Watch Your Back

Alice was devastated.

The night had been a horror for itself. She couldn't sleep right; through she would've needed that sleep dearly. How was she expected to sleep after what she had learned during the Dinner with Queen Mirana?

In the morning she felt listless, despising the breakfast she had got and staring at the table in front of her. She had remembered something.

Many things she had forgotten in the past and only some had stayed alive in her memory, when she had returned to Wonderland that time when she was 19, her memories had been fuzzy and she got many new impressions of the people living there.

But that night she had remembered some more of her earlier trips to Wonderland and she remembered that the start she and the Hatter had wasn't the best. She had hated him, as a child he was very scary for her, he wasn't the nicest person back then, either. The fear had made her hate him and he was one of the masks that had haunted her at night.

It changed when she came back, after the horrible entrée at that time; he was the very first person that was actually happy to see her. Thinking back, she couldn't understand why – she had been a child the last time he had seen her. Yet he had been friendly then, very polite and he protected her from the Red Queens mobs.

However, the most important moment for her was when he had told her about the fate of his late family and under what cruel circumstances they had perished, leaving him all alone as the last surviving Hightopp. She still had the lively pictures in her head that she had imagined hearing his tale, how he told her that he crawled at the floor, only finding the ashes of his relatives. Her heart felt heavy as it had back then. It had been a very important moment for her – it was the moment the Mad Hatter had gained her sympathy.

He had lied.

How could he lie to her? Didn't he want her to trust him all the time? What could be the reason for this?

She was really bitter, if she couldn't believe him… who could she believe then at all? Alice realized that from now on she had to take everything he said with a grain of salt. What did she know about him at all? If not for the mentioning of the Queen, she still wouldn't even know his first name. She couldn't remember that people had mentioned it during her last trip, but he had never told it to her himself.

There had never been a Hightopp clan, not as he had told her. What had he intended with that story? How could he fantasize about something so awful?

It made her sad and angry at once, she never had felt so betrayed. And where she was at it, she found more things that just didn't seem right: The White Queen had told her that she was still a child when he became the hatter to the court. Yet he surely didn't look the part and Alice thought that people in Wonderland just would age differently, but she remembered that when she was a child, he was still friends with time instead of having a disagreement with it. Something was wrong here.

How did the tiles fit together? For a moment her brain started to work on that puzzle and the tiles she had – somehow this all had to do with him. He was the one who accidently came to London or the Otherland how they called it here. He was cursed together with Mallymkun but well… those two were rarely singled. He didn't age like he should – or knew some beauty-secrets the Ladies of London would kill for – and he had lied to her about his family dying when the Red Queen took over. Most importantly he knew that magical puppet and somehow had terrible fear of a certain kind of fire. Fire had burnt everyone he loved… oh how stupid could she be?

It was the same story! He had lied again and that way she still wasn't more knowledgeable about that rag doll than before.

Frustration mixed with anger, fear, desperation and the deep sadness she felt. Her emotions took over and she couldn't stand sitting here one moment longer. Alice stood up, tied her hair roughly and went out. She wasn't quite sure where she was going but the corridor looked somehow familiar – they all looked very similar, through.

Walking ever so faster and faster, she felt tear building in her eyes. She tried to blink them away, snuffled but couldn't win. She avoided the corridors she heard voices coming from and that way reached the lower balcony that led to one of the inner gardens. That was where she sat down behind a small pavilion and just cried.

Whatever should she do? She was stuck here; there was a new kind of war she was involved with once again, this time without magical weapons, without knowledge, just being a hindrance. She was stuck with a General that saw her as a low form of life and a friend she couldn't trust anymore!

She had tried to find out what really happened when the Red Queen took over. However she knew that this was a delicate topic and as expected, everyone she asked closed up rapidly.

As Mirana had been very open that evening she had tried after the revelation to acquire some more details, but when Mirana changed the topic in an overly cheerful manner to something nice and irrelevant she knew that there wouldn't come any useful information.

Alice had detected McTwisp, however only hearing from that day made him pant and vanish as fast as he had never seen it. She couldn't even start to say her question to the Marchhare, as he had thrown a cup at her, but with the mention of that day threw a whole arsenal of kitchen utensils and cursed gibberish at her as if she was a bad person – she had no other chance than to flee behind the door.

The whole situation made her feel unbelievably powerless and small. She had though these times to be over. When she had left Wonderland the last time, she had been rejuvenated, feeling strong and self-secure. She had aims in life and the determination to acquire those aims on every way that led to them. Now however it was exactly the opposite. After learning how to be a strong adventurer and corporate representative, Wonderland had taught her the limits, had shown her how pathetic she was.

That way she sat there, hand around her knees, the hair ruffled by the wind, tears running down her cheeks.

"Now what have we here?"

She gasped and quickly wiped the tears away, although she couldn't believe whose voice she heard. Or maybe she could, it was… quite typical of the Cheshire Cat to arrive in a situation like this. Somehow he always appeared when she felt lost. Partly in front of her appeared a big grin, two big eyes and a fluffy head that tilted to the one and to the other side, every time almost in a right angle.

He came nearer "You didn't think I would leave you here all alone, didn't you? Of course, you did. But I don't bear grudges. I came here to…"

Now he appeared fully, almost directly in front of her lap. He stretched a bit and tilted the head almost 180 degrees in a very interested manner

"Oooh-oooh…" he said sweetly when he saw the necklace around Alice neck. She had almost forgotten it as it was a very light material and she had different problems.

"What is it?" she asked, still surprised at his appearance. Although she was told that he played an important act freeing the Hatter once, Chessur had a reputation of being a coward. She had been pretty sure that he didn't immediately vanished at all when they reported the White Queen where Hatter and Mallymkun had been the past year, but since he hadn't appeared again since then she had thought him to be gone for good.

"Where did you get that necklace?" the cat asked dreamily, like he had forgotten for what he had come here.

"What? Oh… it…" her face grew dark and sad again "The Hatter gave it to me, why do you ask?"

"Ohhh…" Chessur said rolling his eyes "Nothing of importance. It is just a very nice necklace. The Hatter must have too much time at his hands," his tongue ran from one edge of the mouth to the other.

"What do you mean by this?"

He smirked his dangerous grin in a mockery of innocence.

Alice wasn't amused and huffed "Fine, you came why…?"

"Ah!" he exclaimed "Why so aggressive, my dear? I came only with good intentions, of course if you don't need my help I can just turn and go aga-…"

"No, Chessur, I'm sorry I… if you think you can help, I would really appreciate it."

"Ooooooh!" the Cheshire Cat turned her head energetically a 360 degrees "You will appreciate it, well, I hope you will remember this, my dear."

In front of Alice lay now a vial with a silvery-green liquid, which was smitten into a token; it remembered her a bit of Jabberwocky blood, but that had a very different color.

"What is this?" she asked curiously.

"You will know when you need it," he said nonchalantly

"But how do I know when to use it if I don't know what it does?"

"You will know what it does when you need what it does," he replied, mysterious as ever. Although always to the opposite of what he was saying, the cat had always helped her – at least all the times she could remember:

"… Thank you, Chessur," Alice said then, calmly.

"It was a pleasure," he retreated "If you excuse me, I feel too much of the war approaching by now," and with that he vanished.

"Wait, what you mean by…" Alice had stood up but it was too late. What did he mean by that? Somehow it gave her a scary tingling down her spine, she knew the first troop would go tomorrow but she felt that Chessur hadn't referred to that.

Alice took the Token which had a cord she could use to bind it to her girdle, as she did. Those last words of Chessur had alarmed her and remembered of the responsibility lasting on her shoulders.

She shook off the confusion and mixed feelings as she was able to focus again. Mad Hatter here or not, she couldn't risk to care. She had to give her everything if she wanted her friends to survive, to survive herself and maybe…maybe go home.

She hadn't thought about going back to London again until today. She had realized that she was a burden to her sister no matter how successful she was, her social awkwardness didn't help. She had felt so alright here, she had felt among friends and she had felt… at home with the Hatter. But this feeling was gone now, he had abused her trust – it had shattered and she didn't know yet if it was worth gathering the shards from the floor.

She decided to visit Lystrat, who was quite surprised by this but more than satisfied. It was always a good thing if a trainee came for the training because he, in case, she realized that it was necessary.

The lizard had never experienced that woman so aggressive and full of strength. He realized that Alice probably compensated something but he couldn't even care. He saw that she remembered what he had taught her but she didn't seem to realize just how good she was using her new skills. The training grew intensive and Lystrat felt mysteriously relieved when he sent her off for a bath. If she could find that energy she had just shown during a real fight she still wouldn't compare to a warrior, but her chances to survive would be a lot higher.

Alice felt good, too, relieved, also. For some hours she could forget the topical events and she hadn't seen the Hatter today, so she could evade him fully and she felt that was a good thing. Clean but tired she fell to her bed, sensing an anxious lump in her stomach that remembered her of the troop that would move out tomorrow, and that this day had been luxury – she wouldn't be able to evade her problems.

~!~

During dusk Tarrant had arrived in his chamber again. He had left Mallymkun with McTwisp as they needed him for a special task but it would require braveness – something McTwisp wasn't known for. If someone could persuade him to act in their plan, it was Mallymkun. The rabbit seemed to have a soft spot for her – and if it was just out of fear of her sword.

He had ignored what happened the last evening, he had tried to concentrate only at the plans he had drawn out and presented to the Queen. She had agreed with everything he suggested, which was a good thing as they didn't have much time. Now the most important groundwork was laid and a bad feeling took over when he stood at the window again, watching the sunset and the red burning sky around it. There they were again, the bad pictures and the screams, the smell of burnt wood, hot stone and baked flesh. Faces appeared in front of his mental eye, but he couldn't make them out. It irritated him… he knew his clan. He knew how they looked when the Jabberwocky killed them, so where were these pictures coming from?

They made him fear and gave him physical pain, a burning sensation ran over his face and sword-arm. He knew something wasn't alright with him, it had never been but it seemed to only become worse. If it was the curse or not, he knew he was responsible for whatever had happened and he couldn't risk endangering the people he cared for. He thought of Alice. She was so disappointed by him, he knew he hurt her but he had to, keeping her safe. He hadn't seen her all days and he missed her, his heart all gloomy. He remembered the scene at the fountain. How she touched his face, holding her again, never that long and that near… he missed that feeling. He would have liked to do it again yet didn't know how. How did one approach a woman and ask for a hug? Even if he knew that, he felt it wasn't the right time. Not in this situation, not after what happened, not with those visions haunting him.

It was painful, it made him sad but as he also felt anger against the damned Jabberwocky and the Bloody Big Head, his anger only got more fuel. He felt the change in him stronger than before. He felt more secure; he felt every single muscle of his body consciously, which were carefully hidden under his clothing. In this way he could turn the anger into useful ways and he often had all the most greatest ideas… as soon as he calmed a bit. For that he had to look away from the sky which stirred up those visions, so he looked into his room and twitched.

He was sure that… a moment was needed to adjust his reddish gleaming eyes to the dark of his room, and then he was sure that something had moved.

He took one slow step and another to the middle of the room, taking the sword with high art of soundlessness, then another step to the side, approaching his door… "THERE!" he called out pointing the sword at whatever he thought he made out.

In the first moment there was nothing, but then peeled a big dark being from the wooden wall – it was entirely flat, the eyes and broadly grinning mouth where only holes in the blackness, giving way to the red lighted wood behind them. It was one of the shadow creatures.

It seemed to laugh without a sound, bended and elongated itself, switching through the rills of the door beneath it.

The Hatter gasped in terror "Nay…" he croaked, "ALICE!"

Opening his door rapidly he stormed out and down the corridors, where he heard slithering sounds and some otherworldly whispers.

That, of course, had to mean nothing as these creatures were rarely alone and could be everywhere, that fast they could be.

Tarrant didn't know why he thought of Alice before the Queen, he just had the feeling they would be after her, and he had the feeling that it was his fault again. He regretted not killing that creature on sight… sadly he didn't even know how, so why did he even think that? It made no sense thinking about not killing a creature that wasn't to kill, yet the thought was there?

His eyes were just an orange color when he reached his destination, however, how should he know?

~!~

Alice roomed had sunk into darkness. The window usually spent the light of moon and the stars, which was silvery but there. Now everything was just blackness in which stood a single bed, Alice sleeping on it. She didn't know in which grave danger she was, as several of the shadow creatures had lined around her, cackling in anticipation for their feast. Besides her being the aim they were ordered to hit there were two more reasons she would be a perfect sacrifice for their master.

The four smaller creatures waited for a bigger one to give a sign and it finally nodded, allowing them each to take a part of her soul and rip it.

"..lice… lice.. ALICE!" In this very moment, loud pounding was heard from where the door had to be and indeed, Alice woke up, by this breaking the darkness spell, leaving the creatures standing in her ordinary room.

Alice looked around and screamed in horror at those things that had surrounded her.

The Hatter, who had tried to open the door to no avail was no able to kick it in and with a swift move he was inside. Another swift move of his sword cut two shadow creatures in two, an action that only resulted in them peeling into two pieces, each of the four pieces now crawling to the other creatures and becoming one with them.

Alice couldn't yet realize what was going on, but she jumped to the Hatter's side, which was now creature-free. He laid an arm on her shoulder, moving her behind him while he struck an intimidating pose against these creatures.

They sneered and elongated into different directions through the room, coming dangerously near. Only when he growled at them with reddish eyes they looked disappointed and melted down floor, where they crept through some rills of the wooden floor. It seemed like they had fled.

Alice hyperventilated in shock and her heart raced, the tears came only now. They had been so close… so unbelievably close… those dangerous creatures that killed people in their sleep. They were here. They had almost got her. This was horrible, remembering the Bandersnatch she had been at least able to see him – he was big and strong and had sharp claws and teeth but she was able to see him and RUN. These creatures? She couldn't see them, she had only seen wavering air and felt a deep horror inside, when the Hatter came in and through that strange air she knew that something really WAS there.

"Alice? Have they harmed you?" Green eyes lay softly upon her when she looked up. He had saved her… as promised he was there. She was fine, they hadn't done her any harm because he had been there in time, if he hadn't come… she probably would be dead by now.

When Alice flung her arms around him and sobbed against his shoulder, Tarrant got his hug – through he would have preferred absolutely different circumstances. He rested the empty hand against her back and held her as long she needed him too.

"Shh," he said "Calm down. I'll take you away, you can't stay here."

He doubted the shadow creatures would be back tonight, but he also knew another thing: The castle wasn't safe anymore.

TBC

A/N: Woot, some more action in this chapter! I hope you liked it. I was afraid the beginning was a bit too moe/ depressed, so I hope I got the right drift off it.

Please comment and/or concrit! And thanks to all the people who have fav'ed this story, I'm glad that you like it and I try to not disappoint you in the course of the following chapters.

If anyone wonders how long this story will go, we are at approximately (I gave up on giving guarantees) 5/8 of the plot.