6. I can slay the Jabberwock
It was the third anniversary of the day Alice had slain the Jabberwocky and a grand celebration was occurring in Wonderland. Alice did not normally like being the center of such large amounts of attention, but for this day she made an exception. This day was a joyous occasion for all the residences of Wonderland and she could not bring herself to rob them of such contagious exuberance. The celebration started with a grand parade lead by Alice, the White Queen and the Hatter. Alice rode upon the Bandersnatch and wore her battle armor, the Hatter walked to her right and carried the Vorpal sword and the White Queen rode her horse to the left . They paraded all through Wonderland for half the day until they halted in front of the White Queen's castle in which there was a marvelous feast, music, drinking and fireworks.
It was truely a day of happiness, rowdiness and pride. The Hatter would preform his eccentric Fudderwack dance, the March Hare and Mally sang their tea time poem and the Cheshire Cat delighted children with his acts of magic and whimsy. It was this day, among all the others, that this land was truely, undoubtedly, magnificently wonderful.
There were only two among this rambunctious lot that were saddened come the end of the night. Together, this couple silently and slowly made their way to the chess board on which the battle against the jabberwocky had occurred. Together they stood hand in hand and stared up at the stars in an attempt to prolong the inevitable.
"I have to go now." Alice said softly, almost wishing she did not have to speak it.
With sad eyes the Hatter turned to Alice and embraced her tightly. He did not want her to leave yet again.
"You...you could stay..." He whispered softly, hopefully, into her ear.
Sadly Alice smiled. "I can't...I still have some answers to find."
Hatter choked back a sob. "For what questions?"
"I still have no idea why a raven is like a writing desk."
Together they laughed, but it was a soft, strained, sad laugh and soon the pair were staring at each other again.
"I'll be back Hatter. I promise."
"But...will you ever stay?" he dared to ask.
"One day." Alice said softly, wiping a tear from the Hatter's pale cheek.
Slowly his arms fell back to his sides as he helplessly watched Alice drink from the vial of Jabberwocky's blood and turn to smoke before his eyes. Reaching out, he tried to catch the smoke but it flowed through his fingers like sand and was soon blown away by the gentle breeze.
"Fairfarren Alice..." he whispered.
Author's Note:
Sorry if anyone got two e-mails for this chapter, I was so excited about this chapter I uploaded it before I checked it for errors. I took it down quickly and checked it over. So here it is again, typo free! Please enjoy.
Again, my deepest most sincere thanks to everyone reviewing and following this story. You've all truely helped me to come out of my writing shell.
By the by, I don't own Alice or her friends. I just like to dress them up and parade them around.
