Chapter 14-An Infamous Chase

Laughing, Hatter chased Alice through the courtyard, the rain splattering down upon them.

"I'm going to get you!"

Alice squealed as he reached forward, and then giggled when she escaped his grasp.

"Never!!!" Alice shouted back at him, in a tone of determination.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Mrs. Hightopp!" Tarrant warned.

"You forget that I am The Alice! Champion of Underland! I can do anything!!" Alice said proudly, stopping to face him. She placed her hands on her hips and posed as if she were a knight in shining armor. She couldn't help but laugh after that.

"Oh yes…." He placed one finger, pondering, on his chin. "I almost forgot…"

Alice gasped, slightly angered by his teasing.

"I'm very sorry, Champion Alice…. Forgive me for my madness?" Hatter walked towards her. Alice eyed him cautiously, trying to see if he was still playing their game.

Alice walked towards him a bit, before she darted sideways, the hatter's arms barely missing her.

"Aha! I knew it!" Alice exclaimed, pointing her finger at a chuckling hatter.

"Fine, my dear. You got me. I was trying to trick you." The Hatter admitted.

"I knew it…." Alice repeated, smiling at him.

She shivered, feeling the raindrops drenching her dress, the cold wind more noticeable now that they had stopped moving.

"Shall we go inside now?" Tarrant suggested, noticing her shiver.

"Yes…I guess so…" Alice sighed as the both walked inside the castle, into a long stone, corridor.

The Hatter reached one hand behind Alice's back and then.

"Ah!"

"Your it!!!" Hatter shouted joyously.

"What!"

"You heard me!" He shot her a wide grin before sprinting down the hallway.

"You little…." Alice said frustrated, determined to catch him. She then took off after him down the long halls that lead to the throne room. He went around the opposite side, so Alice decided to go in the main entrance to catch him.

Looking into the room, Alice noticed some of the royal court having a meeting.

"You'll never get me now!" Hatter called from across the white marble floor, a mischievous grin plastered on his face.

"Want to make a bet?" Alice challenged. She than ran straight across the room, startling the lords and ladies as she knocked into their table, and left muddy footprints all across the royal throne room.

The Hatter laughed at her display and continued to run around the castle.

"Hatter!!!" Alice cried in annoyance, starting to get tired of their game. They were going to ruin the whole palace at this rate.

"Excuse me miss! But you do not have authority to be in this part of the castle!" A knight chess piece came up behind her and seized her by the arm. Alice protested then noticed another knight come up to them.

"You got the other one?" The first knight asked the newly arrived.

"Yeah. Found him hiding up on the third floor. Klan says we're to bring them to the throne room. Who do these people think they are anyway? Running around like wild, destroying the beauty and serenity of the castle!"

Alice smiled a bit at this, but then quickly protested when the knights began to pull her. "What do you think your doing?"

"You trashed the white queen's palace, miss. Surely you know that has consequences…" The first knight said.

"I didn't trash anything! I'm a guest here!" Alice shouted, trying to jerk her hands away from her capturers.

"Sure you are…" The second knights said sarcastically as they shoved open the doors to the throne room.

"Alice!" Hatter called out in relief when he saw her come through the door.

"Hatter, darling! What's happening?" She asked, looking around that the spectacle she had made.

"Well, it seems as though we are in quite a large amount of trouble. A colossal amount really! If I were an elephant I doubt I would be is such a colossal…"

"Hatter!"

"Thank you…" he squeaked, coming out of his rambling. Alice's capturers finally let her go now, and Alice rushed over to the hatter, giving him a large hug.

Hatter kissed her forehead, and hugged her as tight as possible.

"I was a little scared when the knights found me, you know…worried about what might happen to you…."He whispered in her ear, with sad tone in his voice. His eyes were a light shade of blue.

"I though the same think, Tarrant…" She looked up into his eyes and then smiled softly at him, causing his eyes to change back to their healthy, eccentric green.

A door opened in the corner, and a bishop chess piece walked in, eyeing the wet couple angrily.

"Look, sir, this is all really just a big misunderstanding…" The hatter started to explain.

"You see, sir, we were just…." Alice continued.

"Rampaging throughout the castle and the gardens destroying several flower beds, ruining the queen's court meeting this afternoon, and desecrating her majesty's royal throne room." He said, not amused.

Tarrant eyes widen in shock and his looked at Alice, worried.

"Can we please speak to Mirana?" He asked.

"I know you are the hatter here, but that gives you no right to..."

"Please…."Alice pleaded, shivering in her wet clothes. She really needed to change.

"Fine…" The bishop spat as he walked back through the door he had come out of, returning quickly with the queen.

"Oh Tarrant! Alice! What on earth happened to you!!!" Mirana asked in concern, examining their attire.

"Just got caught in the rain, that's all…" The Hatter explained.

"Do you not realize who these people are your majesty? These are the two ruffians that ruined your throne room…" The bishop insisted, confused by the queen's concern for them.

"Do you not realize who they are Klan? This is the champion of Underland!" Mirana motioned to Alice, and all the color washed out of Klan's face.

"Oh…I'm so sorry…I…" Klan muttered apologies as he bowed out of the room.

"Please forgive him…he's new…"the queen said as she shooed the rest of the soldiers away.

Hatter and Alice smiled as the white queen walked down from a pedestal to be level with them.

"So… Please do explain all of this to me… You two are married…" Alice blushed a bit at the queen's comment, not used to people saying it. The hatter took her hand in his own hand, "And now you trash my castle…some how I think I'm missing a few things…"

After filling the queen in on their marriage, Tarrant had decided to go visit his 'hatting' room, to make sure everything was the same as he had left it.

"So Alice…tell me the truth…woman to woman…How did this all happen? How did you and your Hatter really come to this relationship? I don't recall any particular attachment the last time you were here."

"Well… It happened so very fast…It's hard to say were I started loving him…" Alice explained, a faraway look in her eyes. "I suppose I have always loved him, ever since we met… it just took me a while to realize it…"

"I knew he loved you…especially after Frabjous day…He just was the same Tarrant that we all knew…It was as if he was just an empty shell…" Mirana said sadly, noticing a surprised look on Alice's face. She hadn't heard anything about any of this until now.

"I didn't realize…" Alice said out loud, thinking back to her last visit. All the signs had been there, but she had been oblivious to the Hatter's feelings for her.

"Yes, well all of that is over now. And you shall live happily ever after with the man of your dreams…"

Alice smiled and then suddenly the Hatter appeared in the doorway.

He had changed out of his wet clothes and was now in a light green vest, light blue shirt and a teal jacket.

"Alice darling…Can she come with me for a minute?" He side glance at the queen and she nodded her head, saying that Alice could leave.

"Certainly. It was a pleasure talking to you Alice. I hope this happens again…" Mirana said, smiling sweetly the couple before her.

"I wanted you to see my 'hatting' room…"

Alice gasped when he shoved open the doors and she looked around to see thousands of hats hanging off hooks on a wall as well as a shelf beneath it. There was also a an spinning shelf decorated with every color of thread imaginable, as well as a large, odd shaped table cluttered with lace, feathers, buttons and a sewing machine.

"Now for my personal favorite part…" He took a hold of her wrist and pulled her towards another pair of double doors on the left side of the room.

"There's more?" Alice asked in astonishment.

The Hatter smile widened at her face, and then opened one of the doors for her, like the gentleman that he was.

Rolls upon rolls of fabric filled the room. Every color you could think of was present, from the darkest dark to the lightest pastel. To Alice, she had never see something so wondrous before.

"Hatter…this is…" Alice said, lost for words.

"Now I can make you the all of the best dresses and hats and…" Hatter cried elated, turning in circles, motioning to everything around him.

"Really?" Alice's eyes glistened.

"Of course. Only the best for my Alice…" the Hatter calmed down, taking her hands and resting his forehead against hers.

"I really don't deserve you. …" Alice uttered with her eyes closed, a tear falling down her face.

"Don't be silly…If anything, you're just mad for marrying me…" He kissed her soundly on the lips and then spun her around, just like he had in the garden an hour earlier.

Alice laughed a bit and then pulled him back towards her. "I wouldn't be so sure about that…"She muttered.

"Nonsense…" He pecked her on the mouth before pulling her out of the large room full of material.

"Where are we going Hatter?"

"The Queen set us up a room in the castle to stay. We can ask her about the housing thing tomorrow, I suppose…"Tarrant tugged his wife up the stairs, walking towards a door at the end of a long corridor. "The white queen sure likes her long hallways doesn't she?" He remarked, and then he noticed that Alice had stopped and had a very serious expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

"What are were going to do about the red queen and Stayne?"

The Hatter's eyebrows wrinkled together, and a frustrated look came over him.

"Let's go inside."

"But Hatter, we have to think of something…." Alice continued as they walked into a bright green and blue room.

"It's rather odd that this room is so colorful, don't you think? You know Mirana…she likes her white…"

"Hatter!"

"I'm tired, aren't you? Maybe we had better…" Hatter said as he threw off his jacket and tossed it onto a near by couch.

"Hatter!" Alice called again.

"What shall we do tomorrow, huh? I was thinking maybe we could have tea with all our friends then…" the Hatter continued to walk, and Alice followed. They were now in a spacious bedroom with a large king-sized bed in the middle.

"Hatter!!!!!" Alice shouted, finally causing him to give up on changing the subject.

"What!!" He shouted back at her, upset.

"Well aren't we going to talk about it? Come up with a solution?" Alice insisted, making a point by using her hands.

"What is there to talk about Alice? There is no solution!!!" He yelled, frustrated.

"There has to be!!!"

"Alice!" Hatter yelled in his Scottish accent, his eyes having changed a while ago.

"Tarrant!!!" Alice yelled back at him.

The Hatter took a deep breath and than sat down on the edge of the bed. "Perhaps we should just discuss this in the morning…"

"Hatter, I…" Alice said, trying to make things up between them.

"Night Alice…" He said, crawling under the covers.

Alice quickly slipped off her wet dress and into a nightgown, and got into bed herself.

"I love you…" Alice whispered when she crawled under the covers. Alice stared up at the ceiling, lost in her thoughts. She knew the hatter was angry and wasn't that surprised when she received no response. She had over reacted a bit. Part of it was truly his fault, but it was equally her own, and she didn't want this to create something bad between them.

Alice turned over, facing away from him, and curled herself up in a ball, trying to get some sleep after their fight.

Then Alice felt the person behind her move and wrap their hand around her stomach, pulling her tightly against him.

Alice smiled and turned to kiss Tarrant on the temple.

"I'm sorry…."Alice whispered.

"I love you…"