Magnificently Mad

Heavens Evangel

Rated: M

Pairing: Alice x Hatter/Tarrant, Mirana/OC

Disclaimer: Alice in Wonderland does not belong to me, only OC's do

He leaned in and kissed her deeply. "I love you poppit." He poked her nose before sadly walking off, feeling slightly rejected by her.

She sighed and plucked the pieces from out of the bush, unaware that she was being watched. I have to alert Mirana as soon as possible. I'll have to make it up to Tarrant later, he looked so sad. I must have hurt his feelings by brushing him off that way. But it was all to avoid him going into a mad rant. It cost me a lot the last time to stop him. She turned to make her way back into the castle when a pair of hands reached out and pulled her into the maze. Before she could yell everything had faded to black.

Chapter 14: In Danger

Tarrant paced the kitchens, an hour had passed and Alice had promised she would be quick. He couldn't help the feeling deep in his chest that told him that something was wrong. He checked the clock and frowned as the minutes ticked by ever so slowly. It was as if Tyme was playing with him again. He grunted and slammed his hands onto the counter. He stood and stormed off, his temper raging. But what raged far more powerfully then his temper was his fear. Something told him that something was wrong, but he just didn't know what the hell it was. He knew it had to do with Alice, and Alice's life was far too important to him. If he lost her he would never ever forgive himself. He stormed into Mirana's office and peaked around, he was not surprised to find Blake near Mirana, but the sinking feeling in his stomach grew when he realized that Alice was not there with them.

"Tarrant? Is there something the matter?" Mirana asked softly, her expression full of worry.

"Alice, she said she was coming here to see you, that was forever ago. She promised to meet me in the kitchens and she never came. Was she here?"

"No, Alice never came here to see me." Mirana passed a glance at Blake.

He frowned and crossed his arms, remembering the presence he felt earlier that day. Alice is missing? Does this have to do with what I felt earlier? He stood fully and looked at Tarrant. "Take me to the last place you saw her."

He nodded and stormed off, Blake hot on his heels, leaving Mirana behind to contemplate the situation. This does not bode well, where could Alice have gone? Mirana's brows hooked in worry as she stood up and went to the window. She peeked out and watched the changing sky. It's getting dark as well. A cold shiver ran down her back. I don't like this one bit. Oh Alice please be alright. She clasped her hands together and silently wished for her adoptive sister's wellbeing.

Tarrant went to the maze where he left Alice. "We were here last."

Blake looked around and noticed bright red strands of hair amongst the deep green of the bush. As he made his way closer he could see the bush had been mangled, and a good bit of Alice's blonde hair and part of the bottom of the dress she had been wearing that day was scattered on the branches. He gathered the clumps and examined them.

Tarrant's eyes gleamed at the sight of the red hair. "That wench, that bloody wench!"

Blake looked up. "What is it Tarrant?" He rose a brow in confusion.

"Mirana's sister."

"… I was unaware she had a sister." Blake frowned.

"The woman is a tyrant. She had killed many and once took Mirana's throne, forcing all of Underland to obey her. The damned bloody big head!" He paced back and forth, his anger boiling. He should not have left Alice alone. It then dawned on him what Alice could have possibly wanted to say to her. "She noticed it! That damn curious woman! She's gotten herself in danger!" He reached and pulled loose hair from his head.

Blake thought back to the story that Alice had told him about her adventures.

"And then I chopped his head off, it rolled down the stair case and the look on the Red Queen's face was priceless." She had smiled. "It was a happy yet sad moment at the same time. On the one hand I had freed Underland from that crazy woman, and yet, it was sad because… because it was the very day that I had to leave, to leave the one thing I was beginning to really hold dear." She still held the smile as she spoke over her hot tea as their ship rocked gently on the waves.

Blake sighed softly, entirely believing her. She told the story to him plenty of times, and it was always the same, her details never changed like how they do with most verbal fairy tales. The seriousness in her eyes as she told the story to him time and time again had warranted the truth. He knew Alice to have quite an active imagination, but he never knew her to be a liar, and so, he trusted and believed her with all of his heart. "One day, one day you'll go back Alice, I'm sure of it, then you'll get to be with your hatter."

She laughed happily at the thought. "Yes, and we'll have loads of mad children, and they'll all wear very eccentric hats, just like their father."

He joined her in her laughter before reaching out and touching her hand. "I'm sure they all miss you, but when you get back, as accomplished as you've become, I'm sure that they'll all be very proud of you."

She looked up at him and gave him a soft smile. "Blake?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you, I'm glad you believe me. Anyone else would have called me mad."

"As mad as a hatter I bet." He grinned at her and the two began to laugh again.

Blake shook himself out of the memory. Alice was in danger there was no doubt in his mind about it. He could tell by how violently she was pulled in that she was most likely hurt at the moment. He grit his teeth as he stepped through and looked for more clues.

Tarrant was right behind him. He noted the pieces of Alice's hair and the tattered pieces of her dress. He grunted but tried hard to keep his calm, Alice was at stake, he couldn't possibly allow himself to go into a mad rage. So many murderous thoughts came to his mind. How dare this woman come back and make his life miserable again. Alice had just returned to him a few months ago, he was going to marry her tomorrow! Iracabeth had already stolen away all of his family, killed them in her first attack, and destroyed his home. His whole clan was gone now. All he had left to make life worth living was Alice and any children they would have in the future. Before she had returned he had been nothing but an empty shell, desperately waiting for her to come back to him like she promised. Everything seemed right again when she came back, he couldn't lose her now.

Blake noted a bloodied branch on the floor, most likely it was used to knock Alice out, the situation was officially getting worse.

Alice opened her eyes and looked around her, it was dark and the smell was unbearable. She tried to cover her nose and mouth to stop the need to gag, but she quickly found that she couldn't move. As she struggled, she failed to notice the red haired woman enter the room. She failed to see the evil intent in the woman's eyes as she neared her. It wasn't until she came close that she could feel the rage. She turned her head and what she saw surprised her.

Before her was a pale skinned woman, maybe five four in height, her hair was bright red and curly over her face and shoulders, her lips that had always been painted with a heart shape were just painted red, a deeper red then she had ever worn before. The coldness in her eyes made one feel as if they were in the arctic, a woman so cold she could freeze a polar bear. She wore a dark red dress, or maybe it was the same color as her hair, one couldn't tell in such dark lighting, it was torn in places, and did little for the imagination. One pale leg was partially revealed by the torn cloth, there were blood stains and dirt in patches on the dress as well. "Hello… Awice."

She struggled more. "It's you…! Let me out of this!"

She laughed deeply, the insanity was evident as she walked over to her and produced a single blade from in between her breast. "I'll wet you owt when you're not breathing." She smiled and placed the blade to her neck, drawing a single line across it, as if marking it for future beheading.

Alice froze at the feel of the cold blade against her throat. She could feel her soft skin tear against the metal. She forced herself to stay calm as the blood began to come forth from the newly made slit. She closed her eyes tightly and fought back the whimper that trembled deep in her. She had to think of something, some way to get free. Thoughts of Tarrant came to mind and she could feel the tears forming, she wanted so badly to be with him now.

"Going to cry?" She mocked her. "Don't worry Awice, I have bigger plans for you. Now that I have you, I can wait for the stupid hatter to come save you. I'll capture him and make him watch as I cut you piece by piece. Wouldn't that be fun?" She laughed loudly, the laughter echoing in the dark cold room. "And once you're out of the picture for good, it'll be off with her head for my wittle sister. She thinks she can get everything she wants? Well she's wrong!"

"Y-You're right- you're absolutely right….your highness." There was only one thing Alice could do right now, she had to play along, if she didn't Iracabeth would off her sooner. The thought of agreeing with her made her feel sick to her stomach, but what choice did she have?

She turned to her. "You're agreeing? Hm I guess fear does make one smarter." She fell into another fit of laughter before she brought the blade to her lips and licked the blood off. "You know, I saw that man that has been claimed by Miwana. He's absolutely delicious. Perhaps when I kill her I'll make him my king." She giggled before skipping off, leaving Alice to bleed on the table she was tied to.

Alice could faintly hear the sounds of a child crying followed by Iracabeth humming happily, but her mind wasn't registering anything beyond her current situation. I have to find a way out of this, I just have to. Oh Tarrant, I can only imagine how worried you are right now.

Tarrant was more than worried, he was a downright mess, and nothing could calm him down right now. He could almost feel Alice's fear and the god damned big head was behind it. He growled in frustration as he paced, listening to Blake's strategy.

"Right now, we have to track them down. They have to be some place away from Mamoreal but not too far. I don't see that woman actually going too far from the source of her anger, like she's torturing herself with it, fueling her rage to do more inhumane things." He crossed his arms. "Judging by the tracks I managed to find in the grass, she dragged Alice out of the castle through the maze, using the bushes to cover her movements." He turned his attention to Bayard. "This is a part of Alice's dress, can you track them?"

Bayard leaned forward to the cloth in Blake's hand and breathed it deeply. He leaned away and nodded. "Yes, I can track it."

"Come on then, we have no time to waste."

Bayard took off in a run after sniffing out the scent, Blake and Tarrant followed close behind him, determined to find Alice at any means necessary. They only hoped it wouldn't be too late.

Another cliffy :D but hey, it's another chapter, two in one week HUZZAH! I wonder what's gonna happen next, and where is that crying coming from? I hope it doesn't turn out to be a pipe bomb(cookies to anyone who gets it) or another victim somewhere…