those beautiful petals

gracefully falling down.

those memories

a dream now.

everything in slow motion

can't remember.

bleeding heart

stitched by fear.

pretend to not know.

DISAPPEAR.

all those promises,

disappear like I did.

~ disappear by hanaB from hellopoetry ~

Mirana stood hovering beside her husband as he and his generals talked about the map of Underland that was stretched out before them on the table. She wondered - not for the first time - if this was truly the wisest course of action. Shouldn't she be the one to take her sister to task? Not force the problem Iracebeth had created on her subjects?

She held back a sigh. Had it not been for her vows - perhaps she would be going against Iracebeth right now.

A page came to the door and cleared his throat. The eyes of all those assembled looked up at the young man. Mirana was the first to address the boy.

"Yes, Marcus?"

"Absolem wishes to speak with you, Highnesses."

"He must be in the garden," Mirana guessed. She turned to her husband. "Sudhir?"

"Of course, love," he answered with a nod. Sudhir spoke to the men in the room. "Gentlemen, you will excuse us I hope? Absolem would not be here were it not important."

A murmured chorus from the soldiers dismissed the king and queen from the meeting. Mirana let the page boy lead the way, even though she had a very good idea of where the caterpillar may be waiting for them. At least - she had an idea of how to find him.

"Any idea what he may want?" Sudhir whispered into her ear. They were far enough behind Marcus that his question would not be overheard, but Mirana understood her husband's desire to conference with her.

"No, but I hope it is good news," she answered him. "We have not had any for quite some time."

Sudhir glanced sideways at his wife before glancing over his shoulder. No one was behind them - so it appeared. "Any news on - on Tarrant?"

Mirana tightened her grip on her husband's arm. "Chess was unable to stay long. It appears Tarrant is bent on blaming the cat for what has happened. Tarrant hasn't - hasn't left his home near the village's remains."

"It's been four years," Sudhir sighed with a shake of his head.

"Yes," Mirana said quietly.

"Your majesties," a smooth, deep voice greeted from ahead of them.

Mirana and Sudhir looked up at a low-hanging tree branch to see a blue caterpillar. On the ground below him stood a white rabbit wearing a blue jacket. The White Queen eyed, with a sense of curiosity, the rolled up parchment that the rabbit guarded under his arm.

"McTwisp, Absolem," Mirana greeted the pair. "You have news for us?"

"Yes," McTwisp answered hesitantly.

"We have recovered the Oraculum, from a friend of mine," Absolem explained without preamble as he inhaled from his hookah.

The royal pair looked from the rabbit and caterpillar to each other - their eyes wide and disbelieving. Sudhir asked, "From where, Absolem? It has been lost for - for centuries!"

"Misplaced," the caterpillar exhaled a ring of purple smoke. "Not lost. It was right where it was meant to be. Tortoise was looking after it, you see. Gryphon went to retrieve it for us."

"Of course," Mirana acknowledged. "But what does the Oraculum say?"

Absolem puffed a cloud of green smoke down at McTwisp's ears. "Nivens, if you please."

The white rabbit coughed and twitched his ears to disperse the scented smoke. He sent an irritated glare at the caterpillar before sending the scroll rolling. Nivens motioned the king and queen come closer and pointed at the pictures.

"Here," Nivens explained, "we have Horovendoush Day - when the Jabberwocky attacked and the Red Queen came to power." The image that Mirana now found herself staring at made her heart ache. The houses and people of the Hightopp Clan looked so beautiful and everyone looked so happy - unaware of the dark image looming in the sky above the cheerful image. The next picture in the progression showed a lone Tarrant standing in the smoldering remains of his familial village while her sister Iracebeth was crowned at a hasty coronation - with the crown that had fallen from Mirana's head during the chaos.

"And here," Nivens continued excitedly, "is the Frabjous Day!" He looked up at the queen eagerly. "The final battle between White and Red!"

Mirana leaned forward to take in the sights of the picture. A warrior with long hair stood on the top of a crumbling tower - a sword held high and sweeping down in an ark toward the Jabberwocky's exposed neck. The image after that showed the warrior standing triumphantly over the severed head between two armies.

"Who is this champion?" Sudhir questioned. "He does not look like any of my men."

"That is because," Absolem spoke up, "he, is a she."

"What?" Mirana questioned, a sharp intake of breath choking the word short. Her panicked eyes looked once more at the person in the image. Sure enough, she could discern the curves of a woman - the softness of a girlish face. The hair - could it be drawn that way to show blonde curls?

"It is not - it is not Lily, is it?"

"Hardly," Absolem snorted at the queen's hesitant question. "It is the Alice."

"What?!" An outraged shout caused Nivens to jump nervously, but the other adults in the group turned to see a girl of about fifteen standing not too far away.

The girl, her hair pulled back into a blonde braid - strands sticking out rebelliously, marched up to the group. She wore silver, loose-fitting pants with a matching, long-sleeved shirt. A sword hung from a belt at her side.

She stopped a few feet from her parents, fisted hands resting on her hips. "The Alice is the champion for the White Army? I don't believe it!"

"Lily," Mirana chided as she turned to face her daughter fully.

"No!" Lily protested with her all-too-familiar and unladylike stamp of her foot. Her slippered foot barely made a sound on the hard ground. "I am the princess. I am old enough to participate in the Chess Games! I should be the champion!"

"This isn't a game, foolish girl," Absolem retorted in a condescending tone. "This is war."

"I know that!" Lily snapped at him. "But she's not even an Underlandian! This war doesn't affect her. This is our fight," here she looked to her parents once more. "Let me be the champion!"

"You cannot," Absolem spoke for the king and queen. "You cannot possibly find or use the Vorpal Sword."

"I have been training to fight since I was six," Lily reminded her parents, striving to ignore the caterpillar who was huffing and puffing irritably. "The Alice said she hadn't ever touched a sword when she was last here!"

Sudhir shook his head, "Lily, the Oraculum does not lie. The Alice will be the champion of Underland."

"The Oraculum didn't say that! Absolem did."

"Lily White," Mirana finally cut in with a firm tone. Her daughter cringed only a little, but met her mother's stern, brown eyes. "Absolem is only speaking on behalf of the Oraculum," the queen stated. "Even I can tell that the one in the Oraculum is not you. I have magic and can read it just as well as he can. I am certain that the Alice is the champion."

Lily's eyes began to swim with tears. "Then I want to see! I will not accept that!"

"No!" Absolem barked, startling everyone. The Oraculum rolled itself back up with a snap, causing Nivens to yelp when the clasp caught his fingers in the process.

The blue caterpillar took a calming draft from his hookah before he exhaled it again. "You cannot look."

"Why not?" The princess demanded.

"Because there are things you are not meant to see," he answered evenly. "Good day, Princess."

"But -"

"Lily," Sudhir warned gently. "You must leave. There are things your mother and I still need to discuss with Absolem. Return to your room."

"But I -"

"Lily," both parents warned in unison.

With a tremble of rage, Lily pursed her lips and spun on her heels to storm off and out of the gardens.

Mirana watched her daughter's retreating figure, sure that Lily would go to visit Tarrant - even though the danger would be much too great for such a visit. Worry filled the mother's whole being. "Absolem, what is it she cannot know?"

Silence stretched after her question. Fear replaced the worry and she turned to look at the caterpillar. His blue eyes were steady, but filled with sympathy.

"That, Mirana, I cannot tell you either."

~ { *

Lily snuck through the Tulgey Woods, keeping an eye and ear open for any signs of something flying or of something growling in the underbrush. Since the day her aunt had taken over Underland, people lived in fear of the JubJub Bird and the Bandersnatch - Iracebeth's second and third favorite pets that spread her misery on all in the kingdom.

"Ah, Lily," a smooth voice purred beside her shoulder, making her jump in surprise. A wide, white smile appeared beneath large, blue eyes. "So good to see you," the body-less expression said.

"Chess," she sighed. "Don't do that!"

A cat's gray and blue-striped head appeared before flipping upside down. "So, sorry. But you looked like you were trying to hide - I thought my approach was very subtle."

The girl smiled wryly. "Is Tarrant home?"

The smile disappeared briefly before returning with a chuckle. "Where else would he be? Always tea-time, you know. He wouldn't miss it. All those chairs -" The cat trailed off as he looked away shame-faced.

"Thank you, Chess," Lily answered softly as she scratched a spot behind the cat's ear. "You don't have to come with me. I just need to talk to him."

"Best you did," Chess agreed as the rest of his body materialized and floated to a branch nearby. "He won't listen to me. Your mother keeps sending me - but the results are always the same. If I couldn't disappear whenever I wanted, I'm sure I'd be soaked with tea and shredded from the multiple pieces of chinaware he's thrown at me."

"I'm sorry," she said earnestly. "He just - needs more time."

The fact that it had been four years went unsaid.

"I'll be waiting right here for you," Chess offered. "Your mother would be most upset with me if I did not escort you home."

"Let her be upset," Lily muttered. "But - thank you Chessur. I'd be more than happy to have you take me home."

The grin that lit up the cat's face and eyes was reward enough for her words. He evaporated as she turned to make her way toward Tarrant's dilapidated home. The sight still pained her every time she snuck away to visit her friend.

The Jabberwock hadn't left any part of the Hightopp clan untouched. The windmill had been charred. The stones were now gray and black - they had once been white. The roof had patches in it where holes had been burned or sunken in on the top floor. Cracks appeared in glass windowpanes or in the foundation of the home. The blades of the windmill had been broken or singed. The sign that once said 'Hatter' was gone. Now, two chains hung limply from the pole outside the house. Where a garden once stood with fresh flowers for bonnets and hats, now a bed of weeds.

A long table stretched out before the front door of the windmill. Chairs upon empty chairs stood around the table with a stained white-cloth. Many mismatched tea-sets dotted the table top. Some cracked. Some with scuff marks that smelled like soot. Trays and plates of food were scattered around the cups.

At the end closest to the windmill sat Tarrant in a large armchair. The red fabric looked soggy and dirty now. Lily remembered when it resided inside the windmill's sitting room. She had enjoyed chilly days taking tea indoors with her friend while sitting in that chair. Thackery and Mallyumkin sat across from each other, seeming to enjoy themselves. Lily knew that they were only putting on a show for their dear hatter. Trying to coax him into a laugh - a real laugh. Not the odd mad laugh he seemed to use so much now.

Bolstering her spirits, Lily forced a smile on her face. "Hello, everyone!" She scampered toward the table, relieved when Tarrant looked up to see her.

Mallyumkin and Thackery greeted her warmly. She could see the relief in their eyes as well to see her there. She hugged the pair before coming up to Tarrant's chair and pressing a quick kiss to his pale cheek.

"Mind if I join you all for tea?" She questioned. Directing it to everyone, but hoping Tarrant would answer.

"You're late!" Thackery declared as he thrust an accusatory cup at her, dribbling some tea on the ground.

"Of course, ya can, Lily." Mally answered cheerfully as she motioned to the chair next to her - on Tarrant's right side. "Can't she, Hatter?"

"What?" He asked in a daze. "Oh. Yes, of course."

The three friends wilted only momentarily before cheering up again and acting normal. Thackery poured her too much tea, his hands never as sturdy as Tarrant's. Mally lobbed a couple of sugar cubes into the cup, splashing even more all over the table cloth. A scone was thrown across the way to her, thankfully landing on her plate instead of on her head or lap.

"So what news from the palace?" Mally questioned conversationally.

"The usual," Lily answered evasively. "Although Absolem came to visit today." The reason she had come. To rant and hopefully receive some comfort from her friend.

"Wha' did tha' many-legged bug want?" Thackery questioned as he stared at his reflection in a spoon.

"Something about the Oraculum - or some silly scroll." She huffed as she recalled the meeting she had spied on.

The two furry friends looked at each other with wide-eyes before questioning the princess in unison. "What did it say?!"

"Something about the Frabjous Day," Lily explained further. "There will be a champion who will slay the Jabberwocky with a Vorpal Blade and defeat the Red Army."

"What?" Tarrant's sharp question gained everyone's attention. Everyone looked at him with some surprise. His eyes were a clear green. Not a misty shade of pea-green as they had been for three years now - with the occasional bouts of red or orange.

"What did you say, Lily?" He asked again as he leaned forward in his chair.

"On Frabjous Day," she repeated, "a champion will slay the Jabberwocky and defeat Iracebeth's army."

"Who is the champion?" Tarrant asked as a grin lit up his face.

Lily frowned as she remembered what the blue caterpillar had said. "The Alice."

"Wonderful!" Tarrant exclaimed as he jumped up from his seat, startling everyone present. "Oh, Lily-girl! Just think! Down with the bloody big-head! I knew she had muchness in her. When is she coming? When is the Frabjous Day?"

The more excited Tarrant got, the more irritated and hurt Lily began to feel. Her lip protruded into a pout and she glared angrily at the tablecloth. Even if this was the most normal Tarrant had been in three years, she couldn't help but be angry with him. He was happy and himself because of the Alice? Was she really not good enough a friend for him anymore?

"Lily?" Tarrant questioned, some of his steam lost when he noted her silence. "Do you know when she's coming? What's wrong? Is something - bad going to happen to the Alice?"

Lily looked up at him, her glare still present. "I don't know when she's coming! I hope she never comes!"

The group looked at each other in surprise at the princess' vehement declaration. "But Lily," Mally began, "don't you want Underland to be free?"

"Of course I do!" Lily answered as she looked around at each of her friends. Why couldn't they understand? "But I want to be the Champion. The Alice isn't even Underlandian! This isn't her war or her home or her people. It's not right - not fair!"

She turned to glare at Tarrant again. "I have more muchness than the Alice! I could take on Iracebeth!"

"Oh no, Lily," Tarrant shook his head as his eyes dimmed a bit. "No, you couldn't possibly take on Iracebeth and the - the Jabberwocky. No, leave it to the Alice."

"Why can't I?" Lily demanded as she rose from her seat. "You think I can handle myself in battle? Just because I haven't been in a chess game -"

"Chess has nothing to do with this," the hatter replied as he waved a hand as if swatting a fly away from his face.

"Then what does!?" Lily demanded. "Why doesn't anyone think I can do it? Aren't I good enough? What's the point of being the princess if I can't keep the peace like Mum? What's the point if I can't make you you again?" Tears welled up in her eyes. "I thought you - of all people - would believe in me." She dodged away from the table and ran back into the Tulgey Wood.

Tarrant had reached out a hand a little too late, his eyes and mouth wide open as he watched her go. He made no sound. No move to go after her. The moment she disappeared into the gray woods, his arm flopped down to his side and he sank back into his chair. Tarrant stared, unseeing at the table-top. Mally and Thackery sat watching the hatter warily, sympathetically. Both creatures felt their ears twitch toward him as he mumbled, "What's wrong with me?"

His broken expression rapidly changed to a manic smile as he sat up. "More tea?"

~ { *

Lily walked home with Chessur floating beside her. He would occasionally sidle up to her and rub his soft fur against her tear stained cheek and offered comforting purrs as she sniffled and hiccupped. She wouldn't explain what had happened to make her so upset. She didn't want to hear from another friend that they were excited about her coming to rescue them all. Lily didn't want to hear someone else say she wasn't capable of being the Champion.

She went straight to her room and dismissed her maids and governess. Wanting nothing more than to be left alone. Lily threw herself on top of her bed and stared glumly at the top hat she had on display - now that it was too small for her to wear. Tarrant hadn't made a single hat since the Hightopp clan had died.

A knock at her door sometime later alerted her to the presence of a visitor, but Lily didn't feel like seeing anyone. "Please," she called out miserably, "I wish to be alone."

She rolled over onto her back and stared up at the white canopy that draped over her bed. Lily shut her eyes against the fresh onslaught of tears and wished that Tarrant was here to hold her. The princess' sigh turned into a groan. "He'll only see me as a little kid for the rest of my life," she bemoaned. Her heart sank. "Never anything else put a little kid."

Lily knew she had a crush on Tarrant. Who wouldn't? He was a handsome, kind man. Always listened and always tried to encourage her. Believed in her. Made her smile and laugh. Perhaps it was just a childish crush and would leave someday, but now - now it just hurt to know he would never see her as a young woman and not the little princess he had once sworn to protect.

"I am sorry to intrude," a timid voice interrupted Lily's solitude, "but I have an urgent message for you."

Lily sat straight up, a red blush infusing her face. Had this unannounced visitor heard her teenage musings? That would be beyond embarrassing!

The wide-eyed princess looked toward the door of her bedroom and saw a woman dressed in a shimmery red dress. Diamond patterns wrapped around the skirt of the woman's dress and beneath the hood of the woman's cloak, Lily could make out diamond earrings and a necklace.

"L-lady of Diamonds," Lily began cautiously as she slid off her bed, "what are you doing here?"

The woman stepped further into the room and pushed back the hood from her face. Pale features drawn taut with worry and pain couldn't detract from the woman's beauty. Dark, black hair and hazel eyes, lips as red as a rose.

"Please, Princess Lily, I have a very urgent message for you." The woman repeated.

"For me?" Lily questioned wondering where her guards were. They were always stationed right outside her door. They wouldn't have let anyone into her room without her permission or without an escort for that matter. Her blue gaze briefly darted to where her sheathed sword hung from a silver coat rack. Why had she left it over there? Her father would have told her to keep it by her bed. Or perhaps instructed her to always have a dagger concealed beneath the pillows or covers.

"Why me?" The princess continued, hoping the Lady of Diamonds had not noticed the glance. "If it is urgent news that relates to my aunt, you should be taking it to my parents."

"I am afraid you are the only one who can help me," the Lady of Diamonds replied sadly. "No one else."

Her curiosity piqued, and after all that had happened that day - the idea of being the only person in all of Underland able to help someone -

"What's the matter?" Lily asked as she took several steps toward the woman. There, she was close enough to comfort, but far enough away that she could still dodge the woman in the poofy dress and retrieve her sword.

"My family," the woman spoke as she looked down at the floor. "They are in danger, but the only way to save them - is to -"

"Is to what? Why are they in danger?" Lily questioned.

The Lady of Diamonds looked up again at Lily, tears in her eyes and making a path down her cheeks. "I am sorry, Princess. Forgive me." She held up a red flower bud that instantly opened and shot a cloud of sickeningly sweet pollen at Lily.

Before she could think to hold her breath, Lily felt the sticky, yellow dust latch onto her and her whole world began swimming. Her legs gave out beneath her and she fell unceremoniously to the floor. Lily tried to open her mouth to call for help, but the pollen seeped into her mouth leaving a cottony taste. Even though her word was disoriented, Lily fought to remain conscious.

The woman knelt beside her and held the flower out once more so its leafy tendrils could begin wrapping around Lily's body like a vice. "Truly, I am sorry," she repeated in a choked voice. "But Iracebeth threatened my family - and someone I love. The only way I could save them was to kidnap you. She wants you dead, but I cannot kill you. I refuse to kill you. I have a different plan that will save us both and my loved ones. I will take you into hiding. Someplace even your aunt won't be able to find. We must both stay there and Iracebeth must believe we are both dead. I hope -" the lady continued as she lifted Lily into a sitting position, "I hope that someday we may leave the place we are going. Return home. I know I may be punished for this if we ever return, but please do not think ill of me. I have no choice. If it were not this plan - then she would send the Jabberwocky or the JubJub or the Bandersnatch or something even worse!"

Lily wanted to argue. Wanted to reason with this woman. She didn't want to leave her family and home. The pollen was beginning to take effect though and her eyes were beginning to shut. Her gaze swung to the top hat still sitting on display on a marble white fake head. Her last sight of home was the sweet, little top hat.

~ { *

After much urging from Mallyumkin and Thackery, Tarrant found himself on his way to the palace. He twiddled his fingers and mumbled under his breath as he thought very long and hard on what he was to say. He knew he had hurt Lily's feelings, and he knew he needed to make it right again. How was the question. He used to be so good at making her feel better.

When had Tarrant stopped taking care of his Lily-girl? Hadn't he sworn that he would always make her happy? That he never wanted to be the reason she cried or became upset? What was wrong with him?

He looked up as he approached the castle gate and saw that it was shut. No one was about.

Really, Tarrant shouldn't be surprised as things were in Underground these days. But shouldn't someone have opened the gate by now for the hatter?

"Hullo!" The hatter shouted. "Anyone home?"

There was some commotion from above, before a small door to the side of the gate house opened. McTwisp poked his head out, his wide pink eyes darting around nervously. "Tarrant?! Oh, thank Underland! Hurry! You must come quick, something terrible has happened!"

For a moment, Tarrant thought of turning right around and marching himself back to his home and tea part. He didn't want to see or hear any more terrible news. He'd had enough terrible news to last him all his days! But the hatter didn't have much of a choice as McTwisp hopped up to him and took the man's hand. In a jerking motion Tarrant ran to keep up with the white rabbit's hopping.

"Where are we going?" Tarrant asked as he held on for dear life to the brim of his top hat with his free hand.

"The princess' room," the rabbit explained. "Oh dear me. My sweet paws! Oh my fur and whiskers!" The rabbit began babbling on about the travesty and the queen's distress, but Tarrant had tuned him out.

A terrible event? Lily's room?

With a burst of energy, Tarrant ran on ahead, tearing himself free from a startle rabbit. The hatter skidded down a hallway and kept running. Guards were helping other guards stand up from sprawled positions on the floor. They were all covered in withering flowers and an oddly scented powder. The doors to Lily's room were wide open, so he didn't have the chance to slam them open for a grand entrance. Surely that would cheer up his friend if something had upset her -

Tarrant stopped short.

The usually white room - kept pristine by servants - was Lily-less. Maids stood weeping while some tried to comfort a very distraught Mirana. She had her face buried into Sudhir's shoulder. Sobs wracking her frame. The king stood holding his wife in a tight embrace, but his face was also awash in tears, though his expression blank and grim. Some more guards were scouring the room while healers were bent over the one splash of color in the room.

Red. Like the bloody big head.

But it wasn't the Queen of Hearts.

It was a pool of a red liquid.

Lily.

Lily was -

"Tarrant," a choked sob tore his gaze away from the sight. He could feel the emotions roiling inside him. The rapid change of his eye color was giving him a headache.

"Oh, Tarrant," Mirana sobbed again as she watched him.

"Has she - disappeared?" Tarrant asked quietly like a lost child. He didn't wait for an answer. He didn't wait for his mad, cracking mind to make something up for him to cope. Tarrant turned and walked away. He didn't want to see what he had seen. More than anything, he wished he had seen what he hadn't.

~ { *

Tarrant sat at tea, his head bowed over his chest as he watched the amber liquid swirl in his cup. Mallyumkin and Thackery were being their usually chipper selves. He didn't see what there was to be chipper about. Not today at least. The Alice hadn't come yet.

"How delightful," a voice purred from somewhere down the table. "I do enjoy a spot of Earl Grey every now and then."

Chessur, of course. Who else could purr as they spoke?

"'ello, Chess!" Mally greeted. "'ow 'ave ya been?"

"Oh, can't complain, Mally," the cat returned. "Been out and about. Looking for things you know."

Things. What sort of things? The only things that needed to be found were gone or the other wasn't in Underland to be found. At least, Tarrant thought they were. What was it that was gone? He couldn't remember. Of course he always sort of knew, but some days the things just escaped him. So many memories were escaping him like dragonflies that had burned a hole in a net.

Or course it was foolish to try to catch dragonflies in a net. Everyone knew it was better to use a little cage. What you would do with a dragonfly when you caught it was beyond him. You couldn't do anything with it like a bread-and-butterfly. At least their wings you could enjoy with a cup of tea! If you were cruel enough to take their wings that is.

Take. Someone had been cruel enough to take something. Something. What had it been?

His eyes lighted on a cup nearby. Ah! Clean cup!

He set aside his filled cup for the new one and looked around suspiciously for anyone who had noticed his nice clean cup. No one would take this of course! Not if they didn't want a fork in their hand.

But Mally was talking to Chessur and Thackery had fallen asleep, face first in a tart.

Good. His cup. No one else's.

Or was it? Tarrant held the cup up for inspection. This cup. It had been clean for several years. Always sitting on his right across from Mally and beside Thackery. Waiting at a pretty white garden chair. The cup was so dainty looking. No chips. Not charred. It did have a ring of flowers hand-painted around it. White flowers with gold tips. Lilies.

Lilies.

Lily.

Lily-girl.

"I promised her, you know," the hatter spoke up as he was wont to do every once in a while. Interrupting everyone at the table so that an eerie silence fell over the party. Everyone holding their breaths to hear what he had to say. He said so little nowadays. Although it didn't seem like he didn't speak. Tarrant had so many conversations within his head, it was never truly silent.

His eyes focused on the cup again and his wandering thoughts refocused as well. "I promised her so many things. But those promises disappeared. Just like she did. I suppose they disappeared or perhaps they were there but forgotten. I've forgotten so many things now, you see. It's like - a dream maybe or - maybe I've had one too many pulls at Absolem's hookah. Or maybe I don't know at all or -"

Tarrant trailed off at Mally's quiet, "Hatter."

He fell silent and stared at the cup. Whose cup was it? It wasn't his. No certainly not! Should he toss it off the table? Or at Chess? Perhaps he should save it for Stane when the miserable fellow came by on his rounds. Tarrant gently set the cup back on its saucer. Turning it ever so slightly so the thin handle would be in the right place for whoever sat down to use it. Perfect.

Tarrant returned to his previous cup. Even if it wasn't clean, at least it had tea in it. Tea was delightful. So absolutely delightful! Perhaps Time had cursed him to always have teatime, but he'd rather always have teatime than be at any other time. Why - so many times were of no use at all! Or rather sad times. There seemed to be so many sad times nowadays.

But someday there would be a Frabjous Day! Time would let that happen, Tarrant was sure. Instead of a tea party, perhaps Tarrant would have a different party. What did one do for a Frabjous Day party? There had never been one that he could remember.

He began planning the drinks, food, decorations, costumes, hats, and so many other things that would be needed. Everything should be white on Frabjous Day. White for peace of course. White drinks, white foods, white flowers -

Lilies.

There had to be white lilies.

He was so looking forward to the Frabjous Day!

The End

Author's Note:

Don't kill me! This is not the end the end. Just the end of the prequel to the movie. So now, go watch the movie and come back when I post Chapter One of Innocently Mad. :) These snippets are done so the story can begin!