A/N: Here is Landrew. Don't expect him to make tooooo many appearances. I don't normally make up new characters (except kids), but I felt so bad that Mirana was hanging out with the super happy Hightopps and she had no one. So, I fixed it. No worries, he's not a bad guy. I can't write like that.

I couldn't believe how nervous I was. Why would I be nervous to meet someone? But this was the man who wanted to marry my best friend. I wanted him to be perfect. And I wanted us to be perfect as well.

"Cricket, your hair looks lovely. Stop fussing. Besides, this hat…" Hatter said as he placed the wonderful creation on my head. "…Covers most of it anyway."

"Thank you," I said, taking one last critical look at myself. I looked good enough, I supposed.

"You look beautiful. Stop making such a big deal out of this."

I turned and smoothed out Tarrant's suit. He grabbed my shoulders to get my attention.

"Alice, please. We'll all look fine. And we'll charm Landrew and he'll charm us and soon we'll attend a royal wedding. One even bigger than our own."

"I almost can't imagine that. Mirana went all out that day," I said absently.

"Well, it will be an event to remember. Now, are you ready to go?"

"Yes, I think I am. We'll be fine, right?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes. We will be fine. The children will be fine. Landrew will be fine. Mirana will be fine. We shall all be fine."

I nodded determinedly and we left to get the children.

I placed Will into his carriage and Charlotte fussed with her dress.

"Is this man going to marry Auntie Mirana?" she asked.

"Yes, I believe so," Tarrant answered.

"I want to make sure he's nice enough for her."

I held back a laugh. Lottie for sure wouldn't let someone with less than honorable intentions get past her.

We started to make our way to the dining hall. Food always makes things better, according to Mirana and Tarrant was inclined to agree.

As we walked into the room, Mirana ran to us.

"Alice! I'm so glad you're here. What if you don't like him?" she asked, the worry clearly on her face.

"Mirana, take a breath. Let me at least see the man before I make that decision. And what if he doesn't like us?"

"Pfft! What's not to like? Now, he'll be here any moment. How does my hair look?"

It looked no different than any other time to me. "It looks lovely."

"He's never seen me as the queen. I've always been dressed down to sneak out. Do you think he'll be put off by this? Maybe I shouldn't wear the crown. Tarrant? How quickly could you make me a hat?"

"Mirana!" I interrupted. Why did all my Underlandian friends ramble? "First off, Tarrant is good, but I doubt he could make a hat in seconds."

"Hey! I might," he said indignantly.

I waved him off. "And secondly, Landrew will have to get used to you being the queen. No more hiding things."

"No, you're right. No more hiding. He does need to get used to this. I mean, he is a duke after all."

"A duke?" I asked.

"Yes, I didn't learn that until recently. His family didn't like the pomp and circumstance and stopped living that life."

"A very down to earth duke. It sounds like your perfect match," Tarrant assured her.

"Auntie Mirana, are we going to meet your fancy?" Charlotte asked.

"Fiancé," I corrected her.

"Yeah, him."

"Yes, Lottie. And I do hope you'll like him," Mirana said, kneeling down to be on her level.

"Well, we shall see about that." Charlotte spun on her heel and wandered away.

"Is she alright?" Mirana asked, instantly worried.

I smiled. "Yes, she's very concerned that Landrew isn't good enough for you. She may be his toughest critic tonight."

"Well, it is good to know she is watching out for her Auntie," a voice from behind me said.

Mirana beamed as she met his eyes and hurried over to him. "Landrew! There are some people I would like you to meet."

"As I would like to meet them," he said, giving her a chaste kiss.

He leaned in to whisper in her ear. He must have complimented her because she instantly blushed and giggled.

I looked at him as best I could without making it obvious. They seemed to be the exact physical opposite of each other. Where Mirana's hair was so blond it was white, Landrew's hair was black as night. And instead of her dark eyes, he had beautifully pale blue eyes. They made a very attractive couple.

"Landrew, this is Lord Tarrant Hightopp, royal hatter," she introduced.

"Lord Hightopp, a pleasure," Landrew replied.

"Please, just Tarrant," my husband replied, shaking Landrew's hand.

"And this is Lady Alice Hightopp, royal educational advisor."

"Lady Hightopp," he said, kissing the back of my hand. I squeezed the other hand that Tarrant was holding to calm him down without looking at him.

"Alice, please," I told him.

He nodded to me as I saw Tarrant picking up Will.

"And these are their children, Charlotte and little William."

Charlotte marched right up to him and stared at him. He crouched down to meet her eyes.

"I'm told you intend to marry my Auntie Mirana," she said to him.

"Yes, miss, that is my intention."

"Well, we shall see about that." And with that, she walked away.

"Charlotte Mirana! You do not to speak to people that way!" I said as I chased after her.

"No, it's fine. I understand that she is protective of Mirana and I respect that. So am I," I heard Landrew assure Tarrant.

Once I had Charlotte convinced to apologize, I marched her straight over.

"Mr. Landrew, I'm sorry for the way I said that earlier," she stated just as I told her. Then she paused and shook her head a bit like Tarrant, as if she was trying to get her thoughts together. "But you see, Auntie Mirana is one of my favorite people and it would make me so sad to see her hurt."

He knelt down to her again. "Charlotte, I can promise you with everything I have that I have no intentions of hurting your aunt. I love her very much. And I can only hope that you can share her with me, because I would never try to come between you two. She was your auntie first, after all."

Lottie looked up at him with sincere eyes. "We'll talk. But I'm keeping my eyes on you."

"I will do my very best to show you that my intentions are entirely honorable, my lady."

Lottie nodded and then walked over to me. I smiled nervously at Mirana and she just winked in reply. Apparently, she didn't find it as embarrassing as I did.

"Landrew, I'm very sorry for that. She's just very close to Mirana and –"

"Alice, please, let me stop you there. Anyone who is that protective of Mirana is fine with me. I love that she loves her Auntie so. No worries."

"Thank you. Once she warms up to you, I'm afraid you won't be able to get rid of her," I said, smiling, hoping to break the tension that it seemed only I felt.

"I shall do my best to win her over."

"Well, perhaps we should sit down to supper yes?" Mirana asked. She walked away with Landrew, looking in her own little world now that he was there.

I put my face in my palm as Tarrant put a reassuring arm around me.

"He doesn't seem to care that she was a bit harsh," he said, rubbing my arm.

"Yes, but I do. I can't believe she said that to him!"

"This coming from the woman who—"

I spun around to face him, finger pointing threatenly. "Stop right there, Hightopp. If you want to avoid sleeping elsewhere tonight, you will not finish that thought."

"Yes, dear," he said sheepishly.

I smiled a little, letting him know he wasn't in much trouble. He offered his arm and we walked to the table.

Dinner went about as well as I expected. There were a lot of interesting stories from when Mirana was sneaking out to meet Landrew. He told us a bit more about his family and how they lived now. I hadn't realized that they were some of the most influential people in the rebuilding of Witzend.

"It was a lovely area, I'm sorry you never got to see it, Lady Alice. The most populous clan there threw the most fantastic parties. I think they were the …" Landrew began and then he caught himself. His discomfort was visible.

Tarrant smiled sadly. "Landrew, it's quite all right. I am happy to know that others thought our clan threw wonderful parties. They were wonderful parties. There was much singing and dancing and the music was the best in all of Underland, not to mention the food. The food rivaled even here at the palace, not that the food here isn't delicious, Mirana, but this was the stuff of –"

"Hatter," I said to break him out of the ramble.

"Thank you, love. Regardless, the past is the past, my friend. Alice is teaching me this." He reached over a bit and laid his hand over mine.

I was impressed that Landrew seemed unaffected by Hatter's rant.

"Thank you for forgiving my faux pas. And might I say that you and Lady Alice are a charming couple with such amazing children. I haven't heard a peep out of this little gentleman all evening," he said, gesturing towards Will.

"Yes, they are a blessing," I said.

"So, Lady Charlotte, may I tell you a secret?" Landrew said, softly.

"Perhaps, but everyone will hear it if you tell me now," she said, matter-of-factly.

Tarrant looked to me and raised an eyebrow as if to say, "she's your daughter." I scrunched my nose at him.

"So, I will come to you," she said. And then thought better of it. "Mummy, may I be excused to hear the secret?"

"Yes, Lottie, you may."

She jumped from her seat and went over to Landrew. He whispered something in her ear and she smiled at him. He held out his hand and she shook it happily.

What on earth just happened?

Charlotte returned to her seat and continued to eat happily.

I decided to let it go for now, but I was still very confused.

We finished our meal and continued to chat. Finally, it was time to get the children to bed.

"Well, this has been lovely," I began, "but it's time for bed for some little ones."

"Aw, Mummy, do we have to?" Charlotte whined.

"The very fact that you are griping like that means that it is," I said. "Landrew, it was a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure was all mine. You have a beautiful family." He walked over to Tarrant. "Tarrant, you are a lucky man."

"As are you," Hatter said, shaking Landrew's hand. "Mirana is a wonderful woman."

"That she is. And Lady Charlotte, I was most happy to make your acquaintance."

She actually ran to him and gave him a hug.

"It was lovely to meet you as well."

I was flabbergasted. I wandered to Mirana and she leaned in to whisper to me.

"He asked her to be our flower girl," she revealed.

"Oh! Well, that makes sense then. I had a feeling he would find a way to win her over."

After we gave our hugs and kisses and good nights, we made our way back to our chambers. We didn't even bother to give baths to the terribly tired children and just put them to bed.

As we collapsed into our own bed, I let Tarrant in on the big secret.

"Ah, so that was why she turned so suddenly," he said.

"Yes. Landrew is a smart man."

"Indeed. I think he'll be a good husband for Mirana. She deserves someone after all the time she's been alone."

I nodded. I couldn't even imagine spending that much time with no one. Like … like Tarrant.

"I'm sorry you waited so long for me," I muttered.

"What was that?"

"I said that I'm sorry you had to wait so long for me."

"Beloved, I would wait an eternity for you. It would probably get a bit boring though, what with the whole forever thing, but as I said, you would be completely worth it. But if I'm waiting an eternity, does that mean you would ever show up? Because that's not terribly fair and –"

"Hatter," I giggled.

"Sorry. I'm fine. My point is that there is no need to apologize. You showed up. You made life better. I love you."

"I suppose when you put it that way…"

"See? Take it as I'm right and let's get to sleep," he said, smiling and knowing he had successfully won this round.

"Sounds nice. Good night. I love you, Tarrant."

He kissed me gently. "And I love you, Alice. Good night."

I fell asleep blissfully happy knowing that I had a beautiful, loving family and some day, my best friend would as well.