Hatter

F A L L I N G

The Jabberwocky's claws closed around his throat as their deathly embrace grew tighter and tighter and tighter. Sebastian's breaths came in short ragged gasps now; he felt cold, as if the beast was leeching the warmth from his fingertips and licking it away into oblivion. Sebastian had never been so aware of his own heartbeat before. It thumped in his chest like a fluttering bird rattling its cage- except now the bird moved more sluggishly, more painfully; the cold was seeping into his veins, and he was paying the price.
The storm had settled into a layer of fine snow dust, but the battle was far from over. Flecks of ice painted his blue skin in a tapestry of white, crawling across his cheeks and into the flesh that lay within like worms in search of the ground to make it their home; he could feel the fire within him dimming as his strength ebbed away. But he had to fight; he had no choice.
Cath was waiting for him.
The Jabberwocky leaned its face closer, its talons digger deeper into his skin. Blood dripped onto the snow in teardrops of red. Sebastian gritted his teeth in pain, but he didn't let a cry escape his lips.
"Hatter," the beast crooned. "Do be reasonable now, will you? Look around. Look at the mess you've made. Don't you want Aether to go back to normal again? Or was Aether just a lie to you?" Absolem's voice took on a harsher edge dipped with honeyed sweetness as the Jabberwocky's face shifted into Dormouse's, then March Hare's, then the White Queen's, and finally into Cat's. "Were we just a lie to you?"
Sebastian spat blood onto the ground. "Stop," he grated with venom, "-stop messing with my head."
His vision blurred, but his fingers gripped his hilt tighter; he swung his sword at the Jabberwocky's chest. The beast howled, changing its face into a contorted Absolem. Sebastian's senses screamed, but he told himself Lucius was dead, that the Jabberwocky wasn't real, that he was needed back in reality. He lashed out a second time as the Jabberwocky's grip loosened further, except he hesitated for a split second as Absolem vomited blood in front of him. His brother wiped his mouth weakly, giving him a sad smile.
"Hatter," he soothed, "-it's me. I never left you, you know that. And-" his voice rose higher, trembling with passion, "-I never will. Even if you break every bone in my body, even if you kill me a thousand times, even if you leave me to rot in Hell, I'll never abandon you. You're my brother." His voice broke. "And I'll always be there for you. I promise."
Absolem stood up, shuffling over to Sebastian and staring at him square in the face.
"If you hate me so much," he whispered softly, "-go ahead and stab me in the chest. But I'll keep coming back, because it's my job to protect you." He laughed, much like Absolem always did. "Besides, they can't keep me in Hell forever. If I stay for too long, what'll become of you?"
The corners of Hatter's mouth twitched slightly, and for one blissful moment he remembered how much he missed the way Absolem always ruffled Hatter's hair whenever Hatter was being naughty, and the way Absolem's eyes always seemed to sparkle with humour even when nobody else appeared to notice, and the way Absolem always quipped remarks and witty responses at anyone who dared say a word against him or his little brother.
For one blissful moment, Hatter remembered how much he missed him.
He let out a long sigh, sinking into Aether as the cold slowly slipped away. His wounds didn't ache anymore. His heart felt lighter, happier, and the air had the fragrance of spring. Cat sat in front of him, her face curled in his lap; Absolem stood to the side teasing the two, while Dormouse and March Hare struggled to get a pair of apples down a tree. The White Queen lay caressing a bird on the soft grass, and the twins ran about playfully shoving at each other in a game of Tag; even the usually twitchy White Rabbit seemed to be at ease, staring down a rabbit hole with polite bafflement.
Everything was perfect.
He lay down his sword gently on the bed of flowers beside him, breathing in the smell of home.
Cat turned her head to stare at him, a smile playing on her face. She stretched her hand forward and plucked a stray leaf from his hair.
"You won't ever leave me, will you?" she asked softly.
The warmth of sunshine illuminated the two of them in an otherworldly glow. Hatter opened his mouth, a promise lingering on his lips, but the more he stared into Cat's eyes the more he realised something wasn't right, that this wasn't the Cat he knew.
That everything was a lie.
Then he was back in the swirling chaos, hands stretching out towards the sword flung beyond his reach. The Jabberwocky caressed his cheek with one sharp claw, a twisted rendition of Cat's smile plastered on its face.
Don't leave me, it whispered to Sebastian, echoing these words over and over while its voice slowly rose to an ear piercing shriek.
He saw Cat laughing, fixing a flower crown in his hair. He saw Absolem, lying beneath the stars and naming constellations with him. He saw everyone he loved, smiling and talking and existing together in a reality that seemed almost tangible, as if he could reach out and join their little bubble any moment.
His hand edged closer.
"Hatter." The Jabberwocky curled its wings round his body, a tinge of desperation in its voice. "Have you forgotten all the time you've spent here in Aether? Have you forgotten the people you went on adventures with?"
Sebastian reached farther; the sword hilt was almost within his grasp.
"Have you forgotten why you left reality in the first place?" The Jabberwocky gave a snarl. "You never had a place there. Lucius didn't think of you as a brother at all- no, he was selfish. He didn't care what happened to you after he killed himself. He left you, just like your mother did, just like everyone did. Catherine never loved you either; you were a freak to her, an anomaly, a mistake that could never be fixed. Who would love a wreck like you?"
The beast drew closer till Sebastian could feel its hot breath on his neck.
"But we found you. We gave you the love you needed. We made you smile even when they took you away and locked you up, we made you smile even when they called you a lunatic and laughed at your so called fantasies, we made you smile even when there was nothing left in the world for you to smile at. Because we gave you a new world, a world perfect for you, a world where your loved ones didn't abandon you and a world where you faced your problems together. A world where you belonged."
The Jabberwocky flickered through its many faces, its voice soft and lilting like a sad melody. Sebastian stared it in the eyes, watching as the beast's tail brushed off flecks of snow from its skin.
He let out a long sigh. "I'll miss you, Aether."
And stabbed the Jabberwocky in the chest.
A shriek, then silence.
The universe gave way beneath him; Sebastian was falling, falling, falling into an eternal abyss, with no way of knowing where he was going. The beeping sounds grew louder, and he began to see a faint pinprick of light which slowly grew into a ray and then into a tunnel that yawned wider and wider-
"Dad?"