While his companions hid, Dumas stood in front of the bushes where they were concealed. The Red Queen’s soldiers had grown accustomed to finding him and his sister in a variety of unusual places, doing a variety of unusual things, so his presence in the forest wouldn’t be particularly remarkable. And if he kept the patrol’s attention focused on him, hopefully they wouldn’t notice any traces of the nice girl or her sullen friend.

At first, Dumas’s plan appeared to work rather well. The soldiers grunted their typical greetings as they passed him -- everything ranging from ‘“Nice dress, Tweedle Dum” to “When are you going to stop messing around with tea parties and join the army like a real man?” And, of course, there were always the few people who insisted on pronouncing his name as “Dumb-Ass”. But Dumas simply acknowledged their comments with a nod and a smile. The important thing was that they didn’t seem to suspect anything unusual. Dumas couldn’t help feeling a little proud of himself as he prepared to tell his new friends that they could come out now. Then he smelled something burning.

Nearly as soon as she emerged from the portal, Deirdre spotted her brother. She also spotted the two strangers standing near him. But before she could rush over and discover what fresh trouble Dumas had gotten himself into, the unfamiliar pair suddenly ducked into the bushes. Then, moments later, one of the Red Queen’s patrols marched into view. Deirdre held her breath as she watched them pass by the foliage where the girl and the man had hidden. Would Dumas say something to tip off the soldiers? Or accidentally look somewhere he shouldn’t? To Deidre’s surprise, Dumas handled the situation rather well, without any assistance from her. Maybe Andre was right. Maybe her twin really was reaching the point where he could make his own decisions.

Unfortunately, Deidre’s feelings of admiration were quickly replaced by panic. When the leaves caught fire, she charged forward, prepared to push her brother to safety. But the chiffon on his dress had already ignited. Desperately slapping the bush with one hand, and her brother with the other, Deidre attempted to simultaneously extinguish both. “Aybee! Oh, Aybee! Help me!”

(OOC: I don't know if any of you had read my post in the ooc thread, but I am SO sorry for not replying in a million year. Won't happen again)

It took Andre a few seconds to actually process the situation and react, for a few moment he just stood still, face all white, mumbling non-sense to himself, things even he couldn’t understand. When he finally came to his senses, his instincts his and, in desperation, he charged in his kids direction, his long legs making up for his slow nature. Andre’s run was incredibly sloppy and clumsy, not very effective either, but he eventually reached the fire, while still mumbling “oh, oh dear” and trying to slow his breathing.
“Dumas!” He yelled lowdly, while removing his long coat from his body. “Lay down and roll, boy, roll!”
Still confused and scared, he gave Deidre a little push so that she would move from the bush and closer to Dumas. He then proceeded to wave his long jacket above the bushes, attempting to extinguish the flames that had now started spreading all over the leafs and caressed the grass around it. As a result, the fire diminished but didn’t seem to cease completely, so he just kept hitting his coat against the leafs and branches even harder, strange noises were forced out of his mouth because of the effort. The leather and zipper were also hitting the two young people who tried to deviate from the fire, but it wasn’t really his main concern right now.
“You two, move, move! Take this!” He screamed again, this time to the human visitors. His tone was harsh, which was very unusual for him, but another thing he wasn’t really paying attention to was his voice. With the jacket, those two could cover themselves and run through the fire unharmed. Mostly.
Andre also removed his shirt, leaving him bare backed. His skin was very pale and his body, not very muscular. With his shirt he then started to try and calm the fire again, but the fabric was much thinner than that of his jacket and within seconds, his shirt was all hot and singed. By then, the fire consisted in only a few burning leafs on top of many broken branches that, if lit, would not be more threatening than a bonfire. Tired, Andre let his body fall to the ground and once sitted he managed to catch his breath. Only then did he look up at Dumas, his burned skirt and the two outsiders. His gaze wasn’t exactly angry, but a bit reprehensive and, nevertheless, relieved.
“Just… What…” He couldn’t seem to find the words to ask whatever he wanted to ask, so he just smiled and shook his head, defeated. “You are going to get A.B. into so much trouble…”
Before he could even properly recover and examine the two youngsters, he heard loud chatter and the sound of steps breaking branches. The voices were amused and suspicious. The guards had probably heard some of the fuss and were now coming back to assess the situation. The guide quickly got up and brought all the children close to him as if he was and old mother owl before starting to walk at a rapid pace in the opposite direction. He knew this forests all to well to know he was heading in the direction opposite of that of the castle and towards the Hatters mansion. In that area, they would be safer, further from the Queen, anyways.
“Keep up, kids. We must rush.” He sighed, still holding his burned shirt in one hand. That was his good shirt.

*******

As the Hatter advised her, his voice filled with concern, a bitter sensation replaced her previous scare. It was not sadness or regret, it was pure rage that took over every thought that occurred her. She knew it was true, she could have been easily killed, and there would be nothing to it. No consequences, no changes, no one but this mad Hatter to mourn her departure. No knight to fight for her. She would forever vanish as easily as salt in water. And to think that, one day, she was Queen. She glanced at her friend, her only and only true real Knight. She may be strong, but never as much as he had been. Never as brave.
“I am… A tad lost. Time and space seem to me distorted, my days last hours, for I am far from my Hearts. I feel old.” She sighed, but then smiled as she continued. “But I am fine. Just having you here has made me even better. Some of the sadness is gone.”
She began walking ahead. Passed the border and through the woods, now much safer, more secure, as she knew that Jacy wouldn’t be coming back so soon. She also felt safer beside friends. The smells and sounds inebriated her, every plant and fresh breeze seemed to comfort her and welcome her home, to the place she used to own. This belonging feeling on top of the Hatter calling her by her royalty title made her feel more like herself. There were few people who still referred to her as Elena, mostly because they had forgotten her existence, intire generations hadn’t even acknowledged it. The Hatter, Andre and perhaps those lovely twins whose parents had fought for her were the only wonderland inhabitants she could remember. Of course, she was no longer Queen, merely a Duchess for the decadent Kingdom of Spades, but she felt like the title was more suited for her actual rights. She wondered, while pacing through this woods, if the Hatter, too, would rather be called by his given name or if it would only bring up sad memories.
“And you, friend ?” She asked, staring at his face as if she was expecting to see in it everything he had done and felt for the past 30 years. “How are things here? Do you think it would be safe to stay for a day? We have some much to discuss. How are you?”

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"Inside of us there is a thing with no name, that thing is what we are." - José Saramago, Blindness