward to their walks. Having tea.

The gods must still like him, because an opportunity like no other presented itself a few weeks later.

"I would like," the Queen announced to Stayne in their private sitting room,"a horseback holiday." She beamed at Stayne, delighted with her idea.

Stayne was smiling himself. A holiday. From the Queen. He thought fast.

"That sounds wonderful, majesty. Only i will need to stay here, of course, to oversee everything, and keep an eye on the Hatter."

Her smile faded. "The cards can do that."

He knelt by her imploringly. "But your majesty, I don't know if they will be enough to take responsibility for your home, without leadership. People may get word of the castle being vacated by you, and even if they don't, the Hatter is terribly sly..." He trailed off meaningfully. He had plenty of other arguments up his sleeve and was prepared to fight harder. "It may also be nice for you to have a holiday just with your lady friends, to have a..nice, girly time?"

There was a long beat, and Stayne held his breath. And then she smiled, and he felt weak with relief.

"Wonderful! I shall tell them right away."

The wait for the moment they were to set off seemed endless, impatient. He leaned against th door and closed his eyes when they had left. No Queen, no insipid subjects, just the cards and animals and other underlings who would just leave him alone. And the Hatter, of course.

Stayne enjoyed his freedom for the first few hours by riding for the sheer pleasure of it, rather than to complete his duties, before going to find the Hatter. He was momentarily alarmed, after not finding him in his room or the gardens, but he remained calm.

He smiled with relief, and then with genuine affection, when he found the Hatter in the seldom used library, reading on cushions on the floor with his feet propped on a chair. He jumped on Stayne's entrance, and sat up guiltily, as now was normally his working time; clearly Stayne wasn't the only one decided to himself a holiday.

"I finished 8 hats today," he said nervously, by way of explanation.

Stayne was still smiling. His shut the door behind him. "Good." He knelt before the Hatter and pushed him back down on his back, squashing the book between them. Stayne felt it be pushed aside as he kissed the Hatter. The Hatter wriggled beneath him until his legs were free, opening them below Stayne. Stayne seized on the opportunity to press into him, releasing his lips and mouthing at his throat. His hands wandered restlessly from the hatters front to his collar to his sleeves, hunting restlessly for skin and teasing with the idea of undressing him.

"Not here,"he murmured, almost to himself, although he wanted nothing more than to take him here amongst the dusty old books on power and prosperity where no one ever came, to cover his back his carpet burns and get dust and the smell of age in his hair.

The Hatter had sank a little beneath him, as if with disappointment.

"I only came across this room a few weeks ago," he murmured, playing with the Knave's collar in an innocent yet maddening manner. "I peeked in a few times when I was wandering around, and it was always empty. So now I come here." His eyes fastened on Stayne's then, suddenly serious. "How long is she gone for?"

"A few days. I've asked them to send me warning when they start heading back, but..." He raised and lowered one shoulder to indicate the difficulties of this.

The Hatter nodded absently, seeming to drift off as he thought on this. He still played with Stayne's collar. All of a sudden, he began to laugh.

"What," Stayne asked, startled.

"The men are still here, aren't they?" He tittered. "We'll all have to actually make conversation over dinner."