A Week in Wonderland, Ch. 14
by wingsinheaven5
A/N: I know the LAST thing you want to here right now are my sorry excuses for yet another long laspe in uploading. So...
CHAPTER 14! =]
Alice felt hot tears begin to well up in her eyes. Angry tears. Angry that she had failed; specifically, angry that she had failed the Hatter. She turned around so the Hatter couldn't see her face, and quickly wiped her eyes against her sleeve.
Hatter noticed. As Alice turned back to him—tip of her nose slightly red, eyes slightly glassy—he reached a hand out in between the bars that separated them. Alice automatically reached her hand out to his, and immediately felt better at the warmth.
"Don't fret, Alice." He searched her down turned eyes, silently willing them to look up. Sadness didn't suit her. Not one bit, he decided.
Alice sniffed. "Stupid, stupid me!" Her eyes were still to the floor. "Why did I stop to drink that potion? I should have just taken it and ran! I should have—"
"You drank it? The potion?" The Hatter lightly squeezed her hand, causing Alice to look up. She didn't quite comprehend why the Hatter's eyes were wide with shock.
"..Yes?... I just thought that maybe I could do to James what he did to me. This whole mess could have been solved."
The Hatter's lips formed a small smile, his green eyes glinting mischievously despite their dismal circumstances. "That was a very un-Alice thing to do, you know."
"Now wait a second.." Alice let go of the Hatter's hand, and put her hands to her hips. She was now looking the Hatter straight in the eyes, brows furrowed, unrelenting. "Those were my actions of my own free will. Who are you to say that was an 'un-Alice' thing to do?" She didn't know why she was being so defensive on the matter. Maybe because she was tired of people accusing her of being Alice and of not being Alice.
The Hatter was taken aback. He wanted to say she was being un-Alice again, but knew very well that wouldn't fly. Not that that was a bad thing, he thought. This Alice was full of passion. And fire. Not merely a prim and proper lady. And she really was too cute when she pouted like that. "I just meant that was a very impulsive thing to do. And the Alice I know doesn't act on impulse quite so—"
But before he could finish his sentence, Alice took one step to close the gap between them, and kissed the Hatter full force on the mouth. The Hatter's heart fluttered faster than a jittery, shaking March Hare at tea time. He gripped the bars so inconviently in the way, as if they would give in at his strength so he could properly enrapture Alice in his arms. Alice reached a hand out, and clutched at his coat, also needing to be closer still. The Hatter whimpered against her lips. It hurt him too much to be so close to Alice, but still so far.
Alice finally broke the kiss, her clutch on his coat relaxing. Her breathing came in hard gasps, matching the Hatter's. She opened her eyes and studied his face: he was biting his lip, his eyes closed, brows knotted. When he finally opened his eyes, they were a different color. Blue. By far her favorite. She placed her hands at her hips again, trying to keep affirmative. A difficult task, she thought, what with how their kiss had turned all her insides to jelly.
"Well? Was that too impulsive a thing for Alice to do?"
Hatter took in a steadying breath before half-smiling, half-smirking. He definitely liked this other Alice. "No. Not at all. In fact," he licked his lips, "I believe Alice should make it a habit of being more impulsive in the future." Alice felt her cheeks grow even hotter at his remark. He loved how she blushed.
Hatter reached a hand out to Alice once more, and pulled her back in for another kiss. A tamer one, albeit still full of need and desire. Alice suddenly pulled back.
"Wait a minute! The potion! The SPELL!" She brought her fingers to her lips. In trying to show the Hatter up, she had completely forgotten about the potion.
Hatter chuckled and shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Oh Alice. Don't you know? Love spells don't work on those who are already actually in love. And besides," he gently squeezed Alice's hand again, "nothing could make me love you even more. It would be impossible." He smiled.
"Nothing is impossible," she shyly responded.
"True." He gave a slight nod of his head. "But this is an exception."
Alice's heart warmed. She looked back at the Hatter, the one person who was always there for her—whether she knew it or not. He was always there. She recalled the first time she ever met him, and how tall he seemed. He was still considerably taller then her, yes, but now she saw him on a different level. For the man he fully is, madness aside.
James slammed his bedroom door shut. That pesky, annoying, stupid girl ruined everything. Well…maybe not stupid he admitted. She did, after all, catch on to his plans. No matter, he thought. He could use this to his advantage. Claim that the Hatter was plotting against him and Alice with potions. And that Alice was still not yet well. He had to lock them up. Yes, that could work.
He took in several deep breaths to calm his fury that curly-haired blond had ignited in him not moments ago.
Trumpets sounded.
The White Queen was home.
James looked in the mirror and smoothed his hair. He picked up his jacket, smoothing it too out, before putting it on. He then opened the closet door, retrieved a small box hidden in the corner underneath various articles of clothing, and pulled out yet another glowing red vial. He smirked.
Quite some time had passed since Alice's most recent encounter with the lying bastard called James. Just how much time, she did not know. The dungeons were clear of clocks. She knew she must have spent at least an hour calling for help, yelling. But he was right. No one heard them.
She was now sitting with her back against the furthest wall, the Hatter right next to her, separated by cold iron bars. Neither had spoken for quite some time now, Alice finally have given up calling for help.
"Why do your eyes turn blue?" Alice's voice was crisp, but quiet in the silence. Her mind had been turning with the question for the past hour or so.
The Hatter turned his head in her direction, but did not look up. "Blue?"
"Yes." She looked up. The Hatter's eyes were down turned, and she frowned. She wanted so badly to see his shining, powder blue eyes looking back at her. "I've noticed your eyes change colors depending on your mood. When you're angry, they're yellow, sometimes orange if you're really upset. When you're sad, they're gray. Happy, they're bright, bright green. All the other times, they're green too, just not so intense. But lately, your eyes have been flashing blue. A light blue."
The Hatter chuckled at Alice's observances, and finally looked her way. His eyes at the moment, Alice noted, weren't quite green, nor quite blue. Aqua, perhaps. Turquoise, even. "I didn't know my eyes were quite so…expressive. You're quite the observant one, aren't you Alice."
Alice shrugged. She suddenly felt embarrassed for noticing so much, but she really couldn't help it. His eyes were really quite fascinating.
"Well, when have you noticed my eyes turn blue?"
Alice thought about it. "Er, first in the forest. When we were playing Whistling Tea Kettle." A small smile formed on the Hatter's lips at the memory. "Then again at the ball. And again just earlier when…" Alice felt her cheeks grow hot at the thought of their latest shared kiss. "When you told me I was being 'un-Alice' like."
The Hatter's smile grew at the mention. He thought of each incident, and what commonalities tied them together. He quickly reached a conclusion, and just as he was about to announce it, noticed the look of realization on Alice's face. She must have made the connection as well.
"Oh! Umm… it's because of me?" Hatter reached a hand through the bars and placed it atop Alice's.
He smiled, his eyes focused on their hands intertwining. "It must be." He looked back up, his eyes now as blue as the sky on a cloudless summer's day. Alice caught her breath.
Another thought hit her. Tentatively, she spoke. "So…you truly love me, then?" Despite his already confessing it, she still couldn't believe it.
"More than Thackery likes scones. More than Mally likes sword-play. More than Chessur likes to evaporate and re-vaporate. More, even, than I like tea!" Alice laughed at the last bit. It's true, he did very much like his tea. Hatter turned at her laugh, the beautiful sound resonating in his ears. He liked when she laughed. Laughing meant she was happy. "I love you more than anything." Alice leaned against the bars in his direction and sighed contentedly. "…And… you?" Hatter suddenly felt very nervous. Now that she knew the extent of his emotions, he felt vulnerable. "Do you really love me?"
Alice looked back up at the Hatter at the change in his tone. He was biting his lip again, big blue eyes looking back at her. "Of course!" She suddenly felt guilty that he even had to ask. "I'm never happier than I am when I'm here in Underland. With you." She squeezed his hand. "There's never been a better fit."
Hatter smiled, his eyes soft. "Then stay."
Alice's heart dropped. The subject she had been turning in her head endlessly since the battle. She knew she couldn't. There was her mother. And Margaret. And she still had to answer Hamish. She wanted to. She couldn't. "Hatter…" She looked up pleadingly, silently asking him not to make her choose. That slight hesitation stung the Hatter more than any words she could ever utter. Neither knew what to say.
Poof!
"I thought I'd find you two here. Wouldn't be the first time, Tarrant," Chessur purred.
Grateful for a change in subject, Alice got to her feet to meet the cat. "Chessur! How—"
"McTwisp. He came to me as soon as he found out what was going on around here."
Hatter, still hurt at Alice's lack of words, stood. "Took you long enough." Chessur merely licked his paw, in no way seeming alarmed at their current situation.
"Chess! The Queen. James. He's going to get to her. We have to stop him!" Alice was gasping now.
"No worries, my dear. McTwisp told us everything. The rest are on their way, and will be here soon."
"So you've a plan, have you?" Hatter seemed to be avoiding her eyes, Alice noted. She felt awful, but he had to understand.
"Nope." Chessur merely grinned his trademark grin.
"Well then, let's not waste any time." Hatter sat, the other two following suit. He put his conversation with Alice at the back of his mind; now that they had someone to help them escape, time was of the essence. They began discussing the possibilities while they waited for the rest of the gang to arrive. James was not going to have the last laugh.
A/N: Sooooo... what do you think? Any predictions? =]