"Is it because I don't look like that anymore?" Mad March said abruptly.
"What?" Lane said, pulling herself back to reality.
"You always acted like you were so proud to be with me back then. Always seeming to show me off to whoever was around." He said.
Lane looked from Mad March to the portrait and thought about what he said. In truth she would also have been proud to show Mad March off having looked the way he did in the portrait. He was a very handsome man.
"What happened to you?" She said.
"The Queen was dissatisfied with my failure, so it was off with my head. You know how that cow can be." He said.
Lane was starting to feel remorse for having treated Mad March so harshly; she and him were technically together so what he had done was not exactly wrong of him. The Queen was a too cruel woman to have so much power over the people around her.
"If I could look like that for you again I would do it in a heartbeat." He said, turning his head to face her.
Lane slowly went up to Mad March couldn't help but hug him. She'd never felt so sorry for someone in their life. She could feel his arms envelope her in a tighter hug than her own before stepping back.
"Come one, we have a party to get to." She said while taking hold of Mad March's hand.
"We are all gathered here tonight to celebrate the return of our beloved and respected, Ace. We can all breathe easier knowing that she will once again help to protect our kingdom." The King of Hearts said.
The whole room was in an uproar of cheering. People yelling out how they loved Ace, and other type of sounds of gratitude.
"Ace, if you wouldn't mind saying a few words for us." the King said.
Lane looked to Jack for confirmation, when Jack nodded his head 'Yes' Lane stood up and began to speak.
"I know it seemed so sudden when I disappeared." Lane said, pausing only to look at Jack to make sure she was saying the right thing. "I needed to go somewhere and sort out a few personal matters of my own, but I am back now and do no plan on going anywhere again anytime soon. You can take that to the back!" She said beginning to hype herself up as well.
'What the hell was that about?' She thought.
There was uproar of cheering for her words again.
Lane sat down before looking at Jack one more time; he was sitting directly across from her so it didn't seem like something out of the ordinary.
"Ace, you remember, Hatter." Duchess said, motioning to a man in a straw hat and chestnut brown hair; her accent was English and dainty.
'Oh my God, he's so damn hot.' Lane thought freezing in place.
Lane hadn't noticed she was staring at Hatter, who still had his hand out for her to take.
"Ace?" Hatter said bringing Lane out of her pause; he had and English accent as well, but it seemed rougher than Jack's accent, not as refined and uptight.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I blanked for a moment." Lane said.
"Are you feeling alright, dear?" Duchess said, putting the back of her hand to Lane's forehead.
"I really have no clue. I'm gonna' go get some air." Lane said, getting up to go out onto to balcony.
"This is too crazy." Lane said to herself.
"The party or Mad March's new look?" someone said from behind Lane.
Lane turned around with a start and saw that it had just been Hatter.
"Oh, you startled me." She said.
"Sorry about that." He said.
"No, it's fine." She said before looking away from him and back at the giant maze garden down below.
'Who in the hell even has the time?' She thought, looking at the garden stretched the length of what one could imagine being two football fields.
"So, where were you?" He said, moving right up beside Lane.
"Around and about, above and beyond, to and fro, to infinity and beyond, you get the idea." She said.
"What exactly did you do in all those cast places?" He said.
"I did stuff." She said.
"What kind of stuff?" He said, getting closer to her.
"The kind of stuff that isn't your business to worry about! Get off my ass, man!" She said turning to him, frustrated.
"Always so defensive about everything like always." He said, chuckling. "You should come visit me at the tea shop tomorrow."
"Why would I want to do that?" She said, not wanting to blow her cover. Her want to spend time with the Hatter was, however, there.
"So we can catch up. I'd like to know what happened to you while you were away." He said.
"I already told you it's none of your damn business!" She said.
Lane started to walk, away from Hatter hoping to put a stop to the questions. He grabbed her arm, it was not in a forceful way like Jason had done, it was simply to let her know that he was being serious about talking to her.
"I'm, not just trying to mess around with you, if that's what you're thinking. I am genuinely glad to see that you're back." He said.
Lane let out a defeated sigh before speaking.
"Alright. Did you change the location of your shop?" She said feeling defeated.
"No. But you can still have my card. That is something I changed while you were away." He said, pulling out a business card.
Lane took the card and examined it thoroughly. 'The Mad Hatter's Tea Shop', is what the card read. It had the design of a purple top hat with green ribbon wrapping around it, and a tag that read '10/6'. She looked up at him and saw that he was eyeing her intently.
"Do I have something on my face?" She said, tucking his business card into the front of her dress before swiping her hands across her face in a light sweeping manner.
"No, there's nothing on your face." He said, taking her face in his hand.
Lane instinctively swatted Hatter's hands away with force.
"I really hate when people touch my face." She said with a scowl on her face.
"Oh. I like your dress." He said showing that he felt a bit dejected by her action towards him.
"Thank you. I wasn't sure quite sure if I'd be able to pull it off but it's more comfortable than it looks." She said, checking herself out.
"How could you not pull it off? It is your dress." He said.
"Yes, of course it is." She said with uncertainty written on her face.
"What happened to you? Your level of confidence makes you seem more humble than normal. Did you almost die out there?" He said, looking a bit worried.
"I mean I'm still getting used to being back home. Let me settle back into my personality, okay?" She said turning away from him.
Lane felt Hatter get up close behind her and pull the top of her dress down.
"Hey!" She exclaimed, turning around and pushing the Hatter out of reflex.
"What happened to your tattoo?" He said, regaining his balance.
"Maybe I lied about it being there in the first place." She said.
"You don't have to pretend anymore, you're busted, girl." He said.
"Are you going to tell the Queen about me?" She said.
"Ha, and have you executed? The idea is laughable. Who are you though?" He said.
"I'm Lane. The old man with the two braids brought me here because he thought I was that, Ace chick." She said.
"Lane." He said, trying her name out for the first time. "You really should come see me tomorrow then. Let me give you one of my cards." He searched his jacket pockets for a card to give to Lane.
Hatter was about to give Lane another card when she pulled the one from earlier out of her dress.
"You already gave me one." She said with a small smile.
"Oh, right." He said starting to show the beginning of a blush coming on.
"What time should I come by and see you?" She said.
"Anytime you feel like it. I'll make sure to keep my day free so we can talk." He said, starting to walk away
"Is there a specific type of dress code to come and see you at work?" She said.
"No, you can just wear whatever you feel comfortable in." He said, starting to walk backwards.
"Okay, thank you. I really like your hat." She called out to him.
"Thank you." He said, smiling back at her.
"Oh, look out!" She called, but he had already backed into one of the doors.
"Who put that door there?" He said, getting even redder.
Lane just shook her head and smiled to herself. She was going to enjoy seeing the Hatter again.
"Did you enjoy the party?" Mad March said.
Lane and Mad March had both gone back to her room when they felt the party was over for them.
"It was a lot of fun. The food was decent and hearing people cheer for me was an added bonus." Lane said while removing her shoes.
"What were you and the Hatter talking about on the balcony?" He said.
"We talked about my wild and crazy adventures I had while I was away." She said sarcasm dripping from her mouth. "I'm going to go see him tomorrow."
"Need help getting that dress off?" He said.
"No. I have it just fine." She said, remembering what Jack had told her earlier.
"We don't have to fool around tonight. I just want to feel you close to me." He said coming up behind her.
"No really, it's fine." She said turning to face him.
Mad March picked Lane up and placed her on the desk that was in the corner of her room by the wardrobe. She watched as his hands traveled up her thighs slowly before grasping at her hips where her stocking were. She went into a lying position so he could pull them off with more ease.
"I could have taken my stocking off myself." She said, still lying down on the desk not wanted him to see how red her face had gotten. She was even beginning to feel light headed. No one had ever done something like that to her before. She began to feel a foreign sensation between her legs that she couldn't place.
"I know you could. I wanted to feel you again." He said.
Mad March started to undo the corset ties in the front of Lane's dress. She got up as quickly as she could and got off the desk.
"I can undo the ties myself. They're the easiest part of the dress." She said hastily.