Chapter Text
If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten
"-there's nothing else for it."
The elderly man held a hand up to stop Jack's words and filled out the forms for a patient before sliding them into a slot near their containment room. "We must hold on to hope," he slowly drawled, "Given the nature of her escape, either the Queen will find her or whoever came to her aide will continue to do so." He stopped and Jack looked around to see what caught his attention as a note flew out of one of the pneumatic pipes in the ceiling and right to the hand of head of the hospital. The man secretly known as Caterpillar opened it, adjusted his half moon glasses and read the note before humming thoughtfully. "Are you free for the remainder of the day?"
Jack considered the request. Duchess was doing her best to keep up the charade that she had him deep in his cups and under her control just to keep his mother's suspicions at bay, but his mother wasn't sold on their performance yet. This trip to the hospital was suppose to finally clear him. Prove he'd been brought back into her fold after Caterpillar's analyzation, but it was a delicate matter. What could make him risk-
"Is it about...her?"
"Yes," Caterpillar said he pass the note over for Jack to read. He scanned it and frowned before nodding once.
"I can leave now," he agreed, "Capture the woman and bring her to you instead of the twins. Perhaps she'll listen to reason."
Caterpillar hummed thoughtfully again and wrote a note on some spare supplies from inside his billowing robe before feeding it into a hidden pipe entrance on the floor. "I'll request for Carpenter then. He'll no doubt have a mixture to recommend to ply her open." He then gave Jack a stern look over his glasses, "Consider this an opportunity to make amends for your misstep, Prince. I doubt the Queen will give you another."
Jack nodded and gave a curt bow before promptly turning and making his way out of the hospital. Even without the need for double speak, the message had been clear.
Alice wanted to meet and she was at the last place he'd have expected to find her besides the casino; the former Checkerboard Kingdom. He could only assume the man he'd seen flying the flamingo she'd escaped on had discovered it and he could respect the safety of it's hidden location but the time constraint to get there would be costly. Jack entered a code in a door at the end of the hall that had the room beyond flip and shift to a hide-away lift that he quickly took down to the deep roots of the city. As he waited the long trip in silence, the Prince of Hearts reflected on how he'd gotten to this point and his missteps so he could better persuade Alice. The faster he reclaimed her, the faster he could help his kingdom take a step out of the Queen's grasp.
He'd never been happy with how his mother ruled over their people, but felt trapped by her ever watchful eyes and tight leash on his life. He knew he was expendable at a young age. Saw what she did to those that defied her no matter how closely connected, and had learned to bite his tongue and bide his time. Show her what she wanted, learn to be a perfect heir. Learn to hone his magics and ply a few from her thrall to give himself space. He'd then thought that perhaps he could simply escape to the Other World -the Oyster World as she'd renamed it. Run from her that way and finally be free, but she watched the Looking Glass closer than she did him and no charms or magical enticements could get him through undetected. In fact, his efforts to escape were noted as just that as he'd been delicately confronted at a ball by Caterpillar with an offer.
Help them get rid of the Oysters and free Wonderland from his mothers rule for good, and they would guarantee his security and placement as the new ruler of Wonderland. With his leadership under their guidance they would bring Wonderland back to a world of true Wonders instead of cheap thrills. Refuse, and they would reveal his attempts to escape to his mother for her to deal with. The choice had been one of the easiest he ever made, though these last few days had him questioning his sanity on accepting it. He had enacted a magical binding oath with Caterpillar to seal the deal however, so it mattered little if he had second thoughts now.
Not long after he'd made his oath, they came to him with a mission. It had taken years of placing operatives in the Other World, but they had finally found Carpenter's family. The odds of his only child being a girl named Alice was not lost on anyone. They took it for the sign it was, though Caterpillar had warned to take care with her. That Alices did not act in the ways others did and he'd have to use his allure to win her over quickly. Jack agreed and was given a false identity to use while on the other side, along with all their information on Alice and her mother Carol.
He borrowed the Stone of Wonderland at his first opportunity, sweet talking his mother that he merely wanted to gallivant freely without risk of spoiling their line at home before his upcoming marriage locked him down. With the ring acquired, none of the Suits had even thought to question his use of the Looking Glass. The residence the Resistance secured for his use when he wasn't charming Alice Hamilton was moderately comfortable, if small. Not that it matter as he'd no intentions of staying for as long as he had, but there had been a snag right from the start.
Alice Hamilton had shot down his allure faster than he'd ever experienced. He'd of course tired again after additional observation but was only successful in asking her on a date after joining her fighting class and not using any of his tried and true magical abilities. It was perhaps that completely different attitude from what he was used to with women that drew him to her. A fascination for how she could be so resilient to his magic and if there was something to her being an Alice after all.
Over the next two months he'd slowly left the cares of Jack Heart behind and embraced the simple life of Jack Chase as he dated Alice. She had a sharp mind and a stubborn drive that was different to the courtiers of his kingdom. So much so that he was often distracted by their discussions, spending their dates in deep conversation instead of quickly seducing her as he'd been advised. Before Jack had caught the glimpse of a White Rabbit agent that last day in New York, he could tell he was truly beginning to fall for her and wondered if that might be her part of destiny in all this. That she would join with him and rule his people. Make way for a new Alice of Legend and start a new golden era for Wonderland.
Out of time, he'd tried his magical allure once more. Sweetening it with a proposal so it could take root in any growing tender feelings she might have. Just as before though, it failed and she'd rejected him. Panicked planning led him to hide the ring in her mother's couch after. A desperate hope that she wouldn't discover it until long after he was gone. That the ring would be locked out of Wonderland at least as the Looking Glass couldn't operate for long without it's power. No more Looking Glass. No more Oysters. No more Tea. His mother's rule would surely crumble without the system she'd built their economy on decades ago and a different coup could be planned to do it.
Jack supposed he really should have known Alice better by then. Since she was here however, he would do what he could to stick to his oath and then see her safely back through the Looking Glass if that was what she truly wanted. For none of his charms had ever or would ever sway her stubborn will.
The location of the 'lost' Checkerboard Kingdom was of course known to all those in the royal family, but well hidden from the citizens of the Card Kingdom. A decision his mother had made a century ago so the people felt they were stuck with the hands she dealt them, though the Resistance was proof enough that not everyone was willing to believe her. Seeing what looked like a structure in the distance, Jack dismounted and tied the horses to a nearby tree before continuing on foot. He made sure to straighten his hair and suit as he approached so he would look his best when he saw Alice. No doubt she would be frightened and it would be best to present a strong front to comfort her.
As soon as he stepped into the edge of the clearing that the primitive structure was located in, an elderly man come rushing towards him with a sword held high to attack. Assuming that this was some random beggar living in these old ruins based on his attire, Jack quickly moved to confront and detain the old man before searching for Alice. Drawing on the brief training he'd been able to learn in Alice's fighting class; Jack grabbed his attacker's hands with one of his own and punched the old man in the gut. This allowed him to knock the sword from the old man's loosened grip when he doubled over in pain, and kick it out of reach. There was some rope right nearby and Jack snatched it before going back to tie up his attacker.
He was therefore caught completely off guard when he felt something smash into his lower back right as he'd bent over to tie up the old man. Jack gasped in shock as he closed his eyes and attempted to press against his back to ease the pain somehow.
"You okay there Charlie?" a young voice moving in front of him spoke. Jack could hear some shuffling as the old man stood. Before he could open his eyes to get a look at things however, he felt a fist connect with his jaw and he finally fell over in pain.
"Nothing that would have kept me down for long, young squire," an elderly voice that he assumed was Charlie the beggar spoke, "This scoundrel just caught me off guard is all. Now quickly! Let us secure his hands and feet before he can attempt to flee."
Jack was only able to struggle sluggishly against his captors as they bound his hands in front of him and tied his feet together. "You don't know who you're dealing with," Jack tried to protest as he finally gathered his wits about him and glared at the pair. The second voice had clearly come from this child and it was highly likely that he was also the cause of the pain in his back. The boy also looked familiar, but Jack couldn't place where he'd seen him before.
"I think I know a stick-in-the-arse Suit when I see one," the young boy wryly commented as he secured the final knot on the ropes on Jack's hands. The kid clearly had some experience in knot work, but Jack felt confident that he could escape them if he could just get away for a moment.
He took the time to look about the area to form his plan of escape when the boy spoke up once more, "Hey, Charlie? Let's move this git to your hammock so he can't roll away on us, yeah? Wouldn't put it past 'im to do something sneaky like and try to run off." Apparently he hadn't been quite as discrete as he'd hoped, or this kid was used to dealing with unsavory individuals. Jack increased the intensity of his glare at them both.
"An excellent idea," the elderly man grinned in approval before bending down to grab his feet while the boy moved to lift him from under his shoulders.
Jack decided that this was quickly competing with his capture by the White Rabbit for the most humiliating moment of his life. "Release me at once and I shall leave you in peace," Jack stated as he attempted to enthrall them while they hefted him up, "I must complete my mission."
The one above his head, the child, stopped and stared at him and then the ground towards Charlie. Jack thought perhaps his magic had worked before the child scoffed, "Right. Mission to come and capture all of us no doubt. Or maybe you're here to claim you've seen the light and want to defect from the Queen? That'd be a laugh."
"I have never been treated with such blatant disrespect before, and I demand that you release me at once!" Jack snapped as they dumped him into the cloth hammock. His lower back throbbed from the contact, causing him to grunt in pain. Well this was not going at all as he'd planned, and time was of the essence.
"I don't think you're in much of a position to demand anything," the boy stated with a shrug as he dusted off his hands. The elderly man had walked over to grab a sword near the hammock and pointed it at Jack.
"Go and gather Alice and the harbinger, young squire. I shall keep watch on this vile vermin who dared to seek harm against her," the elderly man warbled and Jack's eyes narrowed on him.
These two were with Alice? Well that changed things. He could continue to allow these two to hold him captive until Alice returned. Then she would undoubtedly demand for his release and they could be on their way. Feeling secure in his new plan, Jack watched passively as the boy smirked at him before jogging off past his line of view. He'd have the last laugh in the end. A little pain and embarrassment was a small price to pay, and nothing he hadn't endured before.