Impossible (A HEARTLESS Fanfic)

Chapter Eleven

Only once they were certain that they had escaped the soldiers did Alice, Hatta, and Haigha dare to stop running. They were deep within the Forest, and as Alice caught her breath, she attempted to discern exactly where they were. She could hear snoring in the distance, so she guessed they weren't far from the Flowers. They liked to pretend that they were so ladylike and elegant, but Alice had ventured into their garden enough times after midnight to witness their snoring and drooling.

Now that she was somewhat familiar with their location, she turned her attention to her two fugitive companions. "What in Hearts brought you all the way out here?" she panted.

Haigha was still gasping for breath, but Hatta straightened himself out and approached. With very little decorum, he placed something on her head. Standing back, he examined her with a critical eye.

"I suppose you'll have to suit it," he said with a wave of his hand.

Alice reached up and pulled off a hat, a topper to be precise. It was made of weathered brown leather and had blue laces crisscrossing up the back, almost like a corset. Alice thought it was rather fetching, and it certainly fit her own style. She glanced up at Hatta suspiciously.

"You came all the way out here just to give me a hat?" she asked.

Hatta shrugged. "Your head was just begging for something to cover it."

With one last wary glance at the hat, Alice returned it atop her head. It fit like a glove, which was amazing, as Alice found it hard to believe that the hatter could have made it for her from scratch in such a short period of time.

"Thank you, I suppose," Alice said.

"Are you going to ask her where she got the sword?" Haigha asked between gulps of air.

Alice's eyes widened, and she turned her attention back to Hatta. "The Vorpal Sword." Her eyes flicked to the weapon still clutched in her hand. "It came out of my smol." Her gaze returned to the hatter. "The smol that you made."

Hatta raised his eyebrows. "Are you suggesting something?"

"If you made it, shouldn't you know how the sword got in there?"

"I may have created it, love, but that does not mean I can explain why it does what it does."

"That makes no sense!"

"Of course it does. It's the same with the purse as it is with a child. Parents essentially create their child, but once they send it out into the world, they have no explanation for why it walks backwards or breathes fire. That's its own doing."

Alice shook her head, thoroughly confused. "But you told me to look in the purse for a weapon. If you don't know how it works, why would you say that?"

"I didn't say I didn't know how it works. I said I didn't know how the Vorpal Sword got in there."

Alice heaved a sigh. "Fine. How does the smol work?"

"It has infinite storage space."

"I know that already! How does it know what I need when I need it?"

"Ah, now you're asking the right question."

Alice rolled her eyes.

"When I created the smol," Hatta continued, "I designed it, not only for optimal storage, but also to provide what is needed to the owner. However, in order to retrieve the needed object, the retriever must be truly desperate. You were desperate to shrink in the dungeon, hence the Cake. Back there, you were desperate to protect your little guard friend, thus producing the sword."

Peering at the purse with new curiosity, Alice asked, "Why would you design it to do that?"

Hatta's self-assured expression faltered for a moment. "I'm not entirely sure. Inspiration just struck me, I suppose."

"But that doesn't explain why it produced the Vorpal Sword," Haigha interrupted.

A new light sparked in Hatta's eyes as he fixed his attention on Alice. "No, it does not. That is something else all together."

"What are you talking about?" Alice asked, not trusting the way Hatta was looking at her.

"The Vorpal Sword can only—" Haigha started.

Knocking the hare on the head with his walking stick, Hatta silenced him. "Not here," he said, glancing about suspiciously. "It's not safe. We need to meet up with our fellow rebels."

"Rebels?" Alice repeated.

"But first we must make a quick stop," Hatta said as he began to walk.

Haigha followed him, casting nervous glances at the trees. "Do you know the way out of here?" he asked Hatta.

The madman paused for a moment before turning his gaze upward. "I'm certain I can muddle my way through. I'm very good with mazes."

"I know the way, if you tell me where you want to go," Alice offered as she returned the Vorpal Sword to her smol.

"Do you?" Hatta said, seeming unconvinced.

"Are we returning to your shop?"

"Perhaps."

"Then we should go this way," Alice said, leading them towards their destination.

In no time at all, Alice had brought them to the edge of the Forest where Hatta's shop was situated. The hatter was mildly impressed, but he didn't utter a word of thanks. With much stealth and care, he surveyed the area before darting out towards the millinery, with Haigha and Alice trying to keep up. Before they could even walk through the door, Hatta had already pulled a case from one of the many shelves inside and was pushing them back outside.

"Come, come, we must not tarry," he said, ducking his head down as he ushered them along.

"What are you in such a hurry for?" Alice complained as they raced back into the Forest.

"The Queen is bound to send out all sorts of guards and soldiers when she finds out about the Vorpal Sword," Haigha said.

"Not now, Haigha!" Hatta hissed.

"Where are we going?" Alice asked.

"To pay a visit to an old acquaintance," Hatta said rather cryptically.

They did not dare to take the Crossroads for fear there would be guards on the lookout. Even without the thoroughfare, Hatta appeared to know precisely where he was going. It took a considerable amount of time, as they were constantly listening for footsteps and hiding in the bushes whenever a shadow passed their way. Finally, they arrived at a quaint little house with a thatched roof and a pink door. With great caution, Hatta approached the back door, which was just as pink as the front. He knocked three times. There was some commotion from inside before the door creaked open. Standing before them was a tall, blonde woman dressed in a night robe. She squinted through the darkness, the tiny flame in her lantern just barely illuminating her tired face.

"Hatta? Is that you?" she asked. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in prison!"

Hatta smirked. "Hello, Mary Ann. We have work to do."

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I made a playlist for inspiration, and as I was adding songs, I realized that the darker, sadder songs I added made me think of Cath or Cath and Jest, whereas cute, sunshiney songs reminded me of Ace and Alice (a lot of Mindy Gledhill). And that made me kind of sad because Cath and Jest had the potential to be that sweet and sunshiney couple...

I also realized that Falling Slowly from Once really reminds me of Jest and Cath.

So many feelings evoked from music!