![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crossover_chickHopefully this is the end of bipolar week and next week I won't be disappearing off AIM every other day. In the meantime, I feel like sharing fic with you all:
17. Closer – She Was My Girl
This evening was not going to plan.
Reginald Hargreaves frowned out at the dance floor. His old friend Alice Liddell was out there, looking quite pretty in a floaty blue dress. He remembered back when they were both children, how she’d hated getting dressed up in fancy clothes for church or special occasions. Did she still hate it now? Probably, he thought with a smirk. Alice had never been your typical girl. He chuckled as he recalled her bringing him flowers once after school. He’d teased her for trying to court him like a boy then, and they’d gotten into a fight. Oh, she’d had such a crush on him back in those days!
That was probably where he’d gone wrong. Somehow, he’d expected her to still have such feelings. When he’d come to this ball, it had been with the intention of starting a courtship with her. He – wasn’t exactly in love with her himself, he didn’t think, but he did have a very pronounced case of like. They’d been friends before the unfortunate fire, and he’d written her a few letters after learning she’d been released from Rutledge. What with their shared histories, he felt they’d make a good match. He had a very successful hat shop, so he certainly had the means to support her. And, though he was loath to admit it, he felt a bit of pity for her. She wasn’t likely to get many offers for her hand with her background. He would be happy to spare her the shame of becoming a spinster. He’d dressed up in his finest, waited for her as close to the door as he dared –
And she’d come in on the arm of another man – a tall, skinny, pale fellow who looked like he’d break if you breathed on him wrong. Puzzled, he’d broken protocol and introduced himself without enlisting the help of another acquaintance. Alice had greeted him quite warmly, ignoring the faux pas (as she would), then happily introduced her companion: “This is my fiancé, Victor Van Dort.”
Reginald wasn’t ashamed to admit, his brain had locked up for a moment at that news. Fiancé?! How had Alice gotten a fiancé already? Further questioning revealed the even more shocking news that they were due to be married a mere fortnight from now. It had made his head fairly spin. He’d come here prepared to save Alice from a life of loneliness, and here she was getting married in two weeks! How on earth did such things happen?
He got a chance to ask when he took Alice as a partner for a quadrille. It transpired that it was a very accidental romance – Alice’s uncle was employed by Victor’s parents (the fish people, as he’d thought) as their solicitor. She and Victor had met when the Liddells had traveled to the Van Dorts hometown to help arrange things with Victor’s betrothal. Alice and Victor had ended up falling in love, however, and after “a deeply confusing and exhausting mess,” as Alice had put it, Victor had broken his old engagement and started courting her. He’d proposed to her only last month – they were just so eager to be wed they were speeding things along as much as possible.
Reginald had been so stunned by it all that he’d blurted out what he’d been wondering since he’d first seen Victor – what did she see in him? He was hardly the picture of the perfect gentleman. Especially if he’d broken an engagement not one day before the wedding! Alice had given him a look and informed him that Victor was sweet and kind, very intelligent, and quite fun to be around. As for his previous betrothal, it was an arranged marriage – Victor hadn’t even spoken to the girl until the day of the rehearsal. And while she’d admit the timing was atrocious, that was as much her fault as his, given she hadn’t said a word to him about her own feelings until that day.
That did improve Victor’s character in his eyes, but it still left Reginald floundering a bit. Unable to help himself, he began babbling out all his plans and why she should marry him and not Victor. Alice had been sympathetic but firm – while Reginald’s attentions were flattering, she was in love with Victor and was going to marry him. She’d also cautioned him about being a bit more careful with his attitudes, otherwise he might marry a Nell. He still couldn’t figure that out.
Now, he watched Victor and Alice out on the dance floor. They made a nice couple, he supposed. And Victor was a good dancer, Reginald would give him that. But he couldn’t see how they were so “meant to be.”
Then he caught a glimpse of their faces. They were smiling at each other with a warmth Reginald rarely saw, even among old married couples. Despite the size of the crowd, he could guess that Victor and Alice felt like they were the only people in the room right now. And when they leaned in for a kiss – you could practically see the sparks flying.
He observed them for a minute more. Then, slowly, he smiled. It was a melancholy sort of smile – part of him wished things had gone according to plan, and that he was up there with Alice. But he was Alice’s friend first and foremost, and he wanted to see her happy. And it was very obvious now she was happy with Victor. She deserves someone who loves her like that, he decided. As for me – well, I’m certain we can remain friends. And there’s plenty of other fish in the sea, so to speak. Maybe I’ll get lucky and meet someone who makes me feel like they do.
On that note. . .what was the name of Victor’s former betrothed. . . ?
-VM: Nice to see an outside character who ain't a jerkass for once.-
LOL, I know, right? This fic took a bit to come about -- I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do for this prompt, until the idea occurred to me about making it about someone outside the couple, looking in. I was inspired by TV Tropes and their page on "What Does She See In Him?" And thus, this fic was born.
-TTV: I'm rather surprised it's not from Victoria or Emily's point of view.-
Actually, oddly enough, I never considered either of them for this fic. It was always Reginald and Alice, right from the beginning. Reginald Hargreaves, as I've mentioned in other fics, is the historical Alice's real husband. As you can see here, he's a nice enough guy, if a little prone to making up plans without thinking about the other person involved. His job as a hatmaker is a shout-out to the fact that I ship Alice/Hatter within their own canon (primarily the Alice/Reg pairing of "When Curiosity Met Insanity," but I got into the whole scene with American McGee's Alice/Hatter fic). I thought it would be interesting to show what the Victor/Alice pairing would look like from his perspective.
-VDM: You know, if he's Alice's friend, he should really know about her being engaged beforehand.-
Eh, their friendship has kind of dwindled since they were kids. They've only written a couple of letters to each other, and Alice has been kind of busy getting things settled with Victor. Plus, this whole situation is tied very closely to Wonderland, and Alice is not about to go around spreading the news that that is real willy-nilly.
-WRM: What about "By The Riverside?"-
She was SEVEN. And trying to cheer Victor up. Anyway, the fic itself is pretty straightforward. I like the bit with Alice warning him he might want to rethink his ideas on marriage a little before he marries a Nell. I'm so evil to her, really.
-VD2: We've met the woman. She deserves it.-
-TTV: I suppose I should say, "Her son is standing right here," but I doubt it would make much difference.-
*giggle* The ending of the fic is kind of left over from when I was having a few ideas on how to get Victoria and Emily happily settled at the end of "Solicitor's Ward" (if you haven't guessed, this is a SW-verse fic). I did briefly entertain the idea of getting Victoria hooked with Reg, but it got dumped in favor of the White Knight and Hatter pairings. It's too bad I've already decided Alice's friend Edith got married to a Frenchman -- I'll make sure you get a nice wife, Reggie, don't worry.
-M: You should totally call her Mary-Ann.-
*snork* I should! And as for the title, it's off the Spider-Man soundtrack. I thought it was appropriate, considering the subject matter.
As stated in the subject line, I am le tired. Off I go to possibly hit the sheets early. (Who am I kidding, I'm gonna be up half the night on YouTube.)
17. Closer – She Was My Girl
This evening was not going to plan.
Reginald Hargreaves frowned out at the dance floor. His old friend Alice Liddell was out there, looking quite pretty in a floaty blue dress. He remembered back when they were both children, how she’d hated getting dressed up in fancy clothes for church or special occasions. Did she still hate it now? Probably, he thought with a smirk. Alice had never been your typical girl. He chuckled as he recalled her bringing him flowers once after school. He’d teased her for trying to court him like a boy then, and they’d gotten into a fight. Oh, she’d had such a crush on him back in those days!
That was probably where he’d gone wrong. Somehow, he’d expected her to still have such feelings. When he’d come to this ball, it had been with the intention of starting a courtship with her. He – wasn’t exactly in love with her himself, he didn’t think, but he did have a very pronounced case of like. They’d been friends before the unfortunate fire, and he’d written her a few letters after learning she’d been released from Rutledge. What with their shared histories, he felt they’d make a good match. He had a very successful hat shop, so he certainly had the means to support her. And, though he was loath to admit it, he felt a bit of pity for her. She wasn’t likely to get many offers for her hand with her background. He would be happy to spare her the shame of becoming a spinster. He’d dressed up in his finest, waited for her as close to the door as he dared –
And she’d come in on the arm of another man – a tall, skinny, pale fellow who looked like he’d break if you breathed on him wrong. Puzzled, he’d broken protocol and introduced himself without enlisting the help of another acquaintance. Alice had greeted him quite warmly, ignoring the faux pas (as she would), then happily introduced her companion: “This is my fiancé, Victor Van Dort.”
Reginald wasn’t ashamed to admit, his brain had locked up for a moment at that news. Fiancé?! How had Alice gotten a fiancé already? Further questioning revealed the even more shocking news that they were due to be married a mere fortnight from now. It had made his head fairly spin. He’d come here prepared to save Alice from a life of loneliness, and here she was getting married in two weeks! How on earth did such things happen?
He got a chance to ask when he took Alice as a partner for a quadrille. It transpired that it was a very accidental romance – Alice’s uncle was employed by Victor’s parents (the fish people, as he’d thought) as their solicitor. She and Victor had met when the Liddells had traveled to the Van Dorts hometown to help arrange things with Victor’s betrothal. Alice and Victor had ended up falling in love, however, and after “a deeply confusing and exhausting mess,” as Alice had put it, Victor had broken his old engagement and started courting her. He’d proposed to her only last month – they were just so eager to be wed they were speeding things along as much as possible.
Reginald had been so stunned by it all that he’d blurted out what he’d been wondering since he’d first seen Victor – what did she see in him? He was hardly the picture of the perfect gentleman. Especially if he’d broken an engagement not one day before the wedding! Alice had given him a look and informed him that Victor was sweet and kind, very intelligent, and quite fun to be around. As for his previous betrothal, it was an arranged marriage – Victor hadn’t even spoken to the girl until the day of the rehearsal. And while she’d admit the timing was atrocious, that was as much her fault as his, given she hadn’t said a word to him about her own feelings until that day.
That did improve Victor’s character in his eyes, but it still left Reginald floundering a bit. Unable to help himself, he began babbling out all his plans and why she should marry him and not Victor. Alice had been sympathetic but firm – while Reginald’s attentions were flattering, she was in love with Victor and was going to marry him. She’d also cautioned him about being a bit more careful with his attitudes, otherwise he might marry a Nell. He still couldn’t figure that out.
Now, he watched Victor and Alice out on the dance floor. They made a nice couple, he supposed. And Victor was a good dancer, Reginald would give him that. But he couldn’t see how they were so “meant to be.”
Then he caught a glimpse of their faces. They were smiling at each other with a warmth Reginald rarely saw, even among old married couples. Despite the size of the crowd, he could guess that Victor and Alice felt like they were the only people in the room right now. And when they leaned in for a kiss – you could practically see the sparks flying.
He observed them for a minute more. Then, slowly, he smiled. It was a melancholy sort of smile – part of him wished things had gone according to plan, and that he was up there with Alice. But he was Alice’s friend first and foremost, and he wanted to see her happy. And it was very obvious now she was happy with Victor. She deserves someone who loves her like that, he decided. As for me – well, I’m certain we can remain friends. And there’s plenty of other fish in the sea, so to speak. Maybe I’ll get lucky and meet someone who makes me feel like they do.
On that note. . .what was the name of Victor’s former betrothed. . . ?
-VM: Nice to see an outside character who ain't a jerkass for once.-
LOL, I know, right? This fic took a bit to come about -- I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do for this prompt, until the idea occurred to me about making it about someone outside the couple, looking in. I was inspired by TV Tropes and their page on "What Does She See In Him?" And thus, this fic was born.
-TTV: I'm rather surprised it's not from Victoria or Emily's point of view.-
Actually, oddly enough, I never considered either of them for this fic. It was always Reginald and Alice, right from the beginning. Reginald Hargreaves, as I've mentioned in other fics, is the historical Alice's real husband. As you can see here, he's a nice enough guy, if a little prone to making up plans without thinking about the other person involved. His job as a hatmaker is a shout-out to the fact that I ship Alice/Hatter within their own canon (primarily the Alice/Reg pairing of "When Curiosity Met Insanity," but I got into the whole scene with American McGee's Alice/Hatter fic). I thought it would be interesting to show what the Victor/Alice pairing would look like from his perspective.
-VDM: You know, if he's Alice's friend, he should really know about her being engaged beforehand.-
Eh, their friendship has kind of dwindled since they were kids. They've only written a couple of letters to each other, and Alice has been kind of busy getting things settled with Victor. Plus, this whole situation is tied very closely to Wonderland, and Alice is not about to go around spreading the news that that is real willy-nilly.
-WRM: What about "By The Riverside?"-
She was SEVEN. And trying to cheer Victor up. Anyway, the fic itself is pretty straightforward. I like the bit with Alice warning him he might want to rethink his ideas on marriage a little before he marries a Nell. I'm so evil to her, really.
-VD2: We've met the woman. She deserves it.-
-TTV: I suppose I should say, "Her son is standing right here," but I doubt it would make much difference.-
*giggle* The ending of the fic is kind of left over from when I was having a few ideas on how to get Victoria and Emily happily settled at the end of "Solicitor's Ward" (if you haven't guessed, this is a SW-verse fic). I did briefly entertain the idea of getting Victoria hooked with Reg, but it got dumped in favor of the White Knight and Hatter pairings. It's too bad I've already decided Alice's friend Edith got married to a Frenchman -- I'll make sure you get a nice wife, Reggie, don't worry.
-M: You should totally call her Mary-Ann.-
*snork* I should! And as for the title, it's off the Spider-Man soundtrack. I thought it was appropriate, considering the subject matter.
As stated in the subject line, I am le tired. Off I go to possibly hit the sheets early. (Who am I kidding, I'm gonna be up half the night on YouTube.)
