A/N: Alice in wonderland belongs to disney, and as always, Charlotte and Will belong to the lovely Starlight 623

"-and that is why buttered fingers should never be substituted for... Charlotte? Are you listening to me?"

"Hmm?" Charlotte was slumped over in her chair, morosely stirring her tea. She was in the kitchen, having her weekly potions lesson from the Queen, but just couldn't find the energy to concentrate today. She glanced up from her teacup and smiled with false sweetness at her mother's best friend. "Yes, Auntie Mirana?" she asked, batting her eyelashes in innocence.

This earned a reproving glare from the monarch. "Pay attention, Lottie. This is important."

"Can't we learn about mercury?" she asked, straightening up, "I could use it for my ha-"
"No, Charlotte." Mirana interrupted. "You know how your father feels about that subject. You are not even allowed in his workshop without him present, and you most certainly not allowed to touch the mercury."
The adolescent slouched back down, deflated, and resumed the absent-minded stirring of her tea. "It's been three years since he said that..." she pouted, jutting out her bottom lip. Her father was never particularly happy that Charlotte had the same knack for hat making that he did. He would much rather have her put her talent to dress-making or weaving, anything that didn't involve chemicals. He was afraid that she working with the mercury would drive her to madness, just as it had for him.

Both Charlotte and her mother had tried to convince him that this was silly, that the mercury wasn't the only reason for the madness, but he would have none of it. "Leave the hat making to me, Buttercup," he would often say, ruffling her hair, "I'm already completely bonkers."

"But all the best people are, papa!" She would insist, grabbing onto his arm. "Please?"
"Not today, Sweetness," And with that, he would take off to the workshop, leaving behind a disappointed little girl.
"Yes, and he hasn't said anything the contrary since," said Mirana, interrupting Lottie's thoughts. "Your father cares a great deal for you, and you must honor that by doing as he says."
Charlotte sighed, running a hand through her flame-orange hair. "I... I miss him, Auntie Mirana. It's like he died, everyone talks about his as if he did, and now mother, too. I need to do something. I need... I need my parents back." She choked up on her last words, tears beginning to stream down her face. The Queen dropped the buttered fingers she was holding back into their jar and rushed around the counter, gathering the young woman into her arms.
"Shhh... It's alright, darling, let it all out." she whispered, stroking her hair.

Charlotte coughed out a few sobs, then looked up at the older woman, her blue eyes running over. "Can... can I please go see him?"

Mirana wrapped her arms tighter around her, shutting her own eyes. "Lottie, you know I can't do that. It's just too dangerous."

"I don't care!" Charlotte sniffed, shaking her head back and forth. "He's the only father I have, even though Landrew has been like a father to me for the last few months, and I suppose that you could say the both Chess and Mally have been too, but considering Mally's a girl, that doesn't really make much sense, though you know with the changing times and all she could-"

"Charlotte!"

The young hattress breathed again. "Thank you," she whispered, blushing. She had inherited the tendency to ramble from a certain Mad Hatter, and though she loved everything about him, she wished he had kept that trait to himself.

"In time, Lottie. All good things in time. We can't do anything but wait for now, but your mother will be back before you know it, and then we'll all be a proper family again, yes?" After receiving a weak nod from the still-moody teen, the queen clapped her hands and stood up. "Well, I think we've had quite enough of potions for now. Let's see if we can't find Lily and Will and have a late lunch."

And with that, the queen swept out of the room, leaving Charlotte sitting alone in the kitchen. She sighed, sliding her stool back to stand up. She crossed the floor to the window on the other side of the room. "If you won't do something," she whispered, pressing her fingers against the cool glass, "I will."

"So... what are we doing again?"
"I told you! We're going to see dad."
Charlotte and Will were trekking through the castle, a single torch their only source of light. Charlotte had whispered to Will during teatime that he was to meet her outside her chambers at midnight, and they were to go on an adventure.

Naturally, his curiosity had prevailed over sleepiness, and he dutifully appeared, torch in hand, to Charlotte's room at the stroke of twelve. When he knocked, she had hastily opened the door and pulled him in, hissing at him to be quiet. After briefing him about their mission, she had slung a rucksack over her shoulder and taken the torch from him, ready to head out on an expedition. Since then, they had been silently scurrying through Marmoreal, hiding from imaginary adversaries.

"Oh." Will scratched his head, trying to think at this late hour. "If we're only going to see dad, why are you dressed up?"

"I am not!" She was wearing one of her mother's Otherworld-ian dresses, with her hair all pinned up into a hat her father had made her to look like his own. "I just... never got changed from supper..."

"You didn't wear that to supper!" He accused, his eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"Shh! You'll wake the whole castle!" Charlotte nervously glanced side to side, worried that a guard would spring out at any moment. "Now, let me tell you how we're going to get past the guards."

"There's going to be guards?" He squeaked, his voice shooting up though two octaves.

"Don't worry about it," She said, ruffling his messy blond hair, sporting a smile wide enough to rival Chess', "I've got a plan..."

"WAHHH!"
The child's piteous wails could be heard around the castle. The two soldiers (one bishop, one rook) standing guard in front of the sick room looked at each other, unsure of what to do. The wails were close, but they didn't know if the child was in any real danger or not.
"WAHHH! WAAAAAAAHHHH!"
With a shrug apiece, the soldiers started down the long, winding stairs that lead to the top of the North Tower. The wailing sound grew louder and louder, until they finally found the source: William Hightopp. The ten-year-old little boy was sitting at the bottom of the stairwell, his right green eyes flowing with tears. The giant chess pieces looked cautiously around, looking for the source of his distress. Seeing no immediate danger, they both stepped down from the final stair, coming to the aid of the small child.
"William?" The bishop asked, stooping down to the boy's level, "What's wrong, William?"
"I-I-I fell. I was looking for my hat... and-and I fell down the stairs. My leg hurrrrttss..."
The bishop sighed, shaking his head at the antics of the youngest Hightopp. "Come along, Master William," he said, reaching for his hand. "I'll take you-" *thud*
With that, the bishop fell to the floor, having being knocked in the back of the head by a frying-pan weilding Charlotte.

Run!" she shouted, turning and sprinting up the stairs, her brother following close behind. The rook looked from children to bishop, confused. What had just happened? After a moment, he drew his sword and charged up the stairs after the Hightopps.

Charlotte and Will ran faster and faster, reaching the top in record time. They threw open the door, locking it behind them, and just in time, for the guard slammed into the door just as they turned the lock.

They turned around, panting, and were met by a piteous sight.

Their father lay in a bed in the center of the room, his rattling breath making his skinny chest rise up and down. He was bone-thin, his normally pale skin even whiter, all the color gone from his cheeks. The white sheets dwarfed him, and the flickering light from the fireplace on the other side of the room made him look transparent, almost ghostly.

"D-d-daddy?" Charlotte whispered, timidly crossing to his bed, "Dad?"

Will clung to her arm, his green eyes wide with shock and fear. "Charlotte, are you sure this is a good idea?"

She shushed him, carefully reaching out to take the hand of her father. She remembered his hands as so strong, so nimble, always moving or fiddling with something. Now they were motionless, thin bones displayed through the dye-stained skin. she placed the withered hand to her cheek, tears forming in her eyes.

Will cocked his head to one side, considering the motionless man. "What can we do?"

"I'll tell you," say Charlotte, gently replacing her father's hand on the mattress and wiping her cheeks, "I'm going to go find mother."

Her brother whipped around to face her, shock registering on his face. "You can't do that!"

"And why not? Mama put me in charge, and I can do what I please."

"But how will you get there? And how will you come back?"

She grabbed his small shoulders and gently turned him around, steering them until the were both standing in front of their mother's looking glass.

"Charlotte..." Will whined, not liking where this was going. "Momma said never to touch that unless she or daddy was here with us."

"And daddy is here," she said, jerking her head back towards the bed. "Will, we don't have much time." As if on cue, there was a great clatter on the other side of the door, the guards trying to unlock it without a key.

"Listen." She bent her knees so she was the same eye level as him. "I'm going to go to the Otherworld, get mother from wherever she is, find the cure, and be back before you know it. Hey, no tears," she whispered tenderly, wiping her brother's wet cheeks.

"Momma said she would be back soon too," he sniffed, staring decidedly at the floor. Charlotte put a finger under his chin and tilted it up so he was looking her in the eye.

"You have my word as a Hightopp, I will be back in two weeks, or less."

The boy nodded then wrapped his arms around his sister's neck. "Come back soon, Lottie. Auntie Mirana will be very cross."

She mentally winced, thinking of just how cross her godmother would be. "Don't fret, bean," she said, using her father's nickname for Will, "Auntie Mirana dosn't think we're capable of doing anything wrong." She let out a low chuckle, then embraced him once more. She straightened, and slung the rucksack over her shoulder. "Wish me luck, baby brother," she said, taking another step towards the looking glass.

"I love you, Lottie," he said plainly, offering a little wave and smile.

She smiled back, forcing her fears further down in the pit of her stomach. "I love you too, Will." With that, she took a steadying breath and stepped through the cool glass.

A/N: Thankyou for reading! Chapter three is coming, slowly but surely, then it should be a breeze from there.

If you spot any inconsitancies or if some thing's a little off, PLEASE tell me. The urge to write usually hits me when I'm only half-consience, so... *shrugs*

Please R/R!

-O.R.A.W.D.