A/N:I do not own Mirrormask, Valentine, Helena, or any of the other characters in this story, but the idea behind it is one I came up with. I don't remember when, but I know it was after I saw the movie.

Side note – fantastic movie! There need to be more Mirrormask Fanfic's out there. silly grin

Anyway, first fanfic I've started writing in a while, so I hope ya'll like it.

Btw – I'm aware that, at the end of the movie, Helena bumped into 'Valentine' at the circus, though we're left to wonder if it was him, or his London counterpart. However, in this story, I backed it up so she went home – yes – but did not bump into him at the circus. So…kindly, don't point that out. smiley face

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Chapter 1

Three years…

Helena shook her head, shaking away the memories, and tugged her cloak off her shoulders, scurrying into the Ring with her father. She moved her eyes from side to side, looking through the holes in the mask she wore at the audience, who sat, smiling, and waiting patiently. There wasn't anything she loved more than wearing that mask, except maybe if…

Another shake of her head, and Helena glanced towards her father, eyebrow raised. They silently showed themselves to the audience, holding up their props, before Helena turned to face her father, and tossed one of the bowling pins into the air, following with another, and another, and catching the medium-sized, multi-colored balls he tossed towards her. The two began juggling the items back and forth, going on to the cheering of the crowd around them. The smile on her lips was that of enjoyment, but for the first time in at least a few weeks, there was a hint of sadness behind it.

Exiting the tent and heading for her trailer to change out of her performance clothes, Helena stared down at her feet, her cheeks rosy pink as she moved. She recalled the night her mother collapsed, a few years earlier, when she'd been in the trailer playing puppet master with her feet. It wasn't the fact that it was her feet and her silliness that made her smile – it was the fact that she'd named one of her feet with his name. She hadn't known him at the time, but now that she did, it meant more to her.

"Helena!" She was startled by the voice, but she turned around, pushing a smile to her father.

"Yes, da?" she asked, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. He caught up to her, removing his top hat and tapped it onto her head, making her laugh. A smile spread across his lips, and he nodded.

"You seem a little un-you tonight. Is everything alright?" he asked, hooking an arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze. Nodding, Helena glanced towards the trailer.

"It's all fine. Just a bit…tired, I think. I'm going to change and head home, okay?" she asked, looking up at him from under the brim of his hat. He chuckled, and nodded, taking his hat back.

"That's fine, dear – you rest tonight. We'll see you in the morning," Morris replied, pressing a soft kiss on her forehead before returning to the tent, and the rest of the performers. Sighing, Helena turned her back to her father. She couldn't tell him about it – her parents would think her insane, no matter how much they loved her. With a shrug, she climbed into the trailer, and locked the door, changing into her everyday clothes, before heading back to their flat.

She poked her around the corner from the hallway, waving to her Nana in the living room, before continuing to her bedroom down the hall. Closing the door and turning on the light, Helena paused, looking around her at the drawings upon the walls. Years before, they'd been destroyed, torn apart by a very angry, anti-Helena. She lowered her gaze to the floor, remembering it very vividly, before shaking the thought of it away, and looking towards her window. A smile curled on her lips when she laid eyes upon an image of man she had drawn, again, to keep his memory alive. Sighing, she changed to her pajamas, shut off the light, and climbed into bed, keeping his thought on her mind until she was drifted off.

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Up. Down. Up. Down. Under. Up. Down. Behind.

Valentine juggled three flashing multi-colored balls, under his leg, behind his back, and up into the air, as he stood in the middle of one of the hallways of Tower. Swinging his leg up, he chucked the ball a little too hard beneath his leg, and watched it ricochet off the wall, and out the window. He breathed out a small groan, and threw the other two balls into the corner, walking towards the window to see how far it would go. Hearing a small tsk, he tilted his head.

"What is it, Tower?"

"Well…" the soft voice began, "perhaps you shouldn't take out your frustrations on those things. It won't solve any of your problems." Valentine turned around, looking towards the ceiling. Tower was right, but this was Valentine – that wasn't something he ever admitted. With a shake of his head, he looked back out the window and watched the flickering ball disappear amidst the trees. Heaving a sigh, Valentine pointed his hand out of his too-large white robe.

"Can ya just land us there? I'm not going to try and get a new one…again…" he mumbled, feeling his cheeks redden beneath his mask. A soft sigh emitted from Tower, but it landed on the ground anyways, opening the door for him to exit from.

"Just be careful with your anger, Valentine…" he heard it say, as he jogged down the steps and went after the ball.

Slipping through the trees, Valentine looked around him, peering through the small holes of his mask, in hopes of seeing the colored ball in the dark woods. He stumbled after a few steps, and tilted his head to the side. Several feet away laid his ball, but it was near a snake-like creature, which wasn't looking, but was hissing softly in the opposite direction. Cautiously, Valentine tip-toed towards it, squatting down and reaching for the ball. As his fingers neared it, the snake spun, hissed louder, and wrapped its body about the ball, slithering away.

"Hey! That's not yours!" Valentine called, scrambling to his feet and running after the rather quick snake. Stumbling over some branches here and there, Valentine finally tripped and landed upon his knees, just as the snake slithered beneath the ground, into a small hole, which he assumed it had come from. Sighing, Valentine rolled up his sleeve, and dug his right hand into the hole, biting hard upon his lip in hopes that the snake didn't bite. After feeling around for a minute, Valentine jumped in surprise, but when he yanked his hand back, he was grasping a small object that was wrapped it silk. Frowning, and looking around, Valentine laid it upon the dirt, and unfolded the material, scooting back a little as it fell open, revealing the shiny reflective surface of a Mirrormask.