Twenty-Seven

ALICE

Watching Jack leave through the door and disappearing through it was the worst experience she has ever felt; which is saying something since she has been through terrible things. She had been through the gossip of the higher society, been the topic of it and ostracized from it, she had been through all the balls and parties and formal functions that were expected to attend, none of those horrible moments where they all sought her out to embarrass her could compare to the dread and fear of feeling she would never see Jack again. The closest she had felt this way was at her father's funeral right as they closed the casket and she knew it was the last time she would ever see him. Watching the door close behind Jack was too similar to her father's casket closing.

Just like her father he went on ahead of her and left her behind to deal with the problems that this world tried to throw at her too. What made things worse was that he didn't even look back at her to tell her goodbye, he just kept going and disappeared in a flash of white as soon as the door closed. That prickling feeling of glass poking at her heart washed over her in a new ache that she hated to remember. Her hands clutched the book that contained Jack's Heart Card within it.

Could he feel how tightly she held it?

Did it hurt him as much as it hurt her to watch him leave?

Did he even know what it was like to be left behind?

It felt as though a piece of her went through that door, and though some part of her hoped she would get it back, the other part that had been pricked and poked feared she would never get it back. Her eyes burned with tears that wanted to fall and release her frustration from her, but she took deep calming breaths to strengthen herself and make sure they didn't fall. She knew why he had to leave, she knew it was to protect her, she knew that it was to keep her safe and make things right, but she hated it all the same. She knew she had to be strong, again, she knew she had to stand tall, again, but most of all she knew she had to depend on herself if she was going to make it out of Underland. Jack gave her the help she needed when she first got here, and though she wanted nothing more than to still rely on him, she would just drag him down and get him hurt if she didn't start doing things for herself.

There was so much at stake, there was so much to do in so little time, and even though she still felt unsteady as she was currently, she knew she had to keep moving forward. The only way to get stronger is to keep moving forward. If she kept lingering on all the things that kept her rooted to the spot she would never change, never see herself for who she was. She was a woman living in the changing of times and she wanted to move with those changes. She did not want to be held back by what her society thought her role was. She could think for herself, she could do impossible things, she could be who she was, she could be Alice Kingsley; and in this moment she knew she would be. The ache in her chest still stung, but as she realized what she had to do she stood a little taller and held the book tighter to her chest. This wasn't Jack saying goodbye, this was Jack giving her the push she needed. If he was going to protect her and keep her safe, then she would do everything she could to keep him safe too. This wasn't going to be the last time she saw him; she wouldn't allow it. She would see him again and she would show him who Alice Kingsleigh really was.

"Alice?" The Cheshire Cat gently nudged her as he vaporated beside her. This time she didn't jump when he came to be beside her.

"Hm?" She looked at him with wide eyes, giving him her full attention. He blinked at her curiously at first, tilted his head as he studied her before he gave her an approving smile.

"You're going to be all right." He didn't say it as a way of comforting her to make her feel better, no it was an affirmation of the silent choice she made.

"Well, of course he's going to be all right," The Hatter chuckled maddeningly, "this is Alice we're talking about! Alice can do anything."

Yes, yes, she could. She couldn't even hide the smile that came to her face as the flame of confidence finally flickered back to life within her. She wasn't left behind. She was left in the care of the best people she needed to be with who would support her. Though she still wanted to be with Jack she knew she was going to be all right by herself too. She needed to be able to carry her own weight if she were going to somehow be with Jack in the future, she couldn't be a deadweight forever. The Hatter squatted so he could look her in the eyes with his large neon green ones, "Well, well, would you look at that."

She shied away from him under his big speculation, "What?"

"It looks as though you're actually trying to be you again, Alice." His smile was nearly as big as the Cheshire Cat's smile. "You're almost there!"

"Thank you," she smiled bashfully and pushed her mane of curls from her face.

"You're welcome," his eyes crinkled with his smile. "I hate to ruin a happy moment, but we really should be going."

The Hatter removed his hat from his head and set it on the table and the Dormouse squealed in excitement, "Ooh, I love traveling by hat!"

"Please, Malley," the Hatter tutted with a shake of his head. "Just Alice."

Malley immediately pouted and crossed her arms as she shot a glare at Alice before turning her face away entirely. Alice felt a little guilty that the Dormouse couldn't come with her but did not press the matter further. She was already under the impression that the Dormouse did not really like her. The last thing Alice needed to do was give her a chance to push her off the edge of the hat. She climbed aboard the hat and as soon as she clung to the faded pink ribbon around the hat, the Hatter replaced the hat on his head.

"Now, let's get you to the White Queen!" With a pep in his step and being much more excited than she anticipated, the Hatter took off to East to Queast.

The Hatter left their companions behind and took them in the opposite direction of the paths that the Knave and his Soldiers took. All the gray seemed to ebb into soft golds and browns and instead of it feeling like winter evolving into spring, it felt as though it retracted and returned to autumn. The air was crisp, the stalks of what and other things that grew stood tall and blew gently on the wind and crunched under the Hatter's feet as he walked. Much to her surprise she found that she actually quite liked to travel by hat, and she now understood why Malley was so eager to ride and disappointed that she couldn't.

With how small she was everything was bigger than life and put such an interesting spin on the surroundings around them for her. The Hatter hummed and sang a diddy tune as he crossed streams and hopped over puddles, but as they made their way to a darker part of the forest the Hatter himself turned dark as well. She looked around and saw that it was not entirely dark, but the place between Light and Dark. It was as if half of the Hatter was walking in daylight while the other walked in the twilight with the half-shed light upon them; if only he were happy rather than brooding. Leaves fell around them and skittered like rats on the ground as the Hatter's voice darkened.

"'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe."

Alice scooted closer to the rim of the hat to listen to the strange things that the Hatter was saying. She leaned over and clung to the rim of his hat to look him in the eye as he spoke. His eyes weren't their usual vibrant green but were instead darker, more brooding as if ready for an impending doom that followed him. "Sorry, what was that?" She asked politely as his eyes focused on her.

"What was what?" His voice was deep and growly and rather Scottish for a fellow who has never left Underland. She dropped to his shoulder and did not like this angry looking Hatter, it didn't suit him. Though she knew he wouldn't harm her she did not feel as safe with him as she had before.

"What were you saying?" She cleared her throat to compose herself and not let her fear show. He just slowly turned his gaze to the roads ahead and marched on as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub birds, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He spoke as if he were in a trance and could not wake up from it. Alice said nothing and only continued to listen as the Hatter continued.

"He took his vorpal sword in hand:

Long time the manxome foe he sought –

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought."

Her heart pounded in her chest and she clutched the book in her hands and held it against her to calm her. There was a deep foreboding essence that oozed from this prophecy of sorts and Alice wanted to slide off the Hatter's shoulder and run away. She shouldn't have gotten off the Hatter's hat.

"And, as in uffish though he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

And burbled as it came!"

He let out a chuckle as he came to a stop and swung his other hand around in the air as he continued:

"One, two! One, two! And through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back."

Alice involuntarily gulped as the Hatter stilled and almost seemed to calm down as he reached a clearing in a new place she had yet been before.

"'And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'

He chortled in his joy."

He slowly turned his head to Alice and she could see the darker features of his angry face smoothing out so his softer and sweeter nature.

"'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe."

A smile came to his face as his eyes lightened and the anger ebbed away. "It's all about you, ya know?"

"That's impossible," she shook her head with a frown. "I've never slain anything before in my life and I don't intend to slay anything in the future either."

His smile quickly fell and twisted into a scowl as he picked Alice off his shoulder and placed her on the ground. "What's happened to you?" He demanded.

She flinched at his pointed question, "What?"

"What happened to you?" He repeated a softness returned to his voice though he was obviously frustrated with her. "You were just coming back and yet you suddenly disappeared again!"

"What are you saying, I haven't gone anywhere!" She stomped her foot in frustration.

"You've lost your macho," he looked her up and down distastefully. "You've lost your macho-ness. It's still within you, you've just let it be buried and forgotten about."

He poked at her tiny chest to indicate that this macho-ness was within her, but she had no clue as to what he was talking about. She was a girl, there was nothing macho about her, only men were supposed to be macho. When she was younger, she was much more free to dream and be what she wanted to be, but things changed when she had to grow up into being a prim and proper lady.

"You're almost there, Alice," he sighed but gave a smile. "You just need to believe in yourself again. There's no one here to tell you you can't be anything you don't want to be. You can simply be Alice."

It was so simple of an idea, yet so complicated for Alice to do. It was rare for her to truly be herself outside of Underland; it was almost preposterous for her to entertain the idea of doing so; and yet she did. Before she could truly act out on the idea, the sounds of howling dogs in the distance made her blood grow cold. The Hatter's already large eyes widened to the size of saucers as he scooped Alice up and stuck her in his front breast pocket and ran.

It wasn't a graceful run, nor was it a smooth one as she was jostled about and nearly thrown from the pocket. His hand held her in place as a gigantic seatbelt as he ran and ran and ran towards a river. The dogs' howls had turned into snarls and vicious growls as the Hatter continued to run. Before her brain could catch up with the events, she was yanked from his pocket, slipped into the pink silk ribbon around the hat and was sent flying in the air. She was only able to get a few glances at the hat spun furiously in the air to see that the Hatter had been surrounded by the Card Soldiers and the Queen's Knave. She couldn't even scream or cry out as the air was stolen from her lungs as she was projected as far away from the Hatter as the hat could carry her.

STAYNE

Anger could not properly describe how he felt. He was so vexed beyond belief that he was seeing red. A bloodlust that he didn't even know he possessed burned him like a scornful thorn and he could not wait for the war to come at hand. He had the Wild Card within his grasp, the Hatter, the Hare and the Dormouse too, but Alice was nowhere to be found. It was inconceivable. He was so sure that Alice would somehow be with the Wild Card, the fact that the scent was lost, and she became practically nonexistent was so unfathomable it only further poked at his anger.

The Wild Card was smart, and he had to have convinced the Hatter to assist him. Alice should have been there. Everything was perfect, the Wild Card would have finally been exposed and he would have reclaimed his position in the court. It was all so perfect, perhaps too perfect; still he could not understand how the plan had failed! His hands gripped the leather reins tightly, his teeth grit, and his eye behind the eyepatch ached in his anger.

The dogs had proven useless, his handpicked soldiers that much more useless, even his trusted stead had not deemed itself useful to him. They had circled back all the way to the Twisted Forest and hit a dead end and were left with a cold and scentless trail to follow. He wasn't sure how the Wild Card had figured it out, but he used the scentless mists to his advantage to hide out. It was the Cheshire Cat's domain and he did not take kindly to dogs tromping through his forest, and though he was a relatively docile creature of Underland, he did not want to suffer the wrath of the Cheshire Cat either.

As he sat upon his horse fuming and trying to unwind the series of knots that the Wild Card had made one of the hounds let out a long howl and took off dragging the Card Soldier behind him. Stayne didn't hold out for much as his anger had pushed him past, reasoning out any hope that his plan would fall into place but chased after the hounds anyways. They ran from the Twisted Forests past the Tea Party to the place where the sun and the moon dance and walk with one another – all of this past by him in a blur as his only focus was to catch the Wild Card with Alice in some shape form or fashion. Much to his great disappointment it was not the Wild Card who they discovered running through the forests like a mad man, but the Mad Hatter. He wasn't the athletic sort, but he did give the dogs a good run for their money before he skittered to a stop and flung his hat away dramatically. His arms were outstretched, as if he were ready for a fight.

"Down with the Bloody Big Head!" he declared with maddening laughter. His eyes were darker than normal which meant he was dangerous enough to actually fight even if he wouldn't do much damage.

"Arrest him!" Stayne snarled from his horse and glared at the Hatter. "He has spoken treason against the Queen of Hearts, arrest him immediately!"

Despite his bold words, the Hatter allowed himself to be arrested easily. It was almost too easy of a capture, something had to be amiss. While his Soldiers captured him, his one eye scanned the waving fields of golden wheat between night and day but saw nothing of consequence or anything worth reporting to the Queen. Still, if the hatter was sane enough perhaps he could get some sort of answers from him.

"Hold him still," Stayne declared as he dismounted his horse in one fail swoop of his leg. His Soldiers did as commanded and forced the Hatter to his knees. He laughed like a mad man and his hair only seemed to grow more vibrant to show how mad he truly was.

"Down with the Bloody Big Head!" He roared in laughter as he cast a challenging gaze to Stayne.

"I would not say such things if I were you, Hatter." Stayne sneered as he stood tall and looked down his nose at him. "Even if you are mad and a lunatic, saying such things are treasonous."

"Then a traitor I'd rather be than serve the Queen who killed my family!" He spat on Stayne's boot and cast a wild glare at Stayne. Stayne disregarded the boot that had been ruined and bent down to meet the Hatter at a level gaze.

"Now, now, let's not be rash about these things," he chuckled darkly and the wild look in the Hatter's eyes only blazed as brazenly as his fiery orange hair. "If you answer some of my questions, I might consider releasing you and overlooking this entire affair."

"I have nothin' to say to you, Knave," he barked a laugh. "Unlike you I'm not one to sell others out to save me own skin!"

"You're driving my patience and my mercy, Hatter," Stayne growled as he grabbed the hatter by the hair and forced him to look at him. "If you can tell me where the Wild Card and Alice are, I will release you to enjoy your endless insanities and tea parties."

"Are you daft?" He scoffed in pride, "Or just deaf?"

"Where are they?" He snarled and banged the Hatter's skull against his armor-covered knee. Even after having his head bashed in a bit the Hatter only laughed and sat back looking too satisfied for Stayne's liking.

"I ain't tellin' you anythin'," He burst into a fit of triumphant laughter. "You'll be just as gone and dead as the Jabberwocky without your head before I sprout a single word about me friends!"

Stayne only stood and took a step back, glaring at the Hatter the entire time. Though the Hatter was mad, unusually so for this moment, Stayne knew that he would not get any information from him here out in the open. If he were to get any answers it would have to be in the confines of the castle where all of his tools of negotiation waited to be used.

"Take him in," he snapped as he mounted his horse. "He knows too much for us to kill him here, if he doesn't tell us anything by the time we return to the castle, he will simply have to tell the Queen what he knows."

If the Hatter still refused to tell Stayne where they all were, that was fine, he could wait things out. Afterall once the Wild Card discovered that the Hatter had been arrested, he would be drawn out to either protect the girl or to try to help free his friend. It was all a matter of waiting now and the next course of action would be taken once the Wild Card made his move. Stayne was too determined to have him to just let him slip from his fingers now. He would set all the traps up and just needed to wait for the Wild Card to fall into one. It didn't matter which one he fell into so long as he fell into one of his traps to expose him. He would catch him in the act of betraying the Queen and he would have him beheaded one way or another.

AURIS

The Queen was terribly cross, and little seemed to please her after Jack had completely missed the time to bring Alice to her for her tea. Many a poor servant had been sent to the prison cells down below to contain them and not even the King could do or say anything to sooth the Queen's temper. She had already dismissed the other Court Members and had demanded that Auris stay with her until either Jack or Stayne returned. For the first time in weeks her own heart pounded in her chest and she feared that the Queen would hear it.

It saddened her greatly to witness all of her hard work in attempting to reunite the King and Queen together had been dashed to smithereens as the dreaded Frabjous Day approached. To make matters worse the Queen had returned to her previous self and was quickly regaining the title of the 'Bloody Big Head' as more heads were consequently sloshing around in the moat and her head seemed to get a smidgeon bigger each time she made a demand or command. Even as they sat to have tea the Queen was completely rigid, jaw snapped tight, shoulders held back too far like a bowstring, and a glare that could freeze any fire the minute she looked at it.

Four plates of tarts had been brought and devoured and four more had been ordered to be brought out to her. Three cups of tea had been drunk, and two pots of tea had been made and they were very quickly approaching the third pot of tea. Other pastries had been brought out to accommodate the Queen's stress eating and it made Auris desperately crave a salad after all the sweets she had been requested to eat with the Queen. If the Queen had wanted to fatten her up, she was succeeding because Auris felt as though she were nearly ready to burst. She had only taken a nibble from the freshly brought out tarts when the Queen slid another one over to her. Her stomach groaned in protest and she wanted to cry that she had had enough, but one look at the Queen reminded her to at least accept it and slowly work herself up to eating it.

The Queen took a large bite from her own tart before she slapped it back down on the plate and her shoulders deflated a bit. Auris watched carefully but did not dare speak until the Queen wanted her to. She could see the internal battle and the hurt very clearly in her eyes as they sat out on the terrace waiting for the Alice hunters to return. The clock chimed three and the Queen rapped her fingers on the table. "I just don't understand." Her voice was full of frustration but was much softer than it had been all day. "Where are they?"

"It does take a little time to travel, Your Majesty," she forced herself to swallow the nibble she had been chewing.

"Still, they know the urgency of this!" Her nostrils flared but she did not raise her voice so much as voiced her frustration. "Surely they should have been back by now!"

She ferociously ate her tart before quickly washing it down and looking on the verge of tears. The teacup clattered as she roughly set it on its saucer and Auris tentatively continued to eat her tart. They had had so many different berry flavors that it all tasted the same to her in this instant. She could hardly chew anymore let alone swallow the food in her mouth and just had to come up with something to somehow distract them both from the situation at hand.

"Were you able to see the King today, Your Majesty?" She gulped down a mouthful of tea and noticed how the hurt grew in the Queen's eyes as she forced herself to sit up straighter.

"I was." She snipped as her eyes seemed to ice over. "But I won't be seeing him any time soon."

"Why ever not?" She tried to hide the hurt in her own voice as she could see the Queen withdrawing into herself.

"Because he is a distraction," she hissed with angry tears building in her eyes as she finally looked at Auris for the first time. "Frabjous Day is nearly upon us and I cannot afford to be distracted."

"Surely the King could be of some assistance –" She tried to encourage her to include her husband but was immediately cut off.

"No." There was a finality in the Queen's voice that Auris knew she could not argue with. She had made up her mind and only she could undo it. "No, he cannot. I do not want him involved in anything to do with Frabjous Day. He is to be confined to the castle and is not to step foot outside of his quarters until Frabjous Day has passed."

Auris's eyes widened in shock and she used the teacup to hide her gaping mouth. Things had been going so well between them she could hardly believe her ears to this news.

Just what sorts of events had happened to make her confine the King to his quarters?

Was it out of concern and love that she was doing this? Or was it a different manner of keeping an eye on him?

"I don't suppose the King will like that very much," she tried to tease lightly but watched as the Queen stabbed the knife into the cake angrily to know it was not taken well.

"It is for his own good, and mine," she stuck her pinky into the pink frosting of the cake and licked her finger clean. "I do not need him trying to interfere with my plans for war, nor do I need to worry about him trying to leave and break my heart."

"The King would never –" Auris set her teacup down and received a warning glare from the Queen.

"The King is to be confined to his quarters and guarded until after Frabjous Day has passed." The Queen spoke so firmly that Auris was afraid she would hurt her vocal cords. "No one is to go see him or speak with him, unless it is his butler bringing him his daily meals."

She stabbed her fork into her large slice cake and ate it so quickly as though she hadn't eaten in weeks. No matter how loud the bells in her head were ringing or how dire and terrible this situation there was little Auris could truly do to voice her concerns. She could hardly recognize the Queen that sat before her. Though she was known to be brash occasionally she was never this irrational in the decisions she made. She was very obviously at war within herself and refused to allow anyone else to fight the battle with her or for her. There was an underlying layer of fear that Auris caught but was very careful not to show or acknowledge. Frabjous Day indeed had the Queen rattled, but she was nearly mad in her worry and fretting that it was really she that needed to be confined to her room and to allow the King to rule in her stead for the events to play out; but she would not do it even if Auris begged her to do so.

A knock came at the door and the Queen's entire nature froze as she stared expectantly at the doors. Auris prayed it was Jack and was sorely disappointed when it was just the White Rabbit coming to deliver the afternoon mail. The Queen snapped at him and scared the poor thing and nearly gave it a heart attack. His entire being shook as he brought the mail and scurried out of the room. After he had deposited the mail the Queen deflated so greatly in her seat she actually slouched and seemed to relax for a moment before snatching up the mail to read it. Exhaling sharply through her nose she flicked through the colorful envelopes before stopping at a small white one.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Her entire being changed in the blink of an eye as she smiled broadly and handed the white envelope over to Auris.

Auris's brow furrowed as she accepted the envelope from the Queen and saw that it was indeed addressed to her from the Card soldier she had recently assisted in resigning from the army. She could only blink in surprise that she had not only received a letter so soon but also that the Queen was grinning ear to ear and all forms of malice had dissipated. She hadn't realized that he had left yet, perhaps he sent it to her right before he left, regardless, this was a perfect innocent distraction for the Queen to take her mind off of the things going on around her.

"Well, what does it say?" She hissed as she urged her to read it. Her black eyes were watching her like a giddy hawk as she waited in anticipation.

With a faint smile she carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the small letter that was held within. Her eyes skimmed over the letter first to make sure there wasn't anything that could possibly expose them before glancing to the Queen. She could tell that she wanted to know what was written so she decided to read it aloud rather than giving the Queen the chance to read it. Auris took a deep breath before she read her letter aloud,

"Dear Auris,

Thank you so much for your words of comforts after seeing me in such a terrible emotional state. I apologize that you had to see a Soldier of the Queen in such a state, but I thank you for your kindness. I am writing to inform you that I have resigned from the army and that I will be returning to my parent's farm.

Although I regret to say that we cannot see each other as often now that I no longer am a Soldier, I would, however, like to invite you to my parent's farm anytime you feel the country calling you. I know a woman as refined as yourself is much better suited to the grandeur of the city, but should you want to visit at any time, or want me to visit you, please just say the word. You are welcome here any time and I would very much like to see you soon.

Sincerely,

Tres

PS: I apologize for not handing this to you in person, I had a long walk ahead of me and wanted to make it to the farm before sundown."

Auris felt a smile touch her face, mostly out of relief, upon reading the letter because Tres was falling into the roll she requested of him. He kept the letter short and to the point but left in just the right amount of details that would catch the Queen's attention; which he succeeded. The smile lingered for only a few moments before she chewed on the inside of her cheek. Although they both knew the cost of things if they were ever caught, she could not help but wonder how much he truly had healed. She may have helped him resign, but she did not give him an equivalent amount of time to mourn and to heal from his broken relationship before forcing a farce one on him.

The Queen all but squealed as she clapped her hands and kicked her feet in glee. "That's fantastic news!"

"Yes," she nodded quietly as she folded the letter back and slid it into the envelope. "It is."

"When are you going to see him?" The Queen pressed and slid her plate of tarts out of the way.

"I should probably give him a few days. . ." Auris smiled nervously. She almost said she would give him a few days until Frabjous Day passed, however, she let that bit trail off so as not to arouse the Queen's anger again. She hoped that she could give him a few days to heal and perhaps a few days to herself before the role of an unrequited lover fell into place, but the Queen did not seem to have the same sympathies.

"Nonsense!" She shook her head. "You should go see him today!"

"B-But he only just returned," she licked her lips nervously and held the envelope tightly in her hand. "Surely, he needs a day, at least, to spend it with his family and to rest."

"Auris, he said you could come whenever you wanted," the Queen held her hand and patted the reminder there. "You should go today!"

The Queen stood and removed whatever resistance Auris could have possibly offered and she knew she would have no choice but to go and see him today. The Queen walked around the table and grasped for Auris's hands when a trumpet blared down the halls. Still holding Auris's hands she froze, as if time had completely stopped and stared the door down. She blinked twice before releasing Auris's hands and stood straighter as the Queen of Hearts and awaited the entry of whoever had called for the trumpets. Auris prayed that it was Jack. She prayed he hadn't done anything foolish and had actually managed to capture Alice, but the foreboding feeling made itself known as it was not Jack but Stayne that entered the terrace. Her heart fell and as she stole a glance at the Queen, she could see she was far from pleased as well.

Stayne led the way with his Black Knights and dragged the Mad Hatter onto the terrace. He took long wide strides full of pride in every step, though Auris could hardly fathom why since he was lacking a certain girl of golden hair in his leash. The Card Soldiers yanked the Hatter forward and almost made him trip, but he recovered quickly and stood with a smile as he looked to the Queen of Hearts. The Queen raised one eyebrow and looked Stayne over as he dramatically kneeled before her.

"Your Majesty," his voice was breathy, with a few pants as though he had run all the way here. He held his hand out to take the Queen's and the Queen allowed him to hold her hand and press it to his forehead. Her eyes hardly left the Hatter and the Hatter's green eyes scanned the room before they fell on Auris. He smiled at her and gave her a playful wave which she made no notion of returning.

"Stayne," there was no amusement in her voice but an inflection of questions. "I see you have returned," her eyes flicked to the Mad Hatter and caused a wrinkle in her brow, "very empty handed it would seem."

"I am far from empty handed, My Queen," he rasped with a greasy smile on his face. Auris could not help but clench her teeth at this but made no comments about the lack of Stayne's abilities.

"Do tell," she tilted her head back to look down her nose disapprovingly at Stayne as he still knelt before her. "Because from what I see you haven't brought Alice, but the Mad Hatter."

"Because the Hatter here knows where Alice is," he hissed as he stood to his full height.

"Oh, does he?" Her dark eyes flitted to the Hatter who was looking around the terrace like a curious and lost child. "Is this true, Hatter?"

His head snapped to attention at being called and he blinked as he refocused on the Queen. He tilted his head to the side and watched her carefully as if he hadn't quite caught what she said. "Beg your pardon?"

"Is it true that you know where Alice is?" She repeated and raised her voice. Auris pursed her lips as she watched the Queen's temper slowly seep back into her.

He blinked at her innocently. "Lately I've been thinking of things that start with the letter 'M'."

"Well think of one that starts with the letter 'A'," she narrowed her eyes before scowling at Stayne. Stayne was casting his own glare upon the Hatter and made no attempt to conceal his own growing temper.

"Oh, there are plenty of words that start with the letter 'A'!" He giggled like a schoolboy. "Abase, abeyance, acumen, admonition, aghast, aigrette – Ah! An aigrette would look so wonderful on a hat! Would a hat with an aigrette sooth your avarice for knowledge?"

He laughed to himself, but the Queen was far from amused. She only turned to Stayne with a long look of disdain and disappointment. "This is what you have brought to me?"

"He knows more than he lets on, Your Majesty," he hissed through gritted teeth. "He is especially pretending to be mad to hide his knowledge of Alice's whereabouts."

"Or he is completely mad," she scoffed as she turned to see the Hatter staring at the ceiling as though there were something highly fascinating there. The Hatter eventually rolled his head to lock eyes with Auris and there was a knowing glint in his eye that almost made her gasp.

Despite the little show that he was putting on for the Queen henceforth, he was very much sane and was very much in the possession of knowledge of where Alice could be. Her heart pounded in her chest as she realized she could help expose him, or she could keep his secret. As a member of the Queen's Court she knew she should help expose him, but something in the back of her mind warned her against this. Somehow if she exposed the Hatter she felt as though she would put Jack in terrible danger. If he were to be in danger, then he could not help her in her endeavors to properly reunite the King and Queen. She gave a small nod to the Hatter and earned both a smile and a clap of hands from him as reward.

The Queen merely looked at him confused but said nothing more as she looked to Stayne. "If he knows as much as you believe him to know, then imprison him. Until Jack returns you are not to harm him or use any of your devices to make sure he is forthcoming with his truths."

The smile that Stayne held for a moment fell into a snarl upon hearing the Wild Card's name and Auris felt a chill run through her as a dangerous wave of malice and scorn completely covered Stayne.

"Your Majesty," he lightened his tone to persuade her, "surely it would be better for me to start coercing the Hatter to tell me what he knows rather than wait for the Wild Card to return!"

"I am awaiting Jack's arrival," she bristled, and the temper of the Queen of Hearts flared dangerously as she looked at Stayne. "You are to imprison the Hatter and hold him there unharmed until further notice. That is final."

The wave of malice wound itself around him like an anaconda as his hands clenched into fists. He shook in fury ready to burst forth with a tantrum but forced himself to kneel in fealty to the Queen in accepting her orders. Auris was not sure what sorts of things were happening between the Queen and the Knave, but whatever was rekindling with them caused great concern in Auris's mind and she knew she needed to speak with Jack and the King quickly before the Queen truly did return to her old ways. The Queen only smirked in victory as Stayne made a motion with his hand and his troop of Soldiers turned and exited out the doors they came in. Stayne stalked behind them, his cape waving like a cat's tail in irritation, and slammed the doors behind him.

It took a few moments for the tension to rid itself from the terrace, but the Queen eventually relaxed her shoulders as she turned and looked at Auris. "Now that they've gone, let's get you ready to go see Tres."

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you're enjoying the story so far!

Please remember to leave a comment or review to tell me your thoughts or how you feel about this chapter!

Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more.

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter.