Chapter 3

Rose sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. Leaning against a rickety old table that she had found in the back of the old building she scribbled on a piece of paper. Around her the newly bought building looked the same as it did when she bought it: a mess. She bit her lip as she turned her head every which way she felt the weight on her shoulders growing heavier and heavier with each second and each glance. Her hopes of opening the tea shop only diminished as more and more worries piled up.

Examining the place closer, a thick layer of dust covered every possible surface. The blonde could even see where her footprints had left marks as she walked around, making notes on all the things she had to do to fix the place up. And that only added even more to her problems. She only had so much money to her name after saving up to buy the place. It wasn't even close enough to buying the supplies and furniture, let alone the merchandise, for the shop.

She sighed and placed her head on the table, only to quickly pull it up when she breathed in a bit of dust. She coughed and a couple sneezes escaped her as she stood up. She gathered up her purse and the notepad she was writing on. Staring down at the numbers she had written she sighed once more. All the calculations she made on repairing the place stared up at her in what might as well have been a bright neon sign.

The only thing she thought that would help her out was to get back to her old jobs before and work on getting that money. She figured she could start with Granny's Diner. Granny and Ruby would be more than willing – and happy – to have her back. Not to mention waitressing always led to tips so there was that. Plus it would help Ruby out with the lunch rush (and Granny's sanity of keeping her granddaughter in line).

Yes, that's what she would do.

The blonde woman put a determined look on her face she made her way out of the soon to be shop and down main street.

Other than the previous days, today there was actual sunshine, which made it a day to actually put away the jacket and wear a short sleeved shirt for the rest of the Storybrooke residents. That also meant there were a few more people outside than usual. It made the small town more lively and friendly. A small smile was on the blonde's face as she paced familiar faces, such as Mary Margaret and Dr. Hopper. Some of the many friendly faces she saw regularly around town. Then there was the mayor. Rose always made sure to keep her head down or avoid all eye contact with that woman. She was intimidating in Rose's opinion and she didn't want to upset the dark haired woman in any way.

As she neared the door to the dinner, Rose couldn't help but let out a giggle when she saw Ruby's face light up at the sight of her.

"Rose!" Ruby greeted, brightly (and loudly) as the blonde pushed open the door. The dark haired beauty quickly finished writing down an order and rushed away from the dark haired man that she had just taken the order from.

"Hello, Ruby," Rose greeted, a lot more quietly compared to her friend. She caught sight of the man Ruby walked away from staring at them and her face turned pink as she saw him staring at her. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hung open slightly, as if in shock, as he made eye contact with the blonde. Rose quickly looked away and turned to her friend, who was grinning brightly at her.

"How's the tea shop going?" Ruby asked, hugging her friend quickly.

"Well…" Rose sighed. She rubbed her arm nervously and stared at her feet before meeting eyes with the waitress. "I'm kind of low on money to get the repairs I need for the shop. I'm actually here to ask Granny if I can get my old job back. I need the money and without a job I can't exactly pay for the repairs."

Ruby's already large grin grew bigger, almost to the point where it looked like it could tear her face in half. "You want to work here again?" she practically squealed. "Yes! I've missed having someone to talk with while working. Not that the other girls here aren't fun, but they aren't you," the dark haired woman said with a wink.

"Ruby!" Granny called out. "I have table three's order!"

"Coming, Granny," Ruby called back, sighing heavily. "Here's a new order," she said, handing the slip of paper to her grandmother. "Oh! Granny!" she said brightly, her emotions taking a huge three sixty. "Rose was wondering if she could get her job back here!"

Granny raised a brow as she turned to the younger woman in front of her. "Is that so? What made you decide that? Not that I don't enjoy having you here, but I thought that once you got your tea shop you'd be working there."

"Yes, but um I need more money to pay for repairs and I only have so much," Rose explained, summarizing what she had told Ruby. "I was wondering if I could work here again until I get the money I need."

"I don't see why not. We could use more help around here," the older woman said as Ruby walked away with the food order. "Lord knows Ruby could use the extra help. She's a sweet girl and I love her, but there's barely any motivation for her to work."

Rose smiled lightly as she watched Granny watching her granddaughter taking care of the customers and their orders. Her eyes shifted over to the left when she felt someone watching her. The same man from earlier was staring at her again. Rose quickly looked away once more. A little curious as to who the man was, but she didn't want to pry. She needed to mind her own business.

"When would you like me to work?" she asked Granny.

"Whenever you'd like," Granny said, filling a cup up with some hot water.

"Will tomorrow work?" the blonde asked, adjusting her purse on her shoulder. "I need to go ask my other old job if I can work again. Need all the money I can get right?" she said, offering a small chuckle.

Granny smiled lightly at the blonde and nodded her head. "Absolutely. Your old uniform is in the back. Stop by around eleven and you can start then. Now," the old woman said with a bit of a bigger smile. "Is there anything you'd like to have before heading out again?"

"Um chai tea to go, please?" Rose said, a soft smile on her features.

"Coming right up," Granny said, smiling at the blonde woman. "Ruby!" she called out once again. "Order up!"

Ruby rushed over and smiled brightly at Rose before she took the cup of the steaming beverage over to the dark haired man from earlier. The man spoke a few words to Ruby, who nodded and replied a few words back in response before handing him his drink. In a few minutes, the dark haired woman returned to Rose with a skip in her step and bright smile.

Rose smiled at Ruby just as Granny came back with a to go cup filled with her tea. The blonde rummaged through her purse before Ruby giggled and shook her head.

"You don't have to pay," she spoke.

"Excuse me?" Rose said, blinking in confusion.

"That man over there-" Ruby said, turning around to look at the man from moments ago, only to stop. The table he occupied "Huh, he was there. Weird," she said, shrugging her shoulders. She grinned at Rose. "He already paid for your drink."

"He did?" Rose said, eyes growing wide.

"Someone's got a secret admirer," Ruby sang, before skipping off to the new customers that walked into the diner.

Rose turned to the door, staring out the glass. Where did that man go? He had left in quite a hurry it seemed.

Who was he? she thought as she grabbed her tea and walked out.

ooOOoo

Alice shuffled out of the shop, her head hanging low. Yet another turn down on a job. It had only been a couple hours since she separated from Jefferson after he helped her through the woods. Since then she had gone from shop to shop hoping to find a job. How else would she survive away from home? She didn't have a roof over her head, she only had this one dress, and she didn't have food.

Speaking of food… She stared down at her growling stomach and grimaced. She hadn't eaten in a while. She hadn't even gotten anything to eat at the Declan's party. And here she was without money to buy anything to eat. What was she supposed to do?

Alice sighed and wandered around the small town, her pale blue eyes roaming the area. All around her many villagers walked about going on with their daily lives. Children played and ran by, women and men bargained at different market carts.

But her eyes followed the children. They ran about the town, carefree and happy. They ran through dirt and grass. They got their clothes and shoes dirty as they ran about. It brought a smile to the blonde's face, but it also made her sad. Seeing the children play reminded her of her childhood. She remembered how she had ventured through the garden one day after it rained and had run around playing in the mud. But as soon as her mother caught sight of her outside with her dress and shoes covered in mud she was yanked by the arm back into the house. "It's not lady like to play in mud, Alice," her mother had said. Even in her childhood Alice was required to act proper and "lady like". And seeing these children made her long for the childhood she never had.

She was quickly dragged away from her thoughts when she heard a familiar voice. Popping her head up and looking around, her eyes landed on two men. One of the men was wearing a pair of dark pants and a loose fitting dark brown shirt. The other man was covered head to toe in all dark clothing. The nice looking coat and the tall hat in his hands made him stand out among the low class villagers.

It was Jefferson.

And that must be who he was meeting up with then? Alice thought, her head tilting slightly to the side.

She watched as Jefferson pulled out what looked like a small pouch with something heavy weighing the fabric down. The other man had a greedy grin on his face as he snatched the pouch out of the dark clothed man's hands. Alice's brow furrowed as she watched him dump contents of the pouch into his hands; Jefferson had an impatient look on his face as the man examined and ogled the object. It looked like a random rock. What could be so important about it?

She turned her head when she heard two more men to her right. Both were whispering amongst each other, eyeing Jefferson and the man. Grins were on their faces as they watched the exchange. Alice's brow furrowed as she saw the man with Jefferson look at the two with a wicked grin on his face, matching the men near her.

Something was up and unfortunately Alice's curiosity got the best of her.

She strained her ears to hear what the two men near her were whispering. From what it sounded like it was definitely about the exchange their friend and Jefferson were making. Something about selling the object for a lot more or another.

So that was their game. Having Jefferson get the item and paying him less than what it was worth then later to sell it to someone else for a much higher price.

That could only be the case. Alice had heard her father complaining about those kinds of men in business many times when he was still alive.

It wasn't fair for Jefferson to have to go through whatever he did to get the item only to be ripped off like that.

Alice huffed and gathered up her dress and made her way over to him and the man. "Excuse me," she said. Her face lit up red when she saw the two men whip their heads to stare at her. Her eyes made contact with Jefferson and she ducked her head when she saw his eyes grew wide.

"What do you want, girlie?" the man next to the dark clothed man barked out.

"I was wondering um what that is," Alice squeaked out, jumping back. She caught Jefferson's enraged face as she continued to remain where she was. "It looks like a regular rock."

"This isn't just a regular rock, dear," the man grinned. Alice felt sick at the nickname mixed with the look on his face. "It's a rock that many around here have only heard of. It's a stone that has magical properties. It can grant one wish to whoever has it."

"Really?" the blonde woman said, her eyes growing in curiosity as she stared at the stone. Taking a closer look at it, it had strange markings carved into it all around it. "Curiouser and Curiouser," she whispered. She turned to Jefferson. "How much for it?"

"Excuse me?" both men exclaimed.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jefferson yelled.

"That's what I'd like to know. This doesn't concern you. Now run along and go do whatever it is you do with your life," the man said, waving his hand in a shooing motion.

"But I have money," Alice said, looking at Jefferson, doing her best to not cower under his angered gaze. "How much for it?"

"Too late. I'm already paying him. Fifty pieces of gold," the man said, glaring at the blonde.

"I'll double what he is paying you," Alice said, a smile on her face.

"What?" the men said together once more.

Alice fiddled with the necklace around her neck and finally unclasped it. She held it up to Jefferson with the same small smile on her face. "This is worth at least one hundred gold."

Jefferson blinked, staring at the necklace then the woman in front of him. His eyes widened in realization and took the necklace in his hands. "Really?"

"What?" the man shouted, eyes growing wide as he stared at the woman trying to steal his business away. "I'll triple it!" he said desperately. "One hundred fifty gold."

The blonde woman took the earrings in her ears and held them out to where the gems in them glistened in the sunlight. "These are about one hundred as well."

"No!" the man exclaimed watching as Jefferson's face slowly grew to a smile. He was losing business to some random girl. "I'll pay two hundred!"

Jefferson raised a brow at the man before turning back to Alice. "Do you have anything else to offer?"

The woman quickly shook her head, the smile fading from her face. "No."

"Ha!" the man exclaimed towards the blonde. "Nice try, young lady," he said as he handed the bag of gold to the other man.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Jefferson said, giving the man a quick nod before turning on his heel and leaving him.

Alice watched as the other man headed towards his two friends who were glaring and yelling at him. She giggled to herself as she pocketed her earrings and necklace and took her leave. She wasn't sure where Jefferson had gone off to, but she supposed he left wanting to stay to himself. She supposed she would do the same as she thought of how she'd find a place to work. Although that didn't last long as she smashed into someone's back.

"Sorry!" she squeaked out as she stared up at the person. "Oh!"

"Why are you following me?" Jefferson sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I-I-I'm not following you. I'm sorry," she stuttered, her face turning red. "I was uh thinking and I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm sorry…"

"What was that back there?" Jefferson said after a moment of silence. "I thought we parted ways, especially since I told you I had my own business to attend to. I didn't ask for your help," he said, a glare forming on his brow.

"I'm sorry…" she said, hiding her head behind her hair. "I-I heard some men near me talking about the stone. They knew the man you were talking with. They were going to pay you little compared to what they were going to sell it for," she said in a rush.

"Whoa! Slow down," Jefferson said, holding his hands up. "And you thought you'd try and get that man to pay more if you tried to pay more than him?"

"Yes…" Alice whispered, shrinking into herself as Jefferson stared at her.

The dark haired man shook his head and sighed. "I guess I have to thank you then. Even though I didn't ask for your help, I do like getting paid more for my work. So thank you."

Alice smiled lightly as she stared up at the man in front of her. "Um…Jefferson…I was um…wondering…"

"Hmm?" the man asked, raising a brow.

"Do you um…think I could get a job with you?"

"A job? As in work with me?" he asked. His eyes widened a little and his brow furrowed when Alice nodded her head. "Oh no, I do not work with anyone. I do not need anyone getting in the way of my work, let alone splitting the profit!"

Alice cowered slightly, but held her ground as best as she could. "Y-you don't have to pay me! I won't take any of the profit! I-I-I could clean your house and cook! I don't even have to help with your work."

"I don't need a maid," Jefferson scoffed. "You don't even look like you've worked or cleaned anything a day in your life," he said, gesturing to the way she was dressed.

"I have done a bit of cleaning before…" she said quietly. "Please? I don't have anywhere to go and I need somewhere to stay and some way to get food… I promise I won't get in the way…"

Jefferson sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. Seconds ticked by as the man remained silent, leaving the woman in front of him to stare up at him in worry. At last he broke the silence and groaned. "Fine!"

"Really?" Alice said, her face lighting up.

"I will let you stay with me only," he said, holding up a hand to stop her from talking again, "if you do as I say and don't get in the way."

Alice nodded furiously. "I promise!"

"I'm going to regret this I just know it…" he grumbled under his breath. "Let's go," he said, turning on his heel and heading out of the town, leaving Alice to hustle behind him.

So wow, I honestly didn't think I'd update again, but I got a few inspiration to continue thanks to Adamglambert (thank you for the review) and from the recent two episodes of Once.

Also sorry for the lame "magical stone" bit. I had to come up with something that would make a good item for Jefferson to hunt down and that lame excuse of a magical item popped into my head. I think it's lame, but hopefully it's good enough for you guys. Then again it won't make any appearance ever again and hey it's Once Upon a Time. The weirdest stuff happens in the Enchanted Forest so a magical stone wouldn't be the weirdest thing, right?

Hopefully I get this story done. I can't guarantee quick updates. I also plan on making jumps around in Alice and Jefferson's backstory just so I don't have to go through their entire backstory and make this story itself freakishly long. So if I make a random time skip in the Enchanted Forest part of the next chapter, just know that it was intentional and that's what's going to happen throughout the story. Just a heads up.

I hope you liked the chapter and I'd love to hear your thoughts!