Time Is Many Things. (Through the looking glass)

Chapter Ten: Hatters Family.

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Previously:

"Let's go," he said excitedly kissing my cheek causing me to blush and he opened the door running out.

Alice grins at me. "I think he might like you," she teased.

"Shush," I blushed even more as we ran out of his home to catch up to him. I don't even think he noticed what he did!

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Alice, Tarrant and I ride on the back of the Bandersnatch, heading towards where my Aunt was banished. My mother, father and White Rabbit rode on a horse beside us. Bayard runs freely with Mally on his back and the twins along with the hare rides a small carriage pulled by crocs.

"My family's in there, I just know it," I hear Hatter yell as we come to a huge heart shaped home I'd assume. I place a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

We get to the doors and open them with a push, entering there's a whole heap of glowing blue bugs, stepping inside there's vines all around us.

We look up to see lots of different stairs heading in different directions.

"Ooh, there's a lot of stairs. Is this where we uhhhh..." The White Rabbit trailed off.

"Split up," Mally finished for him.

"We'll split up together," the twins exclaimed at the same time to each other.

At the mention of 'splitting up', Tarrant grabs my hand, causing a small blush to creep up onto my cheeks; I try not to look at Alice as she'll probably make it worse.

"It is a very large castle, perhaps if we don't split up-

The White Rabbit was cut off as we all start splitting up.

Tarrant pulling me along with him as he heads off in a direction with Alice following us.

The twins go in another direction.

Mally and Bayard are teaming up with my mother.

The Whit Rabbit goes with the hare.

Soon we're all looking for Tarrants family in different places.

Tarrant hold my hand all the way to the top, where there's a door.

"This is the last room," Alice informed.

"Then they must be this way, I just know it," Hatter replied, in a hopeful tone.

He opens the door and we all creep in not knowing what to expect but hoping Hatters family is in there.

"Father, Mother, anyone?" Tarrant asked as we entered to room, but we were confronted by no one.

My heart drops to the pit of my stomach as Tarrants face drops.

Looking around the room, I realise we're in a bedroom, someone's bedroom; Red Queens.

"They're not here," he said sadly and disappointedly. "There're not here," he repeats and drops to his knees. I couldn't bare to see him like that, so I bent down to my knees also in front of him and took him in an embrace.

"They're not here," he said as he hugged me back.

"I'm so sorry," Alice whispered from behind him.

I felt him tilt his head to the side and stiffens. Curious, I pull back a bit to see what he's looking at. An ant home, some image forming in the sand; a hat.

Tarrant let's go of me and gets up abruptly, goes to the ant home picking it up gently and looks closely at it.

"Father... mother, everyone it's youuuu," he exclaims happily and relieved. "Teeny tiny you, but still you," he says causing me to giggle, I look over at Alice whose smiling widely.

Hatter kisses the glass of the ant home.

And out of nowhere, all the windows slammed down like gates; this caused me to jump.

We turn and see my Aunt as she says. "Hello, Alice," causing Hatter to let out a small scream and me to cower, not knowing what she's going to do or say to me or Alice.

"Annalise," she says, her voice softening only a little bit as she turns to me. "You were known to be dead," she told me, I didn't know how to respond so I just stood there, staring back at her.

She quickly looked up and held out her hand. "Get it."

Then the veggie guards marched towards Alice, who struggled to keep the Chromosphere with her; but failed and it is now in my Aunts hand.

"Thank you ever so much," she said to Alice. "You, just have delivered to me, the most powerful device in the entire universe. Along with your dearest friends and my, dearest enemy," she said, finishing with an angry expression.

So we're all locked up in cages, except my mother whom struggles against some veggie guards. Tarrant holds his family close with one hand and decided to take my hand in the other.

"I knew we should've stayed together, now look at us, stuck in a giant vegetable jail," White Rabbit complained.

I look over to see Time chained up to a chair looking as sick as Tarrant did, next to him is a dead corpse with an eyepatch; the Nave.

My Aunt rolled the Chromosphere enlarging it.

"Wait! Your majesty stop, you cannot change the past believe me I have tried-

Big Red cut Alice off letting out an annoyed sound.

She gestured to a guard to do something, I was quite confused as he came over to the cage and opened it, making sure to not let anyone out.

He grabbed my arm, the one that was holding Hatters hand and yanked it causing us to break. He started pulling me out of the cage.

"What are you doing?" I asked struggling, being a bit fed up with people/veggies grabbing me and pulling me everywhere like I'm some kind of puppet... except Hatter; he's gentle, firm but doesn't hurt me.

"You can't take her," Hatter protested, trying to get to me.

"Stay back," the guard told him as he locked the cage back up.

He took me over to my Red Aunt and she looked at me.

"You're coming with us," she started as she pulled my mother into the Chromosphere. "You're going to learn the truth, who's the real villain here," she told me.

The guard forced me into the Chromosphere.

"Don't let her see herself, or it will destroy everything," Time yelled out to us as my Aunt pulled the lever and we went up.

My Aunt, clearly already knowing how this technology works, takes us forward at high speed to take us back in time.

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