The tea was cold. It had always been cold, Alice realized, though the pot steamed. She had been watching them for what felt like hours—the Hatter and the March Hare switching cups, passing the same plate of crumbs, the Dormouse sinking deeper into his own fur. A carousel of absurdity. But then she saw it. The Hatter's hand, as he reached for the sugar bowl. A tremor. So slight it might have been a trick of the candlelight, but Alice had learned to trust her eyes in Wonderland. His fingers brushed the porcelain, and the cup rattled—a thin, high clink against the saucer. The March Hare didn't notice. He was too busy pouring tea that never reached a cup. The Hatter drew his hand back quickly, hiding it beneath the table. His eyes darted to Alice, then away. For a moment, the manic grin faltered. Something flickered behind it—not madness, but the shape of something older. A question. A crack. Alice leaned forward. "Your hands," she said softly. The Hatter froze. The March Hare stopped mid-pour, steam curling between them. Even the Dormouse stirred, one eye cracking open. "They're shaking," Alice continued. "Why?" The Hatter looked at his hands as if seeing them for the first time. He opened his mouth, closed it, then laughed—a sound thinner than before. "Time, my dear. It does that. Stops for no one, but leaves its mark on those it abandons." He tipped his hat, and a small, tarnished pocket watch fell into his palm. The glass was shattered. The hands were still. "It broke," he whispered. "The day she sentenced me to tea." Alice felt the weight of the words settle in her chest. Outside the flickering circle of candles, the forest stirred. Somewhere, a watch ticked backward. "Who sentenced you?" she asked, though she already knew. The Hatter's grin returned, but it didn't reach his eyes. "The same one who will sentence us all, if we stay too long." He pointed a trembling finger toward the path that led to the Queen's croquet ground. Alice rose. The chair scraped against the earth. "Then it's time I had a word with her."