Yeah I don't own any of these characters so please don't sue me.

~Chapter 12~

Into the Red Nursery OR Locked Doors

The red door slowly opened with a complaining groan. The four figures peered into the inky black interior. Light from the doorway only illuminated the space right in front of them. Slowly the Hatter crept through the door and tip toed to the very edge of the lighted area then stopped. Behind him the others watched nervously. After all they were about to enter the childhood abode of the most evil and tyrannical woman in all of Underland. She may have left booby traps or a guard.

Taking a deep breath the Hatter moved from the lighted area into the dark unknown reaches of the nursery.

"It seems safe." Came Tarrant's voice from the darkness. Alice followed after him into the room. Clutching her dress tightly were both Tweedledum and Sophie.

Alice knew that she needed to stick to her guns about Sophie's disciplines but damn that Hatter. He seemed to know her one weakness. They had almost reached the end of the lighted area when suddenly there was a loud metal snapping sound and the Hatter screamed. In turn everyone else screamed too, for in that instant all of the shutters burst open filling the room with blazing sunlight. The light blinded everyone and that silenced them all, except for the Hatter whose cries seemed to be moving closer then further away. Once Alice was able to see again she saw at once what had happened. The poor Hatter had indeed set off a trap; he was hanging upside-down by one of his ankles swinging above a rather nasty look bear trap.

"Alice Help!" he cried plaintively as he tried to reach his hat, which had fallen off but had luckily not set off the trap.

Alice rushed over to aid her friend. "Stop moving about so much you'll set it off!" She did not dare to try and move the trap for fear of activating it. The trap was so large that if it were set off it would take off the whole of Hatter's head. She followed the rope holding his leg to its source.

"Tweedledum, go over to the end of the rope and when I give the signal untie it," instructed Alice. The boy trotted over to the knot and awaited the promised signal.

"What about me, Mummy?" asked Sophie.

Alice looked around. And saw an old moldy parasol leaning against the wall.

"See that parasol Sophie? When I say so I want you to hold tightly to one end of it and with the other set off this steel trap. But only on my say so" Sophie went and picked up the parasol.

Alice took hold of the Hatter under his arms and pulled his head and upper body away from the trap.

"Alice before you set that off," The Hatter struggled to say, for by this time so much blood was rushing to his head that he was finding it much harder to concentrate than normal. "I noticed that there is an envelope sitting just inside the trap, if you let go I should be able to reach it without setting the trap off."

Alice held firm to him.

"Are you sure? What if that envelope is what is supposed to set off the trap?"

The Hatter's forehead crinkled in thought for a moment.

"No, I do not believe it will, if this trap's intent had been to kill I should not be talking to you now." Alice still held firm.

"I am not convinced the gain outweighs the risk." She said. The Hatter stared at her as hard as he could without passing out, which at this point seemed most likely to happen.

"All right, but if you die because of this I swear I will kill you" she said.

He simply grinned up at her. She then let him go, letting his head once more swing above the deadly iron teeth of the trap. On the second swing he reached down and grabbed the envelope. Alice tried to grab him before he swung out again but only managed to pull off his coat, the force of her action resulting in the Hatter spinning as well as swinging.

"Oh! Make it stop!" he cried plaintively. Sophie and Tweedledum had begun to giggle at the sight.

"Tarrant stop flaying your arms around!" cried Alice. With that the Hatter wrapped his arms around his body but that in turn sped up his spinning. Finally Alice just reached out and grabbed his legs. The result was that Alice had a firm hold upon the Hatter's knees, the consequences of that were somewhat more embarrassing. The Hatters face had been towards her when she had grabbed him and now his face was pressed up against a rather inappropriate location. To be more precise the space between her thighs and waist. Alice went rigid and the Hatter said nothing at all.

"Sophie, you can spring the trap now, and please be careful to keep your hands away from the teeth."

Sophie did better then that. She just tossed in the parasol and the trap snapped it in half with a loud clang. As soon as the danger of decapitation was gone, Alice released the Hatter slowly so that he would not swing. She once more took hold of his shoulders and braced herself.

"All right Tweedledum…now" she said. The square child pulled on the knot and the Hatters leg was instantly released.

After dusting himself off and collecting his thoughts, and many hurried apologies the Hatter opened the old dusty envelope and read it carefully then handed it to Alice, for she was waiting on pins and needles to find out what was in the note. She took it and read it aloud.

To my dear, sweet, and perfect sister, just wait until I tell Mummy and Daddy that you were in my room without permission. If you were looking for your book, well it is not here. Better luck next time.

Sincerely hoping that your head is gone

Iracebeth

"Well that seemed well worth the risk of you getting your head taken off Tarrant." said Alice sarcastically. The Hatter was not listening though his eyes were fixed upon the walls of the room. Alice had been too worried about her friend to actually look at the room around her. There was a full wall of taxidermy heads with shinning glass eyes and brass plates beneath each head. Sophie was already examining them; Tweedledum stood staring with the same horror stricken stare as the Hatter. Alice also looked at them and noted that they were all animal heads. And they seemed to range from horses, to sheep, to big game animals like Tigers, Lions, Dragons and even a Unicorn. At first aside from the odd range and number of heads Alice was not overly startled but then she remembered that she was in Underland. That every one of those heads had once walked and talked and had lives and loving families of there very own. The only one who was immune to the horror was Sophie for she had seen many animal heads before, most notably at her aunt's house.

"Mummy, come see this." Sophie called over her shoulder, but her voice wobbled when she saw the expression on everyone else's face. "They all have the same, name" she finished her sentence unsure whether or not she had just done something wrong.

Alice quickly walked past her two mortified companions and knelt next to her daughter.

It was true that all the plaques had the same name. "Fluffy" but all along the row there were numerals next to the name. On and on the heads and plaques went the wall was completely full. Against another wall was a pile of large steel cages. The rest of the furniture was old and mouldy.

Sophie had moved on from examining the wall and found a toy chest; it was filled to the brim with stuffed animals, real stuffed animals. She then moved on to the large toy Castle that was resting on a child size table. Alice was already examining it and was startled but not over surprised to find several doll heads on small wooden sticks protruding from the parapets. On the wall above the bed was a portrait of the Red Queen when she was just a Princess. Her head was only slightly larger then a normal head, but the painter had been able to capture the bloodthirsty gleam that was growing in the child.

By the time Alice had finished examining the portrait Tweedledum had seen enough and run from the room. And Alice could hear him banging on the door on the far side of the bridge wanting to be let out. Sophie ran after him demanding to know what was wrong. Alice was about to follow when she heared a loud crash. She turned around and found that the Hatter had taken a lamp from the table and smashed it against the portrait letting its contents fall on the rotting bed below.

"Tarrant, what are you doing?" asked Alice in alarm. He did not respond to her but he took another lamp and smashed it against a bookshelf on the far wall coating the books and old wood in a yellow sticky mess. He was busily searching his person for something but it seemed he did not have what it was he was looking for. He turned to Alice suddenly and what she saw frightened her. His face, if possible, had gotten even paler and all around his eyes, which were usually soft pinks and orange, were now black and his eyes were orange flames that bore right through her.

"Do yeh happen teh have a match?" he asked her in his thick Scottish accent. Alice stood in silence and did not answer. He started to walk slowly, almost menacingly, towards her when she did not reply.

"Why do you want a match?" she asked in a quivering voice.

"So I can raze this house of horrors to the ground, that those," he gestured to the wall behind Alice "poor souls can have peace." With every step the Hatter took towards her Alice stepped back and she was soon backed up against the wall and was being stabbed in the back by Fluffy XXIII. She was now very scared.

"How will destroying this tower put them to rest? What if the book we need to help the White Queen is in this very room?" She said. The Hatter stopped his advance, his gaze was still fixed upon Alice but the color in his eyes was starting to return to normal. He then stepped back suddenly, startled by his actions but even more startled and ashamed of the expression that Alice now wore.

"Forgive me." he whispered to her then he looked past her at the rows of heads. With his shoulders slumped he turned and headed for the door with the red key in hand. Alice let out the breath that she was unaware that she had been holding and felt herself shake all over. A moment later the Hatter started to speak again in the Scottish brogue.

"Once we have searched tha tower, then Ah'll burn it teh tha ground" Alice felt a chill pass through her as he said this. The Hatter left the room leaving Alice all alone. She could almost feel the glass eyes of the slain creatures boring into her back. Alice left the room closing the door firmly behind her. Some doors where just meant to be left locked.

Alice found Sophie and Tweedledum waiting for her at the top of the stairs, but the Hatter was nowhere in sight.

"Well, I think that is enough distraction for today." Alice said softly trying to control her shaking. "Come along Sophie, you have an appointment in the library." Alice took her daughters hand, Sophie in turn took Tweedledum's hand as she didn't want him to get out of being punished along with her. They exited the Golden Queens tower together but Mallymkun was waiting outside for Alice, and she did not look happy.

"'Ey now! What 'Ave you done to 'Atter!" she demanded her tiny foot tapping impatiently for and answer.

"Not now Mally." said Alice softly and did not stop walking for she did not feel up to explaining to Mallymkun what had happened.

The rest of the day was spent in the Library, Alice watched as Sophie and Tweedledum copied from what she assumed was the Underland equivalent to the encyclopedia. Alice spent the rest her time helping the Dodo and Humpty Dumpty skim the many books of the White Tower. Neither one asked where the Hatter was nor what had transpired, for they observed that Alice was discreetly wiping the odd tear from her eye. The Hare was no where to be found but the occasional smash of something or other against a wall let them know that he was still somewhere in the building. Alice did not see the Hatter again until well after sunset.

:3

Alice went in search of a room that she might share with her daughter and found a suitable one on the third floor of the White Tower. All the furniture in the room had been covered in white drop cloths and it took Alice the better part of the evening to air out the room. She found some less dusty linen in a cabinet but made a promise to herself that she would be washing them first thing the next day. After she had uncovered all the furniture Alice went about unpacking Sophie's and her own luggage. She stopped suddenly when she reached the couple of shirts and trousers of Henry's. Her hands shook slightly as she picked them up. Sophie entered the room then and Alice hastily put them in a drawer. As she put Sophie to bed, she assured her daughter that she had checked the room for monsters and that it was safe for her to fall asleep on her own.

Alice wanted to take a short walk before bed to clear her head. The sight of her husband's clothes had brought back to her many memories of him, both good and bad. She walked through the warm night air, and there was just enough of a cool breeze to keep the night from being overly warm. She walked down the forested path towards the small beach. Sitting at the end of the dock with his bare feet in the water was the Hatter. Alice had long ago dispensed with her tight dress and corset (yes she had given into peer pressure) and was now dressed in one of her lighter nightdresses. Bare foot as she was she did not make any noise when she walked up behind him. She obviously startled him when she said his name.

"Tarrant." She said softly

He was so startled he nearly dropped what he had been working on. It was the start of a tube that would eventually be the blowpipe.

"May I sit with you a while?" she asked.

Sheepishly he gestured for her to sit next to him. Her toes traced little patterns on the surface if the water. And by accident she brushed her bare foot against his own. Neither spoke for a moment. Neither wanted to bring up what had transpired earlier in the day. They listened to the symphony all around them as the many insects of Underland played through their nightly musical opus. Interrupted only occasionally by the odd fish splashing. The mist had never cleared so Alice could not see the main shore but when she looked up she could see the stars shining down upon her as brightly as ever. But it was an alien sky and the stars were strange and unfamiliar. In that instant she felt a pang of homesickness, and also great loss. The pain was building in her gut and she desperately looked for something to take her mind away from the feeling.

"That looks perfect." Alice said suddenly breaking the silence. The Hatter smiled at long piece of wood he had been whittling for the better part of the day.

"I'm glad you approve." He said, afraid to look at her face; afraid that she would have the same expression as the last time she had seen his darker side. He had frightened her needlessly. However he could not bear to not look upon her. So he stole a quick glance at her refection only to discover that her reflection was sad. She also had a far off look in her eyes.

"It's getting late, and you should not be out here dressed like that." he said in a soft, slightly scolding manner. Alice chuckled softly then stood up to leave, involuntarily she shivered. In an instant Tarrant placed his coat over her shoulders.

"Thank you, Tarrant." she said "But I am perfectly all right."

"Nonsense, what kind of gentleman would allow a lady to freeze? Also I must insist on escorting you back." he said offering his arm to her. "You never know what kind of unscrupulous cad might try and take advantage of the lovely, a somewhat slightly clad lady. Why you aren't wearing stockings! My dear, you are practically naked!" Alice burst out laughing when he said this. And to the Hatters deep satisfaction she had a broad grin on her face for the remainder of their walk back.

Once Alice had bid goodnight to the Hatter, she returned to the room she was sharing with her daughter. She checked to make sure that Sophie was sound asleep before she went to the drawer to retrieve the shirt that she had hastily stashed there. She quickly carried it out to the empty room across from the bedroom. She sat on a draped chair and took a deep breath breathing in the heady scent of her late husband. Against her will she started to sob.

Just a quick authors note. You may all wonder about Alice's sudden sadness, well it's all because she has not had a chance yet to grieve. You might be saying why loss a tear on the man how abandoned her? Well it's more a self pity cry then anything else. She spent so much of her life waiting on this man who at one time loved her deeply. Now all the built up pain and sadness are at last out. Not to worry she is going to be much better after her cry. Everyone just needs a cry sometime right? Right.

Big thanks to Detafo for fixing the Hatters Scottish for me, because I can't write it at all and have a heard time reading it. You should have seen me trying to get through the first Harry Potter book when ever Hagrid spoke. My sister kept telling me "Read in your head" XD

Also Thanks to Ngoc Chau and New Moon (you know who you are) for being a long time readers and reviewers. And thanks to all of you who have added me to your Alerts and Fav list. Every time that happens I get all warm and fuzzy.

Anyway please read and review me, let me know if you like what you are reading. Then I will write more XD

I guess this was not a quick note after all.

Again thank you to everyone

xXDFXx