Hatter

THE INTERMISSION

Cath never thought she would be part of such an eccentric group. She arrived promptly on time; Lilith had called her the night before saying they had to meet up immediately because she needed to discuss a matter regarding Sebastian. So now here she was in the visiting room- it felt like deja vu. Opposite to her sat the man named Ace, to his left sat Oscar and between the patients and Cath sat Lilith.
"You must be all wondering why I called you here," said Lilith, her tone a bit shaky. Her hair was a mess and her eyes had deep bags under them as if she had not slept in ages; she looked sleep deprived and a bit more eccentric than her usual devilish get-up.
Before she continued, Catherine interrupted: " I am deeply sorry for your loss. Before you came, these men told me your husband who lived here had passed away a while ago."
Lilith tilted her head towards Cath. "Thank you for your condolences. People don't normally sympathize with me." Lilith's voice was warm.
Ace leaned back in his chair and said, "You might be a devil doctor but you're still a human, and I might be insane but I'm still human. All of us have faced loss at some point in our lives. You lost your husband, we lost a friend; it would be inhuman not to show sympathy. This is a hard time for you- that's why we'll stay by your side, you crazy b#tch."
He smiled at her, while Oscar nodded in agreement. Lilith smiled. It had been a long time since she felt like she was part of a family or a home- even if it consisted of the mentally insane. It's just like Sebastian had said before: 'We're all a little mad here.'
"So, why did you call us all here?" asked Cath inquisitively.
Lilith smiled at her and said, "Sebastian is recovering quicker than I anticipated. I was talking to him during the usual trivial questioning, and then-" Her voice shifted, before she continued with a shaky tone: "-then Henry came and told me about June. I rushed to the ward. I was so distracted that I didn't realize that, when we left the room, it wasn't the usual mad hatter I was talking to, but Sebastian instead."
"So what do you want us to do?" asked Oscar, yawning.
Ace shoved him. "Don't you get it? He's finally getting better."
Oscar stared back at him coldly. "So? Am I supposed to feel happy about that? When his episodes become controlled, he's just going to leave us with his Mrs. over here. He won't remember us or care for us. He won't come to visit us, either- no one ever does.'' His voice was emotionless. That's when Ace realized how much Oscar really cared for Sebastian- no, cared for Hatter.
"It doesn't matter. You want to keep Sebastian in his mad hatter delusional universe, but you have to realise they're one in the same person and we need to help him, no matter what!" Ace spoke with great adamance.
"You both can help by reminding him of this life and telling him of his wife and children, and help him escape Aether," Lilith spoke.
Cath realized this might be the perfect time to tell her about Lucius' death. She began to speak, when Lilith interrupted her.
"Catherine, you need to help him the most. Help him escape the past. You must come visit him twice in two weeks, and remind him of his reality here." she continued, "I know it'll be tough, considering when he's in his hatter phase, but you need to help him fight it. I believe the only two reasons he is stuck in Aether is because of his brother and you. He has created people in his mind that replicate the two of you."
Cath began to speak when they heard a loud thud. Everything went black. The power went out, red back up lights illuminated the room, and as always Henry came running in breathless.
"Jail..Break...Mr..." He tried to speak.
"Spit it out, rice ball!" yelled Ace.
"Mr. Sebastian has escaped his room," blurted Henry, and then lay flat on the floor breathless.
'WHAT!" they all yelled in unison, and ran out of the room looking for Sebastian.
"Come on, Henry," said Lilith, rushing out of the room.
Henry held out a hand. "You go on without me. I just need a minute to breathe." He then proceeded to lie on the floor till they left.
The foursome ran down the hallways looking for Sebastian, until they heard a noise from Lilith's office.
"Absolem doesn't understand. He just doesn't get that the Queen is hurting. She and the White Queen are sisters; we have to be somewhat human to her, at the very least." Sebastian murmured to himself, until he noticed them all standing. "Ahh, the Queen of Hearts and her court jester have decided to grace us with her presence."
He looked behind and saw Cath and Ace. "Dormouse and Cat, you decided to join me too. I knew you wouldn't stay with Absolem, after he made me poison the Bandersnatch. I don't know what has gotten into him; he's madder than usual."
They all stood speechless. He clicked his tongue.
"How rude of me to ramble. Care for some tea?" Sebastian asked, holding up a pot.
In front of him was the most marvelous tea; a lavender tablecloth lay neatly on Lilith's desk. On top of it lay an old English tea set; there lay a  vanilla pound cake on one plate while a tea tray comprising of three tiers lay next to it. The first tier seemed to have sweets such as vanilla cream cupcakes and honeycomb biscuits, the second had scones, and the last had an assortment of sandwiches.The room radiated a strong aroma of tea, and Lilith's once cold office felt homey and sweet.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Have a seat," smiled Sebastian.
"Where did you get all this?" said Oscar, sitting down slowly.
"Oh don't be like that, March hare. You know where my tea spreads come from," said Sebastian, pouring out some tea for them.
"Sebastian, how did you get out of the room?" asked Lilith, still shocked by the whole situation.
"Who's the Bandersnatch and why did Absolem poison him?" asked Ace, stuffing a cupcake in his mouth.
"Oh, right!" Sebastian's eyes widened. "I forgot, Dormouse- you weren't with us. And Cat was unconscious just a while ago. Of course, of course- the two of you wouldn't know anything." He cocked his head to the side, staring at Ace. "Why did you come after us again? I thought you were with White Queen back at the headquarters." His gaze shifted to Cat. "And I thought the crew was going to take you back."
They stared blankly at him.
Hatter clapped his hands together. "Well, since everyone here is clueless, let me explain."
So the group enjoyed the tea and listened to the tale of Aether.
Cath realized this was going to be the time when she revealed the truth.