Disclaimer: Alice is the property of Syfy. The Five belong to me though. I'll gladly take in this bunch of misfits.
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When Things Change
Five Wonderlanders in a hotel suite… it sounded like the beginning of a bad joke to Alice. Heck, it looked like the beginning of a bad joke. But of course since Hatter was there, it was actually six of them.
After being around them for a few hours, Alice thought she had their names down. She wasn't sure if she would ever get used to the Wonderland version of names. They all sounded like jokes, animals or as if someone had accidently put the last name first on a birth certificate. She wondered what exactly Duchess was thinking about naming her baby. But that was neither here nor now.
She looked back around the room. The small, hyperactive woman was Scamp. That one was obviously a nickname. At least Alice hoped it was. The thought of any parents naming their baby daughter Scamp was a bit much. But who knew?
Scamp seemed to be the de facto leader of the new arrivals. All the others looked to her for confirmation of what they were going to say or do. Thatcher and Winnow, the other two women followed Scamp's lead on everything.
It was going to get annoying quickly, Alice decided. At least Fowler and Hart had shown themselves capable of thinking for themselves.
"What type of jobs are we going to have?" Asked Fowler, playing with the coffeemaker he had found on the desk.
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Hatter looked up. These people presented more of a problem than he suspected. In Wonderland, anytime there was a refugee, they just went to the Great Library. His only problem had been getting food to bring there. Now, housing really was an issue. Maybe Broker hadn't been as much of an idiot as Hatter thought when he asked about accommodations for workers. No, Hatter decided, Broker was an idiot; he was just an idiot with a good point.
"I was thinking that to start off with, you could do jobs that won't require too much interaction with the Oysters. It's hard work trying to pass as one of them. I've nearly slipped up a few times meself." That was a little bit of a lie, but it wouldn't hurt them to be careful.
Everyone looked suitably concerned about being found out. At least Jack hadn't sent anyone too reckless. Hatter knew from dealing with the Resistance that a few of its members were a bit jumpy and more likely to walk into a room with a gun drawn than try to talk themselves out of a tense situation.
"Cleaning wouldn't be too bad." said Winnow. In the last few hours, she hadn't said a word, but now she was catching onto his ideas before the others. There was a lack of confidence about the woman that made Hatter think she might have been a refugee for quite awhile. Maybe she had been one of the people he had helped by smuggling food to the Library. He hoped so. It made him feel as if he hadn't been quite as much of a bastard in Wonderland as it seemed looking back.
Eventually, the Wonderlanders all went to sleep, leaving Alice and Hatter to talk in the kitchen area of the suite.
"Someone's going to have to stay with them until they're settled more." Hatter said, knowing full well that it would have to be him. Alice had work to do outside of planning for the club. Hatter hated the fact that watching the new arrivals would mean giving up time with Alice. Why couldn't things allow them to be together more often?
"Let Duchess do it. She's been complaining about how useless she is since the doctor told her all the things she's not supposed to be doing." Duchess had taken the doctor's long list of warnings to heart and refused to lift anything heavier than a purse these days. It would make Duchess feel useful, and it would leave him free to spend time with Alice. Hatter nearly jumped at the idea.
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Alice loved how easy it was to convince him that the pregnant woman should babysit the new arrivals. She could see the circles under his eyes and the fact that his hair drooped more than usual. He hadn't put as much effort into his appearance this morning and his clothes were a bit rumpled.
Hatter needed a break and she couldn't give it to him.
It was a sad realization, but at least she could make him let other people do some of the work now. Once they hired a few people from her world to man the bar and act as waitresses, things would get better. Maybe they could even make Fowler and Hart bouncers once they explained cover charge and the difference between a fake id and a real one.
Yes, soon Hatter would be able to delegate more of his responsibilities. Alice decided that she would take full advantage of that.
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A Suit rushed into Jack's office.
"Sir, we need to move you."
The king looked up from the plan he was working on for the repair of crumbling and dangerous structures within the city.
"Move me where?" He asked idly, thinking it would probably just be easier to rebuild the city from the ground up.
"They're coming." The Suit sounded nearly panicked as two Aces joined him in the room. Jack's head snapped upwards. He realized that the Suit had a gun in his hand and his face was flushed.
Rebels were on their way to the house? All plans for city repair flew from Jack's head. He followed the Suit, trusting that the Aces would guard his back in case someone else came up behind them.
How could anyone even get near the house? It was remote and well guarded.
Jack grabbed one of the swords off the wall. Even if a sword wasn't effective against bullets, he felt better knowing he had some form of weapon.
They led him outside, careful to check the area before ushering him to the Scarab that was waiting outside.
"The White Knight suggested that we take you to the Kingdom of the Knights for safekeeping." It made sense; no one wandered that forest without good need. The Jabberwockies alone were dangerous enough to dissuade them without even considering the other inhabitants of the forest.
The door to the Scarab closed. Jack felt a jolt as the beetle-like vehicle pulled away from the grown. He set down the sword, feeling more secure now that he was in a moving transport.
"How exactly did they breach the perimeter?" He asked of the guards with him.
"We think there might be a traitor. Someone must have told them exactly where we were." The number of individuals that had that information was limited to his guards. But of course, there was always another option.
"Mother could have told." She was supposedly in confinement, but someone who was truly interested could have found a way to speak to her. She knew where the summer home was and that it was a defensible position against attack. Jack would have to have her moved as well, just in case someone tried to free her. He thought that somewhere nice and dark would be fine, preferably with little chance of human interaction.
Maybe he should have put her to death. It would have made things a lot simpler. But it just went to show that he wasn't a real Heart if he couldn't stomach beginning his reign with his mother's beheading.
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AN:
The Five are going to be making quite a few appearances in later chapters, more than I was anticipating on anyway. They're just too amusing to me to leave them out or completely gloss over them as insignificant. Though introducing five original characters at once is not something I ever want to do again in a fanfiction…
And Jack gets attacked! Seems like not everyone likes their new king.
Hearing from readers helps me get ideas flowing, so help a writer in need and review!