Notes:Hello to you, my faithful knaves! Hopefully, any disappointment caused by the last chapter will be made up for by this chapter. For the record, this took FOREVER to write...primarily because I had no real idea of what I even wanted to do in this chapter until the other day. But, I know what I want to do now after this chapter, all the way up to the end, so, Internet connection and God be willing, I will be able to update more frequently.

Also, this chapter features a sort of "guest appearance" by a character from another Alice adaptation, which shall also play a small-but-important role in Treacle: Legend of the Dormouse. While this character's identity should be pretty obvious to anyone who's read some of my other works, I still challenge all to guess where they are from! (Except for one...she already knows. *cough* Katzsoa! *cough*) I want to make one thing about this character perfectly clear: the character's appearance is the only thing meant to reveal them. Their role will be strictly non-canonical with my works based on their respective universe, or anything to do with their debut universe in general...this is, as they say, "for entertainment purposes only." Now, enough of this rambling...

Chapter XIV: A Pleasant Walk, A...Not-So-Pleasant Talk

"Russehc" frowned, looking at the watch in his paw.

"Humph," he muttered. "She's late. I wonder what's keeping her..."

Pocketing the watch, he leaned back against the entrance of his borrowed home. He came there every second morning, before the Sun had even peeked over the Red Desert, to get ready for her visit. If he had time after his preparations were done, he'd hunt before waiting for Mally.

This morning, he'd had no such luck: the tarts had caught on fire. After putting them out, he realized he would need to make more...his dormouse deserved nothing less than perfection, even if he couldn't give it to her, as imperfect as he himself was. Burnt tarts would never do!

Now, as he waited anxiously, he was both hungry and worried. What if she didn't come? Could she have guessed who he was?

He almost hoped she did...but, then, she would have sought him out, for revenge if nothing else.

His eyes went wide.

What if she was hurt? Mallymkun was strong and unendingly courageous, there was no doubt of that, but she was not impervious to harm.

You would know, a devious voice in the back of his still mostly-feline brain hissed.

He pushed that voice away; he'd discuss things with it later.

Bill's second plan required that she come to him, so that only upped the anti. It was not quite as...corny as the picnic, and, hopefully, would not yield similar results. It was, however, fiendishly simple.

And simplicity automatically told the lazy cat that this was an idea that he would like.

He just hoped that it would work...

Just then, he heard a noise, and turned.

He smiled a tooth-concealing smile.

Finally.

"You're a tad tardy, Mally," he pointed out. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming today."

"I'm sorry, Russ. I..well, I...sort of had a nightmare..."

Russehc's eyes glimmered with concern, and he tilted his head.

"What about?"

Mally shivered.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you..."

This only saddened the disguised suitor more.

Don't tell me I'm giving her nightmares already...

Can't I do anything right?

"Very well," Russ said with a shrug, his aggrieved expression vanishing as quickly as it came. "As long as you're here, and you're safe, that's all that matters. Come inside...lunch is ready."

As Russ turned around, Mally felt a momentary blush paint her cheeks.

He was worried about me...

As Mally followed Russ down the passage to his parlor, her host noticed that she was particularly edgy this morning...even in the relatively narrow tunnel, her eyes scanned the area, darting left and right, nervously.

Wisely, the male kept his observations to himself, and decided that these were simply due to whatever nightmare she'd suffered from.

When lunch was set down, and the pair began to eat, the time was spent almost entirely in silence.

Almost.

"Mally?"

"Huh?"

"You've barely touched your lunch...are you sure you're all right?"

Mally looked at her host for a while, mentally debating whether to tell him...well, everything, or not...

"No," she said, shaking her head. "No, I'm fine. Just...tired, is all..."

Russehc's eyes told her that he knew better, but he only shrugged and returned to his sandwich.

After the luncheon was finished, Mally stood, and prepared to leave.

Now, to see if this works, thought her host.

"Mally? Before you leave, I have something to say."

"I'm listening."

"Well, I was thinking recently-"

"You know, I've warned you about doing that."

The gray rodent chuckled.

"Yes, you have. Several times. Anyway, I've realized my behavior recently hasn't been the most...well, polite."

"If you're trying to apologize for asking about my life last week, don't bother. In case you have forgotten, it was I who punched you in the face. And I've forgiven you already."

"Well, that's good news...but it wasn't what I was going to say at all."

"Go on."

"I...I was wondering if..."

He trailed off, suddenly looking nervous. Mally raised an eyebrow.

"If...?"

"...If you would, mayhaps, perchance, mind if I escorted you back to the windmill?"

Mally blinked. Her face was blank.

"You want to...walk me back home?"

"If you don't mind."

The female's expression remained blank.

"I'm not a pup anymore," she said, her words coming out flat and calm. "You know that, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Russ said, and rubbed his nose. "You've made that painfully clear..."

Mallymkun smirked.

"I simply realized," Russ went on, "That a 'proper gentleman,' as you so often call me, would see a lady home after entertaining her."

"That's true," Mallymkun conceded. "Still, I'd think you would have offered such sooner."

Russ chuckled again.

"You've known me for quite some time, Mally. I'm not that smart."

Her eyes seemed to grow deeper and darker at that.

"You are smarter than some," she said, softly, talking to herself. She then raised her voice, and said, "If you really want to come with me, you can. I don't really care either way."

"Then I shall 'escort' you," Russ smiled, and walked up beside her. He extended his arm, smiling even more widely...though not so wide that his teeth were showing.

Mally glanced at his extended arm, and then started off without taking it, her face flushed. Russ frowned slightly, and then followed.

The walk went on in silence at first. Russ gazed down at Mally with a mixture of quiet curiosity and amusement; the snow-white dormouse before him kept glancing up at him, when she thought he wasn't looking, but would then turn her gaze forward again, each time her face growing more and more red in tone. She was so warm by this point, he swore he could feel the heat off her skin...

"If you keep blushing like that, Mally," he said at last, "You'll get a headache."

This only made the female glare at him half-heartedly and blush harder.

The pseudo-dormouse snorted with laughter, and turned his own eyes forward, becoming lost in his thoughts...she was such a lovely creature, her beauty stunning beyond compare, regardless of whatever standard being applied. What he found most intriguing was that she KNEW she was beautiful, but never thought much of it. Many a rodent had been caught gazing at her with more than just mild interest, but none could get a hold of her...she was wild, untamed, and had, frankly, no interest whatsoever in the number of dormouse suitors that had come to her. They wanted only one thing, and she had no reason, nor any desire, to give it to them.

He frowned slightly, wondering at that moment if the attraction she felt for her was because of or despite the fact she was a dormouse. He then decided that didn't matter; like her, he was considered to be quite a prize – by females of course – but had no want to court any of them, or go any further. There were several reasons for this: one, he wanted love, not lust, and was not to be disillusioned by one for the other. Two, he, frankly, had no love for the others of his kind; cats are not social creatures, really, and to find one as...er..."civilized" as himself was difficult. This was neither a brag nor a boast, but a fact; Cheshire Cats were primarily bestial in their thoughts, although most of them could speak: the males and females of his species and sub-species alike were interested in three things: eating, and two words that began with the letter "s."

One was the word "sleeping." The other...well, let's just say it shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

That word bothered him...unless, of course, he himself was pondering what it entailed.

Right now, he was pondering it...at least part of it. He looked back at her, fighting to keep the hunger he knew would inevitably show up in his eyes away, lest she look up at him. She truly WAS beautiful...he wanted to hold her. That's all, really. He just wanted to hold her, he realized. He wanted to cup her in his paws, or else pull her up against him in a full-body embrace, depending on the form he was using at that time...and then, he felt, he could die happy, if the Creator decided that. Everything else was secondary. Yes, he wanted to hold her...touch her nose with his own...feel her fur against his...maybe run a paw...nay, a claw, across her cheek...

"Thank you."

"Hm? What?" Russ snapped out of his daze, and looked down at Mally with a sheepish smile. "Oh...you're welcome."

He paused.

"For what?"

Mally laughed.

"I'm not really sure," she responded. "I just couldn't think of anything else to say."

Nothing else that would even be close to SMART, anyway, she chided herself in her head.

Shut up, please, grumbled another voice.

Look! Now you're arguing with yourself...AND losing!a third voice snickered.

She giggled out loud, which resulted in Russ casting her a bemused look.

"Is something amusing you?" he inquired, silkily.

"Oh, no, it's nothing...my mind is just a bit segregated right now."

Russ stared at his female companion for a moment longer, and then turned away, rolling his eyes.

"You know," Mally began slowly, "There's something about you I don't understand at all."

"What would that be, my lady?"

Mally blushed anew at the last two words he spoke.

"Well...you just seem so...familiar."

"Of course I do! We've been seeing each other for several weeks now, after all!"

"That's not what I meant!" snapped Mallymkun, more harshly than she had intended.

Russehc's jocular smile faded.

"What did you mean?"

Mally opened her mouth to speak, then shut it again, and crossed her arms in an uncharacteristic pout.

"I don't know," she mumbled, petulantly. "That's why I find you so..."

"Confusing?"

"Yes. Confusing."

"I don't see anything confusing at all. We are friends, aren't we? From what I'm told, friends are people you've known only a short while, but feel like you've known them your whole life, hm?"

"Heh. Yeah...friends..."

Russ stopped walking. So did Mally. The male's eyes looked so distressed that Mallymkun was momentarily stunned by the emotion she saw in them.

"Are you saying we aren't?" he asked, confused and a bit pained.

"Oh, we are!" Mally hastily assured. "Of course we are, indeed we are! At least...at least, I THINK we are..."

Here she looked up expectantly at Russ, as if expecting him to give her an answer as she said, "Aren't we?"

Russ smiled faintly (but, then, all of his smiles were faint).

"I don't know," he said, mimicking Mally.

She smirked.

Then, without warning, she froze. Tensed. Russ did the same, his ears swiveling about. Mally's paw immediately found its way to the hilt of her pin-sword.

"What's wrong?" Russ said.

"I'm not sure," Mally said, and put a finger to her lips as she sniffed the air.

Her eyes widened.

"Russ?"

"Yes?"

"I want you to run back home. Get out of here. I'll handle this."

"But, I can't just leave you!"

For a moment, Mally felt another blush tint her face, and smiled with affection and a sense of pride, but swiftly shook these feelings away.

"I can take care of myself. Go."

"I-"

"GO."

Russ gazed at her for a moment more, then said, "Godspeed," and ducked under a bush, vanishing.

Mally sighed; she had actually half-hoped he'd stay behind.

"Come on out," she called out to the air. "I'm waiting."

A golden swirl of mist appeared before her. It left a cat in its wake as it dissipated.

Unlike Chessur, this Cheshire Cat was thin and lanky, with light gray fur covered in voodoo-esque tattoos. A silver hoop earring dangled from one of its pointed ears, and its glowing yellow eyes with pin-point pupils accentuated its malevolent, toothy smile.

"You've picked up a bit of an attitude, I see...well, more than I remember, anyway."

The dormouse looked at him mildly, despite the loathing she felt flooding her chest.

"Hello again. I must confess, I expected somebody else."

The cat laughed again, a horrid, blood-curdling sound that sent chills up even her rigid spine.

"Really?" he purred. "That's a pity. So sorry to disappoint."

"If I were you, feline, I'd get as far away from my sight as possible."

"Why? It's not like fatty's going to stop me this time."

Mally's eyes widened. So did the cat's grin.

"Oh, yes. I know. Word in the woods is that he's decided you make a better meal than a pet. They say that he has...er...'renounced his claim,' so to speak."

The cat began to circle her now. She watched its every move.

"If this is so, I don't have anything to fear...I doubt he intends to finish what he started," the cat said, indicating a large, scarred area on one paw, where bite marks were easily seen. "For one simple reason..."

Here the cat licked its lips with a stinking, purple tongue.

"That makes you fair game, and since I've caught you...that means that you are MINE."

Mally snarled, drawing her blade and crouching low.

"I am no one's," she said, her voice even, yet menacing. "And my own skills have improved since our last encounter. I hardly need a bodyguard of my own, or haven't you heard?"

The cat scoffed.

"Please! You expect me to believe a little morsel like you slew the Jub-Jub Bird? When mome raths fly! Hah!"

Mally smiled.

"I thought you'd say something like that."

The cat laughed again, louder this time.

"Well," he said, "If you really want to do this the hard way, so be it...I love a challenge."

"Come and get me!"

The cat hissed, and leapt at the dormouse, who ducked between its paws, and jabbed hard at its taut, scrawny stomach, puncturing it and drawing blood.

The cat yowled and jumped away, swatting at her with a paw. Mally moved to the left, lashing out with her blade. The thin, sharp metal whistled through the air, and cut off part of the cat's left ear.

The cat hissed again, and lunged, mouth wide open. Mally jumped up, running across its back, and jumping off when she got behind it, slashing upwards and slicing at its hindquarters. The cat whipped around to face her.

It was officially ticked off.

"Impressive," it growled.

"Thank you."

The cat lunged again, and Mally ducked and lunged at the same time, intending to cut out its eye. She did not succeed, but did manage to inflict a deep slice at its eyelid, sending a trickle of blood down its face, like a stream of crimson tears.

The cat practically roared, and swung at her with a paw, this time managing to bat her away. Mally dropped her weapon, landing roughly and rolling in the grass as she made impact with the ground. She barely had time to sit upright when the cat evaporated, sitting mere inches in front of her, and lunged down, mouth wide open. Mally squeaked and held out her arms, straining to hold the jaws open before they could engulf her.

The cat growled in the back of its throat; the inside of its mouth was sloppy and hot, its gums bright red, its palate and the back of its throat black and pink, its teeth yellowed and stained with the dried blood of past meals. Mally gagged at the awful stench of dead meat the feline's breath carried, suddenly finding herself wondering if Chessur's breath smelled just as foul...

"So long, dinner," the cat growled, splattering Mally with slick, smelly saliva, its mouth still held open, but only just, as the dormouse's arms began to weaken from the movements of its lips and jaws. She closed her eyes, straining her muscles harshly, groaning as she tried to keep them open and away from her head...

SWULP!

Suddenly the cat let out a short hiss, its face backing off abruptly. Its hiss was cut short, and Mallymkun heard it gasping for air. She herself lay back, gulping down great lungfuls of fresh air, before wiping the sticky cat spittle off her face and looking up.

The tattooed cat lay on the ground, writhing with pain, its paws clasped about something that was coiled tightly around its neck, trying to remove it...further inspection showed it to be a dark vine, tied into a sort of noose.

As Mallymkun's curious, somewhat frightened gaze travelled upwards, she saw the one who held it.

Her eyes widened so far you could see the blood vessels behind her black irises.

It was Chessur.

And, boy, was he MAD.

The striped cat, who practically dwarfed the other Cheshire Cat in size, tightened his grip, giving a fierce tug, eliciting a sharp gasp from the smaller, scrawnier feline. His turquoise eyes were wild, but not quite as feral-looking as when Mally had seen him hunting.

"When we last met," he growled, "I told you I would remove your arm the next time you even got close to MY dormouse."

He paused, his grin becoming sinister and cold.

"This, however, seems much more enjoyable."

He tugged again. The other cat gargled in the back of its throat, its skin turning blue.

"P-please...!"

Chess ignored the cat's sharp, breathless plea for mercy. He tied the end of the vine he held to a stone that was in his paw, and then wrapped the vine around the branch he stood on.

"I warned you before: this mouse is MINE. Let this be the last lesson you ever learn."

Chess gave one last tug, and, with an audible SNAP, the other Cheshire Cat's neck broke clean in two. It died almost instantly.

Chessur eyed the cat dismally, and then his gaze flashed towards Mally, who by this time was staring at him with an expression of utter shock, not sure what to think, and not even sure if she wanted to try thinking at all.

Chessur's eyes slowly softened...then they hardened again.

Before she could think, she felt emptiness envelope here. When she opened her eyes, she was at the tea table.

Tarrant and Thackery were nowhere to be seen.

Not right away, anyway.

As Mally looked around, trying to figure out where Chessur might have gotten to now, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare burst out of the woods, running down the hill that lead to the windmill with panicked expressions.

"Mally!" Tarrant called out. "Mally! Over here!"

She turned to them, and waved. The demented duo stopped for breath, the Hatter staring at Mally with an expression of befuddlement and worry, with a slight hint of disgust, his eyes a virtual rainbow of colors.

Mally looked down at herself, and couldn't help but be disgusted as well; her pink dress was still damp with the thin cat's saliva, and she smelled like blood.

"Oh, thank all the insane angels!" the Hatter gasped out. "What happened to you? You look awful! No offense, but you smell awful! Are you hurt? Do you need anything? Want anything? Medical help? Tea, maybe?"

"Tarrant, first off, I want you to relax! I'm fine, Hatter!"

"Purple muffins!" the Hare gasped out, in a tone of voice similar to the Mad Hatter, and said nothing else, for, having been hyperventilating, he fainted.

Mally and the Hatter looked at the Hare for a moment, then turned to look at each other again.

"Where did you two go?" Mally asked.

"It was Russ," Hatter said. "He came here, and told us that he had been escorting you back here, when the two of you got separated. He said he came straight here, to see if you had gotten back. You hadn't, obviously, and all three of us got worried. We realized none of us knew where you were, and...well, you are very good at handling trouble, Mally, but you also tend to attract it like a magnet."

"I'll ignore that remark."

"Anyway, we all ran into the woods to find you! Russ got separated from us as well – he seems to be very good at getting lost, it seems – so we went off on our own to find you."

Here the Mad Hatter paused.

"Strange," he murmered. "I thought he'd be back by now himself..."

Mally said nothing.

But she thought a great deal.

How did he get here so quickly? I saw him run in the OPPOSITE direction! And why did he act as if we got lost, and there was no immediate danger?

And what about Chess...why did he save me? Again?

The dormouse sighed; it seemed the puzzles of her little heart still had a great many more pieces to put together before it stopped beating.