Hatter

ALL HAIL THE QUEEN

"What's wrong?"
Hatter sighed. Cat cocked her head to one side.
"Fine. Don't tell me," she sniffed.
Hatter stared off into the distance. The castle loomed ahead, its turrets barely visible against the onset of snow. Though it seemed far away, the heart-shaped banner fluttering above the spires stood out like a drop of blood on a white backdrop. It radiated an air of foreboding. Any law abiding denizen of Aether was sure to stay clear of it for miles.
Hatter's hunched figure shivered. It was cold and he was hungry. Irritation was slowly gnawing away at what little motivation he had left.
"Don't be such a downer," Cat scowled. "We've been through worse." Her tone softened a little. "Besides, it's a simple job. Walk in, steal the Queen's crown, walk out. Easy peasy."
"You've been saying that for the past four months."
She folded her arms defensively. "So?"
"And we still haven't done it, that's what," he retorted.
"Stop whining already."
Hatter thrummed his fingers and sang a soft, off key tune under his breath.
He said quietly, "Hey, Cat?"
A sigh. "Yeah?"
"What if we don't make it out alive?"
Cat plopped down on the icy ground next to him, her movements brisk and fluid even when her own energy was at low ebb. She stared at the frail snowflakes huddling together on her gloved hands. The storm was coming closer- both of them knew it. That meant they would have to strike soon.
Cat blew at her fingers to keep them warm, rubbing her hands together with vigour. Her tan cheeks were flecked with droplets of ice and snow that she brushed off impatiently. For a second Cat was quiet, presumably pondering upon Hatter's statement. Or maybe she was just thinking about food. Hatter could never really predict what his partner was up to. She was an enigma to him since the day she bounced into his life, and Hatter had a strong feeling Cat enjoyed the mysterious aura her presence created. Maybe that's why she kept it that way.
A long silence stretched between them. With the air of a philosopher about to drop profound wisdom, Cat finally snorted: "You're stupid."
Hatter let out an offended sniff.
Cat sprang up, rocking on her heels. "Come on. We don't have time to have an existential crisis. Dormouse will be waiting back at the shelter. Last time he freaked out when we came late, remember?" she said. "Also, I vote that we choose someone else to make the passwords. If I have to say chicken jelly croquettes one more time-"
"Food," Hatter murmured under his breath. He lay down on the cold snow and stretched his limbs pathetically.
Cat stared at him with hopelessness. "See?" she said, gesturing wildly at Hatter's forlorn figure. "Your brain's turning to literal mush out here. Not that it wasn't mush already," she added, but Hatter didn't have the mental strength to respond to her usual jibes. Cat looked disappointed, though she continued, "The more time we spend out here, the longer it'll take to get back. So let's go out over there-" she motioned towards the hill ahead of them, "and mark our vantage point. You have the paper, don't you?"
He nodded.
"Then let's do this. Just a little farther."
Hatter moved his arms and legs feebly in the snow.
"Look," he giggled. "I'm making a snow angel."
Cat rolled her eyes as she dragged Hatter up. He looked at her in great indignation, but followed alongside her anyway.
The wind blew hard against their cheeks and bit into their skin, howling up a storm that stripped away all warmth from their bodies. Cat whispered words of encouragement, or they might have been delusional ramblings, or perhaps both- Hatter couldn't really tell. Finally, the two of them stopped to peer down at the land laid out before them. Like icing on a Christmas cake, the ground was blanketed by layers of snow. The cherry on top was, of course, the castle; now considerably closer and more formidable than ever.
Cat tossed the pen towards him. "Here."
Hatter gave her a scowl as he shivered. After a minute of scribbling, he pointed to some vaguely discernible lines and said: "That's the Queen's palace. Now what?"
"Have you drawn the forest on the side over there?"
"Yeah."
"Right. That's where we'll enter from, so mark it with an X."
Quick scrawling. "Done."
Cat squinted, trying to make out details in the foggy air. "The Queen probably has guards stationed in the towers to keep a lookout. Make a circle around the castle and label it 400 metres. And I bet the card soldiers are all the way around the front, too. That means we'll have to be careful." She leaned forward.
"You'll fall down," Hatter warned, but she waved him off with a brush of her hand.
Her eyes widened. "There. I think there's an opening. The moat should be frozen in the winters, so..." She trailed off, deep in thought.
He sneezed and rubbed his nose apologetically. "I'm going to catch a cold out here, so we should probably hurry up." Hatter cocked his head to one side, suddenly attentive. "Hey Cat-"
"If we go around the castle we can make our way up the curtain wall. White Rabbit told us the stables are on the right side of the palace, didn't he? If we hide in there and regroup, we can reach the main building from the bailey. And bingo. Mission complete."
"Cat-"
"Or wait, I got a brilliant idea. We can keep ol Mousy McMouse as a distraction, run inside without anyone finding out and then explode the entire place. I feel like murderous rampage explosions would be better than stealthy ninja time, don't you think? I mean, the Queen would never agree, but we might be able to conv-"
"Cat-"
"Would you keep quiet for a sec?"
"Code. Red."
She swivelled her head and halted dead in her tracks. A growl from her left. Hatter stood still by her side, stiff and motionless. There was a flurry of movement in their field of vision, and a pack of white-haired wolves emerged from the falling snow.
Cat swallowed. "Okay. How far away are we from camp again? "
Hatter let out a humourless, bitter laugh. "Very."
"Righty then. What do you suggest we do?" Cat's green eyes scanned her surroundings. There were about fifteen minutes before the wolves reached them.
"You create a distraction and we'll make a run for it," Hatter said, unsheathing the sword tied to his belt just in case he needed it. The hilt was freezing cold. Considering his hands were already blocks of ice, he could barely hold on to the blade without dropping it.
Cat let out a low growl. "Why am I the one who always does the hard work? This isn't fair."
The wolves grew closer. Hatter could see the foam that lined the edges of their teeth as they drew their lips back in a snarl. Red hearts were emblazoned on their pale necks, leering back at him. Hatter stiffened. They were the Queen's pets. Beside him, Cat's eyes grew dangerously narrow.
One.
Two.
Three.
"Now!" Hatter shouted.
Cat raised her right hand to the air. She brought her outstretched fingers down in a cutting motion, drawing a thin glowing line in the cold mist. Wisps of hair swirled around her cheeks as her irises flashed an emerald green. A great grin spread across her face. Though Hatter had seen her do her little magic trick a hundred times before, he still flinched when she snapped her fingers, causing the falling flakes to swallow the two of them whole. Gusts of cold wind bit his pale cheeks and playfully ruffled the snow-dusted locks of his hair. He closed his eyes almost imperceptibly, sparks of light fluttering beneath his eyelids. Blissful warmth coursed through his body. He felt his hands and feet melting away, and for a second his mind blanked out.
Everything was still.
Snatches of memories floated past him as he lay there suspended in midair, drifting farther into the abyss. Memories that felt like his, but weren't his. They couldn't be his.
Something was wrong.
Puffs of smoke. Fumes.
Where had he seen that?
Think.
Think.
He was coughing. His eyes were watering and his throat was hoarse.
"Stop!" he shouted, but the void ate up his voice.
Wailing reached his ears. He ran forward in desperation, searching for something he needed to find.
He saw flashing lights. A sharp pain in his arm.
Silence.
"So you're back. I thought you died." Dormouse let out a pompous sniff.
Hatter blinked. He swivelled his head around in confusion and shivered. The biting cold was back, and so was the gnawing sensation in his stomach. The floor lay blanketed under layers of snow, patterned with their occasional footprints that were fast fading as flakes drifted down from the sky. Hatter frowned. Among those footprints were his own, though he had no recollection of making them.
Cat stood beside him, an air of disinterest in her expression. "We ran into a bit of trouble. Nothing we couldn't handle, of course," she added with the smirk of hers Hatter was all too familiar with. She looked at her partner expectantly. "Right, bud?"
"How.. how did we get here?"
Dormouse snorted. Cat raised her eyebrow. "Uh, we walked?"
"What?"
"I did my whole distraction thing, woooo~ we spookily vanished, the Queen's dogs were like 'nope let's head out' and we just set out for the base again? Remember?" Cat let out an exhausted sigh.
He said slowly, "I know you did the weird disappearing stuff you always do, and then I saw smoke, and I was looking for something, and-"
Cat appeared concerned, and her look felt oddly familiar. "Woah. Are you okay?"
"Clearly not," Dormouse muttered.
Hatter shook his head groggily. "I think I need some sleep."
"Yeah, you do," Cat said. "Get some rest while you can. Don't want you to mess up on the big day," she added jokingly, though her eyes were grave. All three of them fell silent. An air of unease filled the quietness.
Everyone knew the storm was coming fast, and so was the day of the fated mission. When it came, there was no going back.