A/N: Sorry for the ridiculously long wait people, I blame life... anyway, disclaimer blah blah blah: I don't own any of this except the plot and Sparrow. Enjoy.
Owl smiled and began to recite her story, "When Hatter first came to the library, he was only young. His family had once been one of the most influential families in all of Wonderland, but then his father went against the queen and sided with the rebels. She wasn't happy, believe me. She sent suits after the entire family, but Hatter managed to escape before the suits arrived. He had been running for days when Duck found him outside the entrance to the library.
"Poor dear was almost frozen to death, so we brought him inside and warmed him up. It wasn't until he spoke that we realised who he was. And he didn't have that accent he puts on now, oh no, he was quite the little gentleman in his speech. Anyhow, I was smitten with the little dear and brought him before Dodo to ask whether I could keep him here.
"He was very polite and vowed he's help all he could to bring down the house of cards. So Dodo agreed, but he wasn't the only person in his office to meet Hatter for the first time that day. Dodo's daughter, Sparrow, was with him. Dodo never let her out of his sight after her mother died. But as soon as she met Hatter, Sparrow decided she was his biggest fan. She followed him everywhere, like a baby chick. The pair became inseparable, it was lovely to see Hatter getting along with her, they both seemed to be outcasts from the group of children living in the Library at the time."
"The little chick followed Hatter around everywhere… she adored him. The thing was, she wanted to be like Hatter, he was quick and clever, a bonny lad too. Well, as you can imagine Dodo didn't like it. He was suspicious of Hatter; he didn't trust him because of his background. He's always been a bit like that. And he didn't want his daughter anywhere near Hatter, and to be honest I think he was jealous… Sparrow wasn't nearly as admiring of him as she was Hatter.
"Dodo seemed to allow the friendship for a short while, but once Hatter reached eighteen Dodo sent him up top to be a scout and smuggler. The smugglers didn't live down here; it was too dangerous for us. Anyway, Sparrow was distraught; she had no real friends in the library except Hatter, and now her father had sent him away. She just spent all her time hiding in the den she and Hatter made, it's still up somewhere – Dodo won't let it get taken down." Owl looked up at Alice with a small smile, "I'm rambling again aren't I?"
"I don't mind." Alice replied, thinking about Hatter and his most interesting past…
"Oh good, what was I saying…" Owl mumbled, "Oh yes, so Sparrow spent all her time in the den moping. And one day I decided to go up top, I hadn't done it in ages. And I took Sparrow with me to see Hatter. They had such a lovely time; this was before he owned the tea shop. Hatter showed her the trees and the river, they even went swimming. Sparrow enjoyed it so much, and Hatter, well, let's just say I hadn't seen him grin like that in ages, not until he met you.
"The thing was, once he acquired the tea shop it became harder for Hatter to see Sparrow, it was dangerous. Sparrow didn't really understand… she was still in awe of Hatter and just wanted to play. She was beginning to grow in courage up top as well; she started sneaking out on her own to see Hatter. Dodo didn't have a clue what was going on between them – that is until…"
"Until?" Alice prompted gently.
Owl sighed, "One day, Hatter had closed up early and Sparrow decided to go see him, but she wasn't the only one to pay him a visit that day. A raiding squad appeared out of nowhere and attacked the tea shop. Hatter and Sparrow tried to escape, but…" Owl gasped back tears, "Poor little thing didn't have a chance."
Alice suddenly realised what she meant, "Sparrow's dead?"
Owl nodded solemnly, "I'm afraid so, yes. The suit who pursued them got a near on direct hit on her heart, she died in Hatter's arms in a dingy alley up top. Hatter carried her all the way back to the library; he was in bits when I found him. It was awful, Hatter just became blank, and Dodo went mad. He was screaming at Hatter, but it fell on deaf ears. I've never seen Dodo so distraught, so crazed, he blamed Hatter for what happened, he said Sparrow would never have died if she hadn't met Hatter. I think he still blames him, even now."
Alice sat in silence, pondering over the new revelation about her Hatter. Why hadn't he told her? She frowned, "I need to find Hatter."
Owl nodded, "I'll help you look, he could be anywhere in here." she said gesturing to the giant library surrounding them.
The pair rose from their makeshift seats and began to search the library for Hatter, it made sense that he would still be in the library, the Looking Glass had brought Alice here, to Hatter. They were checking in one of the numerous offices when a hoarse cry of pain rang out through the library. Alice stopped, "Was that?"
"Hatter!" Owl finished for her. She turned and looked off down a darkened corridor. "The den, come on." she called as she scurried off down the hallway, Alice found herself sprinting to keep up, wow, Owl was fast when she wanted to be. Another cry rang out, and Alice sped up overtaking Owl and following her instincts to find her beloved Hatter.
"Hatter?" she called out, turning around in a circle to look at the doors surrounding her.
"Alice?" Hatter's strained voice called out in surprise. Alice quickly located the door concealing her Hatter and slammed through it. It took her a moment to comprehend what she was seeing. Dodo was stood in the centre of the room with a gun in his hand. Hatter was bleeding, badly, and leaning heavily against the back wall of the little room. Then she realised where she was, "Sparrow's den…" she whispered to herself as she stepped into the room.
A/N: Did you like it? Let me know, it's really easy, a big button just over there, go on... you know you want to. :) Thanks.
Mags
