Chapter 10- A visit to Witsend
"Morning dear…" The Hatter said sweetly to Alice once she woke up. He had been up for a while and had gone down to the slightly frightening bar to get them some tea.
Alice smiled, still half asleep. She could smell pastries and hot tea. She curled up against him more, "Good morning!"
"Tea?" Alice finally opened her eyes finally, realizing that she was starving.
"Oh, yes please. I didn't realize how hungry I am until now…."Alice sat up, and stretched her arms out, yawning. Taking a bite of an offered blueberry pastry, Alice noticed the lovely spread that Tarrant had set out for them. It was breakfast in bed, in the best way, with several fruits that Alice didn't recognize, delicious baked goods, and a steaming hot pot of cinnamon tea.
Alice gave him a small hug and then poured herself a cup of tea, "So where are we off to today?"
"Well, seeing as this is the outlands, it's not to far for the town where I grew up, so it should be easy for me to get there."
"I get to see where you grew up?" Alice asked excitedly, taking his hand in her own, lightly caressing it.
"Well, yes, if you wish it…"The Hatter looked up at her lovingly, "There is a particular meadow I'm rather fond of, kind of like my own little" Wonderland" as you call it." Tarrant smiled at her, now caressing her hand.
"And then where will we go?" Alice wondered out loud.
"Well, to Mamoreal I imagine. The Queen will be glad to see her champion back, and I'm sure everyone there wishes to see you."
"Oh, yes of course…. What are we going to tell them?" Alice furrowed her brow, worried.
"About what?"
"Us…you know…that we are married…" Alice blushed at this a bit, still getting used to being 'Mrs. Mad Hatter.'
"Oh…hadn't thought about that…" The Hatter wrinkled his brow, "The truth I guess… Nothing's better than the truth, at least so I'm told…"
"But how do you think they will all react?" Alice shifted uncomfortably. "They are your friends…"
"And yours too dear Alice. I'm sure they will be surprised on at first, but then they will be very happy for us!"
"Shall we be off then?" Alice said, standing up from the bed.
"Well, most certainly not in that…" He motioned towards her nightgown, that was now she realized was slightly see through. He was already dress in his usual quirky outfit
"Oh, yes… Defiantly… " Alice opened her suitcase and pulled out a lilac colored dress and a white slip.
The Hatter quickly looked away, hiding his eyes with his hands, while Alice pulled off her nightgown.
"You allowed to look now, you know…"Alice chuckled, pulling the white slip on. "You are my husband…"
The Hatter looked a little bit between his fingers and noticed that Alice was wearing her slip now anyway. He then took his hands off his eyes completely, looking at her as though he hadn't ever seen a woman in just her undergarments, and truth be told, he hadn't.
"Hatter, Darling," Alice said as she slipped on her purple dress, "Can you button up the back?"
This took him by surprise and for a few seconds he just stood there, until he realized it and hurried towards her. He then buttoned up all of her dress, and turned her around to face him, kissing her softly on her forehead.
Alice sighed in contentment, and hugged him, resting her head on his chest. The hatter wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head again. This was really real. She was his…forever…She was going to be with him forever…She was his…
"We should probably be leaving, shouldn't we?" Alice said, breaking the moment.
"I suppose so, yes…" The Hatter let go of her and picked up their bags
"Goodbye, Beautiful room," Alice said turning off the lights.
"Really, Alice, I don't think it can hear you…" The Hatter chuckled, "And they say I'm mad…"
"Well, do you expect anything else from you wife?" Alice flirted, taking one of the bags out of his hands, and then going down the steps two by two.
"We're done with the room now, Gerard… Thanks for everything!" The Hatter said, tossing the key to the large man from the night before.
"My pleasure, Tarrant…" The man said kindly, causing Alice to giggle as the exited
"When did you get so sociable with strangers?"
"There are many things you don't know about me, my dear!"
It was then that Alice and the Hatter noticed two of the clocked figures chasing after them.
"Run!!!!" The Hatter screamed frantically, hitting both of the figures with the suitcases before running after Alice.
"What…?" Alice said in surprise, stopping when the hatter caught up with her.
"I'm not sure…" He responded, and then noticing that the people were beginning to move, he took Alice's hand and began to run once more.
They ran for what seemed like hours, not sure when it was safe to stop. When they passed through a deep wood and came across a town, they finally stopped.
"Witsend" It read on the sign, it was a small, quaint town right by a small pond. The hatter walked forward cautiously, memories coming back to him of hot summer days and his family smiling at him, watching him as he played in his meadow.
"Tarrant…" Alice called softly, taking a hold of his hand.
He smiled softly at her, leading her in to the center of the town.
"This is were I grew up… Some of the happiest moments of my life happened here…"He said pensively looking around at the buildings on either side of the main road.
Alice remained silence letting the Hatter talk.
"That…was my house…" He pointed a finger towards a very worse for wear building at the end of the road.
"Can I see it?" Alice asked cautiously.
The Hatter just nodded and they continued down the road until they were right outside the dilapidated, charred, mansion. He sat the suitcases down, almost in shock.
"It's so big because her were a large clan, you see… I had 6 brothers and sisters…" Alice rubbed her hand up and down his arm comforting him.
"This must be hard… I'm sorry…we can go…" Alice offered
"No…" The hatter whispered, "This is good…to have somebody to take to…. about this."
"Okay…"Alice kissed him on the cheek, and leaned her head on his shoulder, clinging to him with her arms.
"I miss them so much, Alice…." He said vulnerably, rubbing her back. "Seeing this place again…so lifeless…it hurts…."
"I know it does…. that's what I felt like for a while, every time I would go into my father's study…" Alice admitted, reminding the hatter of his stay in that very room.
"Would you like to see my 'Wonderland'?"
"Yes…very much." Alice smiled as he lead her behind the house into a large meadow full of yellow flowers and a large, willow tree.
"It's lovely…." Alice walked around, imagining a young, orange haired boy running around playing.
"Should we be heading to Mamoreal, do you think?" The Hatter asked, not sure how much longer he could stand being in id destroyed home, before having a fit.
"Probably…But lets sit here for awhile…." Alice sat down on the grass and Tarrant went to sit next to her. Alice rested her head on his shoulder and he placed his hands behind her as they sat on the grass in a contented silence.
"This place I beautiful, Hatter…" Alice finally whispered, kissing his shoulder after she did.
"Yes…it is…"
After leaving the Hatter's house, they went back to the road to start their 2-day journey to the White Queen's castle.
The trip was long, but the two of them didn't mind, for they were with each of other and as always, they were never in want for conversation.
They were about half way to the castle when it was getting dark, so they decided to stop. The Hatter went to gather wood and Alice was looking of some berries that they could eat. That was when she heard the bushes moving.
"Hatter…." She said nervously, looking at the bushes, "Tarrant!"
"What is it?!" Tarrant asked worried, when he arrived. He was holding one of the sticks he had gotten in his hand, as if it were a club.
"Over there…." Alice pointing frantically towards the moving bushes until a small animal walked out.
"Oh…." Alice sighed in relief, thinking that it could have be the scary hooded people that they had seen earlier.
"How rude!" The little duck quacked before scurrying off.
"Really, dear. It's not very nice to frighten away the neighbors..." He teased, as he pulled her over to the large fire he had made. Next to the fire he had laid out a large sheet on the grass. "I hope you don't mind, Alice. I took it from you suitcase…"
"What's mine is yours…literally…." Alice giggled at this, but the hatter was still getting used to the fact that she was in fact his and that now they did share everything.
"Where are we going to live?" He suddenly asked, as he hadn't thought about it until then.
"I don't know. You tell me. Where did you live before this?" Alice asked
"With Thackery. But that won't work at all now will it?"
"Not really." Alice placed her hand over his on the sheet.
"I guess we will have to ask the queen what she thinks would be appropriate. I really don't know anything about this sort of stuff…" He confessed.
"Me either…" Alice admitted.
"Well then, we will just have to figure it out once we reach Mamoreal…" He kissed her forehead and laid down on the sheet.
"How far are we?"
"It shouldn't be long…" He said offhandedly as she laid next to him and the both fell in to a sound sleep.