With not hardly a breath escaping his lips he sat as still as an old forgotten temple, save his ever darting eyes and mind full of ever hazing thoughts.
"Well, what now? The Frabjous day has come and gone… Alice has left off for another adventure somewhere far away… But what of me?"
Tiny molecules of dust danced about his breath. It was the only sign of life in this grey, tired man stuck in arrested development.
"Maybe I'll host a tea party"
Shifting his eyes up at the table he almost heard the silent laughter escaping from teapots, saucers, and cups. Even the nasty tea with an iridescent film of grime and time from inside the pots seemed to mock him,
Silly, old, broken Hatter. Our time has passed as has yours. No time for Tea these days, just sit kindly in your open grave and rot.
They all seemed to sing in chorus, penetrating his mind and for the twelfth time that day, causing his to questioned his reality, even in 'Wonderland'. His body remained still, but his mind very alive and chiding away at his old, broken tea set.
"What a preposterous thought! Of course there's no time! No time at all! There has never been any time since I was convicted of murdering it! I have always been here, with no time for anything but for Tea! And so we've always had tea! Only tea!" He thought pensively for a moment.
"I've not had the luxury of time in quite sometime, in fact… Only Tea… Some Earl Grey might suit me."
But fight as he might the ceaseless non-existent banter over-powered him until he had givin up the pretense of having any control over his own thoughts at all and assumed a blank stare as they sang out in his mind.
No Tea! No Tea! We'll toss it to the Sea! No Tea! No Tea!
This went on for sometime, growing louder and louder in his fragile mind until it was interrupted by aSNAPing sound off in the distance.
Upon hearing it The Hatter shot up, a cloud of dust followed. He placed a finger to his lips and loudly "SHUSH"ed the Tea Set, which immediately ceased singing.
"Have you heard that?" he asked out to particularly no one, suddenly realizing his Tea Set seemed to rather void of life.
Another snap of a twig, followed by tiny foot prints and the sound of a hopping Hare.
"Thackery?" He thought, curling his eyebrows in question.
After several angst filled seconds The White Rabbit came hopping out of the bushes, The Hatters lips formed into a rather twisted smile and he clasped his hands together, not noticing the worried look on the rabbits own face.
"To what do I owe the…"
Behind the rabbit one set of milky white legs followed, attached to a rather small blonde, glowing girl.
Hatters face dropped, his hands floated in thick air, breath stopped and an awful weight of ten thousand pounds added in the core of his chest.
"Oh, my… Could it be?" He uttered ever so quietly.
The White Rabbit cleared his throat;
"Hatter, lovely to see you… I've come with a question to as.."
The Hatter shot up, another billowing cloud of dust emerged, choking the air. His footsteps sent small tremors through the ground until he stood in front of the girl. He squatted down, peering eerily at her. At first a cool green, The Hatters eye's quickly transformed into a fierce Amber color, his face grew quite still with nothing but a Grimace. Alice began to feel a strange growing concern for her safety in her stomach.
"Blasphemy…" He uttered in a deep Scottish brogue.
"Excuse me?" The White Rabbit asked confused, Alice began to slink behind the Rabbit.
"Bothersome, beleaguer, bastardy…"
"Rabbit…" Alice said clutching his furs tightly.
"This… Hatter, is Alice Anne Ascot.." Stuttered McTwist a little at unease himself.
Just as the situation's tension reached it's peak, The Hatters face relaxed as if he had forgotten he had ever been disturbed, He stood tall and adjusted his top Hat, eyes again a clear green.
"What an odd name, Ascot … Tell me, have you ever consi..""She claims to be The Champions Daughter.."Again his breath grew short, but his lisp still remain.
"Our Alice ? Preposterous. That must be the wrong Alice 's Daughter, did you ask her? Are you the Wrong Alice's Daughter?" He asked, directing the question to Alice Anne.
"Well, I think Sir.. That I may be" He cut her off.
"Our Dear Alice has been gone mere' minutes and is oh so young… Adventuring, I think to far off places, no time for Courtships… No time… None at all…" His words floated out of his mouth, shaking and disturbed.
"To China , yes she did go! In the Poppy trade... She's also been to France , Italy , Spain and the America 's. I know because I sometimes a company her…"
Almost ignoring her The Hatter walked over to a chipped old Tea Pot and poured three cups of murky English Morning Tea.
"Please sit, join me. I have been trying to organize another tea party…"
"Hatter… you must listen. I know it's only seems a small time has passed but I believe differently… I've seen some disturbing things along this way, Underland seems to be...sleeping... Almost lifeless. What more, I believe this girl here might hold some answers."
"Sleeping? Oh but McTwisp, I haven't slept a wink in years, you must be mistaken."
"Hatter... don't be so in denial..." McTwisp almost sighed out the last few words.
Triggered again and turning violently around, The Hatter returned to his fiery eyes and deep brogue.
"Blasphemous! Bothersome! Beleaguer! Bastardy!" He shouted, shirking his hands and dropping the Tea, sending a pitiful rain onto the heads of The Rabbit and Alice, who were far to cautious to react.
"Lies and contempt! Such nonsense is...Is Irrational! Mad!... Impossible…" His voice calmed but still retained its heavy melancholy tone.
"...I sometimes believe in six impossible thing's before breakfast…" He uttered lost in a nostalgic trance.
"You've heard that from my mother before, yes? Oh, she hasn't said that in years" Alice reflected as well, again mourning the obvious angst in her mothers adventurous andmagical yet unfulfilled life.
"Oh, my…" He said again, easing himself into a dusty old seat.
"Dear, dear." He continued in the same matter.
"Hatter? Hatter, what do you think of it?"
Moments passed in awkward silence before he leaned forward the picked the girl up, a little whimper of protest in her voice. He was back to his spontaneous Scottish brogue.
"Little Devil, you." A crooked smile slowly crawled upon his face.
"She's been married, then?" A very shaken Hatter asked.
"No Sir… I was born a love child, of a very loveless affair… On her part…" Alice Anne explained.
"My mother still has no Husband…""And your father?" Asked the Rabbit, equally as curious.
"Lord Hamish Ascot… He only dreams of it."
Eyes of a dull Amber stared deeply at her, The Hatters face burning with confused emotions.
The Hatter wrapped both hands around the girls tiny waist and lifted her to eye's sight, pupils slowly brightening with furry, grip slowly tightening, and for a second he considered squeezing the girl until she popped, but upon thinking of his good queen and her vows, and also, a sort of understanding in the tantalizing look of fission in the girls face.
He plopped her on the floor.
"A thousand great adventures and a thousand broken hearts, I'm sure. Alice was never home bound…" The Hatters lisp returned and his eyes a pale green. He returned himself to his tea, always getting ready to, but never actually taking a sip.
"So what of her now?" The Rabbit asked The Hatter.
"What of who?" He asked blatantly giving no satisfaction.
"The young miss Alice"The name made him cringe, it was the same cringe Alice Anne had seen from her Grandmother take upon the mention of her name.
"Take her, Leave her, Throw her, Be her…. Tis no concern of mine…"
The Rabbit sighed slowly.
"I was hoping her to see the White Queen…""Take her then…""The travel would be much quicker with you… Since I've no more Uplekuchen…"
"Yes, much..." Alice said, taking notice her small size in stature, and while she didn't particularly know why she should see The White Queen, it seemed (Based off of her mother's stories) To be the most logical then to do. She then began wondering if the fact she had agreed that The Hatter should take her made her just as Mad as he. She also noticed him to be a degree crueler that her mother had spoken of.
"Much…" The Hatter added, memories of a young beauty and her Muchness revisited his mind. He peered down at the small girl, she seemed so to be the same. Tenacious, wild blooded, and very possibly full of Muchness.
It pained him to think of Alice bearing another man's child but also noticed it was no fault on the young girl either..
"I suppose It would be... much... quicker" His lips fashioned to accented the word 'much'."So you'll do it, then?" McTwisp asked hopefully.
He one last time considered things before answering blankly.
"This party could wait until one last venture I suppose… "