Down the Rabbit Hole

Chapter 12 Hatter

I'm still rooted to my spot long after Alice had returned to her world. I can still smell her skin mixed with fresh grass and blackberries. How can I get her back? She called me a dream. I know she misses me when she leaves or she wouldn't have said I feel like home or that she wanted to stay here. How long can I keep waiting for Cheshire to finally go to her side and bring her back, at least to prove that we're not just a dream. How I've been waiting for my chance to see her in person.
"You alright Hatter? You've been standing there for five minutes and haven't heard me calling you. What's going on?" Cheshire's voice breaks me out of my thoughts and I see him seated at my feet looking at me like I've gone completely mad. I merely stare at him a moment, trying to collect my thoughts before I tell him I know where she is.
"She's close to her portal tree. She dream walked here again. I only had a few minutes with her before she returned to her body. She was close though, I could feel the heat of her skin and I felt a faint heartbeat as I held her wrist in my hand. You know where to go, right?" He looks at me, but he doesn't seem surprised. That Guardian knew what was going to happen! He knew, but he never said anything to me! I could have helped! I could have asked her where she was. He could have gone after her sooner! I feel a rage building in me.
"Before you get angry Hatter, I had my reasons for not saying anything." He tries to soothe me, but it does nothing to calm my anger. I could have had my claimed half here sooner! I could be convincing her right now to stay with me.
"It better be a good fucking reason Ches. Tell me why you didn't say something sooner. I could have helped find her so you could bring her back! I could have my claimed half here! I could finally see her! Do you know what hell it is to feel your other half so fucking close, but be denied. She still thinks I'm only a dream. A fucking figment of her imagination. She's losing hope and I can feel it! Do you know-" He cuts me off before I lose control of my temper and of my magic.
"What do you think I've been doing?" His voice is calm and level. It helps soothe the ache that was fueling my anger. "I've been talking with other guardians about what bringing her back may do to our world. We saw what happened last time. We all had to come up with plans on what may or may not happen. We also had to discuss what could happen to her, she may not do well if she crosses again. And we don't know how her magic will manifest now that she's matured. Though considering that she can dream walk with out training or even knowing of her magic, we all have our theories." He chuckles before coughing and lowering his gaze.
"Apologies Hatter, I'm a bit excited. She may even rival Beatrice in her magical abilities." I don't answer him, instead I walk to the head of my table. As I sit down I wave my hand and my table magically refills the pots and plates of treats. Cheshire jumps to sit on the table in front of Alice's favorite seat. Everyone knows that I'll only allow Alice to sit there.
"I'll never grow tired of that trick. So useful." Cheshire is trying to make me feel better, but I only feel more hollow on the inside. I need her here. I haven't said anything, but I can feel my magic weakening. Since she woke us all I've been anxious to have her here. My parents used to say that if they spent to long apart, then they felt their magic weakening. No one has ever spent this much time away from their claimed half, who knows what could happen to us. I feel better when she dream walks to me, but when she fades I can feel more of my magic follow her. To distract myself I ask Cheshire.
"Do you have any idea what a Dom is?" He looks at me puzzled.
"No. I can't say I have heard of that before. Did Alice say something?" I sip at a random tea cup before I answer him.
"Yes. She said I was a bit of a Dom. She didn't think you'd know the answer, but she said she'd teach me the meaning." He nods.
"Since you said she was close to her portal tree, then I know exactly where she is. She won't be hard to find since I know what she looks like."
"You were in our dreams constantly though, how did you not know what she looked like?" I've been pondering this since we woke up. It didn't make sense.
"Ah. Yes. You see the guardians don't actually dream. We may be present, but we don't remember what all happens. We're more there to guard our lines sanity. Keeping the dream vague enough they can still remember it as a dream. That's what happened to the Spade's line. Their heir got lost in the dreamscape and was lost in his own mind till he passed." I  just nod. I don't care about the royal line that died off long ago. I want to know when he'll leave to go find Alice. I hear him chuckle.
"I know you're anxious for me to leave. I won't test your patience any longer." He smiles at me one last time before he hops off my table and starts to run to find Alice.


Cheshire

With Hatters help I knew exactly where Alice was. That should make this trip much faster now that I don't have to hunt her down. I couldn't fail my line any longer. Thankfully the woods haven't changed since we've been asleep so I know exactly where the tree I need is. I quickly make it to her Aunt's farm.
Looking around I know it's the same place, but there's subtle changes around the land. I make my way to the barn, curious to see if any of the horses are still alive from my last visit. The barn is a few stalls longer than I remember, they've been fortunate enough to add to their livelihood. Good, my line deserves many riches in my absence.
I walk down the aisles looking at the nametags that hang on the stall doors when one name finally looks familiar.
"Butterscotch? Is that you?" I jump over the stall door and I see a much older version of the young philly I once knew. He moves slowly and lifts his head to look at me.
"You have some nerve showing your face again after you abandoned Alice after your last visit." He snorts at me before he moves his head away from me. Refusing to look at me.
"I didn't mean to be gone for so long. I fully intended to come back much sooner." He whips his head around biting at me  before he screams
"She almost died hunting for you! She fell from your precious portal tree hunting for the ones she called friends. Where were you? Her self proclaimed guardian, where were you?! When she was bleeding on the ground. When she spent years sobbing for her friends? While she spent years thinking she had gone crazy from those dreams! You were nowhere to be found! I may have been young, but I should have known better. Some guardian you turned out to be. Now leave me alone before I make you bleed for her as she did for you and those so called friends."
I'm silent as I leave the barn. I never knew what Dormouse had meant when he said she bled hunting for us. It was starting to make more sense now, 20 stitches, that must have been from when she fell. I can feel a longing in my chest to find her and start to apologize. I would apologize every day for 20 years in her time if she wanted.
I take my time to walk around the farm reacquainting myself with the property. It looks as if everyone is out in town. I see no one other than the animals around, but I can smell Alice's magic around the property. It's a fresh enough scent that I know she's at least been here in the last 24 hours. I send a silent plea to the magic of this world that I haven't missed her yet.
Something must have heard me because I see an open window on the house and it smells strongly of Alice. Jumping through the window her scent is much stronger. Walking around the room I see the same shoes she wore when I shadow traveled with Hatter. I'm not too late! I still have a chance to set everything right again!