“Yeah, I’m back. March and CC got busy, so I figured I’d just lay down for a bit while you were working.” She jumped from her bed and ran towards him. Her arms wrapped around his thin frame, her fingers playfully teasing the small of his back. Leaning up on her toes she pressed a chaste kiss against his lips. His body relinquished into the touch, his own arms pulling her tightly into the warm embrace. “You get everything done?” Alice asked as their lips parted.  

Before he had the chance to answer, a yawn cut into his response, pulling up the corners of his eyes; dark bags filled with exhaustion lined them like eyeshadow left on after a night out. “Yep. Got everything done and all stocked up. The custom hats are finished, the regular stock is completed. It’ll be a long day—" sleepiness interrupted again, his body pleading with the hard worker for a smidgen of rest.   

“You’re so sleepy, why don't you get to bed. Then you can be fully rested before we go to the festival.” Alice suggested. Her attention wrapped up with concern, she slipped her knowledge about the festival.  

The sleep disappeared from his eyes, widening just enough that surprise slipped in between his features before falling back to masked indifference. If Alice hadn’t been so attentively drawn to his eyes, she would have missed it. Biting her lip, she silently watched as if his eyes were windows to his mind. Examining in real time as the puzzle pieces snapped together, one by one in a lethargic draw. Clicking together, the right pieces into place, until he concluded that March and CC told her.  

Mad smiled, “We?” he asked coyly, turning his back on his darling; dismissing her interest, hoping it would dissuade her curiosity. “You can stay here, it’s nothing exciting. Just work. I’ll just be selling hats all day.”  

“If you don’t want my help, then I want to go to the festival.” Alice pushed. 

It wasn’t working. Sighing, Mad redirected, “Oh no, that’s not a good idea. You don’t know the city and you could get lost.” He muttered; an exhausted smile stained his lips. Worry was evident in his pressed brows.  

“I’ll be fine, I’ll go with CC.” Alice pressed. She wouldn’t let him win this one, she was determined to go, while he was reluctant.  

“Only if CC agrees,” Mad mumbled, exhaustion wreaking havoc on his senses. A chaperone seemed like a fine compromise despite the worry that slithered in his chest.  

With a smile, Alice rushed from her room, dodging Mad in the hall, diving towards the living room where the phone sat. Mad chased after her, finding a sudden jolt of energy for the game.  “You’re asking now?” Flustered, and frantic, he didn’t think she would be so quick. He hoped for another opportunity to persuade against the trip. Grabbing her by the waist, she giggled, and kicked her feet against his hold, while her hand was already on the phone, using the rotary dial to roll the number she knew for the brothel.  

Alice pulled away, plopping on the couch with legs crossed in a triumphant posture. Mad pressed into her, his hand reaching to pluck the phone from her hands with the playful battle. Alice was in the middle of shoving him off when his lips pressed into her neck, “CC please, tell them it’s Alice.” Alice requested of the worker on the other line struggling to keep her voice from quaking. Sitting on the couch, twirling the phone cord between her fingers, a smug curl of her lips pulled at her features. Continuing to tease, Mad licked quickly down the side of her neck, sending a wave of shivers through her body. Scoffing, she tried to push him away, but he held on tightly to her waist. Fingers fiddling with her shirt, tucking quickly underneath the fabric.  

“Heeeeeey,” CC slurred on the line, startled, Alice pushed the needy grip from her body. Mad relented, silently, he waited for the results of the conversation. CC was obliviously drunk; Alice knew this would work in her favor. Without hesitation, Alice asked point blank to be her chaperone at the festival, “Oh hell yeah~!” CC sang. “That’ll be so much fun, I’ll see you both with the push of the sun.”  

“CC,” Mad mumbled, grabbing the phone from Alice after he observed her face light up in victory. Alice glowed with her success; victory tasted so sweet and pulled her lips further into delight. Mad leaned against his gloating lover, both their ears pressed to the receiver. 

“Is that Mad? Tell him to shush!” CC elongated the sound. “Don’t be such a worried toad. It’s a good idea to get Alice cultured. She’s never been to the capital before and there will be arts, and all sorts of foods and vendors. It’ll be a good experience for her. You don’t have to worry you ol’ stick in the mud. I’ll be there to guide her.” CC’s speech was garbled by drink, yet the two managed to understand them clearly.  

No less convinced, Mad groaned, “Fine, but you have to keep an eye on her.”  

Alice squealed, “Thank you CC!”  

“It won’t be as exciting as what you two normally do, but it’ll be good for you to see a different side of Wonderland.”  

Mad struggled to get up, the weight of exhaustion exasperated by the double-sided victory glued him to the couch. He grumbled to himself like an old man, “I’ll go start dinner. CC was supposed to take my side…my best friend…” Alice ignored his bellyaching, shooing his complaints away with the roll of her eyes, but his theatrics lit up a wave of revelry.  

“You have to listen to what I say though.” CC finished with a slurred tongue.  

“Yes ma’am,” Alice said jokingly, answering CC’s demand. “Hey! Is March still around?” Alice asked, there was silence, followed by muffled shuffling.  

“Hello?” March’s confused voice picked up on the other end. Alice giggled, knowing CC must have passed him the phone without explanation.  

“Hey, will you be going to the festival tomorrow too? CC and I are going while Mad works.” 

“Oh,” He responded, recognizing her voice, “No, unfortunately not. It’s a busy day for us tomorrow too, so it’ll be all hands-on deck over here. You can stop by if you want—” 

“I started reading that book.” Alice interrupted, she leaned across the couch, verifying that Mad was no longer within earshot. 

“Did you find anything of interest?” 

“Does he remember anything? ANYTHING at all about the night I left?”  

There was a slight delay. “No.” It was a complete sentence.  

She expected that answer, but the pull of disappointment rushed down her back like a pour of ice water. She bit her lip as it quivered.  

“Before you even think about asking, he can’t. No matter how you ask or try. He physically cannot remember it.”  

“He was having a hallucination at that moment, right? Is that what that was? Is that why—?” Alice’s voice wavered, lost in her own memory, unconsciously holding her body close; her fingers danced with the scar across her arm.  

“Please don’t bring it up, I wanted you to know because you need to. You’ll find out that you can’t pressure him to remember these types of things. His mind is physically fragile, it won’t do him any good. He’s lost parts of himself. He’s incapable of being whole again, and we don’t want to lose him anymore. Please promise.” There was silence on the line. “Alice, promise me.” 

“But if I can’t bring it up, and he can’t remember…how is he going to tell me? Is that really, okay?”  

“Just be patient with him. You two can work it out.”  

“What happened to him? The book said trauma could cause this. What was so bad that caused Mad to act out like that?” Alice asked, concern deeply woven into her voice.  

“It’s really something he needs to tell you. Promise me please.” Alice couldn’t respond, her voice choking on the restlessness lodged in her throat. “Alice please don’t make me regret telling you any of this.” 

“Okay. Yes, I promise” Alice shook the troubling thoughts away. “That stuff that he—it’s medicine? It's supposed to suppress his imagination, so…it…doesn’t happen again, right?” The worry tasted awful. 

“Yes and no. It helps him. But there are side effects. He can’t have too much, and he can’t have too little. Unfortunately, it's impossible to say what he needs. It changes in his body so quickly. But he has someone he sees about it. So, try not to worry so much about that.” Alice fell down into her thoughts. Lost in questions. Lost with worry. What sort of side effects? Who did he see? What could she do to help? But she knew there wouldn’t be a rope to pull her up, questions unanswered. “We’re doing our best to try and help him. You being back has been good for him. He’s the best he’s been in a while. So please, just trust us, trust him. Can you do that please?”  

“Yeah…okay.” Alice responded with sluggish apprehension. Distant from the conversation, her mind absorbed with concern.  

“Ugh! Damn it, Bill!” March screamed into the phone, jolting her from the darkness her mind was pulled down into. “I’m sorry, I have to go. Just be patient okay,” he reminded her, muffled arguing drowned out any lingering thoughts until the line went cold. She paused, remining herself to ask March about Bill later, the pair growing curiouser and curiouser in her mind. Returning the receiver to its archaic home with a metallic click, she moved with lethargy, working on auto pilot as everything else was preoccupied by swarms of miasmic thoughts. 

How much longer would she need to be patient? Could she be patient? She would have to. She had no one else to help figure all this out with. If she couldn’t pressure Mad, and her friends were no help, who else could she turn towards? She moved her way through the house like a phantom, till she found herself in the kitchen. The smell of grilled vegetables made her tongue swell and her mind less hazy. Mad was busy at the stove, an apron tied around his thin waist, and hair pulled back up into a messy bun. He turned to her, and a drowsy smile crossed his lips as his eyes met hers, sending her heart into a calm rhythm.  

Their affection held up the room, buzzing between the space, filling their lungs with a calm energy that was rejuvenating. Being back was good for him, March had reminded her. That’s all Alice was certain about, and for now, that was enough. She would figure it out, day by day, with patience and grace, she was determined to help the man she loved in a world where time didn’t exist for anyone but herself.  

*** 

The sun was blasting brightly through the house, casting its warmth in a hazy, yellow morning mist. Alice waited next to CC, whose loud, toothy yawn disturbed the morning peace.  

“Have a good night?” Mad elbowed his feline friend, jostling the nightly fatigue from their body. They rocked from the force, mind and body still unfocused and tired.   

“Oh yeah I did.” CC mewed with a dreamy smile; a second yawn escaped their lips.  

“You sure you're still good for this?” Mad asked concerned, attempting once more to put this day on hold. 

“Of course!” CC said with much more enthusiasm, waking up against the challenge. Grabbing Alice by the shoulders, they gave the drowsy girl her own jolt of vivacity, shaking her awake. “Nothing is going to stop me from checking out the dancers today.” Alice’s eyes lit up with stars, the mention of dancers had her waking up. 

“That’s just fantastic,” Mad smiled, but his voice was tense and muddled. It fell on deaf ears as the other two were busy chittering away like the morning birds in the trees outside. He couldn’t help but smile. Whipping his arms up in the air, he created a new portal in the middle of their home. He held out his hand, beckoning Alice forward and helped her through. She landed safely on the other side. Grabbing his cart, he briefly scanned over its contents of abundant merchandise. A full arsenal of stock of various sized hat boxes bulging over the edges of the cart.  Nothing was out of place and everything he had worked on was accounted for. 

CC was about to step through, but he grabbed ahold of their small forearm. “You promise to keep her out of trouble?” he asked, squeezing with a gentle firmness. 

Irritation flashed the feline’s eyes before it flipped, softened into understanding. “I promise. But you know, it would be easier to lead her, if she knew what she needed to be led from.”  

“No, absolutely not.” He rebutted quickly, not even allowing the thought to marinate.  

“You won’t be able to keep her from the truth forever, she's not a kid anymore, and she’s not the same naive girl who you knew before. She’s a lot more earnest than that. She’ll get answers if you want her to or not.” CC stood before the portal; their arms crossed in frustration as they chastised their friend.  

Mad sighed while simultaneously pulling the white mask that adorned his crown, down over his face. “I know,” and the two stepped through the portal.