His arms wrapped around her as she held on tightly, her face buried in his shoulder as he carried her up the steps of his home. She didn't speak. She didn't even look up. She was crying softly, but it wasn't a sad sob. It was happy. It was a happy cry, tears of joy seeping through his suit and onto his shoulders...
"I love you, Gracey. I love you..." He whispered.
She pulled herself up out of his shoulder, wiping her eyes as she finally looked at him again for the first time in 28 years. He had lived agonizingly through 28 years, watched her from a distance for 28 years, watched as she lived in complete ignorance, watched her as she never aged a day for 28 years. It was like nothing had ever even happened, as if they had just started where they left off. But so much... So much had changed.
A peasant had turned into a millionaire. The daughter of the Mad Hatter had been raised by two people who weren't actually her parents. She had created new memories and she had fallen in love with new people and she had become something or someone else. She had created a new life. Everything that the two of them had... It had been warped.
"It's beautiful, isn't it? No more living in a hut. No more being too poor to buy you the nice things. No more. We'll never want anything ever, ever again, okay? You'll have a good life now. I can give you a good life now." He swore.
"I know, Papa... But I don't need anything. I don't need any of that. I just wanted you. I only ever wanted you." She whispered.
He held her tighter as he pulled her through the door. He didn't put down the little girl when they entered the door, didn't set her down. He just kept walking, hurrying toward the hallway. He hurried to the room where he had sworn that he would bring her one of these days, bring her the moment she remembered. It took him forever to go to her, though he knew that she had wanted to see him... But he had her. He finally had her.
He kicked open the door with his heel, not daring to take a hand off of her in fear of losing her again. She had her arms wrapped just as tightly around him as he had around her, holding onto him like she couldn't let go no matter what.
The room opened up into a large playroom. There was her tea party, with all her little toys from before, with everything that they'd had from before he left, from before the curse. And, sitting right in the center of the table, there was a white rabbit, the rabbit that she had wanted so badly back then sitting there.
He sat her down then, and she turned around after a lingering glance and a smile. A small, girlish squeal escaped her throat as she looked around the room, appearing ecstatic that she finally had some part of her old life back, their old life back.
"Papa!" She cried.
She squealed and hurried toward the table with the tea party. Her arms wrapped around the fluffy white rabbit, grabbing it and huddling it against her chest like a security blanket. Her smile was huge, and she looked happier than she had in the past 28 years of his spying. It was like, even though this was the least of the riches she could have with him now, this was the best thing in the world that could've ever happened to her.
She turned back toward him before darting to him, one arm around the bunny and the other arm wrapped around his legs. Tears welled up in his eyes, the memories of how she used to do this flooding back into his memories. He ran his hands over her silky hair, leaning down next to her and holding onto her like they had so long ago.
He smiled and leaned down in front of her, pulling her toward him. She turned back toward him, her eyes darting around the room for a moment before focusing on him.
"I know you said that you didn't care about what I can give you... But I abandoned you. I know that I can't buy back your love. I know that I can't buy your forgiveness. I know... But.... I am going to give you everything that you never got. I promise that this time, I'm going to give you the life that you deserve. You deserved so much better than what I was able to give you baby. And now I'm going to give it to you. You're going to be my princess." He whispered.
Her arms slung around her again.
"I've always been your princess, papa..."
"I know you have. But I'm going to start treating you like one."
