Love

Hatter stared in wonder at the large chess like ruins. So this was the kingdom of the knights.

Alice told him the Queen had done this. He didn't doubt it.

Charlie set them up in a campsite right in front of the King's skeleton. It was kind of odd.

Charlie was running around talking about Borogove cutlets, what ever they were. And Duchess was sitting off somewhere moping.

He and Alice sat up on a hill; the view looked vaguely familiar, like something he'd dreamt of before.

She was still going on with her annoying stories. If he had his knife he would have shut her up ages ago. But she had them and she was an amazing fighter. There was no way he could just kidnap her and take her back.

Then it was quiet for a long time. He looked over at her to see she was crying.

"What now?" he said not sounding as harsh as he'd hoped.

"Just this whole mess!" she told him, sitting down so their arms were touching. "I waited a year to come here. Every second I was looking over my shoulder, hoping you'd be there. But you never were. I was afraid that you'd forgotten me; that you didn't care anymore.

I waited a year to come back here. And I come back to this."

"Well look at it this way," he said after a moment. "It could be worse. Charlie and Duchess could be dead. And if your imaginary sequence of events really were true then I could be too. You should count yourself lucky!"

That actually got a laugh out of her.

No! What was he doing, this was what he was trying to avoid.

"So you're saying that I fell in love with you in just one day?" he said sceptically. Unfortunately so far it was looking to be true.

"I don't know, ask Charlie," she told him.

He got another flash. He and Alice standing in a strange house. Behind her was a room with no floor and a never ending pit. Beside them Charlie made strange noises while looking at a wall searching for a door…

He shook his head to clear it. What was with these random flashes?

"So if I loved you, then what did you feel for me?" he said curiously. He had no idea where it had come from.

Alice looked up at him, sadness written over her face.

"I didn't trust you. It seemed everything you did was for the ring. But I trusted you more and more. I cared about you. But it wasn't until I was home that I realised it... I love you Hatter."

Hearing that tickled something in the back of his mind. Rather than say something horrid, he found he was as mute as a fish. He looked into her pretty blue eyes that looked back at him with longing.

Hesitantly she leaned over and kissed him. The pressure of her lips was familiar in a way…

He flashed again.

He sat in a dark cell. His torturers, Knave and the twins, stood on the other side of the bars smiling. In his arms lay Alice, her blood pooling into his lap.

"…That's all I wanted, to see you again. I love you Hatter," she whispered. Then his lips were against hers, tears running down his cheeks.

"And I love you Alice…"

Then it all came back. Like a flood of memories overlapping the ones he had. Memories of running a tea shop, working for the resistance.

Alice, so many of Alice. He loved Alice.

Then things had gone wrong. The torture, the illusion of Alice, being told she was dead…

Then his mind was back in the present. Not a second had passed and Alice's lips were warm and soft against his. He began to kiss her back.

Tears were silently running down his face.

"Alice!" he whispered, letting all his emotions flow into her name. She drew back a little and he took her in an embrace. Holding her to him as hard as he could without hurting her.

"I thought you were dead, they told me you were dead!" he sobbed into her shoulder.

"Hatter?" she asked hopefully. She pulled herself away and held his face in her hands, inspecting him and studying his eyes.

"I think your luck's finally beginning to change," he whispered, looking back into her eyes. He could see the memory of that personal moment not far from here flash through her eyes.

She must know he was back because she threw her arms around him again.

Then she was kissing him again, this time there was no hesitation. The kiss was strong and passionate.

"I missed you," she whispered against his lips. He smiled before his lips were pressed against hers again.

He was back. And he had Alice back. There was no way he was letting her go.