Disclaimer: Still no ownership. I can live with that, as long as I can take the characters out to play.
Thank you to everyone who favorited or reviewed! This chapter was really difficult to write, so please let me know what you thought.
"Why does this bloody place have to be out in the middle of this godforsaken wood that doesn't even have a decent road?!" Duchess shouted as she stumbled into Charlie's home. Alice froze, and Hatter looked back and forth between the two women, hoping there wouldn't be a conflict. But Alice just stood in slight shock and Duchess didn't seem to be at her best. Leaves were caught in her blonde hair, and she appeared to have fallen at least once or twice, judging from the amount of mud on her clothes. Her heels certainly hadn't survived their trek – one of them had completely snapped in half, and the other one was caked in grime. Alice couldn't help but stare at the usually elegant person in front of her, who was currently muttering under her breath, glaring at the trees.
When the murderous stare was turned on Alice, she decided it was time to say something. "What… what are you doing here, Duchess? How did you even find this place?"
"Well, I had to go somewhere, and this is apparently the safest place in all of Wonderland," she said, with a derisive snort at the end. Confusion covered Alice's face, prompting Duchess to continue. "Charlie sent me. He gave me directions to a boat he had used to get to the city this morning, then told me how to get here. Except I've been walking the entire way from the lake, and he didn't exactly warn me about the distance or the fact that this place doesn't even have a roof!"
This speech piqued Hatter's curiosity. "Charlie? He sent you? Why would you have to go someplace safe? I thought you and Jack were an item…"
Duchess's eyes flared and Hatter realized that this was a touchy subject, "We were – still are – an "item", as you so elegantly put it. Except for the fact that he's become a mindless puppet who doesn't remember who he is, and that wench hates my guts, because she knows I'm the only thing that stands between her and the throne of Wonderland!"
"What? What did you mean by Jack being a puppet?" Alice asked, completely lost.
Duchess shot her a withering look. "I know you don't understand everything, but surely you can grasp this one. Jack's not exactly been himself lately, in case you missed it." Hatter bristled at her tone, but Alice shook her head at him. She still may not entirely like Duchess, but the woman probably had her reasons for being abrupt.
Trying to keep her voice calm, she asked, "What woman? And how does she have control over Jack?"
Duchess calmed a little, but her face was twisted with disgust as she replied. "Scarlett, or whatever the witch calls herself. I can guarantee you that's not her actual name, but it doesn't matter. And no one's been able to figure out how exactly she's controlling Jack, but she's become the most dangerous person in Wonderland. The only thing I know is that she's out for more than just power – she's after blood. This one is insane and cruel in a way that the Queen never was."
The information overwhelmed Alice for a moment. At least Jack's behavior was explained, but they were still in deep trouble. Even more now that Duchess had joined them. If this Scarlett person really wanted her dead, she'd surely sent suits after them. Although why she would need Duchess dead was a very curious question to begin with.
Hatter obviously though along the same lines. "Why would she have to get rid of you to get to the throne. Couldn't she just control Jack or dispose of him and take power that way?"
Now Duchess didn't seem nearly as proud or outraged. In fact, she looked a little sheepish. "Well, she could, if there wasn't a queen to take over for him…" Her voice drifted off as she found the tree to her left suddenly fascinating. Hatter quickly put two and two together and started laughing.
"Oh god, what a joke. And no one knows, I take it?" When Duchess didn't give him a reply, he just kept laughing. But Alice was still confused.
"Wait…. what?" She was getting really tired of asking "what" but evidently she was the only person cluing in.
Duchess sighed and swung her gaze towards Alice. "We got married. In secret. We were supposed to have a public ceremony later, but then that woman showed up, and Jack lost his mind. But the paperwork's all done, so I'm officially the Queen of Wonderland."
Alice expected to feel some kind of shock, or perhaps even jealousy, but she didn't. "Oh, well, congratulations," Alice said sincerely. "I mean, obviously aside from this entire episode, but I knew that it was you two who were supposed to be together." Her answer diffused Duchess's annoyance, and she smiled at Alice. The two women started feeling less antagonistic towards each other in that moment. They had both been victims of circumstance after all, and everything had worked out, until recently. Perhaps they could be friends after all, they both mused, grinning at each other now.
Hatter just stared at both of them, utterly confused by women.
"Anything else we should know?" he asked, clearing his throat.
A strange look crossed Duchess's face. "Well, there is one other thing… the former Red Queen was found dead in her cell this morning."
Well, thought Alice, that's certainly news.
"No one knows how it happened, but I'm certain it was Scarlett. Getting rid of threats, you know. That's why I decided I had to leave today. She's hated me from the start, partially because I seemed to be able to wake Jack up from whatever she's done to him. She actually kind of feared me, I think, which seems absurd. I'm not exactly a threatening individual." Hatter wasn't so sure he agreed. He certainly wouldn't want to piss off the intense blonde. "But Charlie agreed to give whatever help was necessary when she showed up, so today I took him up on his offer."
"Well," Alice sighed, "what do we do know?" This was getting so much more complicated than she supposed a few days ago.
"We wait for Charlie, I guess." Hatter nodded, unhappy with Duchess's response but resigned.
Several hours later, Duchess had cleaned up and was resting on the bed. Hatter and Alice laid out on the grass by the fire. They weren't talking, just lying next to each other. Hatter held her hand, stroking her skin absent-mindedly with his thumb. They watched the clouds above them dance. To Alice they seemed strangely alive here, as though they knew they were being gazed at, and so performed obligingly. Right now Alice was watching a dance, and the skirts of the cloud-women even seemed to take on slight hues. For a moment, she was able to forget her problems.
But they came crashing back with Charlie, who burst into camp on the back of Guinevere. Hatter shot up, pulling Alice with him.
"Charlie, what's happening?" he shouted. The knight seemed frantic.
"The suits won't be more than an hour behind me! We must leave immediately if we are to reach safety before they catch us!" When no one responded to his orders, he stomped his foot. "Well come on, then!"
"Who's after us, Charlie?" Hatter asked, trying to get some sense out of the knight.
"The red woman, of course, and her minions." Duchess got up without question and was already picking up the pack that she had put together before she laid down. Alice and Hatter also went to pick up their own packs. Luckily Charlie had extra supplies around. Being friends with a paranoid knight occasionally had its perks.
"My Queen, it would be my honor if you would ride with me," Charlie offered with a half bow. Duchess cast a dubious glance at the horse but climbed up behind the knight anyway. She only hoped that she couldn't fall off. Meanwhile, Hatter helped Alice into the other horse's saddle and then mounted as well. Her arms snaked around his waist as soon as he was settled and she planted a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Oy," he teased with a smile, "no funny business. We are trying to escape from a mad woman's goons here. Not exactly the time."
Alice laughed as Hatter brought the horse, Tristan, around to face Charlie. "Where exactly are we going anyway, mate? I didn't think there was anywhere else safe in Wonderland, what with the good guys now being controlled by Scarlett."
"That's where you're wrong, Harbinger! The Resistance has formed again in the strange evens of these past months! They will shelter us."
Hatter swallowed, not exactly thrilled to see the Resistance again. Certain members weren't terribly fond of him. In fact, he should probably make sure they weren't going to visit Dodo.
"Charlie, who are we seeing, exactly?"
Charlie was now getting annoyed. "You ask too many questions, boy! But if you insist, we're going to get help from your own father. "
This piece of news floored Hatter. "What are you talking about? I haven't seen him since I was a lad. Why would he help us?"
"Because, he's the Caterpillar! Now we must be off," he shouted, causing both Guinevere and Tristan to take off in a gallop.
So..... another cliffhanger there. Hatter is in a bit of shock, I would say. Let me know how you feel about this little revelation!