Ch. 10 Intermission

The curtain closed to applause and Alice scrambled immediately backstage to change for the second act. Sets were being placed, crew preparing props and putting aside the ones they no longer needed.

"I'd say it's going pretty well right now," Ace said with a grin. The others nodded, busy and resting. Elliot and the twins were in a huddle, reviewing their lines aloud for the final time, for once not arguing with each other. Vivaldi and Joker stood to the side, discussing last moment changes to make scene transitions faster. Gowland, his part in the play over, was sitting in the orchestra pit, talking with some of the musicians. Pierce and Gray were helping to move the sets around.

"Julius? Can you help me with this real quick?" Alice said, and he took one side of a table and they walked to place it on set.

"I think it's going pretty well so far," he said.

"Mm-hm. Me too. Just hope it keeps up. Nice job on that last scene."

"Thank you," Julius said with a softer look. "It's a pretty impressive project, really," he remarked calmly and Alice asked him to explain what he meant.

"I'm just saying that it takes a lot for all of us to put aside our disagreements and differences long enough to get something like this done. I'm not sure anyone else could have pulled it off." He might have smiled then; the corner of his mouth lifted in the slightest degree and his eyes sparkled.

Alice couldn't help but smile back and then scrambled off backstage. She needed one last thing for the second act.

xoxox

Peter and Boris stood in the stage's right wing, the curtain closed. They stood beside a large open chest that held an assortment of props and other items for the stage. Both were listening carefully for signs of the other Role Holders and, most especially, of Alice, as they sorted quickly through the various things.

"You understand your role now, too, right White?"

Peter nodded, staring at Boris coldly. "I do. I will do whatever I can to protect my Alice from harm."

Boris bit his tongue, holding back his refreshed irritation at the rodent and said, "Remember your cues in the finale, and make sure not to accidentally get wounded or Alice will kill us." He handed Peter the last of some props and shut the chest. "And if a bit of harm falls on Alice, you are dead meat."

"Nothing will harm Alice." Peter said coolly, and though he began to walk away, carrying with him many of the props for the final scene, he stopped and glanced back at Boris.

"Why are you doing this? Letting me be part of the play? Doesn't this hurt your chances with Alice?"

Boris shrugged and then grinned a smile befitting of being a Cheshire. "What can I say? This is more fun. And despite the fact that I hate you, I think, deep down, Alice doesn't." He paused a moment, letting the words sink it, before adding quickly, "Doesn't love you, gets really annoyed with you, but I don't think she hates you. Maybe if you toned down the creepiness, it would help." Boris turned and bounded off to change for the second act, leaving Peter scowling at his back, but thinking about what he said nonetheless.

xoxox

"So far everything is going well, wouldn't you say, Alice dear?"

Alice looked at Vivaldi, tying back her hair as the finishing touch on her costume change. "It's still on course, even with the Peter thing, which isn't so bad, actually. Really, I'm surprised. I would have thought that the others would have tried to pull something by now."

Vivaldi laughed naturally. "What makes you say that?"

Alice sighed tiredly and replied bluntly, "I know them."

Vivaldi smiled and despite the uneasiness in her gut she said easily, "Try and trust them a little. If something does happen it wouldn't be trying to ruin this for you. We and all the peons realize that this is important to you and want it to work out as best as it can."

Alice turned, her eyes wide in surprise and soft with gratitude. "You really mean that?"

"Of course we do. Have we ever lied to you?"

Alice smiled. "I suppose not." She came forward and hugged Vivaldi, taking the Queen of Hearts by surprise. "Thanks, Vivaldi. That means a lot."

The Queen returned the hug and after a moment released the young girl and said, "We have to finish our make up. Check on the peons, would you?"

Alice nodded, leaving Vivaldi alone to contemplate if what she'd just said was a big mistake or not.

There came a knock at the door; Vivaldi called, "It's open."

"Your Majesty?"

"White," the Queen acknowledged in a clipped voice. "What is it?"

"All the preparations are done."

"Good. Little Alice doesn't suspect a thing."

"All right. I'll move backstage until it's time."

"White."

Peter turned. "What is it?"

"We would like to wish you good luck. Break a leg, as they say."

Peter thanked the Queen and walked out of the changing room. An unpleasant feeling settled over him. When anyone else said that, they meant 'good luck'. But when Vivaldi said it he couldn't help but wonder whether she was actually hoping he'd fall to bodily harm.

xoxox

"Candy! Get your candy here, all bars one schmoller, all sodas a schmoller fifty, water is 75 schmints!"

"Souvenir glasses, t-shirts sold here! We all sizes for all types! Adult shirts 15 schmollers, children 10!"

"Crowd shout-outs, a schmoller each! Get three for a schmoller fifty!"

"Flowers, fresh cut this morning! Are you a fan of someone on the stage? A dozen roses, six schmollers each! A better bargain you'll never see!"

A bunch of faceless children scrambled around the refreshment booth that a few of the Circus staff were running. A man in a jugggler's outfit handled the money while a woman in a trapeze-walker outfit filled the orders. Beside the booth was a clown making balloon animals, two schmollers each. Faceless from the Hatter mafia ran the flower booth; Faceless from the castle ran the shout-out table; Faceless from the Amusement Park ran the souvenir table. Each territory was doing its part to engage in opportunism at its finest. And it was turning quite the profit.

A cry rang out from in front of the refreshments booth; a small crowd surrounded a balling child, while a circus staff member scrambled around the front and bent down, trying to comfort and calm the child. "What happened, little one?"

But it was easy to see what had happened; a sticky lollipop lay on the ground; someone had bumped the child and sent the candy flying. A rare treat, gone to waste.

"Where's the kid's mother?"

No one spoke up.

"What is going on? Why is no one working?" came a sinister-sweet voice. A communal shudder ran through the crowd as it parted, allowing Joker to pass through.

"Who's child is this? Get it to shut up, would you?" Black was out.

"I'm sorry sir, nothing I say will-"

"Get away, you incompetent fool," said Black, and the employee hastened away. Black roughly picked up the child and shook it. "Be quiet you. We'll get you another lollipop, so shut up."

This, if anything, made the child cry harder.

"Why won't you shut up?"

"Maybe I should take care of this one," came a voice from the mask; the Joker seemed to stand frozen a moment, and then a serene smile spread across his features. White was in charge.

"Little one, you should be quiet. You do want another lollipop, don't you? But you'll need to calm down."

Nothing doing; the kid was balling as loud as ever. The crowd surrounding the pair was getting larger as every second passed. Whispers like "to torture just a kid, for shame" and "the rumors are true, the Joker really is a heartless maniac" were heard. An eyebrow ticked, but the smile remained in place. So Joker took the boy and cradled him carefully, and began to do something very odd. He began to sing.

"When you try your best but you don't succeed

When you get what you want but not what you need

When you feel so tired that you can't sleep

Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something that you can't replace

When you love something but it goes to waste

Could it be worse?"

The kid's tears began to stop and the child was looking up at Joker, slightly wide-eyed (or it would be, if he had eyes) and his mouth hanging open slightly. The crowd also stared. Could this...really be happening?

"Lights will guide you home" -Joker began to walk toward the refreshment stand-

"And ignite your bones" -Joker stopped in front of the stand and was bouncing the kid on one arm-

"And I will try to fix you." The Joker's hand floated in front of the child's and then paused. "Hmm, something seems to be stuck inside my coat sleeve. Mind pulling it out for me?"

The child hesitantly reached inside the proffered coat sleeve and grabbed hold of something; his face lit up with joy as an unwrapped lollipop appeared in his hand. The kid threw his arms around the Joker's neck and squeezed him in a hug so sweet that a few Faceless had tears appear on their cheeks. Joker pat the child's back and put him down on the ground. Just then a woman ran up and scooped the kid in her arms; "Where have you been, you bad boy?" she cooed as she walked away.

The crowd continued to stare at Joker, who was looking back at the kid and his mother, an oddly soft expression on his face. He then turned on the crowd, and it was clear that Black was back.

"This incident never happened. Anyone who says so will spend a fucking miserable week in my prison."

The crowd dispersed immediately after that. The bell rang for them to return to their chairs. The second act was ready to begin.

I have no idea what kind of money Wonderland would use. But the names are fun, yes? I really wanted to do something with Joker, and tried to work in something with Lady Gaga's Poker Face, but it didn't really work out. The song is Coldplay's Fix You, and fit much better. I realize he's very OOC, but well...he wouldn't be the first.

*A little note to anyone who is interested: if you are not familiar with the original Hamlet, and even if you are, I highly recommend the 1996 film version, directed by Kenneth Branagh. It is excellently done and the acting is absolutely superb. There are many well known and familiar faces in the film—Kenneth Branagh is Hamlet (Guilderoy Lockhart from Harry Potter 2—yes, the man can actually act), Derek Jacobi plays Claudius (one of the senators from Gladiator), Timothy Spall as Rosencrantz (been in several movies—Harry Potter, Sweeny Todd, Last Samurai)—it's a really excellent film and a wonderful way to watch the original play (all the lines are from the original). Be warned: it is rather long.

Or, if you want a more familiar and well-known version of Hamlet, might I suggest Disney's The Lion King?