Chapter 2: Knock Knock
Two knocks on the door were enough to get Iris down from her room and to the great wooden door. She cautiously unlocked the door and peeked out through the crack only to see a tall man wearing a tall green tophat with thousands of pin-like objects slotted into the pale, tattered ribbon above the brim.
Wild red hair seemed to fly out from under his hat. Almost like a bonfire. Iris thought to tailcoat that draped over a pale pink vest matched his hat as did his pants and strangely enough, the man wore no shoes.
"Hello little miss." He saluted tipping his hat off to her and bowed in a gentlemanly fashion before straightening up a giving her a crooked smile, showing off rows of pearly, white teeth the seemed to stand out from his skin, even though said skin was whiter than snow.
"…Hello, sir." Iris greeted in return, still eyeing his strange ensemble. "May I be permitted to enquire your reason for being here?" she questioned. Though he seemed nice enough, she felt as though he was something more than what he looked like, but she quickly abolished that thought. A beggar can't be a rich man, nor can he have any business here.
"As a matter of fact my dear, I do have some business with Alice!" he answered in a manner that made it seem as though he had read the young girl's mind, flashing yet another smile.
"Oh, I'm so sorry but Mother isn't here." She informed, this was true as her mother would leave the house at any time of the day for no reason whatsoever. This was yet another thing that sickened Iris to no end.
"Would you like to come in for tea though? I'm sure we could just wait for her return." Iris offered out of politeness, but hoped with all her soul that the man would decline, even though for some odd reason, he was growing on her.
"Thank you for the offer miss, as lovely as it may sound," he let out a long sigh before continuing "but if Alice isn't here, then I shouldn't be either."
"Oh, then should I inform her that you came looking for her?"
Iris could've sworn she had seen the faintest of smiles paint itself across the stranger's lips before he gave her an answer.
"Just tell her the Hatter is having a Tea Party Tomorrow." He said as turned on his bare heels and walked off in the other direction. He stopped briefly to tip his hat off to her before continuing his lone walk out.
"B-but Sir!" Iris called out as he was walking away. "My Mother couldn't come, there's a Party at Lord Hamish's tomorrow!"
He didn't turn back to look at her, but she somehow sensed that he was smiling the same toothy yet crooked smile he had shown her before. "Does it matter my dear?" he yelled back, not ever turning round to face her, his voice still clear despite the amount of space between them. "Does it really?" he asked again, still walking further and further away.
As the distance between them grew, Iris found herself liking this man more then she would have thought, but she reluctantly closed the door and headed back up to her room.
A bit longer, but I like more. As you can see, my hatter is based off my imagination and Tim Burton's Movie.
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