Alice looked about herself, taking in the sight of the twisted purple trees, the dragonflies, the gloomy twilight fog misting over the forest floor that mirrored the clouds above, with the smiling moon peeking out from in between the wisps. The scent in the air was familiar; it smelled of earth and flowers, stone and leaf. The ground beneath her feet was covered in moss and thick tree roots. Glancing over, she could make out a footpath. Where it lead, she had no idea, but it was Underland.

To be sure, Alice pinched her arm, and winced.

I'm back- Hatter, I've come home!

Her heart lurched with a joy so powerful, she was pained by it. Underland. It had all been real, and the Hatter had not been a crazed dream. She would find him, she would find him. Alice moved onto the footpath and thought for a moment, wondering which direction to take. Though she had spent days in Underland with the madman, he had always been there to lead her through the woods. Alice frowned to herself, recalling that the one time she had taken to the forest herself, she'd become hopelessly lost and had needed the guidance of the Cheshire Cat to find her way again.

Chessur isn't here. I'm alone. Alice swallowed, thinking of her family in London. She steeled herself. I may be alone for now, but I can find my way back to them. To him. I can, and I will.

Alice took a step to her right, and began to follow the trail.

Strange noises followed the girl as she moved, her very presence igniting gossip among the creatures of the forest. She was not afraid, exactly, but the screeching and hooting was becoming unnerving. Her pulse quickened, she wished for a companion. Alice thought of Hatter, and she wondered how much time had gone by in Underland since she had left. She had been in London for close to a year- but a year could become a few hundred years in this world…and the Hatter…?

She didn't want to think of such a thing, but discouraging thoughts invaded her mind as she walked the path.

What might have become of him after I left? Has he grown to hate me for what I had to do? Has he found someone else to share his life with?

Alice didn't know what to think, but she felt that she could not give too much credence to worries that had no ground. She only wanted to see the Hatter- or, to see anyone, really. She was growing tired of following the forest path alone, with nothing but the noise of curious animals as her company.

Alice gasped as something- something entirely too familiar ran past her on the trail.

Was that-? No, no, it can't be…but this is Underland!

Feeling foolish, but too curious to stop herself, Alice followed the creature. She might have gone mad in thinking that the animal was…but she had to know for sure.

She ran after it, the creature darting just in front of her. Alice sidestepped a tree and leapt over a fallen log. The creature was running faster now, headed toward a clearing she could make out ahead of them.

The clouds were moving above them, revealing the moon, allowing more silver light to pour over the forest.

The creature stopped in the center of the clearing, and Alice stopped short for her shock.

A cloud of forest mist began to take form between Alice and the creature, quickly revealing the form of the Cheshire Cat.

There he was. The large tomcat of gray and electric blue fur, with the clever eyes and the widest smile Alice had ever seen. There he was. Fierce and alive.

He was baring his teeth and his fur was standing on end, ready to attack.

"You- Chessur!"

She saw recognition flash across his face and a moment later he was smiling with happiness. "Why, Alice, it's you!"

To hear his voice, that remarkable baritone…Alice shivered. He was there on the ground before her, speaking to her, smiling at her. He was so beautiful, and Alice found she could not contain the swell of emotion that erupted from her soul. She went to her knees and swept the cat into her arms, sobbing into his luxuriant fur. "Oh, God, Chessur, you're here, you're here- I knew it was all real, I knew it…"

The cat struggled in her arms as he typically did, perhaps uncomfortable with being cuddled so abruptly. Chessur jumped back to the forest floor and shook himself. "Yes, well…I'm happy to see you too. But, I think another would be better suited to being in your arms."

Chessur moved aside, revealing the creature that Alice had chased through the forest, the creature that Chessur had been ready to protect with his life.

Dinah.

Alice brought a hand to her mouth. Dinah. Her cat from London, the last living gift from her father, her beloved pet who had gone missing after she had left on the voyage. Dinah moved forward quickly, moving into her arms as easily as she had on the first day they had been gifted to each other. Alice held her close to her chest, reveling at the warmth, the reality of Dinah being there with her in Underland.

"Dinah- I thought you had gone, but you've been here all this time? How? How did you…?"

Chessur flicked his tail, all nonchalance. "I'm afraid that was my doing, Alice. I admit I'd grown curious about the Otherworld, so I followed you. I remember you told me of Dinah's charms and I couldn't help myself. I took her."

Alice glanced to Chessur. "You took her? Why?"

The cat gave her an obvious look. "Because I am in my prime and she is a female of breeding age. What other reason would I need? Besides, she didn't object."

Alice kept Dinah in her hold as she stood from the forest floor. "You are eminently practical, Chessur, and any female cat would be a fool to turn you down- handsome cad. I'm glad she's been in good hands all this time." She looked about them. "Chessur, where are we? It's been some time since I was in this forest last."

"That is no small truth, Alice. Things have certainly changed here, but I expect you'll want to go to the palace."

"You read my mind."

"It's just one of my many talents. This way."

And so, once again, Alice found herself following the Cheshire Cat through the woods.

Alice, with Dinah in her arms and Chessur at her side, the trio slipped into the White castle. All was quiet. "The Queen will be sleeping, Alice, but her powers have grown since it's been peaceful. I'm sure she knows that we're here."

She raised her brows at the words of the cat. "I didn't know Lady Mirana had any power."

The cat drifted on the air about her. "We all have a touch of talent, much like the nymphs. The Queen wasn't able to devote much time to her charm with all that unpleasantness from her sister. But it's been near a year since that glorious Frabjous Day, and our Queen has come so far. We all have."

Chessur flew in front of her, his eyes very bright. "But I believe I'm boring you with all this talk of the Queen. I know who you're looking for."

Alice nodded and reached out to scratch Chessur behind the ears.

"The Hatter. Tell me, Chessur, how is he?"

Chessur twisted in the air as Alice followed him through the long corridors with Dinah securely in her arms. "Tarrant is as mad as ever. Quieter, since you left. More morose, and more prone to his usual upsets…but she's been helping him with those."

"The Queen?"

"Who else? You know that Tarrant and Mirana have a long history- it was Mirana who helped him after the Horunvendush Day and all through the war that followed. Or, I should say that they helped each other. You humans make everything so complicated."

Alice didn't know what to think of all that Chessur was saying. Long ago, the nymphs had told her that, when she was young, Mirana had harbored an infatuation for her new hatter, she'd even gone so far as to kiss the man. As far as Alice knew, that had been the beginning and the end of them as anything more than close friends, but what did she know, really? Time had passed in Underland, and Hatter had been so sure that they would never see each other again. Perhaps he had moved on with the Queen of Marmoreal.

She was not sure, and she chose not to let the bored observations of the cat deter her from her course. She had to find Hatter, no matter what she might learn upon meeting with him.

It would be so good to sit with him again, to share another night together in the palace or at Hightopp manor as they had before, sipping tea…those were Alice's favored memories of their time together. If she could have that again, then she would know a happiness that she had never felt in London or anywhere else.

"Alice, did you hear me?"

Alice blinked. Chessur had been speaking to her but she had been too deep in her own thoughts to notice. "I'm sorry, Chessur, what were you saying?"

"Tarrant is in your old room."

"He took my room?"

"Yes. There are occasions when he stays overnight at the palace, and he chose to take over your room. He said it made him feel close to your or some other nonsense."

Alice smiled thinly at the cat's indifference. "Thank you so much for your tender words, Chessur."

"You would prefer that I jump all over you like the bloodhounds? No, that is not a cat's way. But I can confess, Alice, I am glad that you've come back."

Alice set Dinah down on the floor and reached forward to scratch Chessur again, earning a long, drawn-out purr from the tomcat. She kissed the top of his head, ignoring his half-hearted protests. "Er- thank you, Alice. I missed the scratching the most, Dinah has been missing you too."

"Well I'm back now, and I'm not going anywhere." The finality in her words was reassuring, both to her and her talented companion.

"Music to my ears. Now you ought to sing it to Tarrant."

Alice ventured into the dark room very carefully. Returning to this place, finding Hatter again, had been nearly the only thing on her mind since she had left Underland. But to see him again…her pulse was thundering in her ears and her body nearly shaking with nerves. How would he react to seeing her again? Alice could only wonder. She steeled herself and crossed the threshold into the room.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she stepped closer to the bed. The sheets and blankets were twisted, but the bed itself was empty.

Alice looked to the balcony and felt her heart drop. Hatter was there in a chair, his back to her, his face raised to the sky. He was not asleep, she could see his hands fidgeting at his sides. He was awake, alive, real.

She put a hand over her heart, worrying that he could hear the pounding in her chest from across the room.

What do I say? What do I do?

It was the ultimate irony: the Hatter, the man who had been in her thoughts for months was so near, and yet Alice found herself frozen, rooted to the floor with a fear she didn't know how to address.

Alice blinked.

Hadn't it been the Hatter who'd inspired her to find her muchness? Hadn't he believed in her from the moment he'd laid eyes on her? He'd believed in her when she hadn't believed in herself, he'd opened himself to her and confessed his longing to have her in his life.

And she was too afraid to break the silence because….because of what?

She was Alice, and this man, he was the Mad Hatter of Wonderland- and she had crossed worlds to find her way back to his side.

Alice shook off the shackles of hesitancy and crossed the last few feet that separated them. She stood directly behind him and leaned down, slowly wrapping her arms around his shoulders. The man tensed in her hold, but he did not fight. He did not break her hold. Several moments passed in silence and confusion. But then…recognition, and the spark of hope.

Hatter lifted a hand and put it over her own, accepting her touch.

Oh, to feel him again! His shape, his warmth! To be so close against him, to breath in his scent of tea leaves and clean fabric! Alice could feel her doubts fall away like a melting snow, giving rise to the feelings that she had kept to herself for so long.

Joy. Longing. Love, love, love!

Alice could not stop herself. She kissed his cheek, mirroring the same actions she'd taken on the morning that she'd confronted Hatter with the tragedy of his past.

There was a small gasp from the man and he moved, then. Turning in her hold, he rose to stand and face her, his hands holding hers tightly.

And there he was.

Several inches taller than her, and perhaps a bit thinner than what she remembered. But his colors were just as vibrant as they had always been. The alarming brightness of his eyes, his stark white face and the natural washes of color along his cheekbones, the sides of his nose and above his eyes- and that hair of his, a few inches shorter but just as wild as it had been on the day she'd left.

"Alice, you're back."

Her voice, so full of happiness, of near-disbelief...Alice swallowed, fighting the urge to give in and simply cry against him for the next several hours. She was emotionally exhausted, physically drained- but she had come so far and she couldn't stop now.

"Yes, Hatter. I'm back."

He blinked at her, his hand lifting to brush the backs of his fingers against her soft cheek. Alice, it's you! He could feel his mind reeling at the sight of her, his heart was leaping. This creature before him looked like Alice, sounded so like her. It had to be her; there had never been an Alice in Underland, never before or since the Alice had come from that different world and ended the dark times.

This was the one and only Alice that he held in his arms, Hatter knew it. He could feel it down to his very marrow. Not another dream, this. Not another desperate vision, an imagined Alice returned to him. No, no.

She was there, real and breathing and returned to him. To him!

With a cry, Hatter pulled Alice in close to him, hugging her against his chest and glorying in the reality of the moment. They gave in, then. Gave in to tears of joy even as the sky of Underland opened, raining a lake's worth of water upon them.

Hours later found Alice and the Hatter back in the large bedchamber, stripped of their soaked clothing and clad in a new set of pajamas for him and his robe for her. They remained close on the sofa, a pot of berry tea on the low center table before them. There had been so few words since the balcony. More, there had been embraces and long silences in which they would simply absorb the sight of each other, perhaps searching for changes that might have occurred during their time apart, perhaps each was simply fascinated with the sight of the other.

Hatter had reclined against the back of the sofa, happy to have Alice leaning against him. He liked her being this close. His mind was buzzing with many questions- how had she returned to Underland? What had happened in the Otherworld? Would she stay? Would she stay?- but he quieted that part of his mind. Alice was there, in his arms, laying against his chest. Now, he was free to revel in the reality of her presence. Now, he could feel her warmth, take in her scent- no flower oil adorned her this time, Alice simply smelt like Alice.

The room was dark but for the scattering of dim candles across the low table, quiet but for the sound of rain and the occasional crack and rumbling of thunder from outside. Berry tea, at once sweet and tangy, lingered on their lips.

It was this happiness that Hatter had spent so long a time searching for. He had known it but a few times in his life, and each time it had been taken from him. Now Alice was back with him, but he was far from peaceful.

Will she stay? Will she stay? She must not leave again...Oh, Alice, I want you with me always...

He wanted Alice in all ways. The flame of heat that had so confused him before was returning, growing stronger, urging him to claim Alice in some way so that she would not wish to wander from him again. Hatter moved on the sofa, moving down to the floor, until he was kneeling before her. Alice looked down at him, smiling, and reached out to spear her fingers into the wild mass of his hair. He had such strange ways.

"Hatter, what are you doing?"

He looked away from Alice's eyes, instead resting his hands over her clad kneecaps. Slowly, he lifted the hem of the robe she'd borrowed from him, setting it back, revealing more of her to him.

Alice swallowed, suddenly unsure of what he would do or what she should be doing- if anything. With Hatter before her, seemingly intent on…on taking a liberty with her body, Alice found herself torn in conflict: one side of her was warring with the other, one side wishing to flee from him while the other was rising with a heat that Alice had only felt once before at the hands of the Hatter.

Hatter unclothed Alice's legs, baring her pale skin to his eyes.

You came back to me, Alice, just as you promised. You didn't forget me, you didn't forget how happy I can make you…and I'll make sure that you never leave again.

Alice felt her pulse pound, hammer within her chest as Hatter gently parted her legs. Her voice caught in her throat, too unsure of herself to tell him to stop. She could only shiver and watch the man as he touched her, setting her skin aflame with the first hint of desire.

Hatter bent his head low and brushed his lips over the inner cleft of her knees. First the right, then the left.

Without a word, he slid his hands up her slender calves, holding them, and then turned to rest his head on her nearly bare thigh. Alice hated this, that her upbringing in London, with its strict edicts of proper decorum, had left her so pathetically ignorant of men. She wanted more from him, but she had no way to express what she wished to say, what she wished to feel.

But there would be time to learn, she supposed. She was not in London, and there was no reason for her to return there. Underland was her home, now, and Hatter her chosen mate.

She liked touching him. Hatter was hers, and soon, he would make her his. Alice stroked his hair for a moment before she moved to join him, sitting on the floor by his side. Their eyes held, absorbing the sight of the other. They were drowning in the most innocent of loves. Alice leaned forward, hesitant without reason, and kissed Hatter. This was deeper than their first kiss in the garden of the palace; that had been a ghosted brushing of lips brought on by the sorrow of goodbye.

Alice felt it, a thrill of joy rise in her chest coupled with that same elusive heat. Hatter's hands lifted to her face as he kissed her again. They parted in the near-dark for a moment, but Hatter dipped his head, kissed her once more, quickly, then pressed his thumb to the center of her full bottom lip.

A part of him wanted more, more of this, more of Alice; but that part of him was eclipsed by his admittedly little-used common sense. Alice had only just returned to him, he could not have asked for more. There were things that needed doing, and something very important that needed to be said.

"Alice…I love you, you know. Please, don't go again. There's no wonder in Underland for me without you."

His words pierced her, for who had ever given Alice such touching words of love?

She lifted her hands and touched his face, his strange, lovely face. Her fingertip traced the stripes over his cheeks, then lifted to tug on his hair. It took Alice a moment before she could find her voice for him. "I crossed back into this world so I could be with you again, Hatter. I…I love you. I won't leave again, there's nothing for me back in my world. I belong here, with you."

Hatter pulled her to him once more, his heart full to bursting. "Alice, Alice. I will make you so happy, you'll see, I'll-"

Alice silenced him with a kiss. "You already have, Hatter. I've only ever been happy when I'm with you."

"Then why? Why did you leave?"

She shook her head. "There were things I had to do, people I had to say goodbye to."

"Your family."

Alice felt a stab of pain in her chest. Had it only been hours ago that she'd attended her own mother's funeral? She had traveled from the depths of despair to the height of love; she felt that she would soon want a long sleep. The day had proven too much for her. "Yes. My family. My sister left England, Hatter. She moved to America with her husband and their children."

Hatter frowned lightly. "What is…America?"

Alice blinked. She had to remember that this was an entirely different world. "It's another country, very far away from where we were born. And my mother…she died, Hatter."

Hatter watched as the girl quickly dissolved into tears before him; instinctively, he reached for her, holding her there beside him on the floor as she cried. He stroked her hair, though for once he took no pleasure in touching her. It simply wasn't the same when she was so upset. He never wanted to see her tears again.

"Alice, I'm sorry. I know it hurts. I think your mother must have loved you when she died. How could she not? You are so lovely."

"The black dress I was wearing, it was from her funeral. I ended up here right after it was over." Alice shook her head and swiped at her tears. "I don't know how it happened. I heard Dinah…"

"Ah, yes, Chessur's pretty mate."

"…and then I fell through the mirror. It was so strange, Hatter. I was afraid, terrified, really. But then when I realized where I was, I was so happy. So happy, because more than anything, I wanted to see you again."

Hatter kissed her cheek. "I am very happy to be seeing you again, Alice. You're the proper size and you want to stay. Truly, I could not be happier."

"I'm glad, Hatter." Alice put a hand to her mouth and yawned.

He was immediately concerned. "Are you tired, Alice?"

She nodded. "Oh, yes. After all that's happened today, I feel like I could sleep for a year."

He blinked and stood, drawing her to stand with him. "Then you must sleep- and so will I! But what will I dream of, now that you've come back to me?"

Alice kissed his cheek, returning the gesture of comfort. "We can make new dreams."

Hatter lead Alice to the bed and joined her beneath the sheets, rejoicing that she allowed him to hold her against him once more. His arm curled over her waist and his fingers tangled in her hair.

Lovely, lovely.

They laid in silence, breathing, fading into a sleep more content than either had known in years.

Alice awoke in the room alone, or, nearly so. She blinked, smiled, reached to stroke the sleek gray body that had come to rest beside her in the bed. "Dinah, my pretty girl."

"She's my pretty mate, now."

Alice turned at the sight of Chessur appearing on the nightstand. She sat up and tightened the Hatter's robe about her body. No need to give her feline companions a look at her body, after all. "Chessur, you wouldn't be jealous of my past with Dinah, now would you?" Alice asked, teasing him.

He twisted his head at an unnatural angle, but the girl was not phased by the sight in the least. "Just so long as you don't get it into your head to take her back to London with you. We've made big plans, Alice."

The girl stood and moved toward the wardrobe, still talking to him. "Plans? What, a blessed wedding and a house in the country?"

"Something like that. We live with Tarrant and the others at Hightopp manor."

Alice opened the doors to the wardrobe and stared at the dress she'd been wearing as she came through the mirror and back to Underland. Drab gray and black, perhaps the only drab thing in this world. The garment covered her, enveloped her in its melancholy memories. It signified death and mourning…and yet Alice found that she was happier now than she'd ever been.

Forgive me, mother, father- but I am happy, so happy, now that I've found a place where I belong.

She had returned to the one place where she had ever felt free, courageous and beautiful. She had made friends in this land; bizarre friends they were, animals that could speak with wit and intelligence, humans of such strange shapes and colors, all of them amazing. A man…an insane, talented, gentle, passionate man loved her. Not the wealth of her father's business, not the distinction of the Kingsliegh name- Hatter loved her because she was Alice, and it was wonderful.

London was a closed chapter in her life. It was over. Margaret and Lowell had reconciled and gone to America to start anew. Alice believed that her mother had joined her father in whatever fate awaited the human spirit after death. She would not see her family again, and no one in London could possibly know what had become of her- she will have disappeared without a trace after her mother's funeral.

Alice shook her head lightly. I regret not telling Hamish goodbye. He'll be worried for me, he'll miss me. He deserved better than being abandoned.

"Who lives at Hightopp manor, Chessur?" Alice asked him. She asked the question more as a way to distract herself from her regrets than anything else.

She closed the doors of the wardrobe, shutting away the last physical remnant of her life in London, and turned her attention to the Cheshire Cat.

He disappeared for a moment, and then reappeared on the bed beside Dinah. "After you left, Tarrant opened the doors to his home. I think he didn't want to be alone. I took Dinah from your world and brought her to live with us at the Hightopp house. There are others there, now, but none have ever been allowed into your room."

"My old room at the house? Hatter kept it for me?"

"Alice, Tarrant hasn't allowed a spec of dust to settle there- he was keeping it for your return. And now you're here. What do you intend to do?"

Alice shrugged at him. The time for deep, life-changing choices was past. All that remained was to follow through with the decisions she'd made that had lead her back to this mysterious place.

"Well, the first thing I'd like to do is find something to wear. I won't wear my mourning gown here, and I can't go about in a borrowed robe."

"Go naked. If we can, why can't you?"

"I think that would be a little too much, Chessur, even for Underland."

"This world has seen stranger things. But, fine. Follow me to the workshop, I'm sure you'll find something there."

"She's back, she came back last night! I thought it was a dream and then I touched her and I knew she was real- and we slept in the bed and when I woke up she was still there!"

Mirana lifted her hand to Hatter, signaling him to calm himself. Closest consort to her he was, and her best friend, but she could not take him when he became this way, so excited that his words were lost to the speed of his thoughts.

"Calm yourself, Tarrant. Please."

There was nothing that Hatter could tell his Queen that she did not already know. She knew that Alice had returned to Underland, she knew that Alice had gone to him and she knew that her friend was finally happy once more. Mirana adored him always, but for when he fell into sorrow. He could be melancholy, unpredictable, even dangerous…but one glimpse of Alice had changed him.

That girl is a Champion in all ways. Thank you, Alice.

The vision in silvered white moved from her throne, approaching him. Mirana lifted her hands and rested them on his shoulders. Her dark eyes took in the joy shining through in his green gaze, and she smiled. "I know Alice has come back to you. I can see the change in you, my love, and I know what you want to do, what you've spoken of for months. Go, ready Alice and ready yourself. I will join you. Go."

Hatter felt the rise of joy in his soul, and such joy pitched him forward, until his lips brushed the snowy white cheek of his beautiful White Queen and the grandest friend he had ever known.

"Where are you taking me, Chessur?"

Alice carried Dinah in her arms as she followed the smoky wisps that were the enigmatic cat. Dressed in a confection of a dress, draped in the lightest dusting of blue and gold, Alice found herself again following the Cheshire Cat through the forest.

Now that I will live here, I must find a map to lead me through these strange woods!

"I am taking you to the Hatter once more, and hopefully this will be the last time. I grow weary of playing the tourguide."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Oh, yes, I'm sure that you had planned such a busy lay of laying about the palace, and then I showed up and ruined it all!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Alice. I was planning to lay about the manor, not the palace."

"Forgive my presumption."

Alice tried to take note of any familiar turns in the footpath, but it was impossible. She hoped that she would learn to find her own way soon, and said as much just as the trees cleared and Hightopp manor was revealed to them in a clearning.

"Oh, my…"

Gone was the dilapidated, shabby house with the crooked gate and the peeling paint. Hatter had indeed been busy while she was gone. The manor was new again, a grand house of beauty and comfort.

"Chessur, the house-!"

"Yes, well, Tarrant had to do something to kill Time while he waited for you to come back. Come, he's waiting, always waiting for you."

Alice moved forward, setting Dinah on the ground and stepped into the Hatter's home. Well, it would be her home now, too. She smiled to see that it was no longer empty, but full, so full! Books lined the shelves in the walls, there were soft chairs and carpets in the main room, and the air was scented with spices. She put a hand to her chest, thrilled to see that two pictures were hanging above Hatter's fireplace, a place of very high regard. First, the photograph that she had found of his family, then, a photograph of them dancing at the Queen's gala. The Hatter's most cherished memories, captured in paper and glass.

"Chessur, you gave him the picture I found…?"

The cat came to rest on the arm of a chair. "Yes. It seemed the right thing to do. Now, come to the garden, if you please."

What could Alice do? She stepped through the house and ventured into the backyard. The Hightopp garden was restored. The tall trees offered shade from the bright sun. The grass beneath her feet was soft and vibrant green, the air itself was lightly scented with the perfume of a hundred different blossums. A long table was laid out, its surface draped with a crisp white tablecloth, and topped with beautifully mismatched teapots, saucers, cups, plates and platters of pastries and biscuits.

Voices of welcome and joy rose to greet Alice.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

Mally the dormouse.

Thackery, the March Hare.

Her trio of nymphs, Randa, Carel and Lrala.

Lady Mirana, the White Queen of all Underland, smiling beautifully, seated beside an empty chair.

And at the head of the table, in all his colorful passion, the Mad Hatter. Her Hatter.

Alice moved forward, her eyes only for him. Oh, Hatter, you wonderful mad thing!

Hatter extended his hand to her, glorying as she slid her hand into his. He lead her to the chair at his side, the only place he could ever dream of her sitting, and he turned her palm, planting a small kiss there, then another on the underside of her wrist.

He poured her a cup of cinnamon tea, taking all care not to spill. It wouldn't do to stain the dress he'd made especially for the day when she returned to him. Lovely Alice, stay with me, always.

Alice kissed his cheek before turning to their kind company, and the mad tea party began.

It would be the first of so many more to come.