AN: Thank you for reviewing JenxMusic! You are officially my favorite person on . And I know that it seems a lot of people know about Wonderland but there's an explanation for it. It's going to be a mystery for a while though. And I know the story feels like it's repeating itself but I had to have a few things laid out before I can finish the story and it was hard to get it in. This is only a "first draft" and constructive criticism is much appreciated! Also, I'm glad you like my Hatter. I wanted a more suave character but to still have some mental problems. Thank you so much for your review! :)

CHAPTER TEN

Maia's Dress and Hatter's Fear

"You're going to the ball?" Kat whispered. They were in the Great Library in the heart of Wonderopolis. The Great Library was a much visited spot for Maia, even though it gave her a headache sometimes. The place was done in white marble and red drapes and the stairs and shelves defied gravity. It reminded her of one of Escher's staircase pictures because nothing leads where it should.

She used to read the law books (law being her passion in life if you remember correctly). Now she was more interested in the history books; mainly from before the Breaking of the Looking Glass. "Aren't library's supposed to be quite?" Maia turned the page of her book slowly. There were sketches here and there in the book and they were quite interesting. Most were of buildings and weird houses but there were a few of daily living.

"A quite library?" Kat tilted her head and one of her ears twitched. "If it was quite, how could people debate what was in the books?"

"Fair point…" Maia pursed her lips, not really agreeing. "And yes, I'm going to the ball. Hatter doesn't think I should go."

"I agree with him." Maia glared at Kat over the book. "It just seems like Dosovo has a tugley tove up his sleeve." Maia glare turned into confusion. Kat went to speak again but Maia held up her hand.

"It's ok, I'm fine with not understanding the tugley tove comment…" Maia sighed. "You guys keep saying I'm in danger of this, I'm in danger of that. Well nothing has happened to me yet. I doubt that something will happen at a ball filled with hundreds of people."

"Maia, you don't understand how devious Dosovo is…" Kat whispered and leaned in closer. "He has a network of Watchers that spreads farther than the Queen of Hearts."

"Watchers?"

"They…" Kat seemed to struggle for the words. "Watch you without you knowing. They take notes. Collect information."

"We call those spies." Maia whispered back.

"Interesting." Kat leaned back in her chair. "My point is, he's like a Borogove who's smelt fresh blood. He won't stop until he's got his prey. And you, Maia dear, are prey."

"He's a stupid rabbit." Maia mumbled as she turned another page. The page was another sketch of daily life back then. It was two children sitting on the ground eating. The picture was in black and white so the only thing she could tell was that one had dark hair and the other had light hair. One was in a cloak that seemed too big for his body and he had his watch displayed proudly around his neck. The other was in a baggy shirt and stocking looking pants. On his head was a cap with a feather in it. Unlike most of the other pictures, this one didn't have a caption. "Look at this." Maia laid the book on the table and turned it so Kat could look at it.

"That's an early sketch of Time." Kat pointed to the child with the clock. "The cloak and the watch are sort of symbols for him." She saved the page with a finger and started to flip through the book. "Here." She stopped at another sketch. It was a cloaked figure with its hood up. In his hands was a large pocket watch with a thick gold chain.

"This reminds me of the Grim Reaper." Maia whispered. "Except he holds a scythe. He's pretty much death in the literal form."

"That's much different from Time. He makes everyone's watches. I guess you could say he's life in the 'literal form'." Kat said the last two words slowly. "He's a solitary man."

"Is his name really Time?" Kat just shrugged. Maia flipped back to the other page. She looked at the sketch of the two children more carefully. 'Didn't you get in trouble with Time?' Maia thought back to her first meeting with Hatter. "Kat, what… what happens if you make Time angry?"

"No one knows." Kat shrugged. "I suspect those that have just aren't around to talk about it."

"Or maybe they just don't want to." Maia stared at the sketch. "If you just make the eyes purple…" she looked at the other boy.

"What?" Kat asked.

"How old is Time?"

"No one knows." Kat shrugged. "Some people think he can change his age. There are older accounts than this picture that show him as an old man. Some people also think he can change shape because there are accounts of Time being a woman. All we know is that when every baby is born, a clock appears for them."

"Haven't you met Time though?"

"Yes. But I never saw his face." Kat shrugged. "And he didn't say much." Maia looked back at the sketch. "What's wrong Maia?"

"Just curious…" Maia mumbled. Kat didn't have time to ask anything else because a chime sounded and they both had to jump up. The chime sounded every hour, on the hour, to announce the hourly Caucus Race. Maia followed Kat through the stacks and the stairs, trying not to run into any of the other people who were running. They had only 15 more seconds to find an empty chair or they would have to leave without checking out a book. She didn't know WHY but it was just the way things were (Maia decided to pick her battles when it came to Wonderland).

"I have one question." Kat said when they finally sat down. She was breathing heavily (although not as bad as Maia). "What are you going to wear to the ball?"

Her hat wasn't working. Maia was glaring at herself in the mirror in her room. She had the hat Hatter gave her on her head. She was thinking about the ball, but the dingy blue hat stayed as it was. Maia closed her eyes again and concentrated. When she looked again it was still the same hat, the same jeans, and the same shirt. "It won't work." She was use to him showing up out of nowhere now. She turned and looked at Hatter who was standing in her doorway.

"Why not?"

"The ball is a no magic zone. The only magic that'll work in the ball room is the caterpillars. And that's only because we know almost nothing about it."

"I though Wonderlanders didn't care about how things worked." Maia took the hat off and placed it on her nightstand.

"We don't. But to block something you have to know how it works." Hatter shrugged. "The ball is time were there are no illusions, no magic. It's a time where the Queen's are the same as even the lowest of servants."

"And my hat works off of magic."

"Yes, it works off of my magic. And even my magic is banned from the ball." He was leaning against the door frame. His eyes slowly roamed her body. "I think I have a solution if you're willing."

'Willing?' Maia thought. 'I'm completely willing,' Maia bashed her dirty thoughts. "Uh sure." She nodded. Hatter's lips curled into a smirk as if he knew what she was thinking.

"Come on." He crooked a finger and backed into the hallway. She followed him down the spiral staircase and into his workroom. He dragged her over to a corner of the room. It had three full length mirrors placed together and a small 5 inch circular platform. Maia stepped up onto the platform and watched Hatter flutter about the room.

He pulled his suit coat off (it was a royal green today) and threw it onto a chair. He then proceeded to gather up a few different bundles of fabric ranging from midnight blue to amber to a sparkling purple. He dropped them on the floor next to her and went back for more. Suddenly Maia was surrounded in swirls of fabrics and a warning 'not to move much because you might get stuck by a pin.'

Hatter's hands worked swiftly, pinning fabric before it fell, putting a stitch in here and there, and ripping a certain fabric away when he decided he didn't want it. And he did it all without touching her. It was simply maddening (no pun intended of course). By the time he was finished, his cuff links were missing and his vest had popped a couple of buttons so it was left hanging open. His collar was popped up on one side and his shoes had gone missing.

"Alright, I think that's good enough." Hatter wiggled his fingers (he had pricked himself when he took the last pin out). He snapped his fingers and Maia noticed that her normal clothing disappeared and reappeared on the table. Now she was only in the dress and it pulled in on her, fitting like a glove, now that her other clothes were gone. "Well?" He turned her so she was facing the mirror.

"Oh my lord." Maia gasped as she looked at herself. The dress was midnight blue and hung off of her in shimmering waves. The fabric has a sheen to it that made the dress seem like it was different colors of blue but it always came back to the midnight blue. The dress was off the shoulders, with long fluttering sleeves spilling down her arms. It was floor length and looked like it had yards of fabric, but to Maia it was light. "Hatter it's beautiful!"

Suddenly Hatter turned her around and she was stuck staring up at his dark gaze. Even though she was on the platform, she was still a good 5 inches shorter than him. "What?" She shuddered at his gaze. She then got what she wanted, he finally touched her. He brushed his lips against her lips gently. Maia's eyes were wide with shock until he deepened the kiss, pressing his lips firmly against hers. As her eyes slid closed his arms slipped around her waist and her hands landed on her chest. "Maddion…" She took a deep breath when he pulled away.

"If a kiss is all it takes for you to remember my name," he chuckled. "I might do it more often." She flushed at his words. He just laughed and started to walk out of the room. "You might want to change; you don't want to wrinkle your dress before the ball." He left her standing there; breathless and in shock.

"Hiya Maia." Maia jumped when Ion entered the kitchen. She almost spilt the jaggery she was using. It was sugar, although Maia learned it was sweeter so she had to use less than she was use to. "A bit jumpy?"

"You have no idea." Maia sighed and placed her hand on her chest, waiting for her heart to slow down. She had been jumpy ever since Hatter had made her dress yesterday. He seemed to like sneaking up on her so she was paranoid that he would sneak up and try to… kiss her again (not that she should mind. I wouldn't). "What's up Ion?"

"The roof?" Ion sat at the island and gave her a crazy look. "I don't understand that phrase."

"It's pretty much.." Maia huffed. "It's… I'm just asking how your day is going."

"Fine." Ion shrugged. "Mum's forcein me ta go ta the ball."

"she's forcing you?"

"Yea. I don't wana go." Ion groaned. "All those stuff clothes. The weird girls who always ask me to dance… They don't leave me alone." He hissed.

"I'm sorry." Maia froze then turned and looked at Ion. "Did you say dancing?"

"Yea. Dancin'. Ya know it's a ball your goin' to right?" Ion quirked one of his eye brows. "Ya do know how to dance?" Maia paled.

"No." Ion let out a little growl as he sighed.

"Alright, come on." Ion stood up. "Let's go."

"what?"

"I'm gonna teach ya a simple futerwacken." Ion motioned for Maia to follow him. "Come on." Maia put down the cookie mix she was making and followed him. Ion led her to a room she had never been before. It was a sitting room done in light blues. Ion took a few minutes pushing what little furniture there was to the sides of the room.

"I'm really bad at dancing." Maia declared when Ion dragged her to the middle of the room. "And if the futerwacken is what I think it is, I don't want to do it!" the only image she had in her mind was Johnny Depp's body doing impossible twists.

"I promise you, it's a simple 1, 2, step." Ion faced her and placed a hand on her waist. He put his hand on his shoulder and took her other hand in his. "You just follow my lead." He then went through the motions of the dance with her.

"This is waltzing." Maia said after he went through the basics. "It's common in my world."

"Then you won't have a problem dancin' at the ball." Maia paled.

"Maybe we should practice more…"

Maia spent the rest of the week jumping every time she was in the same room as Hatter. She had never been this hyper aware of someone before. She was noticing his habit much more. She noticed how he went barefoot whenever he could, no matter how fancy his suit. She also caught him randomly cutting pieces of his hair off when he was sewing. She asked him why and he said "It keeps getting in my way."

He was always groggy in the morning, and was up at odd hours. He also burnt hat's he deemed failures. For as sane as he seemed, he had many weird habits. Kat told her "don't we all?" when she brought it up in conversation. One thing kept bothering Maia, and that was the sketch of Time and the other boy. She came close to asking him once, but she was frozen under his look.

And he was acting different around her. He would get close, just to walk away. It was like he was playing a game with her. That little smirk of his was getting on her nerves (as sexy as it was). "Maddion." Maia pushed the door to the store room with her back. He was standing on the ledge and he looked down at her as she walked up the slope. "Cookie?" she was holding a plate with two dozen cookies on it.

"I'd love one." He picked up a cookie off the plate and slid it into his mouth. The store room had a few people in it, like always around this time. "I'm a little disappointed that you remembered to call me by name." He mentioned as he finished the cookie. "I've been waiting for a good opportunity to remind you."

"How would you remind me?" Maia challenged. She figured that since they were around other people he'd back down or explain a little. Instead his lips just tilted to a smirk and he leaned down and kissed her.

He pulled back a little. "You asked." He whispered and took another cookie before standing up straight again. His height bothered her because he had to lean down to kiss her (in the back of her mind she reminded herself she should be more worried about the kissing in general). And his little game bothered her. She was growing a new list of questions and they all seemed to be about him. She swore as she left the store room that she was going to get her answers one way or another. (She also swore she heard him say 2 for 2)

A few nights later, Maia got her answers easier than expected. She had been sleeping when the need to use the bathroom woke her up. It was still dark when she shuffled to the bathroom. And when she sleepily shuffled back she heard a strange noise comeing from Hatter's room. She stood in front of his door until she recognized a muffled scream. "Maddion?" She knocked on the door. She heard another scream. "Maddion!" she knocked louder and the noise stopped.

"Come in." she opened the door and went to reach for the light. "No light please." She only agreed because the moon was creating enough light for her to see most of the room.

"What's wrong?" She took a few step closer to the bed. She could see all of the bed except where Hatter's body came out of the covers. His arm appeared in the silver moon light and he held his hand out for her.

"Join me?" She bit her lip and with little hesitation she crawled into the bed and laid down in his arms. "It was a nightmare, nothing more."

"A nightmare?" Maia repeated. "about the diamond wars?" She could feel his body tighten. He slowly let out his breath and the arm that wasn't wrapped around her reached up to rub his head.

"Yes. It was about the Diamond Wars."

"Do you have these nightmares often?"

"Not as much recently." His hand was trailing shapes on her arm. "There have been other things to distract me."

"What are the nightmares like?"

Hatter didn't answer her for a long time. "It's about the things I did… The things I regret…" Maia decided to change the subject.

"The Diamond War's started long before Alice…"

"You're point?"

"Everyone who was directly involved with Alice was given new clocks to live however long they wanted. But unless you were given a watch during the Diamond Wars, you would have been dead by the time Alice came around." Maia pressed the side of her face against his bare chest. "Hatter, what happened between you and Time?"

"I have nothing to do with Time."

"Anymore." She corrected him. She propped herself up on her elbows and stared at him. "But you two were friends when you were kids, weren't you?"

"How did you find that out?" Hatter narrowed his eyes at her.

"Lawyer." She shrugged. "I'm good at reading books and putting two and two together."

"I never liked math or reading when I was little." Hatter looked away from her. He reached over to his nightstand and opened the drawer. He pulled out something and handed it to Maia. "It's for you. Wear it to the ball." Maia allowed the small diversion and looked at the object. It was a pocket watch that was about 2 inches in diameter and the cover had a beautiful relief of a garden of roses. She opened it and a soft melody started to play. The hands were beautiful and intricate. They were showing that the time was 3:30, even though it was around 2 in the morning.

"Maddion, it's beautiful." Maia closed it gently and looked at him. His eyes seemed to be shining in the dark as he took the chain and hung it over her head to lie on her neck.

"It's my watch." Her eyes widened. "It's broken."

"What?"

"We count time differently here. Our eras are based on who is Time. When I was born, Ruthita was the Time Master. He loved music and put a little music box in each." He ran his fingers on the watch lovingly. "They're considered hard to find now since most have been buried with their watches as is custom."

"Why did it break?"

"I grew up near Ruthia's son, Renvard. We were friends I suppose." Hatter pulled her down to lay down again. "We were both learning our father's trade. Me hats, him clocks. He didn't have the power to tie people's lives to it yet and I wasn't able to put magic into mine, but we both had talent."

"How long ago was this?"

"Longer than I can remember." Hatter sighed. "We got into an argument one day, somewhere near my 25th birthday. His father had passed away at this point and he had taken over. In a fit of anger, he broke my watch and we haven't spoken since."

"But… it's been hundreds of years then."

"He swore he was never going to fix it. I had done something unforgivable and he was cursing me to the same fate as those who are Time Masters."

"What did you do?" She had to know. She had to ask.

"It was all over a girl." Hatter laughed. "We were both foolish and wanted her. I wanted her even at the expense of my friendship."

"Did you get her?"

"She ended up being with someone else entirely. In the end, I had a broken nose, a broken watch, and a broken friendship." Hatter sighed. "I didn't think that my watch being broken was that serious until everyone started to age and I stayed the same… Then they died. And the world slowly turned dangerous."

"The Breaking of the Looking Glasses?"

"Yes." Sometime else tugged at Maia's mind.

"Maddion… are you… afraid of the mirrors?" He was dead still. Then he pushed her onto her back and towered over her, his face close to her's. "And don't try to distract me by kissing me, which we'll talk about later." He chuckled and buried his face in the nook of her neck.

"I'm afraid of being stuck away from Wonderland." Hatter whispered so low she barely heard it. "It's bad enough watching the world turn without you. It'd be worse if it was a world I could barely comprehend." They laid together for a few minutes before Maia decided it was time to go back ot her room or she'd fall asleep. "Stay. Please. I wont have anymore nightmares if you're here."

"Will you put pants on?" She knew he was naked under the covers.

"If you wish. Although I promise you I'm much more fun without pants."