Himley the Mad Hatter (special preview)

“He will still be mine,” I say as sure as the sunsets “Even more so than before.”

“Penelope,” her voice is low and harkens to the days when I drew on her wallpaper. “The bond goes both ways. He will have some power as well.”

I smirk to myself. “He it putty in my hands. I’ve known that since I was little. He has a fondness for me, even more so now that I am grown. He is a man of appetites, Mama, and I will keep his hunger in my favor.”

“Stay smart, Penelope.” My mother turns and places her hand on my cheek. “Hares are dangerous, but women can be worse.”

I kiss her palm and smile at her. “I know, Mama.”

That evening, I deliver Himley his late night snack again. He does not lift his head to acknowledge me as I pour his tea at his desk or as I lay the slice of cake before him. As I wipe off the teapot and set it before him, he turns his chair to face me.

“You happy?” He says through clenched teeth.

“As a matter of fact, I am.” I fold my hands on my apron and look down at him in his chair. “I very much appreciate how fast you work. Having Mama working with me and back in my life feels like a great weight lifted from me.”

Himley’s tongue darts over his teeth. “Well, you’re lucky you captured yourself the right man.”

“Suppose I am.” I step closer to his chair. “Will that be all for the evening?”

“Is it?” Himley leans forward towards me, his elbows on his knees and his back arched at a strange angle. “You have power over me yet all you do is serve me cake? I find that quite hard to believe.”

“You like my cake,” I smile. “It’s part of my power as well. My cake delivered me into your hands, I would be a fool to not acknowledge that.”

Himley’s lip curls over his teeth. “You think you’re clever, don’t you?” He pops is neck with a twitch of his head. “You used your confections to lure me, both in the kitchen and of your countenance.” His eyes dart over me. “Sweet thing you are, you’re a temptress in an apron.”

I smirk, letting a chuckle escape my lips. “I knew you liked me.”

He scoffs, sticking his tongue out. “I liked the pleasure I gained from you, edible and fantasy.”

I take off his hat and he flinches, looking away from me as his dark ears raise up. “How do you disguise yourself?” I ask him.

Himley glowers under his breath, keeping his head down while I hold his hat from him. “It is a simple trick I learned, nothing too involved. But it merely works on my face and hands. Anywhere else if you were to look would be Hare.”

I roll the hat over in my hands. “Was this trick learned before or after you betrayed my family?”

He casts a glare up at me. “Obviously after.”

“Which brings up another question.” I set the giant hat on top of my head. “Why did you do it?”

Himley rolls his eyes. “Do what?”

“Betray them!” I slam my palm down on his desk. “My parents took you in! They took care of you, gave you a job, helped you when you had nothing.”

“Is that what you think that all was?” Himley’s voice starts to pitch and rise up. It froths like an angry sea and his eyes have a faint glow to them. “Your father worked me to the bone and paid me nearly nothing! He made me sleep in a cold basement with barely enough food each day. Your stupid little cookies were the most I ever got!”

I feel as though the air has been sucked from my lungs. “But, my father would-”

“Exactly, your father. He was no father to me, Penelope.” Himley shakes his head. “Your mother just ignored me, that I could bear. But your father saw me,” he seethes. “He saw me and didn’t see a thing.” He grits his teeth and laughs. “But what did I expect, huh?” He licks the corner of his mouth. “You saw things too, but you were so horribly innocent back then.”

“I was a child!” I snap back at him. “How was I supposed to know? And was that really worth ruining our lives for?”

Himley’s eyes narrow upon me and his ears twitch in tandem. His body surges forward, towering above me. Something about his shoulders seems broaded, more threatening, even his hands appear larger. “You don’t know what it’s like to be a Hare, do you?” He tilts his head to the side and his neck pops. “Even though you are poor here in Tea Country, lower class, child of criminals, people still see such a pretty girl.” He breathes in and his chest swells. “You still get seen. You still get treated kindly. Because you’re not different.” He jabs his bony finger into my face. 

“Meanwhile, there’s me.” He flourishes his hands over his chest. “Unseen yet seen all at the same time. People ignore me while holding a magnifying glass over my head while telling me to look at the sun.” A dark chuckle escapes his throat. “You have no idea what it is like, darling. To be hated so horribly, to be spit on and devalued because of...who knows!” He grins and traps the tip of his tongue between his teeth. “Be glad you’re pretty and talented.”

I look away from him and he snatches his hat from the top of my head.

“You want to destroy Tea Country, so be it, it only removes one finger off the hand.” He sits back down at his desk and takes a sip of his tea. “Everyone wants to believe that Miror is a wonderland, but it isn’t,” Himley whispers. “It’s all the same.”

I push the tray aside to leave the room but I stop and look back towards him as he hovers over his desk. “Who do you hate the most?”

He looks up and lifts himself so he is no longer hunched over. “It varies day to day, but perhaps I have not met them yet.”

I take in a breath, trying to catch the one I lost. “Have you ever loved anyone?”