Chapter Thirty-One

QUEEN OF HEARTS

Sleep evaded her the entire night as restless thoughts and fears about Frabjous Day kept her tossing and turning once she would finally get to that perfect rem cycle. She couldn't help but wonder if she had made the right decisions leading up to the day; she wondered if keeping her husband locked away in his room was truly necessary; but most of all she wondered if it had been a wise decision to entrust Jack in searching for Alice. Every fiber in her being screamed no to her to all of those wandering thoughts, but she had an excuse as a reason to back up every one of them. The only acceptable excuse was that Jack was the only one that could have caught Alice. In the past when Alice had first visited Underland she had easily turned the hearts of her subjects in her favor, she nearly won over the Queen of Hearts herself. Though Stayne had always proven himself to be a capable man in doing what she required she did not necessarily trust him to properly bring Alice to her. With Jack professing nothing but loyalties to her and the note that she herself in the future had written to her she had no choice but to put her faith in Jack to bring Alice to her. It bothered her greatly that even he failed to bring her in, but it seemed as though both she and Stayne had prevented her capture at every attempt.

By now she was very sure that her pretty little sister had Alice. There was no doubt in her mind that they were already plotting and devising a plan with what to do with her once they won the battle. She hated thinking about it, but some part of her knew that unless Jack had something else up his sleeve that she would not be winning this battle easily if at all now that Alice was in the White Castle. It nearly drove her mad in trying to anticipate what to do with things once she lost the crown. She was very aware that most of her subjects would be happy that her sister would rule Underland and would switch their loyalties quickly, she only hoped that some would still remain loyal to her. Despite what the Rubeus told her there was some part of her that still feared that he would leave her once she lost the crown. She knew that Stayne wouldn't remain with her and only Jack would out of his obligations to her future self.

Was there anyone who truly wished for her happiness? Probably not after the many she had beheaded.

Was there anyone who wanted to be with her when she had nothing? She was not pretty like her sister, nor was she kind or loving or even good like her sister. She always had an iron fist while her sister had a gentle touch ready to heal what she had broken. Outside of the marriage with Rubeus she had no wealth of her own and she highly doubted that he would give her anything once the war was over after she locked him in his room.

She wanted to hold out on the idea that Jack would at least keep her company once everything was said and done, but even he had hinted at having someone he was interested in. After everything he had done for her so far, he deserved a happiness of his own; she only hoped she was strong enough to let him go instead of forcing him to stay with her. Even if it meant that she would be completely and utterly alone at the end of this, she hoped she would be strong enough to let go of Jack.

As she paced her room waiting for Auris to arrive and assist her in getting ready for the day she tried to push that thought away from her. Being alone. She had been alone her entire life! Her own parents chose her sister over her, hardly sparing her a glance. Hardly anyone shared similar interests with her and only pretended to most of the time out of their own fear of her, the only one that ever gave her the time of day in anything that he did was Rubeus; and she had gone and pushed him away. He had shown her the faintest ideas of affections and love and she was gluttonous for more; but she couldn't have more. No, she would get hurt and she would lash out and hurt others like she always did. It was better that she was alone even if she hated it to her very core.

When she stopped her pacing to look at the clock she frowned. Auris was taking an unusually long time to arrive and she rang the bell twice already. She grabbed the rope to ring it a third time when a knock came at the door. She snapped and glared at the door, "Who is it?"

"Poitrine, Your Majesty," came a disinterested sigh. "May I come in?"

"Poitrine?" She blinked in surprise and had no idea what to make of this. Had she rung the wrong bell? The Queen crossed her arms and watched her enter and close the door behind her, "Of course."

"Good morning, Your Majesty," she curtsied upon entering, and though she was well made up with makeup the Queen could tell that she was miserable.

"Good morning," she nodded her head to her. "Why are you here? I rang Auris."

"I am aware, Your Majesty," a strained smile graced her face as she stared at the Queen. "I am here on behalf of Auris."

Her mouth nearly fell open at this. Poitrine never did favors for anyone, let alone Auris, this was a sign that Frabjous Day was changing things drastically. "Whatever for?"

"She received an invitation from a suitor in the village yesterday afternoon," the Queen noticed how her hands bunched into fists, "she asked me to assist you in dressing should she not return by the time you rang."

The Queen couldn't help but wonder if Poitrine knew who this suitor was and how she would feel to know that Auris was currently seeing her ex-fiancé. It was a rather delicious slice of drama that she was willing to share with her, but the Queen thought better of it since she really did like Auris. Auris didn't deserve a huge amount of drama for the Queen's entertainment; even if it was very tempting.

She tilted her head to the side and examined Poitrine. It has been ages since she last allowed Poitrine to assist her, Auris just did such a good job that there was no reason to have anyone else do it. "How long has she been gone?"

"Since before dawn, Your Majesty," her eyes were pink and full of murky anger that always followed her after a heavy night of drinking. "She said she was picking up a gift for you and would be back by brunch at the latest."

"A gift?" She couldn't help the squeal that slipped its way into her words. "For me?"

"Yes," Poitrine forced another smile before looking to the wardrobe. "Shall I help you get ready for the day, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, yes," the Queen waved her off and went to her vanity while Poitrine went to the wardrobe to pick out dresses for her.

The Queen watched Poitrine from her vanity mirrors as she applied her makeup, no matter how much makeup she applied to her face she couldn't hide everything. Everything that hides on the inside has ways of escaping when one's guard is down. No matter how much she wanted to hide it even the Queen could tell that the breakup with Tres had been very difficult for her. She hated to see any of her Court Members looking so sad and depressed, however, Poitrine did it to herself and she would not deny Auris happiness if she could get it for herself. Poitrine had too deep a history of heartbreaks and one-night stands for her to be entirely sympathetic.

Wordlessly Poitrine sifted through the wardrobe and pulled out a few of the Queen's favorite dresses and brought them over to the Queen. She turned on her stool to look at the options and immediately pointed to her favorite red dress with gold and black stripes going down the center of the skirt. Poitrine nods in understanding and drapes it on the bed before putting the others away in the wardrobe. Still refusing to speak until spoken to, Poitrine joined the Queen at her vanity and picked up the curling irons and bobby pins and set about curling and pinning her hair up. Unlike Auris who was almost always hesitant in doing something bold to the Queen's hair, Poitrine confidently sculpted her hair into two large portions on her head to make her entire head be in the shape of a heart. It was wonderful the way her fingers skillfully ran along her scalp as she grabbed the red tendrils of hair to get them into the curling iron to curl them and pin them into place.

"I do forget how skilled you are in this," the Queen hummed happily as she enjoyed herself. "It has been a long time since you've assisted me."

"It has," Poitrine agreed. "You essentially stopped asking for me as soon as I got engaged. It is rather ironic that I would be here after the engagement is broken."

The Queen said nothing and continued to paint her face.

"It is. . . nice to be doing this again," Poitrine admitted. "Every time I assist someone with their hair it reminds me of the times my girl friends and I would get ready for a night on the town."

She raised a brow at her, "Good memories, I take it?"

"Messy," Poitrine chuckled softly with a shake of her head, "but I do suppose they were good."

She almost made a comment about how messy was a good way to describe the life Poitrine kept choosing to live but held her tongue instead. The woman has gone through a lot and the Queen had no room to speak in messy decisions that have been made. "How are you doing?" She dared to ask the question. "I've been informed of your breakup. . ."

"I'm sure the entire castle has been talking about it," she scoffed as she put another pin into place. "If they're not talking about the bets that they lost for how long it would be for the breakup, they're talking about how Auris is currently seeing him. . ."

There was a bit of a poke to the back of her head as Poitrine stuffed another pin into place, but the Queen said nothing. Though people did not directly talk to her about such things, she was aware how tasty this bit of gossip was for the castle, it was almost enough to take everyone's minds off Frabjous Day. Any attempts to smile had been removed from Poitrine's face and she almost seemed gray underneath the layers of makeup on her face.

"But to answer your question, I am doing as well as I can, I suppose." She withdrew her hands from the Queen's scalp and checked over her hair. "It was my own fault after all, so I have no one but myself to blame. . ."

"And just what was it that you did?" She finally asked the question that even Auris evaded to answer her. Poitrine locked eyes with her in the mirror and looked so far away.

"I did what everyone predicted, Your Majesty," her eyes almost seemed to water as though she would cry, "I was caught in bed with someone who was not my fiancé. . ."

"And just who was it that you were with?" Her heart was practically pounding in her ears as she asked the other question she had been denied and answered to. Poitrine looked away from the mirror and as she opened her mouth to finally answer a knock came at the door. She could have screamed at the ill-opportune interruption! They both turned their heads to the door and much to their surprise a whispering voice was on the other side. "Your Majesty?"

"Auris?" Poitrine asked as the Queen stood.

"Enter." The Queen commanded and a pink faced and panting Auris entered the room.

"What are you doing here?" Poitrine hissed with her hands on her hips. "I thought you said you were going to meet your suitor?"

"I did," she huffed as she closed the door behind her. "B-But he met me halfway, so I didn't have to travel so far."

"You didn't have to come running back, Auris," The Queen scolded as she crossed her arms. "I was informed of your whereabouts, so you could have been gone longer."

"No, Your Majesty, I couldn't," she shook her head and held a basket out to her. "I had to bring this back for you."

Poitrine gasped upon seeing it but said nothing as Auris set the basket on her nightstand. It was a basket full of carefully packaged and labelled tea. She tilted her head in curiosity, "What is it?"

"They're handcrafted teas, Your Majesty," Poitrine answered in a tight voice. "Freshly dried and packaged for you to taste the most magnificent of flavors. . ."

The Queen spared her a glass and could see that she was barely able to keep herself together. Looking at her she could see just how fragile of a woman she was under all the makeup and grandeur. Poitrine knew where Auris had been, who she was seeing, and despite what she told everyone, it bothered her greatly. Normally the Queen would find such discord amusing among her Court, but she would not allow any fights to happen in her room.

The Queen noted and carefully stood in front of her, "You seem quite knowledgeable about such things, Poitrine."

"I am particularly knowledgeable about that tea, Your Majesty," she said pointedly and tore her gaze away from the basket as she addressed the Queen.

"Then I shall have to ask you to join me for a cup later," She smiled and tried to smooth things over. "Why don't you go back to your room? You look like you could use a little freshening up."

She gave a curt curtsy as she kept her eyes locked on the Queen's, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Thank you so much for what you've done, Poitrine," The Queen gave her hand a squeeze. It wasn't much in the way of consoling her, but it was the only comfort that she could really give her.

"O-Of course, Your Majesty," she curtsied again before leaving the room.

With Poitrine gone the Queen turned to face Auris to see her twisting her fingers nervously. She had quite a few questions for her but with brunch very close she decided against asking most of them.

"I'm sorry I was late, Your Majesty," she bowed in apology. "I thought I would be fast enough to get you ready for the day –"

"It is all right, Auris," she waved it away. "Poitrine explained why she was here to help me, but did you explain to her where you were going?"

"Y-yes, Your Majesty," she nodded with a grimace. "She asked me why I needed her help and I had no reason to hide the truth from her."

"Because asking someone to help you while going to see their ex is a good idea?" The Queen's brow raised as she looked at Auris who turned red by the question. "I never would have anticipated you making such a foolish decision, then again I do suppose that this is your first courtship, is it not?"

She nodded, and her ears burned crimson, "I-It is."

"In the future you would do well to remember that," she teased. "Now, help me get dressed for the day."

She jumped with a yes and immediately used her quick fingers to undo the buttons of the dress to help stitch her into it. The Queen held the front of the dress in place while Auris buttoned her in. "What sorts of tea did you bring me?"

"Samples of a few things," Auris answered calmly. "Tres's mother grows herbs and spices on her farm and creates a few blends of her own tea. I had some during my last visit and asked for a few samples for you to try. They should be to your liking, Your Majesty."

"I look forward to trying them," she grinned as she turned and faced Auris. "Now, tell me, why did you have to go so early?"

The Queen trapped Auris's hands in her own so she had nowhere to go and could feel the way she trembled like a trapped mouse. For such a trip as this surely Auris would have told her beforehand that she was going to go see Tres, she couldn't fathom her withholding this juicy little bit of information from her.

"B-Because he had a long day ahead of him a-and I knew with the croquet match today I wouldn't have another chance to see him." She answered honestly. "It was only to get the tea for you, Your Majesty, it wasn't supposed to be a romantic trip."

"Still, you should have told me," she patted the top of her hand. "If you would have told me sooner, I would have made arrangements for you!"

"B-But the croquet match –"

"Everyone is going to let me win anyways," she huffed. "And though I did want all of my Court with me for one last day of peace before the war I would have made an exception for you, Auris."

"T-Thank you, Your Majesty," she gulped, and the Queen could see tears building up in her eyes.

"Now, now, don't go crying on me," she teased and turned around. "You'll need to save those tears for when I win the croquet game!"

After Auris finished getting her into her favorite Queen of Heart's dress they made their way to the dining hall where they were to have brunch. Much to her delight Jack was already there and on the left-hand side of the table closest to the Queen's chair with a seething Stayne the Knave beside him. Jack sipped his tea and ate his crumpets without sparing him so much of a glance until he saw the Queen. He gave her a beaming smile that helped eased her nerves, though it did seem to wind Stayne up into an angry fit.

No matter how angry Stayne would get there was nothing he could do or say to prove Jack a traitor to her when he did everything that he asked; except for bringing Alice to her. With Frabjous Day on the way in two days she would not do anything to bring up such negative thoughts that would cause people to change loyalties so suddenly. She was just relieved that Jack was here and accounted for as she had requested rather than missing in action as he had for the past several days. So long as he was where she could see him all would be well, and she would have a chance to change the war for herself.

As she walked to her seat, however, she did notice that he had heavy bags under his eyes that only served to prove that he had not slept. She couldn't help but wonder if he had nightmares of his own that he could not get rid of with his magic hat like he could for everyone else. Just what sorts of things kept him awake in the night? She took her seat at the head of the table and everyone soon joined in with the festivities of eating all sorts of decadent delicacies and drinking only the finest of teas and coffees. Jack only seemed able to drink coffee and ate an occasional tart but seemed to be lacking in appetite as he watched the other Court Members converse with one another. Stayne, on the other hand, seemed to devour everything in sight just like Venter; which was very strange since he was such a picky man.

Though all seemed well and pleasant at her table as everyone forced themselves to be civil with one another, she could not quite shake the foreboding feeling that things would not remain this civil for much longer. She carefully watched Jack and noted that the Heart was still on his cheek despite him being so close to Stayne. She would have to keep a very special eye on him since he was a very crucial tool for her victory in the upcoming war. For now, she would just enjoy her tarts and prepare for a riveting game of croquet. Peace was hard to come by, especially for her since she locked Rubeus away, so she wanted to enjoy every second of it that she could.

KING OF HEARTS

Despite being locked away in his room like a damsel in distress, Rubeus knew most of the secret passageways necessary for his late-night walks to get a late-night snack. Now that the Queen was limiting him on what he could eat and that his secret stash of snacks was running rather low, he needed to restock before chaos ensued. He had been informed by a guard that the Queen would not be seeing him this morning and would be going straight to brunch before her croquet match. It hurt him to know that she wouldn't be seeing him today, but perhaps it was for the best since she wasn't quite herself. He knew trying to talk to her about having her release him was just as futile as explaining his love for her so he decided to use the time that she would be away to restock on a few items in his room. Before he would go to the kitchens, though, he wanted one last glimpse of the gardens before Frabjous Day.

He had successfully managed to stay out of the night patrol's sight, and he knew better than to go walking about like a free man in the middle of the day, but he really needed to see the sun and the green leaves and just one red rose before doing as he was told and staying in his room. Making sure that he was as quiet as possible, he left through the painting of his beautiful wife above his bed and disappeared within the passageways. Thankfully none of the other servants wanted to climb so high and he had most of the passageways to himself. He has noticed on one occasion seeing Poitrine wandering around in the passageways, but he said nothing to her about what she was doing and remained like a shadow in the darkness as he passed through the halls.

Once he made it to the doorway behind a statue in the gardens, he inhaled deeply through his nose and tried to keep to the shadows as he tried to clear his mind. He was very certain that the tides of war, even with the Wild Card on the Red Kingdom's side, would not be in Iracebeth's favor. He had seen the prophecy like everyone else, Alice would slay the Jabberwocky and the Queen of Hearts would lose the crown. He had accepted that fact and was already prepared to have to change his current style of living to accommodate living somewhere else, he only wished that Iracebeth would make this whole process easier. He also wished that she would just listen to him and believe him that loving her had nothing to do with her crown. He could only hope that after all was said and done, she would eventually see it and would come back to him, until then he had to wait on the sands of time for her to drift back to his shore.

He was so lost in his thoughts and hopes and wishes that he almost did not see nor hear the distinct tiny scream come from under him as he walked in the gardens. It was for a split second, but he saw a tiny blonde girl dressed in blue lying on her back with her hands above her in a poor attempt to shield her from the giant foot that could easily crush her. Even though he had only caught a glimpse of her when she was a child, he knew that this was Alice.

At this very moment he had two options, he could step on her and turn the tides of war in favor of the Red Kingdom, or he could take her to Jack and somehow have her taken to the White Palace. The choice was simple; He bent down and scooped her up in his hand and hid behind tall bushes as Card Soldiers were patrolling. She screamed and hit his hands, it was hard to tell how tiny she was, and he held her in his cupped hands long enough to wait for the guards to pass before holding her up where he could see her. She was a pretty little thing and could easily see how Jack had fallen for the girl despite his claims that he had no affection for the girl.

"Release me!" She demanded as she stood and stomped her foot in his hand. "Release me this instant!"

"I'm afraid that I can't," he hissed a whisper and shook his head. "If I did that you would surely die from this height."

She looked taken aback by his words but still remained stubborn. "You don't understand, I have to help release my friends! You must release me now!"

She was quite a loud thing for something so tiny. The last thing he needed to do was alert the guards that he had not only escaped his room but found the tiny Alice. It was no wonder it was so hard for everyone to find her if she was this small the entire time.

"Sshh!" He shushed her. "If you keep up your antics, you're going to get us both in trouble!"

"Aren't you the king?" She tilted her head and pointed to his crown on his head.

"Yes, but I have been put under house arrest for my own protection," he rolled his eyes. "If my wife finds out that I escaped we will all be in trouble!"

"You're the King, though," her brow furrowed. "Don't you have more power than the Queen?"

"In theory, yes," he sighed. "But if you know my wife is the one that everyone listens to."

"Don't you overrule her?" Alice blinked at her curiously. "You are the King, after all, surely you have some sort of say in things here."

"Much to my chagrin I do not," he huffed as he watched her carefully. "I have no reason to truly overrule my wife as she has been a good leader up until recently; even if I wanted to, she would not listen to me, especially with Frabjous Day so close. Which brings my next question, you do realize that you are deep within the walls of the enemy's camp, don't you?"

"Enemy or not I have friends that have been taken here into questioning because of me and I must make sure they're free!" She pleaded with him. "They are innocent and were only trying to help me and do not deserve to be locked away like criminals here."

"If your friends have been here for long then I highly doubt they've lived very long," he sighed. Very few victims that the Knave brought back in the Queen's name and honor ever lived to tell the tale. "Come, we must get to some place more private to discuss things properly."

She blinked in confusion at him. "What?"

"Hush, we will talk later," He carefully tucked her in his coat pocket and patted the top down to make sure it covered the top of her head. "Once we are in a safer place, then we can talk and I will listen to your story, until then I beg of you to remain silent."

Much to his surprise she obeyed his request and remained silent the entire journey to his room. She moved around to get comfortable, but she remained quiet the entire time. All the while his heart pounded in his ears and he had no idea what he was doing. Having Alice with him and not turning her into his wife would make him a traitor, but if he turned her in and she blabbed about everything involving Jack and her friends then they would all lose their heads. Just like Jack Rubeus just couldn't find it within himself to bring her to the Queen. Besides, he had seen the prophecy, letting the Queen know that Alice was here would do nothing to alter it.

Although his trip to the gardens had been cut short, it was a good thing for as he arrived in his room his breakfast had been brought to him as he stepped out of the painting. He quickly slipped under the blankets and acted as though he had just woken up and no one questioned him upon leaving his breakfast tray for him. He waited until he was sure that he was alone before fishing Alice out of his pocket and setting her down on the bed.

"Are you all right?" He asked as she dusted herself off.

"Fine, actually," she huffed as she moved her mane of tangled curls behind her. "I've been tiny for so long that I've gotten used to it."

He tilted his head at her to get a better look at her. If she truly wasn't from Underland then surely she would have been taller than this, he only hoped she did not have too much Piskshalver. Too much of it has nasty effects that the cake cannot fix and keep her in this tiny state permanently if she isn't careful. "Have you been tiny for long?"

"A few days now," she nodded. "It is quite tiresome, but I just remind myself that I won't be this small for long."

"I see," he nodded his head in astonishment. "Would you like tea? Perhaps something to eat?"

"I would, but I don't think I should," she smiled weakly. "You seem kind, but aren't we enemies?"

"Please don't think that way, child," he sighed as he went on ahead and cut tiny portions of his eggs so she could eat something. "I have so few allies to begin with and far too many enemies. A little company to help me bide my time while you tell me your story will not cause me to want to kill you."

"Very well," she said stiffly as she looked at the plate of food before him.

While she settled herself, he pulled a thimble out of the drawer of his nightstand and handed it to her. It was the smallest thing he could think of that she could use as a cup. She proceeded to use the thimble to dunk it into his teacup and helped herself to his English Breakfast Tea.

"I know my wife is very aggressive in many ways," he spoke nervously as he prepared a small portion of food for her on a saucer, "but I am not your enemy unless you are here to kill my wife."

"I'm not here to kill her," she spoke quickly. "I just want to get my friends out of here and perhaps to talk with Jack. . ."

"Jack?" He put the small portion of cut eggs onto a saucer and set it before her. "Do you have business with him?"

She grabbed a piece of the egg he cut and quickly stuffed it into her mouth. "Is he here?"

"I'm sure that he is," he gave a half shrug as he carefully tried to dig for some sort of information from her. "What is it that you need to talk with him about?"

"I need his help," she gulped the egg down. "I need him to help me break the Hatter out."

"You're not trying to recruit him to the White Army?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

"No," her brow furrowed and shook her head. "I haven't even been to the White Palace yet. I have tried pleading with him to just come with me, but Jack has refused every time I asked. His loyalty to the Queen is what keeps him here."

Though that came as a relief to him, Rubeus could not help but wonder if Jack's loyalties would change if the girl he had come to love were here. It was a very tempting idea to threaten him to keep her here, but Rubeus saw the prophecy even if he did somehow keep Alice here, things would still happen the way they were supposed to one way or another. Rubeus smiled encouragingly at her. "Please don't hold it against him. I know he has great feelings for you, but I'm sure he doesn't act on them because he doesn't want to drag you into great strife with Frabjous Day so close at hand."

"I don't know w-what you're talking about," she turned her face away from him as it turned as red as the cherry tomato on his plate. "W-We're only acquaintances!"

He couldn't hide the smile on his face. They were both terrible at hiding their feelings, and although it was innocent and sincere it was quite a drastic danger to both of their lives with Frabjous Day so close. If only they could have met sooner, or even in another place, then maybe something could actually blossom between them; Rubeus can't help but wish the same for he and his wife from time to time. Perhaps if they lived somewhere else, he could prove to her that he was the man that she needed and that he truly loved her. Ah, to be young again.

"You seem a little too flustered to just be acquaintances," he teased as he sipped his own tea.

"F-Friends, then," she tried to hide her face, but Rubeus had already seen how red she was.

"But you want something more?" He prodded and had great fun watching her somehow turn even more red.

"How rude, sir!" She snapped at him. "Are you insinuating that I am a wonton sort of woman?"

"Of course not!" He barked a laugh, "But I can tell that you would much prefer to be courting than just being friends."

"That's –" The fight in her left and she deflated. "That's impossible. . . Even I am aware that dreams are simply that, dreams."

Rubeus looked at her curiously and realized that she meant what she said. For whatever reason both she and Jack, though they had a great affection for one another, have decided themselves that things could never be between them.

"It's a little too soon to be giving up, isn't it?" He used the tip of his pinky to have her look up at him. "We don't know what the future holds for us, sometimes we just have to wait patiently for some dreams to come true."

"It isn't that simple," Alice shook her head and pushed his finger away from her. Her eyes burned, he thought she was going to cry, and when she didn't, she went back to eating her eggs.

"Perhaps not," he gave a shrug, "but sometimes we just make things more complicated than we really need to." Alice said nothing as she kept her eyes trained on the bit of eggs she was eating. "After we finish eating, I'll take you to Jack and see what we can do about getting the Hatter out of here."

She sat wide eyed and staring at him as if she could hardly believe what he had just said. He could hardly believe what he just said, but with this small conversation with Alice that everyone was so terrified of, he could see that she really was just a girl that meant no harm; though the prophecy begged to differ. She had no weapons on her and was smaller than a mouse in her current condition, there was nothing she could do in this state. He would take her to Jack and would demand some sort of answers from him. Even if she meant no harm trying to free the Hatter, who was currently a prisoner under questioning as well as providing his beloved wife with more hats than she knew what to do with, getting him out of here was going to be quite the difficult task unless she had more Piskshalver hidden away somewhere.

"Now then, why don't you tell me your story, dear Alice?" He hummed and cut up a tart and put it on her saucer. "I'm very interested in knowing what your life is like outside of Underland."

Author's Note:

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

I hope you all are getting as excited as I am to see where this will go because the thrill of writing is taking over and is getting very interesting.

Please remember to leave a comment or review and share your thoughts with me on how you think I'm doing. If you like the stories I have written, please share them and let's give the Disney Villain Recruiters a little more love.

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

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter