Chapter the Fifth

Chessur's P.O.V

Alice, the Queen, and I took off towards the Hatter's workshop. I only pray that we are not too late. For years I have watched Tarrant slowly go deeper into madness after losing his daughter to the war. It was killing him inside that he wouldn't be there to watch her grow or play or laugh. I bet she has her father's laugh. But seeing her out of the blue could make him go hysterical.

When we turned the corner we heard Tarrant ranting rather loudly accompanied by the sound of things being thrown. Without hesitating Alice bolted into the room while the Queen and I waited outside. After a few moments the noises stopped and we proceeded into the room. I frowned when I found that Gwen wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Tarrant what happened?" Alice asked while she held her husband's face, trying to keep him calm. His eyes faded back to green, but he didn't seem any happier about it.

"There was a girl in here and I didn't know her." He muttered.

Alice still looked confused. "What made you angry?"

"She said her name was…was Gwendolyn Kingsley. I thought she was playing a rather sick joke on me. I guess I got a little upset." He said looking around to see the damage he caused. Then he looked back at his wife. "Was she joking? Tell me that lass is not my daughter, for her to have seen me like that, please tell me it wasn't her." He whimpered.

Alice opened her mouth, but closed it. Tarrant's face saddens even more as she confirmed his suspicions. I felt really sorry for the couple right now. But something else was bothering me.

"So where did she run off to?" I asked to the room.

Tarrant couldn't speak, his voice was lost. The Queen looked out into the hallway and found a guard roaming the hall.

"Excuse me, have you seen a young girl lately heading away from this direction?" she asked in a formal way that not only held kindness, but authority as well.

"Yes my Queen, she took off into the gardens. Should I send some others to retrieve her?" the guard replied.

"No, that will be unnecessary. Thank you, you are dismissed."

After he had left she turned to me.

"Could you go and find her? Maybe she will let you explain things to her."

"To what extent should I explain your majesty? Surely I am not fit to tell her the truth."

"No, but at least try to get to her back in the castle, there is much that needs to be said to her."

I nodded and evaporated away and vaporized back in the gardens. Looking around I didn't see head or tail of that girl. Could she have gotten lost the maze? As the thought crossed my head I noticed someone lying out of the grass.

"Well that's an odd place to nap." I muttered to no one.

But it was then that I took notice of the red hair and pale skin the person had. Floating over I realized it was Gwen! But she was not sleeping; it looked as though she had collapsed right where she was standing. She must have been feeling really awful after meeting Hatter. I vanished again back into the workshop.

"My Queen, I found her. However, she has gone unconscious and is lying in the gardens." I said with a hint of worry in my voice.

Really now, when did I start caring so much about others? Hearing this Tarrant got up quickly and ran to gardens, the rest of us following. When we did reach her Tarrant didn't waste a moment, he lifted her up under her knees and neck and held her close. His father's instinct must be taking over.

"We need to get her to the infirmary quickly." The Queen stated.

With that we all left the gardens and headed back into the castle. An uncomfortable silence befell on us.

~The Infirmary~

Hatter's P.O.V

She slept peacefully in her bed as I watched over her. Never in my life would I have imagined this was going to be how I would reunite with my only child. She looked just as I wished she would, beautiful and had a smile that had probably broken many hearts. But all this happiness I felt was being covered by my sadness of earlier events.

"I didn't recognize my own child." I whispered as my heart grew heavier. Alice put her hands on my shoulders.

"You had no way of knowing, she wasn't supposed to be here yet."

"But I should have sensed it, noticed it somehow. By hell, look at her. She resembles you almost to the letter. The only difference is her hair." I pointed, noticing how her hair was slightly in her face.

I reached down and smoothed it away from her eyes. She felt really warm beneath my touch.

"And for her to get that first impression of me, what will she think when she finds out I'm her father? Fear? Disgrace?"

Instantly I knew I had said something wrong because Alice's eyes narrowed.

"How could you say that? She will love you no matter what. It will take time for her to fully understand the situation at hand, but it's not hopeless!"

We didn't talk for a few moments. I knew she was right, but I still felt unsure.

"And besides, according to Chessur, she has your smile. I bet she has a lot more of you in her than we know." She smiled again.

"And what will that accomplish love?"

Alice put her hands on her hips, her muchness practically making her glow.

"Because she will realize that you two are similar and she will have an easier time accepting you."

I merely looked upon my wife with a blank stare before it melted to a smile.

"I only wish I had your confidence."

She came to me and planted a soft kiss on my lips.

"As I recall, it was you who had the confidence that I could slay a creature with a sword and no skill in using one."

She took my hand in hers as we turned back to watch our daughter sleep soundly through the night.

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