DISCLAIMER! I DO NOT OWN ONCE UPON A TIME OR ANY OTHER COPRIGHTED WORKS MENTIONED HEREIN. THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION AND ANY ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE CHARACTERS OR REFERENCES MADE ARE BY MY DESIGN.
Chapter 1
The curse is broken. I've lost everything. They say I deserve this, that I was destined to fail because I used the darkest of magics. Once I was innocent and sweet, once I hated magic; now I couldn't stop even if I wanted to, believe me, I've tried.
Henry, my Henry made me see what I'd become, he gave me the strength to fight the evil I had allowed to fester in me. It worked for awhile, I was well on the way to becoming the person I always wanted to be but then my mother came and pulled me back in.
They say everyone gets a happy ending. I don't think that's true. I think some people no matter how hard they try will never be happy. I'm one of those people, I can see that now. They say that no matter what you've done there is always a way to redeem yourself, but after all the awful things I've done I know there's no going back. There's no redemption for me, no forgiveness.
Here I will always be The Evil Queen. Here I will always be the one who cursed them, tried to take away their happiness. When the Charmings came back from Neverland with Henry I tried to take his heart so I could control him. They caught me and gave me an ultimatum. Leave now, peacefully or we will destroy you once and for all.
So that's what I did I packed my belongings and left. There was a train station in the next town over and I could take one to pretty much anywhere I wanted to go. My car was no longer an option, it was a casualty in the final battle. I couldn't get it fixed either, it was completely destroyed.
Most of my possessions were staying in Storybrooke for the time being. All I had with me was a suitcase and my purse. I wasn't worried, I had a lot of money but I would miss my things. They would be brought to me once I was settled per our agreement but that could be a long time.
It didn't take me long to figure out where I wanted to go. I had picked my destination by the time I was done packing, using magic of course. It ended up only taking about 10 minutes. I just told things where I wanted them to put themselves.
I thought about buying a ticket online but I just wanted to get outta there. It was easier to just buy my ticket at the station. I didn't want to stay in this place any more than necessary. There were too many memories here, I wanted to hightail it and leave all that behind, start fresh. Even without the ultimatum I wanted a fresh start more than anything and I couldn't do that here.
So I hailed a cab to catch a train to Boston. It wasn't due for almost an hour by the time I was all settled and had nothing to do but wait. I'd much rather do that here. I wanted gone so bad I could taste it. I wasn't going to miss this train for the world. Out there a new life was waiting for me and this train would take me there.
*What's Left?*
The train was late and some time after I was supposed to already be on my way I finally settled in my sleeping compartment. The trip was going to take almost a full 24 hours. I thought I'd only sleep in the train for one night, but after the train had been so late it was looking more like two.
I'd had lunch before I left at Granny's but that had been hours ago. It was past dinner time now so I was quite hungry. So instead of settling in I headed for the dining car. Hopefully it was still open at this hour, not every train had a 24 hour dining car, most of them closed around 10 or 11 and opened back up at 8.
When she opened the door to the car she was relieved to see that she was not alone in her quest. She was even more pleased to see that a few of the people sitting in the booths and tables had food in front of them.
*What's Left?*
There were about a dozen people and she could have easily sat with someone but right now she just wanted to be alone. Until she saw Jefferson sitting with his daughter Grace. They were sitting in a booth and like most booths it had room for atleast two more to sit with them comfortably.
Cool as a cucumber she slid into the booth next to Grace. Jefferson was on the other side and she wanted to look him in the eye for this one. Like many people in the Enchanted Forest I had fucked him over at every opportunity.
He had never tried to kill her before but he had tried to pay her back for what she'd done to him. She would watch him closely. If it looked like he was going to try something she might have to get out of there quickly but for right now it was just nice to see a familiar face.
Those times I'd screwed him over, it was nothing personal, in fact when it came down to it I quite liked him but I didn't expect him to believe that. I'd be a fool if I did.
When I slid into the booth next to his daughter his eyes narrowed. Trying to break the tension I said, "Well I certainly wasn't expecting to see you here but I have to say its a pleasant surprise. Are you going to Boston too?"
Jefferson glared at me for a moment, then he realized I was trying to make honest to god polite conversation. "I see you got kicked out as well. Yes Grace and I are going to Boston. I'm equally surprised to see you, though I wouldn't call it pleasant. Here I am wanting to start over, be a father to my daughter and of all the people from the Enchanted Forest I could run into its you, the reason I was ever away from my Grace in the first place."
"I wasn't sorry for what I did to you then, I was just doing what needed to be done and I didn't care who I hurt in the process. Now I know what its like to be a parent and I too have lost my child. I don't think I'll ever see him again and I can't think of anything more horrible. I'm so sorry for what I've done to you, if I could go back and fix it I would, I hate that I caused you such pain. I'd probably go back and save you wife from death as well because I know that pain too."
He considered this for a moment. Before he could respond a server came by with their food. Jefferson had ordered New England clam chowder and Grace had ordered chicken tenders. When the server saw me, he asked if I wanted anything to eat.
I ordered a steak with mash potatoes and mixed vegetables and an apple turnover for desert, or a slice of apple pie if they didn't have turnovers. At his prompting I ordered a glass of milk to go with my meal. It was strange that I had forgotten to order a drink, usually I remembered everything.
I didn't bother asking for some pink on my steak, at places like this no matter how you ask for your steak to be prepared it always seemed to come back well-done. The most I could hope for was that it would be a decent cut of meat.
*What's Left?*
They were silent as they ate and though they finished their meal before me conversation didn't resume until all of us were done eating. As I suspected they didn't have turnovers. Jefferson and Grace joined me in having apple pie for desert.
Jefferson was the first to speak after we had finished eating. "So your heading out to Boston. What may I ask are you planning to do when you get there?"
"I'm going to use dark magic to take over the world. What do you think I'm going to do? I just want a fresh start, I want to build a new life same as you."
Jefferson smiled and said, "I'll drink to that." He ordered two shots of Jack Daniels. When they came we each took one and clinked them together. Before Jefferson and I threw them back we held them up in a toast. To starting over.
It was late and Grace was soon yawning. I asked him if he'd gotten a sleeping car, he said he had one. I waited for him at the booth while he put Grace to bed.
While he was gone a man slid onto the bench opposite me, a smug grin on his face. He asked me if I was with my companion. When I told him that he was just someone I knew, an old friend from way back, his smile got bigger showing his teeth like a wolf and his eyes gleamed.
I wasn't interested and this guy's attitude was really starting to piss me off. I had to fight a fierce impulse to hex him in order to get him to leave me alone but I did manage to stop myself. As annoying as this guy was, he wasn't worth it.
However he didn't seem to be taking the hint. He kept going on about how we should get out of here. That he could show me a good time, a real good time. After that I was really annoyed. I barked at him to leave me alone. He was shocked by my rejection but he didn't move a muscle.
Shit! I didn't want to hurt this guy but if he didn't leave and soon, I was probably going to wind up doing something nasty to him.
*What's Left?*
By the time Jefferson got back to the dining car I was in a heated discussion with the guy. I was still trying to get him to leave and he still thought he was going to be able to pick me up. Most of the people had left and the staff were busying themselves with chores.
Jefferson went up to one of them and called my situation to his attention. In a flash he was in front of the booth and asking me if this guy was bothering me. I responded that yes, he was indeed bothering me and refused to leave.
The staff member looked at him point blank and told my guest that harassment was not tolerated and he was to leave the dining cart immediately. Normally I don't like being 'saved' by others but as my usual methods involve violence and quite a bit of magic I decided that this way was neater.
When my unwanted visitor had finally left having been scared off my a helpful staff member, Jefferson sat on the bench he had just vacated.
"Well I don't really know how to say this but how would you feel about sticking with us when we get to Boston. It'll be easier to find a decent place to live with both of us looking and they say that when you move to a new city its nice to know atleast one person. Besides it might be nice to have each other around." He proposed.
"I'll think about it. I don't see why not. Like you said it might make it easier for us to do it together. If it gets to be too much after awhile I can always find my own place. I'm tired, I've had a long day and I'd like to get some sleep."
I told him what compartment I was in and told him to feel free to stop by if either of them needed anything. Then I got up, went to my room, and got ready for bed. As I fell asleep I thought about the strange events of today. It was strange how happy the thought of not having to do this alone made me feel but I was out before the thought fully formed. By morning I would forget it had ever crossed my mind.