Possible Side Effects, Chapter 28

[wanderamaranth]

Here we are--the end of Possible Side Effects.

***

Mirana sat in her Exploratory, surrounded by whirling Fancies and chittering Whims. Books of every shape, size, and variety lined the walls, and many things hung from the ceilings as well. Mirana's personal favorite were the Icaria wings she'd procured during her only trip Above from a delightful older gentleman who warned her that they had not been yet quite perfected for flight. They were now the color of faded parchment instead of their previously healthy tan; all that Mirana could think of to cause such rapid aging was that they maintained Above's timetable for their years instead of Adapting to how Time ran Under. Some items were terribly attached to their realm of origin, after all. It simply saddened her that those wings happened to be one such item.

The White Queen took no note of any of those distractions, though. Not even her beloved wings could distract her as she stared instead at a small crystal sphere in front of her. The same image continuously replayed within it: a brief vignette of she and Tarrant on either side of Alice, her Champion holding a small wrapped bundle, all with smiles of joy and pride on their faces. Absolem floated through the open window to land atop the gleaming orb, disturbing her concentration upon it.

If he'd still proper brows, Mirana was certain they'd be raised as he looked underneath himself at the crystal, and then up towards his Queen. "Dreams are sometimes useful things," he said cautiously, "but when they are all one focuses on, you run a risk of losing your perception of what truly is."

With a sigh and a wave of her hand, Mirana banked the image swirling in the small glass bubble and agreed. "I know, Absolem. As I know that I should not too often gaze into a gift from our Goblin neighbors, no matter how peaceably offered." Chocolate brown eyes looked downward at her lap. "It seems I am all Self-Indulgence as of late, aren't I?"

Absolem bobbed his feelers. "Yet the happiness and prosperity of Underland often depends on the happiness and prosperity of its High Queen. A bit of selfishness every now and again is not remiss. I only wished to remind you of the precarious nature of that which you gazed upon." He paused, then said, "You wished for me to tell you when the Hatter went to the Champion."

"Has he?" Mirana said, a smile breaking over her face for the first time since the butterfly had entered the room. "All will be well, then." This was said with more determination than conviction. The Queen went to rise, and Absolem stopped her with the news he had next. "The Duchess of Hearts has arrived at Marmoreal and is requesting an audience."

Mirana bit back a groan-barely. "Have a messenger inform her that she shall have her audience tomorrow, will you? In the meantime, place her in one of the guest rooms on the North-facing side." The North-facing side was furthest from where she, Tarrant, and Alice were all housed; she hoped such a placement would be enough to keep her from seeking them out in the middle of the night in order to press whatever case it was that she wished to address. She'd no doubt that her real goal was to meet with Queen Alice-her son, after all, was now her Knave, and the Duchess was nothing if not opportunistic when it came to the ways of the Court.

"There are also a number of citizens wishing to tithe to Queen Alice waiting in the Courtyard, your Majesty."

So soon? Mirana wondered. She'd expected that there would be citizens that would turn to Alice for their Queen-those whom were not well-pleased to have such a stringent White as their ruler-but she'd thought she'd at least have a few weeks in which to prepare Alice for their arrival.

"Among them are Representatives from Snud, Queast, Grumpus Bluffs…even Witzend…wishing to speak to Queen Alice about where she will be establishing herself."

"Witzend?" Mirana asked, starting to feel a bit overwhelmed on Alice's behalf. "Please, Absolem, have them placed in North-facing guest rooms as well. All of them, those that would tithe and the Representatives, both."

"Of course, your Majesty." Absolem agreed. "There is just one more thing."

"Yes?"

"The Blue Knave wishes to speak with you."

Mirana looked up at him, confusion clear. "We do not have a Blue…oh." She quickly looked away. "Yes, do send him in on your way out."

The door had barely shut (it having been generous enough to open itself for the Butterfly so he didn't have to unduly strain himself trying to turn its knob) when it swung open again, revealing Ilosovic Stayne. He was now clad in breeches of the darkest navy blue, a long-sleeved, extravagantly cuffed shirt that matched, and a vest that laced in the front a stunning shade of cornflower blue. The small splash of color made his one blue eye stand out very vibrantly, Mirana surprised herself by noticing. Instead of his former heart-shaped eye patches, his new was simple and contoured to fit the space where the eye was not; nothing more.

A bit of uncharacteristic self-consciousness seemed to squirm across his facing, making the Knave look down at his apparel. "I believed it was time for a change, your Majesty," he murmured.

"It…suits you, Ilosovic. Even better than the gray did," Mirana said, unable to hide the admiration from her voice. "Absolem said you wished to speak with me?"

"I…yes. I did." He sat down stiffly on the edge of the chair opposite her. He squirmed a bit, making Mirana wonder if Snellum had somehow convinced the man to bring him to this meeting in his pocket. "I was given to understand that you were still intent on searching for the lost children of Crims?"

Sitting up straight, Mirana said, "Yes, that's right. Although the original reasoning for the undertaking of that task has been…altered, it is still something I wish to embark on, very much so." A few tears suddenly welled up in the Queen's eyes and well onto her cheeks, decorating her face with their shining, crystal-like droplets.

Stayne stood, looking very much frightened. "I beg your pardon, your Majesty." His voice fell into familiar, unctuous tones. "This is obviously not a good moment to speak with you. I shall return-"

"No. Sit back down, Ilosovic," Mirana commanded. "I am sorry for disturbing you, but now that you have mentioned her, there is something I've been meaning to speak with you about concerning Iracebeth." She wiped the droplets from her face. "To begin with, I've been intending to thank you."

"Thank me?" Stayne parroted, disbelief clear.

"Yes, thank you." Mirana bit her lip and looked up at her wings, then out the window, wishing, however briefly, that she could fly away. "You gave my sister what I was too weak to give."

"What was that?" Stayne spat bitterly. "An assassin, a rogue for hire? Or perhaps fueling her Obsession and disdain?"

"No." Swallowing, Mirana said, "You were a companion to her in those dark days following Tertian's…no." She corrected herself. "My betrayal. You stayed by her side and tried to guide her to a different way of thinking, a different path than the one she and Destiny were determined that she would walk." Her gaze went to her hands in her lap as she said, "And as soon as you were able to, you slew her…That is something that I could have never done for her. For if I ever succumb to the Red in my veins, I do not know what would become of me, or of Underland as a whole. I could not do what needed doing, even if doing so would have been a kindness."

"Do not say that killing her was a kindness!" Stayne seethed. His face turned pink and his scars a livid white in his sudden rage. "Do not saying that killing for any reason is Kindness! Was it kindness for me to run through a weak, ill, unarmed woman? Was it kindness that prompted Racie to order Tertian's death? Was it kindness for me to…to…"

Mirana rose and floated over to Stayne, laying a chill white hand against his shoulder. "She was dangerous, Stayne. If she had been left to do as she wished, she would have-"

"I am no longer speaking of her!"

Flinching, Mirana removed her hand and held it aloft with its mate. "What were you speaking of then, Ilosovic?"

Sniffing, the Knave said, "What I originally wished to speak with you about. There are no longer ten children. Underland hid them, and hid them well, this is true. But I found them."

Nausea swirled the Queen's stomach. "How many?" she prompted.

"Three," Stayne whispered softly.

"Well that means that seven children still wait to come home!" Mirana said in a forcibly bright tone, skirting around his obvious implication of what happened to the others-but the Knave shook his head, face set into hard lines.

"No, your Majesty. Only three children remain to be found."

"Oh. Oh, Ilosovic…" Mirana placed both of her hands on his bowed head, tangling her fingers into his dark hair. He was selfish enough, even with the confession he gave her, to allow the comforting motion.

"I swore to do anything for her, as I swore never to leave she for your service. I went as slowly as I possibly could in my search without drawing her ire, but I still found them. And once they were found…There were no other options-none!-until Queen Alice reaccepted her Crown."

"That is why…" Mirana began, only to have Stayne interrupt her by lifting his face towards hers and smirking.

"Partially. Alice herself is not without her charms, either." A knowing glint entered his eye, and Mirana could feel herself blush.

"Yes, well…yes. I understand, Ilosovic."

Stayne's eye looked openly at her face. "Yes…I think you do," he said. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted.

"I am begging your pardon, your Majesty, but I need to speak with you."

The Hatter stood in the doorway to the Exploratory, green eyes round, a satchel in his hands. "Alice wished for me to tell you…we are leaving. Right now."

Mirana's heart went into her throat. We are leaving? Both he and Alice, together, were going to be gone from her presence, not hours after Underland had finally given permission for Mirana to-!

"Hatta?" she whispered, throat suddenly dry. The Knave shifted under her hands and pulled away, his hair slipping through her fingertips like corn silk. He turned so that his blue eye was fixed on the man in the doorway, causing the Tarrant to rock on the balls of his feet and look nervously at the bag still in his hands.

"Yes," he answered the Queen, very carefully not looking at her. Mirana couldn't lose them both, not her Hatter and her Champion, all on the same day! Yet it looked as though that was to be so. "She has asked me to accompany her back Above….and I have accepted."

"Tarrant…" Mirana croaked, mincing towards him in two short steps. He flinched away from her, and she held out her hands in a soothing manner. "No, please…." she took another step towards him, and he backed away two, so that he stood in the hallway once more.

"I think it best if Alice and I…if we…leave, your Majesty."

"Is it a we now, Hatter?" she asked, oddly hopeful. Even if she was not to be with them, if they were not to be a family of three, she still wanted them to find happiness together. At least-at the very least-she wanted that for them.

He paused, seeming to search her for an answer of some sort. Apparently finding what he sought, his body relaxed slightly as he nodded. "It is, at that."

"Do you truly have to go?" The White Queen could hear herself pleading. Later she would be ashamed of the naked desire and longing in her voice, but right then, the only thing that mattered was attempting to sway him into considering to stay. She'd seen the Oraculum days earlier, and she Knew that her actions towards the pair (with the addition of the Nookinom to their foodstuffs) would bring this about. Still, she'd had little choice-it was either follow her own heart, (which had only ever gotten her into terrible trouble in the past) and not lace their food, or listen to the logic of Underland, and do what was in her power to try to make Alice stay Below.

She had still hoped that the Oraculum would change, that perhaps Underland lifting her edict would influence the future...but it seemed that was not to be. If only her Charm worked on either him or her Champion, maybe then…when Tarrant only nodded a 'yes' in response, she tried, "I should still like your assistance, Hatta. With finding the Red Royals, and with fulfilling the edicts of Underland."

"Oh, asking now, are ye?" he queried, sounding oddly amused. "No, Mirana."

The Queen could not remember the last time her Hatter had said her name in such a manner, and it twisted her about inside to think that he'd only be saying it that way when he was preparing to take his leave, possibly forever, of her.

"Alice wishes to be Above before…" Tarrant flushed almost crimson. "Before she…that is, before 'tis…obvious to her family…I…we…we're to be wed." He smiled even as he continued staring at his full hands, brows twitching in his mingled apprehension and joy. "In the style of her land Up There. Apparently there is much involved in such a thing, with a ceremony and cake and dancing and gloves and suit fittings and…she said it t'would be best if we were to leave sooner rather than later."

Mirana, for lack of a better word, sparkled on hearing this. "That is-"

"Unacceptable!" Stayne stood and walked towards the pair. "Alice can not leave now! Even at this very moment there are petitioners waiting for her! She needs to pick her seat of Rule, to begin to collect tithes, to…"

Hatter looked at the Knave, more than a hint of challenge in his gaze. "She has no desire for any of those things, and you know it, sir." The secretive smile came back to his lips and a far-away look glazed his eyes as he said, "She told me the only thing she truly needs is me, and the comfort of her family." He refocused, and said, "Whom am I to deny such a request? I would give Alice my very soul if she ever desired such a tattered old thing…abdicating from my homeland is…such a small request in comparison, really." He bowed, a formal half-bending at the waist. "I bid you Fairfarren, Majesty." Tarrant turned on his heel and began to walk away.

"Hatta!" Mirana called desperately after him. Tarrant kept walking. "Hatta, stop! Tarrant Hightopp, you shan't leave Underland until you speak to me further! What about the children?"

Finally he stopped and turned, looking at the White Queen with a terrible expression for one to see on the face of one of the persons their heart desires-pity. "I am sorry, Mirana of Marmoreal, but you no longer have the power to command me to your will. Children, or rather...my child..." (It felt so very odd for the Hatter to even think of himself as a father in an abstract, sometime-in-the-future sense-let alone as a definite, within-months-time way of thinking!) "...is the reason why I have to refuse your request. I placed your desires and those of Underland Above my family once before-I shall not do so again. I have a new Queen, and her name is Alice. She is my Everything, now." Then he turned and truly walked away, leaving Mirana standing there, hands outstretched towards him, grasping at the empty air where before he'd stood.

"We can not simply let them leave!" Stayne was standing and by Mirana's side, jaw clenched.

"What choice do we have? Underland has said the Alice may leave whenever she wishes…and if Tarrant has sworn himself to her, I have no power over them."

"No power? You are the High Queen! You could make them stay." Stayne said.

"I could," Mirana granted, voice soft. "At the risk of losing myself to the Red we spoke of before. No, Ilosovic. I will not force them to remain where they feel threatened. I have forced enough upon them at present. Wouldn't you agree?"

They stood and stared at one another for several moments, Stayne with his teeth grinding, Mirana with her eyes wide and threatening tears again.

"You may be resigned to losing her, but I am not." Stayne finally pushed past Mirana, and began striding in the direction of Alice's chambers-the very direction Tarrant had just gone to.

"Stayne! Wait! Stayne, do not-" Mirana took a few steps towards him to go after him, but a small voice near the carpet stopped her.

"Let him go, your Majesty." Snellum uncurled himself from underneath the runner rug, his fur stuck with bits of dust. "If he does not at least attempt to stop her, he will always wonder."

"Wonder?" Mirana tottered to a stop. Why did she feel continually compelled to try to change that which was to be?

"If his request would have been enough to make her stay."

---

"You told her?"

Alice took Tarrant's hand as he re-entered her room, and he nodded. "Yes. She was…upset, but she will not stop us." Tarrant would not tell Alice of the White Queen's request; not now. She had too many other things to think on, too many other worries, without the thought that she may be required to take up her mantel as Champion once more, and go on another quest in the name of Underland.

"I'm sorry that I made you be the one to tell her. I simply…do not trust my own emotions near her right now. After what she's done…even if it was at the request of Underland, I do not know what I would say."

"Alice, you do not have to explain yourself to me," Hatter said, running a hand through her tangled curly hair.

Closing her eyes and swallowing past the lump in her throat, Alice nodded. She'd thought of Underland as her magical place while traveling overseas, had given it a rosy glow that did not properly suit it. The dangers of the land had been forgotten under the strain of nostalgia and faded memory, but she remembered now, and wished contrarily for staid and unchanging London. Touching a hand to her stomach, she looked straight into Tarrant's eyes and said:

"I love you, Hatter. Whatever may come, with you at my side, I can face it."

She could see the mist enter his eyes, heard his low sigh.

"And I you, my Alice. Are you ready?" The question could hold so many different meanings-there were so many different things Tarrant could be asking if she was ready for!-but her answer was the same, for all of them.

"Yes, I'm ready." She took his hand. "Shall we go, Hatter?"

---

Stayne was too late to stop them.

By the time he'd reached Alice's rooms, they were already gone. He knew this by the wide open door leading into her chambers, the mirror that had been hanging over her fireplace now leaning against the wall beside the bed, and, most telling of all, the complete lack of either Alice or the Mad Hatter anywhere.

He cursed, kicked a chair (who complained heartily about such random violence towards itself) and then sank to the floor in front of the mirror, staring at it. Hours passed as he sat and thought, thought and sat, but in the end, he came to the same conclusion he told himself he would when he first realized Alice was fleeing. If he were not able to catch her in time to prevent her leaving, he'd go after her…but not yet.

Alice would come back to Underland permanently someday, he knew. Until then, though, someone would need to Steward for her, wouldn't they? Her Majesty would need someone who would be willing to travel back and forth between Here and There in order to find out what her wishes were and to bring word of her welfare to Underland…and yes, despite everything he'd done, there were still parts of Stayne that were egocentric enough-or perhaps the words are prideful enough-to think he was just the Knave for the job. He'd give her three Underlandian days Above, and then he'd go to her. Three days, and then he'd set about discovering just what it was that she wished to have done in her absence. Until then, though…

Picking himself up, he began the long walk back towards Hall, not knowing precisely where the White Queen would be located at, but believing that beginning his search there would be the best place. It took him nearly an hour more (full of incorrect directions, poorly given directions, and just plain wrong directions-and a frightful run-in with his mother of all people-he'd rather hoped she'd be tied up in the Tulgey Woods for a bit longer) before he found her, in the very first place he should have begun his search to begin with: the Kitchens.

"Of course," Stayne muttered, not bothering to knock on the door. Mirana stood behind the island, a careful pout of concentration creasing her features. Ilosovic was briefly taken aback by this image; he was used to thinking of Mirana as a flighty young girl, hardly capable of making a decision more difficult than if she would like meringue or marzipan. Yet before him stood a sturdy woman, a Master of her Studies. He swallowed several times before speaking. "Your Majesty."

"It is good of you to finally join me, Ilosovic," Mirana said, with a distant sort of tone. "I had begun to wonder if the Oraculum had changed once more since I had gazed upon it last."

"Majesty?" he asked, and when he dark eyes turned to him, he was forcibly reminded once again that she was no longer a silly young thing, but a Queen gifted with various talents and older than what her years would indicate. "You knew I would not be in time to stop her, but you allowed me to go anyways," he said, softly. After a long, pregnant silence, he said, as if the words were foreign on his tongue, "Thank you."

Mirana smiled. "Please sit down," she requested. "We have much to do."

He sat.

---

"This is not London."

That much was obvious, even to the Hatter. He'd not known much of Alice's homeland, but he did have the impression that it was…not like this. His eyes flicked back and forth between the tall buildings and screaming bustle, more overwhelmed than he'd imagined he'd be. Voices called out back and forth in front of each other, all attempting to be heard over top of one another. Bare-chested men drug carts behind them, their dark skin glistening in the blistering sunlight as vendors promoted their wares in a high-pitched frenzy. A woman's voice screamed, and Alice turned to hastily drag the Hatter the rest of the way out of the mirror-it would be no good if they were separated now!-and smiled anemically at her, which just caused her to scream more.

Alice's first thought was that they were woefully misdressed for such a climate and location-Alice's bare arms were attracting terrible attention, and Tarrant-who hadn't bothered with Perception at all, as he'd believed they'd be popping right into her mother's sitting room, just as Alice had-Tarrant was positively a sore thumb in this place. She clung to his hand, the sense of adventure she'd normally feel for being in such a place extremely tempered by the fact that they were there with no money, few supplies and only Alice's bare knowledge of the land (all garnered from sensationalized London papers, which were hardly reliable enough for her comfort) to guide them through. She didn't know how this was possible, and she frankly didn't care. This was…this was…they were…

"What is this place, Alice?" Tarrant finally asked her, squeezing her hand tightly.

"I think…" she began, swallowing hard, "I mean, I'm fairly certain…that is…we may possibly have taken a misstep…into Egypt."

---

This concludes Possible Side Effects. I hope that you've enjoyed reading this story, even just a little bit. Yes, it does end on a cliffhanger. I'm currently considering a sequel, but I have many other writing projects that I would like to work on as well-so while it is likely that I may do a sequel some time in the future, I do not see it being written soon. In some ways I believe this type of ending is the only kind I could have written for this version of Alice and Tarrant-the idea they are embarking on new adventures. Will they ever get to London, or return to Marmoreal? What are Mirana and Stayne going to do in Underland? What about...well, you get the point. I have ideas for all of these, but with this ending, you can imagine your own version of what may happen. I hope that you do.




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