Thankful that she didn't have to fall through a rabbit hole and nearly crash with that dreadful piano again, Alice found herself outside the small door that she'd come through so many times in the dark woods. A terrible thought suddenly flashed through Alice's mind. What if Tarrant didn't want to see her? Alice thought it terribly bold of herself to presume that he would accept her back into his life after being gone for over a year, which was how long in Underland time? She could never remember.
The thought that the one person who truly seemed to understand her would shun her made Alice feel so dizzy with grief that she had to sit down, taking no heed of the fine black gown that she still wore.
'I will not cry,' she thought fiercely to herself, biting down on her lip and trying to take a deep breath to calm her nerves. However, the tightly laced corset barely allowed her to inhale, much less breathe normally. Combined with the fact that she'd barely consumed more than a cup of weak tea all day set her head into a hazy fog.
"Oh please don't let me faint, not here," Alice murmured aloud, trying not to wake the Flowers as they were quite gossipy. "Where's your Muchness now?" she asked herself, forcing herself to painfully stand up as the corset pinched and tugged at her skin. Too late to realize that she should have stood up more slowly, the blood rushed down from her head and back down onto the grounds of Tulgey woods she went.
Chessur was taking his nightly drift through the woods when he noticed the pile of heavy, black brocade on the ground. Drifting closer, he saw a mass of golden curls, spilling over an unconscious young woman's face. Using a paw to move a few curls back, his smile grew wider when he saw the familiar face.
"Back I see?" he said before evaporating into a fine mist.
Tarrant sat brooding as usual in his favorite armchair, his top hat down low on his forehead. Ever since Alice left things never felt the same. He would either sit staring morosely for hours, his eyes with a dark gleam more often than not. Thackery and Mallymkun's antics at the tea table had even ceased to amuse him.
The ribbons suddenly being lightly tugged at barely caused Tarrant to flinch. "Whit dae ye want," he grumbled, instantly realizing who was near him.
"Now is that any way to treat an old friend?" Chessur purred, grinning widely at Tarrant as one paw still dangled with the end of the rose colored ribbon. Seeing the murderous glare Tarrant gave him, Chessur decided to come out with it. "I daresay there's someone that came to see you," he replied loftily, flipping himself upside down midair.
"Alice?" Tarrant replied, his voice now back to a soft lisp.
"Yes, although I believe you'll have to carry her back. She chose to take a nap in the strangest place. I myself prefer a sturdy tree branch or a soft pillow."
Oblivious to Chessur's banter, Tarrant jumped up out of his chair so quickly that he nearly overturned it, almost taking down two teapots that were in his way. Urging Chessur into the woods, Tarrant hastily followed behind until they both came upon an unconscious Alice.
Kneeling down next to her, Tarrant softly called Alice's name trying to rouse her. Seeing her eyes flutter open briefly and then close right back, Tarrant wondered why she decided to come all the way back to Underland, wearing a black gown that hardly suited her complexion only to lay down on the ground and have a lie in. Seeing as she wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, Tarrant slid his arms underneath Alice's body and scooped her up into his arms.
"Up ye go lassie," he said, cradling her to his chest. Hearing something fall down to the moss covered ground with a loud thump, Tarrant bent over as much as he could to see what it was. Down went his top hat, which of course Chessur was only too happy to retrieve.
"Hello again," Chessur said lovingly, swooping down and placing the top hat upon his furry purple head.
"Ye cannae keep it!" Tarrant hissed in outrage, trying not to disturb the sleeping Alice in his arms. "Now make yourself useful and pick up whatever that was that fell down!"
Obliging to Tarrant's fussing, Chessur picked up the fallen pocket watch, glass vial and envelope and grinning madly, followed the Hatter and Alice back to the Windmill.
Once they were all inside of the sitting room, Tarrant gently placed Alice down on a squishy, purple velvet chaise lounge. After shooing out the purple cat (but not before threatening to skin him if he didn't leave his hat behind) Tarrant kept calling Alice's name, running his hands over her pale face until her blue eyes fluttered back open and focused on him.
"Oh thank goodness!" he said, relief in his voice. "Are you feeling ill?"
Trying to sit up, Alice instantly fell back among the pillows. "Dizzy….corset…can barely breathe," she sputtered out incoherently, her fingers weakly clutching at her middle.
"My dear, you aren't making any sense at all," Tarrant replied, confusion etched all over his face.
Desperate for relief, Alice grabbed Tarrant's right hand and brought it to her middle, hoping it was enough clarification.
"Oh, how stupid of me!" Tarrant exclaimed, reaching to his inner jacket after feeling the heavy binding around Alice's waist. After producing a pair of small golden scissors, he turned Alice over onto her side, her back facing him. His fingers made quick work of undoing the small buttons on the back of her dress. Seeing the tightly laced corset underneath, he snipped at the laces until he heard Alice inhale sharply.
"I thought you hated corsets," Tarrant said, placing the scissors on a table beside the chaise lounge.
"I do," Alice replied weakly, turning back over to face Tarrant. "As well as stockings and this dreadfully hot, itchy dress. But it wasn't as if I had much say in the matter…"she continued her voice trailing off.
"Then off with it!" Tarrant shouted gleefully, then blushing profusely as he realized what he'd just blurted out.
Desperate for comfort, Alice missed the unintended innuendo that slipped from Tarrant's mouth, her mind set of ridding herself of the cumbersome garments. However, much of her strength still hadn't returned and it took a great deal of effort to attempt to sit up. "Allow me," Tarrant said, placing her feet in his lap to unlace and remove each boot. Tarrant then slid his hands up to Alice's knees and unrolled each stocking down and off each leg. "Better?"
"Much, thank you," Alice sighed with relief, standing up cautiously so as to not faint again.
Tarrant watched as Alice reached behind her to try to unrig herself of the heavy black gown. Pausing to take in her surroundings, she was unable to shake the feeling that she wasn't seeing everything with new eyes. "Have I been inside of your home before?" she suddenly asked.
"Oh yes when you were a wee lass," Tarrant replied with a reminiscent smile upon his face. "It wasnae proper tea unless you had a bit of jam or tea spilt all over your pinafore."
A distant look in her eyes, Alice fought to try to remember was Tarrant was talking about.
"Ye dinnae remember Alice? Twas Thackery and Mally's fault it was-"
"Wait! I think I remember…you were in a bit of a strop," Alice interrupted.
"Aye! To throw sugar cubes or even a scone is one thing, but a pot of squimberry jam! Purple on your dress, purple on your stockings-PURPLE IN YOUR HAIR! A strop indeed, we had to dash to the house so I could make you another dress and stockings. Twould not do for me to send you back home in such a state, how would you have explained that?"
Alice bit her tongue, fighting down a fit of laughter, a vague memory of Mallymkun standing on top of a dresser to help her button up the back of her dress coming to mind.
"And ye hated stockings even then! Shoes tossed one way, stockings the other. Ye loved running barefoot lass, nevermind the squimberry jam on ye from top tae bottom. Aye, Barefoot Alice, Happy Alice. I still have that dress, would ye like to see? Bonnie thing it was, shame the purple never came out."
Extending his hand towards Alice, Tarrant led her to a small, curved staircase and followed behind as they climbed the stairs. Once they were upstairs and inside what Alice guess was his bedroom, Tarrant ushered her to sit down on an overstuffed chair while he went over to an old wooden chest. Various accoutrements flying from the Hatter's direction, Alice peered around to see that his room was quite large. Understandably so, remembering that he did not like being in confined spaces. His bed resembled hers at home; heavy oak with a canopy top, fine décor scrolling the head and footboard. A purple satin coverlet with silver and gold threads woven throughout it covered the mattress, and on top a large amount of pillows, none of which match but all in a different color.
"Ah here it is!" Tarrant said, breaking Alice's concentration as he came over, bearing a small blue dress.
"I can't believe you still have this," Alice said incredulously as he handed it to her. Tracing the old jam stains on the dress with her fingertips, memories suddenly flashed through her mind. "I remember going back home that day, and at night Mother examined my dress in the most peculiar way. She said it looked almost brand new but chalked it up to the maids doing an extraordinary job with the laundry."
Tarrant seemed to find that quite amusing and let out a loud giggle, which in turn made Alice laugh. Then remembering the look on her mother's face that day as she examined the dress in a manner that a jeweler might examine a diamond for flaws set her into loud hysterical laughter.
Unbearable grief suddenly hit Alice, nearly knocking the wind from her chest. She remembered feeling the same way when she was told that her father had passed, and also when Margaret told her that Hamish was going to propose marriage to her. Her father's death had been hard, but now the fact that she would also never see her mother again, even if it was just to hear her scolding, sent Alice's hysterical laughter into loud, ugly sobs that made her body tremble.
Holding the little blue dress tightly in one fist, Alice fell to the floor unable to stop the well of tears from falling. It felt as if everything that she'd been holding back all week decided to present itself at the most inopportune moment.
"Aye lassie," Tarrant crooned, sitting down on the floor next to Alice and pulling her trembling form onto his lap. Feeling quite torn at seeing his Alice so upset, Tarrant paid no heed to the fact that she now had one hand tightly gripped onto his favorite cravat. "Even Champions have to let it out at some point, it wouldn't do to keep it all bottled up. You don't want to be mad like me now, do you?"
"I think it's a bit late for that," Alice mumbled between sniffles.
"Remember what you told me? The best people are." Feeling Alice nod her head slightly, Tarrant moved a hand to her tousled curls and gently guided her head against his chest. "I know you miss yer mither," he whispered, rocking her slightly in his arms.
When Alice's sobs finally subsided, Tarrant helped her stand up and led her to sit on his bed. She allowed him to wipe the rest of her tears away with a silk handkerchief that he produced from his front vest pocket. Feeling utterly knackered by now, Alice was unable to find the grace to feel embarrassed when Tarrant pulled her against his chest, allowing her body to lean on him while he divested her body of the now wrinkled black dress.
Attempting to keep some sense of propriety, Tarrant tried his best to avert his eyes from Alice's form which was now clad in a chemise and knickers. "To Bedfordshire milady," he told Alice, drawing back the coverlet and ushering her underneath. Obliging, Alice lay back among the soft pillows which felt even better than they looked.
"If you insist, but I must warn you that it's been very hard for me to sleep all week," Alice replied, completely unaware that she was burrowing her body further into the soft bed.
"You'll be asleep in no time. I'll just be downstairs if you need me."
"You don't mean to leave me here by myself do you?" Alice asked a bit sharply, sitting upright and causing the coverlet to fall down around her waist. "Please Tarrant?"
Swallowing hard, Tarrant tried to ignore the top half of Alice's body which was easily visible through the sheer material of the chemise. Seeing those sad blue eyes bore pleadingly into his, Tarrant felt the last shreds of his willpower dissolve. "Nae lass, I'll stay wit ye."
Feeling pacified Alice lay her head back down and watched as Tarrant slipped off his vest, shoes and stockings. After snuffing out all but one candle, Tarrant gingerly approached the bed. Not wanting to appear too forward, he decided to remain on top of the bedclothes. "Good night Alice," he whispered laying his head down a mere few inches away from hers.
"Good night Tarrant," Alice mumbled, her eyes already closed as she drifted off to sleep.