*Cough* Sorry for this detour, I promise the next chapter will feature the Hatter much more prominently!
Wait! That is, I promise as long as you review! If not, I withhold Hatter-y goodness from you all!
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If an outside observer were to have looked in on the scene for only a moment, they might have mistakenly thought that Alice had not heard the conversation that was happening around her, because at first glance she appeared not to have noticed. However, were such an observer to stick around a bit longer, they would have realized that the poor girl was stock still, staring straight ahead as though made of stone. Needless to say, Alice was in shock; her mind had gone blank, limbs had gone numb, eyes had glazed over. Underland had many strange and unique experiences to offer her, and she had tried very hard to not be surprised by anything, but a meeting with her (supposedly) dead father was a bit much.
Her shoulder was shaking, gently. It took her a moment to realize that it was not doing so of its own volition, but rather was being shaken by a hand, which must be connected to a person, calling her out of her reverie
"You mustn't keep him waiting Alice, I am sure he has traveled quite some distance to see you."
Alice looked at the White Queen blankly, but she stood up slowly all the same and let herself be guided all the way to the front gates of the castle. Though she couldn't quite put her finger on just exactly where the connection to her current situation was, she felt somewhat like a lamb being led to the slaughter. Then, far too soon, there he was in front of her, still mounted on a beautiful dapple grey horse. In his beautifully-tailored black and grey knight's clothing, perched high on his steed with impeccable posture and a warm, loving smile, he looked positively noble.
The young woman's first instinct was to run to him, tears in her eyes, to leap up so that he would gather her into a strong, reassuring hug that can only be provided by a girl's father. The only part of that scenario that actually took place, however, was the part where her eyes were brimming with tears.
They were angry tears. Angry, confused, hurt, betrayed tears.
They streamed uncontrollably down her face, while her hands clenched into painful fists at her sides. At this sight, Charles' smile faltered.
"I thought you would be happy to see me, Alice." He sounded heartbreakingly sad.
"How COULD you?!" she cried, her anger bursting forth at last. "I thought you were DEAD!! We ALL thought you were dead! How could you leave us like that, let us think that?!"
Then, in the middle of her rant, Alice had a thought, and her expression changed to one of shocked accusation. Her voice lowered to a level that was only a hair's breadth from a whisper, and she was slowly backing away from the man in front of her.
"You are not my father. So many things in this world are not what they seem to be, and you are no exception. You must be a shape shifter like Chess, come to play a cruel trick on me. Well, I'll not be a participant in this game any longer."
She ran then, as swiftly as her legs would carry her, back into the castle. She ran until she could run no further, and yanked open the nearest door so that she might disappear inside. She wanted to be alone now, to collect her thoughts, and maybe she would never leave this room at all, such was the depth of her melancholy. It seemed that ever since she had come back to Underland, all she had found was heartache.
The air beside her shimmered for just a moment before splitting into a wide grin.
"Go away Chess." she grumbled, sniffling and wiping at her puffy eyes. "I'm not in the mood to chat just now."
"Oh but I heard you mention me, and I just had to investigate the situation!" the cat purred, appearing fully now. "You know, that man really is the Knight of Spades. I'd be able to tell if he wasn't who he claims he is, but he is the genuine article."
"Well I don't care, I don't want to talk to him." she declared.
"Suit yourself miss." Chess said, shrugging as he disappeared in a cloud of multicolored smoke.
Only a few minutes passed before there was a knock at the door, but she did not have time to utter her intended "Go away" before it was swung open to reveal her father. He sat down beside her wordlessly, trying to give her the chance to speak first. All she said was: "I wonder if it is a crime in Underland to skin a Cheshire cat?"
"Alice darling, please let me explain myself. I had no choice but to come back to Underland. One can only stay gone for so long before it starts to call you back, and the longer you stay away, the stronger the call becomes. Eventually you are given no alternative but to heed its siren song, or you truly will die. Once you use up all of your time, you will never be able to return to Overland."
"And what of mother, and Margaret? What of me? You left us there! What were we to you? Your play family? A collection of realistic dolls to be toyed with and left behind when it was time to go home?"
"Alice! How could you think that? I love all of you very much! I.. I would have loved to have brought all of you here with me, but it doesn't work that way. I never spoke of this place to any of you; you would have thought me insane. If I could have, I would have just brought you all here, but the road to Underland is not as unbiased as it might seem; Overlanders cannot cross the bridge between our worlds."
"So.. So you mean that mother could never have come here at all? But.. Margaret and I.."
"Alice, Margaret is your half sister. She was just a tiny little thing when I met your mother, but all the same she has no part of Underland in her, not like you do."
All of these revelations were getting to be too much for Alice, and it made her head ache immensely. So many things she had just taken for granted were not at all true!
"You could have brought me with you." she whispered.
"And taken you away from your mother? I could never do that to her, or to your sister. I knew in my heart that you would find your way here when the time was right, and of course you did. Do you know how badly I wanted to tell you that those were not nightmares that you were having? That it was a spectacular world where we both belonged? But I waited for you, I waited so long for my little girl to make it here, and now you have!"
He caught her up in a tight embrace, and she could not help but to return it. The tears were back, but now they spoke of different emotions, of happiness and love, and of gaining something you thought you had lost for good.
