Reginald opened his eyes. He could still hear her laugh. His lips still felt her small, delicate hand. He could still see her dazzling eyes sparkle with tears.
His heart ached.
The sound of a fist pounding on the door echoed once again. He yelled down and grabbed the pants draped on a nearby chair. Stumbling downstairs, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and made his way to the door. His hand paused at the doorknob, uncertain. He sidestepped and lifted the curtain to see who it was.
It was that prat, Lumiere.
Oh good. He looked nervous. Reginald opened the door wide and glared at the skinny Frenchman.
Lumiere suddenly found himself at a serious disadvantage.
"Ah, Monsieur," He simpered, tearing his eyes away from the broad, shirtless chest. "Bonjour!" he piped with fake cheerfulness. "My apologies for the intrusion, but we are calling a, how shall we say it, town meeting!" He announced brightly. "Perhaps if you would finish getting dressed and meet at the square in an hour?"
The Hatter towered over the smaller man and snorted. A small feminine squeak snapped his eyes towards the street where a small gaggle of women was staring at him, all eyes wide. Uh oh.
Reginald slammed the door in the surprised man's face, his own face beet red at the unmistakable chorus of disappointed cries outside.
"Is that a yes, then?" Lumiere yelled through the door.
The Hatter rolled his eyes and covered his face with his hand. "Yes, Lumiere. I'll be there in an hour." He called back.
Damn and double damn. Today he was going to lock up his shop and prepare to go find the Rabbit Hole. His bags were already packed for the journey and he had already given Ears his house key. He planned on staying out of sight and leaving tonight, but now he had to go out there or else that cheese-eating fop would think he was a coward.
He stomped upstairs. He'd bet his oversized hat that the topic of discussion would be about him and that damn mirror.
He froze mid-step. What if someone asked him about Alice?
He swallowed quickly to shove down the grief that crept like a monster up his throat. What would he say? The only one he spoke to since the entire event was Ears. Sure, Belle had been about, trying to get him to open the door, but she left disappointed every time. He hoped Ears had done him a favor and told her that Alice wasn't coming home—
She was coming home.
He refused to think otherwise.
A short time later he entered the crowded square, eyes down and shoulders hunched, pointedly ignoring the speculative whispers and gasps that his presence stirred. There was a raised platform at the center of the square where some important-looking people stood in frightened clusters, looking about nervously. From the size of the crowd, most of the town had shown up and there was no shortage of ogling eyes and pointing fingers. He narrowed his eyes and planted himself on the outside of the large crowd, hoping to slip away when the opportunity presented itself.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, if I can have your attention, please!" The White Rabbit, looking ragged and exhausted, his arm in a sling, yelled into a megaphone over the din. The voices faded. "I bring grave news this morning! You have no doubt heard that there have been disasters, attacks on outlying towns, and rumors of an army headed across the land."
The frightened whispers and cries briefly drowned him out.
"I regret to inform you that they are true!" The page continued. "Gathered here are representatives of the nearby kingdoms, to answer your questions."
"What about the Queen?" A woman yelled. "What happened to the Queen?"
Reginald frowned. While the news about an army was, in fact, news to him, he had thought someone would have at least explained what happened to the Royal Court by now.
The rabbit looked to one of the men on the platform. A barrel-chested, bearded man stepped forward and cleared his throat.
"The Queen is alive, as far as we can tell." He said in a clear, strong voice. "But she has been taken captive by the enemy."
"Then who's going to protect us?" Another voice called out of the crowd as the gasps and cries rose once more.
"We are all sending part of our collective militaries to help protect the towns. Its important that you accommodate them in any way you can." The man said. "We will need volunteers for a local militia."
Reginald smirked wryly. It's a shame he wouldn't be around to make all those helmets.
"The cracks in the sky, are they dangerous?" A man called.
The answer was drowned out by the crowd.
"Mr. Hatter," A man's voice whispered from beside him. Reginald turned to find himself face to face with a caribou.
He didn't dare move. The Caribou snorted, but didn't look like it was going to attack.
"Sven, move!" The voice hissed. The Caribou was shoved aside and a blonde man grinned apologetically. "Sorry about that. I'm Kristoff, the representative from Arendale." He put out his hand.
The Hatter hadn't moved a muscle. His eyes were still locked on the caribou. "It senses movement." he whispered.
Kristoff laughed. "Sven won't hurt you, will you?" He vigorously scratched behind one wide ear as Sven grunted happily.
The Hatter whimpered.
"Anyways," Kristoff shrugged. "Please, come meet us in the Pub. There's a group of people who would like to speak to you about recent events, my Queen included."
Reginald tore his eyes away from the caribou and looked blankly at the man. "Me? Why?"
Kristoff stared, a sarcastic smirk on his face. "Really?" He finally asked. "You think that no one knows what went on the past few days?"
Reginald mentally kicked himself. So much for laying low. He sighed theatrically and gave in to the inevitable.
"Lead the way, Christopher."
"Kristoff."
"Whatever."
….
In a private upstairs room, Reginald found himself in some very exalted company.
"Welcome, Cousin." Queen Elsa said. "Please have a seat."
"C-cousin?" The Hatter stammered.
"What, did you think the white hair was from mercury poisoning or something?" Piped Princess Anna. She grinned at him.
Reginald sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with a hand. "Well, yeah!" He cried, incredulously. "It is, in fact, from just that!"
Anna looked at him with narrowed eyes and a smirk. "So what, super powers were a bonus?"
He opened his mouth and closed it. Then opened it again.
"Stop, Reginald. You look like a fish." Elsa said.
He closed his mouth and looked around helplessly.
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but your hair turned white because of your bloodline, not your occupation. Though, maybe your occupation had a more to do with it, now that I think about it." Anna mused.
Elsa glared at her.
"What?" Anna cried.
Elsa rolled her eyes. "Reginald, a survivor from the Queen's Palace told us that you were able to summon ice to try to stop that Mary Anne, correct?"
"I was so sure it was the mercury." He muttered to himself.
"Well, regardless, we should all be thankful that you only have a small bit of the power and have it under control." Elsa continued.
"How do you do it?" Anna chirped.
"I have a purple squirrel." Reginald replied absently, puzzling over a wisp of his white hair.
Anna froze mid-word, mouth wide open.
"Now who looks like a fish?" Hatter whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
"Enough, please!" Princess Merida shouted. "Back on topic!" She fell back down into her chair and crossed her arms with a huff.
"Yes, back on topic. We need to know what happened, starting from the beginning. Please, Reginald, tell us." Elsa asked, looking at him expectantly.
Reginald looked around. At the head of the table was Elsa, with Anna at her right. Around the table, glaring, smirking, or just waving at him in no particular order, were Kristoff, Rapunzel, Eugene, Shang Li, and Merida.
With a deep breath, he told the story. He started with Alice's disappearance, the search, and then the summoning of the Cheshire Cat. Ignoring the gasps and whispers about the Cat, he found it harder and harder to speak as he continued with the breaking of the Mirror and the loss of Alice.
"Stop, Reginald!" Elsa cut him off. The table had frosted over. With a curt wave, she made the ice disappear.
"You weren't kidding," Merida gasped, snatching her bow off the table and plucking on her bowstring to knock the frost off.
With a painful sigh, he concluded the story with the trial and escape of Mary Anne on the Jabberwocky.
The terrified silence that met his words seemed to last an eternity.
"Whats a jabberwok—OW!" Anna yelped as Elsa elbowed her in the ribs.
A soft, echoing voice began to fill the room:
"'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves,
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe."
The purple-pink mist rolled in between the cracks of the closed windows and bounced across the room ponderously as it gathered. "Beware the Jabberwock, my son!" It cried, "The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!"
Elsa stood slowly, her eyes locked on the rolling creature. "Is that the…"
"Cheshire Cat," Reginald murmured.
The half-moon grin tumbled through the air, giggling:
"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.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
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."
Merida pulled an arrow out of her quiver slowly, eyes locked on the creature. Shang placed a forbidding hand on her arm, never taking his own eyes off the cartwheeling mist. She growled and put it back.
"You did something naughty, Hatter!" The cat purred. "I'm so proud of you!"
Reginald bit back a snarl. "You knew, didn't you? Had you warned me, Alice would be home and none of this would have ever happened." His eyes glared hatefully at the Cat.
"Where's the fun in that?" The Cat howled. "Mary Anne would have had her revenge sooner or later…" it sung mockingly.
"That's true," Rapunzel said, soberly "And it could have been worse." She looked at Eugene. "There could have been more at stake."
"And the stakes aren't high now?" Merida bellowed. "My family is there, right now, in the path of an army!" She ran her hands through her voluminous hair in frustration. "We are wasting time!"
"You're not the only one who's family is in danger." Shang retorted. "My wife is out there right now, trying to find a way to that mirror. She is heading straight into the Enemy's lair as we speak."
Merida bit back her words with a seething hiss. Reginald wondered if anyone knew about the Rabbit Hole except for him. If he was correct, Mulan was going in the wrong direction.
"And the more we know here, the better odds she will have of coming back alive." The man whispered, his wavering voice betraying his emotions.
The Cheshire Cat bounced onto the table and condensed into his feline form, his eyes wide open. The entire table, minus the Hatter, averted their eyes. "What fun!" He cried. "I haven't had this much fun since Alice arrived. Oh, how I miss that girl!"
Reginald swallowed and looked up, determined. Shang was giving his all for this. He had no time to feel sorry for himself. "Cheshire Cat," he said, "I put myself into your debt. Please lend us your aid."
The Cat paused mid-cartwheel. "My aid, you say? Why that's a risky prospect, indeed!"
Reginald smiled sadly. "Name your price, Cheshire Cat. Please help us."
"Oh! Hatter, you flatterer." The Cat mewled. "You think that I don't have a vested interest in your success?" The cat slid upside down in the air. "Au contraire, I need you all to succeed."
"Then you will help us?" Anna asked timidly.
"Oh my, Yes!" He tittered. "In exchange for one thing…"
"I thought you said—" Elsa interrupted.
"But he offered," The Cat pointed a claw at Reginald. "And I do like gifts."
"What do you need from me?" Reginald said, "Ask it and its yours."
"Need? Need. No. I want you to make me a Hat, dear Hatter."
Is that all? "What's the catch?" He whispered.
"Oh! I'm so hurt, Hatter. You must think poorly of me." He groaned. "All I want is a simple hat, nothing special."
"Alright, Deal. What kind of hat?"
"I just want a Hat. You'll know when you finish it." The cat purred, floating happily around the Hatter's own hat.
"When do you need it?" Reginald asked.
"Oh, whenever. I'm in no rush."
"Then I'll get started right away." Reginald said finally. "As part of the exchange, I request that you lead Mulan to the Rabbit Hole instead."
The Cat froze, just as in his yard on that day. "The Rabbit Hole?" he whispered.
Shang stared at Reginald mutely.
"You are sacrificing your chance at being the hero who saves Alice?" The Cat spiraled over to the Hatter's face. "That's so noble, Hatter…"
"The Rabbit Hole is how Alice got to Wonderland, both times." Reginald explained, ignoring the feline. "Belle told me that, once. From what I figure, Mary Anne probably wouldn't have known about it, so it's the safer way to get to Alice."
Shang closed his eyes and bowed at the waist, nearly overcome with gratitude. Reginald smiled sadly. As much as he wanted to be the one who saved his dear Cricket, if it had been him in Shang's place, he hoped the man would have done the same.
"Consider it done, Hatter, at your noble request." The cat snickered.
Elsa breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the cat, risking its glare. "Cheshire Cat, about that poem you said,"
"Yeeeeeeesssss?" The cat asked lazily.
"The vorpal sword, if that is what's needed to kill the Jabberwocky, then where is it?"
"OH! Excellent question, Oh Queenie-weenie." The cat crooned. "It belongs to Alice, of course!"
"Alice?" They all chorused.
"Yes! Alice our Princess, keeper of hearts... or maybe just one heart in particular…" the cat crooned, bouncing like a ball on every word.
Reginald sat down roughly. "Where is it?"
"In the Otherland!" The cat chirped. "The clever girl, being exactly where we need her." He began to melt in place. "She's a resourceful one, that Alice. She'll find it."
The Cat pooled into the center of the table and closed his eyes contentedly. "Now," He purred. "With all the business out of the way, How else can I be of service?"
….
The Cheshire Cat was not just any ordinary, albeit strange, citizen of Wonderland. He was a conglomerate of the thoughts and dreams of every being in Wonderland, the source of magic, and the very lifeline of the world. Otherland was an entirely different story. This, the Cat explained, was why it was important that there was a delicate balance between the Worlds as far as Otherlanders and Wonderlanders were concerned.
"You see," the cat spoke sagely, "Otherlanders come from a place of no magic, meaning that I cannot sense their thoughts or predict their actions. The balance was designed to protect the magic of Wonderland by making sure that the Otherlanders stay in the Otherland, only coming in when one, be it one of us or one of them, leaves. This is the one-for-one rule and the reason why people deem them as Visitors only. Mary Anne broke this balance by dragging Alice out without an exchange.
Merida hesitated to point out that the math seemed a little off. "Alice was the only one taken when Mary Anne came in, so..."
The Cat smiled indulgently, turning to Reginald to answer the question. "But where is that hooded man that Mary Anne controlled, Hm?"
As it appeared, Mary Anne crossed over, intending Alice to go through in exchange, but her lackey was closer and got pulled instead. The flux from the mirror breaking was too strong and dragged Alice out as well. This miscalculation was what caused the worlds to become cracked and unstable.
The Cat giggled with mirth. "Mary Anne thought that the breaking of the Looking Glass would cement her stay here in Wonderland, but instead, it prevented the Balance from being maintained. For all her pretty planning and scheming, Mary Anne is rather witless, don't you agree?"
Reginald clasped his hands in front of him and pressed his thumbs together. "This is all my fault." He felt the guilt ooze from his heart. "If it wasn't for me breaking her heart all those years ago, she wouldn't have come back seeking revenge like this."
"As much as I would like to agree with you, I can't." The Cat rumbled. "Mary Anne only wanted permanence here in Wonderland. You see, you need a tether: a magical graft to stay here in Wonderland forever. The tether can only be granted by a bond with another Wonderlander, typically through marriage between the two. Not to say there aren't other ways…"
Reginald shivered suddenly, his world crumbling and reforming as realization dawned on him. "You mean… was that why…?"
"Oh, Hatter! Did you really believe the girl when she said she loved you? Oh, how rich!" The Cat dissolved into bubbling laughter.
Reginald couldn't describe the feeling that he had. It wasn't hurt, it was… betrayal. "She was going to use me." He whispered.
Anna reached over and placed a warm hand on his shoulder. She knew exactly how he felt, the pain of Hans' deceit fresh on her mind.
"Well, little purple squirrel, you don't have to hide that splinter of guilt anymore," The Cat addressed the Hatter's mental construct with a grin. "It just turned into a great dagger in his back!"
Reginald felt the cold fire run through him, leaving him hollowed out and clean. He no longer felt sorry for Mary Anne, or himself. He only felt determined that she pays for what she's done and that they bring Alice back, with sword in hand.
"So, if— when we get Alice back, we can kill the Jabberwocky and fix Wonderland, and if we get back that lackey, we can remove Mary Anne for good?" He asked the Cheshire Cat.
"It's a start…" The Cat suggested. "I believe Belle is a few steps ahead of you regarding planning all that, though…"
Reginald had wondered what she was up to. He knew that she wouldn't take his silence for an answer. Clever Belle.
The rest of the gathering, who had remained silent during most of the exchange, began to flesh out a plan to whittle down Mary Anne's army, distracting her until Alice's return. That is, if Mulan was to succeed. A courier was sent to retrieve Belle and The Cheshire Cat disappeared to fulfil his promise. Reginald got up to leave.
"Hatter," a disembodied voice echoed, "Don't forget my hat."
….
Reginald got to work immediately. The blacksmith, arriving with an armload of steel helmet frames looked questioningly at the row of elaborate gentlemen's hats and wisely kept his mouth shut, for he saw the already completed order of leather and steel helms on the counter. With a curt nod at the busy Hatter, he headed back out into the avenue, where shops that previously sold clothing and luxuries were now churning out armor, gauntlets, and swords.
Reginald's deft hands smoothed a ribbon on the purple-pink high-topped beaver and lifted the completed hat up to inspect. "No," he finally said, setting it gently on the counter next to the others. "That's not the one."
As he worked, he heard about the disasters that were devastating the already beleaguered land: a great typhoon had nearly destroyed the southern isles, another earthquake sent Princess Rapunzel and Prince Eugene on the fastest coach to help their people. Queen Elsa had left immediately following the meeting, warning him to take care of himself and make sure his powers don't go out of control. From what he heard, it wasn't a moment too soon, for Arendale came under attack shortly after. New cracks had appeared everywhere, revealing a similarly ravaged Otherland when the people dared get close enough to look through.
Reginald kept busy, making sure that his fine crafted helms and shields were readily available, using his skills in a different, but efficient way. The townsfolk were grateful for his contributions, but scratched their heads in confusion at the ever-growing collection of hats that he produced. When he needed a break, he would leave to watch the militia train in the town square, under the watchful eyes of Shang.
An unexpected distraction came in the form of his despised rival, Lumiere.
Ears had just dropped off some tea from his shop, when the thin man walked in, wearing light mail and armed with a filigreed rapier that looked like it was more decoration than weapon.
Ears backed up defensively. "We don't want trouble here, Lumiere," He warned.
The Hatter heard the March Hare and walked around the counter, his face a pale mask. "What do you want?" He snarled.
The Frenchman planted his feet solidly and puffed his chest. "I am here to invite you to my swordsmanship training." He said, loftily.
"If I wanted to learn to prance like a dandy, I would go to the ribbon dancing class at the theater." Reginald retorted, eying the man coolly.
Ears snickered and stifled it in his paw.
Lumiere regarded him, refusing to take insult. "You may be a rough, uncultured brute of a brawler, but that's going to do you no good. You need to learn weapons." he said firmly.
"From you? I think not, pretty man."
Before Ear's could yelp a warning, the Frenchman had unsheathed his rapier and was aiming a thrust at the seemingly unsuspecting Hatter.
The thrust was intercepted and parried by Reginald, who had somehow produced an umbrella, and was wielding it with surprising skill. The Frenchman quickly found himself on the defensive as the Hatter's aggressive maneuvers told him clearly that this fight would not be easily won.
However, the fight lasted for only a moment before the umbrella was knocked out of Reginald's hand and sent spinning through the air.
The men faced off, panting. Ears looked back and forth between them in astonishment.
"You see," Lumiere gasped. "How are you going to rescue your Woman if you can't beat me? The enemy will be much better and faster than I ever claimed to be."
Reginald fixed a considering look upon the thin man. Word travels fast, it seems. "Are you trying to help me?" He asked finally.
"Oui, Hatter, c'est vrai." He responded, extending a hand of friendship. "If you wish to keep working on your hats, I can meet you here on the evenings and we can train."
Reginald's lips curved into a smile as he swallowed his pride and extended his hand.
….
That night Reginald dreamed of Alice.
Alice was already seated at the tea party table, leafing through a thin book and smiling. As he walked closer he saw the bright, colorful pictures. A children's book.
"Is that you, Cricket?" He chuckled, startling her. He memorized the shape of her face, her periwinkle eyes wide with surprise.
"Oh, Reginald! You scared me!" She cried. Her lips curled into a smile, unable to hold on to her annoyance at the sight of his face.
Her familiar words were a healing balm on his battered heart.
"Good evening, Miss Liddell," He smiled. "My apologies. What are you reading?"
Her lovely grin took his breath away.
"Oh, Reginald, look at this!" She said, flipping the book to its cover. "In this world, they wrote the story about how I first came to Wonderland."
He read through the short book, smiling at the antics of his young Alice, but when he got to the part about the tea party…
"Good Heavens! Is that supposed to be me?" He cried, somewhat offended.
Her bubbling laugh and dainty little snort erased any hurt feelings. He sat down next to her and listened to her talk about a thing called a 'Movie' where she saw her entire adventure in Wonderland 'animated' on a 'TV.' She was also reading a book about her adventures, written by a family friend while she flew across the country in an 'airplane'.
He'd figure out what those words meant one day.
"Look at this, Reginald." She had pulled out a small, leather-bound book and opened it, watching his face for his reaction.
He was surprised to see the sketches of himself. Could someone have been spying on him? Drawing pictures of him? The accuracy was chilling. He turned the pages and found a set of drawings that were of Alice. Pulling the book closer, he smiled at her various faces and poses. How did the artist get that exact look in her eyes that he loved so much? He flipped towards the back of the book.
"Oh, I hadn't gotten that far—" Alice tried to grab the book.
"Ah, hahaha! My Cricket," He howled, holding the book beyond her reach. "Did someone draw us kissing?"
Her face reddened with horror and she shrieked, leaning over him to reach the book. He lept from the chair and danced away, holding the book high above his head.
Her shrieks of outrage turned into breathless laughter as she chased him. After a few rounds, he surrendered the book and they returned to their seats, giggling like children.
"I wish this wasn't a dream and that he was really here." She said to herself, as if he wasn't sitting next to her.
He ached to see her so lost and alone. His hand found hers and he squeezed encouragingly.
"My Cricket," He whispered. "don't give up."
Alice gave a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I won't, Reginald."
He pushed a plate of tea cookies her way, loving the way her laugh returned. In his head, he was telling her about how everything in Wonderland was falling apart, and how much danger they were in. In the confines of his mind he told her how much he loved her and how much his heart broke just a bit more with every passing day she was gone.
Instead, he remained silent and committed her face to memory, willing himself to remember every detail.
He looked at their hands, noting that this time, she didn't pull away.
"This is a dream." She finally whispered. "And since this is a dream, Reginald, there's something I want to tell you."
….
He opened his eyes and stared at his ceiling, wishing that he hadn't woken up.