Behind the Mirror
Title: Chapter 2
Author: tutriceange
Characters/Pairing: Alice, Hatter, a little Dormouse, and mentions of Jack
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Alice stumbles upon the strange Hatter who tries to explain this odd world she is currently caught in
Warning: Nothing really...possible spoilers for the movie
Disclaimer: All the characters do not belong to me and most of this plot doesn't either
Chapter 1
Alice glanced at the eccentrically dressed man who sat in the white chair before her. He was wearing a deep plum pair of pants with golden yellow dress shoes. He was wearing an oddly patterned paisley shirt containing the colors of maroon, yellow, orange, and black. The pattern might have been flowers, but Alice couldn’t tell. On top of that shirt, he was sporting a brown leather jacket with a yellow pork pie hat on top of his head. His brown hair fringed around the brim of his hat.
The man gently set his cup of tea on the table and stood up. “Normally I don’t allow customers to come back here uninvited. It’s not very…ethical,” he turned to look at her, winking. “But I suppose I can make an exception for you.” He smiled and gestured to the cabinet behind him. “What’s a pretty little thing like you looking for this fine afternoon?”
Alice watched him warily. The oddly gentle breeze of this strange land wrapped her in a blanket of slight warmth as it flicked the fringes of the man’s hair before it disappeared again. “What?”
The man chuckled. “What kind of tea are you in the market for?” He started looking through the bottles filled with colorful liquid. “Hmm… you don’t need excitement or clear conscious.” He glanced at her, looking her up and down. “Definitely don’t need lust.” He continued mumbling while Alice stood there confused.
“I’m sorry…but what are you talking about?” Alice asked, watching as he picked up a bottle of apple green liquid before shaking his head and putting it back down on the shelf.
The man chuckled again. “Why…the tea, my dear.” He turned to face her. “What are you looking for?”
Alice shrugged. “Not tea.” She sighed and looked around, taking in the little things of his office she hadn’t noticed before. There was a picture frame on the desk and the picture inside looked pretty old. It was of a young woman and man. They looked happy and in love. She brought out of her staring by the man’s impatient calling.
“If you don’t want tea, why are you in my Tea Shoppe?” He smiled deviously at her. “Is it for the owner? The dashing Hatter?” He chuckled at his own little joke.
Alice shook her head. “No…I mean-I’m looking for…” she sighed unsure how to continue. “Where am I?”
The man looked at her like she had grown three heads; she had the oddest notion that that could actually happen here. “My God, how much tea have you been drinking?” He rushed to her, holding her face in his hand, peering into her eyes. “You have to follow the warnings. They’re there for a reason.”
Alice pulled her face from his grasp, taking a step away. “You keep mentioning this tea. What is with the tea?”
The man looked at her, finally noticing the odd glow of her skin. “You’re an oyster, aren’t you?”
Alice threw her arms up in exasperation. “What the hell is an oyster?” She was getting tired of asking all these questions and not getting any answers. Every time he spoke just brought up even more questions.
“Sorry, I’ll explain everything in a moment. First things first, I’m Hatter,” he told her with a charming smile. He bowed slightly in greeting.
“Alice.”
Hatter started laughing, loud and boisterous. “Of course you’re Alice.” He shook his head. “That’s just…wonderful.” He looked her over. “You’re drenched. Why didn’t you mention anything?” He turned from her, rushing to the clear cabinets.
“I…didn’t think of it,” Alice stated awkwardly. She was in a strange land with a strange man who kept referring back to the tea and oysters. Being wet and cold wasn’t at the top of her mind.
Hatter pulled out a dark purple jacket. He presented it to her, smiling widely. “This should keep you warm enough for the time being.” He walked over to her, helping her into the jacket. He laughed sadly as she tried to stay away from him. “It’s okay if you don’t trust me; not many people do.” He stepped away from her and went back to his table. “Next time, try to think about things that are making you uncomfortable.”
Hatter picked up his cup and took a long sip of his chamomile tea. “Now, I’m sure you have many questions to which I should have the answers. But why don’t you have a seat. I’m sure you had a long journey.” He gestured to the white chair beside him.
Alice stiffly walked to the chair, plopping down into it. She crossed her legs and hunched over them, partly for warmth, partly for the illusion of safety. She looked up at him, watching as he took another sip of the liquid in his cup.
“Now, I bet you’re wondering where you are right now.” He watched her nod. “Well, you’re in Wonderland.”
Alice shook her head. “Yeah, okay. That’s just an imaginary place made up in a children’s story.”
Hatter looked her dead in the eye. “Does this feel imaginary to you?” She shook her head. “That’s because it’s real. Oysters-people from your world-don’t know we really exist and that’s the way we like it. We don’t need your kind running around our town. Besides, the Queen would never allow it.”
“Okay…so I’m in Wonderland. Wonderland’s not a fake place. You live in Wonderland.” She took a deep breath trying to organize all the thoughts that were swimming around her head. “And people…not from Wonderland are called…oysters?” She scrunched her brows together as she tried to understand everything.
“Yes, that’s correct. People from your side of the Looking Glass are called oysters because of the pearls you carry inside you.” He smiled at her shocked expression. “You oysters have the ability to…feel strong emotions that can actually affect you. People from Wonderland can feel emotions, but it’s nowhere near as strong as you oysters. It hardly affects us at all and we can barely tell when we’re feeling something. The only way to truly feel something is to drink the tea the Queen harvest from oysters.” He cleared his throat. “Unless, of course, you learn how to experience different emotions without the tea.”
“So the tea is emotions?” Alice asked. Hatter nodded at her over his cup of tea. “You must use a lot of it if you work here.”
Hatter shook his head, oddly upset that this girl thought he was an addict. “No, I’ve never used tea. It’s highly addictive and I didn’t actually want to feel that instant gratification. Besides, who would want to buy their own products?”
“I think I understand everything so far. But how does the Queen harvest emotions?” Alice asked.
“Well, she…captures oysters from your world and brings them back here. The Carpenter has this spray that shuts down the brain, but doesn’t.” Hatter sighed. “I don’t exactly know how it works. The oysters are alive and conscious but they can’t remember anything that happened before entering our world. They…reside in a trance-like state.”
“That’s horrible,” Alice whispered, an involuntary shiver forcing its way up her spine.
Hatter nodded. “It can be, but it’s what the Queen wants. And she gets whatever her little, shriveled up heart desires.” He glanced at the girl-Alice who was cowering in his chair. “Why are you here, Alice? How did you get here?”
Alice shrugged. “My boyfriend, Jack Chase, was dragged into this white van in the middle of the alleyway. And this older man with two long, white ponytails appeared and told me that I couldn’t help him. But I followed him to this really old looking mirror and watched him literally jump through it.”
“You just jumped through the mirror without thinking anything through? This place isn’t safe for you.” Hatter said angrily.
“No, I didn’t just jump through. I waited for a little while before jumping through. There was no one around and I didn’t know what to do. I just started making my way down and I eventually found this place.” Alice explained as she picked at the edge of her dress.
Hatter shook his head. “Why did you jump through the looking glass to begin with? Nothing was jumping out at you, screaming at you to run the other way?” He couldn’t comprehend why this girl was here. He also didn’t understand the intense feelings he had for this girl; he felt the need to protect her.
“No. I just needed to come and get Jack.” Alice shrugged nonchalantly, trying not to make this a bigger deal than it was.
“Hatter!” A voice called, forcing Hatter to curse.
“Alice,” he whispered, pulling her up from the chair. He led her to a door that was in the center of the room. He pulled open the door and shoved her inside. “This is my living quarters. Make yourself at home, but whatever you do, don’t come out of there until I physically come and get you, okay?”
Alice nodded, too stunned to say anything else. He gave her a small smile before closing the door, leaving Alice alone in a darkened room. She groped around for a light switch. She yanked on a chain, happy that the room flooded with light. There was a small desk sitting in the corner. It was neatly organized, papers meticulously put in their exact spot. There was a small dresser that appeared not to hold anything. There was a fireplace in the middle of the room, making it appear cozier.
The bed was in the corner opposite the desk. The blankets haphazardly thrown about it. Alice trudged to it, taking her boots off as she went. It looked so warm and inviting. She crawled onto it, pulling the covers over her and burrowing inside them. Lying there, she realized how exhausted she was. It had been nighttime in her world when she left.
Wonderland. Who’d have thought? Alice thought to herself, trying to understand everything that had happened today. Her mind fuzzed over as she lulled herself into a deep state of sleep.
*****
Hatter glared at the intruder while they came in. “What’s the matter Dormouse?” He said with a sigh, taking a sip of tea.
Dormouse nervously cleared his throat. “Sorry to bother you Mr. Hatter, but I thought you’d want to hear about the sales for today.”
Hatter shook his head. “Not particularly, Dormouse. I just want everything detailed and written up on my desk by the end of the day.” He set his cup down. “What’s this really about?”
“Well…the Queen, she wanted to talk with you. She wants your help trying to figure out a way to force her son to stay here and be happy with the life she’s chosen for him,” Dormouse said timidly. “Apparently…he’s been disappearing very frequently and had to be dragged back from the other world.”
Hatter shook his head. “That prick doesn’t know how great his life is. He’s not constantly worried that something he says or does will piss of his mother, leading directly to his execution.” He glanced back at Dormouse. “What exactly does she want me to do about all this?”
Dormouse shrugged. “I’m not sure…exactly. She wants you to come up with the highest possible dose of things so they work strongly, but don’t kill him.”
Hatter laughed. “That’s what the Carpenter is for, Dormouse, isn’t he? Tell the Queen that there’s nothing I can do. The Carpenter knows more about the stuff that I do. Hell, he could probably make up a specific potion just for the Prince.”
Hatter turned his back on Dormouse, signaling the end of the conversation. He shuffled through some papers as he listened for Dormouse to leave. When he heard the retreating steps of his somewhat trusted helper, he called out, “Don’t bother me, for any reason, for the rest of the night. I have some business to attend to that requires my complete attention.”
Dormouse nodded, but realized that Hatter hadn’t even turned around. “Yes, sir.” Dormouse quickly scurried away from Hatter. There’s something about that man that makes Dormouse…unsettled. Hatter could definitely hold his own in a fight and Dormouse never wanted to cross Hatter.
Hatter listened for the distant sound of a door close before abandoning what he’d been pretending to do. He crossed to his door, opening it. He locked it behind himself as he called for Alice. He heard no response. He immediately thought that she had run away from him.
He rushed into the room, relieved to find her fast asleep on his bed. She looked so…vulnerable in her sleep. She was curled around herself, as if protecting herself from all the perils that are facing her. Hatter smiled before crossing to the fire to start it. He wanted to keep her as warm as he could.
He watched her lay there, in his bed, amazed at how normal it all looked. Almost like she belonged there. He wasn’t going to pretend that he didn’t think this woman was attractive; he most certainly thought she was sexy. Her personality made her incredibly intriguing. She didn’t seem that unnerved by the fact she was in Wonderland. Sure, she thought it was strange, but she wasn’t completely freaked out by it.
“Hatter?” Alice’s sleepy voice called out.
“Yes?” He walked over to her, sitting on the edge of his bed.
“Am I causing you trouble by being here? I can go…somewhere else,” she suggested even though she was still half asleep.
Hatter chuckled at her, lying there, attempting to hold a conversation while her eyes were still shut tight. “You’re fine right here, Alice. Besides, I can handle trouble just fine.” He propped his back against the headboard, stretching his legs out in front of him.
“Mm….k,” Alice slurred.
“Just get some rest, Alice. We’ll start this adventure tomorrow.” He was astonished when Alice turned towards him, throwing her arm around his stomach. He knew it was only because she was asleep and probably used to having her boyfriend there, but he liked it. He froze, not wanting her to remove her arm.
He took his hat off his head, placing it on the worn out wooden bed post. He smiled to himself as he drifted off into sleep. Right beside Alice. It was nice to feel wanted.
Author: tutriceange
Characters/Pairing: Alice, Hatter, a little Dormouse, and mentions of Jack
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Alice stumbles upon the strange Hatter who tries to explain this odd world she is currently caught in
Warning: Nothing really...possible spoilers for the movie
Disclaimer: All the characters do not belong to me and most of this plot doesn't either
Chapter 1
Alice glanced at the eccentrically dressed man who sat in the white chair before her. He was wearing a deep plum pair of pants with golden yellow dress shoes. He was wearing an oddly patterned paisley shirt containing the colors of maroon, yellow, orange, and black. The pattern might have been flowers, but Alice couldn’t tell. On top of that shirt, he was sporting a brown leather jacket with a yellow pork pie hat on top of his head. His brown hair fringed around the brim of his hat.
The man gently set his cup of tea on the table and stood up. “Normally I don’t allow customers to come back here uninvited. It’s not very…ethical,” he turned to look at her, winking. “But I suppose I can make an exception for you.” He smiled and gestured to the cabinet behind him. “What’s a pretty little thing like you looking for this fine afternoon?”
Alice watched him warily. The oddly gentle breeze of this strange land wrapped her in a blanket of slight warmth as it flicked the fringes of the man’s hair before it disappeared again. “What?”
The man chuckled. “What kind of tea are you in the market for?” He started looking through the bottles filled with colorful liquid. “Hmm… you don’t need excitement or clear conscious.” He glanced at her, looking her up and down. “Definitely don’t need lust.” He continued mumbling while Alice stood there confused.
“I’m sorry…but what are you talking about?” Alice asked, watching as he picked up a bottle of apple green liquid before shaking his head and putting it back down on the shelf.
The man chuckled again. “Why…the tea, my dear.” He turned to face her. “What are you looking for?”
Alice shrugged. “Not tea.” She sighed and looked around, taking in the little things of his office she hadn’t noticed before. There was a picture frame on the desk and the picture inside looked pretty old. It was of a young woman and man. They looked happy and in love. She brought out of her staring by the man’s impatient calling.
“If you don’t want tea, why are you in my Tea Shoppe?” He smiled deviously at her. “Is it for the owner? The dashing Hatter?” He chuckled at his own little joke.
Alice shook her head. “No…I mean-I’m looking for…” she sighed unsure how to continue. “Where am I?”
The man looked at her like she had grown three heads; she had the oddest notion that that could actually happen here. “My God, how much tea have you been drinking?” He rushed to her, holding her face in his hand, peering into her eyes. “You have to follow the warnings. They’re there for a reason.”
Alice pulled her face from his grasp, taking a step away. “You keep mentioning this tea. What is with the tea?”
The man looked at her, finally noticing the odd glow of her skin. “You’re an oyster, aren’t you?”
Alice threw her arms up in exasperation. “What the hell is an oyster?” She was getting tired of asking all these questions and not getting any answers. Every time he spoke just brought up even more questions.
“Sorry, I’ll explain everything in a moment. First things first, I’m Hatter,” he told her with a charming smile. He bowed slightly in greeting.
“Alice.”
Hatter started laughing, loud and boisterous. “Of course you’re Alice.” He shook his head. “That’s just…wonderful.” He looked her over. “You’re drenched. Why didn’t you mention anything?” He turned from her, rushing to the clear cabinets.
“I…didn’t think of it,” Alice stated awkwardly. She was in a strange land with a strange man who kept referring back to the tea and oysters. Being wet and cold wasn’t at the top of her mind.
Hatter pulled out a dark purple jacket. He presented it to her, smiling widely. “This should keep you warm enough for the time being.” He walked over to her, helping her into the jacket. He laughed sadly as she tried to stay away from him. “It’s okay if you don’t trust me; not many people do.” He stepped away from her and went back to his table. “Next time, try to think about things that are making you uncomfortable.”
Hatter picked up his cup and took a long sip of his chamomile tea. “Now, I’m sure you have many questions to which I should have the answers. But why don’t you have a seat. I’m sure you had a long journey.” He gestured to the white chair beside him.
Alice stiffly walked to the chair, plopping down into it. She crossed her legs and hunched over them, partly for warmth, partly for the illusion of safety. She looked up at him, watching as he took another sip of the liquid in his cup.
“Now, I bet you’re wondering where you are right now.” He watched her nod. “Well, you’re in Wonderland.”
Alice shook her head. “Yeah, okay. That’s just an imaginary place made up in a children’s story.”
Hatter looked her dead in the eye. “Does this feel imaginary to you?” She shook her head. “That’s because it’s real. Oysters-people from your world-don’t know we really exist and that’s the way we like it. We don’t need your kind running around our town. Besides, the Queen would never allow it.”
“Okay…so I’m in Wonderland. Wonderland’s not a fake place. You live in Wonderland.” She took a deep breath trying to organize all the thoughts that were swimming around her head. “And people…not from Wonderland are called…oysters?” She scrunched her brows together as she tried to understand everything.
“Yes, that’s correct. People from your side of the Looking Glass are called oysters because of the pearls you carry inside you.” He smiled at her shocked expression. “You oysters have the ability to…feel strong emotions that can actually affect you. People from Wonderland can feel emotions, but it’s nowhere near as strong as you oysters. It hardly affects us at all and we can barely tell when we’re feeling something. The only way to truly feel something is to drink the tea the Queen harvest from oysters.” He cleared his throat. “Unless, of course, you learn how to experience different emotions without the tea.”
“So the tea is emotions?” Alice asked. Hatter nodded at her over his cup of tea. “You must use a lot of it if you work here.”
Hatter shook his head, oddly upset that this girl thought he was an addict. “No, I’ve never used tea. It’s highly addictive and I didn’t actually want to feel that instant gratification. Besides, who would want to buy their own products?”
“I think I understand everything so far. But how does the Queen harvest emotions?” Alice asked.
“Well, she…captures oysters from your world and brings them back here. The Carpenter has this spray that shuts down the brain, but doesn’t.” Hatter sighed. “I don’t exactly know how it works. The oysters are alive and conscious but they can’t remember anything that happened before entering our world. They…reside in a trance-like state.”
“That’s horrible,” Alice whispered, an involuntary shiver forcing its way up her spine.
Hatter nodded. “It can be, but it’s what the Queen wants. And she gets whatever her little, shriveled up heart desires.” He glanced at the girl-Alice who was cowering in his chair. “Why are you here, Alice? How did you get here?”
Alice shrugged. “My boyfriend, Jack Chase, was dragged into this white van in the middle of the alleyway. And this older man with two long, white ponytails appeared and told me that I couldn’t help him. But I followed him to this really old looking mirror and watched him literally jump through it.”
“You just jumped through the mirror without thinking anything through? This place isn’t safe for you.” Hatter said angrily.
“No, I didn’t just jump through. I waited for a little while before jumping through. There was no one around and I didn’t know what to do. I just started making my way down and I eventually found this place.” Alice explained as she picked at the edge of her dress.
Hatter shook his head. “Why did you jump through the looking glass to begin with? Nothing was jumping out at you, screaming at you to run the other way?” He couldn’t comprehend why this girl was here. He also didn’t understand the intense feelings he had for this girl; he felt the need to protect her.
“No. I just needed to come and get Jack.” Alice shrugged nonchalantly, trying not to make this a bigger deal than it was.
“Hatter!” A voice called, forcing Hatter to curse.
“Alice,” he whispered, pulling her up from the chair. He led her to a door that was in the center of the room. He pulled open the door and shoved her inside. “This is my living quarters. Make yourself at home, but whatever you do, don’t come out of there until I physically come and get you, okay?”
Alice nodded, too stunned to say anything else. He gave her a small smile before closing the door, leaving Alice alone in a darkened room. She groped around for a light switch. She yanked on a chain, happy that the room flooded with light. There was a small desk sitting in the corner. It was neatly organized, papers meticulously put in their exact spot. There was a small dresser that appeared not to hold anything. There was a fireplace in the middle of the room, making it appear cozier.
The bed was in the corner opposite the desk. The blankets haphazardly thrown about it. Alice trudged to it, taking her boots off as she went. It looked so warm and inviting. She crawled onto it, pulling the covers over her and burrowing inside them. Lying there, she realized how exhausted she was. It had been nighttime in her world when she left.
Wonderland. Who’d have thought? Alice thought to herself, trying to understand everything that had happened today. Her mind fuzzed over as she lulled herself into a deep state of sleep.
*****
Hatter glared at the intruder while they came in. “What’s the matter Dormouse?” He said with a sigh, taking a sip of tea.
Dormouse nervously cleared his throat. “Sorry to bother you Mr. Hatter, but I thought you’d want to hear about the sales for today.”
Hatter shook his head. “Not particularly, Dormouse. I just want everything detailed and written up on my desk by the end of the day.” He set his cup down. “What’s this really about?”
“Well…the Queen, she wanted to talk with you. She wants your help trying to figure out a way to force her son to stay here and be happy with the life she’s chosen for him,” Dormouse said timidly. “Apparently…he’s been disappearing very frequently and had to be dragged back from the other world.”
Hatter shook his head. “That prick doesn’t know how great his life is. He’s not constantly worried that something he says or does will piss of his mother, leading directly to his execution.” He glanced back at Dormouse. “What exactly does she want me to do about all this?”
Dormouse shrugged. “I’m not sure…exactly. She wants you to come up with the highest possible dose of things so they work strongly, but don’t kill him.”
Hatter laughed. “That’s what the Carpenter is for, Dormouse, isn’t he? Tell the Queen that there’s nothing I can do. The Carpenter knows more about the stuff that I do. Hell, he could probably make up a specific potion just for the Prince.”
Hatter turned his back on Dormouse, signaling the end of the conversation. He shuffled through some papers as he listened for Dormouse to leave. When he heard the retreating steps of his somewhat trusted helper, he called out, “Don’t bother me, for any reason, for the rest of the night. I have some business to attend to that requires my complete attention.”
Dormouse nodded, but realized that Hatter hadn’t even turned around. “Yes, sir.” Dormouse quickly scurried away from Hatter. There’s something about that man that makes Dormouse…unsettled. Hatter could definitely hold his own in a fight and Dormouse never wanted to cross Hatter.
Hatter listened for the distant sound of a door close before abandoning what he’d been pretending to do. He crossed to his door, opening it. He locked it behind himself as he called for Alice. He heard no response. He immediately thought that she had run away from him.
He rushed into the room, relieved to find her fast asleep on his bed. She looked so…vulnerable in her sleep. She was curled around herself, as if protecting herself from all the perils that are facing her. Hatter smiled before crossing to the fire to start it. He wanted to keep her as warm as he could.
He watched her lay there, in his bed, amazed at how normal it all looked. Almost like she belonged there. He wasn’t going to pretend that he didn’t think this woman was attractive; he most certainly thought she was sexy. Her personality made her incredibly intriguing. She didn’t seem that unnerved by the fact she was in Wonderland. Sure, she thought it was strange, but she wasn’t completely freaked out by it.
“Hatter?” Alice’s sleepy voice called out.
“Yes?” He walked over to her, sitting on the edge of his bed.
“Am I causing you trouble by being here? I can go…somewhere else,” she suggested even though she was still half asleep.
Hatter chuckled at her, lying there, attempting to hold a conversation while her eyes were still shut tight. “You’re fine right here, Alice. Besides, I can handle trouble just fine.” He propped his back against the headboard, stretching his legs out in front of him.
“Mm….k,” Alice slurred.
“Just get some rest, Alice. We’ll start this adventure tomorrow.” He was astonished when Alice turned towards him, throwing her arm around his stomach. He knew it was only because she was asleep and probably used to having her boyfriend there, but he liked it. He froze, not wanting her to remove her arm.
He took his hat off his head, placing it on the worn out wooden bed post. He smiled to himself as he drifted off into sleep. Right beside Alice. It was nice to feel wanted.