"Because of my work, she lost her mother. I don't want her to lose her father, too." Jefferson stated to the Evil Queen in regards to her job offer.
Once upon a time, there was a young girl whom frequented the farmer's market. Every Sunday to be exact. She had a talent of riddles and persuasion, which she traded in turn for items. She wasn't extraordinary, or in any way particularly breath taking. But average, normal, to put it lightly. But it never stopped him, the one with the hat. The one she always saw by the traveling cart of special and rare herbs, some for healing, magic and usually used for a bit of stew. Though she never saw him buy anything, he was always there. He would smile, nod at her approach with a tip of his unusually large top hat and wish her a good day. His blue eyes seem to pierce right through her delicate frame and the wind would catch in her chest.
Today being Sunday, there he was, by the cart as usual. She walked up to the cart boldly not looking to him but to the herbs on display for sale. She pinched a small bundle of dried purple flowers that still had some shine to their petals, the stems were brittle and a dark brown.
"Good day ma'am."
She looked up to meet his eyes, and that smile again.
"Good day." She said quaintly and returned to replace the flowers she had previously picked up.
"Jefferson."
She looked up to meet his eyes again.
"I'm sorry?" She replied timidly and confused.
"My name is Jefferson. Since we seem to run into each other at this exact location, I thought it would be appropriate to officially introduce myself." He explained suavely and stepped back to make a rather sophisticated bow.
She turned from the herb stand and watched him inquisitively.
"You are quite the eccentric one aren't you?" She replied playfully.
He noticed the tiniest glint in her hazel eyes and a small smirk begin to form across her dusty rose lips. Her eyes were the color of a sunrise. Golden with flecks of orange and red and brown. He felt his mouth begin to mimic the smirk.
"My my, how unexpectedly rude. I imagined that a woman with such grace would at least introduce herself in return. But I seem to have been mistaken to reach out. My apologies ma'am." Jefferson straightened up and tipped his hat to her, about to turn away.
"Grace?! Oh my, Jefferson, please. You are too kind." She sputtered out and reached for his sleeve.
Jefferson turned around quickly and caught the falling mystery girl before crashing to the ground with her atop of him, his hat flying off and rolling a few inches away.
He looked up to her, her mousy brown hair tumbled around her shoulders and onto his chest. It was loosely curled and the sun made it glisten with golden strands. Her hazel eyes in complete shock and her lips slightly parted into a stunned "Oh". He began to chuckle, rising to a full laugh. She followed suit and they both were laughing of embarrassment and surprise all at once.
"I-I'm so hahaha terribly ha sorry, please excuse me. So much for my grace." She excused herself and began to get herself up to a stand.
Jefferson stood carefully and offered her his hand. She looked up to him from her kneeling stance and smiled at the gesture, taking his hand. He assisted her up and watched as she straightened out her brown long skirt that had her loose white ruffled shirt was tucked into, topped with a dark blue cloak that was decorated with ornate black filigree. He cleared his throat and released her hand when she withdrew.
"Again I do apologize for being a little off balance." She replied this time more shy than usual.
"No, please, don't mention it. The encounter was entertaining enough for the both of us. You're not hurt are you?" Jefferson asked, realizing he had made her uncomfortable.
She pulled her hood over her tousled hair and dusted off her skirt for one more good measure. She glanced up to meet his gaze again, seeing the concern and gentleness in his eyes remained.
"I'm quite alright, had a nice soft cushion that caught me…Oh no, I didn't hurt you did I?" She lurched towards him grabbing his hands and turning them over, checking him for any injuries. She turned him around to find a rip at the bottom of his cloak. She kneeled down to look at it more closely. It was about a foot long.
"I can fix this. Please allow me to mend it for you, since it was my fault that this happened." She inched her fingers along the rip, measuring the damage. And then examining the thread color at the bottom where the hem was.
He looked down to her and felt a small smile creep onto his lips. She looked up to meet his stare. She stood up embarrassed and clasped her hands together softly in front of her.
"My home is down the dirt road, past the peach trees and you'll see it. It's the one with the flowers." She said quickly looking in the direction of the dirt path. She turned to look behind her to the ground, where his hat remained. She quickly retrieved it, looked it over and then handed it to him.
He took hold of the brim of his hat and returned it to his head. Gently tilting it down, he looked to the dirt path and then returned his gaze to her.
"Come by later tonight? With a fix comes a meal, if you'd like." She said softly, rubbing her hands together and casting her eyes down.
She turned around quickly and began to walk off to another cart showcasing different vegetables.
"Hey, wait." Jefferson called out to her. Finally, finding his tongue.
She looked over her shoulder back to him.
"And when I arrive at this home of yours, what name should I be asking for?" He asked, taking off his hat again and holding it in one hand while extending his other hand to her.
She smiled and turned away from him again.
"I guess you'll find out if you go. Just ask for the girl with 'Grace'." She called back to him.
Jefferson smiled to himself, returning his hat to his head yet again and looking back to the dirt path. He turned around to search for her in the crowd, having lost sight of her.
"Grace." He chuckles to himself.