Summary: After two years, Alice returns to Underland, to face a destiny far greater than she could ever have imagined.

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Pairing: Alice Kingsley & The Mad Hatter/Tarrant Hightopp

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or locations from Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, nor do I own any characters or locations from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. All rights go to Lewis Carroll, Tim Burton, Linda Woolverton, Disney, etc.


Alice in Underland

Chapter Twenty Nine

Day Five

Tarrant took Alice straight to the stables, where two carriages were already rigged up and waiting for them. Once both parties were all settled in, with Alice and Tarrant in one carriage and the guards in the other, they took off, heading east of Marmoreal so Tarrant could show Alice the White Sea. The guards followed, but were far enough behind for Alice and Tarrant to feel like they had a fair amount of privacy, so as soon as they left the grounds of the castle, Tarrant pulled Alice onto his lap and put his arms around her.

She turned to face him, taking off his hat and putting it on the seat next to them and he cupped a hand around the back of her head and pulled her to him for a sweet, gentle kiss.

"It's getting harder and harder to be around you without being able to hold you and kiss you like this," he said softly, reaching up to caress her face tenderly.

"I know," Alice agreed with a sigh, sliding her fingers into his hair and resting her forehead against his. "I miss you even when we're together, if others are around." She closed her eyes, breathing him in, their foreheads still together, and moved her hands to cup his face. Then she drew back to look at him.

He smiled and leaned forward, covering her mouth with his and kissing her softly.

She kissed him back, holding his face in her hands, and suddenly, she was overcome with an intense rush of love and tenderness that swept through her entire being, filling her heart so completely it brought tears to her eyes. "I love you so much," she whispered.

He pulled back to gaze at her and his expression changed when he saw her tears. "Alice...what's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked worriedly, frowning in concern.

"Because I'm happy. Because I love you so much it sometimes makes my heart ache. Because all I want is to be close to you and now there are all these new restrictions that make it harder for us to be alone together."

Tarrant gently wiped her tears away then pulled her close and hugged her tightly. "I know. But once Stayne is caught and out of our lives forever it will get better."

She clung to him emotionally and buried her face into his neck.

"Are you alright? Are you thinking about...what happened?" he whispered.

"No, it's not that exactly," she said in a muffled voice. "It's more about the repercussions of it. The guards. The need to stay alert. And, most of all, the worry that something could happen to you and take you away from me."

"Nothing will take me away from you," he vowed, his voice growing fierce.

She pulled back to look at him and saw his eyes had turned gold. "Shhhh..." she soothed, cupping his face and stroking it with her fingers. "You're right. I'm just being silly. Finding the kind of love we've found with each other...it seems to have turned me into such an intensely emotional person. It's so strange. I never used to be like this."

This time when he kissed her it was passionate and possessive, and Alice threw her arms around him in response and kissed him back with an ardour that matched his. As always, when they kissed like this, things heated up between them quickly.

Tarrant swept his hat off the seat in one move and pushed Alice down onto her back, and she pulled him down with her so he was half on top of her. They kissed rather provocatively, desire flaring up between them like a fire as their hands explored each other's bodies, and Tarrant grew bolder, pulling the skirt of her dress up so he could caress her upper legs and thighs as his mouth plundered hers.

Alice moaned softly, thrilled by such an electrifyingly bold move, something so deliciously forbidden, and kissed Tarrant more ardently, her hands in his hair, pulling him closer. "Oh God!" she gasped breathlessly, overcome with lust and desire, wanting him so badly she could barely contain herself.

He pulled back to look at her and his eyes were a strange mix of deep gold and emerald. He said something to her in Outlandish then kissed her again fiercely, pulling her skirt back down and then placing his hands on her stomach and sliding them up ever so slowly until they were on her breasts. The dress she was wearing buttoned in the back so he could only touch her over her clothes but it was so sensual and so very erotic, the way his hands were squeezing and caressed her, so covetously, as if he couldn't get enough of her.

She moaned, throwing her head to the side deliriously and Tarrant began kissing her now exposed neck with rapacious fervour, kissing and nibbling his way up to her ear and back down again as his hands moved and began to roam all over her body with a voraciousness that would have frightened her had it been anyone other than him.

Suddenly the carriage hit a big bump, and it was so hard it jolted them upwards and Tarrant had to grab hold of Alice to keep her from falling off the seat and onto the floor. "What the bloody...!" he growled. He finished the rest of his sentence in Outlandish so Alice didn't understand but she could imagine what he was saying all the same. And she felt quite the same way. Just when things were getting so good! Tarrant popped his head out the window and yelled at the horse in Outlandish and the horse responded with a regal sniff, telling Tarrant in a stiff voice that he couldn't help that the roads were so uneven in this part of Underland.

When Tarrant looked at Alice, who was laying on the seat, gazing up at him, all flushed and still breathless, he promptly forgot about the horse. "You look thoroughly debauched," he said in his heavy Scottish brogue, smiling wickedly, his smouldering eyes fixed on hers, burning into her, filling her with a fiery desire that was absolutely consuming.

She grabbed him aggressively by the lapel of his jacket and pulled him back down to her for another heated kiss.

He kissed her back feverishly, picking up where they left off, his hands insatiable, grasping at her body avariciously as his mouth ravished hers.

"Oh God...Tarrant!" she moaned, wrapping her hands around the back of his head and neck and kissing him quite lasciviously, in a way she'd never kissed him before.

That only served to inflame his desire. He pulled her up to a sitting position and grabbed hold of her hips, lifting and turning her, then he pulled her onto his lap so they were face to face and she was straddling him.

Alice threw her arms around him rapturously as his hands slid sensually up her back then down, all the way down, until they were cupping her bottom, and when he pulled her body tightly against his, he moaned softly at the contact, as did she, and they began to kiss each other wildly, totally swept away, their hands all over each other. "Tarrant!" she gasped breathlessly. "Don't stop!"

The motion of the carriage was making their bodies rock together rhythmically, and neither of them had ever felt anything like this before, this exquisite, burning fire that was rapidly spreading throughout their bodies, making them more and more breathless with each passing second. Tarrant gasped euphorically at the new and utterly divine sensations taking hold of him, and Alice did too, gasping and throwing her head back in ecstasy. It was incredibly intoxicating, and it awakened something in them both, feelings and sensations they'd never felt before, stirring them up in a way they'd never known was possible. Tarrant slid a hand up her back, wrapping it around the nape of her neck so he could pull her mouth to his. They kissed; a long, slow and sensual kiss that matched the rhythm of their bodies rocking together so deliciously, and it was so amazing and so incredibly erotic, Alice felt like she might burst into flames.

Then suddenly, the carriage stopped. They had arrived at their destination.

Tarrant cursed loudly in Outlandish, his eyes gold, and Alice wanted to scream at the horse, to tell it to keep going.

They stared at each other, reeling from the shocking and sudden letdown of such unfulfilled desire and need, frustrated beyond belief, both breathing heavily, their faces flushed.

Thinking of the guards, Alice got up and quickly took her seat beside Tarrant and they looked at each other, lamenting that they could be the victims of such bad timing. Tarrant took Alice's hand and pressed her palm to his cheek as if to calm himself, and despite feeling as stirred up and frustrated as Tarrant was, Alice reached out with her free hand to cup his other cheek soothingly.

The horse called out then, announcing that they'd arrived.

Tarrant snapped, his brogue as heavy as Alice had ever heard it, "We'll be out in a bloody minute!"

He looked so vexed, and his expression mirrored so exactly how she herself felt that suddenly she found it almost comical, and Alice couldn't help but laugh. Tarrant's eyes softened as she laughed, and after a moment he smiled. They gazed at each other, catching their breaths and straightening their clothes, and finally, they calmed down enough to exit the carriage.

The guards stayed several paces behind, standing next to their own carriage, and Alice blushed, wondering if they knew what she and Tarrant had just been up to.

Tarrant smiled at her, tellling her with his eyes not to worry, and he took her hand and led her over the dunes to the shore of the White Sea.

It was a stunning, fantastical view and Alice gasped in pure delight. "Oh!" she cried. "It's amazing!" She looked at Tarrant, wide-eyed with awe. "I've never seen a sea that was all white like this. It's like something out of a dream."

"What colour are the seas in the Otherworld?" he asked, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing it softly.

She smiled at the tender gesture then answered, "Blue...or green...sometimes grey, depending on the weather."

"I should like to see that," he said.

"Would you really?" she asked. "Would you like to see the Otherworld?"

"Of course," he said. "Just like you find Underland so exciting and different, I can't help but think I'd feel the same way about the Otherworld, especially after hearing all about your adventures there in the letters you wrote to me."

"Then we'll go one day," she said, smiling at him, her eyes shining.

They gazed out at the view of the White Sea that swelled gently beneath the soft blue sky and after awhile Tarrant said they'd have to go so Alice could be back in time for Tea with Mirana. Seeing Alice's look of disappointment at having to leave this magical place she'd only just found, Tarrant promised to bring her back again soon. "Next time we'll have a picnic if you like, and we can spend the whole day here together."

Alice smiled at him. "That would be lovely."

They went back to the carriage and Tarrant helped Alice get in then nodded at the guards, signalling that they were leaving. Once the guards got into their carriage, Tarrant got in next to Alice then tapped the side and told their horse they were ready to go, and the two parties set off, heading back to Marmoreal.

After the frustration of what happened before, and knowing Alice was to have Tea with Mirana right when they got back, they restrained themselves from letting their kisses get too passionate and instead, cuddled together contentedly. Laying her head on Tarrant's shoulder, with his arms wrapped tightly around her, Alice looked out the window watching the countryside pass by.

"It's really very pretty here," she remarked to Tarrant. "I can imagine a large village or a small collection of hamlets somewhere around here, between the White Sea and the castle. Can you picture it? It would be quite charming, I think."

"That's a very good idea," Tarrant said, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he imagined it. "Very good. Yes. I can see it perfectly. You should tell that to Mirana."

She smiled at him and he took her hand then after a long moment he spoke.

"Alice?" he said softly, sounding almost hesitant.

"Hmmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

She turned to look at him, hearing the trepidation in his voice. "Of course," she said, reaching up to stroke his cheek.

"You know how we're courting...officially?" he began.

"Yes?"

He looked down, shy suddenly. "Does that mean the same thing to you that it does to me? It might have different implications in the Otherworld."

Alice snuggled close and whispered in his ear, "What does it mean here in Underland, love?"

He blushed then whispered in her ear, "It means..."

"Go on..." she said softly.

"It means...well...an official, open courtship is regarded as a declaration of intent."

"An intent of what?" she whispered, her heart beating faster.

"An intent to marry," he whispered shyly.

Alice drew back to look at him then leaned forward and kissed him softly. "That's what it means in the Otherworld too."

He smiled and looked so happy it made Alice's heart swell. "So...then...we...?"

"Of course!" Alice said, her eyes shining with love and pure happiness.

Tarrant pulled her to him and kissed her tenderly. Then he wrapped his arms around her and held her the rest of the way back, both of them silent, awed and overjoyed by the idea of what lay ahead.