Thank you for your kind Reviews! Seriously, I could NOT wait to post that last chapter (and this one) because I did a little research before I started writing and I couldn't find one story with this sort of plot. :) WHAT FUN!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Alice In Wonderland . Lewis Carroll, Disney, and Tim Burton do.
Inspirational Song: "Make This Go On Forever" - Snow Patrol
. . . . .
Alice sighed and looked at Hamish, who wasn't moving from his spot. His head was down and his eyes were shut. He had a frustrated look on his face. "What're you doing, Hamish?"
His eyes opened and his head shot back up. "Oh, um. . . " His brow furrowed and his scratched at the nape of his armor. "Err, well, I kind of have to be here, Alice. I'm sorry."
"No, I meant right here. In the center of the battlefield. I have to do combat with the Red Queen's Champion." Would he go away already? Then again, Hamish never really got the hint to leave whenever he wasn't wanted somewhere. . .
Hamish swallowed. "I don't think you understand, Alice." He must've read the confusion on her face. He sighed. "I'm so, so sorry, Alice. . . I didn't want to, I can assure you. . . "
Alice's confusion only grew as Hamish slowly unsheathed his sword. His remorseful eyes met hers as he raised his black blade to the sky. Alice gasped. "Surprise?" he asked.
McTwisp's voice caused them both to jump. "Champion Alice for the White Queen and Champion Hamish for the Red Queen, both dueling on their Royals' behalf. Begin!"
. . . . .
Alice and Hamish didn't move an inch.
No matter how brave and noble they both expressed themselves to be, they couldn't kill- Couldn't even attempt to kill a friend. (Or so Alice assumed.) Especially when that particular friend is someone you've known for practically all of your life.
Alice stared at Hamish with a sad frown on her face, her expression reflected on his own. His eyes were dark and sorrowful. His cheeks were flushed and his hair was filthy. His armor and blade were as black as the surrounding night. Hamish had never looked so miserable in all of his life. Alice remembered the first time she had seen met him.
She was only ten, just then starting to realize that the world was not just a playground. Not just a place to adventure. Her mother and tutor had begun to teach her etiquette, trying to make her into a lady. Needless to say, that was a hard job.
She was sitting cross-legged on her porch's floor, reading a book on the amphibians in India. Class work. She was twirling a blonde curl round and round her finger, dreadfully bored, when she heard a boy clear his throat. Little Alice looked up to see a snot-nosed boy with shiny red hair, grinning at her. "Hello," he said.
Alice blinked at him. "Hello."
The strange boy nodded, and when there was no further conversation, his eyes widened. "Oh! Err, my name's Hamish."
Alice closed her book and set it aside, placing her hands in her lap. She tried to remember the etiquette chapter on acquainting new people. "Hello, Hamish, pleased to meet you." She stood up, smoothed down her blue dress, and stuck her hand out. "My name is Alice."
Hamish grinned and took her hand, shaking it. He looked behind him for a moment, searching for something. He turned back to Alice with a mischievous look on his face. "Want to know a secret?"
Alice's eyes brightened. "Sure!"
Hamish leaned in. "My mother sent me over here to make small talk!" His eyes widened.
Alice gasped and sat down, pulling Hamish down with her. They sat on the porch for hours, talking, giggling, trying to figure out just how you can make a talk seem smaller. In the end, they still had no answer. But they did have one more friend.
And now here Alice stood, staring intently into that old friend's eyes with too many uncomfortable memories between them. She couldn't kill him. She couldn't even fight him.
"Hamish, I can't fight you," she admitted.
"Well, I don't want to fight you either. I wouldn't have to if you hadn't turned into the monster that destroyed Iracabeth's land. Yet you did. So. . . " He sighed. "I have to fight you, Alice. You're the one who started all this. Now I have to come in and end it!" Hamish raised his coal black sword and Alice gasped, blocking the swing with her own blade. She gaped at him over the shining metals, silver and black, with wide eyes. His eyes were smoldering. He screamed and withdrew, causing Alice to stumble.
Hamish went to jab at her side, but Alice jumped out of the way without a millisecond to spare. "Stop this, Hamish!" He wouldn't hear her. He tried to get a slash at her abdomen, but Alice spun out of his reach. How in Underland did he get so good at sword fighting? Who has trained him? Stayne?
Hamish grunted something to himself and shook his head. Alice saw an opportunity to disarm him and charge. Too soon, Hamish realized what she was planning to do and flicked his wrist, butting Alice on the hip with the back of his sword. Alice yelped and jumped back. That had been too close.
With a heavy heart, Alice finally admitted to herself that Hamish would not quit. Never before had he known so much power. And besides, he actually believed he was doing the right thing! If only he knew the truth. . .
Alice eyes widened with a plan. She wasn't doing too well with fighting Hamish. So why not attempt to make small talk?
"Hamish, you wouldn't be doing this if you knew the truth," she tried, but Hamish only glared at her and tried to knock her arm off. She jumped and decided to give it another go. "You're not seeing clearly. Just put the sword down for a moment and let us talk!" She failed to disarm him again.
"I can promise you that what I'm doing is for all the goodness in Wonderland!" Alice yelled, ducking under Hamish's blade. "I'm not quite sure if you like this land or not, or if you've even accepted the fact that it's truly real! But, come on, Hamish. Do you really seek to destroy a whole world? Real or imaginary?" Hamish's brow furrowed, but he just shook his head and tried to stab at Alice's stomach again.
"Please, let me explain what's actually happened here!" Hamish spun and continued to fight her. They were both breathing heavily and sleeked with sweat. No response came from Hamish. She didn't exactly know if that was good or bad, but it gave her the time to swallow down all her worries and speak.
"A long while ago, right before I left for China," she started. (She wouldn't mention the fact that they day she found Wonderland again had been the day she declined his proposal.) "I fell into this wondrous world called Underland." Even though she spoke, Hamish continued to combat with her. Dodging his cold sword Alice said, "I met many kind creatures, but most lived in fear because of the Bloody Big Head. The Red Queen. Her and what she had done to so many. She enslaved, imprisoned, and killed so many that were a part of families. " Hamish narrowed his eyes, but didn't interrupt her. "It was my job to finish her. I acted as the White Queen's Champion. The White Queen, who filled all creatures' hearts with warmth and the feeling of safety."
Hamish gave Alice a hard look before going to back to trying to kill her. She jumped and backed up from him a bit, pointing at the ground beneath her feet. "Right here, Hamish. Right here was where I fought and defeated the Red Queen's last Champion. The malicious Jabberwocky." Hamish's brow furrowed, but Alice continued. "If you continue to fight me now, you are no different from the Red Queen's Jabberwocky. You are simply the puppet that the Bloody Big Head uses to do her wicked biddings. But not if you lay down your sword and welcome the truth."
Hamish stared at her, hard, but didn't say anything. Alice was getting tired of his unbidden silence. "Why won't you listen to me?" She yelled at him.
"Because you never listened to me!" Hamish yelled and let the sword fall to his side, eyes shooting black daggers. "All these years, Alice took charge! Alice knew everything! Alice was the dear one! Alice was in the spotlight! Alice was the name to know! Alice was simply superior, wasn't she?" He mocked. "While little, red-haired Hamish stood in the shadows of opulence. Even my mother wanted you! The only way that'd be possible was if we shared a last name!" He stormed at her with shaking fists and Alice winced. "And then, you go ahead and humiliate me further by refusing my proposal in front of all those people!" He hissed at her.
"Did you ever consider my feelings?" He asked her. "Did you once think that maybe, just maybe, Hamish had some feelings worth sharing?" He waited for an answer, but Alice didn't know what to say. "That's what I thought," he scoffed, catching his breath.
Hamish's face was so close to Alice's that she could see the rage and built-up sorrow within his eyes. She could feel his hot breath as he panted onto her before he finally closed his eyes and stumbled back. He wiped a shaking hand on his forehead. Hamish continued to stand there and catch his breath, trying to calm down.
"I. . . "
Alice bit her lip and stepped forward, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. He stared at her from underneath his heavy brows with dark eyes. "Hamish, I-I. . ." Alice sighed. "Hamish, I never meant to hurt you in any way. I was simply. . . being real. I know you think that I embraced the spotlight, but I swear that's not truth. The only reason my name was known was because I was different. Many people would do anything just to get their name around. . . I would not. Any publicity I ever received was negative."
Hamish raised his head to look at her with confused eyes, but she continued. "You are a lucky man, Hamish. You are able to live in a world you are comfortable in. You live in a world where you feel as though you belong. I had to search long and hard before I found mine."
She smiled at him. "It's how you live your life that matters. How do you want to live your life, Hamish? How do you want to be known after you've gone?"
Hamish gazed at her with an expressionless mask. Abruptly, he closed his eyes and let out a lungful of air. "I want to be known as a good person who did good things."
Alice nodded and whispered to him, "Then make the right choice now. Hamish, I apologize for everything I've done wrong to you, and I know it's selfish of me to ask, but I need you to trust me. If there's only one time from here on out in your life, this has to be the time to trust me. Please."
Hamish thought long and hard before whispering to her, "Is everything you've told me the truth?"
"Yes," she said.
Hamish swallowed and opened his eyes. They were burning with a never-before-seen fire that caused chills to travel down Alice's back. Hamish nodded and stepped back once, lifting his sword up from behind his back with both hands. Alice closed her eyes and sighed mournfully.
She had lost the battle and lost her friend. She had failed at her task and now all of Wonderland would pay. Alice winced at a sudden breeze and waited for the final, and surely fatal, blow.
So she waited.
And she waited.
Wondering if Time had suddenly slowed things down, Alice opened her eyes just as a woman's high-pitched scream pierced the air. Alice gasped at the scene laid out before her.
Hamish was standing no more than ten feet away with two shaking, but empty, fists at his sides. His back was facing Alice. In front of him stood a gaping Knave with his frozen hand placed upon his sheath, useless. The Red Queen stood beside him, clutching at her chest with red hands. She grabbed spasmodically at the black sword that had been lodged into her heart, piercing it with a direct hit and letting loose all the hatred and wicked warmth that resided there. Mouth and eyes wide open, the Red Queen fell to her knees. She had just enough air to speak a few more words.
"Not. . . fair. . . "
The Bloody Big Head fell to the ground in a heap of red.
. . . . .
Rachel: . . . I'm afraid that if I say anything, I'll sway the readers' emotions.
Insanity: Then there is only one logical explanation.
Rachel: And what is that?
Insanity: Shut up. Nothing is logical.