Remember Jesse = Alice! (Disclaimer: I own the plot only, not the actual thing *sniff sniff*)

Chapter Three: Her Royal Big Head

Newly appointed, Iracebeth of Crims the once again powerful and commanding Red Queen was a very happy monarch. Not only did she have her lovely but slightly ruined castle on the shore of the Crimson Sea back, but she also had her old life back. She may not have Stayne (she tried not to think about his past with her) but with her new Lord Hightopp, things would be changing very soon.

She admired the former 'Mad Hatter' and often spoke with him as if he were a dear friend. Unlike Stayne, she was even more convinced that he would never betray her. His precious little Alice had left him and he felt nothing but anger at the thought of her now - she knew him so well, but not as his past self.

She woke as normal on the second day of the fourth week of her regaining her throne and busied herself with her servants. She had learned that animals were only good for furniture and helping her was useless - so she had hired some admirers of her (female of course) and they helped her. She wore a dress similar to the one she used to wear - only this one had a lower cleavage area, resting upon her collarbone and her dress was shorter, revealing the black heels she wore underneath with her stockings and corset.

She strode down her corridor from her chambers and saw all the animals holding the furniture up (as they should be, she thought bitterly) and sighed happily. She seemed in a good mood today and nobody wanted to burst her bubble. Iracebeth was no fool to how her new courtiers felt: she knew the whole kingdom hated her and that they all adored her ugly sister Mirana instead.

The jealously Iracebeth had felt as a young child were resurfacing in her bitter rage and nobody dared rise against her - well one new Underlandian seemed to be causing...trouble, it seemed.

She kept herself from skipping into her throne room after she breakfasted in her room (as she always had since she was a child). Some of her courtiers were sitting on a sofa near the doors and Iracebeth turned to them. She knew they were no fakers this time, fakers wasted time, time was her kingdom and life - and they got beheaded if they angered her. It was a tradition with Iracebeth.

"Your Majesty - Lord Hightopp will be arriving shortly, he said he had an important message for you and I was to pass it along" Bethanna said (or Lady Big Nose - her nose was enormous and wasn't at all fake. (She was also a favorite of her majesty).

"Thank you Bethanna" Iracebeth said, almost too happily for her - she sounded like her bloody sister! She pulled herself together and walked up to her throne. She clicked her fingers at the fishguard "Dwink!" she called and a tray with a glass of Squimberry Juice appeared in front of her. She snatched it and drank it quickly. She passed it back to the guard and he took it, bowing slightly. She sighed and looked at her blood red fingernails and waited. He would be here any minute.

"Majesty?" came the normal and kind voice of Tarrant Hightopp, his eyes a dull dark crimson as he looked at her as he appeared from the side door behind her throne. She smiled brightly at him and patted the seat next to her. He sat and a worried look was on his face. "Hello Tarrant, what have you got for me? Bethanna said something about bad news...?" she asked, and a confused look came on her face.

He chuckled and she put the sound to memory. He had such a horrible laugh and she liked it.

(A/N: It was only because he's changed his mental state, readers)

He looked at her and sighed. Then he pulled out the Oraculum, the calendar of Underland. She tensed; last time this had happened, it had predicted the end of her rule - and it had come true...for a while anyway.

"Has she returned?" she hissed in fear and noticed that his eyes flashed the deep green they used to be for a brief second, then he controlled himself. "No" he said. "She hasn't but another female has made herself present in the kingdom recently. Yesterday in fact." he cleared his throat, wondering if he should say his full opinion.

Iracebeth cursed under her breath. "What can we do? What happened, Tarrant?" she hissed in panic. He patted her shoulder to calm her and unknown to him, it worked effectively. "Calm down. I met her last afternoon. She..ermm has a lot of courage." (He had an urge to name it 'muchness' but denied it.) He continued as if he hadn't had the thought. "She is called Jesse Wayton, I've heard and she has just recently moved. She had inherited a small cottage and she has a field out back. She appears to make it a daily event to..." (again the urge for his words -futterwacken)

"...dance around the place and singing. The whole village of Whitened watched her and she was very good. Think of it, your own entertainer!" he said, encouragingly. Deep down he knew that this 'Jesse' was a good dancer - not just futterwacken, but general dancing and it was very interesting to watch.

"Hmm I will consider it, Tarrant" she said, thinking it through. Why was he so interested in her? Jealously fueled her emotions but she had to keep her head sometimes (which had grown twice as bigger than last time, a thing that was worrying her). She waved her hand in dismissal and Tarrant walked back out of the throne room and towards his own chambers. He bolted the door and shooed the 'furniture' away so he could be in privacy for a while. He paced his room and sighed.

The anger inside him at the mention...of...her made him sick, sick to the very core of his life. She had killed him - in her own little way. That stupid, slurlvish, horrible...

He stopped himself - who was he kidding? He seemed to have made the whole court and kingdom of his un-dying loyalty to Iracebeth but he was scared. Deep down the emotions of his old life fueled within. He wouldn't dare let them loose here. He was controlled by madness of the worse but he had two voices: a demon of his fears and an angel - ironically it was...Alice.

He felt something wet slide down his face and felt it. A tear - he was crying over a woman who'd left him. Why couldn't he move on like everyone else did? His demon fired up:

Stupid Hatter - you still love her and you're wasting your time! His demon side fired up and snorted with disgust at his lack of self pride.

Then the angel of Alice herself who made him think the way he wanted to think:

Hatter - I'm sorry. I can't get back. I love you too, please forgive me.

He stopped himself. He was wasting his time. He had to arrange another meeting to introduce himself to this Jesse Wayton.

Sorry about the long delay - please forgive me! Tried to make chapter longer for you forgive me! I'm an angel don't hate me! Lol!