𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹.

——— 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗜 𝗪𝗔𝗦, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗡.

[𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹. @AMaddestHatter]

𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐌.

⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ─ ♘ ─

the hatter. royal tailor. mirrored lit. au. wonderland. disney. ouat.

[𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹. @AMaddestHatter]

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣.

𝙍𝙚𝙙 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣, 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣.

Best to keep up appearances and stay out of the business of Cards and Knights.

[𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹. @AMaddestHatter]

@ACuriouserAlice — I’ll make you some tea.”

Of course she would get the privacy she wanted. He rose from the side of the bathtub, making his way to the door. The handkerchief, he deposited in front of the mirror, prepared to sort it out later.

“If you’ll meet me in the next room?”

[𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹. @AMaddestHatter]

Wonderland, how the c̶u̶r̶i̶o̶u̶s̶ Alice falls. He can’t be blamed for that look of loathing, given all she’s done.

“I hear you did a 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 job with your Mark. Have fun?”

[𝑳𝑨𝑫𝒀 𝑨𝑳𝑰𝑪𝑬. @ACuriouserAlice]

Ah yes. @AMaddestHatter’s daily glare session - like he has absolutely nothing better to do then leer with disdain.

𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮.

[𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹. @AMaddestHatter]

@ACuriouserAlice — presence. He withdrew the handkerchief only when the drips had stopped. He studied the side of her face, smoothing his expression out. His hands returned to the side of the bath.

“... The water’s growing cold. I brought your nightclothes in here. If you’ll get out… —

[𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹. @AMaddestHatter]

@ACuriouserAlice — without pieces of Alice in it.”

But it was much more than that. Even if there were no pieces of her left in herself, that wasn’t going to deter him.

“… I’ll find who you are then another way. It’ll be like learning you all over again. Meeting you again. I’d do that.”

[𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹. @AMaddestHatter]

@ACuriouserAlice — easy it was to be around her. Just as Jefferson. Just with Alice.

“Then…”

He carefully reached forward to place his hand on the brim of the tub, holding it.

“There’ll always be some of you left somewhere, even if it’s not with you. Wonderland’s not much of anything —

[𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹. @AMaddestHatter]

@AWildLionheart —

— again.”

He paused, levelling his gaze.

“When you meet the Card in front of the door, kill him. Get them out. Bring them back.”

He gave her one more look before he started to walk away, leaving the Dormouse alone in the courtyard.

“And do it quickly.”

[𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹. @AMaddestHatter]

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙟𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.”

Though he had listened, though he had taken in what Alice had meant about the —

[𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹. @AMaddestHatter]

@AWildLionheart — to let them rot in Salazen Grum any longer.”

He pushed off of the Courtyard wall to lean in, keeping his voice hushed to repeat the words he had read over and over in Alice’s note.

“Take the third staircase down until there is no more light. Keep going until you find light —

[𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹. @AMaddestHatter]

@ACuriouserAlice — side of the tub. He looked to her, really looked, and found that his gaze had simply hooked on her. He couldn’t help himself in the way his smile formed, nor did he try to stop it.

“You laughed last time I found you, too. Do you remember?”

[𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹. @AMaddestHatter]

@ACuriouserAlice — and the game would go on for hours. It was a hollow realisation, as he lowered the brush down, to think that their innocent game had now become this.

“… I do know Alice anywhere. It just took me a little longer this time. On accident finding.”

He slowly moved towards the —

[𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹. @AMaddestHatter]

@ACuriouserAlice — down and hide when we were playing. I made you promise to stop hiding where I couldn’t find you.”

[𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹. @AMaddestHatter]

@ACuriouserAlice — “You promised…”

It was hardly as though he could forget now that he had let himself go back to that day He continued to brush through her hair, barely thinking about what he was doing in favour of letting his smile grow.

“You kept stealing bits of the mushroom to shrink —