A/N:

Well, obviously I did find the time to write after all, I was worried for nothing! This chapter is also much longer than the previous one, hope you enjoy it!

I dedicate this chapter to Brumeier and Alaina Downs, who have taken the time to review every single chapter so far and would even make small comments on my obnoxiously long author's notes! Because of this I was going to dedicate the final chapter to them but I was feeling appreciative and wanted to do it early. Thanks, you guys rock!

Forward, to Camelot!

The next day, Hatter came to practice with a spring in his step. His mood was significantly better than it had been within the past week, Hatter assumed he had to thank Alice for that from the previous evenings pleasurable situation including the fact that she had met him early at the teashop and they got to spend a bit more time together. It made him feel incredibly happy. Nothing could ruin his mood.

He was even early for practice. Music was pouring from the choir room already; they were practicing a song apparently. Hatter smiled to himself as he stepped into the room. Emma stood by the piano as Katherine plugged at the keys. They were the only ones in the room and they didn't seem to be playing a Camelot song. They looked up as Hatter approached.

"Ready to go today?" Katherine asked him, with a smile.

Hatter nodded eagerly. "You bet, I'm ready for anything. What are we doing?"

"Today we'll be running Guenevere's execution scene with the entire cast, minus Adam…hey David," Katherine said, "Do you think that you could do a scene with Emma while we wait for everyone to get here?"

Hatter blinked. To his knowledge, Mordred didn't have any scenes with Queen Guenevere, did he? The confusion seemed to be obvious on his face for she continued.

"I need to you do a scene as King Arthur. Emma really needs to practice it and we can't put it off anymore."

Hatter felt his stomach drop. All those days of avoiding Katherine were for naught now. Kris seemed to have been correct. "What scene?"

"We need to do the scene where Guenevere and Arthur first meet. The song "Camelot" is in this scene too and we'll need you to sing it. Now before you begin to panic, it's an easy song so you won't have any trouble and it's done a lot like "Seven Deadly Virtues" is done. You can talk through the whole song if you need to." She said as she thrust a script in his hand.

"This is when they first meet." Katherine told him. "Arthur is really shy and Guenevere is kind of a spoiled brat. Arthur is smitten with Guenevere the moment he sees her. She's just run away from her carriage and has been praying to St. Genevieve saying that she doesn't want to marry the King of Camelot, and Arthur, who's been spying on her from a tree falls flat on his face in front of her."

He wasn't exactly sure what to say. He didn't want to sing, and he didn't want the part of Arthur. This really felt familiar, almost like how Katherine got him to audition the first time. Why did Katherine think she always had to trick him into doing these types of things? Although, he knew that if she had asked, he would have turned her down. Now, it was too late. He could try to completely ruin it and be as bad as he could, but that wouldn't be fair to Emma, who probably really did need to practice her scenes with Arthur, even though they currently didn't have one. It wouldn't be fair to her to try to mess it up with bad acting, especially if she needed help with the scene. Hatter nodded to her stiffly as he opened the script that had been handed to him and sighed heavily. This was going to be difficult. Arthur was a much different character from Mordred, especially at the very beginning of the play. In fact, the way it was written Arthur seemed to behave more like a young boy something Hatter had not done in a long time. He would just have to do it.

"A thousand pardons, Milady." Hatter read giving a stiff bow. He straightened up quickly, as the script told him to; she began to run for the door. "Wait! Don't run!"

Emma stopped and turned to him, fear written clearly upon her face, very much in character. "You lie! You'll leap at me and throw me to the ground."

Hatter blinked at her, when he was a young boy, such a statement would have perplexed him, or at least he thought it would. Arthur at this point, still thought like a boy so wouldn't a statement like that perplex him too? "I won't do any such thing." He read as to took a hesitant step towards her, Emma took a step backwards.

"Then you'll twist my arm and tie me to a tree!"

"But I won't."

"Then you'll sling me over your shoulder and carry me off!"

Guenevere sure was a drama queen. Hatter thought to himself, as he held up his free hand, the one not holding the script, up in defense. "No, no, no! I swear it! By the Sword Excalibur! I swear I won't touch you."

"Why not?" Emma said suddenly, and to Hatter's actual surprise, turning towards him angrily, actual venom in her voice. "How dare you insult me in this fashion! Do my looks repel you?"

"No!" Hatter said taking a step back; Emma was actually scaring him a bit. "You're beautiful." He added feebly.

"Well, then?" Emma snapped, hands on her hips. "We're alone. I'm completely defenseless. What kind of a cad are you? Apologize at once."

"I apologize." Hatter said at once. He wasn't exactly sure about this scene. When was Arthur going to man up? He seemed so weak at the moment, very different from the rest of the play. "I'm not certain what I have done, but from the depths of my heart, I apologize."

"Ah!" Emma said after a moment of eyeing him. "I think I know. You heard my praying."

"I couldn't help it, Milady. You were praying rather loudly."

Emma took another step towards Hatter, who made himself shrink back just a bit. He felt that Arthur would do so in the situation. Hatter had never seen this scene between Arthur and Guenevere, so he had no idea how Adam had interpreted Arthur at this point of the play, but Hatter had the feeling he would have done the same.

"And you know who I am?" Emma asked him.

"You're Guenevere."

"Yes, of course. You're afraid because I may be your Queen. That accounts for your respectful, polite, despicable behavior."

"Milady, I would never harm you for any reason." Hatter read as she eyed him. "And as for what to do with you, I am at a loss. I know you are to be Queen and I should escort you back to your carriage. At the same time, you're a maiden in genuine distress. It's chivalry versus country. I can't quite determine which call to obey."

"You'd better decide quickly." Emma said, looking around her as she did so. "They'll soon reach the carriage and discover I'm gone. Then all of Camelot will be searching for me. At least that will be exciting. Unless of course everyone in Camelot is like you and they all go home to deliberate."

Hatter paused for a minute. What would Adam to in this situation? Guenevere was obviously insulting Arthur. The script told him that he was "thrown off balance, enamored, captivated and overcome by a great sense of inadequacy" whatever that really meant. Hatter sighed dramatically and whined. "Oh, why isn't Merlyn here! He usually sensed when I need him and appears. Why does he fail me now?"

"Who?"

"Merlyn." Hatter read, still slightly whining. "My teacher. He would know immediately what to do. I'm not accomplished at thinking, so I have Merlyn do it for me. He's the wisest man alive. He lives backwards."

"I beg your pardon?"

"He lives backwards." Hatter repeated, taking a step towards her and Emma did not move. "He doesn't age. He youthens. He can remember the future so he can tell you what you'll be doing in it. Do you understand?"

This time, it was Emma who took a step towards Hatter, who looked away. If Arthur was smitten, as Katherine had put it, then he would look away. It was almost like when he and Alice were on the boat back in Wonderland, where Hatter had told Alice that he would go back with her to her world. At that time, Hatter wasn't sure if he had been "smitten" exactly, but he had felt a little anxious when Alice wouldn't take her eyes off of him. Hatter felt Arthur would have felt the same.

"Of course I don't understand." Emma said. "But if you mean he's some sort of fortune-teller, I'd give a year in Paradise to know mine. I can never return to my own castle, and I absolutely refuse to go on to that one."

"You refuse to go on…" Hatter read looking up at her, he thought about Alice, how would he have felt if she had said something to him along those lines? He wouldn't feel very happy. "ever?"

"Ever. My only choice is…don't stare." Emma said, even though Hatter hadn't really been staring at her, his bad. "It's rude. Who are you?"

"Actually," Hatter read, "they call me Wart." So Arthur didn't want Guenevere to know who he actually was. How curious. Although, Hatter could see why after what Guenevere had just said.

"Wart? What a ridiculous name. Are you sure you heard them properly?"

"It's a nickname. It was given to me when I was a boy."

Emma stared at Hatter for a moment, who felt obligated to look away again. She really was staring at him intently and it really was beginning to make him feel uncomfortable. Only Alice should stare at him so, even if they were simply acting.

"You're rather sweet, in spite of your name." Emma said after a minute of this. "And I didn't think I'd like anyone in Camelot. Imagine riding seven hours in a carriage on the verge of hysteria, then seeing that horrible castle rising in the distance, and running away." Emma giggled slightly as she added, "then having a man plop from a tree like an overripe apple…you must admit for my first day away from home it's quite a plateful. If only I were not alone. Wart, why don't you…is it really Wart?"

Hatter nodded.

"Wart, why don't you run away with me?" Emma asked, her face brightening up as she turned to him, apparently quite excited by the thought.

"I?" Hatter read, he felt that Arthur would be also excited, but at the same time would be nervous about it as well. "Run away…with you?"

"Of course. As my protector. Naturally, I would be brutalized by strangers. I expect that. But it would be dreadful if there were no one to rescue me. Think of it! We can travel the world. France, Scotland, Spain…"

Hatter chuckled. "What a dream you spin, and how easily I could be caught up in it but I can't Milady." He shied away as her face dropped in disappointment. "To serve as your protector would satisfy the prayers of the most fanatic cavalier alive. But I must decline."

She looked at him, very much hurt by his refusal. "You force me to stay?"

"Not at all."

"But you are the only one I know in Camelot. Whom else can I turn to?"

"Milady," Hatter read, determined. "if you persist in escaping, I'll find someone trustworthy and brave to accompany you."

"Then do so immediately. There's not much time."

Hatter stopped for a minute to turn the page. He noticed, as he did so, the song was coming up. Hatter's stomach twisted slightly, but Katherine had told him it was for Emma's benefit-even though he very much doubted it. Besides, if this song was anything like "Seven Deadly Virtues" he could talk through most of the song and follow the tune if necessary.

"Oh," Hatter read, taking a step towards Emma with urgency, he felt that Arthur-who he knew wanted Guenevere to stay-would give it his all to try one last time to convince her to stay. "do look around you, Milady. Reconsider. Camelot is unique. We have an enchanted forest where the Fairy Queen, Morgan Le Fay, lives in an invisible castle." He came up behind her and gestured to his left, as if the invisible castle were in front of him. "Most unusual. We have a talking owl named Archimedes. Highly original." He gestured to the opposite side of the room. "We have unicorns with silver feet. The rarest kind. And we have far and away the most equitable climate in all the world. Ordained by decree! Extremely uncommon."

"Oh, come now." Emma said, sitting on a chair, not believing him.

Hatter looked towards Katherine. Her fingers were on the piano, ready to go. Hatter's heart fluttered a bit. He took a deep breath. It wasn't a difficult song, he could talk through it like his other one. He could do this.

"It's true!" Hatter read.

Ping!

"It's true!"

Pah!

"The crown has made it clear: The climate must be perfect all the year."

He looked over at Katherine, who nodded to him. Hatter took another deep breath. He couldn't let his lack of knowledge in music get to him. Just have fun with it. If he could do this, perhaps he could learn Mordred's other songs as well.

"A law was made a distant moon ago here, July and August cannot be too hot; And there's a legal limit to the snow here. In Camelot."

Hatter was doing it! It helped that he was following Katherine's piano, but he was actually singing a song that he didn't know. Alice would be excited to hear about this. He sat down beside Emma, whose eyebrow arched as he continued.

"Camelot! Camelot! I know it sounds a bit bizarre; But in Camelot, Camelot! That's how conditions are."

Emma rolled her eyes and turned away from him not believing him. On instinct, Hatter placed his free hand on her shoulder. Emma obviously wasn't expecting this, for she turned around, genuinely surprised.

"The rain may never fall till after sundown. By eight the morning fog must disappear. In short there's simply not, a more congenial spot, for happ'ly-ever-aftering then here, in, Camelot."

"And I suppose the autumn leave fall in neat little piles." Emma said sarcastically as she stood up and the music continued to play. Hatter got up quickly and followed her.

"Oh, no Milady." He read, "They blow away completely. At night of course."

"Of course." Emma said once again rolling her eyes. She moved away from him, as if to leave. On instinct again, Hatter leapt after her, blocking her way. A memory flashed though his head of a time in Wonderland, where he and Alice were chasing each other around a tree, arguing. He looked over at Katherine, who was smiling, and nodded to him, waiting for him to start singing again.

"Camelot! Camelot!"

Hatter smiled, mostly to himself as he guided Emma to the middle of the room. "I know it gives a person pause. But in Camelot, Camelot! Those are the legal laws."

Emma smiled slightly as Hatter pointed to the horizon, or what he assumed would have been the horizon if they were actually there as he continued.

"The snow may never slush upon the hillside. By nine p.m the moonlight must appear."

Hatter turned to Emma, and looked into her eyes as he felt that Arthur would do so. Emma looked into his gaze intensely.

"In short there's simply not, a more congenial spot, for happ'ly-ever-aftering than here, in, Camelot!"

The music continued, but Hatter had nothing more to sing. According to the script, Dinaden, who wasn't here, was to interrupt them, Hatter turned towards Katherine, thinking they were done.

However, they weren't done. Katherine straightened her back, still playing the music, as her face twisted up, trying to impersonate the missing actor.

"There she is!"

Emma hid behind Hatter, in fright, the moment between the characters broken. "Wart, please!"

Katherine looked at Hatter, still impersonating. "You're Majesty, forgive me. I did not see you for a moment." According to the script, Dinaden then was to bow and leave to stage. Emma looked at Hatter in amazement, or at least her character was. There was an awkward silence as he stepped away from her and began to read the lines. The music still playing.

"When I was a lad of eighteen," he began, as Emma followed. "our King died in London and left no one to succeed him; only a sword stuck through an anvil which stood on a stone. Written on it in letters of gold it said: 'Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise King born of all England.' Many chaps tried to dislodge it, and none could. Finally a great tournament was proclaimed for New Year's Day, so that all the mightiest knights in England would be assembled at one time to have a go at the sword. I went to London as squire to my cousin, Sir Kay. The morning of the tournament, Kay discovered he'd left his sword at home and gave me a shilling to ride back to fetch it. On my way through London, I passed a square and saw a sword rising from a stone."

Hatter paused for a moment, and allowed himself to see a sword in a stone, as he felt that Arthur would take a moment to remember. Emma looked on, as if she was imagining it as well.

"Not thinking very quickly," Hatter continued, "I thought it was a war memorial. The square was deserted, so I decided to save myself a journey and borrow it. I tried to pull it out."

Hatter demonstrated this, with his free hand, as Emma watched. "I failed. I tried again. I failed again. Then, I closed my eyes and with all my force tried one last time."

He did so with the imaginary sword in the imaginary stone. "Lo, it moved in my hand. Then slowly, it slid out of the stone." Hatter pulled the imaginary sword out of the stone and held it up high, he honestly felt rather silly doing so, but at the same time, it felt right.

"I heard a great roar. When I opened my eyes, the square was filled with people shouting: 'Long live the King! Long live the King!' Then I looked at the sword and saw the blade gleaming with letters of gold."

Hatter turned towards Emma, his expression grim, as he felt Arthur would be. "That's how I became King. I never knew I would be. I never wanted to be. And since I am, I have been ill at ease in my crown."

He paused again, embarrassed and took a step toward Emma. "Until I dropped from the tree and my eye beheld you. Then suddenly, for the first time, I felt I was King. I was glad to be King. And most astonishing of all, I wanted to be the wisest, most heroic, most splendid King who ever sat on any throne."

There was a moment of silence, as the two stood and stared at each other. Hatter thought about the speech Arthur was making, and found that he thought very much the same, although instead of being a King, Hatter wanted to be all those things as a normal person, living in this strange world, with Alice. He knew that this was what had driven him to protect Alice back in Wonderland, and it seemed like a long time ago. He was overcome by emotion for a moment, embarrassed that the part could be making him feel this way.

"If you will come with me, Milady," Hatter said, his voice shaking a bit from the emotions he was feeling. "I will arrange for the carriage to return you to your father."

Emma was looking at him, partly shocked and partly touched, as the music began to start up again, Hatter hadn't realized until that point that it had even stopped. Emma looked like she was about to cry and her voice shook a bit, as she began to sing, slowly and tenderly.

"I hear it never rains till after sundown. By eight the morning fog must disappear. In short there's simply not, a more congenial spot, for happ'ly-ever-aftering than here, in, Camelot."

Emma held her hand out to him for a moment, as if she were unsure. Hatter only glanced at his script before he took her hand, and gently kissed it, he didn't know why he did so, it just felt like he should. There was silence for a moment, as the two looked up at each other. Hatter swallowed as they did so, overcome by emotion. Alice's face stood clearly in his mind.

The silence didn't last long, for suddenly, there was a round of applause. Hatter jumped. He hadn't realized it until that moment, but the choir room was suddenly filled with what seemed like the entire Camelot Cast. A few of them, mostly girls, had tears in their eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, Hatter could see Sally, standing in a corner of the room, tears streaming down her face and clapping the hardest of all.

"David." Emma, said, her voice still shaky. "That was incredible."

Hatter looked over towards Katherine, who to his surprise, also had tears in her eyes, and was smiling widely. She nodded to him. "I need to talk to you in my office." She said. "Now."

He nodded and followed her. Slightly numb from the experience. As Mordred, he had never felt that much, only sinister feelings. When he had been Arthur, he truly felt, he almost could say, he had been reliving the same feelings that had overcome him when he had first met Alice. It had been an incredible experience.

Katherine shut the door behind him once they got to her office. "That," she said with a sigh, "really was incredible. I knew you could pull it off, but I had no idea that you were going to do that so well."

"What do you mean?" Hatter asked, as she sat down at her desk, gesturing him to sit in one of the seats beside it.

"That was real emotion." She began. "You actually became King Arthur. Emma fed off that emotion and it became real for her too. That scene was real and it's what we need."

There was silence between for a moment as Katherine let her words sink into Hatter before she continued. "About a week ago, I got a phone call from Adam. He's got mono and his spleen is enlarged. The doctors have forbidden him from doing anything because they're afraid of it rupturing. I haven't said anything to anyone because Adam's asked me not to, just in case he gets to come back. He wants to do the show but he's still really sick. I told him not to overdo it."

Hatter looked up at Katherine, his heart pounding. He had no idea what this "mono" was, but it sounded serious, and by the look on Katherine's face it was.

"I think that he'll feel better, if I told him that you were his understudy." She held up a hand as he opened his mouth to speak. "Now let me finish. "Right after you read for Mordred, Adam told me that he saw something in you, a natural talent and I saw it too, and I think that you could make this play as real as Adam could if you played Arthur. Your ability to actually make yourself feel what your doing is really uncommon and we don't see if much in Community Theatre."

Hatter stared up at Katherine, not quite sure what to say. Was she serious? The way Katherine talked made it seem as if she were implying that he and Adam were equals. That was bloody insane. He had seen the guy during the audition; there was no way Hatter could be that good, right? Truth be told, that had felt real, and very good but all Hatter knew how to do was put up a front like he had done in Wonderland and that is what he had done with Mordred. To actually become another person? It was impossible.

"It's your decision." Katherine told him. "Like it was last time, but it's a much bigger part and you would have to work even harder for the next month and a half than ever before. It's a lot to ask of you. I don't think we're going to run that execution scene today. Why don't you go home and talk to your fiancée about it? But please, please don't dismiss the idea right away. We really need an Arthur and I think you're the guy for the job."

A/N:

Will he do it? Will he become the new King Arthur? You'll find out soon!

The song "Camelot" is my all time favorite song personally. You can find it on YouTube if you are intrested in listening to it.

Don't forget to review! It makes me feel like it's Christmastime all over again!