Time and Time Again

Chapter Five

I finally caught up with Alice as she stops right in front of Tarrant's mother and father. "Mr. Hightopp," Alice called out as I gasped for breath, "If I could just have a moment of your time, there is something terribly important you should know about." I took a deep breath and finally could breathe without sounding like I ran twenty miles. "Mr. Hightopp?" I heard Mirana ask as I watched her in amazement. Her hair looks amazing.

Mirana walked over to the Hightopps, "Our apologies. You know of my sister's misfortune." I smiled as she apologized for her sister's actions. It seems to be a running trend no matter what time we are in. "Uh, no apologies necessary, your highness. All of Witzend laments the day of your sister's accident." Mirana frowned, "Fell Day, as the clock struck six. I shall never forget that snowy night when she hit her head in the town square." 

I watched Mirana in contentment, smiling at her care of Iracebeth. I wish that they had a sibling bond and I wonder if I could have done anything to better their relationship. "She and I had." Mirana paused and decided to say something else, "She and I had everything." I looked over at Alice and I saw that look on her face and I gulped, not liking that face at all. 

"But if that moment never happened, there would be no Horenvendush Day. Hatter would be saved!" Alice stated out loud and I started smacking her arm in alarm as Mira and the Hightopps looked at both of us. "Excuse me," Alice stated softly and ran off. I looked back at the trio and stepped forward, kissing Mirana's hand in a greeting, "Hello, Princess Mirana, you look beautiful this warm afternoon." 

Tarrant's mother giggled and looked at us fondly as Mirana blushed, "Thank you, Prince Adrian. I noticed that the young woman with you seemed quite mad. Is she alright?" Mirana placed a hand on my arm and I blushed hard. "I hope she is alright. That is my sister. Who just ran off and I was supposed to watch her. I have to go, Princess. But I will see you soon." I said to Mirana and kissed her cheek, then ran after Alice. Not noticing that young Mirana was blushing and squealing with her mother and that in a second-story window, Princess Iracebeth was fuming at Mirana for getting her happily ever after." 

I ran after Alice and hopped in the Chronosphere, "You have to stop doing that, I am not in shape as I once was, Ali." Alice snickers, "Twin life is getting to you, big brother?" I mockingly laugh at her, "Take us to the destination you want, crazy." 

I hold on as we go through the Time Ocean again. I see the time when children Mirana and Iracebeth are and I can hear Iracebeth repeating, "It's not fair. It's not fair." We go through and land in a park of some sort, coming across the children of all of our friends. Alice and I hide behind a tree watching the exchange between Tarrant and a very cute Chesh. I awed and shook Alice's arm in excitement as Chesh shows everyone he can disappear. 

Alice giggles and looks over as a clock chimes, "Oh. It's nearly six. Adrian, we have to go." We start walking to the castle when Young Tarrant stops us, "Hello. You two have a very nice head." I smiled and ruffled Tarrant's hair, "Why, thank you." Tarrant smiled, "And a very nice head deserves a very nice hat. That's what my father says. He makes the best hats in Witzend. Would you like him to make you guys one?" Alice hesitates as I smile and nod, Tarrant smiles and grabs Alice's arm, dragging her to his father, "Come on. He can make any hat. A bonnet or boater, dunce hat, fez..." I smile as I listen to Tarrant name every hat he knows. 

Tarrant brings us into his father's shop and Mr. Hightopp smiles at us. "Father look. Two customers with lovely heads, right here." Mr. Hightopp holds up a finger to slow his son down as he works.  Tarrant sighs and turns to us, "What is the hat of your heart's desire, sir and madam? Something feathery?" Tarrant pulls a bird out of his coat and I grin, watching him. "Something button-y?" Tarrant continues, then Mr. Hightopps sighs with a smile and walks over to us. "Good afternoon sir and miss." I bow my head in a greeting, a habit of being married to a Queen, "Good afternoon, sir." 

"The function of a hat is to follow the proper dictum of society. Hmm?" Mr. Hightopp takes his tape measure and measures the round of Alice and I heads for a hat fitting. "Not to be fun," Mr. Hightopp leans down to Tarrant to make a point as I roll my eyes at his obvious lack of encouragement to Tarrant. 

"Father. I have something fun." Tarrant holds out a small blue hat and I recognize it as the same one that Tarrant found when everyone was investigating the forest after the big storm. Mr. Hightopp picks it up out of Tarrant's hands, "What is it?" Tarrant looks sad, "It's a hat." 

Mr. Hightopp almost looks disgusted, "Oh, Tarrant. You've got it on backwards." Mr.Hightopp starts to mess with it to fix it and Tarrant looks upset, "Stop. You'll ruin it." Zanik rolls his eyes, " Now let me finish." Alice and I gasp as Zanik tears the paper hat, "Oh dear. Oh well. Tomorrow, I'll show you precisely how to make a proper hat. Hmm?" Zanik grins as he throws away Tarrant's hat. Tarrant runs upstairs crying at the fact his father threw away the hat he made to make his father proud. I frowned at the exchange and vowed to never make the twins cry and make them feel this way. 

"Tarrant?" Mrs. Hightopps comes into the house, "You're too hard on him, Zanik." Zanik turns around to face his wife as Alice and I stand there, not sure if we need to leave or not, "Hatting is a serious business. I can't have his frivolous ideas keeping him from his true potential." Zanik looks back at us and picks up a hat, "Now, yes. Yes, I think this hat will suit you, perfectly." Alice looks at the clock and gasps, "Thank you ever so much, Mr. Hightopp. Although, I really must be on my way. Have a lovely evening." Alice hurries out the door as I hang back a little bit, "Mr. Hightopp. I understand that you want Tarrant to harness his true potential, but don't you think that spending time with him and his ideas will lessen the strain in your relationship between the two of you? Maybe you will find something that you've never seen before." I set some Underlandian coins on the table, smiled, and nodded at the Hightopps in respect, "Please, for the trouble my sister might have caused. Have a great rest of your evening." 

I smiled one last time and followed Alice to the castle, praying that Alice's plan works.