A/N- Thanks for the Marvelous reviews! They all mean a lot and hope you all will continue reading and reviewing. It all motivates me to write and update more often. Thanks for the wonderful support, Lizzy
Chapter 12- An Awful Encounter
After their little detour at the lake, Alice and the Hatter had to hurry up if they were going to make it to Mamoreal in good time.
They quickly got dressed into something less…wet… and moved on, walking down a very abandoned trail.
"Hatter, darling…."Alice said nervously, looking around at their surroundings, "Are you sure we are suppose to go this way…."
"Of course I am!" He grabbed her hand and began pulling her down the creepy trail. There were huge cobwebs all around them, and large, scary trees that's branches were rustling eerily in the nonexistent wind. "I'm the one from Underland, remember?"
"I know it's just…. I have a bad feeling about this…." Alice glanced over at a large cobweb, wondering what could be big enough to make it…
"You'll be fine…"Hatter squeezed her hand comfortably, "I won't let anything get you…" He teased.
"Stop it." Alice tried not to smile as he made an attempted scary face, his nose scrunched up, his eyes bugging out, and his mouth, pretending to have fangs.
"As you wish…"He raised his hands up, signaling that he was done. "Unless you want me to walk behind you…you know in case a monster springs up behind you and I have to wrestle them to the ground…" He reenacted it with his hands, grabbing an invisible monster before pinning it to the forest floor and slamming the ground three times.
"No, that won't be necessary…All you'd probably do is serve him tea, anyways" Alice mumbled, somewhat annoyed. She trudged on forward, deeper into the forest and away from him. She didn't appreciate him making fun of her, especially now.
Alice turned the corner pass an old, hollowed out tree. She then, noticed that the Hatter still wasn't there with her.
A rustle came from the near by bushes.
"Very funny dear…"Alice called out, rolling her eyes. "Come on out, I know it's you!"
Still nothing came out of the bushes. Alice looked around her, listening to how eerily quite it was.
"Please…this isn't funny anymore…. Please come out…." Alice moved towards the bushes, frightened.
"Well, only because you said please…" Stayne said as he climbed out of the bushes, walking directly toward her.
"Ah!" Alice screamed, initially frightened. She then, however, just became angry, "What are you doing here? How did you escape?"
"Why? Aren't you glad to see me, dearest?" Stayne drawled on, before grabbing her arm forcefully, pulling her roughly against him, "I know I am…."
"My husband will kill you for this…" Alice spat as he began to touch her, first grazing his hand over her face, and moving downward.
Stayne smirked, "Oh, yes, about that…Congratulations on marrying a crazed mad man. I bet he doesn't even understand what's going on…but really…excellent job …"
"Stop it, Stayne, or I'll have to kill you myself…." Alice said through her teeth, fighting his grip on her upper arms.
"Alice?" Alice heard the Hatter calling her. She tried to wriggle out of Stayne's grasp, but his grip wouldn't give. She then tried to yell, but the Knave quickly covered up her mouth.
"Ah, ah, ah…" He scolded her demeaning, "You wouldn't want something to happened to you lovely lunatic, now would you? And besides, it's pointless for you to fight, Alice…It's two against one …" He motioned
Alice gave him a questioning look and then looked over when she heard another rustle coming from the bushes.
"Well, if it isn't Um…." The Red Queen snarled, placing her hands on her hips
"What do you want? How did you two escape?" Alice asked, fighting against the Knaves grasp, when she heard the Hatter call on her again.
It was then when Alice noticed their attire. They were dressed all in black robes, with large hoods on the backs of them.
"It was you!" Alice said incredulously, "You were the ones that chased us at the inn…"
"Yes, Alice. We managed to escape the Outlands by these disguises…" The Red Queen motioned to their outfits proudly.
"That, and the fact that I choked to death the two guards that were guarding us…"The Knave pointed out, earning a glare from the queen.
"Why are you helping her anyway?" Alice questioned, looking back at Stayne. "I thought you hated her?"
"Well I do…But how else was I going to escape…we were chained together…." The Knave mumbled angrily, thinking of how nice it would have been to be Red Queen free.
"Enough of this foolish chatter! Come Stayne! Bring the girl!" The women shouted motioning to the bushes as the Knave began to drag Alice.
"Don't move one more muscle ye frumious Guddler's scut, Slurking urpal slackush scrum!" The Hatter held out his sword threatening, speaking outlandish in a dangerous, Scottish accent.
"Oh, if it isn't you lunatic now…" Stayne said, directly to Alice, "What are you going to do to me?" He taunted, his attention now fixed on the Hatter, "Make me laugh to death?"
Hatter slashed his sword violently, and then pointed it at Stayne's neck. The Red Queen stood by, looking angrily at the Hatter.
"Well! Do something Stayne!" She yelled.
"I'm a little preoccupied," He said through his teeth, as Alice stamped on his foot, "Why don't you?!?"
"Me!! You must be joking, Stayne! I couldn't possibly…"The woman glanced almost nervously at the crazy man with he sword.
"Let her go, Knave!" Tarrant growled, rubbing the tip of his sword along the man's jaw line.
"Why?" The knave looked longingly down at Alice, before rubbing his hand along her side, causing her to cringe.
"Because I'll tear you into a thousand pieces that's why!!!" He shouted furiously, his eyes turning a reddish orange. The Hatter pressed his sword harder against Stayne's throat, almost drawing blood.
"Someone's got a temper don't they?" He whispered loudly in Alice's ear, brushing some of her hair with his fingers.
"Maybe he's the one who should be working for me…" the Red Queen mumbled, sitting down on a near my log.
"I told you to let her go!!!" Hatter's eyes now turned fully red and he began to mumble Outlandish curses again.
"Alright hatter, we will do this my way…" Stayne taunted.
"I bloody hell won't…" the Hatter said outraged, seeing the helpless look in Alice's eyes.
"I don't think you have a choice…" Stayne pulled a knife out of his cloak and put it up against Alice's neck.
Alice gasped in surprise when the metal touched her throat.
"Don't!"
"Then we will do this my way then…" Stayne lustfully looked at Alice again.
"That is absolutely out of the question. Alice comes with me!" The Hatter bellowed.
Stayne smirked evilly. "Why of course! We wouldn't want to separate the happy couple, now would we?"
"What do you want Stayne!" Tarrant shouted, annoyed with the Knave's behavior.
"To rule Underland of course."
"Stayne!! WE agreed I'd rule!" The Queen shouted, outraged.
"And you will, my Queen, once we infiltrate the castle…" Stayne had a power hungry look on his face, an evil grin on his mouth.
"That is where you will come in…" Stayne explained.
"I could never go against the White Queen!"
"Oh, I'm afraid you'll just have too…or else something not very nice might just accidently happen to your little wife here…" Stayne picked up a lock of Alice's hair, watching the Hatter's reaction to it.
"Fine…" Tarrant uttered, barely getting it out, "What do I have to do?"
"Simple. We will soon follow you to White Queen' castle. And then we shall attack. You are not to say a word about this plan, nor give anyone any notice. You will also help us get inside the castle. I will make this sound twice," He then made a weird cawing sound, unlike any bird Alice had heard of, "and you will let us inside. For if you don't…" Stayne tightened his hold around Alice once more, pressing the knife harder into her throat.
"I know…I get it. I may be mad, but I'm not dumb!"The Hatter looked helplessly towards Alice in the Knave's clutches.
"Do we have a deal then?" The Red Queen asked, holding out her hand to the hatter.
Tarrant cursed inwardly, for there was no one who he hated more than the Red Queen. She had killed his family and now she was threatening everything that he stood for by making him go against Queen Mirana.
The Hatter took her hand sadly, and shook it. The Knave immediately let go of Alice and she rushed into the Hatter's arms. The Hatter tightened his grip on her possessively then pushed him behind him.
"Don't worry, my dear friend, we were just leaving…" The Knave smirked.
"Goodbye, Umm…" The Red Queen smiled viciously, now that her plan was underway.
"Bloody big head…." The Hatter muttered under his breath.
"Stayne? Did you hear something? Just now?" The queen looked around for the source of the noise.
"No, my queen… I didn't…" Stayne sighed, annoyed as they left through the bushes, the same way that they came.
Once they were out of sight, the Hatter pulled Alice into his arms tightly, kissing her face all over.
"You don't know how worried I was, Alice…" He said between kisses.
Alice hugged him tightly… "I think I do…Stayne threatened you before you came, when I tried to call for help…"
"I'm just glad you okay…." Tarrant tightened his embrace, kissing the top of her head.
"Tarrant…"
"Hmm?"
"What are we going to do?" Alice looked over towards the bushes.
"I'm don't know, Alice… I don't know…"
Not wanting to sleep in the forest, the couple decided to keep moving that night.
It was about 12:00, when they finally were getting so tired that they had to rest. They we so tired, that for a while, Alice was leaning on the Hatter most of the time, almost falling asleep while walking.
Laying down their bags by the tree, Tarrant took out the same sheet that they had slept on the night before.
"This is fine, right?" He asked when he saw a very pensive Alice staring at him, lying down on the sheet. When Alice didn't respond, he started to worrying, wrinkling his brows together, "I promise I will find us a house, I mean, a bed at least, when we get to the castle… I sorry I'm not very good at this…I should have been more prepared…more…"
"Hatter! It's fine…" Alice kissed him on the forehead before lying down next to him, laying her head on his chest.
"See you in the morning…" Alice said, still a little out of it, causing Tarrant to worry.
"Right…We'll be at the castle tomorrow, I promise!" He kissed her cheek, as she turned slightly away, so that most of her back was facing him.
"Night…"
"Umm…yes… good night Alice…" The Hatter said sadly, letting go of her and looking up at the stars.
Almost right away he heard Alice's steady breathing next to him. He looked back up at the sky and noticed a bright blue star.
He looked of at the sleeping woman next to him and brushed his hand along her shoulder.
"I'm sorry Alice…I'll make this all better…I promise…" He whispered, wrapping his arm around her again and feel asleep, looking forward to a better, brighter, tomorrow.