Alice offered a half-smirk at the mention of the queen, shrugging as she stood and wound her way into the untidy little kitchen. If she knew Hatters -- and she did -- they preferred their tea hot and in plenty. The kettle was sadly rusted from disuse, but she set it to boil on the stove, and set about readying the tea, just as own dear Hatter always used to.

"And do you prefer David? Or Hatter?" She called from the kitchen. "Your father tended toward Hatter. I tried to make him take a more suitable name once, and he became quite cross with me."

A few minutes after the kettle whistled, Alice returned to the study with a tray of tea, which she placed carefully on the floor between them as she knelt again. She smoothed her dress out around her, waiting to see if the young Hatter would make any move toward serving the tea out for them. If he truly were the Hatter's child, as well as her own, he would have some insane proclivity for the stuff, and Alice was fascinated despite herself.

"I think you should know, the Queen has something to fear from me. This home and the surrounding lands are still my own domain. Your father and I held them since long before her tenuous reign. You're quite safe here."