๐๐ช๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป.
ย ย ย ย ย hatter does so ADORE the self-righteous ones, & all the twittering nonsense about robbing people of their free will &ย memories not being the best way to run a country. as if free will in the hands of the common rabble ever brings anything goodโโโโas if dreams ever accomplish anything but making people hurt.ย
ย ย ย ย ย no, better to get things ticking along like clockworkโโโโefficient, clean, & perfectly thoughtlessโโโโ& leave the thinking & remembering & dreaming to the ones who could handle it. but, of course, sheโll never convince the lucys of the world of the rightness of her thinking. ย ( a sure sign, in hatterโs estimation, that the sweet girl was due for a session in the war room, sooner or later. )
ย ย ย ย ย she sighs, & pats lucyโs hand as comfortingly as she can manage. ย ย โ you can call them slaves if you like, my dear, but if i were you iโd not put any stock in the UNSUBSTANTIATED blatherings of westportโs propagandists. every person in my employ is entirely free to do as they please.ย โ
ย ย ย ย ย a technical truth; hatter has long since moved beyond obliterating free will in the broader sense of the term. nowadays she prefers the subtler art of coaxing people into fervid adoration; when they loveย her, liveย for her, they of course have no desire whatsoever to disobey.
ย ย ย ย ย she can see the hatter working her magic----- something which sheโs sure is part of the magic she has in her dominion, something which lucy may never understand. but even then she can see something evil in the innocent words. she KNOWS theyโre slaves & as much as the hatter denies it, lucy knows to not believe her. once she starts believing the cruel hatter is when more will happen because the people will ALLOW it. ย & thatโs----- wrong, just wrong !
ย ย ย ย ย โ i know better than to believe you, โ ย lucy replies, quite confidently. keeps her chin up, eyes still looking into the hatterโs. ย โ & i know the queen is bad----- i know she is. sheโs been terrible to our people time & time again & sheโs a symbol of----- sin. just----- sin ! ย but donโt think for one minute that just because i KNOW the queen is bad that iโll think youโre good. you hurt people. โ
ย ย ย ย ย lip quivers, chin trembles, eyes sting, but she refuses to back down. hopes sheโs not headed for a certain death now, but----- itโs better to speak the truth than to give in. still, thereโs something sheโs always wondered, something gnawing at her. eyes are guarded, scared & angry but thereโs always a hint of lucy in them.
ย ย ย ย ย โ why are you so bad ? ย youโre already so powerful. why must you hurt people ? โ