Disclaimer: Syfy and Lewis Carroll own Alice, I'll settle for just owning the plotline for this story.
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Through the Looking Glass
Hatter put his hand in Alice's. No matter where they ended up when they stepped through the Glass, they would be there together.
And then they were falling, colors and light on all sides, making Hatter wish he hadn't been drinking shortly before. His stomach felt as if it was being flipped inside out and his hat nearly flew off the top of his head.
They landed in an unceremonious heap. Hatter quickly moved off of Alice, who looked annoyed that once again, she had not had a graceful ending to her trip through the Looking Glass.
"They really should look into making that thing not as dangerous." She muttered under her breath as she dusted off her clothes. Hatter grinned as he overheard. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he had landed just fine when he had gone through to her world. He still questioned how exactly she had managed to knock herself unconscious after she had left Wonderland.
"It's not really all that bad." He readjusted his hat and made certain that the collar of his coat hadn't gotten misaligned during their adventure.
Suddenly they were surrounded by Suits.
"Ok, maybe it is that bad." His Adam's apple bobbed nervously. Sure he and Alice had been instrumental in deposing the Queen of Hearts, but who knew how well her son took rejection.
Maybe they should have thought about things a bit more before rushing back into Wonderland.
"Identify yourselves." commanded a voice that Hatter knew all too well.
"Charlie! It's us!" He answered as a Suit pulled his arms behind his back.
"Alice of Legend? Hatter?" Charlie emerged through a doorframe and Hatter realized that they had literally landed right on the other side of the Looking Glass in the room where the Stone of Wonderland was used to open the mirror.
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"Release them!" Alice nearly laughed to hear Charlie ordering around the Suits. And there he stood, still in his armor with his mustache and beard in impeccable order as always. The old knight looked a bit confused as the Suits released his friends.
"What are you doing here, Charlie?" She had half expected him to have gone back to his hide out in the woods after the fall of the Casino.
The knight puffed out his chest (not an easy feat when one is wearing a breastplate).
"I am the Knight Commander of the Looking Glass Guard, specially appointed by his majesty, King Heart." Alice beamed with pride at the knight. He deserved some recognition for what he had done to make Wonderland a better place.
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"Is Jack doing alright?" Hatter grimaced. Back in Wonderland for two minutes and already Alice was worried about Jack Heart again.
"The King has had a lot to do in the past week, closing down tea shops and rounding up the last of the rebel Suits. I understand that there is a portion of the Resistance who don't believe that a monarchy should be allowed." The way Charlie said that last sentence; it made it obvious that to him a monarchy was the only logical form of government.
"Week?" Alice's voice rose to a pitch that hurt Hatter's still buzzing ears. "But it's only been a day."
"Time travels differently in Wonderland." Hatter tried to remind her gently. He didn't think it always passed at the same speed. Sometimes it was slower, sometimes faster than in her world. Everything usually evened out in the end though.
"Yes, a week. His majesty did however leave standing orders to bring you to him if either of you were to ever travel through the Looking Glass again." Charlie didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with this particular order, and Hatter hoped that he was right. The idea of seeing Jack Heart (King Jack Heart) again wasn't very appealing, but there were some things that he needed to discuss with that Card.
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They traveled by Scarab to a house, further away from the city than even the Casino had been. Hatter had heard stories of the summer residence that the royal family had kept, but no one he knew had ever seen it.
The place was ridiculously opulent, more a palace than a home. It stood alone on a hill, surrounded by an army of topiary knights. Some of them looked so real that they might be able to shed their verdant growth and move with a moment's noticed. Hatter wondered if they reminded Charlie of the army of dead knights that he had brought to scare the Suits at the Casino.
The Scarab landed on the only bare piece of earth in view. And shortly, Alice and Hatter walked up the steps to the main entrance hall of the home of King Heart.
"Compensating…" Hatter blessed the fact that no one else heard his comment above the sound of Charlie's armor creaking and multiple sets of feet pounding on the marble steps.
Inside, the house proved to be even more impressive. The decorations in the house probably dated back to the adventures of Alice of Legend. And yes, just above the fireplace, which he could see from the entry hall, hung a portrait of a young blonde girl. Few people remembered what she looked like, but Hatter immediately recognized that first Alice from long ago.
"Admiring the painting?" Hatter jumped at the sound of the voice, thankful to notice that Alice had done the same. Jack Heart, King of Wonderland and Alice's erstwhile boyfriend walked towards them. Once again he was in that blasted red suit that Hatter privately thought should have been destroyed when the Casino fell. Red was not Jack Heart's color at all. The man was much too cold to wear such a warm color.
But Jack kept walking, signaling that his guests should follow behind him. They walked into the room where the portrait hung, the blue of the girl's dress standing out sharply from the blacks and reds of the room.
"I had my mother's portrait replaced with this one that I found in the attic. Quite astounding really, how little our Alice resembles her." Hatter wanted to take that possessive pronoun and shove it down Jack's throat. But he stopped himself. If his plan was ever going to succeed, he needed Jack's help.
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Alice noticed how Hatter tensed when Jack said "our." It was nice to know that he cared if Jack laid claim to her or not. But it was a bit misguided in her opinion. In her mind, she was well and truly "Hatter's Alice" no matter if she didn't know what exactly that meant yet.
She looked up at the girl who so many people had compared her to in the last few days. There really was nothing similar at all about them. Except that Alice thought she could see a faint hint of stubborn curiosity on the girl's face.
"The painting is beautiful." After years of listening to her mother talk about what makes a good portrait, or any type of good painting, Alice could say this with certainty.
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"I think what Alice means is that you didn't give Charlie orders to drag us out here just to look at a painting." Hatter moved closer to her, ready to support her or protect her, whatever the situation may be.
"I merely thought that you would find it interesting. After all, you were the one looking at it." The man was cultured, refined and a pain in Hatter's backside. "I suppose that you had a reason for returning to Wonderland?" The words sounded a bit threatening but Hatter doubted Alice would hear them that way.
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"We need paperwork for Hatter, birth certificate, that type of thing. I assume you had them when the Resistance sent you." The memory still stung. Jack might claim that he had loved her, but she couldn't believe it. Love wasn't something that could be based on lies.
"Quite right." She felt the urge to punch Jack. It was strange, she used to find his smug little smile endearing, now it was just irritating. "I'm sure it would make it quite awkward to be wooing a man that doesn't exist. It might make the wedding a bit difficult. I will be getting an invitation, I assume." Alice's fists clenched. How could he dare insinuate that she would be so quick about getting together with Hatter? And marriage? Maybe sometime in the future, but certainly not anytime soon. Of all people, Jack should be the one to know she wouldn't rush into anything like that.
"Wedding? Alice, you didn't tell me that you were engaged." Charlie sounded completely ignorant of what was going on. "The spirits didn't inform me of this. I must consult them further." His face contorted and he started chanting nonsense syllables.
"We just need the paperwork, Jack." Alice was grateful that Hatter was letting her handle this.
"No. I didn't authorize Hatter's use of the Looking Glass in the first place."
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AN:
And the plot thickens, like a good stew.
I like how different Alice is from the Alice of the books. Alice from the show is a lot stronger, and gets into trouble mostly because she is trying to do the right thing, instead of just being overly curious. I think the Alice from the show would have been like that as a girl, but is older and a bit smarter than her counterpart.
If you couldn't tell, I'm not a fan of Jack. He just looks a bit too stuck-up and he is way too arrogant for his own good. He makes a great villian for the chapter.
Comments, questions, opinions, rants? I want to hear it all.