AN: I realized the other day when I was rewatching that the kids wear uniforms to school—I didn't catch this when I was writing chapter 2 and I apologize, but I'm not going to rewite it because a change in outfits helped Henry figure out that Paige was remembering. So for this story, let's pretend they don't wear uniforms.
Thanks for the reviews guys! I really appreciate it.
Chapter 4
Henry was on cloud nine as he slowly plodded home from the woods. Someone remembered! Granted, it wasn't Emma or Ms. Blanchard or an, you know, adult, but someone believed him! He had a friend!
As he walked, he kept an eye out for anyone who looked like Grace's parents. She had described them and pointed them out in his book, which had fascinated her to no end. In fact he was almost certain it was the book that made her feel a little better about the whole situation. "Hello Henry." August waved from the bench he was lounging on, his causal posture a little stiffer than usual. He winced as he stood, flexing his hand in his leather gloves.
"August! Are you alright? You don't look so good." Henry asked, concerned.
The older man brushed aside his concern with a smirk. "I'm fine. Fine as I can be anyway." The two walked side by side, August's slow pace allowing Henry to keep up. "How goes Operation Cobra?"
Henry hesitated, unsure if he should mention his discovery. But August was the only adult who believed him, believed in him, and Henry decided to risk it. "Great! Someone remembered!"
The motorcyclist stopped on a dime and whirled to face Henry, dropping painfully to one knee in front of him. "Who woke up? Henry, who was it?"
"Paige—a girl in my class; although her real name is Grace."
"Grace… ,"August thought for a moment, standing as abruptly as he knelt. "Grace the… Jefferson's daughter Grace? The Hatter's Grace?" August had an unusual look in his eye.
"Yes!" Henry bubbled excitedly. "You know her?
"Let's just say someone told me a story once. If Grace is here, then Jefferson probably is too… The Queen would never leave him behind—not a realm jumper."
Henry smiled. "That's what Grace said! We're looking for him—Alice too. Did you know that Alice and Hatter fell in love? I didn't, that definitely wasn't in the regular story."
August grinned down at Henry. "I did know that, but I'll tell you something buddy." He leaned down closer, "not everything is in those books. Half the magic is in the discovering." And with that, the man drifted away, disappearing down an alley behind Granny's, leaving the boy gapping at his back. "Hey kid," the writer called over his shoulder, "I'd check out the pharmacy, if I were you. If I were Alice, I'd be somewhere I could get my hands on some potions. You never know when you need to fit through a keyhole!"
"Why are you helping me?" Henry yelled at August's wake, slightly confused as to why the man was helping him, but he received no answer. As usual. Henry stared at his disappearing shadow, half smile on his face. "The pharmacy." He whispered, silently thanking the strange man who seemed to believe me.
Once…
Fairy Tale World, King Leopold's Winter Castle
"Why are you doing this?" Alice slammed her hands against the door of her prison, frustration making her voice loud and shrill. "Let me out! Let! Me! Out!" She screamed at the ceiling, stopping only when the door swung open and Regina stepped inside, her false smile twisting into a sneer.
The witch flicked her fingers and the blond was thrown into the table behind her, rattling the potions and bottles that littered it. "Would you please shut up? I'm attempting to be covert—that's hard when you insist on screaming." The queen sarcastically put a finger to her lips. "Shh."
Alice had no patience for her captor's games. "Why do this? Let me go home. I'll make you whatever you want, just let me see Jefferson and Grace."
"Oh I'm afraid that isn't possible. I have plans you see, and if you fail, well then, I'm going to need dear Jefferson. And that plan isn't really going to work out unless he thinks you're dead." Regina pushed Alice against the desk and trailed a finger over her cheek. "Did you really think I put all that work into enchanting you to come here on your own only to let you go again? For weeks, I convinced you that you were going crazy; I crafted tales of Wonderland in your head until you convinced yourself they were real. If I was going to let you go I would have just kidnapped you from your little shop. Really, Alice, I thought you were smarter than this." She slapped the younger woman's cheek lightly and then moved away, circling the table.
"What are you going to do to him?" Alice asked lowly, bottling her anger at playing into the Queen's hands.
"If you fail? Well then I'm afraid Jefferson is going to need to take me to Wonderland, I need to pick someone up you see-"
"The hat doesn't work like that—you can't just…you can't take more than you bring…" Alice stopped midsentence as she watched a smirk come over the other woman's face. "But you know that, don't you?"
The queen peered into a beaker and frowned as she spied some dirt. "Of course. And it will be sad, leaving dear little Grace parentless, but well, sometimes sacrifices need to be made."
Alice's face paled. "He won't help you. He promised me, he promised me if anything ever happened he would stop using the hat, he'd stay with Grace."
"People will always disappoint you," Regina leaned in. "Always. Can you be absolutely sure he won't cheat, especially if he has a little, motivation?" She smirked and Alice shuddered.
"I don't care what you want; I'll make you whatever potion you need. But you stay away from my family." Alice turned to the table and rolled a bottle in her palms. "I'll need an open flame."
The queen walked back towards the door, her face already rearranging into the false contentment she'd perfected over the years. "That can be arranged. Oh, and don't bother trying to escape—I've told the guards you're a deranged maniac, waiting to be banished—they'll kill you on site. So you don't attack my dear husband, of course." She turned to face Alice, her mask firmly in place. "Oh, I never told you what I need." She clapped her hands, "how silly of me. I need you to make me a few little potions. One that will get me to Wonderland and one that will get me out. And whatever else you feel might need—this is a rescue operation—I need to be prepared."
The blond gaped at her. "That's impossible. You can't-"
"You did." The Queen's smile was still eerily in place. "You fell into that world using your little tricks potions mistress, and you did that with no magic at all. I'm offering you all the magic in this world, anything you need, but you will do this for me. Or I will destroy everything that's important to you. And I will make you watch." With that she whipped out of the room, train swirling behind her.
In the center of the room Alice Lidell fell to her knees in shock. The bottle rolled from her hands and lolled along the floor. Only a lucky bounce kept it from shattering.