Slices of Time - an Alice in Wonderland 2010 Gift Fic
This fic was written for the AiW Fic Exchange. This may end up being one part of a longer story but I wanted to go ahead and get this first part ready for the exchange. :) I own nothing of the Burtonverse, I just play in the sandbox.
Here are the parameters:
Fandom: Burton
Preferred Media: fic
Max Rating: M+
Pairing (if any): Alice/Tarrant
Triggers (Please do not include): crackfic, Tarrant/Mally
Summary: Alice doesn't like losing track of Time and decides to keep a journal to mark the passage of days since her return to Underland. This story takes place approximately 2 years after the 2010 movie and 3 months after she returns to Underland.
Now I present to you, Slices of Time
Day 1 (3 months?)
Time passes very….differently…here in Underland.
I’m relatively certain that I’ve been here for at least three months but without the change in seasons that I’m used to it’s hard to tell. Just the other day I asked Tarrant when the weather would change and he looked at me as though I was the one who had been called “Mad” most of my life. He told me that the seasons changed when they wanted to and when they could be persuaded to. Tarrant explained that he was always partial to a mild temperature when many things were in full bloom and usually could persuade the season to stay that way.
Still, not knowing how much time has passed worries me. Not that I fear growing old. According to Absolem I’m a part of Underland now and will only stay the age that I want. So I don’t really fear that. I think I’m afraid of losing myself completely until I no longer remember how old I am supposed to be or even how many days have passed since I last thought of it.
The easiest solution seemed to be to keep a journal.
And so I am.
I’m telling myself that I’ll write in here every day, even if it’s just a line of what we had for breakfast but I know myself too well. Instead I’ll try to mark how many days have passed between each entry.
Oh Alice, how long will you be able to stay with this?
Day 2
He laughed at me!
Tarrant actually had the nerve to laugh at me! Well, he laughed at my attempt to keep track of Time. When he calmed down (and I assure you that my best glare only made him laugh harder) he told me it was probably one of the only times that someone has tried to pin down Time. I think he’s curious to see what will happen, if anything.
I’m supposed to be packing for the trip to visit Mirana. She mentioned that she wanted to discuss my role of Champion in more detail now that I’ve returned for good. As there’s no trading company here in Underland I do feel somewhat useless without something to work at. Tarrant didn’t seem completely happy with the idea but he’s coming along to pick up more work at the palace while we’re there. I wish I could explain to him that he’s so happy when he’s working on his creations…I only want to find a similar happiness of my own.
On the subject of Tarrant I have to write it out that things have been…odd since I returned. When I first arrived back at the tea table he met me with a hug so fierce that I thought I’d suffocate. Since then he’s barely touched me even though he insisted that I stay at his house in the second bedroom. I admit that I’m completely confused. Perhaps I let my imagination run amok too much while I was back in my own world. It’s true that I dreamed of coming back and having a wonderfully Mad Hatter sweep me off my feet with romantic kisses and words. It’s been somewhat disappointing to find that he seems to not think of me in that way at all.
Did I completely misinterpret everything when I was last here?
Thackery just threw something breakable at my door which reminded me that I still have a bit of packing to do. I’ll have to dwell on Tarrant’s actions later.
Day 7
I’m glad I made sure to draw a mark on the back cover of this journal before going to sleep each night. That certainly makes it easier to count the days between entries.
I started training yesterday. Mirana made it clear that I didn’t have to take up this duty but I’ve always wondered how it would feel to know how to fight properly with a sword. I’ve discovered it’s painful and exhausting. I can barely write this today for the ache in my arms. I think the only other time I’ve been this tired was the first night after I returned to my world the last time, after fighting the Jabberwocky. It’s a good tired, however, and I think that I might actually enjoy learning to use a weapon properly.
Tarrant was watching me today. I caught a glimpse of his bright hair against the white walls of the palace. I’m not sure if he knows that I was aware of him but he only stood on the balcony for a short time. I haven’t spoken with him since I started this training yesterday and I’m not sure what going on in his mind. I would have gone to his workshop this evening but I can’t seem to find the strength to put one foot in front of the other.
Perhaps tomorrow I’ll see if he’s there in the morning.
Wait….who would be knocking on my door at this hour? Oh, it’s going to hurt to walk to answer it.
Day 10
How could I have forgotten to write what happened that night?
Easily I suppose. Training doesn’t stop, even for a Champion who has made peace with a Hatter.
The late-night intruder was Tarrant. He was so nervous standing there that I was the one who had to speak up first. After he came in (to avoid any curious glances from anyone who might be roaming the palace halls) he showed me a jar of spicy smelling ointment. He’d brought it for my aching muscles. I thanked him but couldn’t make my arms move to take it from the desk that he’d set it on. I think he realized then that I was in enough pain to keep me from applying it myself.
It was the first time he’d done more than simply take my hand since I returned.
That night he was kind enough to rub the ointment over my legs, arms and back. Perhaps it’s a good thing that I’ve never been what my mother would have called “proper” as I had no qualms in letting Tarrant lift my nightshirt and rub my back and shoulders. I’m rather certain he kept his eyes averted but I wouldn’t have cared at that point. I just knew that I was finally feeling relief from two different kinds of aches.
I fell asleep in his arms.
By the next morning he was still there and was kind enough to wake me and help through a few stretches that helped to loosen my sore limbs. I didn’t see him again that day until he came by later at night with more ointment. He’s done that every night since and stayed with me as I slept.
I’m not sure if this will lead to the daydreams that I concocted for years but it’s a start.
There’s a knock at my door. He’s earlier than the other nights but I have not a single complaint. I’m simply glad he’ll be on the other side of that door, waiting for me.
Here are the parameters:
Fandom: Burton
Preferred Media: fic
Max Rating: M+
Pairing (if any): Alice/Tarrant
Triggers (Please do not include): crackfic, Tarrant/Mally
Summary: Alice doesn't like losing track of Time and decides to keep a journal to mark the passage of days since her return to Underland. This story takes place approximately 2 years after the 2010 movie and 3 months after she returns to Underland.
Now I present to you, Slices of Time
Day 1 (3 months?)
Time passes very….differently…here in Underland.
I’m relatively certain that I’ve been here for at least three months but without the change in seasons that I’m used to it’s hard to tell. Just the other day I asked Tarrant when the weather would change and he looked at me as though I was the one who had been called “Mad” most of my life. He told me that the seasons changed when they wanted to and when they could be persuaded to. Tarrant explained that he was always partial to a mild temperature when many things were in full bloom and usually could persuade the season to stay that way.
Still, not knowing how much time has passed worries me. Not that I fear growing old. According to Absolem I’m a part of Underland now and will only stay the age that I want. So I don’t really fear that. I think I’m afraid of losing myself completely until I no longer remember how old I am supposed to be or even how many days have passed since I last thought of it.
The easiest solution seemed to be to keep a journal.
And so I am.
I’m telling myself that I’ll write in here every day, even if it’s just a line of what we had for breakfast but I know myself too well. Instead I’ll try to mark how many days have passed between each entry.
Oh Alice, how long will you be able to stay with this?
Day 2
He laughed at me!
Tarrant actually had the nerve to laugh at me! Well, he laughed at my attempt to keep track of Time. When he calmed down (and I assure you that my best glare only made him laugh harder) he told me it was probably one of the only times that someone has tried to pin down Time. I think he’s curious to see what will happen, if anything.
I’m supposed to be packing for the trip to visit Mirana. She mentioned that she wanted to discuss my role of Champion in more detail now that I’ve returned for good. As there’s no trading company here in Underland I do feel somewhat useless without something to work at. Tarrant didn’t seem completely happy with the idea but he’s coming along to pick up more work at the palace while we’re there. I wish I could explain to him that he’s so happy when he’s working on his creations…I only want to find a similar happiness of my own.
On the subject of Tarrant I have to write it out that things have been…odd since I returned. When I first arrived back at the tea table he met me with a hug so fierce that I thought I’d suffocate. Since then he’s barely touched me even though he insisted that I stay at his house in the second bedroom. I admit that I’m completely confused. Perhaps I let my imagination run amok too much while I was back in my own world. It’s true that I dreamed of coming back and having a wonderfully Mad Hatter sweep me off my feet with romantic kisses and words. It’s been somewhat disappointing to find that he seems to not think of me in that way at all.
Did I completely misinterpret everything when I was last here?
Thackery just threw something breakable at my door which reminded me that I still have a bit of packing to do. I’ll have to dwell on Tarrant’s actions later.
Day 7
I’m glad I made sure to draw a mark on the back cover of this journal before going to sleep each night. That certainly makes it easier to count the days between entries.
I started training yesterday. Mirana made it clear that I didn’t have to take up this duty but I’ve always wondered how it would feel to know how to fight properly with a sword. I’ve discovered it’s painful and exhausting. I can barely write this today for the ache in my arms. I think the only other time I’ve been this tired was the first night after I returned to my world the last time, after fighting the Jabberwocky. It’s a good tired, however, and I think that I might actually enjoy learning to use a weapon properly.
Tarrant was watching me today. I caught a glimpse of his bright hair against the white walls of the palace. I’m not sure if he knows that I was aware of him but he only stood on the balcony for a short time. I haven’t spoken with him since I started this training yesterday and I’m not sure what going on in his mind. I would have gone to his workshop this evening but I can’t seem to find the strength to put one foot in front of the other.
Perhaps tomorrow I’ll see if he’s there in the morning.
Wait….who would be knocking on my door at this hour? Oh, it’s going to hurt to walk to answer it.
Day 10
How could I have forgotten to write what happened that night?
Easily I suppose. Training doesn’t stop, even for a Champion who has made peace with a Hatter.
The late-night intruder was Tarrant. He was so nervous standing there that I was the one who had to speak up first. After he came in (to avoid any curious glances from anyone who might be roaming the palace halls) he showed me a jar of spicy smelling ointment. He’d brought it for my aching muscles. I thanked him but couldn’t make my arms move to take it from the desk that he’d set it on. I think he realized then that I was in enough pain to keep me from applying it myself.
It was the first time he’d done more than simply take my hand since I returned.
That night he was kind enough to rub the ointment over my legs, arms and back. Perhaps it’s a good thing that I’ve never been what my mother would have called “proper” as I had no qualms in letting Tarrant lift my nightshirt and rub my back and shoulders. I’m rather certain he kept his eyes averted but I wouldn’t have cared at that point. I just knew that I was finally feeling relief from two different kinds of aches.
I fell asleep in his arms.
By the next morning he was still there and was kind enough to wake me and help through a few stretches that helped to loosen my sore limbs. I didn’t see him again that day until he came by later at night with more ointment. He’s done that every night since and stayed with me as I slept.
I’m not sure if this will lead to the daydreams that I concocted for years but it’s a start.
There’s a knock at my door. He’s earlier than the other nights but I have not a single complaint. I’m simply glad he’ll be on the other side of that door, waiting for me.