Tarrant's eyes widened. Alice...

His eyes went red and he stood, swiftly, the chair falling back. How could the queen be so heartless? Toying with his mind, pretending she could see the figment of his imagination. His fists clenched tight and he smashed them down on the table before running out of the room. "I'll be back soon," Alice whispered, running after him. "Hatter!" She shouted. She stopped at a maze of walls. "Hatter?" She half whispered.

Tarrant could hear the voice of his dear sweet love dying away in his ears. How could the queen be so cruel to him? She had never hurt him like this aside from letting Alice leave. Tarrant dropped his hat somewhere, but he didn't care. He came to the balcony his Alice stood at so many times in her last visit. He didn't think he could ever forgive the queen.

Tarrant slammed his fists down on the stone railing, tears falling between his hands. "Alice," He whispered, "Goodbye." Tarrant took off his long coat and dropped it. It was making him feel heavy. He needed to feel light.

He tossed one leg over the railing, and then the other, sitting on it. "Goodbye." He whispered again, pushing off the balcony.

"NO!" Someone behind him shouted. He caught himself, pulling his weight back onto the railing. Arms came around him and pulled him back a little ways, "You're not leaving me."

"You're not real, so stop taunting me." He shouted. Her grip tightened.

Tarrant pulled his legs up and turned back to face his captor. A tearstained face full of fright met his eyes. "You're not leaving me..." She said, burying her face in his chest.

Alice hugged him close, her heart beat easily heard by the madman. His rage calmed and he looked at the blur of blond hair, "Alice..." He said, suddenly he was choking the life out of her in a huge hug, tears dampening her hair, "Oh, Alice!"

She pulled back and looked at him, "Please don't do this."

He looked at her, sadness in his green eyes, "You taunt me..." He said, wiping his tears once again.

"Hatter, I'm real... I promise... Look," She picked up his hand, placing it on her chest. Her rib cage throbbed, "I have a heartbeat. You can feel me. I'm real, believe me... Please..." She whispered.

Tarrant felt her heart beating so fast it seemed as if it would be painful. He looked down at her for a moment. She looked at him with tears ready to spill at any moment.

Tarrant pulled her close by her waist and his lips crashed down on hers heavily. She gripped the sleeves of his shirt so she wouldn't fall from the force he was kissing her with. His lips traced hers for a few moments and he pulled away from her lips to hug her close to him, "Alice."

"Yes, Tarrant?"

"Thank you," He whispered in her ear. Alice looked up at him again. He placed a hand on her cheek softly, using his thumb to wipe away the crystalline drops that were spilling from her eyes. She stood on her toes and surprisingly kissed him again.

He closed his eyes and grabbed her hands off his sleeves. She pulled back slowly and landed flat on her feet. Suddenly she fell to her knees, her face in her hands. Tarrant knelt down next to her and hugged her. "It's ok, I'm here," He lulled.

She cried into his shoulder. The hatter held her, rubbing her back. "Ssshhh," He whispered to her, "Its ok."

Alice looked up at him and he kissed her lips softly once more. "I've wanted to do that for years, Alice."

Alice chuckled through her tears. "Alice, look at me." He gently commanded.

She felt his thumb under her chin as he gazed into her eyes, "I'm not going anywhere."

For the next few hours, Tarrant and Alice sat on the balcony watching their stars. Alice was lying with her head in his lap, on her back, looking up. The wind began to pick up, sending chills across Alice's lovely arms and legs. She began to shiver. Tarrant looked down at her and brushed some of her hair out of her face. Her eyes were still puffy from her tears, but she looked back to normal. She sat up and snuggled into his chest, closing her eyes. Tarrant reached over to his discarded coat and placed it around her for warmth before looking up at the stars. He watched them for several minutes until he heard Alice's breath slowing and closed his own eyes.

Mctwisp awoke the mad man with news that the queen had gone off to sleep in her chambers. Tarrant lifted the sleeping beauty and followed the little white rabbit to the room the queen had prepared for the champion of Underland, which was joined to another room, prepared for the mad hatter. The little rabbit left, probably to retire to his own chambers. The hatter removed his vest, unbuttoning his shirt, and shoes after leaving Alice in her room and noticed an unusual chill throughout the castle. He shivered and frowned, looking at Alice through the door that joined the two chambers together. He wondered if Alice were shivering under his jacket.

In the blink of an eye, Tarrant was back at Alice's side. He lifted his jacket and watched her shudder. "Nope, not leaving." He whispered, picking Alice up once again. He reached under her and pulled the thick comforter down before setting her in the bed. He slipped in after her and pulled the chilling silk sheets up to their necks. He looked down at Alice, sitting up in the bed. She was growing up so quickly. Her face bore bags of from many years lacking sleep and strenuous work. He moved a golden lock out of her face so he could see her. Her long lashes rested gently on her smooth pale cheek. Her lush lips were parted, looking inviting as ever.

Tarrant couldn't resist the urge to touch her, so he did. He traced over her sleeping features gently with his thumb. He ran his hand from her forehead, to her chin, and back again, outlining her lovely face. His thumb lightly stroke over her light blanket of lashes, gliding over them. He touched her nose and slowly outlined her lips. Sighing, the hatter realized her skin was as warm and inviting as a fire in the snow.

He settled behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulled her to his chest, and buried his face in her hair. He inhaled the scent of her. His body immediately warmed at her touch. Tarrant soon was sleeping peacefully, not dreaming his usual nightmare, nor his perverse thoughts about Alice. In truth, the mad man didn't dream at all.

The beast ducked into the cave it had been raised in. "Good boy," The oracle murmured to it, patting its head. "She will be proud of your work today. You will come in further use, dear creature. She will be very pleased."

The oracle looked in a mirror beside a torch, looking at the reflection of things that were to come. He saw several things, even the return of the great Alice. The image went away and he saw his reflection. She wasn't an ordinary client. He knew that she was ruthless. She was vengeful. He would never turn against her, who would soon be ruler of Underland. Mirana, the white queen, could do nothing! It was against her vows to hurt any living creature. The new ruler would soon rise up. He knew it would be her, if things progressed correctly.

But this entering of Alice was going to prove to be an exciting twist. He doubted the future would change much, but Alice was the champion of Underland. Couldn't that mean an alternate future? He shook such nonsense from his head as his cloaked client entered his home.

"Well?" She asked impatience evident in her voice.

He smiled, "All is happening according to plan. The white queen is being unwound one strand of hair at a time. Pretty soon she'll be so stressed that she won't be able to leave her chamber… And then you can have your revenge. She will be too weak to fight back. Unleashing your more loyal citizens into her kingdom was a… nice enhancement on her decomposition."

"Good. I shall fetch my pet tomorrow. Let me know if anything changes." The hooded woman announced, turning.

"If anything major occurs, I'll let you know." He replied, watching her leave.

Nothing major would happen. It was very unlikely. His predictions were always right. Always. That wasn't going to change now. He wouldn't let it. When she was crowned queen, he would have a higher title. He would have wealth, social status, and anything he wanted. He had to make sure that future happened and that nothing unexpected interfered with the show.

(AN: I know no one really thought I was going to let my FAVORITE character commit suicide, did they? I hope not... I love him too much for that ^_^! If you think this chapter was written when I wasn't at my best, your right! I'm sick and can taste death whenever I cough… It sucks majorlyyyy. Anyways, what did you think? Do you like the story so far? Whatever your opinion, you should click that little sexy review button and leave me some reviews ;9)