A/N: It must be about 4/5 years since I last updated this, I'm sure many of you thought I would never update, but here we are! Inspiration has finally returned, partially because I was lucky enough to meet the Queen herself - Lana Parrilla! Anyway, I hope you enjoy and hopefully the next update won't take another few years!
The sensation was weird, almost like walking through a cool mixture of smooth marshmallow, but when they emerged on the other side, Talulla gasped, staring at the landscape around her. Emerald green blades of grass, so tall that they reached her shoulders, lined the path they'd emerged onto and the sun was shining brightly in the vivid blue sky. The colours just seemed so vibrant compared to the Enchanted Forest.
"Welcome to Wonderland," Jefferson said flatly, gesturing around for a moment. "So let's go do what we're here to do and get out." He grabbed Regina's arm and stalked off down the path.
"Talulla!" Her mother shouted back, snapping the young girl out of her daze. "Keep up!"
Quickly, Talulla ran to catch up, marvelling at the bright pink and blue flowers swaying softly in the breeze. She was so engrossed in her surroundings that she didn't realise her mother had stopped until she ran into the back of her.
"Sorry, mother," Talulla apologised hastily. The Queen rolled her eyes.
"Who. Are. You?" a voice wheezed.
Talulla coughed as a halo of smoke hit her, looking up to see a large shape on the mushroom beside them. Immediately, she swallowed hard and moved in towards her mother, wary of the huge blue beast above her.
"Who. Are. You?" It asked again, this time its smoke hitting Regina, who wafted a hand in front of her face to clear it.
"I hate Wonderland," Talulla heard Jefferson mutter before pulling the two on past the strange blue beast.
They continued on down the path and the girl soon forgot about the scary encounter, staring in wonder as the fields turned into woodland and then into houses, the oddest shapes she had ever seen. Short and squat, tall and thin, they were every size she could imagine. One was even the shape of a teapot!
Finally, they crossed a small bridge to reach a tall, very green, hedge. A large archway, topped with a heart of red roses, was situated in the middle, leading to several pathways beyond, all framed with tall, very green, hedges. It was at this point that Talulla realised it was not just a single hedge, but a maze of hedges. She smiled in delight; this Wonderland was amazing. She was about to ask her mother if they were to go through, but then she caught a glimpse of the mass of green extending, not just in front of her, but as far as her eyes could see. She realised that this was no ordinary maze; it was huge! They would never find their way out! A shiver came over her as she remembered her mother's warning about the land being dangerous and she shrunk closer to her, gripping the soft satin of her dress.
"You wanna go in there?" Jefferson asked, echoing Talulla's thoughts.
The Queen smiled. "What I want is a short walk through."
Jefferson stared at her. "A short walk? You know who this belongs to."
The Queen turned to him, a hand on her hip and tried, but failed, to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "The Queen of Hearts," she said, lifting her eyes to the archway. "She's not one for subtlety."
"This wasn't part of our deal," Jefferson started to argue, watching the hedges warily. "Do you know what she does to anyone that crosses her?"
Talulla saw her mother's face drop slightly, and, confused, she backed away slightly, aware of her mother's rapidly changing moods.
"Indeed," Regina said, before muttering quietly. "Better than most."
Whilst the Queen was momentarily distracted, Talulla realised that the man was slowly edging his way backwards, away from the maze. Her mother soon realised, and she watched as her mother's mask slip back on, a small smirk stretching on her lips.
"You can't leave Wonderland without me," she said simply. "Three go through, three go back." She moved closer to him. "You're not going to let the Queen of Hearts stop you from returning to your daughter, are you?"
Reluctantly, Jefferson moved to follow her into the maze.
"That's what I thought."
Whilst this conversation was happening, there was something niggling at Talulla. In particular, the hat's rule about people going through portals and back again. If they found her grandfather here, how was he supposed to come back through the portal if only the three of them could go back? She turned to her mother to ask, but, before she could, the Queen moved off, stalking towards the wall of hedge in front of them. She quickly hurried to follow her.
"Wait," Jefferson called out, stopping both mother and daughter. Talulla watched as the man picked up the nearest stick and through it at the hedge next to them. Branches immediately reached out and swallowed it whole.
"What–?" Talulla started, staring at the hedge in alarm. Her mother's arm slipped round her shoulder in comfort, pulling her closer to her side.
"Stay away from the walls," Jefferson stated.
Talulla nodded in agreement, but her mother turned to her and crouched down. "Talulla, I want you to go and stand with Jefferson," she said, giving her a gentle push. Then she stood up and turned to them both. "I've got a better idea," she smirked. "The walls should stay away from me."
She quickly summoned a fireball, and Talulla watched as her mother threw it with ease at wall of hedge in front of them, looking on proudly as it created a pathway right through to the middle of the maze.
"Come Talulla," the Queen beckoned, before striding off towards a small building in the distance.
As they got closer, the young girl realised the building was made of marble, almost like the small summer house they had at the palace, except it was crowned with a golden dome and a large red heart, just like the archway at the beginning of the maze. The door was bolted and locked. Whatever this Queen of Hearts had in there, Talulla thought, it was obviously very important to her. Would she really have locked her grandfather inside here? Like a prisoner?
"Mother, how are we going to get inside?" she asked.
The Queen smirked. "Just watch, darling," she said, waving a hand at the door. The lock twisted before Talulla's very eyes and the doors flew open, leaving them facing a wall full of golden drawers.
Talulla had seen a wall just like this before. The night of the incident. Her mother had one exactly the same as this in the part of the castle that Talulla was not supposed to visit. The drawers held hearts. But surely, her grandfather's heart was not here? And if it was, where was her grandfather?
After pausing a second, Regina pulled one of the drawers open with a click and carefully pulled out the box inside. Talulla peered closer, but there seemed to be nothing special about it. She was just getting ready to ask her mother what was going on when Jefferson's impatience got in the way before the girl could even open her mouth.
"Okay?" he asked, anxiously scanning his surroundings. "You got what you need?" He beckoned for them both to lead the way out.
The Queen obliged, indicating for Talulla to follow her. However, the trio had only taken a few steps before their exit was blocked by a group of soldiers dressed in red and black armour, armed with spears.
"Tresspassers!" one cried. "Halt!"
Talulla didn't even have a chance to react before the Queen grabbed her arm and dragged her round the side of the small marble building, heading down a different path that led directly into the maze. They ran through, the hedges seemingly closing and opening all by themselves as they tried to make their escape. Talulla glanced round as the last of the guards were blocked by a moving hedge.
It seemed that they had finally lost the guards, and the three slowed down as they rounded the next corner.
"Halt!"
Or maybe not. Talulla felt herself panicking as she was dragged the other way by her mother, only to be met by more guards around the corner. There was no way out!
"Talulla, stay out of the way!" her mother shouted, letting go of her daughter's hand as she flung two of the nearest guards into the hedges with a small flick of her wrist. "And don't go near the walls!"
Talulla backed away, looking around her in horror. There were too many of them, there was no way they were going to escape unscathed.
She was so focused on the scene playing out in front of her that she didn't notice when a guard tried to sneak in from behind.
"Watch out!" Jefferson called, charging through and knocking away the guard that had been about to grab her. She turned around in shock as the walls swallowed him whole.
"Mother!" Talulla ran to the Queen, wrapping her arms around her waist.
"Talulla, we need to move," Regina responded firmly, drawing her daughter's arms from around her torso and pulling her down a safe passage after Jefferson, the army of guards chasing after the three of them.
It didn't take long for the Queen to navigate them back to the path they had come in on and soon, to Talulla's relief, she saw the entrance to the maze come into view.
On reaching the archway, Regina span around and, casting her arm out, caused the hedge to regrow where the guards were following them, effectively trapping them in the maze.
She let out a little laugh.
"Come on, let's go before they find another way out!" Jefferson said nervously, pulling Talulla and the Queen back down the path they had arrived on.
Eventually, the mirror came into view.
"The looking glass! There it is!" Jefferson exclaimed, running towards it. Talulla went to follow. "Come-" He broke off as Regina stopped. "What are you doing? We can't stop now, we need to get out of here!"
"There's something I need to do first," the Queen said, plucking a handful of the nearest mushroom. "A little snack."
Talulla looked at her mother in a mixture of curiosity and impatience. She never did anything without a reason, but was now really the time?
"Are you mad?" Jefferson asked in disbelief. "Do you know what the food does here?"
Talulla looked anxiously down the path they had just come, there was no sign of the guards just yet. She looked back at her mother.
"I'm well aware," the Queen said, bending down and placing the box on the floor. Opening it, she carefully dropped the piece of mushroom into it, before quickly stepping back.
"Mother, what are you-?" Talulla was cut off by a large puff of purple smoke from the box, curling upwards until it was the size of a human. When it cleared, the figure of her grandfather stood before her. The girl couldn't believe her eyes.
"Grandfather!" she cried happily, running over to the man and throwing her arms around him.
"Oh Daddy," Regina followed, relief clear in her voice. She came over and embraced both her father and daughter.
"This… this is what she took from you?" Jefferson's voice cut through the happy reunion, shock clear on his face. "You father?"
The Queen stepped back. "The Queen of Hearts has always seen me as a threat," she explained. "So, she wanted some leverage. I got it back."
The sound of guards shouting in the distance had Talulla clinging tighter to her grandfather.
"The Queen's soldiers, we must hurry," the old man told Regina. The three headed for the mirror.
"You knew only three can go through the hat." Jefferson's words stopped Regina in her tracks. She looked back. "Which is why you didn't tell me about your father."
"It was the only way to make sure that you'd help me," she replied simply.
Talulla's heart dropped. This had been her mother's plan all along. To save her grandfather and leave behind this man. She glanced back at Jefferson desperately as Henry took her hand and guided her towards the mirror. The man started after them, only for the Queen to cast out her hand to stop him. The pavement rose and clamped itself over the man's feet, effectively freezing him in place.
"Wait, wait! Wait please!" Jefferson called out frantically. "My daughter, my Grace, she's waiting for me. I promised her I'd be home for tea!"
Talulla gasped. No. This was unfair. She looked desperately at her mother, hoping to see a glimpse of remorse. There was none. The Queen merely smiled nastily.
"A promise which you now have broken," she said. "If you truly cared for your daughter, you never would have left her in the first place." She glanced at her father and daughter before lifting her gaze to look back at the Hatter. She smiled again. "You were right Jefferson, you don't abandon family."
With that, she turned and walked through the mirror, her dark skirts flowing after her. Henry ushered Talulla to follow her, but, as she stepped through the cool surface of the mirror, the young girl heard Jefferson's scream of anguish and immediately turned her head into her grandfather's shirt, her tears soaking the soft cotton. All the while, there was a single thought floating around in her head – what was her mother becoming?