"It is good to be working at my trade, again." He told me, his voice growing extra lispy as he looked up at my much taller form. Then I frowned and without thinking said something.
"It's just a pity you have to make them for her." I muttered. The thought had spurred from wanting him to make a hat for me, but then he couldn't because the queen would get jealous and probably decapitate us both. His arm, which had been turning the sewing slowly stopped and he straightened a little.
"What is the Hatter with me?" He said to himself, softly but I heard it. I thought it over for a second and realized he meant 'matter' instead of 'hatter'. Wow, I'm growing to understand things more. "Hatter?" He seemed to realize his mistake and I watched, helpless as his aura grew dark again. He walked a small few steps away before he suddenly started pushing things over, yelling in sadness. He jerked off the apron and then I saw the chains around his leg, oh no… He went to grab for something out of the reach of his chain and stood there, swinging his arms around to get to it.
I hurried to his side, kneeling on to my knees to wrap my arms around his squirming frame, his arms hit me once or twice but I ignored them in favor of the Hatter. "Tarrant!" I shouted, and he seemed to come out of it. I took one side of his shocked face into my overly large hands. He stared at me for a moment before asking me the same question as when we met.
"Have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?" His voice was more breathless then lisp now.
"Because Poe writes on both?" I asked again, confused as to the leap his mind had taken. His eyes filled with tears and he moved closer, to embrace me. I looked down, confused again but he squeezed me again.
"I've waited a long time for you to come back, Aluna." He lisped and I heard the sobs. I wrapped my arms around his frame. He just felt so small in my arms. I wonder if this is what people fill like when they hold their children in their arms. I doubt it as; I was extremely attracted to the Hatter, which was not an emotion that a mother would feel for a son.
"It's all right, Tarrant." I muttered to him softly, ignoring his comment for fear of it causing more problems. "We'll get out of here, I know." He pulled back from me and I let him, dropping my hands to my lap as I still kneeled to his height.
"I'm frightened here. It's terribly crowded!" He said, holding his hands to his face, looking around at the crowded room, well I suppose it was now that I looked around. I looked back to him and took the smaller hands into mine as I listened. "H-Have I gone mad?" He asked, fearful.
"Oh, Tarrant…" I muttered. "There is no mad, nearly those who think outside of the box of conformity." I said then smiled at him, in attempt to lighten the mood. "Plus, I'm half-mad so I can tell when someone is fully mad, half-mad, or even three-fourths of madness. You are half, like me." I grinned at him, and he tentatively smiled back at me with an awkward kind of pull to his lips as if he hadn't smiled for a long time, but I knew that wasn't true. "And I'll tell you my secret." I said, leaning in. "All the best people are!" I announced grinning still.
His smile turned less awkward and I remembered the main reason I'd come in here. I turned from him, searching for his hat. It had been knocked over in his battle with himself but I picked it up and brushed the imaginary dirt off of it before placing it over his head. He smiled, almost rueful but there was more of something that I couldn't place.
"There." I said. "That's much better, you look yourself again, a hatter, no a Hightopp!" I smiled and he giggled, causing me to smile so large I thought I might resemble Chess now. Suddenly, and completely unexpected I heard the voice of the monarch flow through the castle, startling me and making us both look to the door, though no one was there.
"Hat man! Where are my hats? I am not a patient monarch!" Her voice echoed all the way down the castle to here. I looked at the Hatter, confused. Why would he be making her hats? It was now apparent that I had missed something while I was gone.
"I'm told she keeps the Vorpal sword hidden in the castle." The Hatter changed speeds without giving me much time to switch gears inside my mind. "The rabbit will help you." He whispered to me, as if she was listening. His desperate, but steady face sharpened my mind into focus. "Please, find it Aluna and take it to the White Queen, please." He begged me. I noticed an abnormality in that plea.
"We can go to the White Queen together!" I told him urgently. He smiled again with the emotion that was entirely foreign to me.
"Why is it, that you are always too small, or too tall?" Hatter asked me quietly and seemed frustrated about it somehow. I frowned confused, what was I too small or too tall for? But when I opened my mouth to ask he shook his head and pointed to the door urgently. I hesitated before shyly bending down and removing the hat, just so that I could place a delicate kiss on his forehead. I replaced the hat and smiled down at the Hatter.
His eyes had widened, a feat that I had not known possible, his face red, and his eyes were now a beautiful shade of bright red, almost to pink. I turned from him hurrying to shuffle out of the door before he could react to me. What was I thinking? Kissing the Hatter was much to forward. Mother said it was always the men's job to take the lead in the courtship, the woman merely needed to wait.
I was discussing this with myself when I found the twins again. "Tweedles." I greeted them. They snapped to look at who had called them, breaking what small argument that they had been having.
"Aluna! How are you doing again?" One of them greeted me. They both took one of my hands to shake, causing me to bend down from my monstrous height. I wanted to cut to the chase. If I could get the 'Vorpal' sword soon enough I could save the Hatter and myself, possibly everyone. But that was a little ahead of the times now. First I needed to focus on finding the white rabbit, as the Hatter had instructed.
"Where's the rabbit?" I asked them seriously. They didn't seem to pay attention as one looked confused.
"How's it you're being so great big?" He asked me, inquisitively. The other one automatically rolled his eyes and hit his short arm against his brothers.
"She ain't great big, this is how she normally is!" He exclaimed at him. The other looked like another battle was about to ensue between his brother and him.
"I'm certain she smaller when we met." He argued with his identical twin who's expression looked the same as before. The twin rolled his eyes again and I watched as if it was a tennis match.
"No, she drank the pishsalver to get through the door, recall it?" He said. I had no idea which was which, making it much harder to keep track of the conversation then I'd have like it to have been.
"Oh, yeah." The other agreed and they finally looked back to me. This reminded me what I had been in such a hurry to ask them.
"Where is the rabbit?" I asked again. They stood to attention for some odd reason; maybe the firm tone of my voice showed them how important it was. They both pointed different directions.
"Over there." They said at the same time. I swelled with the want to pinch they're little cheeks at the cuteness but resisted. I kneeled down farther, to fix the hunch that was forming in my back. I put a hand on each of their shoulders making sure their attention was on my serious face.
"This is very important, I want to find the Vorpal sword, so that I can help the Hatter, and the whole of Underland, okay? I just need to know where the rabbit has gone to, so please, which way did you two last see him?" I asked them again. I saw the sharp focus in their eyes as they pointed down the same hallway this time. Apparently they cared a great deal when Underland was on the line.
I stood as they started off beside each other. I followed them as they lead me to where they had last seen the rabbit. I started to almost lose myself in my thoughts. I was acting peculiar. I was used to wishing, but never doing. I could feel a presence in the back of my mind telling me that I really did know what I was doing but what was a girl from Upperland going to do against this Jabberwocky that had everyone in such a tizzy? I could barely stand to slap a fly when it got to close to my face, how was I going to touch a jabberwocky?
With me of course, once you remember that is. I blinked for a moment, frowning as I still followed the Tweedles. How did that happen? It was like I heard a familiar voice, like my own voice except…different much more muchier. I smiled slightly at that thought. I didn't get to think more about this because as we turned another corner we were met with the rabbit and Mally's voices. Another second and we saw them as well.
I walked faster, motioning for the Tweedles to hurry as well so I couldn't run over them in my hurry to find a way to save everyone from the Jabberwocky. "What are you doing here?" Mally asked as she caught sight of me, now much taller than her I add. I knelt before her just as I had the twins before.
"I'm here to save the Hatter." I challenged. I don't know what came over me, or maybe I did but I didn't have time to acknowledge it.
"I'm rescuing the Hatter!" She exclaimed right back, pointing to herself. I stared at her a moment before I let my eyes soften for her. She really was adorable. I usually didn't like rats because of Peter Pettigrew…but for some reason she was just too adorable and protective to hate too much.
"Our spat over the Hatter is not the point right now!" I exclaimed, causing a still silence between everyone that I did not understand but the way their eyes seemed to bug out of their head said much more then they let on. I sighed and rubbed my burning cheek before starting again. "The Hatter told me that the Vorpal sword, which is the only thing to kill the Jabberwocky, is hidden in the castle. I need you to help me find it." I said, the last part directly to the rabbit. He stuttered before bowing hastily before rubbing his hands together.
"Well, I-I know where it is your majesty." He muttered, bowing again. I blinked, standing in shock.