The Tim Pieces

The Duchess

"There's a large mustard-mine near here. And the moral of that is - The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours." The Duchess.

Getting out of Gigglet Swamp was simple now that Allison and Tarrant had reunited. They didn't run into any other monsters or creatures or troubles, something Allison was quite thankful for. Tarrant promised that they were getting close to finding Time.

"What are we going to encounter next?" asked Allison.

"Well," thought Tarrant. "We passed the Red Canyon, the Red Desert, and Gigglet Swamp. All that's left are the Red Plains."

"What's with all the 'Red'?"

"We are in Crims," He stated as a matter of fact.

They continued on in silence walking for a few miles before something off in the distance caught their attention. It looked like a castle, and Allison hoped whoever was inside would be kind enough to let them rest for the night. Her feet weren't used to all this activity and were in pain. Tarrant appeared to be just fine and handling all the walking quite well.

"Is that a castle?"

"It would appear so."

"Is that Iracebeth's castle?"

"No," answered Tarrant. "We missed that back in the Red Desert. I don't know who's castle this is."

"Let's hope they'll allow us to stay. I'm getting tired. Actually," Allison paused to take a breath. "I need to stop and rest for a while."

Tarrant agreed that they could break for a breather and began to unbuckle his pack. He placed it on the ground near a shrub and sat down with Allison joining him. She sighed in relief and stretched out her legs, flexing her feet. The boots she had been given really weren't suited for long treks such as this. Tarrant removed his hat and laid out, using his pack as a pillow. Again, he placed the hat on his face to cover his eyes.

Just as they were beginning to really relax, there was a shout from the bushes. Allison jumped in surprise and got to her feet in a hurry with Tarrant following suit, placing his hat back on his head in a flurry of motion. Out leapt what looked like playing card soldiers, all holding spears and swords. Allison grabbed Tarrant for protection as the cards began to circle them.

"What's going on?" Allison shouted in panic.

"Who do you work for?" Tarrant asked as his countenance began to redden.

"The Duchess!" yelled out a card.

"Who's the Duchess?" Allison posed.

One card stood out and became the ringleader of their little show. "She is the Blue Star, the next Queen of Crims, soon to be called Ceru."

"Ceru?" Allison questioned. "Tarrant, what are they talking about?"

"The Duchess didn't use to live in the Red Plains, she must have moved once the Red Queen fell. She has a nasty temper."

The leader went on to explain. "You are trespassing in Her Majesty's terrain and must be taken in as captives."

"Captives?" Allison echoed as the cards closed in on them and chained their wrists and ankles.

The cards ignored her as they rounded them up and forced them to march in single file, Allison in front, to the castle. The blue stronghold stood before them menacingly. Everything about the castle made her nerves flare up. From the tower steeples to the turrets. Nothing about it gave her a good feeling. Especially not when she had spears poking her in the sides, guiding her along.

They entered the cerulean doors and stopped in the middle of the huge foyer. The cards looked up to the balcony, making Allison and Tarrant look up instinctively. A woman walked out and leaned against the stone railing elegantly. She was beautiful. Her blond hair curled perfectly down her backside and her dark eyes sparkled suspiciously. Allison instantly felt inferior to be in the presence of someone so striking. She looked to Tarrant to see his reaction but he seemed unfazed. That made her feel slightly better, believing that at least the woman didn't have an affect on her male counterpart.

"Who do we have here?"

Even her voice rang out charmingly.

"Trespassers, my Queen," announced the leader card.

"Trespassers? No, I would say they are guests, special, honored guests."

"Guests my Lady?"

She sighed softly. "I haven't had guests in ages. Please, unshackle them and show them to a room they can stay in." She turned to address Allison and Tarrant. "I am so sorry about this, please excuse them. They are new."

She descended down the marble staircase with poise and grace that could rival Mirana. She glided to the prisoners, now guests, and smiled.

"Welcome to Ceru, my guests," she emphasized, hinting at her guards to unchain them.

"Oh, yes, right away my Lady."

The guards jumped into action and hurriedly took off the binds.

"Prepare their rooms," she ordered kindly.

The cards took off down the halls, leaving the Duchess with Allison and Tarrant.

"I hope they didn't treat you too badly."

"On the contrary," commented Allison. "That was probably the best I've ever been treated as a captive." Of course, she had never been a captive before.

"I've had worse," expressed Tarrant.

The Duchess corralled them together and began to lead them down one of the many halls. As they went, she explained how she acquired the ex-Red Queen's soldiers.

"They had no where to go afterwards. Yes, some were able to integrate back into society but others felt that their lifestyle was too hard to let go. People get stuck in routine and all. So, I agreed to take them on as my soldiers since every queen needs an army to protect her." She glanced at Tarrant from the corner of her eye. "And a knight in shining armor to be her king."

Allison almost stopped dead in her tracks. The Duchess so obviously made a pass Tarrant and she wasn't sure she liked that. They were on a quest, there was no time for silly things like courting. Looking to Tarrant to see his reaction, she was once again relieved to see that he wasn't even fazed by her charms.

"Maybe someone will show up soon," Tarrant replied politely.

Allison nearly burst out laughing but managed to keep it in. Tarrant obviously blew off the flirtatious comment, something Allison was very thankful for.

The Duchess stopped in front of a door and made a flourish of hand movements to present it. "This will be the young lady's room. I'm sorry, I never got your names."

Allison stepped towards the door before being cut off by Tarrant. "I am Tarrant Hightopp and this is Alice Fisher."

"Actually," Allison butted in. "It's Allison Fisher."

"You two don't know each other well?"

"We've only known each other about three days," answered Allison.

"Oh, that's not much time at all," the Duchess commented with a mysterious glint in her eye.

Allison nodded slowly, unsure as to what she could possibly mean.

"Well this is your room Miss Alice Fisher."

"Allison," she corrected.

But the Duchess was too distracted by Tarrant to apologize or correct herself. "Yes, yes whatever."

Glaring, Allison pushed open the door and closed It in their faces. She leaned against it and sighed. Why was she being so moody? So what if the Duchess showed some interest in Tarrant? He apparently either doesn't notice or doesn't care. Exhaustion spilled over her and she began searching for a bed. It didn't take much effort to find since it was right in the middle of the room. It was a queen sized bed with four posts at the corners, attached with curtains. Allison threw herself down on the bed, completely tired from head to toe, and drew the curtains close to block out the light of the sun coming in through the window. She laid her head down and before she could even think, she was fast asleep.

Meanwhile, the Duchess was giving Tarrant a different kind of tour. She would stop at every door and explain to him its purpose. When she finally got to his room, she told him it was specially reserved for him, the master guest suite. It had its own bathroom attached, unlike Allison's who would have to walk to one. Which the Duchess just so happened to forget to show her where it was.

"I'll send someone to get you when dinner is ready," she said.

Tarrant thanked her respectfully and entered his guest room. It was more lavish than Alice's but Tarrant didn't know that. He figured her room was just as well equipped as his. Sitting on the king sized bed, he took off his shoes and stretched out his toes, wiggling them to and fro in his striped socks. He wondered what Alice was doing at the moment and decided to go for a quick visit, before he rested.

Slipping back into his shoes and lacing them up, he stood at full height and made for the door. When he opened it however, the Duchess was standing there arm raised in a manner that indicated she was just about to knock on his door.

"Oh Tarrant," she greeted in false surprise, her voice dripping with sweetness. "Such a surprise to see you."

"Did you need something?" Tarrant really wanted her to go away so that he could see Alice, maybe even play another riddle game with her.

"Oh I was just wondering if you would like to join me for dinner?"

Tarrant thought for a second. "What about Alice?"

The Duchess seemed to falter in her grace but recovered smoothly. "I've already seen her, she's fast asleep." Of course, the Duchess was lying, she had no intention of seeing Allison. Tarrant was the man she was after.

"I suppose then I could join you."

The Duchess smiled, clearly pleased. "Oh Tarrant, you're going to love what we have prepared," she continued rambling on about how wonderful the food was but Tarrant just tuned her out and began thinking about Alice. He didn't like doing something without her. This was their journey, their quest, they should be together. As they passed Alice's door, he almost wanted to knock on it to wake her. But he refrained, letting her get some much needed sleep. He just followed the Duchess to the dining hall and took a seat where she gestured to. She sat across from him and smiled. He smiled back, not sure what they were happy about. He certainly wasn't happy.

The Duchess began talking about everything. From her lineage to the reason she chose blue to decorate her master bedroom with, she told Tarrant everything she possibly could. Tarrant just nodded politely, smile still pasted on. When she finally paused, Tarrant rushed in.

"Will Alice be receiving any food?"

The Duchess hesitated, somewhat upset that Tarrant still thought about the girl even while in her stunning presence. "Yes, I'll have food sent up as soon as she wakes."

The conversation then turned to Tarrant. The Duchess would ask questions and he would give a short answer. They discussed hat making, clearly his favorite topic. She was pleased to see his eyes sparkle when he talked about sewing and cutting fabric. She liked that look in his eyes and only hoped that someday his eyes would sparkle when turned upon her.

In the meantime, Allison just started to stir from her sleep. She heard voices coming from outside the curtain and could make out two rectangular shapes. She slowed her breathing and laid still, to eavesdrop in on their conversation that they were so adamant on whispering about.

"The Duchess sure does like that Hatter fellow," commented one card soldier.

"Yeah, when do you think she'll get rid of the girl?" asked the other.

"Pretty soon for sure. Maybe even in the morning."

"What is she going to do?"

"Behead her probably."

Allison inhaled sharply. So the Duchess was planning on killing her and then marrying Tarrant? She had to stop this somehow. But for now she continued to lay silent. The two cards changed their conversation to something so trivial that Allison almost dozed off again. Who could make an entire conversation on croquet?

The cards soon left and Allison drew back the curtains to see the reason they were in her room in the first place. Food had been placed on the bedside table. She must have missed dinner. She wondered if Tarrant missed it too. She grabbed the plate and began eating the food. It was cold, and tough, barely edible. But it would have to make do. Allison hadn't eaten since they had left Iracebeth's camp that morning.

She heard a knock on the door and put down the plate of food to answer it. She opened it to find Tarrant waiting on the other side. He pushed her back inside and shut the door behind him. He seemed tense and his face had a slight tint of green. Allison knew something was wrong.

"We need to go," he announced.

Allison was taken aback by his unexpected declaration.

"What do you mean?"

"This Duchess is a little too interested in me and a little too not interested in you."

"I know," Allison disclosed. "I heard some soldiers talking about how she wants to behead me."

Tarrant's face turned as red as a cherry and his whole demeanor changed drastically. What he said next was in a dark voice that Allison had never heard before. "That repulsive, revolting, rotten, REPELLENT-"

"Tarrant!"

He snapped out of his rant.

"Thank you," he said in a squeaky voice. Tarrant quickly regained his composure. "Then we must leave as soon as possible. Leave your things, we're escaping now."

Allison nodded in understanding, the food wasn't that great anyways.

"What about your pack?"

"We're leaving that too. We need to leave now."

"But our food and water and-"

Allison was cut off by Tarrant grabbing her arm and pulling her towards the door. He hauled her down the hall until they reached the grand foyer and made for the large double doors.

"Tarrant wait!" cried the Duchess as she ran out onto the balcony. Her appearance had changed from an air of elegance to ugly and crude. Allison screamed at her change in appearance, completely intimidated by her ferociousness.

But Tarrant kept a cool demeanor and continued pulling Allison towards the doors. He pushed against them and yelled at Allison to help him. Obliging, she slammed her weight against the marble door and for a second had a flashback to the very beginning of her adventure. Where she was trying to open the door to her room back at the Kingsleigh manor. And in that instant, Allison realized that she didn't even miss home or her mother or school. She was completely satisfied with running from monsters and traveling all across the land with Tarrant.

They finally got the doors to open enough for them to squeeze through. Tarrant grabbed Allison's wrist and led her through to the outside.

"Get me that Hatter and girl!" cried the Duchess to her soldiers who had appeared seconds too late.

Allison looked back and saw a wave of cards rolling after them. For a second she almost believed they wouldn't make it until Tarrant took a sharp turn into a patch of trees and hid behind one of the larger ones. Allison tried to control her breathing so they wouldn't hear but she wasn't too confident in herself.

Allison felt a tapping on her wrist and looked up at Tarrant. His eyes moved up towards the tree tops and he gestured his head up. Allison didn't understand what he was trying to sign to her until he began mouthing, "Up the tree".

Allison shook her head no and mouthed, "Too high."

Tarrant too shook his head and again gestured up. He laced his fingers, meaning for Allison to use them as a step to get up into the tree. Allison swallowed back her fear. If she could make it pass the Red Canyons, and the mother Jabberwocky, surely she could get up into a tree. Sighing in defeat she stepped in his laced hands and groped the tree as she was shot up to the braches. She grabbed onto one thick enough to hold her weight and pulled herself up. She hugged the tree for fear of falling as Tarrant climbed up after her and settled himself on an opposite branch. They watched as the cards ran past them, each one wondering where the captives could have gotten to. Allison looked to Tarrant and saw him smiling at her. She smiled back and almost began to laugh for no reason.

Special thanks to Mercedes Aria for the review. It really made my day :)