A/N: Yes, it's a filler…bear with me here. I have to put these fuckers in or else the story will move way too fast…and anyways, I wanna be able to build the relationship between our two lovely characters, and unfortunately the only way to do so is with fillers…*shudder*

FML…oh well, here it is. Please don't be too harsh, I know its crap and I've already punished myself for it -.-;;


(5)

"Am I alone in this?
Never a night where I can sleep myself till day.
We must try to figure it out, figure it out.
It won't be that easy,
We lost it somehow."

~Mae, "The Ocean"

"…And after my parents died, I left my hometown and started a life elsewhere. Been alone ever since," Hatter concluded his story as they trotted through the woods on horseback, making sure to remain within the sunlight. He continued, "I had a few acquaintances here and there, but no real close friends. I guess you can say that after the loss of me family, I just never really wanted to get close to anyone." He chuckled, "you're the first person I've ever spoken to about my past. No one knows me for who I am…just what I am." "And what would that be?" Alice asked curiously. Hatter smiled slightly, "The Mad Hatter…I've always been known for owning quite a collection of odd hats that I seemed to pull off very well. This one is me favorite." He reached up, adjusting the brown hat on his head. It resembled a flattened tophat. It was odd indeed, but, like he said, he pulled it off quite nicely. "I don't really know why it was they called me 'Mad'…never really understood it…" He continued. Alice laughed a little, "You are a little weird. I mean, I don't think I've ever met a guy with so many…quirks, for lack of a better word. I can kinda see why they would think so." "Just my nature I guess," Hatter smiled that same accomplished smile, full of pride.

"So what is your real name?" Alice was curious…he had introduced himself with a name given to him by the people of wonderland, but not by his birth name.

"bah," he said, "I abandoned my name years ago…I haven't been called by my real name since I was a boy."

"well what is it?"

"oooh, demanding are we?," Hatter chuckled and adjusted his had once more. His eyes fixed forward. He had a soft smile on his face, as if recalling his name was something magical. He sighed a little a closed his eyes for a moment. His lips parted, as though he were about to speak, but he shook his head slightly, opening his eyes again, "forget about it…its not that important really. Besides, I much prefer to be called 'Hatter'," He perked up a little, "its more…me." There was that same prideful smile again, but that smile diddnt last long.

His expression quickly changed from pride, to slightly pained as he shifted his shoulders uncomfortably. "Whats the matter?" Alice said, clear worry on her face. Hatter diddnt respond, he was too concerned with the pain making its way up and down his back. His knuckles were white from how hard he was gripping the horses reins.

"Hatter?"

"Its nothing." He said, trying hard not to sound as pained as he really was, "just…my shoulders hurt…that fight last night really did a number on me."

"Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine." He straightened himself up and nudged the horse in the side. The beast trotted along at a faster pace in response. Alice knew something was wrong…just this morning she caught him looking at his back in the mirror, and just now, his back was bothering him again…

She was unable to catch glimpse of what he was looking at before, but she was sure he had been hurt by something. She chose not to question him on it, though…if he said he was fine, she had no choice but to trust his word.

The edge of the forest came into sight. She could see the open fields beyond it, engulfed in warm sunlight, exactly what the both of them wanted to see. The further away they could get from the dark wasteland behind them, the better…and direct sunlight is what they need most to keep themselves alive throughout the journey.

They were both relieved to feel the warmth of the sunlight on their face. The breeze was cold, but when it was not blowing, the sunshine was like a blessing. It was the first time either of them had seen the sun in quite a few days, and it really lifted their spirits, but right now was no time for celebration. They had a lot of ground to cover before nightfall.

Alice finished unsaddling the horse, rubbing its bare back as she did so. The horse seemed to enjoy this gesture, after a long day of carrying their weight and showed his appreciation by nudging the side of her face. Alice smiled and patted the beasts cheek before turning her attention upward. Hatter was perched on the highest branch of a tree like some kind of hawk watching over the world around him. He's been up there since they stopped, and hasn't so much as said a word.

Alice placed her hands on her hips, "Do you plan on coming down anytime soon?" She could see his head turn towards her. Finally, she had his attention.

"Come down already. You've been up there for ages!" She called to him.

Hatter turned to gaze at the setting sun once more…with each second that passed, he could feel a tingle in his back, gradually getting worse as the night fell further. It wasn't painful, just very annoying, and he really diddnt want it there. With a growl, he made his way down the tree, careful as to not agitate his back in any sort of way. After traveling all day, all he really wanted was to kick back and relax for a bit and get his thoughts in order. Having been called down from his 'quiet place' annoyed him somewhat, but he diddnt let it phase him much. He hadn't had a companion in quite some time, so he should appreciate the company, and he very much did, but that didn't mean he was used to it.

His feet hit the ground with a soft thud. "There," He said, brushing his hands off on his jacket, "happy?" Alice rolled her eyes and pulled her jacket tighter around her, "Help me start a fire, would ya?"

"Well since when did you take charge of this little expedition, miss?" Hatter tried to sound stern but couldn't seem to hide the smirk creeping over his face.

"Since I've been down here setting up camp while you were up there daydreaming."

"I wasn't daydreaming, I was thinking."

"Thinking, daydreaming, same thing."

"Definitely not."

"Is too."

They could have gone on that way for hours, but Hatter chose to back off while he was still calm. If there was one thing he had learned about her so far is that she was just as stubborn as he was if not more. He shook his head and took off his hat, using his free hand to shake up his long dark hair after having been matted down to his scalp. He liked the feeling of his hair flying free in the breeze. His skin started to prickle with Goosebumps as the cold air brushed against the parts of his head that had previously been covered. It was a very pleasant sensation.

He watched as Alice was hard at work building a small pit of fire, intent on getting some decent warmth going. She was already setting up a protective barrier of stones around the pit, to prevent the fire spreading further than it should. Her hands were shaking and so was the rest of her. The hood of her jacket was up. The only parts of her he could see were her shaking hands, her nose and her mouth along with a few stray locks of hair making their presence known fron under the hood. Every now and again a breath of white would escape her lips, which were already beginning to lose their color from the cold. Hatter tilted his head to the side a little bit as he watched her and couldn't help but feel bad at how pitiful and cold she looked…very different from the strong, stubborn woman who he had been traveling with all day…

Her ice blue eyes suddenly locked onto his, catching him off guard. "Are you going to help?" Her voice was stern as she spoke, as stern as her gaze. Hatter jumped a little, having been caught staring, and started to fidget, "oh, um…right." He head off in his own direction. Alice only hoped he was looking for something to light a decent fire with.

Alice finished setting the stones then settled herself down at the base of the tree, pulling her legs in close to her and hugging them. From the corner of her eye, she could see their horse doing the same. With a chuckle, she reached out and patted him on the muzzle. "what to call you…" she said to herself as she rubbed behind its ears. The poor creature had no name, that she knew of at least…it was only fair that he was granted one so that he may be addressed properly, but what to call him.

Her thinking was interrupted by footsteps approaching. She looked over to see Hatter carrying a wide array or sticks, leaves, and broken branches. He approached the pit she had dug and tossed the material in. "Its not much," He said as he reached into one of his bags, pulling out a small box of matches, "But its enough to get us all warmed up again." He struck several matches, eager to get the fire going, more so for Alice than himself. He was used to this weather, having lived in wonderland all his life, but Alice had never experienced one of their winters before, and they had some pretty violent winters. He wouldn't want her getting sick or freezing to death.

As the fire rose, he watched as she huddled herself closer to the warmth, smiling somewhat as the color began to return to her face and her shivering started to cease. "Feel better?" He said with a small smile. Alice nodded, stretching herself out by the fire to warm the rest of her, using her arms as pillows. "So how much longer until we reach this temple? And whats going to happen when we get there?" Alice asked as she shut her eyes, wallowing in the heat of the fire.

Hatter leaned back onto his elbows, "well…to be honest I've never been there meself, I've only heard stories…" Alice suddenly opened her eyes, "so were going somewhere you've never been to before…" "exactly," He said leaning the rest of the way back. He folded his arms behind his head, leaving his hat resting on his abdomen, "I know where it is…and its going to take us another day or two to get there, maybe even less if we have no delays…as for whats going to happen? I'm not too sure."

"Well that's comforting," She said sarcastically, "A clueless journey." "Oi, I'm just as clueless as you," Hatter retaliated, then his voice softened, "Like I said before…The stag has been around for a few thousand years…lets trust him for now. He knows what he's doing…now get some rest, love. We got a long day ahead of us."

It wasn't long before Alice was asleep. Hatter was nowhere close to sleep though…The scar on his back burned mercilessly every now and again, and it deprived him of the sleep he so desperately needed. Also, it didn't help much that he had this uneasy feeling that they were being watched…it was for that reason he kept his guns close by and chose to settle himself closer to the sleeping girl. If he was going to be awake most of the night, he may as well make use of the time and keep watch. The light from the fire was sure to attract all kinds of creatures, but he wouldn't dare turn it off, at least for her sake.

Hatter sighed and stared up at the sky. There were no stars tonight…there hadn't been stars since all this mess had started spreading across Wonderland like a cancer…There wasn't even a moon. The sky was simply just black…

The only thing that graced the sky with its presence was the sun…and he knew that even the sun was running out of time.

This hurt Hatter deeply, knowing how close his world was to total destruction and how little time he had to fix it…no, not him. Them.

He looked down at Alice sleeping peacefully in the warmth of the fire, a gentle blend of shadow and light dancing across her form in response to the graceful dancing of the fire itself.

Hatter had never really questioned the Stag, at least not until now…He couldn't help but wonder why…

Why him? Why her? And how? How could he, a former tea-shop owner, and she, a strange, clueless girl from another world, be the answer to Wonderlands problems?

He thought about the markings they beared, his on his arm and hers on her chest…The branch and the leaves.

Leaves…small and fragile things, but yet provide all living things with shade, shelter, food, and grace the land with beauty…but without the branch to uphold it, it would wither away. The branch…on its own it is strong, but it is also miserable and barren without the beauty of leaves to crown it and give it life.

'A clever comparison…' he thought to himself, rubbing his hand where the mark was on his right arm, 'Very clever…I'm impressed.'

His gaze shifted upwards towards the empty black skies, 'What are you planning…Have you, yourself, finally gone mad, relying on a conman like myself and some otherworldly stranger? What abilities can we possibly possess that make us of such great use to you? Or is it she,' He looked down at Alice, 'who is of use to you...and am I just here to keep her safe…no, that's not it…'

The leaf and the branch…

He sighed and looked down at the ground. His mind wandered to the wound on his back, stinging slightly from the cold.

' I don't know how long I will last,' He silently prayed, 'Please…at least give me the strength to fight it off until she is safe…until we are all safe…' He couldn't bear the thought of breaking his promise to protect her, even if he didn't mean to do so, and just thinking of the horrified look on the girls face upon seeing him for what he was slowly becoming made him want to cringe.

Alice shifted, maneuvering herself into a more comfortable position before continuing her peaceful rest.

Sleep sounded real nice right about now…but his body continued to deny him that pleasure.

With a heavy sigh, he stretched himself out beside Alice, but with a respectable distance between them. He wanted to be close enough so he could still protect her, but far enough so that she wouldn't be weirded out. After all, they had only known each other for a day…

His gaze shifted upwards towards the skies once more for a brief second before he rested his head down on his arms and shut his eyes, ' I hope you know what you're doing…'


A/N: Thanks so much for bearing with me through this boring thing. You guys really are awesome, I love you all ^_^