Title: Illusions & Destinies
Rating: R for the most part, M for select chapters
Author's Note: Can't believe I actually spent time researching such things as eye colour and what have you. My work computer has never had such ill-use :P. It's hard to reconcile my version of the QoH with the Alice one in my own words, so it was easier for me to channel some Misery inspired insanity.
Chapter Thirty-Six: A Mad Bargain
"Well, cat got your tongue?" the Queen asked, her voice a little louder as if Alice was deaf, and still Alice couldn't answer her. The Queen had barely changed despite her time in the prison; the regality in her stance, the icy demeanour, the tiny sneer that lit up her face and made her seem like some malevolent, out-sized doll, it was all the same as it had been when they'd first met in the Casino. For the slightest fraction of a moment, Alice did feel as if she had lost her nerve. Faced with the very real possibility that she would be killed, drained, that her mother might share the same fate, made her stomach clench nervously.
But then she felt a tiny kick on the wall of her womb and she squared her shoulders as she regained her equilibrium. I've come too far, done too much, she thought to herself, to be frightened by her.
"I think," she cleared her throat and then gave the Queen an equally cool once-over, "that you really don't care what I have to say. You're just filling in the air with your own voice since you like it so much."
The snide tone in her voice made several of the guards recoil and look at one another. Only the widowed Amelia had dared to speak to the Queen like that and it was only because she was not afraid to die. Behind them, Amelia smirked in amusement.
But the glint in the Queen's eye was faintly appreciative.
"So you have become braver, Oyster, and yet not more intelligent. A pity, girl." She drawled out the girl to make it sound like gull and Alice resisted the urge to correct her. "It is an odd thing, Mr. Dodo, to think that this stripling helped end my rule. That she thwarted another Queen and King. An odd thing indeed."
She circled around Alice, looking her up and down. "And she still manages to look like something washed through the Sewers."
"Oh you have no idea," Alice muttered but no one heard her.
"What exactly do you have in mind to do with her?" Dodo asked from where he stood, smirking as usual.
"How was she found exactly?" the Queen ignored him to focus on her Suits and Alice sent Dodo a stony glare that actually made him look at his feet. But she doubted he was actually afraid of her; he never had thought she was much of a threat and she knew that no words from the Queen would changed his mind.
A Club cleared his throat. "On the bridge, apparently sleep walking. She woke up when one of our guards found her." He counted in his head. "Several miles out from the last recorded place where the Resistance was residing. It is a fair distance for her to walk completely undetected. We didn't want to question why. It was safer to take her before the Resistance became alerted."
"Some lucky fate delivered her," Dodo muttered but his face was anything but joyous.
"So the true question is, is she a gift wrapped up nicely... or a bomb disguised within innocent wrapping?" the Queen thought aloud. "And do we defuse the threat or allow it to explode?"
"Do you really think I'd actually want to walk here of all places? Away from the Resistance's protection? You people are the last ones I want to spend even a minute with," Alice snapped. The Queen smirked.
"I suppose it depends on if you are as a stupid as you look." Her icy gaze snapped to Dodo and she swished her skirts around her heels for effect when she swivelled on her heel . "You're free to come along if you wish while we await the next move. However, I expect your final results later today. You have what you need?"
Dodo hid the Stone in his palm and adopted a guileless expression. "Surprisingly, yes."
"What about my mom?" Alice demanded. When she saw his smug grin, she uttered a strangled growl and leapt forward, only to find her arms grabbed by two of the guards. The urge to just claw his eyes out was overwhelming and Dodo was clearly relishing his triumph over her since she was so safely restrained. He leaned as close to her as he dared and gave her a mocking pat on the head.
"She'll be treated well. So long as she suits the purpose, the only purpose you Oysters really have of value. But I have no promises after that."
Alice twisted hard against the restraining hands, struggling to tap into her still dormant power, and she felt the mark on her neck shift. When she almost succeeded in wrenching her hands free, her eyes caught Amelia's and, despite the dull light, she could see the warning the older woman was giving her. Amelia shook her head and her eyes darted to the guards around them while gesturing to the Queen. The message was clear: even if Alice could succeed in getting to Dodo, her death would be immediate.
Putting her hands in the air, Alice stopped fighting and dropped her eyes as if cowed by the strength of the guards. Inwardly, she seethed.
"Better. Bring her." The Queen snapped her fingers and she turned elegantly on her heel, gliding out of the tiny jail the same way she would if going to a garden party. Alice tried to dig in her heels a bit but the guard behind her shoved hard in the small of her back, whispering a warning. Reluctantly, she followed the Queen with the guards surrounding her, keeping her from attacking or retreating without risking harm. As she went through the door, she glanced over her shoulder at Amelia. The beautiful blonde gave her a weak smile and then turned away back to the depths of her cell. Alice felt such a deep pang of pity for Amelia that she almost forgot to keep moving.
Dodo's smirk, on the other hand, made her grind her teeth together in frustration.
You won't smirk when Hatter gets hold of you, she thought furiously and Alice was shocked by the feeling of hatred that swept through her.
Dodo either didn't notice or didn't care as he took his place behind her and the guards.
Alice resolutely focussed her attention ahead of herself, keeping her head high while she followed the Queen and the guards down the long hallways that led to the centre of the Heart Palace. The halls hadn't changed from her memory of the Palace with its modest red and white contrast looks; it was still very much Jack's home but there was signs of the oppressive Queen's rule just beneath the surface. She was able to slow down just enough to get a good look. One of the rooms, once a study, had been converted to a makeshift interrogation cell and the open door let Alice see a man sitting tied to the chair, his head hanging while blood dribbled from his ears. Masking her horror as best as she could, she quickly looked the other way and the room on the other side was a similar sight. This time, there were Suits surrounding two old women and poking their seemingly lifeless bodies with rods.
Her stomach rose to her throat and she had to swallow down the bile it brought with it. Despite the ground they had gained in the long battle, it was clear that it had been too late to keep more people from being hurt. But she knew that if the Queen or Dodo saw the pain the sight brought her, they would use it against her and she reopened her eyes and adopted as impassive a face as she dared.
The Queen, however, was talking away as if the sights of such torture didn't bother her at as all. "As you can see, girl, we have had to take certain measures to make sure that we don't lose complete control of the city," she was explaining. Alice stared at the back of her carefully coifed head and wondered what on earth she was talking about. Her attention was quickly diverted once more as they rounded a corner and passed one of the massive window terraces. The hum and crackle of power was loud enough to overwhelm the Queen's voice and through the window, Alice saw the electricity running up and down in blue and gold shimmers.
It made her pause mid-step to see such a sight up close. Dodo and several guards passed her but one of them stopped at her elbow, not hurrying her as she looked out at the barrier. He seemed just as bewildered by the sight as she was.
It was beautiful, in an incredibly deadly way, and she ran her eyes over it.
When she turned, the Queen was suddenly at her side. She too was looking outside and her arms were folded across her chest.
"I do so like a light show. Though it looks even better when one of your pitiful soldiers tries to go through it," she commented and Alice raked her eyes over her. At this close proximity she could see the added lines and weariness that the Queen managed to hide behind the layers of makeup and regality.
"Why are you doing this?" Alice whispered and the Queen smiled without turning. Alice turned her head and stared at the window, so that their eyes met through the reflection of the glass.
"Because it was what I was meant to do." She arched a brow. "Do you think if we throw people into the wall, they will die on impact or that it might take hours of electrocution for it to work?"
The careless way she spoke made Alice take a step back and then they were walking once more in the next instant before she could recover. Her mind was still struck by the sight of the barrier and how easily the Queen would kill just to prove a point. The halls and rooms passed without her really seeing anything or anyone.
She was aware, vaguely, of all the looks and whispers as she kept pace behind the guards and it alerted her that she had to try to pay attention once more. Alice focussed on doing as Hatter and Pidge had taught her. She tracked her surroundings, counting in her head how many steps it is back to the jail cells, how many windows were around that could be jimmied open for escape, how many guards are lining the halls. How long it could take for escape to turn to execution.
Her hope of escape wasn't her only reason for doing it; Alice just hoped to quell that nervous bunching in her stomach that had grown from a tiny quiver to a full belly of butterflies.
When they turned to a large hall, Alice jerked a little in memory. Redecorated and trimmed in an array of reds and whites, the Heart Ballroom had changed from the bitter memory she had had of it. She could still remember the Red King's stagnant breath and the White Queen's mocking laugh but faced with the stark changes in the room, it seemed to fade. Here they were without the darkness, the dark undertones of death. Alice wondered if it had been done deliberately. The Queen apparently had liked its spaciousness and now, instead of just vast emptiness, its crystal chandeliers shone down on rows of chairs and tables, all occupied by fearful looking Nobles.
There was a hush that came over the Ballroom as the Clubs that opened the doors announced the Queen's presence and the entire crowd fell into a low kneel like a wave. Alice had never seen a sign of respect like this but when she looked closer, she noticed that nearly all of the people were shaking or trying hard to appear invisible. It was not love or true respect that made them submit to the Queen.
It was fear.
The long aisle was made even longer by the stares and whispers that followed Alice and the Queen every step. The Queen didn't look right or left and she didn't wait for anyone to speak to her. She simply snapped her fingers again and strode up the steps to her low throne, swirling her red skirts around her legs. With the added height from the steps, she managed to look imperious and threatening, larger than life, and yet Alice remembered to see through the illusion.
"Bring her here!" the Queen called out to the guards still beside Alice while she gingerly seated herself. Dodo and several others took their spots behind the Queen and out of the shadows several Clubs scurried forward to put a foot rest and glass of wine within the Queen's reach.
Shoved forward again, Alice was escorted up before the main dais and a guard pressed hard on her knees with his leg to try force her to kneel. Her fragile hold on her temper snapped.
"Oh that's it," Alice growled and she whirled on him. Slamming her palm into his nose, she shoved him back and drove her knee up into the groin of the other man. Her hand jerked back into the scabbard the Suit wore and she drew the electric baton with a loud slither. He shouted again and she elbowed him in the throat to force him back down while pressing on the large red button. The baton buzzed to life in her palm and Alice whirled on her heel before the guards could attack, her hand outstretched.
The baton rested just under the Queen's jaw, close to her pulsing jugular, and yet the older woman only reclined back in her chair and assumed a bored look. Alice's hand was steady and her eyes blazed with anger that she was ready to release. The silence in the Ballroom made Alice's harsh breathing even louder and the hum of the baton echoed her. No one moved to the Queen's aid and from the corner of her eye Alice saw Dodo's still reclining posture against one of the walls.
"Are you quite finished?" the Queen of Hearts asked. Alice tilted her head a bit, confused not only because of the lack of attack but because the Queen didn't seem afraid at all. "Because if you are the Resistance's idea of an assassin, I'd hate to see what they would do if they were desperate. Send a child, perhaps?"
"I wasn't sent to kill you but it's not a bad idea."
"I'm sure it isn't." The Queen lifted a hand. "But you see, the moment you kill me, girl..."
"My name is Alice. I'm sure you cursed it enough when you were imprisoned that you remember it," the younger woman snapped as she lifted the rod a bit higher and closer to the Queen's white skin.
"Indeed. But as I was saying, the moment you kill me, my mercenaries will not only open fire on this very crowd..." she gestured up to the high balcony overhead where Alice could see black-armoured men standing in rows, "But the guards in the jails will kill both Amelia and her annoying little whelp."
Alice felt her hand falter and she looked around at the mass of people.
"So tell me, Alice," the Queen leaned forward in her seat a bit, "are you really willing to have people die because you wish revenge? Do you have that sort of nerve?"
They stared each other down, green meeting blue with equal amounts of hatred and annoyance, and neither looked away. The entire room held its breath as both women struggled not to relent. The tension grew and grew until reluctantly Alice dropped her hand, not willing to be the cause of more death for the sake of calling the Queen's bluff. The baton was wrenched from her grip before she could think to react. The Queen smiled like an indulgent parent and then turned her attention on the Suits behind Alice.
"Perhaps a little gentler this time, boys. After all," she fixed a cunning eye on Alice, "she is expecting."
Her words made Alice immediately press her hand to her stomach and she would have stepped back if only the guards weren't there to trap her.
"So, who's the father of this little whelp? The Hatter, or did you whore yourself out to the first Wonderlander available when he finally lost what precious wit he had?" the Queen drawled, her eyes alight with bitter amusement.
"Don't you dare speak of him!" Alice hissed, her fingers tightening on her stomach protectively.
"Of who? The Hatter? My dear girl, he was a changeling from the start and has been not but a thorn in my side. The only reason why he lived in the first place was that ridiculous Pardon my Winston insisted I hold true to. He should have been drowned at birth, along with the rest of that family line. Nothing but mongrel dogs gone rabid." Her eyes drifted over Alice almost lewdly. "And you, it seems, are carrying the very last of that line. Drowning may interesting, you know. I usually execute with a blade."
Her words were loud enough that whispers began in the crowd. One of the Clubs cleared his throat. "My Queen, perhaps, for the sake of mercy..."
"Shut up."
He bowed away as if she'd done him a favour in telling him off and Alice glared at him. She recognized most of these men, once loyal to Jack but like all Clubs, that loyalty was easily bought with a show of power.
"But maybe, just maybe... I should consider some sort of amnesty." The Queen tapped her finger against her chin and looked as if she was having a marvellous time thinking up ways to torture Alice's child. "A controlled Hatter? It would be somehow like having dear Mad March back at my command."
"If you knew anything about Hatters," Alice said softly, "you would know that you can't control them. They aren't pets and they aren't faceless soldiers."
Her voice dropped and she thought it over. "They're wild as Wonderland is and should be."
Slapping her hand over her mouth, Alice couldn't believe what she had just said. But it rang true to her, straight to her core, and while it meant something to Alice, by the expression on the Queen's face it meant nothing at all.
"The Resistance is going to back down one way or another, Alice. And seeing as how they tried to build their ideals around you and this supposed 'magic' of yours, I think you are a perfect bargaining chip. Don't you?"
"They won't give you what you want."
"You already have," the Queen answered slyly. Alice stared at her, resisting the compulsive urge to fidget and shift. There was a scurry of movement to her left and she glanced over to see that another Club had arrived and was holding a mini-conference with his fellows. The Queen's attention slid over and she sighed in annoyance.
"Well? Let's have it!"
"My Queen," one of the Club's bowed at her and the Queen waved her hand impatiently in the air from her seat. "We presented your terms."
"Good. And their answer?" Her fingers snapped repeatedly the more and more the Club stammered in utter fear that his next words might infuriate or please her.
"Accepted."
The visible jerk in the Queen didn't go unnoticed by Alice and the Club offered her a piece of paper, which she snatched greedily. There was nothing to distinguish it except for a bent black feather pinned to the top of it. Staring at it, Alice felt a faint hope overcome the tense knot in her stomach and she almost whimpered in relief. She slid her hand out down her arm over her stomach and delicately she turned her arm over, looking down. Her gryphon mark slithered up and down her arm, making it seem like there was a river of green and black ink on her skin, and Alice put her hand over the cusp of her elbow. The mark felt hot to touch and she closed her eyes against the odd sensation it caused up her fingers. She reopened her eyes and saw that her fingertips were glowing with a faint blue light.
Alice felt her glow dampen a bit as she tuned into the conversation around her. There was a hushed expectation around them, as if the entire Ballroom was taking a breath, and she shifted her arms around her belly in a protective move. She dug her nails into her already clenched fists and exhaled slowly to keep herself calm.
The Queen heard her and with a cunning slant of her eyes she grinned at Alice.
"Hope. It always does make you Oysters glow so vividly." The Queen reclined back in her throne. "So it was you, child, that had a hand in organizing such a Resistance to my rule."
She pressed her hand to her chest and made a mocking smile. "I am so shocked, I'm sure."
Alice stared back at her and said nothing, her thoughts far away though a piece of her stayed in the moment. The Cook, Unda... all of them had told her how much stronger she was when Hatter was around and even just a hidden message had filled her with strength. She had no doubt the message was from him; the Queen would never know the significance of the crow's feather, not many would, but Hatter had sent it. Perhaps he was going to make a move.
"So they will agree to a trade for the sake of her life?" the Queen demanded as she unrolled the paper and scanned the contents. "The leader of the Resistance will surrender himself along with any conduit formula they have? The Resistance?"
"Himself... but not the Resistance itself. The terms were rejected in that sense. We have warning that the Resistance is sending him in soon."
"Without a figurehead, they will fall immediately."
"They are going to bring in one of the leaders as hostage for us, so long as the Alice's safety is guaranteed. The only leader, as the letter has it. How delightful. My guess is it is that blasted old man himself." The Queen tapped the feather against her cheek. Alice snapped back to reality and stared at her. "Not that I am going to release you, girl. You are far too dangerous. But for the sake of my not executing you alongside that bimbo in the jails, they are willing to send someone else to add to my collection."
"How do they know you'll keep your word?" Alice snapped. "Because you have a habit of warping the truth, as I remember it."
"Well, they do have me at quite an impasse you know. We are trapped in here."
"This won't help you. They will still fight."
"I don't particularly care. After the formulas and conduits are clear, I fully intend on changing history." Her grin was dark. "You really didn't think that the conduit was being created for something so trivial as a connection to your home world, did you?"
The Queen leaned forward in her seat. "You are going to become part of history, Alice. A history that only I will remember."
The hushed silence around them erupted into nervous chatter as the main doors were opened and several Suits appeared in a police formation. They were anticipating someone and Alice stared. Her thoughts settled on the very real possibility that Pidge would be the one sent in, or at the worst, Chesh. Both were able to get her out and cause havoc to the Queen's men. Though her glow didn't strengthen at the thought of that, her hope still burned bright enough that she felt her mark drifting up and down her arm and shoulder impatiently. It was like it was ready for action as well and she closed her eyes to tap into the warmth it brought to her body.
The shocked gasps of several nearby Nobles and the hissing intake of breath of the Queen made Alice's eyes pop open. When she saw who had come for her, her heart plummeted to her stomach.
"Oh Hatter," she whispered the moment she saw her lover. Utter love and miserable wretchedness filled her. What was he thinking?
The uproar of shock and wonder filled the Ballroom and yet she heard none of it. Her eyes were only for him. It was like seeing something from her strangest dreams come to life. Hatter walked up the path given to him with that slow sauntering swagger of his, the one that always made her heart flutter just a little more than it should, and he was dressed in his favourite brown leather jacket, with a dark red paisley shirt and brown cord trousers, a battered fedora slanted devilishly over one eye. It was like a flashback to Alice. For all the world, he looked like the con artist she had first met out on a simple outing to trade for some Teas. He didn't resemble the man she'd seen just hours before, snapping the neck of a Suit and fighting his way through the ranks of the Heart Army.
"Silence!" the Queen shouted at her Nobles though her eyes never left Hatter. He still walked slowly before stopping at the signal of a Club. Hatter grinned and tucked his hand into the pocket of his leather jacket, jutting his hip out to one side and staring at them. Alice felt her heart bang painfully hard against her ribs and every nerve ending inside of her responded to his mere closeness. It even felt like her baby started to kick at her in excitement.
"You!" The Queen whirled on Hatter and stood from her throne. "You are supposed to be dead!"
He grinned madly.
"I am? Well, clearly someone never sent me the correct message because here I am. Alive and somewhat sane," Hatter answered, pushing his hat back a bit. Whistling, he leaned his head back and looked around. " 'Cor... you've really not done much with the place, have you?" His eyes dropped to a still silent Alice and he winked sexily at her. " 'ello, darlin'. I never could leave you alone for very long."
"Hatter," Alice breathed and her fingers itched to reach out to him. But despite the casualness of his demeanour, something in his eyes warned her. There was a glinting, a mixture of green within the brown depths of his eyes, that told her he was planning something. It didn't relax her at all to know that he was willing to use that mad side to his mind to do it either.
"I was told that you were dead," the Queen roared and she whirled on her heel to Dodo. He was staring at Hatter as if his worst nightmare had come true and he swallowed so hard the noise could be heard in the deathly quiet room. "Why is he not dead?"
"I had been told... It was assumed..."
Hatter's grin widened. "And we all know that only asses make assumptions. So it really shouldn't be too surprising who was doing the assuming, eh?"
"You... you can't be the leader of the Resistance," Dodo protested. "They would never follow you!"
"Not the old me, perhaps. The one your men had tortured, the one brought back from the brink of madness by an Oyster and some magic, well... let's just say they might be willing to believe in that sort of hope." Hatter pulled his hand from his pocket and tsked as if reprimanding a poor student. "Because Wonderland knows they wouldn't follow you now, old man."
"Y-you should kill him here and now," Dodo warned the Queen, shock making him stutter. Hatter tipped his head on the side.
"I'm makin' you nervous, Dodo?"
"How did you survive?" The Queen interjected furiously and Hatter looked at Alice.
"I'm a man in love."
Their eyes met and Alice gave him a quivering smile that he answered with his own half-grin which spoke volumes.
The Queen huffed in disgust and rolled her eyes. "Oh please."
"It's either that or I was waiting to get my hands around the throat of the one responsible for my torture," Hatter's tone changed abruptly from humour to cold anger and his eyes narrowed. "But I don't think that is the most important part, is it?"
"What is?"
"The fact that the people I've led against you devastated your attempts at control. That right now you have no control despite what you've deceived these people into believing." Hatter waved his arm around the room and his voice raised as he turned a circle. "That this time there is no going back to how things were. This is going to end and you can't stop it."
Murmurs of discomfort went through the gathered Nobles as Hatter voiced their very private belief about the ongoing battles outside the Palace.
"We have Alice, one of your key soldiers." The Queen's voice rose above the noise. "And we will not hesitate to kill her."
She raised a hand and Alice gasped as she was grabbed from behind by one of the Suits. His fingers bit into her throat as he squeezed and when she tried to struggle something sharp slid against her belly in warning. Hatter turned around slowly on his heel and his eyes seemed to go impossibly darker.
"And perhaps we should cut your little spawn out of her belly first for your flaunting of our authority."
Hatter smirked but anyone close could see the tension running through him. "If you so much as let him touch her skin with that blade, I'll make you wish I killed you when I was a little boy. I've got a lot of years of suppressed anger on my side."
"They will kill you first," the Queen said, gesturing the men overhead. Hatter didn't look.
"They'll die trying." His smirk widened to a grin. "You really didn't think I'd come unprepared for that, did you?"
He pointed up the skylight and through it they could see a hovering Scarab. The crowd backed away from the centre as it was clear that its hatch was open to drop a glowing Vorpal bomb. The Queen's men all began to bark orders at one another but there was nothing to be done.
"Your overhead barrier is weak, so that will drop nicely, I'd say," Hatter explained in a cheerful way. "Be a messy way to die, mind you, for those overhead. But it would give me time to have some sessions with both you and Dodo."
"You would dare to threaten your Queen!" the Queen of Hearts screamed, fury mottling her cheeks.
He took a single step up the dais and the Suit holding Alice released her quickly at the look he was given. Hatter dragged his eyes from Alice's frightened ones and pinned the Queen with a look.
"You had Dodo give orders to have me tortured, my mind destroyed. You killed my friend and what's more, you threatened my family, my life," Hatter's voice dropped so that only those close to him could hear. The Queen looked away from his eyes. "So now that we understand each other about why I'm willing to risk death to save Alice. I'm not leaving here without her, so decide what it is you want so badly from the Resistance. Do you really want to risk the Vorpal bombs for the sake of trying to control me by hurting Alice?"
The Queen's eyes snapped to Dodo and her advisors and all at once they surrounded her to discuss it.
"Hatter," Alice whispered and he looked at her. "Don't do this. We'll be giving up everything we've fought for if she takes you."
"Have more faith in me than that, Alice," he answered just as softly. "This isn't going to end well for them."
"We'll be fine, Hatter," she whispered, "but the Resistance needs you."
"You need me and I need you." Hatter gave her a soft smile. "It's been taken care of. Trust me."
She was about to argue when the Queen and her men turned back around.
The first advisor opened his mouth to speak but Hatter held up a hand.
"We're not surrendering."
It startled the other man so that he actually stepped back and Hatter grinned.
"Just in case that was your first request."
Everyone looked around, momentarily dumbfounded.
"You brought what was requested?" the Queen snapped instead.
Reaching into his pocket, Hatter tossed a small packet at her and there was crinkle of papers and something metallic.
"Hatter," Alice whispered even while the Queen pulled out a sheet.
"What is this?" she asked, confused by the numbers and words. Her fingers dangled a thin metal chain from them. "More junk?"
Alice caught a glimpse of several small charms and she gaped in recognition. He'd taken Abigail's charm necklace, the very one that Abigail claimed had protective magic.
"The conduit formula, completed..." Dodo whispered behind the Queen, his eyes wide. Hatter didn't answer and the Queen raised her eyes to his over the paper.
"How can we be sure it works?"
"It will," Hatter looked around, bored. "The Resistance won't attack for another two hours. So I suggest you get working on your plans for your army."
"There won't be need, once this is done." The Queen grinned and began to read the papers.
Hatter looked at Alice and saw the strain in her face. "What is it?"
"They have my mom," she whispered. Hatter's expression didn't change but he shook his head.
"Then that means I have to go to plan B."
"Arrest him," the Queen ordered suddenly and Hatter stiffened up to brace himself. Alice cried out his name as he was shot down by a fired taser that slammed into the small of his back. He went down quickly, not resisting the sharp current that flowed through his body, and he lay almost prone on the floor as the Suits scuffled to try to cuff him. His head turned to the ceiling despite the pain and in the confusion no one saw the hand signal he made to the hovering Scarab.
Dragged to his feet and handcuffed behind his back, he shot a dagger look at the Queen and the Dodo. "You're making a mistake," he warned.
"You're the one cuffed and bound, Hatter," Dodo said. "What did you really think would happen here?"
The triumph in his voice made Alice long to break his jaw.
"It's not me you might have to worry about, Dodo. But it's a start," Hatter answered for her, grinning.
"Take them back to the jails."
"You should execute him now," Dodo said and Alice sucked in a breath. But the Queen gestured dismissively.
"We might need him if this is a dud. If that is the case, his precious Alice might get her wish to hold her little bundle of joy, far sooner than she should," the Queen threatened. Hatter merely smirked and shifted his shoulders as if distributing the weight of her words more evenly across them. Alice thought she saw a shadow move across his neck but pushed that aside as nothing more than wishful thinking.
"Take them away."
She waved her hand and they were dragged from the ballroom slowly. The Nobles all stared, shocked and dismayed that Hatter's open rebellion hadn't become more violent. Alice and Hatter both glared at them all accusingly and had a mutual satisfaction when the Nobles all looked at their feet.
"I really don't think they know what to believe," Hatter muttered to Alice and she glanced up at him as they passed through the doors. Shoving a Suit to one side, Alice quickly looped her arm around Hatter's waist to keep him on his feet. Despite his brave front, the shock of the taser had clearly made him weak-kneed and it would take a few minutes for him to recover. He gave her an affectionate squeeze and met her worried look with a wild smile.
"Well," Hatter commented. "That went better than expected.
Author's Note: I swear that half of my time editing was spent arguing with spell check for this chapter. I'd give up on that but some of my mistakes get quite embarrassing :D