Chapter Ten
With an all mighty blow Marianne once again found herself on the ground. This was just as useless as the first time. Her eyes looked upon the knight who was teaching her the sword fighting techniques as she sighed, shaking her head before getting back up. Her long hair in a braid that swung as she moved, grabbing the sword she had dropped onto the marbled concrete. The look in the eyes of the knight teaching her was as disproved as any other time he had defeated her in one swing.
"Come on, I'm still learning, give me a break." With a mighty sigh she took a step backwards, swinging the sword above her head as he came towards her with the sword. She closed her eyes at the impact. It almost made her take yet another step back. "Sir Rook, do you have to be so…" She faulted in what she was saying, shuddered under the pressure and lost her footing, falling back onto her rear end.
The knight that Mirana had chosen especially to don the task of teaching Marianne the art of sword fighting was wearing a marbled outfit that was shaped completely like a giant rook from a chess set. Upon first look Marianne had thought it was a large walking and talking rook itself. She soon learned that this was the type of armour that their queen had decided that she wanted her knights to wear.
She just hoped that she didn't expect Marianne to wear them – whether she would end up being a pawn or not. They looked so heavy and she could barely get any hits with the sword in the armour she was wearing currently. She had found out the armour that had been displayed at the knighting ceremony was not made for Marianne, but belonged once to her grandmother. Marianne and her grandmother appeared near the same size. There were only small adjustments to be made here and there.
"Forget it." She finally continued her sentence from earlier, pushing herself back up onto her feet vorpal sword still in hand and attempted another route. Swiftly turning on her foot she twirled herself around with a blow and brought the sword down upon Sir Rook. The knight took a step back, found his balance. She blew strands of her hair that fell lose out of her eyes as she looked upon him. She couldn't help but smile – not meaning to brag – but it was nearly the first hit she had ever landed in her training, and she had had nearly five sessions throughout the past few days already.
"That's better." He wasn't very impressed. Marianne rolled her eyes. Sir Rook attacked, she swayed the sword and blocked. Struggled with the weight once more, but kept her composure. She did not fall. She was getting better – slowly. Marianne still hated the idea of slaying something, but she had sworn an oath now and this was an oath she was determined to keep. The knight once again got the better of Marianne and she found herself off her feet. "But don't get cocky just because you land one blow. Your opponent won't stop to let you celebrate."
Marianne cursed under her breath, she couldn't help herself, it wasn't a ladylike or pure thing to do, but it felt like the right time to do so. She pushed herself up from the ground and the sword had fallen from her hand once more. She looked around as she wondered when this session would be over. She had wanted to find the Hatter to thank him for the gown he made for her. Great her attention was taken, the knight took advantage.
She ducked, found herself back on the ground, rolled, picking up the sword, got back onto one knee and swung the sword with her might. Both swords clashed, Marianne got back onto her feet and looked up, her expression scowling with the pressure. "That was a dirty trick." She almost spat, finding her fire as she looked upon the rook. Then she guessed. If she was ever to fight an opposition with a sword, they would not play clean and safe with her when they attacked. Marianne moved her sword down when she felt the knight take away his force.
"That's it for now. You're getting there, but I won't go easy on you forever." That was easy? How could that have been easy, he had her on the floor so many times, had cut her skin so many times with his sword – and that was easy? She guessed she really did have a lot to learn. This was when she was starting to sigh and wonder why she had thought dancing lessons would be difficult – they would be a breeze compared to this. Marianne rubbed her forehead with a cloth as she looked around at the knight who was making his way towards the palace. What she would give for a drink of water right about now.
Marianne made her way through the palace, her hand slightly sore from grasping the sword tightly during her lesson. She laced her fingers through her hair. Marianne undid the binding before undoing the weave of the braid and letting her hair fall down by her shoulders and then her arms. Marianne looked through the door of the Hatter's workroom before smiling and seeing him at work. She knocked on the open door before letting herself in.
"Fancy a break?"
She asked, leaning her head against the door. She would thank him for the gown. Then they could go for a walk after getting out of the armour and in doing so give the Hatter a break. She knew how careless he seemed to be with time. She had seen him get carried away in his work and forget to take breaks. "Go for a walk? The garden?" Marianne offered a smile on her lips as she made her way inside, before taking the heaviest parts of the armour off and putting them onto a mannequin.
Since she asked him out to walk with her and he accepted, Marianne was quite happy and content in the day. Sure she was still quite sweaty but she had expected to be upon her training. She ran her fingers through her hair as she looked towards the Hatter and smiled looking at the way he looked. He seemed really happy – and she was glad with that. Although it hadn't been the way he was feeling that she was looking at for. She had been more interested in seeing the dazzling shade of eye shadow that was around his eyes and the fact his eyelashes were white. It was something she had never seen before, but she liked it – in fact she really liked it.
"I was hoping maybe you'd tell me about Alice and how she had spent her time here?" No matter how disrespectful Marianne felt herself being by calling her grandmother by her first name it seemed when she was here in Underland she couldn't help it. Everyone else called her by Alice and never said anything like 'your grandmother' or 'your grandmother Alice' so it just seemed to seep into her mind and nag at her to refer to her grandmother by her first name. She knew Alice had enjoyed her times here in Underland and just wondered how she spent her time. She watched as the Hatter's appearance perked up at the sound of her grandmother's name and she smiled.
There was something else though growing down deep inside of her. He never seemed to react in such a way when it was her being mentioned, or her around him. Alice meant so much to him – no… no wait, she wasn't jealous. They were friends, and Alice had those feelings for him – but it never went to anything. Marianne knew she shouldn't be jealous especially when she hadn't been in Underland or in the Hatter's company that long yet. Marianne's fingers found her hair again, her nervous trait – something she couldn't seem to stop doing.
"She loved my tea parties." Ah, of course she did. "She really loved my tea parties, and the Hare's of course – and Mally's, they aren't just my tea parties, I didn't mean to seem like I claimed them." Marianne laughed. "That didn't make any sense did it?" She nodded her head, perfect sense. This was funnily enough. The Hatter moved his hand to his hat, adjusting it as he looked at her. Marianne licked along her bottom lip feeling how rough her skin felt in the cold air. "Time always seemed to stand still when we had those parties – still does. I think he secretly enjoys the tea parties."
"Well how couldn't he." Marianne spoke. "It's always so much fun, from what I've seen. I only had that first day, before I came here." She spoke, realising just how much she wanted to have tea with the Hatter, hare and Mally once more. In fact, properly – because the first time was quite tense actually as she had to explain who she was and all that. The Hatter then told her that she was always welcome at their table and she couldn't help but grinning at that. "Really?" Then she gained an 'Of course' and couldn't stop smiling – it was something she had wanted to do from the start. Be part of one of those infamous tea parties.
The Hatter smiled his ridiculous smile as he looked from Marianne and to the view in front of them. He had seen it so many times already as he seemed to be around the palace quite a bit through work and visiting the Queen, but he always enjoyed it. The view never got old to him. He was quite content in his mind, which for him, was not something he was used to. Marianne had mentioned his Alice. He had decided that no matter what had happened in Marianne and Alice's world that Alice would be considered his. He missed her, he really did, and it almost tortured him with the fact that she wasn't there. It wasn't as bad now, because someone was there, not really taking Alice's place, but someone was definitely there now to ease the inner turmoil.
Gazing back at that someone he couldn't help but laugh at how she looked. "What?" And he couldn't help but answer as to why he was laughing at her. It didn't seem to come to his mind that by what he would say it might hurt her feelings.
"You just look so funny." She pouted at him (she was just thinking how funny he looked) as he said that. She did though, her hair was all sticky with the sweat, her vest and shorts that she was wearing were stained also and she was barefoot from removing the boots she had been wearing at her training. She certainly looked a sight, a right sweaty disgusting but still somewhat alluring sight. Now just why did he think that? Why did the Hatter just think that even in such a state that Marianne was alluring?
What kind of word is alluring? He could have thought pretty, beautiful… alluring seemed to be a pretty sophisticated word and it worked when he looked at Marianne. She had muttered that she didn't look a mess. "But you do." He kept speaking. "No concern though!" Emphasising that it did not matter he moved his hand up pointing. "It simply means you were working hard." He had been working hard today, so hard, so many hats – different types of designs – all for the queen. Now his mind had gone from her training to his hats.
"Okay I do, but at least you were kind enough to bypass the fact I smell."
She laughed as she looked upon the Hatter once more. She did smell, she could smell it herself and she hated the fact she was around the Hatter like this. Suddenly she wished she bathed before going to see him, but it was such a nice day and perhaps if she had bathed and came to see him after that, it might not have been as pleasant as it was. Although it was cold, through the light wind, it was still sunny. The sunlight shone through the blossomed trees and upon her skin, which heated her up when the wind passed them.
"I love it here in the palace." She spoke, going to confess. "But I would like to see where you live… go back to the Hare's too. I didn't see a lot of where he stayed – and I only ever really see him in the kitchen and I don't usually stay long enough. Last time I did. Well I near took a pepper grinder at my head for saying the soup wasn't seasoned enough." Glimpses of the infuriated hare came to her mind as she remembered that. Last time she criticised his cuisine, but for a hare, he sure was quite a good cook.
"Underland just seems so big, and I feel like I haven't had the chance to see the world I'm defending."
She wouldn't have time now though. Marianne could tell that. Seeing as she had to train, she would have to stay in the palace grounds. Soon she would have the ball – again, in the palace. She didn't seem to be leaving the palace – it was fine, she didn't mind, but would have liked to get out. She knew she was simply repeating the same thoughts in her head… but it was what she wanted. She just wanted to go out and see the world. 'How cliché' she told herself as she moved her hand to pull her vest down over her side as it rose up by the walking.
"Well I invite you to a late night tea party. You can come to my table and then get to see somewhere you've never been to yet."
She listened to him and nodded her head before shaking her head, saying she wouldn't want to impose. Now she had just said she wanted to go and now felt she was imposing, perhaps this was because it was to be tonight… somewhat soon. She looked a mess, she hadn't bathed, she smelt! "You're not imposing, Marianne. We would enjoy nothing more. Anyone else, the cat, maybe not, but you – Alice's relation of all, we could happily ask you to come!" He was excited, she smiled – it was somewhat cute.
"Oh, okay, fine." Marianne laughed, no she giggled, what the hell, why was she giggling? He seemed to have the effect on her, he was so mad and somewhat hilarious to her that she couldn't help but act childish around him. No, that was the wrong word. Not childish… she felt free. She didn't feel as reigned in as she did when she was around her father and all those stuck up people in England. The only people who she would be like this around were her grandparents… and without them with her, she felt good to be around the Hatter as he brought out that side of her. "Will you and Chessur ever get along?"
"As much as I wid love to try that." Sarcasm seemed to lace his words. "I doubt anythin' we tried to dae wid actually work." She nervously laughed as she looked at him. It seemed that Scottish tinge was in his accent and his green eyes were changing to that golden shade. She had noticed that thinking of the Cheshire cat seemed to have made him a little angrier again. She was only asking though – she was curious of the feud they seemed to have. Marianne delicately placed her hand onto his arm and he seemed to retort back to being calm and cheery.
"So tea!"
"Well if you let me go and get less… funny looking." She spoke as she turned to look at the palace. "You can get back to work, and then when the day's nearly over you can take me there." Marianne explained, she had never been there and would most likely get lost. It wasn't like she had a guide to take her there if the Hatter were to go home by himself. Marianne smiled as she recalled how she found him in the first place – the Cheshire cat, that cat had taken Alice to him too. "That way I will enjoy myself more, if I'm clean."
Marianne moved her hands behind her back, entwining her fingers as she tilted her head to look at the Hatter who was nodding his head. She knew his working day wouldn't have been over because he still had a hat to do. She had disrupted him half way through making it. As bad as that was though, everyone needed to take breaks during work. "Great." Beaming Marianne started to walk back to the palace, with the Hatter behind her. "The hare, the last time I knew, was still in the palace's kitchen."
"His name's Thackery."
The Hatter told her this and she gave another nervous laugh. "Yeah… the Hare." She replied, turning to the Hatter. "You really don't want to hear me try and pronounce his name." She retorted remembering many a days with her dialect course, a therapist for her speech when she was younger. Words beginning with the letters th always seemed to be a difficulty for her. She could pronounce them now – by learning if she stuck her tongue between her teeth when she spoke the start of the word it would pronounce properly. She just didn't want to look stupid and do that action when she was speaking to the Hatter.
With words like 'the' or 'that' or 'then' she had learned to pronounce them without emphasising the action with her tongue, but any new word and 'Thackery' was most definitely a new word. She would need that action and she wouldn't like to look at herself doing that – let alone the Hatter. "The closest you'll get to hear me say it is Zackary." She confessed, shrugging her shoulders. "I know how I hate it when people pronounce my name wrong – I mean it started off Mary-Ann, the way they would pronounce it when my father wanted it to be pronounced Ma-ree-Anne." She gave how the pronunciation actually was. "I was Mary-Ann for quite a long time."
It was because of that fact that Alice would have originally teased her by calling her Mary. Soon that stuck too – and she loved it actually. How it started off as a secret teasing, and now it was Alice's name for her. "So… I know how frustrating it can be to have your name said wrong. I wouldn't want to do the same to him." She told the Hatter who simply replied with;
"Thackery widnae even notice if ye say his name wrong." With his arms behind his head and glancing towards the palace they were walking ever closer to the Hatter explained. "Probably start callin' himself by 'Zackary' for a while if ye did." Marianne smiled as she looked to him. Well the Hare did seem to be even madder than the Hatter at times, but he was unquestionably smart too. That could be seen with the fact he was such a good cook – you would have to be considered smart to cook well – only he was mad enough to throw said food across the room.
Marianne ran her tongue along her teeth before sighing to herself and closed her eyes. She would practise saying the hare's name when no one was around and have it come out as fluidly as normal 'th' words. She couldn't help but feel her inner torment over the fact she couldn't pronounce someone's name. She had this problem once before you see. The man her father wanted to pair her off into marriage with was named Theodore and he didn't enjoy the fact she couldn't pronounce his name. That was what encouraged her father to get her the dialect coach. It was funny how something as small as pronunciation could be such a problem.
It helped her to know that she could say what she wanted here and most likely not cause a ruckus like she would at home. It really was such a magical, if that would be the word for it, place to be in. "We'll see." Smiling naturally as she walked into the palace and turned to the Hatter. "Well I'll go freshen up and say we'll meet back here when your days over?" He looked at his pocket watch and told her the time that he would be finished by. "Six? Gives me…" She looked at the pocket watch surprised at how time flies! "An hour and a half. Really, is it that late?" It was most certainly day time when she was training – and most definitely lunchtime when she was walking with the Hatter what seemed like moments ago.
Authors Note: Now I was missing some interaction between the Hatter and Marianne, and getting to know more about how Marianne acts. I also wanted to try some training for the fact she had never handled a sword before – that was quite hard fun to write as I had only ever tried writing her training in a personal one-shot. I hope you enjoyed this chapter – next chapter will be the tea-party which I think will be fun to write! I've already started to write the ball chapter too, because I had an idea of it and didn't want to lose it :) Thank you so much to Ranguvar27, fireisprettybeafraid, Rocky181, Selmalessthanthree, Amanda and Zara1515 for the reviews, they mean so much to me. I love to know that whilst I write because I enjoy this fan-fiction that other people are enjoying it too :) I also want to personally thank everyone for any favorites and alerts I received for this fan-fiction since the last chapter!