Hatter

WHO'S THE THEIF?

"This is a horrible plan." Hatter gritted his teeth, his sword wedged deep into the icy stone walls of the castle. His hands were cold and stiff from the unforgiving blizzard; it seemed as if he couldn't feel them at all. Any moment now a strong wind would cause one finger of his to slip, then another, then he would be falling and falling into the snowy death that awaited him below. When they would tearfully cradle his lifeless body as blood seeped through his clothes, yes- that would be when his disembodied soul would sniff I told you so and relish in satisfaction as the wails of their guilt-ridden hearts would reach his ears. Oh, how could we be so cruel to Hatter? the White Queen would weep, and even Cat would gruffly wipe away a tear from her watery eyes. They'd be sorry; oh yes, he would make sure they were.
Absolem wagged a finger at him. "My part of the plan hasn't come yet. Be patient."
Cat rolled her eyes and helped Hatter up. The twins coiled up the rope, with Tweedledum stashing it in Tweedledee's backpack.
"How is it that you're always the one who almost dies in these missions?" Cat scowled.
Hatter brushed off snow from his shirt, though it made not even the slightest difference, and yanked his sword out of the crack it had gotten stuck in. "I'm scared of heights. And it's not my fault my fingers keep slipping, alright?"
He wasn't sure if Cat heard him or not because the wind howled in his ears, drowning whatever sound came out of his mouth. Though he was wearing his warmest clothes, the cold bit through his skin like a dagger sharpened to draw blood. Cat had the misfortune of having wild choppy strands of hair that flew with the tides of the storm and crashed against her face like waves meeting the shore. Absolem of course noticed this, and handed her a cloth he fished out of Tweedledee's backpack. She gratefully tied her hair into a tight bandanna knot.
Then they jumped down.
Fortunately, the soft hay next to the stables was enough to cushion their fall, coupled with the layer of snow that blanketed it. Their landing made a soft plop sound, though most guards failed to notice it amidst the noise and chaos of the blizzard. The guard nearest to the stables whirled his head. It was almost impossible to see him with his white armour that blended perfectly with the snowy backdrop; luckily, the crudely designed red heart on his chest plate was enough to make him visible.
The guard took a few steps closer. Everyone held their breaths.
Then, seeing nothing, he shrugged and walked away.
Tweedledum gave Cat a hug, to which he received a teasing push in reply. Absolem signaled everyone to follow him.
While they made their way across the icy bailey, Hatter couldn't help remembering Absolem's words as they revolved in his head.
"So, Mr. Solemn Guy, you've finally decided to step up as leader?" Hatter teased.
Absolem crossed his arms. "You know positions of authority don't interest me."
"Oh yeah? But when the White Queen suggested you lead this mission, you didn't say no." Hatter leaned forward. "So what got into you this time?"
Their tent fluttered in the winter air. Dawn shone from beneath the sleepy slopes of snow as faint trickles of sunlight bled into the night sky, basking their camp in ghostly luminescence.
A sigh from his brother. "I don't know. Maybe, it's because-" his voice faltered. "Maybe I just don't trust you enough."
Hatter's eyebrows shot up. "You don't trust me? I'm the most trustworthy person in the whole group, come on. Cat's always going off on her own suicidal missions in between, Dormouse is busy whining all the time, the twins keep pausing for snack breaks in between battles, March Hare refuses to spill a single drop of blood on his coat-"
"And you keep rushing blindly into everything," Absolem completed, sighing. "Remember the last mission in which you had to blow up the Queen of Hearts' weapons camp a few weeks ago? Cat kept telling you to wait but you went in and almost ruined our whole plan."
"But everything still turned out okay!" he insisted. "We might've gotten a few scratches but that's fine-"
"And now we're dealing with the Queen of Hearts herself. This is the most important mission of our lives, and we have to make it count. I'm not going to let you guys botch this up."
"So that's why you decided to tag along?"
Absolem smiled, nodding. Hatter punched him in the shoulder.
"You're a big fat liar, you know that?"
Absolem's mouth turned to an astonished O and his eyes widened in mock surprise. He clutched at his chest. "How could you betray me like this? My little brother accusing me of deception and treachery, when my soul's been white as an angel's since my very inception?"
"Your little brother thinks you're a huge drama queen."
A laugh."What can I say- it runs in the family."
A silence fell upon the two. Hatter looked down at the pinprick of a castle that stuck out of the snowy landscape like a needle. Inside that castle lived the one person who he had spent his entire life trying to destroy, trying to ruin, because that was what she had done to him, done to all of them. To defeat insanity you first had to embrace it, till the line defining the schism between insanity and sanity lost its definition. That was why to defeat a monster you first had to become a monster, till the line defining the schism between right and wrong lost its definition just like the line existing before it.
"Will you ever tell me the truth?" Hatter asked.
Absolem turned to face him with a small smile. "I don't want you to die," he said softly. A hand reached out and patted Hatter on the head, before drawing him closer into an embrace. Hatter let out a muffled snort in objection, but silence prevailed once more over the camp, and the sky grew light with the rising sun and the quiet comfort of their presence together.
"Time for our plan to start," said Absolem, checking to see if the coast was clear. A few soldiers lined the main building, but the area was mostly empty.
Cat rubbed her eyes tiredly. She pretended to be her normal self, but Hatter knew how draining her illusion magic was- especially when she was using it on a group of several people for a prolonged period of time. Absolem made a smart move when he decided to only assign five members to be part of the mission; smaller groups were easier to manage, he reasoned, and more suited to stealth. Cat, being an assassin who possessed the ability to create illusions, was a natural choice, and the twins' physical strength with their willingness to work as a team were both valuable assets that were essential contributions for the implementation of Absolem's plan; besides, the twins hadn't had a chance to go on any mission for quite some time and they insisted being a part of this one. Then Absolem needed one more person for backup in case the mission went haywire, and the Queen chose that person to be Hatter. Dormouse and March Hare had their fair share of bickering and tantrums, but they eventually gave up when Absolem explained how their powers weren't suited for this mission. Hatter personally felt his brother was making up excuses just so he could avoid having to deal with them. Both Dormouse and March Hare had the habit of questioning the authority of their leader unless it was the White Queen herself who was giving orders; this made them somewhat undesirable team members to have whenever occasion called for the group to be split.
The crew moved silently towards the entryway; Tweedledum and Tweedledee silently knocked the soldiers guarding the exterior of the building unconscious. They were lucky visibility was low, otherwise the other soldiers in the bailey would have come running as reinforcements.
"That was easy," Hatter grumbled to himself, then let out a sigh of relief as the group went inside. He was thankful to be finally out of the blizzard, and the blissful warmth of the interior of the palace almost made him want to curl up in a corner for the rest of the night; if he hadn't been on a mission, in fact, he might've genuinely considered it.
Absolem gestured at them to be on guard. Just as he began lowering his fingers, a low snarl echoed in the darkness. A flurry of claws and slavering fangs sank into Tweedledee's backpack, almost tearing it to shreds. By a stroke of luck, the beast had missed Tweedledee's arm, though one of its nails had left a gash near his shoulder. Tweedledee cried out in pain but clasped his hand over his mouth to muffle the sound.
Hatter unsheathed his sword in an instant. The metallic glint of the blade caught the beast's attention, and for a split second its body came into view. Hatter's eyes widened in horror. The creature looked like a bloodhound, if someone had taken one and sliced it into little pieces with a crude dagger before stitching it up again into a vague dog shaped mass. Dried dirt and crusts of blood matted its muddy tangled fur. Its eyes shone in their hollowed, tattered sockets like soulless milky orbs, framed by drooping ears that hung about the beast's skeletal face. But the thing that struck Hatter the most was the creature's expression, for an inescapable feeling of loneliness and despair was etched in its features. It snarled again, mouth frothing with yellowy saliva, and reared for a pounce. Hatter readied himself, forcing his trembling hand to grip his sword firmly-
And Absolem rammed a knife into the beast's side instead.
It let out a gasping breath, making growling sounds that seemed unintelligible, yet almost human, and sped away with remarkable agility leaving a trail of blood behind.
"This is bad," Absolem exhaled, running his fingers through his hair as he normally did when he was agitated. "The surprise element of our plan might not be so surprising after all." He turned to Hatter. "Are you alright?" he asked softly.
Hatter nodded, his brain numb. The grotesque image of the beast was etched in his mind. He stared at the sword in his hands, then a feeling of fury began to seep into him.
"I could've killed it," Hatter said quietly. "I could've killed it, and we could've just hidden the body somewhere- maybe even chucked it outside where it would've been buried under layers of snow. Why didn't you just let me, Absolem?"
His brother turned away abruptly, looking at his watch. "We don't have enough time to be arguing. We're supposed to meet White Rabbit in 3 minutes-"
"Why do you keep treating me like I'm a little kid?" Hatter's voice grew higher. His eyes narrowed. "You never wanted me to go on this mission in the first place, did you? But you let me because otherwise I'd throw a tantrum just like the rest of them, and you thought it would be good to have me on the team anyway because an extra swords guy is always handy, right?"
Cat rubbed her eyes in exhaustion. "Hatter, Absolem's right; we don't have time for this-"
Hatter's eyes flashed. "Oh, so you're siding with him now? He's the one who blew our cover-"
"Trying to protect you," Absolem replied evenly.
"Trying to protect me when I'm perfectly fine protecting myself!
Absolem let out a sigh, then looked at him. He bowed down till he was at his little brother's height, then raised a finger to his lips wordlessly. Several moments passed. Hatter pursed his lips and gave him a heated glare, then looked away. There was no arguing with Absolem when he did that.
The crew continued forward in silence.
Finally, Absolem stopped. He looked at his watch again.
"You know the drill," he said.
Tweedledum and tweedledee nodded, then separated from the group and hid. As White Rabbit's jittery face appeared round the corner, Cat removed the illusion.
White Rabbit broke into a rather nervous smile. "Ah. You're here." He rubbed his hands, then stared at them quizzically. "That's it? Only two of you?"
"Well, see, we decided to bring a smaller group just to-" Absolem started, then paused in confusion. "Wait, two?"
He glanced behind him.
Hatter was nowhere to be seen.