“Excuse me?”
Tove's face had lost much of its color, and his hand was resting on his stomach. When the knight asked him if he wanted to die, he knew just what he meant. If he made one wrong move and it scared him, he'd be beheaded.
“Unless you want to die, tell me where the mouse is.”
The knight shrugged as he looked down at the teapot, which he gingerly picked up with both hands. He swallowed his saliva and turned to face the hatter, who was approaching him slowly and clearly terrified.
“You'll almost certainly be removed, but you'll keep your head and drink as much tea as you want.”
The knight thrust the teapot into Tove's hands, a secret grin on his face as he whispered in his ear. Since he knew about his and the mouse's friendship, he liked to tease the hatter and make him sweat.
“And I'm well aware of how much you hatters like your tea.”
With that, the knight went outside, but Tove grabbed his arm and stopped him. At the abrupt grab, he raised his head, a quiet huff escaping his mouth.
“Can you tell me why he's in trouble?”
Tove wanted to know Morte's crime and why the whole castle was on the lookout for him. Even the mouse didn't understand why he was in trouble.
“Three cookies from the royal cookie jar were stolen, and crumbs led to a mouse hole. We discovered tiny bites taken out of the cookies. The punishment is death,”
The absurdity of beheading someone for three cookies made Alice giggle. Surely, the baker should have made more to appease the person who had ordered the mouse's death. When the knight looked at the big closet, she slapped her hand over her mouth. He yanked his arm away from Tove after hearing her giggle.
“Who are you hiding in there?”
“No one, no way!” exclaims Tove. “You're possibly hallucinating; paranoia is the most common reaction to too many knocks on the head.”
Tove made a gesture to his head, assuming the knight was hit by scepters. He excitedly clapped his hands together and waved them around. This was abruptly put to a halt when the knight grabbed Tove by the neck and slammed him against the closet doors.
Alice hid behind some of the clothes in the closet she hid in, remaining as quiet as a mouse. This was frightening to her because she had never seen such actions in person. The knight's rage was palpable, and she could see the madness in his eyes.
“I understand you're hiding the mouse, but did you really think he stole three cookies?”
Tove fought back against the stronger male's hold, his body tense with terror. The knight's hands gripped his neck as he shifted his head around. He made it seem as if Morte had stolen just three cookies, but this was not the case.
“I'm curious what the queen will say if she learns I've apprehended a conspirator who helped steal her crown.”
“No!” says the mouse. “You bloody fool, he's not a thief!”
Monte rolled out of the teapot onto the nightstand after knocking it over. Even though it was the cutest thing Tove and the knight saw, he held up a tiny needle and gave the knight the meanest glare he could. To make himself look brave, he blew his tiny trumpet and charged at the two. The mouse jumped onto the knight's waist, creeping under his armour and stabbing at his legs from the very bottom. When he felt the knight smacking his own body, he let out a squeak.
“Don't hurt him!”
Tove screamed, attempting to restrain the knight with his arms but failing. All of the wind was pushed out of his lean body when he was shoved back against the closet. This infuriated Monte, who stabbed the knight in the stomach.
The knight tripped over a fallen mannequin and collided with his head and neck against a chest. Monte crawled out of the knight's armor and stared at the limp body in bewilderment as the room fell silent.
The knight tripped over a fallen mannequin and collided with his head and neck against a chest. Monte crawled out of the knight's armor and stared at the limp body in bewilderment as the room fell silent.
Alice came out of the wardrobe, her gaze dropping on the corpse, and she let out a loud gasp. After the red queen's reign, she thought nothing like this would ever happen again. He wasn't beheaded, but witnessing an unintentional execution was even more terrifying.
“It was an accident,” says the hatter.
Tove muttered something as he moved away from the body, his breathing becoming more rapid. He cast a glance down at Monte, who returned his gaze to the corpse after a brief glance at Alice. The three of them were at a loss about what to do next and spent most of their time staring at the body and at each other.
“It has to be hidden,” says the mouse.
"What are you talking about?"
Alice shook her head side to side, indicating that she did not want to be a part of it. She had seen it, but she refused to participate in the crime of disposing of the body.
“Listen, we'll be safe if we cover it.”
Monte crawled away from the body after the warmth had dissipated. It was unsettling, but if they could hide the body, they'd be safe. No one would be able to locate it, and no one would be aware of its existence.
“Oh my god,”
Monte immediately intervened by taking the ribbon on Alice's coat as she turned to walk out the door. What he wanted was to make sure Tove was okay and, more than possibly, admit to his death by mistake. Alice could simply leave whenever she pleased and act as though nothing had happened.
“Please, don't say anything about it; just help us get rid of it and we won't say anything.”
She couldn't believe she was about to do this, so she grabbed his legs while Tove grabbed his arms. The mouse peered out into the dim corridor, but no one was wandering around, noting that everyone was fast asleep.
“Follow me!” says the mouse.
Morte dashed down the hallway toward a memorized exit, looking back over his shoulder to see Tove and Alice close behind. He dashed out into the freezing rain into their majesty's alligator enclosure.
“Get over here!”
“Wait, where are we-”
Tove cut off Alice's words by hurling the body into the alligator pit as hard as he could. Sections of metal went sinking into the murky waters to erode as the body was ripped apart piece by piece.
Her first day back, and she had already assisted in the removal of a corpse. She twisted her head at the sight because it was horrifying. She hid her face behind her hands, muttering a few words to herself or pretending it wasn't true.
“Wait a minute! Give her some of that wacky cake.”
“However, it hasn't been put to the test.”
“Well, now is a good time to give it a shot!”
After a brief exchange of words between the mouse and the hatter, Alice felt something put in her hand. She examined it carefully, focusing on the bold letters spelling out the word "forget."
She stared at the two, perplexed, and wondered aloud if this cake would even fit. The blonde had seen the effects of the drink me potion and cake. She believed, however, that this would not succeed.
“Just give it a shot and get out of here as quickly as you can.”
As Morte saw a few knights just above inside the castle windows, he urged her to hurry because he just wanted to get away from the situation. Morte had to hurry because Tove was supposed to be back in his room. He had no business making promises to this girl because he didn't know her.
“GO!”
Tove and Monte both screamed at the same time when they saw two knights pointing and screaming. The blonde slammed her heels together and dashed into the rotting trees. She kept the cake firmly in her hands, avoiding branches from above and below.
For a brief moment, she glanced behind her, seeing Tove and Monte walking away in opposite directions. The Mad Hatter is sprinting to the right, while Monte is sprinting to the left. She could tell they didn't want to be apart and preferred to be together all the time. It was adorable, and seeing such a sweet interaction made her heart melt.
She let out a small gasp before collapsing into a big hole and landing on some dry leaves and ripped up cards. For a brief moment, the blonde writhed in agony.
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