Thank you, thank you, thank you for your kind reviews! They keep me going so please keep doin' what your doin'!!! And sorry for any Cheshire cat fans, obviously he won't be back in the story for a while....for now. But there is still hope!!!!!!

Oh yeah, probably a good time for a disclaimer. Okay, here it goes:

Disclaimer: NOT MINE.

Sweeeet.

On with the story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Hatter was beginning to get on Alice's nerves.

This shouldn't at all be surprising, but as of late he seemed to acquire the miraculous ability to make Alice wish she could hit her head repeatedly against a red brick wall. At this moment, she was wishing for the wall again.

"Alice, are you sure you're okay?"

For anyone that has ever been asked such a question, anyone who has been in that situation where there is nothing the matter, and yet you have someone insisting that there must be; you can sympathize with Alice, who only gritted her teeth in response.

There was another concerned side-ways glance from the Hatter.

"Really," Alice held up one finger to stop him as they walked along, eager to cut in before he could ask yet again, "I truly am fine." She was tired; far too tired for this. All she wanted was for him to stop.

"I'm not so sure, Alice," he sighed, shaking his head with such vigor it sent his hat sliding down to the tip of his nose, "What we saw in there wasn't pretty. I wouldn't blame you if you were shaken; there's no disgrace in admitting it."

Alice flushed red, her notorious temper flaring for a small instant at such a suggestion. Though it was kindly meant, Alice was sick of hearing herself described as caring about dignity or grace. She had heard enough of it from her mother already, and now the one place she thought she could escape and hide away from it, was labeling her the exact same.

"Trust me – if I truly was preoccupied with maintaining my dignity I wouldn't be having this conversation with you. In fact, I'm sure I would be avoiding you all together," as soon as the hasty words passed through her lips she regretted them. She could see the Hatter look down slightly, blush coloring his cheeks as he tried to look indifferent. Now she truly did want to hit her head against a brick wall; hard.

"I'm sorry – please, please believe me when I say that I didn't mean that," she stuttered, still drowning in shame that the Hatter's quietened posture and talk was fueling her.

He shrugged and looked up, a sense of relief washed over Alice at being able to see his face again.

"I'm fine," he said nonchalantly, a forced half-smile coming over his lips at his use of her own assurances.

She smiled back at him timidly. He was the first to turn away and keep walking. He cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry if I pulled you away from that place too soon for your liking – but I barely trust that woman," he said unexpectedly, no doubt anxious to change the topic.

Alice kept a steady pace next to him, though she burrowed her forehead in confusion. "Which woman?"

"The one you thought was the Queen," he said smiling. He obviously thought it was a great joke, one that he would file away to related to the Hare someday over some tea. How he would laugh!

"Oh, her," Alice chastised herself inwardly for being so ignorant. Truth be told, though, it was hard keeping up with a madman whose moods and conversations jumped so irregularly and quickly. Alice found herself dazed whenever she was with him, wandering after him as he jumped ahead at speeds she wouldn't even dare to keep up with. It made her feel stupid, a level she hadn't expected to feel when she was in company with someone who was deemed legally insane.

"Why don't you trust her?" Alice asked him after a while, eager to escape her own thoughts.

A dark shadow lowered over the Hatter's eyes, and when he spoke, the words were unusually harsh. Once again the abrupt change in mood left Alice wondering what she had done wrong.

"I have good reason to distrust her," his voice simmered like fire.

Alice was taken aback. This dark, almost revengeful tone was a stark contrast to the usual playful, childish and light-headed Hatter she knew. She wondered if this murderous side of him was what plagued his sanity, instead of the previously thought childish antics and obsessions of his. All of a sudden, she grew anxious to know if she was truly safe, she realized how alone with him in the woods she was.

"And why is that?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

He leaned closer, his warm breath tangled the loose strands of her hair. He looked about him mysteriously, preparing himself to confide an epiphany. Their eyes locked like predator and prey, and he felt compelled to tell her, now that there was no turning back.

"She broke one of my teapot sets once."

Alice stared at him, as if he had left his sentence incomplete. As he leaned away again, it slowly sank in to her. He wasn't serious was he?

"And...thats it?" She asked hesitantly.

The Hatter completely exploded. "What do you mean Is that it? That is enough! Can you even imagine how much I cherished that teapot? CAN YOU EVEN BEGIN TO IMAGINE?!?"

Alice flinched, her mind darting to find some way to control the situation. Unfortunately, fatigue had settled into her after such a long, eventful day, so all she could muster up had a certain lack of creativity.

"I'm sorry," she said, past exhaustion.

"It seems to be the order of the day," he replied bitterly, then regretted it. He looked over at the girl barely walking next to him, with her shoulders slumped under the heavy weight of pressing sleep. She looked tired; more than tired. She looked as if she would pass out at any moment. He felt guilty. He felt guilty over so many things. All this confusion; all this bitterness and hatred that had been simmering down in Wonderland had been deposited onto this girl who could barely stand up straight. She was too fragile to bare it on her own delicate shoulders; she was too good for the heavy burden. She deserved better than this.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

-----------------------

"It's a minor set back, I'll admit it," the Hare consoled Alice as she sat at the table.

"A set back? The Queen decides to go missing, and you call that a minor set back?" Alice refused to be consoled; this situation she had entangled herself in was becoming more and more impossible with each passing moment, and nothing the Hare or the Hatter would say could convince her otherwise.

"You make too much of a big deal out of it. She'll be back, in good time," the Hare tried again.

"Don't you see? Time is of the essence here. I don't have the time to wait outside her castle, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for her to show up. I wanted this sorted out as soon as possible so I can get out of here for good. Now with her utterly unidentifiable, we have nothing to chase but a figure. I have no leads, no witnesses, and no patience!"

"Time, time, time," the Hatter snarled into his teacup. "Do you think of anything else?"

Alice shot him a heated look. "It's not my fault I have a life waiting for me to come back to."

The Hatter snorted. "Some life it must have been, too. It was so wonderful you had to run away from it back to Wonderland. I am utterly jealous."

Alice cringed slightly as he found a weak spot in her armor. She composed herself quickly, though, eager to rebuild on any wounded pride. "I'm not surprised to hear that. You must be entirely jealous of my life, all you do is sit around, drink tea, and make hats."

"I do not," the Hare cried.

"No, no, no – not you, dear Hare. You are very efficient, I know," Alice rushed. She had barely any friends here, she could not afford to sway from the Hare's good graces.

The Hatter glared at her from across the table. He felt pure anger simmer in his belly for this girl. No, not for the girl, but for the pride the world he loathed instilled in her. He saw it in his mind; he saw all she could be. She could be a heroine, a victor, a woman. But all that world had given her was false pride and values, and it hindered her and her future. He hated to see it cripple her slowly.

"How honored we are then, Miss Alice, to be graced with your time and attention," his tongue dripped with sarcasm and anger, "we know we do not deserve any of it, so how kind you are to come to us, and help us in our time of need."
He laughed unexpectedly, mirth lighting his eyes, or perhaps it was tears, "Ha! How different you must have felt, how separated you must have been up there. You hated it didn't you? You always did. The persona, the pride, the money, the vanity – you thought you saw through it, you thought you rose above it. How special you must be, Alice. So you came here, to escape. You came here thinking here would be the one place you would fit in. Here you would be home, besides, home is where the heart is, isn't it? Here, of all places, we would expect you to be free from the suffocation of the world you come from. Instead, you show up here as a mascot to all that you left behind. You waltz in with your pride, your dignity, your honor, your vanity and your family name. You are a hypocrite, Alice. We thought you were special, Alice, but now, seeing you again, you have not withstood the tests of time like we thought you would have. You are no longer special, Alice. You. are . just . like . them."

At this the Hatter thrust his chair out from under the table, and stalked out of the room, slamming doors as he went. He continued to mutter under his breath as he left.

Alice and the Hare stared after him, then continued to stare at the door he had slammed behind him. Minutes past, and the kettle whistled, but neither of them had their appetite any more. More time passed.

"My dear Alice, don't cry."

It wasn't until the Hare softly spoke these words to her, that Alice felt the silent warm flow of salty water gliding down her cheeks. She hastily wiped them away, embarrassed. She tried to dismiss the Hatter's criticisms with a shaky laugh, something she had often seen other young woman do.

"It – it was a good joke. I won't think anything of what he said, after all, he is insane. How reliable can what he says be?" Alice said indifferently, dismissing it all with a flick of the hand.

The Hare sighed, wishing his young friend would see. He decided the best approach would be to be kind. Yes; warm and kind. He reached over and lightly placed one warm paw on her shoulder, meeting her gaze with a surprising fatherly softness. No one could deny he cared about what happened to Alice; he looked down at her almost like a daughter.

"My dear, you must understand that we all care about you very much here. The Hatter himself couldn't even deny it. Why, we have known you since you were just a small little thing. Oh, how lovely you were! So inquisitive!" He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Yes," he continued, lost in a reverie from many years ago, "you were a special child. I will never forget the determination, and the bravery that was in you – even for so young a child. You had a fire, my girl, one that could not have been so easily forgotten. And now, you are back."

The Hare searched her face anxiously, looking for any signs of another downpour before he continued. Alice also felt the end of the compliments drawing near, and sucked in a deep breath to prepare herself.

"Yes, you are back my dear. And my joy is beyond words. Had the circumstances been different, what with you being hunted and all, I should imagine that this long awaited visit would have been far more pleasant for all of us," and now he frowned, a sadness flowing over him as he thought of the truth behind the Hatter's harsh words. Alice's thoughts too, were now with the Hatter. When he spoke again, his voice was at the softest Alice had ever heard it.

"My dear, he has watched you grow from a child. From a child, who at one stage worshiped him. From a time when his attention and company was an honor. You were the one honored by his attention, you were excited – and at times slightly irritated – by his company. He has seen you grow from that - to this; laughing at him, mocking him, elevating yourself over him. He – and I – miss the child we met years ago, Alice. But I know it is still you. Find yourself, my dear, and when you do, you will not regret it." The Hare did not look up from the milky tea swirling around in his cup; he could not bare to see what effect his words could have had on Alice.

There was silence.

Slowly, hesitantly, he looked up from under his lashes at Alice, and was surprised. She was not red in the face from anger, or even red in the face from crying bitterly. Instead, Alice sat calmly, contemplatively at the table, her hands folded in her lap as she stared out into space, a thoughtful expression on her face. It took a while for her to be pulled out of her thoughts, but eventually there was eye contact. Guilt, compassion and pensiveness covered her pretty features at the sight of him, and she ran over to plant a kind kiss on the top of his head.

"Thank you," was all she said before leaving the room quickly.

Alice ran after the Hatter. She had no idea where he had went; and he was nowhere in or around the house. She was half grateful for this; she still needed time to collect her thoughts and her speech. What will she say to him? 'Sorry' didn't seem to cover it anymore.

She felt foolish, embarrassed, ignorant...the list went on and on in Alice's mind. How ironic had it been for her to run away from all she hated, only to have it plant itself in her. The Hatter and the Hare were right. They were absolutely right.

Now that she had realized this, it all made so much more sense. Snippets of memories and incidents came flooding back to her; a hard look, an unkind word; they were all reproving her. They all saw it. Why didn't she? She felt so mistaken, so disloyal and ungrateful; again a list began to form itself in her mind. She ran out the gate and into the woods, looking for any sign of the Hatter. Off the path, there was a trail, where the grass and moss seemed to have been recently disturbed by hard, angry footsteps. She prayed that it was the way the Hatter went and ran along it, not sure whether the moisture on her face was a result of unyielding tears or the rain that had begun to fall.

Just beyond the trees, she could see someone. Her pace quickened, as she began to sprint toward the slouched figure. They sat on a fallen log, looking solemn amongst the trees and ferns.

"Hatter!" She cried as she ran toward him.

The figure did not move.

"Hatter!" She tried again, her voice echoing through the woods.

The figure slowly rose off the log, only to straighten and reveal themselves to the honest-hearted girl. Unfortunately for Alice, it was not the Hatter.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were-" Alice stopped short. The figure removed the hood from it's cloak and stepped into the light. Alice gasped.

"You!" Alice cried, unable to help herself. Her eyes locked with a pair of elderly ones. They were sad and guilty.

"I'm sorry we meet again under these circumstances again, dear," the poor old woman said, "but believe me – it's for your own good."

With that she whisked out a small tube with a deep yellow mist in it, held in by a small cork. Three cats purred around her ankles.

She smiled briefly, then pulled out the cork.

Okay, so I also have to mention I used inspiration from that great scene from the movie 'Emma' (based on the Jane Austen novel with Gweneth Paltrow in it) where the two main characters fight. Anyone who has seen it (and if you haven't then I can say it is a great movie – if you like Jane Austen movies – and you should see it) and knows what I'm talking about can have a cookie on me.

Woo hoo! Free cookies!