Down the Rabbit Hole, pt.1

     It ticked and ticked and ticked. Always, incessant, monotonous, mocking.
     It ticked and ticked and ticked, and it was driving him insane.

     Haigha was far more resilient than they'd counted on. How many operations had been administered? But still, he wasn't any closer to insane than when they began. A little crazier, perhaps, but not insane, and the difference between the two was an important distinction at this juncture.
     "Ticktockticktockticktock..." He had been rocking back and forth in his cubicle for days, repeating the same phrase over and over again. No, he wasn't insane, but this was evidence for his particular craziness. Ever since she had left, he had become obsessed with clocks.
     Mary Ann stood a few feet behind her Master, hands clasped stiffly behind her back, shoulders down and posture straight. Though she was officially his housekeeper, she often performed many other services for her Master, and lover. She had learned the hard way that leaving him to his own devices led to scenes just like the one before her.
     From the one way glass, she saw the slow break down of the hare before them. Surely Hatta could have done better by now? In her eyes, he was incompetent. He was far too mad to be inducing madness in others. Yet her Master still chose him for the job.
      "It's necessary. We have to get back," her Master said, as if he could read her thoughts. "If he is intact when she returns, it will inevitably lead to the same conclusion as before. I won't let that happen."
     Mary Ann said nothing, simply stood there in silence.
     Ticktockticktockticktock...

     Alice stood in front of her mirror, and grimaced.
     Sometimes, her memories of Wonderland and that damned looking glass felt like a crazy, hazy dream. A fantastical story dreamed up one day in the summer heat with Dinah and her sister. Then she would feel the weight of the pocket watch against her chest, the rub of the chain around her neck, and the promise it contained. It had all been real.
     Sometimes, she thought of the one she loved and lost. Most days, she attempted to be a normal woman, a difficult affair for her. Ever since the incident with the Red King and White Queen, her complexion had paled considerably. Before she left, they had said it was because her powers were now fully in effect, but she didn't feel powerful. After all, she had been married off to a jewel maker, but the nights were cold and lonely, and she didn't love him nor he her. Her younger sister had been married, but her marriage had been to a duke and the two had indeed fallen madly in love.
     Sometimes, that made her very jealous.
     "Alice!" An angry shout sounded up to the second floor.
     "A moment, dearest." Alice sighed. Straightening her hair, she readjusted her resigned posture to a proper lady's form, and carefully made her way down the narrow stairs.
     At the bottom of the stairs, her husband stared at her with angry, clouded eyes. The stranger on the threshold had yet to look at her, and Alice wondered who on earth it could possibly be.
     "We have a visitor. He says he knows you."
     "Oh?" Alice frowned. She couldn't think of any local man who would come disturb her husband by calling on her. His expression let her know that he would want to beat her later, but like always, she would stay his hand. She wasn't going to tolerate such vile behavior in a husband, despite their mutual dislike for one another.
     "Set us up some tea, would you?"
     "Yes, dear."
     In the kitchen, she mused to herself, "who could that man have been? He refused to let me take a good look at him."
     With everything prepared, she moved into the parlor, but when she saw who their visitor was, she nearly dropped the tray.
     The White Knight, Geoff, stood by the mantle, his eyes fixated on the portrait of Alice and her husband that had been done shortly after their marriage. There was a look of distaste on his features, visible revulsion. However, when he heard her entry and saw her, he smiled.
     After returning home from her time in Wonderland, she had eventually calculated that he had to have been in his 30s. Now he stood before her in his 50s. Time had not made him any less handsome, but it had indeed aged him. The joyful smile he gave lessened the age of his face, making him look young again, like so many years ago.
     "Alice, m'lady, so good to see you once more," he greeted formally. Quickly, he took the tea tray from her, and balancing it on one hand, stooped to grasp her hand and bestow a kiss on the back of it. Blush heated her cheeks, and she knew her husband had to be glaring at her.
     "W-what are you doing here?" It wasn't often that Alice had difficulty finding words, but this was an unprecedented situation.
     "A way has been devised to return you home." He said it so matter-of-factly. Home. It was, wasn't it? She was supposedly the true inheritor of the kingdom, owning the considerable power the position came with. She had only left because she couldn't bear to leave her mother and sister without even the faintest goodbye. Her love had helped her find a way back home, even though he knew it meant he may never see her again. That was love. It killed her to leave him, but she had to. She hadn't thought it possible to return. Could she? Truly?
     "How?" She asked breathlessly. Her husband scowled.
     "Alice!" He thundered. "What manner of nonsense is this?!" He staggered backward as the sharp tip of a sword was suddenly prodding his throat.
     "Take care how you address her, sir. I would be rather put out to cut you down." By his tone, she knew he was lying. He would be rather pleased to kill her husband.
     "You've yet to answer my question," she said softly.
     "The rabbit, m'lady. He can open a gate."
     She sucked in a breath. So the rabbit was back to his old machinations, was he? She had never disliked him, in fact she had become rather fond of him near the end, but she knew better than to trust his motivations when she wasn't around to monitor him.
     "What do I have to do?"
     "Just continue what you're doing now; stand there and look pretty."
     Her husband spluttered angrily, but his loud words merely faded to background noise as Alice thought of her home.
     "Is he alright?" Alice knew Geoff would immediately know who she meant.
     "I...I'm not sure," he admitted, a bit ashamedly. "No one has seen him for a while now."
     "Oh."
     The silence turned to one of sadness as they waited. Then, the floor began to cave in, right in the center, but in a perfect circle. Once it had formed, well away from the three in the parlor who had stepped to the edges of the room, Alice peered down. It was the same as before! The rabbit tunnel seemed to go on forever and ever into darkness.
     "After you," Geoff gestured. Alice nodded.
     Then she took the leap.

     When the gate finished opening, the rabbit sighed deeply. He went limp, slumping back in his chair, and relaxed.
     It took a toll, coordinating and opening gates, and rarely did the right circumstances come together for such an event. The denizens of Wonderland were lucky. They needed their Alice, lest the magic of the kingdom die.
     Mary Ann began to rub his shoulders soothingly.
     Being the last Guide was such a busy way of living. He controlled the traffic to and from Wonderland, and when Alice had first arrived, he led her through the journey meant to ultimately prove her power over Wonderland. Resting his chin upon one furred hand, he closed his eyes.
    "My dear..." He said softly.
    "Hmmm?"
    "Do you think our guest has been sufficiently broken?"
     For the briefest second, Mary Ann's hands paused as she mulled over his question, then they went back to stroking his shoulders. "Yes. The hatter finally found the way to break him. He should be no trouble at all."
     "Good," he sighed in relief.
     Alright, so technically, he wasn't the last Guide. His cousin was a Guide as well, but the destruction of his mental faculties meant he would be unable to control his power. Power that was greater than the rabbit's own, and aggravated him to no end.
     Their Alice would not leave again, the white rabbit made sure of that.