Before the hatter was mad, and Grace was more than a word..
"Will you ever tell me what your business in Wonderland is Hatter?" Alice asked as they walked along the winding path, far off in the distance she could see the beginning of the White Queen's castle, gleaming like solid ice in the setting sun.
"I do have a name you know," he told her.
"As do I, but that's not half as interesting as your business in Wonderland, Hatter." She informed him with a grin, only half joking. He looked down at her then, raising his right brow in question, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. He only just began to realize how short she was in comparison to himself, the top of her head just grazing his bottom lip, she had to tip her head almost all the way back just to look him in the eye.
"I should tell you my name anyway,"
"Names are only useless details," said Alice, "It's your parents choice, they could name you Eggplant or Saffron and it wouldn't make any difference. You'd still be the same person."
"A miserable person. Imagine living with a name like Saffron, no one could ever respect you." Alice laughed.
"They'd get over it, but that person would still like the same books they had before, the same smells and textures. A name doesn't change you." She said, pressing a hand over her heart.
"Well, I think that's a very sad way of looking at it." Said the hatter, "A name should mean something, to the people who give it and the person who has it. Even if it's as terrible a name as Saffron or Eggplant, if it means something to someone, it can't be entirely meaning less."
Alice sighed dramatically, "Are you certain you aren't mad?" She asked him, humor in her voice.
He laughed, and she tipped her head back to see his whole face. His laugh was low sounding, and started right in the bottom of his chest, rumbling but soft. His eyes pinched sweetly at the sides, his smile wide and she noticed that one of his front teeth was slightly crooked, as though it was too large to fit with the rest. How endearing, Alice thought, then forced herself to look ahead, as to not be blinded anymore by his smile.
When the air was quiet around them, and the castle was almost in full view, the hatter told her softly into the Twilight sky, "My name is Jefferson," and Alice smiled.
The sky was almost entirely night by the time they reached the White Queen's Castle. The Cat had disappeared without a word to either Alice or the hatter, and Alice had to explain that the Cat did that from time to time, and there was no point in fussing over him. Fussing over anything only made the Cat feel more superior.
Together, Alice and Jefferson stood before the grand doors of the Queen's Castle, the crystal palace gleamed, exuding pure light and giving mention to the life bustling within it's walls.
"Do we just knock?" The hatter asked.
Alice shook her head, and pushed the doors with both hands, but it didn't take any strength at all. The simple touch of her skin to the door made them swing open gracefully. Alice and Jefferson looked at each other curiously, but said nothing. They were ushered inside by more girls in white uniforms, each with mousy brown hair tied in knots at the nape of their necks, their lips painted red like roses, cheeks blushed, eyes bright. The doors swung closed behind them. Alice looked up at the wide staircase in front of them and saw the White Queen, regal as ever, so graceful it was as if her white gown carried her down the steps, spotless white, red lips glossy.
"Alice," she said when she reached them. "And dear hatter." She cupped Alice's cheek in her pale hand and rubbed her thumb over her cheekbone. "Such a brave, clever girl." The Queen tapped her nose and Alice blushed. She looked over at Jefferson and he looked so out of place standing there, dressed in such dark clothes in such a light place. The Queen stepped over to the hatter, and held his right shoulder in her hand, squeezing it kindly. She looked between the two of them, and said gently, "There is much to discuss, but nothing that can't be said until morning, off to bed." She smiled at them one last time, and whisked off between them and out the doors. Jefferson and Alice followed two servants up the steps. The servants showed them the doors to their rooms, their doors opposite one another's. The two girls in white curtsied politely and skipped away, not making a sound.
Alice watched as the girls left, then turned her eyes to the hatter. He was already looking at her. Alice leaned her back against the door, and clutched the knob in one hand, running her fingers along the smooth metal. The hall was dimmed by night, lit by the flickering candles that lined the walls. In the dimness of the hall, his eyes had turned gray. He had taken his hat off and held it at his side, his hair fell slightly on his forehead now, a shaggy mess of loose brown waves.
"Tell me," she said.
"I'm a sort of.. portal jumper." She looked at his strangely.
"I have absolutely no idea what that means."
"I travel through different worlds," he told her, watching her reaction carefully. Her head perked up and she eyed him curiously.
"Like magic?"
"Exactly." Her face brightened.
"Do you go on many adventures?" She asked, her expression was eager, waiting on his word, an air of longing in her eyes. She was beautiful, he knew that much. Golden hair, dark blue eyes, fair skin, freckled nose.
"Very many," he said.
"You're quite young to have had many adventures," she commented. He shrugged and said,
"As are you."
"I haven't had many adventures, only a few, here, in Wonderland." She said, her voice dreamy.
"I'd like to hear of Alice's adventures in Wonderland." He said, his smile mimicking hers.
"Only if you tell me yours.. Jefferson."
They talked for hours, exchanging tales of adventures. Grinning cats, painting white roses red, a crazy doctor with wild experiments, a magic deal maker.
And when tales of their adventures grew thin, they spoke of themselves.
His forest, her London.
"How old are you?" he asked her.
"You're not supposed to ask a lady that question," she mumbled through a yawn. Alice had changed into the sleep clothes that had been sat at the foot of her bed. A long white satin gown, a silky pale blue robe. Her mother would scold her until her face was beet red if she knew a boy was seeing Alice in her night clothes. But Alice didn't see the fuss, everything was covered. "How old are you?" she asked him. She lay flat on her back, blond hair a halo around her face, mused across her pillows. Jefferson was laid at the foot of her bed, his legs hanging off the edge, his knees at line with her feet.
"Well that's just not fair." he said, propping his arm beneath his head.
"I'm sixteen."
"I turned nineteen last week," She grinned over at him, eyes heavy.
"And so many adventures." He grinned.
"And so many adventures." He whispered with a slight nod of his head, as she was already asleep.
When Alice woke, the hatter was gone. She wondered briefly if he had fallen asleep as well, but woke before she had. She wished he had stayed.
Alice opened the large closet doors and pulled out a long, jade coloured gown. It shimmered in the morning light. She splashed her face with water and brushed out her hair. She parted her hair how she liked, down the center, and tuck her hair behind her ears. She took a simple black ribbon and placed it at the top of her head, she pulled it down behind her ears and tied it at the nape of her neck. She pulled the rest of her hair forward and headed down to breakfast.
Jefferson was the only person at the long white table, nursing a cup of tea. Alice sat beside him and gave him an expectant look.
He looked at her questioningly. She glanced at his tea. He looked from the cup to her and gave her the same look as before.
"You said you made quite the cup of tea," she reminded him. "I need to see for myself." He laughed lightly, but made her a cup. "M'lady," he said, bowing his head as he handed it to her. She did the same as she took it and gave it a careful sip. "Well?" he asked.
"Good, but the other hatter used more jam." she told him, hiding her smile behind her cup. His brows shot into his hairline.
"He put jam in tea?" He shook his head. "I've been making it wrong for years." She giggled. "Did he really put jam in his tea?"
"And butter."
"What were you doing for the Queen of Hearts?" Alice asked him over toast.
"It wasn't exactly that I was doing something for her.. more of an.. exchange."
"And exchange of what?"
"I have no clue." he told her, and her brow furrowed.
"And how is that?" she asked.
"A man from my land, Rumpelstiltskin, asked me to give her a box in exchange for a different box." he shrugged and opened his coat. From the inside pocket he pulled a small box, with an even smaller lock.
"Can you open it?" She asked.
"No,"
"Do you know what's inside of it?"
"No."
"But it could be anything, it could be magical, or dangerous or both." She said, eyes trained on the tiny box.
"Knowing Rumpelstiltskin, it's both."
"Then why do it?"
"He pays well." She gave him a look. He laughed. "It makes for some great adventures, the pay is just a bonus."
"What about your business with the Hare?" She asked.
"You're very nosy." he observed.
"I prefer curious."
"The Hare's business is just as mad as he is." Jefferson told her, smirking.
"That business must be truly out of it's mind." Alice grinned.
"Mad," said Jefferson.
"Bonkers," Alice laughed.
"Off it's head." he finished.
"I wonder who the next hatter will be," Alice mused.
"He won't be as undeniably handsome as me, I can assure you. I'm the prime of the profession." He joked.
"But you're not a true hatter, your a portal jumper."
"I made this hat." He said, pointing to the one sat atop his head.
"Have you made others?"
"A few before, but I stopped at perfection." Alice plucked the hat from his head.
"This is perfection?" she asked, toying with it between her hands. "It's smart looking, of course, but it seems like an ordinary hat none the less."
"To the untrained eye, but to a portal jumper such as myself, this thing is everything." He said, taking the hat from her hands and placing it back on his head.
"You mean to tell me that this hat," she pointed, "is your magic portal?" He nodded. "That's.. extraordinary."
"Well, handsome hatter," Alice said, sipping her tea, "I'll miss you when you go." She smiled at him, and gazed into his eyes. It was almost as if his eyes survived on light, gray in the dim, icy pale blue in the sun.
"I'll miss you, Alice of Wonderland." Her eyes were deep blue, a stormy ocean, an adventure all on their own. He liked the freckles on her little button nose, and how it turned up when she smiled wide.
He didn't want to go.
So it's.. been a while. I haven't given up yet though! So stay tuned..
- Clary