Chapter 4: Getting to Business

Jesse awoke sleepily (having slept quite badly for some weird reason) in her little cosy home in Whitened on the gloomy Saturday afternoon after her show dancing in the field behind her home. She was glad that she had such a good reputation in the village already as she could see that she was a very clever woman.

Nobody would ever guess she was Alice Kingsley, for sure.

But today was the day that she had been called to perform for the Queen. Great…

She left the house quickly, only wearing what was quite revealing. She had a first impression to make. Her idea would be to look striking at first (like Hatter had) and then act more and more sophisticated as she played along.

She was wearing a lime green long flowing shirt, with a matching mini waist coat type of top. It had a gap in the middle which showed a little of her cleavage but she covered it up with many handmade necklaces with beads and ect. She made her hair very messy and wild; hard to contain and roughly tied it up with a rubber band.

That'll hurt later when I pull it out, she thought as she gathered up her things for the palace. Hopefully if her plan went well she would have a longer visit to the castle of Iracebeth.

As soon as she got there she was told to wait to be called into the grand throne room, red and checkerboard style with red and black squares. There was the raised platform as ever with Iracebeth's throne. There were several seats next to where she stood before the Red Queen. Jesse guessed they were for some courtiers or people to watch Iracebeth all day – how depressing.

"Call forward, Miss Wayton!" came a shout which she could only guess was Tarrant's.

She pushed the guards aside and strode confidently into the hall, ignoring some of the gasps that were emitted by her clothes.

"Good day, Your Majesty" she greeted the Queen sat before her.

The Queen grunted unwelcoming at her; still eyeing her strange clothes. Looks likes the kind of drag my Tarrant used to wear! She thought, disgusted.

"I have come here out of request from you and Mr Hightopp today as...urm an entertainer" Jesse continued, unsure of how Tarrant had described her. The she thought she'd at least try to soften the Queen up.

"Any Questions?" she asked, in a normal voice.

"Just get on with it Jesse Wayton!" The Red Queen spat at her.

Tarrant jumped and looked sideways at her. Jesse felt a leap of hope when he turned and smiled causally at her from the corner of her eye. She blinked and turned, but it was gone.

"Get yourself sorted, WOMAN!" Iracebeth roared.

Tarrant sighed and ignored the Queen for a moment. Jesse wondered if she'd try flattery. She tried and failed.

"May I take this honour in thanking you? I remember swearing to thank you happily for you being such a...interesting monarch" she said, only just stumbling over her words like a criminal trying to delay time for the jury to make their minds up.

"ENOUGH SPEAKING! DO YOUR DANCING OR I SHALL TAKE YOU HEAD OFF YOUR PRETTY BODY OF YOURS!" Iracebeth yelled, standing up from her throne and pointing at Jesse, who chooses this to look innocent.

Tarrant tried to contain his laughter.

So Jesse decided to dance and amaze the Red Queen...and Tarrant Hightopp (again). She started out slow and then managed to gain the tension in the dance. She danced to 'After School's – AH!' which she found to be quite fitting. (Link is on my profile to the routine she does as this dancing part of the chapter will have a video for it!)

The Queen was amazed, astonished, and maybe even stunned. She had never seen anybody in the whole of her kingdom perform like that – ever. Tarrant felt left out. He'd always been one for dancing as he enjoyed it. But here he was to be her second in command. He was like a mini Stayne. He shuddered and looked around hoping nobody had seen. His Hatter-ness had come back to him for a brief second and thankfully the Queen was too speechless to see. But Jesse had and her hope had soared even more.

Jesse finished her routine with a deep and humble bow, kneeling straight to floor and kissing it – so she was like worshipping the Queen.

Iracebeth found this very flattering.

"What would you say if I allowed you to remain in the castle and entertain me every now and again, Jesse? You are very talented, I must say." The Queen had spluttered.

Jesse beamed "Thank you Majesty." She pulled something out of her bag and handed it to the Queen. It was box with a red bow on top. The Queen took it and opened the box. Inside was a deep red jewel, with a clear solid ruby in the middle. It was made into the shape of a heart.

The Queen seemed lost for words. Jesse just shrugged and smiled brightly. Tarrant rolled his eyes, one way to get the Queen on your side is jewels which have red hearts – how did she know?

"I will be honoured to be a worker for you, Majesty." Jesse said smoothly.

"You…I shall…BETHANNA!" bellowed the Red Queen. A courtier in bright red clothing walked in.

She seemed to be a favourite. "Yes, Majesty?"

"Accommodate this lady a room!" Iracebeth ordered. "Jesse Wayton – you are now my new entertainer and friend! Bethanna shall lead you to your room."

"Thank you again, Your Majesty" Jesse curtsied. Iracebeth smiled.

Tarrant stepped forward, he was curious on why this lady had just made him feel like himself. He followed her and Bethanna out of the throne room and towards her new room.

Bethanna carried on down the corridor out of site. He knocked on her doorframe as she walked into the room and put her bag down on the dark red blanket cover.

She turned and beamed at him. "How are you Mr Hightopp?" she asked. The annoyance of her calling him a 'Mr' instead a 'Lord' wasn't as annoying as before.

"Please call me Tarrant" he excused and she looked puzzled at him. "I hate people apart from prisoners calling me 'Lord'. It gets a bit annoying." He explained.

She nodded, understanding. Then she looked ashamed.

"I apologize for the other day, Tarrant –" Jesse said (but as she said his name he felt that twinge of familiarity again) "- when I had a go at you. I wasn't having a good day, you see."

"That's alright. We all feel a bit mad sometimes, you know!" he chuckled. He saw her face fell but she quickly composed herself. She ran her hand through her tangled mess and walked over to the mirror and in one swift movement pulled the rubber band out. She winched slightly and threw it in the bin.

Tarrant looked at her and felt the emotion of…something he couldn't put his finger on. Why was it so familiar? Why did this woman seem like an old friend to him? What was wrong with him?

You're cracking up Tarrant! His demon yelled at him.

Nah, you're just listening to that stupid voice inside your head.

Is that a bad thing though? His demon roared.

Normal people can't hear voices of people who just waltz back out of your life Tarrant. Alice won't come back – she never will!

"TARRANT!"

He was brought back to reality to see Jesse standing in front of him with a worried look on her face. "You ok?" she asked; her voice full of concern.

He shook his head, ashamed.

"Want to talk about it?" she asked.

"No, thank you – I must get back to my duties." He mumbled and turned.

But he was stopped when Jesse gave him a soft and gentle hug.

"Thank you Tarrant." She whispered before walking into her room.

Tarrant, confused, walked away down the hall, still confused on who this woman was.

Please don't complain to me - I've tried a lot of this chapter to get it out. Also no complaints about how long it takes me to update. Seriously, really annoys me. Cheers.