Authoress Note: All right guys! It's been a bit since I've updated. I've been having some writer's block lately and I hope you guys can forgive me for slacking. So here's a new chapter to make it all better.
But first:
Reviewer Acknowledgement:
Shadow4love: I'm glad you like my new take on the Old Alice in Wonderland story. See, I haven't read The Looking Glass Wars yet, but I was informed of the Character called 'The Cat' and I felt deeply moved by how it seemed he was 'working' for the Queen of Hearts character in the store and I decided 'what if he was against her and such because of said events'? You know, so I decided to make this fanfiction. Thanks.
xXLieselotteXx: Of course I put you in a chapter reviewer acknowledgement. It's an honor to have you as a reviewer. Thanks.
Gregory's Bride: Chevalier is one of those kinds of characters where his past is a mystery but you know he's been through something awful and needs lots of love despite how crazy he is. He's a lot of people's favorite. He's mine especially. I'm glad you like the dark twist to the story. Thanks.
Xanthera: OOH! Muffin! (catches and eats) Mm. Thank you. I hope to be getting more lengthy reviews from you and hope to be seeing more of you. Thanks!
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Disclaimer 1: I do not own the rights to Alice in Wonderland. It is purely copyright of Lewis Carol. The original characters: the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, The Cheshire Cat, The Dormouse, The White Rabbit, The Queen of Hearts, and of course an Alice are all owned by Lewis Caroll.
However…I have my own character ownership too.
Disclaimer 2: This story I wrote is my original idea, please do not steal it. The original characters in this fan fiction: Harlequin Hatter, Henrietta Hare, Chevalier Cat, Delmont Dormouse, Reginald Rabbit, Seth, The Heart of Darkness: Justine, the unnamed 'white heart', and Tabitha all belong to me.
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"So…wait." Tabitha pulled out a chair in front of her and sat down. "White Heart?"
Her brows knit together in interest. "What are you looking for again Chevalier? You need like…a 'white heart' object?"
Chevalier rolled his eyes and leaned against elbow on the table. "…No, no, no. Silly girl." He flicked her on the forehead. "The White Heart is supposedly a person. Madame sent me here to fine it." He explained. Before he could open his mouth again, he caught something out of the corner of his eye and watched as a fluffy Persian cat slinked into the kitchen. His teeth grit together and he locked eyes with the other feline-creature.
In an instant they were hissing and pawing at each other from the distance between them, Tabitha of course could not help but look slightly fascinated and confused at the situation. "Ohh! That's Marie." She explained, picking up the hissing ball of fluff and petted her. "I'm sorry, she's a little territorial."
"Yeah, well so am I." Chevalier growled, Marie hissed at him in response to which Chevalier gave a guttural snarl, sending the cat out of Tabitha's arms and running off into the other room.
"Oh! Now why'd you have to go and do that?" She turned and frowned at him.
"Because…I don't like others that resemble me." He proclaimed, licking his fingers politely for any remnants of the tuna and sardines.
Tabitha snatched his cup up off the table after seeing it was empty and gave him an annoyed look. "That was totally unnecessary."
Chevalier had suddenly thrown the chair out from behind him and suddenly grasped Tabitha's wrist in his hand with a scowl on his face. "As is this?" He asked her, his tone threatening.
She looked shocked that he had the nerve and audacity to behave so unrefined towards her after she had practically fed him. Tabitha tried to wrench her hand out of his grasp. "Ngh. Let go."
Chevalier suddenly had pressed her wrist against the counter and grit his teeth. "Take it back." He told her aggressively,
Tabitha tried to struggle in his grasp and she effused to look at him. "Let go of me!"
"You take back what you said to me or I'll-" He stopped when an obnoxiously loud sound kept pounding in his head. The heartbeat from before had returned and seemed louder than ever in his head. He couldn't help but shut his eyes tightly as his ears seemed to pound with the beat.
He let go of her and the sound only ceased briefly before it slowed and started again. He could still hear it. "Where is it…?" He growled. "Where is that fucking sound coming from!?" He snapped. He started actually prowling around her kitchen and into her living room briefly where he found Marie, her cat, under the couch. He hissed at it: "IS IT YOU?!"
The cat scampered off after he tried to grab at her underneath the couch, before Tabitha had followed him to make sure he didn't hurt the poor thing. "Hey! Stop it!"
He spun and grabbed her again, his pupils shrunk to slits and his ears were plastered to the back of his head and he hissed at her. "WHERE IS THAT SOUND COMING FROM?!"
"Aah! What sound? I don't hear anything!" Tabitha cringed in fear of him as he started yelling expletives.
"Where is it? Where the fuck is that sound?!" He let her go and began prowling around again before it dawned on him, Delmont's words.
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'Her name will not be Alice…'
--
'Typical Mousy, always cryptic in any prophecy he foretold, but then again what if Mousy was right?' Delmont's messages were usually right and he never got anything wrong. Hell, Delmont even knew when Chevalier was on the roof of Madame Hatter's house. His ears perked slightly and he decided instead of getting angry over it to try and locate it. Chevalier stopped, he breathed, and calmed down. He would let his ears lead him to the sound until he had once again stopped in front of Tabitha.
Tabitha had been highly mortified and confused by Chevalier's antics, his behavior, until he had decided to try and 'rationalize' the situation (in his own sense she supposed) and take a more ideal approach to looking for whatever sound plagued his hearing. He had stopped in front of her and was apparently taking in the source of where the sound came from. It didn't take more than a moment before one of the furry devils atop his head suddenly became pressed against her chest to hear her heartbeat.
Tabitha blushed; somewhat embarrassed by how incriminating this position appeared to be. "…What are you doing?"
Chevalier's other ear twitched when she spoke, his right ear pressed against her heart in order to hear it. His pupils dilated at this sudden realization.
'Not Alice. Not Alice. Not Alice. NOT ALICE.' He pulled away and gave Tabitha a very quizzical look.
"Miss Tabby Cat…do you have a middle name?" He asked, strolling away from her casually before he turned back around and crouched on all fours, slinking his way towards her mischievously. "Hmmmm?"
What? Oh no. What madness was he going on about now? What a stupid thing to ask. Of course she had a middle name. Tabitha stomped her foot suddenly when he got closer, and watched as Chevalier drew back. "Wh-What? Of course I do! It's Alexis. Now what are you going on about? First you get mad at me for no reason, then you lay your hands upon me, then you go mad in my living room, harass my cat, and NOW your back to your sweet self again and asking me about my middle name? Just what in the world are you trying to do?"
Tabitha had never been more confused and annoyed with anything in her life. "You…you're just some crazy person or animal that…" She couldn't think of what to call him she was so angry. "How can you just be so…"
"Maaaaaaad?" Chevalier finished her sentence, seemingly rolling on her carpet now with an obnoxious grin on his face. "Hmm hmm. Oh…Miss Tabby Cat, I think I know something you don't know."
"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" She went back into the kitchen so she wouldn't have to look at his face while he sat there and mocked her with riddles. "You need to leave, I-I just can't deal with this. I've fed you, but you need to be on your way." She opened her front door as a gesture to get him to leave."
"Is mommy's name Alice?" He cooed, from under her kitchen table suddenly.
She nearly jumped at how fast he had moved, bending over to look at where Chevalier was. He was sitting underneath her table grinning like a little monster almost. "No. Her name's Leanne. Can you please leave now? You're making me uncomfortable, I'll call the cops if you don't."
"Ooh!" Chevalier came out from under the table with excitement in his eyes. "Let's call Officer Paulie! I'm sure he'll be happy to hear from me. I'm a wanted man you know." He tittered, grabbing the cordless phone on her kitchen wall with a grin.
Before he could dial anything, Tabitha snatched it from him and slammed it back in the receiver. "What did you just say?"
"Officer Paulie?" He said. "Oh he and I are lovely acquaintances. He brought me into the precinct 3 weeks ago. I don't know if the cops are looking for me but I bet he is." Chevalier laughed. "Oh! This is so much fun Miss Tabby Cat!" He danced around her kitchen before grabbing her hands and forced her into a little jig with him. "Come on, let's play a game! I've got a great one!"
She managed to kick him in the leg suddenly before going for the phone after he yelped in pain. "Gah!"
Tabitha picked up the cordless phone and went to dial 911, before Chevalier had his arms around her waist and had suddenly breathed into her ear. "Your our White Heart, Tabitha. If it isn't all ready clear to you yet."
Tabitha had dropped the phone, forgetting the fact that he could in fact move so fast. "Eh….please don't hurt me. What do you want from me? I'll give you money, just don't touch me or do anything to me."
Oh. Petty pleas. He found himself sickened by them before letting go of her. "Ugh…" He growled. "You're not any fun Miss Tabby Cat. Here I find out that you're our White Heart and you're not even happy about it."
Again. Again. Again. He was an enigma, a very mad enigma and Tabitha was sick of it. "That's it!" She screamed. "I'm sick of it. What do you want? What is this White Heart you keep referring to me as?" She snapped. "I'm so confused and you're not helping me understand this at all?"
Chevalier was calmly looking down at the link of his sweater before he started getting tickled by his momewraths again. He squirmed in his seat laughing before they stopped and he was humming his little song again.
"Oh…the momewraths are singing, shovel noses weaving, and the morbid moat is-" His little song was interrupted when Tabitha's hand suddenly lashed out and yanked his tail off suddenly and held it high in the air.
"LISTEN TO ME!"
Chevalier's attention snapped to his beloved tail in her hands and the tone of her voice. He, unfortunately, was at her command when his dear tail was at stake. Then again…he could always take it back by force. He pushed the chair out from him and stood up, glaring at her with his tail in her hand. "You give her back now…" He hissed. "Or I will have to hurt you Dear Tabby Cat."
"My name is Tabitha, not Tabby, and certainly not Tabby Cat…" She warned. "Now, I'm sick of your riddles and your games, Chevalier. Tell me what's going on. Or you'll never see your precious tail again."
"Ohhh…" He grumbled, throwing a small silent tantrum in front of her before he huffed, stomped his foot, and pouted. "Fine. Fine." He growled. "I'll SPEAK." He held out his hand. "But give my baby back first."
Tabitha held his tail firmly. "You'll speak first and then you'll get your tail back."
"Gahhh…Fine." He told her, gesturing to the chair he was sitting in.
"Please…do be seated. I've got quite a story to tell you."
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The dresses were all wrong and seams had to be re-hemmed again. Justine was fed up with how many heart designs appeared to be going out of styles these days and she was throwing her many dresses at the servants trying to help her change into something suitable for her business meeting with her sisters. "Gahhhhh! No, no, no, no, no. NO, NOOOOOOO!" The Heart of Darkness exclaimed.
"This is an outrage! My dresses are all out of style! I must be ready for the meeting in 4 hours and I have nothing to wear! It's all wrong! Everything's wrong!" She whined. "SETH!" She cried. "Oh Sethy!"
The gigantic door to her bedchamber slowly creaked open and her Royal Highness was met with her most faithful servant that she could call upon. "Oh Sethhhy!" She whined.
Golden chains clinked together on his boots as the (seemingly) young Egyptian man, approached her and stood at her side in the mirror. His brown eyes bore into the reflection of the Queen as she stood there in her corset and lingerie looking a royal mess of anger at the thought of not having the right dress. This Mr. Seth was far taller than her, and was not only her most faithful servant, but also her most unusual. "My Lady. Is something wrong?"
She flipped her hair in a huff and Justine pointed at the other servants holding her other dresses and watched as they fell over from the weight of them. "Hmf! Yes, Sethy. Look at me. I have nothing to wear. All of my dresses and outfits are out of style and it's not fair!" She whimpered, looking up at him with glittery eyes and a pouting face. Her hands reached up to his head to cup a pair of furry wolf ears in her hands. "I have a business meeting with my sisters and I must look prettier than they do."
Seth had always attended to his Lady's whims and wills whenever she wished for them to be granted. Her mother had always said he had been there since her birth and had been faithful to look after her so she did not get into trouble. He had been deemed as her royal bodyguard and personal guardian after her mother has passed on and left her all alone in the world. From there Seth, migrated the young heiress to and from a distant land called Egypt (at least that's what he called it) from time to time in order to give exactly anything her heart desired at the time. She still recalled having his lovely emerald scarab necklaces from when she was a little girl hanging around…somewhere in this mess of a room.
Justine rubbed his fuzzy ears gently, watching the narrow fluffy tail behind him suddenly wag on its own and he gave a soft noise in the back of his throat before bringing himself to composure. "Ahem. My Lady, it would do well for you to tell me what I may do to remedy this situation for you. If you ask of me, I will do it for you."
Justine squealed in delight and hugged him tightly. "Ohhh! Of course! Of course! All right then, this is what I'll need Sethy. Will you remember or do you plan to take notes?" She asked.
Seth shook his head at her, rolling his eyes. "My Lady, when have you ever known me to forget?"
"Ohhh…" Justine said, rather sadly. "…Well, never but-"
He placed a finger over her lips, rolling his eyes at his dear queen in a bored fashion before he spoke again. "Fortunately I'm able to predict a lot of things about you due to the fact I've known you for the whole of your life." Seth reminded her. His eyes were showing dull interest, despite the fact he cared deeply for Justine's happiness.
"I knew this day would come for you to complain about your dresses. You're fortunate that I imported some new fabrics for you from Egypt and I'll even see to it myself they are sewn by my hand if nothing will be to your liking." Seth informed. "Now if any complaints shall be made, my lady. You may make them to me." He bowed.
Her blue eyes blinked up at him with innocent confusion until he mentioned the fact that he had specially imported fabrics from her favorite place in the whole world. The magic word: Egypt. Ohhhh. Justine mentally melted at the thought of the fabrics he had imported. The soft silks, the pretty satin, the elegant Egyptian cotton, and jewelry too! Oh, Sethy never forgot her jewelry. Justine squealed in delight and clapped with approval before hugging him around his waist tightly. "Ohhh! Sethy, Sethy! Thank you sooooo much. You always know how to treat me right." She pulled away and began spinning around in delight at the thought of her new dresses.
"You're most welcome My Lady. My intention is to always make sure you are happy." Seth informed, his furry canine ears flicked off a flea that had tried to make its way onto him. "I'll see to it you have your dress in time for the afternoon. The rest shall follow for this evening." He took another bow towards her and turned his back to leave. As Seth's hand reached for the door, Justine's slender arms wrapped around his waist from behind.
"Awww…." She cooed. "Do you have to go so soon?" She asked with a whine. "We never have time to see each other anymore. We hardly talk because you're always busy making sure I get everything I want. It's not fair Sethy…" Justine whispered. "It's like we never have time for each other at all."
Seth smiled at her from over his shoulder. "My Lady, I know I have all the time in Topsy Turvy but you do not. I'll never get your dress ready if you keep holding me back."
"Well make them here then…" Justine pouted, muffling her voice into the fabric of his shirt while his fluffy tail tickled her chin. She giggled. "Noooo! Sethy! That's not fairrrrrr." She laughed as he suddenly turned on her and assaulted her with an attack of tickles.
"Nooooo-hooooo…" She squealed, as he played his usual game with her whenever he came to visit. "Please Sethy, make the dresses here. That way I can talk to you while you work. I've sooo much to tell you-ahaahahaha! Nooo! Stop it!"
He relented his tickle torture and let her go. "As my Lady commands…" He said, humbly bowing to her before turning to leave again. He was met with a door slamming open in his face and he fell backwards.
The Secretary of Black Hearts had just burst with his face covered so he would not see her royal Highness in her indecency. "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! I bring awful news!"
Justine was on her feet as soon as Seth was hit in the face by the door. "AAH! Sethy!" She exclaimed, rushing to his side to cup his face in her hands. "GRRRR! How dare you! You've no idea what you've done! You could have knocked Sethy's teeth out! You'd best have a good reason for this horrible accident or I'll make sure you regret it!" She snapped.
"My apologies Majesty…but…your sister…Her Majest Lenore' she's…she's received your message not too long ago. Your sisters…they've all cancelled their meetings by her call."
"Oh…My Sister received my message about the threat of her children?" Justine said, fawning over Seth, trying to smooth his ears back on his head while easing his face.
"What about the message, Secretary?" Seth asked him, rubbing his forehead. "My Lady will not wait for your incompetence." He said with a displeased look on his face at the little man holding a black envelope in his hands.
"…Your Majesty, your sister…has sent this as her response." The secretary held the envelope up to her with a shaking hand. "She expressed great urgency you read it right away."
Justine snatched it from the little man with a scowl and ripped the envelope open to read the letter inside. What she saw made her face go even paler than it ever had been and she fell backwards into her pile of dresses. "AAAAHHHHHH!!!!" She cried. "MY BABIES! SHE'S TAKEN MY BABIES!!!" She howled, tears pouring from her eyes. "She's hurting my babies!"
Seth, realizing what she meant took the letter from her and scanned over it.
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'To Her Royal High Maintenance Majesty Justine,
To whom it may concern, this letter is in response to your earlier threat you had sent earlier in regards to my beloved children. For this grave mistake you will know what it feels like to worry and grieve over your own 'babies'. Your beloved pet jackals will be in my care until further notice. From that time you will rethink over the threat you have sent regarding my children. You're forbidden from any visits from your beloved pets as well. Since you have threatened my children I shall now threaten yours.
This is a promise, send a formal apology and you will see them returned to you.
Sincerely,
Your sister,
Her Royal Majestic Crowned Spaze.
Lenore' of the Spazes.'
Seth put the letter back into the secretary's hands and pulled Justine into a tight hug as she sobbed uncontrollably. "Leave us." He ordered. "NOW!" He bore sharpened canines in response to the secretary merely standing there.
The little man bowed in response and closed the door behind him.
"She's going to kill my babies…" Justine whimpered.
"No she's not." Seth assured. "I won't let her." He stroked her curly locks of red hair. "Shhh…it's all right. I'm here. She won't get me."
"If she takes you too I'll have no choice but to wage war on her to get you back." Justine whispered, squeezing him tightly. "Oh…Sethy…don't leave me." She cried. "I don't want to be all alone again."
"…As my lady commands. I am here with you. Always."
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"There's a tyrannical ruler in the land of Topsy Turvy," Chevalier began. "She goes by the title of the Heart of Darkness." Chevalier sat across from Tabitha, his fingers folded together while he stared at the table with disinterest.
"Many moons ago she was crowned Queen of Topsy Turvy, unlike any of the other queens…it must be a 'HEART' that takes the True Throne." Chevalier sneered, mocking someone's exact words of it before he continued his story. "It's not hard to understand why, at least to me. So the Heart of Darkness reigns terror over our land and blah, blah, nonsense, and more nonsense." He drabbled.
Tabitha cocked her head to the side in interest. "Oh…so…why do you need a 'White Heart' to put on the throne?"
"It must be a 'Heart' and because, the Heart of Darkness and her sisters were children of the original White Heart. Unfortunately I was sent to this place in order to retrieve the next White Heart. White would mean the heart is pure and untainted. That way the kingdom can be untainted." Chevalier divulged, seemingly bored with having to tell the story like it was.
"So the current 'Heart' is corrupted…" Tabitha tapped her fingers against the table. "And…I am your current choice of White Heart because…?"
Chevalier rolled his eyes at her. "You still don't get it do you? Since I've been hear, I have heard no other's heartbeat that beats as loudly as yours does in my ears."
His tail twitched and writhed in Tabitha's hands before she finally handed it back to him.
He snatched it and immediately watched as the poor thing latched back onto his posterior. Chevalier wiggled his behind a little bit and sighed. "Ohhh…poor thing. Daddy's here." He cooed to his tail, stroking the purple fur on it before looking up at Tabitha with a grin.
"And now since I've located you, I have to take you back to Madame Hatter so she can assess you." Chevalier clicked his tongue at her. "Oh…fun stuff that will be."
Tabitha's head shot up from where it was resting on the table and she gave him a look that was disbelieving. "Oh, no. No, no. I'm not going anywhere with you. You're barking mad if you think I'm really going to-"
"I have no choice in the matter!" Chevalier snapped, standing up from his seat. "Do you think I like doing this job? You think I like being indebted to Madame and working for her 100% of the time? Absolutely not!" He walked around towards her and pointed at her.
Tabitha drew back and slapped his hand away from her. "Don't you be rude and point at me like that you beast."
Chevalier's teeth gnashed together and he suddenly snatched her by the collar of her shirt, holding her in the air with an iron grip and some sort of magic strength. Tabitha gagged slightly because it felt like he was choking her. He hissed at her suddenly, drawing out the words slowly and sadistically. "You call me an animal every again…and I'll rip out your esophagus with my bare teeth." He threatened her. "See Miss Tabitha…It's not my choice. Once I find you, I HAVE to bring you back. I always follow my Madame's orders." He explained, purring in her whilst he nuzzled against her cheek. "Your fear's pretty." He complimented her.
"Ngh." She grunted.
"Now…I suggest that if you want to stay on my good side, you will do well and come with me so Madame Hatter can explain of her plans next."
Tabitha's blood was chilled by his nasty words and threatening tone and she was suddenly dropped back to the floor, where she was quickly locked into a grip by his tail. Chevalier picked up her cordless phone and dialed a number.
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An old fashioned telephone rang in the Hatter household several times before spindly fingers picked up the receiver. Harlequin Hatter spoke into it. "Hatter Household, which Hatter do you wish to speak with?"
Chevalier's breath was familiar over the receiver and Madame Harlequin Hatter looked up at the clock on the wall. "Cat?"
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"Madame…" Chevalier purred into the receiver. I have her." He informed.
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Harlequin Hatter almost dropped her receiver and she sputtered and coughed up some of the chai tea she was drinking. "Gah! Is it true?" She spat.
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Chevalier, turned his head towards a horribly confused Tabitha. "Would you like to speak to Madame Hatter, Miss Tabby Cat?" He offered, holding the phone out towards her.
"Let me go! Get that away from me!" She yelled, trying to pry himself from the grip of his tail.
"Tabby Cat?" Came Harlequin's voice over speakerphone.
Tabitha stopped suddenly and looked at the phone held out in Chevalier's hands. "Well?"
"...Miss Tabby Cat is it?"
"My name is Tabitha…what is it you want? Money? Ransom? IS this some kind of sick gang initiation test?" She was in denial of the events that were really happening now.
There was a pause over the phone and Harlequin Hatter spoke with a sincere tone of voice.
"Miss Tabitha…we want to be free."
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Authoress Note: Well I hope you enjoyed chapter 9. Yes, Seth will be a reoccurring character in the Heart of Darkness', Justine's, life. Tabitha is here to stay, and Harlequin Hatter will be pleased.
Thanks. Read and Review.
