Fic: R - I Dreamed You - Tarrant/Alice - Chapter 16
Fandom: Alice in Wonderland 2010
Rating: R ( M )
Warning: Explicit content, do not read when under 18.
Pairing: Alice / Tarrant
Genre: General/Romance/Hurt/Comfort
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything nor do I profit. I think all my readers have gone on a holiday xD
Written as a reply to : 2010_Alice_kink
I dreamed you
‘Sweet Escape’
“What?” Mallymkun piped as she clung to Tarrant’s pants.
“I said I c’nt get through this!” The hatter’s agitated look told his friends more than enough. The portal to the Upperland wouldn’t let the hatter pass. He was banging his hands against the doors that lead to the rabbit hole and when that wouldn’t work he started banging his head against it as well. A groan of pain could be heard when he noticed how his favourite hat was now dented. He gracefully took the hat off to fix this little blemish. His eyes still held the dark circles underneath but his friends had gotten used to it by now.
“But that’s preposterous!” Mallymkun piped again.
“Yeah, well, thank ya’ for yer discouraging infermation.” Tarrant wasn’t in the mood to be let down. He had to get to Alice. His whole body and mind were focussed upon reaching her and making up for his past mistakes. Surely she would understand, right?
Bayard was barking loudly. “This isn’t going to work.” He lamented and the Cheshire Cat agreed with him.
“Tarrant, did you ever try to get to her before? I believe you have.”
The hatter grumped and looked at him sideways. “What if I ‘ave?”
The cat rolled his eyes and drifted in a circle upon his back. “Did you manage to reach her?”
The hatter shook his head and spread his arms desperately. “Nay, I’ve never managed to reach Upperland.”
The cat snickered at him. “You’ve never visited the aboveground because you don’t belong there, Tarrant.”
The green frog eyes shone a dangerous amber again as the hatter reached for the cat’s throat in an attempt to strangle him. “I bloody well belong at ‘er side!”
“Hatter!” Mallymkun was trying to withhold Tarrant by pulling at his pants once more. “There must be some other way.”
A monotone voice piped in and interrupted the fight. “But of course,” a languid pause, “there is.” Followed by a confirmation.
The fellowship looked up to see a butterfly dancing against the clouds.
“Absolem!” Mallymkun shouted happily and cheerfully snatched the butterfly out of the air to hear him cry in agony. “Will you let me go?” But Mallymkun was already hugging the poor fellow.
“Now tell me ya scum. How do I reach my Alice?” The sharp and raspy voice of the hatter caught Absolem’s attention and he turned to look at him in fright.
“My, you don’t look well.” The nasal voice muttered. “Not that you ever have.”
At seeing how the dog and cat gazed at him in hope he sighed and shrugged his butterfly wings.
“There’s a way leading to Alice’s world. But it will mean heading west.”
Mallymkun gasped. “The Outlands?” With her words she automatically released the blue butterfly from the tight embrace and watched how he, with a sigh of relief, quickly darted up into the sky again.
“Have you never wondered why you couldn’t pass, Tarrant?” He had now come to fly on such a height that he was eye level with Tarrant. At seeing the hatter’s face he had to frown. The dark circles and crazed look carried within the golden orbs told Absolem how grave the situation really was. He turned to face the cat and the dog again. “The hatter has been poisoned by his tools. It’s part of his trait.”
Mallymkun gasped again. “Mercury.”
With a firm nod the butterfly flew higher again and turned his attention to the hatter once more. “The huge amounts of the substance are lethal in Alice’s world. If you were to pass you’d be dead almost instantly.”
Sharp intakes of breath could be heard as each and every animal present gaped at one another. The hatter would die almost instantly if he were to visit the world above. Wouldn’t his attempts to make up with Alice only point to an imminent death?
Absolem continued in a sepulchral voice. “The White Queen placed a spell so you can’t pass. A spell which works anywhere,”
Before he could finish Chessur had already continued the sentence. “Except for the Outlands.”
The queen had been smart but even her powers didn’t extend to that part of the world. The Outlands provided the only route for the hatter to enter Alice’s world.
Mallymkun looked up worriedly at him and tugged his pants once again.
“Hatter, you won’t go, will you?”
Her small voice was filled with concern and sorrow. But the determined look upon his face told her he would. Of course he would go and try, even if it meant his death. This was typical stubborn behaviour Tarrant would show once he’d set his mind upon things. Mallymkun tried to accept his choice and gave a firm nod.
“Then I’ll come along with you.”
The hatter’s eyes lightened at the support he’d received of his friend.
Chessur purred and flew over to swirl his tail around Absolem. “And so will we.”
The hatter’s smile grew while Bayard barked. “We’d promised Mirana we would look after you. We won’t have you die before you’ve reached Alice.”
With a scowl upon his face the hatter kneeled to smack his palm against the forest floor.
“Don’t remind me!”
Why was everyone keen to talk about his demise when they hadn’t even reached a suitable and useable portal? At his snarl the dog quickly took a step backwards.
Chessur, in the meanwhile, had a brief exchange of words with the butterfly. His whispers weren’t heard by the other companions but the butterfly nodded and flew away. The Cheshire Cat smiled at the sight of Absolem disappearing from view. If the hatter had little time in Alice’s world it would be a shame if he’d ended up at the other end of the town. Perhaps McTwisp remembered the route to Alice’s home and Chessur hoped that Absolem would be able to collect this piece of valuable information. Apart from that it was also necessary for someone to inform the White Queen that the hatter was indeed going to cross borders. Mirana had wanted the talented man to mate but she might lose her last Hightopp citizen because of this wish.
Tarrant finally looked up at the cat again. With a sigh Chessur concluded: “This has all put me off my tea.”