Chapter Nineteen

It was a beautiful, bright day in the Kingdom of the Knights. Newly made banners snapped in the same breeze that rustled the dresses and suits of the guests that were seated on white wooden benches in the center of a clearing. A white runner had been laid through the soft green grass, running between the benches and towards a raised wooden dais that was surrounded with baskets of flowers.

The only sound, besides that of the quiet whispering of those that were gathered, was birdsong. And then a few tinkling strains of harp music filled the air, turning into a simple, sweet melody. At the sound, everyone stood and turned, looking down the runner to where the bride began her walk to the dais.

Alice made her way slowly forward, her stomach quivering with butterflies. She never thought she'd see the day, but here she was preparing to get married. It hadn't been in her plans, marrying in Wonderland, but there was something so perfect about it. After all, this is where she'd met Hatter, where she'd fallen in love with him. The good memories outweighed the bad, and all she could think was that she didn't want to go another day without belonging to Hatter in every way possible, and having him belong to her as well.

As Alice made her way steadily forward, she was gratified to see so many people there to share in her happiness. Her mother, of course, who was both beaming at her and crying from the first bench near the dais. The Knights in Training were all present, their armor shining in the sun; Toby shot her a brilliant smile that she happily returned. Everyone from the club was there – predictably, Dormie was already quietly snoring - and quite a few from the Palace as well. Jack and Duchess were beside Carol, and Alice found that her enmity towards the King of Hearts had faded now.

"You look lovely, dear," Owl said as Alice walked by. She smiled at the woman who had drugged her and delivered her to Dodo. Duchess, of all people, had asked Alice to forgive the woman, and explained how Dodo had been keeping Duck prisoner to get her to do his bidding. They were reunited now, sitting side by side and holding hands. Alice couldn't hate anyone today; she was too full of joy.

And then Hatter stepped out on the dais and Alice had eyes only for him. He was wearing black trousers and a crisp white shirt. His tie, naturally, was only loosely knotted, and his black suit jacket had a very faint paisley pattern on it. On his head was a black porkpie. He looked wonderful, and his wide grin helped settle the nerves in her stomach.

Alice forced herself not to walk any faster, to take her time and savor the moment. She cast a quick eye down at her own dress and grinned. Duchess had taken her to the royal dressmaker, and helped her and her mother brainstorm the type of dress that would be best. For Alice, it was a perfect Wonderland dress. Pale blue instead of white, sleeveless and just a bit clingy. The skirt fell just above her ankles, showing off white leather boots wrapped around with blue ribbons.

"Beautiful," Hatter breathed as Alice reached the dais. She took the three steps up and moved to stand beside him. She transferred her bouquet of blue and white flowers to her left hand and took hold of Hatter's hand with her right. For just a moment she looked into his brown eyes and thought…mine.

With a clank, Charlie joined them on the dais. His armor was new, and polished to a high sheen. When he had told Alice that being a Knight meant having the authority to perform weddings, she had laughed and deemed that the most perfect thing of all.

"Friends," Charlie began, his voice ringing out for everyone to hear. "We are gathered in this place, at this time, to witness the joining of these heroes."

Alice almost rolled her eyes at that. She should've known Charlie would work that in somewhere.

"The love that Just Alice and Hatter have for each other is quite staggering. I myself have witnessed the lengths they will go to for the safety and well-being of the other."

Alice looked up at Hatter, her vision already wavering with tears. He squeezed her hand.

"Surely," Charlie continued. "No two people, in Wonderland or the world beyond, were so meant to be together."

There was clapping, suddenly, and Alice looked over to see that it was Toby. When he realized he was the only one, he turned bright red and looked down, embarrassed. Alice just laughed, and saw that Hatter was chuckling as well.

"The betrothed will now say a few words," Charlie announced. He looked at Hatter expectantly. Hatter looked at Alice, his expression soft and full of love.

"My Alice. Before I met you, I lived but was not alive. I felt, but had no true feelings. You awakened me, in every possible way. You challenge me, you sometimes frighten me, and you never stop loving me. I promise to do the same, to love you always. To be with you. Always. To share a life with you, until the end of time."

Alice's tears were falling freely now, and Hatter's own eyes were suspiciously bright as well. She'd given a lot of thought to what she wanted to say, and she remembered what Charlie had said about the first Alice and her power with words. If she had the same power, she wanted to make sure she got this right.

"When I met you, Hatter, I trusted no-one. I was hurting and afraid and suspicious. But you changed that, you changed me. Without you I never would have done anything heroic. Without you I never would have found the missing piece to my heart, the other half of my soul.

"I make my vow, this day, to be your wife. For all time. To make you happy when you are sad, to lift you up when you fall down, to love you more than I love myself. For as long as we are in Wonderland, I will treat the people here as my people. I will make this my home with you for as long as we need it to be so."

As soon as Alice finished speaking the wind whipped up in a frenzy, destroying many a carefully arranged hairdo. And when it settled back down to a gentle breeze a rainbow filled the clearing, its colors intense and beautiful. Alice stared up at it, her mouth open in awe. And then she looked at Hatter, who was staring at her with much the same expression.

There was a resounding thud as Charlie dropped to his knees, hands clasped and that old, worshipful look on his face. "Oh, frabjous day! The stars are aligned! The unseen forces move amongst us, blessing this day, this union, this gathering…"

"Charlie," Hatter said.

"All that has gone before comes to this moment, this time…"

"Charlie!" Alice said a bit more forcefully.

"The blessed oracle has parted the misty veils and spoken to us all!"

Hatter and Alice looked at each other, then said in unison, "Charlie!"

"What…oh…yes," Charlie stuttered, clearly flustered. He slowly got to his feet and smoothed down his white tufts of hair. "Ah…Alice. Hatter. You have spoken your vows and made your promises, in front of your friends and Wonderland. In the eyes of all, you are now wed."

Hatter cupped Alice's face in his hands and dropped his head to press a sweet, soft kiss to her lips. Alice wrapped her arms around his neck, careful not to whack him with her flowers, and kissed him back with much more force. Cheers erupted from the gathered crowd as Hatter hugged Alice tightly to him.

"My wife," he murmured in her ear. "I love you."

"I love you, my Hatter," she whispered back.

Hands linked, Alice and Hatter stepped off the dais and made their way back down the runner. Carol snapped some pictures with her digital camera, though she was crying so hard Alice could only hope some would be in focus. Where the benches ended and the green grass stretched out untouched, the Knights in Training were lined up on either side of the runner, swords extended. Alice and Hatter walked beneath them, grinning, and then Hatter swept Alice up in his arms.

"Now comes my favorite part of a Wonderland wedding," he said.

"The eating?" Alice teased.

"The consummating," Hatter replied with a wicked grin.

He carried her off to Charlie's camp, which had been surrounded now on all sides by alternating blue and white sheets for privacy. More baskets of flowers had been scattered around, and for this day only the Red King had been removed to an undisclosed location. In the center of the camp was a wooden bed, easily larger than king sized, made up with white sheets and sprinkled over with flower petals.

"This isn't how things are done in my world," Alice said with a grin. "I think I like this much better!"

Hatter gently laid her on the bed and stood for a moment looking down at her. "You are so beautiful, my Alice. I can hardly believe you're real."

Alice sat up and held her hand out to him. "I'm real. And I'm yours. Forever."

Hatter took her hand and allowed her to pull him down on the bed. Alice took his hat off and ran her hand through his unruly hair. This man, once a stranger not to be trusted, was now her husband. Her lover. Her friend. He was her everything.

Alice couldn't want for anything more than this.

AN: I have to say, I'm both relieved and a little sad that this story is over. It was fun to write it, and even more fun keeping you all on the edge of your seats! My hubby had suggested I end it with the previous chapter, but I promised some of you a big finish, and you deserve it for hanging in with me through all the mean stuff I did to Alice and Hatter.

Thanks so much for the reviews and support! And stay tuned for some special features!