I walk up to the podium and tap the microphone, everyone winces at the noise. "Ahem, I..er...own nothing." I fiddle nervously with my shirt and continue. "Also, I have never, nor will I ever make any cash off of this story." I curtsey and my audience applaudes politely. "Thank you, Thank you, but I have one more thing to say." The applause dies away, leaving an intimidating silence. " This and all the chapters from this point on shall contain spoilers for the movie Alice in Wonderland." I watch the audience closely. "If you have yet to watch the movie and have no wish for me to spoil the ending for you, then I suggest that you leave now or forever hold your peace." A few people get up and walk out of the auditorium. I cough uncomfortably. "Thank you, that is all. You may comense with reading the story."
"Move down! Move down!" Called Thackory for the seventh time. Scrub giggled as she jumped from seat to seat and ended up sitting next to Tarrant at the head of the table. Thackory calmed down as he settled into his newest spot. Mallyumpkin yawned and was leaning heavily against a flower-patterned teapot.
She brandished her stickpin sword in a bored way, but still couldn't help herself and started to show off to their guest. She stabbed and perryed an imaginary foe. Scrub followed her movements with interest. "Do you think you could teach me how to do that?" She asked.
Mally stopped and fixed her with a pointed stare. "I could." She said, and then went back to her sword play.
Scrub took the hint and rephrased her question."Would you please teach me how to wield a sword?"
Mally smiled. "That's what I wanted to hear." She turned to the Hatter, who was suddenly frowning. "Would you mind being her sparring partner, Hatta'?" Tarrant's eyes went wide.
"Couldn't you do it?" He asked, his lisp revealing his discomfort. "I really don't think that I-"
Mally cut him off, glaring right up into his bright green eyes. "Hatta', I'm not exactly 'er match and I can't teach 'er if I can't reach 'er."
"That rhymed." Tarrant said absently, his eyes went unfocused.
"Hatter!" Thackory and Mally said at the same time.
"I'm fine, thank you." He replied weakly. "Of course, just let me go get my sword." He got up and walked unsteadily from the table to the house. He returned a few seconds later carrying a silver blade in one hand and in the other was a wooden one. A training sword, it had notches all along the side as if it had been through a good amount of pretend battles. He handed the wooden one to Scrub, who took it and held it gingerly. She was sure that if she weren't careful, it would give her a splinter or two. Tarrant smiled nervously at her and put his hand around her fingers to reposition them around the hilt. "That's how you do it." He told her.
Mally climbed over Thackory and up to his head, nestling herself into the fur between his ears. From this vantage point she could watch the two of them and comment on Scrub's performance. "Kay, you two. Bow and take your stances." She observed them as they did so. "Begin."
Hatter was hesitant, he didn't want to end up accidentally hurting the girl. He had to fight to keep the Madness from taking over. That happened whenever he dueled. It had happened on Frabjous Day, he'd almost killed Iloslavich Stayne, the Red Queen's right hand man. Fortunately, Al..no...the Champion..managed to slice off the Jabberwocky's head just in time to save the feind's life. Now, he could feel the urge to fight with everything he had, but somehow, he held back the Madness that threatened to overpower him. Amazed at his own control, he almost missed Scrub's next strike, he had to duck to avoid being bonked on the side of his head. "Pay attention, Hatta'!" Yelled Mally from the sidelines. "Don' wanna be beat by a novice, do ya now?" Novice? If the girl was anything, she was no novice. She was a natural, her small size made dodging easier and gave her the advantage of perfectly balanced, swift attacks. Mally was telling her exactly what to do and she had caught on quickly. He jabbed outwards, aiming for just below her hip, which would be a weak spot for most fighters as duelers usually kept their focus around chest level. However, he was forgetting that a woman's center of gravity is in her hips, so she was able to swivel out of the way and simultaneously catch his sword's tip with the broad part of her own. The jolt that ran up his arm made him drop it and he put his hands up, signalling that he was conquered.
"Did I win?" Scrub looked at Mally for confirmation, who nodded and clapped her hands. Thackory banged sliverware together and hooted with laughter at Hatter's defeat. Tarrant himself couldn't be more relieved, he hadn't even nicked her. Then Scrub started doing something unusual. She dropped the training sword and started rocking her hips back and forth. She jumped up and down and flung out her arms and spun around. He watched as she gyrated her body, his eyes drawn to the movements she made.
Oh my...
Mally and Thackory had stopped their celebrating and were now mesmorized by Scrub's victory dance. With a final turn, she plopped to the ground and lay there, staring up at Hatter with a mile-wide grin. "I've never been that good at stuff on the first try." She said, he barely registered what she was talking about. "Not really much of an athlete, either." She continued. "But that was fun!" She noticed their blank expressios. "What?"
Mally recovered first. "Have you ever Futterwackened?"
Scrub shook her head solumnly. "No, I believe in abstinance until marriage." She replied seriously. "But what does that have to do with-"
Hatter recollected his wits. "What Mally means is, have you ever danced with absolute joy before? Not caring a whit about who's watching or where you do it?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I do that all the time. In fact, that's why almost everyone in the Aboveground is aware of the fact that I'm a horrible dancer." She got up and brushed the dirt from her bottom. "I've even been compared to a spasmatic weasel." She inspected a smudge on her arm and rubbed it away. "I do it anyway, though. Do you?"
He grinned, unable to help himself. "Yes."
"Hatta' does the best Futterwacken in all o' Whitzend." He beamed in Mally's direction.
"Well, let's see what you've got, dude." She encouraged. He needed no inspiration, as he usually did. It took only the expectant sparkle in her eyes to make him happy enough to Futterwacken from here to Mamoreal. He removed his hat and started his own victory dance.
Scrub was in awe, she'd never seen a more spectacular show in her entire life! This man could move, his body was pliable and moved to a music only he seemed to be able to hear...the music of his own happiness. She realized she was staring, but she couldn't help it. She was hypnotized.
He finished with a bow and returned the hat to his head. "My, my, Tarrant. You haven't lost your touch at all." A mouth appeared to be floating in mid-air without an owner. Then eyes, bright teal colored ones, followed the mouth. A misty body began to take shape, and finally, a blue-furred cat could be seen hovering right next the Hatter. The cat flipped over and floated on his back. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Chesire, but most call me Chess or Chessur."
Scrub held out her hand."Nice to meet you, Chess. I'm Martha, but everyone just refers to me as Scrub." Chess grasped her hand with a foggy paw. It was strange, his body was incorporeal, but he felt solid where she was touching him. His grin was impossibly wide and full of teeth, if she weren't sure he was benevolent, then she might have been wary.
"What are you doing here, Chess?" Asked Tarrant somewhat tensely. He still didn't get along very well with this particular neighbor. The cat was known for his unreliablity and flouncy, show-off attitude.
Chess soared up high and did a loop-the-loop. Then he lazily came back down like a falling leaf. "The White Queen asked me to find you. She wants to know if you would be fine with making dresses for her and our two visitors. She's planning a ball to celebrate the arrival of our Champion." Hatter smiled. The Queen was always planning a ball.
"A ball? You mean like Cinderella?" Scrub asked excitedly.
"Who's Cinderella?" Hatter and Chess asked together.
"Oh, um..never mind. So are you gonna make my dress?" He nodded, already studying her to see what color would look the most beautiful on her. Maybe a blue or green to go with her eyes or perhaps a light lavender color..a peachy shade like she had on today? No, wait...he knew exactly what she'd need.
Chess began to blur himself impatiently. "As nice as this little trip has been, I really have to go." He cast a dreamy, longing sigh in the direction of Hatter's hat. "Goodbye...sweet hat." With that, he disappeared altogether.
"Hmm. I should get a start on those dresses. Fairfarren to you two." Hatter gently took Scrub's hand and led her away. Thackory grunted, his annoyance showing. Tarrant knew what would happen, so he instinctively ducked as the teacup flew over his head and smashed on the ground somewhere to the left.
{~A little bit before~}
"What did you want to speak to me about, your majesty." Asked Sarah as they walked down the corridor.
"Please dear, call me Mirwana." Corrected The White Queen. "And I don't really need to talk to you about anything, I just wanted to get those two together. Tarrant's lovely, but he needs a woman."
"Sister!" Gasped Jareth as he pretended to be scandelized, a mischievious twinkle in his mismatched eyes. "Surely you know better to than to interfere with Eros?"
"Eros?" Sarah said, confused. "Who's Eros?"
"Eros is, as you would call him, Cupid." Answered the Goblin King. "Mirwana is apperently playing matchmaker with your friend and her own Royal Hatter."
Mirwana smiled and casually remarked. "I think it's about time for another ball, don't you Jareth?"
Sarah paled. "There won't be any peaches, will there?"She asked, shooting Jareth an apprehensive look. He smirked and rolled his eyes. He conjured a crystal and fiddled with it, all the while assuring her that there would indeed be no peaches. She sighed in relief, making him laugh.
Mirwana let loose a loud whistle. "CHESS!" She called loudly. "OH, CHESS!" Sarah wondered if the woman had lost her marbles, just randomly shouting at nobody. The White Queen placed her hands on her hips and blew out the side of her mouth. "I was sure he was in the castle. CHESSUR!"
The is, she wondered until a blue mass of striped fur appeared in misty cloud. It materialized into the shape of a cat with a broad grin and glittering eyes. "You called?" His body disappeared again and his disembodied head whirled around in circles. Mirwana smiled and nodded. She explained to him that she wanted him to find the Hatter and ask him to prepare three new dresses for the ball. He would have the rest of the day and most of tommorrow to make them. The cat's head bobbed and wobbled in the air. "Of course, my Queen." And he was gone.
"Now, would you both be kind enough to help me with this? I want this to be perfect. You two will have to work together on getting those two together." She rattled off plans on how to make sure that Tarrant Hightopp and Scrub were to always be with a few feet of each other. "Jareth, whenever Tarrant starts to wander off, you guide him back to Scrub's side. Sarah, likewise, only you must do it for your friend." She grasped both their hands. "And whenever they are asked to dance by anyone else, one of you will butt in. Understood?" They nodded, both of them forcing down laughter. "Good. On to the decorum!" She pointed straight up in the air and strode forward, contemplating the color scheme and the theme.
"Your sister is very enthusiastic about this." Sarah said to Jareth as they followed her, but staying a little ways behind so that their conversation had less of a chance to be overheard. They could hear Mirwana muttering to herself about the ball and relaxed in the security of the thought that she was to caught up in her preparations.
"Yes, well, she's known Tarrant for a long time. She wants him to be happy, she's always saying how lonely and sad he must have been after Alice left."
Sarah stopped walking. "Who is Alice?"
{~Going back to present time~}
Scrub stretched her aching legs, they had walked all the back to Mamoreal. Hatter's workshop was in far off section of the castle, so they had also made their way down (and sometimes up) stairs. "This is why I never bought that Stairstepper!" She complained. She smiled as she took in the sight before her. "Though this place certainly makes up for it."
The room was painted in bright colors, a nice change considering the rest of the castle was mostly white and pastels. Large bolts of fabric were stacked in piles to one side and rolls of different colored ribbons were strewn about. Feathers of all sizes were spilling out of a bag that was stuffed into a corner. A desk with a Dressmaker's dummy that had no head leaned up against it was in the center of the room. That was where Hatter was seated, hard at work. He kept glancing over at her and making notes.
"Satin?..No, lace..no..wait...silk?" He mumbled to himself. "Perhaps chintz...no.." He looked at her again. "Definitly silk." He scribbled that down, finished his calculations and got up. He retrieved from the stack of fabric a large amount of black silk. "Stand up, please."
She did so and he wrapped a length of it around her, eyed the measurements, then made his way back to the desk. He started his sewing machine up, turning the wheel rapidly with his right hand while guiding the silk with his left. He hummed absently while he worked, looking content as he did. She remembered his face had held an expression similar to that when he did the Futterwacken. She took the time to really look at him. His eyes were a beautiful, lively green, his complexion was very pale, she suspected that was because he didn't often go out. His hair was curly and the brightest shade of orange she'd ever seen, the edges of it sticking out underneath his hat. It seemed to have a mind of its own. She felt compelled to run her hands through it, but resisted. His body was slim and clothed in a suit that, while tattered slightly, was very becoming. His multi-colored bowtie finished off the look. He looked good and she was thoroughly impressed, not many people could pull that outfit off and not look like Ronald MacDonald. Especially if they had similar hair. Thank goodness he didn't have a huge red nose!
She didn't notice how late it was getting, the sun having set long ago. She was too absorbed in watching him. He was elegant and delicate with the materials that he worked with, making sure every single detail was perfect. However, what she did notice was the warmth of the room and the lulling sound of the sewing maching whirring...
Hatter glanced up to see that Scrub had fallen asleep on the small chair. He smiled, chuckling to himself, and paused in his task. She would have to go to bed. She had a big day tommorrow. He, however, would have to work a bit longer that night to finish the last dress. So he went over to her and picked her up. She fit neatly in his arms and was so very light, it was almost as if she weighed nothing at all. She sighed in her sleep and nestled closer to his chest. For some reason, his heart lept and its beat was quickened. Holding her tightly, securely, he headed out the door.
He wasn't sure if Mirwana had given her a room yet, so she would just have to sleep in his bed. It wasn't like he would be getting any sleep for a while, anyway. Besides, she may be light, but he wasn't up to carrying her all around the castle. He kicked open the door to his bedroom and sat down on the mattress. He wasn't ready to let her go just yet, it surely wouldn't hurt of he just held her for a minute or two longer.
Her tiny lips were curled up into a smile and her hands balled up and clutched to her chest. Her chest rose and fell with each breath. Then, she opened her lips. He silently panicked, thinking she had woken, but her eyes remained closed.
"Tarrant." She spoke, though the word was slurred through sleeping lips, it was definitly his name. His heart leaped higher than before, his pulse rising so fast that he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. It was then that he decided it was time to go. Careful not to wake her, he hooked a finger around the covers and pulled them back, then placed her under them and tucked them around her. She curled up into a tight, little ball on her side.
She was so small.
Why is it that you're always too small or too tall? He gulped and left the room, the girl, and the memory behind. Fighting back the agony of a broken heart and the tide of Madness would be easier to do if he had his work to distract him.