"God why does this guy have to live out in the middle of nowhere in the world's most murder-y house?" Neal grumbled as we trudged along the side of the highway. The sun had long since set, and the crickets had come out to sing. It was only me and Neal on that mission. It had taken a lot of convincing and the promise of hot cocoa later, but Henry had agreed to stay home and cover for us. As far the adults knew, we were at the library studying late for am upcoming test at a high school we didn't attend.
"I know," I sighed as we approached the enormous, seemingly abandoned mansion on the outskirts of town. "This place gives me the wigs."
"You sure about this, Ava?" Concern tagged his voice.
"Nope. I'm not sure about any of what we're doing. I'm not even sure this whole thing isn't just some big nightmare. But we have to do this, Neal."
"I know. I just hate it."
"Me, too. Now, why don't you stay out here and keep watch for me?"
His eyes bulged. "What the hell, Ava? I'm not letting you go in there alone!"
"C'mon, Neal," I said. "He's nuts, like you said. He's going to be paranoid enough with just one of us there. Two would probably send him over the edge, and the very last thing we need is for the Mad Hatter to lose his head." We stared at each other for a few seconds before our expressions cracked, and we both laughed. "Pun intended. Pun so intended."
"Good one," he said, but he was serious again in a moment. "I don't like it, Ava. He's unpredictable."
"All the more reason for me to go in alone. I'm good at lulling people into a false sense of security. I can do this, Neal." I offered him a smile. "Trust me."
He hesitated before groaning. "There's no point in arguing anyway. You're going to do what you want in the end no matter what I say."
"Very true. I'll yell if I need you."
"Fine, but if you aren't out in a half-hour, I'm coming in whether you call or not. I'm serious, Ava."
"Noted. This shouldn't take long." I rushed across the road up to the mansion, struggling to keep my heart rate calm and my breathing even. I would've been lying if I said I wasn't at least a little afraid. Back in the Enchanted Forest, Jefferson had been a good guy. A father just trying to make to make an honest living to provide for his daughter. Years spent trapped headless in Wonderland, neither dead or fully alive, had driven him insane, though. Which was caused by my mom when she was in her Evil Queen phase, as Ma and I liked to call it. So, I decided that I'd be smart not to mention whose kid I was exactly. Keep it as simple as possible without lying. Something told me a guy deranged enough to kidnap a sheriff and a schoolteacher to make a magic hat work would have no issues seeing through my lies and using me as a pawn to get revenge on the woman he hated.
I stood in front of the door for several seconds before calling up enough courage to knock. There was no response. No sounds. Nothing. Frowning, I rapped my knuckles against the wood harder. Still no answer. The third time, I all but banged my fist against the door.
"I hear you. Jesus!" The door was flung open, and there the man stood in all his demented glory. Pale blue eyes that were just a little too wide to appear entirely sane glowered at me, and wavy, brown hair stood straight up on his head. He wore a dark paisley shirt with black pants and matching shoes, and around his neck was a scarf. A scarf that I knew covered a very distinct scar. "What's all this banging? You're giving me a headache." His teeth clicked in annoyance. "What do you want?"
"You're Jefferson," I stated plainly, and he eyed me suspiciously.
"Perhaps I am," he said. "Who's asking?"
"Someone who can help you get your daughter back." His eyes nearly popped out of his head. "But first I need something from you, Hatter."
He stared at me for several long minutes, reading me for any signs of deception. When he apparently didn't find any, he opened the door wider. "Come in." I stepped inside the dark mansion and jumped a bit when the door clicked shut behind me. "Who are you?"
"My name is Ava," I answered while following him into the drawing room of the home. We sat down opposite each other, he in a winged chair and I on the sofa. A tea set was laid out on the table between us, and he poured out two cups.
"You know about the curse?" He offered me the cup, and I hesitantly took it. He caught me looking strangely at it and sighed. "Relax, I didn't poison it. I swear. What would I gain from killing you before I got my answers about my Grace?"
It did make sense, so I took a slow and hesitant sip of the tea. "Thank you."
"You didn't answer my question. You know about the curse?"
"I do."
"How did you regain your memories?"
I chewed my lip. "Well, I never really lost them. I'm not from this world. I came here by accident, and now I need to get back home."
He raised an eyebrow at me. "And how can you help me get my daughter back?"
"To get back to my world, I need a magical item from you. An apple with a deadly bite."
"You need a sleeping curse?"
"Yes. It's the only way to connect back to where I'm from and figure out how to get back. What I'm asking you to do, Jefferson, is use what magic is left in this town to help me right now."
His face was pinched. "And how does that help me get Grace back?"
I leaned forward. "Think about it. All the pieces are in place, aren't they? The Savior's in town. The curse is beginning to unravel on its own. People are remembering. The clock tower is ticking again. All this place needs is an extra push. Storybrooke is a powder keg. Magic will be the match to light to fuse and implode this curse. And when it's broken, everyone gets their memories back. Including Grace. She'll come running back to you. Her papa." His breath hitched, and the tea cup trembled in his hands. His eyes were glassy and trained on something over my shoulder, in another world altogether. "I know what it feels like to be trapped in a world where you just don't fit. Where you have to watch the people you love lead lives where you don't exist. Where you are nothing to them. Where they don't even remember you. I know how painful that is, but we can stop all this, Jefferson. We can change it. I just need your help."
He was quiet for a moment, still seemingly lost, before he blinked and focused back on me. "Alright. I'll do it."
I smiled widely. "Thank you, Jefferson."
"Don't thank me," he growled, standing to his feet. "If this doesn't work, if the curse doesn't break, I'll hunt you down and gut you. No matter what world you're in." I gulped but followed him to a room, just as well-kept as the rest of the mansion, but filled with walls and walls of hats. He breezed past them all to a desk in the middle of the room and held up a covered serving tray on the palm of his hand. Lifting the cover slowly and dramatically, he revealed a perfectly-preserved, crimson-red apple. He held the tray out towards me.
"I've been saving this for a rainy day," he said. "Take it and do whatever you must with it."
My hand quaked slightly as I reached out and took it in my hand, fingers slipping over the waxy skin. There was no need to question whether it was really magic. I could feel it. There was a heaviness to it that didn't belong to its physical weight. A dark tinge to the red color that didn't quite pass for natural. The peel seemed to crawl with the curse held under it. I looked into his eyes again, and they looked less demented than before. More focused. The mere idea of being reunited with his daughter was enough to return some of his sense. "This will work, Jefferson. I swear. The curse will break, and you'll have your daughter again."
"It had better, or it'll be your head." He meant it as a threat, but the shaking in his voice exposed his sadness. His hope that I came through.
I offered him a poor substitute for a smile. "Thank you. I won't let you down." Turning, I let myself out of the house quickly. As much sympathy as I may have felt for the man, it didn't change the fact that he was mental, and I knew it. And, no matter what, I knew there was a very high chance that house was haunted as hell. If there was one thing I didn't fuck with, it was ghosts.
"There you are!" Neal sighed when I rushed to his side. "I was just about to bust in there." Noticing how he was stealing terrified glances of the mansion, I smirked.
"Sure, you were."
"Shut up. I was." He frowned at me. "Did you get it?"
I procured the apple from my hoodie pocket, and he gawked at it. "Yeah, I got it."
"It looks almost just like a regular apple, but I can feel the bad juju under there." He shuddered, leaning away. "I hate sleeping curses."
"We all do. Now, let's get back to town. I figure we haven't got too long before our parents are sending out a search party for us. Henry can only hold the hounds off for so long." The two of us began our trek back towards town.
Neal kicked a pebble ahead of him. "Hey, Ava?"
"Yeah?"
"Aren't you scared at all about this? The curse, I mean. You've been pretty brave and all about this whole thing, but this is really dangerous."
"Of course, I'm scared," I shrugged. "I'm terrified. I mean, I'm about to go under a curse. Historically, curses and our family don't really mix well. But I have to do this, and I have to believe that it will work." I smiled at him. "Henry has always said that believing in something is what makes it true. I know that if I believe in this plan and in us, it'll work. So, yeah, I'm scared, but I'm also confident."
"Promise me something?"
"What's that?"
He was dead serious when he looked at me. "Promise me you won't leave me here by myself. I can't do this without you, Ava."
Stopping, I faced him and look in his eyes sincerely. "I swear, Neal, I won't leave you to handle this mess on your own. I'm going to be fine. Everything's going to be fine. I'm going to eat this apple and go see our family. I'm going to tell them everything that has happened. Mom will tell me how to get in the vault and which spell to use in the book. I'll wake up. We'll get the book, and we'll go home. The end."
He smiled. "Thanks, Ava." We started walking again. "For the record, I believe in you, too."
When we got back to the mansion, I let myself inside quietly with Neal behind me. Removing our coats, we started to head upstairs to begin our plan. Sounds from Mom's study, however, halted us.
"They don't have anyone, Regina." I frowned. That was my ma's voice. What was she doing here so late?
Pressing my finger to my lips to tell Neal to keep quiet, the two of us edged along the wall to the cracked-open door. I couldn't make out anything beyond the fire crackling in the hearth, but I could hear their voices clearly.
"You don't think I know that, Miss Swan?" Mom said back, but I was surprised to find that her tone lacked its usual venom. My brow furrowed. "I'm not sure what happened to their mothers, but they're clearly no longer in the picture. From what Ava has told me, they haven't been for a while."
"Someone has to take them in," Ma said. "I mean, we can't just let them wander around on the streets. Anything could happen to them."
"I agree. That's why I've already began discussing the adoption process with my lawyer. For both Ava and Neal."
My jaw dropped, and Neal and I exchanged wide-eyed looks.
"Hang on there," Ma said immediately after. "That wasn't what I had in mind."
"Oh? And what were you thinking?"
"Well, it's pretty clear that Neal has formed a bond with Mary Margaret, and she's done the same with him. She wants him, and I think it's fair to assume he'd want to stay with her as well."
"Won't it be a little cramped in that loft with all three of you?" I could practically hear the smirk in my mother's voice.
"Well, that's actually what I came to discuss with you. I've been looking at some solo apartments. Two-bedrooms. And I thought maybe Ava could stay with me there until we work things out more permanently."
There was the sound of a chair scraping against the floor, and the click-click of my mother's heels. "And what makes you think she'd want to stay with you? She chose to stay here with me." I winced. Her voice was low and gravelly. Cold and heated at the same time. That was not a good voice. "I don't know if you're trying to replace the years you've missed with Henry with her, but it won't work."
"Jesus, Regina, no!" Ma exclaimed. "I'm not trying to replace anything. I just want to do what's best for Ava. I didn't like the idea of separating her and Neal at first, but they didn't seem to really mind it last night. I just… I know where she is, you know? I know what it is to be on the streets as a kid. To be forced into a situation you aren't at all old enough to handle. I want to help her, and I care about her. I think she'd like to be with me." She swallowed. "With us both."
Mom was silent for what felt like forever, and I extended my neck to make sure the rushing sound of my blood pumping in my ears didn't obstruct her voice. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying… shit, I don't even know, Regina. All I know is that, ever since that kid showed up here, I've felt… drawn to her. Like I know her somehow. I don't know if it's because she reminds me so much of myself or what, but I can't fight it. I don't form attachments to people easily, but I have with her. In a way that I've only ever done before with Henry. I want what's best for her. And the other morning with the four of us all together for breakfast… that felt like what is best. For her. For all of us. I know I probably sound insane to you, and I agree. It does sound crazy. I mean, we can barely stand each other most of the time. We're already in a complicated enough situation with one kid shared between us to add another to the mix, but it just feels right to me." She sighed. "Go ahead. Laugh. Tell me I'm nuts. Threaten to destroy me again. I'm ready for it."
Mom spoke in an uncharacteristically small voice. "You're right."
"Don't hold back, Regina. Let me have it. I can handle—" Ma fell quiet. "Wait. What did you say?"
"You're right. I, too, have had this feeling since meeting Ava. As I'm sure you know, I can be rather… harsh around people I don't know or trust. Even some children. I never felt that way with Ava, though. I just want to help her. To be closer to her. I can't explain it, either. And the four of us together felt right to me, too. Strange but right. She seemed to just bring us all together. Like glue." She exhaled deeply. "And, as much as I hate to admit it, we are technically already sharing custody of a child. I suppose we could do the same with her."
"Thank you, Regina. For hearing me out and agreeing. Look at us. Being all civil and not trying to murder each other. Very adult of us."
"Yes, we're making leaps and bounds. By the way, have you heard from Ava or Neal recently? Surely they aren't still at the library—it's terribly late."
"No, I haven't heard a word from either of them."
"Maybe we should go and look for them…"
Backing up to the front door with Neal, I opened it again and slammed it shut, announcing our arrival. My moms emerged from the study together. I flashed them both a big smile.
"Hey," I greeted.
"There you are," Mom said. "We were just getting worried."
"I was about to launch a town search party," Ma teased.
"Sorry," I said. "We were just studying hard."
"Yep," Neal agreed with a smile that was trying way too hard to look innocent. "Got lost in the books. You know how it is."
"What subject were you studying for?" Mom asked.
Neal and I, unfortunately, answered at the exact same time.
"Geometry."
"Biology."
Our eyes widened, and we shared a panicked look while my moms scrutinized us.
"Geometry and Biology," Neal supplied quickly. "We were studying both. There are two tests first thing Monday."
I silently commended him for his resourcefulness. "Yeah. That's why it took us so long to finish up."
"Is that right?" It was obvious by the looks on their faces that neither of them believed us.
"Yep," I nodded. "School's tough, y'know."
"Uh-huh." Ma gave us another hard look before thankfully dropping the issue. "So, Neal, you want to head back to the loft with me for the night? Mary Margaret made cookies."
He looked at me with wide eyes and his bottom lip stuck out.
I laughed. "Go on. I'd hate to come between you and cookies." My eyes darkened. "I'll meet up with you tomorrow."
"Okay," he nodded. "Night, Ava. Night, Regina." He bounded back out the door.
"You know, Ava," Mom said diplomatically, "if you'd like, you can go with your brother to the loft for cookies as well." Her smile was thin. "My feelings wouldn't be hurt."
I looked between my two mothers before smiling widely. "I would, but I think I want to hang out here again tonight." Her eyes brightened. "I promised Henry we could have hot cocoa earlier today. It's not too late for that now, is it?"
She smiled. "I suppose I could make an exception for the night."
"And, y'know, Emma, you like hot cocoa, too," I said with a shrug. "You could take Neal over to Mary Margaret's and then come back to join us. If that's okay with Regina."
They shared a look between each other before both they slowly smiled.
"I think that would be fine," Mom allowed. "What do you say, Miss Swan?"
She grabbed her coat from the hangar. "Give me five minutes."
With a twirl and a flash of blonde hair, she was out the door and to her car, yelling at Neal to hurry up. I watched the way Mom stared after her with a soft smile, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. Glancing down at my knowing grin, her face fell.
"What?" she asked. "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing," I shrugged. "You just look really happy." Her smile returned despite her best efforts to fight it off while her cheeks flushed red. "I'll go get Henry and tell him he gets to stay up a little later than usual."
Rushing up the stairs, I couldn't help but laugh. It was weird, but I was grateful for that privilege. After all, not every kid got to watch their parents fall in love.
