Alice stood in the great library, with Hatter beside her and Dodo before her. Dodo was threatening them with a gun. He would get the ring at any cost. But Alice would protect the ring at any cost. Then something happened she didn't expect. Dodo shot Hatter. Her fight-or-flight instinct took over and Alice ran. An act she later regretted but nothing could been done about it now. Hadn't this happened before? Dodo ran down the hall after her and Hatter followed. He stumbled and caught up with Dodo. They struggled and Hatter yelled at her to press the blue button. She couldn't leave him, Dodo would kill him. She rushed and knocked Dodo down and then helped Hatter back to the train-car-elevator-thing. She knew it would be alright, he was wearing body armor. Still, she ripped his shirt apart all the same. His chest was bare, there was no body armor. Blood leaked from the hole in his chest.
"No," she said and quickly pressed her hands to the bullet wound to stem the blood flow. Hatter's hand flew to grip her arm. His face was pallid. He opened his mouth to speak and blood poured from it.
"Alice," he managed to gurgle through the blood. Then his grip slackened and his body went limp.
"No!" She screamed.
"Alice?" Hatter's voice woke her. "Alice?"
"Hm? Yes, I'm awake," she shook the sleep from her and hastened to his side.
"You were screaming," he told her, his clammy hand on her arm.
"Bad dreams," she dismissed it. He shot her a questioning glance. "It doesn't matter, they're only dreams." He stared at her, as if he could discern her dreams from just studying her face. Alice decided to change the subject. She placed a few fingers lightly on one of his scars. Hatter shifted uncomfortably under her touch.
"That tickles," he mumbled, not looking at her.
"How did you get these?" She asked him. He avoided her glance and didn't reply. "Hatter," she prompted a little more sternly.
"I got them when we were taken prisoner after your visit to the Hospital of Dreams," he replied finally, still avoiding meeting her eyes. Alice's face changed to horror. She remembered him having a some cuts and bruises but she had thought they'd just roughed him up a bit.
"They tortured you?" Alice asked. They had been in the Queen's castle for hours!
"For information about the resistance," Hatter said. Alice bit back tears.
"I-I didn't know," she stammered and looked away, ashamed. It was all her fault. Her eyes overflowed down her cheeks.
"Hey," he said to get her to look back at him. She hesitated and then lifted her eyes to his face again. "It's ok," he smiled. Alice couldn't help but smile back. His was contagious.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Alice asked.
"What was the point? It's in the past." He said.
"But you never talk about your past," she sighed and handed him water to drink. He took a long drought and then handed the glass back to her
"Trust me, you don't want to know," he assured her.
"Hatter. . ." she sighed again but he was already asleep.
***
It was evening before Alice's door buzzed. She knew it was doctor from Wonderland but she was in for yet another shock when she opened up the door.
Before her stood a girl who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen. She wore simple dark-wash, low-rise, skinny jeans and a grass green long-sleeved shirt. The shirt looked small on her for it exposed about an inch of midriff and the sleeves didn't exactly reach her wrists. She wore a black baseball cap that had a smiley face on it. This smiley face was different from the classic one though. Its smile was curved in a smirk and had a cocked eyebrow. The girl herself had freckled skin, chestnut hair, and brown eyes that reminded Alice so much of. . .
"Are you Alice?" The girl asked tentatively because Alice just stared at her incredulously.
"Yes," Alice said and shook herself from her shock. "And you are. . .?"
"Miranda, King Jack sent me to treat-" The girl broke off suddenly and she seemed to be wrestling with emotions Alice couldn't name, "-to treat Hatter." Miranda finished.
"Oh well, come in," Alice beckoned the girl on in. Alice wondered why they would send such a young girl to treat Hatter. Am I going mad, or does she very much resemble. . .Alice cut off her own thoughts. "Um, he's this way," Alice showed Miranda to her room.
"I've heard a lot about you, Alice," Miranda said with a sort-of smirk as she walked. Again, the girl reminded Alice of. . . "You made quite a splash in Wonderland."
"Yeah. . .well," Alice said, unsure of how to respond. As it turns out she didn't have to, they were entering Alice's room. The girl's brow furrowed and her eyes seemed to be welling up at the sight of Hatter, his chest bare and littered with scars and the odd purple lacerations. Miranda dropped the case Alice now realized she was carrying.
"Do you-" Alice began to ask but the girl cut her off with a rapid reply.
"He's my brother," Miranda said not taking her eyes off Hatter.
"Brother. . ." Alice voiced. "Hatter never mentioned a sister."
"I imagine he never mentioned a lot of things," Miranda said and looked up at Alice. Her expression was almost apologetic. She took off her hat and picked up her case again. Miranda went and sat next to her brother with a professional briskness. She opened her case which was full of many medical instruments and pulled out a rubber tube. She rolled up Hatter's sleeve and tied the tube above his elbow. Miranda then deftly extracted a small vial of Hatter's blood.
"For testing," the young doctor explained. Then she reached inside the case again and pulled out a syringe filled with a deep purple liquid. She quickly injected Hatter with the substance. "That should do it," the girl said and deposited everything back in her case and closed it up.
"He's cured then?" Alice asked hopefully.
"Yes, he should recover in a day or so," Miranda nodded and then started to head for the door.
"Oh you don't have to go right away do you?" She stopped the girl. There was so much she wanted to ask her.
"Well, no. . ." Miranda trailed off.
"Please, I would like to talk with you a while," Alice smiled. "See, Hatter's met my family and I just thought it was time I met his." The girl sighed. Alice motioned for her to sit down. "Tell me about yourself and. . .and how you two grew up."
"It's-it's been a long time since Hatter and I have seen each other," The girl began after a long time. "It had been just us two for a while and we were pretty close. Hatter was ever the rebellious child even when their were no parents left to rebel at. He was gone for long periods of time, and when he came back he offered no explanation," Miranda chuckled at the memories. "I used admire his impetuousness."
"Used to?" Alice questioned the paste tense.
"He would always bring me back some presents from his extended trips," Miranda carried on, ignoring Alice's question. "I on the other hand was the studious one. Never missed a day of school, got straight A's, and the like. I even skipped a couple grades and went straight to college at age thirteen. By then Hatter had become the proud owner of a tea shop and he came home less often. I studied to become a doctor and showed such potential that word of my success spread to the resistance. Caterpillar approached me and recruited me to work in his Hospital of Dreams, I've been there ever since." She finished. Alice could tell that the girl was a little bitter at Hatter for abandoning her.
"And did you work on the poison?" Alice inquired.
"No, but I worked closely with those who did. It was not a creation of mine but I fully understand it," She answered.
"And did Hatter know you joined the resistance?" Alice could tell by the slightly guilty look on Miranda's face that the answer was no.
"I never told him," she replied he head bent. Alice frowned and then the girl spoke up quickly to defend herself. "He was never around! He never told me what he was up to, where he was, nothing!"
"You said you admired his independence," Alice pointed out.
"Yeah used to," She clarified and crossed her arms about her chest. "Half of my decision to join the resistance was to get back at my brother. I wanted him to know what it felt like to wonder. And after I 'disappeared' he didn't even look for me. Probably gave me up for dead right away." The girl looked away, angry tears welling up.
"He deserves to know you're alive. The danger of the old kingdom is long gone and so is the need for resistance secrecy." Alice reasoned with the girl. She felt obligated to try and patch things up between the two. Maybe it was because they were each other's only family and Alice would give anything to have her family back. Miranda bit her lip and looked at Hatter.
"He always seemed so untouchable, you know? Like nothing could ever hurt him. . ." The girl mused as she studied him.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Alice told her. They were both silent for a moment, regarding Hatter. "There's something I've always wanted to know," Alice spoke at last.
"Oh?" Miranda perked up.
"What's with Hatter's right hand?" Alice's landed on the arm once described as a sledgehammer. Miranda merely shrugged.
"Wonderlanders are different from you oysters – I mean people from this world. He was born with a strong right arm, I was born with an exceptionally quick mind." She explained. "Things like that don't usually manifest until late adolescence though. Take me, I didn't get smart enough to skip grades until I was thirteen. Hatter didn't really show signs of a killer right hook until he was caught getting into a fight."
"Yeah but when I was in Wonderland someone once hinted that it wasn't flesh and blood." Alice told her. The girl's eyes flickered to her brother's arm for a moment and then back to Alice.
"I wouldn't know," She said after a moment. "You'll have to ask Hatter that yourself." Alice exhaled audibly. Miranda stood up and gathered up her case. "Now I really have to be going," she said turning to leave. Alice jumped up.
"Wait I thought you were going to wait till Hatter woke up," Alice said catching the girl's arm.
"I have to report back to the King, if I don't go back now, he'll believe I got stuck here somehow." She protested.
"But what about-" Alice began but Miranda cut her off.
"You can tell Hatter I'm alive. When he comes back he can come see me if he wants to." Miranda said and freed her arm from Alice's hand and started for the door.
"Miranda," Alice called after the girl but she was already out the door. "Great. Hatter's mad crazy and his sister is mad angry," she mumbled to herself. She trudged back to her room and sat down in a chair. She cast a look a Hatter and already his skin was clearing up of the odd bruise-like splotches. His fever seemed to be broken as well. Alice let out a sigh of relief. Everything would be alright.