Much to the delight of the couple, the days began to move swiftly toward their appointed wedding ceremony. Tarrant wasn't sure if it was thanks to Time himself, who seemed to have a soft spot for the tenacious young champion, or the amount of decisions and planning that was going into making each moment of the event as perfect and Alice-y as it possibly could be. Alice was just glad to have something to distract her mind from the Red Queen and her threats, and the sinking feeling that a repeat of her appearance at Mirana's wedding was imminent at Alice's. She did not voice these concerns to her intended, however, burying her anxiety in the frustrations of deciding minute detail she was finding more and more she cared less and less about.
Today Alice sat in Tarrant's workshop, a special room designed just for his apartments so that he could stay at Marmoreal for lengths of Time and be able to work in a space that entirely his own. She sat at a small round table, a large fabric color book sitting in her lap. She had been pouring over the pages for hours, her growing frustration causing Tarrant to look over at her with concern ringing in his green eyes as he beheld her running her hands through her blonde waves and a grimace on her face.
When her frustration had grown large enough, she slammed the book shut with a groan, throwing it on the table "We have two weeks left until the wedding, and we've picked the foods and the drinks and the dances and the schedule,and somehow I still can't find a blasted color I want for the wedding." She crossed her arms on the table before her, throwing her head dramatically atop them.
The Hatter looked up again from a brilliant white porkpie hat he was designing for the King, as he and the Queen were taking an outing to visit Thricket's Corner, a home for some of the older established families from Underland. The two would be heading out for a two day ceremony tomorrow evening, and Tarrant was working to place the final touches on Gavin's hat. Though he could not help but be annoyed that he was wasting time on something for Gavin's regrettable frumious head and not a dress for the lovely Alice body. But he had been asked nicely by Mirana and he could not deny her in good conscience even though he was still upset with her. He also couldn't deny her being the Royal Hatter either!
Mirana had invited Tarrant to join the two of them to give Alice a little space while she flurried around, trying to finish the details for her wedding. Tarrant had denied attending, claiming that he was still working on Alice's dress, but truly wishing to help her as she tried to pull together the difficult decisions and dance around the fact that Iracebeth was still prowling about and could be an unexpected guest at the wedding. Alice had not raised the concern to him yet, but he could see her glancing out to the horizon towards the Red Desert from Time to Time, chewing on her lip. Clearly she was in search for something she didn't want to find. He wished she would share her concerns with him, but knew he had made her promise not to mention the bluddy begh hed again. With a sigh he turned his attention to Alice. He came to her side, and placed his hand on her back, rubbing soft circles into the fabric of her purple dress. He leaned over to place a kiss into the back of her head, her curls tickling his face.
"I thought you were going to stay with the blue colors," He took the book in hand, flipping it over with a heavy thump to the front of the book, turning it instinctively to the midst of the rich blue swatches toward the middle of the collection.
"Well I was," a frustrated sigh escaped her lips once more as her eyes combed the varying shades of her signature color before her. She turned to look up at Tarrant who was bent over her shoulder. "But purple is such a magnificent color as well. And green is just so rich." She observed, running her hands over the fabrics her fingers lingering on several of the blue colors, before letting them go. "There are just so many to choose from that it's giving me a headache." She raised her hand from page and lifted her other, hiding her face in cupped hands and rubbing her temples with her furthest fingers.. Tarrant took to the chair next to her, settling into the seat.
He grabbed her ankles, pulling her legs upward to rest her feet in his lap. He slipped off her shoes, her pale arched feet curled, demonstrating her total frustration. He cracked his fingers before wrapping them about her feet to begin to massage the tension away.
"My fair one, you are thinking too hard into it." He scolded her lovingly. "I think you need to step away from the problem before you and let the one that stands out the most to you be the one you choose, even if you feel you are letting other ones go."
"But if I step away, they all just blend together. Besides, how will it just stand out and tell me this is the one I need? What will a color do? March right up to me and say 'well hello there, fine bride-to-be, I am the color that you should choose'?" Alice responded indignantly, crossing her hands over her chest as she pouted. Her small tantrum caused Tarrant to laugh, his belly shaking as he did so. She looked up at him with a pained look, He shook his head, trying to regain composure so not to damage her feelings too thoroughly.
"My dear heart, you need to become inspired." Tarrant explained, looking about him at the disarray of his workshop. Earlier this morning he had been stumped over which ribbon to wrap the band of the King's hat with and had pulled the room apart in search of an idea. With everything he laid before him, he had been able to take a step back and gain his perspective, an idea handed to him in the chaos. "Think of all the things that have made you feel the most intense emotions, and just think. Look at the colors and think which ones would go terribly well with all those emotions. It will jump out at you when you allow inspiration to let it. When you live surrounded in the mix rather than looking at painfully place palettes of perfect patches" He explained as his fingers continued to work, pushing away the tension in her foot. A small smile crossed her lips as she looked past him at the wall laden with hats.
"I suppose I should listen to you, my mad man, since you would know best." Alice placed her forehead in three of her fingers, the crook of her elbow keeping her upright as the tension released from her body.
"That's how I knew it was you." Alice confirmed after a moment of silence. "I had all of these feelings I never quite understood when I saw you. When I came to know you the last time I was in Underland. When I visited you in the evaporating world. Things I did not understand," she reached forward, grabbing his wrist to take his hand in her own. "And knew that I had to figure out where all these intense feelings were coming from. This thing I wanted to say was love, but never could quite wrap my mind around the idea. When I sat and wondered what was the one thing I did not want to leave, the one thing I wanted to be assured I had...and you just jumped out." She let go of her hand, taking the book out on her lap to examine the laid out colors. She then began to pull the swatches from the pages, scattering the pieces all over the table before her. She then stood so she could look down at the colors spread all over his drawing table.
He watched her eyes sweeping over the layout before her, her teeth chewing at her pink bottom lip once more, but this was in clear concentration and not anxiousness."How did I ever win you over, my fair one?" He mused as he watched her. She leaned forward, smacking him playfully on the arm.
"Oh hush. I'm not the one gave the excellent foot rub." She responded, not once looking away from the puzzle before her. Her hand floated over the surface, ready to choose a color when it at least revealed itself.
Several moments later her hand came to rest on a swatch in the middle of the table.
"Blue, the darkest blue of midnight." Alice replied with a nod of her head, taking the dark hue in hand and giving it to Tarrant. "And silver. It's fresh and beautiful, but not white, not like Mirana's." She retrieved a swatch of a metallic silver, handing the piece to Tarrant who placed the fabrics side by side.
Alice soon snatched up the colors, reaching for a journal that was overflowing with stuffed pages and ribbons, opening the leather cover of the journal and placing the pieces inside. She then shifted through the journal, her mouth moving as she talked silently to herself, and he could see the gears of her thoughts moving as she began to color her wedding.
Tarrant felt his smile creep along his face, and he knew it was not only from seeing his bonnie lass succeed at her puzzle, but also at the thought that he had found her. He was more than overjoyed that Alice had returned to Underland and he still had a hard Time believing that she had agreed to be his, and he hers. He would wake up every day next to her, the perfect match to his madness. She looked over and gave him a clever smile before returning to her work.
"I am glad you found the answer, my fair one." He said to her, before turning to return to finishing the celebration hat.
"Two weeks, Tarrant, that's all we need to wait." Alice noted, looking up at him once more from her pile of ideas. Tarrant winked at her.
"I have been waiting much longer than two weeks." He said as he began to glue the ribbon around the band of the hat.. Alice looked up at him in shock, be he paid her no mind as he fell back into concentration.
The afternoon was soon fleeting in the wake of Alice's epiphany, and it seemed like not long after that Tarrant shooed her from his apartment so that he could work on her dress in secret. Alice had left the room begrudgingly, a part of her not want to be interrupted in her train of thought and the other wanting to see what Tarrant was up to in regards to her dress. But he sent her back to her apartments all the same, promising her it would not be long until she would be wearing it.
It had been that thought that had sent Alice's head spinning. She, Alice Kingsleigh, was going to be married in two weeks. A feat she did not think was ever possible when she had stumbled into the Ascot estate only to fall down the rabbit hole an hour or so later. When she had climbed back out a certain part of her had been certain that she was destined to be alone for the rest of her life, no man would ever understand her as that hatter down the hole had, and she certainly would not see him again. How wrong she had been.
Alice had settled into the desk located in the corner of her sitting room in the apartment. She had been pouring over the books for several more hours, her head beginning to pound with a need to look away and find some better lighting. When she stood, her body crammed from being stuck in a slumped over position all day and it took several painful steps before she was able to right herself without discomfort. She knew that sitting in this dark room would do little good for her, so she went to her sleeping quarters to watch the world through the panels of the French doors of her balcony.
She quickly settled on the bed, leaving behind her books and her plans, trying to focus completely on the sky, painted reds and pinks and purples by the setting sun. It was the gorgeous ending to a day she had grown accustomed to her in this land, a sight she only wished she could have introduced her mother to before her passing. The woman would have loved the colors set against the breathtaking landscape, would have wanted to paint it herself in order to try to hold onto a piece of the fleeting beauty.
The thought of her mother sent a pang through Alice's chest, and she rubbed the swell of her left rib absentmindedly. She wondered if her mother could see her all the way down in Underland and for the sake of her rest she imagined she did. Tarrant had told her so many moons ago that her father and her mother could see her, and sure they must be able to. She hoped that both would be proud of the path she had taken.
The sun was quickly swallowed by the horizon and Alice felt the heaviness of her eyes beckoning her to sleep. She tried her best to fight it, standing up and shaking her limbs out, returning to the sitting room to light some of the lamps in order to return back to her planning. When she sat at the desk, however, her eyes began to water as the words and colors all began to bleed together. She had spent so many nights worried over making these last few choices, not realizing how much it was interrupting her rest. Her body was craving the soft downy mattress in the other room, a place to lay her head down and to lay motionless for just a little while.
But Alice didn't feel like sleeping, afraid she'd be haunted by the nightmares. Her night horrors had returned in full force again, spurred either by the anxiety of the wedding or the threat of the red monarch, she wasn't sure. She had been having dreams lately about her mother, specifically imagining that her mother had not died but was being kept alive in a sanitarium, her cries of fear and pain filling Alice's ears as she approached the sickly old lady. She kept asking Alice over and over why she had left her behind, why she had run off again and fallen down the rabbit hole. Or it was a dream about her mother coming to Underland and falling into the clutches of Iracebeth, whose anger demanded for her mother's head to be taken off. So the confused and frightened woman was lead into Salazen Grum, where she stood before an executioner who swung the axe and sent her to the other world with nothing above her neck. Both nights Alice had woken up in pools of sweat, her chest heaving for breath as she tried to gain consciousness and control of her surroundings.
The dreams weren't always about her mother, either; sometimes they were about Alice and Tarrant, being hunted by the Red Queen, who would always overtake the two. And Alice had to stand watch while they bent Tarrant over the heart shaped chopping block, removing his head and filling his hat with dark crimson blood. She was led to kneel in the place where he had, his headless body lying next to her as the executioner forced her head down, her nostrils filling with the iron tinge of warm blood, her stomach tossing and turning with bile. She would place her chin in Tarrant's blood, her eyes shutting as she waited for the axe to swing and strike her back into consciousness. She could never decide which of the two recurring nightmares was the worst, but both were doing their sufficient job in keeping her from resting well.
The woman rubbed her eyes to try to rid herself of the images, turning back to the book to do her best to concentrate on her design for the wedding. She jumped when the door opened and Harriette came into her quarters carrying a tray of tea and biscuits, humming a cheery tune as she brought Alice something to eat before it was time to turn in for the night.
"Good evening, Future Mrs. Hightopp," She said with a warm smile across her pudgy face, and she took a moment to grab hold of one side of her skirt with her free hand to give the blonde woman a bow. Alice welcomed her over to the desk, waving her hand to encourage the lady in waiting to look at what she had decided on. "What are you doing now, my duck?" she asked as continued to carry the tray over.
"Have a seat, Harriette. I am just going over details for the ceremony," Alice said with a smile, glad for the distraction from her morbid thoughts. "It's going to be a rather quirt one, the Queen prefers it that way with her sister…well you know." Alice dismissed the idea, not wanting to relieve the horrors of her unconscious imagination every moment she blinked. Harriette put a hand on her shoulder and frowned.
"Alice you should be resting more." The woman traced her thumb along the dark lines under Alice's muddy green eyes.
"I will, I will." Alice insisted hurriedly, trying to brush away the concern. She tilted her head up to look into Harriette's deep brown ones. "I just need to get my mind at ease for a little bit, and working out the details that have been driving me bonkers has been doing so. It makes me feel like I am doing something besides sitting around and waiting." Alice explained as she flipped through the swatches and notes and Timetables in her journal.
"What sort of plans have you made, if you don't mind my asking, miss?" Harriette set Alice's tray down, beginning to pour the lady some tea while she looked over her shoulder.
Alice began to read the sketches that were on the first few pages of her notebook, the overarching details she tried to keep as accessible as possible. "Tarrant and I have decided that a late morning wedding would be best, and we are looking to invite only about, oh, one hundred guests. Of course, many of them are the friends who helped us when I came down to Underland." Alice chewed her fingernail as she read her handwriting in lamp light "Thackery is our best man and Mirana will be my maid of honor." Alice took hold of the handle of the tea cup, slowly lifting it to her mouth to drink some of the soothing lavender tea that Mirana insisted would give her peaceful night's sleep.
"What are your colors? Those are the most important part," Harriette replied matter of factly, nodding her head and sending her dark bun bouncing. Alice let out a sigh, glad that she had finally discovered the answer to that this morning
"Midnight blue and silver. I think they are simply elegant together and not too overstated. I think Tarrant and I do the highly colorful bit on our own," Alice tilted the journal toward the lady in waiting for looked at the colors with an approving nod of her head.
"Indeed," Harriette smiled. "I can see it all coming together now, Alice. You are going to simply be the most beautiful bride ever. What with your touching smile and your gorgeous golden hair," Harriette preened over the woman, offering her a biscuit. Alice took it with a grateful smile, nibbling on the biscuit while she put up with Harriette's fawning. "And I do believe blues are the most stunning of colors for you. I cannot wait to see what you are going to be wearing that day, as I'm sure you are going to look graceful and valiant, as you have your way of doing. Have you picked out your dress?" Harriette winked at Alice, who shook her head in the negative.
"Tarrant is designing it for me, and he refuses to allow me to look at it before the wedding, so I am not quite sure what I will look like. However, I am not going to be surprised when it is simply elegant." Alice looked up with a grimace on her pink mouth. "I'm not excited to have to wait two weeks, if I can be entirely honest with you."
"I don't blame you in the least, duck. But you are right; your husband to be has quite the talent for making gorgeous items, and I am sure your dress is going to be the finest garment he has ever made." Harriette took a seat in a sitting chair placed alongside the desk in Alice's apartment. She took a teacup and saucer in hand, settling in as she continued to talk with Alice. "That is certainly the Hightopp in him. His father could make the most beautiful of hats and gloves, his handiwork fetched the top prices in the market. He had been employed in royalty when he lived in the Outlands before, and none were surprised when the King and Queen before Queen Mirana and King Gavin employed Lord Hightopp in their courts." Harriette looked heavenward, her dark eyes showing she was searching her memory. "I remember my father had commissioned the milliner to make my mother something for her birthday one year. The man decided on a hat. And he made my mother a simply wonderful hat, she would wear it to all the great festivals in the castle. I used to sneak it on when she went out to the market and left me back home." Harriette recollected with a sad twinkle in her eye. "Those were good days. I think she knew that I played in all her fancy outfits, but she didn't dare say anything to me. There are days I wish I could have her back, but alas, those are the truly impossible dreams."
"Mothers are such wonderful things." Alice agreed with the lady in waiting, placing her book down to focus her attention on the woman before her. "I miss my mother tremendously; I wish she could be here for me now, to help me figure out all these details out. I was the brave one, she was the meticulous one."
"My mother was the kindest of hearts," Harriette nodded, brushing away tears that were forming in her eyes. "She wanted to make sure everyone had what they needed; she sheltered anyone who did not have a roof over their heads, she cooked dinners for the sick and the injured in Marmoreal. A kind lady she was." Harriette reached into her apron to withdraw a handkerchief which she used to dab at her nose and eyes. "Iracebeth was a true monster when she made her decision. My mother was killed in one of the Red Queen's tirades. She was an architect with the greatest of style. Iracebeth didn't like her first throne room, the one she commissioned my mother to make for her. She said it reminded her too much of her 'ugly little sister', so it was 'Off with her head!' and like that my mother was dead." She looked down at Alice's table.
"Oh, Harriette, I am sorry." Alice touched the older woman's hand in sympathy, wrapping her fingers around Harriette's. "That is truly awful."
"She has to be stopped, Alice. Her head needs to roll." Harriette's eyes were filled with fire and rage beneath her shining tears.
It took everything inside Alice to hold her tongue. She wanted more than anything to assure the lady in waiting that indeed all would be taken care of; that she, Alice the Champion, was going to be out tomorrow with a scythe to find Iracebeth of Crims and hack off her head for all the pain and suffering she had caused in Underland, all the senseless death she had commanded. Alice was ashamed that she sat here now planning her wedding and life of endless bliss to Tarrant, not thinking about all the crimes that Iracebeth had committed and attempting to take her down. But she had promised Tarrant she wouldn't focus on the Red Queen, that nothing could be done until after the wedding anyways, when they would pick their scouting party and go forth on a reconnaissance mission. Alice hung her head, looking away from the woman before her with a mix of grief and shame.
"Oh, Alice, I'm afraid I've spoken too much. The Queen has asked us not to mention her sister until after your wedding, so you can enjoy it." Harriette said and placed a hand on her mouth.
"Oh?" Alice tilted her head upwards to look at the woman before her again. Mirana had requested this silence as well?
"Alice," Harriette reached out to place a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "You shouldn't feel bad about this, you know that, duck? You have every right to have a wonderful wedding. Underland has been thriving in your absence; it can thrive just as easily in your existence. You did a wonderful thing out there with that horrid Jabberwocky and it's only high time that you were able to get a slice of the reward." Harriette's brown eyes searched Alice's green ones, her eyebrows raised as she tried to impress upon Alice a clean conscious.
Her moral compass could not be washed clean, however, as Alice still wrestled with the guilt that was inside of her. How could she get herself so lost in all that was going on with the wedding today that she forgot that the Red Queen was still a terror and a nightmare to the Underlandians? Alice rubbed her temples again.
"Alice please, don't fret." Harriette pleaded, her fingers gingerly massaging Alice's shoulder in a gesture of comfort.
A knock on the door interrupted the tension, and after a final squeeze of Alice's shoulder, Harriette got up to answer it.
"Oh good!" The lady in waiting exclaimed as soon as she opened it. She called for Alice to come join her at the door. "It's for you, duck." She insisted.
Alice uncurled herself from the chair and slowly walked across the sitting room to her small foyer where Harriette stood before the open door. Alice was surprised to find that it was Tarrant who stood there with a white dress laid across his arms. A proud smile crossed his red mouth as he took in the sight of Alice.
"I finished it several hours ago, and I thought that perhaps I should just keep it tucked away in the event that I might want to add a detail or so to it, but upon further thought I realized it was a proper Alice dress. Sitting in my workshop among hat orders I couldn't shake the feeling that you needed to be cheered up, my puzzle, so I decided it would not be right to keep you from your gown any longer." Tarrant bowed forward so that his outstretched arms came toward Harriette and Alice. Harriette took the dress from his arms, carefully taking it up in her own.
"I'll go hang this up in your room, Alice. We can try it on when you've finished your visit." Harriette began to leave the two.
"I don't want to interrupt our conversation," Alice insisted, but Harriette shook her head.
"No, it will be there when we decide to pick it back up. Besides, I have some straightening up to do before I help you get ready for sleep."
"I will meet you in the bed room, then?" Alice offered.
"Yes, and do not rush on my account," Harriette did not look back when she left the room.
"I certainly do not wish to interrupt anything important," Tarrant winced as he watched the lady in waiting leave.
"It wasn't terribly consequential, just a chat about the past." Alice smiled up at her fiancé as she pulled him into her apartment to stand in the adjacent sitting room. "I am glad you came to visit me."
"I await the day when I shan't have to leave you," Tarrant wrinkled his nose as he beamed down at her. "I hope the fits you well, I know you don't want me to see you in it and I respect that. Though I have already imagined you walking about like a vision in it, the skirt dragging behind you in the most-"
"Tarrant," she said softly, reaching her hand out to steady him.
"Right, sorry." Tarrant shook his head. "That was all I wished to do, Alice, was to bring you the dress. I don't wish to keep you up all night, seeing as you look tired," he thumbed the dark circles under her eyes with concern.
"I appreciate it, Tare. This is one thing I won't have to worry about in regards to the wedding, so my mind is more at ease and I am sure I'll sleep well," Alice nodded her head in agreement, hoping that her statement was more than just a white lie.
"Well then, fairfarren my love, sleep well." He leaned forward and kissed her lips. The tension in Alice began to dissolve as he pulled away from her, placing his hat back atop his head and turning back toward the door. She watched as he walked down the hall, glancing back once to give her his gap toothed smile and a wink. She blushed then shut the door.
"Are you going to try it on?" Harriette asked impatiently from the bedroom door. Her unexpected presence made Alice jump.
"I thought you said I shouldn't hurry on your account," Alice replied wryly.
"Your talented fiancé has just brought you your wedding dress and you're telling me that I am more interested in the gown than you are?" Harriette said with the tsk of her tongue.
"Oh, fine!" Alice conceded, entering the bedroom with a mock huff. "I suppose I should, to make sure it fits,"
Harriette let out a girly squeal of delight, quickly leading Alice into the corner of her bedroom to stand before he looking glass. Harriette then helped Alice undress and put her newly delivered wedding dress on. Alice slipped the perfectly fitted dress around her body, waiting anxiously as Harriette tied the corset in the back. Alice took a deep breath before she dared to look up at her reflection in the glass before her, when she did tears began slipping down her cheeks at the image before her and the increasing reality that this ceremony was countable days away.
"Oh Alice-"Harriette gasped, trying to finish her sentence but not having any words to express her awe.
The wedding dress that had been designed for her not only fit her perfectly, but was the most beautiful compliment to her body and complexion. The dress was the most brilliant shade of white that Alice had ever seen, falling to sashay over the marble floor beneath her feet. Tarrant had designed a very intricate neckline that swept across her chest; her bosom was delicately laced with diamonds and topaz. The off the shoulder sleeves ran out parallel to the chest of the dress and were rectangular, stopping at her mid elbow. The bodice was silky and smooth, pulling around Alice's curves until the dress began to widen out at her hips. Tarrant had pulled up fabric in the belled skirt and created a soft layered look which evened out toward the bottom before falling to the floor.
As Alice stood shocked at the image before her, Harriette quickly grabbed hair pins and pulled up pieces of Alice's golden trestles. Alice began to breathe quickly as the lady in waiting transformed her further, her tears came more rapidly. The next thing Alice knew she was waking up on the ground, Harriette was fanning her rapidly with a small hand fan.
"Are you alright dear?" She asked with concern as she helped Alice sit up to her rear. Alice nodded, the dress skirt bunched up underneath her as she tried to clamber to her feet. She felt badly for being on the dirty ground while wearing the brand new dress Tarrant had brought her.
"What happened?" Alice inquired, wondering how on earth she had reached the floor. Harriette let loose a hearty laugh in response.
"I'm afraid you've fainted love." Harriette helped Alice up to her feet, brushing out the skirt so that it was even with the floor once more. She then turned Alice and quickly undid the dress. "You've had a long day I think it's due time for you to rest." Harriette instructed in a matronly tone before she kissed Alice on the forehead. Alice nodded in agreement.
Harriette hung the wedding dress up in the closet of other gowns Alice had been given in her stay in Marmoreal. While the lady in waiting took care of the dress, Alice slipped into her nightgown, climbing into the mattress, her eyes suddenly heavy. They must have been encouraged by her last brush with unconsciousness, longing for a rest from her ever turning mind. She found after seeing herself in the mirror that she was happy to give it in the hopes she would dream sweet dreams of standing before Tarrant in the gown.
Harriette bid the girl good night before she slipped from the room, blowing out the candles and leaving Alice to her thoughts and her sleepiness.
"I'm getting married." Alice muttered gleefully as she drifted off to sleep. Her heart was racing and her stomach churning as it never had before, but despite all of the burning and the clenching, she felt completely all right.
A/N: I just saw ATTLG tonight, and oh my goodness, the TarrantxAlice feels! I hope you readers enjoy it as much as I did. I certainly have some ideas for the third installment of Mad Sort of Love I want to start workin on soon!
And, as always, if you enjoy the story, let me know in a comment!