Stolen

"Insane," He shrugged. "Ms.Alice needed a friend, too. I suppose I'm her friend. Maybe a lover, if you think about it." He grinned mischievously. "I keep her preoccupied."

"And, how old is Alice again?" Antony asked, eyebrow raised.

"The question is, how old are you?" The Hatter asked, tipping his hat so that it showed his eyes and curling his fingers around a cane that had just appeared out of thin air.

"About twenty three," he replied. Though, Antony didn't know accurately. Things had gotten in the way of him counting the years.

The Hatter chuckled. "By the end of this year you will probably be charged with child molestation!" He predicted. Wow, did he know how to avoid a question or what?

"Mmhhm, and how old are you, Hatter?" Antony prompted. He wasn't the one claiming to be the girl's lover, after all!

"It changes." He replied curtly, eyes narrowed.

"Mhm, I'm sure it does," Antony said. "And I'm not even surprised to hear that."

"That is not suprising," The Hatter said, flashing a grin.

"It isn't, is it. Well, how old are you currently?" Antony pressed.

"85." The Hatter said blandly, speeding up slightly.

"85? Well, that is fairly old, if you don't mind me saying," Antony said, trying to keep up with Hatter.

"And now I'm 2." The Hatter continued, walking even faster.

"2? How did that happen?" Antony asked, clearly confused by this point.

"Now 15." He started to slow, and suddenly slumped a little, his expression bored.

Antony shook his head, matching Hatter's step. "How does it work?" he asked again.

"No reason to explain it to you." The Hatter scoffed. "Now I'm 24." He became more erect and had a look of serious determination on his face.

Antony shrugged. Maybe Hatter was just playing silly games, miming out the different ages as they came to mind. Well, what did it matter anyway?
"How many of my years will you live, do you think," the man asked, allowing his mind to wander along the tangeants it chose to.

"I may change age, but I look the same. I will be here even when your body has merged with the dirt!" The Hatter declared.
((I like my choice of words. xDD ))

(I do too. ^^)

Antony shook his head. "So you're not going to die? How strange," he said with a slight smile.

"Strange doesn't even begin to depict my plight." He scoffed, glaring at the wall.

Antony paused. "Plight? What do you mean?" he asked, interested.

"Plight: A condition, state, or situation, especially an unfavorable or unfortunate one." The Hatter recited. "I am forced to stay in this wretched place till the end of time."

"What happens if the building is destroyed?" Antony challenged. This was getting interesting now...

"It can't be. That's impossible." The Hatter said firmly.

"Alright, hypothetically, the building is destroyed. What happens to you?" Antony pressed.

"I..., leave?" It was more of a question than an answer.

Antony smiled. "It seems you don't know the answeres to all the riddles," he said.

The Hatter narrowed his eyes. "Watch your tongue, or I just might cut it off."

"Oh, go ahead, I'll be dead soon anyway." Antony paused. "Actually, I'd rather you didn't. I like my tongue."

"Then learn to keep your mouth shut at the appropriate time!" The Hatter laughed. "Hm? Oh, it seems we've arrived. I wonder if she's even in her room?" He said, waltzing up to an elegantly designed door.

Antony stopped. He didn't want to progress any further until... What are you thinking, you stupid fool? What's wrong with you? Afraid of a door? he scolded himself mentally.

The Hatter glanced back at him. "So, are you comin'?" He asked, glancing back at the door.

"Yeah, why not?" Antony said, striding over to Hatter.

The door opened slowly, yet didn't make a sound. "Hallooo?~~" The Hatter called inside. Darkness. He swung the door opened and paused, taking a moment to glance around. "Woops." He said, before being backhanded by a rather enraged Alice in Wonderland.

Antony backed away quickly in fear of retribution from the slappy-hand. "What's wrong?" he asked, confused.
Poor guy. The tumor's eating his brain... oh wait, he was always this clueless.

"How dare you walk into my room without my consent!" Alice roared, horribly distressed. She marched up toward Antony, shaking her head angrily. "I'm disappointed that you would follow an oaf like The Hatter!" She told him and stalked back into the bedroom, slamming the door shut. "Hmmf!"
"Well, that didn't go quite the way I planned." The Hatter remarked, rubbing his sore cheek.

"How did you expect it to go?" Antony asked dryly. He was just glad that Alice hadn't slapped him too.

The Hatter shrugged and immediately pushed the door back open. There was no reply, so he pushed Antony inside and shut the door. "Good luck, my fine gent!" He called from behind the other side and was off again to go cause more mischief.

"What the- Hey! Let me out!" Antony shouted. "Aha, Alice, hi..." he started nervously.

Alice hadn't notice him. She continued to stare out a small window, her eyes giving off a forlorn look. Despite the inside of the institute, it was actually located on a beautiful map of land. Alice's eyes follow a yellow bird as it flew across the sky. She sighed a long, exasperated sigh and turned to face Antony. "Yes?"

"Um... hello," Antony tried, being as charming as he could be.

Alice stared at him for a moment, her eyes gleaming. "Antony." She said quietly, not really addressing him so much as saying his name.

The poor man didn't know how to react. "...Hi...?" he evetually tried.

Alice cocked her head, not sure of what to say either.

He tried again. "So, how's life treating you?"

"It is fine, I suppose..., If you prefer to have a caged life." Alice sniffed and returned to staring out the window. "And you?" She finally asked.

Antony didn't answer. "What do you mean, a caged life?" he asked instead.

"Antony, I am like a demon. I cannot be exposed to too much light, or I will fade out of existence." Alice said this solemnly, her eyes shimmering with tears that had yet to brim over.

This took Antony by surprise. "I didn't know that," he told her, sympathy in his voice. "Why can you not be in light?"