Chapter 9- A wedding and a new town
The next week went by fast, what with Margaret taking up most of the couple's time with wedding plans. Helen Kingsley however was still keeping to herself.
Alice had picked out her dress, a light cream one that clung tightly to her waist, had a small bustle and train, and it's small, silk sleeves hung just off her shoulders.
Tarrant had been busy helping Margaret with the bigger wedding details, like procuring a license, church, and minister.
It was all very ridiculous, for they were after all making all of these preparations for a fake wedding.
The truth was, that the Hatter didn't want it to be fake. He had been thinking since the party, trying to think of a way to propose to Alice for real, before the 27th.
It was 2 days before the wedding, and he still hadn't had the chance to talk to Alice alone, what with her sister constantly taking up their time.
"Alice!" The Hatter said, bursting into her room, only to see a dressmaker, sizing her dress.
She looked so beautiful. She had a veil placed in her golden hair that flowed down her back, with a long train to match the train of her dress.
"Tarrant!" Alice exclaimed, surprised, noticing his eyes darting to her figure.
"Out!" Margaret yelled, shooing Tarrant out of the room.
"But I…" Tarrant protested "I need to speak to Alice…"
"Later…" Margaret insisted, shutting the door.
"Please Margaret. I knew to talk to her…Please…" Images of Alice flew through his brain, butterflies flying in his stomach as he thought of how lovely she looked in the wedding dress….
Margaret saw how much Tarrant wanted to talk to her sister, "Alright. But give us five minutes at least. She will meet you out in the gardens…" Margaret said, earning a grateful grin from the Hatter as he leaped down the stairs.
"Five minutes…" the Hatter whispered to himself. "Just five minutes…"
"What did he want?" Alice asked her sister, wondering why he had suddenly wanted to see her so bad.
"He said he needs to talk to you right away. We will just finish up the hem, and then you can get changed. I told him you would meet him in the gardens…"
"Good…" Alice was locked in her own private monologue…what could be so urgent and important….
"Hatter…"
Alice walked into the garden, looking around for the hatter until she noticed him on her swing.
"Hello. "He said softly.
"My sister said you wanted to talk?"
"Sit Alice…" The hatter stood up, offering the swing to her.
You could tell The Hatter was nervous. He began to pace and he was twitching his fingers a lot.
"Alice…I…I…" The Hatter lisped nervously, not really sure how to do this.
"Is something wrong? Did something happen in Underland? Did I do something?"
"No, It's nothing like that it's just…" The Hatter readjusted his hat, then looked down at his hands anxiously.
Alice noticed his strange behavior, but decided not to comment on it, for she knew it would just make the hatter more upset.
"I was suppose to go back to Underland on the 27th…"
"Oh…Well I'm sure that I can tell Margaret something…" Alice was upset at this. Though she knew the wedding was a fake, she still, somewhere deep down inside, wanted it to be real.
"No, Alice…you don't understand…I want you to come with me…"
Alice looked up at Tarrant, and saw I loving look in his eyes.
"I want you to stay with me…Forever…Always…" The Hatter moved towards her and knelt down on his knee.
"Dearest, dear Alice, with all your wonderful muchiness…Will you marry me?" The Hatter had a desperate questioning look on his face before Alice toppled upon him, kissing him madly.
"Yes…Yes!" Alice said between kisses. The hatter chuckled against her mouth.
"This isn't pretend is it?" The Hatter asked concerned.
"No, of course not…" Alice smiled lovingly at him, before the Hatter stood up suddenly.
"Well then lets go inside! We have a wedding to plan!"
It was the 27th, the day of the wedding and everyone was getting ready.
Alice had had her hair done and everything, and was going to put on her dress when her mother called her inside her room.
"Alice, I know I have not been very supportive of this match in the past, but I want you to be happy… And I know this Tarrant fellow will make you thus…." Alice smiled at her mother's declaration, happy that her mother wasn't dead set against her marriage now.
"It just reminds me of me and your father's wedding. My father hated him, but I loved him so dearly I didn't care. I see a lot of your father in your fiancé Alice…" Her Mother said almost dream like, lost in old memories.
"Thank you mother…you don't know what that just meant to me…" Alice rushed over and gave her mother a gigantic hug, causing her mother alarm.
"No go! Go get dressed! We don't want to leave him waiting do we!"
Alice smiled at her mother before hurrying to get dressed.
The wedding march sounded around him, and the Hatter uncomfortably fidgeted with his sleeve cuffs.
He was wearing is usual green suit, though with some special enhancement; a crème colored tie and blue vest, for they were the colors. And on top of his head, at Alice's insistence, was him iconic hat.
Alice's mother had been very against it, for who wore such a outrageous hat to a wedding, especially the groom. But Alice had won, as she most always did.
The Hatter looked around at all the unfamiliar faces. How he wished they could have done this in Underland with all his friends…
The Hatter was so distracted in his thoughts that he didn't notice that all the bridesmaids had gone and now it was Alice's turn to walk down the aisle.
Alice stepped out into the aisle and the crowd gave a long sigh. This got that Hatter's attention, and when he looked at the back of the church, his breathe caught.
She looked so beautiful. Her hair arranged in long curls, a crown of pearls preached upon her head, looking like an angel from heaven.
Instead of her father, Helen Kingsley walked her down and when the minister asked if she gave Alice to Tarrant, she gave a proud yes and smiled at the crazy man that was soon to be her son-in-law.
The Hatter took Alice's hand in his own, noticing that they both were slightly shaking.
"Do you Tarrant, take Alice Kingsley, to be your wife? To love and care for always, from today onward for the rest of your life?" The minister bellowed
"I do…" Tarrant said softly, the minister barely making it out.
"And do you Alice, Take Tarrant Hightopp, to be your husband? To love and cherish always, from now to the end of time?"
Alice took her time, to give the Hatter a huge smile and a wink. "I do…"
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. " He said as they both slipped on each other's rings, "You may kiss the bride!"
Tarrant gave the minister a questionable look, for he had never heard of this custom at weddings, and was surprised that he could kiss Alice in front of everyone.
"She's your wife now. It's alright." The minister chuckled pushed the Hatter towards Alice a bit, who chastity placed a kiss on his lips, while everyone clapped.
"Lets go home…" Alice murmured to him as the walked down the aisle.
"To Underland?" The Hatter asked excitedly.
"To Underland." She said, pecking him on the cheek.
After saying goodbye to everyone at the wedding, Alice went to her room to pack her things. They would be leaving tonight, probably never to return.
Looking down at her hands, Alice picked up some of her favorite dresses and began to fold them into her suitcase.
Then something interrupted her vision.
"Ah!" Alice screamed in surprise.
"Shh…" The Hatter said, still keeping his hands over her eyes. "I've got a surprise for you."
"For me?" Alice smiled brilliantly under in hands.
"Yes you…" The Hatter leaned in to whisper to her before kissing the side of her head. "Now keep you eyes closed, now peeking!" He said, noticing when she tried to look.
Alice then felt this place something on top of her head. Taking her hands off her eyes, Alice when over to her mirror.
It was the top hat she had asked for, in beautiful shades of magenta and purple. It has a large purple feather sticking out of the hat on one side.
"It's wonderful…Thank you." She said to him, as she saw him in the mirror, coming up behind her.
"So you like it then?" The wrapped his arms around her and they stared at their reflections on the mirror. Alice nodded, examining it. "I just thought now that you will be moving to Underland…you might want something more on the…what shall we call it…the mad side…" The Hatter naughtily nuzzled her neck, making her giggle.
"WE will just have to see how mad I can truly be!" Alice declared proudly, turning around in his arms to face him.
"Oh! I have no doubts of that…" Was all he said, smiling down at her, and then he went over to her suitcase and tossed a few more things in before shutting it. He then picked it up quickly and asked Alice if she was ready to go.
"Almost…let me just make the rounds for goodbyes…" Alice said, brushing her hands on his arms, before leaving the room to find her sister, her mother, and her old cat Dina.
After saying goodbye to everyone, including a very prolonged visit with her cat Dina, the Hatter and Alice, got in a carriage and told the driver to stop in a little while, just so they were far enough away from the house.
They then got out. Holding their suitcases in one hand and the other's hand in their other hand, The Hatter took a drink of the potion and Alice did right after that.
"Home here we come!" The Hatter said to Alice before they both began to disappear into the mist.
"Where are we?" Alice asked, looking at her strange surrounds. It was like a dilapidated old ghost town, dust covering everything. It looked like no Underland she had ever seen before.
"The Outlands, I'd imagine…Good thing I speak outlandish…" The Hatter said before noticing a man walking down the street, "Could you tell me and my wife where we are and how we might reach Mamoreal?"
The man gave them both a strange look, and the left.
"Well, the people here are rather rude, aren't they?" The Hatter commented as he looked around at they surroundings, noticing a large sign that read, "Why me!!!"
"Well they certainly named the town properly…" The Hatter mumbled, taking Alice's bag out of her hands as the walked down the street, looking for a place to stay.
"I guess we should find someplace…" Alice glanced nervously around her at the strange settings, "It's getting dark…"
"Yes…Right…" The Hatter said, rushing into a saloon when he noticed it.
"Excuse me?" He asked an almost empty bar with only a few, clocked people inside. "I'd like to get a room!"
"Well, stop shouting then, gallymoggers… You're not going to get a room if you keep yelling like that!" A large, bald man with a circular tattoo on his head called from behind the counter, seeming to appear out of nowhere.
"I'm sorry… It's just me any my wife…we are traveling through here, and it's getting dark and…I just really need a room…" The Hatter rambled, motioning outside to Alice.
The man gave him a shifty look, "Alright then, there's one right out here…" He said as he began to climb the steps…" Alice!!" The Hatter yelled outside, afraid that the man would change his mind.
"Did you find a room?" Alice asked when she walked in.
"Yes, Yes… But we must hurry…" The Hatter motioned towards the stairs and Alice jumped up the stairs, the Hatter right behind her.
"Here we are…" The Man said, taking out a rusty key and opening the door.
To there surprise, the room was very spacious, and well kept. It was so nice that you would have thought you were in the Queen's castle.
"Thank you!" The Hatter cried, glancing around at the magnificent room.
"Your welcome," The not so scary man said with a smile, and then tossed Tarrant the key before leaving.
"Well, what do you know…" The hatter said astonished, looking around at the room before plopping down on the bed.
"Can we just sleep tonight?" Alice said, falling down in the bed beside him.
"Of course…What would we do?" The Hatter asked naively.
Alice just chuckled, for she was sure he would figure it out sometime… "Nothing…Good night my love…" She said, curling up next to him.
"Good night, Mrs. Mad Hatter…" He said before drifting off into a pleasant sleep.