Chapter Five

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"This...I think this is a bad idea..." Red murmured under her breath. Glancing at Aaron nervously, she tried to control her breathing as the pair stared ahead.

Two figures were outlined in the glowing moonlight. A woman laughed at something the man had said, and then he put his arms around her. He said something that neither Red nor Aaron could hear. It was Alice and the Hatter.

"We're going to just grab the stupid hat, and then get it back to Chesh. Trust me, I don't want to screw with this anymore than you do." Aaron responded, his voice low as he spoke in Red's ear. It was just like him to get crabby like this.

Back when...he saw the wolf, he hadn't been snippy. Just tense. Why was this time any different?

Something changed on Aaron's face, almost like a grimace of pain had formed. Aaron gave a soft grunt, and clenched the cold rock they crouched behind. As soon as Red had noticed, the look had vanished. Neither one of them spoke about it.

"So...what are we supposed to do? It's not as if we can just...walk up there and ask nicely..right?" Red asked, looking over at Aaron once again. What the hell got her in this mess to begin with? Suddenly, she started to feel a headache, and she leaned agaisnt the large rock.

Aaron huffed in reply.

"No. It is most certainly not going to be that easy. I can handle it. You just...you just stay here, Red. Where it's safe." he murmured, his cool breath sending a shiver down my spine. His tone had been serious, and his eyes kept serching hers for any hint of disobedience.

"Yeah. Yeah okay. I'll stay here.." she muttered after thinking it over. At least for now she would just watch. Maybe then Red would be able to learn something. Then she could make herself useful. Aaron breathed an almost silent, 'thank god', and then he quietly began to make his move.

The pair had been hiding in the woods, which at the time seemed like the perfect place to be. Red tried to look for Aaron, but by that time it looked like he had blended in with the darkness. Fidgeting slightly behind the rock, she did her best to stay out of sight. Although it was uncomfortable back there.

Alice laughed at something the Hatter had said again, and she was looking up at him. Silence filled the night. Getting up on her toes, Alice leaned in, and kissed him. A small smile spread across Red's face, before she could stop herself. It was quite romantic. She didn't know that Alice and the Hatter had been together like this. There were more secrets under the stories than what was given.

Then, a dark blur passed by, and a muffled scream. Alice wasn't there anymore. The Hatter panicked, but mainly was frozen in shock. Red had to cover her mouth to keep from taking a sharp breath.

Seconds later, Aaron emerged, keeping a steady hold around Alice. The girl was squirming and saying something to him, but Aaron wasn't very phased. The Hatter's posture noticibly stiffened. No one said anything for a while.

"I always knew you were a little...villian..." the Hatter said, giving a long sigh. Aaron looked annoyed, but didn't say anything. Alice's arm trashed around. Red could feel the tension, but the two seemed completely calm up there. "What is it you want?" the Hatter continued, sounding bored.

"Your hat. I need it." Aaron responded. The Hatter laughed, but then quickly sobered once he realized Aaron was being completely serious.

"Why would I do that?" he asked, his white smile glowing in the darkness.

"Because I'll kill her if you don't." Aaron responded, just as calmly.

'This wasn't part of the plan..' Red nervously thought to herself, tugging her red cape over her head. 'Oh wait, what plan? That idiot is going to get us all killed with his stubborn mind.'

As she continued to think of all the reasons Aaron had no idea what he was doing, something fast caught her eye. It was the Hatter. He was moving at Aaron. Tackled him to the ground, to be more precise.

"Not as sharp as your daddy...are you, Aaron? No..." the Hatter said, a bit out of breath as Aaron squirmed around underneath him. The man took out a small silver butterknife, the silver sparkling against the moonlight. Without hesitation, the Hatter dragged it across Aaron's forehead, the contact sizzling against his skin.

Red panicked. No. This wasn't part of the plan at all. What was she supposed to do now? Someone was supposed to help prepare her, to help train her, and no one had bothered! Picking up a small pebble, she fumbled with it in her hands, and then tossed it against a tree.

The noise made the Hatter pause. Was there someone else out there? That was just fantastic, then. The male turned his attention back to Aaron, and he huffed quietly.

"Don't tell me you brought a friend..." he said, sounding almost dejected.

Aaron said nothing, squirming underneath the Hatter. This was quite embarassing for him. Now what was Red supposed to do..? If she ended up getting hurt, it would be his fault. They just needed to get this hat. They were pressed for time.

"Look." the woodsman said through his teeth, sharp eyes glancing up toward the Hatter. "You know I don't like to be in anyone's favor...but...we're trying to kill the Wolf."

The Hatter's brows raised considerably, but he still held the knife against Aaron's cheek. There was no way he would trust him, after saying something like that.

"Why would you want to do that..? I know he's -" the Hatter began to say, actually looking a bit confused over all of this. There was no real motive for Aaron to kill the Wolf. How could he? They were--

"Dangerous. He's very dangerous. I know. I can't let him keep killing people. It...it all just went too far. He could come after anyone, if his maddened brain came up with a good enough reason for it." Aaron cut him off then, gently shoving the Hatter so he could sit up properly. Neither male tried to make any attack at each other. Red waited in the forest, holding her breath. Could this really work?

"Why do you need my hat? You can't possibly mess with magic and deal with all the consequences.."

"You won't like it. I know that. But he's our only lead. Chesh is going to tell us where the Wolf is, and what his plans are. It's a costly bargain."

The Hatter scruntched his nose up and shook his head. No, he didn't like the sound of that at all. Making deals with that stupid cat always backfired in the end. Hatter had known Chesh for much longer than the other characters had. Aaron explained to him the other items they needed, and the Hatter breathed soflty.

"That's steep. The others won't be as polite as I am. You know Peter is...a real pain in the pompous. I doubt any one could reason with him. And the Queen's apple..? Good luck." he said to Aaron. There was a small pause, and then he removed his hat, revealing ginger curls underneath. "Hm. If this plan doesn't work out, you bring this hat back to me. I have spares, but this is one of my favorites."

Aaron agreed, and quietly murmured a thank you and apology to Alice and her man. Quickly, he made his way back down the grassy hill, squinting in the darkness to find Red again. That could have gone a lot worse, he thought. At least the Hatter was...calm and reasonable. Peter Pan and the Wicked Queen...wouldn't be so easy. Sighing, he ran a hand through his dark hair, a nervous habit of his.

"Red...?" he called softly, and the girl stood from her crouched position, smiling faintly in return.

"Yes, I'm here." she said, brushing off the dead leaves from her cloak. It was impressive how he had bargained with the Hatter. Red didn't know much about the others, so...she wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Aaron glanced her over, noticing remnants of the forest on her cloak, and rose an eyebrow. He didn't have time to scold her now. Right now, they needed to get where it was safe. Before Hatter changed his mind.

"Let's go back to the shack."

"...alright."

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A/N:
(As a peace offering, a picture of what I think Aaron would look like :) )
Hello everyone! Sorry it has been so long! I hope this chapter wasn't too too bad, and as I've said before, I will be going back and improving things after the entire plot line is posted. Finals are coming. Summer is almost here. I'll have much more time on my hands to write then, I promise! Thank you all for reading! I love you all!

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