Wooo. New chapter and stuff. Yeah. I'm going to try to make myself do at least an update a week now, to keep myself from being lazy and stuff. As always, I adore the feedback. I need to map out further things I have planned, of course, and once I do so I'll determine exactly how long I think this fic might get. I'm not saying I want to cut it short or something or that it'll move at a snail's pace. In any case, I shall finish this. Feel free to nicely harass me if I take too long to update through messages or whatever, because I kind of like to be lazy, eh heh... Anyway, I hope you enjoy this slightly-longer chapter. :)

I own nothing of Alice in Wonderland.

Luck had finally been on their side. There hadn't been any more hindrances lying in the way, relieving Alice mightily. In addition, after another "leisurely" walk through the daisies they had somehow found their way back to the beloved dirt path. Both seemed to heave a sigh of relief. Moreover, there were no more trees, causing Alice's eyes to look skyward. Soft, white clouds lumbered across the blue, causing her thoughts to drift for but just one moment. Not a raincloud in sight.

A soft wind blew past, teasing her by ruffling her dress and tossing her hair about. The daisy necklace went into her face and she grabbed a hold of it, slightly peeved. She examined her prior creation, but wrinkled her nose after a moment, leaving it off to the side of the path. She didn't care to look at any daisies for a while. Tall grass surrounded them instead, golden and rustling.

She looked to the Hatter who seemed to have already discarded his flowers; she hadn't noticed when. Eventually, after they had exited the field, Alice separated from his side. He didn't dart ahead as she had expected. She glanced over occasionally to observe his demeanor. It changed very little, but the part that confused her so was that it was so hard to read. Alice thought he would've surely been terribly solemn still, maybe even slightly paranoid, but she was unable to see through him to any degree.

Alice took in a full breath of clean air, then finally spoke. "Hatter, do you know how far away we might be from the Duchess's?"

He focused his attention to her almost at once, a bit surprised. They hadn't spoken in the longest time, he had rather drifted out of reality, it seemed. "How far?"

"Are you feeling better…?"

He furrowed his eyebrows together. "Me? The question is, are you?"

"Yes, yes of course," she responded at once. "It's far behind us."

"Well…we're at the edge of the Golden Plains… I suppose early tomorrow morning as long as it continues to be smooth sailing…" His eyes lit up slightly, bringing his hands to his mouth. "Smooth sailing!"

A bit of a weight seemed to lift from Alice. It was quite disturbing to have the cheeriest of the duo silent for so terribly long; she had nearly felt like screaming.

"I propose an activity that we may partake in while walking," he spoke again. "Games are excellent distracters, don't you agree?" The Hatter looked over to Alice to judge her reaction to his proposition. His suit was a turquoise sort of color, much lighter than it had been previously. His eyes were tinted with slight anxiety, hoping that his idea wouldn't be shot down.

Alice, still walking beside him, toyed with her dress. "What kind of a game?"

"Oh, you know, one very much like the one from yesterday. You did enjoy it, didn't you?"

"Yes, of course," she replied. She was highly curious at his desire to do this. The majority of the day he'd been in a terribly dark place. It had left her unnerved, though it began to lift gradually now.

"Well, I shall start then." The Hatter promptly grabbed a stalk of the grain, shortening it and then playing with its seed-laden end. For a moment Alice thought he'd forgotten what he had been doing due to his intense concentration on the plant. After a pregnant pause, he suddenly asked, "What's your favorite kind of tea?"

Once he had finally answered, Alice hadn't quite prepared herself. She processed the thought for a moment, replying, "Chamomile."

His lips curved upward. "A lovely tea to have before falling asleep. I'm partial to Darjeeling myself."

"Why, I haven't heard of any tea by that name. Is it of Underland, maybe?" Alice asked.

"Actually, it is not." He spun the wheat between two fingers as he rubbed them against each other. "Had we reached China, we would have found some in India, the West Bengal area to be exact. An Oolong variety. Very floral."

She blinked, quite surprised at his knowledge. "How did you come to know about these kinds of tea?"

He shrugged. "On my search in England, I'd stop by teashops and whatnot. Most of the time I was disappointed in the stock, but I occasionally came across illegal imports… Jasmine, now that was an impressive one!" His eyes gleamed at the memory.

Alice smirked at this. She always forgot that he was mischievous from time to time. "My turn."

"But of course!"

She put a finger over her lips with a bit of flair, feeling rather frivolous now. He was transfixed on her face but she took little notice. "Hatter," she stated, mockingly proper, "where is your favorite place in the world, and what is it?"

He frowned. "I see what you're doing, trying to pull the wool over my eyes! One question at a time, Alice."

She huffed in slight annoyance. "So be it. What is your favorite place in the world?"

"In that case," he started…then never really continued. The Hatter actually became quite cross-eyed, having not actually formulated an answer in his mind yet. Alice giggled. "Stop that! This takes some serious, serious thinking!" Alice pressed her lips tightly together, not wishing to taunt him about his "thinking face" anymore…well, she did, but she allowed him to resume.

"I've got it!" He clapped his hands together, pleased with himself. "This place…is a place where there is lots of glorious sunlight. There's beautiful blue lakes; two of them, actually. It always smells of spring-time and there are always flowers in bloom. The grass is soft and fragrant, too. Ah…" he paused, thinking of this place in his mind more, drawing more details from his memory. "Oh, it's warm, but not hot. You know, the kind of warm that makes your eyes droop and mind fuzzy. And…the water, in those lakes I was talking about, has little streams that feed into them. The streams have smooth stones, and the water rushes over them like soft laugher."

Alice had stopped walking, though wasn't fully aware that she had. The Hatter remained stationary, too, but was lost in his own wonderful place, far-off. Her eyes were becoming distant as his were, trying to reach this lovely land that smelled of spring-time.

"There's never any sadness there and you always feel secure. It's as if there was a wall, a hidden wall, which keeps all sorts of monstrosities out. No one calls you names. Birds sing sweet songs. And yet…"

Alice became tense, a little anxious. What sort of flaw could there be, what could be wrong with such a wondrous place? What a horrid phrase! "And yet…" was probably one of the most torturous things you could say! The Hatter finally came back to where they were, his eyes finding Alice's. She felt as everything was paused, holding its breath. What was it?

"There's something missing, oddly. Despite all of those glorious things, that missing thing makes it noticeable empty, you know?" He sighed. "Ah well. I'll leave it at that."

Alice breathed in, supplying her lungs with oxygen at long last. How could such a place exist, she wondered? He described what seemed to be a utopia. Her mind spun with the ghostly fragrances of lilies and roses, of lumbering white clouds, of the sound of water laughing… Oh, but where could it be? She stored that question for later use.

"That, that sounds lovely," she managed to stay, but not without difficulty.

He nodded, feet firm on the ground again and continuing forward. Alice caught up, at his side again. "Dearest Alice, I do think it's my turn."

She nodded in response, readying herself.

"Have you ever gone horseback riding?"

Alice was almost surprised at the second simple question. She had expected more, but she wasn't about to protest. "No, of course not. It isn't proper for a lady, after all…especially if you do and choose not to go side-saddle…" she mumbled. She wanted to do a lot of things proper ladies shouldn't, but then there was her stern mother and English society. Ugh.

The Hatter looked at her as if she'd sprouted two heads. "What?" Alice asked suddenly upon noticing.

"That's nonsense! Stuff and nonsense, I say," he stated, rather perturbed. "You should be able to do as you please, Alice. Once you accept that other people are utter, well, twits and ignoramuses…or is it ignorami?" He tilted his head, debating it. "Anyway, once you accept that fact, everything is far more bearable."

She laughed after he'd finished, astounded partially because of the sense he made…and because he knew what an ignoramus was. There was certainly more than met the eye, despite his eccentricities. Her stomach hurt straight afterward and her head felt light. It was if his sole goal was to keep her in stitches, which she certainly didn't mind.

"I'll keep that in mind, Hatter," she finally replied. "Perhaps someday I'll ride a horse."

"It's a sort of euphoric freedom, on the back of a horse," he mused. "But I digress. Are you quite ready for a break, perhaps? My feet are becoming sore."

Once again, that kind of statement from the Hatter she wasn't able to comprehend at once. Had he ever given her a rest other than a sleeping spot? "Yes, please!"

"Right then." He stopped again, peering around and trying to see over the tall wheat. "Ah, there we are! If we cut through here," he said whilst pointing, "then we'll come upon a little shack. Maybe it was for the little farmer that worked these fields, but he certainly hasn't been around in a while. Who knows what could be in there…"

A house! Maybe there'd be a nice, comfy chair or couch… She was delighted at the thought, suddenly unable to keep still. She was about to ask for his lead, but he had already started off, leaving Alice to follow after once more. It didn't cross her mind now to stray ahead of him.

It wasn't long until she lost sight of him, of course, but she managed to push herself through the wheat and into a tidy little clearing. A tiny house came into view with quaint shutters on the windows, chimney, and well off some way away. She would have to bend over to fit inside, and she scarcely thought the Hatter would even fit his shoulders through the doorway.

"Ah, well, I'll let you explore the house," he stated, clearly on the same train of thought. "I'll go over and get some fresh water from the well, maybe see what else is around. We needn't much if we do get to the Duchess's when I think we will, but one never knows!"

She hardly had time to agree with him before he'd gone off somewhere as if he'd begun chasing a squirrel. His attention span was something to be questioned, she thought to herself. With that, though, she began to try to wriggle through the doorway into the house. Luckily her frame was small enough to allow this without scraping her skin. Once fully in the house, she evidently had knocked something over, causing a small puff of ash to go into the air when it came into contact with the inside of the fireplace. She sneezed and coughed, eyes watering a bit. How dreadfully stupid of her! Once it had all settled, though, she began looking about the little home.

It felt as though she were in a doll house. That was her immediate reaction. Little plates on a small table, little wooden chairs surrounding it. She scarcely thought you could fit a regular-sized muffin on a single dinner plate. The entire couch could maybe be big enough for her to sit on. Maybe. Even if she did fit, she ran the risk of bumping her head on the ceiling and the couch collapsing. That would certainly be embarrassing to explain… She used a finger or two to look into the cupboards, finding that they were simply filled with cobwebs. It was altogether abandoned and for some time, just as the Hatter had said. It was adorable, yes, but ultimately useless. She sighed. Now she'd have to try and get herself out, which would probably pose to be more of a challenge as she didn't have much wiggle room.

Slowly and very, very carefully she began to back out of the small abode. Her legs got out well enough, but her hips met some resistance at first. After a few seconds of pushing and exasperated grunts, she managed to get her lower torso freed and out of the house, allowing her upper body to return outside with relative ease. How thankful she was that she wasn't claustrophobic!

Alice figured she hadn't been in there for but ten minutes or so and the Hatter would surely be still wandering about. Maybe she could look around the area herself. Had there been wrong with it, he surely would have alerted her not to wander off, wouldn't he? Stiffly she stood back up, brushing off her dress. Carefully Alice tip-toed around through the wheat around the tiny house, seeing what else the property had to offer. She might find some crops that had survived on their own, maybe, or some left-behind possessions of some sort.

It wasn't long until she heard a voice while creeping through the wheat field. Of course she was alarmed, but only initially. It was strikingly familiar, and she had to laugh at herself inwardly. The voice was the Hatter's, apparently talking to no one but himself. She stayed completely motionless, straining to hear what he was saying. She had missed the beginning of whatever it was, but nevertheless she listened.

"I have not seen thy sunny face,
Nor heard thy silver laughter;
In thy young life's hereafter–
Enough that now wilt not fail
To listen to my fairy-tale."

He was turning the wheel of the well, trying to bring up a bucket of water with the aged parts.

"A tale began in other days,
When summer suns were glowing–"

The Hatter let out a startled sound, the pulley system having failed him. The bucket spilled its contents back into the bottom of the well, causing him to utter some words that she couldn't quite catch. Did she dare linger and hear for the rest, and risk maybe being found out? It wasn't as if she was listening to something she wasn't, was she?

She tried peering through the wheat, trying to get a glimpse of what he was doing. Unfortunately, he had his back turned. He had a frown upon his face, thoughts troubled. Alice knew little of this, due to her poor vantage point. He continued his poem, what it was about or from she didn't know entirely or for certain.

"…For "happy summer days" gone by.
And vanish'd summer glory–"

Confusion crept into Alice. He'd skipped around in whatever poem he was reciting to himself, she noted. She certainly enjoyed reading and analyzing poetry herself (as if her mother would let her do anything outdoors). He'd completely started in the middle of a stanza, she could tell. It didn't follow the previous pattern at all. ABABCC, the rhyme scheme should've been, but all he'd said were the second AB lines… Why had he chosen to skip to those two lines?

On his second attempt he did in fact manage to get some water from the well. He had a canteen of sorts on his person and he carefully poured the bucket's contents into the small mouth of the canteen. Had Alice tried this feat, she surely would've made a mess, but he completed the task quickly and with relative ease.

Before she even knew it, he seemed on his way back to the small home that she'd previously gotten herself stuck. Alice gasped. If he were to discover she'd gone off somewhere, he'd naturally ask where… If he knew of her spying he might become livid, for all she knew. She hadn't a clue what significance his poem had, as she didn't catch sight of his face.

Quickly, she sprinted through the wheat and back to the miniature house. Somehow before he rounded the corner of the house and reached the front, she plopped onto the dusty front lawn heaving breaths of air. He looked at her strangely, the young woman huffing and puffing on the ground.

"Alice, what heavens have you been up to? Practicing your push-ups, maybe? I prefer sit-ups myself."

She laughed, hoping she showed no outward signs of nervousness. "I got terribly stuck in that little house. It took everything I had to pull myself out."

"Silly girl. You're normal size right now, you know. I do realize most of the time you were here you certainly weren't, but…"

She stood again, putting her hands on her hips. Her chest still heaved a bit, her breathing not quite normal yet. Heavens, she was out of shape.

"I'm fine now, though." Alice peered up at the sky. The sun was getting lower again, but there was still daylight. Sometime in the afternoon, maybe? "So, I'm assuming that we're off again?"

"Yes, of course." The Hatter began stalking through the wheat again, Alice trailing close behind.

Something was not quite right, she noted to herself. He appeared to be trying his best at every opportunity to distract and amuse her, it seemed. For once she thought he was hiding some kind of emotion which was certainly an abnormality. Had she ever not been able to know what he felt, what he might be thinking of? Sure, she had been on edge the entire trip so far. She assumed it was Underland's altered state, but perhaps that was not entirely so.