Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT, just my oc Alice.
Fruit of the Poisonous Tree
"My dear Dorothy, what's the matter? You were in such high spirits only a few days ago?" I let out a quiet sigh. My friend Dana, a mere peasant girl with wisdom beyond her years despite her small moments and clumsiness, braided my hair as we sat alone on the forest floor. I turned to face with a solemn look on my face before glancing up at her. Although her face was dusted with dirt, I could still see how beautiful she was. Her golden hair was tied back; she was thin, you could easily tell with the way her patched up dress hung on her.
"There's a boy," I sighed, smiling at the memory of him, "The most intriguing and wonderful boy I've ever had pleasure of meeting." My smile faltered slightly, "But now he's gone, off on another adventure in another world, far from here." Dana shook her head and smiled at me with pity. I didn't want her pity.
"Love is for fools, Dorothy, don't waste your time on this boy," Dana said, I couldn't help but feel disheartened at this, "It will only lead to heartbreak and hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbroken." She continued to tread her thin fingers through my hair to form a braid. I smiled sadly, Dana may be right, but I don't know if I could ever forget someone as wonderful as him. I inhaled the forest fumes.
"Maybe the heart was made to be broken."
"Don't let my feelings cloud my judgment?" Emma ranted to Alice and Mary Margaret, "That's all Regina ever does." The three sat at a table in Granny's diner.
"Maybe she's upset," Alice reasoned and Emma shot her a doubtful look, "You've been here what? Only a few weeks, months and you're already closer to Henry then she could ever be and she's been with him for years."
"Exactly," Mary Margaret agreed, "You and Henry have a special place and she…she doesn't."
"She knows everything, about this town," Alice grumbled, shoving aside her coffee. Why people drank this stuff, she would never know, "She's mayor remember?" Mary Margaret's phone vibrated and the other two noticed the look on her face.
"Everything okay?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, I just need to go," Mary Margaret said as she got up, before she left she turned to Emma, "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I think you're right. I see the effect she has on Henry."
"I wish everyone else did too," Emma said as the two watched Mary Margaret rushed to get her coat on. She gave a pat on Emma's arm and a wave goodbye to Alice before leaving.
"I have to tell you so-" Alice was rudely cut off by a clearly very drunk Sidney joining their table at Mary Margaret's previous spot.
"I can grant your wish," Sidney looked at Alice with deep suspicion. She got the hint that she wasn't wanted here anymore. She wrinkled her nose at him before moving to get up.
"I should probably get to work," Alice excused herself as she grabbed her green coat.
"You don't have to," Emma said, giving her friend a pleading look not to leave her with this drunken man. Alice turned to him; he clearly had something to say to Emma, "What were you going to say?" Alice waved it off with a hand.
"It can wait," Alice said before grabbing her bag, "I should really get going." She gave a Emma a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder before heading out the door.
"Are you guys sure this is such a good idea?" I asked as the four of us walked down the castle halls as discreetly as possible.
"Of course it is," Dana laughed as they hid behind a wall, "Wouldn't you like to see the Great and Terrible Oz work his magic up close and personal." Leonard shook his red-haired head.
"What if we get caught?" He asked, his bright blue eyes flashed with fear.
"Where's your courage Leo?" Dana asked before turning to the three of us, "Where's your sense of adventure?"
"Your sense of adventure is going to get us thrown in the dungeons," Prem said monotonously, "This was a stupid idea anyways." Dana glared at her.
"Are you calling me stupid?" Dana growled. I shushed us as the guards passed by the wall we were hiding behind. As soon as they were gone, Dana whipped her head to face Prem.
"I'm not saying you're stupid," Prem shrugged, brushing back her raven hair which was tied in a loose braid. She was the daughter of the Emerald City's well known black smith, "I'm just saying you've got bad luck when it comes to thinking." I exchanged worried looks with Leo. These two were always at each other's throats. Dana pulled her lips into a thin line before turning to Leo and me.
"Well if we run into the wizard, be sure to remind him to give the cold bitch a heart." Prem merely shrugged it. I rubbed my forehead with the palm of my hand.
"Can we not do this today guys?" I asked wearily. Prem just glanced at me as Dana shrugged defiantly.
"Well if we're gonna do this, we might as well do it now," Leo said, wringing his hands together nervously. He took the lead shakily as the three of us followed.
Alice walked towards the doors of the apartment, her phone vibrating in her pocket. She pulled it out and noticed immediately that it was Jefferson calling. She didn't really know how to deal with him anymore since that day in the shop. Alice bit her lip before declining the call and entering the apartment. The first thing she noticed was Sidney was here.
"Uh, hello," Alice greeted with confusion, taking notice of the boxes. Mary Margaret entered just a few seconds later after Alice.
"Guys, there's something I'd like to talk to you… Hi, Sidney," Mary Margaret shot a look to Alice who shrugged.
"Hey," Emma greeted, "We're just doing some work. I think we may have found something on Regina." Alice felt that something was slightly off as Emma said that.
"Interesting work," Mary Margaret nodded along, "Oh I approve." Alice said nothing as she stared suspiciously at Sidney. He fidgeted under the woman's intense gaze before turning to the other less intimidating women. Regina had warned him to steer clear of Miss Oswald, something about her being too curious to not be a threat.
"You wanna go by the book? Let's get a warrant," Sidney suggested, taking a small glimpse at the small woman who had yet to remove her eyes from him.
"What judge are we gonna find that she doesn't own?" Emma asked, "We're screwed."
"Or… there's my way," Sidney said mischievously. Alice frowned immediately.
"No," Alice stated as the three looked at her, Sidney bit more flustered at her tone, "If you're gonna do this Emma, you need to do this right." Sidney quickly recovered, trying to divert Emma back into his plan and away from her.
"And what's right is exposing her," Sidney countered, "Sometimes doing a bad thing for a good reason is okay right?
"Yeah," Mary Margaret agreed, seeing Sidney's point, "I mean, maybe you're doing something wrong, but if it's what's meant to be, it it's what's right, does that really make you a bad person?" Alice couldn't believe her ears. This guy was clearly playing mind games with them, how could they not see that? It was so obvious!
"Exactly," Sidney said, pleased that he got one of Emma's more trusting friend to see his point.
"Wow, you two are doing a whole lot of rationalizing," Emma said, conflicted between doing what was right and what was wrong.
"But look what she's done to you," Sidney said, carefully playing his cards right, "to me, to your son, and it's not gonna stop so whatever you do, you gotta do something." Emma nodded as she began to see his point. Mary Margaret motioned Sidney to show her what they've come up with so far. Emma took note of Alice's troubled look and pulled her small friend to the side away from the others.
"What do you think I should do?" Although Emma still had a hard time believing Henry's fairytale theories, he was right about Alice having good intuitions when it comes to things like this.
"I think," Alive thought it over, choosing her words very carefully, "You should be careful with who you're trusting Emma. Sometimes things don't always turn out the way they're supposed to." Emma thought over her warning before Sidney called their attention.
"Well?" Sidney asked. Emma wanted more time to dwell of Alice's advice, but time was ticking away.
"Okay," Emma said making Alice close her eyes in disappointment, "Let's start by talking to her."
"Is that him?" I whispered in awe. The four of us managed to hide behind one of the pillars of the green room. I watched as the figure behind the curtain grew smaller. I recognized the man that stood before the great wizard, ready to leave. He was a local farmer in the more rural areas of Oz.
"That's him," Dana smiled down at me as we quietly stepped away from the pillar, "Wanna meet him?" I stared at her in horror as she took a few steps towards the green curtain before Prem pulled her back with a death grip.
"Okay, now you're being stupid," Prem said bluntly removing her tight grip from Dana's arm.
"She's right Dana," Leo added, "We could get in serious trouble for just being caught in here."
"And besides," I pitched in as I noticed Dana's good mood faltering, "He's a wizard, I'm sure he's busy with really important…magical things." Dana scoffed at that before smiling down at me as if I was a mere child compared to her.
"Oh Dorothy, don't be so naive," Dana laughed, "He's probably just like us, only with magic." The three of us exchanged worried glances, well minus Prem who usually had a placid expression on her face, as Dana skipped on over to the giant curtain. I could tell she only meant to peak a little, but being the clumsy and tall girl she was, she tripped over the remaining curtain that lied on the marble floor causing it to fall over. Imagine our shock when we realized the Great and Terrible Oz was only a man.
Alice once again pressed decline on her phone. She honestly didn't know why she felt the need to push Jefferson away again. Not when she knew her heart ached to be near him again. She brushed it off and headed for the Mayor's door to turn in some paper work for her store when she noticed the door was slightly ajar. Alice took a slow step inside when she heard talking in the Mayor's office.
"You've got yourself an ally," She heard Sidney's voice. It sounded almost recorded.
"We won't get fooled again," was that Emma's voice? Alice strained her ears.
"Mhm," Regina's voice sounded pleased, "She bought it." Alice felt her mouth drop open slightly. The nerve of some people.
"All of it," Sidney's voice confirmed.
"Masterful job Sidney," She could practically hear Regina's smile, "Top to bottom. And cutting the breaks of her car? Inspired." The damn idiot almost got Emma killed.
"I'm glad you approve," Sidney said.
"Now, she trusts you," Regina's voice dripped with joy, it made Alice feel sick, "Now, we can have some fun."
"Everything she does, everywhere she goes, you'll know about it." Sidney said and Alice couldn't help but smirk a bit, and everything he does, everywhere he goes, she'll know. There was no way she was letting Sidney anywhere near her friends. Alice smirked before straightening out her back and stepping out of the shadows.
"I don't know what I'd do without you, Sidney," Regina said before her eyes cut over to Alice who had entered to the room.
"Mayor," She greeted with a small smile. She placed the papers down in front of the horrified woman, who suddenly went pale when she realized what Alice might've heard. Alice smiled at the two before her brown eyes moved over to Sidney, who swallowed at the fire behind them, "I don't know what I'd do without you either, Sidney."
Before I knew it, the man in the green coat threw some mystery dust at Dana.
"Dana!" Three voices shouted, we tried moving for her but a cloud of emerald dust enveloped her inside. Prem suddenly started coughing before the dust surrounded her. I turned to look at the stranger in time to see him fling another hand full of dust at Leo. I reached out for Leo, but it was too late, the swirl of dust surrounded him. I didn't know what to do, three cyclones surrounded me and I didn't know which one to reach for.
"Dorothy?" I turned at the sound of Dana's voice only to see a sack of straw standing in her place. I watched in horror as she fell to the ground, her legs no longer able to hold her up.
"You- you're a scarecrow…" I gasped out as I reached a hand out towards her. I stopped when I heard a creak behind me. Prem was no longer the strong emotionless girl; she was a piece of tin.
"No," I shook my head in distress before looking at Leo, who cowered under his new paws, "No, no, WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?!" I turned my anger onto the man responsible. He stared at my friends in grief.
"I'm sorry I didn't- I panicked, you weren't supposed to be here, none of you were," He exclaimed. I marched up to him, jabbing my finger into his chest.
"Fix it," I cried as I looked at Prem, who seemed frozen, like she was already starting to rust. I glanced at Leo, who shook in terror and Dana who looked so lost.
"I can't," He exclaimed before gripping my shoulders, "I fix it and the four of you will go blabbing to Oz about me and I can't have that." I shoved away from the crazed man. How could he think of himself after what he just did?!
"Then I'll go to Glinda," I gritted backing away from him. Glinda may not seem like it, but she was one of the most powerful people in Oz. She was just wise enough to use her powers when it was absolutely necessary. She ran the city for god's sake, if anyone could fix it, it was her.
"You can't," He said, his eyes full of sorrow but I didn't care. I just wanted my friends back, "The dust I used isn't from here. I can try to find the reversal dust but I need you to keep quiet until then." I took in a shaky breath before looking at my friends.
"And then you'll change them back?" I asked hoarsely before turning back to him.
"Then I'll change them back."
A/N
I know, I know this chapter was hellaaa short BUT, I did add a twist in ½ of Alice's counterpart. Interesting yeeeees. I noticed that they didn't add the original characters in season three and that upset me cause it's like hellooooo you put in 7 dwarfs but you couldn't make room for three more MAJOR characters?! Anyways, in the show Glinda said she didn't have enough magic to travel between realms but THAT MAKES NO SENSE. In the books and movies Glinda is one of the most powerful beings in OZ and runs the city as well, how the hell does she not have enough power? So yeah I'm fixing that right up. Oh and if you take a closer look, Dana, Leo, and Prem, all their names do have a meaning. Though they're all in separate languages. I actually loved writing their interactions.
Ooooooh Alice overheard Sidney and Reginaaaa. Wonder what might happen with that information *wink wink* and yes I understand her avoiding Jefferson is confusing like WHY!? But it will all be revealed in due time. In the meantime, tell me about any theories you guys might have, you might be right ;)
Kira Tsumi: sammme!
Aceofthefool13: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you love it as much as I do!
JediKendalina: You're review made my day! I was just afraid it came off as awkward :/
Stellar Nymph:It actually does lol. I made it as repetitive as I could because Alice traveled into worlds where time does stop, and I think because of that it makes her more aware and more sensitive to how time moves in the enchanted forest and it suddenly stops when the curse its.
Guys I'm really tempted to either start a Vampire Diaries or Game of Thrones story. I feel like its time more me to start a project that'll push me out of my comfort zone with writing, especially when it comes to building relationships with other characters. Let me know if anyone would be interested in reading them!
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xo
