Prologue
Contains dialogue from 1x07 The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.
Disclaimer: If I owned Once Upon a Time (Or Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, since they have the same owners), Graham never would have died in the first place, and he and Emma would probably be married by now, and Neal and Bae would not be the same person, and did you see that time Tamara killed Pinocchio, who was made out of wood, with electricity? Yeah, that wouldn't have happened because it was stupid. Also Robin Hood's role would have been worthy of all that advertising before Lacey and I would have moved heaven and earth to have him played by Jonas Armstrong. But since none of the above statements are true, you can clearly see that I don't own it. Sadly.
Emma's lips meet his slowly, gently, and he can feel the burst of magic as his memories return to him.
He remembers. His whole life is in his brain, from the wolves that raised him to the couple that taught him to speak like a human to the Queen tasking him to kill Snow White – Emma's mother – to the arrival of the curse and everything in between.
He was around magic enough to know what this means, and he wishes the weight of his realizations didn't send him stumbling back out of her arms.
Emma is his True Love. It is the most startling and wonderful thing he has ever realized. That this amazing woman, this princess, could be his mate? That the curse, the curse meant to rip away the happy endings, could give him his? There are no words to express his utter joy in this moment.
So he settles for something easier, when she asks if he's okay.
"I remember," he says. He can hear his own damn smile.
"Graham?" she looks concerned and of course she has every right to be, he just fell away from her and is now talking about remembering and he'd barely slept and he'd been feverish all day and he went to a ten year old for advice…
And all he can do is say it again as he draws himself back up to his full height.
"I remember."
He so wants to say he loves her but it's too soon, much too soon, that would just make her run.
"You remember what?" she says. She's backed away again, and he advances on her, needing to be close to her.
He cups his love's face gently and feels a tear fall from his eye.
"Thank you," he whispers, and her smile is so bright and gods he feels so much, even without his heart, and he leans in to kiss her once more because he needs it, needs to feel her lips on his and not have a flash of his memories.
Their lips are about to touch when the pain hits.
His heart. He knows it's his heart and he knows it's the end and he can't even make a sound as Emma calls to him. He hears her calling his name and he wants to tell her he loves her before it's too late but the world around him is fading out and he can't get the words out; the pain is too intense.
Oblivion comes and it is not nearly as sweet as he'd believed it would be before the curse, when all he wanted was for Regina to decide she was done with it and kill him already.
...
He groans as he comes to.
His mind is quickly firing questions at him in confusion. Is this the afterlife? Did Regina stop? Did I somehow live, despite her not stopping?
"Well, well, if it isn't Regina's Huntsman, awake at last," a voice says from somewhere nearby. He doesn't bother opening his eyes, instead trying to place the voice, because he knows he's heard it before.
"Open your eyes already, Huntsman, I know you're awake!" the voice sneers at him after a few more minutes.
Ah, yes. He remembers now. Jafar, the royal vizier of Agrabah. He'd visited Regina's palace on more than one occasion to consult the genie in the mirror – Sidney Glass, Graham realizes – about finding a different genie.
If he remembers correctly, Regina could pick and choose some of the people who came with the curse – and she hadn't wanted this bastard anywhere near her fake little empire.
That, of course, begs the question where he is, so he does comply with the man's request and opens his eyes, if only to see his surroundings.
Oh, well this is just wonderful, he thinks, realizing he's in a cell in some sort of cavern. It could be worse, he supposes. At least as long as he's here, he won't have to deal with Regina.
"How did you escape the Land Without Magic?" Jafar asks, drawing his attention to the man. He's all in black, looking especially ridiculous with the giant shoulders his outfit has, and his cobra staff… Or maybe it just seems that way because Graham's been in the Land Without Magic for 28 years and no way in hell could anyone get away with that outfit there.
"I don't know," Graham answers with a shrug, "It felt like she was squeezing my heart to dust and I woke up in this quaint little cell you've placed me in."
Graham takes a moment to look down at his own clothing. The black leather top and pants he'd been forced to wear so often as one of the Queen's men. That could get uncomfortable if he's in this prison for any length of time.
"Interesting," Jafar mutters.
"Where am I, anyway?" he asks, curiosity getting the better of common sense. The man has him prisoner, he's not likely going to appreciate being questioned.
"You're in Wonderland, Huntsman. One of the more intact magical realms since your Queen cast the curse. Very few people were taken."
"Wonderland?" he repeats, incredulous, not bothering to say that Regina isn't his Queen. If he gets technical, Snow is his Queen, as Emma's mother… But in his mind, Emma is his Queen. She is the only royal he would follow without question. The only one that he would do anything for. He is fond enough of Snow, and she would have his loyalty, as she always had, but she would never have it to the degree that her daughter would.
How the hell did I get to Wonderland? he thinks, trying to figure it out. He comes up with no satisfactory answer.
At least he's not dead. If he can escape, he can find a way back to Storybrooke.
A way back to Emma.