Chapter Three: In Taking Hers I Destroy Yours

Hatter's knees remained pulled up against his chest, his head simply buried between both arms that were lying across his knees. That same jacket Alice had worn; the one he refused to take off for a single moment was wrapped around his shoulders. Yet it didn't seem to be completing the task of keeping him any temperature above freezing. Although he couldn't exactly blame the jacket for that. Dungeons were supposed to be freezing, right, sometimes even a few degrees under, even on the hottest of days.

He didn't even bother looking up as he heard light footsteps getting nearer and nearer to the dungeon doors. The squeaks of the door made him lift his head for a single moment, simply to try and see through the darkness and make out the person who was now just standing there in the doorway.

His throat suddenly went dry, his heart started to race. It couldn't possibly be her, could it. Why would she bother to come back here, for him? He slowly rose to his feet and made his way back over to the front of the cell, pressed up against the bars, his hands clamping themselves to the iron bars that separated him from anyone who should enter. Hatter opened his mouth to say something, only no sound came out. Never before in his life had he been speechless, yet somehow now that was exactly what he was, speechless. The annoying thing was that he still didn't know the cause of it. Although it was clear to him that it must be something to do with that figure in the doorway.

"Hatter?" a voice rang through the dungeons. "Hatter? You here?"

Once again his heart started racing. It was her! Alice! He had to speak up now, and somehow knowing that she was there made everything seem alright. Things seemed to be falling back into place. She must have felt something for him if she was here. Yet at the same time, he wanted her to leave. He couldn't let her get hurt.

"Alice!" he found himself saying, apparently his voice box was working again. Her footsteps ran down the stairs and her silhouette got nearer until finally he could see her face, her body. A smile spread onto his face. "What are you doing here?" he asked her hurriedly.

"Getting you out of here" Alice said to him as she placed her hands over his.

Hatter felt as though electricity was running through his veins instead of blood. He had forgotten how amazing her touch felt against his skin. He gazed into her face and couldn't help smiling. He had missed her so much, now she was back. Stood there, right in front of him. Never again was he going to let her leave Wonderland without him. He couldn't put himself through all that again.

"Alice! You Can't. Its locked. Mad March holds the keys. You can't get away from him. You can't fight him, he would kill you for sure. The only other pair of keys are owned by the Queen of Hearts" Hatter's voice was panic stricken. Sure he wanted to get out of this dump and be with her again. Hug her. Oh those hugs simply felt amazing. He could hold her in one of those amazing hugs forever and never tire of it.

Alice simply stared at him, her hands still clamped over his, his throat was once again becoming dry. His heart was racing. He could barely think straight with her around.

"I'm not leaving here without you. I came back here to save you. I will get you out. I promise you, Hatter" the smile on her face was enough to convince him that there was no way she was going to back down. There was no point in trying to talk her out of it. Hatter knew better than most that she could be stubborn when she wanted to be, once she had decided to get something done or a plan was in her head then there was defiantly no stopping her.

Hatter simply sighed. "Fine! At least stay here, with me until someone comes down here, there are enough shadows to creep into and hide until their backs are facing you" he bit into his lip a little after speaking, maybe it wasn't the best option to have told her to fight whoever came in. He had as good as gotten her killed if it was Mad March, sure he was easy to defeat if you knew how, but Alice didn't and even if Hatter did tell her he was certain she would only do it her way anyway.

Neither or the pair spoke, for what couldn't have been more than a few seconds at the most yet it felt like hours. Finally it was Alice who spoke up. "Can I tell you something. Something rather weird, that sort of made me feel closer to you back in my world."

Hatter rested his forehead against the bars. A soft smile spread onto his face. He hated those bars, simply blocking her from him and preventing him from scooping her up into his arms and just hugging her tightly, never letting go of her. "Go on" he said to her.

Alice looked to the floor for a moment, she seemed slightly embarrassed at what she was about to say. Hatter didn't push into saying it. He simply waited for her to speak in her own time. Her presence was more than enough for him at the moment. Exchanging words and forming a conversation was just bonus.

"You know when we first met and you told me that this place was Wonderland. And I replied with that's a place in a kids book. Well I happened to have a copy of it in my room. So every night before I went to sleep, I used to read the chapter about the tea party. With the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. Only I could never work out how he acted so differently to the way you do."

At the mentioning of the March Hare, Hatter looked down at the ground for a moment. He had never really understood what had made the March Hare so mad in the first place, to make him actually join the Queen of Hearts. They had argued on many occasions before hand.

"Maybe because he wasn't me and I wasn't him" Hatter replied, simply talking in riddles again.

Alice looked a little confused. "How do you mean?" she questioned him

"Well Mad Hatter was my grandfather and March Hare was the March Hare's grandfather. Its complicated. But basically both families have been friends for generations, only me and Mad March broke that"

Hatter had never told anyone that before, though most residents of Wonderland probably knew anyway, but that wasn't the point. He had never even spoken of the March Hare since it all happened.

"What caused him to..." Alice began although her sentence was cut short by footsteps in the hall outside. She turned her head to face the doorway, simply frozen to the spot for a moment. Suddenly she feared for Hatter's life. It was his voice that snapped her out of her almost trance like state.

"Alice! The shadows, get into the shadows" he hissed at her.

Before she even realised what she was thinking or doing for that matter, her lips pressed up against his for a few mere seconds before pulling away from him and ducking down into the shadows. What had possessed her to do such a thing, she didn't know. Although maybe it was due to the fact that if that was the last thing he ever remembered about her then it was something to keep her going.

The footsteps got nearer and Alice found herself holding her breath, only hoping that it was Mad March, maybe just knowing that she was there ready to be with him and hold him in her arms once again. Hatter would have the courage and motivation to steal the key from right under his nose without him even noticing. A warm smile spread onto her face as that came completly true, only this time he was not alone. The Queen of Hearts followed on behind him.

"Hatter your majesty" Mad March said to her as he stepped aside, in order to let the Queen enter the dungeons and speak directly to his sworn enemy. Alice was sure that if that Hare could show any emotions he would be smirking right now. If it were only just him Alice would have had him tackled down to the floor before he even realise what was happening. Despite what Hatter said she was certain she could outwit Mad March and defeat him single handily

"Thank you Mad March! Now go and stand somewhere until I need you"

Hatter only glared at his Queen standing in front of him. "Tell me what it is you want Alice for!" he hissed at her. Now that he knew she was here and safe, for the time being he could freely talk about her. Plus he had to know what the Queen wanted her for.

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME WITH THAT UNGRATEFUL TONE!" she screamed at the top of her voice, the screaming echoed around the walls of the dungeons only making it seem that much louder.

Still Hatter didn't so much as flinch or bat an eyelid at her outburst. "I will talk to you how I like. Now tell me what you want with Alice. And now we are on the subject of me. Why do you think that bringing me here with lure Alice into Wonderland?" Surely if she was planning on killing him then she would have done so already. After the way he had just spoken to her.

The Queen just laughed "Because, Hatter! Just in case you failed to realise that girl fell in love with you. Don't think I didn't notice that. You might have been to stupid to see it, but I know it was true. Alice would risk anything to save your life"

Hatter swallowed. His eyes flicked over into the shadows, where he knew Alice was hiding for a few mere seconds before looking back at the Queen "You still haven't answered my first question. What do you want with Alice!"

"She has the one thing I need most of all. She owns something of value to me. Something that every filthy little Oyster owns only hers would make things so much more fun, because in taking hers I destroy yours" the Red Queen let out a cold cruel laugh "Enjoy Hatter!" leaving him with those words the Queen turned her back and hurried out the dungeons. "You!" she whispered to Mad March "Make sure that he doesn't escape. Do what you have to, but he stays in these dungeons. Is that clear?!"

"Crystal" came the Hare's reply.

Alice stepped out from the shadows once she was sure that the pair of them were out of sight and earshot "What did she mean by that, that last thing she said" Alice asked Hatter, staring straight at him.

Hatter simply shrugged his shoulders "Haven't a clue, only I am not about to wait around to find out" a smirk spread onto his face as he held up a bunch of keys "Only problem is finding out the correct key to open the lock there must be at least twenty on here"

A/N: I know you are probably thinking this story is going bit to fast, but you will see why in time. I have plan and know what I am doing. Plus I am still in need of a Beta Reader, if anyone is interested in that role please PM me.