Jefferson stops before the looking glass door. He looks back to Katarina, she has her hands clasped together at the height of her heart. She peers at the looking glass nervously. Jefferson holds out her hand to her. She steps absently towards him, still looking to the mirror. She takes his hand delicately.

"Don't worry. We'll go together." He says quietly to her.

She looks to his face, a bit of worry in her eyes. She intertwines her fingers through his and stops next to him. Inches away from the door, she inhales deeply and exhales through her dusty rose lips. Jefferson looks to their hands and feels a warm flush wash over him.

"Did you have fun today?" He whispers into her ear.

She looks down at her feet and smiles, looking back to him.

"Yes." She responds warmly.

Jefferson smiles deeply, he can feel it through to his bones and steps into the doorway, pulling her gently along with him. A purple cloud envelopes them and pulls them upwards in a spiral. Jefferson pulls Katarina into his chest and holds her with his hand on her lower back. They gently land on solid ground and the cloud dissipates around them. Jefferson looks down to the top of her head, feeling her fingers still tightly holding his. He rubs her lower back slightly. She looks up to him and steps away quickly, releasing his hand. She looks around almost automatically, recognizing the woods around her.

"Let's get you cleaned up and well rested…how are you feeling today..?" He asks worried.

Katarina looks down at her torn and dirtied skirt, pulling it up slightly to examine her knee, it has old and crusted blood to it, she drops her skirt quickly and looks up to him.

"I could use some cleaning up and rest." She says meekly.

Jefferson feels his cheeks burning, having seen her bare skin unexpectedly. He gestures to the dirt road ahead of them, looking away from her. She looks in the opposite direction and goes to point.

"But I live that way." She says shyly.

Jefferson clears his throat and pulls at his scarf around his neck.

"That's about a days journey, I have a more immediate solution." He states briskly.

He begins to walk casually in the direction that he gestured to previously. Katarina hurries along and catches up to him, wrapping her hand around his arm. They round a corner to see a large white house with black tiled roof and a black door. The house is completely shadowed by trees. Two pillars stand to either side of the door, framing a large porch with a rocking chair and a small table. She stops in her tracks and looks up to the tall house. Jefferson stops and looks to her.

"What is it?" Jefferson asks worried.

"Is…is this..your home?" She stammers out quietly.

He looks back to the house and then to her, looking down to his feet and closing his eyes for a moment. He looks back to her.

"Yes…it is." He reassures.

Katarina drops her arms to her sides and walks up slowly into the yard, looking up and around at everything, her mouth slightly agape.

"It's beautiful, Jefferson. I've never seen anything so grand." She says in astonishment, she looks down to her dirtied and tattered clothing again and back to him, shame displayed on her face.

Jefferson rushes forward, cupping her face with his hands.

"No, no, please don't do that. Please. Let me just share this with you. You don't have to feel anything at all." He whispers to her, leaning his forehead to hers, closing his eyes.

Kat shakes her head slightly and closes her eyes, reaching up to hold his hands to her. She pulls them gently from her face and allows gravity to pull their arms down together.

"Lead the way, Mr. Hatter." She responds softly.

Jefferson takes one step backwards, smiling slightly, holding her hands. He gently pulls her towards the porch and up to the front door. She doesn't break her gaze with his eyes. He opens the door behind his back, having released one of her hand, he backs into the house, pulling her along. She steps through the doorway and looks up to take in the inside of the house. In front of her is a large stairway, leading up to a second floor, to the right and left lead hallways into a dining room/living room with a large dark wood table with many chairs and a kitchen opposite of it. She looks down at her boots and sees white carpet underneath them. She releases Jefferson's hand and kneels down immediately, unlacing her boots and pulling them off, she throws them out on the porch before returning her gaze to the inside. She looks up to see a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Jefferson watches her carefully, examining her face.

Kat picks up her skirt at the knee and goes to the right, towards the living room. She enters the hallway, her hand gently grazing the wall and follows it into the large room. The walls are painted a dark wine color and have ornate paintings and candle holders aligning the wall. She ventures out into the middle of the room and spins around to take it all in. On the far wall is a cut out for a highly decorated fireplace. Jefferson follows her quietly, taking in her amazement, smiling to himself. She scurries off to another doorway and enters in the main room again, behind the stair well. She follows that through to the kitchen on the opposite side of the house. The counters are made of marble, with another large fireplace for cooking. She runs her hands along the counters and looks at all the shelves and cabinets with longing in her eyes. She turns around to find Jefferson behind her, watching her quietly. She leans against a counter and covers her mouth with her hand.

"I must look like a proper mess in such a beautiful home." She says playfully.

Jefferson walks to her and hoists her over his shoulder unexpectedly. She laughs and playfully hits his back. He carries her through to the entrance hall and begins to carry her up the stairs.

"You look like quite the mess I dare say! But nothing I can't fix." He says playfully, ascending the stairs.

He reaches the top and goes right to a door, he opens it carefully, placing her down in the new room. She slaps him on the chest and turns around to find a large bed before her, to the left a doorway stands with the daylight leaking through. She wanders into that room, away from the bed and finds herself in a bathroom. A large stand-alone copper tub is at the far end. She turns around to face Jefferson, whom is standing in the doorway.

"You're welcome to get cleaned up, and then get some rest." He gestures back and forth from the tub to the bed.

She clasps her hands together shyly.

"Jefferson…." She says quietly.

He chuckles to himself and walks over to the tub, turning a knob, water starts pouring into the tub through the faucet, steaming immediately. He opens a jar that's placed on the windowsill and takes a pinch, sprinkling it into the running water, a soft relaxing scent fills the air. Katarina stands against the wall, watching him throw in different things into the tub as it fills up. He stands upright, looking into the tub and then looks to her. He turns around as if he's just remembers something and hurries from the room. Katarina steps over to the large copper tub and stares into the water swirling around, there's different colors in each swirl, and it smells of her flower garden, a small lather is starting to build on the surface. Jefferson clears his throat at the doorway. She turns around to regard him, he has a box in his arms and fluffy cloth thrown over his arm. He places both items on the counter to the right of the tub that extends along the wall to the doorway. On the counter is a number of different ornate glass bottles filled with colored liquids, small boxes and canisters.

"Please take your time. Relax." He says calmly before turning to exit the room. He reaches the doorway, placing one hand on the frame to turn back to look at her.

The sun washes over her through the window, causing her to glow slightly. Her hands are clasped in front of her as she peers out the window to the green leaves of the trees. He smiles to himself and exits the bathroom, sliding a hidden door out from the wall and closing it with a click.

Katarina looks over her shoulder to reassure that he's left before turning off the faucet knob with a good twist. She undresses quickly, folding her clothes quickly and places them on the counter before stepping into the tub. She sinks into the warm water slowly up to her neck, kicking her feet up to the brim of the tub. She raises one of her hands up above the water due to a tingling sensation, seeing different colors sparkle on her skin and then run in streams back into the water.

"Magic.." She whispers to herself before lowering her hand into the water again.

She sinks into the warm water just below her nose and closes her eyes , enjoying the silence and the scent. A soft knock comes from the door. Katarina sits up quickly, her body tingling from the magic infused tub. The knock comes again.

"Katarina?" Jefferson's voice comes to her. She stands up quickly grabbing the fluffy cloth and wrapping herself in it before stepping out of the tub. She reaches up to her hair to feel that it's soaking wet, she strains it out into the tub and turns around towards the door. She crosses the bathroom quickly to the door and slides the door a little to peek through.

"Are you alright? You've been in there for almost an hour." Jefferson states softly.

Katarina looks to the window to see that the sunlight is a warm orange color, she looks to the tub, still clutching the cloth to herself.

"I suppose I must have dozed off." She says, running her fingers through her wet hair.

Jefferson opens the door further and turns her around back towards the counter. He sits her down on a soft stool in front of the counter, brushing her hair over her shoulder down her back. She pulls the cloth tighter around herself. Jefferson notices her discomfort and looks away from her, opening the box he placed there. He pulls out a light brown dress. The skirt in the shape of a bell with different cut drifts of sheer material with embroidered gold flowers, the bodice laces up in the back like a corset, and the front in a princess cut, the sleeves half-cut to the elbows with a drift of sheer material draping the elbows. Katarina looks over her shoulder to the dress, her eyes lighting up. Jefferson smiles and places it across her lap. She runs her fingers over the material, admiring it. She looks up to Jefferson.

"I couldn't. This is far too beautiful." She says, drifting off into a whisper.

Jefferson smirks to himself and steps back.

"Indulge me Katarina." He bends down, whispering into her ear.

She feels her cheeks flush as she looks down to the dress again. Jefferson quietly leaves the bathroom, closing the sliding door behind him. Katarina runs her fingers over the fabric again. She picks up the dress and places it on the counter. Looking to all of the containers on the counter. She opens up a pink hexagon box to find a shimmering, sweet smelling powder under a powder brush. She dusts herself lightly before closing the container again. Picking up a few different colored vials here and there she smells each one before deciding on an aquamarine one that smells like the sweet white flowers that line the sides of the creek. She picks up the dress again and begins to slip in it quickly. She pulls her hair over her shoulder, feeling it, surprisingly it's only damp now. She looks across the counter and comes across a stiff bristled brush. She runs her finger over the bristles before she begins to take it to her hair. With each brush, her hair becomes more dry, in astonishment she continues to brush. Her hair forming the loose ringlets and finally into a soft wave. She runs her fingers through her hair, finally satisfied she stands up and begins to tighten the laces on the back of her dress, finishing it off with a bow. She turns towards the door to find a looking glass in front of her, standing on a gold stand. She catches her reflection and gasps in delight. She steps forward, closer to the mirror.

"I look…like a princess…" She whispers to herself before turning around, her dress swaying out around her.

She runs her hands over the dress again before turning to the door, sliding it open. She steps through into the bedroom, a fireplace to her left next to the bed. She turns towards the exit and out to the landing above the stairs. She walks over to the railing and looks down to the foyer. Jefferson strides into the foyer from the living room and glances at her. He stops in his tracks at the bottom of the stairs and gazes up at her. She smiles shyly to herself at the look in his eyes. He straightens out his gray scarf around his neck, tucked into a maroon shirt with a brown vest and black pants. He places his hand on the railing knob at the bottom of the steps, watching her as she gracefully makes her way down the stairs to him. She picks up her skirt daintily so as not to step on the hem. Making it to the bottom step she releases her skirt, letting it fall to the ground at her feet. Looking up she finds his icy blue eyes staring at her, a smile in them. He raises a hand to her, palm up. She takes it playfully with a small smile and curtsies. He closes his fingers over hers and raises her hand slightly above her, pushing her hip gently to have her turn for him. She spins around playfully and giggles.

"You look beautiful Kat.." He breathes out.

He reaches out to her hair, carefully grasping a single lock in his hand and running his fingers down it. She looks away from him, covering her small smile with her fingertips. He tugs on her hand, walking backwards towards the living room, not taking his eyes off of her. They enter into the living room, passing the large dining table over the other fireplace. A wolf's skin is laid out on the floor in front of the fire, a large white platter with black trimming is set on it, a display of different cut meats and vegetables and fruit arranged on it. In the fireplace is a kettle hanging over the fire, a tea set on a tray sit next to the fire on the hearth. He leads her over to the wolf's skin and has her sit. She looks around at the display and to the fireplace before returning her gaze to Jefferson. He grabs the kettle from the fireplace and pours the hot water into a silver teapot before returning the kettle. He then adjusts his pants to take a seat next to her.

Katarina smoothes out the skirt of her dress over her legs. Looking down to her hands, blushing lightly. Jefferson notices her bashfulness and takes the moment to pour the tea. He places the tea cup on a saucer and holds it out for her to take. She looks up with her eyes and timidly takes the saucer and cup in both hands, lowering it to her lap. The tea is a light yellow green color and steaming gently. She stares at it swirling around in her cup and brings it to her lips, the smell of soft flowers fills her nose, she takes a small sip. The image of small dangling yellow flowers floats into her mind. She puts the cup back on the saucer and looks up quickly to Jefferson.

"More magic?" She asks a little annoyed.

Jefferson looks at her confused.

"What magic?"

"You put magic into the tea to make it give you subtle images." She accuses, placing the tea cup saucer on the wolf's skin.

Jefferson continues to have a confused expression on his face.

"I didn't put any magic..in anything?" He says to match his expression, placing his tea down.

Katarina looks down to her cup again, picking it up quickly and taking another sip. The image of the Hare's long extended table with multiple tea sets all over it appears in her mind. She looks at the liquid in her cup again before setting it down.

Jefferson leans closer to her, trying to catch her eyes. He sits back and looks her over inquisitively.

"What is it?" He asks quietly.

"I just saw the Hare's table from Wonderland…" She whispers incredulously.

Jefferson looks to the fireplace and then back to her, his eyebrows furrowing.

"That is where the tea is from. But I didn't do anything to it, nor am I having the same reaction as you." He says more to himself aloud.

Katarina shakes her head and searches Jefferson's face for any indication of a lie. Her eyes narrowing as thoughts swarm through her mind.

"How can I trust you…" She says under her breath.

Jefferson snaps into focus on her. His lips pursed tightly. He breathes out heavily through his nostrils and scrunches up his face back into relaxation.

"Kat.." He says frustrated. "I am not trying to harm you. I am not trying to use you for anything. I simply, and irrevocably, have fallen-"

Katarina's face flushes immediately, her eyes going wide.

"What?" She says quickly.

Jefferson looks up to the ceiling, realizing his rambling, feeling a jolt through his chest immediately, slightly embarrassed. He searches for the words to save himself.

"Fallen into this line of work, with certain clients that have…..no influence on my personal business." He mutters out quickly, looking to her gaze shyly.

She looks away to the fireplace, watching the smoldering wood log crackle and brighten with each breath of air it takes to keep the fire lit. She breathes steadily, shaking her head at her assumption of what he was going to say, smiling at her own ignorance. Her heart beating wildly in her chest, she places her hand over her heart absent mindedly.

"My pardons, Jefferson." She says formally.

Jefferson breathes out slowly in relief. He turns his attention to the platter of food, reaching for a small slice of cheese, bringing it to his mouth, only to nibble off a tiny bit before resting his hand on his thigh. Katarina continues to stare into the fire.

"Let's get you to bed. You could use some rest." Jefferson says quietly, coming to a stand.

Katarina snaps out of her self-reflection and follows suit, coming to a stand slowly, making sure to not rip her dress. She clasps her delicate fingers in front of her chest and looks down to her hands. Feeling a creeping guilt fill her chest. She nods and looks to the entryway to the stairs. Jefferson steps past her and saunters over to the entryway, with her in tow. She follows him silently, looking up at his back. They ascend the stairs quickly and enter the bedroom to the left. He walks over to the bed as she stops at the doorway. He pulls back the plush covers and turns to the fireplace, placing another log on it from the pile in a basket at the base. The embers crackle and float up the fireplace. Kat steps lightly to the foot of the bed, still keeping her eyes downcast. Jefferson turns around to find her there, looking to the floor.

"Kat…" He says quietly, trying to catch her eyes.

She looks up reluctantly to meet his icy blue eyes, a sadness embedded in them. She raises her fingers to touch her upper lip and clears her throat gently, looking down again. Jefferson steps forward hastily, wrapping his left arm around her waist and the other to her cheek, tilting her face up. She freezes up, shocked at the abruptness and her eyes widen, now looking into his. Her cheeks grow warm. He brushes his thumb across her cheek, searching her eyes, his eyebrows furrowed with concentration and concern.

"Jefferson…please…." She whispers, her voice catching in her throat.

Jefferson pulls her into him by her waist, dropping his hand from her cheek, grabbing her left hand and placing it on his chest, holding her hand there. Katarina's heart jumps and begins to beat rapidly.

"Can't you see…this." Tapping her hand with his index finger. "This is what you do to me. I could never…" He trails off.

Katarina looks down to her hand on his chest. Finally she realizes that she can feel his heartbeat, beating just as rapidly as her own.

"I could never…" He looks to the fireplace, chuckling briefly to himself. "I could never allow anything to harm you…not even myself." He says bravely.

Katarina looks up from her hand on his chest, bringing her free hand up to the side of his face, brushing his curly brown hair gently with the tips of her fingers. He inhales sharply, returning his gaze to her. The fire reflected in his eyes, casting an eerie orange glow over them. She holds her breath, running her fingertips over his ear, through his soft hair. She follows her hand with her eyes. A smile brushing the corners of her lips. Jefferson releases her hand over his heart and gently reaches towards her face, his fingers slightly trembling. Katarina glances at his hand, leaning her head towards it, his index finger slightly brushes her cheek, cupping her cheek again.

"Jefferson…." She says again hushed.

Jefferson can hear his heart beating in his ears, his breath ragged. 'True loves kiss…' He thinks to himself. He feels her fragile frame shaking in his grasp, her lips slightly parted. He leans in slowly, not taking his eyes from her lips. She closes her lips tight and turns away from him and his hand. She pushes gently on his chest.

Jefferson suddenly becoming annoyed let's her go and steps back from her, dropping his hands to his sides. He curls in his lips and bites down on them slightly, a look of aggravation and confusion displayed on his face.

"I don't get it.." He says bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Katarina sits back on the foot of the bed and crosses her arms over her to hold herself by the abdomen. She looks away from him, towards the doorway.

"One minute you're mad at me for supposedly being evil and the next you're…." He continues and trails off, unable to describe the situation.

"Jefferson. Please." She says mutely.

"Please, what?! You are always saying that. What am I supposed to do?" He says, throwing his hands to either side of him to drop and slap at his thighs. He watches her, as she doesn't move, like a statue.

"…It's contagious…" She whispers.

Jefferson brings his right hand up to his face and wipes at his eye before turning to the fireplace. His chest becoming warm with frustration. He turns around and hastily grabs her by her shoulders, pulling her up from her lean. He stares into her face that's displaying shock and stubbornness. He loosens his grip on her arms, realizing his harshness.

"And I can cure that.." He says through gritted teeth.

Katarina's face hardens into resolve. Her eyes afire.

"No." She states. "You can't."

Jefferson feels like he's been hit with enormous amounts of weight all over his entire body. He releases her and steps back, straightening out. He squares his shoulders off, showing nothing on his face.

"Will you, at least, let me try…" He asks flatly.

Katarina turns around to face the bed, her hair cascading down her back in loose curls. She reaches up to one of her shoulders to rub where he had grabbed her.

"A couple of days ago, I would have." She responds coldly.

Jefferson turns quickly and exits the room, closing the door behind him. He leans his back against the door, trying to slow his breathing.

'Something's not right…she would never be like this…I don't understa-' He thinks to himself then glares at the floor.

"Rumple."