"Look at him." Jefferson glowered. Twenty years in this wretched town, and nothing ever changed. Regina had taken everything from him. Twenty years, he had to watch his daughter, Grace, live with another family. Love another father. And then he had to see Alice with another man. Loving another man.
"Look at him." His pale gaze burned. The lean man with blond locks walked hand in hand with Alice along the docks. The curse may have given him a handsome face, a new name-but he knew exactly who he was. Peter White. The White Rabbit. A boring town where nothing happened, and his pathetic skittish demeanor was still exactly the same. The obsessive tidiness and neatness of his clothes and appearance was still the exactly the same.
Twenty years of the same misery and drudgery.
Then something changed.
The town was already abuzz with the news. And that was the problem. There should be no news in a town where nothing changed. Something was wrong.
You see, last week, the blasted Rabbit had proposed to her.
And what's worse, she had said yes.
Jefferson felt his heart collapse in on itself. He was meticulous in the following days. He knew more than anyone the consequences of a mistake. He trailed them. First together, then, separately. He memorized their schedules. Followed it to every letter. But everyday, they performed the same routine. They looked as if they still lived in the ignorance of the curse. Nothing diverged. But something must have! Something was different!
Like water dousing a fire, his expression softened from his hatred to a broken sort of sadness as his gaze shifted from the man to Alice.
-Maybe if he could just speak to her.
He wanted her alone. A selfish hunger to have her to himself. But that was proving to be more difficult than he originally thought. The Rabbit was wherever she was. They worked across from each other. Ate their lunches together. Walked home together. And then the doors were closed.
But he had to speak to her. Maybe this engagement was the curse weakening, a sign of awakening. If he just tried to speak to her, he would know. If things had really come to change like that, he could get her to remember. She was older than Grace. She could understand.
And he had to act before-he swallowed thickly-the wedding.
So Jefferson had finally decided. He would go into her bakery as a patron right as it opened, when the Rabbit was opening his store. Despite the warm spring weather he wore his thick jacket and scarf around his neck.
Finally he came up to the storefront painted powder blue. He could see her through the glass, tying on her apron. From the way her lips pursed, he could tell she was humming to herself. Her long locks had been cropped to her chin after the curse, but she was beautiful regardless. When she smiled-that is what he missed most, the way she glowed with warmth. And how that warmth used to be for him.
He could see her coming into focus as he opened the door. A tiny bell rang. His lips parted to speak an-
"O-Oh-! J-Jefferson...was it?" A man turned into the doorway and blocked his path. "I was hoping to run into you." He said with a meek smile.
The Rabbit. Jefferson grit his teeth. Another deviation from the routine.
"Get. Out of my way, Rabbit." He had no patience to hold up appearances for him.
His brows knit in confusion. "Sorry?"
"I need to speak with her." He replied curtly, trying to pass him, "I need to speak with Ali-"
"Oh, but I don't think you will, Hatter." Something in Peter's tone changed entirely. His grey eyes narrowed. Suddenly hardening into something more aggressive, sharp...and awake.
Jefferson took a step back in shock. The bell chimed again as Jefferson was forced back out of the shop.
"You're awa-You rememb-"
Peter nodded solemnly. "I knew the proposal would raise a few red flags."
Jefferson felt his heart pounding through his chest. "But this changes everything!" Twenty years and it'll all be ending soon. "This means they can remember." Peter could see Jefferson's gaze was looking past him and landed straight on the blonde inside, "This is my chance to get Alice to-"
And that's when Peter's eyes turned hard again, His hand slammed the wall beside Jefferson's face. "Not this time Jefferson. You lost your chance with her twenty years ago."
The thin veneer of elation melted back into his old hatred of the Rabbit. "You've had your fun Rabbit." His blue eyes fiercely met Peter's grey ones, "But this little charade has gone on twenty years. Alice is my wife. She is the mother of my child-"
"Really?" He didn't look touched at all by his words, "Last time I checked she was my fiancé."
One could almost hear the sound of a twig snapping, when Jefferson snapped. Peter's back was slammed against the wall. His skin tingled with satisfaction as his felt his fingers wrap around his pathetic little neck. His words, so heavy with anger, that they came out in nearly a whisper. "And how do you plan to stop me?"
"You left her to rot in Wonderland. You took her baby. All because of your selfish greed. Who do you think was there for her? Who do you think got her to eat when she wouldn't? Who do you think quieted her when she cried in her sleep?" Peter could see the dark cloud of guilt brewing on Jefferson's face, and his grip loosened from around his neck, "She doesn't want you anymore Jefferson. She doesn't need you. She's happy with me now. Happier than she was with you."
"You broke her. So she came to me." A wicked smile grew on his face, "So I made her forget you ever existed."