Almost | Jeffmads ✓

·-19-· Helpless ·-19-·

I felt tapping on my shoulder. I blinked my eyes open, seeing Hatter sitting cross-legged in front of me.

"What?" I asked hoarsely, sitting up.

"Nothing, I couldn't sleep," he sighed with a frown. "I don't know why I even woke you up, it seemed like a good idea-"

"Hey," I raised a hand to stop Hatter from rambling. "It's alright. Sleep is kind of boring anyway." Hatter smiled, letting out a small laugh.

"You know, I can't believe Hamilton is the White King. If I was drinking while Pheacker spilled the news, I would've spit that out."

Hatter laughed again, shaking his head. "He may be rash sometimes-"

"Sometimes-" I scoffed.

Hatter rolled his eyes with a smile. "- and can go ahead of himself, he's a good man. He knows how to lead. He tries his best to keep the kingdom from nose-diving into shit."

"Well, if he's the White King, why did the Red King spare him? Wouldn't it be a better idea to just- I don't know- kill him?"

"Do you really hate him that much?" Hatter raised an eyebrow.

"Yes and no," I smiled.

"Well, I was told that Angelica helped him get out of that mess. She convinced the king to spare him and use him to bring the other Kingdom to their knees. Of course, that was just a ploy to keep Hamilton from dying."

I noticed how Hatter's eyes twinkled with amusement. I thought that making him mad was great, but apparently making him happy is better. So that's what I did, I made him laugh.

"Hey, are you religious?" I asked, causing Hatter to smile. "Because you're the answer to my prayers."

Hatter laughed, chuckling and shaking his head in a mock disappointment. At least, I hope it was.

"I'm sure you would get a really good girl with that," He snorted. I smiled back, enjoying his company. You know what? I'm glad I decided to stay up instead of going back to sleep.

Hatter's face soon fell, looking down at his own hands that laid on his lap.

"Uh, Thomas, what I wanted to say earlier..." He mumbled low. "I-"

"You don't have to say it if you don't want to," I said softly.

"No- no, I want to." He gave me a determined look. "I-

Holy shit, is this really happening?

"I really-" he sighed, looking away. "I really don't think it was your fault."

I blinked it confusion. "What?"

"Your sister's death?" Hatter reminded. "I don't think it was your fault."

Well, this is why I should never get my hopes up. "What do you mean? I basically let her drive into that storm, of course it's my fault!"

"Well- I- uh..." Hatter stumbled over his words. "No- I guess- no then, I suppose it is your fault but you shouldn't beat yourself too much because of it." I raised an eyebrow in confusion. Like, actual confusion.

"What?"

"You didn't really know what would happen if you let Jane go. And if you did let her go, you would've trusted her a lot-"

"Which I did."

"Then, you would've trusted her to not get hurt, and that you knew she wouldn't get hurt. Someone did crash into her so the guy is also at fault. Not just you."

I said nothing. Hatter did have a point. But that doesn't mean much. If I didn't let her leave, she would've survived and lived another day.

"And I don't think it's also your fault that we ended up here. I mean, Pheacker could've just used common sense. It didn't have to be just you. He probably studied us and came to a conclusion. Or saw that the Vorpal sword was missing and put two and two together." Hatter explained. "I just don't think Angelica or you would do anything like that."

"How would you know?" I asked.

"Well, I've known Angelica for awhile and even though we haven't really done much but argued since you arrived, I still consider you as... a friend of mine. And I know that you might think of some of us as annoying, but I'm sure you wouldn't stab us in the back like this." He coughed slightly. "I-I don't know... Well, I do- but- I know that you wouldn't do any of these. I mean, you basically helped us with the rebellion, why would you want to sabotage it after that?"

We both sat in silence. I stared at him as he stared at hands.

Hatter shook his head, pressing his lips together. "I probably sound stupid, just go back to sleep, you must be exhausted." Hatter was about to stand up until I grabbed his hand, pulling him toward me. He landed on me, my arms wrapping around him in an awkward hug.

I felt Hatter tense up and let out a small squeak.

"Thanks," I mumbled to him. He soon relaxed, placing his head on my shoulder and shifting into a more comfortable position.

"Madison," I heard.

"What?"I asked, grabbing Hatter by his shoulders to pull him back and to examine his face. His eyes looked soft with his lips turned upright into a small smile.

"My name is Madison." He answered. "You asked me before and I decided to answer."

"Madison..." I hummed, smiling. "I like it a lot. It suits you!"

Hatter- or more preferably Madison- gave me a smile, resting his head on my shoulder once more.

We sat there quietly until I heard soft snores coming from him. I patted the back of his head, laying down on the small pile of hay with him in my arms.