Siren

She was a strange little nymph.

When Hatter had first met little Alice, she’d worn a pretty blue summer dress and a pristine white apron, her hair long and free and straight down her back, held there with a simple black band. She’d been so innocent, so confused, and Hatter had been delighted in her innocence. But as Alice spent more and more time here in Wonderland, his innocent little girl became a stranger, a little nymph who appreciated her solitude. Her hair became tangled with leaves and branches and her blue summer dress and white apron were exchanged for the clothing that covered her up from head to toe. He found her one day, wandering amongst the trees, heading for his tea garden, and watched her for a while.

She’d been crying.

She was in pain.

“How now, dear Alice,” Hatter said, revealing himself to the girl. “Why so blue?”

Alice stared up at him, her eyes shining with some sort of emotion. Hatter frowned, unable to tell if the emotion in her eyes was hate or joy or anger or happiness. He reached out to stroke her face and watched her jerk away from his touch. Hatter had never been sure why Alice kept coming to Wonderland after she’d found her way out, but had never questioned her presence here. She’d seemed happy all the times before, but now, why was she so sad?

“Alice?”

“I don’t want to leave!” The girl blurted, flinging her arms around Hatter’s waist and pressing her face to his chest.

“Leave?” Hatter blinked. “You don’t have to leave. Where would you go?”

“They say I’m not a little girl anymore, Hatter.” Alice whispered. “They say I have to grow up. I have to go to this finishing school for girls to become a proper lady and I don’t want to get married.”

“You don’t have to go,” Hatter said gently. Alice cut him a withering glare.

“Of course I have to go.” She said, pulling away from the man, spinning away from him in a little dance. “They’re going to make me go.”

“Who’s going to make you go?”

“Them. The adults. Proper girls don’t play imagine anymore.” Alice said in a high pitched voice, turning to look at the Mad Hatter with her hands under her chin, much like the Cheshire Cat’s usual pose. “Imagine is only for little girls, not ladies looking for husbands.”

Hatter felt rage course through his blood and let a lazy smile grow on his face. “You don’t have to go, Alice. You could live here for good.”

Her eyes darkened, almost believing him. He could see it, her eyes becoming suspicious of him for a moment. He waited, because he knew she would agree to stay here, here in Wonderland where she was safe. Finally, Alice rose to the balls of her feet as if to bolt and said, “How?”

Hatter smiled. “It’s simple. They think Wonderland is all pretend, but maybe they’re all pretend and Wonderland is real. Just come to Wonderland and leave the pretend behind.”

Alice giggled and Hatter’s little nymph was back. “Silly Hatter,” she said. “It’s not that easy, I know. There’s a price, yes? I have to pay a price to live in Wonderland.”

“Of course there’s a price,” Hatter said a-matter-of-factly. He folded his arms across his chest and gave his little nymph Alice a smile that could rival the Cheshire Cat’s. “A kiss.”

The suspicion was back in her eyes then and Alice settled down on her heels, arms wrapping around herself as she looked away from the Mad Hatter. Hatter frowned and dropped his arms, slowly moving toward his darling Alice, his frown deepening when she retreated from him.

“Alice?” the Mad Hatter asked softly. She flinched. “Alice-love, tell me what’s wrong.”

She was thinking, thinking hard, trying to decide if she could trust him. She took a breath, let it out, took another, let it out, and danced away from Hatter as he tried to catch hold of her. Her eyes were accusing and that hurt the Mad Hatter the most.

“Alice.” Hatter said again, this time an order. She flinched again but stood her ground and looked up at him defiantly.

“Do you want this body?” Alice asked. “Answer true, Mad Hatter, not in riddles.”

Hatter frowned and canted his head. “If you want the truth, Alice-dear, then the truth you shall have. Yes, I want that body, but I want you, Alice, more.”

Her nose wrinkled. “That makes no sense.”

“Yes it does.” Hatter said, smiling as he approached her. He stroked her arm with light touches of his fingers as he circled around her. “This is Alice. The body is Alice. The body is just a house for Alice.” His index finger slid down Alice’s cheek, down her neck, to just above her breast, pressing against her beating heart. “But this is Alice, too.”

Alice frowned, looking at the finger against her heart, and then back up at Hatter. “That’s my heart.”

“Exactly,” Hatter said softly. “I want your heart, Alice-love.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you.”

She stilled, staring up at the man for a long while. “Why? No one else loves me. They just want to use the body, that’s all.”

“Oh, little nymph.” Hatter said softly, feeling his heart tighten with anger and sadness. “They don’t love you, no, but we do. Wonderland loves you. I love you.”

“So a kiss is all you need so I can stay here?”

Hatter nodded. “Just a kiss.”

Alice rose up to her tiptoes, placing her hands on the Mad Hatter’s shoulders, and pressed her lips to his. Hatter captured her in an embrace, lifting her up against him. Her legs wrapped around his hips, her arms around his shoulders as his arm wrapped around her hips to support her and a hand slid to cup the back of her head. It served to deepen the kiss, and set fire to Hatter’s blood. He forced himself to curb that heat because his darling Alice was far too young. He knew that and he wanted her trust. He finally released her from the kiss, set her down, and brushed his knuckles across her reddened cheek.

“When you come back to me, Alice,” Hatter said softly, “I’ll be here and I’ll show you such pleasure as you’ve never felt before.”

Her eyes sparkled and she giggled. “Promise, Mad Hatter.”

“I promise to delight and astound you in ways you never knew were possible.”

His little nymph gave him an impudent curtsey and bolted off into the forest, disappearing amongst the trunks. Off to visit her other friends, Hatter supposed, before she returned to Them for the final time. He wasn’t sure how Wonderland would clam its newest child, but he would be here waiting for her when she did return.

Hatter didn’t have to wait long – only a week, but he amused himself with March Hare and Cheshire Cat – for Alice’s triumphant return.

She was radiant, his little nymph, her sapphire eyes shining. The trees had gifted her with leaves and vines and flowers for her clothes, her hair twisted and curled with white little lilies. She jumped into Hatter’s arms and hugged him tight. He kissed her, she kissed him.

“What did you do?” Hatter asked, laughing. “What did you do little Alice?”

She beamed. “I told them I didn’t want to go. I told them that I didn’t need them anymore and I wasn’t even in pain even though I felt so cold.”

Hatter blinked and saw the soft green of algae in her pretty blonde hair. He smiled, kissed her again and again until his little nymph was breathless. She melted against him after his final kiss and she sighed against his neck and closed her eyes. Hatter held his little Alice tight to him as he pet her hair, smiling at his content little nymph.

“Welcome home, Alice, welcome home.”