Chapter Six: Remembering
The former Mad Hatter stepped into Jesse Wayton's bedchamber with slight discomfort. What would his queen, Iracebeth think if she saw him in here?
"Sorry if you don't want to know, but I won't tell you everything" Jesse warned, still holding the door open.
"Close the door!" Tarrant hissed and then rushed to the door and closing it shut quickly. Only when he turned, he saw Jesse clutching at her wrist.
Guilt instantly flooded him.
"I'm ok!" she assured him, wincing slightly before he could apologize. She went over to her suitcase, grabbed some tough cloth and wrapped it quickly round her wrist. She then made sure it was tight enough and wiggled her fingers. It didn't hurt, so she turned back to him and smiled.
"I'm so sorry.." Tarrant started but Jesse walked quickly across the room to put a finger to his cold lips.
"Do not fret, my pet!" she said before chuckling. "I made a rhyme!" she squealed and again when to her case and wrote it down on a piece of paper. Tarrant also saw notes of other little rhymes such as Tea, tea, where shall it be! and anyone can go by horse or rail, but the best way to travel is by hat!
That last note in particular struck a chord of long hidden memory in his brain and he grew even more wary of his surroundings. He felt like, a lifetime ago, had…he said those lines?
It was so familiar, as was the mysterious Jesse Wayton.
"Bee in your bonnet, Tarrant?" Jesse said, making him jump out of his reverie.
Jesse was sitting on the sofa next to him (although giving him a generous amount of personal space) and holding a cup of tea out for him. He took it kindly, smiling a true and old smile at her and drank some.
It cleared his head and suddenly he felt his brain whizz all his memories around his head, not of this phrase of madness, but before the evil blackness covered him.
He saw, what looked like a young female on the tea table where he used to have long tea parties just waiting.
But for what, he couldn't remember. At this point he wasn't waiting, he was talking to the young and small figure that he realised was 15cm tall!
The girl was looking at him curiously and looking from his face, then to his tall elegant top hat on the table, to his face again.
Then she spoke. "The hat?" her voice was so familiar and he wanted to scream that it was so annoying that he couldn't put his finger on it!
"Of course!" he was speaking, raver nervously yet exicted as he gazed down at her. "Anyone can go by horse or rail, but the best way to travel is by hat! Have I made a rhyme?"
The little girl climbed up onto the hat and then as he placed it on his head an d he walked away from the tea party, she swung off his rim of the hat and down onto his shoulder.
He remembered (?) being rather twitchy and flustered as she was so close to his face.
Still gazing curiously and determined, the young female huffed at him, stating that she didn't "slay"?.
He hated the way she had been so disappointing, put her on the floor and nearly made him cry as he walked away from her.
He also remembered screaming at himself, Don't Leave Alice Behind!
He gasped and he opened his eyes.
He was still in Jesse's chambers but it was sooner after midday than later.
He got up flustered. He must of fallen asleep but couldn't remember how.
Where was Jesse? Was his first question. He was a very curious man (always had been).
He stopped short – where had THAT come from? He started panicking, he was remembering stuff that he didn't think had happened before!
Tarrant, calm down – purest Alice was there again, sitting on his shoulder.
Why don't you sit down and try to remember some things? Jesse is doing a good thing by this. You can get out of this Tarrant, I believe in you.
He blushed and looked to his shoulder – she wasn't there.
He felt several tears fall down his cheeks as he walked to the window. What made him so upset when he came to Alice? He could barely remember anything about her yet, pain was stabbed into his heart at the mention of her.
Was she a person to look after him? A carer, a best friend? Mother? Family member? Wife? Lover? Enemy? He was rambing (another disturbing thing he remembered.
Looking out, he saw Jesse speaking to some of the guards and smiling at them.
She then handed each of them that looked like, a sandwich or snack.
Tarrant knew that the guards were always underfed, he'd tried convincing Iracebeth that they would work harder if they got the nutrition they needed.
She had threatened to behead him for that so he'd dropped it.
Looking back out the window, he saw Jesse put a finger to her lips, the guards nodded and she walked back inside.
Should he wait here for her? He decided against it. As he pasted the sofa, he spotted a note in her handwriting. It said:
Tarrant,
I believe in you as well.
Jesse
Tarrant tucked the note into his pocket and went to his chambers.
Curses to his duty to Iracebeth, he needed to remember.
He needed to listen to his Alice...and Jesse Wayton.
Sorry it is short but I'm getting closer!