When Naqam woke the next morning, he momentarily panicked as he tried to place where in Wonderland he was. The bed under him was soft and smelled like the sweet wind that came in through the cracked window.

The walls were made of stripped logs with minimal decoration. The room around him was simple, but comfortable and he closed his eyes, remembering where he was.

Remembering what had happened yesterday.

Cautiously, he patted along his stomach and chest, wondering if he really hadn't been shot.

His eyes popped open and he took in the early dawn light. With a smirk, he threw the blankets to the side, then groaned when he stood up. His abused muscles were letting him know that he was to never again mount a horse, even if his life depended on it.

Naqam stretched, gritting his teeth as the action momentarily worsened his pain. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths until his muscles reluctantly relaxed, letting him move freely, but not without pain.

He went over to a small table with a pitcher and basin on it, then splashed some of the water into the basin. The chilly water he splashed over his face woke him even more, and he once again glanced outside to verify that it was, in fact, very early.

Listening, he came to realize that no other sound came from the house.

He used a hand towel to wipe away the water beaded on his forehead and cheeks, then frowned at his reflection. Sinister red eyes stared back at him, daring him to do what he was considering.

Scowling at the reflection, he shook his damp hair away from his face before he dressed and crept cautiously from the room Hatter had set him up in the other night. The house was silent, not even the ticking of a clock to be heard.

Boots in hand, he tiptoed past what he assumed was Hatter's room and let out a silent breath when he got to the front door. Pressing his lips together, he turned the doorknob, wincing at the click of the lock disengaging. Everything seemed very loud to him.

Holding his breath, keeping one eye on the hallway, he eased the door open, then slipped out into the cool air. He was just as careful closing the door, then took off on silent feet across the grass. Several curious horses looked up at him as he passed, not stopping until he was in the protective shade of the trees.

Naqam, feeling rather accomplished at having snuck out right from under Hatter's nose, stamped his boots on, then took a moment to think about whether he really wanted to do this.

He crossed his arms and paced back and forth under the boughs of the pine trees. He knew that Naktis would want him to try and send some sort of message to the Hearts as soon as he could. He knew his mentor had several other spies in place, except... Naqam sighed. Those spies would be at the castle.

And he was stuck out here in the middle of no where with Madison Hatter.

Naqam made a small snarling sound which carried through the still air, making some of the nearby horses lift their heads at him again. He bared his teeth at the creatures, who just watched him warily.

At least something around here thought he was worth being wary of.

Rolling his eyes at the silly animals, he went back to his original problem. He wondered if it would be possible for him to get near Spade Castle to find one of Naktis' spies. He had the thought that if he took one of Hatter's beasts and somehow managed to get it to go faster than the shamble he had seen so far, he could cut the travel time by a day at least.

With a frown, he approached the nearest fence, leaning on the topmost rail as he stared at a white horse with a grey muzzle and a flaxen mane. The horse stared back, its ears flicking back and forth. It stamped its front hoof a few times, shaking its head as it took a few steps toward Naqam.

He grinned, then held his hand out to the animal. The horse flicked its ears back and forth again before swishing its tail, but it didn't get any closer. Frustration built almost instantly and he snarled again, then watched wide-eyed as the horse took off across the pasture, swift as light.

Instantly turning calculating, he thought that he could be to the nearest spy and back in a little more than a day.

He just had to find a way to manage on of the Real World beasts.

His thoughts were shattered by a hideous ruckus from near the barn. A horse screamed, hooves pounding into dirt and muscle slamming into wood.

Barely hesitating, Naqam sprinted toward the barn.

When he rounded the structure, he skidded to a halt in the loose sand, staring with eyes wide and mouth agape.

Hatter sat astride a mouse-colored horse with barely there black stripes on its legs and the creature was not happy about it. It bucked and writhed under the man, doing everything in its power to unseat the Real Worlder.

Naqam was almost afraid to draw nearer, certain the massive animal would come busting through the sturdy fences hemming it in. But curiosity overrode his skittishness and he came closer, climbing up onto the fence to get a better look.

The horse, its eyes rolling madly in its head, sweat frothed on its flanks, twisted its body, jumping into the air. It slammed against the fences, kicking its hind-feet in the air, arching its back like a fish.

Every second Naqam was sure Hatter was going to go sailing off, but he never did.

Something had to give.

And to Naqam's horror, it wasn't the man.

As he watched, the horse's leaps grew smaller, it couldn't seem to kick its legs up with as much power, its sides were heaving. Until, finally, it stopped dead in the middle of the circle.

Naqam stared at Hatter, who was breathing just as hard as the horse. For a long time, he just sat atop the animal, patting its sweaty neck, muttering under his breath. The horse's ears swiveled back to listen to the man even as its legs quaked.

Moving gingerly, Hatter dismounted and immediately went to the horse's head. Yanking a cloth out of his back pocket, he swiftly wrapped it around the horse's eyes, which made the animal stay stock-still.

Then, by means Naqam couldn't quite make out, Hatter got the horse down to its side. Immediately, the animal tried to lunge to its feet, but Mad pressed his chest into its shoulder. He petted its neck and the side of its face, talking to it still.

As Naqam listened, he realized it wasn't just nonsense that the man was saying. There was a rhythm and cadence to the words that denoted language, though what language, he couldn't have possibly guessed.

The horse grew quite, its side swelling with each breath. Hatter lay on its side, speaking to it, his cheek pressed into the sweat-sleek hair of the horse's shoulder. His eyes were half-closed, his hat cocked at an odd angle.

When they had both regained their breath, Hatter, still moving very slowly, got to his feet, letting the animal do the same. The horse flicked its left ear towards Hatter when he patted the animal's side fondly and said, "Yá'át'ééh."

His movements soft and contained, speaking now so that Naqam couldn't decipher the sound, he removed the saddle. Leaving the cloth over the horse's eyes, he hefted the saddle up onto the fence, looking briefly at Naqam.

He didn't say anything, though, just went back to the horse. Keeping one hand under the horse's muzzle, he slowly removed the blind. The horse snorted, the sound tired and Mad said, "I know. Me too."

He grabbed the horse's reins and said, "Open the gate."

It took Naqam a second to realize that Hatter was talking to him, and he scrambled when the man gave him a dry stare. The hinges creaked a little as he opened it, then shut it again when Hatter and his beast were out.

He hesitated as Hatter went to the barn, then jogged up until he was walking in step with him. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, his mind still working over what he'd just seen, he opened his mouth to ask, but Hatter beat him to it.

His voice raspier than it normally was, he explained, "A young horse is about as headstrong as a young man." He looked sideways at Naqam, who frowned. "They need a little guiding, and a little strong-arming before they turn into anything useful."

"Is that what you're doing with me?" Naqam asked, a little surly.

"No," Hatter said evenly. "I don't take the time to teach things that have no intention of learning."

Naqam stopped dead and watched as Hatter continued to walk toward the barn. He scowled down at the earth beneath his feet for a second, wondering why that had stung as much as it had. Shaking his head, he caught up to the Real Worlder again, just in time to have him nod toward the barn door.

Struggling against the urge to tell him to do it himself, Naqam hefted the door open, then followed Hatter inside.

It took a half-second for his eyes to adjust to the dimness, the only illumination high up windows. Wrinkling his nose, he said, "Why don't you put some lanterns in here or something?"

"Because I don't want to burn the damn thing down," Hatter snapped. Waving a hand, he said, "Tell me what you see in the air."

Naqam rolled his eyes, then let his eyes focus on the air, rather than anything past it. After a moment, he made out particles in the dusky air, making everything appear blurry. With a shrug, he said, "Dust?"

"Bits of hay," Hatter corrected. "Bringing an open flame in here is just asking to set the very air on fire."

With raised eyebrows, Naqam wondered why he had told the Ace that. Then he caught a glimpse of the bullet hole from yesterday and remembered exactly why Hatter was so brazen.

Hatter went over to a bucket near one of the stalls, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. He took off his hat, hanging it on a protruding nail and splashed the water over his head, washing away sweat and dust.

He shook his wet head, spraying water everywhere and, without bothering to towel off, he soaked a nearby rag and went back to the horse. As he began to wipe away the frothy sweat from the horse's hide, his green eyes -- the jade darkened to emerald in the low light -- flicked up to watch Naqam for a few seconds. Then he turned his full attention to the horse.

Naqam gnawed at his lip, his curiosity burning voraciously inside of him. His reluctance to engage the man slowly lost the war and he asked, "What did you say to the horse?"

Hatter looked up, raising an eyebrow. He stared at Naqam a long time, who shifted a little uncomfortably, but refused to look away. Softly, Hatter laughed, then turned back to the horse. Naqam frowned when that didn't manage to feel like some sort of victory.

Shrugging, Mad repeated the word Naqam had heard earlier. "Yá'át'ééh."

When Naqam nodded, Hatter said, "It means 'that's good'. Or something close to it. It's difficult to translate."

When Naqam raised an eyebrow, Hatter sighed and said, "It won't mean anything to you."

It kind of unnerved Naqam that Hatter could so easily discern what he was thinking. Brushing the feeling away, he shrugged and said, "I still want to know."

Hatter's mouth pressed into a thin line, then he shook his head. With a shrug and keeping his voice emotionless, he said, "It's Navajo. Uh... Real World, the place I'm from..." He trailed off frowning as he tried to find a way to explain this to someone who had never known anything other than Wonderland.

Briefly, Naqam thought it must be painful, belonging to two worlds.

With another sigh, he said, "My grandfather was Navajo. He taught my father about horses, who taught me."

"That doesn't tell me what it is," Naqam pointed out, and Mad bristled.

Harshly, he said, "Not it, they. Doesn't tell you who they are. They're... we're... a people."

"So Na-Navajo." He grimaced as he stumbled over the word. "It's like a Deck?"

Hatter finished wiping down the horse and shrugged. "I guess you could say that."

He motioned for Naqam to join him near the horse's head as he clipped a lead rope to the halter and said, "I catch you spooking those horses again you and me are going to have a problem. Understand?"

Shocked, Naqam couldn't do any more than nod mutely. Hatter returned the nod and handed Naqam the rope. "Take him out and put him with the white one you were looking at earlier."

He turned to leave Naqam to it, but the Ace wasn't going to just be bossed around like this.

Raising his voice, he asked, "Why am I here?"

Mad stopped and looked over his shoulder. His green eyes sparked in a brief flash of sunlight and said, "You can tell everything about a person just by watching how a horse, a dog or a child reacts to him. You aren't doing so well convincing me yet."

With those dire words, he grabbed his hat and left Naqam alone with the horse.