Thanks for checking out this next chapter! Fair warning, this one's a little steamier towards the end than what I usually write. It still may not even qualify as "steamy" to you, but for me, it is. I never really do this sort of writing, but I felt that I had to include at least one moment of this in the story. Okay, warning over.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of AiW, Lewis Carroll, Disney, and Tim Burton do.
Inspirational Song: "Safe and Sound" - Taylor Swift
. . . . .
The White Queen truly hadn't been herself lately.
Between behavior and appearance, hasty motions and prominent circles under dark eyes, something obviously was not right, but dreadfully wrong.
Mirana was back in her study. She found this room more and more comforting now as the days passed. In her throne room, seclusion was a rare treat. More often than not, subjects in need went there for her first. Mirana hated to think that she was avoiding those in need, but really, how much help was she of late anyways?
She sat in a plush, white chair and slumped over her crystalline desk. Her head lay there, throbbing. Her thoughts seemed thicker than the smoke from Absolem's hookah. They jumbled around in her mind, forcing her head to turn to the side. She opened her eyes slowly, finding them fixed upon the painting of the woman in blue, the one who had spoken with her previously. Mirana felt a chill shiver down her spine.
She recalled one of the last few things the woman in the painting had told her.
"You think you're alone, don't you? You are wrong, Queen. Far wrong. Just ask your friend, the Hatter. And he turned out alright, didn't he?"
Mirana had replied saying that Tarrant had turned out battered and beaten. The man was completely mad. But in Underland, wasn't to be mad to be normal?
Mirana shook her head to clear it. She was beginning to sound like her Champion.
The image that continued to flash in her mind was the one of her only sister crumpling in on herself, all life long gone. A sword protruding from her chest, trickles of blood leaking out from around it.
Mirana exhaled shakily, reminding herself not to be strong, but to first find the path that would enable her to be strong.
. . . . .
xX-HATTER'S POV-Xx
Hatter stuck his head into the room through the doorway. "Your Majesty, although she hasn't said so, I do believe Alice requires another strengthening potion-" Hatter's brow furrowed as he finally registered the fragile state his Queen seemed to be in. "Er, my apologies," he mumbled. "Very sorry."
He hastily made to leave when Mirana's head shot up, eyes locked on him. "No, please, Tarrant. You may come in."
Truth be told, he didn't really want to. Being that this maiden was the Queen, however, he felt obligated to do as told. Even if Mirana weren't the Queen, any creature to ever look at him with those eyes he felt he would not be able to walk away from.
He slowly neared the motionless Queen, hands in pockets. "Come sit with me, please," she said quietly. He looked around the warm, cluttered room. A fire blazed in the fireplace, and he dragged a single stool away from its edge and pulled it up beside the Queen. He sat cautiously, studying her.
Mirana sighed deeply, still with her arms crossed on her desk, head resting on them. "Do not fear, Tarrant," she said shakily, "I only wish your company." She looked him in the eyes then, still in the curled position. "Also, perhaps, your consolation."
Her gaze questioned him, Hatter could feel it. This was strange for him, so drastically absurd to him. Of course, he'd do anything in half a heartbeat for the White Queen of Underland. This woman represented strength. She represented purity. She represented a just goodness.
She was not the woman before him.
"Of course, I can provide consolation," he lisped. "But, of what matter, Your Majesty?"
She sighed shakily, closing her eyes for a tangible moment before meeting his again. "I wish to know how it is you cope with your family's departure from our world."
For a frightening moment, Hatter lost himself to Madness. It was so easy to lose himself to it lately, but then he remembered whom he was with and managed to cool his eyes to more of an amber. They cooled even further when the realization of the cause for such a question came to him.
His bandaged hands gripped the edge of his stool in order to steel himself. "M'lady, I did nae cope fer years. Decades, possibly." His voice had grown dark; Hatter could not contain it. "Memories slashed at me harsher than any blade could. Madness had th' whole ay me, and I had nae urge tae retaliate." He swallowed thickly.
Hatter's voice suddenly grew softer. His hard grip on the desk lessened. "Yet, I was lucky," he said. "I had- I have friends. I have Alice. Those who love me and are here with me now. They are my roots, Your Majesty. Why- If I were to ever leave them, body or mind, then I'd be putting them in the same position I found myself planted in for years! And that, M'lady, that feeling of being needed and loved, helps me cope still." He turned fully to her then, no longer uncomfortable, but confident that she, too, would feel herself again once Time allowed it.
Mirana gaped at him with a sense of admiration. At some point, she'd unintentionally sat up straighter in her seat. With a small bit of smugness, Hatter believed he noted a bit of the old glow that had so long adorned her expression.
Then Hatter blinked and opened his eyes once more to find the Queen holding one of his marred hands between both of hers on the desk. "Thank you, Tarrant," she said plainly.
His whole form grew stiff and awkward from shock. "It is no trouble," he uttered. Clearing his throat, Hatter added, "No trouble at all."
. . . . .
xX-ALICE'S POV-Xx
Alice strolled through the hallways searching for Mirana, still wearing the gown she'd woken up in whilst in the infirmary. She'd often peek through open doorways, but most of the rooms were vacant. In one room, she'd only found crates and crates full of what seemed to be sandwich supplies. She never ceased to be surprised by these little Wonderland quirks. It were these little reminders that made her feel so relieved at making the right decision to stay.
Eventually, Alice found her feet leading her around the castle aimlessly. Around the time she noticed this, McTwisp had showed himself. He hadn't notice her yet, for he was always in his constant rush. The white rabbit had turned swiftly around a corner ahead of her, scurrying along his way.
"McTwisp!" she called. He continued to scuttle along rapidly, checking the pocket watch of his waistcoat varyingly. "Nivens!" she tried.
The rabbit had turned at this call, jaw dropped. When he spotted her, he hopped on over. "Alice!" he whispered harshly to her. "You cannot refer to me by first name while I am working! You do know it drives me completely-"
"-Gallymoggers," Alice finished for him with a wry grin.
He nodded, nose twitching from anxiety. "Very sorry, Alice. What was it you needed?"
She placed her hands on her hips. "Have you seen the Queen? I've been trying to find her for who knows how long."
The rabbit looked around themselves curiously. "Who knows how long?"
"Pardon?"
His eyes narrowed in concentration. "You said, 'who knows how long.' Who is that who, then? Do you not know how long you've been about? Oh dear, perhaps you should head back to the infirmary, Alice. Oh, dear," he stuttered again.
She groaned, slapping herself on the forehead. She didn't have the time nor patience for this right now. McTwisp winced at the sight. "It's simply a phrase is all, McTwisp! Now, please, do you know where the Queen is?"
"Now, was that really such a complicated question that you couldn't have asked in the first place?" At Alice's silencing glare, McTwisp hurried on. "I do believe she is in her study, actually." He then proceeded to tell her general directions to the said study before readying to set off.
"Oh, and McTwisp?" she asked.
His ears stood straight at attention. "Yes, Alice?"
"Why is it you never let yourself rest? Or relax?"
His whiskers twitched. "I don't understand."
Alice laughed and waved him away. "Thank you for your assistance, McTwisp. Please, join us at a Tea Party every once in a while, alright?"
"Of course, of course," he muttered before turning and scurrying away. Alice smiled once more at where the rabbit had previously stood before hurrying her own self along, too.
. . . . .
Alice found the door McTwisp had spoken of- the one with handles on either side of the door- and pushed it open, mouth open and ready to speak, when she stumbled to an abrupt stop.
The scene before her was, at first, far too baffling to decipher in such a short moment's time. The dim lighting in the room, she saw, was caused by the blazing fireplace in the corner. Strange shadows were cast along the walls. These were formed by the two figures sitting near to one another by the desk. Their hands were intertwined, laying on the desk before them. The two figures? Mirana and Hatter.
Yes, the moment was short, but the scene was vivid enough to ignite an aggressive flame within Alice, and its bright glow seemed to emanate through Alice's eyes. Her jaw clenched as she prepared to speak.
She first cleared her throat loudly. A spell seemed to break as Hatter flinched and jumped away from the Queen, eyes darting back and forth between the two maidens in the room. Perhaps, Alice thought, the room seems too crowded for him.
Curiously, Mirana did not flinch, nor did she even move a muscle but to look at Alice with innocent eyes. Alice thought this despicable. This woman, whom with she had shared so much with, had assured her that Alice could come to her for anything, was despicable.
A faraway part of Alice's mind thought of Margaret, her older sister, who, if given this exact situation, would likely be close to tears already.
Alice was done with tears. She was now a woman of action and pure motive.
"Your Majesty," she said bluntly, "Is my potion ready?" Her eyes were sharper than daggers.
Mirana smiled and rose from her seat. "I'll bring it to you immediately, Alice," she said kindly. "Don't wander far." With that, she closed the door behind her. Alice turned to face Hatter.
Hatter glanced in Alice's general direction before cringing away. He hastily removed his hat from his head and placed it on that horrendous desk. He writhed his hands together, face contorted with worry and helplessness. "Now, Alice," he began nervously, "I'd like to apologize, dear, although I really have nothing to apologize for, you see- Oh, that sounds terrible! What I meant to say was, that I did nothing! I'm sure it may have seemed like something, but it was not!" He grimaced at his own words, before walking nearer to Alice. She watched his steps over to her with visible contempt.
"Now, please don't look at me like that!" he pleaded, eyes open to her. They were quickly turning a sallow yellow. Fear. "You know me, Alice, better than anyone. I cherish you more than anything, anyone, including my own despicable self." Alice opened her mouth and pointed her finger at him, about to express how well she knew of his despicable self, when he interrupted her. "No, no, not for that reason, for that reason doesn't even exist! Not even the thought of it!"
"Do you think I don't have eyes, then, Hatter?" she yelled, pointing at the desk now. "That I can't see? Or am I just so daft that I wouldn't understand?" She was panting now, she could feel her chest heaving up and down in her excitement.
"Daft? Absolutely not! Alice, after all we've been through, don't you see yet?" he whispered now, grasping her hands. She curled them into fists, looking away from his large eyes and into the fire. He continued. "Don't you see how much I love you? How I could never, would never, ever do anything that would risk taking you away from me?" At Alice's blank stare, he gripped her fists tighter. "May I please explain what you just saw?"
Alice's nostrils flared when she looked at him, but she faced the man head-on. She nodded briskly.
Hatter exhaled a fraction of a sigh. "Thank you." His grip on her released, for which Alice was grateful. However, his next words stole that momentary comfort away. "I was consoling the Queen on how to cope with death."
Alice's brow furrowed. She studied Hatter's eyes for a long time, neither of them saying a word. Alice thought over what Hatter had just said and what she wanted to do with it.
"And. . ." she said slowly, "You will stick to that story?" She calculated his honest expression.
"Alice," Hatter said calmly now. "Look at me. Look into these eyes you know so well," he lisped.
Alice slowly looked away from Hatter's perspiring neck and traveled up to his mouth, the very mouth that her own had touched countless times, and went further up to his nose, which reminded her of the way Hatter would playfully pinch her own, and then finally met his eyes. His large, green eyes that she loved so much, no matter the color. Those eyes that were gazing down, deep into Alice's heart, trying to persuade her into seeing the plain truth.
Alice bit her lip and closed her eyes. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.
Hatter's arms went around her and she slipped into them. She deeply breathed in his scent of tea and something else, something she could never describe but to say shortly was him. "It's alright, love," he cooed. "Yae saw what yae saw..."
Alice stirred restlessly in his arms. She found that her flame had lowered in form, but it still blazed. She couldn't interpret it. "But, Hatter- I'm still angry. I just am! I can't explain it!"
She shook her way out of his arms, still clinging onto his wrists. Hatter watched with a confused caution. Alice couldn't explain the feelings thrashing about inside her, but there were so many that some had to come spilling out.
"I'm angry, I must admit," she said between clenched teeth. "I know you so well, Hatter, and I believe you when you tell me that what I've just seen was nothing, yet my anger won't disappear! I don't even know if that's why I'm angry anymore! I'm just so confused," she groaned. Alice slumped down onto the stool beside the desk, head down.
After a thick moment or two, she felt a warm finger lift her chin up. She met Hatter's soft eyes.
"Alice Kingsley," he said. "I think I understand."
"You do?"
"Yes. I do." Well, that makes one of us. He took his finger away and placed both his hands on Alice's lap, kneeling before her. He looked up into his eyes, smiling. How could you be smiling at a time like this? she wanted to scream. Instead, she let him speak.
"I believe you are, for the first time, feeling however I do whenever I find you alone with that frumious White Guard." He grimaced. "Or, really, whenever I think of you with someone else who is, plainly put, not me."
She resisted the urge to snort, so she focused on that inner anger instead. That strange and misshapen anger, which Alice couldn't remember ever feeling before. "But, Hatter, I've told you on so many accounts that there is absolutely nothing between Sir Lawrence and myself! I find that mere idea repulsing." For effect, she shuddered.
"Ah, but that's exactly the point!" At Alice's confused expression, he went on excitedly. "Alice, I love you so much that the simple thought of you with another drives me- Well, mad! I am so slurvish that I don't even care! I refuse to accept that idea." His eyes burned into her with a feeling completely separate from anger.
"Well, I could say the same to you! And by the way, I completely despise this feeling!" she yelled at him. "And to have to feel it from interaction between the Queen and you? Can you imagine how I was feeling?" She did sound selfish, incredibly selfish. But like Hatter, she did not care.
"I can imagine that you were fairly upset-"
"Fairly upset?" she echoed. Alice was getting herself worked up again, breathing in pants through her adrenaline. She could sense everything in the room: from the eerie shadows on the walls cast from the fireplace to each bead of sweat on Hatter's close body. Hatter looked worrisome as her last words came in a growl."I would say so! Because I am slurvish, too, and you are mine, Hatter. It' s come to that."
Alice threw herself off her stool and into Hatter's arms. He had only a moment's worth of confusion to sputter before Alice's lips were on his. It took him no time for him to return to himself. His arms went quickly around Alice, one hand in her blonde curls and the other around her slim waist. Alice pressed all her weight against him, causing him to stumble and fall onto his back. Alice and her burning adrenaline fell with him.
She toppled onto him, hands on his chest and ankles wrapped around his. She felt a suspicious tightening sensation around where their waists met. Hatter's eyes glowed a ferocious mauve into hers. "An' yer mine," he rasped. His hand seized her neck, bringing her mouth onto his abruptly.
Alice bit Hatter's lip, extracting a satisfactory moan from him. They'd never been so intimate, for they'd decided to take things slow. However, as of this moment, Alice didn't care. Now was the time for slurvishness and heat.
Hatter's hands grazed up and down through her the thin fabric of her hospital gown, daring to go places that Alice had only dreamed of being touched. Alice pulled on the orange curls that fell around her face, only pulling Hatter in closer.
Alice gasped as Hatter's hands skimmed underneath her gown. She felt each bump and groove from his bandages on her skin like individual burns. He bit her neck and Alice felt an immense, but strange, pleasure. She both felt and hear Hatter sigh her name.
They remained like that, bodies' tangled together on the floor through heat and passion, for a while, before they recalled that they would not be alone for long.
They sat up together, Hatter gently readjusting her flimsy gown and frizzy hair. Alice settled his prized hat upon his unruly curls. When they decided they seemed presentable, they walked out the door together to find Mirana waiting for them, leaning against the wall with a bottle of shimmery liquid held in her hand.
Alice blushed all over as Mirana handed her the strengthening potion, smiling knowingly at her. The Queen was too wise for Alice in that moment. Alice glanced back at Hatter behind her, who refused to meet the Queen's gaze, and then at Mirana again.
She felt guilt pour over her. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
Mirana shook her head and smiled daintily. "Feel better, Alice."
Alice and Hatter hurried along like a pair of White Rabbits, both still feeling the Queen's laughing eyes right on their backs.
. . . . .
Insanity: Never. Again.
Rachel: Correct. Now, I know that people seem to be reading, but please, do Review so we know what you like, what you don't, how you feel we're doing, etc. It really will help.
Insanity: But you know what to NOT ask for. Because we're never. Ever. Doing it. AGAIN.