Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Chess woke up in the blinding white hospital room, confused. She couldn't remember anything. Her head was pounding.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The heart monitor went off next to her and she tried to gather her thoughts. Her name was Chess. She had to have been saved by a guardian angel last night. It was the only reasonable thing that went through her head.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
She looked out her window and saw one of the doctors blowing cigarette smoke out of his mouth. It brought back impossible memories to her mind.
A blue caterpillar named Epsilon smoking a bong on a ruby red mushroom.
A hat maker trapped in the cellar of a castle.
Her never ending quest for her father.
Those memories were fresh in her mind, different scenes jogging her memory. The more she thought about it, the more she remembered. By the time she remembered her last name, she was worn out. Her mind was in worse shape than her body and she just slipped into a soft sleep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep..
Beep…
Chief Emma Swan ended up at the hospital around noon. After a quick talk with the doctors, she went in to talk to the girl she found.
To call her a girl though was to call Henry a baby. She was thirteen by the looks of it. She had raven black hair with streaks of silver gray and majestic blue eyes. She looked at Emma and gasped.
"Hey kid, how are you holding up?"
"I'm doing good but please, for fuck's sake, don't call me 'kid'. My teacher used to do it and it pisses me off royally." She said and Emma couldn't help but smile. This girl reminded her of her old friend Allie from Chicago.
"Fair enough. But you gave us all quite the scare last night. There's a few things I need to ask you as Sherriff."
"Okay, ask away. I have all the time in the world considering I'm stuck in another Goddamn hospital." She said and Emma rolled her eyes.
"What's your name?" she asked and the teen chewed her lip.
"I'm not sure you'll believe me," she whispered and frowned.
"Try me." Emma told her and just as she was about to speak, there was a knocking on the glass wall of the hospital room. Both of them turned around to see Henry in the doorway, leaning against the wall with his book tucked under his arm.
"Hatter!" the gruff voice of the guard called out into the seemingly endless cellar. Chesh looked around the mountains of hats and calmed the urge to disappear into another world. There was a few bangs followed by strings of curses after each one. Finally, the hatter skidded in front of them and looked at Chesh fearfully. She looked back at him with mirroring fear.
"You called?" he finally asked the guard and with one move, Chesh was thrust into the Hatter.
"This is your new assistant. By special order of Epsilon." He added and retreated out of the room, locking the door behind him.
He looked at the door, then at Chesh, then at the ground before looking back at her. She looked so much like him that it was scary.
"Do you know what's going on or are you just as clueless as I am?" she asked him and he looked grim. He didn't have any answers for her.
"Nope. I'm stumped on why you're here." He told her honestly and she let out a string of filthy curses.
"Damn Epsilon to hell for this. I'm Chesh by the way. Cheshire Cat." She said, extending her arm toward him. He grasped her hand and shook it while he introduced himself.
"Call me Hatter." He said lightly and she dropped her hand when he let it go.
"Cool. So what do you do here? I doubt the queen wears all these hats," she said with a giggle and he laughed as well. It was the first time he laughed n a long time. It felt unnatural but pleasant. "No, there has to be some other reason. Maybe trying to create the perfect hat?"
"Close but not quite. I'm trying to create a magic hat." He said simply and her eyes had a spark of excitement in them.
"Really? What for?" she asked him and he look grim.
"So I can go home to my daughter." He told her carefully.
"Cool! How can I help?" she asked brightly and his face twisted in confusion.
"What do you mean 'how do I help'?"
"I want to help you. I don't have a father so I know how it feels to be without one. No one should ever have to go through that." There was something in her voice that won the Hatter over.
"Fine, you can help. Start making hats."
"Can I come in?" Henry asked from the doorway and Emma nodded. Chess just watched him carefully. He knew too much, it was in his aura.
"Hey Henry." Emma said and he just waved at her. He kept his eyes on Chess.
"I'm Chess." She said and Henry's eyes lit up with understanding. Emma just looked confused.
"Chess?"
"I didn't pick it." Chess said blandly. She rolled her eyes and Emma's walkie talkie went off.
"That's my cue. I've gotta go. Henry, get home before curfew this time so Regina doesn't have my head." She told him and he nodded. She kissed his cheek before leaving. Once again, his eyes fell on Chess.
"Hi," she said and he smiled.
"Hey. So I know this is going to sound strange but I think you can help me with a problem I'm having." He told her and she bit her lip.
"How so?" she said dryly, trying to hide her fear. And it worked too; he didn't even hear a crack in her voice.
"Do you know about the curse?" he asked simply and her eyes widened. He knew way too much.
"Yes. I do. But I'm not from the world the rest of the people trapped here are."
"What world are you from then?"
"I'm from Wonderland."
"Really? Cool. Uh, one more question. If you don't mind me asking, who are you?"
"I'll give you a hint. Meow."
"You're the Cheshire Cat?"
"Good job. Now, please explain to me how the fuck I make Emma believe in the curse because if I don't, her son and I are going to die."
Cliffy! Well, this will be posted as I write it up. This is my cure for writers block on The Sharpest Lives.
