Return To Wonderland

Chapter 5: Escort

After what happened that day, Hatter seemed to be avoiding Alice but she would knock on his door everyday to see if he was okay. At first there was humming and quiet talking in his room with the familiar sounds of scissors and sewing machines but when she knocked, it would become quiet and she would wait a few minutes to see if he answered the door. He never did. 

"It's all my fault..I shouldn't have let him go like that. Why didn't I tell him to stay..?" Alice sighed, tears rolling down her cheeks as she lay in her bed. When the maids or anyone else came to her room, she would try to smile so they wouldn't be worried about her. 

She would usually spend her day having tea with the queen, taking care of the Bandersnatch (who loved to see her), she even attended some meetings that were not as boring as the ones in London. But her favorite thing to do was walk in the gardens of Marmoreal where it was peaceful and she could think. What she didn't know was that everyday when she would take her walk, the Hatter's balcony doors from his room would be open and he would watch her, wanting to join her and explain everything, mostly apologize for leaving her alone. 

Alice finally decided to get out of bed and hope (again) that he would answer the door this time. She chose a green and gold tea dress with a hat to match. Ever since that day, when she came back from her walk in the gardens or after tea time, she would find new hats and dresses laid on her bed, no doubt by Hatter. 

"Please answer the door.." Alice whispered to no one (probably to herself) then knocked on the door. The noise inside the room stopped and became quiet. She could hear footsteps coming towards the door but then they stopped. 

"Hatter..it's me..Alice. I want to talk to you..please?" Her voice cracked a bit with sadness when she said 'please' and if anyone (especially Hatter) heard her, they would know she was trying not to cry. 

In his room, Hatter could hear Alice's soft voice. Each day when she came to knock on the door, he wanted to throw open the door and hug her as tightly as he could then beg on his knees (literally) to be forgiven even though he thought he didn't deserve it but instead he tried to keep himself busy working at his trade. Today, he couldn't take it any longer, the madness was driving him even more mad than usual, he couldn't stand not seeing Alice so he (literally) flung open the door which startled Alice a bit but she smiled widely and he pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Hatter.." Alice smiled, relieved to see and be with her best friend again even though it's been a few days. She has been worried about him but for that moment in his arms, everything seemed okay. 

"Alice, my dear Alice, I'm so so very sorry. I thought you would be angry or shocked at me for almost trying to-" Hatter started to apologize but stopped, lost in his thoughts then slightly shook his head and sank to his knees. "I know you probably would not want a madman like me to do that to you. I wanted to explain everything but I was afraid you would decide to go back to Above-land and leave again..leave me again..I'm very sorry for my behavior..please forgive me.." 

Alice then sat on her knees and held his face in her hands. She could see that his eyes changed blue when he looked into her eyes but she smiled, tears in her eyes. 

"Hatter..my Hatter there is nothing to apologize about. I understand that you needed time to think about what happened but there is no need to apologize. You are and always will be my best friend and the one I trust and care about the most. I was worried about you and I wanted to make sure you were alright, I missed you when you didn't come out and your right, your mad but all the best people are." Tears started rolling down Alice's cheeks again and Hatter gently wiped them away with his bandaged thumb. To her, his hands felt soft and gentle even if they were bandaged and stained because of working hard at his trade but that's what she loved about him.

"Please come in, we can sit and talk if you'd like to and have some tea." Hatter lisped softly as he helped her up and she nodded, smiling.

Alice walked inside the room and looked around, seeing fabric all around the room along with colorful clothes and hats, you could barely tell the room was white. Hatter pulled out the chair for Alice on the balcony where there was a small table with tea and other treats. They both sat down, talking nonsense which made perfect sense to them and drank tea, enjoying the view.  

Alice and Hatter spent their entire day together, after tea, she watched him make more hats and even some dresses he made for her. Then they visited Mirana in the throne room to talk about the ball that was tomorrow and they even went exploring in the Tulgey Wood with Mally, Thackery, Bayard and the Tweedles.

They got back to Marmoreal and Alice remembered she always took a stroll in the garden and this time, her best friend was joining her which made her love this walk even more.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Alice said, both of them sitting on a bench and watching the sunset.

"Yes, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Hatter smiled and Alice turned to look at him and realized he wasn't looking at the sunset. Instead, he was looking at her and she blushed then looked away. He carefully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear then sighed, he seemed to be thinking.

"Hatter, are you alright?" Alice looked at him, worried. He acted like this ever since Mirana mentioned the ball they were going to have at the castle and celebrate Alice's return plus her slaying of the Jabberwocky.

"Yes, I'm fine. Alice there is something I would like to ask you." Hatter gently took her hands in his and Alice saw there were blue specks of color in his green eyes. "Alice, may I escort you to the ball?"

Alice was waiting for him to ask her and if he didn't, she would have asked him but now he finally did and in her mind, she was saying, 'It's about time' but she kept that in her head and smiled widely.

"Yes, I would love to go to the ball with you!" Alice giggled as Hatter picked her up from her waist and spun her around. She felt happy and when he put her down, they were both blushing and walked back inside.

When they stopped in front of Alice's room, they both turned to face each and smiled. Hatter gently tipped his hat which was one way of saying goodbye and Alice blushed as she entered her room. Clouds were gathering outside and it started to rain but to both of them it was peaceful and they drifted off to sleep, having good dreams. Or so one of them thought.

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Cliffhanger!!! I'm so evil! Hahaha! Not to worry, I'll have the next chapter up and you'll all find out who didn't have good dreams! Or will you? Just kidding, don't worry!