A / N : holy snap Batman! (thats ... something I never thought I'd write in an Authors Notes bit but, I think the occasion very much called for it). Can I just say - wow! Thanks guys, thank you!! So, so much. You have no idea how overjoyed I was to log in and find numerous emails for alerts, favs, reviews - the lot. I'm so happy right now! I never thought the last chapter - let alone this whole story - would get as much interest as it has done! And it's all thanks to you. All of you! Thank you! I know I constantly tell you time and time again how awesome you are, but really - you are!!
So, how do I even hope to top last chapter when so many of you seemed to enjoy it so much? Gosh guys, thanks - I'm ... I'm kinda speechless actually.
Anyway, chapter 10. I was tempted to revise over my plan, and to add some more stuff in before this, but then I thought - no. Actually, I'll stick to my current plan. I'm sorry if this seems like the story is rushing in anyway from last chapter but, trust me - I have a lot of plans :) I guess I should mention here, that there most probably will be a sequel. I know I mentioned it a few chapters back in response to a question, but I feel it's important to point that out again at this point. Especially since I've had some questions asked too, such as weather Alice has decided to stay in her Wonderland forever now. Well, I don't want to reveal too much, but know this : there will be an answer to your questions. I may not be able to reveal them now, but there most likely will be an answer in the future.
Now quick mentions before this bit turns ridicliously long. Yes, this chapter is a few months after the Ball. Yes, Alice and the Hatter have very much been a couple for some time now, and yes - I'm still linking things into this story from other various things :) It's fun! :D Oh, and Thackery's song? It's from the actual novel! Be sure to check it out by typing into google 'Beautiful Soup' ; the lyrics should be floating around ~
I shall now leave you, with Chapter 10.
A Sudden Proposal
"Mustard!? Come let's not be silly Thackery, how can anyone enjoy a perfect piece of toast if you ruin it by drowning it in mustard?"
Alice looked back and forth between the Hatter and Thackery, the pair of them involved in an ongoing argument over what was better to be used to spread on toast. She wasn't sure how the argument had initially started – well, that was a lie; she knew exactly how it had begun. The Hatter had spun off a list of various jams, which then eventually led to Thackery chipping in his own ideas. What she wasn't sure of however, was how the two of them had got to a debate on mustard. The piece of toast that was the beginning of the whole argument - and was in actual fact very much intended for Alice in the first place - was still in Hatters hand, except now he was waving it about as he continued attempting to prove his point. Alice in actual fact wasn't even that hungry to begin with – but now she was beginning to doubt she would ever receive the piece of toast before it ended up becoming too cold to eat.
"As much as the rest of us love hearing you two argue over such trivial matters, I propose that you instead change the subject quickly. Poor Alice must be starving right now." Came Chessur's voice as he stared into the cup before him, admiring the tea leaves within it once again.
Both Thackery and the Hatter blinked, obviously forgetting for a moment where they were – and that they had an audience. As they looked at the others, they both returned back to the world around them, the Hatter smiling slightly as he turned back to look at Alice, whereas Thackery resorted to going back to throwing a sugar lump across the other side of the table. Well, at least the argument between the two of them had come to an end.
"Alice, dear, what would you prefer for this piece of toast? Marmalade, blackberry jam, strawberry jam, blueberry, gooseberry, raspberry, apricot ..."
"Mustard!"
Before he began spinning off more of a list (or attempted to kill Thackery for his interference of a suggestion once again) , Alice quickly grabbed the nearest jam to her – which was blueberry – and offered it to the Hatter. Knowing what he was like, Alice just assumed it would be better to agree with his insistence of her eating something instead of just trying to fight it, knowing all too well that if she didn't he'd only find some way to force her into eating it or end up getting upset about the whole matter – or both. He'd been known to do that quite a lot of the time when she'd disagreed with him on past occasions.
He took the pot out of her hands and smiled, looking from the label back to Alice as he did so.
"A most excellent choice!"
Alice once again sighed and rolled her eyes, turning to look at Chessur who was grinning widely back at the two of them.
Such events had been the same ever since after the Queens ball, where she had confessed to the Hatter and found out that they shared the same feelings for one another. After their little rendezvous in the garden, both he and Alice had returned to the ball, both beaming from ear to ear – and Alice wondering to herself if the night could be anymore perfect than it already was. They never left the others sight for the rest of the night, and became even harder to separate then they had been beforehand. It had proved harder when the party was over, and Alice had to retire to her room. The Hatter had followed her to her door, but when they had both reached it Alice noticed the worried expression that lay on his face. Even now, sitting at the table where she has having brunch with their friends, Alice still remembered the last conversation that they had had that night very clearly within her mind.
Alice turned around, smile still on her face. That was, until she met the Hatters expression staring straight back at her. In his expression, she noticed he was sad, almost worried about something – no matter how hard he was trying to hide it from her. Her own smile fell slightly, and her brow furrowed in concern.
"Tarrant? What's wrong? You were so happy just a moment ago." She asked, taking a hold of one of his hands as she did so.
His smile fell slightly too, and Alice guessed it was because she knew something was wrong. He tore his gaze from her and looked down at their hands, looking as nervous as he had done earlier on within the evening. Alice watched as he struggled to piece the correct words together in his mind to express what he was trying to say to her. Alice just remained there, looking at him, waiting for the answer she knew he would eventually give her – given time.
"I am happy. Very happy. Happier than I have been for a long time in fact. Perhaps even happier than when you decided to stay here, I'm not sure..." He shook his head then, as if trying to get rid of a hundred things in his mind and replace them with all the right things he wanted to say. Alice noticed him glance up at her then, and she knew instantly that he was going to continue with his explanation. "It's just, I haven't been this happy in so long, that I worry ... when I wake up, this will all be but a dream. And that, we'll just return to being ... two mad friends instead of-"
"Instead of two mad people who are very much in love?" She finished for him.
They looked back at each other then, and Alice saw the trace of a small smile fall back on his face at her answer. She pulled him into a hug then, and felt him respond by putting his arms around her tightly.
"What will it take to assure you that my feelings aren't going to change from now till morning? I should know, I've been battling to understand them for the longest time now," She pulled away from him slightly so she could look him in the face, noticing that some of the worry that had been there before had already faded away. "When you wake up tomorrow, and when we next see each other – things won't have changed, you'll see. And then you'll know that this isn't a dream, that it is all very much real."
The two of them broke apart from their embrace them, both smiling at one another, the worry that Alice had seen in the Hatters expression completely gone now and replaced by nothing but love and trust.
"You always did know exactly what to say, dear Alice."
He leant into her then, and just like they had outside by the pond with only the light of the moon as their witness, Alice found that her lips met with his in a kiss. It warmed her heart to know that it was still just as magical and special as it had been the first time – if not more so – and she felt herself responding in no time. She was however; very much upset when he decided to pull away; leaving her wanting to pout like a child. As he looked down at her the Hatter merely laughed at her expression, and the two of them looked back at one another.
"Goodnight, sweet Alice."
"Yes. Goodnight, Tarrant." Alice replied, and watched as he turned to walk away, leaving her standing outside the door to her room alone.
Alice couldn't help the smile that grew on her face, and as she turned to open the door to her room, tried to recall a night that had ever meant so much to her in the past. Failing to think of anything, she walked in – knowing all too well that everything was simply perfect in the world then.
Alice found herself quickly dodging yet another sugar lump that Thackery had decided to throw in her direction, and she turned to look at him as he broke into his manic laughter again. She sighed. Yes, things had continued to be very much the same since that night all those months ago – the only thing really changing being that of the Hatters mood since the two of them had become a couple. He no longer become as angry as he used to be – well, not unless Thackery was being most annoying and throwing spoons around the place; which was understandable and would make anyone angry. Not only had he become happier, Alice noticed that sometimes, he became more ... difficult at times, so to speak. The current tea party around her was enough of an example of that, what with his constant arguing over the little things that seemed to somehow annoy him, and how he had pretty much forced her into allowing him to prepare some toast for her even though she wasn't that hungry. In fact, if Alice was correct, she would say that his behaviour that morning was out of some sort of nervousness - and not just him being generally difficult. Not that Alice had much of an idea of what he had to be nervous over, as far as she knew everything was fine for him. More than fine in fact.
"Here Alice."
Alice turned and noticed a piece of toast being shoved under her nose. Kindly, she took it out of the Hatters hand and smiled, beginning to eat it. She was rather surprised to find it wasn't cold, especially with how he'd been waving it around for quite a while. As she continued to eat, the others around the table returned back to their random conversations, of which made little to no sense to her at all. Still, Alice would expect nothing more out of them, and she smiled to herself as she listened to their discussions. As was what seemed to have become a tradition at the table as of late, at one point Thackery broke out into song – this time however singing something which Alice could only make out as referring to 'beautiful soup'. Still very much confused over the lands hidden cultures, Alice decided that she really must learn more of the songs and poems within Underland one day, as she was sure this song he had chosen to sing was one she was not familiar with.
When the party was over and it was time for her to return to the castle, the Hatter ran to her side so that he could escort her back. Both of them missed Chessur's mischevious grin from behind their backs, but when Alice turned around to say 'Fairfarren' to the remainder of her friends, it was as if nothing was out of the ordinary with them.
The two of them continued to walk on, and Alice noticed that for once, the Hatter was unusually quiet during the journey, only speaking every now and again unlike the usual rambling that she was so used to hearing from him. When she turned to glance at him she noticed the furrowed brow on his face, and shortly afterwards she stopped walking in her tracks, grabbing hold of his arm as she did so, making him stop also. He turned to her, his face blank with curiosity, to which she smiled right back at him.
"Alright Tarrant, it's just us now. Are you going to tell me what has you acting so strangely at this moment in time?"
She watched his expression change slightly – Alice knew he was probably shocked that she could read him like an open book. But then again, when hadn't she been able too? – and then he smiled slightly.
"I didn't know I was acting so strangely, to be quite truthful. In fact, I was most certain I was acting in my normal nature."
Alice merely raised an eyebrow at him, walking forward slightly as she did so. Oh no, he would not weasel out of this that easily.
"Oh really? Then would you care to explain why you were looking so confused a moment ago, and why you weren't talking about a number of wonderfully fascinating things as you usually do?"
She watched him as he searched her face for something, and then he sighed in defeat, as if he was a little child who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Alright fine, you caught me. As usual nothing is able to sneak past my dear, smart Alice." He paused, and turned away from her, looking down at the leaves by his feet. "I was thinking ... about something. Well, I was thinking about a lot of things to be completely honest. Such as, - is blueberry really your preferred flavour jam? And, the confused expression that was on your face when Thackery was singing –"
"Wait, you noticed how confused I was then?"
"But of course! You see Alice, when it comes to you, not much slips past my knowledge either."
Alice just shook her head then, smiling as she did so. Of course he would notice such things of her behaviour; she just didn't think she was that easy for him to read.
"Why do I get the feeling those weren't the only two things you were thinking about?" She asked, looking back up at him as she did so. Alice noticed then that as she asked that, the Hatters nervousness had all but returned to him.
"Well, no – I was thinking about ... other ... things as well. But, one main thought came to mind. It's, come to my mind quite a bit lately actually, and I've thought about it quite a lot."
"And? Are you going to share with me what's on your mind? It must be something important if it's grabbed your attention so much."
The Hatter shuffled on his feet slightly, kicking the leaves from beneath him. As he did so Alice noticed that it never occurred to her that Underland could possibly have changing seasons also. From what she could tell, they were most likely in what would be the equivalent of Autumn back in her world.
"I was, thinking a lot about ... our future, actually. Our future; together."
Alice turned to look back up at him then, and noticed that he was now looking right back at her. That reply was not one she had been honestly expecting, and she only wondered where he was going with the whole thing now he'd begun.
Obviously sensing her bewilderment, the Hatter turned fully to face her, pulling her hand away from his arm and bringing her other hand to it, so that he could hold both of them. He looked back at her, and she noticed that in his eyes – which were bright green in colour at that moment in time – past all the nervousness that habited them there, was nothing but love and devotion.
"Alice, I know you, and I know that you don't ever like being told what to do, or being thrown into a certain direction, and I would never, never force you into a decision unless it was something that could honestly bring you happiness. But at the same time, I know my feelings for you – and, I know how much I love you, and that won't change ... well, ever really." He paused, frowning for a moment, but then carried on speaking. "Alice, my dearest, sweetest Alice. Would it be absolutely insane to ask if, perhaps one day – you would consider ... m – marrying a madman?"
Alice stared back at him then, shock falling over her. Had he just – inadvertently – proposed to her? She was sure he had. Even if the intentions behind it weren't direct, and weren't intended as an actual proposal today, in that moment – he had meant it as such for a later date. For a time in which, she was ready.
She knew her decision almost instantly after he had spoken, the time afterwards being nothing but a short distraction as she absorbed the information into her mind. Slowly, she removed her hands from his grasp and – even before he could be overcome with fear at her answer, placed her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her and only her. And she smiled back at him with one of the most happiest and cheerful of smiles that she had within her.
"How long would we have to wait for this 'one day', might I ask?"
And as quickly as that, Alice knew that he understood what she meant, and what her answer was. She watched his own face break out into a smile then, and watched as he continued to play along with her game.
"Oh, I'm not sure. A month? A year? Five years? I suppose whenever you would feel most comfortable with the idea. I can be a very patient man when I wish to be you know? Especially if what I'm waiting for is worth the wait."
Alice giggled then, and leant forward slightly.
"Well, it's a good job that there's no real concept of time in this world, isn't there?"
She saw the Hatter's brow furrow slightly, a slight confusion setting in.
"I'm sorry Alice, I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying that you-"
"Yes Tarrant," She interrupted. Honestly, the man sometimes spent too much time over thinking the simplist of things. "I'm saying that I would be overjoyed to marry you."
And before he could question her decision for any possible flaws – knowing him he'd find something to question about – Alice broke the space between them and kissed him on the lips, smiling as she did so. After a brief moment, she felt his arms wrap around her, and pull her in closer as she wrapped her own arms around his neck.
After what felt like both forever and hardly any time at all, the Hatter broke apart suddenly, burrowing down into the depths of his pocket with one hand whilst the other was still wrapped around Alice's waist.
"Well, seeing as you agreed much easier and sooner than I originally thought you would, I have a gift for you."
She turned and watched as he continued to search, listening to him mutter some nonsense as he searched for the missing item. She let out a small laugh at his current predicament, wondering just how many things were calling home in his pocket.
"It's not a singing gift is it?" Alice found herself asking, remembering one of their conversations a while ago where the Hatter had mentioned something about singing rings. Ever since she heard such a thing, Alice couldn't help but be slightly unnerved and intrigued at the idea of a ring, singing. She wasn't sure weather to fascinated by such a thing, or rather annoyed at the idea of a ring that would never cease singing even when you wanted it to. Still, once again, she shouldn't have been shocked at learning of such a thing's existence really.
At her comment, she heard the Hatter laugh as he continued his search.
"Don't be silly, as wonderful as a singing ring would be I think it was pretty obvious that you didn't exactly embrace that idea. To be quite honest I'm not sure such a thing would be a good idea anyway; I'd get highly jealous of it you know?"
"And knowing my luck, I would get highly annoyed at such a ring myself." Alice replied, earning another chuckle from the man next to her.
Suddenly, he looked up, achievement written all over his and Alice knew he had found the very thing he had been searching for. Removing his arm from around her waist, he went to remove a small piece of fabric that had decided to cling on to the small box he was currently holding, letting the fabric fall to the ground. Happy that it was up to scratch, Alice watched as the Hatter turned, offering the box for her to take. She did, and began to open it slowly, waiting in anticipation to see what was inside.
And as she came face to face with the ring, she let out a small gasp. Before her, was the most beautiful ring Alice ever did see. It was small, and delicate – yet that only helped to make it even more beautiful. It was silver too, yet in the middle of it there was a small blue stone. She smiled as she continued to look at it, honestly shocked at how simple yet wonderfully perfect it was.
"Do you like it?" A small voice from beside her asked.
Alice turned, and came face to face with the Hatters loving expression. Her smile was enough answer he needed, and he stepped towards her slightly.
"Here, let me help you with that." He replied, helping her slide the beautiful ring onto her finger. She was shocked to learn that it fit perfectly – not too small and not too big. As her smile grew, she looked up at the Hatter, and went to hug him once again. He wrapped his arms around her once more, and Alice felt him bury his head into her hair.
They remained like that for a short while, just embracing as the reality of what they had just agreed upon setting into both of their minds. Alice Kingsley, the Queen of stubbornness, the young girl who others would think was so against having her future decided for her, was engaged. And in Alice's eyes, she was engaged to the most wonderful man she would ever have the pleasure of knowing in her lifetime. As that thought fell to her mind, she heard the Hatters voice quietly beside her ear.
"You do know what this means for us next, don't you?"
She didn't make any attempt to move out of the embrace, only shaking her head slightly in response then. Well, she knew they'd have to get married some time, after all that was the whole point of a proposal in the first place, but Alice knew better and could guess that that was not what he was referring to.
"Well, now that we're properly engaged, we have to make it official knowledge sometime. Which means ..."
Alice – suddenly wary of where the conversation was going, pulled apart slightly so she could look up at him in the face. She noticed that he was now wearing a rather large grin.
"Which means what?"
She watched as his grin only grew, and suddenly she felt an unexplainable sinking feeling within the pit of her stomach.
"In order to make our engagement official, we need the blessing of the Queen."
Ah, so that was why Alice hard the familiar feeling of nervousness within her. Of course, visiting their friend was very much a good thing. But Alice could only guess how that person would react to learning of their recent news.
And as she remembered the times of the Queens knowing smiles, the pressing of the matter on how she felt about the Hatter before Alice even knew for herself that she loved him : Alice wasn't quite sure how to react to such knowledge.
Heh heh heh : D
I do love how Alice is worried over how the Queen will tease her over her latest relationship developments :P Anyway, one more extra thing. The idea of the singing ring? I'm not sure if any of you would have watched the show, but years ago there was this short show on tv called 'the 10th kingdom', which was all about fantasy worlds and, mirrors ... and .... other things I can't remember too well right now. There was a singing ring in that, which as I child - found awesome, but right now however, kinda think it would be annoying to have one on your hand all the time. Can you imagine trying to get to sleep and the damn thing is just singing some pointless song? Of course, such a thing would be normal in Wonderland - so I put it in the story :D (yes, I rambled, but it was a rather random fact I thought some of you might be interested to know).
Chapter 11 soon, perhaps? With our two love birds and one White Queen learning some most important news? I hope you'll read it when it's out, and, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are much, much love, so if you have anything to say, don't be afraid to leave a message :)