Fic: Of Tea & Chess

Rating: R

Summary: Alice & Hatter travel back to Wonderland for innocent reasons and discover that there is no such thing as coincidence.

Author's Note: I've got nothing that can't be covered in the ending note. Maybe...thanks for the R & R'ing!


Chapter 29: Misused Pawns

"Hatter?" Alice repeated. Her vision cleared slightly, her fingers tightening on his arm, and Hatter stepped from the darkness to the faint light coming in from the windows. He was still dark enough that he was hard to see but the light gave her enough to study. Alice took in the strip of face paint, the black clothing and absurdly slicked black hair with her own wide, confused eyes. This was Hatter...maybe... he seemed like some bland twin of Hatter, not at all the man she knew. For several reasons, not to mention that the tame hair was strange and so was the clean shaven face. Both absurd points to focus on but Alice lingered on it out of reflex before blinking and straining to see in the darkness. The shadows lifted slightly and the strain lessened. She looked up into his face and saw the brown eyes, the twinkle in them as he grinned at her crookedly. Then the cold twin of Hatter melted in her eyes and he became the one she knew.

"Hello," Hatter said lowly and with obvious delight, lifting his hand to cup her cheek. His thumb grazed over a small bruise on her cheek but Alice couldn't look away. She stared into his warm eyes, now darkened more by the strip of black paint that divided his face into odd halves. Then the light seemed to dim in his eyes slightly and they both remembered the last time he had touched her. Knowing she should be furious or frightened at the very least, Alice could only feel the touch of his hand. The familiarity of it made her relax and she used his presence to anchor herself. Alice swayed against his hand and he dropped it from her face as if nervous about it being there. "What happened?" Hatter demanded while he looked over his shoulder.

"I…" Alice frowned, wracking her brain furiously. She should remember but already she could feel her body starting to feel lethargic again. Panic flooded her that this could be another hallucination conjured by the White Queen. "I don't know. I can't remember. I'm so tired, Hatter, and I can't remember. I can't..."

The hysterical note in her voice made him shush her with a gentle murmur while he looked over his shoulder. "That's okay. Alice, don't focus on it. Just breathe. We need to get out of here but we need to wait for the guards to move in the next room as well. I slipped through but there was more coming."

She drew a deep shaky breath and nodded, starting to shiver again.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Alice asked, focussing on his appearance instead. Hatter shrugged, looking back at her as he self-consciously tugged on the coat lapel.

"Doing a rook's job, Alice. Saving the king and queen," he answered wryly. "I get to move in straight lines, you know."

"But you were in the Taiga…you should be lost," Alice whispered. Chesh had explained the rules to them all and she knew as well as Hatter did that the Taiga was very specific. He should be lost for days or at the beginning of the Taiga…wallowing in insanity perhaps. The thought made her heart actuallyhurt, even with him standing right before her. She was having a hard time believing that he was actually here in front of her, that this wasn't some hallucination. Alice hadn't expected that the thought could hurt as badly as it did. Unable to keep herself still, she reached up and brushed her fingers over his cheek, curling them against his now smooth jaw. His eyes fluttered slightly, as if the sensation of her fingers on his skin was nearly too incredible for him to bear while she slid her fingers around his face. He felt warm to her touch and Alice knew that she wasn't dreaming.

"I cheat at chess," Hatter said weakly and she stopped stroking his cheek. "You know me, I never have much patience for these sort of games. I always hated playing chess, you know."

Alice closed her eyes, her fingers still lingering on his face. She slid them down to his chest, feeling his heart banging an impatient rhythm beneath the thick clothing.

"Hatter…after what happened…how could you come here?" He gave her a puzzled look. "Everything that happened here…that must have happened…" She stared back, letting him know that she was now starting to realize why he had feared this place. "Why didn't you just wait for us to come back? Or just…left. I don't even know how you managed to get back here…"

"That's going to have to wait, Alice. I can't explain that in the thirty seconds we likely have left before that guard changes over," Hatter answered with a grin. She didn't smile back.

"After what I said to you…how can you come back here?"

As guilty as he might feel about his actions, Alice had her own guilt about her words to him. She could still feel his crushing strength but she could still taste her own bitter words. Knew that in her pain she had tried to hurt him just as badly as he had hurt her. Even through the shadows his eyes found hers and he lost the smile for a moment.

"Alice, I love you. Of course I would try to come back to you," Hatter said simply, the declaration falling naturally from his lips. "Did you think I'd let something like the Taiga keep me from finding you and making sure you were safe? Keep me from making sure you weren't getting into the trouble you often get into? It's not very likely."

She stared dumbly at him, his words making her throat clench. She was choking on the words she wanted to say, and he gave her a sheepish grin at her silence.

Alice was kept from responding when they heard a door slam open. Hatter pressed tight against her, his black clothing hiding them both as he pulled the long overcoat around her body. He felt her shiver as he hid her against him and felt her icy hands press against his chest. She was missing her coat and the cold was beginning to seep through the green shirt she wore. Listening for the Crows, Hatter took his one hand down and slid her almost frozen fingers between the folds of the leather armour and his shirt. He pressed them against his chest, ignoring the way the cold made him shiver when Alice whispered her thanks and pressed tight against his warmth. He bent his head against her shoulder to hide his face; he absorbed into the shadow so easily that no one just passing through would have seen them.

Hatter focussed on Alice's light breathing, smelling the faint sweetness on her skin. There was a drug in her system, he could tell; years of selling a style of drug to abusers let him have a good head for when one was used. Whatever it was made her tired but he didn't have time to linger on how to get it out of her. He listened instead to the sound of pounding boots and doors closing around them, counting to ten in his head before he lifted it and peeked around the corners. Glancing around, he grasped Alice's hand in his and tugged.

For a drugged girl, she kept up to his speed easily, racing beside him through the hallways. Hatter found himself remembering the corridors with remarkable ease, forcing his mind not to wander when it started to slip into dark corners. He ignored it when he felt the threat of the trap in his mind springing again as painful memories played in his head. Instead, he focussed on the tight grip Alice had on his hand as they ran through the corridors.

Alice hadn't realized how deep they were in the Manor until it began to feel that the Manor was going on and on, a maze of hallways and rooms each as empty and lifeless as the next. Hatter never looked away, moving with sureness that she wasn't certain he actually felt. The sureness stopped when he suddenly ground to a halt and she bumped into him. He looked left and right at two doors, frowning.

"This is…new. The hallway changed," he murmured.

"Which way?" Alice asked and he gave a shrug.

"Could be either. This wasn't here last time I was through here. But instinct tells me left," Hatter admitted. He moved to the left door and popped it open to reveal a study.

There was a small group of Crows seeming to be discussing strategy, a map of the Manor hanging on the wall. At the sound of the door opening, the Crows turned around and stared at them. Hatter swallowed, watching while they moved a few steps toward them and chirped inquisitively.

"Chirp…chirp….squawk?" Hatter tried weakly. The Crows looked at each other and Hatter just managed to slam the door before the Crows made it to the door. Beside him, Alice was staring at him incredulously. Hatter looked back at her before he ran to the other door, pulling it open to reveal another hallway.

"Chirp chirp?" Alice mimicked irritably. He huffed, grabbing her hand and starting to run again.

"Well, I was bound to be wrong at some time. I also don't speak bird, Alice. Feel free to chime in next time," he sniped back over his shoulder as they ran to the end of the corridor. It opened into another hall and he sighed, pausing to stare at it in exasperation. "I don't remember there being this many halls."

Behind them, Alice heard the sound of a door breaking down and men running down the marble halls. "I don't think it's time to be wondering about it, Hatter!"

She pulled on his arm and they ran down the hall. They were nearly at the other end of the hall when a door opened and Alice's arm was yanked on. She yelped, falling to the right and dragging Hatter down with her into the room. They fell hard to the marble floor, Hatter getting to his feet quickly and relaxing before Alice even had a chance to get to her feet.

"Alice!" Jack cried, grabbing her hands and pulling her up to her feet. Alice swayed dizzily and was immediately wrapped into a suffocating hug by a blubbering Charlie.

"Justalice! I had thought that I may have to contact you through the Oracles of Time and…"

"Yeah, save it, Charlie," Hatter answered. He and the Knave were at the door, leaning against it. Alice ran her fingers over her arms, cold again now that they had stopped.

"Where is Chesh?" Alice asked in confusion and they all avoided her eye for a minute. The Knave finally looked at her.

"He was the traitor, Miss. Alice," he informed her coldly before leaning against the door again. She started; staring at him because she remembered how convinced she had been that the Knave was the traitor.

Chesh had betrayed them to serve the White Queen…why did that suddenly seem so right? Crows, Cheshires…they all served her. Who knew what else did?

"They're coming down this hall. We'll need to make a break for it. I'm hoping that they can't catch us once we get to the front," the Knave said as he pressed an ear against the door. Hatter snorted.

"Any bright ideas beyond that? We all got some of the guns from those other Crows we took out but there's too many and shooting in close quarters ain't that safe," Hatter pointed out and the man gave him a look before he glanced at Alice. He glanced back again, frowning as he looked at her.

"What happened to you? Your mark is gone," the Knave pointed out. They all looked at her and she flushed self-consciously, rubbing at her skin. Jack lifted her hair for her.

"He's right."

"I…I don't know. I just remember her touching my neck," Alice answered. She ran her hands up and down her arms hard. Hatter came back toward her, pulling off the heavy overcoat and holding it out for her. He was still draped in the Crow's uniform from head to toe leather armour, so the overcoat was merely overheating him. Alice took it gratefully, shoving the sleeves to her elbows and finding that she was warming quickly.

"Her? The White Queen?" Jack demanded and she nodded as she buttoned a few holes on the coat. "This is just getting better and better. Why would she take a mark?"

Hatter looked away from Alice and at the door. "I'm thinking we should save this till we are clear. We'll need to take the straight way through until we get to the stairs." He opened the door and peeked out, seeing the Crows lingering where they had come from. "Charlie? You'll be keeping up, yeah?"

The White Knight huffed indignantly. "Of course, Harbinger, I am not some feeble old man."

"Right then. I suggest Royalty first," Hatter declared and Jack gave him a look. All of them were looking at him actually, even Alice, and Hatter sighed, checking on the Crows who now were looking away from them. " 'Course. Pick on the insane one just because he knows the area."

He jerked the door open and they all followed him as silently as they could. They crept as quickly as they could, Hatter gesturing to them as he opened the door to the next hall. But Charlie's armour was noisy enough that it clattered and the Crows chirped. Hatter ushered the others through the door and turned in time to see the Crows charging impossibly fast toward them.

"Charlie!" Hatter said as he ran beside the older man, whom was moving with his usual knobbly kneed pace. "Now would be a good time not to move like an old man!" He grabbed hold of the Knight's arm and yanked him after them all. The Knave grabbed Charlie's arm and pulled him as well while Hatter let go.

Hatter led, slamming open doors, while the Knave took the rear, unable to close the doors behind them as they raced. Jack realised that Alice was starting to lag, grabbing her hand and pulling her beside him. She seemed to be growing tired, her eyes huge and pale in her face. Hatter skittered this way and that way, following some invisible map as he went, muttering to himself directions and occasionally looking over his shoulder at them all.

When they reached the last hall and the stairs came into view, they all began to sprint, hopeful at the sight of possible escape. Hatter skittered on the marble, sliding halfway past the staircase on the slick floor. Jack and Alice turned for the stairs, not seeing the black shape launching itself for Jack, its body that of a man and a bird. It crashed into them, raising a hand to grab at Jack's throat. The young Heart felt the fingers tighten on his windpipe, black spots in his vision as he gasped for breath. There was a loud bird-cry and Jack felt the grip tighten to almost crushing strength. Alice went to help him but was thrown to the side, Hatter barely catching her from falling over the railing. The Knave sprang forward, letting go of Charlie and leaping forward, latching himself around what appeared to be flying Crow. This one was more birdlike and massive than the others, actual black wings attached to its back that beat in fury when it tried to dislodge him.

It sprang from its knees and straight up into the air, slamming its back against the wall. There was a crunch of marble and ceramic, the Knave still clinging to its back even when his head cracked hard against the marble. The Crow sprang into the air again and he grabbed its head and chin in his hands, twisting hard to the left. There was a snap of bone and the creature squealed, falling over the railing with him to the foyer floor. They heard the loud crunch of the pair landing and Alice scrambled across the broken stairs. Charlie and Hatter grabbed the still stunned Jack under his arms, following Alice down the stairs.

The Knave was lying on the ground, still breathing but staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, while the Crow's body was lying broken to the side. "Are you okay?" Alice asked as she fell to her knees beside him. She couldn't see anything broken beyond the marble he lay upon.

"Beyond falling two stories onto my back…yes," the Knave drawled, his eyes finding his King. "Sire?"

"I'm fine, thanks to you. What about you?" Jack asked and the Knave shrugged, groaning as he pushed himself up. Hatter and Charlie exchanged a look, knowing that the impact of the fall should have killed the Knave. When Hatter looked back at the Knave, he saw the blood dripping down the pale man's ear and opened his mouth. The Knave caught his eye and shook his head firmly.

"We're close," Hatter said instead. He turned to the massive doors and jerked to a halt, swallowing the lump in his throat. The others turned slowly at the sound, crowding behind him as they saw the Crows blocking the door. There were more this time, all staring intently at them. Jack cleared his throat.

"You don't think you could trick them again, do you?" he whispered to Hatter and the man gave a nervous laugh.

"Ah…no."

Alice sighed. "We've already established that he can't speak bird."

Hatter gave her an annoyed look over his shoulder. "We couldn't just strike a bargain with them? I am good at that."

"The White Queen claimed they would only serve her. She must have transformed birds into men though; these aren't normal," Jack answered, one hand going to his coat to wrap around the butt of the stolen gun. "And I don't think we have enough bullets."

Alice stared at the Crows, edging past Hatter slightly to look at them. They were all staring stoically at them. She barely remembered what Crows were in the book Through the Looking Glass, they hadn't really figured that much into the story line beyond a bit of a red herring to further the plot. The book, the story she remembered, had been remarkably true though. From the Tweedles to the Queen of Hearts, there were pieces here and there in this world she was travelling… how much was here that she hadn't really seen?

The thought of the insane doctors made Alice look at the Crows with more curiosity than before. " 'Tweedledum and Tweedledee, agreed to have a battle,' " she whispered and Hatter looked over at her but Alice was staring intently ahead of herself, still swaying a bit from the drugs.

"What you doin'?" he asked. "It's not a kid's story, remember?"

"The Checkerboard Taiga…it wasn't called that in the story I read. But everything we've seen…there's been pieces of it here," Alice answered. "What if the Crows are something the White Queen took control of?"

"Not sure how she did that. Crows bein' birds and all," Hatter argued but she shushed him. The pieces were sliding together into her head like jigsaw puzzles but she couldn't stop to explain it to him. Alice moved around him and shook off his hand when he went to keep her back. The Crows across from them all seemed to shake their shoulders, several moving forward from the doors as well. Alice didn't make a threatening move to them and the strange men didn't do more than stare at her.

"For Tweedledum said Tweedledee had spoiled his nice new rattle," Alice recited as she walked forward, her eyes on the ground as she struggled to remember the odd little rhyme that suddenly came to mind. " 'Just then flew down a monstrous crow, as black as a tar-barrel; which frightened both the heroes so, they quite forgot their quarrel.' "

She stopped halfway across the foyer hall, the Crows meeting her half way and seeming ruffle with tension. Alice stared at them, seeing them up close and finally in more detail. Unlike Hatter's face, there was a faint mark of a checkerboard on one side of their necks and on the other side was another mark, that of a serpent eating an egg. Alice saw the Crows still staring back at her and cleared her throat, the stories flickering through her head.

"First Boy!" she declared, feeling more than a little foolish as she pointed at the Crow nearest her and snapped her fingers. The man jumped and squawked. "Next Boy!" Another squawked and Alice continued down the line, pointing at each and snapping her fingers. When she did it, each one stared at her in rapid fascination, one even looking at her green shirt. The others, standing far behind her, watched in confusion, but Alice felt like her skin was almost quivering. She lifted the shirt enough that she exposed her second mark, the green wings that decorated her hip, and saw that that mark was still bright.

The Crows gave another squawk in unison this time and Alice put the shirt down, squaring her shoulders. She looked at the first in the eye, the rhymes now in her head with stark clarity. "`I wish the monstrous crow would come!' thought Alice'," she recited again. "So you did come, you saved her…and you were captured." One ducked its head, the way a bird would to peck at its wing, and Alice felt a flash of pity for the creatures. They were all looking so intently at her, the way a captured bird would from its golden cage. Starving for freedom. None of them stepped toward her; all on guard though.

"She called for help in her mind and you came to save her. But she never let you go, did she?" Alice asked, and the first Crow gave a squawk. His black eyes dropped to the ground. "I'm sorry."

Behind her, Hatter and Jack exchanged puzzled looks. "Did you teach her how to speak bird?" Hatter asked.

"Not to my recollection. I can't. You?"

"Wasn't really on my mind. Considering I don't speak it."

Alice didn't hear them, reaching out slowly with her hand. The Crow stared at it, bracing himself, but Alice touched its icy hand. "Why won't you let us go?" Alice asked while she let his hand go. The Crow seemed to shudder, opening its mouth to speak.

Its voice was harsh from misuse. "We serve her."

"She's mistreated you though," Alice answered. "How can you serve someone who forces you to kill?"

"We have only known two of her kind with her power," the Crow answered but his fingers suddenly laced around Alice's. Alice gasped and shut her eyes. The image of the Crows on their knees when the White Queen demanded their fealty flooded Alice's mind. She saw when the creatures were frozen to statues or trapped in the Ivory Woods, unable to escape because of that bond. Then the vision was gone and she stared at the lead Crow in shock.

"Do you know why she asked you to keep us here?" Alice tried and the Crow nodded.

"To keep the Oyster and the King contained."

"My name is Alice," Alice corrected and the man gave a jerk, as if her name had struck him like a slap.

"The Alice?" he parroted. The phrase was rapidly becoming familiar and Alice nodded.

"I am The Alice," she said, playing along. He looked at the others.

"We were created from the mind to serve Alices," the creature stated. He released her hand.

"Then let us go. We can help win your freedom," Alice said. The Crows looked at her and then at one another, chirping back and forth. Alice thought about the stories, the rhymes about the Tweedle Twins. "You were asked to save an Alice. I'm asking you to save our lives and Wonderland by letting us go."

The lead Crow took a step back, his eyes darting to his comrades nervously. They chirped back and forth rapidly, loud clicks and whistles. The lead Crow looked at her again. "We cannot renege on our vow," he stated stubbornly.

"What vow?"

"To serve the Queens, the Alice and who the Alice tells us to serve." He gave a twitch of his head to the side, staring as the others slowly walked up behind Alice. Alice bit into her lower lip.

"I am Alice," she insisted.

"We were made to serve the Alice. There was a declaration you know," the Crow answered, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a weathered piece of paper. "But we do not remember it. We cannot read it."

Behind Alice, Charlie gained the faraway look in his eyes and Hatter gave him a hard nudge in the side. The man sputtered out instantly "I've a sceptre in hand, I've a crown on my head!' "

The Crows squawked in irritation at him while Hatter struggled to silence the old Knight. Under the noise, Alice read the rhyme on the scrap of paper aloud, " 'Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be, come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me.'"

Jack, standing at Alice's shoulder, gave her a look. "What is it?"

"Oh…" Alice looked at the Crows and chose to ignore Jack. "I see. I am sorry"

The Crows all squawked.

"See what?" Hatter asked and Alice looked over her shoulder at him. He met her eyes.

"Something I think you already knew, Hatter, but maybe you didn't remember it...or didn't want to," she answered. He swallowed but there was no anger in her voice, just resigned sadness.

"I am hoping someone will fill me in at least," Jack grumbled.

Alice squared her shoulders again, trying to look as regal as she could in an oversized leather coat and ragged skirt. "The first Alice is no longer Alice. I am Alice. And I do not want your help in this. I do not order you to help."

She said the odd phrase with such command that the Crows and the men behind her all stared at her. Trying to hold the poise, Alice struggled not to sway on her feet, still ready to collapse as the drugs begged her to sleep.

Reaching out, Alice touched the Crow's shoulder. "Let us go, please. We can help you. Let us help you. In exchange for your help for the first Alice, I want to repay her debt to you, a payment that was denied to you the first time."

The lead Crow made an odd sound in his throat and then leaned his head back. While they watched, a loud bird scream came from his throat, filling the foyer hall with an echo. The Crows beside him parted immediately, forming a long salutatory line. He brought his head back down and stared at Alice.

"For you, Alice, we shall stand down for now, to give you time to do as promised. But if we are requested to the side of the Queen, we will have to join her," he warned.

"Fair enough," Alice answered. She smiled at him and the Crow seemed startled by the gesture, bowing to her lowly after a moment. Alice glanced over her shoulder at a still speechless group of Wonderlanders before she cautiously led the way to the massive doors. The Knave limped behind the group, spitting out blood while he eyed the Crows. They all stood with their heads bent, still as statues and eyes on the marble floor. Still uneasy, he made sure to close the doors tightly behind himself when they left.

Alice took a few steps out onto the front balcony, sucking in the clear and fresh air. Behind her, Charlie was starting to mutter about the cold and how it would rust his armour. Hatter ignored him, his eyes on Alice. Jack watched them both, puzzled by how clearly they understood each other and how Alice had no real fear of Hatter while he was still feeling a bit uneasy around him. It was hard to dismiss the madness that he thought he could still see lingering in Hatter's eyes.

Pushing her dark hair away from her eyes, Alice took in the sight of the Manor grounds with relief. She felt the fresh air start to lose its effect and sighed. She turned her head to the side, seeing that Hatter was still staring at her intently. They all were.

"I'm tired," she murmured before her eyes rolled back into her head. Hatter caught her just before she sagged to the ground. Instead of falling unconscious, she simply drifted asleep despite their demands for her to wake up, one hand going out and clenching hold of the leather armour on Hatter's chest tightly.


Author's Note: Fans of TTLG will recognize the part of Tweedledee/dum, the rhyming Alice uses to try to identify them. My favourite part of that chapter is the twins' attempt at a battle, disturbed by a large crow. I never attempt for pure evil for all of my characters (though there are usually some); all have motivations to be who they are, why they are and what they shall be. Ooo...how philosophical of me to be on at this hour of the night