The Hatter and His Queen

Mad Like You and Me

A few years later on a cold winter's day, Tarrant had invited Mirana to play an innocent game of hide and seek with him and his other friends in the woods to which Mirana politely and happily accepted. After a few rounds, Tarrant was the seeker while the others were hiding; Mirana was hiding in a snow-covered bush beside the river. But as Tarrant was trying to find everyone who was hiding, Mirana stepped down on some snow underneath her foot and she accidentally slid onto the river which was now covered in ice. As Tarrant was coming her way, he turned his head to see Mirana sitting on the ice and he gasped.

"Mirana, what are you doing?" He asked, carefully making his way to the edge of the river. "Are you alright?"

"Yes I'm fine, Tarrant." Mirana replied.

"Stop! Don't make any sudden moves. It's very dangerous out there."

"D-D-D-Dangerous? Um... how?"

"Earlier today, my parents had told me that the ice on the river is incredibly thin and very hazardous; definitely NOT suitable for skating... and especially walking upon. So whatever you do, try your best not to stir from that one spot. One false movement could—"

Before Tarrant could finish his sentence, there was a loud cracking sound followed by a few large cracks forming in the ice. And before she knew it, Mirana screamed in fright as she fell right into the river as the ice finally gave away. Tarrant gasped in terror when he saw what just happened.

"Mirana!" He cried, his eyes filled with horror.

"Tarrant! Help me! I can't swim! Please, HELP!" Mirana shrieked before she sunk and vanished beneath the water out of Tarrant's sight.

Thinking fast, Tarrant carefully made his way out onto the river to save his friend. Tarrant's other friends came out of their hiding spots to see what was happening, only to see their companion going out onto the icy river towards the hole where the Princess fell.

"Tarrant! What are you doing out there?!" A floating grey and teal striped kitten called.

"Come back! It's too dangerous!" A bloodhound puppy added.

"No time! Mirana is in trouble!" The boy called to his friends.

"The princess?!" They cried.

"She just fell into the river and I must save her!" Tarrant said before turning his attention back to the water.

"We must do something!" A little round boy said.

"Contrariwise, something we need to do!" His twin brother added.

"Alight, here's what we'll do; Bayard and I will go to the castle and tell the King and Queen while you two go tell Mr. and Mrs. Hightopp!" The cat said.

"Right!" The twins said as they gave a salute.

"Let's go!" The dog added.

And with that, the little group ran off in different directions to see if they could get any help. Meanwhile, Tarrant had made it to the hole in the ice. The moment his friends were gone, he took off his coat and hat, took a deep breath, and jumped into the freezing water. He swam all the way to the bottom until he finally found Mirana floating on the ground unconscious. He grabbed her by the waist and did his best to swim back up to the hole in the ice and eventually, he did. With all of his strength, he made it back to the surface and pulled Mirana out of the water back to the bank.

"Mirana? Are you alright? Speak to me. Please, speak!" He worriedly asked. "Oh no! She's not breathing!"

Tarrant then took a pair of scissors out of his pocket, he turned her over to her side, and he cut open Mirana's bodice. After gently pressing his hands down on her chest a few times, Mirana abruptly opened her eyes as she coughed up a bit of water and frantically gasped for air. After a few seconds of coughing, Mirana sat up and looked Tarrant in the eyes; she smiled widely before wrapping her arms around him in a big hug. He smiled and hugged her back in response.