By any standards, the Hatter was quite mad.

Anyone who knew of him was aware of this, for madness was one of the Hatter's most defining traits, second only to his colorful appearance. The man had a number of obsessions and nervous ticks, and was prone to walking into the odd living memory. If there had ever been a time when he had not been mad, then that time had long since fallen out of Underland's memory.

Yes, mad the Hatter was and mad he would forever be, but the man was not so far gone as it could sometimes appear.

Hatter was very clever, so clever that he had come to learn how to use his madness as a sort of cover during the time of the Red Queen's reign. Playing the part of a complete lunatic had been too easy and had fooled the Knave many times. But that sort of madness had all been an act; when the Hatter was not being threatened with a beheading or being pushed into recalling his deepest pain, when the Hatter was left alone to work quietly at his leisure, his mind could become so calm as to resemble that of a sane man.

He enjoyed the calm that his work brought him, yes, he had been away from his craft for far too long.

Bright jade eyes looked over the freely scattered materials set before him on the long table. He had spent years in envy of the palace workshop, even going so far as to model his home shop after the large room in the White castle. While his home shop had grown to be quite impressive, it was still nothing when compared to the resources of the palace.

There were bolts of material in every shade and fabric he knew of, and a fair few that he had never seen before. Wire mannequins lined the walls in any size he could need, while shelves held needles, spools of thread and sizing scissors to no end.

He had not been in the palace work rooms in years, for many different reasons. It had not been safe, he'd often told himself; there had been no more orders for new hats, he had been busy bringing the Resistance together, very good reasons all. But these rooms had held a special sort of torture for him after the Horunvendush Day. He had not returned to these rooms in over ten years.

Standing before the working table, Hatter could feel his mind drifting into a memory, and he did not fight it. He could not...

Years ago, when the Hatter had been a young member in the White Court of Marmoreal, he had brought Issa to the palace rooms so that she might she where he worked. They had dined together several times and taken many walks, but this was a special occasion. Issa had agreed to be his wife only the day before. Tarrant had proposed to her in the garden behind Hightopp manor.

Hatter smiled, recalling the scene. Issa had not allowed him to finish his proposal, she had thrown her arms around him and simply said yes, yes, Tarrant, I will be your wife!

"Then as my wife, you will be a member of the Royal Court- I've been trying to have Mirana see your designs for weeks, but the Queen is always so busy. She will see them now, you will dress the royalty!" Tarrant had told her excitedly.

Issa's wide smile had matched his own as he'd shown her the vast workshop and all it held for them. "Tarrant, this is more than I ever could have dreamed- and to think, it was all down to a spool of black thread!"

"Midnight black thread, Issa. I think that I will make you a hat- yes, a hat! The most perfect hat for my most perfect bride." He'd said, drawing her close.

"Midnight black, how could I forget? Tarrant, you know I don't need any more hats, you've made me dozens already, though the first is still my favorite." She kissed his cheek. "Did you know that I almost chose to open my shop in Sardan, rather than Witzend? We might never have met!"

"I would rather not think on such a thing. We did meet and I am very happy."

Issa pressed her lips against his. "I am very lucky and very happy. It will be a new life for us both, you know. I never thought I would find a man like you. Where I'm from, there were no others who understood me, so I left. And thanks to that midnight black thread, I am happier than I've ever been. I feel...I feel that I've found a new home. It's all because of you, Tarrant. You've given me the world."

Tarrant had kissed her and shook his head. "I am the lucky one, love. And where did you say you came from again?"

Issa smiled playfully, seeing through his ruse. They had played this game before, many times. Her origins were a secret mystery that he had yet to unravel. "I'll tell you anything, Tarrant, but I'll never tell you that!"

He had laughed and chased her through the aisles of fabric bolts, two mad young things shrieking with love for life and for each other.

So many happy years ago...

Hatter took in the scene of the empty work rooms and sighed.

I still miss you, Issa, and I still have love for you. I think a part of me always will. But it is as Alice said, and it is Alice I care for now.

Distantly, he could feel a small hand on his shoulder, though he knew that he was alone in the room.

I love you, Tarrant, you were my first and only. But our time was taken from us, it has ended. Know that you are free to love again. Tarrant. Take care of Alice, for I know she will take care of you.

Yes, the Hatter was mad, but the voice he heard had not come from his own mind. Of that, he was sure.

"You've been at this piece for quite some time now. I'm beginning to think that you've lost your touch."

Hatter looked up and saw Chessur's form coming into being on the end of the craft table. The cat stared at him and swished his tail. He shook his head, a bit irritated at the interruption. Couldn't the cat see that this piece required careful concentration?

"I haven't lost my touch in the least. This part takes time, is all. If you did any work you would know that."

The cat padded forward to have a closer look at what was taking so long. Ah. It seemed that the Hatter was stitching in a pattern by hand. Yes, that would take a long time. They sat in silence for a time, the man working and the cat watching. The needle went into the body of the hat, dragging a golden thread in its wake, and the Hatter pulled the needle out again, observing the progress of the intricate pattern.

Chessur shrugged and flew to the floor, where a basket of yarn balls was kept. "I'm a cat, if you remember, and work isn't for us to do. It's you humans who are so consumed with creating things that the next human will just destroy once it displeases them. Such a waste of time." Chessur found a ball of yellow yarn and began to entertain himself by rolling it between his paws. "Who is that hat for, Tarrant?"

Hatter did not even glance away from his work. "Alice."

Needle in. The thread drags through. Needle out.

"Ah, sweet Alice. I saw her earlier today in her room before those pups chased me out. Why are you making her a hat?"

"Because I haven't had a chance to make one for her yet. I've only made her one dress, but I'll make her another once I've finished with this. She needs more day dresses, and a special dress- it will be blue, the brightest, most beautiful blue."

The cat seemed to consider this. "Issa was the one who made dresses. Will you be making dresses for the Queen now?"

Hatter shook his head. "No- or, perhaps I might, for a time. I imagine that Lady Mirana will employ a new seamstress in time but I will be her hatter once again. She and I are planning a gala in a few weeks time."

Chessur looked up. "A gala? There hasn't been one of those in years!"

Hatter set his needle aside and looked down at Chessur on the floor. "I know that you'll turn up, you always do when there's some free food to be had."

Chessur flicked his tail and jumped onto the table in indignation. "Not all of us have talents fit for royalty, Hatter. I would teach the Queen to evaporate but then she might be tempted to disappear for all time, and where would that leave us?"

Hatter nodded. "You are right. Best leave the evaporating to the cats of Underland. Careful, Chess, I need that thread." He reached out and caught the spool before it rolled off the table.

Chessur circled the hat in curiosity. He understood that humans felt a need to clothe their bodies, he simply could not understand why. If they were born unclothed, then what was the harm in remaining so?

"Tarrant, why are you making things for Alice?"

Hatter replaced the thread into his sewing kit. "Well, I want her to have nice things, and I promised her that I would make her as many dresses as she wanted so long as she stayed with me. And I want her to stay with me, I do. I am very happy with her in my house."

"Clearly. Will it be the same as with Issa?"

Hatter blinked and turned to him. "What?"

"You made Issa a hat, and then she went to live with you. And then you were married. Will it be the same way with Alice?"

This was a rather abridged version of the Hatter's history with the lovely dress-maker, but the simplicity of the cat's first question weighed heavily between them.

"I...it's not the same." Hatter said. Is it?

It wasn't the same as with Issa. There would never be another Issa, as far as Hatter was concerned and Alice...well, what about her?

After she had agreed to stay on in Underland for a time, he had made the decision to bring the girl into his house and to move forward with her in his life, and he cared for her very, very much...but, to court her? Was that what he was doing?

Only days ago, he had not been able to think of Alice as a woman until she had told him of the marriage proposal from her world. But he had moved past that and accepted that she was the same Alice, though her body had changed in their time apart. During their night at the White palace, seeing her dressed in a woman's chemise nightgown had awakened something in him, some strange, heated thrill that he had buried within himself years ago, though he had still not found the time to examine that recovered feeling.

While Alice had shared his home, she had kissed him, embraced him and coaxed him to tell her the truths of his past. She calmed his rages and did not shy away from showing him her affection. She made him feel lighter, even when he became upset from her questions about his family. She made him feel that he was not alone inside.

Were all those things proof of a deeper bond between them?

Hatter looked down at his hands. They were shaking now.

He wanted Alice to stay with him, for her to never return to the Otherworld, for he did not think that she would be happy there. And he wanted her to be happy. More than anything, he wanted Alice to be happy. Happy, healthy, and full of muchness. He wanted her to stay in his house, so that she would be close and he would not have need to worry after her...but he was not sure that he had thought beyond this. Court Alice? Marry her?

"Why is it not the same with Alice?" Chessur asked. "She lives in Hightopp manor and the two of you are rarely parted. I thought you would already be mates by now."

Hatter frowned. How could he explain to the cat what he no longer understood? He'd thought Alice to be his best and most cherished friend, but now that the idea of something more had been introduced, everything seemed changed. Different. It was all dreadfully different now and he couldn't bring his focus back to the way things were before Chessur had posed his question.

Nosey gossiping cat.

He wondered what Alice must think of him, if she thought he was courting her and if she could even be receptive to the idea.

"We're...no, we're not wed. I don't know if she would have me."

The cat looked back at him with bored eyes. "Would you have her? She's not as interesting as Issa was, but the girl is pleasant enough."

Would I have her? Would she have me?

Hatter looked away from the cat. "I don't know. Now is not the time to think of such things, I have to finish this hat for Alice."

"To what end, Hatter?"

Randa, Carel and Lrala were masters of the feminine arts, and so Lady Mirana had shown some wisdom in assigning Alice into the care of the nymphs. Not only were they entertaining creatures, but they could also be fiercely protective, should the need ever arise. Thankfully, though, the White palace was safe again, as was the whole of Underland.

For their part, the nymphs found no end to their amusement at Alice's blushing and embarrassment. It was as if the girl had never even spoken of men before! Did she know nothing of them in her world?

"Perhaps in time you will want to know more of men, Alice, and we will tell you everything." Carel assured her as she brushed the girl's hair.

Alice shook her head, "I'm not against speaking of them, just not like this-"

"How else would we speak of men, if not plainly?" Lrala asked from across the room. She was setting out Alice's night chemise- a slip of pale spring green, meant to be topped with her white robe.

"Maybe just not quite so plainly," Alice suggested, though she knew it would be no use. Asking the nymphs to change their ways would be like asking the White Queen to dress in black- it simply would not happen.

"Keep dreaming, Alice." Randa teased.

Alice slipped into her chemise and belted her robe loosely at the waist; she was washed, oiled and freshly dressed, feeling much more relaxed after such a busy day.

She and her nymph companions had taken to chasing after the bloodhound pups, who had chased after poor Chessur. The cat had disappeared into a tree in the courtyard, but the pups had wanted to play, and soon the Hare and Dormouse had joined in their games. Playing, letting herself forget the strict edicts of propriety, was a blessing that Alice had never known in London.

Wearing the short dress that Hatter had made for her, daring to show her knees and arms, would be grounds for gossip against her reputation. Living with a man who was not her husband would likely have her expelled from high society, but playing like a child, whooping and laughing...well, Alice might have found herself arrested by Scotland Yard for lewd conduct.

She knew all of this, and could not stop her smile. Only in Underland could she be free to act on her every impulse, only in Underland would she know the true, real happiness she'd always longed for.

Her yellow dress had been washed very carefully by the nymphs and had then been hung up to dry. Alice looked at the garment and ran her fingertips over the material. Such a bright, cheery color and cut in such a strange way, showing her legs and arms and even the deep V of her chest. No, Alice knew she would never see another dress like it in London or anywhere else in Europe.

This dress was completely unique in the world, just like the man who had taken such care to make it for her.

Alice said goodnight to the nymph attendants and moved to the open balcony of her room, just as she had during her first night in the White palace. Underland stretched out to the horizon, beautiful and mysterious.

Could I do it? Stay here, leaving everything I've ever known?

Alice knew that she could not. For all its strict expectations of a young woman, there was no place like London. London was her home. And what remained of her family...for all their disagreements over petty things like stockings and the current style of waistcoats, Alice loved her mother. What kind of daughter, what kind of woman would she be if she simply vanished from the world, leaving her mother with no answer as to what fate had come upon her child? It would be a cruelty beyond measure.

And Margaret. Could Alice have ever hoped for a kinder, more beautiful sister than Margaret? Margaret, who was a realist and never listened to Alice's ramblings of Dodo birds and smoking caterpillars, but she'd never teased her, either. Where some girls were troubled by bullying sisters, Margaret had only ever wanted the best for Alice: the security of marriage to a kind husband, in all hopes a Lord or a Duke, healthy children, a happy life- the happiest life a woman could expect.

Even as Alice stared out over the landscape of Underland, she felt tears well in her eyes. Her heart felt tight. She missed her mother and sister. She missed their house servants. She missed her cat. She missed the bustling streets of London, the gossip, the salons and parties. She missed her whole world.

At first she had agreed to stay in Underland with the understanding that she would return to her own world within a few days- but much had changed since then. The Hatter wanted her to stay with him. He needed her, and Alice...Alice knew that she had responsibilities to her other life, but the prospect of remaining in Underland was a tempting one. She wanted to stay with him, she missed him already, but her bond with the Hatter did not outweigh her family ties.

The time was drawing near, Alice could feel it. Soon she would have to choose one life or another- Underland or London. There was a life left unfinished in London, questions she had to answer, a future that cried out for focus. But in Underland, she was free in a way that she had never known before.

I know that I have to go back- but not yet. Not yet.

She could not drink the vial of Jabberwocky blood. It was too soon.

There was still so much yet to be done in Underland...perhaps London could wait just a bit longer...

There was a knock at her door, startling her out of her thoughts.

Alice tightened the robe about herself and opened her door. She smiled to find Hatter on the other side of the threshold. "Good evening, Hatter. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I have something for you, Alice. May I come inside?" There was a wrapped gift in his hands, he held it out toward her.

Alice smiled as she took the wrapped parcel from him. "I feel that my palace room has been turned into a railway station! Nymphs, cats and puppies have been in and out of here all day, so why not add a hatter to the list?"

Hatter shook his head as he stepped forward into the room, "I told you I'd make a better room for you in my house. I know girls such as you appreciate private rooms for all of your secrets."

She raised a brow. Was he hinting that he knew she'd kept the vial of Jabberwocky blood?

"I don't keep any secrets from you."

Hatter scoffed lightly, "Of course you do. You're a woman now, it's in your nature."

"Hatter-"

He spun quickly, facing her for just an instant before resuming his stride toward the open balcony. "Yes, I am a hatter! This becomes easy to forget, since I have not had much time to practice my trade. But that will change, you'll see."

Hatter looked out over Underland and took a few deep breaths, seemingly building up his nerve.

He turned back to face Alice. She really was lovely, with those pretty blue eyes and her long golden hair. And she was so kind and so strong; this was the young woman who had slayed the Jabberwocky on one day and made him face his past in another. She was not mad, but she understood him. And he understood her. Hatter blinked. He wanted Alice in his life, yes, he did. He cared for her very much, and while he was unsure now if she wanted to stay with him, he hoped that his gifts would help her to choose in his favor.

He moved in close before her and put his hand over the parcel she held.

"Alice, we all must pick up the thread somewhere along the way back to our lives. Open your gift."

Alice was not at all sure why the Hatter was speaking with such sudden gravity, but she had come to accept his ways as part of his mad charm. Nevertheless, she did what he wanted, and opened the box he'd given to her. The box itself was so plain, but inside was a living treasure.

Inside the box, wrapped in delicate yellow tissue paper, was a fedora of such a shade of spring green Alice had only ever seen on the new leaves of apple trees. Even her night chemise could not compare to such a shade. With great care, she lifted the hat from the box. Sewn into the brim were patterns of golden stars and pale pink blossoms; there was a silk band of matching pale pink tied about the base, much in the same style of Hatter's tophat, though Alice's band did not leave a tail to drape down her back. Embroidered into the silk hat band were the letters A.K., done in matching golden thread.

Alice gasped at the sight of it. "Oh, my! I- Hatter, this is...it is lovely, Hatter, just beautiful."

Truly, Alice felt that she could feel the care, the love, that went into this creation.

Alice put on the fedora, pleased to feel its reassuring weight and fit. She moved to a mirror on the wall and took in her appearance. She was not a particularly vain girl, but she thought that she looked wonderful, both for the beautiful new hat and the smile on her face. She could not be not sure, but she thought her eyes looked brighter for her happiness.

Hatter stood beside her, and he bent to speak softly. "This is the first of many. I will see you in all colors."

"Then I can't wait to see them- thank you so much." Alice moved to embrace her friend, even happier to feel his arms twine about her waist to return her affection. This was another cherished freedom in Underland; that she might embrace a friend and not be cast under the disapproving eye of society's expectation toward propriety.

"You are very welcome, Alice." Hatter kept her in his hold for just a moment longer before he took a step back. He then brandished a handful of envelopes from his coat pocket. "And look at this, new orders! Now that our White Queen has been returned to the throne, the people feel safe to go out again- and no one, no one, goes out without one of my hats. It is known that I hat the queen, and so everyone wants to look like a royal. At this rate I will be making hats all the way through Octember!"

Alice brought her hands together. "That's wonderful! You get to do what you love again."

Hatter replaced the orders in his pocket. Taking Alice's hands into his, he drew her out to the balcony. He liked being with Alice, just the two of them. Despite his hesitation toward Chessur's questions, Alice had become his favorite person in all the known lands. "Isn't it? Just think of the dresses I'll make and the cakes I can buy for you- you'll be the envy of every girl who sees you when we go into town."

Alice wanted to smile for her friend, she wanted to let herself fall into the lovely life of endless tea parties and new hats that he'd laid out for them to share. But conscience was eating at the back of her mind. To stay in Underland would be to abandon her life in London completely.

Her mother. Her sister.

How could she do it? Turn her back on her entire world, choose Hatter and the fantasy that surrounded him?

I can't stay. Not forever. I can't. Forgive me, Hatter, but I can't stay with you.