"Who was she?" Hatter asked as gently as the waves that lapped against the shore they rode along.
"Her name is Tiger Lily. She was a flower." Alice replied, voice still tinged with sadness.
"Really?" Hatter asked, his tone jokingly skeptical. "Because she seemed rather flesh and blood to me."
"Well, yeah." Alice agreed. "It's what the Unicorn calls his concubines."
"So that's where he hid you. Oh…" Hatter said, his tone distracted, indicating that his thoughts were already drifting. "You didn't, by chance, learn anything from them that you might want to show me, did ya?"
Alice batted his shoulder lightly. Even though she smiled, her laughter wouldn't come. At least, not in light of what had happened to Daisy and not while Tiger Lily's fate was still uncertain.
"She seemed like she could take care of herself. Might be she's just been taken prisoner…" Hatter let his sentence trail off. They both knew that as a captive she'd probably be tortured for information and after… well, her prospects weren't good.
"She told the Lion and his men that she was me." Alice said, her tone reflecting her regret.
"Why would she do that?" Hatter asked as though talking to himself.
"Because…" Alice swallowed hard, her thoughts a jumble. "Because she's brave? Because she thought it would buy us some time? Because she thought the Unicorn would come for her? I don't know for sure why but we can't just abandon her there."
"I expected you might say something like that."
Alice let her gaze flit across the riverfront. She could see the city looming as they approached and it made her uneasy.
"Hatter," she started, voice stern enough to be demanding. "Where are we going?"
Hatter took his time responding and Alice could feel the silence fill will tension. He was hiding something that he didn't want her to know. Alice decided to break it first.
"You're not taking me back home. Not until-"
"No," Hatter interrupted. "That wasn't the plan. Once they realize that Tiger Lily is not Alice of Legend, they'll expect you to go there. But, until then, she did buy us some time and I need some answers. We're going to the Great Library."
"Answers? Answers to what?"
Hatter sighed like someone dredging up more things that he didn't want to tell her, "Something… weird has been going on with me. I don't know why exactly but… yours aren't the only emotions I feel." He let that information stew before adding more to the pot, "It's everyone. Charlie seems to think it has something to do with a prophecy."
"Why don't we see Charlie? He could help. He could tell you about this prophecy thing and maybe help us come up with a plan to rescue Tiger Lily."
"Eh…Yeah, we can't do that."
"And why not?" Even though Hatter couldn't see her riding behind him, he could imagine one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows arching skeptically at him.
"Don't want him to be charged for harboring a fugitive." Before Alice could interrupt, Hatter rushed on with his explanation. She'd get it out of him anyway. "I sort of… wasn't supposed to come rescue you. Jack was worried about a war with the White Kingdom and locked me up to keep me out of the way. If Jack hasn't realized that Charlie was the one that let me go, then going back would only get him into trouble."
Alice was silent for a moment, contemplating that. Jack wasn't going to rescue her. Even more than that, he tried to prevent anyone else from coming for her either. He would have just left her in the hands of those monstrous princes and, as always, Hatter was the one who stood by her.
Alice's resolve grew firm. "Alright. Let's go to the Library."
Hatter pounded on the door, used to having to wait for the elevator to begin its rickety assent. So, both he and Alice were surprised when the door swung open at his touch as though it had never been locked.
They exchanged nervous glances, both unsure as to the changes that could have taken place here since their departure from Wonderland. Hatter held up a hand, signaling for Alice to stay put. He adjusted his hat out of habit and leaned over the threshold, peering into the abandoned elevator.
He walked down the aisle, fist clenched and ready to strike as he checked the seats for anyone who might be hiding. When he reached the back of the converted bus, he turned and nodded, giving Alice the all clear.
She entered, closing the door behind her and hit the blue button, beginning their decent. They were silent, pensive, wondering if Owl wielding a shotgun would be the least of their worries. The elevator gave its signature lurch as it came to a stop, and taking a deep breath, Alice followed Hatter as he opened the door and stepped out.
The great library was beautiful and expansive, just as she remembered it, but absent were all of the refugees and, without them, the large hall seemed eerily quiet. She went to the railing and peered over. Not a soul was in sight, just piles of books stacked around already overflowing shelves with no discernable logic to their organization.
She glanced at Hatter who gestured down the hall and Alice followed. They walked along softly, not daring to speak and break the delicate silence that surrounded them. She knew they were headed towards the office in which she'd first met Dodo. The door to the room was ajar. A faint light coming from the office cast its glow on the hall. They approached cautiously. Alice noticed that Hatter was subtly flexing and relaxing the fingers of his right hand, preparing for a fight.
As they reached the doorway, the sight in the room beyond startled them. An older man hunched over the room's sole desk, a small lamp illuminating the book in which he was currently so absorbed that he didn't notice their presence.
They fully entered the room and Hatter cleared his throat to get the man's attention. At the sudden sound, the man stood, obviously abashed at being taken so completely by surprise. Glancing around, his eyes fell on them and he rested a hand on his chest.
"Damn, but you gave me a right scare!" Alice noticed that his accent was thick and rough, even more so than Hatter's.
"I don't know you…" Hatter started, his tone full of suspicion, as he approached the desk.
The man smiled, "an' I dunno you. So we're square."
"Where is everyone? Dodo?"
"Dodo?" The man let out a squawk of laughter. "You 'ave been away awhile. The moment we got word of the Queen bein' deposed by 'er own son, 'e an' most of the others took off to see if the sun was still yellow an' in the sky." He turned to Alice with a wink, "Turns out 't is."
Hatter tilted his head in thought and Alice could tell he was sizing up the man before him. She recognized that look easily, having been under it herself when they first met. "Why was there no security at the elevator?"
The man's face took on a more somber look. He let a moment of silence pass as he evaluated them in return. "Pointless now, innit? If the current ruling authority wanted this place gone, he'd 'ave vanished it by now. He knew more about this organization than any of us, 'im bein' the Caterpillar's left hand man and all."
"Right." Alice corrected.
"Glad you agree, miss." He replied.
"No, I mean… The expression…" The man leveled a bemused look her way and she sighed. "Never mind."
"But I've been here dozens of times and I don't know you." Hatter tried to get the conversation back on track.
"An' I dunno you. So we're square." The man paused, his eyes drifting upwards as though trying to remember something. "Wait, this bit seems familiar…"
Hatter sighed in exasperation, throwing a desperate look in Alice's direction. Stepping forward, she threw him a lifeline.
"Look, who are you?"
A wide grin spread across the man's face and he leaned forward, hands on his desk. "At last, the right question. You should let 'er speak for you from now on, mate." Hatter remained stone faced and silent. The man chuckled, continuing. "I'm Gryphon, chief archivist of the Great Library. And who might you be?"
"We're looking for information." Hatter stated, sidestepping the question.
Gryphon smiled. "That's usually why someone comes 'ere."
"Do you have any books containing prophecies?" Alice asked quickly before the conversation headed in circles again.
He eyed Alice and Hatter seriously for a moment before his grin returned and he turned to the bookshelf behind him, grabbing a book and flipping hastily through its pages.
"Is that it?" Alice asked.
"No…" He said, still turning pages rapidly. "These books are me index, tells me where to find all the other books in this place. It's a great time saver. Let's see… Mystery, ancient and modern, Seaography, Drawling. Ah…"
Stopping in his search, he reached next to the shelf and pressed a button on the wall that reminded her of the intercom system from her apartment back home.
"Oy, Mock! You'd better be awake you great turtle!"
A loud sob was the response from the other end. Alice glanced over at Hatter who gestured silently that Gyphon must clearly be insane. Alice shrugged.
"Get me The Book of Is and Was: Level 3, row 2, shelf A11. An' make it quick-like." Gyphon spoke to the intercom but his eyes were trained on Alice with a kind smile. "This here young lady," said the Gryphon, "she wants for to know our history, she do."
A cough, followed by a hiccupping wail was the response. Nodding, Gryphon crossed to the front of the desk and leaned against its ledge. He crossed his arms over his chest and eyed them warily.
"Resistance?"
"Once…Sort of." Hatter said, his expression just as appraising.
"You're runnin'," Gryphon stated, "from who or what I don't dare to guess but you're goin' round abouts on everything I ask ya. If I was a suspicious man…" Here he gave a pregnant pause. Of course the resistance members were always suspicious. "I'd say you don't want me to know anything that someone might come askin' after. That's fair and fine. But… if I might be expectin' visitors of a nasty sort, you'd best tell me."
"The Lion, the Unicorn, Jack Heart…" Hatter shrugged. "Take your pick."
Gryphon gave a low whistle. "Hats off to ya, mate. That must have taken some work." He addressed Alice, "How did you end up with this pile o' trouble, lass?"
Alice smiled but was saved from having to answer by the ringing of a bell behind her. She whirled around, noticing a dumb-waiter on the wall.
"That'll be what you're lookin' for." Gryphon said proudly. Apparently, there was a method to the madness in the way these books were organized. Hatter moved quickly to open the small door, obviously eager to answer whatever questions were burning in his mind and retrieved the small, black, leather bound book inside.
*Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. Had some stuff to deal with IRL and now that things are starting to normal off, updates should be more regular. Please review so I know you haven't given up on me!