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akainagiTen Continuing Trips Through Wonderland (Trips 111-115)
Author: AkaiNagi
Rating: PG
Pairing: Alice/Tarrant
Summary: Prompts 1-5/10 Table 12 from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
10_prompts.
Prompt: Letter
Tarrant had been contemplating things that begin with the letter “R”
Reminder … Revenge … Regret
There had been a subtle change in his wife, ever since that fateful meeting with that odious doctor. The meeting where the couple learned that their family of three would always remain so. Her carefree air had been dampened, her smiles, more often than not, had a note of melancholy to them. She was lost in her own private mourning, and Tarrant found himself quite at a loss to do anything for her. He could only hope that Alice’s heart, as well as her body, would heal with time.
For his part, regret lay heavy on his own heart. Five years ago he had that bastard Stayne under his sword. Reason had stayed his hand.
But now, in the warped and angry recesses of his mind, reason warped into cowardice. Why had he not been man enough to finish the evil villain off when he had the chance? Surely he should have foreseen that letting him live could come to no good. And his wife, his beloved Alice, had paid the price for his single act of cowardice on that chessboard five years ago.
His madness wanted to rage at the thought of it. Wanted to scream and rant and visit destruction. He wanted to punish himself as he deserved to be punished for the failure to protect his family, his only treasure.
But Alice came first. And in caring for her he quashed his mad side with a viciousness that startled even him. So he cared for his wife, putting her first in her time of pain and sorrow. But every time she gave him that smile that was not quite a smile, his rage sprang up anew, and he knew it was just a matter of time before he could no longer contain it.
Prompt: Sharp
In time, the sharp pain that hit Alice whenever she moved dulled to an ache. Every day she felt a little stronger. And every day the desire to get out of that damn bed and move around grew stronger and stronger still.
One day, unable to stand it anymore, she asked her husband to help her so she might walk to the window and look outside.
Tarrant looked terrified at the very thought.
“Well you don’t expect me to spend the rest of my life in this bed, do you?” Alice asked frustratedly. “Besides, you’ll be there to help me, so it’s not like I’ll fall.”
With prodding and pleading and persuasion Alice managed to get her husband to agree. Slowly, she sat up, slowly she inched her legs over until they were hanging off the side of the bed.
With considerable help from her husband, she stood up on her own feet for the first time in over a month. Weak from disuse, her legs trembled from the exertion. Clearly her plans to walk all the way to the window were altogether too ambitious. But perhaps she could manage a few steps.
“Love, I think you should sit back down,” her husband protested. He supported her with an arm around her waist. “You’re shaking like a leaf.”
Alice shook her head. “Just a few steps. I need to start somewhere.”
She managed one trembling step before her legs gave out on her. Tarrant tried to hold her up, but the silk of her nightdress slipped in his grasp. He watched in horror as she fell to the floor, landing hard and with a yelp of pain.
“Damn and blast,” Alice cursed out her frustration.
Tarrant picked her up gently and deposited her back in bed, hovering over her and checking her for injuries.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Alice said crossly, frustrated at her own weakness.
Tarrant announce he was going to get the physician so she might be examined properly. His voice was strained and his eyes had a tinge of the Outlandish to them. Alice didn’t want to let him out of her sight.
“But I’m fine!” she protested. But it was too late. Tarrant was already out the door, no doubt rushing like a madman in search of the doctor.
Alice cursed her own weakness. Her anger grew and grew until tears of frustration were trailing down her face. She cursed her weakness, she cursed her fate, she cursed Stayne, who had put her in this state.
She cursed those who had brought this suffering down onto her and her family. For Tarrant suffered as much as she did. She had seen the light of madness in his eyes just now. Something she hadn’t seen in a long time.
She wondered who was more broken right now, her or her husband?
Prompt: Language
With Alice safe in the hands of the physician, Tarrant stepped away.
He could control himself no longer.
The voices in his head raged in the old language. The curses sounding all the more violent in Outlandish.
He shut himself in his workshop and began to visit destruction on anything and everything he could get his hands on, all the while cursing himself for his failures, for his weaknesses. He cursed himself for not killing Stayne five years ago. He cursed himself for not thinking, even for a moment, that the knave might be a danger to Alice. After all, Alice’s victory had led to the dethroning of Stayne’s queen and his banishment to the outlands. How could he have been so shortsighted as to not see the danger?
Years ago, Alice had sworn to him that when he fell mad, she would always be there to catch him. But how could he deserve her devotion, when he himself let her fall, literally and figuratively.
He had failed to protect his wife. How could he claim to be husband to her when he had let her down so completely?
Prompt: Darling
The stodgy Doctor blanched at her demand. “I beg your pardon?”
Alice snapped, having no time to lose. “I said, carry me to my husband’s workshop, or find someone who can.”
“I’m sure that’s not necess-“
Alice glared daggers at the man. “Do it. Or shall I crawl there on my hands and knees?”
The doctor sighed. “That will not be necessary.” Really, he had never had such a stubborn patient. “I’ll find a guardsman to take you there.”
The doctor disappeared for a moment and returned with one of the palace guards, who dutifully scooped Alice up and, following her directions, carried her to her husband’s workshop.
Finding the door unlocked, Alice and her escort swung the door open to view the devastation.
The room was in shambles. Shredded cloth lay all about, the work table was overturned, the chairs were broken. And in the middle of all the wreckage, was Alice’s husband, kneeling on the cold stone floor, sewing scissors in his hands, muttering to himself in Outlandish.
Alice asked the guardsman to put her down next to her husband. Then she thanked him for his pains and asked him to give them some time alone. The guardsman assured her he would be just outside the door should he be needed. Alice could tell that the man was more than a little shocked and concerned. But she couldn’t worry about him right now.
“Tarrant?” she called hesitantly. Suddenly all her bravado seemed to melt away at the sight of her husband’s pain. “Tarrant, talk to me. What is this all about?”
Tarrant stared down at his hands, red with fresh cuts from his own sewing scissors. He said in a voice so low it was barely audible, “I let you fall.”
Setting aside the scissors, Alice gingerly took his damaged hands and held them in her lap. Little spots of red blossomed on her white nightdress, but she didn’t care. “So I fell. It was an accident. All that’s hurt is my bum and my pride.”
Suddenly he gripped her hands with a fierceness that took her aback and met her eyes with his own burning green orbs. “Not just that. I failed you. I’m your husband. I should have been there to protect you.”
Alice smiled tenderly and cupped his face with her hands, meeting his stare fearlessly. “That’s a load of rubbish and you know it. Sexist rubbish to boot. What would you do?” she asked. “Wrap me in cotton wool and hide me away somewhere?” She grinned slyly at him. “I’ve slain jabberwockies remember?”
She took a deep breath. “You can’t blame yourself, love. I should know. I blamed myself for letting Stayne get to me so easily. For causing you and Lara such pain. For not being able to give you any more children as a result.” Tarrant tried to interrupt in protests by Alice silenced him with a finger over his lips. “I blamed myself for not seeing the danger I was in. But, you know, I finally learned something. It’s not my fault any more than it’s your fault. Stayne was the one at fault and he’s dead. And I’m alive, thanks to you. The only way he can hurt us now is of we let what he did rule our lives. And I don’t plan on doing that. I plan on getting well. I plan on walking, and running, and riding Lady Ascot again. I plan on playing in the gardens with Lara again. I plan on working for the queen again. I plan on making love to you again. I plan on falling in love with you again every day we’re together.”
Tarrant listened to his wife with an expression of adoration and awe on his face. This was her gift: the ability to calm his soul with nothing but her words and the touch of her hands. He leaned in and kissed her softly, a kiss of love and gratitude.
Alice whispered into his lips. “Please, love, don’t let anyone take that away from us.”
Prompt: Every time
Even though Alice was awake, the Tweedles still brought fresh flowers to her bedside every week.
She thanked them profusely each time. Alice was touched by the pair’s thoughtfulness, and amazed that the contrary twins worked together long enough to get the job of picking the flowers accomplished.
Alice asked them once how they managed to get the garden flowers to agree to be part of a bouquet. Alice had tried numerous times, and had been rebuffed every time.
‘Well,” said Tweedledee, “we ‘splained we wanted flowers on account of to help make you well again.”
Tweedledum elbowed his brother. “I did the ‘splainin’. He just stood there like a lump.”
“Did not!”
“Right so, you did!”
“Boys, boys,” Alice interrupted. “I still don’t know how you managed to get them to agree.”
Tweedledum took over the explanation. “Well, tha’s all, really. They said that if it were for you, they would gladly let us pick ‘em.”
Alice grew a little misty at the thought. “Really? They said that?”
“Yup,” Tweedledee said. Then he looked thoughtful. “All ‘cept one. Said no way no how and something about knickers.”
“Yeah, wha’ was tha’ about?” Tweedledum asked.
Tarrant, who had watched the whole exchange in silence until now, cleared his throat and hastily herded the Tweedles out the door with thanks and shut the door behind them.
The tweedles could hear peals of laughter ringing out from the other side of the door.
The pair pouted. “Still dunno wha’ the knickers was all about,” Tweedledum said grumpily.
Author: AkaiNagi
Rating: PG
Pairing: Alice/Tarrant
Summary: Prompts 1-5/10 Table 12 from
10_prompts. Prompt: Letter
Tarrant had been contemplating things that begin with the letter “R”
Reminder … Revenge … Regret
There had been a subtle change in his wife, ever since that fateful meeting with that odious doctor. The meeting where the couple learned that their family of three would always remain so. Her carefree air had been dampened, her smiles, more often than not, had a note of melancholy to them. She was lost in her own private mourning, and Tarrant found himself quite at a loss to do anything for her. He could only hope that Alice’s heart, as well as her body, would heal with time.
For his part, regret lay heavy on his own heart. Five years ago he had that bastard Stayne under his sword. Reason had stayed his hand.
But now, in the warped and angry recesses of his mind, reason warped into cowardice. Why had he not been man enough to finish the evil villain off when he had the chance? Surely he should have foreseen that letting him live could come to no good. And his wife, his beloved Alice, had paid the price for his single act of cowardice on that chessboard five years ago.
His madness wanted to rage at the thought of it. Wanted to scream and rant and visit destruction. He wanted to punish himself as he deserved to be punished for the failure to protect his family, his only treasure.
But Alice came first. And in caring for her he quashed his mad side with a viciousness that startled even him. So he cared for his wife, putting her first in her time of pain and sorrow. But every time she gave him that smile that was not quite a smile, his rage sprang up anew, and he knew it was just a matter of time before he could no longer contain it.
Prompt: Sharp
In time, the sharp pain that hit Alice whenever she moved dulled to an ache. Every day she felt a little stronger. And every day the desire to get out of that damn bed and move around grew stronger and stronger still.
One day, unable to stand it anymore, she asked her husband to help her so she might walk to the window and look outside.
Tarrant looked terrified at the very thought.
“Well you don’t expect me to spend the rest of my life in this bed, do you?” Alice asked frustratedly. “Besides, you’ll be there to help me, so it’s not like I’ll fall.”
With prodding and pleading and persuasion Alice managed to get her husband to agree. Slowly, she sat up, slowly she inched her legs over until they were hanging off the side of the bed.
With considerable help from her husband, she stood up on her own feet for the first time in over a month. Weak from disuse, her legs trembled from the exertion. Clearly her plans to walk all the way to the window were altogether too ambitious. But perhaps she could manage a few steps.
“Love, I think you should sit back down,” her husband protested. He supported her with an arm around her waist. “You’re shaking like a leaf.”
Alice shook her head. “Just a few steps. I need to start somewhere.”
She managed one trembling step before her legs gave out on her. Tarrant tried to hold her up, but the silk of her nightdress slipped in his grasp. He watched in horror as she fell to the floor, landing hard and with a yelp of pain.
“Damn and blast,” Alice cursed out her frustration.
Tarrant picked her up gently and deposited her back in bed, hovering over her and checking her for injuries.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Alice said crossly, frustrated at her own weakness.
Tarrant announce he was going to get the physician so she might be examined properly. His voice was strained and his eyes had a tinge of the Outlandish to them. Alice didn’t want to let him out of her sight.
“But I’m fine!” she protested. But it was too late. Tarrant was already out the door, no doubt rushing like a madman in search of the doctor.
Alice cursed her own weakness. Her anger grew and grew until tears of frustration were trailing down her face. She cursed her weakness, she cursed her fate, she cursed Stayne, who had put her in this state.
She cursed those who had brought this suffering down onto her and her family. For Tarrant suffered as much as she did. She had seen the light of madness in his eyes just now. Something she hadn’t seen in a long time.
She wondered who was more broken right now, her or her husband?
Prompt: Language
With Alice safe in the hands of the physician, Tarrant stepped away.
He could control himself no longer.
The voices in his head raged in the old language. The curses sounding all the more violent in Outlandish.
He shut himself in his workshop and began to visit destruction on anything and everything he could get his hands on, all the while cursing himself for his failures, for his weaknesses. He cursed himself for not killing Stayne five years ago. He cursed himself for not thinking, even for a moment, that the knave might be a danger to Alice. After all, Alice’s victory had led to the dethroning of Stayne’s queen and his banishment to the outlands. How could he have been so shortsighted as to not see the danger?
Years ago, Alice had sworn to him that when he fell mad, she would always be there to catch him. But how could he deserve her devotion, when he himself let her fall, literally and figuratively.
He had failed to protect his wife. How could he claim to be husband to her when he had let her down so completely?
Prompt: Darling
The stodgy Doctor blanched at her demand. “I beg your pardon?”
Alice snapped, having no time to lose. “I said, carry me to my husband’s workshop, or find someone who can.”
“I’m sure that’s not necess-“
Alice glared daggers at the man. “Do it. Or shall I crawl there on my hands and knees?”
The doctor sighed. “That will not be necessary.” Really, he had never had such a stubborn patient. “I’ll find a guardsman to take you there.”
The doctor disappeared for a moment and returned with one of the palace guards, who dutifully scooped Alice up and, following her directions, carried her to her husband’s workshop.
Finding the door unlocked, Alice and her escort swung the door open to view the devastation.
The room was in shambles. Shredded cloth lay all about, the work table was overturned, the chairs were broken. And in the middle of all the wreckage, was Alice’s husband, kneeling on the cold stone floor, sewing scissors in his hands, muttering to himself in Outlandish.
Alice asked the guardsman to put her down next to her husband. Then she thanked him for his pains and asked him to give them some time alone. The guardsman assured her he would be just outside the door should he be needed. Alice could tell that the man was more than a little shocked and concerned. But she couldn’t worry about him right now.
“Tarrant?” she called hesitantly. Suddenly all her bravado seemed to melt away at the sight of her husband’s pain. “Tarrant, talk to me. What is this all about?”
Tarrant stared down at his hands, red with fresh cuts from his own sewing scissors. He said in a voice so low it was barely audible, “I let you fall.”
Setting aside the scissors, Alice gingerly took his damaged hands and held them in her lap. Little spots of red blossomed on her white nightdress, but she didn’t care. “So I fell. It was an accident. All that’s hurt is my bum and my pride.”
Suddenly he gripped her hands with a fierceness that took her aback and met her eyes with his own burning green orbs. “Not just that. I failed you. I’m your husband. I should have been there to protect you.”
Alice smiled tenderly and cupped his face with her hands, meeting his stare fearlessly. “That’s a load of rubbish and you know it. Sexist rubbish to boot. What would you do?” she asked. “Wrap me in cotton wool and hide me away somewhere?” She grinned slyly at him. “I’ve slain jabberwockies remember?”
She took a deep breath. “You can’t blame yourself, love. I should know. I blamed myself for letting Stayne get to me so easily. For causing you and Lara such pain. For not being able to give you any more children as a result.” Tarrant tried to interrupt in protests by Alice silenced him with a finger over his lips. “I blamed myself for not seeing the danger I was in. But, you know, I finally learned something. It’s not my fault any more than it’s your fault. Stayne was the one at fault and he’s dead. And I’m alive, thanks to you. The only way he can hurt us now is of we let what he did rule our lives. And I don’t plan on doing that. I plan on getting well. I plan on walking, and running, and riding Lady Ascot again. I plan on playing in the gardens with Lara again. I plan on working for the queen again. I plan on making love to you again. I plan on falling in love with you again every day we’re together.”
Tarrant listened to his wife with an expression of adoration and awe on his face. This was her gift: the ability to calm his soul with nothing but her words and the touch of her hands. He leaned in and kissed her softly, a kiss of love and gratitude.
Alice whispered into his lips. “Please, love, don’t let anyone take that away from us.”
Prompt: Every time
Even though Alice was awake, the Tweedles still brought fresh flowers to her bedside every week.
She thanked them profusely each time. Alice was touched by the pair’s thoughtfulness, and amazed that the contrary twins worked together long enough to get the job of picking the flowers accomplished.
Alice asked them once how they managed to get the garden flowers to agree to be part of a bouquet. Alice had tried numerous times, and had been rebuffed every time.
‘Well,” said Tweedledee, “we ‘splained we wanted flowers on account of to help make you well again.”
Tweedledum elbowed his brother. “I did the ‘splainin’. He just stood there like a lump.”
“Did not!”
“Right so, you did!”
“Boys, boys,” Alice interrupted. “I still don’t know how you managed to get them to agree.”
Tweedledum took over the explanation. “Well, tha’s all, really. They said that if it were for you, they would gladly let us pick ‘em.”
Alice grew a little misty at the thought. “Really? They said that?”
“Yup,” Tweedledee said. Then he looked thoughtful. “All ‘cept one. Said no way no how and something about knickers.”
“Yeah, wha’ was tha’ about?” Tweedledum asked.
Tarrant, who had watched the whole exchange in silence until now, cleared his throat and hastily herded the Tweedles out the door with thanks and shut the door behind them.
The tweedles could hear peals of laughter ringing out from the other side of the door.
The pair pouted. “Still dunno wha’ the knickers was all about,” Tweedledum said grumpily.
