A/N: Yeah, chapter 4! Hope it's to your liking!
Disclaimer: Code Geass and affliates are not my property.
Ch. 4
"ATTENTION! THIS DAY WILL BE ESTABLISHED AS A NATIONAL HOLIDAY!"
"What's going on?" asked the Duchess to the Dormouse. He shrugged, and everyone in Wonderland gathered around the herald. Standing on a heart-shaped box, he announced, "THIS HOLIDAY IS CREATED IN CELEBRATION FOR THE RETURN OF THE LOST PRINCE!"
"The lost prince?! He's alive?" asked the Griffin.
Suddenly, a long row of guards came. Creating a pathway, they stood at attention and raised their swords in tribute. The White Knight led the procession on his horse, while the White King and Queen followed in an open carriage. Then came the Knight of Red, with the Red monarchs coming in a similar fashion. When the King and Queen of Hearts arrived, all of the residents of Wonderland bowed or curtsied. The coach stopped, and the sovereigns stepped out. The Queen said, "Oh, come, dear, and greet your subjects."
The Wonderlandians looked up, and saw a polished shoe come out. Upon seeing the owner, everyone gaped. The man, formerly known as the Mad Hatter, was dressed in a royal ceremonial suit. He said, "Hello, people of Wonderland."
"Hatter, what hap-"
A nearby knight pointed his sword to the Lobster man's throat and said, "Insolent being! You shall address him as his Highness!"
"I… I wasn't aware of your title…" he muttered.
"Why is everyone so confused, mother?" the prince asked.
"Well, you were gone on a long trip, dear, and everyone is just surprised that you came back after such a prolonged journey."
"I see."
"Come, my son, and we'll take a drive through all the land that you will inherit one day."
"Yes, father."
The royal family ascended the short staircase into the carriage and the procession set off again. When they were gone, the people either formed small groups to discuss what they had just witnessed, or ran home to tell their families. The Fawn said, "So…. So, the Hatter was actually the lost prince the whole time?"
"Um… I think that's what it is…. Do you think he knew the whole time?"
"I'm not sure…. But… Why was he even lost in the first place? He was right there, and he's even come across and interacted with the King and Queen." said the March Hare.
"Curious…. There are too many holes." commented the Caterpillar. She blew smoke rings, causing everyone to cough, and the Carpenter said, "This is all very confusing. Almost a decade and a half ago, the heir to the throne of Wonderland disappeared, and was announced dead. Around the same time, the Hatter entered a competition at the young age of 11, where the Queen of Hearts strangely broke his hands at the sight of him. He grew up into a young man, and he fell in love with the…. Chesire! Does she know?"
"Oh my goodness. What will she think?! She'll become apoplectic!"
"Oh dear, what do we do?" worried the Sea Turtle.
"How about… All of the girls will go visit her and break the news to her. March Hare, me, the White Rabbit even, Fawn, Griffin, Caterpillar, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Dodo, Walrus, and I'll bring Nina. That's a lot of people, but I feel like we're going to need a crowd. You men go find out what exactly happened. Oh, this is such a mess." said the Duchess as she walked away. The females trailed after, and the men sat down.
"Well first of all, who's here?" asked the dormouse.
"There's me, you, Humpty Dumpty, Sea Turtle, the Lobster Man, and… Oh crumpets. Here comes the Jabberwocky." announced the Carpenter. True to his word, the monster jumped into the middle of the group and exclaimed, "God dammit!"
"There's no such thing as God." commented Humpty Dumpty. The Sea Turtle said, "Well, that's debatable."
"Who cares?! Did you see him?!" yelled the Jabberwocky.
"If you're referring to the Hatter, then yes." answered the Lobster Man.
"How can he be the prince?!"
"Why?"
"Now I must serve him with all of my might! I swore to dedicate my life to the successor of the throne if he was found! And now-"
"It's the Hatter. Who knew?"
"I didn't! I didn't know!"
"Orange, stop being hysterical." said the Carpenter.
"Orange? Orange?!"
"Orange is easier to say than Jabberwocky."
"You… You…. Argh!"
Off to be a drama queen by himself, he ran off, leaving the men in the dust.
"But what do we do?" asked Humpty Dumpty.
"I'm not completely sure" replied the Sea Turtle, "But I do know that I can't do anything because of- Ack! My heart!"
"I'm sure the Duchess will come up with something. She's always so clever and smart." said the Dormouse decisively. They all nodded and began to talk about the latest inedible concoctions that Nina and the Walrus had managed to whip up.
. . .
"Chesire?" asked the Duchess. She was knocking on the door of the Cat's cottage, but the house seemed deserted.
"Where could she be?" asked the March Hare.
"Well she could be nowhere." said Tweedle Dee, while her twin said, "Or she could be elsewhere."
"Does anybody know where she is? Has anyone seen her?" inquired the Griffin.
"I don't remember seeing her. But she hasn't been in any of the pictures I've taken recently." answered the White Rabbit while capturing a photo of the Chesire's empty residence. The small garden rustled in the wind, and the Dodo spoke up.
"Actually…"
"Yes?" prompted the Walrus.
"A few days ago, her Heartness, the Queen of Hearts asked where the Hatter was, so I told her he was at the lake."
"Moonstruck Lake?" asked the Caterpillar. The maid nodded and the scientist said, "His lake is a very nice one. It's a good place to do experiments because of the quiet environment there-"
"You were saying, Dodo? interrupted the Fawn.
"And the Hatter was there with Chesire, and the White Knight and her highness, the White Queen."
"And then?"
"They left."
"They as in who?"
"I believe it was the Hatter and Chesire. The White Knight came to the Manor, and looked a little panicky. He was saying something about Chesire being at knife point, and the Hatter having no choice but to go with the Queen."
"Oh Dodo, how can you keep something that important from us? Have you seen either of them ever since?"
"I didn't see the Hatter until just now but…."
"But?" asked the Duchess.
"N-nothing. The Hatter wouldn't like it if I told-"
"What the Hatter thinks isn't the problem right now! It's finding the missing Cat!" yelled Nina, nearly in hysterics.
"Well, even if I showed you, we wouldn't be able to go in. It's locked."
"What's locked?"
"A…. She's probably not there. She wouldn't be able to g- Chesire!"
Mimicking meerkats, the girls immediately turned their heads simultaneously in the direction the servant had exclaimed. True to her word was the Cat, looking a bit ragged and tired, but in one piece.
"Why are you gathered here? Are you going to burn my house down or something?"
Moving as one, they rushed to her and gave her a hug. Chesire nearly fell from the force, and said, "Why are you hugging me?!"
"Oh Chesire, you haven't seen him, have you?"
"Who?"
All of a sudden, nobody wanted to tell her the horrible news. A foreboding feeling came over her, and she said in a cold voice, "What is it?"
"It's….." muttered the Griffin.
"I suddenly remembered I have to go check on an experiment I left unattended. I'll see you later." cut in the Caterpillar. She hurriedly left the group, a little frightened of the Chesire's reaction. The dam broke, and more than half of the party sent for the feline broke away, calling back excuses. Soon, there was only the Walrus, the Duchess, the Fawn and March Hare, and a Nina that had been held tightly in place by her employer.
"Why is everyone running away?"
"It's the Hatter." finally said the March Hare.
"What about him?"
"He… Well, apparently, he's the lost prince of Wonderland."
"Go on…."
"And…. This is only from seeing him for a few seconds but…"
"He's lost all of his memories." finished the Cat. Everyone looked at her in shock.
"How do you know?" asked the Duchess.
"I'm not stupid. I did go with him to the Castle."
"But… But…"
"I'm not crying? I'm not devastated? Oh, I was crying. But the Hatter told me not to cry."
"Oh, that's just like the man. Not letting anyone feel grief because of him." commented the Fawn.
"And I am grieving. On the inside. But what's stronger than the sadness is the unquenchable rage."
"Ah, yes, the rage. The inevitable anger." said Nina wisely.
"I went to see the Queen of Hearts."
"What happened?" questioned the Walrus.
The Chesire Cat, shaking off the last guard, slammed open the door to the Royal Throne Room. There, the Queen and King of Hearts were sitting on their respective thrones, and had obviously been discussing something important with another man she had never seen before. The blonde man smiled and said, "My, what a beautiful lady. But why would such a person with blinding beauty enter so…. Ungraciously?"
The furious feline ignored his question and said, "You!"
"You?! To the Queen, nonetheless! Punishment worthy of a public execution!"
"Oh shut up, you old hag. What have you done with the Hatter?"
"The Hatter? Oh, you must be referring to Lelouch. I've done nothing." the raven-haired woman said.
"You liar!" she spat.
"It's true. I didn't do anything, but my husband may have. Sweetheart, what is it that you did?"
"I returned my son to his rightful place, besides the King and Queen of Wonderland."
"It's not his rightful place if he hates it!
"Whether he dislikes it or not has nothing to do with what is legitimately his."
"It does t-"
"Mother? Father? What's going on?" interrupted a new voice behind the Cat. She slowly turned around and saw the very man she was arguing for. He pleasantly smiled at her and bowed, asking, "How do you do, my lady?"
"Hatter, it's me!"
A quizzical expression appeared on his face and said, "I apologize, but this is the first time I've seen you. Have we met before?"
"Yes! Yes, we have."
"I see. Well, my sincerest apologies for not remembering. Now if you'll excuse me… Mother!"
"Yes, Lelouch?"
"When is Princess Nunnally arriving?"
"She should be here soon. It's my understanding it that you take to her?"
"She's one of the most sweetest and kindest people I've met."
"I'm glad you like her. It would be better for you to like your future wife, and-"
"Wife?" cut in the Chesire.
"Yes, wife. I don't see why it really concern-" began the King, but the Cat ran up to the former milliner and hugged him. She said, "Hatter, you really can't have forgotten everything. What about the workshop? What about the White Knight and the White Queen, and all of your friends? What about me? And the promise you gave me. You swore to me that we would-"
"Impudent girl! How dare you touch the prince?!" shrieked the Queen, "Guards! Guards! Take away this… brute and lock her away! At once!"
Immediately, men in vibrant red suits of armour stormed into the room and grabbed her by the arms. They began to drag her away, but she dug the heels of her shoes into the floor and yelled, "Hatter! You can't be serious, you said yourself you wouldn't know how to live if you hadn't meet me! You said that you loved me!"
"Mother, do I know the lady?"
"No, sweetheart, and you shouldn't meet her. She's crazy. Some call her mad, even."
At the mention of people saying that the Cat was mad, the pounding headache he had when the intruder had embraced him turned into a sharp pain. He fell to his knees, clutching his head. The monarch rushed to her son and asked in a worried voice, "Lelouch! Lelouch, sweetheart, what's wrong?"
"I… I don't know. I have a terrible headache." he muttered. Marianne looked back at her husband, and a look of understanding crossed between them. Putting her arms around him, she said, "The pain will pass soon, my son. It will be alright."
Outside of the large chamber, the Chesire stopped struggling. Despair filled her, and tears began to form. How could he just forget her? It had only been a few hours since the same man who had asked who she was, had kissed her, insisting that she was the love of his life.
"What's going on?"
"Sir!"
The soldier stood at attention, and the voice asked, "Why is she being carried away?"
"The Queen instructed us to lock her up, sir."
"…. I will take her there myself."
"….Sir….?"
"I said I will escort her to the dungeon."
"I'm sorry, but I don't think we should-"
"Are you ignoring orders from your superior?"
"No sir!"
"Then giver her here."
They roughly pulled her to the owner of the voice. He said, "You may go."
"Yes sir!"
The military men saluted and marched away in an orderly fashion. The Cat looked up and said, "Suzaku…"
He whispered, "You'll have to address me by my official title here. Don't worry, Chesire. I'll get you out."
"Did you see the Hatter?"
He gave no reply, and she was about to say his name again when he said, "I have."
"And? Are you not shocked?"
"I am. It's as if he never left the palace."
"What am I going to do?!"
"Well, the question is more what will we do, but first…. Let's get you out of here."
"How?
"Let's see…. I imagine someone with good balance may have a chance of escaping if they ask to go to the bathroom, and then climb out of the window and onto a tree branch. Do you understand where I'm going with this?"
"Yes."
"Perfect. Then let's put it into action."
20 minutes later, the Cat was running away from yelling guards. The White Knight watched from the open bathroom window, and said, "I really hope you run quickly, Chesire, because I can't help you a second time. GUARDS! Return at once! It's a futile chase!"
"So that's why you looked so out of breath." said the Walrus.
"My, you had quite an eventful morning though, Chesire." commented the Duchess.
"What are you going to do now? I expect it won't be sitting around and waiting until he remembers." asked the March Hare.
"Of course not."
"Then what are you planning?"
The Cat slipped the translucent violet scarf off of the Duchess's shoulder and wrapped it around the lower part of her face. She said, "In a few days, there will be a gala at the Castle, in an attempt to allow for the Hatter and the Princess to become closer."
"What princess? And how do you know there will be a party?"
"Dignitaries from all over the world will be coming, and as a result, there will be all sorts of entertainment organized. We, along with several others, will dress as performers."
"Where are you going with this?" asked Nina.
"We'll infiltrate the Castle of Hearts right underneath the Queen's nose, and save the Hatter."
A/N: And so, it begins.
