Disclaimer: Syfy owns Alice. Oh yeah, that's original. "Jabberwocky" is owned by Lewis Carroll.
---
Vorpal Sword
Jack wished that he were anywhere else in his entire kingdom. Even being held captive by the rebels had to be better than sitting in the forest all alone waiting for a Jabberwock to attack.
He could hear it… moving through the woods… coming closer.
The smell of carrion was overwhelming. Maybe it wouldn't be hungry after eating the Borogove. But Jack knew better than that. Jabberwockies would attack no matter if they were hungry or not. It was in their nature to be fiercely territorial and incredibly stupid.
The hilt of the sword bit into Jack's palm as his hand tightened convulsively. He thought he might be able to kill a Jabberwock if he had to, but the chance wasn't entirely in his favor.
Crack!
The sound of a splitting log. It seemed farther away than it had earlier. Letting out a low breath, he lowered the sword.
All of the sudden, a large, long-fanged head lowered into his line of sight. Jack thrust his sword, his body remembering years of fencing practice, even as his mind flew into a panic.
The creature screamed as the blade sliced into its eye. Once… twice… Jack struck, trying to keep his hold even as his palms sweated and the animal's blood ran over his hands.
It tried to lunge at him, cutting across his forearm with its wickedly long fangs. Jack raised the blade again, this time aiming towards its neck. If he could just get the head off the body, he would be safe.
Minutes passed as he hacked and hewed at the creature, not noticing when it finally stopped moving.
The severed head lay at his feet, nearly as big as he was. He sighed and collapsed against it, too weary to move. All the adrenaline was gone from his system. He was the King of Wonderland, a Jabberwock-slayer and he was just glad to be alive.
---
That's how the Suits found him, leaning against the severed head of one of the most feared animals in Wonderland. No one they had ever heard of, except in stories had been able to part a Jabberwock from its head. Those of them who had questioned his right to rule found themselves hoping that this king, who could do the things of legend, would be strong enough to lead them into the future.
---
Hatter wasn't welcome at Alice's apartment anymore. He knew that as soon as he had left. Carol didn't have to say it. But he wasn't about to go back while she still blamed him for Carpenter's death.
It was going to be tense for Alice, he realized. He wasn't sure how much her mother believed about Wonderland, but he did know that the woman at least believed that her daughter had seen her father killed right before her eyes. How much of Alice's story did Carol chalk up to being part of the trauma of seeing her father murdered?
He stood alone in the hallway, knowing that Alice wasn't going to be leaving her mother alone any time soon. He knew he would do the same for his mother if the situation called for it. But that didn't stop him from wishing that Alice was out here with him instead of inside trying to calm down her mom.
Hatter decided that he needed to find something to do. He didn't want to show up to cROOKed early, because then Duchess would want to know what was wrong with him.
He walked down the street, his hat in hand.
---
Alice sat with her mother for most of the day. They didn't talk, they didn't even move if they didn't have to. Alice was thankful that she had cancelled her karate class for the night. At the time she had canceled, she had thought that she would be tired after the opening. Now she was tired from dealing with the emotional strain of the day. Not having class left her with time to try to get her mother to see some sense.
Around dinner time, Alice and her mother went through the almost mechanical motions of making something to eat while still staying silent. Frozen pizza didn't take too much concentration or cooperation.
It was infuriating. Carol had no right to blame Hatter, but Alice knew that at this point she couldn't convince her mother otherwise. She still had to try though, for the sake of her relationship with Hatter.
"Mom, I can prove it. I can prove all of it. I can show you where he died." The Casino was in ruins, but it would still be someplace physical that Alice could take her mother so they could both mourn.
Alice thought her father would have liked Hatter. They were entirely different. Her father had been all logic and comfort while Hatter acted on impulse and passion, but they would have respected each other. Alice decided that she had to prove that to her mother.
"No, Alice." Her mother's voice was hard. The smell of burning pizza reached Alice's nose, but neither of them did anything to stop it. This was one fight that Alice had to win. Her mother was so used to having control that she wasn't able to see when she had made a mistake.
"We're going, even if I have to drag you through the Looking Glass. I won't just let you drive Hatter away. He is the one man I have ever met who was willing to put up with my shit. But I don't think he deserves to put up with yours too."
While her mother dealt with the burned pizza, Alice slipped into some of the clothes that she had picked up at the thrift store. She didn't want to stick out in Wonderland any more than she had to.
As she pulled on Hatter's velvet coat, she wished that she could bring him along. But in her current mood, Carol would refuse to go to Wonderland if Hatter came with. Alice wasn't even certain that her mother believed her about Wonderland. That wasn't going to be a problem soon.
---
AN:
The story of the poem "Jabberwocky" is the inspiration for Jack's portion of the chapter. I need to read the rest of Lewis Carroll's stuff. The phrase "vorpal sword" comes from that poem, and seems to have found its way into D&D according to some of my friends.
Carol is not taking this very well, but Alice has a plan. I can't see it working out too well though.
Lots of updating today. My internet connection keeps bugging out when I want to post up chapters.
Leave a review, they're fun!