Hesitations, Invitations, Complications

"I've come to bring you back."

"… for tea."

Alice felt her heart bouncing, speeding up, it felt as if her chest was exploding…

"Alice?"

… But nothing of that translated into enthusiasm, so the words broke rather quietly over her lips: "Hatter?"

"Tarrant Hightopp, always at your service," he said with a boyish smile, shortly taking the cylinder down, then putting it back on his head. He honestly felt a bid naked when he didn't wear it and he honestly thought of it of too small. He really needed to make a new one, but this was the one he got and he hadn't intended to stay as long as he would need a new one.

She still couldn't grasp this rupture in reality standing in front of her "Is that really you?"

"Pah! Of course it is me, silly girl!" He said even more enthusiastically "If it were not me, who else would I be? I would be another person but I don't know one, as I only know myself. If myself isn't me, I wouldn't know myself and this would be…"

"… bad?" Alice asked assuring, stepping a bit closer.

Tarrant stopped, playing boyishly with his hands "Yes," he said smiling a smile only the Mad Hatter could smile and suddenly Alice felt very relieved. All the worries of the past days (years) and all the thinking (agitation) of the past fell from her shoulders. Wonderland existed, it wasn't a hallucination, the Hatter stood in front of her although he did look kind of diff… she could've sworn that his eyes grew bigger, more familiar.

"But Hatter," she asked "how have you come here?"

The Hatter took off his hat and started to run his fingers over the flap, also in that boyish manner, again deciding that this hat was definitely too small: "I honestly have not the quietest idea."

Now that wasn't the answer Alice had hoped for nor ever expected. What should that mean; he didn't know how he came here? It could mean everything now, didn't he know the way exactly, just like she didn't or… "You don't know how you have come here?"

His face, which had changed from happily-expecting into a bit embarrassed, turned now quite sad "No, I don't. But Alice we have to…"

"Oh what ever should I do? There is a large mass of guests waiting for us and my sister… she expects me to marry you and… I can't do this all, not now, I thought I might've been mistaken, I thought it wasn't real but now I…" She shook her head in confusion and desperation.

The Hatter bowed a bit to look into her eyes, his eyebrows lifted, front head and nose narrowed, a bit suspicious but even more worried: "Alice, now you sound even more confusing than I and even I often can't understand myself."

He said that with such sorrow in his voice that Alice snapped out of it, somehow she felt he was deeply disappointed and she couldn't make out yet what it was, but he was going to tell her:

"So you really have forgotten over me?"

That look, these words, they made her heart hurt and she touched his cheek with her fingers, stroke over it hesitantly, it was real… "That's not it," she said, "But I have people who expect me to do certain things and… and now…" she looked deeply into his eyes "Hatter, they think you are a neighbor, a normal neighbor and now they will have expectations in you and… whatever should we do now?"

Alice felt that stingy voice in her head again, her reason. Again she was in a desperate situation, what if she imagined this again? What if she woke up and he was gone again?

"Well," he said, "I… am your neighbor."

She gave him a confused look.

"I live over there," he pointed to the other side of the hedge, which still left some yards to the next property. That explanation didn't seem to help loose Alice confusion in any way so he explicated:

"I arrived here earlier, however I was too late and you had already set sail again…"

That means… all the past year he lived here for himself? Alice thought to herself, she couldn't quite believe it and she couldn't imagine how the Hatter had survived the past time among, well, normal English people.

Tarrant added another line: "We should go back now."

Alice winced, she really didn't want to "I can't, what will I tell them…"

Again, he offered his hand to her but this time she took it.

"Trust me."

"ALICE! There you are! You really took your time, haven't you?" Margaret exclaimed when she walked towards her, her sister then turned to Tarrant: "Thank you Mr. Hightopp for your quick acting, I can't express how sorry I am. You have to forgive her, she just came back to England shortly before and hasn't felt comfortable in the past days."

Tarrant looked at Alice from his eye corners and smiled a distinct smile that gave Alice a shiver she couldn't identify, but it didn't feel that bad: "I understand, but as I told you I've only come to this occasion as I wanted to excuse myself. I've got really important work to do, therefore I can't accept your generous invitation now, my work calls be back right this moment."

"Oh," Margaret said and her eyes darkened a bit, "That is very unfortunate, of course I will excuse you, Mr. Hightopp. It's a pity you can't attend." She didn't really look at Alice but Alice felt them falling on her anyway, however she trusted the Hatter not to inflict even more fury of her relative on her and with this she had decided well:

"But let me extend an invitation myself; on the way back I've had a lovely chat with Ms. Kingsley." With his beaming smile that didn't stand in concurrence to that of her sister at the evening before and the broad gestures, Alice felt he overdid it a bid, however her sister was thrilled, "Therefore I would like to invite her over for tomorrow evening, when all the work is done. Of course, only if the Lady agrees" – it wasn't as if Alice had any freedom to not agree – "That way we can get to know each other and prepare for next weeks spring lunch, which falls into my responsibility and of course your husband and you are invited." The smile stuck on his face in a quite charming manner.

The rambling, as rambling was one of the things the Hatter did best, overwhelmed Margaret to the fullest. That way the Hatter had sold her the idea of Alice visiting him the next day alone, something a honorable older sister wouldn't allow, through however honorable Margaret was she hadn't realized it in this waterfall of words.

"This is such a charming idea, Mr. Hightopp, I'm sure Alice will agree." She looked daggers at Alice that wouldn't have left her another chance even if she ever had considered one "Of course," she said and lowered her head in a timid matter that would've maid her sister suspicious if she wasn't that lucky right now how this Chosen One wasn't scared away yet. Maybe she had finally found the right man for her sister, she dearly wanted her to be happy and lead a secure life – in England.

Without the possibility of sharing more words, 'Mr. Hightopp' was seen off back through the blooming gate. Alice followed them for a bit and earned a reassuring glance by the Hatter who now felt less confident than before and didn't seem to be happy having to leave her. Margaret was in the best mood, she felt a deep connection to that charming neighbor and she was so terribly sure that his surviving of the first run of Alice was a sign of fate. Her husband on the other side couldn't have watched that development more disapprovingly – and even this expression was quite euphemistic.

When he was gone, Alice went back to one of the diner tables. For the rest of the lunch party, she had some chitchat with some people she knew somehow or not. Although her head was entirely elsewhere and she didn't pay much attention to anyone or concentrate on any conversation, all too often she had to be reminded of her being in company. This way, she was a prime example of cloud-headedness. It conjured an eternal smile to her face, watching her little sister like that.

Yes, she thought to herself Fate, indeed.

TBC

A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far! They made me really happy and I feel more confident now.

This chapter is a (little) bit shorter, but I felt it was the right moment to make a break.

Sorry that the inner thoughts look a bit strange, but this website doesn't accept my markings, pff.

In the next chapter there will be a bit more action and we will see some old friends, also we will come one step nearer to what happened to the Hatter and why he lived in England for the past year – also more interestingly: How.