Okay, here's a short (sorry) but intense (hopefully) chapter. Alice says goodbye to Wonderland.
Alice hissed through her teeth as the nurse removed the bandage around her injured ankle, stealing away the support it had provided her sore joint. Her father's face twisted into a sympathetic grimace.
"Sorry, Jellybean. It'll be difficult enough going home to your mother injured like this, without having to explain why you're bandaged up, too," he offered apologetically. The girl shook her head.
"I know. At least that stuff they put on me healed up the cuts most of the way." She turned the hand which had held the shard of the Vorpal Blade palm side up. All that remained of the slices to her flesh were a couple thin lines where the scabs remained. The gash on her head was apparently too deep for the amazing salve to be affective. Without the gauze over it, her hair covered the wound, so she wouldn't have to explain that so much as keep it hidden. A bit of concealer, which was just like the kind in her make-up kit at home so far as she could tell, covered the green oyster mark.
Her injuries weren't her real concern, it was lying to her mom. Ethically speaking, not practically. Carol had never been particularly good at catching her daughter in a bold faced lie; it was only when the girl wasn't certain if she wanted to deceive her mother that the older woman could see something was amiss. Alice had never been sure how to feel about that.
"All set," the nurse announced, rolling up the bandage. Her patient stood from the chair she had been seated in and limped from the room. She didn't really need Carpenter's support, but accepted it when he offered, knowing it did him as much good to be a caring father as it did her to have one.
Under Hatter's lovely coat, she had changed from the knight's clothing that Charlie had given her, back into the dress she had worn that night a million years ago. Her feet were bare, as her sandals were resting somewhere at the bottom of the vast lake and, as far as she was concerned, they could stay there. She and Carpenter were in the building that housed the Looking Glass; actually, just down the hallway marked Debriefing. In the main hall where the Glass stood, the displaced oysters were milling about, a healthy buzz of conversation echoing gently off the marble floors and up into the high ceiling. The White Knight was waiting for her there, wearing his chain mail and looking anxious. When she entered the train station-like chamber, he smiled from ear to ear.
"My lady," he bowed grandly, something she never had quite gotten used to. The girl returned his smile with one of her own, despite the lump in her throat. Alice had never had a problem with goodbyes. When you expect everyone to leave you, they're inevitable. This was different. She had always planned to leave Wonderland; in fact, it was pretty much her main goal throughout her adventure, but now it was hitting home hard that this wasn't "see you later" or "until next time". This was goodbye.
"Sir Charles," she intoned, having to make an effort to keep her voice level. She released her father's arm and curtsied. Offering the elderly gentleman the paper-wrapped bundle she carried under one arm, the girl said, "I can't take this back with me. I'm sorry."
The knight nodded, accepting the clothes without protest. "I'm gonna miss you, Charlie," she admitted unexpectedly. The old paladin's jaw tightened, his bottom lip quivering suspiciously.
"I shall miss you, Alice of Legend," he responded in kind. She didn't correct him. Not because of what the Cheshire Cat had said the night before, but because he was Charlie. They shared a fond, sorrowful embrace and he stepped aside, shoulders back, chin high, proud like a valiant knight of the realm should be.
Her father took her hand once more and squeezed it gently. "Looks like this is about it, Jellybean," he said, eyes sparkling suspiciously. She sniffled and shook her head.
"No, it's not," Alice insisted, swallowing the tears that wanted to make their way to her eyes. "Not even close."
Her father would stay behind for now, but he would be coming after her. A couple months, that was what he had promised and that promise he would keep. There was no room for doubt in her mind. The man smiled gently and nodded.
"You're right," he agreed, laying a hand aside her cheek. "Take care of your mother for me until I get back?"
The girl's lips curved upwards and she nodded right back at him.
"Alice?" The voice speaking from behind her was unmistakable and she turned from her father to see the uncrowned King of Hearts. His eyes were deep pools of emerald emotion as he gazed at her. The prince drew a breath and when it hitched, she didn't hesitate to go to him and wrap her arms around his neck, letting him hug her close. His hold was gentle, careful of her sore ribs, but filled with warmth. "You're sure you won't change your mind?"
She knew what he was asking and knew she would not. He'd known, too, before he'd even asked. "No, Jack." He swallowed and let out a soft, sad breath. Tilting her face upwards, Alice pressed her lips to his gently. There was no flutter of dull panic in her stomach now. In her time in Wonderland, she had moved beyond that; she was free in herself. There were no butterflies, either, just a tender affection. His lips broke the kiss, his forehead resting against hers. The man was no longer her Jack, though he would always be more to her than only the Prince of Hearts.
"I love you, Alice."
"I love you," she whispered. It was true and she admitted it freely, knowing he would understand it wasn't that kind of love.
"Will you do something for me?" the most powerful man in the whole of Wonderland asked softly, his eyes slipping shut for a moment.
"Yes," she told him without even thinking about it. Strange after all he had put her through, but they were passed that. Jack drew back from her, pulling her arms down from his shoulders and pressing something small into her palm.
"Be the one to restart the Looking Glass?" Taking one of his hands in her empty one, she gripped it tightly and nodded.
"What do I do?" The prince smiled, leading her to the massive contraption. The albino technician was there, still, standing beside the machine. He pressed a button on the small box which had held the ring on her last visit to this room and it opened, the bright light spilling out once more.
"Place it in there," he instructed. I could have figured that out. Alice stepped forward, slipping the ring into the little slot on the pad. The technician closed the box and the machine hummed to life once more. The mirror shimmered, rippling like a pond and in the glass, Alice saw a familiar figure. And it looked like he was leaving.
"Hatter!" she gasped out the name louder than she intended, spinning towards the doors. He was facing her when her eyes found him again, so perhaps it had been her mind playing tricks that made the little oyster think her friend was about to walk out without a word. The man was wearing the same emerald paisley shirt and black slacks as the day before, with the addition of black boots, a dark, dark brown Victorian-style coat, and black derby.
"Alice," he smiled, sounding pleasantly surprised. "Hey!" Gingerly making his way through the crowd - begging the pardon of a few oblivious oysters he may or may not have actually bumped into - he came to a stop just before her. "I was, um.. I was afraid I might've missed ya."
"Well, you are cutting it a little close," she pointed out lightly. Not that she was worried for a second that he would not come. Showing up at the last second seemed to be Hatter's mode of operation, if their experiences together over the last few days were true to his character.
His shoulders hunched contritely. "Yeah. I was," he paused, breaking eye contact as he searched for an excuse. Apparently, the man came up empty, because the next words out of his mouth were, "I guess I was trying not to think about it."
It was such bare honesty that Alice was not fast enough to react to the statement before he rushed on. "Anyways, I wanted to say 'goodbye'."
She blinked at him as he nodded once, satisfied with that. Her mind raced to process what the man had just said, skimming over the more complicated former and focusing on the simpler latter. "Goodbye?" Alice repeated with perplexed disbelief. "That's what took you all night to plan?"
Her tone was gently teasing, as the day before he had mentioned something about her not giving him time to come up with a proper farewell when she told him she was leaving. He hurried to add something else, to give himself more credibility.
"And… if you, you know, ever fancy coming back…" She shook her head with a smirk as he trailed off.
"You mean you don't want me to stay?" It was spoken as a joke, but her chest tightened as she said it. Where had that come from? Of course, she couldn't stay. She had to leave. Her mother, her whole life was waiting for her on the other side of the Looking Glass.
Hatter smiled, looking up as he exclaimed in a comically high pitched voice, "Hell no!" He chuckled, then added, in a more reasonable fashion. "No, you," he wrinkled his nose cutely. "I think you should go home."
The tightness worsened and no matter how she wanted to blame it on her ribs, the girl knew they weren't the cause. Incredibly, the girl found that, at that moment, she didn't want to leave. This world was as alien to her as the jade glow cast by its moon, no matter how easily she might overlook it. Alice did not belong in Wonderland. But it was not Wonderland making her heart ache. And perhaps she wasn't alone in her tumult of confused feeling. Maybe the breath Hatter had just drawn came out a touch shaky, but he was right, she needed to go home.
"Yeah," she forced out, trying for the same lightness her voice had held a moment before. "I think I've had enough of Wonderland for a while."
"Yes, I am sure you have. Right?" her friend agreed with a breathy laugh that she tried to match.
"Maybe a lifetime or two." Hatter nodded, his smile fading as he sobered, looking at his shoes before meeting her eyes again.
"Still, we had… we had a laugh, you know? Had some good times." His expression was tenderly hopeful for a fraction of a second before he covered it with an ironic smirk. "Obviously, among all the bad times."
Alice smiled gently at him, shaking her head. "No, we didn't." Being chased by people and things that wanted them dead, tortured, beaten, and bruised and - in his case - broken.
"No?" She completely understood the thought behind his quietly questioning tone. The things they had gone through were horrible, but those times they had been together seemed different. Better.
"Well, that one time was nice," the girl admitted softly. The choirflies. That had been more than nice, it was downright magical. His dark eyes mirrored her own stormy, blue-gray and she knew he was thinking the same thing.
"Yeah," Hatter agreed, his voice oddly deep and barely above a whisper. Her breath hitched and she licked her suddenly too dry lips. Her eyes dropped to his parted lips, remembering how very close they had come to her own. He swallowed hard, but said nothing more.
"Alice?" came a voice she recognized, but couldn't place. Looking over her shoulder, the girl saw the technician not far off, with pale eyebrows raised expectantly. Right. People were waiting.
"Sorry," she said quickly and turned back to her friend. She had put off removing the lush coat until the last possible moment, but it had arrived. Alice shrugged the jacket off her shoulders, looking up when she heard a click of breath between teeth.
"You don't have to," her friend was saying, brows furrowed slightly. He trailed off into silence once more, taking in her appearance as though he had not noticed what she was wearing until just now. The muscle in the side of his jaw twitched and the girl didn't think he was breathing any longer. His intense stare made her shift, not exactly in discomfort, but because something in his gaze wouldn't allow her to stand still.
"I can't bring it back with me. I have to go as I came," she explained, ignoring the way she sounded almost out of breath and held the coat out to its rightful owner.
"Oh," he said, blinking his way out of whatever thought had held him so still a moment before. "Brilliant." He smiled, dusting the coat off and draping it over his cast carefully. "Thank you."
Now the two stood, awkward like school children, each trying to find something to say to prolong the moment or swiftly bring it to an end. Apparently, Hatter was in the second camp.
"So, we should," he opened his arms - arm - as best he could and Alice got the message. She stepped closer, slipping her arms around his waist. The hug was anything but satisfying, short and almost impersonal as she didn't dare press any closer for fear of causing him pain. The only thing she did manage was to inhale his scent deeply, that mix of deep warmth and spice, one last time.
As they pulled apart, unspoken words crowded behind his dark gaze, pulling harshly at the little oyster inside. God, he could always read her so easily, how could he not see the storm churning behind her ocean eyes? She hurried to fill the spaces left by the things he wouldn't say.
"You could always visit my world," she offered, praying it didn't sound as desperate aloud as it did in her head. "You might like it."
"Yeah," he agreed with far too much enthusiasm. "We could… we could do pizza."
Alice forced a smiled that felt broken on her lips. She understood now. He could read her, he was reading her, he knew exactly what was going on in her mind - as he always did. "Yeah." It was easier to fake the airy tone now than a moment ago, now that she understood. "There's lots of other things to do in New York, too."
"Alice, please," the technician said from beside her. She hadn't even noticed him moving towards her. He took hold of her arm gently and urged her towards the Looking Glass.
"Really?" Hatter asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "I was just-"
The girl let the pale man lead her away, glancing back just once with a parting smile. I'll miss you most of all, Scarecrow. Hatter's mouth opened, his eyes filled with yearning. She knew he wanted to tell her he knew how she felt, he wanted to reassure her she would be alright; he wanted her to let him go. He was her friend and he cared, nothing less, nothing more. For her own part, she wanted him to know she understood, but there wasn't time. There were thirteen steps between Hatter and the Looking Glass and that was the shortest and longest distance she had ever traveled in her life.
"Just force yourself to breath," the pale technician advised, planting a hand in the middle of her back. The last thing Alice Hamilton saw of Wonderland was Hatter, reflected for her in the mirror. Her cloudy gaze met his dark one just before she was shoved through the Glass and fell forever through light and into crushing shadow.
Sad? Heart wrenching? I'd say sorry, but I'm not really. We all know it turns out alright in the end. Still... I do feel bad for Hatter and Alice.
Oh, btw, there were a couple things that somehow got left out of two previous chapters between my computer and . It was bothering me so I fixed it. It's just the last paragraph of chapter 4 and the first paragraph of chapter 12. Nothing huge, just something that was digging at me.