Sorry for the two day delay everyone, I've been sick for a pair of days. I hope you'll like this third chapter, feel free to leave a review!

TW: This chapter is trigger free!

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Chapter 3 –To Marmoreal

Teana fixed the bag containing her very simple belongings on Daredevil's saddle as quickly as she could muster. After a mere few hours of rest, she had decided to leave that same morning: she had checked the horse's bandages, injected some strong pain killers in his shoulder and now she was very gently lowering the saddle onto his back, hoping he would resist running until the closest place to hide.

She peeped from the stall where she was tacking the colt and checked the area to see if there was anybody around, then, as silently as possible, slid the latch of the box open and lead Daredevil out, behind the bushes that grew beside the Bandersnatch hut, ready to sprint out of the Castle as soon as the occasion showed up. From there she could hear the beast breathing and its disgusting smell.

"Where are we heading to?"

Teana was putting her gloves on when she heard the question: "Towards freedom."

Daredevil shook his tail in annoyance: "At least tell me which direction to take!"

"You have never ventured out of Salazen Grum before, Devil."

"I still have my instinct!"

Point taken. Teana pulled her jacket down and nodded: she took her rucksack from her back and searched for the map she had packed.

Suddenly there was a loud bang followed by the unpleasant sound of the metal armours of the soldiers.

Daredevil began to stomp his hooves and back off with his head lifted in fright.

Teana promptly grabbed the reins and pulled them down towards herself to keep the horse from making a scene: "No! Devil, stop now! Hush, calm down", she hugged his head to her chest in adept to calm him down.

She was still dealing with the colt when she heard Stayne's voice: "Alice! Of course, why didn't I see it?", For a moment she had frozen, afraid that he might have referred to herself, but relieved she sighed, then wondered who he was talking to.

"Alice?", Daredevil asked.

At the mention of that name the Bandersnatch shifted in his cage and growled: this made Teana quirk an eyebrow. She carefully peeked from her hiding place and saw a circle of card soldiers with their weapons pointed at Uhm, who stood in the centre with a silver sword held clumsily with both hands on the hilt: she suddenly recognized the legendary weapon and gasped. Teana leaned against the wall of the smelling hut and from the little window she was able to see the Bandersnatch turned towards the door, as if waiting for it to be opened. Her gaze also fell on the case of the Vorpal Sword laying opened and her mind flashed back to the previous night when she had seen Uhm and McTwisp nearby. This thing must have let her in… Alice… Her eyes widened in shock: "She is The Alice!", she turned towards Daredevil, who had never seen the green of his mistress' eyes shine so bright before: "Get ready to run", she slid in front of the hut, gathered all her little strength left and kicked the wooden post that kept the beast locked inside, making it slide and fall. With a roar the huge creature ran out in the courtyard, banging the still opening doors of the hut and breaking them completely.

"Why did you do that?!", the horse shrieked in terror.

The girl quickly climbed on the saddle and adjusted the reins: "It's called 'diversion'! HA!", she dug her heels into Daredevil's flanks and after rearing a bit, he sprinted forward, out of the gates, running into soldiers and jumping some fallen ones. They were too fast and came too unexpectedly for the guards to react.

Teana didn't allow herself to think about anything other than running towards freedom: soon the sound of hooves against porphyry was replaced by the dull one of a horse running on hard desert soil. They were out, they were finally out! "Now run, Devil! Go south-east! Follow the instinct ye said ye still have, and don't ye dare looking back!", she said harshly, something she was not used to do, but adrenaline ran too fast through her veins right then for her to remember manners. They ran so much. The air that hit her face made her feel sensations she had forgotten through the years. Oh, she loved it! The urge to cry out all her happiness rose uncontrollably and she started to laugh out loud at the world outside that hell.

But soon a familiar rumble seemed to be getting closer and closer and… was it a dog barking?!

"WAIT!".

Teana threw her gaze back just in time to see the Bandersnatch run beside her, Alice rode on its back, the Vorpal Sword in her hand. As far as the barking was concerned, she was right: Bayard was following them. The sight almost brought tears to her eyes: she would have stopped to think about the spark of hope that was starting to burn for Underland, if it wasn't for the fact that they were running for dear life. She was brought back to reality by Daredevil, whose ears were pulled back towards his neck and was trying to bite the huge spotted beast: Teana pulled the reins on the opposite side to stop him.

"They are not following us!", the Bloodhound yelled at the two.

The Bandersnatch huffed as it slowed down. It took a while for Teana to do the same with her horse: in the end, she dismounted when he was still slowly trotting, stroking his head and neck to calm him down. She urged him to walk: "You will get a heart attack otherwise", she loosened the girth a bit, then checked his bandages.

Daredevil let out a pained sound.

"I know, they must hurt", Teana answered. She reached for the bottle of water she kept in her bag and proceeded to rinse his wounds. She could almost feel the weight of the amount of questions she was about to be asked as she did so.

"As I live and breathe…", Bayard gasped: his voice was low and fatigued, but the happiness in his words was almost tangible.

Teana smiled at the Bloodhound, he ran to her and she crouched to pet him: "It took you a lifetime to recognize me, Bayard."

"And I thought you had gone lost in the Great Fire of Witzend!", Bayard turned towards the taller girl: "Alice, this is Teana Hightopp!"

"I'm very pleased to finally make your acquaintance, Alice. I was starting to think Underland would have never had the chance to see you again!"

"It's nice to meet you too, Teana. If your name is Hightopp, then you must know the Hatter!", Alice exclaimed.

At this Teana's smile faded; she froze, yellow shades in her eyes: "Of course, you don't know", she closed her eyes and sighed, "Not long after you left, the Red Queen took control of all of Underland and, as you might have noticed, she did not stop when it came to killing people: my whole family…Tarrant included, were amongst her victims".

Bayard hung his tail low with a whimper, then took a few steps back: "Teana… Tarrant currently finds himself at the Castle of Salazen Grum."

If Teana up to then had been merely spent, now she was distraught. Her heart began to beat faster, her breath hitched and she began to shake her head in disbelief: "What…? N-no, how? He was- I mean, I lost sight of him in the fire that day! H-he can't be… I'm the last one of the Hightopps…", she concluded bitterly. Sobs were burning in her throat but she categorically refused to let them out.

"No, you are not, I assure you he is very much alive.", the Bloodhound said.

"Not for long if he's still in there! We've got to save him!"

"We can't go back Teana! I am ashamed of the fact that it is my entire fault if he is in that Castle right now, but my choices are conditioned…", Bayard said, a hint of sadness could be heard in his speech: "Tarrant is strong and smart enough to figure a way out by himself. Besides, he is not alone: Mally, McTwisp, Chess and the Tweedles are there too. This gives us the opportunity to take care of the priorities: getting to Marmoreal and bringing the Vorpal Sword to the White Queen before Stayne can catch up with us."

Teana had put her hands on her head and slid them down behind her neck to calm her contrasting wills: she desperately wanted to gallop to Salazen Grum and find Tarrant: but reality was against her, plus, she had run away not to be back anymore… She laid a hand against Daredevil's shoulder and leaned against him: in front of her she could see the shining silhouette of the Castle of Marmoreal, where the Vorpal Sword belonged, behind her the faint hope to have her family back. She sighed and hung her head: as painful as it was, she couldn't be selfish and risk the safety of all Underland right when they were so close to put an end its misery.

Alice felt bad: right then she really regretted having such a big mouth. The Hatter had told her, back in the Tulgey Woods, that he was the only remaining member of the Hightopp family: this meant that neither he nor Teana could be aware of each other's existence! But this girl could have known that the Hatter was still alive, how was she supposed to know? She was justifying her own actions again, she hated it! How hard was it to admit that she had done something wrong? It was being a pretty challenging dream: even if they were just figments of her imagination, it hurt her to see them so down, especially if it was because of herself…. She slid down the Bandersnatch's side: if she didn't make things right, she knew she would have thought about that situation all day long once woken up.

She walked towards the red-haired girl and knelt to be able to talk to her better, as she was still six feet tall. When she turned to her, she began to speak: "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to cause you pain, I've been indelicate: I should have thought before talking about the Hatter, I realize I sometimes can't hold my tongue."

Teana made a little smile at Alice: "Don't be sorry, it's not your fault: I would have found out anyway once arrived at Marmoreal and I would have had the same reaction", she nervously took her tousled braid from the back of the head and set it on her chest, then fidgeting with its final tuft, she sighed: "Bayard is right: as long as we stay here there is very little we can do, we already wasted too much time: the Queen is waiting for her Champion."

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What had started as an ordinary day for the white chess pieces who were guarding the gates of Marmoreal, turned out to be quite extraordinary as a strange quintet approached the Castle. The ugly Bandersnatch ridden by an enormous girl and another lady on a black horse, which particularly caught their eyes because of the terrible contrast it made with the rest of the scenery: if wasn't for the fact that they were led by Bayard the Bloodhound, they would have probably already sounded the alarm. They followed the group with their eyes until they had passed the gates, then looked at each other appalled, just to check if they had both seen the same thing.

After being surrounded by darkness for years, Teana's eyes hurt a bit when she finally made it to Marmoreal. Even though it was way less crowded than it used to be, the atmosphere was the same, from the regal attitude of the courtesans to the beautiful cherry trees that stood proud in front of the massive castle. It was exactly as she remembered: she couldn't help but smile widely!

On the other hand, Daredevil was perplexed: the marble floor was slippery and the sound his hooves made against it produced a small echo… he wasn't sure he like it.

"Oh! Bayard!", the voice belonged to a peculiar character they saw running down the staircase at the entrance of the palace escorted by two guards: a chubby dwarfish man, completely white, from his clothes to his skin, but for his dark eyes and thin tip-curled moustache. His hair reached his shoulders and was perfectly curled at its tips, just as his long beard was. He wore a tunic so long it almost touched the ground: it was tight on his shoulders and grew larger and larger towards his legs, making him look like a little living bell. While he ran, he kept a hand on his wide white hat, practically a sphere upon the brim.

By the time he met the dog, he was huffing and puffing, but spoke anyway and with unbelievable speed: "You are finally here! The Queen was about to have one of her guilt attacks: feeling-too-many-emotions-at-once fainting and everything, I think you know what I mean", he laughed nervously "She'll be simply overjoyed to see you and", he made a gesture towards Alice, gulping when he measured their height difference "the Champion you brought with you!". He didn't miss the pale girl with the black horse and he was confused: "And… who might you be, if I may ask?"

Teana had dismounted and was holding the reins just under Daredevil's chin: "Teana Hightopp".

"High… HIGHTOPP?!", he yelled "This- this is a big surprise indeed! W-we were not expecting- oh, what a situation! Don't misunderstand me, miss, this is a positive situation, but totally unexpected! The Queen will be thrilled: the Champion and an old friend back in Marmoreal in just one day! By the Chronosphere, what a day!", every hint of exhaustion apparently forgotten. He first addressed the guards, then the trio: "You take the horse to the stables and that… animal… I don't know, let it free in a random empty pasture. Now, follow me straight to the Throne Room!"

Alice got off the Bandersnatch paying attention not to hurt anybody with her dimensions and, most importantly, with the Sword she held. Bayard laughed as he moved a step to follow: "This was Pawn: the most enthusiastic among his Majesty's ministers!". But the sound of a spear falling on the ground accompanied by a stifled neigh made him turn his head back.

The guard who had approached Teana to attend to her horse had, in fact, dropped his weapon to catch the girl who had suddenly gone limp and was now lying unconscious in his arms. Daredevil brushed nervously his muzzle against her head and was relieved when he felt her slow breathing.

Pawn's figure reappeared suddenly at the hound's side: "Exactly what I meant earlier, but no worries! If you'll excuse me, I'll go fetch someone!"

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Time passed with painful slowness in there, the dungeons were cold and damp and dirty, the echo of water dripping somewhere and the chain of Mally's cage squeaking as she paced inside it were making him nervous. Tarrant trembled with anxiety, his heart bursting in his chest, but he struggled to keep his breathing steady… he knew there was no way out, a scene would have been useless. He squeezed his eyes shut, tightening his grasp on the brim of his hat. He was knelt in the cell, enjoying the sunshine which entered from a tiny window and warmed his face.

How come? How did that happen? Never in years of resistance had he allowed himself to do anything so reckless… what pushed him to act so foolishly lately? What was the matter with him? Not once in the last two days he had thought about what to do to keep away from trouble… had he gone mad? Had he?

He sighed and let his top slide at his side.

"I've always admired that hat", a purring voice said.

The Hatter lifted his eyes to see where its owner was: lazily laying against the bars as if they were a couch, his tail softly moving back and forth and that… mocking smile of his…: "Hello Chess".

"Since you won't be needing it anymore", the feline continued, evaporating to get through the bars and reappearing sat on the worn top hat, kneading possessively with wide eyes: "Would you consider bequeathing it to me?".

"How dare you?", the Hatter said and, almost offended by the request, picked up the hat from where it was laying on the floor beside him and hugged it to him: "This is a formal execution, I would like to look my best, you know…"

Chessur kept on smoothly floating around him, his voice an echo in his head: "It's a pity about all this… I was looking forward to seeing you futterwacken", he smiled.

The name of that dance brought back pretty memories: the live traditional music, the smell of spring, the colours of Witzend, the singing, the joy… it all seemed so long ago… he smiled: "I was rather good at it, was I not?"

But Chess did not seem to care much, like always actually: "I really do love that hat", he said in a low purr, looking adoringly at the top, his pupils gone wide.

Quite annoyed, the Hatter glared at him and moved his top to his side, out of the cat's reach.

"I would wear it to all the finest occasions", he pleaded fidgeting with his paws and turning his head on one side.

They heard the door of the prison being opened… by the sound of the steps, whoever had entered was wearing an armour… did he have to go already? Well, he was the last person to which Time would have done a favour: perfectly understandable…

As the Cheshire Cat evaporated, someone spoke: "Tarrant?"

That was unexpected. It was not Chessur's voice, still it sounded vaguely familiar. The Hatter turned suspiciously: it belonged to a Card who was standing right in front of his cell: "Do I know you?", he dared to ask.

The guard put his hands on his helmet and lowered his head to uncover his face: Tarrant was surprised to see that there was a man under that armour! Blonde hair tied in a low ponytail, a short beard, sharp features, but what caught his attention the most was the scar he had on the left side of his face: three parallel lines had cut from just above his eyebrow to his cheekbone, leaving the left eye blind.

It was his posture, so regal despite everything and the unusual energy which came from his dark good eye that made the Hatter recognize his visitor: "What in- Ye should be dead!"

"I could say the same for you, yet here we are", the man grinned.

The Hatter stood laughing and almost falling, as he had forgotten that his ankles were chained. He extended an arm between the bars and the two shared a heartfelt handshake.

"And who are ye Goldie Locks?", asked an irritated Mallymkun from her bird cage just above the two.

"Terence Fengel still in flesh and bones, Mally!", said the Hatter.

"Say what?! It cannot be!", exclaimed the Dormouse.

Tarrant sighed: "What a sight I get to witness on the day of my departure!"

"I heard voices of what happened", the guard answered.

"How is it that you are here too? After all this time?", the Hatter asked, still nervously laughing.

"It's a long story and time is short… as soon as I got to know you were here, I managed to come to meet you", the two let go of each other's hands and the man continued "Are you still the leader of the Resistance?"

The Hatter laughed bitterly: "Well, I am, but not for very much longer it would seem."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but your execution will have to wait."

"But how? It won't be long 'til they'll come and get us!", Mally exclaimed.

As the Cheshire Cat reappeared, Terence went on explaining: "I see Chess beat me on time: we thought of a plan to get you all out of here", he said, pointing at all the prisoners.

The Hatter was looking at the feline, his eyes had gone orange: "Ye and Chess, aye?".

Chessur felt all the weight of the anger in that gaze. With his ears low and his eyes wide and sad, he tried to seem as sincere as he could: "Better late than never. Besides, I felt like I had to make amends for a thing or two".

Tarrant was still reluctant to trust the Cheshire Cat, but he had no choice: plus, the fact that Terence had contributed to the plan made him feel safer. He leaned his ear closer to the bars and carefully listened to his old friend's words. Mally protested by saying that she could not hear a thing from her cage up there, but she was told that for it to succeed, she didn't have to know the details of the plan. As Chess would have taken his shape and worn his hat- I bet it is the only reason he agreed to participate, that dog- to distract the audience, Terence would have set him and all the other prisoners free, only to join in later pretending to be chasing them. Then he would have stirred up the crowd against the Red Queen, creating a great confusion, during the which they would have had the occasion to run from the castle.

"Why won't you come with us?", Tarrant finally asked Terence.

The guard answered shaking his head: "If anything wrong should happen, you will need a supporter in here and I will be that one", he knelt to collect his helmet and put it back on his head, "Anyway, the Frabjous Day is tomorrow and I will be on the battlefield fighting for the rise of the White Queen. In the best hypothesis, we shall meet there".

The Hatter was about to answer, when a fright took everyone: the door of the prison was opening.

"S-sir? Are you in here?", someone said in a shy whisper.

Terence let out the breath he was holding: "Dannis what are you doing here? Where is-?", but the boy didn't let him finish.

"She's not here! Daredevil is gone too! No sign of his tacks or of her belongings, and I have heard some other guards saying that she took up the opportunity of Alice's escape to join her… she's already gone."

The Hatter saw Terence taking a step back and his shoulders slumping, so he extended one hand between the bars and reached for him: "Who are you talking about?"

The guard turned slowly, the Hatter could tell he was confused and worried even though his face could not be seen: but what he said right after was what unsettled him the most.

"Your sister, Tarrant… Teana was here too".