The battle begins, who will be victorious and a surprise. Thanks again, reviews, comments, nonsense, flames, questions and concerns welcome!
Disclaimer: I own nada
Chapter twenty-one: Escaped
The sound of swords clashing rang out through the mansion.
Tarrant's blow was sound and enough to send shockwaves through Stayne's arm. Stayne held his own though, forcing Tarrant back.
Chessur had to admit, the hatter was as good swordsman as he was an artist. He fought with a strength that grew with each passing moment.
Stayne though was not to be bested, he fought hard, keeping his ground and dancing about parrying Tarrant's attacks. It seemed a deadly dance of attack and defend. Chessur recalled the last time these two fought and Tarrant had won. But today, he was tired and the wounds on his arms and hands were deep as blood seeped from them everytime he moved.
Stayne locked blades with Tarrant, a smirk remained on his face as he spoke.
"How does it feel, hat man, to see her in my arms? Kissing me, in naught but a sheet," Stayne said. Tarrant's eyes flash dangerously again. Chessur watch on as his skin turned paler and his hair seemed to lighten to a brighter orange and his eyes turned a bloody red with the whites seeming to brighten them. Though he hadn't made any hats, the poison always showed whenever he was gave wind to the maddess inside.
Tarrant growled as he broke the lock, almost slicing Stayne in two but Stayne counted and the dance continued.
Alice seemed to lose her nerve as she fell back into a dead faint.
He quickly changed into his human form as he caught her. Wills was there in an instant and briefly touched her hand. Chessur jerked back as Wills hissed at him. He felt a grin tugging at his face, she was quite entertaining.
A crashing sound brought his attention back to the pair just in time to see Stayne shove Tarrant back, hitting him hard against a dresser. Tarrant growled as he went to charge but Stayne produced a dagger and threw it. Tarrant hissed as it lodged itself to the hilt into his right arm. Stayne went to finish him but Tarrant raised his sword with his left and blocked.
"Just give up already, Hatter, you won't win," Stayne said as he smacked Tarrant with the hilt. Tarrant fell back but was on his feet, blocking again with his left arm. "Alice would suit a king better than she would a hatter any day." Tarrant drew himself up as he locked his sword to the hilt of the blade against Stayne's.
"Yer fergettin the fact that she ran to me afterwards, here's guessin she prefers a hatter after all," Tarrant growled as threw his weight forward, sending Stayne back. He grabbed the dagger embedded in his arm, yanking it out. Stayne eyes widened as Tarrant straightened, a wide, man smile on his lips as his eyes remained red as blood seemed to make him appear more ominous instead of weaker.
"Yer a spineless, gutless, arse of a man to think you can be taken another man's lass," Tarrant said his tone deep and broguish as he advanced. He raised his sword and struck Stayne's wildly and with strength that belayed his appearence. Stayne blocked it before it landed but his arms shook from the effort. "Alice will neva be yers and you can be bettin yer guts that if I catch ya trying to take her again against her will I'll have them for garters and gloves. I swear it." Tarrant landed a solid blow as Stayne raised his sword as the blade shattered from the force. Stayne scrambled back as Tarrant raised the dagger and threw it forward. The blade glanced Stayne's head, cutting the eye patch and part of his face. Stayne cursed as he held his face. Tarrant advanced as he raised his sword, the mad smile growing even wider as he laughed at the sight of Stayne's blood.
Wills handed Alice to him and was about to step forward but the sound of stampeding footsteps came from the hall.
Men wearing strange clothing and carrying pieces of metal came bounding in. Chessur carried Alice to the side of the room with him as Mally raced up and hid in his sleeve and Bayard growled standing protectively in front of Alice. The men drew back but one was pushed forward, his hands in shackles. He looked around and then pointed at Stayne.
"That's him, that is the man that hired me," the man said. "I was only doing my job, I didn't do anything wrong!" The other men held strange metal pieces up, pointing at Tarrant and Stayne. Stayne's eye narrowed as straigtened.
"Ilosovic Stayne, you are charged with conspiracy, forgery and wasting police resources," One man wearing a small hat and glasses spoke as a small click came from the metal piece he held. Chessur could smell a strong gagging scent that made him wrinkle his nose. "You will now be taken into custody."
"Alice, by god," Another man came forward, his brown blond hair was dripping sweat as he wore a light tan colored coat. Chessur drew Alice closer to him before he realized that he didn't want to give her up yet. He relinquished her quickly as ignored that his arms felt oddly empty and watched the man with narrowed eyes.
"Alice, Alice dear wake up," he said. The other men came in as Stayne held his broken blade out at them. Tarrant stepped forward towards Stayne but Wills moved by him and grabbed his arm. His head whipped over to her. After several tense moments before he lowered his sword.
"Alice!" Chessur heard a small groan.
Alice's eyes fluttered open. She slowly looked around before she bolted up startling the man.
"Tarrant," She cried. The hatter was at her side in an instant, his eyes no longer crimson but a worried blue. She detached herself from the other man and embraced him. Tarrant helds her closely as he glared at Stayne whose face was bleeding profusely.
Stayne looked around the room before he drew another dagger.
"Die," He roared as he launched it. With no time to run, Tarrant turned and braced for the impact but it never came.
Another man stood in front of couple. Alice froze as he fell to the ground.
"Sir Jenkins!" someone cried out as the other men begin to shoot small metal balls at Stayne. Chessur wrinkles his nose as the smell that protruded about.
Stayne was hit once as blood bloomed from the wound before he fled towards the balcony. He grabbed the ledge before launching himself ove. The men ran after him as far as the balcony before someone said to leave and follow him. The man who held Alice remained by her side as he knelt down next to the one who defended her. Chessur knelt down as he examined the man.
The knife the deeply embedded in his upper left shoulder, Alice's tears came as she touched his forehead.
"Why," She asked. The man smiled weakly.
"Helen would have my head if she found out that I stood by and watched and let you be harmed," he said. Alice's eyes seemed to flood even more as Tarrant grasped her hand. She looked up at the other man.
"Lord Ascot, please fetch the doctor," she asked. The man nodded as he left, one man remained as he came over to her.
"Miss Kingsley, I am glad you're alright," he said, he was a slight young man with glasses and a blue suit and coat. Alice's eyes widened again, Chessur noted she was surprised a lot tonight. Alice was about to reply before men filed into the room. The lead man took off his hat.
"I apologizes Miss Kingsley, Mr. Stayne escaped," he said. Alice's face became remote as she looked down at Sir Jenkins.
"Please, help him," She said. "Don't let him die." The man nodded as he gestured to the others. They carefully carried out Sir Jenkins. Chessur looked at Tarrant who hadn't spoken and saw his arm was covered in blood.
With a quick slight of hand, he produced a cloth.
"Let me bind your arm, Tarrant," He said. Tarrant nodded as a small grateful smile touched his lips. Chessur tied it tightly to stop the bleeding. He would have his cousin do the rest.
Alice stood as she clung to the bloody sheet that she wore.
"Um, if I may have a bit of privacy," She said. Every man in the room suddenly noticed the state of her dress and colored. Each filed out of the room but the door remained open in case Stayne came back. When Alice emerged she wore the remnants of a black and red dress. Tarrant's brow furrowed at the sight.
"If I may, Alice those colors do not suit you," he said. "They are terribly dark, you would do much better in blue or yellow, pink, purple, green silver, lavender-."
"Tarrant," She said. He stopped as he shook his head.
"Red . . . fed . . . sorry," He said. The man in the blue suit approached Alice.
"Mr. O'Brian, how did you find me," She asked.
"A concerned constable at the yard sent a message to Lord Ascot saying one of his associates was taken and he immediately dispatched a search party to track down Stayne and his man Stevenson. Stevenson was apprehended at his home, about to flee to Scotland. He revealed that Stayne had hired him and Lowell to place charged against you so you may be released into Stayne's custody. He said he didn't know what was to happen after that but he confessed to forging paper work and compiling charges against you and ordering the hold on your funds. Being an unmarried woman, the courts let the investigation go through since it is still seen as peculiar for a woman to have so much success.
"But then a letter arrived at the yard, claiming that you were under the custody of a certain Lord Gryphon and that there is a pending betrothal between you and a certain Tarrant Hightopp," O'Brian said as he produced a letter from his carrying case. Alice took it and read it through, her brow puzzled.
"I know this stamp," She said finally.
"So you can confirm this sender and its contents," O'Brian said.
"I can confirm that I have been courted by Tarrant Hightopp," Alice said carefully. Tarrant's face colored as she gestured to him. "This is said man." O'Brian shifted his case as he held out his hand. Tarrant tentatively shook it.
"A pleasure to finally meet you," he said.
"Delighted," he said. Alice continued to stare at the paper as if it was written in a foreign language.
"Is something wrong, Miss Kingsley," O'Brien asked.
"This seal, it looks like the one I saw when my father was alive," She said quietly.
"Your father? You mean the late Charles Kingsley, correct," O'Brien said. He looked down at it and his eyes widened. "By the rood, it does bare a strange resemblance to his stamp."
"Stamp," Tarrant asked, looking lost.
"Usually high end business owners use a personal seal or stamp to address letters," Alice explained. "My father always used the same one." She showed him a strange rose and monogram symbol. The letters G appeared to be intertwined but it was so abstract it was hard to tell if there was more.
"Your father was always the eccentric," He said. "But didn't he pass some years ago?"
"Yes," Alice said, her voice was distant. "He did." Chessur looked over at the constable who seemed to be waiting off to the side.
"It would seem there another who wishes to speak to you, Alice," he said. Alice looked over at the constable and nodded. She went with O'Brien over to the officer. Tarrant visibly relaxed.
"You seemed disturbed," Chessur asked.
"Too much in too little time, I feel drained," He said. "This place is a tax to the mind in itself; I fear everyone here is madder than I for it is the only way they seemed able to survive here." Chessur's grinned wider before he produced Tarrant's hat and placed it on his head. Tarrant looked at him with an odd expression.
"The hat suits you better than a sword." He said. Tarrant smiled weakly.
And the winner is, Hatter! (but of course!)
More questions, I plan to leave this story as a cliff hanger in order to make a sequel. I am enjoying writing it and it seems to be longer than what I originally planned but that is the maddness of Wonderland for you (Underland, my mistake ^_^)
On another note, If anyone knows Lowell's last name, I would very much like to know, I had to think up an M named since but I would love it if I could have his name. And also the circumstance for Alice's father's death if anyone can get me those I would be much obliged. Thanks and farefallen all!